Chapter 379

In that instant, the Thunderbolt suddenly moved, exerting force and spreading outwards. Countless chaotic forces spread and shook Ilya's entire body with the pulsation of the air, affecting her muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and lymph nodes without exception. Silently, all the spreading forces burst forth, and she felt as if flames were rising from her abdomen, bringing a burning pain.

As expected, Ilya was shot down, her whole body wracked with pain, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Is this considered equal strength?"

Ruby couldn't help but shout. In her eyes, the new form that she and her sister Sapphire had created by merging into one was now being possessed by the strongest Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya. How could such a situation occur when they were of equal power? After all, the two sisters were the old man's creations!

If Ruby hadn't genuinely sensed that Ivia's power had significantly weakened compared to before, she would have wondered if she'd been tricked.

"Sister, it's just that the accuracy is too high now, and Lady Ilya isn't used to it yet, although even if she gets used to it, it will probably be about the same."

Sapphire, on the other hand, remained as calm as ever.

Chloe, who was in charge of the covert operation, suddenly appeared behind Ilya the instant Ilya was defeated head-on. She extended a small knife towards Ivia's neck. Even though she was so close, the closer she got to deliver the blow, the more she felt a painful sense of helplessness, as if the vast starry sky was pressing down on her.

At the same time, Ivia did not turn around, but simply pushed the Thunderbolt that had been extended forward backward, its calmness carrying a terrifying power capable of crushing everything.

In that instant, Chloe's vision went black, her Twin Blades slipped from her hands, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

Only the gradually increasing gravity from afar told the Pink-Haired Girl that she, like Ilya, was falling.

Is it over...?

Ivia stretched out her other hand, clenched her fists, and grabbed the Walking Stick that was hurtling towards her.

Between his five fingers, the Walking Stick was still buzzing, just a hair's breadth from his chest. It had been thrown from Luce to restrain Ivia's forces, but to Ivia, Luce's actions were childish and ridiculous; Walking Stick shouldn't be used like that.

So he threw the Walking Stick from his hand and stomped on it, propelling himself to a higher position, and then swung it upwards.

There was no overwhelming force, no sense of distance, no intense tremors, and no unusual sensations.

However, it was enough to make the target involuntarily have a premonition that he was about to die.

Upon seeing this, Luce, who had come from the surface, grabbed Ilya and Chloe, who were both in a daze, and rushed to the ground.

As the seawater soaked his shoes, Luce, who had been kneeling in a gesture of worship, carefully grasped their hands and sighed.

"Just accept it, don't worry about it too much, it's not like we won't grow up anyway."

Luce then took a deep breath, placed their hands in each other's palms, and made a prayer-like gesture. In the fleeting light that followed, figures appeared; from Od perspective, this was simply a transfer of Od.

However, this time it seemed to be different. It was as if they had crossed an unknown distance and received assistance from the void. They suddenly gained an unknown amount of Od, which formed a wave that forcefully entangled the rushing light shot out by the Heavenly Wheel Cannon. At the same time, it forcefully transformed into two identical Cards and merged into the two people's bodies.

A series of vibrant lights emerged from Luce and the Walking Stick that had fallen beside him, merging into Chloe's back like a solar corona. Meanwhile, Ilya's dim, wing-like Od shone like Stars in the darkness, and a pure light, as if transformed into the moon, gently fell behind Dragon Flower, who was confronting Miyu.

At the same time, the sea appeared before Ilya and Chloe, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

The waves come and go, go and come again.

Their eyes vaguely reflected this seemingly eternal repetition, and neither of them spoke, only the sounds of the wind and waves passing by.

"Hmm... I gave the Walking Stick to that girl over there, but even so, you two did a good job, very good indeed."

A sound arose from the seaside, a gentle sound, a sound that evoked longing.

Before they knew it, two figures appeared beside them.

"It's strange that he, who is so earnest, honest, and gentle, like the so-called model child of other people's families, would do this, hinting at it through everyday words instead of saying it directly. However, it's more accurate to say that the gesture was unintentional rather than deliberate."

The first image of the Daoist priest was talking to himself in an extremely familiar manner.

Ilya subconsciously looked at the figure, because the reason she told Chloe about the brother and sister Ivia met at the Animal Theater that day, dressed as the Lion-kun, was entirely what the girl thought was a 'hint,' that is, what Ivia said to her as a way to give her an out on the day she mistakenly thought the letter from Rin Tohsaka was a love letter.

After being told things like, "Listen carefully to what I say," and "I don't think we're from two different worlds," Ivia finally managed to tell the two of them, "You have to win," thus limiting their power to an equal level. However, even so, the two of them were no match for her.

The second person remained silent, quietly observing every move.

"Alright, I should probably pick it up now. It would be terrible if it rusted. Although it's nowhere near as good as Walking Stick, this is all I can do for now."

As soon as she finished speaking, a gauntlet appeared in the hands of both Ilya and Chloe.

It Gilgamesh under the washing of the waves, it Gilgamesh under the Sun; not brilliantly, but Gilgamesh.

Like the eternal sea reflecting the Sun, the gold and silver items shine even brighter.

"But even if it's unintentional, you shouldn't lie so blatantly, right?"

The first figure asserted forcefully, then turned and disappeared from their sight.

Then, the second figure spoke.

"The unbroken will of humanity is a blessing in one sense and a curse in another. However, in the present situation, the blessing of Perfection has become a curse, and thus, past Desire have been reversed into blessings, like cancer."

In that instant, Ilya realized that this wasn't the first time the owner of the voice had spoken to her. It was the same voice that had spoken to her when she first met and fought with Kuro, uttering strange Buddhism phrases.

"All beings are inherently pure, without birth or death—brave maidens, go and find out who spoke these words."

In that instant, the two who felt the pressure from the outside world also woke up at the same time. Facing the Thunderbolt that seemed to be about to sever the world, the two of them simultaneously swung their prepared gauntlets at it. Then, a storm of light and impact rose high on the high ground to fight against the Thunderbolt.

Once everything had calmed down, Ilya and Chloe, panting heavily, finally managed to get up again. Under Luce's expectant gaze, they shot into the sky at an unpredictable speed, rising like a raging tornado. In the blink of an eye, they climbed to Supreme Being and finally arrived in front of Ivia, who was waiting there.

He even leisurely gripped the Thunderbolt, and then, as Ilya swung her gauntlets at him, he struck again with the vajra. As their weapons clashed perfectly, the Od contained within them burst forth, transforming into a strong wind that swept outwards.

"Actually, I've been wondering about this ever since... what did that person mean by lying?"

"Even if you say that, Ilya, it's something you figured out yourself. Besides, I didn't lie. There's no need to use the same old tricks."

As he spoke, a strong aura emanated from behind Ivia, so he turned slightly to the side and grabbed Chloe's wrist with his free hand.

"Chloe, your movements were too flawed."

As Ivia calmly announced this, she prepared to grab Chloe's wrist and throw her away gracefully, using her Thunderbolt to send Ilya. The two were about to be sent flying again, but now "flicked away" would be a more accurate description than before.

Ultimately, even though the two had received incredible enhancements, Ivia could still defeat them effortlessly. Space, terrain, airflow, and even air density were all things that Ivia could control with a single thought, all enveloped by the Heavenly Wheel Thread.

Even if you say that, what kind of brother would hit his own sister?!

However, Chloe chose to throw off her boxing gloves and bend down with unexpected speed, aiming straight for Ivia's chest. Her elbow also rose rapidly as if to pierce Ivia's chest cavity. Theoretically, if she continued, the girl's elbow strike could put Ivia into a brief daze.

But for Chloe, the extremely gentle and urgent desire to be accepted and live an ordinary, everyday life—wasn't that the very thing she received from Ivia? Even if it was truly because of that phrase, "You must win," that she felt compelled to do it, could she really bring herself to do it when the time was right?

Wanting to defeat someone or something.

Who you want to be with, etc.

Therefore, Chloe abandoned the most likely strike, the elbow, and instead grabbed the skin, her fingers digging in tightly.

"Even what I considered my only family treats me like this, so why did I abandon Einzbern? This is the result, and I deeply regret it..."

For the first time in a long time, Chloe's tone was full of sarcasm.

Ivia interrupted her, "You know I won't let a wish fail."

"Of course I knew, although I didn't at the time."

Chloe nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But even so, I still told you, because although you've always acted like someone else, you have a strange sense of responsibility. You won't ignore things; you'll always find a way to take care of them. I thought it was really strange of you as Magecraft, but it was precisely because of this nature of yours that I had expectations for you, which is why I made you my older brother!"

Perhaps it was in front of that Theater, where Ivia cast a spell on Ilya with her True Magic —this memory is also an incredibly precious past for Chloe.

"Just you wait, I've already regretted it! You're no longer my brother! Ilya! Now you're my sister!"

In an instant, through sensory interaction, Chloe, who had been standing in front of Ivia, disappeared, seemingly miraculously merging with Ilya, who was stunned by the sight. As a result, Ilya's appearance changed slightly; her hair, a mixture of silver and pink, and parts of her skin turned wheat-colored, and Shemesh appeared behind her, like Universe star.

"... Hey? Where are you Kuro?!"

Ilya uttered a confused sound, and then the next moment Chloe's voice came out.

"Don't scream! I'm right here! Inside your body! Shoot me!"

In fact, neither of them disappeared, their personalities remained unchanged, and nothing changed. They simply merged their powers, becoming each other's shadows.

After a brief moment of surprise, Ilya lowered her waist, leaped backward, and retrieved her two gauntlets.

Ivia looked calmly at the two of them as Ilya, holding Thunderbolt made of leaves in her hand, assuming a pose.

Even in the face of someone like this, there will still be people who stand up and resist, so that they can live in today filled with smiles, so that they can live in tomorrow they once gave up on, hoping that the day after tomorrow and in the future will be the same. I truly believe this.

Ivia spoke quietly.

It was almost like an answer, a response from Ilya and Chloe, burdened with intense emotions, as if they were making the most natural and immediate reply to everything Ivia had said.

"I don't really understand! But, Kuro and I will—"

"I don't understand! Anyway, you bastard Ivia, just you wait, Ilya and I are going to use our fists—"

Something shone from Ilya's body—a fierce golden radiance filled with a violent roar.

Then, the gauntlet and the Thunderbolt collided and remained motionless, stopping perfectly still at a single point. In an instant, a silent, scorching world suddenly unfolded between them, flowers bloomed around Ivia, and a Rainbow of seven colors spread out from her feet.

Ivia sensed a connection between the girl before her and the surging emotions within her, and those same surging emotions also existed throughout her body; conceptually, there was little difference.

Then, the Thunderbolt held by Ivia gradually decomposed into leaves.

We are liberated.

The darkness trembled, and the light that filled Ilya's vision surged into the darkness.

Born from the newborn darkness is nothingness in the literal sense, infinite nothingness.

Then came the explosion.

Thus, in infinite depth and breadth, a magnificent and intense radiance unfolded, stretching as far as the eye could see.

In the radiance, stars were born, spinning and expanding infinitely, forming vortexes of nebulae, depicting the shape of the Universe.

This is an overly dreamlike scene, a grand mental image that transcends events and objects, disintegrating and generating like a burning flame.

In that context, Ilya's figure was terrifyingly small, nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust.

As demonstrated, even though Ilya and Chloe exhausted all they could—

They still couldn't defeat Ivia.

So Ilya cried out in despair:

"Well, anyway, at least tell us as much as you can! What lie did you tell us?"

A brief silence followed again. Ivia froze, then sighed and shook her head at Ilya.

"As Maitreya, I would never lie to you under any circumstances."

At this moment, Ilya's expression became increasingly strange, and she frowned.

"That's right, I understand now, it must be a lie in that sentence."

"... Yeah?"

Ivia looked at Ilya's determined expression, "What do you mean?"

"I, Ilya, wish to make a wish upon Ivia-- "

At that moment, Ilya remembered the voice she had heard while she was unconscious, so she spoke without hesitation.

"Tell me, is it you, Ivia, who said that all sentient beings are inherently pure, without birth or death?"

"This is a verse from the * Wudeng Yantong *: 'The nature of all sentient beings is pure, originally without birth or death; this very body and mind are illusory Maya, within which there is neither sin nor merit, this is Kasyapa—'"

For the first time, Ivia was stunned as she spoke those words.

However, when Ilya learned that it wasn't actually Ivia who said those words, she was already filled with regret.

She thought that line was some kind of trump card to turn the tide against Ivia, but it wasn't at all. What to do now? Should she immediately make a second wish—that is, originally want Ivia to lose? What to do now? And Ivia is truly unexpectedly powerful; how could there be a villain with such a huge power imbalance...?

However, the next second...

Ilya heard a sound, like the heartbeat of the entire Universe. When she looked up, she realized that Ivia, who was holding the Thunderbolt, was also having a heartbeat that was almost breaking.

The sound violently shook the Universe, the "thump, thump" rhythm growing faster and faster, as if something was about to appear there.

The grand vision was thus shattered.

The real world reappeared before Ilya's eyes, and the hazy Dragon Flower Tree was replaced by Leaf continuously emerging from the Thunderbolt in Ivia's hand.

"What's going on now...?"

Listening to Ilya's silver-haired murmurs, Ivia scratched her face and then spoke.

That's Banyan Tree.

"Ah! I know, but... do we still have to fight...?"

Ilya thought she might have triggered some kind of second phase of Ivia's powers, but Ivia wanted to laugh at Ilya's overreaction, but remembering what had happened earlier, she only coughed once or twice.

"Of course not, or rather, I've already given up. Consider it my surrender."

Perhaps Ivia's attitude changed too quickly, leaving Ilya unsure how to respond. After a moment, she slowly, as if pondering her words, said: