"I refuse."
With indifferent words, the man named Kairi Sisigou exhaled a smoke ring, put down his cigarette, and gave this reply.
And this, left Morgan stunned.
Clearly, she hadn't expected this situation at all.
After all, in the eyes of Morgan, who had an extremely strong desire for control, taking down Mordred and this third-rate magus should have been easy for her.
For this, Morgan had even made a compromise.
In the past, for Mordred, this tool she had created, she wouldn't have bothered with such an invitation—a mere tool to eliminate Arthur, daring to resist me, its creator? Directly ordering Mordred to return to her side, that was what the cold and ruthless Fae Queen Morgan would do.
But after the painful experience in Britain, even as a Fae, whose thinking differed greatly from humans in some aspects, Morgan still learned some tact, some methods of controlling people 'through benefits.' As the originally intended ruler of Britain, this ability was clearly necessary.
But...
She had already offered conditions that were simply too hard to refuse, she had already made a compromise. According to her envisioned development, these two should have unhesitatingly agreed to her request and become tools for her to command.
But instead—
"You refuse?"
"Why?"
Astonishment, disbelief, quickly replaced by cold indifference, Morgan questioned the man before her, completely baffled.
She had already investigated this man named Kairi Sisigou before coming—a mercenary employed by the Mage's Association, a magus who used magecraft. Undoubtedly, based on the intelligence she had seen, only two words could describe this man—stray dog.
A stray dog that could be driven by profit, that would bark if you threw it a bone. In the end, mercenaries were such contemptible existences, weren't they?
How could he... No, from the perspective of the Holy Grail War, directly promising the Holy Grail, that wasn't just a bone, but a large piece of delicious, tender meat!
And this man actually refused!
Morgan, with her pathological desire for control, felt displeased by this situation that had deviated from her grasp.
"Indeed, the conditions you offered are extremely generous, almost impossible to refuse."
Kairi Sisigou took a drag from his cigarette, his tone deep.
For him, who participated in this Holy Grail War to resolve his family's affliction through the Grail, it had to be said, the conditions Morgan offered were too generous, unbelievably so—if it were a man like Kiritsugu Emiya, he probably would have agreed immediately without hesitation.
Mere tools, weren't mercenaries just tools for their employers? If he could be a tool for the Clock Tower, then he could certainly be one for this woman named Morgan.
However—
"I have no intention of letting her become a tool."
Kairi Sisigou glanced at Mordred and said gruffly.
If he were the only one to be a tool, that would be fine; he was used to it anyway.
But, if Mordred had to become a tool in Morgan's hands to achieve her ambitions—he, who could sense his Servant's unwillingness and reluctance, wasn't about to ignore her feelings for this mere piece of tender meat!
"Master..."
"Though it's regrettable, if we want the Holy Grail, we'll get it ourselves. So, I apologize."
Kairi Sisigou's words moved little Mo deeply, while Morgan fell silent.
The next moment—
"Just because of such an absurd reason, you refuse me?"
The originally calm Morgan's eyes widened in fury the next moment, her cold voice carrying a chilling frost.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Incomprehensible! Unbelievable!
Just because he 'didn't want Mordred to become a tool'? What was he even talking about?! Mordred was just a tool he had created, and Servants were even more so. They were just mere tools, yet he rejected his own invitation, which offered undeniably generous conditions, for such an absurd reason!!!
"How long are you going to fool me?! Come on, tell me! Mordred!"
Displeasure! Displeasure! Displeasure!
Whether it was this situation that had completely deviated from her control, or the 'connection' between Mordred and this man that she absolutely couldn't understand—a mere Servant summoned for less than a few days, yet she was Mordred's creator!
Losing completely in every aspect, though she wasn't aware of it, Morgan instinctively felt disgusted by this current situation.
A terrifying burst of magical energy erupted—making little Mo instinctively tense up. It was the first time she had seen her mother in such a furious state.
As her closest offspring, she was a little flustered, but after thinking of Kairi Sisigou, she instantly calmed down and pointed her gleaming Clarent Blood Arthur at Morgan.
"I'm sorry, Mother, but that's what Master said."
"How dare you... Mordred! Just because of this man, you're going to draw your sword against me, against your mother?!"
"Though I don't really want to do that, this is the Holy Grail War, after all. As a knight, I can't disappoint my Master's wishes."
"Just a Knight of Treachery, you dare say that!"
Morgan sneered, then coldly brandished the magic wand in her hand.
"In that case, let me fulfill my motherly duties once more! And reteach you what it means to abide by your duty!"
The Witch of Ruin, like a harsh winter; the ruthless Fae Queen; and the insidious, venomous sorceress—she, who held this string of titles, was never good-tempered to begin with. Moreover, she had manifested as a Berserker. Although the B-rank Mad Enhancement had little effect on Morgan's will, which was strong enough to return from the abyss, it still had some effect.
Feeling displeased, she had already decided—Mordred, who had completely escaped her control, and her Master, were targets to be eliminated first.
The battle was about to erupt.
And on the factory roof, a small paper crane familiar had already transmitted all the intelligence here to [Illya] in the magical workshop via its vision.
How should one put it? This could be considered a real-life drama chase?
However…
"It's actually Morgan..."
[Illya] looked at the silver-haired woman facing off against Mordred, slightly surprised, yet also couldn't help but click her tongue.
Although through True Name Discernment, she could tell from the lack of "from the abyss" that this definitely wasn't the Lostbelt version—normally, that one wouldn't appear anyway. But whether it was the Lostbelt Morgan or the Pan-Human History Morgan, there was no difference in how troublesome they were.
Her magical skills, reaching the level of a Divine Spirit, were practically a walking GM in a magical secret rite like the Holy Grail War. Although it was nothing much to Jiang Qiao, for her current self, limited to '[Illya],' without resorting to some unconventional means, even if she could deal with Morgan, the entire Holy Grail system would probably be ruined. In the end, the scale of this Holy Grail War ritual was still too low; it was difficult to bear such high-spec output.
As for Mordred and Sisigou... Mr. Jiang Qiao was, of course, very satisfied with their 'passionate father-daughter relationship.' This change also perfectly matched his expectations for this Holy Grail War—the clash of heroes, the intertwining of wills, this was what truly shone eternally.
As for victory or defeat, that was just a rule, not the result. Like Kiritsugu, using any means necessary to win the war wasn't a problem, but if it was just victory for victory's sake, the purpose would lose its original meaning.
"Mordred, use your Noble Phantasm!"
Under [Illya]'s secret observation, Kairi Sisigou's decision detonated the tense atmosphere.
The next moment, surging crimson lightning caused the abandoned factory to collapse with a roar.
Although Morgan was undoubtedly a top-tier Servant, even surpassing Gilgamesh and Enkidu in terms of raw power, unfortunately, even a magus who had reached the Divine Realm, unless they were a monster like Solomon who could summon seventy-two Demon God Pillars with a wave of his hand, or possessed some close combat ability themselves, otherwise, in terms of melee combat, there wasn't much difference.
Especially against Mordred, a Saber, the Saber class with its high-level Magic Resistance was practically the bane of magi. Without the support of a magical workshop, it was almost impossible to fight.
And Morgan... was surprisingly bad at dealing with sudden situations—No... it should be said that this was to be expected. After all, for this Fae Queen with a pathological desire for control, she was more accustomed to bringing everything under her control. This kind of thinking would naturally lead to those who resisted her or escaped her control catching her somewhat off guard.
Just like Agravain and Gawain, these offspring were originally meant to eliminate the King Arthur she hated. But the final outcome was that they all became King Arthur's capable assistants, the mainstays of the Knights of the Round Table.
Possessing a pathological desire for control, yet always letting situations escape her grasp, this was probably Morgan's greatest flaw.
"Using the Noble Phantasm to draw everyone's attention, all to expose Morgan to everyone's eyes?"
[Illya] instantly saw through Sisigou's intention—because her condition wasn't good, even with a certain class advantage, it was unlikely she could finish off Morgan. If so, then why not expose Morgan, who excelled at magecraft, to everyone's eyes? In that case, for a magus, it would undoubtedly be quite fatal.
After all, although everyone knew that magi were weak in frontal combat, who knew if these fellows who had mastered the underlying code would secretly cook up something big? Holding this thought, magi were almost always the Servants most likely to be kicked out first after being discovered.
Morgan seemed to have noticed this intention as well. After dodging the Noble Phantasm, she glanced angrily at Mordred, then quickly dematerialized and left.
"Looks like things didn't go very smoothly."
In the inn, the blonde girl waiting for Morgan looked at the disheveled latter and couldn't help but tease.
"You were so confident when you left."
Morgan was annoyed but couldn't say anything, only blaming it on the hateful Red Dragon and that unfilial daughter, Mordred.
Looking at her angry Servant, Manaka Sajyou smiled, but the next moment, as if sensing something, she walked in a certain direction.
With a raise of her hand, a thread butterfly was caught.
She held it in her palm—as if looking through it, meeting the eyes of the person on the other side.
"Hmm~ Who is this?"
Wanting to investigate, but the next moment, the thread butterfly dissipated into magical energy.
This also made Manaka Sajyou look slightly dejected. "Didn't catch it."
The image froze at that last moment.
And [Illya], who had blocked the peeping, raised an eyebrow slightly.
...Princess of the Root, Manaka Sajyou, and Fae Queen Morgan? These two are actually a team...
Jiang Qiao had initially thought that the casually added slots would fall into the hands of some mediocre magi. But it turned out to be this one. He couldn't help but sigh:
"Seriously, I've really attracted some troublesome fellows."
But thinking about it carefully, the compatibility between these two was indeed surprisingly good—the same paranoia, the same pathological possessiveness...
A witch who had reached the Divine Realm and a Princess of the Root directly connected to the Root—
Whoever was targeted by this pair would definitely be in for a world of bad luck.
[Illya] thought about Saber and Kiritsugu, who were most likely targeted, and couldn't help but feel sympathy.
Glancing at little Illya.
Because she was a Servant, although due to the special summoning, she was like Saber, unable to dematerialize, she could also stay up all night. Little Illya, with such a trait, of course, unhesitatingly experienced an adult's all-nighter.
As for the result.
Clearly, she had a "howling" good time.
At this moment, seeing Sayaka meet her end, she had undoubtedly started to feel emo.
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
This wasn't a magical girl show at all!
Her admired Mami-senpai going her separate ways (losing her head) was already hard for little Illya, who leaned towards happy endings, to accept. But then—she initially had no strong feelings for Sayaka, after all, this child was somewhat like Tatsuko... Then, first witnessing her become a magical girl, then after becoming a magical girl, getting the short end of the stick, making a wish for her crush only for her crush to be stolen by her best friend... No! This was too much...
When she saw Sayaka turn into the Oktavia von Seckendorff witch, and even that girl named Kyoko also met her end in a mutual destruction, little Illya's entire brain trembled. She hugged her knees, her pupils losing their highlight.
Facing Ruby, she shivered and asked:
"Ruby, you wouldn't happen to be Kyubey's colleague, would you?"
"How could that be! Slander! This is slander!"
"Ruby-chan is a magical crystal of love and justice! Not that kind of heretical, harmful beast!"
Ruby's fur bristled a little. "Wuwu, Illya, you have to believe me!"
"And this magical girl show, heresy! Utter heresy! Ruby-chan absolutely does not acknowledge this kind of magical girl!"
Yes, it seemed they were both quite satisfied with this work.
[Illya], holding her hot tea, was very gratified.
However, as if sensing something, she looked at the flames blooming in the magic mirror and pursed her lips:
"Yare yare... It's already the dead of night, yet still so energetic."