Undoubtedly, at this moment, Miss Illya was the ultimate stat monster. Her frontal combat stats had gone from being like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered to a level where just looking at her stats was enough to make one sweat profusely... Hmm, it was all due to sweat and effort!
"Well... A hasty creation really isn't perfect, is it?" Watching Illya's stats, ['Jiang Illya'], observing from the magic workshop, propped up her cheek, slightly dissatisfied.
This card was also custom-made by him for Miss Illya.
While not entirely without skill, the card's owner, Miss Firefly, was undoubtedly the type who didn't care for martial arts and fought purely with raw firepower and extreme violence—a typical case of "a bigger brick solves everything" and "one force to break ten skills."
It was a perfect match for Miss Illya, whose combat skills were tearfully bad.
The only drawback might be that while this card provided terrifyingly high stats, as the panel description indicated, the supreme firepower and stats were actually obtained in exchange for a terrifying output of magical energy. In terms of pure mana consumption, it even surpassed a Berserker.
Even a Lesser Grail or the leylines would struggle to handle this level of mana consumption. For an ordinary person, it would probably be—
—one second of activation would be enough to turn the user into a dried husk, with all their magical energy and life force depleted.
"With the leylines snatched away by Mr. Sausage, it seems only something like a jewel wand can bear this level of magical energy supply."
"I feel like I've become really strong... but how do I fight?!"
"Since you're using this card, you don't need any so-called skills! Just charge straight in, and with a few 'bang, bang, bangs,' the battle will be over!"
While Miss Illya was receiving guidance...
Lancer looked at the completely transformed Miss Illya, his expression growing wary.
...A bit dangerous!
As a battle-hardened warrior, honestly, he hadn't considered this target an opponent before.
Although she possessed vast magical energy, she was clearly the type with no combat experience, a treasure trove she couldn't utilize.
But... this one now...
Though still so green... Diarmuid felt his nerves tense up. That familiar feeling was like the demonic boar he faced in his final battle in life.
"Here I come!"
"Take this!"
Miss Illya's childish voice rang out as she tentatively threw a 'little fist to your chest' punch. However, with the backing of those noble stats, even such a simple blow created a sonic boom in the air.
Accompanied by explosive magical energy, a roar resounded throughout the land of Fuyuki, like an earthquake.
Swish—!
Relying on instinct, Diarmuid didn't block it head-on but used the force of the explosion to dodge. He was sent flying, only managing to stop himself mid-air with agile movements. Even so, the terrifying aftershock forced him to plunge his Crimson Rose into the ground, nearly grinding his heels to the bone to halt his retreat. "This power...!"
Looking at the massive crater, Diarmuid's eyes widened in astonishment.
It was just an ordinary punch, yet its power was already comparable to a C-rank or even B-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm! He silently glanced at Manaka Sajyou.
You want me to fight that?
Even if he was confident in himself, Diarmuid had to admit he couldn't handle this at all.
He had originally planned to use his skills to take her down after noticing her stats were much higher than his own, even after being enhanced by Manaka Sajyou. But with this level of destructive power... if he took even one hit head-on, he would be severely injured even with magical protection!
He even had a premonition that with just one touch, his Crimson Rose would probably be shattered... Even a demonic spear couldn't withstand this level of force! This was practically a humanoid Phantasmal Species!
"..."
Though a romantic, Manaka Sajyou wasn't an idiot. She frowned at this scale of destructive power.
She also knew that even with her magical reinforcement, Lancer couldn't withstand this. To go head-to-head with such destructive power, perhaps only Berserker could barely manage.
But unfortunately, Berserker was with Morgan now, and even Berserker might not necessarily win...
"We're leaving, Lancer!"
Though somewhat unwilling, Manaka still made the most correct decision, abandoning the idea of continuing the fight. However, before leaving, she gave Illya a deep look.
She was so weak before, yet she became so strong after using that card... That card belongs to my 'Prince,' doesn't it... Onore! Damn cheating cat, relying on the 'Prince's' things to defeat me.
The thought of her 'Prince's' belongings falling into the hands of that cheating cat made her feel sick all over. And if the other party used it to defeat her... Ptooey! This isn't a defeat! It's just a strategic retreat!
You just wait! Illyasviel von Einzbern! I will definitely take my 'Prince' back!
"Eh? Why did she just run away?!"
Illya was surprised and astonished.
"Probably because even if she continued, she couldn't win against you."
"That child might be a bit of a romantic, but in terms of decision-making, she is worthy of the title 'Princess of the Root,'" [Illya] saw through it clearly.
Aside from her Mary Sue brain, whether it was decision-making, strategy, military force, or execution, she was top-notch. For Manaka Sajyou, the only real difficulty was getting her interested.
And once she set a goal...
Just like when she was with Proto-Arthur, after learning his wish was to restore his country, Miss Manaka could unhesitatingly use the foundation of the Holy Grail War to incubate the larval form of the Beast of 666, intending to use it to destroy the Quantum Time-Locks of Human Order Foundations, thereby accomplishing Britain's restoration by destroying the Human Order.
For the sake of her beloved's wish, she was willing to destroy all of human history.
To keep her beloved's soul from entering the Holy Grail, she could choose a more cruel method, using a large number of human souls, even those of her own sister and father, as substitutes.
Undoubtedly, in terms of execution, she was a terrifyingly ruthless and unscrupulous type.
"It feels like this is super bad..."
"But... all in all, this should be considered... a victory?!" Miss Illya looked at her hands, somewhat dazed, yet also excited.
Weak little me, actually won?
It was over so quickly, it almost doesn't feel real!
"Well... barely, I guess."
"This large area... did I cause all of this just now?"
"That's her fighting style. It's easy to cause large-scale destruction," [Illya] was quite familiar with this.
Because it was a 'Class Card,' it naturally completely replicated this aspect. Besides providing the user with super high stats, the Firefly armor also brought with it an external magic release ability similar to Karna's Mana Burst (Flames) A, which in turn resulted in super-scale destructive power.
But the mana consumption was also more intense...
"Suddenly so tired..."
After deactivating the transformation, Miss Illya suddenly became a bit listless, looking as if she had pulled several all-nighters.
Even Ruby became a bit limp.
"Too much mana was consumed...!"
Ruby couldn't help but protest.
"Although I have an infinite mana supply, the instantaneous mana consumption of this card is too high!"
"Well... I didn't consider that point. For a Magician herself, it's no problem, but for a mere magical Mystic Code, this level of mana consumption is indeed a bit over the top."
[Illya] appeared to be thinking.
If he used it himself, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, Mr. Jiang Qiao's control over power was already at its peak.
But for the noob Miss Illya and Ruby, the former seemed completely unable to assist Ruby in using mana reasonably, resulting in most of the mana release being wasted... Although he had taken this into account and deliberately chose Firefly's armor, where any leaked mana would be converted into equivalent destructive power, allowing a single punch to achieve the destructive force of an A-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm with skilled use, it was still a bit too much for a novice like Miss Illya.
"I'll adjust the output mode a bit later. You two should be able to adapt after getting used to it... But in the end, something like Dream Summons is borrowing someone else's power. If the foundation is too weak, these kinds of problems are bound to occur."
The very tired Miss Illya was carried back to the Illya residence by Irisviel.
"How's Kiritsugu doing?"
Irisviel asked with some concern.
"If you're talking about the person, he probably hasn't found any opportunities."
"If you're talking about Kiritsugu's Servant... well, it seems to be going pretty well?" With that, [Illya] stepped aside, revealing the magic mirror.
In the frame.
It was the scene of Saber in a fierce battle with Berserker.
Logically, she shouldn't have been able to last that long, but...
"...Mordred?!"
"Isn't she Saber's enemy?"
After seeing the figure fighting alongside Saber, Irisviel's mouth fell open in surprise, somewhat bewildered.
"It seems so."
"However..."
[Illya] gently swiped the magic mirror.
The next moment, the scene seemed to rewind.
"...Mordred?!"
At Saber's critical moment, a blade wreathed in crimson lightning blocked Arondight.
This situation was completely unexpected even for the despondent Miss Saber.
Looking at Mordred before her, Saber couldn't help but feel a little touched, completely taken by surprise. Just a moment ago, she and this rebellious child were at each other's throats, yet she had saved her at her most critical moment. Could it be that she had some misunderstanding about this rebellious child?
"You're helping that shameful red dragon? Mordred?"
Facing Morgan's question and Saber's emotion, Mordred, however, had a cold face. She held her head high and said very loudly:
"Hmph, don't get it wrong! Only I can kill Arthur!"
"Before that, I won't let this guy be killed by someone else, especially not by this random guy!"
"Hey! Did you hear me clearly? Lancelot! Although I'm not qualified to say this, this guy, of all people, cannot die by your hand! Absolutely not allowed! You have no right to kill him!"
Holding her royal sword horizontally, blocking Saber, Mordred roared loudly:
"If you want to lay a hand on her, you'll have to get through me first! Lancelot!"
Saber: "..."
The touched Miss Saber's emotion instantly vanished without a trace.
Truly a rebellious brat!
"You have some nerve, you rebellious knight... Hmph, I was planning to deal with you both anyway. This is fine too. Britain's shame can be washed away together!"
Unmoved by this, Morgan stood behind Lancelot, her face like frost. In a rage, she gently tapped her staff, and a vast surge of magical energy spread out.
At this moment.
Saber and Mordred, Lancelot and Morgan—the combination of two Sabers and two Berserkers seemed to be on the verge of a great battle.
However...
The next second, a thick fog swept across the entire area.
Followed by an angry low roar.
"...How dare you... How dare you lay a hand on my saint!"
"Unforgivable... Unforgivable!"
"And that little girl... The one standing by Jeanne's side should only be me! Only me!"
"Oh, my friend, inflict punishment upon these who blaspheme the saint! Offer up their entrails, their blood, to defile the gods!"
Watching the fish-eyed man who had suddenly appeared from nowhere start to rave on his own, hugging that creepy book and muttering, Mordred was at a loss. "Hah... Who is this guy?!"
"...It seems he's mistaken me for someone else, for that French saint, Jeanne d'Arc."
Facing Mordred's question, Saber, standing beside her, uncharacteristically didn't give a cold reply. Hmm... it was probably because the former's actions had touched her somewhat. Although still an incorrigible rebellious child who was impossible to like, she had helped her after all... It was better to improve her attitude a little.
"? Jeanne d'Arc? You?"
"Pfft."
Mordred glanced at Saber's appearance and burst out laughing.
What kind of hellish joke was this?
A French person mistaking the King of Britain for that saint, Jeanne d'Arc... Although they weren't from the same era, considering the deep friendship forged between the two countries... cough, cough.
"Wait, isn't this guy attacking indiscriminately?!"
"Isn't he on your side?"
"You can tell just by looking at him, that's what mentally deranged madmen are like..."
"What the hell! We have to fight this disgusting thing?!" Looking at the tentacle monsters and sea demons emerging from all sides, Mordred was disgusted.
Although she was the famous rebel knight, just like her appearance, as a child, especially a female one, tentacle monsters were completely physiologically repulsive! Not to mention they were slimy, so gross!
Even with her armor on, she felt that letting those things stick to her armor was unacceptable.
"Die!"
Swinging her royal sword to slay the sea demons, Mordred subconsciously stood back-to-back with Saber, fighting side by side. Although she felt a bit disgusted upon realizing this, but... for some reason, Mordred also felt a little happy.
The endless sea demons seemed impossible to kill. What was even more disgusting was that some of them weren't even real, but false illusions.
But the problem was, these illusions were just like the real thing. If you didn't defend, you'd really get hurt. If you did, you'd just be swinging at empty air.
Wait, this familiar taste of illusion...
Inexplicably, Saber and Mordred simultaneously thought of a certain old acquaintance.