IBHJ 1296

Mordred went back to her room and pulled out her Grail. She looked at it carefully—this object that had been her downfall. Instead of sadness, a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"You can do this, right?" she asked.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" the Grail questioned. "This won't accomplish anything."

"Please," she said quietly.

"...Fine. You've convinced me. But be prepared—they might not answer you."

The Grail began to glow with brilliant light. Mordred closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in a ruined landscape. Fires burned everywhere, buildings and statues lay in ruins. It was exactly like her most painful memory—the one buried deep in her heart.

The death of her kingdom.

All around her, victims cried out in agony while former subjects glared at her with hatred. Their bitterness hung thick in the air, transformed into a powerful malice.

"So you used the Grail's connection to come here. I must say, Mordred, your bravery is impressive." The Ideal King's voice echoed throughout this world like a decree from heaven.

Mordred looked up at the dark sky. "I wanted to apologize to you."

"What did you just say?" The Ideal King couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.

"I want to ask for your forgiveness, Eternal Kingdom," Mordred said.

The Ideal King fell silent.

"Absurd!" she finally responded coldly. "You realize your end is near, so now you come begging for mercy?"

"No. I'm not here for mercy. I just came to apologize," Mordred replied. "I did what I thought was right, but in the wrong way. I should have come sooner, but I couldn't face myself. Now I'm here. I need to pay for my mistakes and ask for your forgiveness."

"Forgiveness?" the Ideal King scoffed. "Look at the 1.8 million faces around you. Men, women, elderly, children. Your own relatives and friends are among them. Look at them—who would forgive you? You took our lives and destroyed the land we needed to survive. 'The right thing done wrongly?' You're using fancy words to excuse your sins. Do you understand that what you called 'right' destroyed everything for us? No one will forgive you. Even the new history will reject you. Stay here in our hell, in our vengeance, and march toward your destruction!"

As the Ideal King's voice faded, the eyes of everyone around Mordred turned blood-red. They rushed toward her with twisted faces.

"Kill her!"

"Give me back my child!"

"Mordred, you monster, die!"

Driven by revenge, the people swarmed toward Mordred like a flood.

"Mordred, use me! Kill them all!" the Grail urged desperately.

But Mordred set down her sword, placed the Grail on the ground, and removed her helmet. Her blue eyes remained calm as she watched the approaching crowd.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" the Grail asked frantically. "Your body has been taken away, and there's no record of you left in the Throne of Heroes. You'll die—you'll disappear completely! Use me!"

Despite the Grail's pleas, she looked at the people charging at her with weapons with a gentle expression.

"Uncle Celyn, you were Camelot's finest pastry chef. Uncle Gawain and I always loved your pastries the most."

"Uncle Leonas, you were Camelot's cobbler. Your shop was small, but you ran it with such care."

"Aunt Bistari... I'm sorry."

Mordred closed her eyes, allowing the people to attack her.

She wasn't looking for death, nor was she trying to soften the Ideal King's heart. She was simply apologizing for what she had done wrong. Perhaps destroying the Eternal Kingdom had been necessary for the human history. But she had hurt these people deeply—her relatives, her friends, the very people she had once sworn to protect.

These people were trapped in this place—not truly dead or alive, unable to move on.

The three-eyed youth at the South American connection point had once predicted she would become a sacrifice. Perhaps this was what he meant. But she wasn't sacrificing herself for any person in particular—she was doing it for this land and its people. This land that she had loved, yet had been forced to destroy with her own hands.

...

"Mordred!" Shirou shouted as he searched throughout Tír na nÓg, but he couldn't find any sign of her.

The synchronization waves were getting stronger, so he had to temporarily stop looking for her and follow the original plan.

"It's strange to think that we used to hate each other back at the Romanian connection point, and now here we are working together," Aviceborn said as he stood on Adam's shoulder, holding onto his neck. "Are you ready, Adam?"

"I'm ready, Father."

"Father?" Aviceborn was caught off guard.

"Is that a problem? After all, you created me."

"It's just... a bit unexpected. But thank you, Adam."

Shirou looked at Adam who was about to leave and said, "You need to come back alive, Adam."

"Don't worry, Mr. Shirou." Adam turned around with a wide smile, gave everyone a thumbs up, and then charged out as Ambrosius opened the gates of Tír na nÓg. With a thunderous sound, he instantly appeared before a fortress.

"What?" Lucius, who was guarding the fortress, stared at Adam in shock before shouting, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The moment he finished, soldiers throughout the fort began mobilizing.

"Now, Adam! Charge!" Aviceborn shouted.

"RAAAAAHHH!!!" Adam threw his head back and roared, his body glowing with white light. He transformed into a streak of light and rushed toward the fort without hesitation.

"Has he lost his mind?" Lucius asked. "The fort is protected by the empire's barrier! No one can break through by simply charging at it!"

But Adam wasn't acting out of madness. He knew exactly what he needed to do, what he had to accomplish. He had only one purpose!

"Break through!!!"

Adam crossed his arms in front of him, roared loudly, and faced the empire's troops head-on. Like an ancient titan, he crashed directly into the fort's barrier.

The impact was tremendous.

White doves scattered from the nearby forest, startled into flight.

In that moment, the fort's barrier completely shattered. But the price was high—Adam's body was crushed by the impact, his skin and muscles rupturing instantly as his blood spilled everywhere.

"Kill him! Surround him and finish him off!" Lucius shouted in fear.

But Adam didn't stop. Despite his blood-soaked body, he pushed through the fort and headed straight for Camelot.

"Kill him! Don't let him get any closer!" Lucius yelled.

At that moment, many gates opened in the surrounding space. Heroic Spirits charged out in full force—some engaging the fort's garrison while others followed behind Adam.