Elicia Vs. Illyasviel

TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City. 

Around midnight, Shirou, accompanied by Saber stepped out of the Fuyuki Church where Tatsuo, Elicia, Rin, and Archer were waiting, with the Servants in their astral forms. When the four waiting outside saw the two, they could not help thinking, "As expected." 

While Saber looked completely unbothered by what the priest explained, Shirou looked as if he had just made a huge, life-changing decision. Even so, no one asked him what he thought immediately. Instead, they waited until they had walked down the hill and were making their way through the cemetery to speak. And to no one's surprise, it was Elicia who spoke first. 

"So, what do you think about that story you just heard?' Elicia asked playfully, though she already knew the answer based on Shirou's expression. 

Shirou did not answer immediately. Instead, he seemed to be putting his words together, causing the group to stop partway through the cemetery. 

"For the sake of saving as many people as I can, I'll participate in the Holy Grail War." Shirou said resolutely shortly after the group came to a stop. "I can't let the Grail fall into the wrong hands. Otherwise, that will only lead to a disaster." 

Hearing that, Elicia could only smile at Shirou's enthusiasm. At the same time, she started mentally counting on her fingers. 

'Let's see, there are only two people who might do something shady with the Grail at this point, right?' Elicia asked herself 'I mean, the Matou Family are all dead. Sakura is on our side. Atrum is dead, too. That leaves Illya, Bazett, Rin, That teacher who's actually an assassin, Me, and Shirou. I guess we'll have to do something about Illya and the assassin guy, then. But killing Illya isn't necessary.' 

{"Killing Illya would be hard, anyway."} Tetsuo said over the telepathic link, interrupting Elicia's internal monologue. {"Even with all of us working together, Berserker is gonna be a real pain to deal with. Then again, Killing Illya would actually be the easiest way to get rid of him. But I really don't' wanna kill her. She's already had a pretty shit life."} 

{"Hey! How did you…?"} Elicia started to asked, as she was confused by how Tatsuo managed to hear her thoughts despite not using the telepathic link. {"No, never mind. That's not important right now."} 

["It's because your thoughts were written all over your face."] Scylla said, answering Elicia's unasked question. 

{"Well, I hope you have a good way to deal with Berserker right now."} Elicia replied, ignoring Scylla's commentary. 

{"Nope, sure don't."} Tatsuo replied with a shrug, though because he was in his astral form, it could not be seen. {"But I'll start thinking about it right now. I mean, with my [Noble Phantasm], landing killing blows won't be an issue. But he's both stronger and faster than I am. So, you know…"} 

Meanwhile, as Tatsuo and Elicia had their conversation over their telepathic link, everyone else reacted to Shirou's declaration in their own ways. 

His Servant, Saber's expression did not change much. She had her own wish she wanted granted by the Holy Grail. So, as long as Shirou was willing to fight for it, the reason did not matter. 

Rin, on the other hand, only shook her head in exasperation. She knew exactly what Shirou would think after learning about the Holy Grail and its capabilities. So, she expected as much. 

As for Archer, who, like Tatsuo, was in his astral form, he sneered with disdain when he heard Shirou's lofty ideals. Yet, he did not say anything, keeping his thoughts to himself. 

Yet, the silence after Shirou's declaration did not last long. And once again, Elicia was the one to break it. 

"Well, good for you, I guess…" Elicia said, wanting to tell Shirou, the wannabe hero of justice about the Grail's corruption. But the presence she could feel approaching took precedence at the moment. So, she turned to Rin as she continued in an uncharacteristically serious tone before addressing the rest of the group as a whole. "I wanted to ask you if you've made your decision yet, Rin. But we've got bigger things to worry about right now. Everyone, prepare for battle." 

Surprised by Elicia's tone, both Rin and Shirou, who had only heard her speak playfully up to this point, were taken aback momentarily. Meanwhile, Tatsuo and Archer both materialized while they joined Saber in looking in the direction of the approaching presences with serious expressions on their faces. 

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* 

After a few seconds of tense silence, a rhythmic booming sound could be heard from the distance. And as time passed, the sound only got louder, indicating that whatever was making it was drawing nearer. And eventually, when the sound reached a high enough volume and the ground under their feet started to tremble, they could finally see what was approaching. 

A giant, grey-skinned man carrying a weapon that appeared to be made from stone with a small, white-haired young woman sitting on his left shoulder stepped towards the group, the grey-skinned man wore an expression contorted in madness while the young woman smiled brightly, her eyes locked onto Shirou. 

"That's the girl I saw earlier tonight." Shirou muttered. "So, she was a Master, too. And when she said that I better summon mine soon or I would die, this is what she meant, huh" 

"Hello, Big Brother." The white-haired young woman, Illyasviel, said while waving from atop her Servant's, Berserker's, shoulder. "It looks like you finally summoned yours. It looks like you made some friends, too. Hmm… Let's see… Elicia from the Taylor Family in America and Rin Tohsaka. Wow! You're making me jealous." 

"Just who are you?" Shirou asked, stepping forward to confront Illyasviel in confusion. "And why do you call me Big Brother?" 

*Swoosh!* 

Instead of a response to his question, Shirou was yanked back after his torso was wrapped in threads. An instant later, the large, sword-axe that seemed to be made from stone, slashed through his previous location. 

"Why would you get closer to them when you saw that huge weapon in the big guy's hand?" Rin asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

"I didn't think they would just attack like that." Shirou replied, his heart racing because of the fact that he was almost ripped apart just now. "I thought they would at least talk before the fight started." 

"Well, that's not how this works." Elicia said sternly. "If you can't defend yourself, you should stay out of the way and leave the fighting to your Servant. Otherwise, you're just a weakness that they have to protect." 

With that said, Elicia pulled Shirou and Rin back while the three Servants got ready to fight Berserker. Then, when they were far enough back, Elicia let go of the two before taking a step forward. 

"Now, you two stay here." Elicia said, her usual smile reappearing on her face. "I'm gonna go play with that big guy over there." 

"Wait! Didn't you just say it was better for Masters to let their Servants fight, so they don't become a burden?" Shirou asked, his confusion written all over his face. 

"Let me correct you, Shirou." Elicia said while wagging her finger at Shirou without turning around. "I said if you can't defend yourself, you should stay back." 

Elicia then turned her head to look back over her shoulder. 

"And while the two of you can't defend yourselves in a battle like this one…" Elicia continued. "I have no problem facing off against a Servant." 

Then, without waiting for a response, Elicia dashed forward to enter the fray that had already started, leaving Rin and Shirou behind with dumbfounded expressions on her face. 

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Boom!* *Clang!* 

Meanwhile, Saber was facing Berserker head on, her invisible sword repeatedly clashing with Berserker's heavy axe-sword, each collision causing small shockwaves. As for Tatsuo and Archer, they had both disappeared from the battlefield. And while Tatsuo was in [Stealth] waiting for an opportunity to strike, Archer was dashing through the city to find a vantage point suitable to attack from. 

Then, there was Illyasviel, who had also backed away from the battle. Though, she did not go too far. Instead, she was watching the battle with a smile on her face, confident in her Servant's strength. And to be honest, she had every right to be confident. 

Because the identity of her Servant was Heracles, the mightiest Greek Hero. A man famous throughout the world with unparalleled strength. However, this version of Heracles was not the heroic figure told of in legends. Instead, he was the Heracles who fell into madness after being tricked into killing his wife and child. 

Even still, none of his abilities were diminished due to his madness, as evidenced by the way he was pushing back Saber. 

"Hey, Illya!" Elicia shouted as she approached the white-haired Master watching from the distance. "Wanna play?" 

Her attention drawn away from the battle, Illyasviel frowned slightly as she looked in the direction of the voice who called her nickname. 

Though, she wanted to chastise Elicia for referring to her so casually, Illyasviel remained silent. Instead, she yanked out a few strands of her hair, imbued mana into them, and let them fall from her fingers. 

"[Engel Lied: Angel's Poem]." Illyasviel incanted. 

The hair, instead of falling to the ground, began to glow. Then, the individual strands separated and started to shape themselves into magical automatons. The automatons, taking the forms of birds, two ibis, long-legged flightless birds, and a small flying bird that resembled a humming bird, hovered around Illyasviel protectively. 

Illyasviel then pointed at Elicia. 

"Deal with her." Illyasviel ordered. 

In the next instant, the humming bird pointed its beak at Elicia. Then, it gathered an orb of mana at its tip before firing the mana orb. 

Unbothered by the incoming projectile, Elicia easily dodged to her left. 

*Boom!* 

Even so, it could be seen how dangerous that orb of mana was by the crater it created when it struck the ground of the cemetery. Even so, Elicia did not slow her approach. Instead, she increased her speed by speeding up the circulation of her magic power. 

*Swish!* 

*Boom!* 

At the same time, a second mana orb passed through the spot where Elica had just been standing. And once again, a crater was left at the point of impact. Yet, Elicia was nowhere to be seen. 

Meanwhile, Illyasviel widened her eyes slightly at the speed Elicia displayed. Even so, she was not too worried, as one of the Ibises stepped to her side and blocked a kick aimed at her shoulder. 

*Bang!* 

Elicia's powerful kick, empowered by her magic power, caused the ibis it struck to stumble away from Illyasviel for a moment. 

"These things are tougher than I expected." Elicia muttered as she once again vanished from where she stood in a burst of speed. 

*Boom!* 

Just like before, a crater caused by the humming bird's attack, was left where Elicia stood. 

Nearly simultaneously, Elicia appeared on Illyasviel's other side, her fist reeled back to throw a punch. Yet, also like last time, the second ibis stepped in the way of Elicia's punch. 

This time, however, Elicia was ready, as the spools on her waist loosened, four threads slithering towards the second ibis before wrapping around its two legs, neck, and beak. Then, with a twitch of her magic power, Elicia sent the ibis flying towards the humming bird, which was about to fire at her again. 

Meanwhile, Illyasviel, seeing that her defense was gone, reached for a handful of her hair before yanking it out and imbuing mana into it. This time, however, she did not let go of the hair. Instead, holding it tightly as it transformed into an épée, a sharp, pointed dueling sword used in the sport of fencing. 

Illyasviel, then, with lightning-fast reflexes, stabbed her épée at Elica's incoming fist. 

At the same time, Elicia, after seeing the sword appear in Illyasviel's hand, stopped her punch and leaned to the side to avoid having her hand pierced. She then turned with her lean before her left foot shot out, a sidekick aimed at Illyasviel's chest. 

In response, Illyasviel, using her mana, controlled her waist-length hair to slap at Elicia's leg from above, the force sending Illyasviel up into the air while she spread her legs, causing Elicia's kick to pass just beneath her. Then, she angled her épée downwards and thrust at the major artery, the femoral artery, in Elicia's thigh. 

In response, Elicia used her threads to push herself out of the way of Illyasviel's stab. She then sent them lashing at Illyasviel while she was still airborne, intending to knock her back to the ground. 

However, before the threads could make contact, the humming bird flew in, taking the hit in Illyasviel's stead. At the same time, both ibises dashed forward, intending to slam into Elicia from either side. 

Elicia, however, was too alert for such a thing to work. With her balance restored once her left foot was back on the ground, Elicia leapt over the charging ibises. Then, she used her threads to wrap around their necks before tossing them up into the air. 

Elicia then landed on the ground in a crouch with her hands on the ground, as well. She then stood up on her hands and spun herself in place, her legs lashing out to kick the two flightless birds. And with the power and momentum of her kicks, she sent both birds flying in Illyasviel's direction. 

In response, Illyasviel dispelled the Magecraft on the hair making up the two ibises. As a result, the birds lost their forms, and the hair fluttered harmlessly to the ground. Even so, that did not stop her from yanking out another handful of hair, this time making two more ibises as well as two more humming birds to bolster her numbers. 

"I heard you were good." Elicia said as she flipped back onto her feet. "But I didn't expect you to be this good, Illya." 

"Of course, I am." Illya said proudly. "I'm glad you can understand. So, if you stand down, I can let you live. You did ask me if I wanted to play, after all. I'll have to defeat your Servant, though. But that can't be helped. He must be defeated so that I can win the Holy Grail." 

"Unfortunately, I can't do that." Elicia replied while shaking her head gently. "But my offer to play still stands. In fact, I can even tell you a secret about the Holy Grail later if we meet up." 

Hearing the word secret, Illyasviel was clearly intrigued. However, her desire to win the Grail won out over her interest in the end. As a result, she once again took on a fighting stance, her épée poised to strike while the automatons readied themselves to attack as well. 

"Then it would seem we are at an impasse." Illyasviel said in a serious tone. "But I hope you survive. Because I won't be holding back. And if you do, maybe we can play later." 

With that, the battle between Masters continued while the even more impactful battle between Servants raged on in the background.