Why fight the Holy Grail War? Let's play cards!

"Due to the effect ② of [Snow Castle], the attack and defense of cards with the [Einzbern] attribute increase by 500 points."

[Illyasviel von Einzbern] Defense 800 → 1300

"Where is this...?" Illya, who was summoned in, showed a confused expression. She looked around, the familiar wind and snow, the familiar castle, and the familiar people.

"Kiritsugu pa... Emiya Kiritsugu!?" A cry of extreme surprise echoed through the forest. Then, tears welled up in Illya's eyes. "You liar! Liar! You said you'd come back for me when it was over, and I've waited so long, even though your walnuts have sprouted ten times, and I still haven't seen you come back! Liar, big liar!"

The vivid expression and clear words made Jiang You pause, casually covering the edge with his paddle. You know, this level of agility is only advertised as possessed by cards with Duel Spirits.

"Illya, but isn't Illya still here..." Emiya Kiritsugu looked at his wife, and after receiving an affirmative response from Irisviel who was equally surprised, he said in disbelief.

"Since you have also seen the text description of my Noble Phantasm, you should also know that this card is extracted from the concepts of legend, experience, and possibility. Naturally, there are not many legends about the card that belongs to you, nor is it your past experience. Possibility is the future, which means this is Illya ten years later. Referring to the name and effect of the magic card just now, you should already know the answer." Jiang You gave an explanation at the right time, and by the way, he complained in his heart that Old K really spent a lot of money. The NPC can actually react according to the cards. This time he is really far ahead.

"Mom!?" Illya had also noticed Irisviel's presence, and her unconcealed surprise surged through her voice. However, the rules of the duel prevented her from rushing towards her mother.

"I'm here. Don't cry, dear child." Alice was still a little confused, but the maternal instinct connected by blood made her believe the other party's authenticity, and she responded softly.

"So... I lost this Holy Grail War?" Emiya Kiritsugu questioned. The Heroic Spirit panel the Master saw couldn't be faked. But he wasn't one to give up easily. "But this is just a possibility, right? It doesn't explain everything. Instead, we can use this to infer the Masters and Servants who participated in this battle."

"Just now you said you would send my soul to hell. Dirty adults change their faces so quickly." This time it was Jiang You's turn to show a disgusted expression.

The overly vivid performance gradually made him addicted to role-playing. He continued to talk about the plot of the original world line. "Rather than saying you lost, it's better to say that there is no winner in this battle."

Irisviel ran towards Illya and hugged her in her arms. The girl who had not felt the warmth of her mother for ten years could finally vent her grievances completely.

"What do you mean?" Kiritsugu subconsciously lit a cigarette as he looked at the scene before him. Then, receiving Irisviel's accusing gaze, he could only silently stomp out the cigarette.

Jiang You glanced at the effects of his cards and decided to finish his words before elaborating. He didn't see the countdown anyway. After all, liberating Illya and sending her to the graveyard at this moment was a bit too much. "Your wish is for world peace, right? Don't you think that's a bit too broad?"

"There are many ways to achieve world peace. How will the Holy Grail accomplish this?" Jiang You made a pistol gesture and pressed it against his temple. "For example, if we kill everyone, there will be no more conflict, and perfect world peace."

"Or perhaps all humans could be gathered together, becoming one living being. With all their minds stacked together, there would be no more concept of others. Naturally, there would be no more conflict or death, and a more perfect world peace."

Seeing that Kiritsugu still didn't react much, Jiang You decided to use a more convincing method. "Sure enough, this still isn't shocking enough. Then let's use this to explain it in detail."

The covered card was revealed. "Activate the Continuous Spell Card, [Tainted Greater Holy Grail], banish an 'Einzbern' from the Graveyard and activate its ① effect. While this card is on the field, at the start of each turn, both players recover 1000 Life Points. However, due to the ② effect, all healing effects on both players are converted into Stamina loss. Similarly, ③ effect, attack and defense gains will be reduced."

[Illyasviel von Einzbern] Defense 1300 → 300

A black hole hung in the sky, and malicious black mud continued to flow out of it.

"What should have been a wish of hope has become filled with malice, twisting all beautiful aspirations into the ugliest desires. Incidentally, this card, [Irisviel von Einzbern], is banished from the Graveyard."

"My Master, Lord Kiritsugu, the messenger of justice. You failed to save anyone, yet you sacrificed your wife to fulfill your ideals, and this is what you received in exchange."

"The so-called 'Holy Grail'. Hahahahaha"

Stretching his fingers towards the black void, the black-haired young man let out a wanton laugh, which mingled with Illya's sobs and pierced Emiya Kiritsugu.

Emiya Kiritsugu opened his mouth, took several deep breaths, and then looked directly at Jiang You and asked, "But similarly, the Holy Grail can still fulfill wishes, right? As long as I can perfectly define the scope of the wish, I can also complete my tracing of the source."

"Hahaha—huh? No, buddy." Jiang You's tone suddenly changed, and he let out a sharp explosion. He stroked his chest and gave Emiya Kiritsugu a thumbs-up. "It has to be you, the pure Emiya Kiritsugu AI. The only thing you can think of is that universal explosive steel machine. Your mind is full of BYD world peace. Why don't you go support Haiti?"

Three cards were slammed into the trapped area, forming a T-shaped formation with Illya. "Madam, please move aside. The duel must continue. Today, I will give him a hard smack in the face. Three blocks. Pass."

Chapter 3: Urgent, are cards with different names and the same effect considered different paintings?

"Well, it's my turn. Draw cards." Emiya Kiritsugu drew cards according to the rules and replenished his hand to six.

The effect of the continuous magic was also activated.

Looking at the tumbling black mud, Jiang You reminded: "Because of the [Tainted Holy Grail], both of us have suffered 1000LP damage."

Jiangyou LP4000→LP3000

Emiya Kiritsugu LP4000→LP3000

They both groaned in pain.

"It's a concept from the past, truly... nostalgic." After adjusting his aura, Miya Kiritsugu looked at the card in his hand with a sad expression. "But precisely because of this, it formed my starting point. I Normal Summon [Xia Lei]!"

【Xia Lei】★ Caster Synchro/Effect Attack Power 500

A southern girl in a white dress slowly appeared on the field, spun around and looked around curiously.

"What a strange dream. But it feels very real. Sir, do we know each other?" She stared at Kiritsugu and felt that he was somewhat familiar.

Facing his childhood sweetheart, Kiritsugu opened his mouth but suppressed the urge to reminisce about the past. He gritted his teeth and continued his story.

"Activate the effect of [Xia Lei]. When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon a Normal Servant of 1 Star or lower from your Deck. I Special Summon [Emiya Kiritsugu: Young] in Defense Position!"

【Emiya Kiritsugu·Young】★ master Normal defense 400

"Isn't it Lily?" Jiang You shouted dissatisfiedly.

"Ah, Kiritsugu!" Xia Lei seemed a little happy when she saw the boy who suddenly appeared. Seeing a familiar person in an unfamiliar place can make people feel at ease.

"Sister Xia Lei." The spiky-haired boy, who looked half asleep, scratched his head in confusion. "I remember I wasn't sleeping."

"Synchronize [Xia Lei] and [Emiya Kiritsugu - Young]!" Without giving the two a chance to chat, Emiya Kiritsugu went straight to the next step. He couldn't help but utter the line he hadn't anticipated: "The mistakes of the devoted will ignite the flame, and from this the path of justice will sprout. Come out, [Xia Lei - Dead Apostle]!"

[Xia Lei·Dead Apostle]★★ Berserker Synchronize/Adjust/Effect Attack Power 1200

Watching the two transform into white light and form a crazed Dead Apostle emitting deathly aura, Jiang You was satisfied with the performance while also trying to psychologically attack Emiya Kiritsugu. The interactive NPCs were truly fascinating. "You truly are a partner of justice. Facing your own White Moonlight, you can be so decisive in making her repeat the tragedy of the past. You're the last one to be inhumane."

"It's just a remnant of the past, something that has already happened." Emiya Kiritsugu lit a cigarette, avoiding Illya's scrutinizing gaze on the field. "Due to the effect of [Xia Lei], when used as material for a Synchro Summon, you can add one [Emiya Kiritsugu] from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand."

"Then I activate the Spell Card [Messenger of Justice]. When this card is activated, I can Special Summon a Servant with the name 'Emiya' from my hand or Graveyard. The one I will summon is naturally [Emiya Kiritsugu] from my hand!"

【Emiya Kiritsugu】★★★★ Master Effect Attack Power 1600

As Kiritsugu finished speaking, Ben found himself being teleported to the battle area, the area where the Servant Cards were located.

"Oh, I get it!" Jiang You slammed his palms upon seeing this. "So you're all dueling elves!"

"Wait...what does this mean?" Emiya Kiritsugu felt something was wrong, and a bad premonition slowly seeped into his heart.

"That means the summoned Servants are real people or servants. Referencing the previous conversation between Xia Lei and your younger self, the duel can pull them from different timelines." Jiang You lamented that the crossover design was somewhat uninhibited. "If you don't believe me, ask Illya. Is she a real person? Oh no, a cyborg?"

"Of course alive! Not only alive, but also we have to beat this traitor severely!" Illya complained dissatisfiedly, staring at Emiya Kiritsugu with her ruby-like pupils.

"Okay, let's beat him down!" Jiang You mobilized the power of friendship and bond (one-sided description).

"What I did..." Emiya Kiritsugu shook his body, "Even so, even so..."

Emiya Kiritsugu quickly adjusted his mentality, and after stabilizing himself, he continued the duel. "But this is just your one-sided statement! I activate the effect of [Husu Maiya] in my hand. When there is a Servant with the name 'Emiya' on the field, this card can be Special Summoned. Come on, Maiya."

【久宇舞丫】★★ assassin effect attack power 1000

"Kiritsugu?"

After landing, Hisau Maiya immediately prepared for battle. After scanning the scene with her peripheral vision, she gripped her pistol tightly and aimed it at Jiang You, who was standing opposite Kiritsugu. However, the deathly aura nearby caught her attention even faster.

"Dead Apostle!" She immediately pulled the trigger, only making a few crisp sounds.

"Don't be nervous, Maiya. Xia Lei can be considered a companion for now and is under my complete control." After explaining, Kiritsugu Emiya whispered a few strange questions to Hisau Maiya. After getting the other party's answer, Kiritsugu's face quickly became gloomy.

This is the secret code between Kiritsugu and the other party. It was just updated recently. This Hisau Maiya is very likely to be real.

Verification is quite simple. After the duel, just check with Maiya and the information will be very clear.

"Then enter the battle phase! [Xia Lei Dead Apostle] attacks [Illyasviel von Einzbern]!"

Xia Lei, transformed into a Dead Apostle, roared like a wild beast and pounced on Illya.

"How cold-blooded! Letting the Dead Apostles bite you? How dare you harm your own daughter? No matter what, at least be gentle and let Hisau Maiya shoot."

"You should be familiar with the effect of [Xia Lei: Dead Apostle] in the same deck. When destroying an opponent's Servant in battle, it creates a 1000/1000 Dead Apostle token on your side of the field. With only 3000 Life Points, you're already on the kill line."

"So you're being too impatient. Activate the Trapping Card [Supporting Shot]! When your opponent's monster declares an attack, you can only activate this card by targeting one attacking monster. Destroy that attacking monster."

Suddenly, a loud gunshot was heard from the corner, and a sniper shot pierced Xia Lei directly into the cemetery.

At the place where the gunshots were heard, a figure identical to Hisau Maiya was gradually disappearing.

"You should have launched the attack yourself. After all, when [Emiya Kiritsugu] enters the graveyard due to its effect, you can add an [Origin Bullet] from the deck to your hand, right? You were too eager to kill me directly. These are your own trap cards, you should know more about them than me." Mo Chuan, who was sighing that it was worthy of being a novice level and the NPC couldn't even trick Kang, suddenly noticed something.

Doesn’t the effect of this card look a little too familiar?

"It's not over yet! [Kusu Maiya] continues to attack [Illyasviel von Einzbern]!" Looking at Jiang Liu who was sweating coldly, Kiritsugu felt inexplicably that he had won.

Chapter 4: The husband and his mistress confront his wife and daughter. The wife kills the mistress, and the daughter beats her father.

"Of course, I'm not done yet. I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Magician Killer's Intelligence Gathering]. When this card is activated, it can destroy one face-up Spell or Trap Card on the field!"

"But I don't have any cards on the field. What's the point of your card...?"

"Is that it!" Jiang You pointed at the Continuous Spell Card [Tainted Holy Grail] that he had impulsively activated earlier to demonstrate the plot. "I want to destroy this card!"

The black void grew unstable and then collapsed. Without the influence of the black mud, the snowstorm in the Snow City grew even more intense.

[Illyasviel von Einzbern] Defense 300 → 1300

The shield made of silver hair blocked Hisau Maiya's shot and deflected the bullet back.

Emiya Kiritsugu LP3000→LP2700

"Then, should we continue the remaining attacks?"

At this stage, only [Emiya Kiritsugu] had not yet attacked. Jiang You tapped the last covered card with his index finger and spoke.

The answer to Jiang You was Emiya Kiritsugu's decisive gunshot.

"You're so decisive! I'm activating the Trap Card [Confuse Master]! When the opponent declares an attack, I can redesignate my own target. Since I only have Illya on the field, my target is, of course, myself!"

The bullet drew an arc in front of Illya and hit Jiang You behind her.

Jiangyou LP3000→LP1400

"Ouch!" Jiang You cried out in pain from the extremely real pain of being shot.

"Seriously, virtual reality is so real, it's at least 50% real, right? Old K turned the pain feedback up way too high. I wonder if those people playing with morphine will cry out in pain."

After completing his attack, Emiya Kiritsugu covered two cards in his backfield, ending his turn. "I've achieved my goal. I've used up my entire backfield for a 1200 attack card. Caster, you're being irrational. And why didn't you activate Illya's release effect?"

"Of course it's to increase favorability." It's common sense that when the favorability of a Duel Elf increases, other matching cards will be unlocked. There's a chance to kill with a card containing a Duel Elf or say some nice words that match the Elf's personality and experience to increase favorability.

However, it seemed that things went against his wishes. Jiang You successfully earned Illya's contemptuous look, and Kiritsugu also showed an expression of "as expected".

"How dare you say that!" Inwardly cursing Old K's idiotic design, Jiang You even had to be so cautious when talking to NPCs. Feeling like he had no gaming experience, he turned his attention to Emiya Kiritsugu. "I, an outsider, could protect your daughter, and you, a Dio man, didn't even hesitate to shoot her for that stupid world peace! You should have let that damn cup play the train puzzle with you ten times. You don't even cherish your own family, and yet you're still here, a righteous loser!"

"I'm going to defeat you this turn! My turn, draw a card!"

A golden-red light swirled around his fingertips, and as the cards were drawn out, a violent airflow swept across the entire venue.

It is destined to start with one pull.

"I activate the Spell Card [Bitter Choice] and send three cards from my deck to the Graveyard before I can activate it..."

8

"Wait a moment, I'm going to activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Magician Killer Intelligence Gathering] to negate your card's effect."

"It's useless. All three cards will still be sent to the graveyard!"

Jiang You waved his hand and three cards entered the graveyard.

"Then I activate the effect of [Cloak of Heaven]. While this card is in the Graveyard, I can remove an 'Einzbern' from play and Special Summon it from the Graveyard!"

A white-based magic costume similar to a shrine maiden's outfit appeared on the field in a hollow form.

"It's actually the Heavenly Garment!" Irisviel felt uneasy upon seeing her family's precious ceremonial garment. "Kiritsugu, this ceremonial garment can grant the Einzbern androids the ability to briefly control the Third Law for a few seconds! We can't let him accomplish this!"

"Activate the quick-play magic card [Origin Bullet]! When this card is activated, you can select a Servant to negate and destroy it!" Kiritsugu also understood the horror of the third method and decisively interrupted it.

"So, why is [Bitter Choice] banned? Even with the same name, its synergy effect is ridiculously strong. It feels like beating a primitive with a laser sword. I activate the effect of [Avalon] in my graveyard, banishing myself and the top five cards in my deck, negating the effect of your [Origin Bomb]!"

The Origin Bullet was eliminated and made invisible, and at this point Kiritsugu's two covered cards in the backfield had been completely consumed.

It seems that the card [Support Shot], which has the same effect as Exploding Armor, is not contaminated by the law of causality.

"Well, it's time to speak your part. Hope, still in its infancy, is like a spark. One day, it will spread its wings and soar into the sky! Come, [Illyasviel von Einzbern [Cloak of Heaven]]!"

The Heavenly Clothes flew towards Illya on the field and finished dressing in a whole white light. The little girl exuded a huge amount of magic power.