To Jiang You, those two words sounded like a simple greeting. But for Illya and Nero, it was entirely different. It was as if a billion voices had exploded in their ears simultaneously, while countless whispers echoed through their minds. In that instant, it felt as if their souls had been torn from their bodies and plunged into an endless abyss.
[Yog-Sothoth has challenged you to a Duel. Do you accept?]
"Holy shit!"
A thousand unspoken words condensed into that single curse. This thing is way more terrifying than Goetia, isn't it? How the hell did something like this end up in Chaldea?!
Even though this was the Type-Moon World, and Bubble's abilities might not perfectly match her original lore, Jiang You recalled the sheer power of the Foreigner from Part 2.7. Even if Bubble's power level were nerfed, she still wasn't something a regular Servant could face head-on. What part of the story did we just jump to?!
Jiang You quickly noticed his companions' dire situation. If this continued, they would suffer their first casualty right here.
In the Type-Moon World, only a Grand Servant or a Beast would have the right to challenge such an entity. Jiang You had no confidence that the Cards in his possession could match the enemy's strength. He made a decisive choice: retreat. He couldn't let Illya and Nero die here.
And so, Bubble watched as Jiang You vanished from her sight... though for Her, the concept of space held little meaning.
I need to find a suitable place to converse with him. Having confirmed Jiang You's existence, She no longer needed Abby to pinpoint his location. She quickly found the perfect spot—a place where no one would disturb them.
Thus, Abby once again received a divine oracle. She replied respectfully, "Understood, Father God. Abby will take care of the aftermath."
-
Shortly thereafter, Bubble located the independent space. Everything within it was formed from someone's subconscious. The entire realm was crude beyond measure, constantly on the verge of collapse. She carefully squeezed into the space, refraining from touching anything until its Master granted permission. Two consciousness aggregates attempted to block her path, but their resistance was far too weak. Bubble casually tossed them aside.
In the instant she made contact with the two aggregates, Bubble also learned how to guide Jiang You to meet her.
-
Prisma Illya hadn't even had a chance to leave when she saw Jiang You rush back, carrying Nero and Illya. Both of them looked completely dazed, as if they had suffered a powerful mental attack.
Illya's condition was one thing, but Prisma Illya knew Nero's strength as a Heroic Spirit all too well. The fact that even Nero had been defeated in an instant meant the enemy's power was beyond her comprehension.
"Was the enemy... that strong?"
Seeing even the usually carefree Jiang You look so grim, Prisma Illya couldn't help but feel a knot of tension tighten in her stomach.
"This is beyond just 'strong'," Jiang You said.
He couldn't fathom why a Type-Moon World crossover event would feature this thing. While the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game itself had plenty of ridiculously overpowered cards, an enemy of this caliber was far too broken for the Type-Moon World. This wasn't a planetary-level crisis; it was a solar system... no, a galactic-level crisis.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Jiang You's grave tone made Prisma Illya realize the severity of the situation. Though he often messed around, he had always helped her when it mattered. She wanted to return the favor.
Jiang You looked at Prisma Illya. This version of Illya truly had the highest growth potential of them all—the title "Heavenly Emperor Illya" wasn't just for show. But even the Illya who single-handedly ruled for six thousand years was still confined to the planetary scale, roughly on par with Gaia. Against Bubble, it wasn't a matter of having a slim chance; it was pure suicide. To even make a difference, they'd need cosmic-level combat power. Where in the Type-Moon World could they find...
Wait. There was someone!
Jiang You's mind flashed to a certain black-haired girl with twin tails. The Servantverse
Gag characters are always the strongest. As a being from the Prime Universe, Ishtar-Rin's combat power was undeniably immense, though whether she could truly stand against Bubble's strength remained debatable. Jiang You had no doubt the Servantverse existed in this crossover event. If they could throw in something as absurd as Bubble, adding the Servantverse was practically a given!
The problem was, the Servantverse storyline was a Star Wars parody—a joke event. Jiang You had no way to access the corresponding Servants. If he started searching now, by the time he finally obtained Ishtar-Rin's card, Gudako would probably be old enough for elementary school.
Just as Jiang You was agonizing over how to deal with this suddenly appearing hidden boss, a notification popped up in his quest log.
[Go to the Transit World and speak with Yog-Sothoth (Countdown: 8543:59:52)]
"The Transit World?"
The place that was once his alone had long been visited by others, so Bubble's appearance there wasn't particularly surprising. Her presence also meant she could travel between these parallel worlds. If he didn't accept the invitation, once the countdown ended, she might very well come looking for him directly. But wasn't this countdown a bit too long? Was she really willing to wait an entire year?
Normally, a countdown like this would mean the player has a year to power up. But Bubble's location was practically camping the entrance. As long as Jiang You logged in, he was bound to run into her eventually. The design felt a bit contradictory.
Still, he could safely open the Script's gate during the Duel's grace period, so it wasn't a completely hopeless situation.
After careful consideration, Jiang You decided it was best to meet her directly. A special quest had already triggered; he wouldn't be able to rest until he saw what it was about. Besides, Bubble had already interrupted his progress in one of his Scripts.
"Sorry, Prisma Illya and Medea, but I'll have to trouble you to look after Illya and the others."
Jiang You knew nothing about healing, and in this situation, neither Spells nor technology were likely to work. Treating it as a last-ditch effort—and mentally preparing to reload his save if things went south (though the load function was still grayed out)—he summoned everyone who might be even remotely useful.
This led to a chain of summons: Medea called Jason, who in turn called Asclepius. Asclepius found the symptoms "fascinating" and asked for more samples, only to be dragged away by a stone-faced Jiang You, who then had Minamoto no Raikou initiate a Shadow Game against him.
In the end, Jiang You only brought Tiamat with him to the meeting. If even she couldn't help, then no one else would be of any use.
"Leave it to Mommy!"
The petite Tiamat puffed out her chest. "An outsider dares to harm Mommy's child? Mommy will give it a good thrashing!"
As it turned out, Tiamat was useless. The moment they stepped through the gate, she was teleported to an unknown location.
In the desolate world, Jiang You stood alone, facing the billion points of light.