Marvel: Trading with Worlds

"Miss, do you really want to trust that person? We don't even know him."

Back inside the house, Sera finally spoke up. She had been lying on the ground, unable to move—not deaf. She had heard everything Kain and Illya said.

To Sera, the whole situation felt absurd. The Einzbern family had clearly decided to fight and win the Holy Grail War. So why had her young mistress agreed to something like this?

"Sera, I've already made my decision. Don't bring it up again," Illya said firmly.

She had no intention of telling Sera that she was different from a typical homunculus. Nor did she mention that the restoration of Servants was happening through fragments of the Holy Grail implanted in Matou Sakura. Illya still retained her skills as a human and was not missing anything essential.

And deep in her heart, she still held a mix of emotions—resentment toward Emiya Kiritsugu, and more.

"Didn't he promise to help me win the Holy Grail? The Einzbern family can still achieve victory."

"But what if he's lying to you—"

Before Sera could finish, the hall doors were pushed open. Lijielit entered with Kain right behind her.

Kain had just asked for some magical materials, and the Einzbern family happened to have a surplus. Illya, unaware of their true value, had handed them over freely.

Now, the materials needed to create zero tails were more or less assembled. The Einzbern family, famed for crafting artificial humans, possessed many rare components that were difficult to find elsewhere.

"If you think I'm lying, why don't I prove it by experimenting on you first?"

Kain, having overheard the conversation from outside, walked in and addressed Sera and Illya directly.

"Let's start with these two. It's a shame the Servant body can't fully project my abilities. Otherwise, creating two new lives would be easy."

Chakra could be mimicked using magic, but the highest-level Yin-Yang Release couldn't be reproduced. If it could, Kain wouldn't need a plan at all.

For now, he had to rely on a cruder method: cultivating human bodies—something that required Tsunade's help.

Illya turned to Lijielit. "Lijielit."

Lijielit responded calmly, "At your command, my lady."

"Then let's begin shortly."

Kain turned his gaze outward. The battle beyond the Einzbern mansion was already over. When the Servant returned to the Grail, he had felt a noticeable increase in malicious energy coming from Matou Sakura.

Illya ignored the external chaos and, sitting with poise, asked, "When will it begin?"

"In a moment. I need to bring someone first."

With that, Kain used apparition and vanished, reappearing at the Tohsaka residence a second later.

"Damn bastard! Cheating again! I swear I'll find where you live and punch you in the face!"

Tsunade had just lost all her money gambling and was yelling at the computer when Kain arrived.

Seeing him, she blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here? Something up?"

"Of course I came to see you. I need your help with something. I just formed an alliance with the Einzbern family—but there's something I can't do alone."

Kain quickly explained the plan to transform an artificial human into a real one. Tsunade's expression grew serious.

She, too, was dealing with power restrictions in this world. If she were in her prime, the task would be easy. But now, the challenge lay in one thing: consciousness—or the soul.

"I've never worked with artificial humans before, so I'm not entirely sure. But the most important thing is whether they have true consciousness. If they do, then creating a body is doable. The brain might be tricky, though."

Kain brought Tsunade back to the Einzbern estate. They found a workspace and got to examining Lijielit's body.

"Incredible," Tsunade muttered. "The vital systems are all replaced by magical circuits—even the brain. They're more like bio-weapons than people. They're created with a single purpose in mind—this one's clearly a combat model."

She tilted her head and looked at Sera.

"Lie down. Let me examine you next."

Sera obediently lay on the bed after hearing the words, and Tsunade began her examination.

"It's exactly the same," Tsunade muttered. "Fortunately, their consciousness was cultivated after creation. Something is interfering with it—but the good news is, it's reversible."

There were several ways to transfer consciousness, but after thinking it over, Tsunade decided to first cultivate a proper human body and then transfer Lijielit's consciousness into it. However, before that, she would also need to deal with the "command" programming embedded within Lijielit's body. That required removing the magical seal first.

Meanwhile, Kain was busy studying artificial human technology. He recalled that the head of the Einzbern family had been an artificial intelligence from centuries ago. The magical circuits embedded in their bodies could be repurposed for his biological soldiers.

Still, Kain believed that once he reached the Root, all these techniques would become obsolete. There would be no need to learn or use them anymore. He explained this to Tsunade and went to prepare the Zero-Tail body.

The Root was the origin of everything in this world. Reaching it was akin to acquiring the Reality Stone in the Marvel universe—science and technology would become irrelevant, as all physical laws could be rewritten at will. Scientific achievements would be mere suggestions in the face of true reality manipulation.

"I'll leave things here to you, Tsunade. I've got something else to take care of, so I'll head out for now."

Tsunade snorted and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. You say you came to see me, but all you do is dump work on me."

"I meant I'm going to grab something, then come back to you."

"Ahhh, fine."

Elsewhere, Emiya Shirou cried out in pain, drenched in sweat.

"Amazing," Matou Zouken said as he stepped out of the shadows, his tone laced with surprise and confusion. "Not only have you fully adapted to the Matou family's magecraft, but your body is steadily recovering. You're even able to use your previous magic."

For this Holy Grail War, Matou Zouken hadn't tortured Shirou with the Crest Worms like he usually did. Instead, he had focused on strengthening him. The transformation was painful, but necessary.

To his surprise, Shirou's body had adapted perfectly. His magic circuits were completely intact, and his strength had increased significantly. Not only could he now serve as a proper Master capable of bearing Command Spells, but he was also more powerful than Zouken had expected.

"A body like this… there's definitely a secret to it," Zouken thought. "If only I could take it for myself…"

But unfortunately, his own injuries were too severe. He lacked the strength to act on that impulse.

"Let's begin the Command Seal transplant. Once you receive your Servant—Assassin—you'll be ready to reenter the Holy Grail War."

"Izo Okada," a voice said, calm and sharp. "One of the shogunate's most renowned swordsmen. I hope I can be of service to you, Emiya Shirou."

Shirou nodded with quiet determination. "Understood."

The Command Seal transplant was quick, taking less than half a day. Zouken had made sacrifices to perform the ritual, which moved Shirou a little—though he didn't fully understand the old man's true nature.

Kain had once managed to completely deceive Kushina during school. Compared to that, tricking the naive and inexperienced Emiya Shirou was child's play for someone like Matou Zouken.

With his new Servant, Shirou returned to the Emiya residence. He had been gone for a while, and now that he was back, he wasn't quite sure what to do next.

Talk to his Servant?

That was the idea, but Okada Izo didn't seem interested. After saying, "Don't bother me unless it's an order," he vanished.

Eventually, Shirou decided he might as well go back to school.

"Three Servants have already fallen. Our side has five Servants, counting the Einzbern family's. That leaves five more out there."

Kain said to Rider and Medea,

"If there are no unforeseen events, the Arbiter, Jeanne d'Arc, will definitely not allow irregular Servants to escape the Holy Grail War. So, those who stayed behind last time due to anomalies will also be forcefully recalled."

"The next step is to find this person."

Kain's current target was Kotomine Kirei. Among all the newcomers participating in the Holy Grail War, Kirei was a dangerous outlier—his identity was exposed, his motives were clear, and he was not someone easily manipulated. He needed to be eliminated early.

With the cursed energy of Angra Mainyu involved, even Gilgamesh couldn't exert his full power against Kain. His anti-world Noble Phantasms were formidable, but in a head-on clash of power, Kain wasn't afraid.

Rider suddenly raised her hand.

"If all the other Servants are returned to the Grail…"

"Then you'll be going back too," Kain said with a grin. "The more Servants gathered inside the Grail, the easier it becomes to pinpoint the Root."

Although his words were cold, this was how the Holy Grail War was meant to proceed.

"Don't worry, Medusa. You're still just a spirit for now. Once I control the Root, I'll release your true heroic form. You're an excellent assistant—I'd like your help even more when the time comes."

Rider turned her head.

"I never said I was your assistant."

"There are many roles available," Kain replied cheerfully. "You can choose for yourself. Like Medea, you'll be treated fairly. Real resurrection and personal wishes can be granted over time. I never hold back when it comes to those who cooperate in a win-win partnership."

Kain wasn't bluffing. Those who had worked with him—Orochimaru, Thaddeus Ross, Dumbledore, and others—had all received considerable benefits. Once he got what he wanted, he was generous.

"However, this person—Kirei—is clever. If anyone other than an Assassin approaches recklessly, he'll definitely notice. And regular detectives are useless—they can't sense magical presence at all."

Medea tilted her head.

"Then what do we do?"

"We hire other magi," Kain said, smirking. "I've already altered Kotomine Kirei's records. He's now an internationally wanted criminal. Within the Mage's Association, he's also been marked as highly dangerous. Add to that various civilian authorities, and it should be enough to flush him out."

Kain had never intended to fight in the Holy Grail War in a conventional way. Emiya Kiritsugu had already proven that underhanded tactics were often the most effective.

However, Kiritsugu had relied on guns and espionage. To Kain, that was too primitive. He believed in leveraging civilian power. When national institutions were mobilized, even the most powerful magi had to go into hiding.

Now, the FBI, CIA, and Interpol were descending upon Fuyuki City, armed to the teeth. The mayor of Fuyuki had received orders, and their top priority was now to apprehend Kotomine Kirei.

Using hacking and the Imperius Curse, Kain had shaped Kirei into the most wanted man in the world. Every nation's authorities were hunting him.

If necessary, the Fuyuki mayor could request assistance from both the U.S. military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces. Combined with agents from the Mage's Association and Kain's own hired help, even if Kirei went underground, he would eventually be dragged out.

Medea blinked. This was the first time she'd heard of such a method. She thought about it—if Kain had used this on her, she might've been captured within two days. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Kotomine Kirei.

"Isn't this... a bit excessive?"

Kain sighed.

"There's no choice. If I sent you out to find him, you might be ambushed by Archer and Lancer, leftovers from the last Holy Grail War. I'm doing this to protect you."

Medea smiled, though she furrowed her brow slightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Kain."

As for Medusa, she covered her face and sighed. She didn't fully believe Kain's words. The real reason he didn't send them out was likely because they weren't fast enough—or simply not Assassins. He probably found them inconvenient.

Kotomine Kirei didn't know it yet, but thousands of people were now hunting him in Fuyuki City—elite civilian forces and dozens of magi included.

Meanwhile, at the Tohsaka residence—

"Berserker is my Servant! How could someone else just take her like that?!"

Rin Tohsaka fumed, her hands clutching at her twin ponytails as she confronted Tsunade. She knew the odds of winning the Holy Grail War were low, but Tsunade's behavior still infuriated her.

"Haha, guess I went a little overboard," Tsunade laughed, trying to brush it off. "I'll be more careful next time."

In any case, Lijielit's modification had already been completed. Tsunade no longer needed to visit the Einzbern household.

With Kain's assistance and access to rare equipment, Tsunade had successfully cultivated a new human body and transferred Lijielit's consciousness into it.

Tsunade had also created a human-compatible magic circuit for Lijielit. Although it was slightly weaker in strength, Lijielit was now undoubtedly a human—and with training, she could grow stronger and even surpass the original limits of an artificial being.

Her emotions were somewhat duller, but that was a separate issue tied to her individual nature.

From here on, Tsunade had no further involvement. Using the same method, Kain could help both Sera and Illya become like Lijielit.

Rin Tohsaka snorted coldly.

"You don't even look like you're trying to apologize. But whatever... I want to visit the Matou household. Will you come with me?"

"That kind of thing sounds troublesome. You can go on your own," Tsunade replied lazily.

"No way! It's too dangerous for me to go alone—you have to come with me!"

Without waiting for permission, Rin grabbed Tsunade and pulled her away from the computer desk. At the same time, she cast an uneasy glance at Tsunade's overly well-endowed figure.

'When we get back... I need to find out what this woman eats. That level of bust is definitely unnatural!'

Although she was supposedly going to visit Sakura at the Matou residence, Rin's thoughts had clearly drifted elsewhere.

…

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