Unlike Illya, Miyu immediately retreated beyond Medusa's line of sight. Having recovered some of her memories, she could now sense malicious intent. The moment Medusa removed her blindfold, the battle had already begun.
"Sapphire, how should I attack?"
After transforming, Miyu felt significantly lighter and more agile. Each step covered an astonishing distance with minimal effort. However, this was only her second transformation, leaving her no time to adapt or learn.
"Mr. Jiang You is a bit too impatient, but leave it to me! I'll guide you!"
Sapphire was much more reliable, refraining from unnecessary chatter during combat.
"Feel the flow of magical power, then unleash it! I'll assist with the circuits—don't overthink it!"
Miyu readily followed Sapphire's instructions. With her assistance, she condensed magical power into a dense barrage of light bullets and fired them at Medusa, forcing her to avert her gaze. This was how Prisma Illya managed to break free so quickly.
Faced with the relentless barrage, Medusa didn't retreat. Instead, she arched her back like a gymnast, her body's curves momentarily displayed in all their glory, gracefully weaving through the gaps in the barrage with an elegant and seductive posture.
"Lucky for us, she chose that method of evasion. Now, Miyu, are you ready?"
The gaps in the barrage were incredibly narrow. At that moment, Medusa had no room to exert force, effectively trapped by the dense projectiles.
"Ready!"
Miyu had already channeled a substantial amount of magical power into her wand.
"Alright, let's go! Imagine the wand as a sword, and strike!"
Sapphire dutifully provided guidance. While Prisma Illya and Ruby were still bickering, significant progress had already been made here.
The wand arced through the air, drawing a deep blue arc of magical power. A blade-like energy surged forth, hurtling toward Medusa with lightning speed.
Miyu's magical aptitude was remarkably high. Her first attempt at casting Spell unleashed an attack roughly equivalent to a C-Rank Noble Phantasm's activation. Such a strike would be utterly devastating against Medusa's frail form. If it landed, Miyu would secure victory.
Even though Medusa's combat record was rather embarrassing—marked by humiliating defeats like being soloed by a modern-day physical education teacher—she had shown flashes of brilliance. When unleashing her full power, she could even engage Black Saber, who possessed Infinite Magic, in prolonged combat, and occasionally gain the upper hand in clashes of Noble Phantasms (though she required assistance to achieve this). After all, she remained a servant from the Age of Gods, not one to be defeated so easily.
"Did you get her?"
Ruby's astonished question hung in the air as Medusa yanked the chain sword from her waist. In an instant, she darted sideways several meters, effortlessly evading Miyu's slash—a strike fueled by an overwhelming surge of magical power.
Seizing her speed advantage, Medusa closed the distance to Miyu in a flash. At this point, forcing Medusa back with an attack was futile. Aided by Sapphire, Miyu channeled her magical power into erecting a defensive barrier.
"Don't just stare straight ahead in battle!"
Medusa's warning arrived simultaneously with the whip-like strike from behind. The other end of her chain sword had silently snaked around Miyu, and since this wasn't a true life-or-death struggle, Medusa converted her thrust into a lash. Striking with the flat of the blade, she inflicted a grievous wound, yet she hadn't held back much. Had the blow landed true, Miyu would have been instantly incapacitated, enduring days of agony.
Her concerns proved unwarranted. At the last possible moment, Miyu frantically conjured a barrier behind herself, barely deflecting the fatal strike.
Even so, Miyu had nearly reached her limit. The force of the attack pushed her toward Medusa, and losing her balance, she had no time to regain her defensive stance. Though Medusa's close combat skills were slightly weaker than most Servants, Miyu, with her fragile constitution, stood no chance against her.
Medusa swiftly wrapped her chain blade around Miyu's neck. With just a slight tightening, Miyu's delicate neck would be deprived of oxygen.
Seeing Miyu already gasping for breath, Medusa shook her head. "You're somewhat better than that Illya, but still too inexperienced. Why use your full power when you're still probing for weaknesses? Revealing your hand so early is dangerous. Besides, your magical power control is too crude—you're wasting far too much energy, putting you at a severe disadvantage."
Someone got too complacent while probing for weaknesses and ended up having their head twisted off, Jiang You thought to himself. Come to think of it, he still hadn't met Souichirou Kuzuki from the Fifth Holy Grail War Timeline. He wondered if Kuzuki had been eliminated during a Duel or finished off by someone else.
"You've already lost..." Medusa declared.
Just as Medusa was about to make a symbolic effort to "kill" Miyu, two pink Magic Bullets shot toward her hands from the left and right at a sharp angle, forcing her to release her grip. These Magic Bullets were far more condensed and powerful than the exploratory shots Miyu had fired earlier. Had they struck Medusa's hands, they would have likely crippled them.
Medusa chuckled lightly, releasing the chain sword. She had roughly gauged the Magical Girl's true strength. In their current state, the two were evenly matched with her in combat prowess, placing them in the upper-middle tier of second-rate Heroic Spirits. However, their lack of combat experience prevented them from fully utilizing their potential. Jiang You's decision had been correct; they indeed needed real combat to digest their power.
"The battle isn't over yet. It's too early to declare victory. Now it's our turn to shine, Illya!"
Ruby arrived with Prisma Illya to provide support. "Sapphire, let's take them on together!"
"Sister, given the current situation, we have absolutely no chance of winning this battle," Sapphire said.
She could see that Medusa wasn't even using a fraction of her full power. Moreover, compared to servants who relied solely on instinct, the complete Medusa's combat ability was several tiers higher. There was no reason to believe they could win in their basic form.
"So, it's time to use 'Install'. We need to let them get used to the Heroic Spirit's power as well."
"Activating our ultimate move right away? Isn't that a bit premature?" Ruby hesitated.
"I'm not sure about this..."
"..."
Prisma Illya swallowed hard. She recognized this trope—immense power often came with equally great risks.
Ruby hadn't expected to switch forms in the very first battle. "Shouldn't there be some kind of 'newbie protection period'? To showcase the strength of our Mystic Code, we should be guaranteed victory in the first fight."
"This isn't some tokusatsu show!" Prisma Illya retorted, surprised by Ruby's concern.