Chapter 319: Fake Sibling Bonds
Boom!
The wall of the building shattered as Berserker's colossal body smashed straight through it with brute force.
Riding on the back of that black beast was a young girl clad in a knight's azure armor. In her hands gleamed a golden holy sword, buried deep into the giant's body.
"■...!"
Panting heavily, Berserker slumped against the wall—only to rise to his feet once more the very next second.
"■■■■!!"
The black giant pounded his chest with thunderous fists, unleashing a roar that shook the battlefield. His voice carried a mocking undertone, as though taunting the girl before him:
"See that? I fall! And I rise again! What are you gonna do about it?!"
"Ugh… he's so strong."
Miyu wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, her expression tense as she fixed her eyes on her opponent.
The power she wielded as a Heroic Spirit was indeed tremendous. Against Berserker, whom she hadn't been able to so much as touch in her normal magical girl form, she could now fight evenly—and even slay him once or twice.
But that was all.
The black giant's stamina seemed endless. No matter how fatal the wound, he would stand up again and again, an inexhaustible nightmare that refused to stay down.
And Miyu herself?
Her breathing was ragged. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises from the relentless clash. She was only an elementary school girl, after all. Even with the boost of being a magical girl, to go head-to-head with a legendary hero of Greek mythology—one whose name was carved among the greatest of monsters and men alike—was asking too much.
"■■■■—!!"
With another roar, the giant summoned forth a black storm, once more surging toward her.
"Haaah!"
Raising her staff-turned-holy-sword high, Miyu charged headlong into the tempest.
At the same time, in another place, the mother-daughter talk between Irisviel and Illya reached its critical moment.
"Mom…? What did you just say?"
For a brief instant, Illya thought she'd misheard—that her mother had been talking about something else entirely.
But Irisviel's next words shattered that fragile hope.
"The seal's already been broken twice. The magical energy stored for ten years is practically gone. Looks like you caused quite the dazzling uproar."
As she gently placed her hand on her daughter's chest, Irisviel spoke with disarming ease, as though the truth was obvious.
"Really now, I didn't think it would unravel this soon."
She sighed wistfully—not at all surprised by Illya's hidden power, but rather that it had been used so early.
The words were so far removed from common sense that Illya's mind stalled. She could only parrot them back in confusion.
"Wh-what— what are you even saying, Mom?"
But Irisviel remained calm, her voice soft and warm.
"Of course you're shocked. It must feel like your entire sense of self is crumbling apart right now…"
Her mother's serene explanation only made Illya tremble with fear. She had never imagined that she—who was supposed to be just an ordinary girl—would be carrying such an outrageous secret.
"Mom… you know something, don't you? This power… if you know, then tell me! What is this power?! Why do I have it?!"
It wasn't just Illya who demanded an answer. The audience beyond the screen was holding their breath as well.
"At last! The truth of Illya's origins! The rules of this parallel world!"
Aoko stretched her neck out, straining to catch every word of Irisviel's explanation—while her childhood friend Touko prepared to draw some grand magical conclusion from it.
And then—
"Ah~ who knows?"
Irisviel spread her hands with an innocent shrug, smiling as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
""—The hell?!""
The absurd, out-of-left-field answer nearly made Illya—and the entire audience—throw out their backs.
Everyone had gotten their pants off, waiting for the big reveal, only for her to hit them with this?!
Even Illya herself couldn't take it anymore. Jumping on her feet, she screamed:
"Stop trying to brush me off so blatantly, Mom!!"
But faced with her daughter's fiery glare, Irisviel only smiled, still trying to play it off.
"Alright, alright, listen carefully now… it's one of those lines, right? Like, 'If you don't realize it yourself, then it has no meaning…' or 'It's not the right time to tell you yet…' Something along those lines~"
"—What the heck is that supposed to mean?! That's way too sloppy!!"
Illya's outburst was the voice of the audience itself.
Sure, this kind of airheaded response fit perfectly with Irisviel's "ditzy mom" persona—but for viewers, it was still infuriating.
Unfortunately for Illya, that gentle smile of her mother's was just a facade. Deep down, this woman was anything but mild-mannered.
After enduring her daughter's complaints for a while, Irisviel finally smacked Illya on the head with a swift karate chop.
"Enough already! No backtalk allowed!!"
"Ow…"
Clutching her head in pain, Illya fell silent, glaring up at her mother with frustration. She still wanted answers, but none were forthcoming.
"Anyway, there's only one thing I can tell you."
In an instant, Irisviel returned to that warm, kind, ideal-mother demeanor.
"You mustn't fear the power you hold. Power itself isn't good or evil."
"What matters most… is the will of the one who wields it."
"No matter what strength you possess, there's no need to be afraid—because without a doubt, it is part of who you are."
Illya's heart was stirred by those words, though she couldn't yet grasp their full meaning. Her head lowered, and she fell into silence, lost in thought.
Irisviel had already anticipated her daughter's confusion. She smiled softly.
"It's fine if you don't have an answer yet… I only hope you can keep growing."
"…Growing?"
This time, Irisviel's smile carried a trace of solemnity.
"You ran away, didn't you?"
Illya faltered, instinctively taking a step back.
"You ran away from the promise… the one that was supposed to be fulfilled by the two of you together."
"That girl's name… is Miyu, isn't it?"
For once, Irisviel's gaze sharpened into a rare seriousness. She looked straight into Illya's eyes.
"To you, Illya… what kind of existence is Miyu-chan?"
Illya's expression twisted with pain. Images of her cowardly retreat flashed in her mind—alongside the image of Miyu, still fighting alone.
"Miyu… Miyu, she… she is—"
Clenching her fists tight, Illya gathered all the strength in her body and shouted:
"—MY FRIEND!!"
In front of the TV, Ryougi Shiki narrowed her eyes at the screen, watching Illya's emotional cry. She turned to confirm with the boy standing behind her.
"I see, Shinji-kun. You want me to do the same thing as that little girl—shout out my feelings at the top of my lungs, right?"
Smack
This time it was Shinji who delivered a karate chop—straight to Shiki's head.
"What the hell are you even watching?! I told you to pay attention to how Illya acts when she's lost and uncertain—not to the part where she rallies herself! That's at least third-movie material, got it?!"
"…I'm against violence."
Shiki puffed out her cheeks angrily.
"Objection denied! I'm just making sure you're focusing where you're supposed to."
Shinji let out a cold snort, picked up the teacup at his side, and sipped delicately at the black tea.
"I've been watching Illya's performance the whole time, you know! I already get how I should act."
With a weary sigh, Shiki slouched lazily back into the armchair, taking small, unhurried sips from her own cup. Since Shinji had said there was no need to observe Illya's later parts, she couldn't be bothered to take any more notes.
After writing down half an episode's worth of scribbles, her hand was sore anyway.
"Don't make it sound like I'm being hard on you… For a rookie, I've been giving you more than enough leeway already."
Shinji chuckled bitterly.
"Don't put it like you're some kind of benevolent savior of mankind," Shiki shot him a wary glance. "Even if we're acquaintances, I'm not going to cook for you just because you're looking after me!"
"Tch. You caught on, huh?"
Clicking his tongue in regret, Shinji looked genuinely disappointed.
Shiki's cooking was unrivaled—her skill stood at the peak of the world. But her motivation for stepping into a kitchen was dead last. Unless absolutely necessary, she outright refused to cook.
Even Shinji had few chances to taste her dishes—usually only on New Year's or other rare occasions, when she might make sweets.
If he could ever manage to trick her into making a full-course meal, Shinji figured he could use it as bait to make even that glutton Arturia bend to his will.
"Alright, alright, I won't push it. But how about showing off at the wrap-up party after filming's done?"
"At a time like that? Of course I'll cook. Unlike you, I'm not some socially tone-deaf man."
Shiki scoffed, lips curling in disdain.
"Hey now, give me some credit. I am the Clock Tower's Cannon King—How could someone like me possibly be low in emotional intelligence? If I was, how would I have gotten so many girls?"
"Ha! 'Gotten' them? Please. That's not romance—you're just waving around your inherited chromosomes and brazenly seducing them like bait!"
"..."
Her phrasing was questionable, yes. But when you actually thought about it… she wasn't entirely wrong.
So Shinji could only set his teacup down and stand.
"I'll go tell the others to start getting ready for the shoot. If you want to keep lazing here and watching TV, be my guest."
"Go on, then. I'll stick around a bit longer."
Shiki waved him off casually. She had no intention of moving. If there was a chance to rest, she'd take it—once they stepped onto set, even a few minutes of downtime would become precious.
At the door, Shinji suddenly turned back with a grin.
"Oh, and one more thing—dear little sister watching your tokusatsu over there! Please remember to keep the lights on and sit a safe distance away from the TV, alright~?"
"Got it! Stop nagging already!!"
Shiki's brows twitched violently. If there had been a pillow within reach, she'd have hurled it straight at his smug face.
"Hahaha I'm off then"
Laughing heartily, Shinji swaggered out of the room with steps that radiated arrogance, entirely ignoring the rude gesture Shiki flashed him.
"Tch. That damn director."
Her so-called little brother Shinji truly never let himself suffer a loss. The moment he did, he'd immediately find some way to turn the tables.
"…Fine then. Next time at the wrap-up party, I'll make sushi. And inside his portion, I'll slip in Kotomine's special mapo sauce. The ultra-spicy version."
Clearly, Shiki herself wasn't one to take losses either.
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