IBHJ 1108

That horrible, awful thief!

Abigail fumed silently. A few days ago, something had gone wrong with her Noble Phantasm. That's why she'd been caught by that black iron man.

This stupid thing is why I can't fight back!

She grabbed the thorny crown on her head and yanked it a few times. When it wouldn't budge, she slumped in frustration.

Stupid thief!

"Hmm?" Shirou turned to look at her. "You're cursing me in your head, aren't you, Abby?"

"No way, big brother! Abby isn't a bad girl who curses people in her thoughts."

"That's good."

Despicable th— better stop. This man must be able to read minds.

Hmph! This is all your fault, stinky monk!

Abigail shot Xuanzang a fierce look. If this annoying monk hadn't been whining and giving off the same gross smell as that green-haired monk, she could have kept sleeping.

Stinky monk, stinky monk, stinky monk...

Stinky nun!

"Hmm?" Xuanzang squinted at Abigail. "Little sister, are you calling me names in your head?"

"Wow, big sister is so smart, you guessed it!" Abigail beamed at her with innocent eyes.

Xuanzang stared at her, speechless.

The insult hit harder than any attack could.

Then a voice rang out:

"I didn't expect you to wake up, Lord Shirou. You truly are remarkable—just like that witch with the mark on her head."

Shirou frowned. "King Leodegrance?"

"Yes, it's me. I came to check on you."

"How thoughtful," he let out a dry laugh. "Here to admire your handiwork?"

"You misunderstand, Lord Shirou. I don't take pleasure in others' defeat. Victory should be clean and decisive—anything else breeds complications. That's both the strategist's wisdom and the empire's way." A pause. " I'm here because my daughter Guinevere was worried about you, thinking of your poetry collection."

"How kind of Princess Guinevere to be so concerned."

"I know you're upset, but there's no need for this, Lord Shirou. Soon we'll be people of the same world."

"That's quite an honor," Shirou said. "To think we'll soon be one big happy family in this glorious new world. Though if my most gracious host would permit just one small question... Of course, being merely your prisoner now, I'd completely understand if you find my curiosity... inappropriate."

"Your words sound gentle but cut like knives, Lord Shirou." King Leodegrance sighed. "Ask your question. Though I don't know who you are, I respect heroes who've made their mark in history. Even if it's not our history."

"When did you begin plotting against me? No—when did the Empire start plotting against me?"

"Since the moment you and Master Xuanzang claimed to be from outside the empire. Why? Because a hundred million years ago, this world was already His Majesty the Emperor's domain—there were no other nations beyond our borders."

"That's strange," Shirou said, raising an eyebrow. "This empire seems ordinary enough, and its lands aren't that vast. Yet you say it's a hundred million years old?"

King Leodegrance paused. "I'm glad to see you awake, Lord Shirou, but I must go now. Master Xuanzang, I'll return later to learn Buddhism from you. Until then, rest here with that dangerous witch. Don't worry—the Emperor's Ring has taken her power. She can't harm you."

His voice grew fainter. "Maybe we protected her too well, letting Lord Shirou get so close to her. Ah... it's time she saw the world again. Memory after memory, forgetting after forgetting... my poor daughter, why are you alone unable to reach eternity...?"

Then his voice disappeared. He was gone.

But he had left them with some information.

Why would he do that?

Maybe he thought they were harmless now. Or maybe he had other plans.

The first reason was obvious enough, but the second...

Shirou turned to study Abigail.

This made Abigail quickly cover her bottom and slowly back away, watching him vigilantly. "What... what are you planning, big brother?"

"The Council is still around, right?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"I said, does the Council still exist? Or more specifically—you're still a Council executive, aren't you, Abigail?"

Abigail fell silent.

Finally, she sighed. "I know what you're thinking, big brother. Yes, I'm still with the Council. But if you're hoping they'll come save me, that's just stupid. Everyone in the Council only looks out for themselves. They'd never help others. Besides, the Council is done for anyway."

"Done for? What do you mean?"

Abigail nodded. "After the Chairman tried and failed to kill the Emperor, that was it for the Council."

She paused, looking at him. "Your Chaldea probably doesn't know, right? Why the Council never attacked your headquarters, even though Chaldea cleared all those connection points and beat several Council executives."

"Why?" Shirou's eyebrows rose.

Another sigh. "It's not that we didn't want to destroy Chaldea—we just didn't have the resources or strength anymore." She glanced nervously at the white void around them. "And if you're wondering why..." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Well, just look where we are. It's all because of this... Emperor!"

"No one knows who or what the Emperor is, except for the Chairman who risked everything to kill them," Abigail said, looking down. "All I know is that this used to be Sixth Seat's connection point."

"Sixth Seat..."

Shirou thought of the man in black robes who had killed Skadi when she was still Scathach. That man was the Lord of Salvation's loyal dog, the one behind the corrupted kingdom that led to Mordred's death. He was the mastermind Shirou would never forgive.

"At first, none of us cared about this connection point—not me, not the Chairman, not even Sixth Seat who ran it. We only focused on the Chaldea member who first cleared our connection point, a girl named Ritsuka."

Ritsuka...

"By the time we realized how dangerous this connection point was, it was already too late."

"The Emperor knew nothing about connection points or Pan-Human History until they found us through the Black Ring we opened. That's when they attacked first."

"Because the Empire invaded, the Council had to give up important connection points just to fight them off. But this empire..."

"It's just too absurd!"

"Absurd?"

Shirou raised an eyebrow, thinking how rich that was, coming from her.

"Yes! The worst part is what they call the Emperor's Hands, but the Chairman found a weak spot."

Abigail pointed to the crown of thorns on her head. "Then there's this ring. When they put it on you, it doesn't just take away your powers and skills—I can't even hear the voices from outer space anymore... It's insane! And only the Apostles and Emperor can take it off."

"What exactly are the Emperor's Hands?" Shirou had experienced firsthand how bizarre the crown of thorns was, but he was curious about this other thing.

"I can't explain it to big brother. It's something you have to see—and once you do, you know you can't win against it."

He frowned.

While it was true that Abigail belonged to the Council and he fought for Chaldea and Pan-Human History, the lines weren't as clear as they seemed. After all, Abigail had only joined the Council because she needed their help, not out of loyalty. Besides... the isolation in this place was overwhelming, and she desperately needed to share her loneliness and fears with someone who would listen.

It was almost funny in a sad way—these human emotions hadn't surfaced since she first started hearing the voices from outer space. But now, with the crown of thorns stripping away all her supernatural abilities, she had returned to being that same little girl who was once wrongly condemned by the church.

"The Empire is just too strange. At first we had the upper hand, opening connection points, looking down on everything. But the Empire pulled us into their trap. By the time we saw how dangerous this connection point was and tried to close the Black Ring we had opened, we couldn't. It was far too late. We had opened Pandora's box, and there was no way to close it again."

"Once the Emperor learned about Pan-Human History and connection points, they started attacking the Council without warning. We couldn't hold them back. But really, how could we? No matter how strong we were, no matter how frightening our powers might be, we were facing immortal, eternal beings who couldn't be sealed away. And the moment they put this ring on someone, all their abilities and powers... just completely disappear."

Abigail paused, gathering her thoughts.

"Then not too long ago, the Chairman discovered a weakness in the Emperor's Hands and broke into their palace to try killing them. I don't know exactly what happened, but the Chairman definitely failed."

She shook her head before continuing. "After the Chairman failed, the Empire struck back at the Council. They must have taken control of the Black Grail, the thing we used to control the connection points. The Emperor's real target has to be Pan-Human History. They want to turn their Empire into Pan-Human History itself. And from what that ugly uncle said earlier, they've probably already partly succeeded."

"Is that so..."

"So to answer big brother's question again," Abigail slumped down. "Whether it's Chaldea or the Council, it's all over. The Emperor took care of everything."

"What about the Lord of Salvation? Did the Emperor deal with him too? If they managed even that, I might as well close my eyes and accept my fate."

"Lord of Salvation?" Abigail looked confused. "What's that?"

Shirou stared at her in surprise. "You don't know?"

Abigail just looked completely lost.

"Um..." Xuanzang timidly raised her hand. "This humble monk doesn't understand anything about this Chaldea and Council business."

"Shut up, you stupid nun!"

Abigail glared at Xuanzang, who lowered her hand and quietly wiped away tears.

Why?

She hadn't done anything wrong, but this child hated her.

Ah... master, how did things end up like this?

She had no way of knowing that Abigail held a grudge because the Enlightened One's sudden appearance during a tabletop RPG game at the Shinjuku connection point had scared her into running away, making her lose her Noble Phantasm. In a way, it was her master's fault—which meant it was Xuanzang's fault too, since she was his disciple.