"Honestly... you're really not holding back, are you?"
Wiping the corner of his mouth, [Illya] gave a slightly exasperated look at Miss Illya, who was clutching a large bump on her head.
"What does it matter? It was my body originally, anyway!"
With a sparkle in her eyes, the latter complained with some dissatisfaction.
"I'm just taking back what's mine! Besides, didn't you say you were going to teach me the Third Magic?"
Miss Illya mumbled, seeming much bolder than before—of course, that was only natural.
After all, at this moment, she wasn't just the elementary schooler Illya. After the seal was released, the Chloe side of her naturally merged with the elementary schooler. Well... as a result, she inherited some of the characteristics of the legendary Kissing Demon.
Of course, it's more accurate to say that Illya always had this trait.
They were the same person, after all. If Chloe was like that, then Miss Illya must have had similar tendencies, just that she was more reserved, demure, and not as bold as her other self, Chloe.
And her surprise attack on [Illya] was, of course, only natural.
After all, not to mention that Miss Illya had been harboring an urge to bully him, just in terms of the Third Magic—while from the Einzbern perspective, as long as the Third Magic was achieved, it didn't matter if it was her or not.
But she wasn't a proper Einzbern! Especially since someone else had completed it using the "Illya" vessel.
Even if she didn't care about that power, one must know that the Third Magic was supposed to be established as a result of Illyasviel von Einzbern converging all her possibilities—this was essentially a release from the destiny Illya carried.
But someone had used their personal skill to directly skip this process and achieve the ascension of the Third Magic without converging all possibilities.
At least for Illya... it felt like being left behind. Hey, the bus is leaving without me!
And as it happens, what Illya hated and feared the most was being left behind.
So!
Miss Illya felt it was very necessary to take control!
Besides... with Big Sis Elysia not around, just the two of them alone, in such an environment, if she didn't do something, she'd feel like she was letting herself down!
"While that may be true, learning the Third Magic this way is completely wrong!"
[Illya] was a little exasperated.
Magic wasn't something you learned just for the sake of learning. If one only coveted its immense power, the result would be like Aoko Aozaki. Although she was the master of the Fifth Magic, she was more like someone who was merely inheriting and using it. From the perspective of the true meaning of the Fifth Magic, that magic in Aoko's hands hadn't even unleashed a ten-thousandth of its power.
And compared to the Fifth Magic, the requirements for the Third Magic were even stricter.
Like "God-Emperor Illya," only after satisfying all the conditions and out of a spontaneous awakening could Miss Illya complete this magic, fulfill the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish, and truly reveal the true face of this Third Magic.
"Besides, you're just up to no good, aren't you?"
You JS (elementary school children)!
"Alright, let's go find Kiritsugu and the others."
As they talked, [Illya] led Miss Illya to Kiritsugu Emiya.
Although Jiang Qiao had re-edited this world through the Third Magic, he didn't interfere too much in the grudge between the two Kiritsugus.
"Well, from the looks of you, it seems there's already a result."
His gaze fell on this world's Kiritsugu Emiya. Seeing his bruised and swollen face, [Illya]'s lips curved into a pleased smile—while he had no interest in it, this child's resentment towards her terrible father was surprisingly strong.
"...Yeah."
"He'll be acting with me from now on," Daddy Kiritsugu said concisely.
The biggest difference between him and his original self was that—after making the right choice, he finally understood the correct way to make trade-offs, while a certain hopeless man would not turn back until he hit a brick wall.
For this reason, Kiritsugu wisely chose to beat some sense into this foolish version of himself.
Honestly, according to Kiritsugu's style, he would have preferred to just kill the other him.
After all, Kiritsugu himself knew just how terrible and hopeless he was.
But he was from another world, with Illya as his daughter and Irisviel as his wife. Even for their sake, he couldn't do that.
In that case, he might as well just take this guy with him.
As it happened, he was always short-staffed. After choosing Illya, Kiritsugu still hadn't given up on his justice, but the way he practiced it had changed to being active in war-torn areas, saving orphans and cleaning up some human-like creatures. And because his wife worried about him, even though she was reluctant to leave Illya studying in Japan, she often accompanied him, traveling everywhere.
Kiritsugu himself felt quite guilty about this.
And now, with another version of himself as an assistant, he had undoubtedly hit the jackpot.
He could get a better assistant than Irisviel, both worlds' Irisviels could have time to spend with their respective Illyas, and even Mr. Kiritsugu Emiya himself was very satisfied with this arrangement.
"So you've made that choice."
"Did you tell Mom?"
"...Yeah."
"I understand."
"Although I don't think this is the right way to do it, everyone has the freedom to make their own choices."
Unwilling to give up his ideal, and at the same time finding it difficult to face his family, choosing to escape was indeed a choice Kiritsugu Emiya would make.
The Holy Grail War seemed to have lost its meaning.
At least, for most of the participants in this Holy Grail War, their pursuit of the Holy Grail was no longer so persistent.
Take Saber, for example.
She wanted to make another choice, to give Camelot a better ending.
With such a wish, but when Morgan brought her the Vow of the Round Table, everything had already changed.
"It seems you've given up your pursuit of the Holy Grail."
Looking at Artoria, bathed in the dawn light with a look of relief, [Illya] said this.
"...Yes, Morgan's Reality Marble made me see reality."
—The king does not understand the hearts of people.
This sentence, left by Tristan when he left the Round Table, not only became the beginning of the Round Table's collapse, but also troubled the noble and just Knight King for the rest of her life.
She wanted to change everything through the Holy Grail, to let Camelot choose a better king and have a better ending.
But the moment the Vow of the Round Table was established, everything had already changed within that collapsing Round Table barrier.
"Sir Galahad said to me: 'My king, as your knight, I am willing to fight to the death for you. However, the wish you hold now is something I cannot agree with. It will never be a reason for any Knight of the Round Table to fight for.'"
"'I hope you understand that we follow you simply because you are King Arthur, that noble and just Knight King. Our king is only you.'"
The collapse of the Round Table was not because the king didn't understand people's hearts, but because as knights, they couldn't keep up with the king's pace.
The Knight King was so noble, yet they, for personal reasons, fell apart, constantly in conflict with each other.
Rather than the king not understanding people's hearts, it was more that they could no longer face that great king with their selfish selves.
Although Artoria didn't fully agree with this, the guilt she had carried for so long was finally released.
Not feeling guilty for her own immaturity, but proud of being their king.
To face this ending, this imperfect self, with honesty.
Saber leaned on the Sword of Promised Victory, her heart finally free from that Hill of Camlann strewn with corpses, free from that bloody twilight.
However, she still had people she needed to face.
For example... Mordred.
"Although even now I still won't acknowledge you, I won't deny the mistakes I made towards you."
"Mordred, my child—if you want to prove something to me, then draw your sword against me here."
Not to fight for the Holy Grail, but to settle the grudge between them, to draw a line under their reunion, Saber said this to Mordred.
She had never really understood this rebellious child. The ending at Camlann made it hard for her to like him.
However, that man named Kairi Sisigou played a different role in the middle.
After experiencing the Round Table, although she remained stubborn and hadn't changed her opinion of Mordred, she was willing to give Mordred a chance to prove himself, a chance to challenge her.
Although it seemed this couldn't change anything, Saber still believed it was meaningful.
However.
This time, the ending for the two of them seemed to have returned to that Hill of Camlann.
But this time, Saber used the Holy Sword.
She did not carry the scabbard.
"It seems you're still not worthy, Mordred."
This seemed to be a regret, but... this time, Mordred was not as angry as usual.
"Hey, kid...!"
"I know, you can do a lot of things, right?"
"If you can, help my Master out... That being said, I don't have anything to give you. Just consider it a favor I owe you! If I can repay it, I'll become your Servant."
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to him yourself?"
"No way, that would be too ugly."
"I promised him I would win, but it turned out like this... honestly."
Mordred and Saber dissipated one after another. It was a mutual destruction, but this time there were no regrets.
Well... the former was a little regretful he didn't win. As for the latter...
"The Empress of Glamoth... I've done some foolish things. If I have the chance, I'd like to challenge you too."
"But for now, I'd rather just rest."
The legendary King Arthur slumbered in Avalon, that paradise of fairies, but as for Artoria, she had been trapped on the Hill of Camlann because of Camelot.
Until this moment, with her heart's knot untied, she could finally rest properly, just like in the legends.
As for the chance to challenge the Empress of Glamoth... that would be left to the remaining kings.
Saber Mordred.
Saber Artoria.
And... Sir Lance-a-lot.
The latter's wish had already ended the moment the Knights of the Round Table responded. After Morgan released him, Lancelot met the end he was supposed to meet.
And as for the other Riders, the great king and Ozymandias, they had also decided a winner as kings.
—Without a doubt, the winner was the latter.
Although Ionioi Hetairoi was incredibly powerful, when faced with something as unreasonable as the Great Temple Complex, when faced with the manifestation of Ramesses II's entire life's achievements, it could only be defeated.
"Although it was a constant struggle... what a thrilling expedition."
"Sun King, from now on, you will carry the honor of me, the King of Heroes, and the Knight King, and compete with Her Majesty, the Empress of Glamoth."
"That is only natural. After all, I am the pharaoh, the god-king on earth, the incarnation of Amun."
That's what Mr. Ham said.
However...
The moment the sky was filled with an overwhelming, dark mass of fireflies that filled the entire Reality Marble, even with his Great Temple Complex, Ramesses II felt what it meant to be unable to win no matter how hard you fought.
This time, to show respect, it wasn't the rookie Miss Illya playing with the Firefly card.
[Illya], very rarely, chose to take action himself.
Reality Marble—Glory of Glamoth.
When the Empress of Glamoth exists, the Glamoth Iron Cavalry will be continuously replicated and multiplied. As long as the Empress of Glamoth is not destroyed, the Glamoth Iron Cavalry will grow exponentially and infinitely within the Reality Marble, each equipped with Firefly armor capable of annihilating at least one city...
Even with the constraints of the world and the limitations of magical energy, at this moment, Mr. Ham still experienced an ultimate budget version of the "Swarm Disaster."
Well, in the universe of Star Rail, it should now be called the "Glamoth Disaster."
If there was injustice, if there was oppression, then not long after, Glamoth would break out there.
This had even become a common saying in the universe.
Don't get caught by those lunatics from Glamoth, or you'll be in for a world of hurt!
And Ramesses II's Great Temple Complex was undoubtedly in for a world of hurt.
It didn't even need to be too rough. Each Glamoth Iron Cavalry went up to move a brick, and Ramesses II's Great Temple Complex could experience violent demolition from the Glamoth demolition team tens, hundreds, thousands of times...
Pharaoh King? How many bricks do you have!
Just kidding, there can't be two suns in the sky. There is only one king in the world, and that is the Empress of Glamoth