So, after TOO long, here we are finally. I'm alive and have continued the fic in the meantime (I currently have to finish writing chapter 13), but I've had a lot of trouble finding beta readers, unfortunately. The old man took care of the translation, but since the last chapter, I changed several beta readers because either they didn't do what they said, or they simply disappeared, so at a certain point I had to ask Toska (whiteDrgonSky) to correct the chapters. It's also ready on the 9th, but I'll post it for some reason next week.

There have been several innovations in the meantime, such as:

I opened my discord server ( /NhmSr3vapt). Lots of authors have one from what I've seen, so I decided to make one too while I was at it, since I had time to spare.

Project P has been shelved in real-life and logistical issues, so I can't spend all my time writing, rip.

It's great, definitely great maybe, but I might touch up some chapters at the beginning and change Archer to do a scene that came to mind a while ago, which I talked about with Old Man and Toska. The problem is that it would delay the release of the following chapters due to the changes to be made to... I don't know exactly how much. Maybe I'll open a poll and let you choose. Let me know what you think then.

I'm catching up on danmachi (main, sword oratory, and also astrea record) so maybe, I could put something out about that. I do not know. It depends on whether I'll still be inspired or not after finishing reading (in Italy we're a long way behind unfortunately and I'm getting annoyed).

With the big news out of the way, let's get to the reviews:

-hnh058513: yes, I saw it. But considering that even though it's fairies it's still a series about magical girls. I honestly can see the old troll bringing a new body for Kuro out of nowhere, or even Miyu using her powers to undo the event/change them since she has an infinite source of energy thanks to Sapphire.

-IsekaiFanBoi: thanks

-Sagittipotenta: always happy to exceed expectations ^^

-Guest (ita): when and if I write a more fairy-focused fic I will keep a note of it, but now I definitely won't rewrite this one from scratch again.

-Gwynx: Most of the science stuff will come from Gundam (there's so much stuff to use), but maybe I'll give it a little thought, it depends on how and how inspired I am.

Well, now I hope you join my discord server and liven it up a bit, as well as wish you happy reading. We'll see you again at the next update ^^

(read the note at the end of the chapter)

I looked around and observed the industrial area. Everything seemed to have gone well. The space around me seemed to be an exact copy of the one in which I made the jump, and besides the diameter of about two kilometers, one could see no further because the mirror world was blurry. The state of my armor also shows no abnormalities. I proceed to disconnect with a command sent with the Alaya-Vijnana the additional GN capacitors, which I had prepared for the occasion, now completely emptied, and check the energy of the armor, which has dropped to 98 percent.

"Does it take half of Astrea's energy to jump from one dimension to another?" I mutter not asking anyone in particular. "Or maybe it's just the lack of optimization that wastes a colossal number of particles?"

The extra GN capacitors contained 3.5 giga joules of particles inside them, half the capacity of the Astrea...

An audible sound warns me of an approaching enemy, and I turn my gaze toward the roof of a large shed. Up there, with the moon behind it, is a humanoid figure. It is a man, without the upper part of his leotard, leaving his chest exposed and revealing a rather unique tattoo design on his chest and abdomen. His shoes have very high heels and he has a long tail. Her body is covered with black bony armor, looking very beastly. I could not see his face as his head and shoulders were covered by the reddish-black armor, more like the head of a mutated animal with a large red horn sword, while half of his arms had turned into... paws (? ) ending in long, sharp blood-red claws.

"...I'm starting to hate these cards." I couldn't help but grumble aloud as the beast man who was Cu Chulainn Alter launched himself at me, proving to be even faster than Altera and Scathach (while she held back).

I barely managed to move before the asphalt ground opened into a crater the size of a medium-sized mansion. The small shock wave raised a dense cloud of dust as I moved away. I caught the ARC on my back and fired a hunting shot, which flew toward him like lightning, but, to my dismay, the Berserker turned around swinging one of his clawed hands, breaking my broken ghost.

Before I could say or do anything, I instinctively raised Arondight just in time to parry a paw that launched me toward one of the sheds. I burst through the walls crossing them from side to side, crashing into one of the scaffolds under construction, which collapsed on top of me.

I gritted my teeth when I felt my body aching from that evil backhand, and got up, shaking off the rubble, disoriented after being used as a glorified wrecking ball. I looked absentmindedly at my projection and saw the blade splintered on one side by the absurd brute force of the corrupted manifestation. On the armored forearm were several cuts, but fortunately they were not very deep, leaving the underlying structure intact.

"Yes, I hate these things," I conclude with a grimace as I replace the ruined projection with a new one.

Cu Chulainn responded with a growl as he charged at me.

The Astrea's thrusters hum as I launch forward, meeting him halfway. I deflect his claws once more, not trying to parry his frontal attack because it would have ended exactly as before, and successfully deflect their trajectory, leaving the corrupted servant unbalanced. Arondight glows blue as it absorbs the converted mana and with a sword strike, enhanced by Lancelot's technique, the servant is shot.

Back to the magic trio, things were ... tense. Painfully tense, both for the twins and for those around them. Even Miyu, socially inept as she is, could sense this without trouble.

The day had begun when Sella had woken her and Illya for breakfast. Jack was more far-sighted than ever, and knowing that he did not want to see them, he had asked Kuro to thin out his school uniform and the books he would need for classes, but, apparently, no apologetic message or anything, much to Miyu's irritation.

Once they were ready, the girls came down for breakfast and it was...awkward to say the least.

Illya had tried to break the ice with Kuro, awkwardly to say the least, to which she had responded equally awkwardly as if neither of them knew how to deal with the other. She hoped that the two mystic tails could help them, but for some reason, they were nowhere to be seen; so, Irisviel tried to include them in the conversation, cheerful as usual, seemingly heedless of her daughters' discomforts and problems. Leysritt was, well, Leysritt, and as she was wont to do, at one point she did or said something that infuriated the worried Sella, who then proceeded, or at least attempted, to discipline her, starting an argument that lasted for a long time of the breakfast but at least relieved some of the annoying tension.

Even though it had never really left.

Things were not much better at school, to the point that Miyu was trying to humor the four classmates who usually follow Illya in their conversations, in a desperate attempt to ease the awkward atmosphere that had developed between the three of them.

As expected, they proved useless and a complete waste of time.

The saving grace came in the form of the equally annoying teacher Fujimura Taiga, whom she had assigned to do group work. Their class had been assigned the task of preparing a play for the last day of school before the vacations so that they could then donate the proceeds to charity; so with that in mind, they got distracted enough while working on the storyboard and other things to make things seem normal.

Miyu still didn't know whether to thank the frustrating blonde with the equally annoying wannabe mangaka or bury them for all the chaos they had sown all day with their total lack of seriousness. They had helped Illya and Kuro, but they were still very loud and annoying...

The school day continued normally and she went home with her two friends to do homework, even stopping for dinner since she had been invited to stay again.

She honestly didn't feel like seeing Jack yet, so it wasn't necessarily a problem...

"How did we end up like this?" asks Miyu, completely lost.

Einzbern's residence, despite belonging to a German family, is actually in the classical style since Irisviel's husband was Japanese and settled here, and she later discovered to her dismay to be Emiya Kiritsugu. Initially, it was supposed to be a temporary home, but then they settled here permanently to raise Illya, although the parents and Maya, Kiritsugu's colleague/lover, continue to travel the world because of their profession, which has turned out to be hunting unaffiliated or escaped mages/creatures from the various factions and organizations in the world that risk exposing the supernatural to the rest of the world. Irisviel when she is not with her husband and Maya engages in the family business, selling mainly alcohol in Europe.

However, the house is identical to her brother's in the other world, and the bathroom was very large, enough for four or five people to wash comfortably, considering how little space she, Illya, and Kuro occupy, they had no problem with comfort even in the bathtub that was meant to comfortably accommodate two adults.

"Since something seems to be bothering you since yesterday, I thought a nice bath might clear your head." replied the Irisviel matriarch serenely, relaxing and immersing herself in the water, with her two daughters at her sides and Miyu between her legs.

It was rather awkward to be naked in front of someone, even if they were all girls, especially since there was something about Irisviel that ... she would not say disturbed her, but something very close. To say that it had been difficult for her to figure out how to approach this particularly eccentric woman would be an understatement. She had absolutely no idea what to do or say most of the time because she was too unpredictable for adequate preparation.

"All right, but...why are we bathing together?" asked Illya equally confused by the sudden strange situation that had arisen.

"Well, I am still tired from the business trip; so, I thought I would relax by taking a bath and listening to your problems in the meantime." replied the German woman without any concern. "Perhaps I can also enjoy some intimacy with my beloved daughters and their friends."

"...Weren't you supposed to finish a job in Egypt or something before Christmas?" asks Kuro distractedly, leaving herself soaking in the hot water. "Is it okay to keep you here all this time?"

That was the eldest daughter's attempt to deflect the discussion that everyone knew was coming, but, unfortunately, her mother intended to force them to make peace with what had happened, even though none of them had said anything about the battle with the killer.

"Oh? Is it a problem if I come back unannounced?" teases Iri, playfully pinching the older twin's cheek.

"No, not really..." replied Kuro resigned and embarrassed at the fact that her attempt had been shot down effortlessly.

"As the vacations are approaching, I have been trying to hurry so as not to miss your play this year, and the breaking of the seal has only cemented my decision. However, Kiritsugu and Maya are finishing the last of the annoying things before returning, they will be here even before the end of the week," said Irisviel with a sly smile before her hands reached down and grabbed Illya's right breast and Kuro's left breast. "So I just had more reasons to see how my girls grow up-that is, I meant to spend intimate time with you."

"Fueee?!"

"Mom?!"

"Isn't this a bit too much?" asked Miyu, rather skeptical about the albino woman's concept of "intimacy" seeing how she playfully groped her two daughters.

"Ara, are you perhaps jealous Miyu-chan? Don't worry, you can join us too!" She cheerfully 'reassured' her, bringing her hands this time to her breasts.

"No-ep!"

The adult woman's fingers massage the sensitive flesh of her small breast, making her squeal at the boldness displayed by the adult. Miyu feels her breathing almost stop when the woman gives a couple of squeezes, sending a shiver down her spine. After a few moments of discouragement caused by the gesture she surely did not expect from her, the girl abruptly pulls away, covering the offending area with her hands.

"Mnn...slightly larger than Illya, practically an inch from Kuro. Probably only an inch or two at most." He observed Irisviel taking in the measurements of all three girls.

"Mother!" - scolded Illya, seeing her friend's face just turned crimson, much more so than her own due to Irisviel's sudden eccentricity coming out.

"Ih ih!" Irisviel turns her head to the side, seeing the three girls staring disapprovingly at her ice-breaking manner. "All right, so what exactly happened? I want to hear the details."

Seeing their mother's expression become a little more serious, the girls look at each other, a little lost at the sudden change in attitude.

"It's...complicated," replied Miyu first, trying to avoid the topic.

"Then make it simple." Countered Iri unflappably without much ado. "How did it all start for example?"

Another wave of unease went through Miyu and Illya and seeing that the two girls did not seem to know where to start, Kuro decided to take the initiative.

"Well, we sensed the class card signal and went to the jump point to enter the mirror world, as we usually do." began the older twin. "And it all went downhill from there."

"Ara? Did your plans fail as soon as the fight started?" the milf asks, covering her mouth with one hand, giving her best performance of "cute and surprised.

She was not very surprised; it was just for show and everyone knew it.

"The concealment of presence is annoying..." the little archer complains with a grimace. "Anyway, Jack took the initiative as usual and led us throughout the battle, as his armor was the only thing able to sense the assassin and his pawns, who were using bows and arrows for his assassins."

"Mm... what happened?" asks Iri curiously, showing no sign of upset.

"He tried to take us down with a shot from a fair distance, Jack intercepted it however long before he could do so," Kuro continued, making the two female peers uncomfortable. "Assassin proved to be more intelligent and receptive than the other class cards. He analyzed us throughout the battle, sending waves of expendable pawns to study us before deciding how to continue..."

"And then what?" asked Irisviel again, seeing that her eldest daughter had paused, undecided how to continue.

"He...neutralized Jack's surveillance drones, then started specifically targeting Illya after she panicked." the memory of how she had messed things up causes the albino girl to lower her head in displeasure, fully aware that she had endangered the whole group her cowardice. "Jack decided to use her as bait so he could flush out the killer, and Miyu broke the formation we had taken to keep us from being surrounded and offered her help."

"I see," replied Irisviel simply, confusing those present with her lack of reaction.

"What, that's it?" asked Miyu confused and shocked, even beginning to get angry as she noticed that Ilya's mother did not show any tension or anger at what was told to her. "Jack used your daughter as bait in that crazy plan and this is all your reaction?!"

"M-Miyu, really no." Illya tried to calm her friend, who had stood up with strained boils. Kuro had prepared to move to stop her if things took a turn for the worse.

"What should I tell you? It was a good plan actually." the calm reply of Irisviel makes the girls stop. "Don't misunderstand, I don't like to know that my daughters are in danger, but in the end, it was you who signed up for this hunt with all the risks that entails. The fact that Illya found herself in such a position against an opponent who could notice and exploit her weaknesses was a given, you simply had never encountered anyone doing such a thing before given the abnormal state of the servants who appeared."

Of all the things she could say, Miyu certainly did not expect this from her.

"But...Illya was..." stammered the otherworldly girl, completely bewildered. "How can you say such a thing about her?" she asked horrified, sensing the naturalness with which her mother gave the shocking answer.

"Honey, the supernatural is a horrible and merciless world. These things are the order of the day. Any strategy is valid during a clash to the death." replied Irisviel under her breath, gently stroking and hugging the head of Illya who stared at her as bewildered as Miyu. "Kiritsugu did the same thing to me during the Holy Grail War."

The sudden revelation surprises the three.

"Tou-san...?" asked Ilya, puzzled.

Kiritsugu was a strong piece for her mother, she, and by extension Kuro, knew; therefore, the albino girl learned not to ask questions about him. Neither to her nor to Sella or Liz, unless her mother raised the subject. They were indeed married, there were few submissives, but things between the two of them were ... strained, to put it mildly, for the first few years she could remember. All she knew was that they had had a bad fight when Illya was little, but other than that nothing else.

"Yes. Kiritsugu was...he is a brooding and conflicted person. He spent most of his life facing countless battles to achieve a utopia that could never be realized, which made him incredibly full of self-loathing. To pursue his dreams, he tried to distance himself from his emotions, acting like a machine, doing whatever was necessary to achieve his goal." explains Irisviel with a somewhat resigned and sad expression at this fact. "During the war, I acted as Foreigner's apparent master, the servant he had summoned, while my husband acted in the shadows to eliminate the other masters ... or at least, that was the initial plan. Foreigner was a very eccentric fellow, so for one reason or another, he twisted all our plans. I doubt I would have survived the war if he hadn't."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The girls stare in silence at Irisviel, with very mixed thoughts about it, especially the two sisters. Having heard little or nothing about Kiritsugu's work until the day before, and even then, it is only general hints, but she knows that, as Irisviel had just described him, he is a ruthless man, to say the least, while "working." None of the girls were sure they wanted to know the details, but the twins were very grateful to the unknown servant for disobeying his summoner.

"What I'm trying to say is that sometimes we have to do things we don't like to protect the people we care about." Irisviel continued again. "After getting to know him, I can say with absolute certainty that Jack is the exact opposite of Kiritsugu in this regard. Instead of sacrificing ten, a hundred, or a thousand people to save a greater number, he would burn the world to protect the few people he cares about if necessary. I'm sure you have realized this during this week, haven't you?"

They had seen it more than they wanted to. Miyu had seen it with Archer, and especially with Saber when he had thrown them away and been left alone to fight an enemy he could not defeat on his own because ... they had frozen and he had to protect them. They had been petrified by the absurd power of God's scourge. He had shown in many ways how much he would be willing to do for them, even when they were not in mortal danger, as when he helped Illya train or helped Kuro fit into society, to live the life she had previously been denied.

"But...he used Illya as bait..." Miyu's argument did not convince even her, much less the others present.

"Yes, and it was as difficult a decision for him to make as it was for you to follow his plan," I replied in a muffled voice.

"There had to be another way..." murmurs Miyu, trying to convince herself more than the others. "If...if..."

'If what?" was the silent question asked by Irisviel as he looked at her, aware that there were many things left unsaid, but she was determined not to ask anyway.

She knew inside that she was wrong, but it was easier for Miyu to get angry at Jack than to admit that he was right. If he was right, then it meant that despite the power the girl had gained and the training she was doing, she was still weak and needed to be protected. Just as her real brother had protected her from the Ainsworths. Just as he then protected her from Angelica. Just as Jack has continued to do since he found her in the snow.

Her almost total lack of self-preservation since they started fighting class cards stemmed from the fact that she wanted to fight, as a way to convince herself that she was now strong and could take care of herself, even though she had nothing to prove to anyone. She did not need to fight to survive in the world she had landed in, for thanks to her brother and Jack, she had everything she needed to live in peace.

Did this mean that Jack had been in constant danger from him since he had made that decision? On the other hand, it had been his brother's wish that had brought them together; so didn't that mean that Jack had never had a choice to begin with?

That thought almost made her feel shattered. She wanted to throw up.

Because of his brother's desire for the grail on the altar, would Jack be forced to fight to defend it no matter what? No matter how strong she would become, would he keep pushing further and further because of that desire? Would her friends do the same?

Was her existence a curse for anyone connected to her in any way?

He wanted to scream and wriggle at the thought of such a situation.

"Miyu? Are you okay?"

She is distracted from her thoughts by her new best friend, who looks at her worriedly. She distractedly noticed that Kuro and Irisviel were also staring at her in the same way.

...No, no, wait, thinking rationally, if her friends were magically 'controlled' to be her 'friends,' she would not be able to regard them as such once she found out. With her desire, her brother pushed her toward people who cared about her. She was sure of that. So they were genuine. They had to be because of the way he expressed his desire at the altar.

Jack's problem, however, remains.

"I..."

"Are you worried about him?" asks Iri in a gentle tone causing her to stop once again.

"Yes." She finally admits, returning to her seat with a sigh. She brings her knees to her chest as she tries to find the right words to express herself. "Jack is...incredible. He can do everything on his own. He has never relied on me for anything. It's as if acting alone is the most natural thing for him. He didn't even lift a finger to fight the class cards, I'm sure he would have succeeded anyway if I hadn't always been in his way..."

Those were her honest thoughts. Even during the battle with Archer, she had the feeling that the unpredictable armored teenager kept moving further and further away each day, leaving her behind. She could see him after each class card as his technology evolved at a speed bordering on the point of ridiculous to take down the next target more and more efficiently.

She did not need to observe Illya to know that she felt the same way.

"He could have done it by himself, too, huh?" repeated Iri as he looked at Miyu carefully. "Do you think so?"

"Huh?" Miyu looks at her confused.

"Let's get out." suddenly announces Iri as she stands up. "It will start to make our heads spin if we stay in the water too long."

My back slams against a random wall for the umpteenth time, demolishing the facade of the last warehouse in this area.

"I understand you like to break things, but will you stop using me as a walking wrecking ball!?" I growl, getting up, very sore. I am sure some of my ribs are fractured in several places, along with Arondaight.

Cu Chulainn is such a pain in the ass. I know he is one of the strongest Celtic heroes, but here he is simply ridiculous! With Curruid Coinchenn active, his strength and stamina stats increase by leaps and bounds, combined with rune magic and battle continuation, no matter what I throw at him, he always manages to dodge, destroy, or neutralize any of my attacks. Since he can regenerate with active runes, which passively collect mana in the air, the amount he wastes fighting is negligible, thus making him exaggeratedly longer-lived than a distorted, stray heroic spirit should be!

None of the broken grade A phantasm or the like had any effect. If they had, the bastard was recovering too quickly to be relevant in any way. I caused the most damage by casting Ig-Alima and Sul-sagana on him, but it was difficult to replicate the divine constructs outside my dark reality.

The green field cutting through the thousand mountains had managed to break through his armor and cause him deep wounds, but with his absurd brute strength, the bastard had managed to stop him after I had used the divine construct as a projectile and used it himself to destroy the other.

The horizon of the dawn purifying the seas had managed to give him some nasty burns from head to toe, as its flames exceeded 100,000 degrees, but, again, he had already almost recovered from those blows.

My circuits, on the other hand, not so much.

So yes, overall the situation is pretty bad. On the other hand, this bastard is supposed to be a "potential threat capable of destroying the world" with a grail, so the fact that I am still alive after almost a full hour and the structural integrity of the Astrea is still above 80% is a good sign all things considered?

The doubt, however, remains. How the fuck do I kill it? I have used almost every kind of broken phantasm I could think of, with little result. The only things I can think of that could hurt him are Nine Screw or Excalibur, but...

" GRAAAAAAH"

The roar of the enraged Berserker made it clear to me that he would not leave me enough time to charge either of them.

The distorted and still half-burned hero emerges from the burning rubble that covers more than half of the mirror world.

I quickly extract Excalibur from its container, after Arondight broke to parry Berserker's last attack.

" Bedivere, Palamede ...!"

I barely make it in time to remove two restraints before Cu Chulainn catches up with me, as I unfortunately planned. I swing my weapon to deflect the Servant's sharp claws. The frame of the Astrea squeaks and creaks noisily, and I even feel my arms ache from the effort as if to demonstrate once again the huge gap in the brute force department between me and the distorted hero.

Thinking quickly, I try to release Excalibur. Astrea can generate massive amounts of energy, but it has no function similar to mana explosion. If I had to make a comparison, I would say that its transfer ability is similar to Altera's star crest, but the difference is that I can only transfer it into receivers instead of using it to strengthen limbs.

The point is that even though I cannot invoke his name, I can still unleash his power, however restricted by restrictions, because proto-Excalibur uses his, not amplifies it like Artoria's version.

The blade of my sword is enveloped in light and explodes, hurling the enemy away, who rolls for about fifty meters, stunned, before getting up and snarling, when he realizes that two claws on his paw have broken off, and the burns extend over his limb and the left side of his torso.

I look at him surprised too, I honestly didn't expect to be able to hurt him, but then I hear the sword...hum? Fairy letters dart out. Are they reacting to Cu Chulainn? It's...possible, I suppose. After all, he is a threat capable of destroying the world at full power. It probably hasn't reached that level yet because I attacked it hours earlier than usual when we got the signal that the class card was ready to leave the mirror world. Although it is not Merlin's goal. Too easy to find, not to mention that there are people more powerful than him still roaming in this age. Will that be why the restrictions have not yet been automatically reactivated after release?

"Well, I don't have time to worry about that right now," I mutter to myself, watching the blackened and confused berserker launch himself at me again. " Lancelot- !"

The blade once again glows gold and collides with the enemy's black claws. Another powerful blast of sacred energy, much more powerful than the previous one, hurls the servant away. The golden mana also mows down the ground, sweeping away debris and rubble. The extraordinarily strong gust of wind created by the blast wave puts out nearby flames. And it makes my armor squeak loudly.

Cu Chulainn screams angrily at the new gash in my chest and throws debris at me, which I have no difficulty cutting with surgical precision, several times. Seeing that it was useless to throw beams and walls at me, the Berserker this time lifts and throws a crane. I made no unnecessary effort to break it and launched myself sideways with a thrust of the thrusters, avoiding being run over.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his dark figure only a couple of meters away from me. I would not have been able to move in time to avoid its claws, so I threw Excalibur, releasing it again.

A loud explosion resounds in the empty world as a tower of light flashes in the night.

Since neither of us had stable supports, the shock wave hurled Berserker and me in two opposite directions, causing us to crash a hundred meters from the crater opened by my sword.

Cracks appear on the arms of the Astrea due to excessive stress. In a way it makes sense. So far, I had taken damage, and even though I had released only three restraints, Excalibur had more than doubled its power, reaching that of an anti-army noble ghost if it released only short bursts, with which I struck several times in the last minute alone.

"Seriously, how the fuck does Artoria use it on repeat?" I am not complaining to anyone in particular.

My bones creak as I stand up and wince, clearly feeling that I broke tons of things with the last stunt, but I cannot hear it clearly because I am a little groggy. My head feels quite light…could it be a concussion?

"Grr...rrh...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRHH!"

Berseker didn't even give me time to clear my head because he had already charged like a rabid dog.

Miyu sits on the edge of the double bed, distractedly watching Irisviel comb her daughter's hair in front of the mirror in her room. Kuro initially did not have much manual dexterity, so Miyu combed her hair, and then the tanned girl learned just by watching her repaid the favor. She feels more relaxed physically, but inside she is still a mess because of the doubts that weigh heavily on her actions and recent events. Not to mention that the class card should be arriving in an hour or two at the most if she sticks to the time slot in which the others roughly appeared.

"I can see from your expressions that you are still puzzled." the married woman says distractedly, brushing Ilya's hair.

Miyu jumps slightly when she is read again that she was making a real effort to hide her thoughts.

"I...don't know what to say to Jack..." she admits uncomfortably.

She had been unnecessarily hostile toward him, even abusive considering that he was trying to help her in her self-imposed quasi-suicide mission by preventing her from getting killed on several occasions due to haste or in the heat of the moment. So now she is extremely embarrassed at the idea of having to interact with him after her somewhat childish and inappropriate outbursts since she had not even tried to understand him to feel better about herself from what had transpired in the bathroom discussion.

Irisivel smiles upon hearing her.

"You are very concerned about him, aren't you?" In the end, it was not a specific question. "All three of you."

"I...am not good at fighting..." replied Illya first, her shoulders slumped, a little discouraged. "I had started of curiosity and since Jack-san was going out of his way to help me, I thought I should do my best, but...yesterday I messed up, endangering others as well..."

"Well, you got stuck at the worst possible time with the killer." agrees her twin.

Illya's shoulders droop further as she remembers that episode.

"Kuro!" hisses Miyu to the other girl.

"It's useless for you to do that, yesterday could have ended very badly because of her" she replies indifferently. "And yours, too."

The accusation at the end makes the raven-haired girl gasp.

"Bu-this is..."

"It's the truth, pure and simple," Kuro says unceremoniously. "Look, I don't know your history with the cards or who created them-" the mention of her unknown past makes Miyu stiffen, too nervous and uncomfortable to open that chapter especially now to that particular question "-but if you want to fight you have to stay focused and not put your teammates in yesterday's situation, although it's hard to hold back because you're emotionally involved with both the people and the events that happen."

"Is...it the best choice?" asks Illya doubtfully, drawing the attention of those present. "Yesterday we were almost defeated because I had lost my patience and couldn't do anything anymore. When the situation got complicated, I messed up...in the end, I was just a burden and it caused problems for everyone..."

"Aahh, you are a hopeless idiot!" says Kuro extremely frustrated, almost wanting to tear her hair out over what she heard. "How long are you going to stand there feeling sorry for yourself!? Is seriously complaining when things go a little wrong the only solution you can find?!"

Her sister's sudden aggression also makes Illya, who was slowly opening up, falter at being scolded.

"W-why are you acting like this all of a sudden?!" asks the albino girl as she gets up suddenly, beginning to get upset in turn. "I was trying to externalize how I feel! What is the harm if I'm afraid of getting us killed if I make an even worse mistake next time!"

"That's what I'm referring to!" retorts Kuro, stamping her foot on the ground in frustration. "You complain, but you do nothing to change the situation! You are afraid, but you don't even try to deal with it! You get bogged down in a tough situation, and you are always waiting for someone to come and save you! Instead of letting someone solve your problems for you, start doing something yourself if it sucks so much to be like this!"

Kuro's words touch a nerve, as Illya recoils, as if she has just been slapped.

"That's not true!" she cries back. "I was trying, trying to think of strategies and how to use my new powers, or how to be useful, but it wasn't enough! What else was I supposed to do!?"

"If you had used that empty head as you say you did, surely you should have realized by now that to stop whining like a pathetic, spoiled child would not have helped you at all!"

"W-why you-!"

As the twins shouted insults at each other, Irisviel and Miyu watched the scene somewhat lost at the sudden turn in the conversation, which had turned into a kind of debate - sort of to tell the truth.

"Ara, things seem to have worked out somewhat." chuckles Iri, covering her giggles with one hand during the performance.

"Is...is this okay?" asks Miyu rather skeptically, watching the discussion escalate to the point where her peers are almost coming to blows.

She had said that, but for some reason, Miyu found it pleasant to see them talking unfiltered again. The tense atmosphere seemed only a distant memory, much to her relief.

"Well, now I would say enough." Iri, selling that the situation is about to escalate, uses two metal wires to create fists with alchemy, then with the rotation of a finger slams them on her daughters' heads.

"Giah?!"

"Fuee?!"

The two 13-year-old girls hold their aching heads and look watery-eyed at the perpetrator.

"Fighting is not good!" The mother cheerfully scolds the two girls. "However, Illya, no matter how extraordinary a person is, being alone all the time is difficult, no matter how used to it." She warns her a little more seriously.

Continuing to massage her head, Illya looks at her in confusion.

"But...I heard Jack-san say that he will make it on his own..." Illya now looks more confused than sad and is seeking her mother's guidance.

"Do you think so?" She asked with a wistful expression as if she had seen an analogous situation over and over again. "Don't you think he said that to take charge of all the problems? Including the ones you would have had to face yourself since you were afraid."

Illya took a few moments to think carefully about her mother's words, only to feel something snap inside her.

[Trouble!]

The conversation is interrupted when the bedroom window snaps open and a familiar pink star with wings bursts in.

"Ruby?!"

[We think Jack-sama is already fighting against the remaining class card!]

"Sapphire!?"

The sudden appearance of the mystic codes somewhat surprises the younger girls.

[We heard strange energy fluctuations in the city; therefore, we went to check and found the place where the last class card would appear!]

"Wait, why do you think it's onii-chan?" asks Kuro confused and a little alarmed.

[At the point where we sensed the paper there was a magic circle, identical to the one we use to enter the mirror world] replied Sapphire deadly serious. [There was also a considerable amount of residual magic power. Every living thing has its magic signature, but the trace we found is very peculiar, too much to be confused with anyone else. Jack-sama's armor converts GN particles into raw, aether-like mana, which he then uses to power his noble ghost. There is no other person in the world with this kind of technology, as far as we know; therefore, we are pretty sure it is him]

"Why didn't you wait for us, Jack?" Miyu murmurs to herself biting her lip at the knot in her stomach that she suddenly felt.

[Well, we didn't talk to him all day, maybe he thought we wouldn't show up and decided to fight Berserker alone? It's not that far from the realm of possibility with the mechanical monster]

[In addition, there is more bad news] Sapphire warns them at once, with no small sense of urgency [The fight has been going on for a while, about an hour, long enough to force Jack-sama to use the weapon with which he defeated Lancer. Since they are still fighting, this time the enemy is likely on par, if not more so, than the saber. What do you want to do]?

That detail made Miyu and Kuro swallow in nervousness. Despite the overwhelming odds they did not lose their lives by facing Saber (more or less), but all of them were fully aware that without Jack they would have not defeated her and would probably even die in the attempt to prove the fact that they still have much to learn.

Just the thought of the pressure was enough to itch uncomfortably at the scar on Miyu's back, and she began to remember sharply how heavy her body was immediately after being hit only twice. She cannot even imagine what Jack must have felt with all the injuries he suffered in that battle.

Kuro, though significantly less traumatized by the events of two days earlier, still felt the eye of the Mind warning her of the blade that would cut her in two. There was enough to give her goosebumps.

And now they were facing an enemy even stronger than Saber?

"Let's go." the immediate response came from Illya.

"I'm glad to see you so resolute but weren't you trembling with fear until just now?" asks Kuro rather curious as to where her sudden resolution came from as soon as she chased away her restlessness.

"I-I don't want to stand on the sidelines, I want to help Jack-san just like he helped us!" announced the albino girl as she stood up.

"Fufu, then you know what you have to do, don't you?" asks Irisviel rhetorically, looking at her daughter's now sharp eyes, without a single shadow of doubt clouding them.

"Ruby!"

[Yes, yes!] The mystic code responds vigorously seeing his mistress so assertive, loosening his grip, which Illya wastes no time in grasping. [Finally, a scene that seems to fit a mahou shojo! You took your time Illya-san! Although I'm glad it happened before part 2!]

Seeing her friend so determined and confident, Miyu also makes her decision, putting aside all doubts, and deciding to prioritize what she considers more important than her fears. She sets her gaze on Sapphire, who immediately understands the silent request and approaches, handing her the handle, which the magical girl wastes no time grasping with renewed determination, intent on fixing the problems she has caused.

Both 13-year-olds blink, activating their mystic codes, and Kuro conjures her servant dress to replace her pajamas.

"Wait a minute." the girls ready to leave turned to Irisviel, who looked at them more seriously than before. "I need you to bring something to Jack, he might need it against Berseker...or save his life if things are going as bad as they seem."

"Trans-Am!"

At my command, circuit-like signs light up all over the armor structure and the Astrea glows red. I fly toward the distorted hero who charges like a rabid dog and swings his claws to try to tear me apart. I duck to avoid him and cut away the red blades that had grown back in the meantime, although I was not sure if it was because of the runes or the normal ability of servants to regenerate their bodies with prana. Cu tries to hit me with his other hand, but I intercept him again and try to cut him off. Despite tripling his strength and speed, the blackened servant still proved to be monstrously responsive, managing to use his left arm to stop Excalibur's blade midway with his brute strength, preventing me from completely cutting the right glove along with his arm. At that point I try to release an Excalibur blast, but, as if the world decided to mock me for the umpteenth time in my new life, the fairy letters flash a few times and go off. Then nothing happens.

In that tension-filled instant, I realized on the fly that too much time had passed without the true name of the sword being revealed; therefore, the thirteen restrictions were reactivated, sealing Excalibur again.

A myriad of questions and theories currently impossible to verify ran through my head, and they left as quickly as they came when Berserker took advantage of the opening to try to knock me down, but I hit him in the solar plexus with a stomping foot and knowing I would not have time to throw him off or dodge him, I push the thrusters to full throttle to pull myself out of there. The claws cut through the Astrea's armor and frame, slicing through my muscles to my already fractured or broken ribs, but fortunately, they reached no further thanks to physics. With the force with which I had struck him while he was attacking, the blackened servant is unhorsed and crashes into some rubble, even though he suffered not the slightest damage from that blow.

I could not say the same, however, about Astrea.

As I launched myself away with that movement, the trans-am suddenly stopped and the deceleration caused me to stumble. Before I could say or do anything, the icon with the remaining range of the armor, which fell below 15 percent, appeared in evidence.

"Fuck it..."

I couldn't help but curse as I stood up with a grimace. I had released Excalibur's limiters, loaded dozens of broken phantasms, and activated the trans-am. Normally it would have lasted at least a couple of minutes instead of a few seconds anyway, but I had not accounted in the heat of the moment that several GN capacitors had been damaged or destroyed, which lowered the maximum duration depending on the size of the ship. The capacitor on my chest was the largest besides the one on my back, and being in tatters I lost those minutes I would have needed to counter it, or to retreat, depending on the situation.

And considering that my circuits were so strained that they seemed on the verge of breaking down, I couldn't even decently channel the prana to project some noble phantasm. I was left with a sword I couldn't use or unlock and a barely functional armor.

Berserker stood up, growling fiercely, and lunged at me. Staggering slightly, I tried to get up to prepare to intercept him, but, to my surprise, two blades, one pink and one blue, barred Cu's way by plowing forcefully through the ground. With his mad rush interrupted, the servant was forced to throw himself to the side as a literal rain of swords, spears, axes, and a myriad of white weapons fell on him.

Three familiar figures land near me.

"Sorry we are late Jack," says Miyu, turning to look at me.

"Why are you girls here?" I ask intrigued and surprised to see them arrive so suddenly.

I hadn't even noticed them in the heat of confrontation when they arrived. How did the girls find this place? Since the card should not have given the usual peak signal, Ruby and Sapphire should not have found it like the others. Did the two mystic codes have other ways to find the cards? If so, why did they not say so from the beginning? We could have attacked the servants long before they reached their full strengths, making it exponentially easier to take them down.

"Sorry, Jack-san," says Illya suddenly in a voice full of mortification, catching my attention. "I was a fool. I got carried away by events and fought without any determination. I regarded it as a kind of dream come true, but..." Her shoulders shake slightly. "When I realized the danger was real, I began to be afraid."

"..." I watched her in silence, feeling her...outburst? Statement? Self-reflection? Undecided whether to interrupt her or not, because this was not the right time.

"But the stupidest thing I did was to run away, not thinking of anything else." she clenched her fists as I heard her start to cry in frustration. "Even though I knew very well that you were doing your best to prepare and help all of us come home alive, making up for all my shortcomings...so..." she turns to me and bows. "I'm sorry! I know it's late, but I still want to fight alongside you! Together with all of you!"

"I owe you an apology, too." Miyu continued, entering the conversation with the air of a kicked puppy. "I...I couldn't bear the idea of you continuing to hurt and endanger yourself because I accepted this mission, but...I couldn't put it into words, so I tried to suppress my feelings about it, but...I ended up taking it out on you, despite everything you did for us, not caring at all about how you felt whenever you had to make decisions involving us." she bowed as well. "I'm sorry. I was selfish and did nothing but take it out on you, but...I want to keep fighting together, Illya and Kuro until the end! You are my only and precious friend!"

I watched them both, genuinely confused by the sudden turn of events. To begin with, I had never been angry with them, I'm pretty sure I never gave the impression that I was, and I was fully aware of how difficult it had been to carry out the orders I had given yesterday. After all, the only thing I was concerned about was their safety, and I never blamed them for their reaction; in fact, I was quite sure that this would happen once the danger of the assassin had passed. I was also sure that eventually they would come, the only thing that worried me a little was their state of mind since they never contacted me during the day. I thought it was best to fight alone tonight, because having allies who obey orders unwillingly is dangerous for everyone involved, and it was not the case to have that kind of trouble against Berserker, even if it were Heracles, since he would not be as weak as in Kaleid.

"As much as I want you to make peace, we still have an enemy to take down here!" cries Kuro, who meanwhile had never stopped bombarding Cu alter, to us. "Onii-chan, take this with you, it's something from Mom!"

She threw me something, wrapped in a dark cloth, sealed with rectangular sheets that I was sure were seals of some kind. I could still feel the powerful sacred aura coming from the object, although it was noticeably muffled. I grabbed it on the fly and unwrapped it. It is a luxurious piece of equipment made of gold and decorated with blue enamel that looks more like a treasure to show dignity and nobility like a crown or staff than a weapon. There is an inscription written in fairy letters engraved in the center to show that it was not created by man.

I don't need structural analysis to recognize Avalon. I could feel a connection forming with the scabbard simply after touching it. The fairy letters glowed as Avalon broke down into particles that entered my chest.

The effect was instantaneous.

As the sheath enters my body, I feel it being pulled by my prana circuits, and a white heat spreads throughout my body. My wounds are stitched up, broken or fractured bones heal, and my internal organs return to regular function after all the wounds I had healed as if they had never been there. Even the fatigue I felt accumulating is reduced to almost zero. The effects of the sheath also reach my soul, restoring my poorly put-together circuits from the intense abuse of the last few days, where I was pushing them to the max and beyond.

All in a matter of seconds, under the astonished gazes of the two magical girls.

"Is this what Merlin meant when he told Artoria that she would not shed a single drop of blood with the scabbard in her possession?" I asked no one in particular, rather stunned by the insane regeneration we had witnessed, which made the phoenix seem like a joke in comparison. I knew what Avalon was capable of if in possession of its rightful owner, but with me? Is it because I have her sword or did Merlin have something to do with it?

I can hear Excalibur humming again as if it were purring when it became as light as a feather.

"Um, what...?" asks Illya, completely lost.

"Are you okay?" asked Miyu not too convinced of what she had just seen.

Kuro jumps toward us to avoid being hit by some pieces of buildings thrown toward her.

"I guess this is the power of Avalon, huh? How are you, onii-chan? Can you continue fighting?" the white-haired archer girl hastily asks, without losing sight for even a moment of the distorted silhouette of the advancing servant girl.

[Wait, was that Excalibur's scabbard?!]

[Nee-san, this is not the right time.] Sapphire interrupts Ruby before she can start with the questions, although I could feel the reluctance to postpone the explanations. [Jack-sama, how do we proceed?]

"I've thrown most of the broken A-grade or higher phantasms I had at him, and they barely nicked him. The few that have worked are extremely expensive to use, but the Astrea no longer has enough power to power them." I warn them. "Probably the only weapons that will work on him are Excalibur and maybe Photon Ray or Rhongomyad."

"Wow, is this kind of hassle?" asked Kuro sarcastically. "Can't we use Rule Breaker like we did with Caster?"

"We need direct physical contact, and now he is covered by his noble phantasms, and unlike the spellcaster, his skin is damn tough. He won't get stabbed twice in a row, assuming we have a chance to do it in the first place." I warn her. "That boy has the instinct and rage of a wounded animal in a cage."

"It would have been too easy otherwise." She complains. "What do we do?"

I observed Excalibur, whose letters are still flashing.

"Can you keep him busy while I prepare Excalibur?" I ask looking at them one by one.

"We don't have a choice anyway, do we?" asks Kuro rhetorically, jamming an altered copy of Hrunting into an arrow.

"Somehow we will," Illya replies firmly, though I can still see traces of discomfort and nervousness as she begins to float.

"Mmm!" Miyu makes only an affirmative sound, preparing herself.

The two girls look at each other and nod. I smile under the armor and with a mental command, blow off the Astrea's arms as I stand up, this time smoothly, to replace them with two intended pairs. I grasp the two-handed sword.

"Seal Thirteen. Beginning of the decision!"

"Bedivere-"

Hearing the older teenager begin to prepare his attack, the three girls launched themselves at Cu Chulainn, who, sensing the danger, had begun the charge against Jack like a crazed bull.

"Watch your eyes!"

Hearing Miyu's warning, Illya and Kuro trust and look away. Without wasting any time, the magical girl charges a mana sphere and turns it into a flashbang. Under normal conditions, Berserker would have paid more attention, but since this was not a lethal attack, and technically not even a dangerous one, he did not react in the slightest during his mad rush, eventually colliding with the blue bubble thrown by Miyu without blinking.

"GRUAAH?!"

At least until he exploded in a blue flash that almost melted his retinas, causing him to let out a howl full of anger and anguish.

"Gareth-"

[Magic amplification scheme completed, Thor's hammer ready to fire!] Ruby speaks, warning her partner. [Anytime Illya-san!]

This was one of the ways Ruby had thought of to best support Illya now that her magical power had weakened considerably after her separation from Kuro. Originally, it was a spell from its previous owner, Rin, prepared to deliver more powerful blows than he normally could have used. Rin initially used it with the Azoth sword, a mystical code to support and amplify user spells, and eight gems; then, she performed the eight verses spell and fired a blow amplifying it by more than a hundred times its normal attack power. Ruby did not need all these steps and, if necessary, could perform them in seconds, which saved Rin a lot of resources and time. The wand had tested it so many times that she had memorized it; therefore, she mentioned it on the way to Illya on their way here.

Eight magic circles form in front of the 13-year-old girl and begin to rotate, a sign that the magic amplification circuit is ready for use.

"Fleuer!" with her companion's okay, Illya gathers the full power of her body and fires it in the form of a magic projectile as big as she is, which colliding with Thor's hammer becomes a torrent of prana several times the size of a train.

Although the attack power is greater than that used by Illya/Kuro against Medusa, Cu Chulainn Alter is unfortunately on another level compared to the manifestation of the Rider-class servant. Feeling the attack coming, with a single blow the corrupted servant disperses the torrent of prana with pure brute force, with little resistance and barely feeling its effects.

"Lancelot-"

Illya jumps to avoid being thrown off, but with yet another display of uncommon strength and speed, Berseker disappears from her sight breaking the sound barrier and finding himself faster than the girl in pink could follow. She barely has time to look to her left, seeing him raise an arm to strike her.

Illya also sees several black-and-white Chinese swords on either side of Berserker, while with a red flash, Kuro appears above him and tries to strike the copies of Kanshou and Bakuya she wields. The sudden appearance of the twin with the phantasm anti-beast weapons gave Illya that handful of seconds needed to recover and create a prana blade to try to strike the momentarily distracted servant.

"GRAAAAH!"

"Huh!?"

"Kiaa!"

"Bellero-"

But neither of them succeeds. Cu alter parries the incoming blows with ease with the backs of his armored hands, shattering the two girls' weapons and repelling them with only the shockwave of his movements. Just as he is about to tear the two girls apart with his claws, Cu senses a new danger coming and interrupts his attack to parry the noble phantasm. Kuro takes the opportunity to teleport away, while Illya quickly flies away as a bright star falls on the servant.

"-fon!"

With the class card knight installed, Miyu riding the Pegasus charges at full speed against the enemy once her friends have moved away.

"Mordred-"

Flaunting for the umpteenth time the power that has made him a living calamity, Berserker does the unthinkable and accepts the challenge head-on, intercepting Miyu's charge midway. The crimson claws collide with the white comet, generating an extremely violent shockwave that sweeps away anything in the surrounding area and splits the earth.

Miyu continues her charge, drawing all the enormous amount of prana she has at her disposal to empower the Pegasus, and to her credit, she manages to rip off much of the servant's blackened armor, as well as pushing him back nearly half a kilometer (0.31 Miles).

But it was still not enough to defeat Cu Chualinn in a battle of attrition.

"!"

Eventually, the servant's claws rip through the prana cloak covering the magical girl transformed into a glorified white arrow, striking the Pegasus below. Miyu can only watch in amazement as she leaps away just in time to see how Berserker ripped a phantasm beast with divine protection in half, practically on par with a dragon's breath in terms of power, with only sheer brute force.

Even worse, she observes him with no small amount of dismay that the damage done was already beginning to regenerate through his runes.

"Galahad-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Miyu sees a red flash coming at supersonic speed and without hesitation activates Medusa's mystic eyes. She fails to petrify Cu Chulainn but manages to freeze him those two seconds necessary to allow Hrunting to strike his armored chest. Unable to dodge, the blackened servant is hit full force, and without being able to parry temporarily he is pushed further away from the four opponents.

The broken phantasm sank into the worn-out armor, splitting it further, but eventually, Berserker easily got rid of the effects of the mystic eyes and tore the arrow apart before it could seriously injure him or hit him directly in the core.

Miyu removes the class card, now without a mount, and uses her footstools to move away from the enemy servant, approaching Illya and Kuro.

"N-none of you?" asks Illya in a slightly cold sweat, her arms still aching from the previous close encounter.

"No, Onii-chan wasn't joking when he said that a grade-A noble phantasm isn't enough to hurt him..." commented Kuro dryly, still a little shaken by the ease with which that monster of a servant had simply swept away everything they had thrown at him.

"Mn. We only have the lancer class card left to use," says Miyu with a grimace as she sees the Berserker howling angrily nearly a kilometer/mile away.

[Don't we also have Saber and Assassin?] asks Ruby, without her usual joking tone.

[Jack-sama said to use Saber to the fullest to Include] Sapphire quickly responds [Apparently Saber has a mental debuff dangerous to humans, even though we act as a safety device, while Assassin has no access to his noble ghost]

"Gaheris-"

No one has had time to question him, when the corrupt servant rises again, more enraged than ever, angrily pointing at Jack, thus forcing the girls to re-engage with him to prevent him from getting to Jack, when the power emanating from the holy sword soars once more.

"Does anyone have any ideas? Because right now I can't think of any." Kuro asks, hopeful to hear a possible contingency plan when she can't find a way to hurt Cu Chulainn.

"...Miyu, do you think you can copy the spell I used earlier?" asked Illya after a few moments.

"Which one?" asks the friend confused by the sudden request.

[OH! Do you want to use a double hammer of Thor? I didn't think you were so pyrotechnic Illya-san!]

The albino girl's eyebrow arches at the teasing.

"Do you have any better ideas?" she asks irritated.

[I never said I don't like it! It's really exciting to see you so proactive!] The girls stare embarrassedly at Ruby for her choice of words. [What! We'll finally have screen time without the mechanical monster, if we raise the ethereal voice that resonates from time to time, let me enjoy the moment!]

[Sigh, let's just ignore it] Sapphire says simply resignedly, pulling a USB cable from one hip and maneuvering it to connect to Ruby's opposite hip [Start sharing data!]

[A-Ahn!? Sapphire, d-don't be so rude!] moans Ruby somewhat obscenely, making the three 13-year-olds wince uncomfortably, while the wand in Illya's hand moves rather ambiguously. [You went all the way too quickly! I didn't even have time to prepare my heart for this!]

[Nee-san, stop this nonsense and concentrate!] orders Sapphire suddenly, with a sound halfway between an exasperated sigh and a growl, seeing the flushed faces of Miyu and Illya. [Sorry for the uncouth attitude of Nee-san, Miyu-sama, Illya-san].

[Gee, aren't you funny, Sapphire] complains her sister Ruby, not happy that her fellow mystic code didn't follow her game. [Magic amplification scheme completed, Thor's hammer is ready to fire!].

Because of the data shared between the two of them, Sapphire had access to all her sister's data and was able to successfully recreate the amplification spell independently.

[Magic amplification scheme completed. Everything is ready, Miyu-sama]

Two sets of patterns formed in the air, a pink set and a blue set. They lined up opposite each other.

"Fleuer!"

"Shoot!"

The two sorcerers did not take it twice and fired. A sphere of purple prana passed through the mana circuit at a high rate of amplification, disproportionately increasing both the attack speed and the power behind it, enabling the projectile to break through the sound barrier and fly at insane speed to Cu Chulainn.

The blackened servant is struck with full force and overwhelmed by a large explosion that shakes the mirror world.

The three girls watch with trepidation as the dust settles.

"W-did we make it?" asks Illya with some hope, hearing the deafening silence.

A red flash flashes in the dust.

"Illya-" Miyu tries to warn her, but she does not make it in time.

A familiar iridescent shield appears in front of the girls, thanks to Kuro and her mental eyes, when a crimson flash crashes with unspeakable violence against the petals of Rho Aias, and forcefully penetrates it.

"Kuhhh!?" Kuro gasps as a stabbing pain shoots through her right arm and pushes her back.

Gae Bolg shatters like glass the first of the four petals of the bounded field, and continues its advance meeting little resistance because of the incomplete noble phantasm.

Miyu and Illya quickly return to focus after the brief and intense moment of shock, taking Kuro with them.

"Ruby!"

"Sapphire!"

Quickly understanding the request of the two magical girls, the wands begin to move prana from the bodies of the users toward Kuro through physical contact as they go to the aid of the peer to keep her anchored to the ground and prevent her from being swept away by the force of the spear.

With her two friends now constantly supplying her, Kuro directs all the prana to Rho Aias to also form the three missing petals without fear of disappearing.

After a minute that seemed to last an eternity to the girls, the dense, concentrated mana on the spear loses its sharpness, dispersing rapidly, causing an explosion.

""Kiaah?!""

Illya, Miyu, and Kuro are blown away, flying and rolling in random directions for a few moments.

Cu Chulainn watches angrily and with bated breath, having used a considerable amount of prana to regenerate from the last attack, which had almost destroyed Curruid Coinchenn with the power of a noble anti-phantasm fortress.

The runes had already regenerated all his wounds, although this time he had to draw on his vast mana reserves, plus a considerable extra, to repair and activate his second noble phantom again after regaining and setting aside Gae Bolg.

"Percival!"

A blade of light illuminates the night, ripping through the clouds of the mirror world.

"The enemy must be more powerful than we are. Approved."

"The battle must not be inhumane. Approved."

"The enemy must not be an elemental. Approved."

"The battle must be a battle against evil. Approved."

"The battle must not involve personal gain. Approved."

"The battle must not be against Humanity. Approved."

"The battle should not be against a pure in heart. Approved."

Almost two minutes. It took me almost two full minutes to release Excalibur's restraints one by one, relying only on the maximum output capacity of my circuits and my prana reserves, which now had no end in sight in any way, since the Astrea's energy was close to being depleted at this point.

"Why are you so surprised?" 'The sheath is connected to the inner sea of the world; therefore, if a threat arises big enough to justify increasing Excalibur's natural power, the sheath will provide you with the energy you need to remove the seals if you can't do it yourself at that time,' Merlin explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world 'After all, you didn't believe that the fairies created the world's greatest defense weapon with such a big factory defect, did you?

"That explains a lot, but what are you doing here?"

"The sword and the scabbard are always destined to meet, one way or another, eventually."

"No, I mean, what are you doing here specifically? Weren't you a spectator or something?'

'Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't want screen time too! It's boring to be on the sidelines all the time!"

'You?

'Fou, kyu kyu!

'Gyaah-?!

And with that, the connection is abruptly broken. Getting back to the important things-

Miyu, Illya, and Kuro did a better job than anything I could honestly ask for, there is little to say or think about that. Once they found the motivation they needed, they were able to organize and understand each other on the fly, as if they had been fighting together all their lives. It was ... incredible, honestly. It fills me with pride to see them like that, even though I feel an overwhelming desire to put that dog down for the treacherous Gae Bolg. For a moment I was afraid that one of them would be shot.

Is this what it feels like to watch your little sister grow up? Maybe that's how I feel right now.

Once the seals are removed, a golden light envelops the sacred sword and it erupts, ripping through the sky.

"Ex-"

The altered Berserker turns to me, narrowing his eyes angrily as he snarls, launching himself into a mad dash that, because of all the damage he took and the energy he wasted thanks to the three magical girls, he was unable to complete.

"-calibur!"

The golden blade roars out, mowing through the air, and overwhelming Cu Chulainn, who is immediately vaporized because of the danger he poses to the world.

The golden light engulfs the world, blinding me and ending the night of hunting that seemed not to want to end.

NA: chapter reloaded (03/07/3024) to correct the errors you wrote to me regarding this chapter, but I have read several reviews that complain about translation problems or where the terms are exchanged as in the case of Noble phantasm in noble ghost and similar also in the previous ones. Can you tell each other where and in which chapter, so that Toska can correct them? As well as any other errors that seem relevant to you. Thanks in advance.