Chapter 28

Boil


Illya stared at the vast desert with bewilderment, her confusion being as vast as the environment she was in. "Wha...?"

"This drab sand grinds the nerves, doesn't it?

Illya spun around to find a girl no older than her drawing in the sand. White hair clung to her back, her skin white-

Eh?! Is that me?!

"How long has it been, Illya~?" her doppelganger said sweetly, turning around with a smile.

"W-Who are you?!" Illya replied in defiance as she braced herself for a battle.

"I'll give you a single guess," the doppelganger replied with a smirk as it approached close to her.

A smirk is so smug that it screamed Archer.

A seemingly lack of caution that Archer lacked.

Then, something clicked in Illya's brain. "C-Chloe?!" She gaped at the revelation as she pointed her finger in accusation.

"Bingo!" A cheeky smile replaced Chloe's smirk. "Did you miss me? Hm?" She then proceeded to hug Illya, her face inching closer to Illya's.

"Nooooo!" Illya yelled pitifully as Chloe tackled her to the sandy ground. I don't wanna kiss myself!

"What do you mean you don't wanna kiss me?" Chloe asked as a shit-eating grin wormed onto her face. "After all, didn't we always do this?"

Illya closed her eyes in preparation for Chloe's assault. Numerous incoherent thoughts blasted through her mind as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

"Jeez! All the jibberish going through your head is ruining the moment!" Chloe huffed, her ruby eyes scrunching up in disappointment. "Anyhow, let us proceed with the trial, hm?"

Illya slowly opened her eyes as her thoughts stilled and her attention firmly on Chloe. Again, she had to blink at seeing her face; again, she recognized the cheekiness that became synonymous with Chloe.

"Trial...?"

At Illya's question, Chloe's smile waned. "Yes, it is your trial to determine if you are worthy to obtain the servant cards," she explained as she sat upright on Illya's waist. "You shall fight all the servants to the death, one after the other.

"After completing these trials, you shall receive all the servant cards and Ruby shall be allowed to exist."

"Ruby...?"

"Yup, Ruby will be activated once you finish all seven trials."

Illya stared into Chloe's ruby eyes, the same eyes that she had. In them, she found an uncharacteristic sympathetic look.

"Any other questions?"

"Huh?"

Chloe's face set itself into a smirk. "The Sixth Heaven's Feel Ritual shall now commence. May the curtains rise at your performance."

At those words, Chloe's form started to glow bright blue as flecks of mana blew in the air.

"Chloe?!"

Chloe merely smiled before disappearing.

The motes of mana wisping away before they too vanished.

Unfortunately, before Illya could fully comprehend what was happening, she heard the sound of footsteps on sand.

"H-H-Hello-o... A-A-Are y-y-you, o-okay?"

She soon found a face looking at her with worry.

A very cute one at that.

"Yes?" Illya responded with a bit of speechlessness and confusion.

The girl's tanned skin stretched into a genuine relieved smile. "T-That's g-good..."

An awkward silence ensued between the two as Illya stared upwards and the girl stared downwards.

The albino Einzbern's mind finally came back circle. "Uh..." she sat up as a question formed on her lips. "D-Did you see where Chloe went?"

Giving Illya space to sit up, the girl merely tilted her head in confusion. "Chloe?"

"Uh... Did you see... Er..." Illya paused to consider her words carefully. "Did you see someone who looks exactly like me on top of me?"

The girl's confusion visibly grew.

Illya tried to rack her brain as to how to ask the question before giving up. A sigh of resignation escaped her lips.

Suddenly, she felt a soft hand gently pat her on her head. Looking up, she saw the girl look at her hand curiously. "I-Is... This what snow f-feels like?"

Illya looked at the tanned girl with purple hair with a befuddled expression.


Archer stared at Illya's comatose body, his heart turning at the sight. Yet, as her chest rose and fell calmly, he was given some reprieve.

"We are unsure what had rendered her to this state. Some dozen blood vessels seem to have burst accompanied by a fever. There is also minor damage to her central nervous system and her brain," the doctor informed him. "Mr. Einzbern, may I inquire if she ever suffered any disease this serious before?"

Archer felt his blood go cold as his hand-formed into a tight fist. "I... I am not sure..."

"Hm? I mean I have gotten fevers before and there was that one time when I got poisoned... But I am more healthy than anyone else!"

"I see..." the doctor commented hesitantly as he put his billboard underneath his arm. "Anyhow, I can give you a few minutes..."

"Thank you."

With that, the doctor made his exit, leaving Archer alone with Illya. Once he heard the door click close, he put his hand on her chest.

"Trace... On..."


"What is your name?" Illya inquired as she the sunset behind the large dunes, ushering a rapidly dimming world.

"N-No..." the purple-haired girl replied, giving a confusing answer.

Illya looked at the girl in confusion. "No?"

"Yes..."

"Eh?"

"I... I d-don't have an n-name..."

Illya blinked at the response before her mouth formed into an 'O'. A brief silence ensued as total darkness set in. "Er... Do you have a home... Ah! I was just asking because...! Uh... It's getting late!" she stumbled as she tried to word her words right.

"I don't have a home..."

Again, Illya stumbled on her words. "I... See... Er..."

An awkward silence perpetrated between them.

"Well, looks like I should go home now!" the girl declared suddenly as she sat up.

Illya blinked at the declaration. "Eh? I thought you didn't-?"

Suddenly, a dozen humanoid figures rose from the sand. Their blackened bodies being contrasted with their white masks.

Assassin?!

Then chaos ensued as all of them threw a simultaneous volley of daggers before charging in. Illya's barrier blocked the attack as she readied herself for a fight.

"Eek!" the girl yelped as she ducked to the ground, tears in her eyes with fright.

Reminded of her companion, Illya summoned forth numerous star shields and used them as a fence to temporarily buy her some more time. Then, with her E-rank strength, she grabbed the girl and held her.

From there, she flew into the air hoping to make a quick escape by the use of flight.

Now above in the air, she readied Ruby to rain down a hail of attacks. Only to pause as she felt a sudden pain in her abdomen.

Looking down, she saw the girl she held was impaled with a long blade which consequently impaled her.

She blinked at the sudden wound, utterly confused as to what happened.

Then, the girl she held in her arms morphed into a man with the same black cloak and white skull masks as the Assassins.

"Hehe..." the assassin chuckled before a second knife appeared in his other hand and attempted to plunge it into Illya's heart.

Thinking quickly, Illya summoned a star shield, blocking the attack, and let go of the assassin.

"You shall fight all the servants to do death, one after the other."

Immediately understanding the situation, Illya immediately conjured a barrage. "Schießen!" Dozens of soccer ball-sized mana bullets shot towards the desert below, lighting up the area in small explosions.

Once she was able to get some reprieve, Illya looked to her wound, wincing at it. Her expression contorted into pain as she removed the dagger and pressed on it.

Before she could properly heal the damage, she froze. Her body snapped stiffly as her heart stopped in its tracks.

"Ah..."

Her world dimmed as her eyes slowly shut, her body immediately shutting down.


Archer looked at the wound to Illya's side, his eyes widening at it. "What the..."

Then he heard the sound of a flatline.

His heart jumped at the sudden change in her health. "Illya!" he screamed as he scrambled to trace a noble phantasm or mystic code into existence to save her.

In his panic, the only thing he could conjure was the sheath of the sword of promised victory. The ever-lasting utopia that promised eternal life.

Avalon.

The world shifted as two dimensions conflicted with each other at that moment. For there were now two utopias of many flowers.

Lost in concentration, Archer missed the sound of the door slamming open.

And the sound of rhythmic beeping once again echoing in the room.


Illya stared at the vast desert in surprise, her eyes squinting to adjust to the sudden sun.

Only for her to suddenly keel over in pain.

Chapter 28 End


Now with this arc's main attraction on full speed, I will announce that onwards of this story, I will write up to 5k words and at least 3k words for each chapter of this arc.

Now, many of you may be curious as to how I will progress this arc with the introduction of Illya's trials to acquire the servant cards and the activation of Ruby... For now, I will address a few questions that I think will be relevant.

Is this still part of the school arc?

Yes! It quite is!

If so, does that mean the High School DxD cast will play a part?

Yes.

What about the Hero Faction?

Yes.

Is this story reaching its climax?

Yes.

Oh, I am curious, do you support the monetization of fanfictions?

I have set up a poll on my profile page.

Now to my after comments... The reason why I am lacking in updates is my waning interest to write fanfictions in general. Instead, I have pivoted to make my own original story and am currently in the works of building my world, fleshing out characters, and writing a plot.

This is why I am soon reaching the climax of this story... I just can't keep writing this.

SaveTheWeak, out.