Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Command Spell Circuit

My name is Illya.

I had even forgotten about this persona myself.

153:48:10

"Oh, wow! Lancer and Saber are fighting; that’s a rare sight to behold."

Inside a guest room of Einzbern Castle, "Lin Hao" was sleeping on the bed, while I sat to the side, watching the battle between Tokiomi’s assault and the Magus Killer with great interest.

The mistress had originally intended to prepare two guest rooms, but I declined under the guise of needing to look after my Master. Although I could guess from her expression that she had imagined something else entirely, she eventually agreed.

Come to think of it, the love story between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere is essentially a fabrication, with its archetype rooted in the tale of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and Princess Grainne. In the Type-Moon worldview, where any hero can manifest as long as there is a legend, the two finally clashed during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Well, it was a one-sided thrashing of the original by the bootleg.

Although Lancelot’s [Knight of Owner] could turn anything with the concept of a "weapon" into a Noble Phantasm using magical energy, the effect of Diarmuid’s Noble Phantasm, [Gáe Buidhe], was to nullify all magical effects.

The result was that no matter what the Knight of the Lake picked up, it would revert to its original form the moment it was pierced. If it weren't for his other skill, [Eternal Arms Mastery], which allowed him to exert powerful combat prowess under any circumstances, he probably would have been defeated long ago.

Now, the entire twenty-eighth floor was a mess from the aftermath of their battle; the black-armored knight was being chased everywhere by the spearman in green leather tights, making for a rather lackluster display.

'By the way, given the Berserker class's lack of reason, shouldn't he be brawling head-on with the Lancer? Why is he running?'

[Prompt: Berserker is in a state of Command Spell reinforcement.] The prompt-sister answered instantly.

'Command Spell reinforcement? Even with boosted combat ability, he shouldn't be able to win against a counter-class—did he use a Command Spell to order him to flee when the situation was unfavorable? That’s a total waste.'

[Uh, let me see... it seems this Command Spell was used by Ryuunosuke Uryuu before the battle started. Checking the logs is such a hassle...] This time, the silly system chimed in, accompanied by the sound of pages flipping.

It felt like being in a very busy group chat, where you look away for a second, see 999+ messages, and half your brain just crashes.

————

"Xiao Hao? Caster? Are you there?" Irisviel’s voice and a soft knock came from outside the door.

What is she doing here so late? Besides, she doesn't actually need to use the plural. I turned off the live feed, cast a deep sleep spell on Lin Hao, and then floated over to open the door.

"Good evening, Mom—I mean, Irisviel. Is something the matter?" I nearly bit my tongue.

[Hahahahaha—]

'Silly system, if you keep laughing, I’m putting it on your tab. One punch for every laugh.'

[Pfft... but you... mmph...]

'Being cute won't save you! Don't you know about pleasing one's parents with a performance?'

"..." Irisviel, dressed in a long white gown with gold trim, seemed to have heard my slip of the tongue perfectly. A faint smile appeared on her face as she looked into the room: "Is Xiao Hao asleep? Come with me for a moment. Kiritsugu just rescued Maiya, but her condition is very poor."

"Eh? Is she injured?" I recalled Ryuunosuke’s arrangements. Although I had tricked Kiritsugu out of his Command Spells, I hadn't actually done anything to Maiya.

"It’s hard to say. Come and see for yourself." The mistress shook her head and turned to lead the way. "By the way, do you still not intend to acknowledge Kiritsugu?"

"No way. He promised he’d be back soon." I followed her, instantly shifting into the role of a top-tier actress: "And he even left Mom—hmpf."

In short, I would gradually drop spoilers, reconcile the stories of both identities, and eventually dump the blame on the Black Grail.

"Hehe... Just do as you wish." The mistress smiled gently.

Turning a corner, we could see Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya in the hall downstairs, along with the black and white Sabers in a standoff.

"You, how could you do such a thing!" Saber Lily, who should have been at a disadvantage in terms of presence, was currently questioning Saber Alter like a flustered little white rabbit confronting a big bad wolf.

"Just because of that nutritional-void junk food, you not only let Miss Maiya get kidnapped once, but even after the Master rescued her, you let her get injured again!?"

"Tsk, I admit that was a blunder, but how many times are you going to repeat it?"

Alter merely glanced over with eyes like a dragon’s, causing Lily to shrink her shoulders involuntarily, yet she still struggled to finish what she had to say:

"Wuu... You, you need to reflect, and, and apologize to Miss Maiya."

"If she asks for it, I will do so. Are you satisfied now?"

"Mm... hmm..."

Even though the black one was clearly in the wrong, the end result made it seem like the white one was the one being unreasonable. As expected, a suppression in presence cannot be reversed by mere impulse.

————

"Kiritsugu, how is Miss Maiya?" Irisviel led me down the stairs.

"Not good, Caster—" Kiritsugu, who was smoking, turned around. Just as he was about to speak, the cigarette in his mouth was knocked away by an ice spike I fired. "—Take a look at Maiya."

Hmph, smoking in front of your daughter? I’ll destroy it every time I see it.

[Wow... Alaya, you’re really great at roleplaying...]

'Shut up! Instead of saying useless things, help me check on the assistant.'

I walked over to Hisau Maiya, who was lying unconscious in the center of a magic circle, and began to examine her.

The visible wound on her shoulder had already been bandaged and healed. The problem was that her magical energy was leaking out continuously from that wound. Although the simple spirit-gathering array beneath her was struggling to draw energy from the leylines to replenish her, she would eventually run dry if the outflow exceeded the intake.

[Prompt: Without the use of DNA points, 'PAX-201' has autonomously mutated the 'Continuous Magical Energy Loss' symptom.]

[Um, Alaya, Miss Maiya has had her spirit nodes opened...]

'Shut your mouth, you useless, silly system!'

[Wuuu, I'm not silly...]

"This situation—" I looked back at Kiritsugu. "Did you hit her with an Origin Bullet?"

"Is that really the cause?" Kiritsugu smiled bitterly and reached for his cigarette, then stopped under my intense gaze.

"When we were preparing to retreat after rescuing Miss Maiya, we were ambushed by Assassin. Because the distance was too close and my protection was insufficient, Kiritsugu fired at him, but the bullet was deflected by the opponent," Black Saber explained.

"Is it serious?" The mistress walked to the side of the magic circle, injecting magical energy to try and strengthen its effect.

"It’s useless unless you maintain this array indefinitely, Iris." I frowned, thinking of a countermeasure.

Under Irisviel’s amplification, the speed of Maiya's magical energy loss was surpassed by the replenishment rate, and her complexion even improved. But this was only a temporary emergency measure; maintaining the amplified spirit-gathering array was a significant drain on the mistress.

"Due to the 'Origin' I possess, which involves 'severing' and 'connecting,' the mage struck by that bullet suffers damage corresponding to the number of magic circuits they were using at the time. Even if they weren't using magic at all, they would gradually become an ordinary human with no magical energy due to the loss. At present, there is no solution. It seems she will have to retire from this war," Kiritsugu said, shaking his head. I couldn't tell if he was lamenting the loss of an assistant or the loss of those bat familiars.

'So, how do I cure it?'

[Just do what you usually do. That thing is ineffective against you anyway.]

'Ah... that’s true. Use damage from the Root to deal with the Root itself? Hmph, but before that, I have to give Kiritsugu a piece of my mind.'

"You think it’s just losing magical energy? The moment that bullet was deflected by Assassin, its properties changed," I waved my hand to disperse the spirit-gathering array. Deprived of the magical energy replenishment, Maiya’s face went pale. "On top of 'severing' and 'connecting,' it added 'lethal.' Once her magical energy is exhausted, she will start losing her life force—it will not stop until she dies."

"What!" A look of shock finally appeared on Kiritsugu’s face.

"Then what should we do?!" Saber Lily stopped staring at her black self and looked at me along with her.

"Caster?" The mistress held my hand, her face full of worry.

Ah, shoot. The result of intentionally exaggerating the situation was that my next actions would make me look even more... saintly.

Pfft, I am not a saint!

"It's fine, I'll take care of it." I squeezed the mistress's hand back to comfort her, then faced the unconscious Hisau Maiya.

"I am the one who accomplishes all good in this world; I am the one who eliminates all evil in this world." I reached out toward Maiya, whose magical energy was nearly depleted, chanting a incantation that was useless but served as a smokescreen. At the same time, I changed my casual clothes into that magic garment known as the Dress of Heaven.

Finally, the magical energy fluctuations on Hisau Maiya completely vanished.

[Prompt: Without the use of DNA points, 'PAX-201' has autonomously mutated the 'Continuous Life Force Loss' symptom.]

There you are. Come to me—

"From the Wheel of Suppression!"

The Dress of Heaven erupted with a dazzling crimson light. Then, the "thing" that had been shrouding Maiya’s wound transferred rapidly onto my right arm. A strange, stinging sensation made me immediately cover that spot.

'Who said there would be no impact! You silly system! Isn't this both painful and itchy!'

[Just think of it as a blood test... I'm not silly...]

Having no time to deal with the foolish Gaia, I hurriedly caused the "needle" that had drawn the blood to degenerate.

[Prompt: 'PAX-201' has successfully degenerated the 'Continuous Life Force Loss' symptom; DNA points consumed.]

[Prompt: 'PAX-201' has successfully degenerated the 'Continuous Magical Energy Loss' symptom; DNA points consumed.]

Hmm, I see. Degenerating beneficial symptoms grants DNA points, while harmful ones consume them. But since I have more than I know what to do with, it doesn't matter.

[Congratulations, Alaya. You’ve created the first person in the Type-Moon world who can use 'Nen'.]

'Shut up. If she can master it on her own, that’s her own business.'

"Ca, Caster?" Hmm? Why did it feel like the mistress’s hands were trembling?

"It’s fine now. Miss Maiya just needs to wait for her magic circuits to regenerate magical energy... What’s wrong?" I was halfway through my sentence when I saw that Irisviel was already teary-eyed.

"Let me see!" The mistress didn't say another word and began tugging at the collar of my garment.

"Wait?"

What are you looking at! Even if a mother is concerned about her daughter’s development, this isn't the right occasion! And Kiritsugu is still here!

Because of its design, this garment was incredibly easy to remove!

"As I thought..." The mistress, who had pulled open the neckline of my garment, was brimming with tears, and even I was stunned.

From my neck down, my skin—no, Illyasviel von Einzbern’s skin—was covered in dense, strange, dark-red patterns: Command Spells. Only the parts normally exposed were left clear, likely for aesthetic reasons.

'Ah, I had almost forgotten about this setting. I suppose it was revealed because I made too much of a movement just now.'

As the homunculus in whom the Einzberns placed their highest hopes, all of Illya’s magic circuits were attached to the surface of her body in the shape of Command Spells. Furthermore, since they were fundamentally magic circuits, she could regenerate one stroke every day—which was her capital for carrying the mana-hungry Berserker and using Command Spells recklessly during the Fifth Holy Grail War.

[Um... using magic normally doesn't make them manifest, but you just transferred a disease that would have had a lethal impact on your magic circuits, so they...]

'So they got startled and manifested to protect themselves, huh? You’re just as silly as them.'

[I’m not silly... wuuu...]

"If you're looking for me, talk to Lin Hao!"

I couldn't pull the Dress of Heaven back from the mistress's grip, so I simply went into spirit form and ran for it. I was not going to materialize again until those silly Command Spells became invisible once more!