IBHJ 1167

After closing the communication screen, Agravain turned and walked toward the palace, reporting everything that had happened at Tír na nÓg to the empty throne.

Though no one sat there, Agravain knew the Emperor was listening.

"Please don't worry, Your Majesty. As long as I, Agravain, draw breath, no one will threaten the Empire's safety! Sir Galahad and the others will surely bring you victory." He kept his head bowed as he spoke to the throne.

"Such dismissal of Heroic Spirits will only lead to your downfall, Sir Agravain."

A sweet, coquettish voice suddenly filled the empty palace. He turned to see a captivating woman walking toward him, wearing a smile that was both motherly and wicked.

Agravain's brow creased. "You're... the Beast who gave His Majesty the Holy Grail. Kiara Sessyoin?"

"That's right." Demonic Bodhisattva smiled, then turned to the empty throne with its golden crown and bowed gracefully. "I've returned, Your Majesty."

He glanced at the silent throne, then turned back to Demonic Bodhisattva with a frown. "As a member of the Council who was spared by His Majesty, what is your purpose in returning here?"

"No need to be so suspicious, Sir Agravain. Thanks to His Majesty, I'm finally free from my cage. I'm here to complete the task His Majesty assigned to me."

"A task... from His Majesty?" he frowned and glanced at the empty throne again. This was the first he'd heard about this.

She smiled and pulled out a glowing crystal from within her robes.

If Arcueid, Gaia, or Shirou were here, they would have recognized it immediately, it was the Moon Cell's Core!

But that didn't make sense. The Moon Cell Core from Pan Human History had been destroyed in the battle against Uranus. So where did this one come from?

"Your Majesty, I've recorded every possibility of the Vessel in the Core you gave me. Everything you wanted to know about the Vessel's potential and the Vortex's reach—all my observations are right here."

She held up the Core.

At that moment, it felt as if some incomprehensible higher-dimensional gaze pierced through reality itself to examine the Core. The Core suddenly lit up, projecting countless scenes into the air.

Agravain watched the scenes with narrowed eyes. He saw Demonic Bodhisattva being pierced by a Spear of Endless Light, a massive fire giant getting blown away by a Holy Lance...

While he couldn't make sense of these scenes, he noticed something peculiar—apart from a girl who turned into a black vortex, every scene centered around the same man.

That man was...

"...Fujimaru Shirou?" Agravain couldn't hide his surprise.

He knew that face, it belonged to Fujimaru Shirou, the man currently leading Pan Human History's rebels against the Empire. Their greatest enemy!

"Oh? Even you know about Mr. Shirou, Sir Agravain? He must have been busy while I was away. How impressive." Her smile widened.

Agravain's frown deepened. This wasn't part of his calculations. It seemed His Majesty had been making other plans beyond just preparing the Empire to invade Pan Human History.

"Allow me to explain, Your Majesty." she gave a small bow and waved her hand, bringing up a scene of Shirou defeating her.

"This is from the Holy Grail War at the Romanian connection point and, as you ordered, my first encounter with Eternal King. As you can see, I fell to Eternal King's spear. But in terms of raw power, he was only as strong as a Grand Servant, not enough to pose a threat to me, let alone to you."

"But you already knew that, didn't you? After all, it was your voice guiding Shirou Amakusa Tokisada in soul materialization. It was all just a test run, an experiment to see if you could eventually give the Empire's eternity to every world in the universe, blessing them with an endless [Present]."

"What I don't understand is... if you had already guided Shirou Amakusa Tokisada that far, why did you then lead Jeanne and Adam to stop him? Was the soul materialization experiment a failure? Ah, forgive me, Your Majesty—I'm prying into matters that don't concern me." she smiled and brought up another scene.

It showed a man stopping a falling planet.

"This is another version of Eternal King’s vessel, which I call the ‘Emperor of the Moon’. Here, he was fighting against Crimson Moon."

"This Heroic Spirit..." he stared at the man in surprise. "He looks a bit like Sir Galahad."

"Good eye, Sir Agravain." she smiled and pointed at the man. "This Heroic Spirit was created by Eternal King using the Moon's authority to compensate for the vessel's defects. He has UO's traits, or as we call it in the Empire, Galahad's traits. He's stronger than any Grand Servant and poses a serious threat to us Beasts."

"That's just a cheap copy of Sir Galahad," he said.

"That's why what comes next is the most important." Her face turned serious as she showed another scene—this one from the Past Plane, showing Eternal Emperor killing a Beast, with Manaka emerging from its remains.

"What... what is this?" he stared in surprise at the scene before him.

"These are the last two vessels of the Vortex—Eternal Emperor and Manaka."

"Vessels of the Vortex..." his eyes narrowed as something clicked. "Are you saying these two are the same as the Chairman?"

"Exactly." She nodded with a smile before turning to the throne. "This is what Your Majesty wanted to see. This is why I warned you not to underestimate Pan Human History's Heroic Spirits, Sir Agravain."

Agravain broke out in cold sweat. He never would have guessed that Pan Human History had such frightening beings as the Eternal Emperor and Manaka.

"But if Fujimaru Shirou has that kind of power—if he can even kill eternity itself—how did we manage to take him hostage?"

"Because that was a special Heroic Spirit. Something must have stopped Eternal Emperor from manifesting. After all, you guys aren't the only ones with some schemes in mind."

"Then who else?" he demanded.

But she just smiled without answering. As she turned to address the empty throne, her expression suddenly changed.

Strange markings appeared on her skin, and black mist—like death itself—started pouring from every pore of her body. The mist moved like hands reaching up from the abyss, easily binding Demonic Bodhisattva in place.

"This... this is—" Fear flashed in her eyes. "Master?"

Black mist poured endlessly from Demonic Bodhisattva's body, swirling together into a massive vortex. Deep within its dark depths, a single eye gazed down at everyone in the Imperial Palace.

The pressure was overwhelming.

Crushing.

—You will all become [Me].

Somehow, this thought arose in everyone's minds.

The urge to merge, to let go of self, to surrender individuality, to return to the beginning of all things.

The golden crown on the throne began to shine brilliantly, as if countless voices were softly singing, welcoming a holy presence.

Hum Hum Hum

The golden crown shook violently before bursting into a beam of blinding light, shooting straight at the black vortex.

In that moment, everything exploded.

White light and black mist split the world in two.