IBHJ 1223

"Look out, Master Xuanzang!" everyone shouted in panic.

Just as the massive blade was about to strike Xuanzang, her entire body began to radiate golden light. A Buddha's halo materialized behind her head, and with a resounding clang, it stopped Demonic Bodhisattva's blade cold.

"A Buddha?" Demonic Bodhisattva recoiled in fear.

"I told you, I'm not a Buddha," Xuanzang said calmly, her palms still pressed together as she regarded her with gentle compassion. "I'm simply a monk on a journey to seek Buddha in the West. But I must thank you, Bodhisattva. Your actions have helped me understand why I was brought here. I now see that I've come on behalf of my master to deliver an answer to a patron."

"Xuanzang, have you actually achieved Buddhahood?" Ritsuka asked, staring in amazement at the Buddhist halo now glowing behind her head.

"Ignorant " Manaka cut in coldly. "She was always a Buddha. She simply forgot her journey until now—she's just remembering who she really is."

Ritsuka turned to her with a confused look. "But why would she suddenly remember she's a Buddha right in this moment?"

"The title 'Tripitaka Master' isn't given lightly," Manaka explained, shifting her gaze toward Demonic Bodhisattva. "It refers to someone who has mastered all three collections of Buddhist sacred texts: the sutras, precepts, and treatises. Throughout history, very few have achieved this—Xuanzang was one of them."

Manaka's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Demonic Bodhisattva walks a similar path, but she took it further, ascending to the status of a Bodhisattva who vows to liberate all sentient beings. However, her method of salvation defies conventional understanding and wisdom."

"Wait, are you saying Xuanzang remembered she was a Buddha because of her encounter with Demonic Bodhisattva?" Ritsuka asked, stunned.

Manaka simply nodded.

Xuanzang turned around and gave Manaka a gentle smile. "You truly do understand, Manaka. All beings are manifestations of the [Root], though this monk hasn't reached the same level of enlightenment as my master. You, with your connection to the [Root], must have known everything about this humble monk all along. That's why you deliberately kept it hidden. But there was no need—I am simply a pilgrim traveling west in search of the ultimate dharma. You didn't need to hide this from me."

Ritsuka looked between them, completely lost.

"My story is different from this benefactor, but it too has its mysteries," Xuanzang continued. "This poor monk struggled greatly with these questions, suffering through terrible inner turmoil. Even Buddhist teachings couldn't quiet my troubled heart. That's why I decided to go to the west seeking dharma. I once formally petitioned the court for permission to seek dharma in the west, but my request was denied. It wasn't until the third year of Zhenguan, when famine spread across the land and the court allowed people to seek their own path to survival, that I finally departed from Chang'an. Despite the many bandits along the way, I eventually reached the Western Heaven and at last found peace from my inner demons."

"My journey was never about becoming a Buddha," Xuanzang explained. "It was about freeing my heart from the five poisons: pride, greed, anger, ignorance, and doubt. Buddhist texts may be easy to find, but the true teachings are much harder to grasp. That's why I'll always remain just a pilgrim heading west, never truly reaching the Western Heaven or becoming a Buddha."

She turned toward Demonic Bodhisattva, her hands still pressed together in prayer as she spoke with gentle compassion. "The Buddhist dharma has no limits, and enlightenment cannot be measured. Though you practice the path of bliss, you're still poisoned by anger and ignorance. I hope you'll stop this fight, calm your mind, and take time to truly study the Buddha's teachings."

"What nonsense!" Demonic Bodhisattva snapped, her cold stare fixed on Xuanzang. "So you've remembered your Buddha nature—so what? You're still just a person from the mundane world. You haven't reached true enlightenment. You're no Bodhisattva. How could you possibly stop me? I might fear your master, but if you stand in my way, I'll send you straight to the Pure Land myself!"

The moment she finished speaking, a dark flash erupted from her body. A massive black hole opened in Demonic Bodhisattva's abdomen—a swirling vortex where greed, anger, ignorance, hatred, and desire all intertwined. Countless shadowy hands formed from this mass of negative energy, reaching out like the grasping claws of hell's ghosts, stretching toward Xuanzang as if to drag her into this endless abyss of desire.

"Xuanzang, look out!" Ayaka and Ritsuka shouted.

But facing the ghostly hands, Xuanzang remained calm. She whispered something and slowly extended her right hand forward. Instantly, a brilliant golden light radiated from her palm, forming an enormous golden hand that pushed against the darkness.

When Demonic Bodhisattva's hands of desire made contact with the golden hand, they simply evaporated with a soft hiss—like bubbles dissolving in sunlight.

The golden hand continued its steady advance, striking Demonic Bodhisattva with tremendous force. With a thunderous boom, the swirling hole of desire in her abdomen shattered like glass, fragments of darkness dispersing into nothing.

Demonic Bodhisattva's face drained of color as she stared at her with a mixture of terror and disbelief. "That's—that's impossible! I'm also a Bodhisattva. How could you possibly defeat me?"

"A true Bodhisattva's power transcends bestial nature," Xuanzang replied gently, her palms pressed together. "When your Buddha-heart remains steadfast, you could hold an entire planet in your palm like a child's toy. Unfortunately, your Buddha-heart has already been broken." She gazed at Demonic Bodhisattva with genuine compassion.

"This is impossible!" Demonic Bodhisattva cried, her face contorted with rage and confusion. "My heart is still intact!"

"Is it?" Xuanzang asked softly. "Your Buddha-heart isn't that vortex of desire at all, is it? It's Kiara Sessyoin."

Demonic Bodhisattva stumbled backward—one, two, three steps—her eyes wide with shock as she stared at her.

In that moment, her mind flashed back to Romania, to that pivotal moment when Shirou had turned his back on the beautiful world she had created and convinced Kiara. That was when Kiara had firmly separated from her.

So that's when it happened. The seeds of her defeat had been planted long ago.

She had failed. Completely and utterly failed.

She had calculated everything so perfectly—the [Council], Manaka Sajyou, the UOs...all of them manipulated like pieces on a chessboard. And yet somehow, she had still failed.

And the person who had truly defeated her wasn't even the Sandalwood Buddha standing before her now. It was Fujimaru Shirou!

Fujimaru Shirou, who had awakened something in Kiara Sessyoin—something that made her separate completely from her.

"Your Buddha-heart is broken, Bodhisattva. Please, stop this fight," Xuanzang said gently.

"Stop?" Demonic Bodhisattva let out a bitter laugh. "If I stop, I wouldn't be Demonic Bodhisattva anymore, would I?"

Xuanzang's expression grew serious. "Your anger and ignorance have already poisoned your heart. But if you insist on continuing down this destructive path, I won't simply stand by and watch."

Demonic Bodhisattva clenched her teeth as she glared at Xuanzang. The reality of her situation was becoming painfully clear—with Xuanzang standing guard, there was no way she could make a move against Manaka and Ritsuka.

And even if she retreated now, planning to wait until they recovered their strength, she'd be in no position to challenge them later either.

It was all slipping through her fingers. Unless something completely unexpected happened, she had utterly failed—and now all her trump cards were exposed for nothing!

She couldn't accept this outcome—not after everything she'd planned.