"Seriously... I was just getting to the good part!"
A childish complaint and a face full of reluctance, little Illya, who had been forcibly dragged out, grumbled.
"Oh, what part were you watching?"
"Mami-senpai! It's Mami-senpai! A magical girl who's like an older sister, both elegant and excellent... I really want a magical girl senpai like that too." Talking about her favorite topic, little Illya's resentment instantly vanished. Just like elementary school girls who can't stop chattering excitedly once a suitable topic comes up, she chirped about her preferences.
Undoubtedly, for little Illya, who had always loved watching magical girl anime and even fantasized about becoming a magical girl herself, a senpai like Mami Tomoe perfectly refreshed her understanding of magical girls.
Little Illya, with a slight tendency to favor the new and tire of the old, now had Mami-senpai as her favorite magical girl! And the cute Kyubey! A magical girl's pet should be something that cute, right?
Thinking about her own 'perverted wand,' which was like a pervert constantly having lewd thoughts about her, the stark contrast made little Illya sigh deeply.
"Oh~"
[Illya], smiling brightly, said meaningfully, then comforted the former:
"Well, it's okay to watch it again when we get back, but right now, there are more important things to do."
"Eh... Are we going to start fighting?" Little Illya asked, feeling somewhat apprehensive.
"Not that fast. After all, for us, because Illya is too weak, as a magus, it's obviously better to avoid battles as much as possible."
"But observing the battle situation is also something we must do."
"Hey, look at that."
Casually handing Illya a pair of binoculars and pointing in a certain direction, the bewildered little Illya took the binoculars and looked in that direction, then became excited:
"Eh... That's Mom!"
One could see Irisviel in a purple casual outfit strolling, with Saber in a black suit beside her, looking every bit a handsome woman in men's clothing.
"What are Mom and the others doing here?"
"Admiring the scenery, of course. After all, unlike the Irisviel you know, this Mom has always stayed in Einzbern Castle... That being said, there isn't much difference, just different choices." [Illya] said casually, able to see that direction with her naked eye, appearing unconcerned.
In fact, Illya's mother from her world and this one weren't much different; after all, a Holy Grail War also occurred there.
The only difference was—that world's Kiritsugu made the right choice.
He gave up the Holy Grail and chose his family. Thereafter, he no longer fantasized about using impractical means like the Holy Grail but instead personally took action to achieve his ideals.
"Mmm... I feel like this world's Mom is a bit pitiful."
Little Illya, not knowing the full story, scratched her cheek.
"Then... Are we going to see Mom?"
"Nope... Didn't I tell you? We're here to observe the battle situation... Here they come!"
She emphasized.
The next moment—
"AAAAAAARRRTTHHHUUUURRRR!!!"
An extremely furious roar shattered the peace of this beach, also stunning Saber, who was smiling and accompanying Irisviel.
For Mordred.
She approached this Holy Grail War with a relatively lax attitude—her ideal, to gain King Arthur's recognition and become the King of Britain, was her motivation for seeking the Holy Grail.
But essentially, this was a lack of love.
However, quite coincidentally.
She and her Master, Kairi Sisigou, seemed to get along surprisingly well.
Although Kairi Sisigou's desire for the Holy Grail stemmed from his family's flaw, thus wanting to use the Holy Grail to make up for it and complete his family's legacy, in reality, his desire for it wasn't that strong.
When facing Mordred, in his eyes, this child, rather than the infamous Knight of Treachery who destroyed the Arthurian dynasty, actually resembled her appearance more—a little girl lacking love and recognition. Sisigou saw the shadow of his adopted daughter in her.
Therefore, his greatest aspiration in participating in this Holy Grail War might have already shifted from continuing his family line to assisting this child in fulfilling her wish, or perhaps simply wanting to fight alongside Mordred.
Regarding this, although Mordred's feelings weren't that strong, she also enjoyed this situation—little Mo did indeed feel from him the things she craved but couldn't obtain.
Despite bearing the terrible reputation of the Knight of Treachery, she was willing to fight for him.
After some pleasant conversation, Sisigou proactively offered to take her to scout the terrain while also taking a look at the scenery of Japan. Honestly, for Sisigou, Japan was also his long-lost homeland.
Little Mo didn't refuse.
Although in her eyes, the so-called Japan was just that.
Because they were both island nations, apart from some distinct Far Eastern characteristics and modern changes, it didn't seem much different from the British Isles.
This relatively leisurely stroll continued until she saw that face.
Saw that 'detestable face' smiling beside the white-haired woman.
At this moment, little Mo was no longer calm.
Ferociously, she roared out that name she thought of day and night, the name she was obsessed with.
"Arthur!"
Suddenly having her True Name called out made Saber pause for a moment. Her subconscious thought was, Have I met an acquaintance? But when she saw that person, Miss Saber had to admit, it was indeed an acquaintance—all too familiar.
"Mordred!" Her smile vanished in an instant, and Saber became cold and furious.
Although in countless days and nights, on the battlefield of Camlann, she would ponder past gains and losses.
But undoubtedly, she held an irresolvable anger towards this 'great filial son' of hers who had ended the Camelot dynasty she had fought for her entire life.
"Arthur!!!"
"Mordred!!!"
Crimson magical energy surged. In almost an instant, both sides clashed amidst ferocious roars.
Although they were father and son... well, considering gender, mother and daughter might be a more appropriate term? But undoubtedly, these two were absolute sworn enemies, meeting with particular fury!
"Clang—!"
The sound of metal clashing shattered the tranquility of the night, also seemingly kicking off the first act after Gilgamesh and Enkidu's opening ceremony.
This undisguised clash of magical energy directly made Mr. Kiritsugu Emiya, who was secretly searching for the tracks of other Masters and gathering intelligence, see black.
This was different from the established strategy.
Because he had seen those two monsters, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, he felt that even with King Arthur, it would be extremely difficult to deal with such fellows head-on. Therefore, Mr. Kiritsugu's idea for this Holy Grail War was to temporarily lie low.
Let Saber hide, muddle through as much as possible, let others start the fighting first, and then he would find a way to sneakily take out the Masters of those two monsters.
By then, Enkidu, without a Master, would be directly eliminated.
And Gilgamesh, as an Archer with Independent Action, would be troublesome, requiring vigilance against him contracting with other Masters. But that time would undoubtedly also be when Gilgamesh was at his weakest. At that point, using a Command Spell to boost Saber, she could completely handle him.
The plan was perfect. All that remained was—eliminating the other Masters and Servants.
But then...
His own Servant started fighting first?
"Pfft..." Kiritsugu Emiya, whose old wounds hadn't healed, clutched his chest, nearly spitting out a mouthful of old blood.
He just wanted Irisviel to live her last days well, how did it turn into this?
"What do we do next?"
Maiya Hisau asked with a blank expression. "...Let's go over there and check the situation first."
Although he was so angry he was about to vomit blood, he couldn't possibly spend a Command Spell on something like this. Besides, if he recalled Saber, wouldn't Irisviel, left behind, be directly eliminated?
Thinking of his original plan to use Irisviel as a shield to confuse others' actions, Kiritsugu Emiya could only adapt to the circumstances, hoping to find a new opportunity.
When the Holy Grail War erupted, undoubtedly, all Masters' gazes would be focused here, noticing the situation of these battling Servants.
"The blue one is Saber... This one in full armor..."
"Is it Berserker?"
Unaware that the rules of the Holy Grail War had changed, seeing Saber's fighting style, although they couldn't see her weapon, they could subconsciously make a judgment. As for Mordred, because she possessed the Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, Helm of Hidden Infidelity (C), outsiders couldn't possibly see the Servant's information hidden by the Noble Phantasm before she disarmed.
But that berserk fighting style, as if she had lost her reason, did indeed make people think of Berserker, who possessed the Mad Enhancement class skill.
Of course—
This speculation was clearly ridiculous to the real Berserker.
"Ooh, these two seem to be old acquaintances of yours, hmm~ Berserker?"
Atop a tall building, able to see the battle situation from a great distance, a blonde, blue-eyed girl dressed in a teal Western dress, as exquisite as a doll, watched this scene with great interest. Sitting on the edge, her fair thighs crossed, she spoke cheerfully to the presence beside her.
It was a figure in a black robe, dressed like a medieval witch. That being said, the rather revealing parts were quite suggestive. Silver hair, wearing a crown like thorns, a girl whose face was veiled by black gauze, revealing a pair of cold, azure eyes as the wind blew:
"Hateful Red Dragon... And Mordred too? Hmph, all unpleasant fellows."
Her frosty words revealed an undisguised indifference and dislike.
True Name: Morgan
Class: Berserker
Strength: C | Endurance: E | Agility: B
Mana: A+ | Luck: B | Noble Phantasm: EX
Class Skills:
Mad Enhancement B, Magic Resistance A, Item Construction EX, Territory Creation B, Fae Eyes A
Personal Skills:
Charisma of Craving B, Protection of the Lake C
Noble Phantasm:
[Roadless Camelot: The Now Unreachable Utopia]
Rank: EX | Type: Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm
Effective Range: 10~99 | Max Targets: 100 people
Daughter of King Uther, King Arthur's older sister, a villain who constantly plotted against Arthur in Arthurian legend. Her true form is the evil aspect of the Lady of the Lake, the originally intended 'Lord of the Isle.' Dissatisfied with Arthur taking the position that should have been hers, she committed various acts.
Mother of Gawain, Agravain, and the Knight of Treachery, Mordred, among many Knights of the Round Table. Although for Morgan, these 'children' were actually just pawns created to harm King Arthur.
In this regard, Mordred was exceptionally successful—even a bit too successful, to the point that she not only got rid of the King Arthur whom Morgan hated to the bone but also took Britain, which Morgan cherished, down with her.
For this reason, undoubtedly, both the detested King Arthur and the completely out-of-control Mordred made Morgan quite unhappy.
Because she was a Fae, she didn't die even after Britain's fall, so she was originally an unsummonable Servant.
But because someone started things and then didn't care, undoubtedly, Miss Morgan seized the opportunity and secretly slipped out.
Although just a downgraded avatar, it was undoubtedly much stronger than when she could only exert indirect influence—Gray, who wielded the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, was actually a contingency she left in the present world to resurrect King Arthur, searching for Britain.
Honestly, Morgan hadn't expected to run into these two old nemeses in this Holy Grail War.
Although she had Fae Eyes, a form of future sight similar to clairvoyance, because someone had covered things up, this future sight could hardly see the future, only serving as a limited appraisal and reconnaissance tool.
Their appearance, it had to be said, was indeed a...
Morgan's lips, hidden beneath the veil, curled into an arc.
—Pleasant surprise.
"Well, isn't this delightful?" The blonde girl from Tokyo—from the Sajyou magus family, and the most special member of this generation, Manaka Sajyou, could sense the joy her Servant couldn't hide even with a veil.
Although she knew well that it probably wasn't out of goodwill or kindness, and would only bring trouble.
But even knowing this, Manaka didn't care much.
After all, though she appeared gentle and cute like a doll, this magical girl from the Sajyou family was essentially, just like Morgan, a willful person with a pathological possessiveness, who would stop at nothing to obtain anything that caught her fancy.
Yes, from this perspective, her compatibility with Morgan was surprisingly good~
Perhaps, this was also why, among several Masters, Morgan became Manaka Sajyou's Servant?
Feeling the gentle breeze, the doll-like girl looked down at the battlefield with a sweet smile.
This feeling full of unknowns was just too wonderful~
However, that intriguing feeling from the beginning, where exactly was it?