Following Illya's explosive declaration of "No more fighting!", the entire area fell into an eerie, stunned silence.
"Eh? Did... did I say something wrong?"
Illya, the one who caused the awkward atmosphere, seemed totally unaware of how her words had shattered her magical girl image. Through the Command Seal, she nervously asked Ritsuka.
"No... It's not your fault," Ritsuka responded after a moment of silence, then added with conviction, "It's Merlin's fault."
That damned close-combat caster corrupted my sweet magical girl Illya!
Thankfully, the strange atmosphere didn't last long. A new voice broke the silence.
"Oh? Did I arrive late?"
It wasn't anyone present at the scene. The lazy, casual voice clearly belonged to a man.
Everyone turned toward the source and saw a man with purple hair, sunglasses covering his eyes, holding a wooden tachi sword slung over his shoulder. Even without seeing his eyes, everyone could sense the mischievous glint behind those lenses.
Floating behind him was a massive female spirit dressed in ancient samurai armor, holding a naginata and radiating a dangerous aura.
Seeing this, Ritsuka squinted her eyes and quickly summoned Robin Hood from Chaldea. She had him deploy his Noble Phantasm, No Face May King, to conceal her presence in case they were spotted.
"The great me is Mirokuji Yūya, and this here is Hangaku. Seems like you're in the middle of something interesting-mind if I join the fun?"
Yūya casually rested the wooden sword on his shoulder and laughed recklessly.
He stepped between Kirameki Mamika and Selesia, with the giant spirit following closely behind.
"You okay, missy?" Yūya asked cheerfully. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Though... you don't really look okay, hahaha."
An ally?!
Selesia was stunned-but relieved. In a situation where she'd been completely outmatched, someone had appeared who didn't seem like an enemy.
Mirokuji Yūya...
Hidden behind No Face May King's concealment, Ritsuka searched her memory. She'd read enough manga and light novels to quickly recognize the name.
Yūya was a major antagonist from the manga Exclusive Underground: Dark Night. While technically a "boss" enemy, he wasn't evil in the traditional sense-just someone whose beliefs clashed with the protagonist. He wasn't a bloodthirsty villain, just someone who stood on the opposite side.
"You there!"
Illya, clearly annoyed, glared at Yūya with hostility. "Didn't I say no more fighting?!"
"Huh?"
The villainous boss-type man yawned. "And why should I listen to you? You might be a little girl, but I'm not the kind of guy who goes easy on women or kids just because they're cute, y'know?"
"..."
Illya's face darkened. She'd clearly been hit hard by the term little girl.
Sure, her body was that of a child-but that didn't mean she liked strangers (especially enemies) calling her that. Even if it was technically accurate. (lol)
"Ruby-open fire!"
Illya suddenly shouted, and Ruby replied with a shriek: "I'm not a damn Gatling gun!"-but still unleashed a barrage of magical bullets toward Yūya.
Yūya lazily deflected them with his wooden sword.
"Aww, hit a nerve? Guess I'll stop holding back then."
He raised his blade toward the airborne Illya, and the giant spirit behind him prepared to strike.
BOOM!
Illya didn't bother responding and immediately counterattacked with a burst of magical cannon fire.
Yūya leapt out of the way, agile and relaxed, while the giant spirit charged toward Illya, raising her naginata high as if to slice Illya clean in half.
CLANG!
Sparks flew and a sharp screech rang out. The naginata halted just inches from Illya, unable to advance further-blocked by an invisible force.
It was the Threefold Barrier, a Craft Essence Ritsuka had equipped on Illya earlier (Note 1). It had successfully blocked the attack.
"Ahh!"
Illya gasped, then quickly fired a volley of magical bullets, blasting the spirit away.
It vanished, but soon reformed behind Yūya.
"Spirit form?" Ritsuka muttered. "That's not a Servant-but it can go into spirit form?"
"Totally normal, milady," Robin Hood said casually. "That's not a Servant-only skill. Most spirits can phase in and out-it's just that Servants do it more efficiently."
"Then why didn't the ghosts in the last Singularity do that?" Ritsuka grumbled.
Because we killed those ghosts before they had the chance... Robin Hood thought privately. Those mana-leeching types always get priority kills.
---
Back on the battlefield-
Illya had barely escaped injury, but her heart was pounding. The Threefold Barrier could only block three attacks. After that, it only boosted basic stats.
"You ambushed me," Illya accused, flustered.
"Ambushes are part of the game, kid," Yūya replied casually, picking at his ear.
That word again.
"Kid."
Her forehead veins bulged.
Illya suddenly smiled-but it was not a pleasant smile.
"You're right. Ambushes are normal," she said through gritted teeth.
Then-BOOM!-she launched a surprise magical cannon blast.
Yūya hadn't expected such a fast counterattack and had no choice but to let his spirit take the hit.
"Geez! You call that love and justice?! What kind of magical girl are you?!"
"A villain like you talking about love and justice? Gross," Illya shot back without hesitation. She already knew who he was, thanks to her earlier chat with Ritsuka via Command Seal.
Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh quietly. Her Illya isn't your standard pure magical girl.
While the dominant personality was Mahou Shoujo Illya, she was actually a fusion of Mahou Shoujo Illya and Lesser Holy Grail Illya from FSN.
She had both sets of memories. And because of that, she wasn't opposed to sneak attacks-in fact, thanks to the Holy Grail Illya part of her, she could even be a bit ruthless.
Her earlier anger at being ambushed was only because she hadn't fully considered Yūya an enemy yet.
"Hmph," Yūya snorted, raising his wooden sword again.
"Villain boss, huh? Guess that makes you the hero trying to defeat me then, little girl?"
The veins on Illya's forehead were now pulsing.
What irritated her most about being called "little girl" or "kid" wasn't the size of her body-it was that, in reality, her combined memories made her close to 30 years old. (Self-proclaimed, of course.)
Still stuck in the form of an elementary schooler. (lol)
---
"Illya, finish him," Ritsuka's voice came through the Command Seal.
"I authorize the use of your Noble Phantasm."
Illya lit up with joy at receiving permission.
Her eyes locked onto Yūya with a creepy, mischievous glow that made his hair stand on end.
"All set, Ruby?"
"Locked and loaded. Switching forms on your command," Ruby replied with the same unsettling giggle.
Even if you couldn't see it, you knew Ruby was smiling like a mischievous brat.