"My turn! Draw!" Illya added a card to her hand.
"At this very moment!" Jiang You flipped over one of his face-down back row cards. "I activate Rule Breaker to take control of Minamoto no Raikou!"
At the start of this turn, Raikou's buff that protected her from other card effects had already worn off. Jiang You seized control of her without hesitation, though the effect would have been even stronger if he had a Mount Ōe servant in his Graveyard.
"How could I betray Illya again?" Minamoto no Raikou's pupils dilated, stunned that in just three appearances, she had become an obstacle to Illya twice. Overwhelmed with guilt and despair, she nearly burst into tears. "I'm the most irresponsible Mommy in the world!"
"Hey, it's not that serious," Jiang You said, sensing the pressure radiating from Raikou. In certain situations, she acted like a child: fiercely possessive yet easily hurt.
But that didn't stop Jiang You from pressing his advantage. With her Affection already at rock bottom, he felt free to push further, hoping to provoke an amusing reaction from the servant. "Besides, you're not Illya's real mother. Her mother is Irisviel—white-haired and red-eyed, just like Illya. Stop making things difficult for her. Once this is over, I'll..."
Bound by her loyalty to Illya, Raikou couldn't retaliate against Jiang You, nor could she refute his words. Overwhelmed by a mix of sorrow and anger, she finally burst into tears.
"...?"
Rin Tohsaka felt like she could no longer understand this world.
"Stop bullying Raiko!" Illya snapped, rubbing her temples. Neither of her servants was easy to manage. When Jiang You was on his best behavior, he was practically a saint, but when he was upset, his pettiness knew no bounds. Ever since Minamoto no Raikou had refused to let him call her "Mommy," his attitude had completely changed.
"Raiko takes such good care of me," Jiang You said. "I genuinely want to call her 'Mommy.'"
"Sakura, why don't we just leave?" Rin suggested, her own headache growing worse. She was beginning to suspect that the Holy Grail War's summoning ritual wasn't for recruiting allies, but for summoning servants to go on blind dates—or, more accurately, to find family connections.
"I can't stand being in this dump for another second!" Illya declared.
"Illya, you're truly... If only Little Kintoki were half as sensible as you," Minamoto no Raikou sighed, her expression darkening momentarily before clearing again. Her mood swings were swift and volatile.
"Oh, look. My Affection score has dropped again," Jiang You remarked casually. "At this point, shouldn't it be called a Hatred score?" Since it was already negative, he didn't seem to care.
"Looks like this 'hatred value' thing doesn't give any rewards. It's just for entertainment, I guess."
Seeing Jiang You spout another strange comment, Illya quickly took action to avoid further provoking her servant.
"First, the effect of 'Castle of Snow'! Add one 'Sella' from the Deck to my hand!"
Illya glanced at the Irisviel card in her Deck, of which she only carried one copy. Though she desperately wanted to see her mother, she ultimately decided against retrieving her. The effect wasn't particularly useful, and Minamoto no Raikou's current state was unsettling.
"I Normal Summon 'Sella' and activate her effect! Add one 'Illya' from the Deck to my hand!"
Sella: ATK 1000
"Now, the effect of 'Dress of Heaven' in the Graveyard! Banish 'Illya' from the Graveyard to Special Summon itself to the field!"
Dress of Heaven: ATK 1500
"Then, I'll tune these two cards together: 2 + 4 = 6! Special Summon 'Ilya (Dress of Heaven)'!"
Ilya (Dress of Heaven)
Attack Power: 2500 → 3000
"I activate the effect of 'Ilya (Dress of Heaven)'! When this card is successfully summoned, I can Special Summon a Four-Star or lower Servant from the Graveyard! I choose to summon Serenity!"
Serenity: Attack Power 1500
Serenity landed gracefully on the ground. Upon realizing she was in Illya's Battle Zone, her panic was palpable, even through her mask.
"Master... I'm sorry..." Serenity whispered, her voice barely audible. "I didn't want this to happen."
Well, it seems Servants take these things seriously. Not all of them are as nonchalant about switching Masters as Archer.
"Now, I Special Summon myself!"
A second Illya appeared. Unlike the previous vacant-eyed duplicate, this one possessed a more harmonious aura and a delicate fragility, like an ordinary girl. Startled, she frantically scanned her surroundings.
Illya: Attack Power 1500
"By tributing myself, I Special Summon Minamoto no Raikou from the Deck!"
Illya had assumed this Raikou would be another mindless duplicate, like before, and hadn't paid close attention. By the time she realized her mistake, it was too late to take back her words.
Illya watched in horror as a light of liberation enveloped her body, her face twisting with fear.
"Wait!"
But it was too late. As the light faded, a second duplicate of Minamoto no Raikou materialized. With this, all three Ilyas and all three Raikous had been exhausted.
Minamoto no Raikou: Attack Power 3000.
"...Did that version of me just speak?" Illya's outstretched hand froze mid-air. As a seasoned duelist, she knew it was common knowledge that Second Bodies were supposed to be mindless duplicates.
"Looks like another character from some other work has wandered in," Jiang You muttered. He had previously encountered Mash, who was still tackling Chapter 6, and wondered how far she had progressed since then. Similarly, he couldn't determine whether the Kiara Sesshouin he had faced earlier was from CCC or Fate/Grand Order.
"That appearance... she must be Illya from Magical Girl Illya, right?" Jiang You thought. He desperately wanted to confess that his favorite Illya was indeed that one, but he bit back the words, mindful of how it might affect this Illya's affection for him.
"Magical Girl? What kind of nonsense is that!" Illya grumbled. She had a passing familiarity with anime and manga, but she found such frivolous concepts baffling.
"How do you even know that?! Just how much weird knowledge do you have crammed in your brain?!"
"I'm equipping myself with [ Kumokiri ]!"
The legendary blade [ Kumokiri ] materialized in Illya's hand. With no swordsmanship experience whatsoever, she swung it clumsily, nearly slicing herself.
"Careful!" Minamoto no Raikou exclaimed, rushing to Illya's side, concern etched on her face. "If Little Ilya wants to learn, Mommy can teach you!"
Ilya (Dress of Heaven)
3000 → 3500.
"Never mind that! Entering the Battle Phase! First, I'll attack Minamoto no Raikou myself!"
Minamoto no Raikou spread her arms wide, offering no resistance as Illya's blade approached. She had long wanted to escape Jiang You's control.
Jiang You's LP: 1050 → 550.
"Next, Serenity attacks!"
Illya directed Serenity to strike Fanatic.
"Fanatic's defense is only 1000, and any servant that battles Serenity is instantly destroyed! That's two destruction effects!"
"Fanatic's effect allows it to detach an Xyz Material to negate a destruction effect! That's two times in total!"
Fanatic transformed into a blank card with no effects.
"This isn't even Lady Serenity's full power. Even her gentlest attacks are this deadly."
Despite the excruciating pain caused by Serenity's poisonous constitution, the Fanatic gazed at her with unwavering adoration, her face radiating admiration.
Serenity, however, remained lost in self-reproach and offered no response.
"Finally, Minamoto no Raikou's final assault!"
With that, the second Minamoto no Raikou unleashed her ultimate attack, sending the Fanatic to the Graveyard.
Jiang You eyed the Support Fire card in his back row. Thanks to Ilya's Dress of Heaven Form, it was completely useless.
"I'll set this card face-down in my back row and end my turn."
Ilya commanded three fully healthy servants on the field and a face-down card in her back row, giving her a considerable advantage.
"My turn..."
Jiang You surveyed the battlefield, contemplating whether to use Fate's Draw to summon Kiara Sesshouin and clear the board immediately. In this scenario, victory was assured as long as the face-down card wasn't Origin Bullet, which could revive either Ilya's Dress of Heaven Form or Minamoto no Raikou from the Graveyard.
Jiang You abandoned this tempting strategy. He decided to let Ilya win this round instead, reasoning that losing would undoubtedly boost her Affection for him. He resolved not to cheat in front of her.
"Draw!"
This card was Jiang You's reward for Shinji Matou's earlier defeat: the Cursed Arm. It seemed fate was determined to make him lose.
"I..."
Jiang You was about to slam the card down for a final, dignified blow when he noticed the To Sound the Funeral Bell card lighting up—a card that shouldn't even be in his deck.
In his graveyard were four 2-star Hundred Faces cards and one 2-star Serenity card. Combined with the Cursed Arm in his hand, they totaled exactly twelve stars, matching the Star Rank of Divine Rome. The identity of the summonable card was obvious.
No player could resist summoning such a powerful new card. Jiang You immediately abandoned his plan to let Illya win and decisively chose to summon.
"Illya, don't blame me for being underhanded!"
This was a card completely unknown to Illya, contrary to what Jiang You had promised.
"I activate 'Sound the Funeral Bell'! By banishing all 'Hassan' cards from my hand and Graveyard, I Ritual Summon from my Deck—Old Man of the Mountain!"
Beneath the setting sun, a mournful bell tolled, its solemn sound reverberating through the air. Pale white feathers drifted down, not symbols of purity or peace, but harbingers of death!
A sword slash tore through space, and eerie blue flames ignited along the rift, searing open a gateway to the Underworld.
A pitch-black servant emerged from the portal, wielding a greatsword, announcing death's arrival!
Old Man of the Mountain
Assassin - 12 Stars - Attack Power: 4000!