"The Holy Grail is with that guy. Just in case he summons some more tricky opponents, ride this and go together."
Georgios, not wanting any more delays, waved his hand and summoned his horse, Bayard.
As a magical horse capable of negating one fatal attack, Bayard's speed was equally impressive.
Because he had inherited some of Jeanne's power, Takumi gained the ability to briefly use [Revelation].
Guided by [Revelation], the two chased straight in the direction Gilles had fled.
"Ah, ah, ah! As expected, the real Jeanne must have that unparalleled holiness and determination! Without that quality, can Jeanne still be called Jeanne? I must have been confused by the heat to not even understand such a simple principle—Ah, Sloth! Truly too slothful!!"
Curled up in a room with only a sliver of light, Gilles de Rais muttered frantically with a crazed expression, holding the Holy Grail that emitted specks of golden light in his hands.
After realizing the Jeanne Alter he created wasn't the real Jeanne at all, Gilles had a change of heart. Then, when Siegfried's power was fully unsealed, he took the opportunity to snatch the Holy Grail back from inside Jeanne Alter.
As for other considerations? Gilles had none. The thought of how to create a more perfect Jeanne had completely occupied his delirious mind.
"Aside from the important hatred for the world and elements of revenge, there must also be elements of holiness and compassion inside... Ah, it would be best if, while destroying other existences, she genuinely felt sad and painful about it, but after praying in pain, she would continue to destroy... And..."
"Right, the most important sense of leadership must be added too! The people being destroyed must also feel joy!"
Gilles conceived his ideas excitedly, his whole body trembling with agitation.
Hm?
Using the warning system of his Bounded Field, Gilles detected the arrival of Takumi and Georgios.
"Why why why?! Why must you disturb me at a time like this! I just want the real Jeanne to return to this world. What did I do wrong? Oh God, why must you send down suffering upon me and Jeanne—"
Gilles clutched his head in agony, unconsciously scratching off skin from his face and scalp, leaving trails of blood.
But he didn't care, just howling in madness.
"Villains! Those two guys must be villains! Everyone who stops Jeanne's descent is a villain! Only by eliminating them can I truly create a world where Jeanne can live happily!!"
Gilles stopped his movements, his bulging eyes filled with rage and resentment.
Saying this, he cast his gaze onto the glowing golden Holy Grail in his hand.
Ominous magical energy erupted suddenly. The roof was blown off, shooting straight into the sky like a rocket before tracing an arc and crashing heavily down, shattering into pieces that could never be put back together.
A black-purple monster, covered in disgusting pustules and looking like an amalgamation of countless tentacles, burst through the massive building and the crude workshop.
Then, opening its ugly, tattered fleshy wings, it let out an incomprehensible roar toward the sky.
Its overall shape barely resembled a dragon. Presumably, Gilles had looked at Fafnir for too long and was somewhat influenced by Fafnir's design.
The magical energy bursting from it blew dust and lighter pieces of wood to the feet of Georgios and Takumi.
"It seems this final battle won't be easy either..."
Takumi jumped off the horse and summoned Balmung.
"Let's go together. I will help you break through to the opponent's core."
Georgios, riding on his horse, drew Ascalon and pointed the blade at the ugly monster ahead.
"Mmh. I'm counting on you."
Takumi held Jeanne's flag in his left hand and Siegfried's Balmung in his right, nodding slightly.
The next moment, a magical beam shot out from the monster's "eye"—which looked like a red lantern—aimed at their position.
The two dodged easily and charged toward the monster in unison.
The monster extended its tentacles, rolling up large rocks from the ground and throwing them at the two like scattered flowers.
Georgios pulled the reins slightly, swinging Ascalon to slice the rocks in two one by one.
Compared to Georgios's elegance, Takumi appeared much more violent. Relying on the [Armor of Fafnir] and the buff from Jeanne's Noble Phantasm, he completely ignored these irrelevant rock-throwing attacks.
He smashed the rocks into powder with his body.
Only when approaching the monster's body could they feel its immensity.
It was several times larger than Fafnir—a complete mountain of meat.
But did being big mean being strong?
"[Ascalon (Blessed Sword by Which Force Is Slain)]!"
Georgios activated his Noble Phantasm, affixing the concept of "Dragon" onto this abomination.
Although this thing had a dragon-like appearance, it really had nothing to do with dragons.
"Command Spell—"
The last Command Spell was used. The Mana in Takumi's body increased out of nowhere, and Balmung in his hand was coated in a layer of dazzling light.
Continuous Noble Phantasm reinforcement, plus—
[Dragon Slayer]!
Takumi swung Balmung. Twilight-colored sword energy slashed out, cutting a huge gap in this mountain of meat.
Without hesitation, Takumi stepped forward and ran into the mountain of meat through the gap.
Constantly swinging his sword, a passage wide enough for ten people to walk side-by-side was forcibly carved out by Takumi's movements.
Georgios followed in on his horse, providing support beside Takumi.
The closer they got to the core, the faster the meat mountain regenerated. Georgios inevitably struggled a bit and said regretfully:
"It seems I can only send you this far..."
"Mmh. Leave the rest to me."
Neither showed excessive worry about this situation.
For no other reason than simply trusting in the power of Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer, and the support of Georgios's own Noble Phantasm.
Facing the strongest special attack in the game, what chance did a monster affixed with the Dragon concept have?
Georgios turned his horse back the way they came, leaving only Takumi continuing toward the core.
And Takumi's actions were simple.
Swing sword. Swing sword. Swing sword. Swing sword—
Balmung only needed to draw a small amount of True Ether from the jewel in the hilt to maximize its power, so he just needed to repeat the swinging motion.
The flag in his left hand emitted a faint golden light, and the [Armor of Fafnir] was active at all times.
His First Special Ability made Takumi's movements elusive. Even stepping on this terrifying meat mountain, it couldn't capture Takumi.
Swing sword, swing sword, constantly swinging sword. The sword energy connected into a sheet, chopping everything in front into unrecognizable minced meat. Aided by Takumi's godlike speed, from a distance, it looked like a twilight-colored tunnel.
Takumi softly chanted the release words of the Noble Phantasm. As the chant progressed, the blade of Balmung was wrapped in blue flames of light.
Tearing open the last layer of thick flesh wall.
Takumi saw Gilles inside, looking mad.
"Ah, ah! Why! Why! Why must you stop me?! You demon! Demon!"
Yes, to Gilles, Takumi and the others were demons.
Ignoring Gilles's nonsense, this guy was already dead in Takumi's eyes.
Just because he saw Jeanne's more dazzling light, he easily betrayed Jeanne Alter. He claimed it was for others, but it was just to satisfy his own selfish desires.
Even as a villain, this guy was the worst kind.
"No persistence, no principles, wantonly trampling on life. You—are unforgivable."
Looking at him coldly, Takumi aimed Balmung at Gilles.
[Balmung (Phantasmal Greatsword · Felling of the Sky Demon)]!
Twilight-colored energy filled the entire "room." The tentacles about to climb onto Takumi's body dissolved, and Gilles's crazed face was illuminated into a meaningless white.
BOOM!
Twilight light burst through and shredded the meat mountain. A pillar of light shot up into the sky, piercing straight into the clouds.
The light dissipated.
Takumi stood in a rain of black flesh and blood, staring blankly up at the clear sky. In front of him was the Holy Grail emitting golden light.
Crack—
A crisp sound that only Takumi could hear rang out.
The Spirit Origin belonging to Siegfried within his body finally shattered under the unbearable load. Balmung in his right hand also turned into specks of light and vanished into the air.
...
Noble Phantasm Update: [Luminosité Eternelle] + [Armor of Fafnir] → [The Unwavering Heart(C)]
Skills Acquired:
[Revelation (D)]
[Dragon's Core (E)]
[Summoning · Dragon (C)]
[Dragon Slayer (D)]
[Magic Resistance (C)]
[Riding (C)]
—This counts as getting rich in one go, though the skill ranks are relatively low.