"She got him!"
Shirou and Rin shot to their feet at the same time.
From where they sat, Artoria's blade was already descending toward Heracles' neck. The strike looked clean. Decisive.
Rowan, however, glanced sideways at Illya.
She was smiling.
Not tense.
Not worried.
Amused.
That alone told him everything.
Heracles had fought the entire battle using nothing but raw physical might.
No Noble Phantasm.
No special ability.
No trump card.
A Servant without a hidden ace didn't exist.
"He dodged… but he's badly hurt. That means it's over, right?"
Rin and Shirou's excitement froze.
In midair, Heracles twisted his massive body at an impossible angle.
The sword missed his neck.
Instead, it carved across his chest, ripping open flesh to the bone.
Any ordinary being would have collapsed instantly.
Even most Servants would be crippled.
Heracles landed.
Straightened.
The wound began closing.
Muscle knitted.
Skin sealed.
As if nothing had happened.
Illya set her teacup down gently.
"My Berserker doesn't die," she said lightly. "So even if all of you attack together, the result is the same."
She tilted her head.
"But since you served me tea, I'll be generous. I'll let you live today."
Silence hung in the air.
Rowan smiled.
"Then how about we make things interesting?"
Illya raised an eyebrow.
"A bet?"
"If Artoria wins," Rowan said calmly, "you transfer your Command Seals to me. Berserker becomes mine."
The teapot floated up and refilled Illya's cup.
This time, she didn't reach for it.
She stared at Rowan.
"You already have Saber. Now you want Berserker too?"
"One Master can't control two Servants. Everyone knows that."
"That's true for everyone else," Rowan replied. "Not for me."
He took a sip of his own tea.
"And I don't just want Berserker. I want all the Servants in this war."
Rin and Shirou both stiffened.
"That way," Rowan continued, "no one else has to die fighting over the Grail. We settle things cleanly. Through deals, not slaughter."
Illya snorted.
"Big words. Fine. If you lose, what do I get?"
Rowan didn't hesitate.
"When the Grail is removed from your body, I'll keep you alive."
"And I'll give you a new, healthy body. One that can live like a real human."
The world seemed to stop.
Illya shot to her feet.
"What did you just say?"
Several strands of her silver hair detached, transforming midair into white birds.
The birds warped again, reshaping into glowing blades aimed at Rowan's forehead.
"You'd better not be lying," she said coldly. "Or I kill you right now."
Rowan pointed at her chest.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Grail is embedded in your heart."
The glowing swords vanished.
The silver strands fell lifelessly to the floor.
Rowan lowered his hand.
"And your magic doesn't work on me."
Illya's pupils shrank.
That spell was among her strongest.
He had erased it effortlessly.
She had come here planning to seize Rowan if Heracles lost.
Now she realized something unpleasant.
She was the one trapped.
If Rowan truly understood her condition…
If he truly could save her…
Illya slowly sat back down.
"…Fine," she said quietly. "I accept."
Her mind linked with Heracles.
"Release all restraints," she commanded.
"Go completely mad."
Heracles roared.
The air shook.
His aura exploded outward, turning crimson.
Muscles swelled.
Veins bulged.
Power and speed surged far beyond before.
Artoria was instantly forced onto the defensive.
A massive swing shattered her armor.
Blood spilled from her side.
She barely twisted away from the follow-up blow and leapt backward, creating distance.
"So be it," she said, breathing hard.
"I will end this."
Golden light erupted from her sword.
"Excalibur."
She raised the blade high.
Then brought it down.
Night turned to day.
A colossal beam of golden light, stretching for kilometers, descended from the sky like the judgment of a god.
With nowhere to escape.
With nowhere to hide.
Heracles vanished inside the radiance.
A thunderous detonation followed.
When the light faded, Berserker was gone.
The cityscape of the mirror world had been cleaved cleanly in two.
Rowan nodded in approval.
"Not bad."
Even with all his preparations, that strike would have shattered an unreinforced mirror space.
Excalibur lived up to its legend.