Chapter 46: Illya: Since no one loves me, I can only love myself more!
The sky was dyed dark.
The stars intertwined, the lights flickered, and Kotomine Risei could feel the sea breeze blowing past.
It was a suffocating loneliness and despair. This was the roof of a house, a small villa built on the seashore. It should have been a warm and relaxing scene, with the beautiful ocean right in front of him and the temperature very suitable. However, Kotomine Risei did not think so. Instead, he felt a kind of despair as if he could not go anywhere and was abandoned by the whole world.
That's the ocean.
A dark, muddy ocean.
Mountains, cities, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and the entire land are covered by the black ocean. There are no living humans here, not even a small animal. This is a forbidden zone for life, just like the doomsday world in many fantasy movies reappearing.
Dead, dead, dead, everything is dead, they are all drowned by the ocean.
Even many of the most basic rules are like this.
There is no magecraft here, and magecraft cannot be used. Kotomine Kirei subconsciously came up with this thought.
The magecraft cannot be activated. The magic circuit can be operated, but there is no feedback when using the magecraft.
"I don't quite understand the magecraft thing."
"If you can't use magecraft, maybe it's because this is the newborn period of the world? So magecraft hasn't formed yet? Hmm, or is it the old age of the world? The graveyard of the world?"
"But this kind of words gives people a bad feeling. I still like the word 'freshman.'"
Most of the house gradually disappeared like an illusion. A lovely girl leaned hesitantly against the doorstep, mumbling to herself with her slender fingers on her lips. She was wearing a beautiful white summer dress and modern slippers that revealed the back half of her delicate feet. She looked to be around eleven or twelve years old.
She faced the sea breeze, with one hand on her little head and the other behind her back.
She seemed to have long been accustomed to this lonely world surrounded and swallowed by the black ocean, and her face was filled with a mature and gentle smile that did not match her age.
She was like a lonely watcher, watching the birth and end of this place.
She had no friends or family to accompany her, only black mud, this black ocean of loneliness.
Illyasviel von Einzbern.
This is her name, but in this lonely world, names have no meaning anymore.
No one remembered that this person existed in the world, and her ending was so unfortunate.
"this......."
Seeing this scene, Kotomine Kirei, who felt a little weird instinctively, took a few steps back, and then with a plop! He did not notice that the house under his feet had gradually disappeared, and fell into the sea of black mud. Malice and a feeling of suffocation filled his body, and all kinds of sadness and uncontrollable emotions began to surge out.
Just like the switch between the beautiful outer world and the inner world, all kinds of scenes appear before his eyes in a trance.
"Why, why doesn't anyone remember me? Why is it that it had a happy beginning but still ended in misfortune? They are all bad people, bad people who took away my happiness, brother, Miyu, and Ruby. If it weren't for you, if it weren't for you, I would never......"
"Berserker, where are you? Where are you? I can't see anymore. Please don't abandon me. Please, don't abandon me like my parents did..."
"I, I don't want to wear this dress, I don't want to, I hate you, I hate all of you, why am I still unhappy even though I have tried so hard! Why am I always unhappy! Why did you abandon me, Kiritsugu! Why can't I even have a brief moment of happiness? I want happiness, I also want......"
Unlucky.
Unlucky.
Unlucky.
I want to be happy, I must be happy, and I will definitely have a happy ending.
Whoever wants me to be unhappy or wants me to die, I will do my best to make that person die early. Since no one loves me, I don't need anyone to love me.
I don't need the love of my parents, because they are always busy and will always abandon me. I don't need the friendship of friends, because they always forget me and leave me alone. All I need is to live, live proudly and live happily, and then I will be a happy person.
In the black mud, countless abandoned, forgotten, lonely and desperate obsessions seemed to turn into a substantial figure. She was crazy and had no sense of good and evil or right and wrong. She was a combination of pure malice, a pure evil person and a bad child.
She is chaotic evil, with a paranoid and extreme, elegant and polite malice.
She opened her scarlet sapphire eyes and her gaze met Kotomine Kirei's.
No one loves her, so she can only love herself more.
Kill! Kill! Kill them all!
The only thing to do is to kill all the misfortunes!
Only then can she live happily, brilliantly and proudly!
"Illyasviel, who on earth are you.......!"
Cathedral Church, basement.
Kotomine Kirei suddenly opened his eyes from a light sleep, his entire back wet with cold sweat, awakened by countless noisy sounds and malicious murderous intentions. This was a nonsensical and bizarre dream, but it made him sweat profusely.
Innocent murderous intent and pure malice, these were the only two he could sense.
There are only these two extreme emotions that make him scared just thinking about them.
After signing a contract with a Servant, the Master can peek into the past of the Servant he summoned through dreams. This was something his teacher, Tōhsaka Tokiomi, had told him, so he was not surprised that he could dream about Illyasviel. However, he had never expected that the Illyasviel in his dream would be so extreme and terrifying even to him.
He didn't remember most of the sounds and scenes clearly, but he could clearly remember the black ocean, the scarlet eyes, and the instinctive fear of the creature.
"Gu... Is that really Assassin? Why is he so different from the Assassin I remembered?"
Kotomine Kirei swallowed his saliva, stood up from the sofa and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
In his impression, Miss Illya is the kind of innocent but malicious little girl with a bit of a dark side. She is very rational and sensible, like a mischievous elementary school student. For the sake of her own face, she was even afraid that others would know that she was crying because of the spiciness while eating Mapo Tofu.
But Miss Illya in the dream was a lunatic. She was like a little devil who would be killed just by meeting her gaze. She had no rationality at all.
She is even more berserker than a berserker because at least a berserker will try to listen to the Master, but Miss Illya is so crazy that she would kill the Master on the spot if the Master is disobedient.
"Is there a period in history when the ocean covered the land? Was it a period of heavy rain?"
About 250 million years ago from modern times, there was a heavy rainstorm on Earth that lasted for 2 million years. The ocean covered most of the land. Many species became extinct during that period, and many species were born after that period. The famous dinosaur era began to take root at that time.
Kotomine Kirei has always learned history through the explanations of his teacher, Tōhsaka Tokiomi.
Since he is not an orthodox magi, he does not know much about the ancient times and the Age of Gods.
"Illyasviel von Einzbern, she claims to have a good relationship with the Einzbern family, but the Einzbern family has only a history of about 3,000 years. When was there a time when the land was covered by the black ocean..."
The Einzbern family has a long history, which can be considered good among the many magi families, but it does not have a history of causing the extinction of land creatures.
He felt a slight headache. Although it was a dream, the suffocating malice and murderous intent still did not dissipate from his mind. This was the instinctive fear of living things.
The sky was beginning to brighten, and he looked at the bright red Command Seals on the back of his hand, none of which were missing.
This made him feel a little relieved, no matter what the other person was like when she was alive.
As long as he still has two or more Command Seals, then there is nothing to worry about, right?
After all, a Servant is just a Servant. Illyasviel probably doesn't have any skills that can counter the power of the Command Seal, right?
"We have to temporarily change the morning program schedule and insert an urgent news report. A large-scale gas leak has occurred in the dock warehouse street in the bay area of Fuyuki City due to unknown reasons. Please try not to go out at night. Fuyuki City has had frequent gas leaks recently. The police are already trying their best to find out which program has been missed."
Thinking like this.
He turned on the black-and-white television in the basement.
The TV was showing the morning news, which was a cover-up of last night's epic battle.
"Now let's turn the camera to Father Kotomine Risei, the gas expert of the Cathedral Church. What do you think about this incident?"
"I personally think that all residents should believe in science and the government. There are no supernatural events like demons in modern society. In the scientific age, everything that seems weird and unreasonable can actually be explained. Last night, I saw someone claiming to have seen smog and golden light at the port, as well as a chariot flying into the clouds. Ask yourself, do you think this is possible? Obviously, it is impossible. The smog is just caused by excessive gas leakage, and what appears afterward is just an illusion fabricated by the brain nerves after excessive inhalation of gas. I, Kotomine Risei, have lived for so many years and have seen this kind of incident many times. Please don't panic or spread rumors. Science is the truth of everything."
Watching the righteous appeal made by his old priest father on the TV screen.
Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but burst out laughing. He used a series of long sentences to directly characterize the incident. The reason for the gas leakage was really omnipotent. Anyway, as long as the cause was firmly established, the omnipotent gas leakage would always perfectly explain all the problems.
However, the gas company also has to give some support. After all, the Holy Grail War has only been opened for a day or two, and it is said that more than fifteen gas company executives have been thrown into prison.
At this rate, by the time the Holy Grail War is over, there may not be a single gas company left in the entire city of Fuyuki.
"What are you laughing at, Master?"
"It just feels like there's something fun about fooling the world."
"Well, where's my breakfast?"
"......."
'I really want to know why you, as a Servant, like to eat.'
Kotomine Kirei heard the dissatisfied little girl's voice coming from behind him and held his forehead with some distress.
"I'll get it for you later, Assassin, what would you like to eat this time?"
"I want to eat cake, the sweetest cake."
Miss Illya, wearing a snow-white loose shirt, skipped to the sofa next to Kotomine Kirei and used her little hands to imitate the shape of the cake.
She was still dressed in the same outfit as when she was first summoned. From her lovely smile to her anticipation for delicious food, she looked like an innocent and pure little girl.
If he had not seen the madness of the other party fighting with the enemy, Kotomine Kirei would sometimes really think that the other party was just a child.
"Do you like sweets very much?" Kotomine Kirei asked casually as he used the remote control to switch to an anime program.
"I don't like it, but sweet things can make people feel very good. In that case, maybe I will be gentler when I kill you, Master." Miss Illya said the vicious words in a gentle tone while laughing.
Kotomine Kirei did not sense any murderous intent from her, but he did not doubt that she did not want to kill him.
At this distance, if the other party really wants to attack, it will be too late for him to use the Command Spell.
He also knew that Miss Illya was already dissatisfied, which was normal.
After all, last night King Gilgamesh almost killed all the Servants present and sent them back to the Throne of Heroes. Everyone fought for their lives, but he and Emiya Kiritsugu did not use Command Seals to assist. It would be strange if Miss Illya was not angry. Emiya Kiritsugu could say that he was unconscious, but what reason could he use to explain it?
Miss Illya does not need the mana of the Command Seals, but the power of the Command Seals is not just as simple as the blessing of mana, there are also various other support methods.
"So what do you have to do to let me go? Assassin."
"Answer me first. Why didn't you call me back when I was arrested by that Knight sister? And you didn't call me back when King Gilgamesh arrived? Master, we are of the same kind, but you have to know that being of the same kind doesn't mean we can have unlimited tolerance."
Miss Illya blinked and held up her little face, like a child asking questions of her parents.
Last night was really thrilling, with five servant fighting against one, and almost all of them went all in using Command Seals.
But in fact, she didn't need to go through all these thrills. When she failed to assassinate Emiya Kiritsugu and was arrested, Kotomine Kirei could have called her back.
Her information erasure skills would not be largely abolished, and her Noble Phantasm would not be shattered on a large scale.
Of course, this will most likely not kill King Gilgamesh. After all, Tōhsaka Tokiomi is very cowardly now, and just like Kenneth, he is hiding in the magic workshop and refuses to go out. If they want to force this group to retreat, they will most likely have to face King Gilgamesh directly.
"I just want to hear the truth. If you tell me a lie, Master, I will have to move to another place to work."
"....In the beginning, I inferred that you were not afraid of Saber's arrest and Lancer's waiting and watching based on the fact that you and Archer were almost evenly matched in strength in the first fight. After all, the mist was approaching at that time, so there was no need to use the Command Spell. And I was also curious about why Emiya Kiritsugu knew you."
Kotomine Kirei sighed and explained as calmly as possible that this was what he was thinking at the time, especially the moment when Emiya Kiritsugu called out Miss Illyasviel's name.
He was more inclined to let Miss Illyasviel handle it on her own. After all, she had not told him about the limitations of her skills.
"It's a 50-50 match between me and King Gilgamesh?" Miss Illyasviel blinked in confusion.
"Don't be too modest, Assassin. With your perspective, I can see that you are able to handle him with ease, so I can conclude that you are capable of fighting the three knight classes head-on."
'Good.'
'OK, OK, OK.'
'You magi really have problems with your eyes!'
'Some people say that I have good character and am pure and flawless, which is fine, but now you are selectively blind to my ability, right?'
'You said that I was dodging from the beginning to the end and was treated as a rat and was blown up, and that I was on equal terms with King Gilgamesh. According to what you said, I failed to kill Emiya Kiritsugu. Does that mean that Emiya Kiritsugu can also fight me on equal terms head-on?'
"What happened next? Mr. King of Conquerors came out to disrupt the situation, and King Gilgamesh came out to provoke everyone. Why didn't you recall me? Even if you didn't recall me, you could still provide support with the Command Spells, right?"
"During the period when Rider was disrupting the situation, I felt that Assassin, you were very motivated and in good condition. You probably didn't want to withdraw."
"......."
"After that, Assassin, didn't you already flee the battlefield with Emiya Kiritsugu and that woman? Why would I waste the Command Seal to recall you?"
Kotomine Kirei frowned. Miss Illyasviel could run away, so why was he wasting the Command Seals?
Sharing perspective does not mean sharing pain. From his perspective, Miss Illyasviel made a mistake in the assassination, then beat up the swordswoman, the familiar army suppressed the spearman man, and after being disrupted by the Conqueror King, she still had high spirits and did not lose her style. She was a complete battlefield overlord.
She can fight anyone she meets, and she is not defeated by anyone. In this situation, what's the point of him using the Command Seal to recall? After all, it's not that Miss Illyasviel was forced into a desperate situation by others, but that the two major and three knight classes were all unilaterally beaten by Miss Illyasviel.
Of course, the key point was watching the pain and suffering of Emiya Kiritsugu and the white-haired woman.
He couldn't help but feel waves of pleasure.
He thought to himself that Miss Illyasviel was really murderous and heartbreaker. Her verbal attacks could make others feel pain.
"What about the encounter with Berserker and Matou Kariya afterwards?"
"…You encountered Matou Kariya and his servant?"
"?"
"Ever since you fled the battlefield with Emiya Kiritsugu, I stopped watching because I thought you could leave. Plus, my father notified me to hold an emergency meeting to prepare for the aftermath of the warehouse at the dock, and to find out information about Uryuu Ryunosuke, so I went to deal with those first." Kotomine Kirei was even more surprised than Miss Illyasviel. He didn't expect that the other party would actually encounter Matou Kariya.
At that time, it seemed to him that Miss Illyasviel had already run away, so there was no need for him to worry about anything anymore.
Even the news that King Gilgamesh was killed was told to him later by his father.
"I was going to ask you something, Assassin. Wasn't it your plan to launch a subjugation war against King Gilgamesh? You actually killed that Servant last night."
Looking at Kotomine Kirei who was beginning to imagine something, Miss Illyasviel blinked again. She really felt that the eyes of everyone around her were not all correct.
How much of a personality does she have now?
Good character, keeping promises, 50-50 with the three knights, killing people with deliberate intentions...
She is more of a supermodel than any of the three knights, and a conspirator more powerful than the mastermind behind the scenes. The key is that this conspirator is popular and loved wherever she goes.
What exactly went wrong?
She is just a Servant from the Chaos Evil type who simply wants to survive, but why is it that the more she fights, the more she looks like a perfect hero?
"Master, things are not what you think. I am not that..."
"I understand Assassin. I understand everything. I cannot fully understand your plan. After all, I never thought that you could make that Servant retire on the first night. You set the pace and progress of the entire Holy Grail War, and I can only glimpse two or three points of your wisdom and depth."
(TL: Sasuga Illya-sama)
Kotomine Kirei sighed. Not only his strength but also his wisdom was completely crushed by Miss Illyasviel.
It can be said that the pace set by Miss Illyasviel last night was simply unimaginable.
Even his teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, did not expect that they would get to know each other on the first night.
She actually forced the strongest Servant to retire.
As for whether it wasn't Miss Illyasviel's work? He didn't believe it, and even his teacher probably didn't believe it, because in a sense, whether it was the skilled support for the swordswoman or the participation of other Servants in the battle, it was all Miss Illyasviel's careful calculation.
The most terrifying thing is that until the very end, no one discovered that Miss Illyasviel was actually an Assassin.
"Assassin, you are very good at playing tricks and scheming. You have a very good plan to deceive the world and you have a natural way of coordinating the overall situation. Even I was fooled by you."
If he wasn't her Master, he might not have realized it at all.
'My own Servant actually fooled everyone.'
"I......."
Miss Illyasviel looked blankly at Kotomine Kirei who was shaking his head and sighing. After she was sure that what Kotomine Kirei said was true and he really had not betrayed her, she was speechless for a moment.
Then, seeing this, Kotomine Kirei thought that Miss Illyasviel did not believe that her disguise had been seen through by him.
"I'm not a fool, Assassin. If I'm not mistaken, you were still safe and sound after encountering Matou Kariya. He became a part of your plan and was used by you, right?"