"Whoa, what's going on?!" The sudden change in the scene undoubtedly startled the bewildered little Illya.
"Those two started fighting without even exchanging a few words!"
"It's simple. That's Mordred, the Knight of Treachery who brought down King Arthur's Camelot."
"Mordred..." Illya felt a bit lost upon hearing this name. For a Japanese elementary school student who loved magical girls, legends and such were still too distant. "So... does that mean they don't get along?"
"...You could say that." Though slightly speechless, considering little Illya's age, [Illya] smiled understandingly.
"So, are we just going to watch?"
"Do you want to go and have a go at them?" [Illya]'s words made little Illya shrink back instinctively.
No way, absolutely not!
Just look at those two monsters duking it out. Artoria, a Saber-class Servant, although her swordsmanship might not be the most refined, with her terrifying stats and ridiculously high A-rank Magic Resistance, she could even wash her face with little Illya's magic blasts! And then, with skillful control of her strength, meticulously mince the completely non-combative little Illya into ground meat!
Although Mordred's stats were slightly inferior to Artoria's, weaker in all aspects, she could still easily handle the likes of little Illya. After slicing little Illya to bits with one blow, she could still continue her passionate duel with her 'dear old dad.'
Couldn't fight, couldn't fight at all, not a chance.
Once again feeling her own weakness, little Illya shivered in the chilly night wind, somewhat missing the wonderful debut of Mami-senpai she had just seen.
[Illya] leaned against a tree, her translucent, gem-like ruby eyes reflecting the 'loving father and filial child' duo, watching with great interest.
"Just watching is fine. Someone will come."
Although Artoria's overall performance was superior to Mordred's, the latter, as a specifically cultivated, replicated son of King Arthur, wasn't actually that much weaker. The two were about equal, especially since Saber, summoned as a Saber-class, only had Excalibur and not that 'filial son's happy lance,' Clarent Blood Arthur.
To quickly determine a victor, they would have to resort to Noble Phantasms—compared to legends, Noble Phantasms often became even more powerful after Servants were summoned. Artoria's Excalibur was A++ rank, while that 'filial son's' Clarent Blood Arthur was only A+ rank. And for Noble Phantasms, a single plus sign represented a world of difference.
From this perspective alone, Saber undoubtedly had the upper hand... unfortunately...
"Kiritsugu... I need to use my Noble Phantasm!"
Sensing her Master was nearby, although Saber's battle with her 'filial son' had ignited her true fire, she hadn't lost her reason. She knew clearly that if she wanted to deal with this unlawful traitor, she had to use Excalibur. Understanding this, she sought her Master's permission.
In this aspect, she was considered the most well-behaved among all the Servants in this war. Even though she didn't get along well with her Master, she still consulted him.
Of course, this was just a formality.
However…
What she didn't expect was.
"Not allowed! Absolutely not allowed to use your Noble Phantasm, Saber!"
A cold voice came through the communicator, Kiritsugu's tone resolute and firm.
Was he kidding?
Aside from those two monsters, using a Noble Phantasm on the first day of the Holy Grail War? Wouldn't that be revealing all his cards?
He was still planning to keep Saber's Noble Phantasm hidden and strike a decisive blow against unsuspecting opponents when the opportunity arose.
If Excalibur was used now, their camp would instantly become the most conspicuous one besides those two monsters.
King Arthur, that name itself was an invitation for a gang beating!
And even he would find it difficult to continue hiding in the shadows and carrying out assassinations!
Saber was exasperated by this outcome.
What kind of garbage Master did she get stuck with... Ugh!
Although she wished she could rush to Kiritsugu and stab him a few times, she could only comply with his instructions.
"Just hold on. I'll find an opportunity to eliminate the opponent's Master."
Seemingly aware that this might make his Servant too dissatisfied, although he didn't really care about Saber's feelings, Kiritsugu still said something casually.
Saber's mood improved somewhat upon hearing this.
Normally, she definitely wouldn't like such underhanded methods like assassination—Who was she? The renowned King Arthur! For King Arthur to rely on assassination to win, it was an insult to the Knight King's honor.
But, if it was against that unlawful traitor, Mordred...
Just this once!
"Oh~ That side has started too~"
[Illya], taking in this little act, said so.
"What 'oh'?"
"Here, see for yourself."
"Mmm... It's Dad!" Initially a bit puzzled, but after looking in the indicated direction, she immediately saw Kiritsugu Emiya preparing himself in a blind spot through the magical binoculars provided by [Illya], and was somewhat surprised.
Undoubtedly, Sisigou had been targeted by Kiritsugu Emiya—although even Kiritsugu himself didn't understand why, after the seven Masters had already been chosen, there was still an outsider like Kairi Sisigou.
But since he was an enemy, it was obviously better to eliminate him.
As a mercenary, he also knew Sisigou's name.
Just like himself, a rather unscrupulous magus, even more so than himself due to the nature of the Sisigou family's magecraft. Such a dangerous fellow had to be dealt with immediately, before he could react!
"I've never seen Dad like this before..." Little Illya muttered subconsciously, looking at the somewhat unfamiliar Kiritsugu Emiya.
Although she didn't see her own world's dad very often either—he was often traveling around the world, only Mom would occasionally come back to see her, her brother, and Sella—she still had some impression of her old man.
Similar... but if it was the Kiritsugu she knew, his eyes should have more light in them.
As for the one she saw now... it was as if... as if he were a walking corpse.
"Is Dad going to directly eliminate that Mordred's Master?"
"Yes, that's Kiritsugu's style."
[Illya] propped up her cheek, casually watching her cheap dad, who was most likely communicating with Maiya Hisau.
"Compared to troublesome Servants, fragile Masters are obviously easier to deal with, aren't they?"
"Without a Master, a Servant can't maintain their existence. Even if they can hold on for a while with their class traits, they'll enter their most vulnerable period."
"Using any means necessary, though indeed quite effective in warfare and hard to deny its necessity, but..."
"Victory for the sake of victory, personally, I don't quite like that kind of behavior."
"Besides—"
"Bang."
The bullets were fired. To ensure a kill, Kiritsugu chose to attack together with Maiya Hisau. As a very close, even abnormally close, assistant, the compatibility between these two, in a sense... well, or in every sense, had already surpassed Irisviel?
Sniper fire from two directions sealed off the space for evasion. To make absolutely sure, he even specially modified his Origin Bullets—all for the purpose of killing Sisigou with one blow. He knew that Sisigou, who was the same kind of person as him, definitely wouldn't lack life-or-death instincts in times of crisis. But a magus's defensive means would only be counterproductive against Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets.
"Did it hit!?"
Illya covered her eyes with her hands, watching the scene through the gaps between her fingers. To be honest, she was still a little scared. After all, little Illya was just an elementary school-aged child. Participating in a life-or-death game like the Holy Grail War was indeed quite impactful for her.
However…
It seemed different from what she had imagined.
Both bullets hit—but this surprisingly smooth feeling made Kiritsugu Emiya feel a bit strange.
The next moment, a chilling sense of crisis washed over him.
Instinctively looking in that direction, he saw... a missile composed of human skulls hurtling towards him.
"Heh, I knew something like this would happen."
Hiding in the shadows, Sisigou lowered his shoulder-mounted RPG, which had been magically modified and combined with necromancy, and sneered.
This scene shocked little Illya.
"It looks like... Kiritsugu was ambushed in turn."
"Knowing there are similar people in the same war, taking precautions isn't strange, is it?"
"He relies too much on modern equipment."
[Illya] shrugged nonchalantly.
Kiritsugu Emiya's methods for detecting enemies were mostly technological detection devices. Honestly, such reconnaissance methods would indeed make it difficult for normal magi to defend themselves, and thus they would be easily located and then sniped.
But against someone of the same type like Sisigou, the latter, having targeted the former's methods from the start, would naturally take precautions.
Modified necromancy was clearly far superior to the Emiya family's Time Alter in terms of both versatility and uniqueness.
"Use a decoy to attract fire, then detect the location and launch a counterattack... and then—" Along with the girl's childish words, the next moment, Mordred, who was engaging in a heated battle with Saber, created some distance with a miracle, then raised the gleaming Clarent Blood Arthur high, gathering terrifying magical energy.
"Arthur!!!"
Saber's scalp tingled at this moment.
She had already noticed that her Master was under attack. But she couldn't disengage, because this 'filial son' had completely set her sights on her.
If she dared to break off the fight, Mordred, with her Noble Phantasm ready, could wipe out both her and Kiritsugu Emiya with a single blow from Clarent Blood Arthur.
Without seeking further instructions, Saber decisively dispelled the Invisible Air barrier and removed her armor, pouring all her magical energy into the Excalibur in her hand.
"Mordred!!!"
A brilliant light illuminated the sky, a power diametrically opposed to the crimson magic-filled, corrupted Clarent Blood Arthur in Mordred's hand.
The moment they sensed this power.
The other pairs in Fuyuki City instantly widened their eyes.
"That sword is..."
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who was with Kayneth, secretly observing the war, was incredibly surprised—as he had said, anyone, upon seeing that sword, would recognize its wielder.
The Great King, carrying Waver and riding in a chariot, was rushing to the scene when he noticed this power. He stopped his reins and stared at that remarkably eye-catching light.
"Ooh, it's actually King Arthur."
At the Tohsaka residence.
"This light..."
A beautiful woman with emerald hair, dressed in white—Enkidu—sensing this power, put down the wine glass in her hand and couldn't help but sigh to the blonde man sitting opposite her, "It seems this Holy Grail War isn't just between you and me, Gil."
"Hmph... Somewhat interesting." Not denying this, his crimson, divine eyes swept over that light. Gilgamesh lightly sipped his sweet divine wine and curled his lip. "Being able to release such light, it's worthy of my Ea and you jointly kicking off this Holy Grail War."
Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory.
An A++ rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, its essence not man-made, but an ultimate divine construct forged by the planet.
Even among the many legendary holy swords recorded in history, it was undoubtedly the number one.
The essence of that light was the collective desire of heroes throughout the ages, and even every individual human, to 'be like that'—from this perspective, that light naturally also contained a part of every hero participating in this Holy Grail War.
Undoubtedly, it was a 'crystallization' that fascinated heroes.
It was precisely for this reason that he was willing to consider it an existence on par with himself and Ea. Otherwise, even the renowned King Arthur would be nothing more than a mongrel in Gilgamesh's eyes.
Atop a tall building, Morgan gritted her teeth, staring at this brilliance:
"That hateful Red Dragon..."
Although she resented Artoria for stealing the position of ruler of Britain, which should have been hers, undoubtedly, this brilliance displayed by Artoria was something that also fascinated Morgan, making her feel inadequate. It was the eternal pursuit of excellence.
The reason she wanted to resurrect King Arthur was probably because, in her view, only that hateful Red Dragon could reproduce this glory.
However, to flaunt such a thing right in front of her now—what was she thinking... Hmph!
"This light... Although it's not the one I'm looking for, it seems quite interesting." Manaka Sajyou rested her chin in her hand, gazing at this brilliance with great interest—she kind of... wanted a toy like this.
Similarly, some hidden presences were also affected by this light.
For example... A certain Caster with wide eyes, sitting in front of a crystal ball, watching the light on the screen, tears streaming down his face.
He looked crazed:
"Oh! Jeanne!"
"It's Jeanne! Absolutely no mistake! The Lord has favored me!"
"Bakame, although she does look very similar from the face, that's definitely not that village girl, is it?" An annoyed girlish voice sounded from the side. A purple-haired girl in a Lolita dress, crossing her legs, unhappily swung a limb she had picked up from somewhere. My friend, has your eyesight also disappeared along with those bulging, lightbulb-like eyes?
She stared at the crystal ball with great interest, watching the light:
"However, although it's not that woman, this light is also very worthy of being defiled!"
"I've decided, I must ravage it! I'll turn this woman and her light into ashes, just like that village girl, not even fit to be pig feed!"
Prelati's Spellbook caressed her cheek, a morbid, eerie smile on her face.
"Let us defile all of this with 'love'!"