IBHJ 1119

"Where do we sleep if there aren't any inns?"

"Just pick a spot and make yourself at home. Nobody minds."

"What about the guards?"

"Do guards in Camlann care? That sounds fun - I'll have to try it there." she grinned. "But don't worry. In other kingdoms, you can do whatever you want. I've even met kings who let their people chop off their heads for fun."

"That actually happens?"

"Well, how else would you have fun?" She said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

The empire's idea of pleasure was something he, as an outsider, could never truly understand.

A group of well-dressed soldiers formed ranks and marched toward the city gates.

"That's weird." she squinted at them. "Why are they suddenly gathering soldiers to leave the city? Maybe some wanted criminals showed up? This could be fun." She turned to Shirou. "Let's split up here - March is through the east gate, and I want to see what these guards are doing."

As she started to leave, he caught the edge of her cloak. "I'm coming too."

"What? Weren't you headed to Marco?"

"What kind of traveler would I be if I ignored something interesting?" He smiled. "Actually, I'm writing a poetry collection. I need to find interesting things for inspiration."

"A poet?" Her eyes widened. "I didn't think those still existed... Alright then, let's go together!"

She hopped on her staff, and he took his place behind her. His hands moved to hold her waist out of habit, but he quickly pulled back, remembering this wasn't his Artoria.

To his surprise, she grabbed his hands and put them back on her waist. "Better hold on tight!" Her voice bubbled with excitement. "I'm about to take off!"

He sat behind her on the staff, his arms around her waist. He caught a hint of her fresh scent and shifted back slightly, trying to keep proper distance.

Below them, the soldiers moved into the mining area in a wedge formation.

"This magical energy..." Shirou's brow furrowed. Even with the crown sealing his powers, he could feel waves of dense magical energy rising from the mines.

She twisted around to look at him. "You can sense magical energy?"

He nodded.

"The Empire has no leylines - magical energy shouldn't exist here." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "This must be a leyline from Pan-Human History that appeared when the Empire synchronized with it."

"A leyline from Pan-Human History?"

"Yes." she adjusted her grip on the staff. "After His Majesty synchronized the Empire with Pan-Human History, Heroic Spirits started appearing through these leylines. They've been attacking the Empire, so Capital ordered all Pan-Human History leylines to be sealed. I've seen many operations like this while traveling through other kingdoms - this is probably another one of those sealing operation."

As she finished speaking, the leyline under the mining area burst with light. The Servants appeared one after another, taking shape in the bright glow. Shirou looked at their faces and stopped when he saw him - Diarmuid, the one he had fought and beaten before.

"The Heroic Spirits are here - kill them!"

The soldiers ran forward with their weapons ready. They crashed into the Servants, and the sound of metal hitting metal filled the air as blood began to spread across the ground.

Watching the battle, Shirou finally understood.

The Empire's synchronization with Pan-Human History was like a virus, and now Pan-Human History was trying to protect itself. It was sending Heroic Spirits through the leylines to fight back. This explained why kings across the Empire were following orders to seal these leylines. It made sense now why King Leodegrance wasn't in his kingdom before - he was probably working with nearby countries to handle this problem.

But the Empire had planned for everything. They knew how Pan-Human History would react, how the leylines worked, and where the Heroic Spirits would show up. By the time any Heroic Spirits appeared, armies were already waiting to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

Shirou realized how lucky he had been. He had woken up to find naive Guinevere, who believed in him without question. And Xuanzang had survived because she was protected by a cosmic faction that even the Empire wouldn't challenge.

If things had been different, he might have ended up like Diarmuid and the others down there, surrounded and cut down by Imperial soldiers the moment he appeared.

The Heroic Spirits summoned through Pan-Human History's leylines were incredibly powerful. They had even more mana than they would in their normal forms, and they were using their Noble Phantasms over and over without holding back. But even with all that Ult spam, they couldn't break through the Imperial soldiers.

But it made sense, as enough ants could take down an elephant. The Imperial soldiers had endless numbers on their side, and they were beings from the Age of Gods. More than that, they had a special trait—they were eternally immortal and unchanging. Even a Grand Servant would run from them, since not even a Beast's Authority could affect their eternal state.

Though this seemed impossible to believe, Shirou could clearly sense that the Eternal Empire's immortality was something far beyond any type he had ever seen before. This wasn't just any form of immortality - even King Hassan himself would be unable to bring death to a single Imperial citizen.

These beings were evil spirits who had chosen to give up everything - their future, their past, even the ideas of life and death themselves - all to achieve an eternal existence in the physical world.

"Looks like the soldiers are handling this well." Artoria smiled. "But I think they could use some help."

She stretched out her hand, and in an instant, a small staff appeared in her palm. As she waved it through the air, mana poured out around them. The world itself began to change, like a Reality Marble taking shape, as the laws of reality bent to her will. The barren ground of the mining area changed before their eyes, suddenly covered in pure white flowers.

The flowers spread across the battlefield, and as they did, their protective glow fell over the Imperial soldiers, changing the very rules of reality around them.

When Diarmuid attacked, his Gáe Dearg glowing like a red star as he struck at one of the Imperial soldiers, there was a sharp metallic sound. White light suddenly appeared around the soldier, forming a barrier that stopped his weapon.

"Protection from Harm?" Diarmuid's expression hardened.

So that was it - instead of fighting directly, she had used her ability to cast Protection from Harm over the soldiers.

This protection didn't just remove harmful effects from everyone it touched - it also gave them something close to absolute defense. It was the strongest defense and the only one that could fully stop Noble Phantasms and abilities marked as [Evil].

She could make the spell even stronger if she used the Staff of Selection she was riding on, but that would make Shirou fall. Plus, this was enough for now. Most importantly, she didn't want to upset her personal chef and miss out on his cooking.

Shirou realized this as he looked at her small back. Everyone in the Eternal Empire knew about Pan-Human History—from the highest Apostles and kings down to regular people and soldiers. Artoria was no different, being an Avalon witch herself.

One day, he would have to fight against this Artoria. He fought for Human Order, against everything the Empire stood for. The smart move would be to strike now, before she discovered who he really was, since she was clearly a powerful support-type Caster.

For the sake of his world, he could justify doing something others might call despicable. But he pushed the thought away immediately.

Because the truth was simple - he couldn't beat her. She had already proven that when she defeated him so easily before.

And more than that...

Even though she was just another version of Artoria, when he saw her face and her smile, he knew he couldn't bring himself to do that. Not now, not like this.

But someday, that fight would come. He wouldn't be able to avoid it forever.