Journey to Find Heroic Spirits

In Einzbern Castle, Kiritsugu and Kayneth were engaged in a battle to the death, their wits and skills locked in a fierce struggle with no clear victor.

Ultimately, Kiritsugu gravely wounded Kayneth with an Origin Bullet, prompting Kayneth to use a Command Spell to summon Diarmuid and escape.

Emiya, as planned, set up an ambush in the Demon Forest. However, Gilles de Rais, now on guard, thwarted Emiya's attempt, and the two sides entered a protracted battle.

Finally, Gilles de Rais sensed the death of his Master and retreated with great reluctance.

Emiya, knowing Yuxian had succeeded, did not pursue and returned to the Matou Family residence to rendezvous with Yuxian.

Without a Master, Gilles de Rais could only exist for a few hours at most, unless he found a new Master to contract with. However, he had already been declared a public enemy by the Church, and no Master would be willing to form a new contract with him.

Upon Emiya's return, he found Yuxian sprawled dominantly on the sofa, letting out a sigh of relief. He understood that Caster would be the first Servant to be eliminated tonight.

Just then, Illya, clad in a cute bunny pajama set, entered the living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

She pouted, her face a mask of displeasure, "You guys are so noisy every night, I'm getting dark circles under my eyes."

Yuxian and the other two exchanged glances, their expressions turning unnatural. They hadn't exactly been quiet, assuming the spacious Matou residence wouldn't disturb the rest of the three children.

The only factor they hadn't considered was that Illya wasn't an ordinary child. She was a Magical Girl, her senses far stronger than Sakura Matou's and Shinji's.

Yuxian walked over and crouched in front of Illya, sincerely admitting his mistake and comforting her, "It was our oversight. As compensation, how about I take you to the amusement park this weekend?"

"It's a deal!" Illya's mood instantly brightened upon hearing Yuxian's offer to take her to the amusement park, and she hopped away excitedly.

The bunny ears on her pajamas bobbed with her movements, looking incredibly cute.

Back in her room, Illya lay on her bed, too excited to sleep.

She took out the Ruby Wand and held it horizontally in front of her eyes, "Ruby, what should the Master and I wear to the amusement park?"

Ruby: Magical Girl outfit.

"No, no, there will be a lot of people at the amusement park, I should wear casual clothes."

Ruby: Then wear your bunny pajamas. I just noticed the Master seemed to really like seeing you in your pajamas; his eyes were glued to you.

"Ruby, I'm angry!"

Bang, bang, bang!

Illya puffed out her cheeks, swung the Ruby Wand, and forcefully banged it against the edge of the bed.

Ruby: I was wrong, I was wrong! Stop it, it's going to break!

"It'll be best if it breaks! I've had enough of you, you ill-tempered thing." Illya didn't stop her actions, still furious at Ruby for joking about the Master.

Ruby: Ah— I thought of it, I thought of it! Wear that pink dress.

Upon hearing this, Illya stopped smashing Ruby and asked uncertainly, "Really?"

Ruby: Really, really! That dress suits Illya the best!

Illya thought for a moment and accepted Ruby's suggestion, "Alright, I'll let you off this time."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a vast surge of magical power appeared.

Ruby: Illya!

"Ugh, what disgusting magic."

Ruby: It's an evil fellow, be careful.

"Oh dear!" Illya let out a scream, rolled off the bed, dropped the Ruby Wand, and ran to the wardrobe to rummage through it.

Ruby: Illya, what are you doing?

"It must be the Master's enemy, I have to go help the Master," Illya said as she quickly searched the wardrobe.

The Matou Family was quite wealthy, and Emiya never scrimped on any clothing style Illya liked. The wardrobe was full of clothes Emiya had bought for Illya over the past year.

"Found it."

Illya took out a pink dress from the wardrobe, the very one Ruby had suggested earlier.

She quickly put it on and dashed out.

Ruby: Illya, where are you going?

Illya suddenly ran back, picked up the Ruby Wand, and said, "I almost forgot, without Ruby, I can't transform into a Magical Girl."

Ruby: You can't go out, the Master won't allow it.

"Ruby, why are you so silly? We can just secretly follow behind the Master without him knowing."

Ruby: That's still not allowed!

Illya's tone softened as she said gently, "We'll follow secretly. If the Master isn't in danger, we'll sneak back to sleep. It'll be as if nothing happened, and no one will know."

Ruby was about to object again when Illya held it up, threatening, "If this isn't allowed, and that isn't allowed, I'm really going to smash you to pieces. You're useless anyway!"

Ruby: ...

Meanwhile, sensing the immense magical power, Yuxian and the other two quickly rushed to the scene.

Yuxian was furious. He had already killed Ryunosuke in advance, but Gilles de Rais had still managed to summon the Sea Monster.

By the time Yuxian arrived at the riverbank of Miwagawa, Artoria and Irisviel, and the King of Conquerors with Waver, had already reached the location.

Sola and Diarmuid appeared shortly after. Since Kayneth was critically injured by an Origin Bullet and lying in a hospital bed, Sola had become Diarmuid's new Master.

Golden Flash sat regally atop the Vimana, flying high above and surveying the entirety of Miwagawa.

A colossal Sea Monster appeared in Miwagawa, becoming the enemy of everyone present. If it couldn't be eliminated, it would cause incalculable disaster.

Artoria took the lead. Blessed by the Lady of the Lake, she ran across the water as if on solid ground.

The King of Conquerors, with his Noble Phantasm [Ionioi Hetairoi], could fly through the sky. He charged forward, slicing at the Sea Monster's tentacles.

Yuxian knew such attacks would be useless against the Sea Monster. He asked Emiya, "Can your [Imaginary Numbers Collapse] damage its core, the [Tome of the Sea God]?"

Emiya shook his head. He was outmatched. The power of [Imaginary Numbers Collapse] was limited and couldn't penetrate the Sea Monster's massive body to reach its core, unless he were to project a divine construct at any cost, such as [Excalibur].

Yuxian frowned, thinking to himself. It seemed Artoria would have to use [Excalibur].

He glanced at Diarmuid beside him. The righteous knight was closely observing the battle in the Miwagawa river.

If he told Diarmuid the truth, the knight wouldn't refuse to break [Gae Bulg]. Yuxian decided it was best to let Kiritsugu play the villain.

Meanwhile, Kariya, like a rabid dog, confronted Tokiomi again. Lancelot turned the reconnaissance fighter jets of the Self-Defense Forces into Noble Phantasms, engaging Golden Flash in an aerial battle.

Yuxian had no intention of dealing with these two, letting them play amongst themselves.

With the magical power supplied by the [Tome of the Sea God], the Sea Monster would constantly regenerate. The wounds inflicted upon it were utterly useless, healing instantly.

Section 10: Chapter Ten - Magical Girl Illya Makes a Sparkling Debut!

Just as everyone was at a loss, a small voice echoed from mid-air.

Silver-white long hair, red eyes, wearing a pink dress, a pair of light wings shimmering on her back, and holding a short gem-encrusted wand.

"Magical Girl Illyasviel von Einzbern has arrived! I will vanquish you in the name of the moon!"

Illya pointed towards the Sea Monster, speaking with full confidence.

Ruby: Illya, those aren't the usual lines for a Magical Girl.

"Really?" Illya's small eyes looked confused, her earlier imposing aura vanishing without a trace. "It's all the same, hehehe."

Illya's appearance drew everyone's attention. Especially the surname she spoke, Einzbern, which couldn't help but spark speculation.

Irisviel covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide, looking at Illya in disbelief.

Yuxian was extremely surprised by Illya's appearance. He was angry, and his tone became stern, "Illya, get down here!"

"No way! Illya is a Magical Girl, and she can help her Master too." Illya, uncharacteristically, did not obey Yuxian obediently.

Her tone was resolute, "This ugly, disgusting thing will be defeated by Illya!"

Seeing Illya's disobedience, Yuxian was about to speak again when Mash stopped him. "Senpai, Illya is serious. As your Servant, she also wishes to fight for you."

Yuxian's heart resisted the idea of a child like Illya participating in battle. However, seeing the determined expression on Illya's small face, he couldn't bear to disappoint her good intentions.

Yuxian closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them sharply. "Emiya, use your Clairvoyance to guide Illya. You must aim directly for the [Tome of the Sea God], without the slightest deviation!"

"Yes, Master."

Emiya drew his bow, and a conical spiral sword appeared on the string, its spiraling blade looking quite peculiar.

This was the [Fake Excalibur] he had created with Projection Magic, a replica of Caladbolg, the famous sword of the hero Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Celtic mythology. Legend had it that this sword was forged by the elves of the divine realm and possessed the mighty power of celestial lightning.

Emiya's hands were steady, without the slightest tremor. His gaze was sharp, piercing through the thick fog over Miwagawa, and he pointed the sword's tip at the Sea Monster's core.

Swish!

The spiral sword struck the Sea Monster at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, tearing a massive hole in its exterior.

"Now! Illyasviel von Einzbern, use your Noble Phantasm to strike where Emiya is pointing!" Yuxian raised his right hand, and the Command Spell on his hand instantly lit up.

Command Spell: Reinforce!

Since the decision was made, they had to go all out and could not afford failure.

"Yes, Master."

Illya concentrated all her focus, gathering the power within her body.

Ruby: Muscular system, nervous system, vascular system, lymphatic system, pseudo-magic circuit conversion... Complete!

As soon as Ruby finished speaking, Illya instantly flew high into the sky, raising her wand with both hands and swinging it forward with all her might.

"This is all of me..."

[Prisma Cadenza]!

A beam of starlight erupted from Illya, shining brilliantly across the night sky.

The immense magical power transformed into a colossal torrent of starlight, sweeping across the sky like a comet, and pouring down like a waterfall from the Milky Way towards the Sea Monster.

Everyone was stunned. At that moment, all their actions ceased. They could never have imagined that such immense power was contained within Illya's small body.

Even Golden Flash had to take notice. While he had absolute confidence in his [Enuma Elish], the sheer power of this attack made it impossible for him to ignore.

The power of Illya's Noble Phantasm, [Prisma Cadenza], was comparable to Golden Flash's [Enuma Elish]. Coupled with Yuxian's Command Spell reinforcement, the [Tome of the Sea God] within the Sea Monster was instantly annihilated.

This power, gained by converting her entire system into virtual magic circuits, was too much of a burden for Illya. It was also the reason Yuxian didn't want her to use her Noble Phantasm.

"Yay..." Seeing the Sea Monster successfully defeated, Illya weakly made a V-sign for victory. Immediately after, her whole body swayed. She couldn't maintain the Wings of Light on her back and plummeted from the sky.

Emiya lunged forward and caught her, preventing her from hitting the ground and sustaining further injury.

Irisviel also hurried over, asking with concern, "Is she... alright?"

Hearing Irisviel's voice, Illya mumbled hazily, "Huh! I think I heard Mom's voice. Did I mishear?"

Seeing Illya in such a poor state, Yuxian grew anxious. He quickly used a Command Spell on her.

Command Spell: Recover.

Illya's weakness slightly improved, but the effect was far from ideal.

This weakness was more due to the burden on her own body rather than external injuries. Yuxian's Level 1 Command Spell recovery had limited effect; Illya would need time to recover on her own.

Facing this situation, Yuxian didn't want to linger any longer. He said, "I'll leave the rest to you."

"King of Conquerors Iskandar, how can I lose to a child! Come on, Saber, let's see who defeats more Sea Monsters." The King of Conquerors roared with laughter, charging into the Miyu River on his Chariot of the Firmament to deal with the remaining Sea Monsters.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Artoria agreed. She ran across the river's surface, slashing and killing the Sea Monsters she encountered.

The remaining Sea Monsters were quickly cleared.

Caster officially became the first Servant to be eliminated in this Holy Grail War. Chapter 11: Holy Grail Q&A? Let's Have a Potluck Instead!

Yuxian and the others returned to the Matou Family residence. They laid Illya on the bed, and Mash voluntarily stayed behind to take care of her.