IBHJ Chapter 988

"I'm fine. I like the way things are now..." she murmured softly.

After Shirou had been gone for a while, Morded stood up. She looked around the empty room and whispered, "Goodbye."

Without hesitation, she turned and ran out of the hotel.

She wanted to leave the map, and more importantly, leave the resurrection pyramid. Let that sorrowful future and painful growth, as well as that unforgettable journey, be buried forever in this pyramid along with the tears of grief and history.

However, the moment she stepped out of the hotel...

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

Suddenly, the sky was filled with the sound of space being torn apart, and several weapons glowing with golden light flew from the sky, bombarding her like meteors.

She reached into her inventory and pulled out her crimson sword—a blade almost too big for her current size. With a few quick swings, she knocked away all the incoming weapons.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The weapons fell to the ground around her. She looked around quickly and shouted, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Oh? So you're that guy's current Servant? A succubus? But you don't look like Merlin."

A loud, cocky voice cut through the air. Mordred looked up and saw a young man with golden hair sitting on the hotel's sign. He wore shiny golden armor and seemed ready for a fight.

"Gilgamesh?" Mordred blurted out in surprise. But then she shook her head. That couldn't be right. The Gilgamesh she knew was exploring the connection point as a player, using a virtual avatar of a blonde busty woman. In real life, he was the small, sharp-tongued, and cunning Gil-kun. This guy couldn't be him.

Looking closer, she realized this person only looked a bit like Gilgamesh. He seemed younger, like Gilgamesh from a few years ago.

The young man puffed up his chest and said, "You know this king's name? Looks like that guy, even though he's always going on about how great the holy sword wielder is, still thinks I'm the strongest Heroic Spirit. But since you're his Servant now, let's see how capable you are."

"What's he talking about?" she was completely baffled. Her Master was Mash Kyrielight, and before getting her, Mash didn't have a Servant.

However, before she could say anything, Gilgamesh had already drawn his twin swords from his back and charged at her in a flash of golden light.

She quickly raised her sword to block, but after just a short clash, Gilgamesh sent her flying.

"Weak, way too weak," he frowned, walking towards her with his swords.

Suddenly, two pale hands reached out towards him. He raised an eyebrow, and a faint golden spatial ripple appeared around him, followed by a white lotus. As the lotus bloomed, its sacred petals emitted a pure light. The moment those two hands full of evil desire touched the lotus, they were purified and vanished.

Gilgamesh put away his weapon and turned to look at Kiara, who had just tried to attack him. His face darkened as he said, "You dare try to touch me with those filthy hands? Do you have a death wish?"

His killing intent was almost tangible, frightening Kiara so much that she turned pale and trembled. But she still managed to point at Mordred and stutter, "I-I won't let you pick on Master Mordred."

"Is that so?" Gilgamesh's lips curled into a smile, but it wasn't a nice one. It was cruel, violent, and domineering. His killing intent seemed to grow even stronger.

Just then, a soft voice came from behind Kiara: "My glasses... where are my glasses?"

Everyone turned to look. They saw a plain-looking boy on his hands and knees, squinting and feeling around on the ground. He looked like a blind person who had lost his cane.

Gilgamesh frowned, "What are you doing?"

"I dropped my glasses," the boy explained. "Archer, can you help me find them? My eyesight is terrible - I can't see a thing without them."

Gilgamesh sighed and covered his face with his hand. All his killing intent and desire to fight seemed to disappear, replaced by pure frustration with the boy.

Archer put away his swords and walked over to the boy. He picked up a pair of glasses from the ground and handed them over, grumbling, "When will you stop acting like a fool and embarrassing me? I swear, I can't stand you sometimes."

"Sorry, but this is just who I am," the boy said, putting on his glasses. He smiled up at him. "Thanks for the help."

Archer just snorted and folded his arms.

"By the way," the boy asked, "where did you find my glasses?"

Archer pointed to a spot about five steps away from where the boy had been searching.

The boy looked at where Archer had pointed and mumbled, "Wow, I must have messed up the math on the gravity and angle to throw them that far."

"Wait a minute. Thrown?" Archer raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well..." The boy started to look nervous.

Archer's eyes narrowed as he figured it out. This kid had actually taken off his glasses on purpose and tossed them away, just to interrupt his rising killing intent towards Kiara.

"You little... I can't believe you," Archer said, caught between annoyance and amusement. He grabbed the boy and started messing up his hair with both hands.

"Ow, ow! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" the boy laughed, not sounding sorry at all.

Mordred watched this weird scene with her mouth open. She turned to Kiara and pointed at the pair. "What in the world is going on here?"

Kiara sighed, looking a bit overwhelmed herself. "It's... complicated. But that boy is Mr. Shirou from the past."

Mordred turned her head, staring blankly at the boy, murmuring, "The past... Shirou?"

Kiara then pointed at Mordred and said to the boy, "Mr. Shirou, this is Mordred, your daughter from the future."

"Huh?" The boy was dumbfounded.

Mordred, her face turning red, shouted, "Who's his daughter?"

"Eh?" Kiara scratched the back of her head, wondering if she had said something wrong.

The boy, recovering quickly, walked up to Mordred with a friendly smile. "Hello," he said, holding out his hand.

"I'm not your daughter!" she crossed her arms and stomped her foot, glaring at him.

The boy blinked and lowered his hand, but kept smiling. "That's okay. You don't have to think of me as your future dad. To be honest, I'm not really connected to that future me at all."

As Mordred looked at the boy's bright, sunny smile, something clicked in her mind. He reminded her of someone, but who?

She glanced around, her eyes landing on the golden-haired youth behind the boy.

Suddenly, it hit her. This boy was just like Gil-kun when he first came to Chaldea! The same gentle smile, polite manners, and thoughtful air. But underneath all that, Gil-kun had turned out to be extremely cunning and impossible to understand!

The boy looked around curiously. "By the way, where's my future self? I skipped class to come here and check on how I'm doing. Is he taking care of himself? I hope he hasn't picked up bad habits like smoking or overeating."

Kiara tilted her head, confused. "Why are you so worried about that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the boy said calmly. "Your body is the foundation for everything. Even if you do great things, it's not worth it if you wreck your health along the way."

Archer, standing nearby, pointed at the boy with a look of disgust. "This clown is obsessed with his body. He's always running, exercising, and sleeping on time. He misses out on exciting battles because of it. And get this - he even uses skin care products!"

"Obsessed? That's a bit harsh," the boy said, pushing up his glasses. "I just don't want to do anything that could harm my body. I'd hate to have regrets later when the damage is already done. And about the skin care - it's just proper maintenance. You know, human skin starts aging after twenty-five, and dead skin cells don't fall off as quickly. Looking good is important when you go out."

Mordred looked back and forth between the boy and Archer, bewildered. "Is this really what my... I mean, what Shirou was like in the past?"

Kiara blinked. "Apparently so. It seems Mr. Shirou has always been... unique."

Archer sighed, "Haven't we been over this? Once the war's done, I can give you a potion of eternal youth. You won't have to worry about health issues ever again."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And how do I know a Servant's items will even work after the war has ended? Besides," he added with a smirk, "if you were actually that kind-hearted, the sun would rise in the west."

Archer pouted, his thoughts completely seen through. That's why this guy made him feel angry, annoyed, and amused at the same time, as if seeing his younger self.

The boy turned to them with a bright smile. "Don't mind us. It's just how we communicate. Now, about my future self...?"

Mordred and Kiara exchanged glances, neither quite sure how to explain the situation.

"Well," Kiara began carefully, "it's a bit complicated..."

"Complicated how?" the boy asked, his smile fading a bit. "Is something wrong with my future self?"