The sudden magical scene left Jean, who had been about to complain about the interruption, utterly speechless.
This move of taking oneself hostage was truly a masterstroke.
But to be honest, one little loli turning into two was hardly a loss.
At that moment, Lia glanced at Jean:
'Is this one of your people?'
Her eyes seemed to convey that meaning.
'Isn't your avalon supposed to be an invincible defense?'
Jean shot back a look with the same meaning.
However, there was no mutual understanding between them, so no one knew if the other had truly grasped the intended message.
But just then, a voice cried out from over there first:
"Who are you?!" Illya stared in shock at the version of herself that was holding her hostage, or rather, the version of herself wearing that embarrassing Magical Girl outfit.
Magical Girl Illya was even more startled—the person she was kidnapping was herself!
It was Jean who spoke up first, addressing Magical Girl Illya (abbreviated as Magi): "Hey, Magical Girl over there, how about you put down your wand first? The one who'll end up hurt is still you."
"Huh? Both are me? Ah..."
Lia also spoke up sternly: "Release my master at once."
But this only served to remind Magi, snapping her out of her confusion about the'self' issue. She pressed her wand closer, continuing to hold Illya hostage:
"Saber, if you want your master to remain unharmed, drop your defenses and hand over the Holy Grail!"
"...?" *N
"Wha-what? Why are you all looking at me like that? Ruby, didn't you say the Holy Grail was with the Saber group?!"
Her adorable reaction made everyone think: 'Did this child just charge in without understanding anything?'
Just then, the gem at the tip of the wand suddenly spoke: "That's right, that's how it is, Illya-chan."
"Ah, the wand is talking." Rin was the first to react, as if she had seen this wand somewhere before.
"Isn't that the wand from the box in the Tohsaka Family house?" Sakura's memory was clearly much better. Her frequent infiltration experiences made her more familiar with that house than Rin, the head of the family.
After sensing the strange aura emanating from Magi, Lia asked, "Are you Caster? And are you... Illya?"
"That's correct. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, summoned as Caster according to Bazett's account."
"Wait a minute! You... ah, no, me... that's not right either... a Servant?"
Illya, whose mind was filled with extensive knowledge of the Holy Grail system and Heroic Spirits, instantly thought of many things and continued asking:
"Will I stay like this forever? How old was I when I died? And why am I wearing such embarrassing clothes?"
"That's not it at all! I'm only 10 this year, a fifth grader. As for this outfit, I don't want to wear it either!"
"It's not good to lie, Illya-chan. You were clearly very happy wearing it," Ruby chimed in with another Make complaints.
"Ten years old? But I wasn't this... developed when I was ten..."
Illya remembered that due to adjustments, she was actually still very small when she was ten.
Jean, of course, knew exactly what was going on, but she had no intention of explaining.
Lia's attention was drawn away, but she didn't let her guard down against Jean. Jean also intended to let Rin rest for a while.
Because Jean had always been a contender with abundant internal energy, her usual fighting style was somewhat wasteful. However, many battles against higher-level opponents necessitated such tactics.
Seizing this opportunity, Jean began organizing the current intel in her mind. With the appearance of a new Servant, the overall situation of the Holy Grail War was becoming clearer.
Based on the information revealed so far, it was likely that Sakura had summoned Cú Chulainn, while Bazett was a step behind and summoned a Heroic Spirit she had a connection with. Aside from Cú Chulainn and Angra Mainyu, that only left Illya.
Of course, strictly speaking, there were also possibilities like Miyu and Chloe, but in terms of probability, they were all similar.
From Jean's perspective, the current roster was:
Saber: Lia — Illya
Lancer: Cú Chulainn — Sakura
Archer: Unknown — Unknown
Rider: Unknown — Unknown
Caster: Illya — Bazett
Assassin: Jean — Rin
Berserker: Mysterious Heroine X (Alter) — Unknown
Five of these groups' situations were known.
Although Ai-chan's master was unknown, it was highly probable that she didn't have one. After all, if she had a master, why would she be working? Wouldn't freeloading be much better?
Currently, there were still no clues whatsoever about Archer and Rider, and it was also unknown whether the enthusiastic citizen, Mr. Gold, was still around.
However, Jean wasn't the least bit intimidated by that perpetually careless Mr. Gold. After all, if one was fast enough, even that Shirou could have an arm chopped off, and Jean's blade came with inherent anti-Divinity properties.
The real problems were the overpowered Archer and the Rider who basically never won. Although it was unknown if class advantages truly existed, if they did, Jean as an Assassin could deal double damage.
But since two Illyas had appeared, it was possible for others to appear as well, like that disgraceful Ishtar. And in fact, counting Ai-chan, there were already two Artorias.
Type-Moon can't afford other actors.JPG
Judging purely by the current situation, if Jean didn't unleash her full power, she could suppress Lia. Therefore, an alliance with Sakura's group had a high probability of leading to victory.
However, the relationship between the two Illyas was unclear. Although it was routine in the Type-Moon universe for versions of oneself to oppose each other, it was unlikely that the Illyas would fight amongst themselves.
So, the immediate task should be to separate the two Illyas.
Having made her decision, Jean looked at Lia:
"Let's call a temporary truce. You go rescue your master."
Lia's eyes widened as she looked at Jean, seeming very surprised.
Nevertheless, she nodded at Jean and dashed straight towards Illya, though she never let her guard down against Jean the entire time.
At the same moment, Jean gave Cú Chulainn a meaningful look, signaling him to kidnap Magi.
Although he didn't actually understand the look, Sakura issued the same command through their command spell link. On Rin's side, due to Jean's previous order forbidding the use of command spells, she was completely unable to utilize their function.
Lia, of course, could enter the avalon Barrier. She charged right in and flung Magi away.
Although she also considered the possibility of cooperation, she didn't dare gamble with her master's safety and had to temporarily abandon that option.
Simultaneously, Cú Chulainn moved, charging towards Magi, intending to capture her while she was vulnerable.
But at that very moment, another figure dressed in a wine-red suit emerged from the forest, using twin fists to forcefully halt Cú Chulainn's charge.
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