IBHJ 1112

"Abby!" Xuanzang caught Abigail as she swayed.

"I'm okay." Abigail's voice trembled. Her face was ghostly white. "We need to keep going. While Goetia distracts the Apostles, we can use the gate to slip past the city's barrier."

Xuanzang shook her head. "No."

"What do you mean, no? This is our best chance to get away..." Abigail's words trailed off as her legs gave out. Before she could hit the ground, Xuanzang caught her.

The world began to swim before Abigail's eyes. Her thoughts grew foggy as understanding dawned on her—ever since the crown had been placed on her head, everything granted to her by the Outer God was fading away. She was returning to what she truly was: just a little girl, the same helpless child who had stood before her accusers during the witch trials.

She was attempting something impossible - using a mere human girl's existence to channel the Pure Land's Buddhist nature and maintain the gate. If she hadn't previously been touched by the outer god, if the outer god hadn't granted her their favor, her body would have given out long ago.

The Bodhi enlightenment existed on a plane far beyond human comprehension. Though Abigail had managed to hold on this long, repeatedly opening the gate had pushed her fragile body past its breaking point. Darkness crept into the edges of her vision.

No, not yet... just a little longer...

Her thoughts began to scatter. I have to keep going... if I can't do this, I'm worthless... they'll abandon me... please, I can still...

Abigail slumped forward as consciousness finally slipped away from her. Shirou caught her gently, carefully lifting her onto his back.

"You've done more than enough, Abby," he whispered, adjusting her weight against his shoulders. "Rest now."

He turned to Xuanzang. "Master Xuanzang, we need to get out of here."

"But how?" Xuanzang's eyes darted around anxiously. "Where can we possibly go?"

"Just follow me." He secured his grip on Abigail and broke into a run.

Xuanzang stood frozen for a moment, then hurried after them.

Under normal circumstances, soldiers would have surrounded and killed them the moment Abigail transported them outside. But Goetia's surprise attack had changed everything. Though the city had raised its barrier, that first devastating wave had wiped out most of their forces, giving Shirou's group a chance to escape.

They just had to move quickly, before the soldiers could revive.

Getting out of Tintagel would have been impossible for Xuanzang on her own. Even with three days of clear roads and no pursuit, she would have been trapped within the city's maze-like streets. As an outsider, she had no hope of finding her way through.

But Shirou was different.

No one knew Tintagel better than him. Though this wasn't his Britain, though there was no Sword in the Stone or Ector's estate here, the city's layout matched his memories perfectly. Every street, every corner, every winding path was exactly as he remembered.

"The time of birth has come! Let all things be destroyed!"

A deep male voice thundered from above the clouds. The halo encircling Tintagel compressed into a single point of light. With a deafening blast, a massive beam like divine judgment pierced through the sky, striking Tintagel's protective barrier.

Cracks spread across the barrier's surface. Within seconds, the supposedly unbreakable defense shattered like glass.

Shirou watched the barrier crumble, raising an eyebrow. "As expected of Goetia."

The Empire's power was obvious from the crown they had used to seal Abigail. Now Goetia had launched a direct attack on Tintagel and shattered its barrier.

They couldn't waste this chance.

Shirou's eyes sharpened as he carried Abigail, running with Xuanzang to escape the city. Goetia's first attack had caught Tintagel completely unprepared - now the streets were covered in crushed flesh and splintered bones, with ruins and debris scattered among the carnage.

The Empire had placed troops here and sent both Apostle Pendragon and Ector, clearly expecting someone to try saving Abigail. But they hadn't prepared for Goetia's massive bombing. This wasn't just an attack - it was complete destruction, and it had cleared Shirou's way out.

However, after they had only taken a few steps, the scattered debris around them began to vibrate strangely. Like time flowing in reverse, the ruins started rebuilding themselves piece by piece.

But that wasn't the most terrifying part. The blood and fragments of flesh strewn across the ground began shouting as they saw Shirou running past:

"They're here!"

"The prisoners are here!"

"They're trying to escape!"

"Give it up, no one will be able to escape the Eternal Empire!"

The sight turned Xuanzang pale with terror, and she started frantically reciting Buddhist sutras. Too frightening! This was like something straight out of the eighteenth level of hell!

Eternal Empire? Shirou narrowed his eyes at the mention of that name, but he ignored the continued shouts from the scattered flesh and blood. Still, the Empire was living up to its name - everything within its borders, both people and objects, truly were eternal. Even when struck by Goetia's light, a force powerful enough to destroy matter at the atomic level, they hadn't died. They were simply regenerating.

Immortal and indestructible!

Gradually, more and more soldiers began to recover, picking up their fallen weapons and joining the pursuit of Shirou.

This won't work.

Shirou knew with absolute clarity that this wouldn't work.

No one would be able to escape like this.

He ducked into a corner and carefully passed Abigail to Xuanzang. "Master Xuanzang, this is where we part ways. Take Abigail and follow this alley—it leads to a way out."

"What about you?" Xuanzang clutched Abigail, her voice tight with worry.

"I'll keep King Leodegrance and the others busy."

"No, I can't let you—"

"Stop hesitating. You're the leader of the Journey to the West quartet - act like it! Keep running and don't look back!"

"Until we meet again, Master Xuanzang."

With one last look at Xuanzang and Abigail, he leapt from the alley. "Fujimaru Shirou is here!"

All the searching soldiers turned at once, abandoning their search to chase after him.

"May Buddha protect you, Shirou. And... we're actually the Journey to the West quintet."

Xuanzang hugged Abigail close and released a heavy sigh before running deeper into the alley. Shirou was right - with Wukong and Bajie gone, she had to depend on herself!

...

Shirou had succeeded in drawing the soldiers away. Though he'd lost all his powers and could barely stay ahead of them, he had two advantages: the Apostles were busy with Goetia, and Tintagel's ruined streets made it harder for his pursuers to corner him.

But time wasn't on his side. As Tintagel rebuilt itself and its people came back to life, more and more soldiers joined the chase. Being caught was only a matter of time.

Yet instead of running toward the quiet outskirts, Shirou pushed straight into the busy heart of the city.

This seemingly strange choice to run deeper into the city was all part of his careful planning. He had two goals in mind: first, to draw as much attention to himself as possible, giving Xuanzang and Abigail a better chance to escape. Second, and just as important, was finding his own way out.

Now that they had discovered him, trying to sneak out of the city wasn't realistic anymore. He needed to count on something unexpected, something the soldiers wouldn't anticipate.

Like the river!

Tintagel had several water supply canals running through its streets, with the largest and deepest one flowing exactly in the direction Shirou was heading. Since escaping by land had become impossible with all these soldiers, the water was his last remaining option!

However, his carefully laid plans quickly fell apart.

King Leodegrance's pursuit squad had returned to ground level much sooner than expected, and together with the forces already chasing him from behind, they managed to trap him inside a city manor.

King Leodegrance ordered his soldiers to surround the building completely. "Give up, Lord Shirou. Give up, Master Xuanzang. You cannot escape."

Shirou pressed against the wall, watching the soldiers through the window. He knew King Leodegrance was right—there was no getting out of this. The only good thing was that Xuanzang and Abigail must have made it away. Otherwise, King Leodegrance wouldn't have mentioned her.

But that still left Shirou trapped.

He leaned back, his eyes sweeping across the cluttered room. If only there was a secret passage, he thought helplessly. But of course there wouldn't be. The Eternal Empire had achieved immortality a hundred million years ago. They feared neither natural disasters nor human threats. When even a Beast's Authority couldn't destroy them, why would anyone bother building escape tunnels in their manors?

As these thoughts ran through his mind, something caught his eye - a wooden barrel in the corner was shaking slightly.

He frowned and moved toward the barrel. He could hear quiet muttering from inside...

"Don't find me, don't find me, don't find me..."

He lifted an eyebrow, pulled up the barrel, and found Guinevere huddled inside. She was shaking, her clothes dirty and messy, hands pressed against her head.

"Princess Guinevere?"

"Ah?"

The voice made Guinevere jump. She looked up to see Shirou standing over her, and the color drained from her face. Fear flickered in her eyes.