Chapter 370: Illya's Experience
When Illya encountered a Heroic Spirit Swordmaster...
It was a pitch-black night. In a bamboo forest, a monk wielding a cross-spear (Juumonji-yari) with three sharp prongs let out a bone-chilling howl. The bamboo around him bore the marks of being sliced by sharp blades, with emerald-green stalks lying scattered on the ground in irregular patterns; a battle had evidently taken place there recently.
But in the next instant, this monk had already become a companion to the black shadows he had been fighting.
Like the others, his eyes were blood-red where the whites should have been—hideous and terrifying. He no longer resembled a human, but rather a demon from the depths of Hell.
The monk's body had become hollow. His heart and brain were empty, and his connection to the distant Throne of Heroes was growing increasingly faint. He felt like a puppet, hollowed out on the inside, possessing only past memories but having forgotten the feelings associated with them.
He remembered laughing, but now he couldn't feel why. Was it joy? A bitter laugh? Or something else? He could no longer recall.
Then, a deep hatred and violent, resentful aura poured into him, filling the void. The hollow body became sticky and bloated. From then on, this body would do nothing but slaughter.
At the time, Illya was sitting on the back of the big white bear. As a Divine Spirit fusion, she possessed the power to borrow strength from her animal spirit partners. With the help of an eagle soaring above, she was searching for clues regarding the sealing grounds of the Great Serpent.
Yamata no Orochi was a divine demon that had once wreaked havoc across this land, demanding a young woman as a sacrifice every day, lest it cause calamity. In the classics, it was mostly known as the monster slain by Susanoo.
However, some legends suggest that the Great Serpent is a serpent god related to dragons, and indeed, some people worship it. Some call it the Ibuki Daimyojin of Mount Ibuki, believing the Great Serpent to be the ancestor of the Oni. The Ibuki clan, represented by Ibuki Suika, are descendants of the Great Serpent.
But once such an existence decides to hide, finding it is no easy task.
"This is so boring, Shirou," the little girl said, lying on the back of the big white bear as it walked slowly forward. Since they were wandering aimlessly, going fast or slow made little difference.
Suddenly, the eagle in the sky let out a sharp cry.
Hearing the sound, the girl sat up and said, "Did you find something? Eh? A fire? Shirou! Run, let's get there."
When she reached the location, what she saw was a lancer slaughtering defenseless villagers. Not a single person in the entire village—man, woman, old, or young—was left alive. All lay in pools of blood.
Hearing the noise, the lancer turned around. Upon seeing Illya, he immediately raised his spear and charged!
"Shirou! An enemy! Stop him!" Illya shouted urgently.
The big white bear roared and charged straight at him.
While the white bear moved forward to pin the opponent down, Illya relied on the powerful magical energy of her Divine Spirit fusion. She raised her Noble Bow and aimed at the lancer, the arrow emitting an incredible chill; once fired, it would completely seal the target in ice.
However, the lancer seemed highly adept at dealing with such sudden events. Wielding his three-pronged spear, he used a peculiar spear technique to thrust directly at the incoming frost arrow, parrying it away.
He dodged Illya's "Frozen Wasteland" finishing blow and then vanished into the night.
"He parried my finishing move completely, though looking at the way he turned and fled, it seems he didn't intend to fight to the end this time. In any case, that is the Heroic Spirit Swordmaster I encountered."
"That spear technique... I feel like I've heard of it somewhere!" Musashi spoke up. She thought for a moment and then said loudly: "I know! It's the spear technique of the Hozoin! The second-generation master, Hozoin Inshun! Legend says he mastered spear techniques that reached the divine realm. He possesses a secret technique where, no matter how rare the opponent is, he can parry any move during the first encounter."
"Hozoin Inshun? No! He is definitely not the type of monk who would kill indiscriminately," Shirou blurted out. The Hozoin Inshun he knew was a warrior monk from the chaotic Sengoku period. Because war was everywhere and there was no one to maintain order, even temples where sutras were chanted had to find ways to protect themselves.
The Hozoin temple was the most prominent among them because the first-generation head of the Hozoin modified the long spear, adding prongs to both sides of the spearhead. Beyond just thrusting, the Juumonji-yari could sweep and cleave. He created the "Fifteen Outer Techniques" for this weapon, making it famous throughout the land.
Hozoin Inshun was not the successor of the temple's administration, but the successor of its martial arts, serving as the instructor for the warrior monks. He was a spear-fighting genius who surpassed his master. Within his master's spear style, he created the "Eleven Inner Techniques" and was regarded in the martial world as an existence whose spear technique was divine.
In the legends passed down through folklore, it is said that the Sword Saint Miyamoto Musashi traveled everywhere in his youth to challenge martial masters. When he came to Hozoin, he found a way to provoke Inshun, forcing him to fight a duel. The exact details are unknown, but it ended in a draw, with Musashi running out of the Hozoin temple.
The Hozoin were warriors, but they were also compassionate monks. They would answer the requests of villagers to help fight off cruel bandits. How could he possibly be a villain who kills, loots, and doesn't even spare children?
True, Hozoin certainly killed people during his life, but that was because he lived in an environment where if you didn't kill, you would be killed. Even if judged by modern law, it would at most be deemed excessive self-defense—or perhaps perfectly justified self-defense.
Illya looked at Shirou and asked in a soft voice, "Oh? Shirou, you know that person? Unfortunately, the 'Heroic Spirit Saber' are exactly those kinds of things. This is a transformation performed by that disgusting Sorcerer. This is the flaw of the Heroic Spirit Summoning system; summoned Servants are ultimately familiars controlled by the summoner."
"Once the Saint Graph is modified, it doesn't matter if they were a villain or a saint in life. Now, nothing remains. They are merely string puppets following orders with numbed hearts. At most, all they can do is shed tears of blood and regret, praying that they die in battle quickly," Illya said somewhat dejectedly.
"Master Hozoin... how could this happen..." Shirou sighed deeply. A comrade who once guarded the village and fought side-by-side had been corrupted into a demon in this world...
"The Heroic Spirit Saber... what kind of existences are they exactly? I feel so sorry for them being forced into this," Gudako said softly.
"If you encounter them, run! If you can't run, then kill them. Sever their limbs, cut off their heads. Ordinary attacks can't kill a Heroic Spirit Swordmaster; you must strike their vital points. You absolutely cannot hesitate, or you will be the one who dies. This is Big Sister's advice~!" Illya looked at the group and spoke very seriously.
"Gulp..." The atmosphere became so serious that Gudako couldn't help but swallow hard.
"I understand. If we meet, there is no choice but to fight to the death," Shirou said, slamming his fist into his palm with determination.
"That's good. Shirou is very kind, so Big Sister was worried. But you understood surprisingly quickly," Illya said with a smile.
"No, it's just a simple change of perspective. If I became like that and turned into a villain, I would also want to be killed before I could hurt anyone," Shirou said in a low voice.
Illya shrugged and said, "Well, although these people have nothing to do with me."
"Eh?! Illya, aren't you on our side!?" Gudako cried out in surprise.
"After all, the mission Counter Force gave me in this world is to deal with the Great Serpent God here. As for these Heroic Spirit Swordmaster monsters—while they can no longer be considered human, they still fall within the category of the human world. In the end, it's just humans wanting to destroy the space where humans live, so it can only be solved by humans themselves." Illya turned back and stroked the white bear's head, causing 'Shirou' to squint his eyes comfortably.
Illya continued gloomily: "Yes, this is a human matter; it has nothing to do with us. At least for these children (animal spirits), it is so. Even if the human world is destroyed, leading to massive environmental changes, disasters, pollution, and the collapsing of heaven and earth, organisms will still survive. Even without humans, there will still be organisms that die due to natural disasters."
Although the girl's words were cold and indifferent, they were the most realistic answer.
As a homunculus, Illya often appeared naive to human common sense. The Einzbern family created her specifically to achieve the Third Magic; her fate was sealed from the start. She participated in the Holy Grail War as the Lesser Grail; whether she won or lost, her end was either to be defeated and have her heart gouged out, or, like her mother, to serve as a vessel for the Grail, waiting to be swallowed by the surging magical energy and merged into the black mud of the Grail...
Even if she won, she couldn't escape death. She would put on the white "Dress of Heaven" inlaid with gold—the Mystic Code that humans cannot touch. Then she would order Berserker to commit suicide, and finally, at the cost of her physical body's disappearance, her soul would reach the depths of the Heavens' Cup for a brief few seconds, serving merely as an experiment for the Third Magic.
Everything was predetermined; such was the fate of the girl named Illya. To her, the lives and deaths of humans in this world indeed had nothing to do with her, because her own world had been destined for its end and stopped turning the moment her parents left her.
And the world of the Heroic Spirit Saber had also stopped turning; all that remained were shells that knew only how to kill.
"This is Human Order (Jinri), and only Human Order. Humans cannot represent all living things," Shirou muttered.
At that moment, Gudako stood up and shouted with full fighting spirit: "I know! The human side will be handled by my team! So please leave the God side to you!"
Illya looked at Gudako in surprise, clearly not expecting such a response. The girl sighed and said, "You really are... a good child. I've taken a liking to you."
Gudako's mouth dropped open in delight. "Yay~! Favorability up! Then after the issues in this world are resolved, Illya, please come to Chaldea with me! We can play 'Triple Illya'~!"
"Sorry, Gudako, Musashi-chan. Although I'd like to help you, I'm too busy myself right now. Expecting me to fight a top-tier national Beast God like Yamata no Orochi... there should be a limit to how reckless you are!" Illya grumbled in a low voice.
"I'll help you. It's not the first time I've dealt with this snake," Shirou said, looking at Illya. He had seen the Great Serpent while helping the villagers guard their home, and he had slain quite a few of them since arriving in this world. If even the avatars were this troublesome, then as a national patron-god level monster, none of them would be easy to handle.
Shirou realized the gravity of the situation. He turned to Gudako and Musashi and said, "It seems we must act separately."
"I get it! Even if they are Heroic Spirits, they are still 'Saber'! That's perfect! I can go meet them!" Musashi hoisted the Myojingiri onto her shoulder and said in a low voice. She was furious about the insane and cruel things these Heroic Spirit Saber were doing. Meanwhile, her heart as a swordsman began to leap with excitement at the prospect of these unprecedentedly terrifying opponents.
"But where do we find these Heroic Spirit Saber?" Gudako asked, tilting her head.
"They wander everywhere, but the only certainty is that no matter where they operate, they are still near Shimousa Province," Illya said.
"Meaning Shimousa Province is the center of their operations!" Shirou added.
"Yeah, so we might even find the enemy's main base there," Musashi chimed in.
"I see! Then we'll go first to—" Gudako made the decision and stood up.
"Wait. If you go out now, it won't be long before it's completely dark. If you want to go to the city, wait until tomorrow," Shirou said, reaching out to grab Gudako's back collar and pulling her back.
"For tonight, stay here. There are spare futons and beds in the two rooms upstairs; you and Musashi can stay the night. Especially you, Gudako—as a Master, you need to provide magical energy, so sleep is very important! I'll go boil some water now; you go take a hot bath and then get a good night's sleep." Shirou began lecturing Gudako.
"I know, I know! You don't have to say it!" Gudako covered her ears, shouting, and ran straight upstairs.
"Ahahaha, thank you so much, Shirou. To be honest, I'm tired too. But having delicious food and a soft bed is so happy~! I don't even want to leave~! Well, I'm heading up too. I'll leave the hot water to you. You can come up and peek while I'm bathing if you want~!" Musashi joked half-playfully before following Gudako upstairs.
"I would never do that!" Shirou deadpanned.
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