Reborn with Steve Stand

Chapter 808: Fang Mo broke the Root

"Did it... kick me out?"

Fang Mo instinctively scratched his head as he stared at the Holy Grail before him.

The truth behind the Holy Grail system created by the Three Founding Families was that it was designed to create a passage leading to the Root. Fang Mo had, in fact, just jammed that passage quite forcefully.

But now, it seemed like the Root couldn’t handle it anymore.

Normally, Fang Mo wouldn’t bother with it any further. However, when he had briefly entered the Root earlier, he had mysteriously unlocked a bunch of secret modules, and that was from just a small fragment of light from the endless vortex.

Given the concept of the Root—a place that records all the information and causes of the Type-Moon universe—Fang Mo had reason to believe that this place could unlock a large number of modules.

When the potential for unlocking new modules came into play, Fang Mo’s motivation skyrocketed. He immediately tried using his energy to forcefully pierce the world’s boundary and create a new passage.

“This little cup closed up on me...”

Muttering to himself, Fang Mo activated his dimensional powers. A blinding white light gathered rapidly in his hand, distorting and thrashing around, so powerful that it seemed capable of tearing apart an entire continent if left unchecked. It was as though Fang Mo held the core of a collapsing star in his grasp.

Space began to fracture and collapse.

A pitch-black singularity formed in the white light in his hand—a wormhole created by the breach in the three-dimensional space, encircled by a ring of blinding white light, resembling a mysterious black hole in the cosmos.

Seeing this, Fang Mo focused his mind.

Once again, his consciousness hurled itself into the hole.

After a brief moment of disorientation, Fang Mo found himself in an endless void. Unlike the vibrant vortex of the Root, this void was utterly devoid of even chaos—nothingness itself.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo was momentarily stunned.

He scanned the vast emptiness around him but found no trace of the Root.

"Did I take a wrong turn?"

Sensing the infinite emptiness around him, Fang Mo realized this wasn’t the world’s exterior or the Root. Simply breaking through the world’s boundary wasn’t enough—some kind of medium was also needed.

In the case of the Grail system, it seemed to rely on the Servants’ souls returning to the Throne of Heroes.

"Emmm..."

Staring at the Grail in front of him, Fang Mo pondered for a moment, then summoned Steve and quickly set up a dark stone altar on the ground.

Using the power of the Abyssal Tome, the altar was soon complete.

Without a word, Fang Mo placed the Holy Grail on the altar and activated the time-reversal ritual, channeling an astronomical amount of energy into it.

A time field enveloped the Grail.

The entire world trembled uneasily.

The rules of reality strained against each other, and even the ancient, blasphemous whispers became intermittent. The ritual process was extremely difficult. ṞaNoᛒЁṠ

"..."

Fang Mo remained silent, pressing his hand against the Abyssal Tome.

His dimensional energy replaced the conventional energy required for the ritual, flooding into the altar. The flames on the altar roared to life, and space around him began to stir. An overwhelming force extended outward, grasping into the void, and a few souls were forcibly dragged back from wherever they had been.

"Good, just like that."

Satisfied, Fang Mo halted the dark ritual.

He picked up the Grail. Once again, the souls of the Servants inside began to churn, resonating with the magical energy and piercing through the barrier. The Servants’ souls passed through the portal back to the Throne of Heroes.

Seizing the opportunity, Fang Mo made his move.

"Take this! Dimensional Demon God’s expander!"

With a roar, Fang Mo summoned a massive surge of white energy in his hand and slammed it into the portal to the world’s exterior.

This time, Fang Mo relied solely on his dimensional powers. To ensure the portal wouldn’t close again, he channeled energy from three different dimensions. The portal solidified, becoming stable, and its secrets were laid bare before Fang Mo.

“Heh, nowhere to hide now.”

Smirking, Fang Mo grabbed hold of the portal to the world’s exterior and once again plunged his consciousness inside.

In an instant, he was lost in a state of confusion.

"What the...!?"

As soon as he emerged, he heard a voice of utter shock.

Turning toward the sound, Fang Mo saw none other than Kirei Kotomine, his face filled with disbelief. "Impossible! How could someone like you resist the corruption of All the World’s Evils?"

Kirei was covered in a layer of black mud.

Opposite him stood Rin and Shirou, both in battle stances. They were injured and looked equally stunned to see Fang Mo break free.

"Archer-sama!"

The only one whose reaction differed was Sakura.

Seeing Fang Mo emerge unharmed, her face lit up with joy. She rushed through the dangerous black mud without hesitation and hugged Fang Mo’s leg. "Thank goodness! I knew you’d be okay!"

"Well, I wouldn’t say totally fine."

Fang Mo patted Sakura’s head, slipping back into character. "That stuff is tricky. If I didn’t have a substitute, I’d probably have been completely devoured by now."

"What?"

Sakura was startled. "Then... does that mean you only have one life left?"

"Yeah, I can’t afford to die anymore."

Fang Mo smiled. "But don’t worry, I can still handle these leftovers. Once we’re done here, I’ll figure out how to revive my substitutes, and then I’ll be invincible again."

"Okay!"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "I’ll keep providing you with mana, Archer-sama. You mustn’t get hurt..."

"Don’t worry."

Fang Mo grinned. He had already planted the seed of misinformation for the enemy. Now, all he had to do was wait for them to take the bait.

Just as he was about to say something to Rin, a few black keys suddenly flew toward his face.

"?"

Fang Mo tilted his head, dodging the thrown daggers. The next moment, Kirei Kotomine had already charged at him, abandoning his fight with Rin and Shirou to come straight for Fang Mo.

Fang Mo wasn’t in the mood to waste time with him. After all, Kirei was a pure sadist in every timeline.

Fang Mo simply pulled out a gun and fired.

Several energy orbs flew toward Kirei.

However, Kirei’s body, seemingly strengthened by the black mud, performed an evasive roll, dodging Fang Mo’s attacks. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Fang Mo.

"It’s over for you."

As he reached Fang Mo, Kirei pressed a large glob of black mud against him, a look of manic joy flashing across his usually calm face.

But the next moment, his smile vanished.

Fang Mo’s body showed no reaction whatsoever.

"?"

"?"

For a brief moment, both Fang Mo and Kirei wore expressions of confusion. The stalemate was quickly broken when Fang Mo punched Kirei, his fist moving so fast that Kirei couldn’t react in time. With a loud thud, Kirei’s chest caved in, and he was sent flying back, coughing up blood.

"Impossible! How are you not corrupted by the filth..."

Struggling to stand, Kirei stared at Fang Mo in disbelief. Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden squelch interrupted him. A blade had pierced through his chest.

"Ugh!?"

Kirei looked down at the familiar sword protruding from his chest, shock in his eyes.

He instinctively turned his head and saw Rin standing behind him. The scene was a near-perfect mirror of how Kirei had once stabbed her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, years ago—with the same Azoth sword.

"You..." Kirei coughed up more blood, trying to speak.

"Kirei Kotomine."

Rin’s voice was cold. "This is the same blade that killed my father. Now, I return it to you.”