บท 398: C398
Chloe squatted by the riverbank, hugging her knees with one hand, while the other idly picked up a small pebble and tossed it towards the water.
"Drip, drip, drip..."
The pebble danced across the water's surface, skipping three times before finally sinking beneath the gentle ripples.
Her thoughts were in chaos.
"What am I supposed to do?"
This question kept echoing in her mind.
She was the one who had been abandoned, destined to fade away.
Her presence outside of Illya's body owed itself to Astraea.
As an entity, she lacked a true physical form; her existence was nothing more than magical energy. Yet, once her magical energy was entirely spent, she would vanish again.
Ironically, her original intention had been to end Illya's life. But without the means to possess her body, she hesitated. If she killed her and couldn't preserve the body, it would quickly decay.
But now, what could she do?
Jealousy and resentment had driven her to attack Irisviel.
There was no turning back for her now.
In truth, there was never a place she could return to. Everything she had was taken away by someone else, leaving her with nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Except for these memories that nobody acknowledged.
Deep within her mind, she held onto the bittersweet memories, silently savoring them in the darkness.
"The day I arrived in Fuyuki City, I received the first and second gifts. The next day, Kiritsugu took me to a cafe. The third day, he took me to have a parent-child meal. On the fourth day, onii-chan took me to Ryuudou Temple to make a wish. And on the fifth day, I received the third gift..."
"The wish I made to that green-haired uncle was not to forget anything."
"Because... all of these moments are my precious memories."
"But now, I wish I could forget these memories."
Because... the more she cherished these beautiful memories, the more her heart ached.
Chloe grabbed a small stone from beside her and flung it into the river.
But right then...
"Swish, swish, swish!!"
A sudden rush of air filled the surroundings, and dazzling weapon glows tore through the sky, hurtling straight towards her.
Reacting swiftly, Chloe transformed and summoned her shield to block the relentless onslaught of these weapons.
However, her shield was easily torn apart by the onslaught of these weapons, forcing her to retreat hastily from the scene. Her eyes focused on the source of the attack, where a golden-haired boy dressed in Sumerian style, stood with a smile adorning his face.
He greeted her, "Hello there, onee-san. I finally found you."
"Who are you? And why did you suddenly attack me?" she shouted.
"To answer why, it's quite simple. I want to reclaim what rightfully belongs to me," Gil smiled, extending his hand towards her. "Can you give my other half back to me, onee-san?"
"What other half? I have no idea what you're talking about!" she yelled in response.
"The card that created your body,"
"The card that created my body..." she was taken aback.
Gil nodded and smiled, "Yes, that card. Can you give it back to me?"
"Are you joking? If I remove the card... there's no way I'm giving it to you!" She opened the Gate of Babylon, unleashing a dozen or so Noble Phantasms glowing with brilliant light, all aimed towards Gil.
However...
Golden ripples appeared around Gil as he effortlessly absorbed all the incoming Noble Phantasms.
"How... how is this possible?" Chloe's eyes widened in disbelief.
Gil maintained his smile and calmly replied, "Because all of those are my treasures."
He paused for a moment and then continued, "It seems nee-san doesn't want to give my other half back to me. In that case, I have no choice but to take it myself."
"Where is it? Where is it?" Gil's eyes emitted a red glow. Then he smiled and said, "Found it, in your heart. Don't worry, onee-san, I'll make it quick, and you won't feel much pain."
Despite the seemingly gentle smile, an intense killing intent overwhelmed Chloe for a moment.
She gritted her teeth and opened the Gate of Babylon to its maximum, and was just about to unleash her most powerful Noble Phantasms.
However...
"Clang, clang, clang...!"
Gil responded by opening his own Gate of Babylon, and countless chains shot out, retrieving numerous treasures from Chloe's Gate of Babylon, storing them back in his own treasury.
"How can this be?" she was astonished.
Gil gracefully bowed and maintained his smile, saying, "A total of 357 items, thank you for returning them. But please, return my other half as soon as possible; my overdue fees are quite expensive."
His gentle smile remained as he walked closer to her.
Fear gripped Chloe's heart, her mind racing with panic.
"Don't come any closer!" she shouted, attempting to fend him off by firing her Noble Phantasms, but they were swiftly recollected by Gil, rendering her efforts futile.
"Clang, clang."
The chains around Gil resembled venomous snakes, surging menacingly towards Chloe's heart.
Despair overwhelmed her, and in a strange way, it made sense. She had started with nothing, and now all that remained were fragments of memories.
Upon careful reflection, she came to the painful realization that even after returning to this world, no one truly accepted her. All she seemed to bring was trouble.
Even her once gentle onii-chan, he only tried to comfort her, afraid of her breaking down, but he never truly acknowledged her. So, perhaps it was better to end it all here.
Gazing at the approaching chains, she closed her eyes.
However...
"Slash!"
With a swift "swoosh," a brilliant blue magical slash sliced through the air, aiming at the extending chains.
"Clang!"
The chains were pushed back by the powerful slash.
Suddenly, a figure cloaked in blue, with hair as white as snow, appeared and landed in front of Chloe.
Gil squinted, feeling a bit troubled, "Another Grail, huh?"
Chloe looked at Illya in a daze, "Why? Why are you saving me?"
"Do I even need a reason?" Illya's eyes shimmered with tears as she said loudly, "Because you're my little sister! How can I just stand by and do nothing?"
Chloe shot back with displeasure, "Who says I'm your little sister?"
"It's the truth!" she insisted, refusing to back down.
Chloe responded with annoyance, "Quit saying that!"
"And besides..." Chloe clenched her teeth, her emotions boiling over. "You don't have to save me. It would be better for you if I just died, if I disappeared, wouldn't it?"
"There's no way that's true! We are connected. You are me, and I am you. I've forgotten so much that I shouldn't have, and now I want to understand both you and myself. We share the same identity, we are both Illyasviel!"
Chloe hesitated, feeling conflicted by her words.
Illya then turned her gaze towards Gil and declared firmly, "I won't let you hurt her!"
"Hmm..." Gil scratched the back of his head, appearing somewhat troubled. "You're making me out to be the bad child here. But honestly, I'm just trying to retrieve my other half. So, am I the bad guy again this time? Well, whatever the case, I have no choice but to retrieve what's mine."
Gil pointed at Chloe while looking at Illya. "My target is her heart. If you want to protect her, be careful, onee-san. When I make my move, I won't hold back."
The glint in Gil's eyes showed a clear intent to kill.
Illya clenched her fists, determination evident on her face.
Gil's numerous chains surged forward, targeting both Chloe and Illyasviel, with most of them homing in on Chloe's heart!
Illya gritted her teeth and retaliated swiftly, unleashing a powerful magical slash to counter the oncoming chains.
Meanwhile, Chloe rose to her feet, unlocking the gates of her treasury, and unleashed a dazzling array of weapons, each sparkling with brilliant light. The weapons bombarded the chains that were reaching out towards her.
Right at that moment...
A deafening "boom" echoed through the air as a colossal blade of evil appeared, slicing through the middle with incredible force, sweeping away both the magical slash and the chains in its path. It left behind a clear divide in the battlefield, separating the combatants.
Illya, Chloe, and Gil were all taken aback by the abrupt appearance of the ominous black blade.
Shirou walked out slowly, his gaze fixed on the three of them, and spoke in a deep, commanding voice, "That's enough."
They all lifted their heads slightly, their attention now on him.
"Oh boy," Gil scratched the back of his head, looking a bit troubled, "The most troublesome person has shown up."
...
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