IBHJ 1133

Before Abigail could process what was happening, Mordred yanked her away from Shirou and pulled her into the portal. They both tumbled out nearby, landing in an ungraceful heap.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Mordred grinned, pinning Abigail down with one hand while the other found its way to her armpit. "Ready to behave?"

"Hahaha... okay, okay... I give up!" Abigail squealed between fits of laughter, tears forming in her eyes as she squirmed helplessly under Mordred's tickles.

Goetia watched the scene unfold with surprise. "Kama, I've never seen Abigail laugh like this before," he said, turning to his companion.

"How should I know?" Kama looked away, fighting back a pout.

"Take it easy, you two," Shirou called out to the girls before turning to face Bedivere with a polite smile. "Thank you for your help, Sir Bedivere."

"Please, no need for such formality," Bedivere replied with a smile. "In Pan-Human History, I served under you, Eternal King. We needn't stand on ceremony."

"I'll be direct - you're the one who told me about March and delayed the Imperial Armor launch at Tintagel, weren't you, Sir Bedivere?"

"Indeed, it was all my doing," Bedivere nodded. "I oversee Imperial Armor deployment and resource distribution. No one else could have interfered with their launch."

Understanding dawned in Goetia and Kama's eyes. This explained the Imperial Armor's delayed arrival at Tintagel - the person in charge of deployment had been working against the empire all along.

"Then, Sir Bedivere, if you'll pardon my bluntness," Shirou continued, "why would an Apostle of the Eternal Empire choose to betray the empire? Why help the Council and me, a Heroic Spirit from Pan-Human History?"

The question hung heavy in the air. The Emperor commanded absolute loyalty throughout the Eternal Empire - after all, he was the one who had granted his people eternal life. From the reclusive Guinevere to fellow Apostles Morgan and Ector, everyone's words and actions reflected their deep respect and devotion to him. Their loyalty would rate ninety-nine out of a hundred, if not perfect. So what made Bedivere turn against him?

At Shirou's words, everyone looked at Bedivere - Kama, Goetia, and even Mordred and Abigail stopped playing to listen. The room grew quiet as they waited for his answer.

"I have never turned against the Empire or His Majesty," Bedivere said with a slight smile.

"Then why?"

Bedivere's expression turned grave. "Because I'm sure that whatever being now occupies the imperial capital and sits on the throne is not the Emperor we swore our allegiance to!"

His words left the group confused as they looked at each other.

"What makes you think that?" Shirou asked.

"Because..." Bedivere paused, his voice filled with conviction when he continued, "the Emperor would never invade Pan-Human History. Never."

"Wouldn't invade Pan-Human History?"

"Yes! Actually... I only learned about Pan-Human History and connection points after the Council invaded the Empire. Through contact with Tír na nÓg, I came to understand how our Eternal Empire came to be... But His Majesty knew this all along - you can tell from how he wrote 'The Tale of the Holy Sword'!"

"But now he and the Eternal Empire are invading."

"Yes," Bedivere nodded, "That's because His Majesty changed after meeting that person."

"That person?"

"Yes," Bedivere nodded, looking toward Kama and Goetia. "This was before the Council invaded our Empire. Someone from Pan-Human History came to our Empire and showed something to His Majesty. That thing was the true cause of His Majesty's dramatic change in personality."

"What was it?"

"—The Holy Grail!"

Mordred's expression changed instantly.

She had always been sensitive about two things: what happened to her kingdom, and anything to do with the Holy Grail.

Shirou glanced at Mordred's expression, then turned to Bedivere with a frown. "This Holy Grail..."

"The true Holy Grail." It was Ambrosius who answered, not Bedivere. "The same one Mordred took from me."

"But that Holy Grail..."

"Yes. The Holy Spirit's blood inside it created His Majesty's world and the Eternal Empire through Mordred's wish. The Grail's shell went from Mordred to King Galahad, then to Zeus, made its way back to Pan-Human History, and finally returned to His Majesty."

"But Merlin," Shirou looked at him. "Wasn't that Holy Grail - or at least its shell - supposed to be under your and King Solomon's protection?"

"It was. After the invasion, we received the Holy Grail shell from Fuyuki and gave it to King Solomon who had the Holy Spirit's blessing. But it disappeared before the Fifth Holy Grail War - the one that started when the Ainsworth Holy Grail War ritual spread to Pan-Human History."

Merlin paused before adding, "We thought the Holy Spirit had taken it back. But now it looks like someone stole it from King Solomon and brought it to the Eternal Empire to give to the Emperor."

Kama frowned. "...At that point in Pan-Human History's timeline, Gaia hadn't been attacked by the other UOs yet... and Goetia, you weren't born then, right?"

Goetia nodded. "I was created during the Fifth Holy Grail War, when Solomon met Chairman and lost to him. Chairman then used Solomon's Noble Phantasm to create me."

"I was there too at the time..." Kama touched her chin, suddenly catching herself. She glanced at Shirou. "I mean, that's when Fujimaru Sakura synced with my spirit, becoming who I am now and joining the Council."

"..."

Shirou looked at Kama with a blank expression - Really? Fine, have it your way. I'll pretend I haven't figured it out yet.

"So that person reached the Eternal Empire before the Council and gave the Holy Grail to the Emperor?" he asked Bedivere.

"Yes," Bedivere nodded. "After that, His Majesty became like a different person. He grew aggressive and used Tír na nÓg's technology and the Holy Spirit's power to create invasion weapons based on the Olympian gods. That's what this Imperial Armor I'm wearing is."

Bedivere glanced at Goetia and Kama. "By the time the Imperial Armor was finished, the Council had invaded our Eternal Empire. His Majesty could have crushed the Council with his own power, but he let it happen just to test how well the Imperial Armor worked."

"And it went exactly as His Majesty expected. The Council helped us find all the flaws in the Imperial Armor. Once we fixed those, the Council had served its purpose and wasn't needed anymore."

Goetia: "..."

Kama: "..."

"So you're telling me the Imperial Armor was never meant to defend the empire - it was built for invasion from the start?" Mordred stood up from beside Abigail and looked at Bedivere with a frown.

"Yes." he nodded.

"But who gave the Holy Grail to the Emperor?" Shirou frowned. If what Bedivere said was true, the Eternal Empire might be hiding something much darker. His gut told him it probably had something to do with the Lord of Salvation.

"I don't know," Bedivere shook his head.

"Can you describe what they looked like?"

"Let's see..."

Bedivere thought for a moment. "It was a woman wearing this strange headpiece that looked like large bull horns. She had three red marks between her eyebrows... Oh, and like this monk here, she had this Buddhist presence about her."

"Me?" Xuanzang pointed at herself in surprise.

"From that description..."

Shirou and Mordred exchanged looks, while Abigail, Kama, Goetia, and the other Council leaders all seemed to realize something.

"Kiara Sessyoin?"

"Demonic Bodhisattva?"

"The Ninth Seat?"

Bedivere's words hit Shirou hard.

If Bedivere was describing this right, it had to be Demonic Bodhisattva.

"You know who it is?" Bedivere asked, looking confused.

"No... we can't be completely sure it's her..." Shirou shook his head.

Looking at the timing, this happened before Shirou was called to the Romanian connection point. If it really was Demonic Bodhisattva, she must have been moving between Pan-Human History and the Eternal Empire even before going to Romania.

But if she was behind this, wasn't she supposed to be dead? At the South American connection point, Manaka had beaten her and taken her Beast Authority.

Could it mean...

She was still out there?

The thought made his blood run cold.

"After His Majesty obtained the Holy Grail, someone called the Sixth Seat showed up from the Council. Then I saw something that made me join Hope..."

"What did you see?"

"I saw..." Bedivere lowered his head, his expression darkening, "His Majesty... eat the Sixth Seat."

"Eat?"

"Yes, literally ate him... First the right arm, then the left... Tore the body into seventeen pieces and ate... ate all of it."

"After that, we never saw His Majesty again. Strange, isn't it? We all knew His Majesty was there, that he existed, but the throne was empty. I'm completely sure... His Majesty was gone, replaced by some demon wearing his face and using his power to control the empire. That's why I joined Hope."

"Joined Hope... isn't that your code name?" Kama asked.

"No." He shook his head. "Hope is a secret group. It's made up of Apostles like me who know His Majesty isn't himself anymore. We want to save the real Emperor! We don't want to invade Pan-Human History - we just want to get His Majesty away from whatever's controlling him and put the empire back on the right track!"

"So—" Bedivere bowed deeply to everyone. "Please, help us. We need your strength."