Looking at the familiar Servant standing before her, Illya felt a sense of daze.
Saber.
Ten years ago, Kiritsugu had summoned Saber to participate in the Holy Grail War.
And now—now!
That Emiya Shirou had once again summoned Saber to fight for him.
But... but if that was the case, then what was I?
A sharp pang of heartache shot through Illya. She lifted her head, staring intently at the Servant who was both familiar and strange.
It really was Saber; she looked exactly the same.
Exactly as she had ten years ago.
"Hey, do you know the name Einzbern?" Illya tilted her small head, asking with an expression of pure innocence.
"..." Artoria remained silent.
The young girl before her was so familiar, but... ten years had passed; it was impossible for Illya to still be so young.
Was it another new Homunculus?
Recalling the tragic prayer of the Einzbern family, Artoria lowered her head, offering no words.
This time, they were enemies.
That was the nature of the Holy Grail War.
Opposite her, Illya watched her long silence. The innocence on her face gradually faded, replaced by a growing frown.
She turned her head away and sighed with waning interest.
"Of course. Servants aren't supposed to keep their memories."
She felt a flicker of disappointment. If Saber had retained her memories, perhaps she could have answered her doubts... after all, in that Holy Grail War, she was the one who had accompanied Kiritsugu to the very end.
"Oh, are you two done chatting?" Suddenly, she saw two figures running quickly out of the Church.
"Good evening, Onii-chan," Illya flashed a sweet smile at Emiya Shirou. "Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Illya."
Artoria looked on in shock.
"Illyasviel von Einzbern," Illya said, pulling on the silver threads in her hands. The iron gates of the Church behind them were instantly jerked shut, closing completely.
"How polite. Do I need to say thank you?" Tohsaka Rin's temper flared the moment she heard that name. "Einzbern, huh? Do you have any idea how hard I've been looking for you these past few days?"
To find one of the parties involved in that "accident," she had trekked out to the castle in the outskirts time and time again.
And she hadn't found a soul!
Now that she had finally found the primary culprit, it was perfect.
"As the Manager of the local Spiritual Land, I am initiating an inquiry!" Tohsaka Rin stepped forward, questioning loudly, "Was the battle one month ago related to the Einzbern family?"
"Um," Emiya Shirou scratched his head before Illya could even speak. "Tohsaka-senpai, about that, I..."
"You, shut up for a second!" Tohsaka Rin didn't even notice what he said; her attention was entirely on Illya. "Illya, right? I'll have you know, I've been holding back a lot of anger lately!"
"Do you know how much trouble your actions have caused me? To this day, I haven't even finished the report for the Mages' Association!"
Tohsaka Rin was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, but Illya had no intention of coddling her.
"In that case, I'll help you vent some of that heat," Illya bowed playfully, her eyes fixed on the three of them. "Crush them, Berserker!"
......
Artoria stood on guard with her sword, Emiya Shirou looked left and right but couldn't find Miss Firefly, and Tohsaka Rin looked utterly speechless.
"Little girl, did you forget to bring your Servant when you left the house?" A slight smirk played on her lips. "Where is your Berserker? Call him ou—"
Before she could finish, Artoria was quick enough to yank her back.
Boom!
A crimson meteor slammed down from the sky, crashing between the two sides.
"This is..." Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin stared wide-eyed as a figure slowly emerged from the dust.
"Berserker!" Illya stepped forward, looking quite displeased, and gave Xia Yu's shin a light kick.
She used light force not because she wasn't angry, but because she was afraid of it hurting her own foot—but she really was fuming.
"Where were you just now?!"
"Settling a minor, insignificant concern," the electronic voice of the SAM Armor rang out through the area.
"Hey, hey, hey, that doesn't look like any hero from the past," Tohsaka Rin stared at the beautiful armor and poked Emiya Shirou. "I remember this design... I think I've seen it on TV. What was it called?"
As a total tech-illiterate, she watched TV occasionally, but she certainly wasn't obsessed.
"Kamen Rider?" Emiya Shirou suggested hesitantly.
If this was Berserker, then that meant Miss Firefly was inside, right?
She had said she was a Berserker! Plus, little Illya was here too.
He wasn't stupid; it was obvious Illya hadn't come as a friend.
"Right, right, that's it—some kind of Rider," Tohsaka Rin clapped her hands. "But isn't that just made-up TV stuff? What on earth is this thing in front of us?"
"Molten Knight, Sam," Xia Yu extended a hand toward Artoria in a provocative gesture. "A Magus and a half-baked amateur. Leave now... no, surrender. No one will get hurt. Otherwise, you will all die!"
"Is fighting the only way?" Emiya Shirou looked at the cool armor. To be honest, he still found it hard to associate it with Miss Firefly, even after seeing how well she could fight.
"You should already know the reason for the Holy Grail War," Xia Yu stated. "I should be the one asking you: do you really want to fight?"
"..." Hearing this, Emiya Shirou recalled the conversation in the Church just now.
He hadn't wanted this status originally, but that priest had spoken of the great fire ten years ago.
That was something Emiya Shirou could never ignore.
And... Kiritsugu. He had participated in the Holy Grail War ten years ago as well.
Knowing all this, Emiya Shirou could no longer escape this whirlpool.
"Yes," Emiya Shirou nodded.
"Then, come," Xia Yu looked toward Artoria.
"Rin, protect Shirou," Artoria instructed, tossing aside the raincoat she used for cover.
Then, gripping her sword with both hands, her center of gravity sank slightly before she lunged at Sam like an arrow released from a bow.
Xia Yu, however, didn't dodge. She met the Invisible Air with a direct, heavy punch!
Boom!
The moment they clashed, a circular shockwave exploded outward from the point of contact.
"Saber?!" In Tohsaka Rin's incredulous cry, Artoria was instantly knocked back.
No way? Can a Servant with stats this high still be crushed by someone else's stats?
Xia Yu landed the hit and immediately pressed her advantage, lunging forward with a spinning roundhouse kick. Artoria could only raise her sword to block, which resulted in her being sent flying once more.
Relying on her exceptional Instinct, Artoria continuously blocked the other's storm-like, relentless assault, yet she couldn't find a single opening to counter-attack.
Too fast. The opponent's offensive was simply too fast, and every strike carried immense weight. Even if she wanted to break the stalemate by trading a wound for a hit, she couldn't manage it.
Artoria, who usually crushed others with her stats, was now tasting what it felt like to be suppressed.
If only the Mana Supply weren't so lacking... she thought with frustration.
But truthfully, her performance was already better than Gilgamesh's. After all, the latter had been kicked around like a ball in the face of Xia Yu's high-speed tactics, whereas Artoria managed to block every strike.
Though she looked a bit disheveled, she was maintaining her ground.
"Dammit, at this speed, Archer can't find an opening at all. If he fires an arrow, who knows who will get hurt!" Tohsaka Rin was frantic. She wanted to shout a warning, but seeing as the enemy Master was right there and clearly understood human speech, she had to give up on the idea.
Illya, meanwhile, had clearly become obsessed due to the excitement.
"Well done, Berserker!" Seeing Xia Yu suppress Artoria the entire time, she began to twirl around in joy. "This one can regenerate. You have to take her head off to make her retire!"
She was referring to Artoria's scabbard, reminding Xia Yu that a fatal blow was required.
Illya assumed the item was in her possession.
Clang!
Hearing this, Xia Yu parried Artoria's Holy Sword with her fist, then slammed a punch into her breastplate, sending her back dozens of steps.
Then, under Artoria's wary gaze, she stopped her attack.
"Berserker, what are you doin—ouch!"
Illya didn't understand what was happening, but Xia Yu walked right up and gave her a flick on the forehead.
"Children shouldn't say such terrifying things!"
This one sentence rendered everyone present silent.
Artoria had been watching her movements, thinking she was about to unleash an ultimate move, only for her to go back and educate her own Master...
"Is she really that willful?" Tohsaka Rin was also dumbfounded.
The most composed was Emiya Shirou; he had seen plenty of scenes where Miss Firefly disciplined Illya.
Artoria took the opportunity to catch her breath. She had only barely endured that last wave of rapid attacks. The opponent's speed was truly too high; she could only just barely keep up.
"Berserker, I'm your M... ow!" Illya tried to say something in a huff, only to be flicked back again by Xia Yu.
"Come, let's continue," Xia Yu turned back to Artoria. "I haven't had enough yet."
The constant fighting spirit surging from this body urged her forward again.
"Rin, Shirou," Artoria said with a grave expression, "watch out for the enemy Master."
With that, she gripped her Holy Sword with both hands and launched another charge at Xia Yu.
Xia Yu was also excited, engaging her in direct combat with her fists. The Holy Sword wrapped in the Invisible Air was indeed difficult to handle; in actual combat, this point alone was enough to leave some weaker Heroic Spirits completely defenseless against her.
Because they couldn't see through the Invisible Air, they didn't know how long or sharp the sword was.
But before Xia Yu, the Invisible Air wasn't very effective.
I don't care which way you swing that sword; I'll just punch the sword itself!
Every punch was heavy and powerful, giving Artoria no time to attack even when she found a flaw. She was forced to change her moves on the fly to block the storm of attacks.
No, I can't let this continue!
Artoria made a decision.
Mainly, if this high-intensity combat continued, Emiya Shirou truly wouldn't be able to handle it. His aptitude as a Magus wasn't very good. Once the battle was prolonged, she would only grow weaker due to the lack of adequate mana replenishment.
By then, there would truly be no chance of winning.
So, she had no choice but to take the riskiest path: trading a wound for a hit in hopes of getting close—at least to find a weakness.
But Xia Yu wouldn't give her what she wanted. After Artoria took the risk to swing her sword, Xia Yu also landed a punch on her breastplate again.
Boom!
Artoria was once again sent flying toward Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin.
In contrast, the blow Artoria had landed in the trade failed to cause any damage to Xia Yu at all; that handsome armor didn't even have a scratch.
In the next moment, she charged a punch and lunged at the off-balance Artoria.
"This is..." Emiya Shirou gritted his teeth and acted without a second thought.
"Shirou?!" Artoria looked at the boy who had lunged between her and Berserker, her face full of shock.
"Wait, you idiot..." Tohsaka Rin hadn't been paying attention for a split second, and he had already bolted, leaving her stunned.
In the distance, Archer watched as the arrow he had fired to break the stalemate flew toward them, only for that fool to throw himself in the way. Wasn't he just asking to die?
What kind of brainless teammate was this?
That arrow was enough for his mortal body to die a dozen times over!
Artoria's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she tried to rush up and push Emiya Shirou away. She knew the opponent's strength only too well; before those indestructible fists, Shirou would have his chest punched straight through...
She tried desperately to rush forward, but it was too late.
The opponent's fist was already at his back.
And just then, Xia Yu pulled her hand back.
She shifted her moves with effortless ease, grabbing Emiya Shirou by the back of his collar and spinning him like a windmill. After whirling him through the air a few times, she tossed him toward Illya.
Then, she backhanded a shot that knocked Archer's arrow out of the air.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Looking at the terrified (scared by the windmill spin) Emiya Shirou, Xia Yu said speechlessly, "This is a fight between Servants. What are you interfering for?"
"Shirou?"
"Emiya-kun?"
Tohsaka Rin and Artoria hurriedly looked at him, but because Xia Yu was blocking the way between them, they could only fret in place.
As for Emiya Shirou, he stood up in a daze and dry-heaved twice.
"No... I'm fine," Emiya Shirou lifted his head with a complicated look, gazing at Xia Yu. "You still held back."
"Seriously, go book a psychiatric appointment tomorrow," Xia Yu offered kindly. "You lunged forward purely on instinct. I suspect you have a very serious self-destructive tendency, boy."
"You... why?" Illya looked at Emiya Shirou with a complicated expression. "This is so incredibly boring."