IBHJ 1210

Ayaka saw her chance, and the moment Manaka's attention shifted away to Ritsuka, she quickly threw a golden bottle straight at her.

It was an ancient bottle that Proto Gilgamesh had specifically given to the publishing team before they left. He'd intended it as an emergency escape option in case the Empire ever discovered them.

The golden bottle smacked into Manaka and exploded with a loud "boom" like a smoke grenade, instantly surrounding her in a thick cloud of gray mist.

Seeing her chance, Ayaka grabbed Ritsuka's wrist. "Quick, come with me!" she shouted while Ritsuka looked completely bewildered.

But when Ayaka tried to pull her away, she couldn't move her an inch. Turning around to see what was happening, she froze. There was Manaka, holding firmly onto Ritsuka's other hand and giving Ayaka a mysterious smile.

Terrified, Ayaka quickly let go of Ritsuka's hand and fiddled with something. With a "whoosh" sound and a flash of black light, she vanished without a trace.

"Ah, that explains why she was brave enough to come alone," Manaka said, understanding dawning in her eyes. "I was wondering why Tír na nÓg would let Xuanzang and Ayaka go on a mission by themselves. But if they had something like that as a backup plan, it all makes sense."

"You just scared your little sister away, you know," Ritsuka said, pointing to the now-empty street and giving her a look.

"About that..." Manaka turned to her with a visible vein popping on her forehead. "Didn't we already have an agreement? You promised not to get involved in anything between me and my sister, but now you're going back on your word?"

"That's not true at all. I'm not breaking my promise."

"Then what was that I just heard? Seems like the Fujimaru family doesn't keep their promises and loves splitting hairs."

"Not really. I did agree not to mess with whatever's going on between you and your sister, but today isn't the same day we made that deal. And the person I am now isn't the same person who made that promise to you back then."

"That's just twisting words!" she blurted out.

"Yeah, it is," Ritsuka admitted with a nod. "But Manaka, you can't control who I talk to, right? Ayaka seems really nice and kind—the type of person who'd make a good friend. How could I pass up getting to know her? And something else I've been wondering... why does someone as sweet as Ayaka look so terrified and disgusted when she sees you? Did you do something really awful to her?" she looked genuinely puzzled as she asked this.

"That's none of your business." Manaka knew she wasn't Ritsuka's match right now, so she had to watch her tone. But keeping up this polite act was driving her crazy, so she just decided to be direct.

"Look, I'm only interested in the Beast inside you. And you only want me to help find your sister and get rid of the Beast from both of you. That's it. We're not friends or anything else, so please stay out of my personal matters. Didn't you say yourself that you don't like getting involved in other people's business?"

"That's true. But Manaka, I saw the look on your face back then—confusion, helplessness—like someone who needed help!"

Manaka was completely caught off guard by this.

"I don't usually stick my nose in other people's problems," Ritsuka said, looking her straight in the eyes. "But when someone actually needs my help, I won't turn them away. I can hear the pain in your heart, Manaka. That's why I want to help you."

Manaka stared at Ritsuka's smile, something flickering in her heart for a moment before she let out a cold laugh. "That's ridiculous! There's no such thing as 'pain in my heart'—that's complete nonsense!"

She spun around and stormed off in a huff. Making sure Ritsuka knew just how angry she was, Manaka deliberately stomped her feet, creating loud thuds with each step as she walked away.

Ritsuka just watched her leave with a gentle expression. "I can hear the pain inside you," she said softly, "because that look in your eyes is exactly the same one I had when I was a child."

…

After leaving Ritsuka, Manaka hid away in her small cottage.

"The pain in my heart..." she muttered, looking down at her palm. It was covered with spider web-like cracks with black mist seeping out from them. She pressed her lips together tightly. "This Fujimaru family... they really do love talking nonsense."

Manaka knew exactly what she really was.

She wasn't even a real person—just a dream.

A dream that belonged to Ayaka Sajyou.

Back when the Shinjuku connection point was still part of Pan-Human History, Shirou had killed the real Manaka Sajyou. He then got trapped in endless resets because of the Enlightened One's power, while Ayaka, who survived until the end, became the true winner of the Holy Grail War.

Feeling completely powerless, Ayaka made a wish to the Holy Grail. She wanted everything to go back to normal, but the Holy Grail was just a crystallization of the Third Magic and couldn't grant such a wish. That's how the fake Manaka came to exist.

She was nothing more than a virtual personality, created from Ayaka's admiration and perception of the real Manaka Sajyou. Deep down, she understood perfectly well that she was just a puppet playing the role of "Manaka Sajyou." So that pain in her heart that Ritsuka mentioned was simply just nonsense.

Manaka let out a long sigh. This Fujimaru family sure had a way with words, she thought to herself. Just a few casual remarks from them had nearly made her feel so much worse than she already did.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

She glanced down at her arm. Across her pale skin, several cracks of different sizes had appeared, leaking black mist into the air.

She knew exactly what these cracks meant—they symbolized both the real Manaka's awakening and her own collapse as nothing more than an illusion. Her time was running out.

"Beast VII... if I can devour her, I could keep suppressing Manaka and stop worrying about that Demonic Bodhisattva lurking in the shadows," she muttered to herself. "And Ritsuka... ugh, I guess I'll have to put up with that annoying girl a little longer." She let out another tired sigh.

BOOM!

Without warning, a massive explosion shook the air. Manaka raised her eyebrows, walked to the window, and looked toward the source of the blast. In the distance, she could see flames flickering and a thick column of smoke rising into the sky.

Within that smoke, she sensed the unmistakable signature of Demonic Bodhisattva. This was obviously a trap designed to lure her out. But she wasn't about to fall for something so obvious.

Manaka had omniscient abilities comparable to a Holy Spirit. While her powers couldn't detect Shirou as a transmigrator, the Lord of Salvation, or transcendent beings like the Enlightened One, Demonic Bodhisattva didn't fall into any of those categories. She could see her perfectly.

Manaka stood calmly watching the distant fire. Whatever tricks Demonic Bodhisattva had planned, she wasn't going to fall for them. After all, if she could handle Ritsuka's constant insults, couldn't she handle this too?

But just as that thought crossed her mind, her expression suddenly changed. She flung the door open and sprinted toward the blazing fire in the distance.

"Ayaka!" she hissed through gritted teeth. Her omniscient had just revealed what really happened during that explosion.

Demonic Bodhisattva had captured Ayaka!