IBHJ 1180

"Until you step through that door, you can't defeat me."

"What did you say!?" Aife's eyes blazed with fury.

In that moment of rage, Scathach struck - her spear pierced through Aife's abdomen before the words had even faded. "Like this."

"You... coward!" she choked out through blood.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Scathach smiled before tossing her aside.

The Empire’s soldiers caught Aife and quickly retreated with her.

"Why did you let her go?" Cú Chulainn asked. "Mordred could have finished her if we'd captured her."

She turned to him with a knowing smile. One look was all it took for him to understand.

"Ah, so that's your game..." He shook his head with a grin. "You and Aife really are cut from the same cloth, teacher."

"Stop talking nonsense and go support Shirou."

"Shirou this, Shirou that - we're both your students, you know. Talk about playing favorites," he grumbled.

Scathach's smile turned sweet - too sweet. Cú Chulainn felt a chill run down his spine and quickly made himself scarce.

...

With the rainbow bridge destroyed, Shirou had Gaia and Ambrosius take Adam away to Tír na nÓg before he was attacked by the Emperor.

"Shirou, look out!" Altera's warning came just as he sensed Galahad appear behind him. His heart stopped, he'd left himself open to this ambush. But before Galahad could strike, a silver blur shot between them. Kama pushed Shirou away, taking the full force of Galahad's charge.

"Kama!" Shirou's surprise turned to rage as he gripped the Holy Lance. "Galahad!"

As Kama's brother, seeing her take that hit made his blood boil. Though she could handle being knocked back from Galahad's punch or two, the sight of her being attacked still filled him with rage. But as much as he wanted to check on her, his role as leader meant he had to focus on the bigger picture.

...

Just as he had predicted, Kama emerged from Galahad's attack largely unscathed. But as she moved to rejoin the fight, a blonde girl stepped into her path.

"Hello, Beast III."

"That presence..." Kama tensed, then caught herself. "Who are you?"

"My identity doesn't matter. Your life, however, does."

"An enemy, then." Kama's eyes narrowed and in the next moment her mud shot out, piercing through the blonde girl from behind.

Kama expected her strike to be fatal, but instead her mud simply disappeared, absorbed into the blonde girl's body.

"How—?"

"Don't worry, it'll be over quickly." Manaka smiled as she reached for Kama.

Kama lashed out instinctively, but as Beast III, she stood no chance against a natural enemy of Beasts. Manaka's hand closed around her throat and began draining her power.

Her strength was slipping away. No - worse. Manaka was stealing her love.

Kama clawed at Manaka's wrist, fighting desperately as everything that defined her began to fade - her love, her attachments, her devotion - all of it draining away piece by piece.

No... please, no!

She couldn't lose this. Not her love!

Tears spilled down her face.

In the chaos of battle, no one noticed their struggle. Then suddenly - BOOM! Manaka's body exploded, sending her flying back as blood sprayed from her mouth. Her skin cracked like pottery, black mud seeping out and taking the form of a mature goddess.

Manaka spat blood, glaring at the figure. "What are you doing, Tiamat?"

Tiamat answered with silence, raising her palm as divinity crackled around them.

Manaka's eyes went wide as she sensed the overwhelming threat.

"Mother?" Kama struggled to her feet, staring in disbelief. "I thought you were still in imaginary space..."

"Quiet, Sakura." Tiamat's sharp glance made Kama lower her head. "We still need to discuss how you made me worry."

"Mother?" Manaka's surprise turned to bitter understanding. "So that's it... you were using me all along."

Nine phantom stars flickered in Tiamat's palm as she looked at Manaka with a stern gaze. One thought was all it would take to destroy her.

When Kama called her mother, everything clicked. Manaka's voice turned bitter. "You weren't helping me, you were using me all along. The UOs could have found me anytime, couldn't they? But you had an agreement with them. That you'd be the one to finish me." She let out a hollow laugh. "No need to keep pretending. I can sense Saturn's power in you now."

"Yes." Tiamat's response was simple.

"Then do it. I can't fight back anymore." Manaka's shoulders slumped. "Once I'm gone, the powers of Beast I, Beast II, and half of Demonic Bodhisattva's Beast III will return where they belong. Under the Emperor's eternal rule, even the Lord of Salvation would struggle to create new Beasts."

Manaka closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

"Go." Tiamat lowered her hand and turned away. "Don't try anything. We both know you can't defeat me now."

"Why?" Manaka's eyes opened, confusion in her voice.

"For a moment... I saw Sakura in you. That same lonely, helpless child. If I'd found you back then, maybe I would have chosen your side. But love..." Tiamat's voice softened. "Love is selfish."

Manaka fell silent.

She got to her feet, glancing at weakened Kama in the distance. "The Lord of Salvation won't let her go. She's still a Beast."

"But you can let her go." Tiamat turned to her with a weary sigh. "Give up this path, Manaka. Even if you gathered all seven Beasts, you couldn't defeat the Lord of Salvation. Only Akasha's Arrow has that power."

"But Akasha's Arrow can only drive him away, not destroy him." Manaka said, "You know why I listened to Gaia and freed Fujimaru Shirou from the dimensional prison? Because we needed another path. If I fail, there's still his journey toward Akasha's Arrow. And if he fails, there's my path toward the Lord of Salvation. This was Gaia's backup plan and Shirou knew it. That's why he let me go at the South American connection point. Even he wasn't certain his Vortex could destroy the Lord of Salvation."

"You won't win."

"...But I have to try." Manaka gave a pained smile as she staggered away, clutching her chest.

…

Tiamat turned her stern gaze to Kama.

"Mother, I..."

"I don't have a child who ignores my advice and chooses to become a Beast! Who even steals my mud to do it!"

Kama's head dropped, the weight of disappointing Tiamat too heavy to bear. Her knees began to buckle, but before she could collapse, warm arms enveloped her.

"But I suppose... forgiving a stubborn daughter is what mothers do. Just this once, Sakura, I'll overlook it."

"Mother—" Kama hugged Tiamat tightly and started crying.

In her desperation to love others, she'd forgotten something important - there were people who loved her too.

Demonic Bodhisattva knocked away Gilgamesh's golden swords, then spotted Manaka limping away in the distance and was shocked. "Impossible! How is she still alive?"

She spun around to chase after her.

"Wait, other me—" Kiara called out.

"Shut up! I don't have time to play house with you!" she hurled a golden wheel at Kiara and kept running.

As she ran, she bit her fingernails. "I put Uranus's infected eye inside the half of Beast III that she had absorbed. The UOs should have sensed it and killed her right away! So how is she still breathing?!"

"Damn it all! I've worked tirelessly behind their backs, carefully orchestrating everything between Chaldea, the Council, the Empire, and countless worlds to reach this point! And they just... What are those UOs thinking?"

She clenched her fists. "The Emperor already took care of Shiki Ryougi, the third vessel. And the second vessel's vortex is unique - as long as it avoids contact with any Beast, it won't deteriorate. But this first vessel... she's the real problem! If that monstrous Princess wakes up..." She bit her lip. "What game are the UOs playing? If they had just eliminated this first vessel, the Lord of Salvation would be trapped yet again for this and the next generation. We could have bought time to formulate a proper strategy against him, damn it!"

She gave up trying to understand the UOs' motives. But one thing was clear, in the world she meant to create, Manaka had to die.