BB on the Defensive / New Ability / Next Target

Everything went black. Then, gradually, his vision returned. Ian found himself once again in that mysterious space. Not far away, BB, standing beneath the Aurea Pocula, was pressing something with her hand. The man focused his gaze and realized it was something similar to a keyboard, seemingly a noble 26-key layout.

Wait a minute—!

Thinking about it that way, could it be that all those strange love prompts were actually typed out by BB herself, one character at a time? The moment this realization hit him, Ian suddenly found it much more interesting. Images even began to form in his mind of BB in this space, gleefully typing out messages to him and his girlfriends outside.

No.

Stop.

Ian shook his head, pushing all those ridiculous images out of his mind.

"BB!" the man shouted.

"Eh?!" Hearing Ian's call, BB turned her head and saw him. A surprised expression instantly spread across the girl's face. "You... how did you get in again?"

"You don't need to delve into that," Ian replied directly. "Anyway, I just have a way to get in."

"You!" BB's face showed a hint of displeasure. "Honestly, how can you talk like that—this is my territory! It seems I let you off easy before, making you have illusions, didn't I!"

"Shadow·Excalibur!"

It was almost the exact same opening as last time. A golden beam of light appeared in the space above BB. It was her special Noble Phantasm, Excalibur, replicated through projection, but possessing power almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Before, Ian had countered it by reverse-engineering Excalibur Morgan through his "Memory Projection," resulting in an even fight.

But this time—facing the Excalibur rushing towards him, the man had no intention of defending. He even spread his arms, ready to embrace the light beam that could destroy a city with a single blow.

However—just as the extremely accelerated particles were about to hit Ian, whoosh, they vanished.

BB, standing beneath the Aurea Pocula, roared, "Why didn't you dodge Excalibur?! You pig, do you want to die?!"

"You're the one who wants me to die, aren't you?" Ian retorted. "If that's the case—then why don't you just hit me once? That way, you'll finally calm down and talk with me, won't you?!"

"..." Faced with the man's suicidal words, BB was momentarily speechless. She turned her face away, muttering softly: "Who wants to talk to you?! Get out of here quickly—and keep playing my devil's game! It's Level 2 now, with many more fun ways to play than Level 1. If you don't try it, you'll definitely regret it for the rest of your life!"

"Then I'll regret it," Ian said. "I do really enjoy having relations with them, as both sides can find satisfaction in it. But more than that—" The man looked at BB in the distance. "I'm more interested in you right now—and the reason you came here."

Having said this, Ian took a step, walking towards where BB was. His steps were very firm; it seemed he had no intention of stopping. BB was a little flustered: "What are you doing?! Don't come over—!"

"No, I must come over," Ian said directly. "Today, I'm going to understand you no matter what!"

"You can't get close to me!" BB instantly teleported to a farther location. "This is my territory; you'll never be able to reach me!"

"Then I'll just keep walking," the man completely ignored BB's attempts to dissuade him. "Until you're willing to sit down and talk with me for a while."

"Are you a pig?! Do you want to be trapped here forever?"

"You won't let me die, will you?" Ian continued his advance. "Otherwise, Excalibur would have hit me just now, wouldn't it?"

"This..." BB was now speechless. Because she knew Ian was right. And—BB could feel that Ian's advance wasn't a joke. If she didn't sit down and talk with him for a while... this guy would really keep walking forever!

"..." The demon BB was at her wit's end—facing her was an even more devilish Ian. With a wave of her hand, she instantly returned to Ian's side.

"Stop walking, you pig!"

"..." "Alright." Ian stopped. "So, you're finally willing to talk with me now?"

"Otherwise?!" BB pouted, looking at Ian with an annoyed expression. "If I don't talk to you, you'll never leave this place, will you?!"

"That's exactly right." Ian took BB's hand, his expression very serious. "I think we can have a good talk. No matter what the issue is—it can definitely be resolved."

"..." BB didn't pay attention to Ian's words; her gaze fell on their clasped hands. "You... why did you just grab my hand directly?"

"Do you mind? Or... have you never tried this before?"

"You!" BB seemed to have been hit where it hurt. As if to prove something, she actively took Ian's other hand. "What do I mind—you're the one who minds, aren't you?"

"..." "Whatever," Ian steered the conversation back on track. "I want to know more about you." Perhaps sensing Ian's sincerity, or perhaps out of sheer helplessness, BB nodded, then freed a hand and snapped her fingers. The previously pitch-black space instantly transformed into another scene in less than a second.

Ian froze there. He was surprised. But what surprised him wasn't BB's ability to change scenes, but the scene itself! This was... inside the Tohsaka family mansion!

"Ehehehe..." BB tossed her hair. "Surprised, aren't you—you must have some memory of this place."

"Yes." Ian looked at the living room setting in front of him, his expression filled with nostalgia. "This is Sakura-chan's home."

No. Simply calling it "home" might not be enough. For him and Sakura Tohsaka, it was also the starting point of all their stories.

"Have you been here before?" Ian asked.

"No, I haven't," BB replied almost without hesitation. "But I know this place—because I learned about it from Sakura Tohsaka's memories."

"..." "Is that so?" Ian found that his reaction wasn't as shocked as he had imagined. On second thought, perhaps he had already anticipated such a result? "Then the reason you have almost the same appearance as Sakura-chan—is it also because you have her memories?"

"..." The moment she heard this, BB's expression became somewhat complex. After a long pause, she finally nodded. "Something like that. I am a Super AI—an existence that appeared in response to Sakura Tohsaka's prayer, so it's natural that I acquired her memories and most of her appearance. You wouldn't doubt me on that, would you?"

"Of course not," Ian shook his head. "I can feel that although you love to play pranks, you are very honest. After completing those so-called devil's games step-by-step, you really didn't make things difficult for me."

"That's natural!" BB stood with her hands on her hips, looking very proud. "I am a Super AI that emerged from the Holy Grail—! How could I possibly haggle over such things with pigs like you?! That would be too embarrassing~☆"

"That's certainly true," Ian nodded. "But... I want to know what Sakura-chan's prayer was that led to your appearance, BB." Ian didn't know this part of the story. The memories he had acquired abruptly ended after his defeat at Mount Enzou, as if someone had cut them with a sharp knife and then reconnected them to the present.

"..." BB's throat moved slightly, and finally, she spoke the truth. "She prayed that she could stay by your side forever."

"..." Ian was silent for a long time before speaking his next words. "So that's why you, a High-level AI, appeared?"

"That's right... Now you understand how amazing BB is, right~☆" BB stood with her hands on her hips, seemingly wanting to be proud, but the smile on her face looked so strained. "You little pigs... you should really play BB's devil's games properly. Honestly—crazy is something that should make people happy, isn't it? Why is everyone so resistant, making it seem like BB did something wrong?"

BB rambled to herself about many things; despite being very young, she sounded like an old woman of seventy or eighty. And just then, Ian said something she completely hadn't expected.

"Thank you."

"..." BB stopped, looking at Ian, somewhat bewildered. "What did you say?"

"I said—" the man looked at BB very seriously. "Thank you, BB. Thank you for appearing in Chaldea to fulfill Sakura-chan's wish."

Ian's sudden thanks caught BB off guard. "You... you're not mad at me anymore? Didn't you hate that devil's game just now—you looked like you were going to kill me, didn't you?"

"No," Ian shook his head. "What I hated was just doing such things for no reason. If—" the man paused. "If this is part of Sakura-chan's wish, then I can accept it."

Ian knew that Sakura Tohsaka was a very gentle girl. Even at the very end, she still didn't resort to methods that would harm everyone. Then—BB's appearance made perfect sense. This was a Holy Grail miracle that carried Sakura Tohsaka's wish, now truly appearing before him.

"..." However, upon hearing Ian's reply, BB's expression didn't become happier; instead, it grew sadder. The man quickly noticed this. Having understood BB's origin, he naturally no longer saw her as an enemy. "BB, what's wrong? Did I... say something that made you sad?"

"..." BB looked up at the man, her eyes, almost identical to Sakura Tohsaka's, held an unspeakable sadness. "You pig, you're not wrong. But... I want to ask you a question."

"What question?"

"It's just—" BB grasped Ian's hand, a slight tremor in her touch. "If it were... Sakura Tohsaka standing here, you'd definitely be happier, wouldn't you?"

"..." A seemingly simple question, yet it made Ian realize the contradiction within BB. On one hand, as a Super AI mirroring Sakura Tohsaka's wish, her core programming compelled her to always stay by his side. But on the other hand, as a Super AI, BB herself possessed extremely sophisticated logical thinking abilities. Regarding how to fulfill this wish of companionship, she had thought out the best possible outcome.

That's right. It shouldn't be her doing these things; it should be "Sakura Tohsaka," who created her and served as her blueprint, who should complete it. Under this logic, BB began to doubt her own purpose, leading to an instinctive aversion to the name "Sakura Tohsaka." Even if... she herself didn't quite understand the cause and effect. If he hadn't been firm enough, wanting to talk with her—he probably wouldn't have discovered this logical flaw hidden within BB's will even now.

This couldn't continue. Otherwise, BB, after thinking it through completely, would certainly self-destruct—because her initial reason for existence would have become completely worthless. This would be a great harm to both Sakura Tohsaka and BB herself.

After a moment of thought, Ian spoke: "Yes, you're right. If Sakura-chan herself came to Chaldea—I might be happier."

"...Is that so?" BB gripped her arm, giving a bitter smile, looking very sad. "It's as I thought."

"Right," Ian nodded. "Because in this matter, you can't possibly compare to Sakura-chan. So, I hope that from now on, you change the purpose of your existence."

"Change the purpose of existence?" BB looked up at the man, her eyes showing some confusion, yet in a daze, she also saw some hope. And this premonition quickly became reality.

"That's right." Ian reached out and placed his hand on BB's head, gently stroking it. "From now on—BB, you will be my personal AI."