Chapter 360

"Let's prove who the real Ilya von Einzbern is!"

Chloe's body burst forth with Od, and the thorns sizzled as if lightning were flashing.

Ruby could sense that the radiation was far beyond what a human could produce, because Auntie Rin was extraordinary in terms of the Od production of her Magic Circuits. Even so, if Auntie Rin herself were present, she would definitely think that her opponent was unfathomable.

Faced with the tidal wave of Od projectiles, Chloe wielded her Twin Blades with abandon, as if time itself had stopped. All the Magic Bullet released from her True Magic around her instantly froze and were annihilated.

A large amount of Od scattered from the point of impact, and invisible ripples spread out in the air several times, only to disappear into the void like fireworks. The Od contained in each of these ripples was so great that it could make a proper Magecraft faint.

At first glance, the two seem to be evenly matched.

However, compared to the apprentice Ilya, the black-clad Ilya in front of them was clearly a master. In terms of Combat Techniques alone, she completely overwhelmed Ilya could only fire Magic Bullet.

"No matter how well you hide, you can't hide forever."

Pure light condensed from the Twin Blades, bursting forth with the Servant's power, and slashed down from the sky.

Instantly, Ilya felt a violent tremor in her wrist holding the Ruby, and the ground beneath her feet cracked open, spewing countless clods of earth. Under the overwhelming force, she was thrown backward, while Chloe leaped again, chasing after her and slashing with her Twin Blades once more.

Ilya narrowly escaped, but her arm was cut and bleeding.

"It's bleeding again... it really hurts..."

The silver-haired girl whispered blankly.

Previously, she would have lost the will to fight by now.

The girl was probably unconscious for a few seconds. She might not have realized it, but it could have lasted for tens of minutes or even hours. If possible, I'd like to just lie down and fall into a deep sleep.

This is what Ilya thought to herself.

My body is groaning, exhaustion is settling in my brain and nerves, and I feel as if I've fallen into a quagmire.

But right now, I can't fall down.

I'm certain that if I fall here, I'll face literal death, so I absolutely cannot fall, I absolutely cannot back down here.

"All that is born must perish; all beings suffer in the cycle of rebirth."

"Uproot the root of obsessive love and attachment with all your might; a piece of spiritual clarity is the old foundation."

Originally there was nothing, so where could dust settle?

What tribulations may come in the Future? They all depend on the tribulations of sentient beings.

"Gorgeous, brave, and passionate young women, just as there is no Bodhi tree, there is also Dragon Flower."

Just before unleashing her power, Ilya seemed to hear a voice from 'a distant place'.

Simultaneously, driven by an unconscious Magecraft Formula, the hands gently twisted the Ruby, then the force traveled from the soles of the feet to the calves, from the calves to the thighs, and from the thighs to the waist, continuously amplifying the transmitted power. This is the so-called Mimicry Circuits, though it is slightly inferior to using two True Magic together.

"Ruby!"

At the same time, the girl's body began to spasm.

An intense heat radiated from her entire body, instantly evaporating even the sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Come on, come on, this is the end--"

Echoing Chloe's roar, the Od around her intensified, transforming into a crimson ocean that surrounded her.

Once again, the crimson Twin Blades were swung, like a bow drawn to its limit.

The Od has been accumulated to its limit and is about to be released all at once.

From Chloe's mind, the image of Ilya being shattered appeared, followed by a relentless, unavoidable combo of throwing and slashing attacks.

Combined with its ability to teleport behind the enemy, the power to destroy Ilya is contained within these Twin Blades.

Meanwhile, all the pointers near this Small Park are spinning wildly.

This is an impossible phenomenon; every now and then, you can see several citizens stopping in their tracks, looking at the watches they are carrying with a puzzled expression.

However, with a whoosh, Chloe seemed to realize something, frowned abruptly, dissipated her Od on the ground, and coldly said to Ilya was somewhat bewildered by her actions:

"... You really have a silver spoon in your mouth."

Then it vanished into thin air before Ilya's eyes, but Ilya didn't have time to ponder why her other self had suddenly disappeared, because her ultimate attack was already in hand—

"What, what am I going to do? How am I going to get it back now?! Ruby, please help me!"

The silver-haired girl unleashed this 'ultimate move' unconsciously, and therefore didn't know how to retract it.

Even Ilya you beg me like this, I can't do anything about it right now. But if I keep sending them, it might break through Ivia's Bounded Field and be discovered by ordinary people. That would be terrible. Then those troublesome guys from the Association and the Church would come knocking, and it would be a huge hassle.

Therefore, Ruby came up with a good idea.

"Shoot it towards the ground!"

Although it cannot be completely eliminated, it should be able to offset some of it, Ruby thought.

However, the next moment, a voice uttered word by word, permeating the space.

"Although the Far East is beyond the reach of the Clock Tower, this is still going too far. Even though it's invisible to outsiders, and they might be able to cover it up with an excuse like abnormal weather, it's not convenient for people with strong Od perception. After all, we live in an information society now, and Caren is probably working overtime until midnight."

Even in the City, the sky, already tinged with Twilight and a hazy moon, was unusually clear, as if something pure was about to descend.

Even though the Sun was about to set, the hazy, crimson light of dawn seeped faintly into the other side.

"Ah..."

Ilya will probably never forget this scene for the rest of her life; it felt like a dream.

The light from his magic wand rushed forward, scorching heat and lightning paling in comparison. The torrent of light seemed to annihilate all matter, yet it was only glanced at by Ivia, who was walking home from school as usual, before vanishing into thin air as if by destiny.

To Ivia, who was still undergoing the Dragon Flower Tribulation, the whole world seemed like a bubble.

Whether it's people or things, they all seem essentially the same. In his eyes, they are like many bubbles stacked together, occasionally forming a shape like that, disappearing and dispersing, and being born in the dispersal, as if the world as a whole is just a facade.

In a sense, that might be forever.

If the illusory aggregate of bubbles is the world, then the illusory chain is equal to infinity. No matter how finely it is divided, it will only become thinner in an instant but will not disappear. The Planck Time is a lifetime in an instant, with the same number of Universe bursting and dissolving.

So--

Ilya, who will never forget this scene, must have had similar feelings.

In short, everything returned to calm, and Ivia and Ilya, still dressed in their Magical Girl costumes, looked at each other.

Neither of them spoke first. For Ivia, it was probably because she felt there was nothing to say, but for Ilya, there were just too many things she wanted to say, making her unsure how to begin. For example, how could you be like this? What happened to me just now...?

This outfit suits you very well.

But in the end, it was Ivia who spoke first.

"Ah, um, no, well, it's not really that suitable..."

"It really suits you; being confident in yourself is never a bad thing."

"Even so, I'd still feel embarrassed if you saw me wearing this!"

"Um?"

"Anyway, everything's fine now. I've taken the day off and need to go home and recover quickly..."

"No! There's only one truth! It's that you just lied, little Ilya!"

The sudden sound immediately caught Ilya's attention, who was already somewhat disoriented. She instinctively turned around and looked at the silver-haired woman peeking out from behind the park wall.

"... Mother?!"

Chapter 395 Ilya is cute on a Universe level!

The Twilight in Fuyuki City today seemed rather gloomy for some reason.

Although the temperature drop at night wasn't that drastic, to be honest, it was only within the margin of error; the current weather felt more like winter than spring.

"Ilya, aren't you going to watch it today?"

Upon hearing Leysritt's call, Ilya quickly lowered her head, then raised it slightly before lowering it again, looking troubled. The reason for this was quite simple—

"How many people are in Ivia's family? What's the relationship like between her parents, brother, sister, and other siblings? Her studies must be going very well, probably better Ilya's. After all, if she can grow her hair that long, her Teacher probably won't ignore her."

"Although it's not a good time to talk about this, do you and Ilya have any differences in taste? Or any minor conflicts? If so, why don't you just say it all since I'm here? After all, it's better to say things face-to-face than to keep them to yourself. Also, do you have any secret hideouts or anything like that? That little park? Did you already have a date today? Is that why Ilya is going there even though she's not feeling well?"

Ilya's mother, Irisviel von Einzbern, was currently babbling incessantly to Ivia, like a chatterbox.

After Irisviel witnessed Chloe and Ilya's battle, and then saw Ivia and Ilya's conversation, she stepped forward and, taking advantage of Ilya's confusion, used a motherly gesture, ruffling Ilya's head. Then, with the bewildered Ilya as witness, she invited Ivia to her house for dinner.

That's why Ilya is now in a situation that makes her feel so ashamed to face anyone.

However, at this moment, the only person in the Emiya family who was unfamiliar with Ivia was Sella. At first, when she saw Ivia brought by Irisviel and noticed her similar silver hair, she thought she was someone from the Einzbern family. But then she learned from Ilya's hesitant speech that she was a classmate.

Sella remembered several of Ilya's friends, since they would come over to do homework together every winter Summer Vacation, so they naturally left a deep impression on her. As for this boy named Ivia, Sella was sure that this was the first time she had ever seen him.

This inexplicably reminded her of Shirou Emiya's words and Leysritt's subtle smile at the end of the fourth semester, when she attended the graduation ceremony. Plus, the current Irisviel didn't seem like Ivia she was meeting for the first time... Could it be that her diligent efforts had led to her isolation?

This made Sella, who was cooking with Emiya in the kitchen, quite anxious, and she wore a miserable expression, as if she had just eaten a feast prepared by Leysritt.

"That Ivia... she's really just an ordinary classmate, right..."

Meanwhile, Irisviel in the living room was still nagging at Ivia, giving off a rather motherly vibe.

"So, how did you and Ilya meet? Did feelings develop during your daily interactions, or did some secret event enhance your relationship? How long have you known each other? Has anything else happened? What's it like living together? What do you usually call each other? Do you have any nicknames that only you two know, like Vivi, Ilya, Lily, or Yaya?"

"Okay, that's all!"

Already feeling very shy, Ilya immediately reached out and covered Irisviel's mouth with her hand.

"We're just classmates! What kind of nonsense is this, this 'secret base' nickname?!"

"Mmm, uh-huh."

It's like you said nothing at all, little Ilya, you're just throwing a punch at thin air.

Irisviel, whose mouth was covered by Ilya, narrowed her eyes and nodded.

Then, probably feeling that she had successfully stopped her mother Ilya released her hand from her mouth.

"Speaking of which, Ilya..."

"Irisviel I asked softly, raising my hands and squinting my eyes like a detective."

But the gentle tone of a mother asking a child a question startled Ilya, who feared that Irisviel would ask her about the outfit and the incident involving her in black. Although Irisviel didn't directly mention it, it made the girl blush again.

"I have a feeling... that Ilya is hiding something from me?"

All I can say is that Irisviel's questions are indeed insightful, considering that Ilya is currently hiding a lot of things. However, we can first divide them into two main categories: those related to Ivia and those related to Magical Girl.

"Ah, well... it's just... that..."

Ilya's ambiguous answer made Irisviel feel genuinely adored, so as a mother, she pondered for a moment, but after about thirty seconds, she continued:

"There's only one truth! Ilya, you don't really want others getting close to little Ivia, do you? I can tell, Mom!"

In that instant, a feeling of 'Mom, what nonsense are you talking about, especially in front of the person involved? How can you say such a thing?' washed over Ilya.

At the same time, she felt that her mother seemed to be hoping for this, so she almost wanted to throw out the 'fact' she had learned from Caren that Ivia suffered from severe misogyny in her answer, but after calming down and thinking about it, she realized that this was completely unacceptable.

Revealing someone else's secrets without permission is absolutely wrong, and... it's also part of the exchange.

"No, that's not it..."

Unlike the sense of accomplishment that comes from conveying what one is expected to say, Ilya felt a pang of loneliness instead.

Because Ivia didn't say a word from beginning to end, listening silently like an observer without answering.

By the way, Ivia He not get angry, he also doesn't panic. He neither feels Sorrow nor loses control. His temper is always very stable, without much emotional fluctuation, except for that time at the Theater when he looked bewildered because of me...

There's nothing we can do about it; it's just the way things are.

"Ilya probably doesn't want anyone near me because she thinks I have some kind of illness."

"Huh?"

Because this was Ivia's first time speaking, and what she said was quite peculiar, Irisviel blinked.

"I guess it's from Caren that she thinks I'm misogynistic... let's just say that's it."

The silence was filled with the noise of the living room. Even Leysritt, who was sitting on the Sofa watching Magical Girl, turned the screen to mute and waited for what would happen next. After another short silence, Ilya suddenly came to her senses and looked at her mother with a serious expression.

"Forcing someone to say something like that is all your fault, Mom! You need to apologize!"

"Oh, it's definitely my fault, Mom."

Irisviel rested her chin on one hand, gazing at Ilya who exuded such an aura, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.