IBHJ 1111

From his palace above the clouds, the strategist gazed downward through the darkness surrounding him.

The white apostle rushed in and took his place behind the strategist. "...We've received word from Ector. They've captured Fujimaru Shirou, and they've also taken Master Xuanzang."

"Oh?" The strategist raised an eyebrow and turned to face the white apostle, his brow furrowing. "I believe I made it clear multiple times that we should take a gentle approach with that woman. Once the Empire replaces Pan-Human History, we can build friendship with the Pure Land."

"Master Xuanzang kept insisting on traveling west, and Ector thought she might become an enemy, so he contained her first. But he didn't put the crown on her, so it shouldn't offend the Pure Land..."

The strategist cut him off before he could finish. "That's indecisive. When you make a decision, you follow through completely. Has a thousand years made Ector soft? Go tell him to put the crown on that woman and strip away all her Buddhist nature."

"I understand," the white apostle nodded, then paused before speaking again. "But won't this anger the Pure Land?"

"They sent us a westward traveler instead of a Buddhist spirit. That already tells us where the Pure Land stands."

"I understand." The white apostle nodded and turned away.

The strategist lifted his gaze to the most magnificent palace in the distance, gleaming like the sun itself. He placed his right hand on his chest in a subject's salute, then turned back to watch the lower realm with a solemn expression.

...

"Okay. I've sent the distress signal, but I don't know if anyone will come help us. I can't tell if the Council has been completely wiped out yet." Abigail lowered her hand from the magic circles floating in front of her.

Shirou nodded and looked around at their surroundings - a dark, damp pit stretching out around them.

They'd ended up here after their prison break, when Abigail used the monk's staff to briefly open a gate. She'd led them through a passage straight to this gloomy underground space.

"Where exactly are we?" he asked her.

"One of our operation bases."

She explained how the Council had built many bases at this connection point to fight the Empire. But since the Emperor's gaze could see everything in the empire, the Council had dug these space-time hideouts beneath various cities to stay hidden.

This pit was one of those secret bases.

She let out a sigh. "Lucky for us they also dug one under Tintagel. Even after breaking out of that prison, we would've been caught again without it."

Shirou: "..."

Good grief!

An underground resistance!

He could hardly believe it—the Council, Chaldea's sworn enemy, had been reduced to hiding in underground bases like a rat. It just showed how ridiculously powerful this Empire and its Emperor really were.

But then-

"You stupid nun, how much longer are you going to hang onto my clothes?" Abigail spun around, glaring at Xuanzang who was clinging to her from behind.

"It-it's too dark down here..." Xuanzang clutched her nine-ringed staff in one hand while keeping a death grip on Abigail's clothes with the other. Her whole body trembled as she spoke in a small voice. "And places like this usually have youkai... Also, I'm a monk, not a nun..."

"I don't care if you're scared! And monks, nuns, priests - I hate all of you!" Abigail glared at her, acting every bit the bully picking on someone innocent as she yanked her clothes away from Xuanzang's grip.

Xuanzang stared back at her with big, sad eyes, like a mistreated little white rabbit.

"This is the only set of clothes I have, so don't pull... too hard, or you'll have to pay for any damage..." Abigail turned her head away as she mumbled.

"Oh, kind benefactor, you truly are a Bodhisattva!"

Xuanzang grabbed onto Abigail's clothes again, practically glowing with happiness.

There was that feeling of safety again!

And why wasn't she holding onto Shirou's clothes instead? Because they were still covered in blood from their prison break.

That blood-red color, in this dark and gloomy place - it was absolutely terrifying!

Shirou: "..."

Master Xuanzang, your dignified image is completely destroyed!

Shaking his head, he turned to Abigail. "Abby, are we just waiting here for your companions?"

"Yes, if they haven't all been wiped out already..." Abigail lowered her head. "But even if some survived, I'm wearing this crown now. I'm useless to them. Hard to say if they'll bother saving someone who's worthless as a tool."

Suddenly, she felt warmth on her hand. Looking up, she found Xuanzang staring at her with intense eyes. "Your companions will come for you, Benefactor Abigail!"

"Companions... they're just people who stick together because they need something from each other. When you lose your value, it's normal to be abandoned..."

"That's not right at all!" Xuanzang's voice rang with conviction. "Companions are people who share the same dreams and face hardships together! Since we're fighting for the same thing, don't talk about being abandoned! Look at me - no matter how many times youkai capture me, no matter how many times I misunderstand Wukong, he never leaves me behind. He always comes to save me."

Shirou: "..."

That's nice of you to say, but aren't you forgetting about that binding headband Wukong has to keep him in check?

Still-

He turned to Abigail. "I don't know why you think that way, Abby, but I know you're more than just a tool."

"You're different from me. We're just using each other to escape together, so you wouldn't understand."

"That's true. But it's exactly because we share this goal of escaping that we're companions now."

Abigail: "..."

This feels different from the Council...

Different from those priests too.

But why?

Why does my heart feel so warm?

Abigail shook her head and spoke again. "I won't talk about this anymore. Even if the Council people do come to save me, I don't know when that would be, so don't get your hopes too-"

BOOM!

A violent shake cut off her words.

Shirou braced himself against the walls on either side. "What's going on?"

"It's them!" Abigail's eyes suddenly lit up with joy. "They've come to save me!"

"Your companions?" he asked quickly.

"Yes!" she nodded, beaming with happiness. "I knew it! I always believed they weren't completely wiped out, that they'd come back to save me!"

Shirou: "..."

That's not what you were saying just now!

Just like they say - a woman's words are as reliable as a ghost!

Even if she's just a little girl, she's still quite the little liar!

"That shaking means they're attacking Tintagel!" Abigail continued. "With only two Apostles there, and they're not even wearing Imperial Armor, our side can't possibly lose! We can..."

Before her smile could fade, a series of explosions rocked the pit, followed by voices echoing through the darkness.

"I can't believe it - there's actually a space-time hideout under Tintagel!"

"This is their base! They're hiding down here!"

"Lord Shirou, Master Xuanzang, and witch! Surrender! There's nowhere to run!"

"It-it's King Leodegrance...!" Xuanzang's whole body shook.

Shirou touched the crown on his head. No doubt about it - the enemy had discovered their prison break and used the crown to track them to their hiding spot.

Tch!

"Abby!"

Abigail nodded and turned to Xuanzang with fierce determination. "Stab me, you stinking nun!"

Xuanzang quickly nodded back, lifting the nine-ringed staff to prod at Abigail's keyhole.

Like they say, practice makes perfect. After that first nervous and clumsy try, Xuanzang had clearly gotten better at this.

The Pure Land Buddhist energy from the staff activated the gate just long enough for Abigail to open a door. They slipped out of the underground base just before Leodegrance's forces could burst in.

Even with the staff and Xuanzang's Pure Land Buddhist nature, Abigail's sealed powers meant she could only make the gate appear briefly, just enough to connect to the outside world.

The moment they reached outside, Xuanzang found herself frozen in shock. She had been mentally prepared to see either pursuing enemies or a busy town—either would have made sense. But what greeted their eyes instead was a landscape of complete devastation: ruins stretched as far as they could see, with scattered flesh and minced organs littering the ground everywhere.

"That is..."

Shirou lifted his gaze toward the sky, his eyebrows rising in recognition. High in the blue skies above them, a mysterious halo had appeared, seeming to wrap itself around every inch of Tintagel.

The light within the halo began to flicker and pulse, and suddenly the entire ring surrounding Tintagel appeared to burst into flames. Like a meteor shower, countless beams of light began raining down toward the city below.

However, just as these endless streams of light were about to crash into the city, a brilliant barrier materialized in the sky above Tintagel, spreading out to protect the entire settlement.

The destructive beams slammed against the barrier's surface, but they couldn't even create the smallest ripple before dissolving into nothingness.

There was absolutely no mistaking that particular power...

"I see. Goetia is the one who came..."

Abigail could barely whisper the words as she lay there on the ground. Her face had turned white as paper, her whole body dripping with sweat as she tried to catch her breath. The effort of opening even that small gate had completely worn her out.