The city without lights seemed somewhat serene; the sudden upheaval brought panic to the ordinary people of Fuyuki City. Without electricity in the dead of night, for most, it was still best to sleep soundly at home.
The journey back from the church was very quiet for everyone.
That is until two figures, one tall and one short, appeared up ahead.
Tao Yu’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could see clearly. The larger shadow was muscle-bound, looking like a muscular monster, exceptionally tall, already slightly beyond the scope of an ordinary person.
The smaller one was a cute little silver-haired girl with red eyes.
She wore a purple dress that seemed to make her appear more mature, and a matching round hat on her head, which oddly enhanced her appearance, giving her a precocious charm.
Indeed, she was Illyasviel from the Einzbern family, one of the three founding families that created the Holy Grail War, along with her Servant Berserker, Hercules, whom she had summoned two months in advance.
Although Illyasviel is technically Shirou’s sister and should be about the same age as Tao Yu, as a masterpiece of Einzbern puppetry and the Lesser Grail for this occasion, she was forever locked in this youthful guise.
Despite the presence of five great Heroic Spirits, she boldly stood in their way.
When everyone recognized her and realized she was a new Master, Illyasviel curtsied politely.
"Good evening, esteemed Masters, the Holy Grail War should now officially begin," she said.
The considerably polite Illyasviel and her crisp, childish voice alleviated some of Rin Tohsaka’s wariness as she spoke,
"Yes, and due to the current changes, we’ve reached a consensus that after obtaining the Holy Grail, we’ll resolve the city’s problems. You’re a Master too, aren’t you? Would you care to join us?"
Hearing Rin’s words, Illyasviel blinked her ruby-like eyes and then chuckled,
"That won’t do, you see. The Holy Grail War is fought and won by force. Now, I am formally issuing a challenge to you all. Are you ready?"@@@@
After that, she pointed straight ahead.
"Berserker!"
Hercules, merely at the call of Illyasviel’s name, erupted from his feet as if triggered by a Command Seal, instantly closing the distance between them.
The sight made Tao Yu’s pupils constrict slightly.
So strong! So fast!
His sheer speed and strength were far beyond Tao Yu’s own!
Truly worthy of a Heroic Spirit, especially one who had sacrificed Noble Phantasms for enhanced mad attributes!
Clang~
Saber was the first to act, intercepting in front.
Boom~
The strong wind from their clash roared out, forcing all the other Heroic Spirits to protect their respective Masters.
The concrete ground was lifted in chunks. Saber deliberately directed it, repelling Berserker to a more distant place, to prevent damage to the Masters from the backlash.
Tao Yu could plainly see that due to Shirou Emiya’s weak magical power, Saber was comprehensively suppressed by Berserker, and quite significantly at that.
"If this were just the fsn route, Berserker would bring an immense sense of oppression, and based on the fsn performance alone, the pressure he brings might even surpass that of ’Golden Radiance’."
Tao Yu’s hair was still fluttering in the strong wind, and he felt a sense of emotion.
Over there, Saber and ’Uncle B’ had already entered an intense battle. Although Saber was highly skilled, able to dissipate forces adeptly, and seemingly only at a slight disadvantage, Tao Yu could clearly see that the two were not on the same level when it came to their attributes.
"Just in terms of strength, speed, and reflexes, Saber is only slightly better than I am, yet ’Uncle B’ is far superior..."
Tao Yu assessed internally.
The fact that the fight was going this way already showed the excellence of Saber’s technique. She also hadn’t used her Sword of Promised Victory, likely sensing the poverty of her Master’s magical power.
In such battles between Heroic Spirits, it was hard for outsiders to intervene, but with Illyasviel isolated, theoretically, attacking the Master directly was an excellent choice. No matter how strong Illyasviel was, she couldn’t possibly contend with a Heroic Spirit.
In Tao Yu’s view, this seemed somewhat suicidal on her part.
Yet faced with a lone little girl-like Master, Red Archer, Hashirama Senju, and Mr. Men showed no intention of acting.
Medusa hadn’t even shown her face from start to finish.
Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka hadn’t thought about attacking Illyasviel at all; instead, they were fixated on the battlefield.
"Oh, that’s some impressive taijutsu, such great strength," Assassin Hashirama Senju commented as he scratched his head, seemingly in admiration.
"Archer, go help Saber!"
But then she instantly killed Medusa...
A one-hit kill just by showing up!
Shinji’s nose was about to run with shock. It must be an illusion.
He hurriedly took out the "Fake Servant Chronicles" and roared at Medusa,
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Boom~
The ’Fake Servant Chronicles’ suddenly ignited. The servant’s death rendered this Mystic Code, which relied on the servant, instantly useless, causing Shinji to yelp with pain as he tossed it on the ground, completely dumbfounded.
She’s really dead?
I had just infiltrated the alliance, ready to lie low and then decisively claim the Holy Grail during a critical moment!
How could it suddenly end like this?
In the ensuing moments, the figure of Hashirama Senju leaped out and landed on the ground.
His eyelids now bore some strange runes and he had seemingly entered Sage Mode.
"Master be careful, she is very strong."
Tao Yu’s mouth twitched upon hearing this, it was too late to say it now.
However, Medusa’s demise did not come as a surprise to Tao Yu. By his account, Medusa’s exits had been too underwhelming both times he had seen them.
In the UBW route, she was even solo killed by Kuzuki Souichirou, a master who couldn’t even use magic.
Although Kuzuki was probably enhanced by Caster’s magic at that time, the ease with which he snapped her neck within a classroom without causing much destruction was just too casual.
At least Scathach used her Noble Phantasm to kill Medusa...
"Master, my next move might be a bit noisy. Is that okay?"
Hashirama asked Tao Yu for permission.
"No problem, go ahead."
Tao Yu carefully watched the spot where Medusa had disappeared, noting that she seemed to turn into light particles that vanished without leaving any residue, though it seemed like some dark shadow had devoured those dissipating light points.
The Holy Grail, perhaps...
As expected, after dying, heroic spirits return to the Holy Grail.
The others grasped in the next instant what Hashirama meant by his move being somewhat noisy.
Hands clasped together.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Boom, rumble~
The ground shook violently, as though from an earthquake, with cracks appearing one after another.
Then, enormous, exaggerated vines burst from the ground, rolling over and covering the other side of the battlefield as well.
The vines, seemingly alive, attacked Scathach with their massive girth.
Scathach, also startled, spun her spears, relentlessly slicing at the vines, but clearly, she couldn’t cut as fast as they were growing!
Luckily for her, she was small and nimble.
She chopped away, all the while nimbly maneuvering.
Berserker, who had been overpowering Saber, shared a similar fate.
Swinging his ax-like giant blade around, his remarkable attributes allowed him to swing quickly and broadly. Still, he too was unable to hold back the ever-increasing vines.
And being less nimble than Scathach, he seemed even more at a disadvantage.
An Assassin, known for stealth and assassination, was now suppressing two great Heroic Spirits, Berserker and Lancer, in a head-on confrontation!
No, Saber was also caught in it. Even she, already at a disadvantage and exhausted from the battle, had been successfully restrained by the vines.
It was a simultaneous suppression of three great Heroic Spirits, with one even captured...
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