However, it seemed that while dealing with Lancelot, Illya's situation wasn't looking too good.
That was only to be expected.
After all, the enemy she faced was none other than the Knight of the Lake, Lancelot.
Hailed as the unrivaled master of martial arts even in the age of Camelot, not even Gawain, with the blessings of the Saint's Numbers, could do much against the strongest of the Round Table.
To deal with such an opponent, Magical Girl Illya was trying her absolute best.
"Master! Help me, help, help!"
Constantly being chased and attacked by Lancelot, yet narrowly dodging every blow, Miss Illya was on the verge of tears.
Talking big felt great and all, but isn't he a little too strong?!
"He is a true Servant, after all," [Illya] commented.
Hearing the cry for help through the magical channel, [Illya] wasn't surprised at all.
At the end of the day, the Servants summoned in a proper Holy Grail War are on a completely different level from the extremely weakened Card Servants Miss Illya is used to fighting, Jiang Qiao thought. Not to mention, this Lancelot has the support of two powerful magi—Morgan and Manaka Sajyou, whose strengths rival that of Magic users. With all those buffs, his stats have probably reached the absolute limit of what his Spirit Origin can manifest in the world.
"Stop monologuing and help me!"
"Alright, alright—backup is on the way~"
Before Miss Illya could even question what he meant, the very next moment after [Illya]'s words echoed in the channel—
Whoosh—
Like a shooting star, a golden arrow rocketed toward Lancelot.
The homing arrow sped towards its target, creating a sonic boom while simultaneously emitting nine golden phantoms resembling dragon heads.
Without a doubt, this was Heracles's signature move—Nine Lives.
It was essentially the pinnacle of martial arts, so even though its prototype was an archery technique, it could be executed with other weapons as well.
As a man who had also reached the zenith of martial skill, Lancelot instantly sensed the threat.
Under normal circumstances, facing an attack that struck in less than a ten-thousandth of a second, he would react perfectly.
He instinctively raised the Sword of Rupture, Ea, to block—
BOOM—!!!
The terrifying nine-hit combo blasted Lancelot away, sending him flying right into Diarmuid, who had been thoroughly enjoying his duel with Miss Jeanne.
To be honest, it was one of the few fights he had actually enjoyed in a long time.
Although his opponents were a woman and a child, which went against his knightly code, a thrilling battle was the only thing Diarmuid could ask for.
It was supposed to be like that...
But... why?
"...Splt."
The dust settled, revealing a trail of collapsed buildings. Lancelot was drenched in blood.
...But of course—even more fatal was the Sword of Rupture in Lancelot's hand... It had plunged straight into Diarmuid's heart, dealing an unrecoverable, mortal wound.
Lancelot seemed to realize he had accidentally struck an ally and hastily pulled Ea out.
Schlick—
As blood gushed out, Diarmuid's face grew even paler.
His face was a mask of disbelief and indignation.
"Damn you... Do you want to win that badly? How despicable. I will be waiting for you in hell..."
With those final words, his form dissolved into spiritual particles.
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne... Mr. Lancer, has regrettably exited the stage!
...
His head was buzzing, but thanks to his tenacious life force, the golden arrow—Gilgamesh—hadn't died on the spot. He had even managed to retrieve the Sword of Rupture.
Of course, he paid it no mind. At this moment, Gilgamesh's heart was filled with nothing but rage.
"Damn you! How dare you! How DARE YOU!"
Recalling what he had just endured, Mr. Goldie felt like he was about to explode with anger!
However...
Before he could say anything more, the next moment...
Squelch—
It was the sound of something being pierced through.
He looked down in disbelief, and a child's voice sounded in his ear:
"Servants really do have tenacious life force. But now... you should be able to see it, right?"
"So—"
The silver-haired girl strolled out. With a flick of her finger, the shattered pieces of Gilgamesh's body dissolved into spiritual particles.
"This is the end~"
"...So that's how it is..." As his life as a Servant came to an end, he had a moment of realization, followed by a self-deprecating laugh.
"So that's it... Hahahaha..."
Laughing inexplicably, Gilgamesh's figure gradually faded into spiritual particles.
"With this, I suppose the grudge is settled~"
"I'm feeling much better now~"
Paying it no mind, [Illya] dusted off his slightly disheveled clothes and calmly watched Miss Illya descend from the sky.
The latter's mouth was slightly agape, her expression dazed...
"They... those two..."
"Just as you saw, they've been eliminated," the girl sighed with a hint of melancholy.
"Honestly, it was a bit unexpected... Mr. Goldie didn't die from the initial impact, but poor Diarmuid, who had nothing to do with it, took the hit... Hmm, I guess this proves how important the Luck stat is, huh?"
Miss Illya was a bit confused, but she looked at [Illya], wanting to say something but hesitating.
"Um... Master... just now..."
"That... why..."
"Why did you kill Mr. Goldie like that?"
"Hmm?"
Miss Illya was very concerned about it.
Honestly, she wasn't one to get too worked up over life-or-death battles between Servants. Although they participated in the Holy Grail War with their own wishes, their final destination was always the Throne of Heroes, outside the world.
But... even if fighting those Servants was necessary... she couldn't quite approve of how [Illya] had done it. After all... that could only be described as torture, couldn't it?
From the impression she had of [Illya]... it was abnormal, very abnormal!
His personality should have made him incapable of doing such a thing!
She wanted to know. No matter what, she had to know. Especially since Illya could sense that it might be closely related to her.
"Well..."
"About that... since you want to know, then..."
The silver-haired 'girl' rested his chin on his hand, pretending to think. The next moment... as Illya blushed, he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers.
"I'll just show you..."
Even though he said that, the next moment... she saw...
A castle in the snow... a tall guardian... a great hero... and... a lonely version of herself...
"This is..."
Her eyes widened slightly. Illya couldn't believe it.
[Illya] smiled.
"It belongs to this child... In other words, it's the future of the 'you' from this world."
To want happiness, to want everyone to be happy—this was Illya's ideal. ...But why did she have such an ideal?
Illya herself probably didn't even know the answer to that question.
Jiang Qiao, however, was very clear on this.
Because this is the destiny of Justeaze.
The original Winter Saint—a reification of the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel. Her original purpose was to free humanity from the shackles of material existence, to deliver them from the world's suffering.
The ancestors of the Tohsaka family, and that insect-mage from the old Makiri clan, now known as Zouken Matou... they were the ones who embraced this ideal, setting in motion the chain of cause and effect known as the Holy Grail War.
And as the most perfect reification of Justeaze, Illyasviel von Einzbern's talent even surpassed that of her mother, Irisviel.
Therefore, the Winter Saint's wish for salvation and transcendence was engraved into her very bloodline. This is the root of Illya's own wish.
Even with her connection to the Holy Grail sealed and her past memories lost, the destiny in her blood would inevitably guide her toward that ideal.
"...So that's how it is."
Having seen it all, Illya was in a daze. She looked at [Illya], who was right in front of her, and couldn't help but bite her lip.
Because the seal on her Holy Grail side had been released earlier, the vision Jiang Qiao showed her had an even more profound impact.
After all.
Although it was just the future of her other self in this world, it didn't seem all that different from her own.
If things hadn't changed... then everything that Illya was meant to experience would have been her own fate as well... and that fate...
She reached out a hand toward [Illya]'s chest...
So close... Because he had opened himself up to her completely, she could feel all of it... that joy...
She could feel everything that belonged to her other self so clearly.
Even though the 'pilot' of [Illya]'s body wasn't the original, she could feel all of the other's joys and sorrows.
And after understanding all this, a strange feeling washed over Illya's heart. For some reason, she felt a pang of bitterness.
That, too, was only natural.
After all...
I'm the real Illya... she thought. Even if she wasn't the pilot of this body, everything that belonged to her other self...
Though it wasn't anything good... there was also... this inexplicable...
Jealousy.
Her ruby-red eyes flashed, and she closed the distance, pressing her lips against his.
"?"
Surprised by the sudden attack, [Illya]'s eyebrow twitched, and a flash of his own predatory nature sparked in his eyes.
Having lost her opponent, Diarmuid, Jeanne stood there with wide eyes and a slack jaw, her face as red as an apple, completely speechless.
Oh, Lord! Th-th-this is...
What a sinful sight!
For a chaste and proper saint, such a scene... even if it was technically herself with herself, was clearly a bit too stimulating.
Of course—
Feeling it even more intensely were Miss Elysia and Miss Manaka Sajyou, who were in the middle of their own magical duel.
The commotion from the departure of Diarmuid and Gilgamesh had, of course, not escaped their notice.
It's just that...
Seeing the scene over here...
For the two who had been arguing and competing just moments ago, the result was nothing short of world-shattering.