Chapter 10
Acht watched Illya and palmed his face in exasperation. Nothing was acting like he wanted to. If things continued like this, the sharp swords he had prepared for the war would rust away by the time it actually started, and he would be left with nothing to show for his efforts.
It was time to start their training.
The next day, Illya started supporting Berserker in her fully ascended form. Or, tried to. Back then when she had first activated it, she had only sustained it for less than 5 minutes before Berserker had used her Noble Phantasm and knocked her out. For the first 15 minutes, Illya was mostly fine besides the expected rise in body temperature and a slight prickling pain. After that, she started sweating heavily as her body temperature rapidly climbed, while her muscles cramped and loosened unpredictably, her nerve's pain receptors constantly being stimulated. For a few seconds she might feel like her four limbs were being cut off, then it would feel like her entire body was submerged in lava, before half her body was electrocuted while the other half was gnawed to pieces by worms. It was pure agony for her to experience, and the moment Berserker attempted anything remotely similar to combat, she went to the brink of fainting. Despite all this, she persevered, not even uttering a word of complaint. She would never whine because of suffering no matter what. After all, she had thought that if she were a good girl who didn't whine, her father would come back. Even though he never did, it still stuck in her psyche, becoming part of who she was.
She did cuss hard though.
For every five steps that she took, she would utter some type of curse or swear words that would make Irisviel wash her mouth with industrial grade soap if she was still around. She also hurled insults at Kiritsugu and the other boy he adopted, saying things that no child should say. Her insults were so hardcore that if there was poison in words, she would have enough to flood Alaska. Some of them actually rhymed so well that they would have impressed Eminem. Others were liable to trip the Bounded Fields for detecting lethal intent installed on the Einzbern grounds. A few were even actual curses as defined by the Clock Tower's Faculty of Curses, Jigmarie. (For the purpose of keeping the story rating at M, detailed transcripts of the aforementioned dialogue will not be provided.)
Strangely, she did not utter a single word of insult against Berserker, the direct source of her pain. Not insulting Jubstacheit was understandable since he was observing her through his familiars and Bounded Fields, while he also possessed the kill-switch fail-safes in case Illya ever decided to betray the Einzberns or harm them in any way. But, Berserker, who was her Servant and therefore under her control, didn't receive any negative words at all. Bererker wouldn't be able to talk back (she would), and would have to endure in silence (she would unload disparaging sarcasm at the target), so she would be the perfect target, unable to fight back (she would most likely destroy the targets self-esteem and put them on suicide watch).
However, Illya still remembered the dreams. The lengths she went to avenge her betrayal by her former comrade, and still failing to exact revenge in the end. She also knew the wounds of betrayal, better than most, so she couldn't help but refrain from insulting her Servant. If anything, she at least wouldn't step on someone who had suffered like her.
After nearly 3 hours of constant training, where she commanded Berserker to fight the seemingly limitless number of golems that the Einzberns had set up beforehand, she reached her limit. Ordering Berserker to dematerialize, she painfully dragged herself back to her room under the watchful eye of her maids, and flopped into the sable kotatsu. The moment she entered, she could already feel her fatigue leaving her physical shell. By this point, she was almost completely sure this piece of furniture was enchanted. She needed to send it to the Faculty of Archaeology or the Faculty of Lore. They might have encountered such artifacts before, and might know how to reproduce the enchantments. No, screw that. They would hog it all to themselves even after figuring it out. Damn magi and the Root.
Without warning, a wad of phlegm and blood rose up her throat, forcing her to cough. The 3 hour session had taken its toll on her body. Holding a handkerchief to her mouth, she crawled out of the kotatsu as her maids brought her potions to ease the pain. She went into her bed to rest soon after, closing her eyes and sinking into a deep sleep.
In a hidden corner of the castle, Acht furrowed his eyebrows. He leaned forward and considered the timing, then looked behind him to check the progress of his special project. Coming to a conclusion, be summoned the Illya's maids, Leysritt and Sella. After no more than ten minutes, they arrived.
"You two, serve this to Illya in her dinner tonight, and after you've confirmed that she's fallen asleep, transport her to the northern forest boundary."
At this, Sella's eyes widened in alarm.
"The northern forest? But that place is highly dangerous, with hazardous refuse from our failures, not to mention the wolves…"
"Rest assured, everything has been planned in advance, and no serious harm shall befall our sole representative for the Holy Grail War. See to it that you carry out these commands immediately. Now leave." Saying so, he turned his back to them.
"Ah, and if her Servant asks you what you're doing, tell her that it's part of her training, and request her to accompany her Master in spirit form and wait for her to awaken." He said it, almost as an afterthought, and this time he was truly finished.
Undeterred, Leysritt opened her mouth and tried to protest.
"But-" Before she could make more than a single word, Sella tugged her sleeve and glared at her, a wordless warning to shut up instantly.
"Did you have more to say?" Jubstacheit turned around once more, but this time his voice was unusually calm, with an even more rigid expression than usual and a dangerous glint in his eye.
"N-no sir, we will do as you command." With that, they both left.
After reaching a certain distance from the room, Sella checked for familiars. Finding none, she turned around to reprimand Leysritt.
"What were you trying to do, get yourself scrapped? There's no point in questioning Acht once he sets his mind on something, the stubborn old bastard. Even though you may be a critical Mystic Code for the young mistress to use, in the end there is still a chance you could be replaced if Acht finds you "unfit" for the role. Who knows what would replace you as her caretaker then?"
Leysritt's face remained blank.
"But, you also protested."
"That was because I'm the more expendable one! You're the one with sufficient physical ability to stand up to even low tier servants, whereas I'm just a normal Einzbern homunculus with a frail body and superb Magic Circuits that won't matter against half the servants with Magic Resistance in tHE DAMN WAR!" She grabbed Leysritt's shoulders and yelled in her face, frustration clearly evident on her face.
Without even changing her expression, Leysritt patted Sella's head.
"But, Illya also treasures Sella too."
"So what if she does? It doesn't matter if I can't do anything to protect her. I'm just a fragile homunculus made to assist her in her daily life and help her wear you in the end." Bitterness seeped through every word.
"Sella is smarter than Illya and Leysritt in certain things though."
"What do you mean?"
Leysritt raised her index finger and replied emotionlessly.
"For example, Sella is an excellent straight man."
At that, Sella whacked Leysritt in the head with all the strength she could muster. Which to Leysritt felt like a fly landing on an elephant.
"That's not a good thing to be smart at!"
"Then, Sella is good at cooking too."
*Whack!*
"Sella also has a flat chest that appeals to "flat is justice" supporters."
*Whack!*
"Are we talking about my strengths or weaknesses here? Also, what does my chest size have to do with anything?" Saying so, her frustration reached a boiling point, and she started trying to suplex Leysritt, grappling with her and trying to match her strength in vain, even with Reinforcement. Soon, Leysritt gained the upper hand, reaching out to tickle Sella's weak spots, completely overwhelming her.
"Kyah! S-stop, hahaha, HAHAAHA, hyah! L-LEYs-hahaha! RI-HAHA-tt! "
Still, being able to vent her frustrations helped calm her down, and she couldn't help but walk with a spring in her step after fighting with Leysritt (and being utterly defeated by her).
On the other hand, Leysritt was also relieved.
"Sella, Leysritt is relieved."
"What do you mean airhead?"
"Leysritt is happy when Sella is happy."
Sella started blushing without delay.
"I-I get it okay? No need to be so direct. Let's just focus on our orders and watch out for our mistress right now."
With that, they began preparations for dinner.
The next morning, Illya woke up in an empty field of snow.