IBHJ 1261

"I appreciate that, Arcueid. But it's too dangerous here. You should go with Manaka—"

Artoria stopped mid-sentence, her expression suddenly changing. "She's back!"

"I'll stop her!" Arcueid stepped toward the gate. Even though she didn't fully understand what was happening or sense Gaia's presence, she was determined to help Artoria.

"Arcueid..." Artoria turned to Manaka. "There's no other option. Manaka, please take the Knights of the Round Table that child excavated from the Throne and leave this place. Arcueid and I will hold her back as long as we can..."

With that, the two rushed toward the gate. Shortly after they reached it, an overwhelmingly terrifying presence began pouring through from the other side—like some ancient, furious beast slowly approaching.

She was coming.

A flash of white light appeared, and suddenly a humanoid figure stood at the gate. Arcueid attacked instinctively, her fist clenched with enough power to topple continents. The force of her strike was so intense that the space around them began to warp.

But the Incarnation caught Arcueid's fist with one hand, as effortlessly as an eagle might snatch a chick. Then she tightened her grip slightly.

"Crack."

The sound of Arcueid's bones breaking was sharp and horrifying.

"It... hurts..." Arcueid whimpered, tears streaming down her face from the pain. She tried to pull away, but couldn't free her hand from the Incarnation grip.

The Incarnation heard her cry and looked closer, recognizing who had just attacked her. Her cold expression softened slightly as she let go of Arcueid's hand.

Arcueid quickly pulled her injured hand away and retreated several steps. She cradled it gently while catching her breath, looking like a child who had just touched something scalding hot.

"So... you've come back," Artoria said awkwardly.

The Incarnation nodded, then carefully surveyed the Eternal Coffins. As she noted the disarray and counted what remained, she realized hundreds were missing. Her face immediately darkened with rage. "Animanphis, Akham, Dresa... one hundred and seventy-three Eternal Coffins and soul records are gone. What did you do?"

"Well..." Artoria noticed that Manaka had successfully escaped and felt a wave of relief, but she wasn't sure how to respond to the Incarnation's question.

After a moment, she decided to tell the truth. "After you left, someone broke in.

The Incarnation's expression grew even darker. With a simple wave of her hand, she reversed the space around them.

Artoria watched as their surroundings shifted in light and shadow, revealing ghostly images of the Beast and Manaka. The past events began playing out before the Incarnation like a recording.

Clearly, she had managed to turn back the flow of time in this area, allowing her to witness everything that had happened while she was gone.

But that was all she could do. She couldn't recover the missing soul records from the river of causality because they had already been consumed by the Beast of Revelation.

Artoria also noticed something in the ghostly images that she hadn't known before—Manaka had specifically stolen Morrigan's Eternal Coffin. It seemed Manaka had actually intended to take all of the sealed Round knights, but the Incarnation had returned too quickly. With no time to spare, Manaka had only grabbed Morrigan before escaping through the [Root] pathway.

"What? That creature should have been destroyed by me!" The Incarnation's face darkened with fury. "And that fake dared to steal Morgan's Eternal Coffin... This is unforgivable! I will reduce her to dust!"

She whirled around, radiating murderous intent and ready to rush out in pursuit of the intruders. Before she could leave, Artoria called out—

"Wait! If you go after them and they return while you're gone, what then? You're the Counter Force of the kingdom, aren't you?"

The Incarnation stopped and turned back, her intense gaze locked on Artoria. "You would use that to keep me here? Don't pretend I don't know that you, just like the Eternal King, have already betrayed me in your heart!"

"I haven't betrayed the kingdom," she responded firmly. "I simply don't agree with your methods. If I had truly betrayed you, I wouldn't still be here."

The Incarnation looked at her with an intense stare, but Artoria met her gaze openly without flinching. She had nothing to hide or regret. In fact, as she looked at the Incarnation, she saw a reflection of herself from the Fourth Holy Grail War—someone who had given up on herself.

The Incarnation had to admit that Artoria's warning made sense. She was both the Counter Force of the Eternal Kingdom and the Emperor of the Eternal Empire. The Eternal Coffins held all the citizens of both realms—essentially the cells that made up her very existence as a Counter Force.

Artoria was right—if she rashly left the Palace again, their enemies might return and consume all the remaining soul records. If that happened, how could she ever hope to restore the Eternal Kingdom?

Can a country without people still be called a country at all?

After careful thought, the Incarnation pushed down the rage that had nearly consumed her. She took a breath, composed herself, and turned to both women.

"You should return to the Eternal Coffins now," she said quietly.

Artoria closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "I understand..."

Before she could finish, Arcueid cut in with an annoyed expression. "Why?"

Artoria was caught off guard, and the Incarnation frowned. "Are you questioning me?"

"Of course I am. Why should I have to lie in those coffins like a dead person?" Arcueid pointed at the Eternal Coffins with obvious disgust.

"I am the Counter Force of the Eternal Kingdom, the collective consciousness that ensures the survival of all citizens of the Eternal Kingdom. Therefore—"

"That's complete nonsense!" Arcueid interrupted angrily. "I've never even heard of this Eternal Kingdom Counter Force! And even if you are the Counter Force, what gives you the right? I became a Knight of the Round because I thought it would be fun. But how can I have any fun locked inside a coffin? I refuse to go in there!"

"This..." The Incarnation was at a loss for words, completely stunned by Arcueid's outburst.

Childish as it seemed, Arcueid had a point. The Counter Force exists to protect the whole, but that doesn't mean the individuals being protected must blindly obey the collective consciousness. If that were true, what would happen to human free will?

"Give me back my freedom!" Arcueid shouted like a revolutionary demanding the end of tyranny.

Artoria stared at Arcueid in amazement. When did she develop such bold ideas? And hadn't she noticed the massive power difference between herself and the Incarnation?

What she didn't realize was that Arcueid had always been simply Arcueid—unchanging and never growing. She was stubborn and playful by nature, like a wild cat. And if there's one thing wild cats hate more than anything, it's having their freedom restricted.

The Incarnation looked at Arcueid with a hint of helplessness. She had never encountered someone quite like her before.

Most people in the world eventually bow to power—even someone as exceptional as Manaka followed this pattern. Unfortunately for the Incarnation, Arcueid didn't think like them.

"Give me back my freedom!"