Without a doubt, the Illya from before would not have possessed a resolve equal to that of the heroes.
But...
The desire to save her mother, the desire to protect her [Illya] and not let that awful woman take her away, the desire for the happy ending she envisioned.
These feelings flowed through her heart, finally converging within her.
And what she spoke was her heart's truest voice.
"I will win this Holy Grail War!"
It wasn't because she sought the Grail for some wish; it was because Miss Illya believed it was the right thing to do!
Ideals... magecraft... she didn't understand any of it!
But if she let these bad people continue to do as they please, then surely someone would end up crying!
She didn't want to see that. After she and Kiritsugu were separated, she saw her mother's sadness... sadness because of her, sadness because of that foolish father of hers...
She didn't want to see that again... she never wanted to see it again, no matter what!
"How dare you say that, you thieving cat!"
"It's not enough that you've taken my Prince, now you're greedily trying to claim the Holy Grail as well."
"Hmph. Although I surprisingly don't dislike that about you... you'd better prepare to die!"
"This time, I won't let you get the upper hand like before!"
Manaka Sajyou snorted coldly, and in the next moment, she raised her slender, jade-like wrist.
An immense amount of mana radiated from her body.
Then, a massive magical crest unfolded with her at its center.
"This is specially prepared for you!"
A smirk played on Manaka Sajyou's lips.
—After being bested last time, she had actually come fully prepared, intending to deal with her opponent tonight.
But surprisingly, because she had found her Prince and received his promise, Manaka had decided to let it go for a little while.
She never expected this thieving cat to deliver herself right to her doorstep.
If that's the case, then don't blame her!
"Sodom's Fire!"
With the whispered incantation, the surroundings were instantly engulfed in a great fire.
"This is..."
"It's an ancient domain-type magecraft that reenacts the power of the ten crowns of the Beast of Revelation," [Illya] saw through the essence of the spell at a glance.
As the Princess of the Root, Manaka Sajyou, who was directly connected to it, possessed innate omniscience. This granted her overwhelming talent and aptitude, giving her power equal to, or even surpassing, that of a Magus.
As a result, that child had mastered some spells that were unimaginable to ordinary people.
Like the Sodom's Fire she was currently casting.
Modeled after the holy city of Jerusalem from Christianity, it summoned the flames of judgment that incinerated the holy city. In essence, it was a catastrophic grand-scale magecraft, much like the great flood of Napištim summoned by the Sword of the End, Enki.
"Because it's a flame of punishment, all magical attacks will be absorbed and further fuel the fire... If the opponent is a high-mana output type, it's like adding fuel to the fire. And if that person happens to be a fire-attribute user..."
"It's a specialized spell targeting Illya."
Even with the Firefly card, she would have absolutely no way of escaping this.
As for destroying it... that would also be difficult.
[Illya] could see at a glance that if traditional Reality Marbles were closed-off spaces, then this one was like Jeanne's La Pucelle—an open-type Reality Marble.
"Ugh... this feeling..."
"...What's wrong, Jeanne?"
"...I don't know. My mana is being burned away..."
"That's to be expected." [Illya] sighed, looking at Jeanne's pale face.
The Beast of Revelation, also known as the Beast of 666 or the Beast of Sodom, was the ultimate enemy of Christianity as recorded in the Bible.
It was an existence even more absolute than Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies.
As one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, the Beast of Revelation's signature move was the Anti-Messiah.
For a Christian saint like Jeanne to run into a spell like Sodom's Fire, which was specifically designed to be super-effective against Christianity, was just the worst kind of luck.
"Illya, you can't let this fire keep burning, or the entire city of Fuyuki will be burned to ashes."
"I want to, but!"
Miss Illya was currently in a frantic state, flustered and overwhelmed as she retorted:
"I can't! I can't get free!"
Amidst the clash of blades, she was being tag-teamed by Lancelot and Diarmuid.
Without a doubt, seeing the reluctant look on Diarmuid's face, it was clear this was Manaka Sajyou's doing.
He was losing so much face!
As a knight, to team up with another knight to bully a little girl!
"Leave it to me. I've been wanting to test out the power of this world anyway."
"Besides, that child has gone a little too far... even if she's a cute girl, I need to teach her a good lesson."
"Alright."
"...I'll go too! I can't let that child face those two alone."
"Aren't you the Ruler?"
"...Their actions have severely impacted the progress of this Holy Grail War. As the Ruler, I have a duty to intervene appropriately!"
"Do as you please. You're the Ruler, after all."
"What about you?"
"I'm just a helpless Master. I don't have the kind of power they do."
"?"
"I've already applied buffs and support magic. It won't be any worse than what the opposing Master is doing—but speaking of which, I do have some business to take care of."
"A little... personal grudge~"
With that, [Illya] smiled.
Then, Jeanne charged headfirst into Miss Illya's battle.
Although the latter was using Elysia's card, and the power was immense, facing two top-tier Servants at once was asking a bit much, even with Elysia's card.
Fortunately, Jeanne immediately singled out Diarmuid.
...Of course, it wasn't that she didn't want to fight Lancelot.
The main reason was that she really didn't think she could win against him.
In comparison, she could at least barely hold her own against Diarmuid due to her class advantage.
"Ruler?!"
Diarmuid was surprised to see the figure who had sent him flying.
"There's no glory in two men bullying a little girl!"
"Haha... I wasn't too keen on it myself. If possible, I'd rather not fight you at all."
"But fighting you is certainly better than fighting that little one..."
"If you want a fight, I'll give you one. But I don't understand, Lancer, why are you helping Lancelot's Master!"
"Ah..."
Asked this question, Diarmuid looked crestfallen. He sighed, then twirled his spear, its tip pointing at Jeanne.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand, and it wouldn't change anything... sigh. I'm reluctant to admit it, but that woman is the master I currently serve! Words are useless. En garde, Ruler!"
Watching this scene, Manaka Sajyou was somewhat displeased.
Although she had already learned of the Ruler's existence from Lancelot, she hadn't expected them to show up at this moment and stand against her.
How troublesome.
While she didn't dislike the unexpected—knowing everything was the norm, so surprises were a rare treat—unfortunately, she had no interest in such shallow amusement right now.
After all, Miss Manaka was now single-mindedly focused on quickly dealing with these troublesome Servants, fulfilling her promise, and reuniting with her beloved Prince.
Don't waste my time with my Prince, you bastards!
But a little more time wouldn't matter.
As long as Sodom's Fire was complete, she could use the spell to burn Fuyuki, a city conceptually defined as a holy city, to acquire an enormous amount of mana.
And those meddlesome Servants would all be burned to ashes in the process!
Even that sun king hiding in his pyramid would be no exception.
After all, Sodom's Fire would burn the ley lines along with everything else.
Then it would be that pyramid's turn!
"What a shame. I'm afraid I can't let you have your way." A sweet, girlish voice rang in her ear, interrupting Manaka Sajyou's thoughts and annoying her.
Onore! I was just fantasizing about how I'd go on a honeymoon with my Prince after dealing with this mess!
Who dares to be so blind! Do you want to be burned to ashes!
Looking up, she saw an unfamiliar pink-haired girl.
She was smiling sweetly at her, but within that smile, there was an inexplicable seriousness.
"?"
Who is this person?
Manaka was confused. She had no memory of ever seeing this strange woman before.
But... for some reason, she felt a strong sense of dislike... as if she were inherently inferior!
Unpleasant! Very unpleasant!