Goldie's desperate struggle left Miss Manaka Sajyou somewhat stunned. She quickly understood what this cornered king was trying to do.
"The Sword of the End, Enki? Heh." Looking up at the sky, Manaka Sajyou was completely unconcerned. To be more precise, her current thoughts were undoubtedly:
This is perfect!
You did great, Mr. Goldie!
I was just thinking how troublesome it would be to deal with all those Servants one by one!
If this one great flood can wipe out all those annoying people, it will definitely save me a lot of time.
She eagerly awaited the great flood of Napištim, woven from immense mana and magical sigils.
However.
Before the anticipated spear of light could land and summon the world-ending deluge, another strange and repulsive surge of immense mana rose from behind her.
"Swoosh—!"
It was an extremely slender crystal arrow. The air seemed to freeze.
What happened next made Goldie's eyes widen in disbelief.
The crystal arrow exploded, shattering and covering the entire beacon of the Sword of the End. The beacon's mana began to dissipate along with it, turning into a shower of crystal mana fragments that scattered across the night sky, creating a strangely beautiful scene under the moonlight.
...The Sword of the End was stopped?
He was filled with shock and uncertainty.
It was true that the Sword of the End wasn't unstoppable, but to block it, one would need to withstand the immense mana he had accumulated within it.
The power of that single instant was definitely no less than a full-power strike from his Ea.
"Pure power... no... that feeling." His Sha Naqba Imuru glimpsed a sliver of the truth.
But.
The most important thing right now was the person who had stopped his Noble Phantasm.
Without a doubt, they had become the focus of this entire battle. Manaka Sajyou frowned in displeasure and looked behind her.
On the cliff.
A girl dressed in a form-fitting Flame-Chaser outfit stood there, her snow-like hair flowing behind her in the night breeze.
With eyes like rubies and pointed, elf-like ears, the white-haired girl lowered the magnificent crystal bow in her hands.
"It's you, you thieving cat!"
Manaka's mood instantly went from cloudy to stormy.
"If that arrow had fallen, the city would have been destroyed!"
"What does that have to do with me?" Manaka Sajyou sneered.
She wasn't the one who unleashed the flood. Besides, so what if this world was destroyed?
She didn't care anyway.
For Miss Manaka, the only thing she wanted to do right now was be with her beloved Prince!
---||---
On the hillside.
Elysia, who could clearly hear their exchange and understood Manaka's way of thinking, raised an eyebrow. "There seems to be a big problem with her personality."
"That's only natural. After all, Manaka was born with everything, and because of that, everything has lost its meaning to her."
"You know, omniscience and omnipotence... for those who are not mentally prepared, it's a terrifying poison."
"Like a child holding a sharp weapon."
"Indeed... so that's why you want to save her?"
"It's not about saving her. You know me," the girl said, shaking her head at Elysia's question. "For me, for you, for everyone else, I always hope for self-salvation."
"As for what I can do, it's more like a little push. Of course, it could also become an insurmountable shackle."
"Ahem~ I don't regret it one bit~" Elysia chuckled lightly.
To this, [Illya] just smiled helplessly.
"That was your choice to make..."
"But that child, Manaka Sajyou, is different."
"Speaking of which, she's somewhat similar to you, but... her feelings are much heavier, and much more obsessive."
"Well... I don't dislike it."
"But in reality, I still prefer that child, Illya~"
"The path she has to walk is no easier than Manaka's."
"I can see that, but... there's no need to look so far ahead~ You know, while the result is important, you can never abandon the process~"
---||---
During their conversation, Miss Illya, facing Manaka Sajyou, was getting angry.
"What do you take this city for?!"
Why! Why can she say something so detached!
"It's hard to believe. Don't you have even that level of resolve?"
"It's a battlefield, of course."
"In the end, magecraft is this kind of ugly thing."
"If you don't even understand that, then stop shamelessly clinging to my Prince and give him back to me, you thieving cat!"
"Hmph, hmph, although I dislike that woman... but..." Goldie interjected with a cold laugh.
"It seems you don't understand any of this."
"Naive little girl, war is a bloody struggle where both sides bet their lives."
No matter how you sugarcoat or glorify it, you can't change its fundamental nature.
The Servants who participate in this Holy Grail War have already been punished by reality.
"War... magecraft..."
Muttering these two words, Miss Illya froze on the spot.
For some reason, she was reminded of this world's Kiritsugu and his cold determination.
Willing to abandon his family for a vague ideal, destroying all that was beautiful without a care...
That kind of thing... isn't it the complete opposite of what I'm striving for!
That kind of thing... is wrong!
...Maybe, just maybe, it's right!
But...
It's unacceptable!
For some reason, Illya felt a heat rising in her chest.
An uncontrollable emotion... perhaps anger. She didn't understand what it was... she just wanted to vent it all out.
"You can't do that~"
A sweet, girlish voice echoed in her mind, stopping Miss Illya's impulse.
"This power shouldn't be wielded with anger."
Undeniably, anger was a powerful force.
After all, one of her own comrades was very good at using his burning rage to unleash astonishing power.
However.
This power, Elysia's power—it couldn't be used as crudely as Kalpas used his.
A gentle voice whispered in her ear, and Miss Illya couldn't help but relax.
Her emotions became much calmer... and correspondingly, her anger subsided.
---||---
"For a first time, the effect is not bad."
"Ahem, it is the first time that child is using my power... she's a little clumsy, but she'll get used to it."
"Now... it's up to her~"
---||---
During their conversation, Illya felt her mind become clear.
She could now look directly at the anger she had felt before... It felt... strangely wonderful...
Gently touching her chest, Miss Illya could intuitively feel something she had never felt before. What was it?
Hmm... that's right. It's the desire for a happy ending.
Just as big sister Elysia reminded me.
This feeling should absolutely not be treated with anger!
...A sharp sense of danger arose in her heart.
Almost instinctively, Miss Illya raised the crystal bow in her hands.
"CLANG—!"
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Before her was a handsome, somewhat surprised face, and a crimson long spear.
It was Lancer!
Mr. Pretty Boy!
"Tch."
Manaka Sajyou snorted in displeasure.
"I didn't think you'd be able to react!"
"To think you'd sneak attack while I was distracted!"
"There's no mercy on the battlefield, young lady... and to even resort to a sneak attack, it truly goes against the chivalric code... I'm glad you were able to block it."
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne appeared, his body covered in bleeding cuts from the crystal fragments.
Landing gracefully on her heeled feet, she stood firm, her gaze resolute as she looked at Diarmuid and Manaka in the distance.
She took a deep breath.
"I will win this Holy Grail War!"
Not to have some wish granted by the so-called Grail. Even if the Grail was as amazing as they said, her wish would never be entrusted to something like that, unlike her father, Kiritsugu.
Her ideals, she would create them with her own hands, bring them about with her own hands! Realize them with her own hands!
Only then would it have meaning!
Everything else—
"I will defeat them all!"