"Alright, you two stop bickering. There are some things you need to know."
Once Daniel had confirmed his ability in front of everyone, he quickly brought Illyasviel's group back to their own world. After letting Illya head home, he and the others went to this world's Rin Tohsaka's residence in Fuyuki City.
While Rin was usually broke due to the cost of gemstone magecraft, the Tohsaka family did still own several fixed assets in Fuyuki.
"What is it?" Seeing Daniel's uncharacteristically serious expression, Rin and Luvia immediately stopped fighting. Though they argued often, they knew when to draw the line.
"It's about Miyu's identity. She's actually from another parallel world."
Looking at the girl in the maid uniform beside them, Daniel revealed her background — that she was a vessel for the Holy Grail and had come from a world on the brink of collapse.
Between your sister and the world, what matters more? The answer was obvious — the sister, of course. For her sake, Shirou Emiya had torn through the entire Holy Grail War in a single night. A role model for all big brothers.
Kiritsugu's ideals were noble, but precisely because they were too noble, they couldn't be realized. Even Kiritsugu knew this, which was why he turned to the power of the Grail.
"Don't worry. I'll help bring your brother back. When the time comes, the two of you can live in this world peacefully." Now that he was in Illya's world, he would naturally make a trip to Shirou's world and deal with the enemies there. As long as they remained, Miyu would never be truly safe.
As for that other doomed world and the idea that Miyu was the key to its salvation — Daniel had no intention of playing hero. He wasn't a savior, and besides, the apocalypse of that world was something humanity had brought upon itself.
And even saying the world was ending was a bit of a stretch — the planet still existed. Its laws had merely changed, making it uninhabitable for humans. But given humanity's tenacity, who's to say they couldn't adapt? Life always finds a way.
"Really? Thank you!" Miyu's face lit up with excitement. Since arriving in this new world, she'd constantly worried about her brother. But because of his wishes, she had kept it all to herself.
"I promise. So from now on, just focus on school and having fun with Illya and the others. Leave the rest to me."
"No, I can't. I promised Miss Luvia I would help her collect the Class Cards." In exchange for Luvia's help with shelter, food, and clothes, Miyu had agreed to gather the Class Cards. Even though Luvia now treated her like a little sister, Miyu still faithfully did her maid work.
"I see. Then we'll go together."
Daniel didn't argue. There were only eight Class Cards total — with him involved, it would be easy to gather them all. As for the world Miyu came from, he would visit it first to keep anyone from interfering with her life here.
"You're just going to ignore that dying world?" Luvia finally spoke once Miyu had left. For her, it was hard to turn a blind eye to a collapsing world once she knew about it.
"You planning to sacrifice Miyu for it?" Rin's expression turned cold.
"Of course not. I just want to know... is there no way to save it? You're a Magician — surely you can do something?"
"There's nothing that can be done. In fact, even sacrificing Miyu wouldn't save that world — it would only delay its collapse. The Grail isn't omnipotent. And let's not forget, the end of that world was humanity's own doing."
That world, Shirou's world, was different from FGO. Just look at the appearance of the mysterious 'Tanaka' — someone who could block Noble Phantasms with her bare hands and transform her arm into a sword of unimaginable power. If a being like that appeared, then it was already too late. That was likely Alaya or Gaia stepping in.
Hearing this, both Rin and Luvia fell silent. Just as Luvia had said earlier, if saving the world didn't require sacrificing Miyu, they would gladly help. But if it meant sacrificing her, then it wasn't worth it.
"So this is a Class Card… connecting to the Throne of Heroes itself. The one who created this was truly impressive. Still, without Illya and Miyu, these cards would be useless."
After explaining everything to Rin, Luvia, and Miyu, Daniel borrowed the cards from Luvia. After some discussion with Sapphire, he understood how they worked.
The Class Cards allowed for two types of summoning: Limited Summon and Install. Limited Summon granted a portion of a Heroic Spirit's power directly. Install allowed a complete transformation, overlaying the user's body with the Servant's abilities.
But regardless of method, the user needed vast mana reserves. Without that, the card's power was useless. Mystic Codes like Add, which could draw mana from the environment to unleash a Noble Phantasm, were extremely rare.
"…It can fly? That's going to be troublesome."
Rin and Luvia frowned as they watched the Caster Class Card — specifically, Medea — float in the sky. Unlike the previous Lancer-class fight that Miyu had easily won, this enemy had taken to the air. Even though Lancer had a long-range Noble Phantasm, hitting something at this distance would be hard, especially under a barrage of magical projectiles. With rapid chanting, the sky was filled with magic circles.
"A magical girl who can't fly, huh…"
That was another problem. Miyu couldn't fly. Normally, magical girls could fly with ease — even Rin and Luvia could do it. But Miyu couldn't.
Why? Because she'd read too many science books. To her, human flight without wings or machinery was scientifically impossible, and that mindset had become a mental block. Daniel found that a little ridiculous — there were literal magical girls around, and she was still fixated on science.
Miyu was a genius among geniuses. Most kids her age were still in elementary school, but she was already reading college-level material. She even used calculus to solve elementary math problems, leaving her teachers dumbfounded.
"Ow!"
Under a barrage of Medea's magical shots, Illya's barrier provided by Ruby faltered, and she was hit multiple times. The pain caused her to fall from the sky.
Unlike Miyu, Illya had a wild imagination and could easily accept the magical girl role. But the reality was far more brutal than the anime she had watched. In those shows, even star-level attacks just sent people flying. Here, it could cost you your life. That realization made her hesitate.
In the original story, Illya would've grown stronger over time. But with Daniel here, there was no need.
"Radiant Spear of Finality — Anchor Break!"
Seeing Medea conjure even more magic circles, Daniel stepped in. Golden light tore through the sky, obliterating her layered magical barriers and shattering her body. A Class Card drifted gently down.
"Sturdy little thing, isn't it?"
Not a scratch on it — even after being hit by Gray's fully released Holy Spear.
"You built a mansion in just two days?"
Money talks. In only two days, Luvia had constructed a full-blown villa directly across from Illya's house. Yet no one in the neighborhood thought it strange — as if the house had always been there.
"It's nothing. I'm not like a certain brute. Go pour me some tea."
Rin gawked in shock as Luvia casually explained it away. The tone made Rin bristle with irritation, but wearing her maid uniform, she could only bite her tongue and serve tea.
To pay for her gem usage, Rin was now working for Luvia.
"I thought the Second Magician might show up, but nope. Interesting."
After the mansion was finished, Daniel moved in. Since Rin was working here anyway, it felt inappropriate to keep staying at her place.
He'd half-expected to meet the Second Magician here. Unlike the Fifth War's absent one, this world's was still active at the Clock Tower. Rin and Luvia had come to collect Class Cards specifically to become his apprentice.
If it were Daniel, and he heard about an unfamiliar Magician appearing, he'd definitely want to check it out. There was no way Rin and Luvia hadn't reported him — they might act foolish around each other, but they were sharp when it mattered.
Still, if the Second Magician hadn't shown up, Daniel wasn't going to chase him down at the Clock Tower.
"Artoria. Dark Saber. What a coincidence."
After defeating Medea, their next opponent was the Saber-class — a corrupted version of King Arthur. Unlike Medea, this fight was a complete massacre. Illya and Miyu were no match.
Even Miyu's Gáe Bolg missed. Though corrupted, Saber still retained her instincts and combat skills.
"Step aside. I'll handle this."
After Illya and Miyu were blasted away by a surge of mana, Daniel stepped in, catching Saber's sword with his Holy Spear.
Originally, he had hoped Illya and Miyu would just live normal school lives with Ruby and Sapphire. But both had refused. Miyu stuck to her ideals, and Illya clung to her magical girl fantasy.
Daniel was tempted to summon a real magical girl just to show her how ridiculous it was.
"A Holy Spear versus a Holy Sword… this feels oddly familiar."
The moment the weapons clashed, he was reminded of that iconic father-son battle. Of course, only he saw the irony — this Saber was an empty shell.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their rapid strikes cracked the mirrored world around them. Thankfully, these battles took place in a pocket dimension. Otherwise, Fuyuki City would've suffered even more damage than the Fourth War's black mud spill.
"So fast…" Rin and Luvia could only watch in awe. The shockwaves alone were stronger than any previous battle.
"Is this much power even possible from a Class Card?"
Daniel was surprised too. Though not as strong as the Grail-empowered Saber he had faced in the Fuyuki Singularity, this corrupted Saber was leagues above the other Heroic Spirits.
"Excalibur!"
"Radiant Spear of Finality — Anchor Break!"
Their Noble Phantasms collided, shattering a quarter of the mirror world. Miyu had to activate Sapphire's full defensive mode to survive the blast.
"Excalibur!"
"Anchor Break!"
Another clash, and another chance. As Saber faltered slightly, Daniel struck — his spear piercing her torso.
"Wish a certain someone could see this," he thought, catching the Saber Class Card.
"Card Link."
Taking the card, Daniel initiated his first Install. Of all eight, this was the most important. Not Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, but this.
"As I thought… though it's blue armor, not black."
Holding Excalibur and sensing Avalon within him, Daniel confirmed his theory. Normally, Avalon only worked if Artoria was nearby. But now, thanks to the Class Card, he was Artoria — in a way. And that meant he could use Avalon's defensive power himself.
It wasn't on par with the original, but it boosted his defense dramatically. He could even take Enuma Elish head-on now.
"Next is the final card — Heracles. Sorry, big guy. Looks like I'll have to kill you again."
Seven Class Cards — Rin and Luvia already had two, gifted by the Second Magician. That left five to collect. Of course, there was an eighth card… which they didn't yet know about.
Maybe it would only appear once all seven were gathered.
"Heracles, the legendary hero… the Twelve Labors… what kind of absurd Noble Phantasm is that?!" Upon learning from Daniel how broken that final card was, both Rin and Luvia were stunned. Even with four of them, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"Don't worry. I've got a plan. Miyu — you'll be with your brother very soon."
Daniel had already killed Heracles once. Doing it again would be no problem — especially now that he had even more tricks up his sleeve.
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