The sky had not yet brightened; everywhere was still hazy and dark. The sky had not yet brightened; everywhere was still hazy and dark.
On the wilderness filled with scenes of ruin, a figure was running across it. The speed was fast, and the kicked-up dust seemed to draw a "yellow line" behind them.
Looking closely, it was actually a blonde girl.
On her back, she was carrying a black-haired boy.
In order to find Saint George as quickly as possible, after resting for a while, Jeanne carried Takumi on her back and rushed toward Saint George's location with all her might.
Marie and Amadeus, in Spirit Form, kept watch around them.
Because Amadeus liked to travel when he was alive, he was familiar with the routes in France. Coupled with the guidance of [Revelation], finding Saint George wasn't actually difficult for their group.
Instead, the management of time was more crucial.
Jeanne's body was soft, and the faint fragrance on her was pleasant.
But Takumi had no mind to enjoy it.
'...How long can time like this last?'
Takumi didn't know what kind of result they would reach in the end, but judging by the premonition he'd had all along, it probably wouldn't be anything good, right?
"I suddenly remembered an essay I wrote back in school. It feels a bit like our current situation..."
"Essay? What is that?"
Hearing Takumi's voice, Jeanne asked in confusion.
"It's like writing a short story. I used to memorize an cliché template, something like a mother braving heavy rain to take her sick child to the hospital..."
The corners of Takumi's mouth turned up slightly, as if he had thought of something funny.
"Eh? Could it be you think of me as your mother?"
Completely missing Takumi's point, Jeanne turned pale with shock, and her face instantly turned red.
"No, how could that be?"
Takumi shook his head gently. For some reason, a trace of red also appeared on his face.
Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief and maintained her speed to continue the journey.
'I really wish time would stop right here...'
Even if it just passed a little slower, that would be fine.
Looking at Jeanne's exquisite profile and the determination mixed with a hint of sorrow in her eyes, Takumi closed his eyes and lay peacefully on Jeanne's back.
With the addition of two Servants, they found Saint George very smoothly.
"Mr. Georgios, there's no time to explain. Please help lift the curse on this child first!"
Jeanne carefully helped Takumi, who now found it difficult even to stand, sit on the ground. She looked anxiously at Georgios.
The Servant hailed as Saint George had long red hair and wore dragon-scale armor over a white robe with red stripes. At his waist hung a longsword without a tip.
"To have so many curses... This curse will likely require both of us to perform the baptism chant together to lift it..."
Jeanne and the others had found him suddenly. Although he was a bit confused, Georgios, knowing the duty of his manifestation, quickly sorted out his thoughts.
Especially after seeing the crimson Command Spells on the back of Takumi's hand, he understood the importance of his actions even more.
It was just...
"However, it seems the enemy won't give us time to complete the baptism in peace."
As if sensing something, Georgios looked at the sky with a grave expression.
Only then did everyone react, looking in the direction of Georgios's gaze.
They saw a black giant dragon, like a mountain, flapping its massive wings. Wrapped in oppressive magical energy, it was flying straight toward their location.
"...Is that the Evil Dragon Fafnir?"
Under the pressure of a top-tier Dragon Kind, even before it fully arrived, everyone felt unimaginable pressure.
Shifting their gaze to the Wyverns beside it, they saw quite a few figures standing on their backs.
"Not only that, there are quite a few Heroic Spirits..."
Jeanne Alter, Gilles, Vlad III, Carmilla, Chevalier d'Eon, Sanson, Atalante...
The enemy had mobilized everyone. They could even hold a Holy Grail War on their own.
Then look at their side.
Jeanne (Half-crippled), Takumi (unable to stand again), Queen Marie, Amadeus, Georgios...
At most, they counted as three and a half.
"It seems the time for the final battle has arrived. It feels like not much time has passed since I manifested."
Amadeus looked serious, but his tone carried a hint of melancholy.
Seeing this, Queen Marie made up her mind and turned to look at the two.
"Jeanne, Mr. Georgios, please stay here and remove the curse from Little Master as quickly as possible. Leave the enemy to him and me!"
Perhaps Queen Marie was someone who could infect others with a smile no matter the situation.
So even at this time, Queen Marie still had a faint smile on her face.
"Mmh, Maria is right. With our current combat power, even if we force ourselves, we probably aren't a match for that group of villains, right? Only by truly liberating the power of the Dragonslayer can we have a chance of winning."
Amadeus nodded in agreement.
"So don't worry, we will risk our lives to stop all of them!"
Marie said with a smile.
"...We're counting on you. Georgios and I will lift the curse on Master as fast as possible!"
Jeanne was silent for a moment, then spoke solemnly to the two.
Her gaze at this moment was incredibly firm, unbreakable like steel.
"Mmh mmh, that's right!"
Marie nodded with a smile, then turned to follow Amadeus, who had already taken a few steps ahead.
"It really is lucky to be summoned together with Maria. It's just that the time is too short. I don't know when we'll meet again next time..."
"This is enough! To be able to fight side by side like this is something we couldn't even imagine when we were alive."
"Hehe, that's true..."
The two smiled at each other and stood on the path the enemy had to take.
A few seconds passed.
A figure jumped down from a Wyvern first.
"Truly a fateful encounter, Marie. Don't you think so?"
The executioner named Charles-Henri Sanson, the man who executed Queen Marie, stared straight at Marie the moment he landed, wearing a smile of "reunion after a long separation."
"Among so many Heroic Spirits, we were summoned to the same place... Hey, don't you think this is a fateful meeting? Let me execute you one more time!"
"Um, is there a possibility that we were both summoned because we are both local Heroic Spirits?"
"And I'm sorry, I don't like people who pester endlessly and have strange tastes."
Marie, seeing an acquaintance again, said with some distress.
Even she would find it hard to say she liked being beheaded, right?
"Ahem, you heard what Maria said. She doesn't like pestering men. Besides, saying you want to execute Maria right in front of me... you really are looking down on me."
Amadeus smiled and blocked in front of Marie, his gaze toward Sanson slightly cold.
"You really dare to speak..."
The brief time of "getting along" with Marie was interrupted, making Sanson stare viciously at this man who appeared beside Marie.
At this moment, the group of Berserk Servants and Jeanne Alter also jumped down from the Wyverns, smashing several large craters in the ground.
They stood opposite Marie and Amadeus in unison.
Jeanne Alter glanced behind the two, the corners of her mouth raising in a mocking arc.
"Heh, trying to buy time for the guys over there? Truly wishful thinking. But don't worry, I will shatter all your hopes without leaving a single piece!"
Without saying much trash talk, Jeanne Alter immediately waved her flag, signaling the Servants to attack.
The prologue of the battle began.
Neither Marie nor Amadeus were combat-type Servants, but in this short battle, they displayed astonishing resilience. Once their Noble Phantasms were activated, they didn't stop. Glass kept pouring down casually, and piercing music covered the battlefield at all times, interfering with the enemy Servants' will to fight.
Ignore small injuries, can't deal with big injuries—it was a fighting style of giving everything, just to keep Jeanne Alter and the others firmly in place.
Even the opposing Servants, who were inflicted with Madness Enhancement, involuntarily felt a trace of admiration for them.
"What tenacious will, what fearless fighting style... If I hadn't manifested in this state, I would really want to have a good talk with you and consider the possibility of taking you under my command."
Seeing this scene, Vlad III seemed to briefly regain his reason. His eyes held appreciation, but his tone was filled with regret.
Now he was acting against his will. No matter how much pity he felt, he didn't have the ability to resist Jeanne Alter's orders.
After all, Jeanne Alter's Madness Enhancement control was something even a Saint like Martha found difficult to resist.
Under d'Eon's face full of reluctance, Marie and her glass white horse were sent flying together by d'Eon.
"Ugh—"
Rolling two or three times on the ground, Marie barely steadied her figure, then immediately pulled her white horse up, not daring to stop for a moment.
"Is there a day when I get called tenacious too? Although it's a bit untimely, I'm actually quite happy."
Her delicate body bore wounds, her beautiful clothes were soaked in blood, and her face was smeared like a painted cat with dirt mixed with blood. But Marie's smile remained brilliant, shining like a gem.
"However, the duty of a star is to grant light to others. As long as everything I do can help that Saint Jeanne and that Little Master, even if my life is as short as foam, I will bloom with joy until I wither."
"So, until they are finished over there, I won't let you take another step forward!"
Marie drove her horse forward again, blocking Carmilla's sneak attack toward the rear.
Not far away on the other side.
"Enough! How long are you going to play this terrible music!"
Sanson gritted his teeth as he looked at the man in front of him, wishing he could hack him to death on the spot.
Seeing Queen Marie with several severe wounds from afar made Sanson anxious like an ant on a hot pan.
She is the only one I can kill! Can you guys just get lost!
If Sanson had enough power, he probably wouldn't hesitate to cut down his teammates too.
"Cough, cough... For guys like you with no musical cells, of course terrible music is more suitable. If you want to hear good music, please wait until you go to hell."
Amadeus forced a smile. His condition at this moment was even worse than Marie's. After all, they were each dealing with multiple Servants. Being able to hold on for some time was already performing beyond expectations.
After speaking, Amadeus activated his Noble Phantasm again, shooting down Atalante's rain of arrows in mid-air and incidentally interfering with the movements of those Wyverns, causing them to fall shakily again.
Looking at Amadeus's practiced movements, this scene had probably happened more than once.
"...As Maria said, I won't let you interfere with the rear. Especially you, Sanson. I'll be watching you the whole time. Don't even think about finding a chance to go to Maria's side!"
Amadeus said with a smile.
If you ignored the blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked truly cool.