Multiverse: Why does the world show a health bar? !

Berserker—powerful. This was Shirou Emiya's first impression upon laying eyes on the towering figure before him. Standing nearly twice the height of an average person, his ebony skin stretched taut over rippling muscles. A single glance revealed this Servant to be a killing machine, a grinder of battlefields.

Rin Tohsaka, too, quickly assessed the situation. Her perception told her that Berserker possessed attributes surpassing even Saber's—a monstrous being by any measure.

"Ah, did that older brother run away?" 

By Berserker's side stood a young girl with white hair and crimson eyes, marking her as foreign. Her composed demeanor reminded Rin and Shirou of the man they had just encountered—calm and unnervingly steady, as if nothing could surprise him.

"Good evening, Miss Tohsaka, and big brother from the Emiya household."

"I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern. Yes, *that* Einzbern."

The small girl, dressed in thick winter clothing, appeared endearing enough for anyone to call her "such a good girl." Yet her innocence only served to highlight the cruelty of the war unfolding around them.

She was their enemy.

"Though I'd love to give you two a chance to talk," Illya began, "it seems… that strange man hasn't gone far enough."

Illya glanced toward a specific direction.

"Berserker senses something unusual."

From Illya's words alone, Rin understood what was happening. The mysterious individual who had destroyed the Matou estate earlier might still be nearby.

"Archer!"

The red Archer ascended to a higher vantage point, his skill *Clairvoyance* allowing him to see farther than ordinary eyes. Then, unexpectedly, he locked gazes with someone in the distance. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the same man responsible for the destruction of the Matou residence.

Li Mo stood roughly two kilometers away atop a residential building, his presence unnoticed by the sleeping inhabitants below. Once assured there was no immediate danger, the residents returned to bed without suspicion.

There he stood silently, holding what appeared to be a reflective device used to observe the Matou estate.

Li Mo hadn't been surprised by the appearance of Berserker and Illya. The noise he'd caused at the Matou estate would have drawn attention, especially given the proximity of the Einzbern fortress. Moreover, Illya likely wanted to meet Shirou Emiya.

"Tsk, caught watching, huh? Guess I can't enjoy the show anymore!" 

As Li Mo pondered, he noticed Red Archer perched high above, making eye contact with him. Heroes possessing *Clairvoyance* were notoriously unfair, especially those at the highest levels. While lower-tier abilities fell within reasonable limits, top-tier variants could even glimpse fragments of the future.

"Time to retreat. No point fighting now. Does Illya really want to teach her 'little brother' a lesson? What a shame. Rider, where's Lancer right now?"

After leaving the ruins of the Matou estate, Li Mo hadn't fled immediately. Instead, he found a convenient spot to continue observing while instructing Rider to keep tabs on Lancer, Cú Chulainn.

The blue spearman showed no intention of hiding, striding confidently into view, clearly eager for a fight. Li Mo sent Rider to engage him briefly.

But now Rider reappeared before Li Mo as a spiritual body.

"Lancer sparred with me for a few rounds before retreating. Should we pursue him? We still don't know who his Master is."

"Better not. That Lancer is none other than Cú Chulainn, whose martial prowess cannot be underestimated. His Noble Phantasm, which defies causality, poses significant complications. Perhaps someday I'll seize it for research."

**Gáe Bolg**, Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm, functioned by gathering mana into his weapon before delivering a fatal strike. Its effect was simple yet terrifying: your heart was pierced first, followed retroactively by the trajectory of the attack itself—not automatic targeting, but rather an instantaneous declaration of your demise the moment the weapon left his hand.

For now, Li Mo saw no way to counter such a technique.

"I find Lancer's behavior odd. For a warrior, he seems restrained, holding back significantly." Medusa, herself a seasoned fighter, easily detected the hesitation in Lancer's movements during their brief exchange.

"Cú Chulainn has drawn an eccentric Master, surely frustrating for a warrior like him. It'd be ideal to recruit him."

"A warrior like him won't betray easily."

"True, but consider this—his second Master was that priest!" Li Mo remarked casually.

"What do you plan to do with Caster and Assassin's Masters? Why are you always trying to gather all the Servants under your command?" Medusa questioned bluntly, already aware of Li Mo's transparent intentions. He hid nothing, openly expressing his ambitions.

Yet this only deepened her confusion. His goal clearly wasn't the Holy Grail; instead, he seemed far more intrigued by the Heroic Spirits themselves.

"Hmm…"

Li Mo fell silent, pocketing the relic mirror he'd used for long-distance observation. Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he finally responded, "Perhaps it's simply admiration for you heroes. Can you believe it? I once saw a Master who had summoned over a hundred Servants. Every Heroic Spirit present in this Holy Grail War had once signed a contract with him.

If he could achieve such a feat, why can't I?"

Fujimoto Risuka—the protagonist he had observed growing throughout countless arcs. A chaotic character shaped by multiple authors, Fujimoto's actions often conflicted with one another. And when fiction became reality, Fujimoto ceased to exist merely as Fujimoto.

Turning to Gorgon, Li Mo asked, "What do you think, Gorgon-senpai?"

"Do you expect me to guess?"

Her voice resonated omnidirectionally, as though whispering directly in his ear despite her ethereal form.

"Such a clever answer."

Through her response—or lack thereof—Li Mo gleaned information about the current state of Chaldea. However, reflecting further, he recalled that Gorgon herself hadn't truly died yet, having been sent into outer space by her grandfather.

Would he eventually need to visit that timeline?

"Has Illya truly given up? Is she really here just to see Shirou Emiya? Would she abandon her claim so easily after losing her father?"

Illya's relationship with Kiritsugu Emiya and Shirou Emiya remained convoluted. Though chronologically older, her psychological age likely rivaled—or perhaps even lagged behind—Shirou's due to her isolated upbringing within the Einzbern family. In essence, Illya was an uneducated child lost in the system.

Shaking off these scattered thoughts, Li Mo quickened his pace, knowing full well that two pairs of Servants were pursuing him.

Let's lead them to Mount Enzo for now.