IBHJ 1288

Outside Badon Fortress, the fighting between Pan-Human and the Eternal Empire was intense. Fires were spreading everywhere across the battlefield. Bedivere watched with a heavy heart. He should have been standing with his own people, but instead, he was on the side of Pan-Human History.

"Bedivere, if this is too hard to watch, you don't have to stay," said Arthur, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"He's right, Sir Bedivere. Walking away might not feel great, but sometimes it's the smart choice," Saber added.

"I appreciate that..." Bedivere said with a sad smile.

Everything had become clear now—the Emperor was gone, and the Counter Force of the Eternal Kingdom was running the Empire.

He had been right about what was happening, but that didn't make things any easier. He couldn't bring himself to fight against his fellow imperial soldiers to avenge the Emperor, but he also couldn't pretend nothing was wrong and stand with the Empire. He was stuck in the middle, torn between both sides.

"Well, look who I found!"

A cold voice suddenly broke the silence.

Bedivere turned quickly and saw Agravain standing in front of everyone.

"Agravain? Is that you?"

"I see the last bits of Hope are here too. Perfect—I can deal with all of you at once!"

Bedivere stared at his friend of a hundred million years standing right in front of him and felt his jaw tighten. He had so many questions for Agravain.

"I just don't get it," he said. "Why would you do this? You knew what the Pan-Human Counter Force was, but you still helped it kill the Emperor. How can you call it the Emperor now? It doesn't make any sense!"

Agravain gave him a dismissive look. "You're still so naive, Bedivere. It doesn't matter who the Emperor is. What matters is having someone who can keep us alive. It's been a hundred million years, and you haven't learned a thing."

"If betraying the Emperor without a second thought is what you call progress, then I'd rather stay the same for a hundred million years—or ten billion, or even a hundred billion!" Bedivere replied, his voice tight with anger.

"Then you'll end up—" Before Agravain could finish, there was a loud boom as Saber's Excalibur blast shot through his head.

Arthur looked at Saber in shock. Was this version of himself from another world always this decisive?

"That wasn't Agravain," Saber declared. "The real Agravain might have been cold and always thought about the bigger picture, but underneath that coldness was a passionate heart. My Knights of the Round Table worked well together because of Agravain's efforts. You're nothing but an insult to his memory, and I won't let you dishonor him any further!"

"I see, so another parallel entity?" Agravain raised his head.

Bedivere and the others froze in shock. Saber's Excalibur hadn't destroyed Agravain's head at all, and whatever "eternity" was supposed to be hadn't activated. Instead, the blast had burned away the skin on his face, revealing what was underneath—a steel skull with glowing electronic eyes where human ones should have been. No muscle tissue, no brain matter, not a single living cell. Just metal.

"What... what are you?" Bedivere asked, barely finding his voice.

"I'm Agravain, of course."

"That's impossible. Agravain can't be..."

"A robot?" Agravain finished for him. "Think about it. How else could I have kept track of everything you've done over a hundred million years? Even with an indestructible body, a normal human mind would break down. Memories would fade away. If I hadn't modified myself, how could I record all your weaknesses? And without knowing your weaknesses, how could I control you?"

He tapped the side of his metallic head. "Before gaining eternity a hundred million years ago, I used barbarian’s technology to change myself. I removed my human brain and replaced it with an artificial one. This way, nothing would ever be forgotten!"

"Human emotions get in the way of making the right choices. That's why when I rebuilt myself, I installed a basic logical framework that ensures I never make mistakes."

"And that framework," Bedivere asked, "it's the 'Empire,' isn't it?"

"Of course. I am the Empire's Apostle, with full authority to administer and command. How could I let the Empire fall? For the sake of the Empire's survival, even the Emperor had to be removed."

Bedivere stared at him, struggling to process everything. He had never imagined that Agravain would turn himself into a machine a hundred million years ago, all to make sure his strategies would always succeed and the Empire would continue.

"Enemies of the Empire, those who stand with Pan-Human History—this is where you end!" Agravain spread his arms wide. Suddenly, the ground split open beneath him. Countless steel tubes shot up from below and connected themselves to his body.

The ground began to shake violently.

"What's happening?" someone asked nervously.

There was a deafening boom as a massive steel arm erupted from the ground. It grabbed a handful of Heroic Spirits and squeezed. With a sickening crunch, they were instantly crushed, their remains quickly fading away.

"What is that thing?" Bedivere gasped, looking at Agravain in horror.

"After the Emperor unified the world, there were no threats left on this planet. Any enemies capable of destroying the Empire would come from space, so I created weapons specifically designed to fight space invaders. I never thought I'd use them against you, Bedivere!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the steel tubes pulled Agravain underground. A moment later, with an earth-shaking rumble, an enormous steel giant emerged from the ground.

"What is that thing?"

Everyone stared in amazement at the enormous steel giant, which looked like something from ancient mythology.

"This is my true form, Bedivere! The divine machine hidden beneath the old capital—the Guardian Machine God-Camelot!" Agravain's voice boomed from the head of the colossal structure.

"Th-this is too absurd!" someone cried out.

"Actually, it's not so strange," Tiamat said with a sigh. "These machine gods were quite common during our era. In fact, my true form is also this type of machine god. Though it seems this particular one has incorporated some of Tethys's technology."

"I should thank you for this creation, Bedivere," Agravain continued. "Remember a hundred million years ago when we were fighting the Giant Barbarians? You said how helpful it would be to have a giant ally of our own. You even drew up plans for it. I simply brought your design to life!"

Bedivere stared at the Machine God-Camelot, completely speechless.

Saber and Arthur looked at each other and saw the same determination in each other's eyes. Almost simultaneously, they drew their Holy Swords, activated their Noble Phantasm, and swung their weapons toward the massive machine.

There was a tremendous boom as both Excalibur beams struck the white body of the Machine God-Camelot. But instead of causing damage when they struck the Machine God-Camelot, its pristine surface rippled like liquid mercury before reflecting the energy back like a perfect mirror, the beams now tinged with an ominous blue light.

Saber and Arthur dove behind a fallen monolith as the redirected energy screamed overhead. Two distant mountains to the east crumbled in thunderous avalanches of rock and dust as the redirected beams hit them, sending massive clouds billowing into the sky that briefly blocked out the crimson sun.

…