---o---
The Crimson Saint. The flames that had once burned her own body were now reborn as a Noble Phantasm, burning upon the flesh of the Outer God.
The Savior Saint of France was truly worthy of her name.
Her pure demeanor, her steadfast faith, and her noble spirit that never once怨恨ed or resented the people, even as she was consumed by the pyre.
If such a person could not be called a Saint, then who else would be worthy of the title?
In the Light Curtain's comments—
Conan: "This Noble Phantasm... it burns the body of Saint Jeanne d'Arc as well. Does that mean that even in her final moments, she had to endure the agony of her soul being scorched?"
At the Mouri Detective Agency, Conan drew in a sharp breath. This French Saint was filled with the song and resolve of humanity.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "My knowledge of Jeanne d'Arc was limited to textbooks and a few books. I never imagined she was so magnificent."
Gilgamesh: "She's quite capable. That divine bearing... hmph, it does stir this king's desires somewhat. But she still falls short when compared to Elysia."
Eriri Sawamura: "Now you're just being picky."
Kevin: "...Very good, King of Ancient Uruk. You are worthy of receiving a strike from my sword."
In the comment section, Gilgamesh's arrogant remark once again ignited a new round of arguments. But among the countless comments flying by, one that was overlooked by many stood out.
"Damn her, all she knows is how to act cool! How annoying!"
"Hmph, when it comes to being cool, I'll never lose to you! Just you wait! This projection will definitely have my moment to shine too! I'll stun everyone then!"
In the First Singularity, a bitter-faced Black Jeanne looked at the Saint in the light curtain with French-style disdain. In her eyes, that "white" Jeanne was just putting on an act. She was only returning to the Throne of Heroes, what was she making such a big deal about?
Yes, it seemed Black Jeanne had gotten sour over the original Jeanne's heroic moment.
---o---
[Inside the Light Curtain—
Thanks to [La Pucelle: The Crimson Saint], the flames clinging to the Outer God's body bought a significant amount of time.
This allowed Elysia a temporary moment of respite.
In reality, as both a Herrscher and a MANTIS, Elysia's stamina and Honkai Energy were nigh-infinite.
To date, no Herrscher or MANTIS had ever died of exhaustion from a lack of Honkai Energy or stamina.
However... the bizarre power clinging to the evil god's body truly gave Elysia a feeling of near-suffocation.
"Alright, calm down now. Miss Jeanne's flames are about to go out."
Standing up, Elysia had exhausted her options. If Emiya Shirou and Saber didn't bring the Holy Grail soon, she would have to risk it all.
Upon the scorched earth, Elysia stood alone amidst the ruins. There was no one else around her. Before her was the dark god that blotted out the sun and sky.
This scene instilled a sense of despair and helplessness in many viewers outside the projection.
Previously, because Elysia herself always seemed to have a plan, and because a Servant's exit did not equal death, the oppressive feeling from the Outer God had not yet become suffocating.
But when the projection presented such an image, people suddenly realized—didn't this scene form a stark contrast with a previous one?
The Servants who had once surrounded Elysia had all vanished, one by one. Nearly a dozen Servants had appeared in this Holy Grail War, and now only three remained.
Solomon had removed himself from the conflict, believing Elysia incapable of defeating the Outer God, and was now acting as a self-destruct mechanism for when the world ended. Meanwhile, Emiya Shirou and Saber were still dealing with an old worm.
From the battles so far, it was clear that the current Elysia, even with Saber and Emiya Shirou by her side, would be no match for the Outer God.
It seemed the only way forward was to hope that Saber and Emiya Shirou could deliver the Holy Grail before the Outer God began to move again.
Right now, the audience of the light curtain was hoping with all their might that the Noble Phantasm unleashed by the Saint could continue to work its magic and buy even more time!
However... the result was destined to disappoint them...
[Inside the Light Curtain—
[La Pucelle: The Crimson Saint] was an EX-rank Noble Phantasm. Its power needed no further explanation.
And as a conceptual Noble Phantasm, it was far more troublesome than destructive ones like Ea or Excalibur.
But even so, even as it burned both soul and void, the evil god acted as if nothing was wrong.
Aside from struggling for a moment upon initial contact with the flames, within a few short minutes, its struggles had ceased, even as the fire continued to burn upon its body.
It wasn't that it had given up the struggle, but that it had grown accustomed to it. It had become immune to the searing of the holy flames.
"Wyyy..." Letting out a sound that could not be described with words, the evil god once again set out on its journey.
The flames still burned on its body, but they could no longer hinder it in the slightest.
Ignoring Elysia, it simply continued on its path, destroying the space of every place it walked, turning it into an endless void.
It walked within the void like a bizarre phantom. Wherever it passed, all turned to nothingness.
This was their instinct, the true reason Outer Gods were called enemies of the world. Regardless of their power, as long as one arrived in a world, it could destroy it!
"Hey, if you ignore a beautiful girl like me, I'll get my feelings hurt, you know~~"
As expected, even without the Holy Grail, even if it was now difficult for her to wound the Outer God, Elysia still did not choose to retreat.
Perhaps because it heard Elysia's voice, the evil god from beyond the world stopped its steps, looking at her with an unknowable gaze.
Without a hint of retreat, Elysia stood before the Outer God. The distance between them was less than two hundred meters. Before the Outer God's colossal body, this distance seemed incredibly close.
Elysia stood still in the air for a moment, then continued, "I'm reluctant to admit it, but it looks like it's just the two of us now."
She then raised her scepter, pointing it at the evil god before her. "Time alone with a beautiful girl is very precious, you know. You'd better not take it for granted."
A light resembling a magic circle materialized behind her, followed by a countless barrage of sparkling, magic-like projectiles.
The sky filled with brilliant, flashing shells, like a meteor shower. Their number had already surpassed the Gate of Babylon unleashed by the King of Heroes, estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
Each individual attack held the power of a C or B-rank Noble Phantasm.
But it was useless. To the Outer God, it was like mosquito bites—annoying, but completely harmless.
However, this was precisely the effect Elysia was aiming for. To a human, a mosquito is not a threat.
In fact, a human would never pay a mosquito any real mind. But the moment a human does notice a mosquito, it means they have already been affected by it.
Just imagine trying to immerse yourself in study or work, or even trying to sleep, while a single mosquito buzzes incessantly around you. What would that feel like?
By the time you get annoyed, unable to concentrate, the mosquito has already stolen your time.
And now, destroying the world was the Outer God's job. Elysia was the annoying 'mosquito'.
Of course, it wasn't very nice to use that metaphor for a girl like Elysia, but it was a vivid and accurate description.
Elysia controlled the intensity of her attacks perfectly, ensuring both quantity and that each strike was solid enough for the Outer God to feel that it was being attacked.
If it were just technological constructs like bullets or missiles, they wouldn't even make the Outer God pause its advance.
"BOOM—"
Amidst Elysia's delaying tactics, the Outer God unleashed a blast of its own magical energy. It shattered the sky-full of light projectiles, creating a huge gap, but the gap was quickly filled.
And when it tried to attack Elysia directly, it found that it could not locate her figure, neither by sight nor by sense.
The irritated Outer God could only continuously release blasts of magical energy, trying to hit Elysia through sheer volume.
"BOOM—" "BOOM BOOM BOOM—"
Countless blasts of energy were fired from the Outer God's maw, flying over the ruined city and disappearing into the night sky.
At this moment, Elysia, standing in the upper atmosphere continuously releasing Honkai Energy, prayed silently in her heart.
She had truly done everything she could to save this world. If the Holy Grail didn't arrive soon, she really wasn't going to be able to hold on.
---o---
At the same time, the scene shifted.
While the Outer God was venting its frustration, continuously firing blasts of magical energy outwards, on Emiya Kiritsugu's side, using Elysia's crystal flower, the original evil Holy Grail was finally extracted from Irisviel's body.
Having lost the Grail, Irisviel collapsed to the ground, causing Kiritsugu's nerves to tense up.
"Iri, how are you? Are you okay?"
While speaking words of comfort, he kept his eye on the battle at the bridge. Though he had abandoned his ideal of being an Ally of Justice to prioritize his family, the years of ingrained, instinctual justice could not be cast aside so easily. Moreover, Irisviel had only been freed from her own death sentence.
As long as the Outer God existed in the world, Iri's safety was not guaranteed.
Seeing her husband's tense expression, Irisviel simply hummed in response. Her body was now no different from an ordinary person's. Not only was the Grail gone, but even the side effects left by her past magecraft had been completely healed.
Then, she said to her husband, "Kiritsugu, you're worried about the battle over there, aren't you?"
She then stood up. The healthy blush on her face showed that she had fully recovered and was no different from a normal person. It seemed even the physiological defects of a homunculus could be repaired.
After showing her husband that she was perfectly fine, Irisviel placed her hands on her abdomen.
The next moment, a flash of blue light emanated from her stomach, and a blue scabbard with intricate, splendid, and luxurious golden patterns slowly emerged.
Its colors perfectly matched Saber's attire. There was no doubt. This was the scabbard Saber had mentioned before—Avalon!
"Kiritsugu, Saber said before that as long as she has the scabbard Avalon, she won't fear even the Grand Magus, Solomon."
Irisviel said slowly. Her body no longer needed the scabbard. With even her homunculus defects repaired, she could live a normal life like any other person, so she no longer needed the scabbard's healing properties.
"Give this scabbard to Saber, Kiritsugu. She will surely be able to help Elysia defeat the Outer God!"
The scabbard shone with a dazzling golden light in Irisviel's hands, then returned to a calm state. Like the Holy Grail, this was a Noble Phantasm that could change the tide of the entire war!
"But Iri, your safety..."
Emiya Kiritsugu frowned. Fuyuki City was anything but safe right now. Though he desperately wanted to deliver the scabbard and the Grail, who would guarantee Irisviel's safety?
Maiya? It wasn't that he looked down on Maiya, but Kiritsugu himself had a hard time dealing with those monsters. How could a half-baked magus like Maiya manage?
Just as Kiritsugu was hesitating, a familiar yet strange voice sounded in their ears.
"You need not worry about that. Her safety will be guaranteed by me."
The sudden voice made Kiritsugu instantly snap to attention. He instinctively aimed his gun at the newcomer, and then, a look of shock appeared on his face.
Impossible. The newcomers were Rider's Master, Waver... and... Kirei Kotomine?
In the night, Kirei Kotomine, dressed in his clerical robes, was standing with Rider's Master, Waver. The boy had originally escaped death at the hands of the King of Heroes and was expected to have died in the monster tide. But it seemed Waver's luck was quite good; he had been in close proximity to the Outer God and was still alive.
And from the looks of it, for a half-baked Master like Waver to have survived this long in a city teeming with monsters, it seemed he had been under the protection of Kirei Kotomine.
This was far too abnormal. According to Kiritsugu's intelligence, Kirei Kotomine was not supposed to be this kind of person. What's more, he had attacked Irisviel and Maiya not long ago.
Staring down the black barrel of the gun, Kirei Kotomine did not flinch. He simply said, "I apologize for having harmed the two ladies before. However, I have now found a reason to live."
"The boy beside me can testify. If you do not believe me, I am willing to swear an oath to the Lord in my name as a clergyman of the Holy Church!"