Irisviel felt helpless. She could only watch Illya and Lancer's Master battle. Hell, she could barely even watch due to the burning fog and the speed at which the fight was occurring. Currently, Illya was using square accel near constantly to be able to keep up with and even outspeed the suit-wearing woman. Illya's time was dilated in relation to her surroundings so she wasn't actually moving fast, it was just that she was in a quicker stream of time. Her body was getting pushed to the limit as she used a spell that neared the realm of True Magic. Avalon healing her as she moved was the only reason she was able to use time alter so continuously.

Sadly, the enemy Master was smart, staying close and keeping track of Illya's arms. That way, she could predict when Illya would try to fire her gun. She'd knock Illya's arms away or jump out of the way before the trigger was pulled almost every time. She did take some shots, but only from Illya's machine gun. The bullets couldn't do any damage to the Master's enhanced body. The runes making her stronger had to have been primordial ones. That was the only way Lancer's Master could reach such a level.

What Lancer's Master did make sure to avoid were the shots from Illya's Thompson Contender. The enemy Master could tell it was the real threat. Illya hadn't fired any Origin Bullets yet. She was waiting for a moment where'd definitely hit the woman. She had a limited number after all.

Illya herself had managed to avoid most of the punches and kicks Lancer's Master threw. There were some that hit the mark and they managed to do serious damage when they did, but Avalon always healed Illya back up. Avalon didn't make her invincible though. Losing her head or taking some other injury of the same level would be the end.

If Illya was able to use her familiars, then she'd definitely win this, Irisviel was sure. But, without them while Lancer's Master was boosted to the level of a Servant, Irisviel couldn't be confident. The suited woman was a master of hand-to-hand combat. She was closer to a spellcaster than a magus. Magecraft was a tool. It was used to amplify her skills rather than serving as a method of combat in and of itself. Each punch was too fast to see even a blur of and were shot with the precision of a brain surgeon at the operating table. The power behind her movements made the mist swirl and become a vortex. The street was pockmarked by tiny craters from every step the suited woman took. She was like the concept of force embodied.

Irisviel needed to intervene. If she didn't create an opening for Illya, the only thing that would determine the winner would be who made a mistake first. Irisviel couldn't leave her daughter's fate to luck.

Without anyone noticing, Irisviel pulled out multiple lengths of metallic wire infused with her magical energy. Her familiars could be taken over due to being autonomous. If she made wire constructs she directly controlled then she'd be able to keep command over them, or at least fight back against any attempted theft of them. Keeping their magical energy low to avoid detection, Irisviel ordered the wires to burrow through the asphalt and travel under the road. The threads formed a web within the bridge that was sensitive to vibrations. It could detect motion on the road above due to this vibration awareness and would alert Irisviel to everything it found. This meant that Irisviel could better keep track of where Illya and Lancer's Master were at any given moment. She could even differentiate which of them was which thanks to the wire web also detecting the unique weights of those it sensed. It wasn't easy due to the speed being so great, but Irisviel could keep up with the fight now. That meant she could give her daughter a hand.

Irisviel waited until she felt she was sure she could react in time and had a sense of the cadence of Lancer's Master steps. The vibrations of the suited woman's steps resonated with Irisviel's wires and became a rhythm. It was a song that Irisviel memorized the melody of. Now Irisviel just had to interrupt that tune.

Right when the suited woman's foot hit the ground again, the wires dug out of the ground and wrapped around her foot and ankle. She was stuck in place for a moment.

Illya knew what to do. While moving at four times normal speed she reloaded her Contender with an Origin Bullet.

Bang.

The Origin Bullet rocketed out of the barrel and smacked right into the outer part of the suited woman's thigh.

The bullet flattened and didn't pierce through. The magical energy that was enhancing Lancer's Master vanished.

Origin Bullets targeted Magic Circuits by cutting them apart and then retying into an incoherent mess. Runes were similar to Magic Crests, which are composed of Magic Circuits. Instead of mangling the suited woman's actual circuits, the bullet targeted the rune she was using.

The Master could keep fighting, but she was weakened at the moment. Illya just had to defeat the suited woman before she could use any more runes, especially another Primordial Rune if she had one.

Illya pushed her square accel just a little more as she fired non-Origin Bullets into each of Lancer's Master arms and legs. The suited woman quietly whined. With her limbs damaged, the suited woman was helpless to fight back as Irisviel's wires continued wrapping around her until she was so tightly bound she couldn't even inch like a worm as she hit the street. Even her fingers were tied together so she couldn't write any new runes.

This wouldn't be enough to hold the Master for long but Illya holding her Contender to the suited woman's head would keep her from fighting back.

"Stay still, or else." Illya avoided actually saying she'd kill the Master if she moved. Curious. The suited woman didn't do anything. She was following Illya's rules.

While Illya made sure the Master stayed docile, Irisviel sensed and found where all the runes written on the suited woman's clothes were. The wires restraining the woman moved over and sliced across each of the spots. The runes were destroyed along with the areas of clothing. Now Lancer's Master had the physical ability of a normal human.

They actually took Lancer's Master down. They didn't even need Artoria's or Mordred's or Gray's help.

Illya dropped onto her butt. She was panting and drenched in sweat. She had never used time alter that much and it was a very taxing technique. She would have died trying to use it that much if it weren't for Avalon's healing power.

"Are you okay? You don't have any injuries, do you?" Irisviel got on her knees and began inspecting her daughter's body.

"I'm okay. Everything's healed. I'm just tired. I don't have a whole lot of magical energy left to burn."

There was no way Illya could go help with the fight against Lancer and Irisviel wouldn't be of much help either. Staying out in the open also wouldn't be smart. Leaving for now to rest and regroup with Gray was the best option.

Actually, they could use Lancer's Master as a hostage to force Lancer to surrender. Why didn't Irisviel immediately think of that? Maybe Artoria's honorable nature had rubbed off on her.

"Master of Lancer." Irisviel stood and looked down at the suit wearing woman. "Use your Command Spell to make Lancer kill themselves. Otherwise, we'll kill you. If that happens, your Servant will eventually die anyway. It's best you just cooperate."

"I refuse both choices." the Master said.

Crash. Something burst through the bridge from right below Irisviel and Illya. They were both launched into the air. Irisviel was battered by chunks of asphalt and steel sent careening her way from the thing that rose through the bridge. As she began healing herself before her limbs finished breaking, Irisviel saw what the cause of this was.

The answer was Lancer. She had jumped up from below the bridge and tackled through the structure. Flames like the ones she armoed her spear with before shot from her heels. She jetted through the air and right next to her restrained Master. Irisviel couldn't even see it as Lancer swung her weapons and diced the wires binding her Master without even making the slightest cut on the suited woman's clothes or body. Lancer's finger was a blur as she drew runes all over her Master. The bullet holes in the redhead's limbs began shrinking and she was infused with power on the level of a Servant again.

It took less than a second to undo everything Illya and Irisviel had done.

Irisviel felt arms wrap around her gently but firmly. Artoria had leapt through the hole Lancer made, as did Mordred who grabbed Illya. Both Servants landed with their Masters in their grasp.

Artoria was still unwounded. That was good. Mordred was very wounded. That wasn't good.

The ideal situation would have been Artoria and Mordred teaming up against Lancer. But, with Mordred in his current state and with Lancer's Master to deal with, it might have been better to leave Lancer to Artoria and let Mordred handle the suited woman.

Lancer and her Master faced Irisviel's family, ready to engage once more.

"This has been wonderful. I haven't had a fight like this in a long time." She wasn't unhinged in any way, but Lancer was clearly teeming with battle lust. "I never expected I'd get to fight two powerful Sabers at once. I am curious as to how you broke the rules to do that. And one of you is King Arthur at that." She really did have an information gathering skill. How much did she know? "Let's start round two."

Lancer's eyes widened. Her smile disappeared. She drew runes around herself and her Master with the tips of her spears. The runes created a cube shaped barrier around Lancer and her Master. It was powerful enough that it could block high ranked Noble Phantasms.

As magical energy surged behind Irisviel's family, they all turned to see what Lancer had seen, or perhaps foreseen.

Arrows. Millions of them. They were coming from somewhere in Shinto. It was hard to tell where specifically because the torrent of projectiles obscured the city with their numbers. There were so many. This was a Noble Phantasm. No, it wasn't. It lacked the feeling of one. It was just an attack on the level of a Noble Phantasm. The arrows were poisoned. Irisviel only knew that because the massive collection of bolts had a mist of toxicity around them. A poison like that would make a human decay from the inside out with a single breath. Actually touching it would make a powerful magus instantly dissolve. Even Servants wouldn't be unaffected.

Both Artoria and Mordred activated their Mana Bursts. Their swords swung and two mighty swells of magical energy were released. The Mana Bursts acted as ramparts that eradicated the arrows that made contact with them. Even the poison was broken down atom by atom.

But, there were too many arrows for the waves of magical energy to reach. Those that were destroyed got replaced immediately afterward by more arrows. The source of this arrow rain wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. They could and would keep firing arrows until everyone on Fuyuki Bridge was dead and in pieces.

Mother and son kept using Mana Burst after Mana Burst to keep the closest arrows at bay, but the massive amount of bolts that slipped past began ripping apart the bridge. Irisviel clung to her wife and Illya clung to Mordred as the bridge that the group once stood on was gone and everyone fell towards the water. Thanks to her blessing from the Lady of the Lake, Artoria stood on the water even as it moved in wild waves. Mordred lacked his mother's blessing, but he was able to coat the bottoms of his feet with magical energy to stand atop the water as well.

The two knights kept unleashing gushes of magical energy as arrows whizzed past and hit the river. The water moved like it was a flailing beast. Poison from the projectiles spread through the liquid. The river was a bed of poison now. If they fell in, the fight was over.

The cube shaped barrier that Lancer and her Master took refuge in floated atop the malignant river.
It endured the arrow storm, only occasionally getting pushed under the water by the constant hits but never getting breached.

Lancer created a gap in her barrier that she jumped through. The hole closed and Lancer began deflecting the unlimited salvo of arrows that came for her while shooting more fire from her heels. She soared through the air while leaving a trail of flames like a rocket. She was heading for the source of the assault. Lancer just kept deflecting any projectiles that got in her way. Her movements were perfect. She was robotic in her exactness. It must have been due to another skill.

Lancer had the right idea. The only way out of this was to take on the Servant doing this. It was probably an Archer Servant. It only made sense given the arrows and everything. But, the issue was that nobody in Irisviel's family had a way to bridge the physical gap between themselves and Archer without getting riddled with holes. It was taking everything Mordred and Artoria had just to keep the bolts at bay.

"Iri!" Artoria said over the near deafening sounds of the darting arrows and swelling river. "Use a Command Spell! Order me to fly! I can get to Archer in one leap!"

"You know where they are?"

"They're at the Center Building! That's where the arrows are coming from!" It was amazing that Artoria had kinetic vision accurate enough to tell where the arrows were originating from. Yet, there was still a big issue with the plan.

"What about the arrows that are still heading for us? They'd hit you!"

"I can endure and deflect them until I get to Archer!"

"But, the poison!"

"It won't kill me instantly!"

"Artoria, you can't do this! It barely has a chance of working!"

"It's either that or we all die here! I can't let that happen! Please, Iri! Command me to fly!"

The mesmerizing gallantry Artoria was showing reminded Irisviel why she fell in love with the King of Knights. That self-sacrificing nature. That self-destructive nature. Irisviel felt melancholy.

"Fine! But, you're not allowed to die!"

"I promise to come back! I won't leave you alone! Mordred! Take Irisviel! You're going to have to hold off the arrows by yourself! Do you think you can?"

"I didn't need your help in the first place!" Mordred got close to Artoria and Irisviel leapt from one knight to the other. Mordred grunted now that he had to carry both Irisviel and Illya on his back, but he didn't complain.

One of Irisviel's two remaining Command Spells began to glow. This was a big order so it would require every last drop of magical energy the tattoo contained. Before even speaking the actual command, Artoria was swept with power. Ripples came from her and overpowered the existing waves in the river. It was like Artoria was the center of the world. Even the clouds above formed a spiral, the center of which hung above the venerable King Arthur like a crown for her made from the very atmosphere.

Mordred unleashed an especially powerful Mana Burst slash that carved a path through the closest arrows.

Now was the time.

"Saber, I command you as your Master! Fly!"

Artoria turned into a shooting star that shot off the river with a blast that made the water spread out. The space where Artoria once was now held a pit in the water that went all the way to the bottom Droplets of poisoned water splashed towards Irisviel and Illya before evaporating by the crackling aura Mordred dressed himself in.

The light that was Artoria pierced through the sea of venomous arrows. Her translucent sword sliced apart projectile after projectile. Many of the bolts, due to their sheer quantity, got past Artoria's blade and pierced her form. But, she kept going. King Arthur was a mobile fortress of power. A living star that would not be stopped.

Except that the arrows riddling her gradually slowed her flight. Each pushed back on her, slowing her upon impact. This became especially true as the once widespread arrow rain turned to a focused barrage. The projectiles all targeted Artoria and Lancer to shoot them out of the sky. The woman in purple was managing to fend the arrows off with waves of flame and her spears.

Artoria was less successful. More arrows kept hitting her. More got closer to impaling her brain or heart. The star streaking across the sky was slowing. It was going to get shot out of the heavens and fall to the land.

Until Saber directed her sword behind herself and unleashed the sealed winds of her Invisible Air. It was Strike Air, a blast of wind that shot Artoria at full speed again towards the Center Building. The true form of Excalibur, a glittering blade of gold was unveiled and began slicing through arrows. The bolts still kept stabbing into Artoria, but she didn't care. She just had to get close. She just had to get to Archer.

Artoria reached the roof of the Center Building and there was a crash. The arrows stopped and the top of the building was encased in a cloud of dust.

There was no telepathic response from Artoria. Irisviel wanted to try to call her, but she risked distracting Artoria while she was in the middle of a fight with Archer.

There was a moment of peace for Irisviel, Illya, and Mordred. The knight walked across the water and jumped over to Riverside Park. The area was covered in a thin layer of poisoned water. It was thin enough that it just took one more Mana Burst shockwave from Mordred to sub-atomize the malignant fluid.

Irisviel and Illya got off of Mordred's back and they both nearly fell over. They were both exhausted mentally and physically. They had little room to gripe considering the state Mordred was in. He was full of holes, covered in lacerations, welts, and blood. His wounds still wouldn't heal. Lancer had to die. Otherwise, Mordred was stuck in this half-dead state and Illya would always be on Lancer's radar.

It was all up to Artoria now. Her and Gray who had given the tiniest of signals when the arrows began to fly. She said that she was heading towards the source to stop it. Considering the insane power Archer just displayed, Irisviel could only hope Artoria handled things before Gray got there. Both Archer and Lancer were far beyond her level. Plus, Gray might not have the courage necessary to keep her cool against such terrifying foes.

But, Irisviel wasn't sure Artoria could take on both Lancer and Archer by herself. She just got filled with poisoned arrows so she wasn't even at full strength.

Poor Artoria. She worked so hard, harder than she should have needed to. She was always suffering. And now she was facing two of the strongest Servants they had ever met sans the Archer of the last war.

Artoria was going to die.

After all her suffering and fighting, she was going to die.

Irisviel was going to lose Artoria. She was going to be alone again.

Archer and Lancer were going to kill Artoria and then they were going to kill the rest of Irisviel's family. This was all pointless. Of course it was pointless, Irisviel always knew it was. There was no way they were going to dismantle the Grail. The very idea they could was stupid. This was all going to end with the Grail's mud flooding the Earth and humanity going extinct. That was for the best, humanity was garbage anyway.

No! Bad thoughts! Stop!

The bad thoughts have been coming on more often lately. Maybe it was due to Irisviel being under more stress than usual. Maybe it was because she was more closely connected to the Greater Grail and could act as a vessel for it again.

This Holy Grail War needed to end ASAP. Otherwise, Irisviel wasn't going to be okay.

Something white hurdled through the air and hit Mordred in the chest. It was a wireframe sword made of hair. It was Degen. A construct that Illya and Irisviel could create. But, neither of them did. The homunculus blade skewered Mordred through the chest. He saw the attack coming and managed to move just enough to avoid the destruction of his Spirit Core. But, he was too weak to have done anything more. He was so weak that the sword knocked him off his feet and threw him into the poisoned river.

Mordred was already barely hanging on. Getting impaled in the chest and poisoned might be too much. He still had his Battle Continuation skill, but it didn't make him immortal. They had to save him.

"Like, wow. I can't believe I actually found you two. Jubstacheit told me about you guys, but I figured you would've stayed hidden forever. I guess you're as stupid as the rest of the Einzberns."

Irisviel and Illya turned and were faced with a sight that was startling and confusing on multiple levels.

A woman. One whose face and figure were one-to-one perfect copies of Irisviel and Illya's. She had the red eyes of an Einzbern homunculus even though there weren't supposed to be any Einzberns left. The rest of her appearance was far from something a proper member of the Einzbern family would wear. Her skin was deeply tanned, her hair was dyed a pinkish-white, and her outfit was befitting a fashionista. Platform stiletto heels, a minidress, and a long fluffy fur coat. Her smile was a mix of smugness and spite.

A splashing sound. Mordred burst out of the river like a dragon rising towards the heavens. The sword of hair was still goring the knight, but didn't care. He just wanted to rip the fashionista's spine out.

The fashionista clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. Before Mordred could hit the ground, the blade inside him unraveled and wrapped around his body and slithered into his insides. In his weakened state, he couldn't resist as his body was fettered inside and out. He plopped onto the ground, squirming.

"Fucking bitch. Let me go so I can shove my boot up your ass!"

"Nah, I'm good."

"W-Who are you?" Irisviel said. "Are you Archer's Master?"

"Yeppers. Call me Chloe. I picked the name myself. Which of you is Illyasviel?"

"Why do you want to know?" Irisviel should have tried to deny that either of them were. Now, she just confirmed that one of them was Illya. She was too taken aback by this woman's appearance to be more practical.

"Because, I'm a clone of her."

"Of her specifically? You're not a general Justeaze-type homunculus?"

"Nope-nope." Another wag of the finger. "When you two left, the Einzberns didn't just sit around with their thumbs up their asses. They used what they learned upgrading Illyasviel to make me, an even stronger version of her." Chloe looked at Illya. "Since the other one said 'her' not 'me,' that means your Illyasviel," Chloe looked at Irisviel. "and you're Irisviel."

It made sense that the Einzberns would make a new homunculus to act as their Master after they lost Illya. Cloning was easy for the Einzberns considering Irisviel herself was a clone of Justeaze. The Einzberns were good at reusing the old. They'd freak out if you asked them to come up with something half-original, though. It was hard to believe they could make a homunculus stronger than Illya. Illya was meant to be the best Master possible. Though, even if she was just an equal to Illya, she was still far too powerful to take lightly.

"You survived the slaughter of the Einzberns, I guess."

"Survived it? Bitch, I'm the one who killed them all."

"Excuse me?"

"The Einzberns treated me like shit so after I summoned my Servant I axed them all. The old castle isn't even there anymore thanks to my Servant, just a crater. God, that was a cathartic day."

So the Einzberns were taken out by one of their own. Not just any of their own. A clone of Illya. Would Illya have killed the Einzberns if Artoria failed to rescue her?

"Why are you participating in the war? I doubt you want to make the Einzberns' dream come true."

"You got that right. Fuck the Einzberns."

"Amen." Illya agreed.

"I want to destroy the Grail. It turns people into obsessed shitheads like the Einzberns. Plus, I want to make everything the Einzberns worked for worthless. All their thousand-plus years of effort to try and get that dumb cup will be made pointless once I turn it to dust."

"If that's your plan then we should work together." Illya said. "The Grail's a hazard to the world. We're the ones who told the overseer about the Grail's corruption. It is literally evil and we need to destroy it."

"You're the crazy ones that said the Grail's corrupted? Considering you're Einzberns, that's definitely a lie to get your hands on the Holy Grail."

"No, we're being honest!"

"Yeah, sure. Once an Einzbern, always an Einzbern. I don't plan on working with you two. I'm gonna slaughter you bitches to finally finish off my revenge against the Einzbern house."

"But, we don't consider ourselves Einzberns anymore. We ran away from them!" Illya explained.

"Exactly!" Irisviel added. "The Einzberns tried to keep Illya from me! I hate them!"

"And because you did that, I was born." Chloe became grim in demeanor. "I lived a life of constant training, constant abuse. No matter how strong I got, the Einzberns were never happy. Every mistake was met with torture you couldn't even conceptualize. It was so horrible that I wish I was never born. If Illya never left, I would have kept the bliss of nonexistence. You are just as guilty for what happened to me as anyone else. You're Einzberns and Einzberns are all bile that needs to be cleaned away."

Such hate. It rivaled the vitriol that flourished in Irisviel when her dark thoughts boiled over. But, not just hate. Melancholy. Depression. Chloe hated that she ever even existed and wanted to destroy everything she could push some degree of blame onto. How horribly did the Einzberns treat her? What did Irisviel and Artoria save Illya from?

"I'm feeling shitty now. Thanks. You had to make me remember the old days." Chloe grasped a few locks of her hair and tore them out her head without flinching. "I'm gonna cut your heads off and keep them alive with magecraft. You'll become my toys to torture whenever I need to relieve stress."

Chloe tossed the bundle of hairs into the air and an entire flock of avian homunculi took shape. Illya could only maintain four instant homunculi without having any issues. Yet, there were eight that Chloe just created and she didn't look tired in the slightest. Maybe she was stronger than Illya. Lancer wasn't around so there was no chance of the familiars getting hijacked either. Mordred tried to get up, but he was still too weak to break the restraints and he'd rip his body apart if he did. This was dire to put it lightly.

Illya's clone stared at her original. Her vitriol was focused on Illya more than anyone. There was something more to her hatred. Something that made Chloe despise Illya more than Irisviel. Something that made Illya's very being an offense to her.

"Time to make the world a better place."

Magic shots fired from the avian homunculi towards Illya in particular. Irisviel's daughter dodged while plucking four hairs from her head, creating four of her own Storch Ritter as they were called.

Magic bullets met magic bullets, Chloe's clearly being stronger, but the shots destroyed each other nonetheless.

"Is four your limit? If so, you're gonna have a bad time."

There was no way Illya could match the number of blasts Chloe's eight familiars were firing. Illya jerked her body out of the way of shots that her own homunculi missed. She was hopping around like a frightened rabbit as she was forced on the defensive. Chloe's bullets blew apart hunks of the ground every time Illya evaded.

Illya was waiting for the right timing, and though it took a while, her chance eventually arrived. From her trench coat, Illya pulled out a smoke grenade and pulled the pin with her teeth. She tossed it over towards Chloe. Smoke covered the area. Illya turned one of her homunculi to Degen, shaping from an ibis to a sword which fired forward at speeds far faster than sound.

The blade pierced through the smoke and right for Chloe, but the clone reacted fast enough to form one of her birds into a sword as well and send it to intercept Illya's. Right when they would have collided, Illya's sword unraveled. The resulting loose string flew around Chloe's blade. The hairs wrapped around Chloe's body, tying her up and making her fall to the ground. She couldn't even move a finger from how tightly constricted she was.

Chloe's own Degen had not stopped. It was about to stab through Illya.

"Time alter-double accel." The Magic Crest on Illya's back lit up. Illya was drained so even the basic level of time alter was a trial to activate. Yet, she used it anyway and ran out of the wireframe sword's way. The blade continued down its path until it splashed into the river.

"Chloe, please, I don't wanna fight, I just want to talk!" That was strange. Illya sounded upset. Not serious, or panicked. Upset. Like she felt guilty.

That just made Chloe angry. "Shut up! I'm gonna kill you and your mom!" She had half her birds fly down to her and begin pulling apart the hairs restraining her with their beaks while the others turned to Degen and launched towards Illya, who had to turn her birds into blades as well to match the oncoming salvo.

As the swords collided and ripped each other apart, Illya's Magic Crest on her back lit up. "Time alter - triple accel!" Illya bolted towards Chloe.

Pulling out her Thompson Contender, she loaded a 30-06 Springfield bullet and fired, the shot powerful enough that it blew right through and obliterated one of the homunculi that are normally too flexible to be pierced. Loading and firing three more times as she ran, all the birds were destroyed.

Chloe hadn't even realized her twin had moved until Illya had gotten on top of her, a Calico M950 shoved into her face. "Please, don't move. I just want to talk."

There was a new look in Chloe's eye. It was analytical. She was studying Illya's face. Irisviel couldn't see her daughter's expression, but given what Illya was saying and the fact that Chloe began cackling, it probably wasn't a face full of confidence.

"Wow, bitch! Really? You thought it was a good idea to fight in a Grail War if you're like this?"

Chloe snapped the hairs binding her with mana boosted strength. A reinforcement enhanced shove from Chloe was all it took to toss Illya across the park and right in front of Irisviel. Illya didn't even attempt to pull the trigger of her gun. Now that Irisviel could see her daughter's face, she knew why. She was scared. Illya had no will to kill. If anything, it was an absolute revulsion at the idea of taking a life. At taking Chloe's life. Illya already didn't want to kill, but there was something special about Chloe that negatively affected Illya's willpower.

Already on her feet, Chloe created another eight bird-shaped familiars with casual ease.

In retaliation, Illya plucked hairs from her head to make homunculi of her own. But, they were shot down by Chloe before they could even finish taking shape.

More mana blasts were coming and this time at both Illya and Irisviel. Illya pulled her mother into her arms.

"Time alter-triple accel." Illya groaned. Pushing her time magecraft as much as she currently could despite her enervation, Illya began moving at super speed. As Irisviel was wrapped in the field of warped time, Chloe and everything else moved in slow motion. The duo ran out of the path of the magical energy shots long before they got anywhere close to them.

But, Illya jerked to a stop. Hairs wormed out of the ground and bound Illya's legs. It was the same technique Irisviel used to track and capture Lancer's Master.

Illya pulled out her Thompson Contender but she found it had been wrapped in hair as well. The threads squeezed and the pistol was sliced to pieces. That gun was a remnant of Kiritsugu, an item that was immensely important to Illya. It was Kiritsugu's favorite gun. It was used to fire bullets made from his very body and Origin. It was arguably the greatest token of Kiritsugu's life. Now it was just refuse on the ground. Irisviel's eyes welled with tears. They had so little to remember Kiritsugu by. Every broken token of his life made the fact that Kiritsugu was dead and gone bolt through Irisviel and Illya's hearts and minds.

A snarl came from Illya that reminded Irisviel of Mordred when he was mad. She was far from a recalcitrant individual, but she had never displayed such fury and dismay. The hesitation she was struggling with was gone.

Chloe looked at Illya's face of anger like one would a delicious treat being put in front of them. The suffering of any who possessed the name Einzbern gave her happiness. Her familiars surrounded Irisviel and Illya before firing more blasts. Illya tossed Irisviel high into the air. Irisviel watched as her daughter was left to take on the incoming barrage alone.

With triple accel still in effect, Illya weaved her body around as many of the shots as she could, but they were so dense in number that she still got hit by many of them. Bits of her flesh were blown off before being replaced by Avalon. The hairs restraining her continued coiling upwards until she couldn't move her body at all anymore. She was helpless to avoid the squal of mystical bullets.

Irisviel finally hit the ground and immediately began getting up to go help her daughter. But, she didn't know how. Her precious daughter was undergoing so much pain and fighting so hard. She wanted to help. She wanted to be the one to endure in her daughter's place, but she couldn't. She was too weak. She was too weak to fight even after all her training. She was too weak to save Illya all those years ago so Artoria had to do it. Irisviel was just a burden on her family. She was a woman tainted by the Grail's pollution who existed to make the lives of those she loved harder.

"Avalon!" Illya entered the realm of the fairies. She was no longer restricted by Chloe's hairs and the blasts did nothing to her. Chloe gasped as Illya sprinted towards her.

Illya couldn't keep up both Avalon and time alter at the same time, so she had to move at her normal speed. She was pushing herself to keep Avalon activated far longer than she ever had before. Despite being blessed with the protection of the fairies, Illya was bleeding from her eyes from the strain on her system.

All the avian homunculi turned to swords and shot at Illya, but she just ran through them like they weren't there. Gunfire rang out as Illya used her machinegun to create suppressing fire. Chloe was forced to focus on the bullets. The clone of Illya reinforced her body and ran away from the bullets and Illya.

When Chloe started running, Illya plucked a hair and used alchemy to extend its length. The strand was like a tendril that jutted towards Chloe's ankle and grabbed it. Chloe tripped and fell on her face. When she flipped over to face her assailant, Illya dropped on top of her with a combat knife in hand.

"Wait!" Chloe screamed in genuine terror.

The protection of Avalon faded as Illya prepared to stab her clone.

But, that was when the adrenaline rush ended.

Illya was ignoring the damage to her body caused by overusing Avalon, but as soon as she was released from the Divine Construct's pressure, Illya's body instinctively relaxed. She folded atop Chloe. Her energy drained and she lost consciousness.

Illya was helpless to defend herself. It would take a single motion for Chloe to end Illya's life. Thankfully, Chloe was trembling on the ground. This was probably the closest she had ever been to being killed. It made sense she was shaken up by what just happened. It did reveal that, despite supposedly wishing she didn't exist, she had a definite attachment to her life.

Irisviel unraveled a strand of wire that she whipped at her daughter. The thread coiled around Illya's waist and all it took was a single pull to haul her through the air and right next to Mordred. Irisviel did it. She had a hold on her daughter. Now what? Run. She had to take Illya and Mordred and escape. Chloe was still freaked out, there was a chance they could get away before Chloe could straighten her thoughts.

A roar came from Chloe as she floundered to her feet.

Well there went that chance at things working out.

"Just die already!" Her hair shaped into more Degen swords. Irisviel had no chance of dodging those wireframe blades even if she was at full strength.

So many swords. They were aimed at Irisviel, Illya, and Modred, too. Irisviel was going to die. So were Illya and Mordred.

This was how they died. This wasn't fair. It was stupid. They would die from some bitch who was pissed at the Einzberns. It wasn't Irisviel or Illya's fault the Einzberns were shitheads. People were just shitheads. That's life. Humanity was shit to you until you died. That also meant Irisviel was shit. She knew she was. She was a plague on her family. She couldn't even cook, or fight, and she took out her unfounded anger on Artoria all the time.

Artoria wasn't bad. She was a hero who was so kind-hearted that she took in Gray and gave her a better life when she could have just ignored her existence. She even reconciled with her estranged son. The estranged son who was about to get sliced apart because Irisviel was too weak. The boy named Mordred. A boy who was torn apart by his emotions and the manipulations of Morgan in life. Now he had a chance to have a better life, and it was going to be taken away. Mordred was going to die and so was Illya.

Illya. Irisviel's daughter Illya. Illya the girl who was so caring and brave and wise beyond her years. She was a marvel of an individual. Irisviel was honored to know Illya was her daughter.

And Irisviel couldn't even protect that daughter.

All because, despite her training, her effort, her love, the World was unfair. Humanity was unfair. Positive actions weren't rewarded, but punished. The modality would change, but cruel karma would beat down those that were good. Beat them like a fist. A human fist. Because humans were cruel. Humans like the Einzberns. Humans like Chloe. She may have been a homunculus, but she was still a dirty human.

Humanity was an ostentatious, indolent, and feckless race that repopulated en masse just so it could self-harm without risk of true death. Humanity was a masochist that acted without meaning. Yet, humanity relished the idea that it was special. That it was one of a kind. But, it wasn't. This was disregarding the variegated population of nonhuman sapient species that lived during the Age of Gods and have since migrated to the Reverse Side of the World, probably to escape mankind's lapses in morality. Humanity was no different from normal wild animals. Stupid. Weak. Instinct driven. At least the 'lower' lifeforms knew to live among the dirt and muck where they belonged. Humans dared to try and be more.

How vile humanity was. Its very existence was sacrilege.

Humanity had to die.

The swords. They were still coming. Irisviel wasn't afraid. No. There was a different sentiment that Irisviel felt towards her current reality.

Wrath.

Something began rising up Irisviel's throat and into her mouth. She was going to throw up? But, it wasn't half-digested food or stomach acid. Whatever it was, it was the most disgusting thing Irisviel ever tasted.

The substance forced its way out of Irisviel's mouth.

What came out was evil.

A fountain of dark ichor.

A slurry of curses so potent they incarnated as pure darkness.

Mud.

The mud of the Holy Grail.

The pollution that Irisviel and her family were trying to eradicate. It was coming out of her mouth. It was like a firehose. The wireframe swords were digested by the slop.

The stream of sludge blasted at Chloe who dodged out of the way. The curses were constantly coming out of Irisviel's mouth, but now like a waterfall. It was pooling in front of Irisviel. The evil kept spreading. Illya was grabbed by Mordred who broke out of the hairs that bound him. Said hairs gored his flesh and blended her organs in the process.

He was saying something. Irisviel couldn't hear him. She didn't need to. She had to focus on killing Chloe. On killing the human. She had to kill all humans.

The growing pool of mud birthed multiple tentacles made of the embodied curses.

Kill.

The tendrils lashed at the humans.

Lashed again.

Again.

Faster.

More tentacles.

More mud.

Faster.

More.

Kill.

Must kill.

Must end humanity.

Must make them extinct.

Hate them.

Hate.

Hate.

Hate.

Flood the World. Dissolve the Texture. Create a blank slate. That was what she had to do?

She? Who was she? She was All the World's Evils.

She was the Beast.

"Mama!"

The dome around Irisviel's mind shattered.

Mama. She was mama. She was a mother. Her name was Irisviel. She was the mother of Illya, Gray, and Mordred. She was the wife of Artoria and Kiritsugu. She was a homunculus. She was a Master. She was a magus. She was a woman. She was so many things.

She wasn't All the World's Evils.

Irisviel could see the world around her again. Illya was shaking her shoulders and yelling.

"Illya."

"Mama!" Illya's body was wearing the protection of Avalon. She was crying, but the strain of King Arthur's sheath wasn't the cause. It was the state Irisviel was in. She was covered in the black mud. It wasn't just her. The park was drowning in it.

Irisviel created this.

She created Grail mud. That meant she wasn't just connected to the Greater Grail as a Lesser Grail, she was becoming its limbs. The Greater Grail was trying to turn her into a Black Grail. It was probably due to having been tainted before. She was polluted in an irreparable way when she nearly became the Lesser Grail last war. Now, Irisviel had a special link that allowed the Greater Grail to force its way into her. This was like how Lancer was able to track Illya. Irisviel never even thought this could happen. This was all her fault.

But, she regained control. She had to focus on that. Stay positive. Negativity is what fed the Grail. It was what let the Grail take control.

The mud was the main issue at the moment. There was so much. But, Irisviel could control it.

Irisviel barely touched the surface of the Greater Grail and accessed its control over its coagulated curses. She pushed away the mud on her body and in the immediate area. The slop flew off Irisviel's body and left an area where she and Illya wouldn't have to worry about the touch of the curses.

With a pleased sigh, Illya deactivated Avalon. She had regained consciousness during Irisviel's rampage, but she was still fatigued. How long had Irisviel been rampaging. Illya fell into her mother's arms.

"It's okay Illya. Rest. Where's Mordred and Chloe? And what about Lancer's Master? She hasn't shown up since the arrows were raining."

"Lancer's Master probably ran when she saw the curse slime you were making. Before then she probably planned to attack whoever won between us and Chloe. Speaking of Chloe, she bailed when you started making that goo, too. I didn't mean to rhyme there. Mordred's at the edge of the park. That's part two of this. We need to erase this mud stuff. Mordred's ready to use his Noble Phantasm to destroy all this gunk, but we have to leave first so we don't get caught up in the blast."

"There's no need." Irisviel forced a smile. She focused on controlling the mud and ordered it to destroy itself. Sending the message out nearly made a blood vessel pop in her brain, but it worked. As if evaporating, the mud fizzled away. The park was cleaned out of the vile substance. The park also lacked anything else thanks to the mud digesting all the trees and structures that once filled the space. It was a wasteland. Irisviel did this. The Grail did this. The Grail needed to be destroyed, and it had to be destroyed fast.

Irisviel leaned into her daughter. They were both on the brink of fainting. Mordred wasn't present, but he was in even worse shape. Thank God for his Battle Continuation and stubbornness.

"We aren't fighting anymore tonight." Irisviel said.

"Fuck yeah we're not."

"Don't fucking swear."

Mother and daughter laughed. It was closer to wheezing to real laughter, but it didn't matter.

So, Illya had a clone that wanted to kill her and Irisviel, and Irisviel was under siege by the embodiment of human sin. Great. Fantastic. Marvelous.

Artoria was going to have a heart attack when she heard what happened while she was away.

Were Artoria and Gray still fighting Archer and Lancer? Were they okay?