"Come forth, Mother of all Mothers, the apex of motherhood, the primordial Mother who transcends all maternity—Tiamat!"
Tiamat: Attack Power 5000
To cut to the chase, Jiang You summoned Tiamat, a super-boss so formidable that even Raikou's entire family couldn't defeat her. Among currently known Cards, only King Hassan and Sesshouin (under specific conditions) could handle her. With Tiamat successfully summoned, the battle's outcome was virtually sealed.
"Boss, can we really take this thing on?"
Kintoki, summoned alongside, felt the primal fear in his Mountain Spirit blood. The little girl before him evoked an instinctive paralysis, his survival instincts nearly overriding his ability to think.
"...I refuse to accept this!"
Minamoto no Raikou felt the same way, but a mother's love can conquer terror—even if her maternal instincts were somewhat... distorted.
"That won't work! Just stay here and guard the house like a good girl! Tiamat's Direct Assault!"
Tiamat couldn't help but feel she was being called upon too often. While she genuinely enjoyed helping Jiang You, it seemed he was mainly using her to bully girls lately. Realizing this, Tiamat puffed out her cheeks, determined to give Jiang You a good scolding when he returned.
"Ugh... AAAAAAHHHH!"
Tiamat's energy blast sent Minamoto no Raikou flying backward. The 5,000 points of direct damage were enough to incapacitate her temporarily.
But Jiang You had underestimated Minamoto no Raikou's EX Rank Mad Enhancement. Once she set her mind on something, there was no reasoning with her. Even the weakening effect that Tiamat herself couldn't bypass had little effect on her. Dragging her recently weakened body, she crawled toward Illya like Sadako emerging from a TV screen. "Illya, don't go with her! Come back to Mommy! Come back to Mommy, please!"
"..."
The scene was so melodramatic, like a melodramatic family drama on TV at 8 PM, that Jiang You couldn't help but cover his face. "Seriously? I'm just taking Illya out to play for a few days! It's not like we're saying goodbye forever! And Tiamat, please stop looking at me like that! She attacked me first—this was self-defense, okay?!"
In the end, Jiang You couldn't withstand the pressure from Tiamat. After making a three-part agreement with Minamoto no Raikou, he reluctantly agreed to bring her along.
Upon returning to the Prisma Illya World, the group materialized on the street in front of the Emiya household. By sheer coincidence, they ran into Sella, who was on her way out to buy groceries.
"Eh? Illya? Weren't you just...?"
Sella immediately spotted the normal-sized Illya. Since it was the weekend, Prisma Illya was at home, having been told she needed to finish her homework before going out to play with her friends. Right now, Prisma Illya was locked in her room, battling math problems.
Then Sella noticed Jiang You, the man she detested.
"You! Stay away from Illya! I've already confirmed with Kiritsugu Emiya—he doesn't even know you!"
Although Kiritsugu Emiya had confirmed he'd never lost an Origin Bullet—each one painstakingly crafted from his own ribs and precious beyond measure, their whereabouts etched in his memory—Sella needed no further proof. Jiang You had concocted this lie to get close to Illya, his intentions clearly malicious!
"Show some respect to the Master of the House!"
Leysritt stepped forward, shielding Jiang You. Her emotional capacity was limited, yet her unwavering loyalty burned fiercely.
"Leysritt, what are you doing?! The Master of the House should be Kiritsugu Emiya!"
Sella had only stepped out to buy groceries, never expecting to stumble upon this familial betrayal. "You bastard! What have you done to her?!"
"Don't make me sound like some brainwashing villain..." Jiang You paused, considering. The Shadow Game could indeed achieve similar effects. "...Actually, I guess it could. But could you please shift your focus? Besides me, Illya, and Leysritt, there are other people here too, you know!"
"Jiang You, is this the Sella from the Parallel World?"
Illya gazed at the Sella of this world and immediately understood Jiang You's intention. In her own world, Sella and Leysritt were more like living dolls than actual people. Although their existence was solely to maintain her as the vessel for the Lesser Grail, Illya had long regarded them as family. She hoped that by letting her Sella interact with this world's Sella, her own Sella might discover her own desires.
"..."
What?! There's another me? Does that mean... does that mean this Illya is fake too?! In an instant, countless explanations flooded Sella's mind. She quickly settled on the most plausible one: Jiang You possessed the same technology as the Einzbern family to create homunculi. Knowing her own origins, seeing an Einzbern-style homunculus identical to herself was perfectly natural. It was even possible that Jiang You was using their original production line.
"She's not fake!"
If it had been anyone else, Illya would have launched an attack. Though her life had begun to normalize, her years spent alone, studying magic, and serving as the Lesser Grail still dominated her past. She hadn't yet fully escaped that life. But this was Sella, and even from a Parallel World, she felt deeply connected to her.
"Illyasviel von Einzbern from another world greets you, Sister Sella."
"Another world?! Magic from a parallel world?!"
Sella, being a homunculus, possessed a basic understanding of Spellcraft. Throughout history, only one individual had ever been able to wield magic from parallel worlds. The appearance of an Einzbern member from another world could only mean one thing: the Kaleidoscope had intervened.
Sella's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't fathom why the Kaleidoscope, with his immense power and status, would stoop to aiding such a loli(?)con. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jiang You cut her off preemptively, already knowing what she was about to say.
"I have no connection to the Kaleidoscope. This is my own ability."
Jiang You's explanation only deepened Sella's confusion. The uniqueness of magic wielders was common knowledge among Magi with even a basic understanding of Spellcraft.
Just as the conversation threatened to devolve into the same stalemate, Prisma Illya stormed into the fray.
Her face darkened as she glared at Jiang You. By revealing her parallel world origins to her family, all her previous lies had been rendered meaningless. Furious, she stomped toward him in her pink, fluffy slippers, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded, "What exactly are you doing?! Weren't you supposed to help me conceal my identity?!"