As the fake Gilgamesh was defeated and vanished into the air as burning strands of hair, the surrounding beasts let out a mournful wail and dissolved into finer strands, disappearing alongside him.
"No wonder these monsters appeared all over Fuyuki at the same time." As a Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu understood the principles of various magical operations. "These creatures are chain-summoned using these Heroic Spirit replicas as mediums. If we eliminate these replicas, we can quickly deal with them!"
"So it's a core-type mechanism monster? Then we need to notify the other strongholds immediately!" Jiang You gritted his teeth as he watched the survivor count drop—those were precious rewards slipping away. "We save as many as we can!"
"I've already arranged for a signal to be sent!" Kiritsugu pulled a civilian with relevant experience and ordered him to send intel to the Hyatt Hotel and Fuyuki Church. "But the actual help they can provide is limited. Aside from us, they have no Servants for combat."
"No Servants?" Jiang You was puzzled. "Then how did they hold out?"
"The Church has been operating locally for years and naturally has its own defensive measures. As for the Hyatt Hotel, it's a base prepared by the Lords of the Clock Tower for the Holy Grail War, fortified with other magi."
"I meant Lancer! Romulus' Noble Phantasm is perfect for large-scale combat. His spear, infused with the concept of nation-building, is ideal for both offense and defense!" Jiang You recalled Romulus—among the surviving Servants, he should be the strongest.
"Lancer rushed toward Ryuudou Temple the moment the magical energy surged." That golden-red light piercing the sky was unforgettable. According to the intel from Kayneth, Lancer had gone straight for the mastermind. "It's been this long without news… I fear the worst."
"Don't be so pessimistic! Since we haven't seen a replica of Lancer here, that means he's still holding out against the culprit. Let's not waste the time he's buying us!"
Even though the replicas had weakened attributes, the original Gilgamesh and Iskandar were so powerful that their younger copies could still fight Lancelot and Hassan on equal footing. Even with the pseudo-Servant enhancements, Illyasviel wasn't yet at their level.
Illyasviel?
Jiang You flipped through his extra deck. At the moment, he had about three high-tier cards—Illyasviel (Dress of Heaven), Saint Jeanne d'Arc, and the Winter Saint, Justeaze. Matou Sakura – Black Holy Grail had little resistance, so she was barely an option. The only one close to a full set was Illyasviel.
Might as well gamble. It's the test phase anyway—probably can't take these rewards outside. Plus, there's my salary as a safety net. Jiang You made his decision quickly.
"Illyasviel, catch!"
Amidst clearing monsters, Illyasviel suddenly saw Jiang You toss a radiant crystal her way. The overwhelming magical energy made her instinctively grab it.
"This is… a Soul Crystal!?" Illyasviel recognized it immediately. "Caster, what are you trying to do? My magical output won't change much even with a Soul Crystal's energy supply."
The immense magical energy radiating from the crystal caught the attention of all nearby magi. Even those unfamiliar with it showed a glint of greed in their eyes. If not for the dire situation, they would surely have started scheming to steal it.
"It's for you." Jiang You was banking on a favorability boost from the Soul Crystal, hoping it would trigger Illyasviel's Dress of Heaven form and accelerate his quest progress. "From here on, I'm counting on you."
"Huh?" Illyasviel barely had time to react before this ultimate relic of her family's ambition landed in her hands. This could bring the Einzbern family of her timeline one step closer to completing the Third Magic.
Receiving such an incredibly rare item out of nowhere left Illyasviel bewildered, but Jiang You's unwavering trust in her still made her happy. "Caster, you can count on me! After all, you're our Einzbern family's Servant!"
[Illyasviel Favorability Reward: Illyasviel (Dress of Heaven) *1 has been sent via mail. Please claim it promptly.]
Nice! Jiang You clenched his fist in victory and activated the full-set summon of Illyasviel (Dress of Heaven).
The sacred ceremonial garb necessary for completing the Holy Grail Ritual materialized around Illyasviel. Her magical energy surged rapidly, and at last, she entered the battlefield in a form approaching that of a true practitioner of the Third Magic.
"Super Illyasviel, use the Third Magic on them!" Jiang You mimed a punching motion.
"What the heck is 'Super Illyasviel'!? And this isn't true Third Magic—I can only manifest a partial imitation." Illyasviel grumbled at Jiang You's nonsense while raising her small hand. Silver threads spread out in a ten-meter radius around her, and through them, she launched an attack against the monsters.
A massive wave of beasts was wiped out in an instant. With the interference cleared, it was time to deal with the fake King of Heroes and King of Conquerors.
"Assassin's intel says the next monster wave is gathering. They'll attack in about five minutes." Kiritsugu readied his firearm. "The replicas include two Archers and two Riders. Three are directly ahead, while another Archer is about 500 meters away at the nine o'clock position. Caster, I'm leaving the distant one to you!"
With Illyasviel's Dress of Heaven form joining the fray, the front line had gained another solid combatant.
From observation, Jiang You confirmed that the replicas couldn't use certain special Noble Phantasms—like Gilgamesh's Ea or Iskandar's Ionian Hetairoi.
Kiritsugu's strategy made perfect sense: with the replicas' attributes weakened, Lancelot could single-handedly defeat a Rider replica, while Assassin and Illyasviel, with the support of other magi, could hold off the remaining two. Concentrating their forces this way allowed Jiang You, who had unique Noble Phantasm mechanics, to handle the isolated replica efficiently.
One by one, the replicas were taken down. The monster wave in this sector subsided, leaving only a few stragglers.
"Well then, it's time to support the other locations." Jiang You glanced at the scoreboard, which had dropped dangerously close to a '2.' He turned to Kiritsugu, urging him forward.