Changes

In peaceful Fuyuki City, inside the Tohsaka residence.

Tokiomi Tohsaka was in the basement, taking an elegant sip of red wine with a smile.

This time, the Holy Grail War is as good as won. How could I lose with such a trump card? Even the greatest threat has been eliminated. Oh, no, I mustn't be arrogant. Everything must be handled gradually.

With that thought, Tokiomi Tohsaka opened a box. Inside was a completely faded flag.

"Tokiomi, is this your other precaution?"

Light gathered, and a blond man in golden armor appeared.

Tokiomi immediately dropped to one knee and replied, "I wouldn't presume. This is merely to prevent any unnecessary risks."

When Tokiomi had successfully secured the first piece of fossilized snakeskin, Bai Ermo's flag had appeared at another auction house. Tokiomi knew full well that once the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, had been successfully summoned, ordinary Servants would be no match for him.

However, the King of Heroes was a Heroic Spirit with the blood of a demigod. It would be far too dangerous for him to face a godslayer. Thus, Tokiomi had spared no expense.

The Tohsaka Family's finances had instantly exploded.

But that was fine. As long as he could reach the Root, it would all be worth it. As for why he hadn't summoned Bai Ermo, one reason was that there were too many uncertainties surrounding that Heroic Spirit. If he were under Athena's control, the cost would far outweigh the gains. The other was that Tokiomi believed his own conduct as a retainer would surely earn him the King of Heroes' approval, so there was no need to choose an uncontrollable existence.

But in the King of Heroes' eyes, Tokiomi's conduct was a profound disappointment.

"Tokiomi, are you afraid?" Gilgamesh's voice grew colder and colder, and Tokiomi's tone became increasingly respectful.

"How could your humble retainer dare think such a thing? I merely wish to prevent any madman from disturbing my king."

"Hmph." Gilgamesh gave a cold snort. If anything, he would have liked to meet the man who had slain gods. But now, this Holy Grail War was becoming more and more boring. He almost wanted to drink a vial of youth-restoring potion and be done with it.

Far away, in a mountain forest in Germany that was covered in ice and snow all year round, a castle of snow stood in silence.

"Leyritt, could you get that for me? I can't reach it."

The elf-like girl stood on tiptoe, trying to reach a book on an upper shelf. Einzbern Castle had a library; magi disliked modern technology, so the library served as a source of intelligence and information.

A conservatively dressed maid approached, a conspicuous bow on her pure white cap. The maid took down the book for her and weighed it in her hand.

"Lady Illya, please don't do anything so dangerous on your own. Has the madam only just left, and you're already bored?"

Another maid walked over. Unlike the one helping Illya, her expression was more animated, and her tone more human.

"But I really am bored. Daddy won't be back for two weeks, and Mommy said she was going somewhere else..."

Illya lowered her head, and the little commotion ended without further incident. The book was put back on the shelf. That evening, after finishing dinner, Illya returned to her room. The spacious room was empty except for a very large double bed. The wind and snow at night were her lullaby, but tonight, Illya seemed to have another diversion.

A thick book lay beneath her pillow. It was a storybook, quite a few years old.

"Leyritt, wow, thank you so much."

Basking in the maid's special favor, Illya eagerly opened the book. For the next two weeks, it would be her entertainment at night.

The wind and snow blew outside the window as Illya turned the pages one by one. No sign of weariness appeared on her face. Like a teenager staying up late on her phone, she was captivated by the novel stories.

Outside, Leyritt stood by the window, watching the snow sweep across the sky.

"Leyritt, are you daydreaming?"

Sella came over from the side, looking almost angry at the idle Leyritt.

"There's still plenty of work, isn't there? The waste in the east wing workshop still needs to be collected. Really, what are you doing here?"

At the mention of the waste that needed collecting, Leyritt lowered her head slightly. Sella could see the dimness in her eyes. Seeing this, she reached out and patted Leyritt on the shoulder to comfort her.

"If Einzbern fails to achieve its goal, will we end up like that?"

Sella nodded. Not knowing what death was, they, as tools, had no attachment to life. But Leyritt's next question robbed her of her composure.

"Then, will Illya end up like that too?"

Sella fell silent, then slowly said, "No. Lord Kiritsugu and the madam will surely..."

"Will they win?"

"They surely will..."

In Illya's bedroom-

"That person who came with Daddy before... she seemed to be a knight. When I finish this, should I read the epic of King Arthur...?"

Illya lay on her stomach on the bed, her pink feet swinging as her ruby-like eyes followed the storybook in her hands. The room was very warm, and Illya had only a blanket over her. Absorbed in her reading, she failed to notice the space not far away twisting strangely.

The next moment, a violent light burst forth from the whole of Einzbern Castle. Before Illya could even react, tremendous energy effortlessly tore apart the room reinforced with magecraft. Its range grew ever wider, like a shark in the deep sea opening its bloody maw to bite and devour its prey.

In a daze, Illya saw only a person's silhouette in the blinding light.

The violent explosion was heard by every creature in Einzbern with the ability to hear. Everyone looked in that direction at once.

"That place is-!"

Sella was stunned, but Leyritt had already rushed off without a moment's hesitation.

Illya was there. Only one thought filled Leyritt's mind: she had to reach Illya's side at once, whether or not she could make it in time.

The cold wind howled. Illya kept her eyes tightly shut. An explosion of that magnitude could have crushed her as easily as a flame burned a tissue, yet she was alive. She sat on the ground, the piercing wind shrieking in her ears, but she felt no cold at all.

"Sorry, little girl, but you really are unlucky."

Bai Mo stood before Illya. No cold reached the area around him, and the unmelted snow at his feet gave off a steady warmth.

Moonlight spilled down, and Illya finally saw what the person before her looked like.

Bai Mo extended a hand to Illya, who sat on the ground. The surrounding snow melted, and snowflakes vaporized and sublimated on their own as they drew near him. Gradually, the place where the two stood seemed to become a haven amid the wind and snow.

"Illya!"

"Please get back, Lady Illya!"

The two maids quickly reached Illya's side and shielded her behind them just as she was about to reach out her hand. At the same time, they sized up the intruder before them.

Bai Mo paid no attention to the armed people in front of him. Instead, he emptied his mind and sensed everything around him.

He was in a remote mountain forest, completely covered in ice and snow, with a fairy-tale castle standing in its midst. But judging by both the architecture and the surrounding vegetation, this wasn't Japan.

"Excuse me, you two. What era is this, and where are we?"

"You... aren't an intruder?"

He had smashed straight through the castle wall and breached the castle. Indeed, Bai Mo's actions at the moment were no different from an intruder's, and he could do little about that.

"You really know how to stir things up. When I went to ancient Greece before, it wasn't nearly this big a commotion. If it had been different, I probably would've blown Jason to death on the spot."

Bai Mo grumbled inwardly, and the system's voice offered an explanation.

"Back then you only had electric current push. Now you're at two hundred and fifty thousand horsepower, you know? How could it be the same? We're probably somewhere in Germany. See the white-haired one? The youngest one."

"Hmm, she does seem a little different from the other homunculi."

While Bai Mo spoke with the system in his mind, Leyritt looked back. Thanks to Bai Mo, Einzbern's defensive barrier had now been completely destroyed.

"Sella."

"What is it, Leyritt?"

Sella shifted her gaze from Bai Mo to Leyritt and found her staring fixedly at the breach, like a bird looking at the open door of its cage.

An ominous feeling rose in Sella's heart.

"Illya, do you want to go to Kiritsugu?"

Leyritt asked the question abruptly. Too many things had happened all at once for Illya to react, but at the sound of the familiar name, she nodded.

When children encountered difficulties they couldn't solve, they would always instinctively turn to their parents.

Leyritt took off her clothing, wrapped Illya in it, and immediately rushed toward the breach.

"Wait, Leyritt!"

Sella called out to stop her, but Leyritt seemed to have made up her mind and left only her retreating figure behind. Bai Mo watched Leyritt depart, part of his attention on what the system was saying.

"A homunculus... no, she already has a soul of her own, doesn't she?"

Leyritt carried Illya at tremendous speed, faster even than the wolves in the forest. But she was no hunter pursuing prey now; she was the prey fleeing for her life.

White doves woven from threads turned into sharp swords, and tracking familiars surrounded her one after another. Leyritt swung her axe down and tore an opening through them, but she was wounded in the process. Blue blood soaked her pure white dress, like a magnificent blue rose.

"Wait! Master, Leyritt must have made a mistake. Please don't kill her."

Unable to catch up with Leyritt, Sella could only plead with the familiars.

Leyritt kept running, while Illya, held in her arms, was so distraught she was nearly in tears.

"Leyritt, please stop. You're bleeding so much."

But she didn't stop. Her left arm was already gone, yet the homunculus maid showed no sign of distress. She smiled at Illya, as gently as she always did.

"It's all right, Illya. I'll find a way to get you out of here. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."

Ahadon watched Leyritt expressionlessly, merely calculating the angle of attack that would avoid harming the Holy Grail's vessel. After all, it would be a terrible waste to lose a creation like Illya here.

As she turned sideways, a sharp straight sword thrust at her. The calculation was exquisitely precise; barring an accident, the blow would decapitate Leyritt outright.

Leyritt watched the Mystic Code shooting toward her, the sensation of death rushing over her. But what filled her heart was not fear of death, but regret-regret that she had failed to take Illya away.

"Enough."

A figure suddenly appeared in the path of the Mystic Code's surprise attack. He caught the Mystic Code, which had turned into a sharp sword, between two fingers and squeezed lightly. The sharp white dove sword shattered piece by piece.

Bai Mo casually tossed away the threads and looked back. Leyritt was on her knees, still holding Illya tightly in both arms.

"Don't worry. If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have needed to go to all this trouble."

Bai Mo extended his hand, and Leyritt's wounds miraculously healed in an instant. Her severed left arm also stopped bleeding.

Cellular Regeneration at the level of magnetic field rotation really is something, Bai Mo thought. Then he looked at the severed arm and casually waved a hand, bringing the severed limb into his grasp.

Generally speaking, regenerating a severed limb required more than two hundred and fifty thousand horsepower.

While he had been training with Oga, Oga had pointed out that his horsepower had been forcibly raised under pressure. Of the three factors-magnetic field horsepower, flow, and the Complete Realm-magnetic field horsepower was not the most important.

"There's nothing wrong with the way you trained before. Suppress your magnetic field power and focus on improving your Complete Realm. You'll only see greater results later." After saying that, Oga had said no more.

Bai Mo placed the severed end of the arm against Leyritt's stump. Electric light flashed through the flesh at the wound, and intense pain appeared on Leyritt's face.

"Hang on. It'll be over soon."

Bai Mo's words carried an inexplicable sense of reassurance. As a warm sensation traveled from the severed arm to her brain, blood spattered continuously from the wound, then turned into a pale blue mist. At last, only a milky-white mark remained where the gruesome wound had been, and the arm was reattached.

"Just as I thought. As long as my Complete Realm and flow are sufficient, even this level is enough to repair a severed limb. Looks like Oga was right. There's no need to rush to raise my horsepower at all."

Behind him, countless flying swords formed from Mystic Codes stood ready to strike, encircling Bai Mo layer upon layer.

A homunculus walked over and said, "These two are the property of Einzbern. Please return them, sir."

The homunculus spoke those cold words expressionlessly. Leyritt was exhausted, and Sella, who was not a combat model, had no fighting ability at all. Illya could only look hopefully at the stranger before her.

"Property? That's an awful thing to call them, but for someone like you who's barely different from a machine, I suppose it's true."

A warm breeze blew, and the ice and snow beneath Illya and Leyritt quietly melted.

"Anyone capable of thought is entitled to freedom. They've already made their choice. Although I'm sorry for destroying your castle, that's a separate matter."

Bai Mo took a step forward, standing alone before the countless white dove Mystic Codes and homunculus guards.

"I can't agree with you. They aren't property. If you won't listen to reason, I also know a thing or two about fighting."