IBHJ Chapter 986

Kiara stared at him for a moment, then her eyes widened in disbelief. She placed her hands on his shoulders and asked, her voice barely a whisper, "Mr. Shirou?"

"Yes, I'm Fujimaru Shirou," the boy said, still looking confused. "Are we in the same class? But I don't remember seeing you there. Is it because I don't join in group stuff much?"

"Mr. Shirou, it's me!" Kiara said quickly, seeing how confused the boy looked. "It's me, Kiara Sessyoin!"

"Kiara Sessyoin?" The boy mumbled in confusion. "I don't think we have anyone named Sessyoin in our class. But why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Kiara Sessyoin... Kiara Sessyoin... Ki-Kiara Sessyoin!?!?" The boy suddenly yelled, like he just remembered something. He looked at Kiara with fear in his eyes, staring mostly at her head. Then he calmed down and said to himself, "No horns, must be someone with the same name. That was scary."

The boy patted his chest, then looked at Kiara who was still sitting on him, looking dazed. He asked cautiously, "Um, classmate, could you please get off me? This looks kind of weird, and if someone sees us, they might talk."

"Oh." She got off the boy without thinking. He stood up, and just as he was about to brush himself off, Kiara remembered Demonic Bodhisattva was chasing her. She grabbed his shoulder anxiously, "Mr. Shirou! That 'other me' is coming after me!"

"Another you?" Shirou frowned, brushing himself off. "Look, I've got an important econ class to get to." He waved his textbook. "Can't this wait?"

"No, you don't understand—" Kiara started, but something felt off. Wasn't Shirou supposed to be in the Hotel?

"Oh my. Not running anymore?" A sultry voice suddenly echoed from the alley, causing her to freeze.

Kiara whirled around to see Demonic Bodhisattva sauntering out of the alley, a seductive smile on her lips.

The moment Demonic Bodhisattva stepped out, her gaze fell on the boy, and she was stunned. "Fu-Fujimaru Shirou?"

The boy was equally shocked, especially after seeing the large horns on Demonic Bodhisattva's head. His face paled. "What the—are those horns?!"

"Horns?" Demonic Bodhisattva was momentarily confused, but she recovered quickly, her smile turning predatory. "Ah, I see. You're Mr. Shirou from the past. How... interesting."

She smiled and walked towards the boy and Kiara, causing them both to retreat in fear.

"I'm curious," she purred, her eyes locked on Shirou. "Theoretically, you shouldn't know me, so why so scared, handsome?"

"Y-yes," the boy stammered, backing away. "This is our first meeting, so we have no grudges or enmity. Even if my future self offended you, that's his fault, not mine. Please don't take your anger out on me, that's unethical."

Demonic Bodhisattva looked at him suspiciously. "You know more than you should."

The boy thought to himself, You gave it all away yourself. I'm not an idiot. However, seeing her reaction, he realized he probably did offend this Beast in the future.

Taking a deep breath, he bluffed, "My Servant told me everything."

"Your Servant?" She smirked. "The King of Heroes?"

"No, someone who's not exactly your friend," he replied, revealing the Command Seals on his hand. "By the power of the Command Seal, I order you, Saver, come to me!"

"Saver? The Enlightened One? That's impossible... How could-" Demonic Bodhisattva was dumbfounded, then watched as the Command Seals gradually disappeared from the boy's hand. Without another word, she turned and fled.

Looking at the now empty alley, the boy sighed in relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Thank you, Mr. Shirou," Kiara said gratefully.

"No time for thanks, we need to run!" the boy said urgently. "She'll figure out my bluff soon. Run!"

Kiara was stunned for a moment, but the boy didn't wait for her and had already taken off like a startled rabbit.

"Wa-wait for me, Mr. Shirou!" she hurried to catch up.

A short while later, Demonic Bodhisattva rushed back, looking at the now-empty street with a gloomy face. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile. "As expected of Mr. Shirou. Clever as always..."

She'd fallen for it completely. The boy had played her masterfully—stunning her with words, then scaring her off with the mention of Saver. He'd controlled the pace from the start, leaving her with no time to think. Both her mind and body had been manipulated and danced to his tune.

"How deliciously interesting," she purred. "I wonder what face our dear Shirou will make when he sees his most naive self?" A chuckle escaped her. "This score... I'll settle it eventually."

With that, Demonic Bodhisattva vanished into the shadows.

...

"Huff... huff..." The boy doubled over, gasping for air. "We're... we're safe here," he panted, wiping sweat from his brow.

Kiara looked around, confused. "Where are we? I thought we were heading back to the hotel."

"Hotel? What hotel?" The boy frowned, then his eyes widened. "Oh, right. You're still worried about that Beast, aren't you?" He straightened up, a confident smile spreading across his face. "Don't worry. This place is the safest place in the whole city. Heck, in this entire era. Beast, evils of humanity, space invaders - you name it. Nothing can touch us here."

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at a mansion behind them.

Kiara looked over and immediately saw a nameplate on the mansion.

Sajou.

"Yes, it's the safest."

A gloomy male voice suddenly sounded in their ears. Kiara saw golden particles gathering beside the boy, then materializing into a blonde young man wearing a black suit.

The boy was about to speak, but the blonde young man didn't give him the chance. He punched the boy in the stomach, sending him crumpling to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"A-Archer?" he wheezed, clutching his midsection. "What the hell?"

The blonde man towered over him, eyes blazing. "So, your Servant is some outsider now? And I'm not the strongest Heroic Spirit anymore?" His voice dripped with disdain.

"That was just a temporary measure, you should be able to see that, right?" the boy retorted, tears still in his eyes. "That was a Beast! Besides, I've been calling you in my heart several times back then, but you didn't respond. You promised to protect me in this Holy Grail War, but you didn't even pay attention to me. How cruel! Is this the lie of a king?"

The blonde young man raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and snorted coldly. "Who told you to make me take out the trash? If this had happened when I was first summoned, I would have cut you into a thousand pieces!"

"I'm sorry, okay? It won't happen again," the boy mumbled, hanging his head.

"That's more like it." Gilgamesh nodded with satisfaction, then his eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. You really think I'd fall for that? This 'safest place' of yours - you're saying that sword-swinging mongrel is better than me?"

The boy's heart raced. His bluff had failed. He knew the earlier deception was trivial to the blonde man - the real insult was implying he was weaker than the wielder of the holy sword.

"Of course not," the boy said earnestly. "Anyone with half a brain knows that Gilgamesh, the ancient king who conquered heaven and earth, is obviously stronger than King Arthur who was betrayed and defeated by his own son. The reason Arthur is a first-class Saber is because I'm such a lousy Master. I'm holding you back, and yet you're still willing to be my Servant. You're truly magnanimous."

Gilgamesh's expression softened, the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

Kiara stared blankly at the two, mumbling, "King Arthur who was defeated by his treacherous son Mordred..."

She looked at the boy with a complex expression.

At this moment, the boy and the blonde young man, having seemingly patched things up, turned to face Kiara with serious expressions.

"Now then," the boy said, pushing up his glasses, "tell us about yourself. About Kiara Sessyoin. And about my future self."

"Huh?" Kiara was taken aback.

"Don't play dumb," the boy pressed. "You're the spitting image of Kiara Sessyoin. You can't fool my wise eyes."

She blinked. "But I am Kiara Sessyoin."

Hearing this, the boy muttered under his breath, "Why does this woman seem like a silly airhead?"

Beside him, Gilgamesh rolled his eyes. Look who's talking.