IBHJ 1110

A smile tugged at his lips.

"Just what I expected..."

Xuanzang was actually the Buddha of Glorious Sandalwood. Since Buddhas couldn't be summoned, this summoned Xuanzang Sanzang was from her time traveling to the west.

But that didn't mean she wasn't already part Buddha. Her body held Buddhist nature, and her nine-ringed staff was a Pure Land artifact from Guanyin Bodhisattva.

In the Type-Moon world, Pure Land was a civilization that existed beyond the universe. This nine-ringed staff held that same transcendent power - it just needed Buddhist nature to wake it up.

So Shirou had borrowed Xuanzang's blood, or more specifically, the True Ether making up Xuanzang Sanzang's body. He could use the Buddha of Glorious Sandalwood nature in that true ether to activate the staff.

And now...

He turned toward the distortion Abigail had made.

Now, thanks to Abigail's work, Shirou could see what this infinite white space really was.

It was a finite imaginary space with infinite layers.

Finite because someone had created it artificially.

Abigail's distortion had torn through the walls separating this imaginary space from the outside world. Simply put, she'd broken through nine layers of a ten-layer wall, leaving just one final wall.

With enough force to pierce the void and the right technique to use it, someone could break through this artificial infinite space.

They had everything they needed: Abigail had warped the space, Xuanzang had provided the power. All that was left was the technique to use that power.

And he knew of only one person who had reached that level of ultimate skill - someone who could strike through void, concepts, and authorities in a single moment.

He'd only seen Scathach use this technique once in Fuyuki.

That strike had been incredible.

Scathach had already reached perfection, but with his encouragement, she'd pushed even further. Step by step, she'd explored deeper into that realm until she touched the ultimate boundary.

Shirou had tried copying this technique once in Romania, when he'd destroyed the Demonic Bodhisattva's heart with a single blow.

But he knew it was just a poor copy. All he'd done was focus all his power on a single point - nothing close to Scathach's strike.

He understood with perfect clarity that he could never reach her level, not even if he reset his life dozens, hundreds, or thousands of times.

He couldn't recreate her strike, but he could attempt his amateur version again.

His magical energy, muds, and records were gone. Even his formless vortex had disappeared. Every external power he once relied on had been stripped away.

But the things that really mattered couldn't be taken - his gathered experience, his tempered spirit, his broadened vision. These were his true strength.

Because these belonged to Shirou alone.

They were his, and his alone.

Blood began flowing backward, streaming from his ears, nose, eyes, and mouth. His eyes slowly turned crimson.

His magical energy might be gone, but he could still control his muscles and blood. He would offer them up to summon this imitated strike.

"Shirou!" Xuanzang shouted, her eyes wide with fear for his safety.

At that crucial moment, Shirou thrust the staff forward with all his might.

The very fabric of space hummed with violent vibration, and in that singular breath of time, everything else in existence completely disappeared. All that remained was the pure Buddhist light flickering beneath a vast sky stained with bloody radiance.

Then, with a heavy, resounding thud, the staff pierced through.

That was it - the final barrier that separated their prison from the real world.

"A-amazing..."

Abigail stared with wide-eyed surprise at the crack slowly appearing in the center of the distortion she had created. But then her expression suddenly froze in place as realization struck her.

Oh no, this is bad!

She was going to be the only one trapped in this endless white prison!

Abigail's face turned deathly pale as the truth hit her. Just as she had schemed to abandon Shirou and Xuanzang earlier, now she would be the one abandoned by Shirou when he escaped.

But wasn't this exactly what she deserved?

Even though no one had spoken it aloud, her identity as a member of the Council would naturally determine how someone from Chaldea would choose to treat her. It was the obvious choice he would make.

W-What should I do, what should I do...?

Cold sweat covered Abigail's body. The exit was right there, but with this crown of thorns still on her head, she couldn't fight back against Shirou. She didn't stand a chance even against Xuanzang, who claimed she couldn't catch a simple chicken.

All Shirou had to do was walk outside and guard that exit. He could just wait for it to close, and she would be trapped in this white space forever. Alone. Forgotten.

What am I going to do...

Tears welled up in Abigail's eyes.

Just then, Shirou turned to face them. Blood ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth, but his bloodshot eyes looked at Abigail and Xuanzang with gentle warmth. Despite his injuries, he gave them a kind smile. "Let's go. We're getting out of here."

"Eh? I can come too?" Abigail pointed at herself, not quite believing it.

"Of course you can." He looked at her with genuine confusion. "We worked together to open this, didn't we? Unless you'd rather stay here?"

"No, no! I definitely don't want to stay!"

Abigail shook her head frantically.

"Then let's get out of here together."

He gave her a warm smile, then handed the nine-ringed staff back to Xuanzang. He took the first step out of the endless white space.

Xuanzang and Abigail followed close behind him.

"They'll probably figure out we escaped pretty soon," Shirou said, looking carefully at their surroundings.

Once they were outside, Abigail stared at him with a complex expression. "Big brother..."

This person was nothing like anyone else she had ever known.

He tilted his head. "Hm? What's wrong?"

Thank you...

The words stayed stuck in her throat. Abigail shook her head, then her eyes filled with determination. "We need someone's help. Please follow me."

He nodded and started after her, but then noticed Xuanzang standing still. He turned back to call out to her. "Come on, Master Xuanzang!"

"Wuu... running away again," Xuanzang sniffled. "When will I ever get to make my journey west properly?"

But even as tears rolled down her face, she hurried after him. She knew she had no choice now but to keep moving forward.

...

"Two Apostles are guarding Tintagel. Getting Abby out might not be easy..."

"Which Apostles?"

"We looked into it. They weren't even trying to hide - it's Morgan and Ector."

"Ector's one thing, but Morgan..." He paused. "Having that woman after us is bad luck. What about the Emperor's Eyes?"

"Haven't felt their gaze. They've probably turned their attention to watching other connection points."

"So they're going around to observe the other worlds before wiping us out? What a terrifying Emperor."

"...To be honest, I don't think that Emperor ever really cared about us at all. Defeating us, defeating the Council - to that Emperor, it's probably as simple as eating breakfast."

"Nothing we can do about that. Absolute immortality, absolute magical energy isolation... Everyone living in this empire has these absolute traits. They can't be killed, can't be sealed away, and even the Authority of the Beast can't break down their constant life state. And once those Apostles put on their Imperial Armor..."

"We should never have opened this connection point in the first place. If their minds had stayed limited to just one world, the Emperor would never have learned about the connection points and Pan-Human History. Things wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"That couldn't be helped either. This is one of the seven - it's the whole reason the Council was created. But now that even the Chairman has failed, there's no point talking about what could have been. The Emperor never took the Council seriously from the start. It's frustrating how hopeless our situation is, but the only reason we're even surviving is because of the Emperor's arrogance."

"That's true, but we still need to figure out how to save Abby. Those two Apostles aren't just standing around for show, and we haven't even figured out how to break through that prison... Wait a second!"

"What's the matter?"

"Abby... she's already escaped on her own!"

"You can't be serious! After they put that crown on her, Abby lost all her powers. There's no way she could have gotten out by herself!"

"But word just came in - Abby has already made it to our base in Tintagel!"

"Unbelievable... but if it's true, we need to move now! Let's go give her backup!"