What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards!

"Justeaze's effect activates. When this card is summoned, all Spell and Trap cards on the field return to their owner's hand."

Chains of Heaven and Castle of Snow were enveloped in a bright glow before reverting into their respective owner's hands. With Heaven's Chains lifted, Illya was no longer bound.

"Gil, don't make that face. Cheer up a little—that's not like you."

Seeing that Jiang You's field had a sufficient attack lineup while Gilgamesh had no means of counterplay, Enkidu instead chose to soothe Gilgamesh's emotions. As always, he remained calm and composed.

"Alright then! With Justeaze's effect, I'll choose—"

Having finally summoned a new card, Jiang You was ready to enjoy the moment. However, a certain Saint had other thoughts.

"Caster, please wait!"

Jeanne hurriedly stopped Jiang You's action.

"The Holy Grail War isn't over yet. Exposing your trump card's effect so soon wouldn't be wise."

"How dare you underestimate me! I'll kill you all!"

Jeanne's words immediately set off Gilgamesh, who had just barely calmed down.

Ignoring Gilgamesh's outburst, Jiang You glanced at Jeanne on his field. He understood that NPCs, much like in the original world, were unaware of effects they had never encountered before. However, seeing his own Duel Spirit react so strongly was intriguing.

"Does it really matter? Besides, I've already summoned it—if I don't activate the effect now, it'll just feel stifling. You're telling me to hold back?"

"It does matter! It really does! If you don't go through with this... I'll increase my favorability towards you?"

"...?"

"Really, I swear! It'll go up!"

Jeanne frantically gestured, her movements becoming more exaggerated as her head practically started steaming. Then, as if a lightbulb went off—

"Right! It's a challenge reward!"

"A challenge reward?"

Jiang You thought about it—true, the original game sometimes included bizarre challenges, like prohibiting certain cards. But he'd never seen one that targeted a specific effect like this.

"So this is just another tutorial gimmick? Couldn't they have just given me a pop-up window instead?"

"Fine, whatever… I'll enter the Battle Phase. I did promise Illya that she'd get the final hit. Jeanne, I need you to swap out with Enkidu. No objections?"

Given that favorability was apparently a thing now, Jiang You figured he should at least check with his own card before sending her to the Graveyard.

"No problem! Being able to fight the legendary Enkidu is an honor!"

Jeanne gripped her holy banner tightly, regaining her determined composure.

"Keeping one's word is a fine virtue. Come, Saint of France, let us test our strength!"

Enkidu responded as golden chains sprouted from the earth.

With that, both Jeanne and Enkidu left the field.

Now, the battlefield was completely clear—only Illya and Justeaze remained.

"Heroic King, that was quite the enjoyable duel! I don't think I'll ever forget you! Illya, direct attack on Gilgamesh!"

Illya shaped Engel Lied into the form of a long spear. It wasn't her usual combat style, but for some reason, she just felt like doing it this way.

The spear slashed past Gilgamesh's eye before, propelled by an immense surge of mana, piercing straight through his heart.

Gilgamesh LP 3500 → 0

[Your reward *Chains *of Heaven ×3 has been sent via mail. Please claim it promptly.]

"Damn you! Aaaaargh—!"

The impact of 3500 attack power wasn't fully spent even after the duel ended, sending Gilgamesh flying straight into the ruins of the Tohsaka estate, which had already been wrecked by Romulus's Noble Phantasm. The second impact caused another collapse, burying him completely. He didn't emerge for a long time—Illya's attack must have done quite a number on him.

Meanwhile, Tohsaka Tokiomi, weakened by his Servant's defeat, coughed up blood before collapsing onto the ground. In an instant, the Archer team was out of commission.

"I remember Berserker got slashed by a 3500 ATK Artoria and didn't react this dramatically... Does the game factor in whether an attack carries killing intent?"

Jiang You still found Konami's technology to be some serious black magic.

But there was no point thinking too much about it—he should focus on progressing the story.

"The duel is over, so from now on, I'll be handling Sakura's situation."

Jiang You waved for Sakura to come forward.

"Sakura, you want to stay with your family, right?"

Sakura hesitated as she looked at Tokiomi, who was lying on the ground gasping for air. Fear flickered in her eyes, but after a long moment of internal struggle, she nodded.

"I'll help make that happen. But there's a problem—although I won, if I forcefully leave you with the Tohsaka family, your father will just find another way to send you away. Isn't that right, Lord Tohsaka?"

Jiang You knew full well that Tokiomi would never give up on the idea of making Sakura a magus. If left unchecked, he'd undoubtedly try to adopt her into another mage family.

Given the average morality level of Type-Moon magi, let's just say there was plenty of room for improvement.

Bound by his own sense of elegance, Tokiomi couldn't bring himself to lie to his daughter, so instead, he averted his gaze—silent but confirming Jiang You's suspicions.

"So, Sakura, come to the Einzbern estate."

"Not the one far away—the Einzbern Castle here in Fuyuki."

Right now, Jiang You was technically its master. In gratitude for the Soul Crystal he had given them, the Einzbern family had handed over their Fuyuki property—Illya included—to him.

Jiang You didn't trust the Einzbern patriarch, but he knew their obsession with the Third Magic. Given that, fulfilling such a minor request of his was a given.

On a related note, due to Jiang You's request, the Einzbern family had begun separating Irisviel's functions from the Lesser Grail. With the help of the Soul Crystal, the progress was remarkable, and soon, she'd be able to live as a normal homunculus. Even Kiritsugu's favorability had gone up because of this, though he still refused to hand over his cards—something that irritated Jiang You greatly. He silently decided to have Illya beat him up a few more times.

"You'll live there from now on. Whenever you want to visit your mother and sister, you can. The journey's a bit long, but don't worry—once Irisviel is back, she can drive you over."

Jiang You took Sakura's hand, making arrangements for her future.

"Apologies for interrupting."

The Church's priest, this Holy Grail War's overseer, the gray-haired Kotomine Risei, suddenly appeared at the Tohsaka estate.

"Since none of you followed the nighttime battle agreement and caused a huge scene in broad daylight, the commotion has already drawn police and reporters. They're on their way now... What happened to the Tohsaka estate?"

Before he could finish, all the remaining Masters and Servants had already scattered.

Kotomine Risei merely patted Tokiomi's shoulder in sympathy before leaving—he needed to contact the higher-ups to suppress the situation.

Only the severely injured Tokiomi and his wife and daughters remained, shivering in the cold wind.

"Lord Tohsaka, can you explain the cause of this massive collapse? Witnesses claim they saw enormous trees suddenly sprout from your residence—do you have any insight into this event?"

Given the Tohsaka family's prestige in Fuyuki, the arriving reporters immediately recognized Tokiomi, ignoring his injuries as they pressed for answers.

"...It was a gas explosion."