Irisviel held the hand of the still somewhat dazed Illya and came to a halt.
Her beautiful ruby eyes quietly watched the man lying in a pool of blood and dust.
The look in her eyes shifted from initial pain to a gradual calm and indifference.
There is no greater grief than the death of the heart. The moment Hansen pulled out that small golden lesser grail, the Irisviel who had been imprisoned by fate had already died.
"It's gone."
Irisviel withdrew her gaze and turned her head. Her eyes now clearly reflected only Hansen's tall figure and Illya, who was clinging tightly to her side.
"From now on, I have no more connection with this world."
Her voice remained gentle, yet it carried a firm and decisive finality.
Beside her, Illya blinked her large eyes, not quite understanding, but she was sensitive enough to sense the change in her mother's emotions.
She could only grip her mother's skirt tighter, as if it were her only lifeline.
"A wise choice."
The corners of Hansen's mouth curled up slightly in a satisfied arc.
He didn't linger any longer, raising his hand and swiping it sharply toward the void.
Boom—!!!
The space seemed to be forcibly torn apart by an invisible giant hand, letting out a soul-shaking roar.
A large Dimensional Portal opened, wide enough for several people to walk through side by side. The figures of Hansen and the girls then vanished into it... The dimensional tunnel was not a pitch-black, silent void, but was flowing with magnificent stardust from a galaxy.
There was no expected dizziness from weightlessness. Everyone stepped onto a faint layer of Platinum Divine Fire paved by Hansen's power, walking as if on level ground, as though they were strolling atop the Milky Way.
"Wow... Is this what's outside the world?"
Illya leaned against the edge of the divine power barrier, watching the brilliant auroras outside. Her blinking ruby eyes were full of novelty and awe.
Tohsaka Rin tightly held her younger sister Sakura's small hand. Although she tried hard to maintain the composure of a tsundere young lady and didn't speak, her wide, round eyes had already betrayed the stormy waves in her heart.
Even in the library of the Tohsaka Family, such a magnificent sight had never been recorded.
In contrast, Sakura appeared much quieter. She just silently watched Hansen's back, the gloom in the depths of her eyes seemingly washed away and dissipated by the starlight filling the sky.
Hansen stopped and turned to look at the five people behind him.
The valiant Saber Artoria, the gentle wife Irisviel, the lively Illya, and the sisters Rin and Sakura who possessed infinite potential.
"Next, we are going to The Root," Hansen's gaze swept over them. "That place is not suitable for mortals to survive in. Therefore, you all need a comprehensive upgrade."
Artoria was still wearing those pure white Bridal Garments. Hearing this, she instinctively moved to summon her armor, but Hansen pressed down on her shoulder.
"Relax, it's just a baptism."
Hansen raised his right hand, palm up, as platinum-gold radiance flowed at his fingertips like liquid stardust.
The authority of Imaginary Divine Power could break biological limiters, reshaping life from the levels of genes and souls, and bestowing upon mortals the brand of his kin.
"Big brother, will it... hurt?" Illya asked timidly, her small face full of nervousness.
"It won't hurt. It's just like taking a sauna." Hansen gave that porcelain-like little face a squeeze.
Before his voice finished echoing, he flicked his finger.
Swish, swish, swish—!
Five points of platinum-gold light instantly sank into their foreheads like meteors.
Hum!
There was no expected violent Impact. Irisviel only felt an indescribable warm current explode along her spine, flowing into all her limbs and bones.
Her body, which had felt empty due to the forced removal of the lesser grail, was now being arrogantly filled and repaired by an even more domineering energy, completing its reconstruction!
That feeling was like a dried-up riverbed suddenly being filled with a golden divine spring; every cell was cheering with joy.
As a fellow Einzbern homunculus, Illya's experience was similar to her mother's, but purer.
She felt a mysterious connection established between herself and Hansen. Her perception of her big brother became incredibly intimate, as if he were the most trustworthy relative in her life.
As a Heroic Spirit, Artoria's sensation was even more intense!
Her saint graph, which originally relied on command spells and a master's mana supply, underwent an earth-shattering qualitative change at this moment.
She could feel her power breaking through the boundaries of a Servant, advancing toward that divine realm she had never touched before.
"This... how is this possible..."
Tohsaka Rin clenched her fist in surprise, looking at the dancing Platinum Divine Fire at her fingertips.
As a magical genius, she could clearly perceive that the originally obscure mana factors in the void were now like obedient pets, gathering joyfully at just a single thought from her.
And Sakura, who had already experienced one divine power modification, had the highest compatibility with Hansen's power.
She narrowed her eyes, feeling as if she were soaking in a hot spring like a mother's womb.
Whether it was the wounds deep in her soul or the fatigue of her body, they all vanished into thin air at this moment, sinking into unprecedented comfort and relaxation.
Divine power bestowal complete, God-Awakened +5.
"Next is the final item."
Hansen walked up to Irisviel.
This silver-haired young woman, who had just undergone the baptism of power, now had skin as white as snow, and a hint of natural charm in her flowing gaze.
Her cheeks still bore a lingering flush from the surge of power. Seeing Hansen approach, she couldn't help but nervously wring her fingers, her heart rate accelerating.
The newly established divine power link at the soul level made her feel an instinctive closeness and sense of obedience toward Hansen.
"Don't move, it'll be over soon."
Hansen's voice was low and magnetic.
His hand passed through those silver strands of hair, lightly stroking the fair, smooth, soft yet firm skin just below her collarbone.
Irisviel only felt a wave of warmth in her chest, as if her heart were being held by that hand.
Hum—
A pitch-black, deep, irregular crystal emerged from Irisviel's chest without any resistance, as if passing through the surface of water.
It was not affected by gravity, floating quietly in Hansen's palm and slowly rotating.
The surrounding space underwent subtle distortions and collapses because of it.
In the next second, this fragment of the Divine Cube left behind in the Fate world turned into a ray of dark light and went straight into the black mark on the back of Hansen's hand.
Crack—
Hansen seemed to hear a crisp sound in his mind.
The barrier separating him from the One-Punch World, formed by billions of dimensions, had been eliminated by another layer.
The increase in power made him narrow his eyes in comfort.
Soon.
He was one step closer to going home.
"The deal is complete, Madam."
Hansen withdrew his hand and looked at the woman before him, who seemed a bit lost, and winked at her.
"Your original fate as the vessel for the Holy Grail has ended. From now on, you are no longer a tool that exists for sacrifice."
"Your life will be written by you alone."
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