On one side were two girls who had always been sheltered by their families, never having experienced true combat.
On the other stood a swordsman who had faced life and death, participated in the Holy Grail War, fought heroes, and taken countless lives.
No matter how one looked at it, the outcome was already decided.
Yet, to protect those they cherished—or rather, those they wished to protect—the two magical girls resolutely challenged this insurmountable gap.
"We have two options: defeat the enemy immediately or take advantage of their distraction to rescue the two, retrieve Father Sakatsuki, and retreat."
"Ah! That gun—the one that killed Rider—could finish him in one shot!"
"No, we can't use it now."
"Using Include once means the card can't be reused for several hours," Sapphire explained.
"Like it's been hit with a restraining order," Ruby added.
Miyu nodded. "Rider was stolen by that mysterious figure, and we don't even know Caster's full capabilities. Using this card now at a critical moment is too risky."
"Plus, Archer can only summon a single bow—utterly useless. So, we're left with the second option," Ruby sighed.
The second option: rescue the "hostages" and retreat immediately, fighting another day.
Her small white boots tapped the ground as Miyu stepped forward, her tone resolute. "I'll draw the enemy's attention. Illyasviel, use the trees on the right to approach and rescue them. The priest doesn't seem to have been noticed by the Servant yet, so leave him for now. Once we've saved Rin and Luvia, we'll set up a portal near him and escape this space immediately—understood?"
Illya swallowed hard, nodding with difficulty. "Y-Yes!"
This was only their second battle. Wasn't it too much for Illya?
Miyu couldn't help but feel a flicker of worry, but with the adults all incapacitated, she had no choice but to rely on Illya's help.
Suppressing her unease, the two magical girls turned their gazes forward.
The white-haired swordsman, her face obscured by a visor and lips pressed tightly together, stood beside Rin and Luvia like a dragon guarding its hoard in a cave.
The next moment, the two began their charge to slay this dragon.
Miyu vaulted over the railing, landing on the surface of the Mion River without sinking. Ripples spread beneath her feet as she dashed across the water, then leaped into the air as if climbing invisible stairs!
"Using magical barriers for three-dimensional movement?!" Ruby exclaimed, impressed. "As expected of Lady Miyu!"
"No time to admire that now, Ruby! We have to move too!" Illya weaved through the trees, her small figure quickly closing in on Rin and Luvia.
"Oh, right!"
From her high vantage point, Miyu surveyed the terrain, while the motionless swordsman seemed to sense something, tilting her head slightly.
"Lady Luvia and the others are too close to the enemy."
"No large-scale attacks, then," Miyu muttered. Yet the next moment, she watched as the swordsman deliberately stepped away from the two fallen figures.
It made no sense. By staying near Rin and Luvia, the swordsman would have natural shields, forcing Miyu to hold back. But now, she had willingly stepped out of her safety zone...!
"Is this... her confidence?" Miyu murmured grimly, her hands already moving.
Raising her staff high, intricate magical circles unfolded layer by layer, culminating in a radiant sphere at its tip.
"Rapid fire!"
A barrage of magical orbs rained down, yet the swordsman didn't so much as flinch. The dense fog of mana around her solidified, dispersing Miyu's attacks effortlessly.
"No damage dealt. Attacks failed to connect," Sapphire reported.
"Blocked by the black mist?!" A twinge of frustration rose, but Miyu remained composed, her staff already gathering another volley.
It didn't matter. Her goal wasn't to inflict damage—she just needed to buy time to rescue Rin and Luvia.
"Fire!"
A beam of magical energy, like a comet's tail, streaked down onto the mana barrier, only to be cleaved apart by a sharp slash of black sword energy.
As Miyu dodged the counterattack, Sakatsuki turned and swung his sword toward Illya, who had crept closer!
"Illyasviel!" Miyu barely avoided the attack when she saw her companion sent flying, crashing hard into a tree!
"Oww!" Even with her physical barrier, the impact and residual sword energy struck Illya squarely. Her organs felt like they'd been rearranged, and a sudden chill ran down her left arm.
"Ah! My arm—blood...!"
"Don't worry, this little injury can be healed right away!" Ruby said urgently.
But the gem didn't realize one thing: until a few days ago, Illya had been an ordinary elementary school girl living in a peaceful world.
Tonight, the adults who should have protected her had fallen one by one, and now she was bleeding from her own wounds...
Worse, the swordsman advancing toward her radiated killing intent so intense it seemed to freeze her soul.
The sword rose—another slash of energy followed!
"What are you doing, Illyasviel?!" Miyu crashed into her like a cannonball, barely managing to turn and raise her staff in time.
"Sapphire, full physical protection!"
The sword strike hammered into the staff's shaft. It held for only a moment before both girls were sent flying.
The holy sword's slashes combined mana and sheer force—magical barriers alone couldn't withstand them.
Spotting the girls' opening, the swordsman instinctively gripped her sword with both hands, hesitating briefly before unleashing a tsunami of mana—
In a normal Holy Grail War, Masters and Servants sensing this would immediately retreat. But the ones facing Saber now were two girls who had never known true battle.
So, they didn't realize—this was the prelude to a Noble Phantasm's release.
Ominous black mana erupted from the swordsman, coalescing around the holy sword into a blade-shaped outline of pure energy.
"This is...!" Finally, Miyu noticed the anomaly.
"Disaster—it's a Noble Phantasm!" Sapphire and Ruby cried in unison. "Danger, Lady Miyu/Illya!"
"No—no time!" Illya nearly screamed. "Ruby, full barrier deployment!"
Before them, the swordsman slowly uttered the name of her death-dealing treasure:
"EX—"
A handful of glittering, refractive gems suddenly flashed into Sakatsuki's vision.
BOOM!
No damage—just thick smoke obscuring his sight. The swordsman scoffed, dispersing the Noble Phantasm he'd been holding back with a casual wave of his hand.
Miyu and Illya exchanged glances, then turned hopeful eyes toward the swordsman's rear. "That's—!"
"Big Sister Rin!"
Not far away, the twin-tailed girl—her side bloodied—panted heavily as she forced herself up, leaning on her knees.
A few tossed stones later, Luvia beside her also stirred.
"What are you doing, sleeping? I thought you couldn't sleep without a canopy bed, ojou-sama?"
A pebble flew back, bouncing off Rin's cheek as if in petty revenge.
"Don't misunderstand. I was merely resting briefly," Luvia retorted, clutching her wounded abdomen as she stood. "How typically shallow of a commoner."
The two shared a glance, some unspoken agreement passing between them before turning to their shared enemy.
"...Completely unharmed."
"How irritating."
Meanwhile, Sakatsuki—who had a rough grasp of the "plot"—quickly adjusted. Abandoning Illya and Miyu, he strode toward Rin and Luvia instead.
Even if the two were prodigies of the Clock Tower, their magecraft was rooted in modern foundations—useless against his Magic Resistance.
Defeat them, push Illya deeper into despair, and under that pressure, she would awaken into the opponent he desired...
But then, a cry rang out behind him.
"Big Sister Rin! Big Sister Luvia!"
To his surprise, the two magical girls had rushed forward, charging straight at him—or rather, toward Rin and Luvia behind him.
"Idiots, get back! You can't beat her!" Rin shouted.
But Illya and Miyu ignored her. At a precise distance, they suddenly halted.
They couldn't defeat the swordsman. They couldn't rescue Rin and Luvia—both options Miyu had proposed were dead ends.
"So, we choose the third option!"
The Ruby and Sapphire staffs shot forward. Sakatsuki swung his sword on reflex, but the living gem spirits dodged effortlessly, landing in the hands of the two magi behind him.
A new transformation's radiance illuminated the swordsman's faintly smirking lips.
***
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