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IBHJ 1145
🕑 Added 2025-01-24 01:56:09 +0000 UTCIn the dimensional crossing passage.
"I never would have guessed Lord Bedivere was Hope," Ector said with a heavy sigh.
"What's the problem? Perfect chance to riddle him with holes from my spears—teach him the price of betrayal!" Aife said, running her fingers along her twin spears.
Morgan glanced at her. "Earlier, we encountered a Heroic Spirit whose spear technique shared the same origins as yours. I thought you had also betrayed us."
"Spear technique from the same origin as mine? Hahaha... impossible! I am the sole inheritor of the Fomorian Spear Arts!" Aife's laugh dripped with arrogance.
Lucius's voice turned cold. "Remember, he was a Heroic Spirit from Pan-Human History. Perhaps there exists someone there who has also inherited your spear techniques."
"That makes it even more intriguing. Ah... someone who mastered my spear technique... their blood must taste even sweeter than those foreign enemies." Aife ran her tongue across her crimson lips, a gesture both alluring and predatory.
Suddenly, the dimensional crossing passage began to warp and distort, making it impossible for them to control their movements.
The space between them was stretching wider by the second.
"This is...!" Morgan startled. "The fairies are tampering with the space-time coordinates!"
"Stay calm," Ector said grimly. "Lord Agravain predicted this. The fairies have sided with Pan-Human History, and this Specialized Combat Forces deployment is meant to neutralize these unpredictable fairy elements. Just lock your coordinates to Tír na nÓg and stabilize your transfer channel. They'll likely separate us during transport to pick us off one by one. If you find yourself surrounded, keep your calm—we'll come quickly to support you. Although with Bedivere on their side, Lucius, be ready—you'll definitely be their target!"
"Let them try. We'll slaughter them all," Lucius replied with confidence.
"If you're so sure of yourself, I'll say no more."
Though Ector said this, he was internally smirking, already imagining how red Lucius's face would be when he called for help while getting pummeled.
The dimensional boundary twisted, and in that moment, all four Apostles breached the dimension containing Tír na nÓg.
When the bright flash faded, Ector caught the scent of damp earth. Opening his eyes, he found himself in an open space surrounded by green foliage.
"Just as I thought, not a soul in sight. Lucius must be the one getting ambushed. I bet his face is priceless right now."
A cold smile played across Ector's lips. He'd never liked Lucius, and he'd already decided that even if Lucius called for help, he'd take his sweet time getting there—just to savor that pathetic expression.
But just as these thoughts crossed his mind—
"ORA—"
Space itself twisted as a ring-adorned golden fist burst from the void, rocketing toward his gut.
"BOOM!"
The devastating impact sent Ector flying. His internal organs ruptured, blood gushing from his mouth in an endless stream.
"I-I see, so Goetia was waiting to ambush me? The Ten Rings can bypass the Imperial Armor's defenses, but that's all. Just Goetia isn't enough..."
Ector lifted his head, his confident smirk freezing midway as he saw Shirou, Kama, and Goetia standing before him. Shirou even had the nerve to wave cheerfully. "Long time no see, Lord Ector. Oh, and just so you know—that Imperial Armor of yours won't work against any of us."
Ector turned his head only to see Mordred, Abigail, and Merlin stepping out of a portal, all eyeing him like cats who'd cornered a particularly interesting mouse.
He might not know how priceless Lucius's expression was right now, but his own face was certainly making up for it. Taking a deep breath, he smoothed his features into something more dignified, determined to maintain the proud bearing expected of an Apostle.
Then he clicked open the Imperial Armor's team communication channel and screamed: "HELP!"
Everyone: “….”
He coughed, "So I'm the first one you guys trapped? No matter. This is pointless."
Despite being surrounded by Shirou and his group, Ector remained calm, studying each opponent carefully. He figured the Imperial Armor was only vulnerable to Goetia's Ten Rings. If he could just hold off Goetia's attacks until Lucius and the others arrived, they could turn this ambush around.
Confident in his logic, Ector called out to Shirou's group with a challenge: "Well? Come at me then!"
Shirou could only look at him somewhat helplessly. In his memories, Ector had been a true knight—noble and loyal to King Uther, someone who would've rather died to hide Artoria's secret, honoring his king's final wish. But this empire version of Ector was nothing like that old knight. He supposed it made sense, the same person shaped by different environments would grow into someone entirely different.
As Ector taunted them, Goetia's patience snapped. His body blazed with golden light as he launched himself at Ector, his fist aimed straight for the knight's head. The sheer power behind the punch made the air itself tremble.
Since his Imperial Armor couldn't read the Ten Rings, Ector didn't dare take the hit directly. Instead, he brought his sword up in a defensive stance.
"BOOM!"
The impact sent Ector skidding back several steps. The space around them warped and sizzled like it had been struck by a solar flare, as the Imperial Armor redirected Goetia's power into the surrounding area.
Goetia frowned.
This was what made the Imperial Armor such a pain. Sure, it couldn't analyze his Ten Rings, but it had other tricks—it could deflect physical attacks into the surrounding space, neutralizing them completely. And if they tried using Beast or Heroic Spirit Noble Phantasms, the Imperial Armor would analyze and conjure something to perfectly counter them.
In short, the Imperial Armor—a fusion of Holy Spirit power and ancient forbidden arts—was truly invincible. With its magic immunity, physical immunity, and perfect counter ability, even an average person wearing it could act like they owned the world.
But—
Light flickered in Goetia's eyes as power surged behind him. A halo rose from his back like a crown of light, bathing him in blinding radiance.
With a sound like tearing space, a beam hotter than anything Earth had ever known burst from the halo, streaking straight for Ector.
This was Goetia's Noble Phantasm.
Originally, it needed the Human Order Incineration to manifest. But thanks to Shirou's interference, King Solomon had altered the Human Order Correction Ritual before dying, making sure Goetia could never perform the Human Order Incineration. By all logic, this Noble Phantasm shouldn't exist. Yet when the Chairman triggered Goetia's creation during the Fifth Holy Grail War, Solomon's modified ritual had taken shape as this very Noble Phantasm.
It could be said that this Noble Phantasm was the Human Order Correction Ritual made manifest. It connected to proper history, unleashing attacks that specifically targeted creatures who twisted the human order—its power growing stronger the deeper their corruption ran through history. Simply put, it was a weapon designed to strike down disasters like Beasts that threatened the Human Order Foundation.
The irony wasn't lost on anyone—a Beast wielding a Noble Phantasm meant to destroy Beasts. But this too was Shirou's handiwork. If he hadn't used [Clairvoyance EX] to warn Solomon before his death, Goetia would have emerged as the [Human Order Incineration Ritual] instead of the [Human Order Correction Ritual], sending their timeline spiraling into the Human Order Incineration disaster.
This Noble Phantasm hit harder against anything that twisted proper history—which was exactly what the Eternal Empire was doing. That made Ector its perfect target.
It was one of those absolute rules from the Origin and the Throne of Heroes—even gods and immortals couldn't resist special attacks made to destroy them. Even Beasts had to fall to Noble Phantasms designed to kill them. Not even Beast-class Heroic Spirits could break this rule.
But Ector, staring down this Noble Phantasm meant to erase him, just started laughing.
"Goetia, You fool!"
Face to face with a beam that could wipe out anything that corrupted human order, Ector didn't even flinch. Instead, he smiled and spread his arms wide.
But of course he would.
After all, the Imperial Armor—
Was invincible!
