While Remilia's elaborate plan was perfectly devised, there's an old saying: Lancer-class Servants have always had the rawest deal, their Luck stat rarely ever cresting E... Sometimes, history repeats itself with startling accuracy.

"I am the Peerless War God Cirno! Flandre, do you dare fight me?!"

Just as Remilia was luxuriating in her beautiful daydream of victory, she was suddenly struck by these words. She snapped her eyes open, looked toward the source of the voice, and nearly spat up a mouthful of old blood.

Appearing near the battlefield, seemingly out of nowhere, was a tiny fairy fluttering in mid-air, causing a chaotic commotion as she pointed directly at Flandre and issued her challenge... If this fairy wasn't Cirno, who else could it be!

"Damn it! Why is this idiot here?" Upon seeing Cirno, Remilia couldn't help but exclaim. While the current situation was highly advantageous to them, if another powerhouse joined the fray and swept away the second Flandre, the combined strength of the magic group—especially Aozaki Aoko's peak close-combat ability coupled with Patchouli and Alice's magic—might actually stand a chance against Flandre.

If that happened, the structure of victory she had just envisioned would completely collapse.

However, after a moment's thought, she dismissed the possibility. Why? Because the newcomer was Cirno. While powerful among fairies, and potentially monstrous once transformed, without that transformation, she was ultimately just an idiot. In terms of sheer strength, let alone facing Flandre, even the few humans standing nearby were vastly superior to her.

With her amateurish skills, challenging Flandre was nothing short of a joke.

But still... it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Remilia wouldn't normally pay attention to a standard Cirno, but the transformed version was a significant threat. Even with only a one-in-a-million chance, nobody could guarantee she wouldn't suddenly transform. So, just in case, Remilia immediately bellowed, "Cirno. Your mother is calling you home for dinner."

Cirno's eyes immediately lit up, and she shouted happily, "I want to eat frogs!"

As she spoke, Cirno completely forgot her challenge to Flandre and swiftly turned, flying outward. Yet, after only a few seconds, she abruptly stopped, zipped lightning-fast to Remilia's side, and asked blankly, "Who is my mother?"

"..." Thankfully, Remilia was long accustomed to Cirno's intellect; otherwise, she might have coughed up another mouthful of blood right then.

"I misspoke. Actually, your father is calling you home for dinner."

"Oh." Cirno nodded knowingly and flew off again, only to return instantly, looking quite put out. "You lied to me! I don't have a father!"

You don't have a mother either, Remilia desperately wanted to retort, but to keep Cirno occupied, she had to suppress the urge. So, she tried another fabrication: "Oh dear, my apologies, I misremembered. There's actually a free bento shop opened down at that intersection. You can eat whatever you want, as much as you want. Plus, the more you eat, the more chances you get to win a prize."

"Really? Is there such a fool in the world? I'm going!" Cirno was overjoyed and flew off again.

Who exactly is the fool here... Youmu and Marisa decided not to offer any commentary on Cirno’s IQ.

Of course, even though Cirno was a bit of an idiot, easily fooled, and mentally slower than the average person, successfully deceiving her as planned was still quite difficult. After all, Cirno’s IQ was 9—in simpler terms, she was mentally deficient. And fighting against the mentally deficient... they always manage to drag your IQ down to their own level, and then defeat you with superior experience.

Indeed, it wasn't long before Cirno flew back, her question simple: "Where is the intersection?"

Remilia felt that after just these few exchanges, her own intelligence had been lowered by five points. Still, she patiently continued to explain—or rather, deceive—Cirno. If she could successfully tie up Cirno this way, it would be quite beneficial for her.

And so, one deluded, and one deluding, they busied themselves quite happily. Meanwhile, Alice and Patchouli, who had hoped for swift rescue, were grinding their teeth in frustration.

"Little Nine, what are you doing? Didn't you already eat when you first got here?" Although Cirno was gullible, she had a normal-minded Illya by her side. Seeing Cirno being spun around by a stranger, Illya couldn't help but intervene.

"Ah, that's right! I'm full." Hearing this, Cirno finally registered the truth, immediately abandoned Remilia, and charged toward Flandre, who was currently fighting Aoko, shouting, "Flandre, I am the Invincible War God Cirno, come fight me!"

"..." Having already suffered a dip in intelligence, Remilia couldn't think of another suitable lie at the moment and could only watch helplessly as Cirno departed.

On the other side, Flandre didn't answer just anyone's challenge. It was like a lion fighting a tiger wouldn't bother noticing a few flies buzzing nearby. Thus, Flandre completely ignored Cirno's call-out, not even sparing her a glance.

"Waaah! That makes me furious!" Realizing Flandre was entirely disregarding her, Cirno stamped her feet in anger and charged forward without a second thought.

In terms of speed, Cirno was quite fast. She instantly entered the battleground shared by the two combatants, made contact with Flandre, and immediately... Flandre swung a claw without turning her head, and then...

The Invincible War God exchanged one blow with the Demon. The Demon evaded one strike from the Invincible War God. The Invincible War God received the Demon's attack. The Demon's attack dealt a critical hit. The Invincible War God's HP dropped by 99999. The Invincible War God fell. The Invincible War God died. The Invincible War God vanished.

Seeing this, Aoko paused in surprise. Seeing Cirno's aggressive posture, she had assumed another formidable general had arrived, but it turned out to be a total washout. It seemed Heroic Spirits were indeed a mixed bag.

While Alice and Patchouli were somewhat disappointed, this result wasn't entirely unexpected, given Cirno's actual strength; expecting her to counter a rampaging Flandre was basically hopeless.

Then, the happiest person was unquestionably Remilia. "No transformation, no transformation! Haha!"

Remilia couldn't help but laugh. To be honest, she had always been wary of the transformed Cirno. But now, Cirno had exited the stage before even transforming, meaning this ticking time bomb had defused itself prematurely, and the overall situation remained unchanged, progressing precisely as she had anticipated. Nothing could be better than this.

Finally, the only person experiencing violent emotional turbulence was Illya. She had watched Cirno go from attacking to falling, and then to vanishing, leaving her utterly stunned.

"Gone again? How could this be?" Illya stared at the spot where Cirno had disappeared, her face etched with disbelief. Although she knew Cirno was weak, she never imagined she couldn't even withstand a casual strike from the enemy.

However, the biggest blow to her wasn't Cirno's lack of strength. It was the enemy's death.

The reason they had come to this place was purely coincidental... Illya's heart had been filled with grief over Heracles's death. It was at that moment that Cirno appeared. Though weak and foolish, Illya had grown fond of her. Just chatting with Cirno, even about the most mundane things, could lift her spirits.

For Illya, who had lacked playmates since childhood, this Heroic Spirit felt like a true friend. She hadn't hoped Cirno would avenge Heracles; she only wished for someone to play with, to let this happy time last a little longer before the end of the Holy Grail War.

But Cirno's desires differed from hers. Cirno was too warlike. Although Illya thought staying in the castle was best—perhaps the safest course to avoid stronger enemies—Cirno insisted on going out.

Seeing Cirno so enthusiastic, Illya couldn't object, so she accompanied her. However, when choosing their route, Illya deliberately navigated toward areas with faint energy signatures, avoiding any location where the energy fluctuations were intense, suggesting powerful enemies lurked.

Even though Illya was innocent, she wasn't foolish. She knew perfectly well that with their current fighting strength, encountering any opposing faction meant almost certain death.

Nevertheless, no matter how weak Cirno was, she was still a Heroic Spirit, and her sensory perception of auras was higher, not lower, than Illya's. She quickly detected the anomaly here and immediately charged forward, ignoring Illya's protests.

Upon seeing the battle involving Flandre and the others, her desire to fight ignited.

Despite being the Master, Illya couldn't suppress Cirno's fighting urge and had to let her go. Of course, she had already decided that if Cirno showed any sign of defeat, she would immediately use a Command Spell to force a retreat.

But!

Illya never imagined that before any sign of defeat could even manifest, Cirno would be dead in a single move... This was something she truly could not accept.

Just over two hours ago, Heracles, who had lived with her for over a year, protected her countless times, and walked with her through hellish training, was brutally killed by the King of Heroes. Now, the one Heroic Spirit who felt like a friend, Cirno, who could bring her genuine happiness, hadn't even stayed by her side for a single day before dying...

"Impossible! Impossible! This... this can't be!" With a thud, Illya knelt on the ground, gripping the earth tightly with her ten fingers, digging into the dirt, murmuring, her face already streaming with tears.

"Why? Why? Why must everyone leave me?" Illya lifted her head, her eyes blurred by tears gazing up at the night sky, as if questioning, or perhaps complaining. The clamor of battle surrounding her sounded intolerably harsh at that moment.

"I don't want this... I don't want this fate!!!" At this instant, the resentment from being abandoned by her parents since childhood, the anger of being treated as a tool by her family, the pain of betrayal by someone she cared for, the sorrow over Heracles's death... all these emotions erupted because of Cirno's demise.

She roared and wept, seemingly railing against the injustice of fate.

Then, without even realizing it herself, her body, composed entirely of Magic Circuits, was completely activated by this emotional outburst. The magical energy within her circulated wildly... on her face, her arms, her lower legs... If her clothes were removed, one could clearly see lines of white magic crests covering her body—these were her inherent Magic Circuits.

In terms of the sheer quantity of Magic Circuits, no one in this world could surpass her!

Furthermore, within her heart, a white spiral faintly appeared, absorbing the magical energy she was releasing while simultaneously recharging her body. This cycle repeated over and over, until finally... BOOM!!!

When the limit of the magical energy within her finally peaked, the excess, unable to be contained, burst forth from her body. At this moment, Illya was no longer merely a "human" but a condensation of pure magical energy.

However, the released energy did not dissipate randomly. It all converged on one specific point... the only entity with a deep connection to Illya... Cirno!

Yes, although Cirno was dead, as a fairy, she fundamentally lacked the nature of life; her existence was merely a phenomenon. When she became a Heroic Spirit, this phenomenon transformed into her Noble Phantasm:

Three-Stage Transformation!

There was only one way to activate this Noble Phantasm: Death.

But mere death wasn't enough; it also required the Master to provide sufficient magical energy. If the magical power was inadequate, then death would be final.

And the energy Illya was releasing now was more than sufficient—indeed, only Illya could provide the magical power necessary for Cirno to achieve her transformation.

The energy condensed above Illya, forming a massive halo of light. Within that sphere, the image of Cirno reappeared. Then, as Cirno's body fully materialized, the sphere shattered with a sharp crack... The Second Stage Transformed Cirno descended!

One death only permitted one transformation, so the current Cirno was only at Stage Two.

But that was still more than enough, because Stage Two was the—Hyper Nine Mode!

"Little Nine!" Seeing Cirno reappear, Illya was suddenly filled with ecstatic joy, staring up into the sky in disbelief.

"How is this possible! How is she alive again?" On the other side, Remilia turned ashen with shock. This wasn't Gensokyo; how could a dead Cirno possibly resurrect? Even if she resurrected, shouldn't it be in her Heroic Spirit form?

Cirno paid them no mind. The moment she reappeared, her gaze locked onto Flandre, and she let out a great shout before slashing her sword down.

"Hyper Nine... Divine War God Slash!" (To be continued)RQ