Legend of steel

by Mikatsuki Augus

Dying sucks, there is no other way to describe it. Being reborn in a messed up world where most beings can kill you with a sneeze is even worse, perhaps. Well, at least I can build those Gundams now...

6. family and teachers

And here's chapter 6! It was ready for a while but since it needed fixes I had to find a beta reader first, so thank Old Man of Mountain and Cryptotgang for that!

Unfortunately for the reviews/explanations corner, there aren't enough yet, so today we'll skip that part and enjoy reading ^^

---

I let out a sigh as I walked out of the Regeneration Cradle after a couple of hours. Most of my wounds had healed by the time I arrived, but I still did a quick damage check. The metal in my body had...receded? I don't know if that's the correct term, but as the cradle finished grafting a simulacrum of organic tissue onto me, molding and binding it to my cells to close my wounds, the metal that had adapted to the damaged parts began to fade away as if it had never been there, while the organic parts rejoined until all my wounds were closed or healed.

Unfortunately, this time the removal of the limiters had done damage. The Alaya-Vijnana type E was supposed to allow me to use trans-am plus Gund-bits safely thanks to Veda, but it seemed that asking it to further reinforce the connection with the Astrea despite the three triggers on my back was a bit much. The machine could not keep up with the feedback, and in the end, my brain had to do most of the work. I didn't even try to reattach my left arm since I wouldn't have been able to move it anyway. Well, more like my left upper torso. The muscles still worked, but I had almost no feeling anywhere on that side of my body. I had also lost vision out of my left eye as well. The optic nerve was pretty much gone, even though my regeneration had repaired the partially detached retina.

Fortunately, Illya and Miyu are fine though. The former was just exhausted and fainted while the latter needed a transfusion, but otherwise, nothing was wrong with them. Thanks to Ruby and Sapphire, Illya has a faded scar on her left side while Miyu has a slightly more pronounced one on her back, but otherwise, they are as good as new. They are now resting in Miyu's room, guarded by their mystic tails and the O- O-Gundam.

"So, I didn't keep you waiting long did I?" I casually asked Kuro as I got up and walked toward her, who had followed me to my workshop after putting the two peers to bed, although she was a bit reluctant to do so with Illya.

I'm pretty sure she still wanted to kill her, but she hasn't made a move to do anything yet; therefore, I'm not going to do anything to lock her up anywhere.

"No, I've been keeping myself busy," she replied with a shrug, setting down the tablet I had given him on the coffee table in the recreation area of my lab, as she watched me sit in the opposite chair "So, I suppose you didn't have me come down here just to use me as a crutch, did you, onii-chan? Otherwise, I would be very annoyed. I could have used my time to do something else."

"Like killing Illya?" I ask rhetorically, making her stop "Don't be so surprised, even if you weren't giving off killer instinct, just looking into your eyes was enough to see what was going on in that pretty little head. All that contempt is hard to miss even if you wanted to."

She stares at me, now very wary, ready to fight.

"So what if it is? Are you going to kill me?" she asks, trying to sound indifferent, although I didn't need to be a genius to see that she was nervous about the idea.

"If I had been someone else? You'd have been dead long before you left the mirror world" I confirm without blinking "I've known Illya for a couple of days, but he's been helping us with class cards, and by extension, you did too before you manifested in a different body; so, I owe you at least the benefit of the doubt and a few attempts to change your mind before I got to that point. After all, you saved Miyu while I was patching myself up."

If Illya had not screamed Kuro probably would not have appeared, but that's okay, in many quotes. Until two days ago she was just another child, and now she was finding herself fighting monsters from the past like heroic spirits. I couldn't blame her for making such mistakes, but I'll still have to warn her to prevent this from happening again.

"...So you knew all along," she accuses me, a little annoyed that she was being used.

"Yes. You'd be surprised how much you can find out with structural analysis. Or maybe not. After all, you have Archer's abilities now, you should know that," I reply with a shrug, not feeling the least bit guilty about the needs of the situation "Honestly? I needed a few more comrades to fight the servants, but I wouldn't have forced you or Illya to fight if you didn't want to. It was your choice, after all."

"But you haven't tried to stop that idiot," Kuro specifies, continuing to glare at me, "That stupid little girl thinks what's going on here is just some kind of game, not even realizing how dangerous it is to deal with those cards. And you want to make her fight anyway?" she asks, a little bewildered.

I smile a little amused seeing her reaction.

"For someone who claims to want to kill her you worry a lot about her, don't you, Kuro?" I ask, rather amused by her reaction, making her eye twitch.

"Kuro? What the hell am I, a cat?" she asks, irritated by the name I called her.

"Well, I can't call you 'Illya' since I met your 'younger' sister first, it would be problematic to change her identity to take her name from you" I justify myself by selling her expression becoming increasingly irritated "But to be completely honest, 'Kuro' is just a nickname. The documents I have prepared for your identity show you as 'Chloe von Einzbern,' Illya's older twin" specific, causing her to stop blinking like an owl "Officially, you had been exchanged for another child in the hospital where your birth is registered in Germany, but your 'family' mysteriously disappeared after an accident a few months ago, and the only living relatives who were matched were your blood relatives, so you came to Japan with a temporary guardian to meet them," I summarize her cover story "Quite likely, don't you think? I had prepared it in case you broke the seal and manifested yourself someday. It happened sooner than I thought though, I didn't have time to work out the details of your new identity."

"This is...appreciated" she replies a little taken aback by my sudden outburst, but quickly recovers "But it doesn't answer my question."

"To fight or not to fight was his choice. He wanted to do it, so I gave him a tip to control his new abilities so he wouldn't get killed, even if it's for immature reasons and because it's useful to me," I answer honestly, not even trying to hide my intentions. What was the point? Kuro is smart, plus I am the kind of person who prefers the truth above any form of consolation or apology. I for one hate lying or the idea of it. The single fact that I have to do it with my guardian to hide all the magical bullshit that's going on is sickening enough, I don't want to add to Kuro's "It wasn't my intention to have her fight alone and we needed help; therefore, I didn't discard her as an option. If she wants to continue fighting I will continue to help her and have her back. If, on the other hand, she is afraid and wants to retire I will not stop her, after all, it is her life and she is free to do what she wants."

My words seem to upset her a little.

"Free, huh?" she murmurs, with mixed emotions.

"What do you want to do now?" I ask, interested in continuing the conversation.

"Are you asking because you have other plans for me?" she asks sarcastically, surely expecting me to want to use her again.

"If you help me with the last two remaining cards you would do me a favor. If you don't want to, that's fine too, I'll just have to try harder not to get killed," I admitted with a shrug, making no special pretensions "However you didn't answer, what do you want to do? What is your most imminent project? Do you have a particular wish you want to fulfill?"

"...Mama wanted me to grow up as a normal girl; therefore, she sealed me away," she replies bitterly, "If I had the chance, I would probably like to experience the life she denied me."Do you want me to enroll you in school?" I ask, honestly curious to know more about her plans.

"It depends. What do you want in return? No one ever does anything for nothing," she says, wary, though I could see the desire in her orange eyes.

"I'm not doing anything for nothing," I reply without blinking, "I told you that, didn't I? This is my thanks for protecting Miyu. You could have fought Saber from any angle you wanted, but you chose to get her and Illya away from her, even if it was a reasonable thing to do to allow me to finish her off as soon as possible, it still doesn't change the fact that they are alive because of your intervention, even if their safety was not your priority. If your wish does not involve anything that would lead to harm to either of the two girls asleep upstairs or to my plans, I will help you to carry it out, within the limits of my ability," I say, trying to be as clear and transparent as possible "You are now free. You no longer have any constraints. Whether you want to fight or not is a choice for you alone to make. Do you want to live a life as a civilian? Then I will help you until you can live in peace completely independently, without any kind of problem. Do you want to be a heroine or something to do with the supernatural? I will still help you if you don't endanger the people near me until you can go your way. What you do from here on out is entirely up to you."

"I...would like to go to school, yes," she confirmed after a few moments, a bit stunned when she could find no hint of a lie or ulterior motives beyond what I had said.

"I may need a day or two at most to turn in all the paperwork, but otherwise no problem with that request," I reassure her, a little more relaxed when we had gotten the elephant in the room out of the way.

"Thank you," she whispers, barely perceptible.

I suppose I am not the only one who has not had the opportunity to experience a sense of normalcy in this world that would surely have benefited my mental health.

"I am doing what I feel is right," I reply, relaxing on the couch, now that there is no longer a risk of a fight breaking out here.

"Mnn..." Kuro makes a contemplative sound, before smiling sensually and sliding toward me, sitting astride my legs "Since you promised to take care of me, how about supplying me with mana? I need it to continue to exist, after all."

"We both know you don't need it at present," I reply impassively, "Considering the amount of mana you took from Illya and Ruby, the amount you used against Saber, and the amount you consume simply by existing, you'll be fine for at least another three or four days before you'll necessarily need to refuel thanks to your independent action degree."

Needless to say, her mood is completely ruined by that, and her playful expression becomes a mixture of annoyance and a childish pout.

"You sure know how to spoil the mood," she snorts, swinging one leg to sit on my right and snuggle up to me.

"More like my circuits are literally on the verge of burning out from overload" I correct her wearily "I will still need them in the future; therefore, it is not a good idea to permanently ruin them now"

She frowns as she hears him.

"...How serious are the injuries you suffered tonight?" asks Kuro, with a hint of concern in her voice, perhaps knowing more than he gives away.

"More than I'd like to admit, but nothing I can't fix with a little time," I reply vaguely, confirming that good or bad the wounds I received would surely have killed most people if it weren't me "Don't worry about it too much, I can still fight and fix the more problematic things later."

"That's not what worries me," Kuro replied with a tone full of disapproval. Unfortunately, we were unable to explore the conversation further.

"Sir, three people are trying to break into the property. Should I activate the defense systems?" asks Jarvis, causing me to raise an eyebrow at his question.

I had programmed him to deal with these issues without him asking me for permission or anything else, so why did he do it now?

As if he had read my mind, he popped up a holographic screen that showed me the three 'intruders'.

The first is a mature woman with long silver hair, red eyes, and an overall well-endowed figure. She is wearing a burgundy blouse with brooch, a white skirt, thigh-high white boots, and black pantyhose. She is looking rather curiously at the camera, surely having heard Jarvis asking them to identify themselves.

Following her are two very similar figures. The first looks very much like her, both in appearance and build, with the only significant difference being that her eyes are much lazier (she looked as if she were about to collapse and fall asleep at any moment) and her hair comes down to his shoulders (messy enough to make me believe that she had just gotten out of bed). She had a halberd slung over her shoulder, carried rather lazily and unwillingly.

The second one looks like the other two, but she is dressed in the classic Einzbern maid outfit, and unlike the other two she did not look at all amused as she saw my property she was quite angry as she stared at the camera.

"Sella, Liz, and...Mama?" murmurs Kuro, a little confused and nervous at the sight of the woman who was not supposed to be here yet.

"Let them go through and guide them here, I don't want them to do any damage that I'll have to explain to Yagi-san later," I sighed wearily, seeing that the too-long night didn't hint at concluding "Wake up Illya and Miyu as well. I guess explanations will be needed."

"Roger that" Jarvis simply replies, opening the gate for the three homunculus to pass through.

---

"Where are you keeping Illya-san?!"

"Ah, so that's how you start a conversation? No greeting, no introduction, not even your credentials?" I ask sarcastically at the door, seeing Sella snap toward me, only to be blocked by Liz.

"Sella, calm down," the sister says half-asleep, much to the annoyance of the maid, as she was held still inches above the ground to prevent her from really lashing out at me like a bull.

"You're the one who should be more alarmed! And why didn't you put on your uniform!" he snarls, seeing the rather messy home clothes Leysritt is wearing.

So they start fighting, but I ignore them.

"Are they always so noisy?" I ask annoyed, "It's almost 3 in the morning. Who makes such a racket at 3 a.m.?"

"Ara, I'm sorry for the confusion and the unscheduled visit, but we both know there is a rather urgent matter we should take care of," Irisviel 'apologized', taking the more diplomatic route unlike her maid "My name is Irisviel von Einzbern, I am Illya's mother. It's been a while since I've been home and I was looking forward to seeing her, but then I find out that she has a rebellious phase and sneaked out of the house to go to a boy's house. I'm shocked!"

I had a hard time understanding what was going through the woman's head honestly. I would have expected a scarier threat I guess? A joke in which she would describe how to maim me, maybe some insults, but...not this. Was everything she had to say a joke? He didn't even have that serious vibe that he had when he questioned Caren in Fuyuki Forest...

And why does he act as if we know each other? Does she do that with everyone? I mean, I know she is overly scatterbrained and carefree, but really? Doesn't she have even an ounce of doubt about my words, or at least some distrust of me?

"...come in. He should be coming down the stairs any minute."

Iri looked at me with her seemingly carefree expression, actually rather happy I would say, but I decided to ignore it and went back inside, where Kuro was waiting in the living room, nervous.

"Excuse me," says Iri with a cheerful and energetic attitude despite the late hour, entering after taking off her shoes and slipping into the slippers I had prepared for them.

Sella did not seem to want to follow good manners to attack me, but she calmed down slightly quickly upon seeing from the doorway Kuro, surely mistaking her for Illya since they only have the color palettes, so reluctantly, she followed Iri's example. Liz, on the other hand, doesn't mind too much and enters yawning.

"Yahoo, Illya-chan-"

"I am no longer Illya. That idiot is coming down the stairs right now," Kuro interrupts her in a bad mood, much to the confusion of the three Homunculus.

Their answer came in the form of the very person they were looking for.

"Haa…? Why did Jack-san wake us up...?" yawns half-asleep Illya, wearing one of Miyu's animal-themed pajamas.

"I don't know," unlike her peer, Miyu tried to hide her sleepy state, not succeeding. The bags under her eyes from her obvious lack of sleep, her somewhat slumped shoulders, and the fact that she could barely keep from dragging her feet painted a pretty clear picture of how deep her fatigue was.

[Really, that stupid mechanical monster has no idea how important beauty sleep is for a magical girl! She can't just appear on the screen with bags under her eyes, about to collapse from fatigue! It completely ruins the pretty image they represent!] rants Ruby, as usual, making her sister sigh.

[Nee-san, Jack-sama wouldn't have made us wake up the girls if it wasn't urgent; so, stop complaining] Sapphire scolds her exasperatedly [Besides, you should focus more on your master's health than on his appearance]

"Ara? Illya-chan, since when do you have a twin sister?" asked Irisviel, confusedly, seeing Illya precisely descending the last step.

"Mama?!" the sudden unexpected appearance jumps her, taking Miyu and the two mystic tails by surprise as well. Then she notices another detail "Why is there a double of me here?!"

"Who the hell did you call a doppelganger, baby-?!"

Before she could hurl herself at Illya, I grabbed Kuro by the collar, pinning her in mid-air. She looks at me with an angry expression, but I only respond with an impassive look.

"Well, now that everyone is here, how about we take stock of the explanation?" I ask rhetorically "Sit down and listen, because I hate to repeat myself. Considering the time and everything that happened tonight, I won't assure your safety if you piss me off," I declare, leaving no room for compromise.

The deadly serious tone I used made those present swallow from the sudden pressure I released, even Leysritt flinched a bit uncomfortably and tightened her grip on her weapon a bit more.

"Language," Irisviel admonishes me, completely ruining the serious atmosphere that had formed.

"You ruined the mood," I grumble, leaving Kuro "I would do it myself, but with one arm I find it difficult; so, Miyu, can you bring our guests something to drink? I suppose they have many questions to ask."

"All right," she replied without protest, feeling that despite the jokes from me and the twins' mother, the tension was still very high.

So we all settled down in the living room, while my 'sister' and Sella, who wanted to join to perform her duty of serving her mistress, prepared and served hot tea to all present.

"So, can you explain to me what exactly is going on?" asked Irisviel, staring into my eyes, before looking at Miyu and Kuro, who were staring at her badly.

"W-Well, I...I mean we-" stammered Illya, trying to come up with a plausible excuse, not yet having realized that her mother knows about the supernatural.

"We are hunting for stray Servants," I replied without much further ado, causing Illya to freeze when I mentioned our mission.

Irisviel's rather carefree and somewhat frowning expression darkened, becoming decidedly more serious by immediately understanding what I was referring to by that particular term, while Sella did not hide her shock. Liz remained silent, her lazy, half-asleep expression seemingly unchanged, but I could see through it, literally and figuratively; thus, I could see how she had begun to pay attention.

"T-that..." Illya freezes, trying to understand why I was telling the truth.

"Don't be so surprised, after all, your mother and the maids know how to use alchemy very well, as well as being perfectly aware of the supernatural," I reassure her lazily. "Then again, perhaps the maids should have informed you of your family's background as soon as Ruby barged into your bathroom. I doubt they didn't notice that one of Zelretch's most annoying toys crashed into your house."

[Hey!]

My words cause several reactions. Miyu, completely unaware of the true nature of half the people present, looks at me as if I were dumb for revealing such things so casually; Sapphire simply sighs at the tactless way in which I have thrown sensitive information around; Kuro shakes his head at my nonchalant attitude; Liz looks at me impassively; Sella gives me a dirty look at the subtle insult to her expertise; Irisviel, on the other hand, frowns at the fact that I have put her in a situation where she is forced to talk about their background to Illya.

"W-what does that mean? Does Sella, Liz, and Mama know about magic and all that? And what does our family have to do with it?" The 13-year-old asks, completely lost, shifting her gaze between me and her family.

For a moment, Irisviel is hesitant to speak, and this causes Kuro to sigh in annoyance as she resolves to explain how things are at her old prison.

"They are not human, but homunculi, life forms artificially created through alchemy." Summarizes the pink-haired girl. "We are a very special case and our very existence can be considered a miracle in itself. We were "born" by conventional means from 'our' mother, and subsequently subjected to various magical treatments while still in her womb, which made us even more different from both a human being and other homunculus. It is also why we are so small in the first place." She says, opening her arms to emphasize the point.

Her red eyes widened a little in shock at that answer, since she did not expect anything like that.

"But...why?" She asks, extremely confused. There was anxiety in her eyes, but she didn't look very scared, much to the surprise of those present. "Tell me, mama...what exactly am I?"

Seeing the younger girl's bewildered expression, Sella looks away, while Liz's expression saddens her slightly, surely not wanting her protégé to hear that story. They were very close in both Stay Night and Kaleid if I remember correctly.

"The Holy Grail War." The mention of this makes Miyu wince, incredibly uncomfortable, as if she is reviewing a horrible flashback, though no one but Kuro and I notice, since the older women were focused on their protégé. "You were born to become the key to that ritual."

The mention of this causes Illya's twin sister to grit her teeth a bit, while the latter continues to be confused but strangely calm.

"The Holy Grail War..." she repeats as if she is trying to remember something she should know, but it just doesn't come back to him.

"Yes. It is said that the Holy Grail can grant any wish," Irisviel continued, "You were born to become the Holy Grail."

"Huh?" Again, Illya emits a sound of genuine confusion, torn somewhere between feelings that she should know and yet doesn't remember.

"That's not exactly correct, mama" Kuro corrects her impassively "I am the one born to become the Holy Grail" Iri looks at her a little surprised, but does not interrupt her when she continues to speak. "From even before birth you kept modifying me, implanting all kinds of modifications and notions to enable me to learn words and all sorts of knowledge. Yet, then you sealed me up," she specifies, making Liz and Sella, who now understood where she was going with this, unlike the other two 13-year-olds, widen their eyes as well. "You sealed up my functions, my knowledge, and my memories," Kuro specifies, staring her straight in the eyes as the rancor she was trying to suppress began to emerge with every word she spoke. "Hey, mama, when you sealed up everything I was, what were your intentions? Were you trying to make me live like a normal girl? If that was what you wanted, I would have been okay with it anyway. But..." she could not help but give an angry look toward her 'twin' "Why did you give everything to Illya? Why couldn't I stay myself? Why couldn't the memories remain mine? Maybe you thought you had sealed only my memory, but in the end, you sealed my entire existence. While you didn't notice, the sealed memories grew inside Illya and became me. And so... I finally got a physical body." Despite all her questions, Irisviel still did not answer any of her dilemmas. No one uttered a breath as Kuro vented, letting go of all resentment and frustration over her imprisonment, caused by a miscalculation. Finally, the mulatto-skinned girl gave a resigned sigh, seeing that she was getting nothing from the woman who gave birth to her and then locked her up, not even a word. She could not help at least clenching her fists in indignation, but she seemed to have lost whatever claim she had at the beginning of the meeting for Irisviel "...all

right. If you want Illya to stick around and have a normal life...that's fine with me, but...if that's the case, then at least...at least, let me have a wizard's life. Return me to the Einzbern family!"

"..."

"Aren't you running too fast?" I ask finally when he finishes venting.

"W-what do you mean?" asks Kuro wearily, having already had enough of this conversation after finally saying all she had to say to the woman who gave birth to her.

"Who said you can't have a normal life? When was it decided? By whom?" I ask impassively, staring into her eyes, much to her discomfort "I knew that before you left her body, and you only confirmed it, but you and Illya are two completely different individuals. The fact that Illya does her own thing around doesn't stop you from doing the same as you want, like her. I told you that before, didn't I? You are free now, so if you decide what you want to do."

His expression turns sour upon hearing my words.

"Magus families don't work that way, onii-chan," she sighs, resigned.

"Then it's a good thing the Einzbern have already been wiped out, isn't it?" I ask rhetorically, causing her to freeze. "Since you are no longer a magus family, you no longer have this problem."

"Huh?" Kuro, in response, makes only a confused sound, as if she cannot comprehend what I had just told her.

"Yes. The Einzbern no longer exist" At the end, Irisviel confirms my words, although he decided not to go into too much detail "When the servant that Kiritsugu and I summoned decided to disrupt the ritual and destroy the Greater Grail, most of the Einzbern did not take kindly to our choice, and tried to keep you in Germany as insurance to prevent him from doing so. Needless to say, it did not end well."

"So...So..." I hear Kuro's mana begin to crackle, causing Miyu and the two maids, who were about to brace themselves for his violent reaction, to stiffen, while Illya remained to stare at her 'copy'.

"So, there are no other problems with my initial plan," I conclude, confusing those who did not know what I was talking about.

"...are you serious?" asks Kuro after a moment, incredulously, momentarily interrupting her outburst, not understanding what was wrong with me.

"What, I was dead serious in the lab," I say, a little offended that she was giving me so little credit, "Since there is no traditionalist jerk to challenge the fake identity I have prepared and your mother is here, once the papers are ready, I will forward them to the counters that All Might gave me and within a couple of days you are ready to go to school."

"Um...what exactly are you talking about?" asks Irisviel, a little lost.

"Since I knew about Kuro and the defective seal, I prepared in advance an identity with which to justify her sudden appearance. I was just waiting for the right time to bring them out, I just need to finish the details since the seal broke sooner than expected," I hum while snapping my fingers.

A series of pages is projected by Jarvis in front of the three homunculus, showing them identities and details of Kuro's life 'before' she came to Japan. All three seem very skeptical of the advanced holographic technology, which responded perfectly to their touches; so, without really any command Jarvis moves the pages himself to allow them to read the script I had written.

[...sometimes it's frightening to see how well she can prepare a little in advance.] Sapphire comments [Did she even predict what she would look like once she appeared when it would happen, and what abilities she would have? How?]

"Structural analysis," I reply with a shrug as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

It was not exactly false. I had seen that the lesser grail was physically positioned and fused with Illya's heart, although I did not understand exactly how many of the changes interacted with her body on a biological level, since I never asked for blood and tissue samples to do more in-depth analysis, and how her fetus adapted to them during the formation of her body. I lack the knowledge about alchemy to make precise diagnoses about the particular condition of the magical girl in pink, but I never found it a primary problem to monitor, since nothing I had seen affected Illya's health, if we take out the fact that it damaged his growth and he will probably never exceed 150 centimeters in height, if she is lucky you mean. Fortunately, she also did not have the problem of durability, unlike her counterpart in Stay Night, since being too small to participate in the war, she had not been turned into a glorified prana battery for Heracles covered with command seals, but into a Grail vessel capable of understanding language and carrying out wishes should Irisviel fail.

[...once again, I don't know if he's teasing me or serious] sighs Sapphire, resigned to not understanding how my head works or what problems he had [Never mind. Do you have any other important news to bring up unannounced? Because even I feel I've reached my limit for this evening]

"Mnn... I can't think of anything that would be so shocking for now," I confirm, causing the wand and its mistress, who had reached the end of their rope for the day, to let out a sigh of relief.

"...Does it happen that often?" asks Irisviel curiously to Miyu, observing her overreaction.

"So much so that I can't keep up most of the time," she confirms, exasperated "Surely in less than 24 hours he'll come up with some new invention or discovery out of his mind, but it will be a problem for tomorrow's me..."

I looked strangely at the girl from the other dimension, not understanding what she was referring to. "Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked, confused.

"Yes"

Irisviel chuckles in amusement upon hearing Miyu's response.

"You seem like a close-knit couple," says the albino woman, putting a hand in front of her mouth to hide her giggles "Well, now that we've clarified Kuro and Illya's origins, do you have any more questions?"

"I...don't think...I have a lot to think about..." replied Illya distractedly, still groggy from all that was going on.

"...no, I...really need to sleep on it and think about some things..." agrees Kuro, equally groggy.

"Good," Iri clapped her hands together with a smile, happy that one of the many problems had been solved without too much hassle "Now, what were you saying before about those servants?" she asked me, becoming a little more serious again.

"Basically, someone tried to replicate the servant summoning system, but instead of using the command seals, they locked them directly into cards to harness their powers rather than cooperate with them." my reply seemed to upset her, but I ignored her frown "Alright, there's no use dwelling too much on that. The cards came from another dimension and I highly doubt that they will be able to overcome Great Red...then again, even if by some miracle they succeed, I was still planning to destroy them once I retrieved them, except for Kuro's until I create a real physical body for him that he can inhabit."

"I understand," she says simply, still a little concerned that the ritual that took place in another dimension had come here.

Honestly, I would have expected… A more… I don't know, surprised reaction? Then again, the Einzbern have dealt with Zeldrech and true sorceries before, so maybe she wasn't so surprised to hear about other dimensions?

Then Miyu raises her hand. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow seeing the somewhat shy way she did it.

"Who is Great Red?" she asks curiously. I freeze, realizing only now that I had forgotten to do something rather important a couple of days ago "Jack?"

"...in my defense, I was busy training Illya," I say, somewhat uncomfortable with how everyone was looking at me at that moment, deciding to apologize now rather than later to avoid interrupting me during explanations.

[Exactly what didn't you tell us, Jack-sama?] asks Sapphire, resigned to the fact that her world was about to be turned upside down, again.

"Well..."

So I told them about my meeting with Serafall and Ajuka, about the supernatural factions and races inhabiting the world, about the great war, about the situation in which the world had been stuck for over 10,000 years, about sacred gear and everything else we discussed a few days ago.

[HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT SUCH A THING?!] shouts the blue wand, shaking the area we were in, much to the amusement of Irisveil, who at this point was struggling to hold back laughter.

Leysritt didn't really care, so she ignored it and went to sleep on the couch she was sitting on once she realized that no one had any reason to hurt anyone, but Sella was still looking at me too upset to say anything, not understanding how I was getting my priorities in order. Even Illya and Kuro were looking at me as if I were stupid now, even though they had just gotten in touch with my 'quirks' so to speak, and knew perfectly well how smart I was. Miyu simply let out an exasperated groan when I admitted that I had completely forgotten to tell them about such a thing.

"As I said, I didn't expect to have to train Illya for the battle that night, and then it completely slipped my mind," I reply, rubbing my sore ears, "Nothing changed in the end. Our mission remains the same and in this area, anyway, there aren't many supernatural beings to worry about for now. Otherwise, I would have taken care of it by now."

My answer only made Miyu frown more.

"And you were going to do it on your own. Without telling me anything. Again," she accuses me, not taking it very well.

"...It would have depended a lot on the degree of threat, yes" not even trying to lie.

What was the point of that? Although she is very clumsy with emotions and social interactions, Miyu is not stupid, she would have noticed right away that something was wrong in case I started going out with the armor without a class card involved that Sapphire could sense, not to mention that surely her wand can sense Phantasmal Beasts.

[This explains several things though. The levels of mana in the air sent my sensors into a tailspin when I arrived; however, the amount of power in the air was not at the levels of the true ether that there was in the era of the gods in our world; therefore, surely the supernatural is deteriorating here as well, albeit at an extremely slow rate.] says Ruby examining the data in her possession [The amount of mana lingering in the air remains unsustainable for the magus back home, however. They would die within seconds if they were to set foot here.]

"Ughh...my head is spinning..." whines Illya, with steam coming out of his ears from the amount of unexpected information received in such a short time.

"That's...I don't even know what to call it, onii-chan," Kuro shakes her head, also quite upset by the sudden revelation that gods and other mythological beings were wandering around, with a mixture also of amusement and exasperation at the fact that I considered it 'minor' and irrelevant information for the time being.

"There is one thing that troubles me though," says Sella, rather worried and serious "If you told them about the summoning system, they also know about-"

"No," I immediately deny, "I told them the bare minimum to get them to understand the situation and satisfy Ajuka's curiosity, and while he will certainly investigate further, I did not go into in-depth details about how the Grail works, nor did I tell them about Illya in the first place."

"Um...why is it a problem if they know?" asks the magical girl in question innocently.

"The reason behind the ritual" I reply exasperated by the headache "Don't worry too much, you probably won't hold another load of information like that."

My answer confused her, but she decided not to ask any more questions, for the sake of her sanity.

Some pretty good artifacts in DxD could very well be considered high-ranking Noble Phantasm, and the Sephiroth Grail, a weapon powerful enough to be classified as a Longinus since it has the power to kill even deities, is one of them. Of course, in retrospect, considering how messed up the power level of that world is it's hard to say how incredible a Longinus is, but that particular one is broken even by nasuverse standards. If the Einzbern were still around, they would do anything to appropriate it, and I'm moderately sure they've certainly tried numerous times in the past before proceeding with the holy grail war.

That thing allows the possessor to get in touch with the principles of life itself, forcibly explaining to them how both life and souls are made, as well as taking into consideration the mind and the concept of death, life, and various other things. From the power to control the principles of life, the Sephiroth Grail can summon and control the souls of beings such as Yamata-no-Orochi or evil dragons like Grendel and the like, empowering them beyond what they normally were in life, even removing their weaknesses to dragon-killing weapons; can repair the bodies of others and restore them to their optimal condition as long as there is anything left of them; manipulate the life force and bring it to the point of achieving true immortality; resurrect the dead; plus many other functions that would take me a lifetime and a half to list.

It grants the possessor complete control of the equivalent of Heaven's Feel, to use as they please if their mind is not destroyed by the sheer volume of information, that is.

"I see..." says Sella simply. She is still concerned but says no more about the matter.

Then Illya emits a yawn, which is rather contagious because Kuro, Miyu, and Irisviel also begin. Sella tried to cover it up, but I could see that she was tired too, not so much physically as perhaps mentally from all that came up without warning.

"I suppose it's time for bed. It's been a very heavy day for everyone here I think," I say, barely suppressing a yawn in turn "You can stay here if you like. I have a couple of spare rooms you can use and the beds are big enough."

I will see the updates tomorrow. I am too tired now...

"Oh, definitely yes!" agreed Kuro immediately, sleepy, but happy "If the couches are so comfortable I can't wait to try the beds!"

"Kuro-san, I don't think-"

"Illya is already in her pajamas and I think everyone here needs to rest; so if it's not a problem we'll gladly accept," agrees Irisviel, noticeably more relaxed now that all her worries have mostly been removed.

Sella was blissfully ignored by her mistress, who accepted without a second thought, much to her resignation.

---

Illya yawns as she very unwillingly gets out of bed too comfortable to be real. At first, she and Miyu were supposed to get ready for school, but her mother had quickly convinced them to take a day off from the absurd events of the night before, which Miyu quickly agreed with.

Fighting two class cards was upsetting and exhausting enough, but to learn that she was not a normal girl, but a key to some kind of fantasy ritual? It was a revelation that should have changed her life and shocked her, but it didn't elicit any particular reaction from her really, for some reason.

"Um...is everything all right, Illyasviel?" asked Miyu a bit awkwardly, seeing how she had her head in the clouds, so to speak.

Right now they were looking for Kuro, since when they had woken up after being all dragged to bed the night before, she had mysteriously disappeared that morning.

"Huh? Ah, yes, I was just thinking about Kuro and everything that happened yesterday," she replies, a little embarrassed by having inadvertently ignored her classmate almost the whole time "The thing is...after hearing Mama's story, I wasn't as shocked as I thought I would be," Illya admits, trying to examine the strange feelings of the night before "I was born to be used as some kind of magic object. After learning that, my worldview would have to change, but somehow I calmly accepted it...maybe it was because the one most hurt was Kuro. In the end, she was the one who got the worst hand in life, even though that pain was supposed to be experienced by me..."

Miyu looked at her a little strangely but said nothing. Unknown to Illya, she currently felt, despite what she had told him and thought a few days earlier, very much in tune with the situation of the new twins because of her past experiences. It was not a matter of her concern, but seeing the way her peer's expression had become rather sad imagining how Kuro must have felt, had made her want to comfort her as her brother had done with her at the ritual altar before sending her into this world, hoping to make her feel a little better.

"...it's not your fault Illyasviel" tries to console her "Even though everything was done for your good, you had no way of controlling anything that was happening. Kuro's circumstances are unfortunate and you cannot change them, but now you can do something about it."

The unexpected encouragement had caught Illya a bit unprepared, but she smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, you are right..." she agrees. A somewhat awkward silence descends between the two, as neither girl knows what to say "Illya..."

"Huh?"

"Illyasviel is a bit of a long name, so you can call me Illya," says the albino girl, trying to work up some courage to make things a little less awkward and more comfortable "All my friends call me that. It's a little embarrassing to be called by your full name."

Miyu pauses, stunned by the sudden turn of events, completely unprepared. "Friends...?"

I ask the Holy Grail

I pray that Miyu will end up in a world where she can be happy

I pray that you meet kind people

I pray that she is surrounded by friends to laugh with I pray that he will be able to find his happiness.

Her true brother's words rang in her ears once again as another of her prayers was heard. For Miyu, her world had always been home to Fuyuki and Shirou, but the latter longed for her to lead a life where she was happy, away from magic, where she could go out freely, go to school, and make friends to a normal, healthy life. Although he had trampled on part of that wish by getting involved with class cards; Jack, All Might, and Yagi-san had given him a home, a purpose, and a chance to go to school. Now Illyasviel was fulfilling part of his brother's wish by offering him his friendship.

You...are truly blessed, being surrounded by wonderful people, aren't you?

"Huh? Aren't we?!" asks alarmed and somewhat embarrassed Illya, jumping back as if she had just received a bucket of ice water "I was just imagining it?!"

The overreaction of her new...friend brought her back to reality.

"Um, no, it's not that..." reassures Miyu, trying to calm her down "In that case...you can...call me by my first name, too," she concludes, a bit shy and unsure of how to approach this new situation.

Illya's ruby eyes lit up upon seeing the shy reaction of her new taciturn friend.

"Of course" extending her hand, happy that they finally got closer, surprising her colleague again "Then very nice to meet you, Miyu"

"A-so do I, Illya," she agrees, returning the gesture.

"Illya-ojou-sama, I found Kuro-ojou-sama. She infiltrated Jack-sama's room a couple of hours ago and is currently sleeping snuggled up to him - rather unclothed" The happy atmosphere was interrupted by Jarvis, much to Illya's horror.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DEAD CAT THINKING ABOUT?!" roars the pink magical girl angrily, running toward Jack's room in a vain attempt to keep her new friend's brother from seeing her 'twin' naked in his bed.

"Illya, wait for me!"

---

I winced when I felt a twinge of pain in my left arm, as if the fire was coursing through my veins, and found myself forcibly opening my eyes because of the severe discomfort caused by the phantom limb. I was still bone-tired, but I doubted I would be able to go back to sleep because of the annoying tingling sensation

going up from the stump toward my shoulder. At least my circuits are no longer pulling like they were yesterday. Reinforcing a body is 'easy' but doing it with a complicated machine like the Astrea that is made up of several thousand parts was a bit tough, especially when you have to split your attention to a monstrously powerful servant like Altera, even though I didn't have a chance to use gund-bits. Not that they would have done any good to begin with. It certainly would have destroyed him as quickly as I would have deployed them.

I was so engrossed in my reflections and complaints that I noticed the extra weight on my body only when it started to move.

I lower my gaze to the blankets, which rise, revealing Kuro, who placing herself directly on my morning erection stretches, naked as the day she was born, without a care in the world.

"Aaw~, morning onii-chan," he says, emitting a cute yawn. I honestly couldn't help but raise an eyebrow seeing her tanned skin exposed like that when I was sure Miyu had lent him clothes. The way she moved and her loose hair falling strategically over her small breasts to cover them screams that this is all intentional "Mn? Do you see anything you like, onii-chan?" he asks with a sensual smirk, before swinging his rather soft butt back and forth a bit on my erection.

"More like I'm confused by your presence here," I reply, deliberately ignoring Kuro's rather pleasant and soft-to-the-touch ass, which at this point was trying to cause some reaction in me with this theatrics of hers. Did she expect me to nail her to the bed or something? "So why are you here?"

She pouts.

"It's no fun if you don't play along" she complains "A naked woman is on top of you, clearly inviting you to do something and you don't even calculate her? That hurts me," she says, taking my hand and placing it over her heart "Right here, onii-chan"

Once again, I am surprised by her boldness even though I don't give it away. Honestly, Kuro is a loli, so by definition, she is not very developed even though she is not completely 'flat' either. He may have taken a particular liking to me for the fact that I'm giving him the sense of normalcy that he longed for, but isn't that a bit much? Then again, unlike Illya, she is quite open about what she desires...

I removed my hand from her breasts after a few moments, amused by the pout she made since I didn't even give a squeeze or a few gropes.

"Ignoring the fact that you are more of a teenager just entering puberty than a woman, did you think that just because you show a little skin I would go crazy or something?" I ask amused, seeing how her pout becomes more pronounced.

"You're no fun," he complains.

"If you want to do something more fun than the occasional cuddle, you'll have to wait another year or two," I snort in amusement.

Without warning, my hand crashes against his left buttock. As I thought, it is quite soft to the touch and the sound it made is also very satisfying.

"Kyaah!?" Kuro gasps, emitting a shrill groan at the sudden action he didn't quite expect, his face turning red with embarrassment even though he was trying to seduce me "P-why you-"

The door jerks open, slamming against the wall. A red-faced Illya from embarrassment and anger stares at us, carefully watching her naked twin above me, who is wearing only boxers.

"P...PERVERTS!"

---

"I think we should clarify his position," Illya declared categorically out of the blue, confusing everyone present as we ate breakfast.

At first, there had been some confusion because Miyu had become, in her short time in this world, practically the mistress of the kitchen and would not even allow me (who had built it in the first place) to use it if she had to cook it. It is not an exaggeration to say that she and Sella had almost come to blows over the right to use it, since the homunculus proclaimed that as the Einzberm's maid, it was her duty to serve those present (even though, as Liz had not so helpfully pointed out, it was just an excuse to use the kitchen that was practically every cook's dream). In the end, they agreed to prepare half a breakfast each, although Miyu was extremely reluctant.

"Huh? What position?" perplexed Sella asks from the sudden exit of her protégé.

"Of course, I'm talking about the sly girl sitting to Jack-san's right" she replies, looking annoyed at the girl with a red mark on her cheek, who was eating without a care in the world "Now that Kuro is part of the family she has to follow the rules, of course. I think we should first mutually agree on the dynamics of our relationship first" she proposes diplomatically "If we don't, she and Jack-san might do other suspicious things...!" she growls a little irritated at the end.

"Isn't this something you will have to discuss in a more private setting?" I ask completely unconcerned, taking a bite of food as well.

He had tried to hit me earlier as well, but since I had not done or planned anything involving punishment, I had parried whatever attack Illya had thrown at me, much to his frustration.

"Hm Hm, you bring up an interesting point" Irisviel hums, pulling out a marker board from...somewhere, before starting to write on it "So, I'd say confirm the current hierarchy first?" she turns the board over and shows us the result "That's it, more or less"

1)God level: Irisviel

2) daughter: Illya

3) parent level: Kiritsugu

4) family friend: Miyu

5) Maid level: Saddle and Liz

6) Servant level: Jack

"Why are we here too?" asked Miyu confusedly, being ignored, however.

"Oh! How expected of Mama! Without hesitation she put herself on the god level!" exults Illya, more focused, however, on her position in second place.

"Say, aren't you treating onii-chan rather badly?" asks Kuro impassively, seeing my position.

"..." For some damn reason not only was I at the bottom of the list but it wasn't even 'big brother' since among the 'teenagers' I am the oldest one here. Once again, I am confused by how Irisviel is thinking.

"So, of course, Kuro is at the lowest!" proclaims Illya, marking an additional 'little sister' level AND writing the name of his new 'sister'.

"This is tyranny, more like a ranking system," snorts Kuro impassively.

"So...Kuro is Illya's older sister?" asks Liz as she continues to eat, listening distractedly. "Big sister?!" they both exclaimed simultaneously, looking into each other's eyes.

"An older sister...yes, it's like, Words of wisdom from an influential elder. From the moment younger siblings are discovered, it is taken as a destiny to be higher than them. One now belongs to a higher rank...for the hierarchy within a family, this means that an older sister will possess a kind of authority that transcends that of the male parent and especially toward the younger siblings she possesses an absolute power to order that will never be overthrown during her lifetime," earnestly declares the matriarch of the Einzbern family remnants "It is said...that there is no younger sister that can surpass the older sister!"

Miyu and I could do nothing but watch Irisviel during his 'passionate speech' to his daughters, completely lost.

"What the hell is he saying...?" I ask confusedly, unable, once again, to understand what was going through the woman's head.

"I wish I knew too," Miyu replied, as lost as I was.

"Onee-chan...o...o-onee-chan...!" despite the nonsense, even by Japanese family standards, Illya had been completely taken aback by her mother's speech, for reasons I cannot fathom "What a wonderful sound echoes in my ears...! After all this time, I can finally make my debut as a big sister!" she whispers ecstatically with stars in her eyes.

"A...Wait a second, will you stop passing yourself off as the big sister!" almost snarls Kuro, not agreeing to lose that position (or anything else, apparently) with Illya "The definition of 'big' sister is very basic! It goes to the one who was born first-mphhff?!"

Seeing how the two girls were taking it too seriously, Irisviel wisely decided to quell the competition before it went too far beyond a joke by plugging Kuro's mouth with toast.

"What do you think Jack?" she asks, passing the hot potato to me.

Seeing how the two girls turned their gazes toward me with such intensity that they would bend a lesser person (yes, I'm thinking of Shirou from the Prismaverse), I couldn't help but roll my eyes, annoyed by the strange turn of events.

"Kuro was born before Illya, so by definition the title is hers," I reply exasperatedly, causing Illya to freeze. "Yes! I knew you were on my side, onii-chan!" she exults, hugging me sideways.

"I'm on the side of science," I reply indifferently, turning my attention back to breakfast "Rather, why was I dragged into this if it doesn't concern me in the first place?"

Illya, seeing that I was completely impartial, rigidly shifts his pleading gaze to Miyu, who winces guiltily, as if about to declare his betrayal.

"I'm sorry Illya, but even ignoring magic, biologically speaking..." the purple magic girl's shoulders slumped a little as her new and best friend slumped down without strength, almost with tears in her eyes.

"Sigh, Miyu too..." the albino girl murmurs distraughtly.

"I'm sorry, Illya," Miyu says again, taking it a little too seriously.

"Don't worry imouto-chan, as a loving onee-chan I'll make sure you don't take it too hard, okay?" announced Kuro victoriously, with an extremely satisfied smile on his face, which made several veins contract on Illya's forehead.

"They are getting along so well already! Isn't it wonderful?" asks Irisviel, as the two daughters continue to throw not-so-subtle barbs at each other.

"To me, it sounds more like they are fighting," Sella honestly responds a bit worriedly.

The morning went on much more briskly than Miyu and I were used to, but there were no problems. Once the papers were ready, the Einzbern family left with their new addition (rather reluctant to leave my side) to get all the things they needed for everyday life.

---

I stared at the image from the Astrea at the computer with a frown. There was nothing wrong with the newly repaired armor, my problem was the class card saber more than anything else.

I discovered, however, why Photon Ray could cut through E-carbon as if it were paper despite its solidity and reinforcement. After analyzing the information I had unconsciously gathered from that divine construct calmly, I noticed that the 'blade' was created with an unknown material that emitted strange radiation and vibrated at extremely high intensity, a fact that already allowed it alone to cut through virtually any material on earth, and later tempered with magically reactive materials, which allowed it to carry and amplify huge amounts of ether precisely, without repercussion and remaining perfectly stable. In addition to that already unfairly broken ability, it can absorb vibrational or kinetic energy in its vicinity within itself. If focused at the molecular level, it can even weaken the energy that binds particles together causing matter to disintegrate.

There was simply almost nothing on earth that could withstand contact with that thing. Then again, it's not like I could expect anything other than the original prototype of the divine constructs, without even getting into the nest of garments that was the "authority" that deities have over certain elements that make up the world.

Not that it is indestructible, mind you. The external vibrational energy is stored within the bonds between the molecules that make up the unknown material, which has absorbed a considerable amount of vibrational energy and would be extremely difficult to demolish, but this does not make Photon Ray indestructible, even without using it as a broken phantasm. From the fragment I analyzed, I noticed that there is indeed a limit to its absorption capacity, and it is indeed possible to break the material that makes up its structure with the right amount of force, but doing so would release all the energy it has accumulated and the result would be...well, disastrous to say the least, so best to avoid it. That monstrosity has not been used as the basis for divine constructs without a reason.

Once again I will be very original and take a cue from Marvel, calling that unnamed material vibranium, since it seems to behave the same way.

I'll probably also ask Miyu or Illya to include Altera's class card to better analyze Photon Ray, since during the confrontation with Saber I didn't have enough computing power not to get killed and thoroughly analyze her weapon at the same time. However, I should warn them not to install it for any reason if I can avoid it and they have other courses of action. Class cards have functions that lower the parameters to suppress by one degree to prevent them from influencing the user too much with the more problematic heroic spirit disadvantages, but it has been shown that they cannot completely circumvent that problem since Berseker users slowly lose their mental faculties during use and fall into a destructive frenzy (see Beatrice), while more extreme cases such as Gilgamesh can directly take control of the person installing them. Since Altera is a fragment of the white titan, and in life, she still felt the influence of her original self

that led her to want to destroy everything, although, in a very minor way, I am not anxious to see what effect it has on Miyu or Illya.

However, the nice thing is that vibranium is replicable. Although it would cost me about $9,000 per gram if my calculations are correct. I would have to buy some materials on the market that have some parts of similar characteristics, melt them down, and rearrange their atoms to match those of Photon Ray to make them have the same capabilities. Extremely expensive, but doable. Not that I will be able to do it too soon. Considering just the weight of the outer armor alone, that alone would cost me something like $2,250,000,000, not a laughing matter. Of course, about the Astrea, or other armors that have a similar weight is meant. Other Gundams are much heavier than 400 pounds...

I shake my head to avoid thinking about the obscene amount of money I would have to spend to make one using only that material. Except for vibranium, the material that makes up Excalibur or Ea that Archer failed to analyze and understand, orichalcum is the hardest material seen by the counter guardian during its long 'life'.

Since vibranium was not an option and I could not enchant metal with the runes that are used to make orichalcum, I have continued to analyze over the past few days various noble phantasm, mystic tails, and weapons from every era, even from Notes, if the knight arms that Archer had seen are any indication, and in the end, I made a metal alloy that should be as close as possible to orichalcum, very originally called adamantine, which here is a material often used in video games but which does not exist for some reason.

So far I have tried various combinations using the wide range of raw materials I had at my disposal thanks to the Might Tower, and the prototype of what I could call 'adamantium' that I accidentally created was the one I was most convinced would require a lot of preparation to produce in considerable quantities. It will still take me at least a week to get the extra materials and machinery I will need to make my new armor. It is more affordable as a price since it would require 'only' $500 per gram unlike vibranium, but the process of creating it takes much longer, and it is much more troublesome. I cannot do it with alteration, since to get the chemical resins and iron to bond, the result must be kept liquid at a temperature of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and once it cools, because of the very high density of the molecular structure of adamantium, I could no longer change its shape even with magic.

If I were to grade the adamantium prototype I made with servant statistics, comparing it to the various alloys that made up the noble phantasm inside Ubw, I would say it would be an A at the very least. There is no other material that holds the comparison currently known to me.

The only problem is that I won't be able to get what I need to make her next suit of armor in time for Berseker...

I had been looking for things that might be useful in the upcoming fights in the safe that Shizuku had left for me, but as useful as a Cerberus skin piece, a set of two mithril knives; an enchanted broadsword with anti-spirit abilities, a gem made from the blood of a Vouivre (a rare type of female humanoid dragon, from what Ryukyu had told me), and a unicorn horn among other things might be, nothing suited my needs.

Although I had never used materials of supernatural origin, thanks to tracing I had acquired memories and skills of the blacksmiths who had made the mystic tails and noble phantasm that EMIYA showed me, so I could still work with them, as long as the work to be done did not require specific or unique skills derived from ancestors of some kind. The unicorn horn would be useful later on since it can dispel or weaken almost any kind of poison or toxin. The one Shizuku had found was so pure that it could temporarily suppress even Samael's poison.

As much as I would have liked to work on it, however, now was not the time. If the assassin we're going to fight is still going to be a hundred-face (and honestly I'm not even counting on that by now), then one of the mystic tails I have on hand will also work perfectly. Then again, I also have a dagger made from unicorn parts, it was simply inferior in quality compared to what I could forge though, so I will put that off until we are done with the class cards.

"Sapphire?"

[What is it, Jack-sama?] Mystic code had nothing to do now that Miyu was doing her homework; therefore, she had come down here to watch me tinker.

We had not talked because there was not much to say. She was curious to see how I usually work since science was on another level compared to her home world, and I wasn't particularly bothered by her presence. She had asked occasional questions here and there, mainly concerning the GNY-003 Gundam Abulhool, since that model is not armor but is more like a drone, not even having a humanoid form. I used it as the basis for programming, modifying, and refining the program that was used to develop the sentry mode, which would be used to give the other armors some degree of autonomy in their movements. The program is not developed enough to allow my armor to fight in complete autonomy, but I can do things like fly and head towards me, as well as port perform simple rescue functions or follow my instructions.

Other than that, she just floated around and observed me to collect data to show to Miyu, who was very interested in my work, after asking for consent of course. Maybe she will be able to help me finish the GN drive?

"Do you happen to know the ritual for summoning servants?" I ask with a degree of curiosity.

[...how come he wants to know?] she asks, hesitant to share the information.

"Two reasons mainly: we accidentally destroyed the caster class card, proving in fact that it is possible to dismantle them with Rule breaker" I begin by raising one finger, before raising the second "And, most importantly, we need a teacher or someone experienced who can support us."

[I...yes, I see the benefits from having an expert who can provide proper education for you, but, if I may ask, how come she doesn't ask Serafall Leviathan for help if she proposed herself?] she asks cautiously [From what she told us last night, she had made that offer to make sure that the girls who will come to study here don't take unnecessary risks; therefore, it shouldn't be a problem to accept]

"In theory? Yes, I don't lose anything now, if I accept the help," I concur, putting some emphasis on the keyword "Ajuka is interested in me for some reason, so by asking for a favor now, even if it's for something in their interests, I don't want it to put me at a disadvantage with the Satans if we get together at a table to negotiate about some possible future partnership. After all, almost nobody does anything for nothing."

[Mnn...it is a good argument for the future if you plan to go into business with them] agrees Sapphire [However, is summoning a servant a good idea? The circle for the ritual is simple, I have seen it unfold together with the grand master many times since he often observes grail wars of other dimensions when he rests. With the kaleidoscope, I might be able to connect to the throne of heroes to some extent, and the magical power required for summoning is also not a problem here for the same reason. However, even if we were to succeed, without a grail to provide us with command spells it would have no control over the summoned servant. If someone of the Berserker class or an ill-intentioned one came out we would be forced to fight him to suppress him, since he would be able to replenish his mana independently considering the amount of energy in this world]

"I can use a catalyst rather than go blindly and draw from the deck the one most compatible with me, and it won't be a problem to keep him for the same reason in case he agrees to help us," I refute his remark, scratching my chin a little, thoughtfully.

[This is...right. However, who should we summon in that case?] asks Sapphire puzzled, curious about my opinion.

"Mn. The choices are not that many really. I prefer someone who can train me, so Scathach with her runes and the fact that she isolated herself almost 1,500 years ago won't raise too many flags in case she suddenly appears. People will probably just think that she got tired of being isolated and went out to stretch her legs in the worst-case scenario if she is found by someone important and the news spreads. Considering her character and the affinity she has for magic, it will be a very important experience for Miyu to be able to train with someone like her. "Considering the way most important beings in DxD behave, it wouldn't be too absurd "Merlin would also be a good choice if she wasn't a huge pain in the ass that I wouldn't wish on almost anyone and honestly want nothing to do with...not to mention that bitch wouldn't get out of Avalon even if the world depended on it..."

I could have sworn I heard an indignant cry and laughter/squeal ringing in my ears, but I decided not to think about it too much and ignore it.

[Why does he talk as if he knows Merlin?] asks Sapphire skeptically.

"Archer has participated in several holy grail wars, as a master while he was alive and then as a counter guardian," I reveal, wincing my wand, pretending not to have heard his question "I have seen his memories and I know that he has encountered many servants, not to mention that having analyzed several Noble Phantasm I can use as a catalyst for summoning..."

[I see...what options do you deem safer then?] asks mystic code curiously, definitely interested [As much as it may be an opportunity to summon a legend like Scathach, according to myth she is immortal, and if she is not dead she cannot be summoned as a Servant]

"That would be true in most cases, but there are some exceptions. In the worst case we can try to summon her directly from the valley of shadows," I reply, "However, those strongly linked to mythology, Greek in particular, like Cherion are absolutely out of the question, since I also don't want Hade breathing down my neck. Or any other god for that matter. We are nowhere near ready to attract that kind of attention, and I have little doubt that if some heroic spirit strongly linked to someone in the various pantheons suddenly appears they will notice immediately."

[Agreed]

Who is left then? Melusine would be a really good ally to have if she agrees to help me for obvious reasons, not only because she is beautiful, but also because being one of the stronger riders I could learn a lot from her, like aerial combat. Alternatively, someone to help me with magic and technology is greatly appreciated; therefore, the obvious choices would be Da Vinci caster or rider, or Helena. Tesla and the American lion whose name I cannot remember are out of the question. Too annoying for my taste. Tamamo, despite what I just said, would be another good choice, since it might help me understand something about senjutsu and curses, considering that the former is a weapon that almost no one can defend against in this world and I have no idea how to protect myself from the latter (other than rule breaker, assuming it works you mean, since I don't know if it can be considered magecraft). Also, the chances of waifu-fox trying to kill me or betray me are incredibly low since she made herself summonable to look for a husband in the first place, and I honestly wouldn't mind having someone I could trust with no problem who I can trust with the safety of magical girls if I shouldn't be around.

"...Let's try Scathach first. If that doesn't work, we fall back on Leonardo Da Vinci. If all else fails, I try King Arthur," I conclude after a few moments of reflection.

[If he is sure.]

The wand simply acquiesced to my request, so, following his instructions, I drew a modified magic circle with an additional outer ring, apt to summon a heroic spirit from specifically the Isle of Skye. I even trace a replica of Gae Bolg, as shoddy as it could be.

"In the origin, silver and iron. As foundation stone and archduke of contracts.

Let the gates close and from the crown descend to the kingdom, circulating along the triform path.

Fill, fill, fill, fill. Five times per repetition, just destroy the cycle, once filled. Set.

I declare. Let your body be at my command and my fate entrusted to your sword.

Answer my call. I fulfill an oath here.

I am the one who will become all good and dominate all evil in the unchanging hereafter.

You are the seven heavens, wrapped in the three holy words. Come to me from the circle that binds you, protector of balance!"

In the middle of my lab the magic circle glowed crimson and a geyser of energy erupted, illuminating the lab red for a few moments. It probably would have blinded me had it not been for my lenses, but still, I had to close my eyes because the gust of air caused a small shockwave to say the least uncomfortable.

"Oh? Were you able to call me here from the land of shadows?"

Hearing Scathach's voice, I opened my eyes anyway, as, despite the slight discomfort, my contact lenses quickly readjusted to colors and light.

"If we want to be precise, I only activated the mechanism that caused your arrival here," I corrected her distractedly, "So how does it feel to be back in the human realm, Queen of Dun Scaith?"

[Did it work...?] whispers Sapphire confused and rather surprised by the sudden turn of events. If it weren't for the situation I would have joked or made fun of the wand, but it was best to avoid it for now.

There is also to be said, however, that although the summoning circle was set up to create a connection between me and the spirit to supply it with prana, no connection seemed to be formed between me and her; therefore, either she rejected the connection despite being summoned as a servant-living person, or that is her real body and she does not need it. However, it doesn't matter since she is here.

Scathach is just as I remember her. She is extremely beautiful, with the proportions of her body that can only be described as 'almost perfect.' She has long purple hair and red eyes and wears a tight-fitting black suit that emphasizes her curvy body, with metal straps. She is holding a Gae Bolg Alternative.

"I'm not impressed," she comments casually, looking around "Is this a modern magician's workshop?"

"No, it is only mine that is so advanced compared to the rest of the world," I reply indifferently to the insult about my weakness. After all, she was right to see me that way compared to her.

"So why did you call me here?" he asks looking at me with the slightest hint of interest "Not many people can even find the door to the land of shadows, much less summon me out of my realm by force."

I suppose his curiosity is normal given the peculiar situation he finds himself in.

"I am looking for a teacher," I declare bluntly, "You have trained many heroes of the past; therefore, you were the best choice I could summon."

"Oh?" his gaze sharpens, and I feel as if he is somehow scanning my soul "You are not much different from a diamond in the rough; however, not only do I lack a reason to train you, but you also lack the motivation that might make me consider your request."

"Even though I have a weapon that can kill you?" I ask, heedless of the fact that he did not think highly of me. I projected a scythe with a black and purple blade "This is Harpe. Perseus used it to kill Medusa. Not an interesting or particularly powerful weapon per se, Its real strength is its Longevity Refraction trait, which is a divine ability that nullifies the "immortal attribute" of immortals and inflicts wounds that cannot be repaired by methods other than healing according to natural laws."

A hint of surprise passes in her eyes, but it disappears as quickly as it came.

"Did you use...Gradation air? No, a customized version probably, to create a working noble phantasm. Impressive use of a thaumaturgy considered 'useless' even before my retirement, but I don't see how that would convince me to ascertain you as my apprentice," he...compliments? And taunts me at the same time, but again, I do not demur.

"Why don't you try to see if I'm worth your time then?" I ask deadly serious, not being the least bit willing to back down "I don't have the drive to aim for the top of this world nor do I care, but I do have a reason to become stronger in both the short and long term, and currently you are the person who can give me the power I need. Words alone are worth nothing, so test me and see for yourself if I can give you the battle you want to die in at the end."

Another flash of interest passes in her apathetic eyes, this time, however, it does not fade immediately as it did before, perhaps a little interested in a challenge rather than my appealing to her greatest desire.

[Is Jack-sama sure this is a good idea?] asks Sapphire a little worriedly.

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry," I reassure her distractedly, not breaking eye contact with Scathach.

"Oh? Do you think it's really about having the right dough to do it even when none of my best students have succeeded?" he asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"If you take me as a student? I will kill you if that is the condition to be fulfilled in exchange for your knowledge" I confirm impassively "After all, I always achieve my goals, one way or another."

"...Very well, I will give you a chance. Impress me within 15 minutes and I will train you until I consider you more than just a suitor."

"We seem to have reached an agreement" I state the obvious by accepting the mission "Jarvis, warn Miyu that our guest and I are going out to do this test, and not to meddle for any reason in the world."

"Roger that," merely replied the AI, which was ignored by the immortal woman.

"I'll put on my armor and we can get started. I have a private training ground we can use," I warn her, as

the newly repaired Astrea emerges from the hatch in the center of my workshop.

"Good," she says simply, causing a familiar crimson spear to appear, waiting to begin.

---

"...why is this crowd here?" I ask no one in particular, seeing several figures who had crashed my trial by fire.

Scathach's summoning had released an incredibly high amount of mana, to the point that Miyu had sensed it even without the enhanced senses of her magical girl form and had swooped into my lab not even a couple of minutes after accidentally detecting an unknown presence in my lab, and, of course, after receiving an explanation of who Scathach was and learning that I was about to fight her she began to insist on helping me, which I vehemently refused. Amid our quarrel, Illya flying in carrying Kuro also arrived at my door, followed shortly thereafter by Serafall and Ajuka.

"To feel a presence like that suddenly appearing in the city was a pretty good reason to justify an investigation," Ajuka replied, curiously observing Scathach, who was doing the same with the two Maou "After all, it's not every day you meet a certified slayer who has trained most of the heroes of the Ulster cycle."

"Of course, you make some very unexpected encounters for having just joined the supernatural, Robo-chan," says Serafall, rather calm, unlike the character she usually plays "You certainly impressed me !"

"Are you two?" the immortal woman asks casually, with a hint of curiosity.

"Can we talk about this later?" I ask, eager to begin "Explanations of how the world has changed will take some time since you have been in seclusion for several centuries, and, honestly, I would prefer to get the pleasantries out of the way first."

"I'm still against you fighting alone, I can-"

"No," I interrupt Miyu with a dry, firm answer that only makes her frown more "I didn't ask him to take me as a student just for class cards, I also have my reasons for doing so; therefore, don't get involved in this," I warn her in a steely tone.

Illya and Kuro looked worriedly at their friend, seeing how she was clenching her fists, not at all convinced that it was a good idea either, but it's something I have to do myself.

"I feel like there's an interesting story behind it, but we'd better ask later I guess," hums Ajuka curiously, before snapping his fingers, and the whole area around the test field distorts. Similar to the feeling I get when I enter the mirror world, the world distorts into a more...darker (?) version of the real one, as we finish a perfect replica, except that there is an obvious translucent purple bubble covering the area "I've created an alternate dimension around this area, so no one will come to disturb us. You can go wild all you want, this place will hold since we use a similar dimension for raiting games."

"As expected of a satan..." I murmur a little surprised at the speed of deployment of such a big thing. But then again, era of the declining gods or not, he is in the top 10 of the strongest beings in this world for a reason in the end.

"I guess a lot has happened since I retired, huh" murmurs the woman curiously, observing the work "If it's going to take as long as you imply with your words, then we'd better finish things quicker first" she agrees eventually, implying unceremoniously that I won't last long.

Not that she is wrong. Against her, I'm a novice novice since I've been amid supernatural crap for a week. That doesn't mean I will go down as easily as she thinks though. She will have to struggle to take me down.

My gaze hardens as I close the helmet and the interface appears.

"Trace on" I summon Arondight and get into position, while Scathach summons his spears with a hint of interest.

"That style of fighting doesn't belong to you, does it?" he asks rhetorically, as I reinforce myself as much as I can as I did with Altera, even though I kept one parallel thought active.

His figure blurs into a black and red flash that I barely manage to deflect when a ruthless lunge of Gae Bolg flies toward me as a deadly bullet. He is faster than Altera, perhaps thanks in part to the fact that unlike her he also had a fully functioning mind that allowed him to waste no movement and operate with maximum efficiency. Sparks fly everywhere as the spear screeches on the blade of my sword. I did not try to parry it; it would have been a futile effort thanks to the monstrous strength of the shadow queen. She used the spear in her left hand to try to cut my head off, but again it took only minimal movement to avoid it, but she was already ahead spinning her body to deliver an even stronger spinning blow than the previous one.

The thrusters of my armor roar as I launch myself away, as the cursed spears mow the ground, creating a large 'x' crushed into the concrete. I project an ARC loaded with hrunting and fire without hesitation toward her. Without flinching, Scathach summons a dozen spears created by the Ash tree through her absurd mastery of primordial runes, which she moves telekinetically and fires toward me at speeds that would normally be difficult to follow. Half of them are destroyed by my broken phantasm, but the other copies of Gae Bolg I am forced to avoid, which I found extremely easy in flight since they had not been activated. The immortal woman was already above me though. The red thunderbolt is aiming at my head again, but I unlike her am much faster in the air, and more importantly, I have the surprise effect with the added advantage of knowing her moves thanks to the fact that I scanned Gae Bolg alternatives as soon as she called her back.

I dodge the first attack and, pivoting on myself, give him a gash that runs from his left shoulder to his right hip. His black spandex suit is surely enchanted with runes, for I felt as if I were cutting a decidedly strong block of metal rather than a thin, tight fabric.

"Pretty smooth movement," compliments, I think, the heroes' teacher. "Merit to you or to that toy?" he asks, scerning me.

"Arondight Overload"

Ignoring his taunt, I activated noble phantasm and the slash on his body lights up, before opening up even more, violently tearing the flesh of his body, which takes out a geyser of blood from his torso.

"Kuh?!"

Not expecting in the least such a turn of events as she prepared to kick me away, I point the railgun toward her and fire without hesitation. She flies off, following the trajectory of the bullet, being shot at such a speed that she breaks the sound barrier and crashes over a kilometer away.

I barely had time to blink when a huge killer instinct sent a shiver down my spine. A blood-red light glows powerfully in the thick cloud of dust, before being ripped and despairing by a spear flying at supersonic speed toward me.

"Rho Aias!"

I summon the field bounded by seven layers in the shape of an iridescent flower, barely in time to parry the killing blow. The force of the impact generates a shockwave strong enough to forcefully rip up the asphalt beneath me and force the spectators away. Not too much time passes before the cursed spear breaks through the first layer of the bounded field and powerfully continues its advance. The thrusters of my armor push as hard as they can to keep me in place as the red spear continues to pierce my defenses with great effort and soon reaches the last layer. The raw magical energy stored and compressed in it, however, eventually fails to hold its shape around the structure of the spear and causes the most explosion once it dissipates, which paradoxically hardly scratches the already cracked layer of the shield, unlike the absurd force with which the weapon arrived.

I land and breathe a sigh of relief when my heart is not pierced, although my circuits would have something to say about the abuse to which they had been subjected, especially since, as Sapphire had said, I had not yet fully recovered. Astrea's left arm is noticeably worn, and fragments of armor fall from it, exposing the ruined frame beneath.

"I was almost taken aback, for a few moments I thought I wouldn't be able to parry it," I admit, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps and the crimson spear floating in the air after the blow returned to its owner "No wonder it is considered stronger than the very Gungnir from which it is derived."

"As I thought, neither those weapons nor those techniques belong to you," says Scathach, a little annoyed as he emerges from the dust "There is not even an ounce of pride in your shots."

"I don't need it, after all, I'm not a warrior or a knight," I reply completely indifferent.

"Yet you still dared to ask for my teachings," the woman points out with a frown.

"I told you before. I have both short- and long-term plans, and you were the most qualified person to ask" I shrug, honestly unconcerned about his disappointment "I don't care about honor or glory. To kill I don't need them. Some idiots will become a threat shortly, who will inevitably undermine the safety of several people close to me. Since I am not strong enough to kill them now, I am preparing in advance to get rid of them, possibly avoiding collateral damage or endangering those close to me in the process. I have had the unexpected opportunity to summon you, so I am taking advantage of it, hoping you will make things easier for me."

His gaze becomes more contemplative than disapproving.

"You fight to protect your loved ones then? As good a reason as any that I can respect to a certain extent, even if I don't like your attitude," she confesses, now out in the open again. Despite her ruined clothing with various holes and tears, her perfect skin was completely free of any sort of injury. A quick scan confirms that, yes, she was already fully healed "The question is, are you determined enough to make it through?" she asks, getting into position.

"..." I did not respond and fired the third round of the magazine, which Scathach dodged with inhuman agility and grace, resetting the distance between us in an instant.

---

Ajuka watches with interest as the human wizard battles the immortal woman, and he must admit to being surprised. He would venture to say very impressed as well. The boy, Jack, is an amateur, there is no shadow of a doubt, and he had admitted as much himself. He did not show that he could use thaumaturgies other than the three basic ones, but in the end, this proved to be both his worst weakness and his most dangerous weapon. Not being able to use anything else he had pushed what he had to the extreme limits, creating alternative and personal forms of them that combined with his creations allowed him to tip-toe combat with ancient heroes of the past.

And now he was doing it by fighting and keeping the Irish Heracles teacher engaged with remarkable efficiency.

Of course, Scathach was holding back enough not to accidentally kill the boy, more or less, and Jack's armor was already noticeably worn, but it was a sight that was making him as excited as a child in front of a new toy. He had projected a weapon that allowed him to fire projectiles at supersonic speeds that could break through the immortal woman's defenses and even her body with ease. That alone could be considered an anti-fortress weapon. Is it based on American railguns? He knew that the railgun project had been abandoned for lack of funds right after World War III broke out, as it was not yielding the

desired results, but it was impressive for what it lasted. Such a thing would normally be impossible to create with a spell as simple as gradation air, yet he still succeeded.

Then there was Arondight, the sword that belonged to the lake knight, and Rho Aias, the shield that withstood the worst blows of the Trojan War. How was it even possible to recreate something like that with that speed and so functional? So many questions and few answers that require research!

Creations aside there were also his skills. The style he uses to fight does not suit him at all, and yet, he is resisting. With each counterattack, blow parried, given, or dodged, the next movement became faster and more accurate, the fighting style smoother, and more suited to the user. It was not the machine undergoing momentary improvements, but the user maximizing the performance of what he had with each move he made in rapid succession. It was progressing at a rate that left him quite baffled honestly. The last people he had seen progress like that during a confrontation were Sizerchs and himself when they still led their faction during the Civil War. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he was more like him than his best friend in reality. What Jack was displaying was not talent, but calculations performed with precision worthy of a supercomputer, at insane speeds, that allowed him in seconds to analyze himself, his opponent, and all possible variables and then act accordingly. This process made possible his extremely fast development.

A glance at Serafall showed that the latter had also noticed. The girls were struggling to follow the clash, but Kuro at least seemed to understand what was falling, as did the mystic tails. If he put the clash data on a graph, the technical indicator would show a near-vertical dizzying surge when taking into account how he was fighting compared to not even five minutes earlier.

Should he offer him a place in his peerage? No, maybe he would have to wait a while for that. He would be a very good addition to his development team, Jack has most of the characteristics he usually looks for in someone to work closely with, but it's still too early to put him among the big boys. He could certainly defeat all the high-class devils, even the older ones and most of the supreme class, but against monsters like Rivezim or Zekram, he cannot do much, either in a firefight or in the political landscape. He does not yet have the weight he needs to influence the scale. Those two in particular had made a lot of suspicious moves in recent years; so to stop whatever they are up to he still needs to grow.

He will probably offer him a contract as his magician though. Certainly, her skill set will help advance several projects he has been stalled for some time due to various commitments and hiccups.

It is sure that something interesting will come out.

---

The red spear is deflected again by my sword, and I also manage to cushion the kick that follows, reducing the damage to zero as I move a few meters away to catch my breath.

My body is tingling. Even with all the suspension and nano suit under the Gundam, moving constantly at superhuman speeds was starting to give me problems with blood circulation, even though my organs and oxygen levels were still hovering above the stress threshold considered 'acceptable,' even if just barely. My circuits were starting to get sore even though Astrea was lowering my body temperature enough to keep them from overheating for a while longer.

The problem was that I was starting to get tired. I hadn't recovered from the night before, so mental and physical fatigue, lack of sleep, and blood loss despite the transfusion were starting to take a toll on both my body and mind again. Scathach wasn't making it easy honestly, but I didn't expect her to do so, to tell the truth. After the mistake of taking me underhanded at first, she started to pay more attention to the fight and kept me from getting too far away from her, enough to make it impossible for me to shoot broken phantasm at her and take the fight more to the physical side of things, where she

was clearly in control. She was too quick to catch up with me and used runes to keep me from charging the ARC.

She wasn't playing, but she was very far from being 'serious' so to speak. She didn't use Gate of Skye, so she's holding back enough to not kill me with every attack she does, but that was the limit she was willing to go to for this spar, I guess.

Paradoxically, I was having a harder time keeping up with the clash than the stress of keeping my armor overclocked. Perhaps it was because there were now fewer bodily functions for the brain to handle that the Alaya-Vijnana was so responsive and less tiring to use.

"Aren't you coming?" asks the immortal woman seriously, still on guard despite her seductive figure seeming relaxed as she walks toward me.

"As soon as...I find some...openings..." I reply short of breath, nonetheless.

Being able to see through her, I could calculate very well all the hundred and fifty-two moves she could make if I charged with short breath. I would not even make it halfway through the assault before I had to defend (failing miserably) against a tremendously fast and accurate counterattack from her that would disable me. Honestly, I had been using the last 10 minutes all the openings, surprise attacks, techniques, and strategies I could think of, but nothing I had done seemed to upset her or slow her down more than a few seconds. I was starting to run out of ideas.

"You're too cumbersome when you fight," she admonishes me as I catch my breath, "Not throwing yourself headlong at an enemy who outclasses you and studying them is a valid tactical approach, but you tend to take this a little too far and think too much!" She warns me as she charges, this time with a different fighting style, using a single rod with both hands.

The red spear cleaves the floor and the air, leaving a groove in the concrete as it aims to cut me in half. I deflect the blow once more by tilting my weapon to the side, which causes the long swing to continue in a different direction. Anticipating all her moves, I avoid or deflect all her cuts as she starts spinning Gae Bolg to make powerful circular attacks. Moving away was not an option, otherwise, the momentum in the strikes would be greater and the immortal would consequently be out of my range.

"!"

A strange sense of danger warns me, before red circles formed by letters I did not recognize (presumably runes) flash by. I braced the thrusters, and, with considerable effort to further empower the Astrea, I launched myself out of there like a splinter. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground, melting everything within fifty meters, and digging into the ground with force. I still didn't have time to examine what had happened, however, because red lightning flew toward me and I was forced to leap back again to avoid being torn open in two when the ground where I had been leaning was ripped open with force. The distance I had put between me and Scathach was reset for the umpteenth time and I barely made it in time to deflect it. Arondight's blade blunted as Gae Bolg, covered in a reddish haze screeched over her. The third blow came too quickly and I made it in time to move my arms to avoid being hit directly, but I was too unbalanced to parry properly and was thrown away forcefully by the god-killer.

I roll for a few dozen meters before I manage to get back into position, even as the reinforcement patterns on the Astrea flash as I feel my circuits pull as if they were tight muscles. My projection was also reaching its limit from the abuse I received from the Dún Scath witch.

I can't find openings to use. She had tried to pretend to leave some but had quickly stopped after realizing that I was not so stupid or desperate as to fall for such obvious traps. She probably realized that I had analyzed her fighting patterns for the most part within the first 5 minutes at most when she definitely

stopped underestimating me, considering that she was switching styles so as not to give me time to get used to the rhythm.

Vicious Bitch...

"Are you on the edge yet?" She asks with a hint of empty mockery.

"..." I didn't answer as I got back up to put myself on guard. I wasn't done yet; I needed to gather more information before going on the offensive, although I didn't know how long I would hold out.

I would not have concluded anything by charging now. The odds my counterattack would have been effective were plus or minus 61 percent with the data collected. There were still too many unknown variables and ways he could have dismantled my strategies, but he didn't give me a chance to think when he launched Gae Bolg at me again. I directed the energy from Astrea's GN condensers to use Overload and destroyed the spear, but Arondight shattered in the process. He launches himself at me, and I try to create a new projection, but my circuits pulsate maliciously, causing me to stop. I recovered quickly enough not to lose my grip on the reinforcement, and avoid getting hit full force by my future teacher. I blocked the swing of her arm midway, preventing her fist from gaining too much momentum, thus proving much easier to parry, and tried to counterattack, but she deflected both my right hook and blocked the left. She uses my weight and tries to flip me over, but I activate the thrusters in time and free myself mid-move, landing on my feet. I deflected a punch to my side, where she was surely aiming for the spaces between the armor plates, and responded by hitting her with a punch to the temple, avoiding a few moments later a kick with the same target. I try to continue the series of punches, which she deflects or parries, while I intercept another incoming blow with my elbow, aiming for her forearm to stress the frameless and avoid bearing all the brute force behind it. Scathach continues to test the waters, curious about what I have in store for her, but rather than attack only the upper body, I hit her knee, forcing the joint to bend and causing her to lose momentum along with her balance. Taken by surprise as she fell, I hit her with a kick to the face, facilitating the movement with the thrusters on my leg.

A tiny bruise that disappeared at the same time as it came. I use the same leg to use it as a trampoline and jump away, trying to get away from her to create a new weapon, since I am definitely at a disadvantage in melee. Having passed the surprise after she had recklessly exposed herself, she tried to launch herself at me, but I projected the ARC and fired a normal shot at her since I didn't have time to create a broken phantasm, but she managed to dodge it, and much to my annoyance I have to practically land to avoid being crushed by several ice pillars formed directly above me courtesy of her runes. My railgun was not so lucky though, so I ditched it as it disappeared into blue particles.

Scathach had a chance to throw herself at me a second time for another martial arts match.

I avoid two sets of kicks and deflect a third to try to unbalance her, but now she is paying attention again and doesn't fall for the same trick as I try to move away to create another sword. Not that she gave me time. I deflected a kick to the stomach, a jab, a hook, and a roundhouse kick that came with such speed that they looked like black blurs even to the Astrea's cameras, which were struggling to keep track of the immortal witch's movements, and in doing so I had to use my left arm to avoid a blow from her palm to the solar plexus. The force of her attack pushes me back what meter and shatters the Gundam's armor, exposing the slightly dented frame below.

"Tsk," I can't help but wince as I see the armor that could very well withstand most things humans could throw at it crumble like that, a clear sign that my armor was not at all ready for the heavier battles to come shortly.

Scathach paid no heed to what I was thinking and continued her assault. In an attempt to keep up with her, I decided to keep the thrusters active to give more momentum to my strikes; therefore, after deflecting the first incoming punch, I tried to hit her with a roundhouse kick, which she dodged, but she did not see my heel land on her face. Despite the unexpected attack, she parried the third kick as well, despite being off balance. Or at least that's what I thought. As I scrambled back into position, she hit my right knee joint, which made it impossible for me to properly parry her next uppercut and punch to the solar plexus, which made Astrea's worn-out armor screech. The blows were so strong that I felt them anyway, even though I felt no pain. I tried to reciprocate with a hook, but she nimbly dodged, hitting me in the stomach and left side. I also saw the third punch coming that collided with my right cheek, sending fragments of the armor flying all over the place, but I was not quick enough to do anything about it.

It was quite obvious that I was at my wits' end. If the Alaya-Vijnana had not kept me awake and relatively lucid by force, I would probably no longer be able to think fluidly. The fact that at this point my mind, body, and Astrea were no longer perfectly synchronized even though I was still connected to the system I think is a clear sign that I had been past my limit for a while.

The immortal woman stares at me for a few moments before speaking.

"Hey, Phantasmal Beast, we're done here, you can release the barrier," says Scathach loudly, to be heard by Ajuka, who raises an eyebrow like everyone else present.

"The time limit you set for the challenge is not over, have you seen everything you needed to see?" I ask, not lowering my gaze even though the queen has done the same.

Maou shrugs his shoulders and lets the alternative dimension fall in place.

"Yes" she replies "You are determined, I give you credit for that, and while normally training someone I don't see as a worthy warrior goes against my policy, you are brave enough to at least give yourself the benefit of the doubt" she concludes, with mixed emotions in her crimson eyes "Now, whether or not it is worth it remains to be seen"

---

"-then this morning he summoned me to ask for my teachings," murmurs Scathach, after taking stock of all the information that led to the current situation.

We had told her how things were in the supernatural in this world, where most factions tended to keep to themselves during this cease-fire period after the great war (except for the occasional skirmishes by various groups of idiots trying to restart the conflict where it left off); the situation in the underworld and of the new government erected by Ajuka, Serafall, and the other members of the anti- Satan faction; and then on to the advent of the quirks on earth, World War III, the dark century, and the present era as far as the human world was concerned; ending with the mess that emerged with the class cards in which we had become embroiled.

The detailed explanations had taken several hours, so the Maou and the immortal woman had stopped for lunch, as the latter in particular wanted to see the class cards in action. "S-so much information..." murmured Illya with her head smoking from all the explanations made about the strained relations between the various races and all.

"You're hopeless," Kuro snorts, shaking her head, seeing the difficulty her 'twin' had in keeping up with what was being said, even though there was nothing too important or complicated to understand (for everyone but her) since it was just a bit of in-depth history.

The problem was probably more the fact that all the information had come together, which my stepsister had noticed rather quickly.

"Don't worry Illya, I can explain again what you didn't understand later," Miyu reassured her, causing her to nod, still with swirls in her eyes.

[Empty-headed magical girls are the prettiest, right, Sera-tan?] she asks amused, seeing her partner desperately trying to keep up with the conversations.

"Yes, definitely," nods Serafall 'wisely,' looking distractedly at the horizon, as if remembering something important.

"Again with this?!" growls Illya, who was not stupid at all. Her grades in school were always in the top 5 in every subject. She was simply new to all this and was having a hard time adjusting.

Ruby knew this, but she was using this fact anyway to tease Illya and divert his attention from more complicated things, at the expense of the albino girl.

"I understand the situation," says Scathach, completely ignoring the magical girls' bickering, "We can start training next week. I don't think you'll be able to do much in the next few days anyway."

I simply nod at his statement. With the fact that the remaining class cards had already appeared or were on the verge of doing so I could not exhaust myself before fighting them, nor could I reduce my armor to scrap, since the Astrea was in really bad shape. Probably all the whole damage and most of the damage to the armor's outer plating will be repaired by tonight, but depending on where the next class card appears I will use another armor, since we will probably be in a forest to face Assassin, or somewhere similar, considering our luck.

Armor aside, I still needed to recover anyway, and within a couple of days at most my prosthesis to replace the lost arm will also be ready. I will need a few days to get used to the weight and adjust its radius so I have no objection to waiting.

"Take away a curiosity: what are you going to do with the class cards once you collect them?" asks Ajuka, raising a rather fair point that had not yet been discussed "Ruby and Sapphire came here chasing the cards, but your creator has not decided what to do with them next?"

[We should ask the grand master once we rejoin him] murmurs the blue wand, floating next to Miyu, looking thoughtful [Our directives were simply to retrieve them, he gave us no further orders given the hurry he was in. Jack-sama, what do you think we should do?]

I blink at the kaleidostick's sudden question.

"Why are you asking me?" I ask when everyone has turned to me.

[Yes, why do we have to listen to him?] grumbles Ruby annoyed, seeing her sister turn to me again for guidance.

[Silence, née-san] Sapphire responds completely unconcernedly, wincing at the pink mystic code [He has been guiding us so far; therefore, I trust his judgment on the matter. I have tried to contact the grand master several times without success; so, for all we know it could come in a few days, as well as in a few years. In case it does, it would be good to have some guidelines on what to do in case he doesn't show up for a long time; after all, class cards are very dangerous objects]

"I agree" agrees Miyu "You are reckless, but you are also the one who has taken the best courses of action in our circumstances. I'd rather hear your plans."

"I...don't know much about magic and all that; so, I leave the decisions to you," Illya commented, not too sure what to do.

"I trust Onii-chan's judgment," replied Kuro without hesitation.

So their gazes settled on me again after the magical girls gave their opinions. Honestly, it did not take me more than a few seconds to find the most suitable course of action according to my standards.

"Once I retrieve all the cards, I will try to pull out the spirits they contain and then destroy them," I reply without too much trouble, earning me several curious looks.

[Are you sure it is wise to get rid of such a resource?] asks Sapphire confusedly.

"They are more of a crutch than an asset. At least for Miyu and Illya," I state bluntly, "Until now, I've made you use the powers of those heroic spirits because we didn't have time to prepare for fighting class cards since they arrived without any warning. Parameters and abilities of a servant enclosed inside a card drop by at least one or two degrees compared to the servant counterpart, plus their skill set and weapons are unfortunately restricted to the class compared to what they had in life. If we had even one or two months to train Miyu and Illya, they would have been able to get rid of the corrupted servants without any problem, since you don't have such a restriction and in the long run, they will become stronger without the class cards. I mean, Illya brought out during her first battle Royale firepower comparable to an anti-army noble phantasm, even though she got a boost from Kuro on that occasion. With the potential the two of them have, they could easily surpass that level in no time with the right training."

The two magical girls looked at each other, skeptical, but they did not protest.

[...considering how much they improved just during this week despite having no previous training, I can understand why he thinks so] agrees Sapphire [But why would he pull defeated servants out of the cards?]

"Except Archer who has voluntarily passed on some of his knowledge and skills to me, more or less, we are pretty much using their powers without restraint or permission for our gains while they are imprisoned in there, even if it's because of the circumstances," I reply without much ado, "I suppose we owe them at least that since we barely got by thanks to them in the first place. If that's not possible, I suppose I'll just destroy them."

"Now I feel a little guilty using class cards," murmurs Illya, hearing my reason.

"Mn..." Miyu makes a contemplative sound, but she agrees with her friend.

"Well, given the situation, there's not much we can do about it," Kuro simply says, trying to cheer up her peers, "We just have to finish this and apologize to them later, I guess."