"Is this Big Sister our opponent?"
Prisma Illya sized up Medusa, struck by her sensuality. The combination of her seductive aura, exquisite figure, and form-fitting black-purple outfit—embodying Mystery and the Succubus—was breathtakingly bold.
"The Class Card summoned Sakura's Servant?" Illya exclaimed.
She felt the world was truly small, filled with familiar faces. Even the gods of Mesopotamia had Rin Tohsaka's face, as if this world couldn't afford its own actors.
"More accurately, it summoned all the Servants we had back then," Miyu pointed out.
Type-Moon could milk Fate/stay night for a lifetime, endlessly repackaging and selling it. The servants from the Fifth Holy Grail War were the workhorses of the Type-Moon World, their presence woven into nearly every derivative work. "The original should be stronger than a mindless projection, right? Our priority now is to boost the Magical Girls' combat power. We won't find any 'defeat CGs' here."
"As if such things exist!" Prisma Illya's face flushed crimson. The modern internet was far too advanced; even a ten-year-old girl knew about that. Noticing Miyu's puzzled gaze, Prisma Illya quickly covered her steaming face. "Miyu, don't ask if you don't understand! It's definitely nothing good!"
"Then... does that mean Jiang You is here too?"
Illya suddenly perked up, intrigued. Despite Jiang You having seen through her entirely (metaphorically speaking), he remained an enigma himself.
"Tell me," she pressed, "what kind of deck do you use? If you act on instinct, you must use cards that truly belong to you, right? Even salarymen in Fuyuki have their own decks—I refuse to believe you can't produce even a single unique card."
"Haven't you already seen my cards?" Jiang You countered.
Jiang You only possessed two truly unique cards of his own. One of them belonged to Fairy Tristan and was largely useless in other decks, yet it was still a remarkably powerful card. The developers (perhaps) understood the value of emotional resonance.
"If my entire deck were composed of that thing, I'd advise surrendering immediately. As for my true identity, I'll tell you eventually. Please be patient and remain hopeful."
"Mysterious as always," Illya sighed, "but if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you."
In truth, Illya wasn't particularly concerned with Jiang You's true identity. It was enough for her that he was her servant. Her desire to know his true identity stemmed solely from a desire to better understand her servant.
"Even if you were a world-destroying Demon Lord, it wouldn't matter! Besides, you're just a bleeding-heart fool!"
"Jiang You, which timeline is this?"
Medusa finally found an opportunity to ask, her gaze fixed on the two nearly identical Illyas. She was particularly perplexed by one of them, who was dressed in a flimsy, utterly impractical outfit resembling a Magical Girl's uniform straight out of an anime. For a moment, Medusa even suspected Jiang You was engaging in some shady business with his Master—though her own attire wasn't much different.
"Another crisis to deal with?"
It was well-known among the Heroic Spirits of Fuyuki that Jiang You often took on world-saving missions. Even Archer and Jason (albeit reluctantly) had pledged their loyalty, allowing Jiang You to summon them whenever needed. In truth, if Jiang You were to summon his full strength, his Hero pool would be terrifyingly vast. However, no opponent had yet pushed him to unleash his full power. Moreover, his most formidable foes tended to engage him in one-on-one true Duelist battles—the kind where no one else could interfere.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this world," Jiang You said, pulling Miyu closer. "But something's gone wrong in her world. Basically, someone's trying to destroy the world and create a 'better' one, just like in the Chaldea Worldline. That's pretty standard for villains here, so you'll need to get used to it."
"This world has always been this way," Medusa nodded. "Human desire is a bottomless abyss."
She and her sisters had suffered endless harassment because of human greed. Even knowing the Invisible Island harbored life-devouring monsters, people still flocked to it, desperate to claim the pure, maiden Goddess. Medusa naturally felt sympathy for these girls in distress.
"So, how can we help them?"
"Their next opponent will be a mindless servant created from something called a 'Class Card.' And that servant is you. These two are Magical Girls for the first time, with no combat experience. If they lose, they'll die. That's why I've brought you here for a practice run."
If Jiang You hadn't needed to train Miyu into a first-rate servant, he would have flattened them himself.
"Can Magical Girls even do this a second time?" Prisma Illya muttered from the sidelines. She had never heard of Magical Girls being rehired for a second gig.
"Is that so? Then leave it to me," Medusa replied, accepting Jiang You's request. Slowly, she removed her blindfold, her square pupils radiating a murderous intent as she gazed at the two Magical Girls. "This battle will be fought under real combat standards. Don't treat it like a game. If you're careless, you'll get hurt!"
"I-I'll... tr-try my best..."
Prisma Illya was about to respond when she suddenly felt her body stiffen. Her limbs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, making even the slightest movement or utterance excruciatingly difficult.
"Idiot Illya! Didn't I say this was real combat? Do you think your opponent will just stand there waiting for you to finish talking before attacking?!"
Ruby spontaneously detached from Illya's hand and cast a counterspell. Medusa's Mystic Eyes were less effective against targets with magical resistance. Since Ruby could draw similar Skills from Parallel Worlds, Illya quickly recovered, avoiding the humiliation of being instantly eliminated like a mere extra.
"Think about her name! She's Medusa! To fight Heroic Spirits, you need to study their legends for weaknesses or prepare countermeasures. Like, to defeat Diarmuid, you'd use a wild boar!"
"Think about her name! She's Medusa! To fight Heroic Spirits, you need to study their legends for weaknesses or prepare countermeasures. Like, to defeat Dimurdo, you'd use a wild boar!"
"Makes sense... not!"
Prisma Illya couldn't imagine how to exploit such a weakness. "If I actually encounter him, where am I supposed to find a wild boar?!"
"It's just an example! Believe in yourself! You'll find a way! Faith is your magic!"
Ruby spouted dangerously inspirational words.
"What are you even saying?! It makes no sense!" Prisma Illya shouted in frustration.