Shirou's clones number 30 million

"How do we do it?" Lucy asked hurriedly.

"It's very simple, just seal your mother away."

Shirou paused for a moment, then explained:

"From what I understand, your mother's health gradually deteriorated due to insufficient vitality, and she eventually died."

"Vitality is easy to talk about. Our guild sells limited quantities of recovery potions that can replenish vitality. I can do the same thing with magic."

"However, people who died in history could only cure her, but they couldn't bring her back to this era."

"The binding force of spacetime will cause her to die in other ways."

"For example, a meteorite might suddenly fall from the sky and kill her in a bizarre way. Or, a black dragon might unexpectedly appear and burn her town to ashes."

"In fact, the second possibility is very high and will become a high-probability event."

"Therefore, the only way to save her is to heal her body and then seal her away in a safe place."

"At the same time, announce her funeral to the public, and have her tombstone erected as planned. Do not tell anyone except the two of us."

"Even your father cannot say this."

"After that, all we need to do is unseal your mother in this era, and she will come back to life."

"I see!" Lucy nodded repeatedly.

This method is excellent; not only for one's own mother, but anyone who has died could be brought back to life if this method were used.

However, this is a method that only he can use.

Even if someone else could come up with this idea, they wouldn't have the ability to implement it.

"Thank you... I'm so grateful. So much time has passed that I've almost forgotten what my mother looks like. I never thought I'd have any hope of seeing her again."

"If my mother could really come back to life, it wouldn't matter if I died right away."

"Don't say such stupid things. How could I let you die?" Shirou shook his head slightly and then said, "Speaking of which, even if I don't emphasize it, you should understand that this matter must be kept strictly confidential and cannot be told to anyone."

"Yes, I definitely won't tell Dad!"

"Not only the past, but also the future cannot be told to anyone. Otherwise, there will definitely be many people who want to use the Eclipse Gate to save their loved ones. At that time, the world will be in chaos."

"I understand. But isn't that a bit despicable? You can only save people yourself, but you can't let others save them?"

"You're an exception, this is a one-time thing. Otherwise, there are countless relatives and friends."

In that instant, a thought suddenly popped into Lucy's mind, and she couldn't help but ask:

"Knowing full well that the Gate of Eclipse cannot lead to the future, you still brought me here. Was this your original plan?"

"More or less," Shirou said with a smile. "Because I want to give you a reason to stay in this era with peace of mind."

"Why...why? There's already a Lucy in this era. Even if I leave, it won't matter, right?"

"It's fate that you came to this era, and it would be too lonely to leave alone. Besides, I like you more than Lucy from this era."

"Why...?"

Lucy's cheeks flushed instantly, and she couldn't help but say:

"Um... I don't plan on dating for the time being."

"Don't worry, I'm not confessing my feelings. It's just a friendly gesture. If I were to confess, I would definitely choose a more appropriate place. It would never happen here."

"This shouldn't be implying anything to me, right?"

"You're overthinking it. We need to focus on business. Let's talk later."

Shadow Clone Technique!

The entity itself must remain in this era as an anchor point.

However, shadow clones are enough.

It can transform into a Super Saiyan 3 shadow clone, and even if it encountered its past self without reason, it would be enough to easily defeat him.

As for letting Lucy go to the past alone, Shirou had never even considered it.

After all, this world is far too unfriendly to people from the future.

Based on my own experience, I believe that people will have very bad luck for a long time in the future, and if they don't have the ability to protect themselves, they will definitely die in some unknown corner.

If, like in the future, Rogge is caught by his own shadow clone, it would be clear proof of his extremely bad luck.

Chapter 385 The Legend Was True

Chapter 385, Section 386: The Legend Was True

"what is that?"

Shortly after passing through the Eclipse Gate, while on their way to Hatfilia's former home, flames and thick smoke suddenly appeared in the distance.

After hesitating for a long time, Lucy turned and ran towards the firelight.

This is a town engulfed in flames, with ruins everywhere. The remaining residents have all gathered outside the town, kneeling and praying towards the northwest.

"Why aren't you putting out the fire? What are you doing here?"

However, no one paid any attention to her; everyone was busy praying.

"What are you doing? What's the point of this? There might still be people alive in the city..."

"enough!"

An old man suddenly turned around, glared at him, tapped the ground with his cane, and said in a slightly low voice:

"Outsider, you are not welcome here."

"What exactly happened? I... am a mage after all, so I should be able to help you in some way."

As she spoke, Lucy unconsciously thought about the different elemental magic she had learned from Shirou over the past week.

Although these are all basic spells with little destructive power, and I'm not very skilled at using them, it's still a significant improvement compared to my previous self.

Moreover, he has not given up on celestial magic and can summon celestials to help him at any time.

"Mayor, she's also from out of town. What do you think? Should we sacrifice her to appease the Dragon God's wrath?"

As a young man whispered a few words to the old mayor, Lucy clearly sensed that the atmosphere around her had become somewhat strange.

"She's just an outsider."

"Mayor, this is the best option. For the safety of this town, she must be burned!"

"That's right! Burn her!"

Suddenly, a furious roar came from the sky.

The voice was extremely violent, sending chills down one's spine, and also conveyed an extremely powerful sense of oppression.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely large black dragon appeared in the sky and flew over at an incredibly fast speed.

The townspeople, who had been arguing just moments before, fell silent, prostrated themselves on the ground, and prayed in hushed tones, interspersed with soft sobs.

Under that overwhelming sense of oppression, Lucy felt as if even breathing had become difficult, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

In her original world, she had also faced the Black Dragon on Sirius Island, but while the Black Dragon she saw that day was powerful, it was definitely not this outrageous.

Ignoring the townspeople, the black dragon brandished its claws and charged straight at Lucy, the only one standing.

'It's over! I never thought I'd die here.'

'The legends told before the first generation were all true; as long as you kneel and pray, you will escape disaster.'

'That's right, he's not even aware of anything right now; he's just killing on instinct.'

Those kneeling in prayer, in his instinctive judgment, were not enemies and were naturally ignored. Those standing, however, were instinctively perceived as enemies and were thus relentlessly pursued.

Although she was aware of this, Lucy couldn't move her body at all and could only watch helplessly as the dragon's claws approached.

The next moment, a pebble the size of an egg fell out of Lucy's pocket.

The moment the stone hit the ground, Shirou, who had transformed into human form, reached out to block the approaching dragon claw.

The two claws made contact, forcing the black dragon to stop its attack and freeze in place.

It roared, opened its mouth wide, and tried to unleash a black dragon's roar.

"I don't want to have an extra memory of being beaten up by myself, so could you please leave?"

Shirou pushed hard, and the black dragon instantly flew into the sky and disappeared without a trace.

A few seconds after the black dragon disappeared, Lucy regained her mobility, her legs went weak, and she collapsed involuntarily.

In that instant, Shirou immediately bent down and hugged her.

"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to throw the stone on the ground immediately after passing through the Eclipse Gate?"

"I...I forgot."

Lucy managed to stand up straight, grabbing Shirou's arm to steady herself before looking up at the sky again.

"For a moment just now, I really thought I was going to die at your hands."

"Who told you not to throw the stone on the ground sooner? After turning into stone, my senses became very limited, and I didn't even notice my past self coming."

"I'm sorry, what brings you here? Didn't you say before that you wanted to stay in the future as an anchor point?"

In that instant, Lucy's expression suddenly turned tense, and she asked anxiously:

"Are we not going to be able to get back?"

"Don't worry, I'm just a clone right now," Shirou said, somewhat speechless. "Didn't I say before that I would send a clone to accompany you?"

"Of course I remember, but you didn't create a clone. You only gave me a stone. I thought you had changed your mind."

"Okay...it's my fault."

Shirou sighed helplessly and shook his head slightly.

"I should make this clear to you. In order to ensure that my clone could pass through the Eclipse Gate, I deliberately turned my clone into stone."

After all, shadow clones are not human, and no one knows whether they can pass through the Eclipse Gate. Turning them into stone is the safest way.

However, while this improved transformation technique can ensure that it can be hidden from the Eclipse Gate, it also has a drawback that the normal transformation technique does not have: it can only turn back into human form when certain conditions are triggered.