Inside the rented room, there was no view of the outside. Without the distinction between day and night, it was easy to lose one's sense of time. If it weren't for the inexplicable internet connection, Xia Yu wouldn't have known how to pass these three days.
During this time, she ate when hungry, slept when tired, and spent the rest of her time watching anime or familiarizing herself with game lore... catching up as much as possible.
Speaking of food, Xia Yu looked at the sizzling, oily cured meat in her hand, felt it was ready, and took it off the grill. She had previously worried about what to do if the food in the house ran out, but that was no longer a concern.
She was worried about something else.
There was no helping it; three days was simply too rushed. Many containers hadn't even been sorted before being piled at the port, and she had just packed whatever she saw.
So now, opening any container inside the Painting Scroll was like opening a blind box.
Initially, she enthusiastically opened three. The first was rice; the second was various canned meats—looking at that olive-drab color scheme and the production date of 1976... great, Soviet antiques.
She certainly didn't dare eat them. While mere spoilage couldn't harm an Emanator's body, why look for trouble? It wasn't like she lacked options.
The third was ridiculous. It was full of PPSh-41s... she was stunned at the time. Didn't they agree on food? Why were submachine guns packed in here?
She then chose to check them one by one. As it turned out, there was quite a lot of weaponry. Especially the goods from Siberia—light weapons and ammunition of all kinds were endless. Should she be grateful that heavy artillery couldn't fit into the containers?
It was basically either cans or guns... heaven knows what they were thinking. Did they think that if you store grain without storing guns, you're just someone else's granary?
They were actually quite kind in their own way.
Xia Yu was caught between laughter and tears. She had only checked a few dozen; the numbers from other countries were a bit more normal. At least she didn't find a Chicago Typewriter in the North American cargo... what she found were Javelins and Stingers...
On the Shenzhou side, she found a dozen containers of grenades, and those were just the ones she happened to open. Looking at the countless containers covering the entire Painting Scroll... heaven knows what other surprises awaited.
In the end, she only took some rice, some cans with very recent production dates, and a bit of frozen meat. She happily started a barbecue.
Once she had eaten and drunk her fill, she saw that the time was about right.
"Phew..." She brushed her teeth and washed up, grooming herself thoroughly. Then, facing the mirror, she looked into Acheron's indifferent eyes.
"I hope the next body won't be quite so ridiculous..."
She turned, walked out of the bathroom, and pulled the door handle.
The wooden door, which had been immovable before, now slowly opened. Unlike the pitch darkness outside the window, before her was a soft, pure white light.
Xia Yu stepped inside—
—To the next world.
In the next moment, an indescribable sensation hit her, but she was mostly used to it. After a slight dizzy spell, Xia Yu opened her eyes.
"Berserker?"
In front of her was a familiar young girl looking at her with an expression of pure disbelief.
What Berserker?
Xia Yu was a bit confused. But she still recognized the girl before her.
Illya.
Wait, let me piece this together. Illya is standing in front of me, calling me Berserker...
Did I become Heracles?
But don't I always turn into girls? Does Heracles have an image like this? I've never heard of it...
She instinctively looked down at her hands.
Mhm, very familiar.
The black, playful bow tied on the white long sleeve of the left arm, combined with the bright yellow neckerchief on her chest and the green hem of the skirt...
Isn't this my precious Firefly?
Wait, Illya is here, and she's calling me Berserker. That means this is the Fifth Holy Grail War. I've taken over Uncle Herc's job?
Firefly as Berserker?
It felt a bit cute in a way. Firefly and Berserker didn't really fit, even if she piloted Sam. Compared to Berserker, Rider might have been more appropriate.
While she was puzzled, Illya was clearly even more bewildered.
"Berserker... Heracles? Is a girl?" She obviously couldn't accept this setting.
"Could it be a summoning error? We didn't get Heracles?" The Homunculus Elder on the side was also puzzled. "No, the foundation from the temple clearly pointed to the Hercules of Greek Mythology... I personally supervised the excavation; there's no way it could be wrong!"
"Or perhaps someone related to the myth of Heracles was summoned? True, as a God of Strength from Greek Mythology, a deity isn't that easy to summon, even using the Berserker Class which has the highest probability... but..."
He scrutinized the girl before him. Looking at the attire full of modern elements, she didn't look like someone from the Age of Gods at all.
"Illya, what is her True Name?" Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the eighth-generation head of the Einzbern Family—a Homunculus who existed solely to complete The Third Magic—asked.
"I don't know, I can't see clearly," Illya replied, staring intently at the Servant before her, but all she saw were rows of question marks.
"What about stats and Noble Phantasm?" Acht frowned as he asked.
"Also question marks..." Illya looked at his frowning face and instinctively trembled slightly.
"Hmph, truly useless!" Hearing this, Acht gave her a cold look, then turned to the Servant. "State your True Name, Servant."
Faced with his question, Xia Yu ignored him entirely, only looking at Illya.
"You said you wanted to summon Heracles, but you summoned me instead, right?" She walked up to Illya, squatted down, and asked while looking into her crimson eyes.
"Insolence," Acht felt a surge of annoyance, but his basic logic remained. This was an unknown Heroic Spirit; if it were anyone else, he would have fired off a spell long ago.
Confronted with Xia Yu's question, for some reason, Illya suddenly felt a spark of courage. "I order you, Berserker, reveal your True Name!"
"Not a good girl, are you, little one?" Xia Yu smiled slightly, reached out to press Illya's head, and gave it a vigorous rub. "Come, let's trade questions for questions."
"I am the Master!" Hearing herself called a child, Illya couldn't take it. She reached out her hand to use a Command Spell, but she was sternly stopped by Acht.
"Illya! Don't act recklessly!" He glared fiercely at Illya. It wasn't because she offended the Servant—for Magi like them, Servants were just slightly stronger Familiars. Especially for the Einzbern Family, they truly didn't place Servants in their eyes.
He was annoyed that Illya wanted to use a precious Command Spell.
"You're so annoying," Xia Yu frowned. Firefly's body was a fragrant, soft girl, while the opponent was a powerful, seasoned Magus. Could she win?
She will win.
In an instant, Flame exploded violently around her. Illya instinctively tried to dodge, but the distance was too close. Facing the fire rushing at her face, her mind went blank and she instinctively closed her eyes.
But the expected burning sensation didn't come; instead, it felt like the warm spring sun...
"Like fireflies to a flame... Life begets death!" The girl's gentle voice gradually became cold and hard like a man's. Illya opened her eyes; the girl before her had vanished.
In her place was a warrior clad in silver armor!
It just so happened that Sam was fire-attributed, and Judgment of Shamash was also fire-attributed. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?
Xia Yu pulled Judgment of Shamash from the void, transforming the dual pistols into a greatsword, and aimed it at Acht.
I'll test the blade!
"Shamash..."
"Wait, unknown Hero! There must be some misunderstanding..." Acht's face contorted. As a Magus, he could feel the lethal threat radiating from that greatsword.
But unfortunately, Xia Yu had been annoyed by him for a long time.
"Uriel!"
In an instant, the cores of the Flame Herrscher from the Previous Era fused, initiating the Might of An-Utu form.
Judgment of Shamash was a Divine Key representing destruction. Generally, without a body at the level of Kevin, activating the Might of An-Utu was equivalent to mutual destruction. Even Siegfried had paid the price of an arm to save Kiana.
But for Firefly... no, for Sam, this was not a problem!
Boom!
Sun-like flame beamed out, turning into a massive pillar of fire that crushed everything in its path toward Acht.
As the head of the Einzbern Family, he had the authority to mobilize the Bounded Field within this castle. This was a Barrier the family had perfected over eight generations. He thought that inside his own Magecraft Workshop, he could withstand even a Servant's Noble Phantasm.
But in reality, when that stream of fire struck the castle, Acht realized he was dead wrong.
All Bounded Fields were destroyed like dry weeds. In the blink of an eye, the fire struck his face.
Is this... a Noble Phantasm?
In his final moments, he still couldn't understand why Berserker would release a Noble Phantasm directly at him... wait, Berserker?
Could it be because of the Mad Enhancement curse?
To ensure the successful summoning of Heracles, he had gone to great lengths to place an extremely powerful Mad Enhancement curse on the contract. Firstly, to increase the success rate by lowering complexity; secondly, to better control the Servant.
After all, in the last Holy Grail War, the family was on the verge of winning, but... that was why he chose to do this.
He never expected to lift a rock only to drop it on his own foot. This Berserker, who looked perfectly normal upon being summoned, suddenly flew into a mad rage...
My god... just as he thought this, he realized with horror that the fire had reached his face.
Then, he was turned to ash within the light.
Boom!
The fire tore through the Magecraft Workshop and the Bounded Field of generations, blasted through the castle walls, and shot straight into the sky. It even burned a giant hole through the overcast clouds, letting golden sunlight fall upon the castle through the rift.
Illya stared blankly at the Servant. She watched as a flash of fire surrounded her, and the burly silver armored warrior transformed back into the weak young girl.
"Mhm, should I follow the routine?" Seeing her dazed state, Xia Yu thought for a moment, then spoke to her. "Servant, Berserker. I ask you, are you my Master?"
Illya nodded blankly.
"Mhm, very good," Xia Yu smiled with satisfaction, walked forward, tucked her hands under Illya's arms, and gently lifted her up. "Such a cute Master, I am very satisfied."
"By the way, you haven't answered my question yet, Master. You wanted to summon Heracles?"
Illya hadn't yet recovered from Achatt's death and merely nodded blankly again.
"Then it's strange. Why was I summoned instead... wait, could it be that?" Xia Yu suddenly remembered something.
[Noble Phantasm—Reincarnation Pandora: Usurper of the Celestial Wind]
From Fate/strange Fake, it was one of Avenger Heracles' Noble Phantasms. Its effect was to seize the Noble Phantasms of others for one's own use. It was one of the three rewards given upon entering the Honkai universe...
If there was any way she could be connected to Heracles, this was the only one.
"Wait, you just killed Grandpa Acht..." Just then, the dazed Illya finally came to her senses, looking in horror at Xia Yu, who was holding her high.
"Berserker! I order you with a Command Spell, you are absolutely not allowed to hurt me!"
Illya was terrified. But Xia Yu felt nothing.
To verify whether the Command Spell had any binding force on her, she set Illya down and gently pinched her cheek.
"Ah, it hurts!" Illya clutched her face, tears welling in her eyes.
The soft, tender feel of skin full of collagen—it was simply divine!
By the way, the Command Spell didn't seem to work on her. Xia Yu looked at Illya with a strange gaze.
"You... don't come over!" Illya was scared senseless. She raised her hand, palm open, and aimed her Command Spell at her. "Otherwise... otherwise I..."
"Otherwise what?" Xia Yu took her hand with a friendly expression, laced her fingers with hers, and pulled her close.
"I... I..." Illya looked like she was about to cry.
"Oh dear, it seems that due to the Mad Enhancement curse, I can't quite control my actions," Xia Yu gently rubbed her hair. "Master, what did you want to say just now?"
"I... I don't want to say anything..." Illya lowered her head, speaking in a tone of forced submission.
"Mhm, very good, Master. Such a good child." Xia Yu pulled her hand. "Sorry about that, I broke your home. Come, let's go up and take a look."