Illya was having a good day.
In the morning, her mother and father had returned from their jobs, much to her and her brother's delight.
Then, they got a new member in the family in the form of Asia Argento, the girl that her brother picked up from somewhere.
And then, Rin and Luvia came back from their trip and decided to confront the Caster Class Card.
They even managed to eke out a victory thanks to Miyu's new attack, and Illya managed to properly befriend Miyu finally, after all those attempts.
Yes, the little girl was having a really good day.
However, all that happiness went down the drain just mere minutes after they defeated the Caster class card.
Rin sighed in relief, watching Illya float down from the sky while Miyu formed her platforms, descending from her position.
"I didn't think we'd have such a hard time on our second card. And there are still three more to go."
Once again, the twin-tailed girl sighed in exasperation.
"We really have a long road to go."
"Speaking of which..."
Rin turned to the sky with suspicion, one that her rival shared as well.
"We already retrieved the card, so isn't the dimensional breakdown a little slow...?"
Luvia nodded.
"Indeed. What does this even mean....?"
The girls did not get the chance to contemplate any further, as an explosion rocked the riverside, producing powerful gust winds that threw off Illya and Miyu.
"W-What's happening, Ruby!??"
"The worst development possible."
Ruby's fear and shock were quite evident in her tone, which shook Illya to her core, while Miyu was the first one to understand the implications.
"Is this even possible...?"
"Highly unlikely. Yet, it has happened anyway."
As the smoke cleared from the explosion, revealing the flames engulfing the area where Rin and Luvia once stood, the girls finally caught sight of their new enemy.
Dark energy swirled around her form as the evil blade in her hand radiated sheer power.
Black, jagged armor with crimson vein line patterns showed off her nature as a warrior, as a similarly shaped visor hid her cold gaze from the world.
With pale blond hair tied up into a bun and out of the way, the locks swinging in the wind, the warrior woman gave her full attention to the magical girls.
With each step of hers, the girls felt their hearts beat with terror.
"There is a second Class Card here."
Sapphire's words fell on deaf ears as the girls felt overwhelmed by the pure power radiating off the Saber Class Card's manifestation.
Ruby activated her magic and scanned for Rin and Luvia's life signs, and felt like sighing in relief when she felt their vitals beyond the veil of flames.
"Rin and Luvia are fine, but they seem to have taken severe injuries. Illya, Miyu, you two need to concentrate on the fight for now."
The girls nodded seriously at the Kaleidostick's words and took a stance, ready to fight, while also discussing the plan.
"I don't think we can fight that thing. We should find a way to grab Rin-san and Luvia-san and then retreat."
Illy mulled over Miyu's suggestion before asking softly.
"What about that red lance you used before?"
"The Lancer Card? I can't use it right now."
At Illya's confused glance, Sapphire decided to elaborate.
"Once a Class Card has been 'Included' in us, they become unusable for more than two days at least. This has to do with how 'far' our world is from the Throne of Heroes, coupled with the restrictions built into the cards, which push back against magical artifacts from using them, which my sister and I are classified as. Miyu-sama simply cannot access that power at the moment since she used it to practice yesterday with you."
Illya fell silent at those words, which Miyu took as her acknowledgement of the situation.
Taking a deep breath, Miyu concentrated back on the fight and thought.
'What would Onii-chan do in this situation?'
Thinking like this, she already arrived at an answer.
"I'll distract her. Illya, you circle her from the right, take Rin-san and Luvia-san, and then retreat back to the real world. Then, I'll follow after you."
The steel in her golden eyes stopped Illya from voicing out her protest, forcing her to agree with the dangerous plan.
"Are you two done planning?"
The girls jumped in terror as the sweet voice rang out in the clearing, forcing the girls to take a stance and look around.
Yet, the moment Illya spotted the source of the voice, she felt like the world fell away from beneath her feet.
"M-Mama....?"
The source of the voice was a woman who wore the face of Irisviel von Einzbern, wearing the ancient mystic code that was the treasure of the Einzberns. The Dress of Heaven.
However, this dress was different from its counterparts. Unlike the regular Dress of Heaven, this one felt tainted, as if something truly dark had latched onto its pristine white.
A clear sign of corruption from the mud of the holy grail.
And yet, the woman who should be under the corruption of the evil god still smiled serenely, staring with love, pity, and helplessness clear in her eyes.
"My precious Illya. To think I would see you like this once again. It is a shame that it did not happen under better circumstances."
Miyu and the Kaleidosticks could not help but feel like the world no longer made any sense as they stared at the familiar visage that they had seen just this morning.
The woman, who was most definitely a servant, smiled sadly and turned to the black-clad Saber servant.
"How nostaulgic eh? Saber? To think we would fight like this once again."
The Saber Class shade remained unresponsive, and it might just have been an illusion on the girl's part, but it somehow felt like Saber's stance softened slightly.
The unknown servant who wore Irisviel's face just smiled as mana swelled around her.
"Illya, Miyu. I suggest you two retreat from here if you don't want to fight. But if you do stay here, then I will assume you wish to fight us."
Miyu glanced at Illya, who looked like a complete wreck, unable to understand what was going on, and made a swift decision.
Grabbing the white-haired girl, Miyu dashed towards Rin and Luvia, intending on grabbing them as well.
However, a beam of pure darkness fell in her path, forcing her to stop.
"...Oh. How unfortunate. It would seem Saber has decided to take Rin and Luvia as her prey. Leave them here, and you may go."
Miyu gritted her teeth at those words.
"As if I would. Ruby, take Illya back-"
Suddenly, Miyu stiffened as a crushing pressure descended on her from Saber, who now stared coldly at a location nearby while Irisviel's sad gaze saddened even further.
Her whisper rang out in the clearing, clear as day, tinged with such despair and hope that it sent chills down Miyu's spine.
"...He is finally here."
Saber did not waste a single moment and charged up her tainted sword, releasing a beam of pure mana, while Sapphire suddenly felt something else the moment the Noble Phantasm was used.
"Miyu-sama! Someone else has entered the mirror world-"
"I am the bone of my sword!"
"Rho Aias!"
That familiar roar and that familiar magecraft made Miyu pause as dread and hope filled her very being.
The moment the petal shield was called into existence, the beam from the darkened blade met it head-on, making it loose a single petal before the beam dissipated.
Miyu and Illya felt like the world was spinning as they beheld the figure behind the shield.
Those crimson locks swaying in the wind, those golden eyes glaring ahead, that familiar face set in a determined expression.
It was a face they were all too familiar with.
This time, Illya really fainted from the stress while Miyu was on the verge of going catatonic.
Irisviel, on the other hand, simply smiled with a heartbroken expression, spotting the anger and despair behind Shirou's eyes.
"Hello, Shirou. We have been waiting a while for you to come get us."
——————————————————————————
I expected many things when I decided to fight the Assassin class card tonight.
I expected Angra Mainyu to call on a Heroic Spirit that I had a deep connection with. Like Jack the Ripper, the girl whom EMIYA took care of in Chaldea. Or Cleopatra, or one of the many Hassans that my counterpart had grown to care for as his comrades.
But I never expected this situation.
Staring at the woman who was the counterpart of my mother, my hands shook while my mind felt like it would break with anger and sadness.
Why was she, a Caster-class, here instead of the Assassin Card? Why did she have to be in the same place as the Saber Class Card from the Ainsworth deck?
Why did it have to be my mother that I had to kill to stop her?
Mother-no. Stop. She is not your mother.
Irisviel disappeared from behind Saber and appeared behind me. Her arms wrapped gently around me as her fingers caressed my cheek.
"Do not feel sad, Shirou. This is just the way things are. And, as Kiritsugu's son, you know what you need to do, right?"
I felt my heart break, hearing that pleading tone underneath her words. Her mind, which was still intact under Angra Mainyu's curse, thanks to a combination of her devotion to her family combining with the Divine Core of the Goddess that she has thanks to her status as the manifestation of the Grail.
'I need to free her from this suffering as quickly as possible.'
The moment I nodded, Irisviel disappeared and appeared behind Saber again.
"Good. That's how an Emiya is supposed to be. But I must warn you."
She smiled sadly as her mana rose to a new level, intertwining with Saber and elevating her own power to a whole new level.
"I will not make it easy, because I have no choice in this matter. My body will not listen to me, and I suspect, my companion will not either."
The moment her words fell, Saber shot forward, forcing me on the defensive.
I knew this version of her. Alters, as they are called in Chaldea, are tainted versions of the original versions and could be born due to various circumstances.
And yet, I could not help but feel saddened to see the glorious and chivalrous knight that many of my counterparts fell for reduced to this state.
The former King of Knights moved with precise and aggressive moves. Backed by her monstrous strength, it would be enough to easily kill most people and even servants with her swordsmanship alone.
But I am not most people.
I took a deep breath and took a stance that mirrored her own, much to her surprise, if the way her grip in that monstrosity of a sword tightened was anything to go by.
'No more hesitation. The only way to save them is to kill them.'
We moved as one, and our deadly dance began in earnest.
————————————————————————————
Miyu stood over Illya's unconscious form while Rin and Luvia tried to wrap their heads around what they were seeing, waking up just in time to see the duel begin in earnest.
"Just what is this....?
"How is Shero going toe-to-toe with that monster like this?"
Miyu ignored the two teenagers as they tended to Illya while staring with awe at Shirou Emiya, who was fighting Saber on equal footing.
No, it would be wrong to say that they were on equal footing.
It was true that they felt like mirrors of each other. Their every move mimicking the other. Every sweep of the sword countered perfectly, and every dodge was taken advantage of.
Move for move, it looked like Saber was fighting a mirror.
Yet, Miyu could see the underlying truth due to her experience and knowledge.
Shirou Emiya was using Reinforcement and an unknown form of energy to keep up with the monstrous power and pace of the Saber Card.
This meant that he was rapidly burning through his magical energy and that unknown energy, just to keep up with Saber's speed and power.
Every strike, every sweep, every exchange of blows, reduced Shirou's odds of survival by a sizable chunk.
In truth, Miyu was wondering how he had not burned out of magical energy yet.
Simply speaking, their fight looked equal. But underneath, there was no doubt that Shirou Emiya would lose this war of attrition.
Her heart ached with every bruise or cut that formed on Shirou's body under the assault, as his image overlapped with that of her own brother, her own version of Shirou Emiya.
"Sapphire, we need to help. We can't leave everything to him."
"I am ready, Miyu-sama."
Luvia stood up as well, exchanging an understanding nod with Rin, who continued tending to Illya.
"I'll help you, Miyu. We need to make sure that harlot doesn't kill my Shero."
Miyu's lips twitched at Luvia's words, but she let it go since this was not the time to think about such things.
"Do you have a plan?"
"i was going to use the same move as I did against Caster."
"It won't work."
Luvia refuted Miyu's plan instantly.
"The Grandmaster told us that the Saber Class Card is especially resistant to magic of all kinds, so that kind of concentrated mana blast will not work against her."
"Then, what do we do?"
Luvia smiled confidently as she pulled out a few jewels.
"Its simple. I'll trap her with a seiðr and try to strip her of whatever resistance she has. Meanwhile, you provide support fire to take some pressure off of Shero since he seems to be the only one capable of handling that spirit."
Miyu nodded and took to the skies again as Luvia threw her jewels into the air, where they formed a large magic circle.
However, the moment the magic circle took effect, its restraining and suppressing effect was negated effortlessly by Irisviel, who gave her an amused look.
"Runecraft? And such an advanced form at that? You seem well-trained. Too bad it will not-"
"Oi! Idiot Rin! Give me some backup!!"
"Don't call me an idiot, you bimbo!"
Despite their bickering, Rin wasted no time in throwing her own rubies into the magic circle, feeling her heart bleed with every lost jewel since she was not rich like Luvia.
The moment Rin's jewels, which had Rin's own magic circles engraved onto them through Jewel magic, made contact with Luvias seiðr runic circle, the spell's power quadrupled instantly.
The two servants felt the pressure instantly as the spell forced them to slow down while also playing around with their perception and innate abilities, trying to disrupt Saber's magic resistance.
Yet, it was all for nothing as Irisveil finally took the girls seriously and pushed her mana out, disabling the spell instantly.
"Like I was saying. This level of magecraft will not work on Saber or on me, who was taught by the Einzbern."
Suddenly, Irisviel's head snapped forward, watching with an alarmed look as Saber's sword darkened like the night itself and her mana flooded the area.
The source of the servant's anger?
It was the sword in Shirou's hand.
Its golden guard accented with royal blue, shone with light, while the fairy letters on it read a sentence that many had long since forgotten.
"Do you remember this? Saber? The sword that started everything?"
Shirou's soft words rang out in the clearing as Saber gritted her teeth in rage, her mana flooding her sword, which was already at the peak of her swing.
Shirou knew that there was no use speaking to Saber. Yet, he could not bring himself to kill her before at least trying to remind her of what she once stood for. The person she once was. The person that many versions of him had fallen in love with.
[Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise king of all England.]
"Do you remember these words? Or have you forgotten why you became a king in the first place?"
Saber Alter did not reply, only swinging her sword forward.
"Excalibur Morgan!"
Shirou could have used that moment to swing his own sword, stopping the darkness in its tracks without question.
Yet, he did not.
Because there was something else within his very soul that wished to manifest. Its anguish at seeing its wielder's king reduced to this state resonating across his reality marble.
So great was its pain that it overshadowed the anger and betrayal that many weapons within his reality marble exhibited at the visage of the Tyrant he faced at this moment.
So, he let go of his control and let it manifest.
A tower shield. One carved from the very Round Table that Saber once gathered around with her knights.
Its grey and gold colorings reflecting the light in this mirror dimension, giving it a regal aura.
Without hesitation, Shirou called its name.
"Lord Camelot."
The Castle of Distant Ideals manifested around Shirou, its ethereal walls that embodied Saber and her knights' very ideals and hopes clashing against the rage of the Tainted Tyrant.
Excalibur Morgan's beam did not let up for many minutes, bolstered by Saber's Magic Core and Irisviel's own magical energy.
Yet, the Walls of Camelot would not relent, for they were as pure as the Perfect Knight, the Knight of Heaven, who once wielded it.
Saber, true name, Artoria Pendragon, knew this fact. How could she not know when Galahad was one of her own knights?
She knew, even in her current state, that the very fact that Shirou could manifest Lord Camelot meant that the Noble Phantasm had approved of its usage by Shirou, that it had acknowledged the justice and truth that Shirou fought for.
Finally, her blast sputtered out, giving Shirou the opening he had been waiting for.
Dashing forward, Shirou spoke with determination as the sword in his hand shone, once again showing its acknowledgement of the young man.
"Sword of Selection, Grant me your power!"
"Cleave the wicked!"
"Caliburn!!"
It was a swift blow, one that would catch many a heroic spirit off guard. But she was not just any heroic spirit. Combined with her training and instincts, she could easily dodge it.
Yet, her pride would not allow it.
Because she, too, has acknowledged this man's courage and determination
It was a fair victory, and she would not rob that of him even in such a reduced state.
The beam of pure energy struck the tainted Saber, piercing straight through her core and ending her fight.
For a moment, there was only silence on the battlefield, as everyone watched the Saber class card float in front of Shirou.
Finally, after gathering himself together, Shirou turned towards Irisviel.
"...Will you return to the throne now?"
Irisviel smiled sadly.
"You should know the answer to that, Shirou. I cannot do that, because that decision is not in my hands. Besides, did I not tell you?"
"My companion will not make it that easy."
Chills shot down Shirou's spine at those words, just in time for his enhanced senses to pick up words that made his heart shatter.
"Time Alter: Double Accel"
The sound of a gunshot rang out across the clearing, one that made Shirou react instantly and shoot towards the girls, protecting them behind Lord Camalot, knowing exactly what kind of man he was dealing with.
And true to his expectation, the bullet bounced off Shirou's shield, the trajectory of which would have drilled through Luvia's brain if Shirou were any slower.
The shooter revealed his presence.
His face was hidden behind bandages and a crimson hood, with only a few strands of his white hair visible.
Grey armor covered his torso over his black body suit and the many utility belts he had around his waist.
His gun, the one that he just used, a Calico M950, still smoking from the muzzle, was aimed straight at the humans.
The Assassin Class Card.
The moment he appeared, he shot towards Irisviel and stood in front of her. With a combat knife in one hand and his Calico in the other, acting like a knight when he should be an assassin.
Irisviel placed her palm on Assassin's shoulder, smiling sadly.
"Come, Shirou. It will not be easy, but is it not your duty to release your parents from this tortured existence?"
"....Why? Why is he going so far...? Why does he want to break me so much?"
Assassin's words came out in the dead tone that Shirou expected, but stung nonetheless.
"You should know that by now, Shirou. Or at least, you should have an idea, yes? I would at least expect you to think about it after all this time."
Kiritsugu Emiya, or as he should be called now, Counter Guardian EMIYA, spoke to the young man who was his son in many different timelines. One who was the source of his pride and his anguish after learning about the other Counter Guardian EMIYA in Chaldea and his life.
Meanwhile, Rin, Luvia, and the Kaleidostics only had one thought running through their minds.
'Just what the hell is up with this family?'
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Caster Class Card: Irisviel von Einzbern: (Click here for image)
Assassin Class Card: Counter Guardian EMIYA: (Click here for image)
Caliburn: The Golden Sword of the Victorious: (Click here for image)
Lord Camalot: The Castle of Distant Ideals: (Click here for image)
Excalibur Morgan: (Click here for image)
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1