A certain crossover anime's nuclear-powered sword immortal

"..."

Shirou was speechless for a moment, and sighed helplessly.

"So, what exactly do you want to tell me, 'Mom'?"

Upon hearing Shirou change his form of address, Pandora's somewhat displeased expression immediately softened, and she smiled sweetly at Shirou.

"My seventh child, do you know the Earth Mother Goddess?"

Shirou frowned slightly.

"Earth Mother Goddess...?"

Pandora explained to the somewhat bewildered Shirou.

"In myths around the world, deities that can be classified as earth mothers are powerful matriarchs in their mythological systems. In the Shakti school, various goddesses are her incarnations. For example, Houtu Niangniang in the Jiangnan region is the earth mother goddess of the people in Jiangnan."

Houtu Niangniang, also known as Houtu Huangdiqi.

This term originates from the worship of women by men in matriarchal societies.

Her full title is "Cheng Tian Xiao Fa Hou De Guang Da Hou Tu Huang Di Qi" (承天效法厚德光大后土皇地祇), the fourth of the "Four Ministers/Six Emperors" in Taoism. She governs Yin and Yang and nurtures all things, hence she is known as "Mother Earth".

Legend has it that she holds the power over life and death, creation, and the beautification of humankind, and is also known as the "Goddess of Beauty".

According to the "Sequel to the Immortals", she is "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva", who controls the "Six Paths of Reincarnation". Legend has it that she is neither born nor dies, and can live for "eternal life", "immortal", "guide people to good", "cultivate oneself and understand the nature", "spread spiritual sound", and "illuminate all ages".

Upon hearing Pandora's explanation, Shirou nodded, finally understanding what the Earth Mother Goddess was all about.

Then, Pandora continued.

"However, as matriarchal society transitioned to patriarchal society, heroes known as 'Steel' began to ravage the land. They seized the divine authority of the Earth Mothers, and the original Earth Mothers were demoted, becoming appendages of the patriarchal gods or twisted into monsters, just like Medusa..."

At this point, Pandora lowered her eyebrows slightly, her expression somewhat forlorn.

"That's why, in order to fight against the heroes of 'Steel,' I created the Dark Festival to give birth to 'Godslayers' who can fight against the heroes of 'Steel.' Although many 'Godslayers' have appeared over the past thousand years, they all eventually died at the hands of the heroes of 'Steel,' until this era..."

Pandora looked at Shirou with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"The number of 'godslayers' in this era has far exceeded the previous seven. In an era where the Demon King is so powerful, the 'Steel' hero, the 'Last King,' will inevitably awaken once more to stop you from becoming stronger. The children of the past were no match for the 'Last King,' but if it were you..."

As she spoke, Pandora stretched out her slender, fair right hand and gently touched Shirou's cheek.

“My seventh special ‘child,’ I can clearly feel the immense power surging within you. If it were you, perhaps you could contend with him!”

"The 'Steel' Hero, the Last King..."

Shirou murmured the name softly.

"Is this my final enemy?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: Revisiting Pandora, Forging an EX Noble Phantasm! (8K)

Seeing Shirou's thoughtful face, Pandora's eyes flickered slightly, and she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Looking at the goddess's beautiful and alluring face so close to him, Shirou curiously moved closer to her face.

"Didn't you say before that the Dark Ritual doesn't need to be performed in such an intimate way?"

Upon hearing Shirou's question, Pandora's face lit up with a charming and beautiful smile.

Although she looks young, her smile is both radiant and mature. She should be a naive young girl, but instead, she exudes an alluring charm.

Pandora's cherry-colored lips parted slightly at this moment.

"Because you are the only special 'child' who has come here and is still able to retain your memories, as my best child, 'Mom' has decided to give you a little more reward."

"Again...?"

Before he could even open his mouth, Shirou felt a warm, soft sensation pressing against him.

However, this time Shirou was not unable to move as before, so he decided to learn more about this goddess.

Those thin yet alluring red lips and the wine-like...

The intoxicating fragrance is so enchanting that it makes one linger.

Pandora, who had only intended to give the seventh child a small reward, felt Shirou's unusual movement. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes widened.

"Ugh...?"

……

"The goddess's flavor... is really good."

After Shirou, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, came down from 'Mount Olympus', Erica and Liliana had been waiting there for quite some time.

"My King! How are you?!"

Erica and Liliana stepped forward with some concern to check if Shirou had any injuries.

However, after a closer look, Liliana discovered that apart from a peculiar fragrance, Shirou was completely free of any missing hair.

He didn't look injured at all, and didn't seem like a demon king who had just fought a great battle with a god.

"As expected of the 'King,' he easily accomplished what we couldn't!" Liliana's eyes were filled with admiration.

Compared to Erica, who only completely submitted to Shirou after the incident with the Magic Society, Liliana, who initially chose to serve him simply because of Shirou's heroic act of 'saving' the Romans and his powerful ability to fight against 'Black Dragon' Nidhogg, is undoubtedly the knight princess who admires and is most loyal to Shirou.

Shirou naturally preferred this simple-minded, obedient, and adorable girl.

"It seems that 'Mount Olympus' will no longer be able to receive tourists for the time being," Shirou remarked, looking at the destroyed mountain peak.

The magicians from the local magic society standing nearby immediately answered.

"Your Majesty need not worry about such things; we will handle them."

Shirou nodded, then led Liliana and Erica into the luxury van for their return journey.

After flying back to his mansion in Naples, Italy, Shirou relaxed and sprawled out on the soft sofa.

"Hoo... Let's take a look at the powers I gained after defeating Hephaestus."

Shirou, who defeated Hephaestus, gained the most iconic power of the 'God of Fire and Craftsmen'.

The first is the power to control fire.

Hephaestus, one of the twelve Olympian gods, also has the alias of the god of fire. In mythology, he corresponds to Vulcan in Roman mythology. Vulcan himself was an ancient Roman god, but initially he did not have many deeds and was simply the embodiment of fire.

The second is the authority that allows Shirou to forge divine weapons.

After Hephaestus became an Olympian god, he built a magnificent palace for the gods and a workshop on the mountain for forging tools.

He made the Aegis shield for Zeus, the Dionysian staff for Dionysus, the chariot for Helios, and the golden and silver arrows for Eros. The chains that bound Prometheus were also forged by Hephaestus.

"Hmm... This power of flame is used to forge divine artifacts, so let's name it 'Ultimate Forging'."

Shirou recalled the powers that Marquis Voban possessed. Although they were usurped from various gods and had many abilities, they were ultimately unified into a single, iconic power name.

The power "Doomsday Proclamation," which was usurped from "Black Dragon" Nidhogg, is also a combination of two powers.

After making this decision, Hephaestus's power name immediately appeared on the blue panel in front of him, where the power was marked.

At the same time, Shirou also noticed that his four-dimensional attributes had increased once again.

[Name: Orihara Shirou (God Killer)]

【Sex: Male】

【Height: 187cm】

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline: 'Third Star Particle Body', 'Divine Body']

[Powers: 'Doomsday Declaration', 'Ultimate Forging']

Special Ability: Unlimited Blade Works

【肉体强度：1359→1410（10）神经反射：1268→1391（10）生命力：1502→2077（10）精神力：1107→1226（10）】

With his body already heavily enhanced by the 'Third Star Particle Body', 'Godslayer', and 'Divine Body', Shirou's power is such that he can destroy a city instantly with his fists. If he uses his Noble Phantasm, destroying the continent's framework or even washing the surface of the earth would be a piece of cake.

His speed has reached the speed of light, his vitality is so strong that he can recover even if he is broken into molecules, and his mental power allows him to ignore all the negative effects of his current level!

"With my current strength, I should be completely unafraid even when facing a 'God King'."

Now, Shirou can handle any of the 'disobedient gods' with ease, even when facing them alone.

Furthermore, there is now time to experiment with the powers obtained from Hephaestus, the god of fire and forging.

"It's a pity that after using 'Doomsday Declaration' once, it will take some time to get used to this divine power. If only I could use it continuously..."

But this is already pretty good.

Thinking this, Shirou began to look forward to the power "Ultimate Forging" that he had taken from Hephaestus, and sat up with some eagerness.

"Hmm... let's try to figure out which Noble Phantasm to create first..."

As his debut work, Shirou still hopes to create an EX-rank Noble Phantasm that is meaningful to him.

Suddenly, Shirou's mind flashed back to the battle between Karna and Gilgamesh.

The lightning spear that turned the night sky into daylight and the Ea sword that cleaved through space left a deep impression on Shirou.

Choosing between these two EX Noble Phantasms is a really difficult task.

"Wait a minute, why should I choose that?"

Shirou suddenly realized.

His power isn't limited to forging just one weapon, so why make a deliberate choice?

"Of course I want them all!"

Having made this decision, Shirou enthusiastically planned to begin forging a Noble Phantasm.

Forging a treasure naturally requires materials.

These materials are more than enough using the Noble Phantasms that Shirou projected.

Having obtained Hephaestus's divine right to forge, Shirou can now forge even a piece of ordinary iron into a divine weapon.

Of course, the quality of the materials also affects the durability of the artifact.

In addition, forging a divine weapon requires a massive amount of magic power.

After confirming the magical power required to forge Karna's god-slaying spear, Shirou finally understood why he had never been able to replicate an EX-rank Noble Phantasm before.