"Hmm? My dear Miss Savior," Xia Yu said, holding a ribbon from the Corrupted Holy Grail in one hand and Mash's Great Shield in the other, looking at the two with a half-smile. "Why have you stopped talking?"
"Didn't we agree that tonight we would be sleeping feet-to-feet? I thought our relationship had grown so close... that there shouldn't be any distance between us."
"I didn't expect that after only a few minutes, you'd turn your back on me. How terrifying. Is this what a Savior is like?"
Seeing her teasing expression, Fujimaru Ritsuka narrowed her eyes. "You! You're perfectly fine, aren't you! You even laid hands on Mash just to scare us!"
"Let's get one thing straight, who started it?" Xia Yu said with a beaming smile. "It was you who told Mash to move, wasn't it?"
"That was because I thought you were being controlled!" Fujimaru Ritsuka's face flushed. When she first realized what was happening, her heart had practically stopped.
Setting aside the fact that their 'heavy hitter' might have become an enemy unit, just the thought of a friend—someone who had been incredibly nice, shared all kinds of intelligence, and taken her out for food to relieve her stress—being controlled by the Corrupted Holy Grail was...
"You look down on me too much, Ritsuka," Xia Yu said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't I tell you? To fight me, you'd need at least the lineup used to crusade against the Vanguard of the Umbral Star."
"A measly contract? Do you really think a contract of this era could overcome the crystallization of human technology developed over tens of thousands of years? Never mind the Corrupted Holy Grail; even the Command Spells in Illya's hand are practically non-existent to me."
"If someone of my level could be controlled by such a simple contract, the Counter Force wouldn't have had to toil away forging a Star-Forged Holy Sword back then. It wouldn't have had to sacrifice a multitude of Pantheons, getting beaten half to death just to successfully survive that catastrophe."
Xia Yu stepped forward, first returning the shield to Mash, then reaching out to pinch Fujimaru Ritsuka's cheek. "Good sister, have at least a little confidence in me."
She raised the appendage of the Corrupted Holy Grail she held in her left hand. "This thing? It's not worthy of eroding me."
"Good sister," Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at her with a look of grievance. "I feel like you did that on purpose."
"Because I told you to go back, but you insisted on staying here like glue, sister," Xia Yu said, turning back with a smile to look at the Corrupted Holy Grail not far away.
"Now, do you see how terrifying this thing is?"
"I certainly do," Fujimaru Ritsuka said listlessly.
"Then, wouldn't someone like me, who can train this thing to be perfectly obedient, be much more terrifying?" Xia Yu continued to ask.
"Yes, you are truly terrifying, sister," Ritsuka rolled her eyes at her, then looked at the Corrupted Holy Grail and asked, "Is He... drawing Magical Energy from you?"
"To actually avoid Magi and ordinary people and come straight for you—He's certainly brave..."
"It's not like He had a choice in what He avoids," Xia Yu smiled. "I found her first and told her that if she didn't come here on time every night and instead went to harass ordinary people..."
"I would kill Emiya Shirou first, then Tohsaka Rin, killing everyone she cares about one by one," Xia Yu flashed a brilliant smile at the Corrupted Holy Grail. "At that point, she can blacken however she wants, as long as she remembers to come find me in the end."
Whether it was a hallucination or not, Mash thought she saw the Corrupted Holy Grail shudder.
"He acts according to Sakura's subconscious," Xia Yu said leisurely. "So He avoids those two. If He can't avoid them, He still won't choose to attack them."
"Since I know the weakness, why wouldn't I use it? His goal is to absorb Magical Energy, and I have plenty of that," she waved her hand grandly. "As an Artificial Weapon of an Interstellar Civilization, my energy reserves could burst the Greater Grail; supplying Him is more than enough."
"In other words, the fact that we haven't heard news of any Magi or ordinary people being victimized these past few days..." Fujimaru Ritsuka's lip twitched. "Is entirely because you've been threatening Miss Sakura..."
"As long as it works," Xia Yu shrugged. "Besides, I'm helping her, okay? If she truly started a massacre in Fuyuki, how would Matou Sakura face her sister, the Manager of the Spiritual Land? How would she face that Ally of Justice, Emiya Shirou?"
Just like how I helped Raiden Mei; she must be so happy now, not burdened by the debt of millions of lives in Nagazora City. If the Mei of the original story knew about this treatment, she'd be jealous to death.
I really am a great person. At most, I'm just 'conveniently' collecting a bit of interest.
"How would Tohsaka Rin face a younger sister who is a mass murderer? Would she execute her own kin to fulfill her duty as a Manager of the Spiritual Land, or choose to cover it up? And one day, when the truth can't be hidden, face the purge of the Mages' Association and watch the five-hundred-year legacy of the Tohsaka family be completely buried?"
"How would Emiya Shirou, whose head is full of justice, view his usually soft and cute junior becoming a blood-stained executioner? Would he strike her down to maintain his internal justice? Or would he abandon everything he stood for to run away with his lover? And then live with that guilt for the rest of his life?"
"If I weren't here, Ritsuka, this would be a tragedy," Xia Yu turned to look at the Savior duo.
"It is I who turned their fates. It is I who pulled her out of this moral dilemma. It is I who can give them a happy ending."
She reached out a hand toward Fujimaru Ritsuka. "So, Ritsuka, come and help me. Let's turn this world into what we want it to be together!"
"No, Firefly, you look like a total villain right now," Fujimaru Ritsuka's lip twitched. "The kind of villain who says how many good deeds they've done and how much they've contributed to the world, but is secretly plotting an unknown conspiracy..."
"And," Mash looked at the distant Corrupted Holy Grail and added, "He seems very uncomfortable... as if He's about to explode..."
"It's probably just a mana overdose," Xia Yu glanced back and shrugged indifferently.
"After I realized what Matou Zouken was doing, I directly overthrew the Matou Family and killed her nightmare, leading her away from her suffering. But the Holy Grail Shard has already taken root in her body. And I, sister, am just a brute who only knows how to fight and kill; I have no way to remove the fragment from her body."
"The plan to use the Corrupted Holy Grail in her body to hatch All the World's Evil, kill the newborn Beast, and completely purify the Holy Grail was set after that," she sighed. "I originally planned to use another kind of fire to fight Him to the death."
"As for calling me a villain, fine, call me a villain then," Xia Yu spread her hands at Fujimaru Ritsuka. "There's nothing wrong with being a great villain who sacrifices a girl's life to carry out an evil plan."
"Ritsuka, I've told you everything I need to say," she looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka. "It's time for you to make a choice."
"In the beginning, you were reaching out your hand to invite me," Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed. "Are you being this perfunctory now? You won't even stretch out your hand."
"Because I already knew your choice," Xia Yu shrugged. "You won't accept it. After all, you are Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"Since you already knew, why ask?" Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head with a smile and looked at the Corrupted Holy Grail behind her.
"How long until He hatches?"
"Tomorrow," Xia Yu responded with a smile. "After all, the mana supply from my end is unlimited."
"Tomorrow... that is truly..." Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head. "I will stop you."
"Mhm, I know," Xia Yu was all smiles. "I'll be fighting for my life too. After all, it is for my own life."
"So, do you still want to share a bed with me tonight?"
"No," Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head. "Since the final battle is tomorrow, I have to go back and prepare a battle plan. Do you want to come and listen?"
"I think I'll skip the meeting," Xia Yu shook her head. "Let's leave a little bit of anticipation."
"Also, you have a good relationship with Miss Furina, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka continued to ask. "Will you not hesitate even if you have to cross blades with her?"
"Furina? Oh, my sister," Xia Yu said with a smile. "I never worry about her. After all, Fufu is just a soft, fragrant blueberry cake. she doesn't dare to oppose me directly. she'll just squat miserably under Mount Enzou with Medea, trying to deconstruct the Greater Grail to find another solution."
"After all, in Faerie Britain, the absolute all-weather, all-domain, all-time strike by me and Melusine made you all suffer quite a bit."
"Mhm. Then I'm off," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded to Xia Yu, then turned to leave with Mash.
After they had walked some distance away.
"Senpai..." Mash's voice trembled slightly. "How are we going to save Miss Sakura?"
She saw no hope. Chaldea's greatest trump card, the summoning of Heroic Spirits, had been banned by the higher-ups. To stop the hatching of the Corrupted Holy Grail, they could only rely on themselves.
The Servants summoned by the locals were completely unreliable—they might even end up adding to the enemy's strength.
Add to that a peerlessly powerful Firefly...
No matter how she looked at it, it was a dead end.
"Save? Why save her?" Fujimaru Ritsuka rolled her eyes. "Heh, Mash, don't you remember? She clearly promised us she wouldn't hurt Miss Sakura."
"But..." Mash hesitated for two seconds, then looked up with determination and asked, "Senpai, I am not as smart as you, nor do I have as much experience. I still don't understand. If she becomes a Beast... can Miss Sakura ever change back?"
"She can't change back," Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head. "That's why Miss Tohsaka is so anxious."
"But, can't you see, Mash? That person is a total do-gooder at heart. Would she truly persecute an innocent girl for her own life?"
"No, she wouldn't. We've been together for a while now, Mash. Do you not understand her twisted sense of humor yet?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka rolled her eyes and said, "I'm certain she's already prepared everything and is just waiting for All the World's Evil to take the bait."
"Really, Senpai?" Mash's eyes widened, and she asked with joy, "Miss Firefly will really..."
"Really, really. Would I lie to you?" Fujimaru Ritsuka patted her shoulder with a smile and gave her a thumbs up. "That person is probably snickering to herself right now. I've already exchanged secret codes with her; it'll be fine."
"But what will she do to save Miss Sakura..." Mash still didn't quite understand.
"How should I know?" Fujimaru Ritsuka spread her hands innocently. "It's just based on my trust in a good sister. The specific plans are all hidden in her heart."
"Good sister..." Mash looked pained, her small face puffing up involuntarily. "Senpai has only known Miss Firefly for two short days, yet you're already 'good sisters'?"
Just now, hearing her Senpai and Miss Firefly call each other 'good sister' back and forth while acting so intimately had made her feel incredibly uneasy.
Though she knew it was wrong, Mash couldn't help it.
"But... but I haven't even..."
"Good sister..."
A trace of grievance appeared in Mash's eyes.
But I was the one who was here first...