58: Hit-and-run tactics are pretty useful.

Scorching blue flame surges from Fafnir's jaws the instant he arrives. There's no time for anyone to react - he comes from behind, and neither Jeanne nor Mash has time to ready their Noble Phantasm before the flames will reach us.

…I'll be faster next time. That's my one consolation in this.

"Please, keep your eyes upon me." A bloodstained shape soars over my head. The Chevalier d'Eon, trailing a ribbon of blood and spiritrons, throws herself in the path of Fafnir's attack. "-[Fleur de Lys]!" She shouts, and her body unravels into a curtain of flowers, holding back the fire.

For just a few short seconds, pale blue embers waltz beautifully with white lilies in the air above Lyon.

"...Well, I suppose I'll eat my words here." Mozart chuckles. "You were plenty elegant in the end, d'Eon."

An instant later, the fire breaks through, but the delay was just long enough.

"[Luminosite Eternelle]!" Jeanne's Banner crashes down, shattering the cobbled street beneath it. Fafnir's attack crashes uselessly around the domed barrier, melting the ground around us..

For five, ten, fifteen seconds, the fire continues to lick across its surfaced. Wordlessly, I ready myself to Shamak him the moment his attack ends. If it worked the first time…

…Did it work the first time? It certainly wounded him, but if he healed from what should have been lethal damage so easily-

The fire cuts off, and there's no time to think about it any more - it's do or die.

"[Sha-!" I start to channel my spell, but then-

In a single beat of his massive wings, the Evil Dragon Fafnir vanishes again.

"-He ran away!?" I shout.

"He's being smart, I think." Gareth mutters. "I never fought any, but my brother Gawain always said that the worst kind of dragon was the kind which hit you with its fire breath and then ran away without giving you a chance to counterattack. 'Hit-and-run', is what you'd call it these days!"

"'Guerilla warfare' more generally, but yeah." I ay.

"Gorilla?" Gareth tilts her head.

"No, I don't think the name has anything to do with Sir Gawain." Mash says - and then, pausing, she blinks a few times. "Wait, why did I feel like I should say that?"

"-Ah, a joke from Galahad. That's rare." The lancer says.

"Come to think of it, I think Mordred said something similar about Gawain… no, that's not important right now." Glancing around, I can't see any sign of Fafnir. "The real problem is what the hell we're going to do about this. It looks like he's backed off for now… but from what you just said Gareth, you think he's just going to jump us again the moment our guard is down?"

"Exactly." The girl nods. "The eyes of a Dragon can see far, so he can just wait until we get in a fight, or go to sleep, and then… blam."

I don't know if we'll survive the next one. Jeanne was almost too slow this time. "We only survived this time because Berserk Saber flipped sides at the last second."

"Mm." Marie nods, a bit of a sad smile on her face. "She may have said some terrible things, but in the end, d'Eon was still d'Eon… I'm glad."

"Hm. I think it was more of a case of priorities. She loved you more than her own twisted sense of honor… or something like that." Mozart says.

"Loyalty and love defeated honor… ah, it's kind of like Kanjincho, huh?" I say.

"Oh! I didn't know you were a fan of the performing arts, Subaru! Can you perform some Kabuki for us later?" Marie unleashes a dazzling smile.

"Maria, just because he knows about a play-" Mozart starts.

"U-um, no, I mostly just know about it from pop culture, since Benkei and Yoshitsune are everywhere." I wave my hands. "Really, I was only in the Kabuki club in middle school, so I'm basically a novice-!"

"He's actually done Kabuki before!?"

"R-returning to the point!" I cough. "Are we gonna be ready if he swings by again?"

"Now that I know it's coming, I can almost definitely block it, but…" Jeanne holds out the tattered end of her banner. "My banner can only block so much damage. If every 'hit-and-run' is like that, I think that I can only defend from it two or three more times."

"...I don't think I will be, Master." Mash cringes. "My agility is just too low to defend against something that fast. Not while also keeping an eye on the other enemies to defend you from their attacks."

"Dammit." I mutter. If Siegfried hadn't been killed, we could have just blasted him! "Dammit! I don't suppose you've got another Dragonslayer in your back pocket, Prelati?"

"Ah, Saint George should be in Paris right now." The boy answers with a smile.

"Is this all just a game to you!?" I explode. "Just how many other Allies have you not been mentioning!?"

He holds up eight fingers for a moment, and then, gazing upwards in thought, starts ticking them down.

"Ahhh… Well, Napoleon was here, but someone talked him into charging into Orleans alone and I haven't seen him since."

"That someone is obviously you!" I spit, fury building.

"And I buddied up with Captain Ahab for a bit, but he snapped randomly and tried to kill me. No clue where he went after that."

"I don't believe for a moment that it was unprovoked!"

"And then there's the guys in Paris… Saint George, along with four or five useless filler characters who aren't really important."

"Hey, I resemble that remark." Mozart laughs.

"Four or five?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm betting Corday will probably have murdered Robespierre by now…" he trails off.

…

A forced laugh from Mozart breaks the silence. "Just call it four, because if he's not dead now-!"

"Amadeus, it's fine." Marie interrupts, a pained smile on her face. "It's fine. I've… already forgiven him. So, for the sake of France, I'll gladly-"

"I haven't." Mozart says. "I haven't forgiven that man one bit, Maria. France in general is one thing, but don't expect me to forget anyone who played an actual role in your death. I know this is rich considering I just finished scolding d'Eon, but…"

Marie gazes downwards a bit. "Amadeus, do you think that I'm wrong for forgiving them?"

"Definitely." He answers without a second thought, and she cringes. "But, I also know that you wouldn't be Marie Antoinette if you didn't forgive them. It's just who you are, and it's what makes you beautiful. If you weren't willing to forgive even those who killed you and your family, you wouldn't be you. And I…" He trails off - and then, with a clap of his hands, a smile asserts itself on his face. "Whoops, I got a bit heavy there, just disregard that everyone! How about we hurry to Paris so I can drown Robespierre in a manure pit."

"Before that, can we even be sure any of the people in Paris are still alive? Isn't it super close to Orleans?" I ask.

"Well, that's simple. Right now, at this moment in history, Paris is under the control of the English. There's not a chance in the world of an army of dragons being able to take on the Dragonslayer Saint George, Patron saint of England and of Soldiers defending their nation, in English territory, while he is on the defensive." Prelati laughs. "The only thing stopping him from putting an end to this singularity all on his own is the fact that he'd need to step into French territory to do it."

"...That'd do it, yeah." Is all I can say.

And so, with a fragile hope in our hearts, we board the carriage again and set off for Paris.

A/N:

There's no canon lore about Subaru doing Kabuki I don't think, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he had.

This chapter is also a bit weak, but nothing to do but power through and hope to get some momentum built up.

Anyway, that's it from me, may the next chapter be faster.