IBHJ Chapter 975

While this family of three was having their lively quarrel, on the other side, Kiara gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, then walked towards Demonic Bodhisattva's room.

"Oh? It's so late, what are you here for?" Demonic Bodhisattva sat alluringly on the bed, her small hand supporting her cheek, her figure seductive and charming, enough to make anyone's blood boil.

"Why did you come here? What exactly do you want to do? Are you here to absorb me?" Kiara asked through gritted teeth.

"You are my childhood and human cognition, something I must take back." She paused, head tilting thoughtfully. "And yet... absorbing you now would be... premature." She smiled, then stood up and quickly walked towards Kiara.

Seeing Demonic Bodhisattva approaching, Kiara panicked and instinctively deployed a few hands to smash her. However, as soon as they made contact, they turned into ashen shadows, dissipating like smoke.

This was expected, after all, this skill belonged to Demonic Bodhisattva.

"Stay back!" Kiara's voice cracked, fear overriding reason. Without thinking, she lashed out with a wild punch.

This was just an instinctive struggle born from her panic, and she didn't expect to actually hit her. But with a "thud," this punch solidly hit Demonic Bodhisattva's right eye.

"Mmm, that hurts!" Demonic Bodhisattva covered her right eye, fell to the ground, and curled up.

Kiara stood frozen, shock written across her face. I... actually hit her?

"What are you doing?" Demonic Bodhisattva glared fiercely at Kiara with her teary right eye, "Do you really want to start a war with me, make me take you back right now?"

"I... I..." Kiara stammered, years of ingrained politeness kicking in despite the absurdity of the situation. She bowed deeply, words tumbling out in a rush. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to— I never thought I'd actually— I'm sorry!"

Although she hadn't expected to actually land the punch, and although she knew in her heart that this punch couldn't possibly harm Demonic Bodhisattva, her good upbringing still made her apologize.

"If sorry was enough, what would we need the police for?" Demonic Bodhisattva sat to the side, covering her left eye, lecturing with a face full of disdain.

Kiara was at a loss. "Um... I hit your right eye," she weakly reminded her.

Demonic Bodhisattva didn't seem embarrassed at all, very naturally moving her hand to cover her right eye instead. Then she glanced at Kiara and asked, "You should have met that man already, right? How about it, have you thought about coming back?"

"What man?" Kiara showed a confused expression, then said seriously, "I don't know what you're talking about. But, I've met many wonderful people in Chaldea. They're not as bad as you say. I won't return to your body, and I certainly won't become you! Moreover, I will defeat you!"

"...Such big words." Demonic Bodhisattva let out a cold laugh, then her expression softened, and she smiled seductively, "I've changed my mind. I still think it's best to take you back right now after all."

As she spoke, countless hands burst out from her body, like octopus tentacles, rushing towards Kiara.

"Don't come any closer, ahhh!" Kiara's face suddenly changed, and she turned to run.

Demonic Bodhisattva laughed as her arms played with Kiara. They brushed her skin, pulled at her clothes, always just out of reach of grabbing her. After what felt like forever to Kiara, the arms pulled back, sliding into Demonic Bodhisattva's body again.

"What's this, not taking that little brat back?" A voice suddenly sounded beside her ear. Demonic Bodhisattva turned to see Koyanskaya standing by the window, looking at her with a mocking expression.

A smile appeared on Demonic Bodhisattva's face. "Taking her back now would be far too boring."

"I think it's your heart that's wavering," Koyanskaya said teasingly.

The smile slipped from Demonic Bodhisattva's face, and her face clouded over.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Koyanskaya's voice dripped with fake sympathy. "Human versus beast, truth and beauty against hypocrisy and lust... It's hilarious, really. To think your reason for joining the Council is so... laughable."

"Then what about you, Senior Koyanskaya? Is your personal reason not laughable?" Demonic Bodhisattva looked at Koyanskaya with a mocking expression of her own.

Hearing this, Koyanskaya's face immediately fell. She let out a cold snort, turned around and left, muttering, "What an unlovable junior."

Demonic Bodhisattva's expression also turned cold, "What a hateful senior."

...

The night was clear, the moon a silver disc in the sky, surrounded by a blanket of stars.

Shirou stepped out of his room, a worried frown creasing his young face. He hadn't expected to run into Kiara here of all places.

Of all the Council members, Kiara was the one he'd defeated the most times, making her a bit of a running joke. But he also dreaded encountering her more than anyone else, even more than Abigail or Sixth Seat. It wasn't because of her twisted personality, but more a vague sense of revulsion.

And now Koyanskaya was here as well.

He'd always suspected there were multiple Beasts within the Council, but he hadn't expected to face two of them at this Connection Point. On top of that, it seemed Morgan le Fay and Hinako had some history with Koyanskaya. This was what worried him the most.

"Judging by Morgan's reaction, she seems very wary of Koyanskaya. I hope it's not because of some past trauma..." he muttered to himself as he headed towards Morrigan's room.

Shirou felt the same way about Morrigan as he did about Morgan le Fay - after all, they were basically the same person. Even though he often called Morgan "sister," he actually treated her more like a moody younger sibling. It was just too hard to see someone like Morgan le Fay as an older sister.

Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting a faint silver glow along the corridor.

In that pale silver light, Charia leaned against the window, staring blankly at the full moon hanging high in the sky.

Shirou walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

Startled, Charia spun around, hastily wiping tears from his eyes.

"Missing home?" Shirou asked quietly.

Charia paused, then gave a small nod before shaking his head.

Shirou looked up at the bright moon. "I understand," he said softly. "To be honest, I really miss my home too."

Charia looked at him, asking with a puzzled tilt of his head, "Has your home also met with misfortune, Sir King of Knights?"

"It's not quite like that," he replied, turning to Charia with a faint smile. "I left on a long journey and now I can't find my way back. I miss it a lot. My family wasn't rich - my parents worked hard just to get by in the busy city. But even though we didn't have much, we were happy. We had an osmanthus tree in our yard, and my mother often made osmanthus water yokan for us."

"Water yokan?" Charia's eyes lit up with curiosity. "What's that?"

"It's a type of food."

"Is it tasty?"

Shirou smiled, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "It was so sweet it was unpalatable. I tried it once and never had it again, always secretly giving it to my sister and friend. But now that I think about it, that taste was actually pretty delicious."

Charia nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Sister Ramoi's pastries were like that too. I used to avoid them, but looking back, they had this special flavor that was really good. It's just..." His voice trailed off, and his face fell. "I'll never get to taste them again."

Shirou looked at Charia, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "You will taste them again, but next time, never say that your sister's pastries are hard to eat."

"Mm!" Charia nodded, breaking into a big smile. "Thank you, King of Knights. You're really good at comforting people. You'll surely find your way back home too."

"Mm." Shirou smiled, but his heart was bitter.

He knew that even if the Council disappeared, and the Lord of Salvation was obediently sealed in the Akashic Records, he still couldn't go back.

That home was in his memories, the home of 1994, not the home of 2003 or 2016.

What's lost can't be reclaimed; what's done can't be undone. 

What's been destroyed... 

Can't be restored.