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When Alex finished speaking, Irisviel was completely frozen, her face pale with shock and disbelief.
Alex continued calmly, "If I don't remove the Little Grail inside you, I can't kill any other Servants. Otherwise, when they die, their souls will be absorbed into it. Once it's full of magical energy… well, you can imagine the result."
Irisviel shook her head over and over. The image alone was unbearable.
If she died… what would happen to her daughter, Illya?
No. She couldn't die.
Suddenly, she dropped to her knees before Alex, eyes pleading. "Mr. Lin, please—please save me!"
Alex helped her back up with a small smile. "That's why I called you here. Hestia's going to remove the Little Grail from your body."
At those words, Irisviel's eyes lit up with hope.
She wasn't afraid of death—but she was terrified of leaving Illya alone. Terrified her daughter might be turned into another vessel, forced to walk the same tragic path.
Right then, Irisviel made a silent vow: I will save Illya, even if I have to betray the Einzbern family itself.
"Alright, Alex," Hestia said, stepping forward with a grin. "You two done talking? Because it's my turn now."
Alex nodded and moved aside.
Hestia walked up to Irisviel and placed one hand on her chest.
"Mhm, yep—there's definitely a cup in there."
With that, she unleashed her divine power, protecting Irisviel's body while extracting the Little Grail with ease.
In just a few moments, it was done.
Without even glancing at it, Hestia tossed the shining artifact toward Alex.
He caught it, examined it briefly, and smiled.
The Grail's energy was already halfway full. Two more Servant souls and it would reach its limit.
Perfect. He'd only need four Servants in total, which meant his own allies—Morgan, Merlin, and Artoria—could all remain safe.
As Alex toyed with the Little Grail in his hand, Irisviel suddenly turned to Hestia, her voice trembling but firm. "Goddess… please, let me join your Familia!"
After last night's public awakening of Alex's divine blessing, the concept of "Favor" was no longer a secret to anyone.
Hestia blinked in surprise, then grinned. "Oh? Are you sure about that? I'm not from this world, you know. If you join my Familia, you'll have to come with me when I leave."
Irisviel nodded without hesitation. "I understand. I don't want to stay here anymore—just, please, bring my daughter with us."
Alex immediately understood her plan. She wanted to use Hestia's power to rescue Illya from the Einzberns.
But once she did that, the family would never forgive them. Staying in the Nasuverse would be impossible. Following Hestia back to Orario was her only real option.
Hestia clearly realized the same thing, but she didn't mind being "used." As long as someone became part of her Familia, protecting them was simply her duty.
There was only one problem—could members of the chat group bring non-members back to their own worlds?
Even Alex, as a fellow group member, couldn't freely visit Hestia's world without completing a mission or spending points to get an invitation.
Curious, Hestia opened the group interface and checked.
A moment later, she smiled. It was possible—but it would cost 100 points per person.
No big deal. She'd joined the group before Alex and had over a thousand points saved up from daily check-ins.
"Alright, I'll do it," Hestia said with a nod.
"Thank you, Goddess!" Irisviel's voice trembled with excitement.
She felt like a caged bird that had just been set free.
From now on—the sky was hers to fly.
That afternoon, after lunch, Alex and Hestia set out again.
On the way to the airport, Hestia glanced over. "So, what are we doing this time?"
Alex smirked. "Intercepting Kiritsugu Emiya."
Hestia frowned. "Didn't you let him go last night? Why bother him again?"
"I couldn't act in front of Irisviel," Alex said simply.
Hestia's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Oh-ho! So you do have a thing for her, huh?"
"Not quite. Just… interested," Alex admitted. There was no point lying—gods from Orario could see through falsehoods.
"Tch. You really are a piece of work," Hestia said, rolling her eyes.
Alex just laughed. He wasn't ashamed—he was only following his nature.
Hestia snorted. "So, you're going after Kiritsugu just to kill him?"
"Not exactly. Kurumi wants to study his 'Time Control' magecraft. I'm just helping her out," Alex said, remembering Tokisaki Kurumi tagging him in the group chat last night.
"Oh, that explains it." Hestia quickly scrolled through yesterday's messages and nodded.
She already knew plenty about the Nasuverse's magic after connecting to the Root herself—but time-based magecraft was one of the few things she still lacked knowledge of.
Which meant Kiritsugu Emiya was doomed to lose his Magic Crest today.
They arrived at the airport soon after and easily spotted him sitting in the waiting area.
The moment Kiritsugu saw them, his face went pale.
Alex smiled and waved politely, looking every bit the harmless guy next door.
Without hesitation, Kiritsugu activated his Innate Time Control and bolted.
Too bad that kind of trick didn't work on a goddess.
Hestia dispelled his magecraft instantly and caught him before he could even blink.
A flash of light—and the three of them vanished from the terminal, completely unnoticed by the crowd.
They reappeared outside, in a quiet corner of the airport with no cameras.
Kiritsugu glared warily. "I'm no longer a Master. What more do you want from me?"
"Nothing much," Alex said casually. "Just your Magic Crest."
"What?! Never!" Kiritsugu roared. A Magic Crest was the legacy of a mage family—generations of research and knowledge. Giving it away was unthinkable.
"Sorry, but that's not your call," Hestia said lightly, raising a finger.
In an instant, Kiritsugu was frozen in place.
Then came the extraction.
The process was… not pleasant. Kiritsugu screamed as the crest was forcibly pulled from his body.
Even Alex winced and turned away, covering his ears.
After a few agonizing minutes, it was over.
The crest was successfully removed. Kiritsugu collapsed to the ground, eyes rolled back, unconscious and barely breathing.
His face was white as a sheet—more dead than alive.
"..."
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