IBHJ 1355

In that split second of distraction, the Beast tore open another vortex and disappeared with Ritsuka in tow. Artoria lunged forward to intercept, but they were already gone—vanished into the swirling portal before she could even get close.

"Grrrooooaaarrrr!!"

Fou's howl shook the trees as the massive creature launched itself at Shirou, claws extended and eyes blazing with mindless fury.

Shirou's chest tightened. After the Eternal Kingdom fell, Fou had simply vanished. He hadn't been with Merlin when they found him. Altrouge had no idea where he'd gone. And now here he was—not as the companion they'd known, but as a twisted monster serving the Lord of Salvation.

He should have seen this coming. If Marisbury had been the Lord of Salvation all along, then of course Fou—Beast IV—would have fallen under his control eventually.

"I'm sorry, Fou." Shirou raised his blade as the creature bore down on him. With one clean stroke, he severed the death line of the monstrous transformation.

Slash.

The enormous white beast flickered and began to shrink. The twisted vortexes faded away, leaving behind the small, familiar form they all remembered.

"Do you remember me, Fou?"

Fou looked up at him with vacant eyes. No spark of recognition. No hint of the intelligence that used to shine there. Just... emptiness.

A butterfly floated past. Fou's head turned to follow it, and without making a sound, he padded away after the dancing wings.

"Fou... Fou..."

Shirou watched the small creature wander after the butterfly, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

"There's nothing left of him," Artoria said quietly.

She was right. The proud, intelligent Beast who had traveled alongside them through the Eternal Kingdom was gone. What remained was just an empty shell, following its most basic instincts like any ordinary animal.

The pattern was becoming sickeningly clear. Of all the Beasts they'd encountered, Goetia had been completely destroyed. Demonic Bodhisattva—wiped out. Fou had his mind stripped away. Koyanskaya was dead. Beast VI had fallen to Shirou's hand. Only Tiamat's clever manipulation of Manaka had saved her and Kama from the same fate.

Now just Beast VII and his sister were left.

What was going to happen to Ritsuka? Shirou couldn't bring himself to think about it. Because even in the best case scenario, she might end up like Fou—alive but empty, with nothing left inside but animal instinct.

"We have to get to Ritsuka. Now." The words came out harsh, desperate.

But the Inverted Vortex had erased any trace of where the Beast had taken her. Even the Star's Blessing couldn't pierce through that kind of concealment. And on top of everything else, they still had to deal with that massive summoning circle.

Ritsuka was gone. The Beast had vanished with her, and even with the Star's blessing, Shirou couldn't pierce through the Vortex's concealment.

But at least they knew where this was heading—the Beast still needed to complete the Grand Summoning. As long as they controlled the remaining three connection points, she'd have to surface eventually.

When Mordred and Kiara got back, the team gathered to share what they'd learned.

"She took Ritsuka?" Mordred shouted. "And we're just supposed to sit here and twiddle our thumbs?!"

"For now, yes." Shirou's shoulders sagged. "We don't have any other options."

Every fiber of his being wanted to tear the world apart looking for Ritsuka, but the Vortex made it impossible to even sense the Beast's presence. All they could do was wait and hope they got another chance.

"This is bullshit!" Mordred slammed her fist into the wall hard enough to make it crack.

She'd thought it was over. After Brigid—the Ideal King—had moved on, she figured she could finally put down the sword and live like a normal person. But apparently fate had other plans.

"Tell me something." She rounded on Shirou, eyes blazing. "Why didn't you tell me about any of this crap from the start?!"

Her fist connected with his chest—a frustrated little punch that barely registered against his mud armor.

Shirou was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. "I'm not exactly the best father, I know that. But what kind of dad doesn't want his daughter to be happy? What kind of father actively puts his kid in danger?" He shook his head. "There are probably plenty of bastards out there who would, but I'm not one of them."

"You think I'm some fragile little princess who can't handle herself?!" Mordred swung at him again.

This time Artoria caught her wrist. “That’s enough, Mordred.”

Mordred glared at both of them, then yanked her arm free and crossed it over her chest, turning away with an angry huff.

After a moment, she muttered under her breath, "You doing okay or what?"

"I'm not so pathetic that you need to worry about me," he smiled.

Mordred whipped around to glare at him.

His expression softened, and he gave her a small smile. "I'm fine. Really. Tethys is looking after me."

That seemed to satisfy her. Her shoulders relaxed and she nodded grudgingly.

From the corner, Mash's quiet voice said, "This is all my fault. I'm too weak. I was never good enough to be Senpai's Servant..."

"Hey, knock that off." Mordred walked over and sat down next to her. "There's no such thing as 'not good enough,' okay?"

She stayed with Mash until the girl stopped looking like she was about to cry.

Watching the whole thing, Shirou couldn't resist. "You know, for a brat, you sure act like everybody's mom."

"Who's a mom?!" Mordred spun around, eyes flashing dangerously.

It was ridiculous. She was supposed to be the spoiled one here, but somehow Shirou always managed to be even more reckless than she was. He was her father—shouldn't he be the responsible one? Instead, she was constantly worrying about what stupid thing he'd do next. What kind of backwards family dynamic was this?

And what kind of dad calls his daughter a mom anyway?

But now that she really thought about it... Back in the Eternal Kingdom, she'd been fussing over Vivian and Artoria all the time. In Romania, she'd worried about Saber. At Chaldea, it was Mash and Kiara and Mo-chan. And now here she was, stressed out about both Shirou and Ritsuka...

A horrible realization crept into her mind. ‘Wait. Am I actually just a nagging mom?’

She shook her head violently, trying to banish the thought.

‘No way! Absolutely not! I'm Mordred—tough, stubborn, and proud! I'm not some mom thing! That's not me!’

Artoria shot him a look. "Would you stop egging her on?"

He chuckled but quickly grew serious again. "The Grand Summoning needs seven anchor points. Including Fuyuki, three are still unconnected. Beast VII will come for them eventually—we need to stay in touch with our people at the other sites."

Everyone nodded. In Ancient Shu, Hinako was holding the line with Morrigan and Kama backing her up. Word was that even the reclusive Immortals were starting to pay attention to what was happening there.

Britain had Scathach and Merlin on guard, with all of Western Europe supporting them. Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Arthur, and Vivian were there too. Here in Fuyuki, it was Shirou, Artoria, Mordred, and Kiara standing watch.

Each position was solid—not something Beast VII could just steamroll through. But if these final strongholds fell, if all seven anchors got connected... whatever came through would be beyond nightmarish.

"Speaking of which, where's Arcueid?" Shirou glanced at Artoria after finishing his calls with the other defenders. She was the only one they'd lost track of.

"Gaia called her in."

"For the Cosmic Alaya thing?" he raised an eyebrow.

After the Eternal Empire collapsed, he'd briefly connected with Gaia through the Star's Blessing. That's when he found out what had really happened. Gaia that the Ideal King had kicked out of the Solar System had found something in the distant constellation—a fragment of the Cosmic Alaya. Now she was trying to piece together all the scattered remnants, rebuilding that massive force from scratch.