IBHJ 1172

"Have faith!" Richard the Lionheart spun around, flashing them all a bright, earnest smile. "Eternal King will help us take back our history. After all, he is the Eternal King!"

The other kings stared at Richard with very strange looks.

This guy— Was he really a king? He seemed more like... Eternal King's fanboy?

But Richard didn't notice their skeptical stares at all, just happily trailing behind Shirou with a big grin on his face.

That only made the others stare even harder.

As they walked, Shirou introduced the kings to Bedivere of the Eternal Empire.

"Hope? You mean he's on our side?" someone asked in surprise.

"Our informant?" another wondered aloud.

"So this is... Bedivere?" Gilgamesh studied the Apostle's face with a complicated expression.

Everyone started to warm up to Bedivere as Shirou made the introductions. Some even felt drawn to him, wanting to get to know him better.

But as soon as they entered the temple, Bedivere's words stopped them cold: "People of Pan-Human History, please don't make yourselves enemies of the Empire!"

A leaf drifted down from above.

Rustle, rustle.

The silence was deafening - broken only by falling leaves.

...

"Gah!"

A bolt of divine lightning struck, and Scathach couldn't block it in time. She went flying. Before she could even get back on her feet, she found Gungnir's tip at her throat.

She let out a sigh and raised her hands. "I give up."

Skadi pulled back Gungnir and offered her hand with a smile. "If you hadn't let me use my Divinity and Runes of Wisdom, I wouldn't have stood a chance against you."

"In a duel, you go all out or not at all. A loss is a loss." Scathach took Skadi's hand and got up, then leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

"Oh! That's..." Skadi's face turned bright red. "That's not why I came up here!"

"Then why did you?" Scathach asked innocently.

"That- that's because you called me up here!"

Scathach shook her head. "You have the power to beat me, the courage to stand before others - so why can't you find the courage to face Shirou? To face yourself?"

Skadi froze.

Scathach turned to the crowd with a smile and called out: "Everyone, I've lost! The winner of this match is the Supreme Goddess of the Nordic Connection Point - Lady Skadi!"

"Ohhhhh!"

The Heroic Spirits erupted in cheers: "Lady Skadi!"

How was someone as straightforward as Skadi supposed to handle this?

Her embarrassment hit maximum levels!

Skadi's face went bright red, steam practically rising from her head, as she ducked down like an ostrich searching for a hole to hide in.

"Come on, warriors! Give it up for Lady Skadi!" Scathach pumped her fist in the air.

The Heroic Spirits roared.

"Lady Skadi!"

"Lady Skadi!"

"Lady Skadi!"

"Aaaaah! Scathach! Stop it!” Skadi grabbed her dress with one hand and Gungnir with the other, chasing after Scathach in embarassment.

Scathach took off running with a broad smile on her face.

Now she finally understood why Arcueid was always in such high spirits.

"Are we sure this old lady isn't actually an imposter?" Cu Chulainn muttered to himself.

The Heroic Spirits burst out laughing.

Even the usually stone-faced Counter Guardians couldn't help cracking small smiles.

The whole scene was filled with pure joy.

…

In the temple...

"The Empire doesn't really want to invade Pan-Human History - they're being manipulated. Even His Majesty the Emperor has disappeared. Whoever sits on the imperial throne now isn't the real Emperor. So please, everyone from Pan-Human History, don't make enemies of the Empire. If only we could find the real Emperor—"

"Hmph boring," Gilgamesh cut him off with a sneer.

He turned to leave, ignoring Enkidu's attempts to stop him.

"Sorry about that, Gil is not very patient. Really sorry." Enkidu apologized twice before hurrying after him.

"O Apostle of the Empire, this King has no interest in such childish games." Ozymandias walked out.

"Once war breaks out, the reason hardly matters anymore, it's never that simple to fix, young Apostle. Though I hope we can share a drink someday! Hahaha—" Iskandar laughed as he too made his exit.

One by one, the other strong-willed kings left the temple.

"Why..." Bedivere hung his head, stung by their response.

He hadn't even finished speaking, but they'd already walked out. Because they all understood what he was trying to say - and they'd already made up their minds.

Everything had... Slipped completely out of Bedivere's hands.

The Emperor's change had split the Apostles into two camps - one following Agravain, and the underground alliance called Hope, led by people like Bedivere.

Bedivere chose to help the Council and Shirou because of his own sense of justice and loyalty. The solution he and the Hope alliance had come up with was simple: find the real Emperor, and everything would go back to how it was meant to be.

Pan-Human History would remain Pan-Human History, and the Eternal Empire would stay the Eternal Empire.

His betrayals, his actions - they were all based on having unbreakable eternity to back him up. But when Mordred killed Ector, everything changed. His entire worldview and resolve crumbled.

Things had... Spun beyond not just Bedivere's control, but beyond anything the Hope alliance could have imagined.

Pan-Human History now had its stronghold, building an army of Heroic Spirits, and even the power to kill eternity itself. They finally had a real chance of overthrowing the Empire.

At this crucial moment, Bedivere still clung to his loyalty and his beliefs, even as he feared the price of holding so tightly to them.

"Eternal King..." Bedivere looked at Shirou with desperate hope, like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline.

Shirou stayed quiet for a moment, let out a quiet sigh, and stepped forward. "Bedivere..."

"—That is impossible!" A strong, firm voice suddenly rang out, rejecting Bedivere before Shirou could speak.

Shirou and the others turned to see Mordred standing in the temple doorway, staring hard at Bedivere.

"King Mordred..."

Bedivere looked at Mordred's sudden appearance, and she met his gaze with determination. "My sword is ready to cut down anyone from the Empire—civilians, Apostles, the Emperor... even you, Bedivere! You now have two choices: either fight with us to the end, or like Ector, die by my blade!"

Bedivere could only stare in shock at Mordred, whose blue eyes blazed with pure killing intent.

"I'll be waiting for Hope's answer." she turned and walked away.

One by one, the remaining kings followed, leaving the temple behind.

As everyone filed out, Bedivere turned his pleading eyes to him. "Eternal King..."

"I'm sorry, Bedivere. But this is the one thing I can't help you with." Shirou gave him an apologetic look before turning away.

He could have lied, could have hidden the truth, but Mordred's words made things clear - they might have to be cold, might have to be cruel, might even have to kill the wavering Bedivere despite all his help. But... At least they wouldn't deceive him. They wouldn't lie to someone who'd helped them.

Watching Shirou leave, the light faded from Bedivere's eyes.

"Sir Bedivere... ah, sorry. I shouldn't call you 'Sir' anymore." Arthur rubbed the back of his neck.

"And you are?"

"I'm King Arthur - you could say I'm a parallel version of Eternal King."

"You're... Arthur too? Are you also going to reject me?" Bedivere asked.

"Yes." Arthur nodded. "No one will stand with you on this, not me, not even Eternal King. But I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Are you fighting for the Eternal Empire, or for the Emperor?"

Bedivere looked confused. "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is," Arthur said. "If someday you had to choose between the Emperor and the Eternal Empire, which would it be?"

"That's obviously—"

"Don't answer too quickly, Bedivere." Arthur gave him a gentle smile. "Between my country and the person I loved, between the world and the one who loved me... I made my choice, and I still believe it was right. But sometimes I wonder if things might have ended differently had I chosen another path. You still have that choice ahead of you. So take your time, calm your heart, and think carefully. What you want to protect, what you're really fighting for - what is it, truly?"

Arthur knew these words would shake Bedivere's resolve, maybe even make him switch sides. But he had to say them - because he saw in Bedivere the same confusion he'd felt when he first heard about his Mordred's rebellion, and when Manaka Sajyou summoned the Beast in the name of love...

Lost and unsure.

So he had to say it, and above all, he couldn't lie to Bedivere.

That was what it meant to be a knight.