IBHJ 1196

Demonic Bodhisattva couldn't help but follow the Emperor. She'd long forgotten her mission from the Lord of Salvation. Something about the Emperor stirred a deep longing in her heart, a chance to find what she truly desired. Like someone who'd always played it safe suddenly seeing a shortcut to fortune, she cast her duties aside without a second thought.

Fuyuki City in 2003 was falling apart. The invasion, the Four Grand Casters' resistance, and Crimson Moon's secret movements had turned everything upside down.

It looked like something out of a nightmare - collapsed buildings, burning parks, bodies in the streets, and money scattered everywhere, bringing out the worst in those who valued wealth over life.

Books lay trampled in the dirt, all that human wisdom treated like garbage. But the Emperor couldn't bear to see them wasted. Everywhere they went, he'd stop to carefully collect each one, storing them away while muttering, "Such precious things... how can people just throw them away?"

"You really love books, don't you?" she asked.

"As much as I love traveling."

"Well, what about those books over there?" she gestured toward the ones the Emperor had passed by.

"Ah, those books just make me sleepy.”

She was speechless. While he'd been eagerly snatching up "Andersen's Fairy Tales," "Greek Mythology," "Norse Mythology," and "Seven Dragons O," he'd completely ignored textbooks like "Middle School Physics," "Advanced Mathematics," and "A Brief History of Time."

"Are you seriously acting like some kid who hates school?" she asked with a mix of disbelief and amusement.

The Emperor just gave her a blank look.

His complete lack of offense at her teasing only strengthened her conviction that this Holy Spirit could be useful to her plans.

"So what's next?" she asked. "Still hunting more people for answers to your question?"

"Yes."

"Look, I'll be blunt. If even the Enlightened One won't touch your question, there's no one else out there who can answer it."

"There is someone," the Emperor said, pulling out his worn notebook.

"The Eternal King? Come on, he's only human. How could he possibly answer something that even transcendent beings won't touch?"

"If it's him, he'll know."

"Then why not just go straight to him? He's right here in the city."

"Because I like saving the best story, the sweetest dessert, for last."

In that moment, everything clicked for her. This Holy Spirit was keeping Eternal King as his ace in the hole, absolutely convinced that he alone could resolve his burning question. And now she understood something else too: this Eternal King was exactly why the Lord of Salvation had sent her here in the first place.

The Lord of Salvation had called this Eternal King a vessel, and her task was simple: find a way to plant that thing in his heart, to corrupt him from within.

At first, she'd focused only on her mission. But meeting the Emperor awakened something in her, and her duties simply drifted away like smoke.

Yet now, hearing even the Emperor speak so highly of Eternal King, a question nagged at her.

What made him so special?

"You know," she said, watching Zelretch guide Shirou through the dimensional rift, "you've already missed your chance. Eternal King has left this world. You can't ask him anything now."

"I've already seen everything about him. Who would have thought he had such a connection to the King of Knights? Or that this was how King Mordred came to be... I have what I came for. Time for me to go."

"Did you find your answer?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I gained some different perspectives."

"Different perspectives?"

"Yes. Until we meet again." He paused. "And when we do, I hope you'll have let go of those ill intentions toward me."

With that, he left Fuyuki City behind.

This time, she didn't follow. Instead, a peculiar smile played across her face. "We'll meet again soon enough. But…no ill intentions against you? How naive. People only scheme against the weak... and you're nothing but weakness."

She fingered the page she'd secretly torn from his notebook when returning it. This would lead her straight to the Emperor's world.

But it wasn't enough. Without proper leverage, she had no way to use his power for her own ends. And worse, she was still under the Lord of Salvation's control.

"I need to break free from Master's control before I can do anything else. But beyond using this world as my playground, what do I truly want? What's this feeling stirring in my heart?" She didn't have the answers yet, but for the first time, she was acting on her own desires.

And now her curiosity turned to the Eternal King, this figure who held such value to both the Lord of Salvation and the Emperor.

She spent the time that followed moving between worlds - Chaldea, the Council, the Lord of Salvation, and various connection points - each step guided by her own agenda. Until one day she heard the Emperor's voice again, and following his call, made her way to the Romania connection point.

"I've finally found it, the question I wanted answered. But you've changed. You're no longer the one who can answer me. Not that it matters anymore. Once I eliminate the First Vessel and you dominate Pan-Human History, the present will be frozen for eternity. Only then…"

"Found it!" Demonic Bodhisattva landed at the cave entrance but paused, sensing something unexpected. A smile lit up her face. "Well, well... a Beast and Heroic Spirits? How fortunate. Looks like I've caught my prey in the middle of a hunt."

"Manaka shouldn't have the power to handle a Beast right now, but you never know with her. Still..." Her smile widened as she stepped toward the cave entrance. "Shouldn't a compassionate Bodhisattva help a poor hunted Beast?"

…

"So they've gone to Avalon..." Agravain drummed his fingers on the armrest, his frown deepening. "Fairies, always fairies... Whether in Avalon or Tir na nÓg. We should have dealt with them ages ago!"

"Tir na nÓg is too entrenched now," Apostle Morgan said. "We can't touch them yet. But if Avalon joins forces with them, they'll be as much trouble as our enemies across the continent. We need to strike Avalon first, while we can."

He nodded. "Make it happen."

"But that's not the main problem here," Lucius said, choosing his words carefully. "Hope has fallen. Most of the Empire's traitors have come crawling back, and since His Majesty was merciful, he just stripped them of their eternity and let them be. But Garand... he fought to the bitter end." He paused, then asked quietly, "...Did he know about that?"

The moment Lucius spoke, everything froze - Agravain's fingers went still, Apostle Morgan stopped mid-step, and even the wild gleam in Aife's eyes died away.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"That's... that's not possible, right?" Aife asked, her usual confidence faltering.

Apostle Morgan let the silence stretch before speaking. "What could Garand have given Bedivere? His Majesty holds all the Empire's secrets. There couldn't be something out there capable of overthrowing us."

Agravain's voice was heavy when he finally spoke. "Don't mention this matter again. Now go. For the Empire's prosperity, Avalon must fall."

The others exchanged glances, nodded, and filed out without another word.

Once alone, Agravain rose and walked to the window. From the airship's height, he could see all of Britain spread out below, every corner of the land bound to the Empire's will.

Britain's lands had become just another piece of the Empire's vast domain. And soon, once their foreign enemies were crushed and the emperor's light touched every corner, the entire planet and everything on it would belong to the Empire.

The thought of it sent a thrill through Agravain. Even after millions of years gazing down at the Empire's splendor from the heights of the imperial capital, the sight still stirred something in him.

People called him cold, ruthless. What they didn't understand was that he had poured his very soul into this land, this Empire. He would sacrifice anything to protect it - his pride, his beliefs, even his life.

Bedivere's passionate words echoed in his mind. "The one on the imperial throne is not our Emperor! We both have seen what happened, how can you deny what you know in your heart?"

Agravain shut his eyes. ‘Of course I know the truth, Sir Bedivere. I may know it even better than you. But what you don't realize is that person is also the Emperor!’

Even Agravain who had pledged his very existence to the Eternal Empire when he became an Apostle, had one memory that haunted him through sleepless nights. A memory that could shake even this cold-blooded man.