Summary:

The allies have been gathered and the preparations are done. The time to confront the Dragon Witch is finally here. Yet before they can face her directly, Ritsuka and the Servants have to go through some additional adversaries, some old, some new, as well as a completely obscene amount of wyverns.

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Chapter 16: Grudge Matches in a Warzone

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"Good, you're up. Right on time as well." These were the first words the Doctor heard upon exiting his room. Turning to his right, he found Dio leaning against the wall right by his door with a smile. "Hope you slept well, Roman."

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"Morning, Dio. And yes, I did," he confirmed with a nod. Every member of the Command Room staff had been ordered to take a mandatory rest last night to make sure that they would be in top condition for the operation. While Roman would have preferred to stay in the Command Room just in case, he figured that he'd just get drugged again if he tried it, so he'd begrudgingly taken the opportunity to properly rest. And thankfully, it at least had paid off. He really had slept rather well, and was feeling properly rested, so he'd have no trouble working his hardest for today's operation. ...Although, Dio being here like this did make him wonder one thing: "By the way, how long were you waiting there?"

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"23 seconds," the Spaniard answered matter of factly, without even the slightest hint of hesitation. Something Roman really should've expected. "I was prepared to come in to wake you up, but it seems that wasn't needed."

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The Doctor felt a slight frown forming on his lips. He was well aware of the reputation he commonly held at Chaldea, but it hardly felt good to have someone treating him like a complete slouch. "I wouldn't mess up on something as important as this," he muttered, his gaze falling to the ground.

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"I know. You've been working probably the hardest among the regular staff ever since this whole mess started," Dio answered much to his surprise, prompting Roman to raise his head. While the Spaniard was still smiling, there wasn't a hint of ridicule or deceit on his face. Just a genuinely friendly and even sympathetic smile. "But exhaustion can really build up during situations like this, so it's not exactly unheard of for someone to be far more tired than they realize, only to end up completely crashing when they finally rest."

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Roman fell silent for a moment, only able to rub his neck awkwardly. He really wasn't used to anyone taking notice whenever he was genuinely working hard. Yet, he didn't exactly dislike the feeling. Besides, he had to acknowledge that Dio had a point. He'd become quite familiar with the perils of overworking over the last decade, so he couldn't deny the truth in his words. "...I see. Thanks," he muttered with a sheepish smile.

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"Just looking out for you, pal." The Spaniard pat him on the back before pointing in the direction of the Command Room with his thumb. "Now come on. We're not exactly in a hurry, but let's not take any chances and give Da Vinci the satisfaction of us being late."

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The Doctor felt a chuckle escape his throat. He had experienced the genius Caster's chiding for being late before, and that was certainly something he wanted to avoid. "Oh, absolutely. We'd better get going."

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As the warm light of dawn shone gently on her orange hair, Ritsuka was just finishing packing up the last of her supplies, preparing them to be sent back to Chaldea. Since this was meant to be the final day of their operation in France, it'd been decided that all nonvital materials should be returned ahead of time, just to make sure that the combatants wouldn't be carrying any extra baggage, no matter how minor. The tents, cooking gear, and all such were going to be sent back, leaving only some water and food for today. She'd been feeling it since she woke up, but packing like this really drove a sense of finality into the Master. "Today is the day, huh?" she muttered, not really meaning to direct it at anyone, yet she received a reply all the same.

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"...Yes, it is." Mash's voice was quiet, even a bit distant despite the fact that she was working right behind Ritsuka. She hadn't said much throughout the morning, and it wasn't exactly hard to guess the reason for that.

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Turning around, the redhead moved to her side and placed her hand on the Shielder's shoulder. "It's alright to be nervous. The situation is pretty crazy." She obviously couldn't blame Mash for feeling nervous, considering that she herself might've had a genuine panic attack without her charm. Yet she also knew that Mash had faced an even more desperate situation back in Fuyuki without freezing in fear, so she definitely had the courage to pull through here as well. "But we can't let that nervousness get the better of us. We wouldn't be attacking now if we didn't have a solid chance to win."

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"I know..." Mash nodded, a small smile growing on her lips as she turned towards her. "I just need to have faith in everyone, and I know we'll make it through this."

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A response that got Ritsuka to smile as well. "That's the spirit." Indeed. The plan was set and their preparations were complete. Their group was as ready as they were ever going to be, so delaying the attack would only be beneficial to the Dragon Witch. "Now come on. We're almost done with packing, so we shouldn't be tardy," she noted with a pat on the Shielder's back, getting an earnest nod.

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"Yes, Senpai."

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With Mash returning to packing so quickly, the redhead followed suit. Though it didn't take long for her silence to get interrupted by another, approaching voice. "Working hard early, I see."

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"Morning, Amadeus," she greeted the Caster while continuing to work. "And yes, we're almost finished."

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Amadeus stood a short distance from her, without even offering to help, not that it surprised her that much. Seconds passed quietly until he spoke up again, with words far more unexpected than she could've imagined. "By the way, I couldn't help but hear that clear little performance you played last night."

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Ritsuka's thoughts and body both screeched into a halt. With a barely noticeable cringe on her face, she slowly turned towards the Caster, who was smiling merrily. "...You heard it?" She mentally slapped herself as soon as the words left her mouth. Of course he'd heard it. Super hearing was one of his most prominent abilities after all. The real question was; why was he bringing it up now? The redhead could think of a dozen different reasons, and only two of them didn't make her want to crawl into a hole.

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Clearly amused by her growing tension, Amadeus chuckled while shaking his head. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to give you a criticizing lecture or anything. It was fine enough for an amateur." A reassurance that got her to let out an audible sigh of relief. Yet before she could get too relaxed, a hint of seriousness appeared on the Caster's face. "But, what I wanted to ask was; could you possibly lend it to me?"

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Ritsuka blinked with surprise at the request, beginning to ponder over it. They hadn't really had any major battles since the showdown with Vlad, but it definitely made sense now that she thought about it. An instrument mystic code like this could be seriously powerful when handled by a Servant like Amadeus. In fact, this was just about the best use for it that she could think of. With a nod, she opened the container and pulled out the kantele, handing it over to him. "Of course. Put it to good use."

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"Oh, I intend to," he said while gratefully accepting the instrument, immediately giving its strings a few experimental plucks. His expression held seriousness and drive rarely seen from the Caster. While Ritsuka was admittedly curious, she decided against inquiring about it. More than likely, it had to do with Marie. Revenge would be the safest bet. Besides, she really did need to finish packing.

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About half an hour later the task was finished, and their whole group was gathered at the center of their former campsite. Standing in front of them, Jeanne held a resolute expression on her face. "Now, I assume that everyone is ready?"

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"All of our nonessential supplies have been sent back to Chaldea," Mash confirmed, followed by Ritsuka.

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"And everyone's magical energy stores are just about full."

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As the other Servants gave their agreements, the Ruler moved her gaze towards Ritsuka. "Good. So, if no one has any questions... Master, please issue your orders."

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"Yes," she nodded, even if she didn't have anything particularly motivating to say. Turning to face the Servants, she at the very least decided to give some last minute reminders. "We'll all proceed as discussed. Watch each other's backs, and don't be afraid to call for help if things get dangerous." And to add some extra energy, she bumped her fist into the air while raising her voice. "So with that, let's head out and win this fight!"

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Thankfully her gesture seemed to have the desired effect, as each of the Servants appeared at least somewhat more energetic. Especially Jeanne, who unfurled her flag and pointed towards their destination. "Right! Now, on to Orleans!" And so, their hour-long, brisk march towards the Singularity's final battlefield commenced.

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"Well, I see that the Dragon Witch wasted no effort in turning Orleans into an absolute shithole," Dio said in a rather crude, yet not inaccurate observation as the group reached the top of a large hill. From there, they could witness the entirety of Orleans and the surrounding area unobscured... Or rather, the remnants.

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A mournful sigh escaped Jeanne's mouth as she took in the view. "I know I should have expected something like this, but it still aches my heart..." The one thing left of Orleans was a disturbing dark fortress that housed her other self and her forces, looming on the horizon. The city itself was just... gone. Completely and thoroughly razed to the ground. Barely any ruins were even left to show that there had ever been one there in the first place. Just an empty field of stone, earth, and ash. While there were still untouched areas visible from their position, those were only natural spots untouched by people like woods, something the wyverns didn't care for. Anything man made was thoroughly annihilated.

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"...And as predicted it's absolutely swarming with wyverns," Georgios muttered, observing the same, disturbing sight as all of them. Their previous encounters with wyvern swarms weren't even comparable to what they were witnessing right now. There were quite literally hundreds of them flying around and above the castle. A veritable cloud of green, red, brown and black. It was almost more disheartening than the sight of Orleans itself.

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Emiya clicked his tongue in a mix of frustration and impressment. "Damn... We knew there would be loads of them, but seeing them swarming around like hornets is really something."

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"Yeah. Looking at them is honestly making me kinda nauseous..." Elizabeth admitted, her tail flicking back and forth in a clear sign of agitation.

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"You've certainly got your work cut out for you," Roman noted from his monitor. "No sign of any Servants mobilizing yet. You might as well get started with the most eager of the bunch." While they were still a long distance away from the castle, at least a few of the hundreds of wyverns flying around had taken notice of their group and started to approach, their murderous intent obvious from even such a vast range.

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In response, the Archer of the group materialized his bow. "Then allow me." With a sharp, swift motion, he nocked a number of arrows one after another and let them fly, their great speed allowing them to reach their targets in just a few seconds. And reach them they did. The wyverns had their skulls, wings or throats pierced by the missiles, causing them to either die instantly or begin falling uncontrollably thanks to their injury, resulting in them perishing from crashing into the earth. Even as more and more wyverns took notice of the situation and headed their way, his pace didn't slow down in the slightest, his precise shots felling them one by one, as his kills soon surpassed a dozen.

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Elizabeth let out an impressed whistle, her eyes wide as she watched the arrows fly. "Wow, he is really mowing them down." Jeanne's own reaction was rather similar. She was aware that Servants of the Archer class could shoot arrows comparable to or even surpassing cannon fire, but seeing it with her own eyes was something else.

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"Effective long range weaponry has always granted notable advantages to humans, whether they were used against beasts or other humans," Dio noted, his fascinated gaze focused on the bowman. "And when wielded by someone extremely skilled, those advantages only grow more extreme."

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"Masterful indeed," Siegfried agreed before tightening the grip on his sword. "But I can hardly call myself a dragon slayer unless I contribute to the battle myself."

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Georgios nodded, raising his own blade. "Well said. Shall we begin then?"

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"Yes," Jeanne answered firmly, her resolve burning bright. While the sight of the battlefield was rather disheartening, not a single one of her comrades had suggested that they should retreat. While some of their motivations may have varied, they had all chosen to march forth in this battle. As for her, after everything that had happened, she would have been resolved to face her other self even if she had to do it alone, but having them all by her side lightened her heart considerably. And so, unfurling her flag, she pointed it towards their destination; "To the castle!"

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On cue, the entire group rushed forward as a single force. Jeanne took the lead with Siegfried, Georgios and Medusa by her side. A short distance behind them were Elizabeth, Kiyohime and Amadeus, while just a bit further back was Mash, running in front of Ritsuka and Emiya, the latter of which continued firing his bow unhindered by the movement. "Like we planned, just keep focusing on the ones you can take out the fastest, alright Archer," the Master confirmed while running right by the bowman's side. "The vanguard will take care of any of the tougher ones." And indeed, while the Archer shot down a number of the approaching green and red wyverns, he completely ignored a powerful black variant that headed right towards them with great speed. Primal ferocity burning in its eyes, the beast opened its maw wide as it drew closer, ready to sink its teeth into their flesh... Only to get decapitated with a single swing from Siegfried's greatsword. Yet while the display of might was awe inspiring to say the least, Jeanne kept her focus on the battle, ready to fulfill her role in the group's formation. The Dragon Witch was well aware that these wyverns would be inefficient in taking care of them, so their purpose was more than likely to simply drain their magical energy reserves through continuous battle. And while it was unlikely, if faced with a constant swarm from all sides, some of the stronger wyverns might even manage to severely wound some of the weaker members of their group. Which was exactly why they had come up with this formation, to fight the horde in the most efficient way possible while rushing towards the castle. The Archer was using his class' specialization to take out as many of the weaker ones as he could to keep the intensity on their group low, with Ritsuka by his side for safety reasons, while Mash stood ready in front of them just in case something unexpected happened. While those three were in the back, the vanguard consisted of herself, Siegfried, Georgios and Medusa. And finally, Kiyohime, Elizabeth and Amadeus stood between their two groups. A most sensible strategy they had agreed on during their planning for the assault. After all, even if some of the wyverns were sturdy enough to survive several arrows from the Archer, a single blow from Siegfried's mighty blade was more than capable of taking care of them. And while they lacked his raw power, Jeanne, Georgios and Medusa could each slay the wyverns without any notable trouble with just a blow or two, while the rest of the Servants worked together to quickly take care of any stragglers that got past them.

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For the next several minutes the plan worked as efficiently as they had hoped, with their group making good progress towards their destination and slaying several dozen wyverns in the process. And yet, both the numbers and the attack frequency of the beasts were steadily increasing, despite the fact that their dispatching efforts didn't slow down in the least. While it was hardly too much for them to handle, it really did make the Ruler wonder... "Oh yeah! You've definitely got their attention now. More and more wyverns are heading towards you each second," Dio announced, confirming Jeanne's hunch. The originally slow trickle of wyverns was steadily increasing as they approached the castle and caught the attention of more enemy forces. In fact, given how many were flying towards them, seeing the fortress itself was starting to get rather difficult.

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Yet, that also presented them with an opportunity. Something that the group's Master was rather keen to take advantage of. "Their formation is starting to get more dense. Archer, are you-?"

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"Already on it, Master," the bowman confirmed, a surge of magical energy flowing from him. "I am the bone of my sword." On cue, all Servants who were even somewhat in front of him quickly moved aside. This had been one of the discussed strategies to quickly wipe out large portions of the enemy force, so they were all well aware of its destructive power. As Jeanne turned to look, he saw Emiya setting the spiral arrow on his bow, where it stretched to fit into the pulled back string. The already high levels of magical energy grew even more intense as he aimed at the center of the horde. "Caladbolg! [Fake Spiral Sword]" And then, the arrow was released. Even if the wyverns were intelligent enough to avoid something with high levels of magical energy, the missile fired at them was far too fast for any evasive maneuvers. The spiral arrow pierced cleanly through the mass of beasts without even a hint of resistance, leaving a clean hole in their midsts for an instant. It was filled back up soon enough, as some injured wyverns fell from above, while some disoriented ones rose from below. Just the sheer force of the Noble Phantasm being fired alone had managed to stop the advance of the swarm for a moment, as the rattled beasts attempted to gather their bearings.

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"Now that's more like it," Amadeus laughed, clearly pleased that the shot had earned them some breathing room.

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The rest of their group had far more composed or awestruck reactions, with Jeanne firmly in the latter category, along with Elizabeth, who stared at the disturbed swarm wide-eyed. "Woah... How many of them did he get?"

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"87 were killed, and 54 more got hit badly enough that they'll die soon enough," Dio confirmed, and the Lancer's eyes grew even wider.

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"That's... That's a lot..." An understatement to say the least. Even if she hadn't kept a count, Jeanne was quite sure that the Archer had just slain more wyverns with that single arrow than their group had in the last few minutes. And while sure, it was a Noble Phantasm, its pure effectiveness was simply astounding.

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"And yet, I can't help but to feel like we've barely made a dent into their forces," Kiyohime muttered a depressing yet accurate observation. While they had slain a great number of wyverns, especially Emiya with that latest shot, the horde itself didn't appear any smaller. There was even a large mass of the beasts still circling the castle, as if nothing had happened.

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"Well, you've killed roughly 13,6% of the wyvern forces located in the vicinity of Orleans, so I'd say that counts at least as a dent," Dio informed them once more, and while the Ruler didn't let it show, his words didn't clarify the situation to her at all.

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Ritsuka sighed with obvious exasperation. "She seriously has more than a thousand of these things?" In all honesty, Jeanne really appreciated her for it, since it let her get a better picture of the enemy force's size. Math never was something she excelled in, to say the least...

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Still, even with that clarification, the results were hardly encouraging. They were all aware of it, even if Georgios was the one to put it into words. "Yes, and it's only going to get tougher from here, as we get closer to the castle."

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The Master nodded, yet the smallest hints of a smile grew on her lips as she stretched her shoulders. "Well, it's not like we expected this to be easy. All we can do is keep on pushing ahead, so let's get back to it."

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A reaction that got Jeanne to smile as well. "Well said, Master," she agreed, with some of the other Servants following suit. Even if the sheer number of foes before them was daunting, they all knew what they had signed up for. Fighting their way through all these wyverns was a test of endurance, while the truly powerful threats waited beyond it. Yet there was no way around it. This was quite simply an obstacle they had to overcome.

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With their spirits renewed, all the Servants appeared ready to return to the battle... Except for Amadeus, who was gazing towards the southwest with an unreadable expression. But before anyone could inquire him about it, one of the employees in Chaldea let out a surprised gasp. "Wait, what's with these readings? Is anyone else seeing this?"

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Da Vinci was quick to approach the woman, looking over her shoulder. "What is it, Hui?" While it was somewhat hard to see them, since they appeared to be further from the screen than what Jeanne was used to with these calls, the Caster at least appeared surprised by what she was seeing. "What in the world? Is that...?"

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As the Inventor trailed off, Dio was quick to cut in. "Oh, right. That. I noticed it last night while keeping an eye on the area around Orleans. Pretty cool, right?" he chuckled, clearly amused by whatever they were seeing. "I kept quiet about it since it wasn't exactly vital knowledge. Plus, the surprise just makes the whole thing better, doesn't it?" With that remark, he turned back towards the ones in France with a wink. "Just letting you guys fighting in the Singularity know, but you've technically got some reinforcements on the way, so try to look extra sharp to impress them, everyone. Should be good for morale." Words that spread confusion among the Ruler and her allies, with most of them sharing confused looks.

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Until she heard a particular sound.

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"Huh?" That was when Jeanne took notice of it. Now that the sounds of their battle had quieted down for the moment, there was another loud noise, growing louder with each passing second. The sound of countless footsteps, mixed with the sound of wheels rolling along the ground.

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At this point, all of the Servants and their Master were following Amadeus' lead, staring towards the source of the sound with varying amounts of disbelief. "Is that seriously...?" the Ruler heard Emiya mumble, while she herself was too stunned to speak. While their group had headed directly north towards the remains of Orleans, there had been been a forest to their west, a detail Jeanne hadn't really paid attention to, given that the wyverns were easy to spot in the air, and if there had been a Servant hiding in the woods, her allies would have certainly notified her of it. However, now that those woods were to their southwest, something completely unexpected had emerged from their other side. A sight Jeanne was most familiar with, yet she hadn't anticipated in the least to see it here and now.

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Men in armor, rushing forward in formation with weapons in hand. Behind them were carriages pulled by horses and oxen. And of course, mounted on wheels as well, were cannons being pulled along. Cannons that once within range, were quickly anchored and prepared to fire, their aim right towards the wyverns swarming the sky. And at the front of the army, leading them from atop his horse, was an armored figure Jeanne couldn't possibly mistake for anyone else. "...Gilles!"

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It was then that a number of the wyverns that had been disoriented by the earlier attack began approaching the army, likely seeing them as far easier prey than Servants. However, as they did, Gilles' roaring voice rang through the field. "Fire! We fight for the survival of France! Fire everything we have! Fire! Fire!" The cannons that had already been prepared opened fire on the beasts, blasting them with explosive effectiveness. "Do not be afraid! Do not sorrow! Do not falter! If you have human blood, now is the time to die!"

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As more wyverns entered their range, so too did more cannons fire, leading to a barrage of explosions shaking the air. While Jeanne was more than familiar with the sound of cannon fire, this was quite overwhelming even to her. The sheer amount of cannons at the army's disposal was more than any she had seen in a single location. They must have been gathered from all across the country, salvaged from wherever they could be found, all brought together for this single, desperate attack. This was the army's final charge against the Dragon Witch's forces, the very last chance they had. If they failed here, it would be impossible for them to recover and attempt again...

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And yet, the soldiers' faces were not shrouded with desperation or fear. Instead, they all burned brightly with determination and hope. Then, as the last of the wyverns who had attempted to approach them fell to the ground, the cannons fell silent once more, letting Gilles' rallying cry be the loudest sound on the battlefield. "I will say it again! There is nothing to fear! For we..." Raising his sword, he pointed it right towards Jeanne and her allies. "For we have the Saint on our side!"

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"For France!" the soldiers roared as one, steadily advancing in a determined march. "For France!"

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"They really came this far..." Jeanne muttered, just as surprised by the development as her companions. She wasn't entirely sure how he'd done it, but Gilles had managed to rally the army and assembled it to advance towards Orleans. The only thing she could think of was that seeing the Chaldeans and the other allied Servants battling against the wyverns had ignited hope in their hearts.

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The silence among the group was broken as Da Vinci let out an impressed whistle. "Well, look at them go. They've got archers to protect the artillery, and the infantry is using long pikes in a tight formation to keep the wyverns from getting too close to them." Indeed, now that Jeanne took a closer look as well, she could tell that the Caster was right. Instead of being armed in their usual fashion, the vast, vast majority of soldiers were armed with pikes, some of them even being noticeably makeshift with added range, with none of them even holding a single banner, likely to reduce the chance of them catching on fire. And aside from Gilles, she couldn't see anyone else riding on a horse either, creating a total lack of cavalry. Likely because the soldiers had realized over time that normal horses would be unable to outrun wyverns in the first place, so the animals had been diverted to pulling carts instead. "And they've even got several carts with large containers ready in case they need to get drenched in water to mitigate damage from fire. The French army has been putting in some serious effort on combating the wyverns."

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"Well, considering everything that has happened, it would honestly be really worrying if they hadn't picked up some tactics," Dio noted, while Roman was practically beaming over the development.

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"This is a real boon for us. While they obviously have their limits, that many cannons should be suitable in taking out any of the weaker wyvern variants, as well as wound and disorient some of the stronger ones." Jeanne had to concur with his assessment. Beyond just being happy to see the army rallied to defend their homeland like this, with their sheer numbers the French army would be a genuinely reliable ally in this battle, not just something in need of protecting. Even if they were simply flesh and blood humans without magecraft or legendary weapons on their side, they were more than capable of contributing to the cause of saving France.

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Ritsuka seemed to agree as well, giving the Doctor a nod. "Yeah. We can save a bit of magical energy by letting them handle a portion of the horde." Though right afterwards, she turned to look at the Servants somewhat awkwardly. "Still, if it looks like the army is about to face any serious danger, I would prefer that we help them."

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A consideration that brought a smile to Jeanne's face, once again happy that the Master she had allied herself with was such a person. "Of course, Ritsuka."

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"I was thinking much the same," Georgios nodded with a matching smile.

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The Master then turned back towards the screen. "Can we ask you to also keep an eye on the French army, guys? And to please let us know if anyone particularly strong goes after them?"

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"No problem," Roman agreed, seeming happy with Ritsuka's decision as well.

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"It's time. They're heading out!" Da Vinci suddenly yelled, snapping everyone's attention towards the castle.

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His expression growing serious once more, the Doctor was quick to follow on the report. "More wyverns are beginning their assault and three Servants just exited Orleans castle!"

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"Then we're heading out as well!" Ritsuka declared, moving her gaze across the three groups. "We'll split off as planned and intercept the Servant over on the west side, so good luck, everyone!"

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"To you as well," Jeanne replied as she watched the Master run off with the three Servants she'd brought from Chaldea. It was a shame that they had to abandon their formation so soon, given how efficient it had been thus far, but they had no choice in this situation. Wyverns were one thing, but letting Servants attack them from multiple sides was out of the question. In the worst case, they might even come under fire by Noble Phantasms from opposing directions, which could prove disastrous. The safest solution was to quite simply prevent the enemy Servants from getting into any dangerous positions by intercepting them on the way. While it made dealing with the horde that much more difficult, the beasts would at least likely split up as well to go after different targets, reducing the intensity of their attacks somewhat.

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"We've got eyes on Carmilla in the east, so Elizabeth's group should probably head over there," Dio noted, getting an immediate reaction.

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Upon hearing the name of her target, the Lancer's expression hardened, her blue eyes burning with determination. "Oh, I'm SO ready!" She quickly rushed off towards the east, tailed by her teammates.

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"We'll keep an eye on her," Georgios noted with an amused smile, followed by a sigh from Amadeus.

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"If we must..."

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Watching the others run off, Siegfried let out a thoughtful hum. "Then, I suppose we shall stay on this course, keeping the French army at our backs."

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The Ruler nodded, looking over the great force marching forward. "Agreed. That should give us ample time to act should something especially dangerous approach the-" But then, despite all the chaos and an uncountable amount of figures across the battlefield, Jeanne suddenly froze as her eyes happened upon a certain man among the French army. The armor he wore was clearly finer than those of the common soldiers, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was his hair, and eyes, both the exact same color as her own. "Pierre..." Letting out a soft gasp, she couldn't help but to stare at him for a moment. He looked a bit skinnier than she remembered, but that was definitely, without question, her brother.

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"Jeanne?" Kiyohime asked, both her and Siegfried looking at the Ruler questioningly over her sudden shift in focus.

'

With a quick shake of her head, Jeanne turned away from the army. "...No, it's nothing important for our mission. Let's go." Though as she started to advance with her two allies running right after her, she couldn't help but to let her thoughts wander, returning to her brother. A part of her was happy that he was alive and well, fighting bravely against this menace that threatened all of France... Yet a part of her was worried over the very real possibility that he could lose his life in the following conflict. After being summoned, she had thought of her family from time to time, even if she'd always pushed those thoughts aside for something more important. But now, seeing Pierre with her own eyes like this, she'd had to stop herself with all of her might in order to not run and greet him on the spot. Her rational mind as a Servant was the only thing that had managed to keep her from doing so. She couldn't let her personal feelings distract her during such a vital battle. But, if it was at all possible, after the fighting was over...

'

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'

Ritsuka and her team stood on a large hill overlooking a forest roughly two kilometers away, which the Rider of their group had entered just moments before thanks to her superior speed. They'd decided to take a moment to catch their breaths, though that was mostly for the human and Demi-Servant, seeing how Emiya still continued sniping at the wyverns flying around from time to time. "(I've found the enemy Servant. Do I have your permission to engage her, Master?)" A voice suddenly echoed through the Master's head, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek.

'

Ugh... Hearing Medusa's voice like this made her feel... bothered, but she did her best to push those thoughts aside for now. "Yes, you do. But be careful. We don't really know what she can do yet," she advised. Putting the minor inconvenience aside, of all the abilities she could use as a Master, linking her senses with those of her Servants' had to be the most convenient. It was already handy enough with regular familiars, but the absurd senses of Servants just pushed it to the next level. Though unfortunately in this case, she couldn't really share eyesight with Medusa, thanks to the obvious issue of her covering her eyes. Still, they could track her location quite easily with Sky Eye, so watching the fight itself wouldn't be an issue. The only real downside of the sense sharing was that no one else could hear or see what she received, which meant that she had to personally repeat anything important to anyone with her. "From what you told me, a forest like this is ideal for your preferred style of fighting, right?"

'

"(Yes. It's fortunate that I managed to intercept her before she could exit it,)" the Rider agreed, before letting out a surprised hum. "(Oho...)"

'

Picking up on the surprised tone, Ritsuka was quick to follow up. "Is something wrong?"

'

Yet her worry was seemingly unwarranted judging by the reply. "(Not really. She just noticed me before I could launch a surprise attack. Her senses are quite sharp.)" Medusa's voice sounded more disappointed than alarmed, though it gained some energy with the following sentence. "(She just materialized a bow and started firing at me. Excellent aim, too.)"

'

"So she's most likely an Archer, then," Ritsuka noted, making an educated guess.

'

Emiya's eyes lit up slightly. Was he wishing for a showdown with another Archer? "Makes sense. We haven't encountered any among the Dragon Witch's forces yet."

'

In the Master's mind that was a serious blessing. If they'd had to fight against a skilled Archer before they'd brought Emiya into the Singularity, they'd have been in serious trouble. Still, just knowing her class didn't give them that much information. "Anything else notable about her that you can pick up at the moment."

'

Medusa remained quiet for a moment, seeming to contemplate before answering. "(Her corruption is quite severe, even when compared to the other Berserk Servants.)" Ritsuka carefully took in each word, beginning to organize the information in her head before repeating it for everyone else to hear. This could've been why they hadn't seen her until now. She'd taken more time to fall under the Dragon Witch's control. "(She's very fast. She also has feline ears and a tail. And then... She has a boar head on one of her shoulders, as well as some matching pelt on most of her body.)"

'

The redhead blinked in surprise over the description. She knew that Servants usually looked unique compared to normal people, but this went way beyond that. "Well... That's at least pretty... distinct," she muttered before repeating what she'd just heard.

'

Almost immediately, Dio spoke up. "So, we've got an extremely fast female archer with feline features who is wearing parts of a boar..."

'

He'd barely finished the sentence when Da Vinci joined in. "Atalanta, then?"

'

The Spaniard nodded. "Almost definitely Atalanta."

'

Emiya nodded as well. "Agreed. There are far too many matching features for it to be anyone else." Ritsuka could only stare at the trio in surprise, Mash sharing her reaction. She was pretty sure she could've figured out the Servant's identity after a bit of thought, but this kind of speed was just wild.

'

"Unfortunately, Atalanta doesn't really have any easily exploitable weaknesses," Dio continued without missing a beat. "You know, aside from golden apples, but given her current state I'm not sure those would really work."

'

Shaking off her amazement, the Master returned to the issue at hand. Atalanta not having an exploitable weakness was a shame, which meant that they only really had one option. "...I see. We'll just have to put her down like any other maddened Servant." Still, before going any further, she made sure to receive an opinion from the one actually facing off against said Servant. "Rider, what do you make of her?"

'

"(I can definitely pick up the scent of Artemis from her bow, but there's also something else.)" Medusa fell silent for a few seconds before continuing with an understanding hum. "(Ah, so that's it. I assumed that she was simply wearing it, but upon closer inspection, the boar's pelt is a part of her body. She's been fused with a demonic beast of some sort.)"

'

As Ritsuka repeated the information, Da Vinci was the first to speak up this time. "Likely the Calydonian Boar. It's reasonable to assume that she possesses its pelt as a Noble Phantasm, so the corruption of her Saint Graph led to her taking on its properties."

'

"That's a safe bet, yes," Emiya agreed.

'

"Can we use that to our advantage?" Ritsuka asked, getting a nod from him.

'

"Certainly. While it has made her stronger, I have several weapons that are effective against beasts of that kind."

'

"So it's a type of double edged sword for her, then..." the Master muttered, glad that they'd at least gotten some useful information on their current enemy.

'

"That's right." With that, the Archer finally materialized his bow, and followed by projecting several arrows that he nocked and aimed in Atalanta's direction. "Now, let's see how she responds." As Emiya released the first arrow, it was quickly followed by five more, once again making Ritsuka impressed by the sheer speed and precision of his bowmanship. Yet she would soon be even more impressed.

'

About halfway across the distance to their target, each of Emiya's arrows was met by a counterpart, fired by said target. The missiles collided precisely, letting out much more devastating sounds than any arrow had any reason to. As the last of the arrows was shot down, Dio let out an impressed whistle. "Man, those were some really clean shots." The redhead could only stare in disbelief. Atalanta had seriously noticed the arrows coming from that far away and intercepted them that quickly and efficiently? Her reputation didn't give her enough credit.

'

Meanwhile, the Archer nodded stiffly, clearly agreeing with her unspoken opinion. "Even when reduced to such a state, her skills with the bow haven't faltered. I suppose I should expect nothing less from such a legendary huntress."

'

Though as the words left his mouth, Ritsuka couldn't help but to take note of something. There was a faint, yet noticeable competitive edge in his voice, making her pray that this wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as Lemminkäinen's habit. "Yeah, but that's kind of bad for us." Still, Medusa didn't seem to have any trouble keeping the Berserk Archer busy for the moment, so they should instead take this moment to get rid of the other enemies. "For now, continue taking down the wyverns in close proximity to her and us. We can focus our full attention on Atalanta once they're taken care of."

'

"As you wish," Emiya nodded and projected new arrows, returning to his earlier assignment in thinning out their numbers.

'

Though just as things were starting to calm down somewhat, Dio let out the most stressful comment in the conversation: "Still, we're lucky that the enemy is engaging us like this. If they'd sent out all of their forces at once, this would be far more difficult."

'

"Not to mention chaotic," Da Vinci added, still smiling, even if it held a bit of unease.

'

"Please don't even joke about that," Roman mumbled, looking almost sick at the thought.

'

Much the same, Ritsuka felt a shudder running down her spine as she thought about it. Having the Dragon Witch, Fafnir, all the Servants and all the wyverns rushing them at the same time. She honestly didn't even want to imagine the chaos that would've gone down in that case. Though now that she thought about it, she couldn't fully shake the awful feeling she got from just the possibility, so the Master quickly turned towards the Doctor's screen in an effort to calm her nerves. "Anything new at the castle?"

'

"Not yet," he confirmed, getting Ritsuka to let out a small sigh of relief. "Fafnir and the five Servants still there haven't made any notable moves."

'

"Do you still have anything on those Servants?" she asked, even though she was quite sure she already knew the answer.

'

And like she'd expected, Dio shrugged with a shake of his head. "Not really. One of them is the Dragon Witch and another the knight. The remaining three are ones you've never encountered. One of those three is considerably weaker than the rest, so I'm guessing that's the Servant version of Gilles de Rais."

'

"True, he shouldn't be that powerful of a Servant," Da Vinci agreed.

'

"What about the other two?" the Master asked, even though she was somewhat afraid of the answer.

'

"Yeah, that's the bad news portion," the Spaniard started, much to her disappointment. "Both of them are fairly equal in strength, and the closest comparison in terms of raw parameters would be Lemminkäinen."

'

Having her second pessimistic guess in a row be proven right made Ritsuka sigh. "That bad, huh?" Well, if nothing else, they at least weren't as strong as the knight. "So what about the good news portion?"

'

A question that got a smile out of Dio. "This right here's the interesting part: Both of their readings are fluctuating from time to time, indicating that they're being modified."

'

The redhead shared a surprised look with Mash, both arriving at the same conclusion. Though before either could voice their guess, Emiya spoke up first. "So they're likely newly summoned Servants that the Dragon Witch doesn't yet have full control over?"

'

"Precisely." The Spaniard gave them a thumbs up. "If you're fast enough you might even be able to wrap this whole thing up before they can be sent to fight against you."

'

The Master fell silent, pondering over the news. Yeah, in their situation this definitely qualified as good news. It might even be a good enough reason to rush through their enemies as quickly as they could, yet... "True... But that doesn't mean that we should get careless. Let's continue as planned and just hope that we're quick enough." The Archer gave her an approving nod before getting back to his wyvern slaying, leaving Ritsuka alone to contemplate further. Was she playing this whole scenario too safely? Maybe. But trying to rush in as fast as they could in a situation like this could be a real death sentence.

'

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'

'

Elizabeth and Carmilla glared at each other from some distance away. The intensity between the two was fierce enough that neither her companions or the wyverns opposing them dared to make a move. The Lancer had waited so long for this, to be able to set things straight and tell Carmilla what she thought right to her face! ...Granted, she couldn't even see her whole face because of the creepy mask she had on for some reason. And then that stupid fetish outfit she was wearing! What even was the point of that cage dress she had on her lower body!? Didn't it just make it harder for her to move her legs!? And she even had fake horns! Obviously they weren't as large or cute as her own horns, being fake and all, but it still pissed her off!

'

While the Lancer kept coming up with more things to be mad over, her counterpart was the one who opened her mouth first, muttering bitterly: "Of all the Servants in history to be summoned here, it just had to be you..."

'

Words that snapped Elizabeth right out of her own thoughts, growling at the Assassin. "Right back at you! How did you get to be a Servant?"

'

A reply that only intensified Carmilla's glare. "I never thought you'd say that. From where I sit, it's far more maddening to see that I've become a Servant as myself! I'm a revered countess, feared by all. The finished product, unlike an unfinished mess like you. I devoured fear and became an Anti-Hero," she gloated, seeming genuinely proud until she pointed an accusing finger at her. "But what about you? You devoured the existence that is me. You simply refused to age, and feared being sealed away." The Lancer swallowed involuntarily. The words hit harder than her counterpart probably realized. "Of course you did. From your perspective, I'm just a sign of your sin. The guilt you brought upon yourself, the unassailable record of your murders!"

'

Elizabeth wanted to deny the Assassin's claim with a shout, but found herself unable to. For the next few seconds she went through all the dozens of imaginary practice conversations she'd had since finding out that her other self was in France as well, only to be dissatisfied with all of them. And so... "...That's right," she muttered, incapable of refuting the vampire's words. Truth was the only thing she could say at the moment. "You are who I really am, my final destination. The symbol of my sin, that no tears will ever change. Denying you means looking away from the crimes I've committed." Carmilla smirked with obvious satisfaction, clearly enjoying her response. Oh, but Elizabeth wasn't done yet. With her expression hardening, she would wipe that smirk right away! "But that doesn't mean I can't take responsibility! It may be ugly self-deception, but I'll say it anyway!" Taking a deep breath, she shouted her answer with all her heart. "I... I don't want to be like you!"

'

The Assassin glowered as if she'd just heard the most ridiculous claim in her life. "How foolish, we're spirits of the past. The future's already been decided."

'

"I know that! But I'm saying it anyway!" the Lancer retorted. This was the one thing she couldn't give up on!

'

Carmilla stared at her for a few seconds, a gesture Elizabeth returned without wavering, until finally shaking her head with a sigh. "...Maybe I was the fool after all, thinking I could expect even a hint of rationality from you." With that, the Assassin materialized her staff, pointing it forward as a signal for the wyverns to begin their attack. Yet, her gaze was still firmly locked on Elizabeth. "I have no interest in drinking your blood, but I'll spill it across this accursed land nonetheless. You can disappear together with your childish delusions."

'

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'

'

"How are you holding up, Rider?" Ritsuka asked while doing her best to keep her attention on both of the fights her Servants were currently taking part in. While she could tell that Medusa hadn't taken any notable damage, that didn't automatically mean that everything was just fine, since she was still fighting against Atalanta on her own.

'

"(Nothing to worry about at the moment,)" the Rider's soft voice answered without a hint of urgency, causing the redhead to let out a sigh. She wasn't sure if this was just her natural pessimism, or if she was overly cautious at the moment. "(Her physical capabilities are notable and her senses are sharp, but her corruption has also led to her fighting more like a beast than a huntress. That evens the odds considerably, so I should be able to hold out at least a few more minutes without issue.)"

'

"...Alright, good to know," Ritsuka muttered. She really needed to get her head back in the game. Sure, this operation was unimaginably crucial, but that didn't mean that her every action needed to be absolutely perfect without any risks. She would be able to tell if anything happened to Medusa, and she was quite sure that the Rider would let her know if there was a sudden issue during the fight. Maybe she should put more faith in her Servants and just focus on the task at hand.

'

"(That said, it's unlikely that I'll be able to beat her without my Noble Phantasm. At least without putting my life on the line to do so.)"

'

"That's fine. Archer and Mash are almost done with the wyverns, so we'll be able to properly support you soon." Well, she'd named them both, but it was Emiya who was handling the vast majority of the wyverns, thanks to the simple advantage of ranged weaponry. His match-up against the flying reptiles was absurdly overwhelming at this distance, and just about all of them got shot down long before getting anywhere close to Mash. It also helped that the wyverns didn't seem all that interested in Medusa, likely due to her not being a human in the first place, so any in the area would head towards the trio.

'

"(Understood. I'll keep her attention for the moment, then.)"

'

"Thanks. This shouldn't take much longer." With a quick shake of her head followed by slaps on her cheeks, the redhead focused her attention on the wyvern extermination. Or more accurately, the end of it, seeing how Emiya had just shot down one of the remaining two.

'

"Now, just that black one left." Pulling back his bow, the Archer began barraging the remaining foe with carefully aimed shots. Strong, yet ultimately normal arrows aimed at any vital spots the beast possessed. To anyone who hadn't been present during their strategy meeting, his way of fighting may have seemed odd, considering how many powerful Noble Phantasms he had that could end the wyvern in a single shot. Unfortunately, stronger arrows required more fuel, and they were trying to do this as efficiently as possible, so the Master had asked him not to project anything absurdly powerful for the moment. Emiya's ability made him so useful in so many different scenarios that Ritsuka wished to keep him around for as long as possible. Even while he was firing, she kept right by his side to maximize the transfer rate of magical energy, and gave him an extra boost whenever her mystic code's spell recharged. Thankfully, it wasn't like this way of fighting made the Archer any less lethal, only making the battle last longer due to the amount of arrows it took to take down a wyvern. He hadn't even seemed bothered by it when she'd first brought it up, calling it 'a reasonable and practical way of thinning out enemy numbers while conserving energy,' and had even offered her some small praise for it. And ultimately, given the monstrous advantage that his range gave him, it wasn't like Emiya seemed to be having a hard time fighting with the conditions. While wyverns had extremely tough scales, they still had their share of vulnerable spots. Most relevantly while flying, their wings. With just a few well aimed arrows, a wing's membrane could be torn to the point where the wyvern would be unable to fly, that put together with the speed and altitude they were flying with, usually meant that the beasts would crash into the ground with enough force to just die. And even if they did survive, like the black one Emiya had just downed, they were left injured enough that a few additional, well aimed arrows would finish them off. After demonstrating said wyvern slaying one last time, the Archer turned towards Ritsuka with a satisfied smile. "And that's all of them in the area. Shall we focus on Atalanta now, Master?" Yet before she could answer...

'

"Wait, what's up with these- Oh, damn! Look sharp, everyone!" Dio's sudden shout got everyone's attention, though he was quick to redirect it towards another source. "Eyes towards the castle!"

'

Doing as she was told, Ritsuka strengthened her vision enough to get a better look at the foes currently taking off from the castle, yet what she saw confused her. "More wyverns?" While her enhancement wasn't the greatest, she could tell that there weren't that many wyverns approaching, definitely not enough to cause a reaction. Was one of the remaining Servants riding them, or...?

'

The answer came from Emiya, now wearing a tense look on his face. "Yes, but not your average ones. Get ready, you two."

'

"The Dragon Witch really kept the big lizards up her sleeve," the Spaniard followed. "Send warnings to the other teams."

'

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'

'

Pulling her flag out of the skull of a felled wyvern, Jeanne let out a relieved sigh. "We are making good progress." While battling the wyverns wasn't as efficient as it had been in the formation with all of their allies, they certainly weren't having any trouble. The way Siegfried sliced through them seemed almost effortless, and even Kiyohime, weakest among them in terms of raw power, was handling herself well. Taking the fighting fire with fire approach to the extreme, her finely controlled flames were overcoming the wyverns' breath attacks without too much difficulty, even if she couldn't engage them physically.

'

The knight nodded in agreement, sharing a smile with her. It was certainly a tad odd for them to be in such a good mood while surrounded by piles of wyvern corpses, yet it was still a small moment of levity in their hours-long battle. "That we are. Thinning out the horde at the beginning has truly paid off. At this rate, we might be able to join the other teams on their fronts."

'

And yet, just as the last words exited the Saber's mouth, they were interrupted. "Heads up, guys." A voice came from the communicator the Chaldeans had lent the Ruler, gaining the attention of the trio of Servants. "Enemy reinforcements incoming. Strong ones."

'

Their gazes moved immediately towards the obvious target, the castle, and indeed, Jeanne could spot some wyverns approaching, yet there were only six of them, so... The thought trailed off as a surprised gasp exited her mouth. By her side Siegfried's expression immediately hardened, his earlier focus returning. "...It seems that I may have spoken too soon."

'

For the first few seconds, Jeanne could only stare at the approaching foes in disbelief. She had certainly not expected a turn like this. "This is... Are those truly still wyverns?" While they were somewhat larger than the other variants, that wasn't what made their forms so striking. Their scales had grown bulkier and more jagged, and were a deep shade of orange that partially transitioned to black. The membranes of their dark wings had red, glowing veins that pulsed with power spread across their surfaces. The commonly softer, beige parts of their bodies were dyed black. Their formerly stinger-like tails had grown into what resembled a mass of rocks, effective for dealing devastating blunt impacts, while also having enough sharp, jagged edges to pierce through flesh. And most noticeably, their previously small horns had developed into a pair of deadly weapons longer than their jaws, resembling sharp, curved swords. Yet that was just their appearance. The sheer intensity of the magical energy burning inside their bodies was far more fierce than any wyvern she had seen. "They are incomparable to any of the others we've faced thus far."

'

Kiyohime nodded beside her, yet there was obvious unease in her expression. "As much as I hate to admit it, just seeing them is quite dreadful."

'

"It seems that the Dragon Witch had a few surprises hidden away," Siegfried said while raising his sword. "Prepare yourselves!"

'

As the wyverns drew closer, Jeanne moved in front of Kiyohime in advance. "Stay close to us, Kiyohime. Don't try to fight them on your own."

'

"...I'm aware," the Berserker muttered, clearly frustrated with the situation as she ignited her fan.

'

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'

'

"Are you serious!? Where did these come from!?" Elizabeth growled as a new group of wyverns descended upon them. Sure, they'd gotten a heads up beforehand, but it was still annoying that the enemy could pull out something like this out of nowhere. One of the beasts dove right towards her with shocking speed, barely letting the Lancer react in time to block a devastating impact from its tail with her mic. She let out a surprised gasp as the force was actually enough to push her backwards.

'

Another soon descended towards Amadeus, only to be blocked by a charge from Georgios. "Be careful, you two! The warning from our allies was no exaggeration!" he shouted while rapidly exchanging blows with the beast. "These wyverns are far more powerful than any I've seen in France thus far!"

'

The Caster was quick to move behind him and started rapidly weaving musical notes into the air. "No need to tell me twice!" Elizabeth didn't bother replying, but she shared his sentiment. These things were seriously troublesome. She'd need to focus all of her power into her attacks to even hope to take them down. Unfortunately...

'

The Lancer raised her mic just in time to block a slash from Carmilla's long, blood enhanced nails. "And just like that, any little shards of hope that you had of winning this fight are gone."

'

Elizabeth grit her teeth, the confident sneer on the vampire's lips irritating her even more than her words. "As if! A star like me won't go down to extras like this!" Twisting her body to smack Carmilla away with her tail, she turned to face the wyverns both closest to her and far enough from Georgios and Amadeus to prevent friendly fire. "They're not worth a new song, but I'll still give my all on the performance!" Inhaling sharply enough that the air rushing past her lips sounded like a whistle, she filled her lungs to their limit, and then unleashed it all in a single burst. "Laaaaaaa!" While not as powerful as her Noble Phantasm, the force of the sound blast was still enough to push and disorient the wyverns, even managing to stun the one closest to her to the point that it fell over. Not missing the chance, Elizabeth charged the fallen beast and stabbed the sharp end of her mic into its throat.

'

Though as she did, Carmilla directed an incredulous shout at her. "Are you serious!? You're actually going on with that idol nonsense!?"

'

While still tearing open the wyvern's throat, the Lancer shot her counterpart with an insulted glare. "It's not nonsense!" As the beast tried to bite her, she was forced to jump away, frustrated that she hadn't managed to kill it, but she was way angrier at Carmilla at the moment, so she instead kept her focus on her.

'

The two continued their back-and-forth for a short moment, until it was interrupted by the most unexpected words from Georgios: "Elizabeth is right."

'

Letting out a gasp, a bright smile spread on Elizabeth's face as she turned towards the Saint in surprise. An act mirrored by Amadeus, who wasn't smiling, and instead his eyes were wide with disbelief. "Seriously!?" they both asked in unison, for very different reasons.

'

Georgios nodded, eyes focused on one of the new wyverns. "Yes. This is not a situation that we can afford to tackle halfheartedly." ...Oh, so that's what he meant. Elizabeth felt her enthusiasm drain somewhat. "And thus..." Raising Ascalon, he pointed its blade towards the wyvern. The beast seemed to perceive it as a challenge, and let out a roar as it charged straight towards the Rider. Yet his composure didn't falter in the slightest. If anything, it seemed to only intensify as his sword became shrouded in divine radiance. "Thy dragon, born from sin, behold the truth of my blade! Interfectum Dracones! [Dragon Slayer]" As Georgios thrust his holy sword forward, a javelin of light shot forth from the tip of the blade, fast enough to not give its target any time to react. The light missile struck the wyvern right in the forehead, piercing through it with enough force that most of its head was blown away, killing it instantly.

'

Everyone else, including Carmilla and the remaining wyverns, could only stare at what had just occurred in disbelief for the next few seconds. Even if it was from a Noble Phantasm, to kill one of these wyverns in a single blow was simply astounding. The silence was finally broken by a cheer from Amadeus: "See, now this is the benefit of having a Dragon Slayer on our team!" The shout snapped Elizabeth back into her senses, causing both awe and dread in her mind to diminish. Maybe it was because of her current nature, but just seeing that javelin of light was enough for her to break into a cold sweat, much like when she'd seen Balmung for the first time. She knew instinctively that if she took a hit from either of those, it'd be instant curtains for her. She could only thank her lucky stars that she'd actually joined up with Deerlet when she did, thus avoiding all chances of coming into any sort of conflict with either of the dragon slayers.

'

"...I suppose I should expect nothing less from the famed Saint Georgios," Carmilla muttered bitterly. "If nothing else, you have some excellent allies."

'

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Elizabeth growled as she charged the Assassin, mic clashing with staff. It was clear that they both wanted this to end as soon as possible. Unfortunately for the Lancer, she wouldn't be granted the one-on-one she desired. While the other of the new wyverns went after Georgios, the one she'd stabbed in the throat came after her, dagger-like teeth ready to shred her to pieces. Focusing on the more powerful threat at the moment, she dodged the bite by pushing herself backwards with her wings before using the momentum to spin around and deliver a hard slam on the beast's closed maw with her tail. As the wyvern's head recoiled from the impact, Elizabeth took the opportunity to continue where she'd left off, and stabbed her mic into its throat once again. It let out a roar that was somewhere between pained and outraged before trying to bite her again, forcing her to retreat. The Lancer grimaced. Ugh, she really hated these new wyverns. The normal ones would've died from a single good stab on the throat, but these guys were so tough that she hadn't actually managed to pierce anything vital. Just how dense were their stupid muscles? Still, just because this wyvern was a more pressing threat, she couldn't completely ignore Carmilla, so with that in mind she- "...Huh? Where'd she...?" Elizabeth whipped her head around rapidly, looking all over the area, yet she couldn't find her other self for a few seconds. It wasn't until she dodged another bite followed by a tail slam from the wyvern that she spotted her target, crouched on the beast's back. "Aha! There you are!" she shouted, pointing at the vampire with her mic. The Lancer could tell that she was gathering magic power, likely to launch a surprise attack of some kind, but now she had totally ruined it by discovering her too quickly. The thought got Elizabeth to smile. She wouldn't fall for her older self's stupid tricks.

'

...And yet, just as she thought of that, Carmilla had the most cruel, gleeful smirk imaginable on her lips as she let out the following words: "Everything is an illusion. Maidens shall enter here."

'

Elizabeth felt a chill running down her spine, followed immediately by a shout from Georgios. "Behind you!" As quickly as she could, which was still painfully slow, she started to turn her head to look behind her. Why had she just underestimated her other self like this? She was a stupid Assassin after all, so even with an embarrassingly low ranked Presence Concealment, sneak attacks were her go-to way of fighting. The familiar cold sweat once again broke across her body as she noticed the Noble Phantasm looming right behind her from the corner of her eye, its doors already open to reveal its spike filled interior. She knew this Noble Phantasm well, since it was technically hers as well, but that only served to increase her dread. While it wasn't a dragon slaying Noble Phantasm, she was still very much aware that getting hit by this meant the end for her. She needed to avoid it at all costs!

'

But, there was no time for her to act as Carmilla unleashed its True Name with a victorious sneer. "Phantom Maiden! [Phantasmal Iron Maiden]"

'

"(Seriously? Like this?)" Those were the words at the forefront of her mind as time slowed to a crawl, the doors threatening to close around her to trap her within the torture tool. She'd known that death was a possibility ever since she joined up with Deerlet's group, but this was the worst way imaginable! Not only due to the pain of the actual method, but because it was Carmilla of all Servants that would kill her! Ugh... The stupid vampire would probably be overcome with elation for her victory, not even caring about anything else, even if she got killed right afterwards. And what about the others in her group? Jeanne, Mash and Deerlet would probably be sad... Kiyohime would either be frustrated or laugh at the way she got killed... And she didn't really care about the rest... At least Georgios would probably avenge her... Gghhh! This sucked so much! She didn't want to die in the first place but why'd it have to happen like this!? She hadn't even been able to say everything she'd wanted to Carmilla, since she'd decided to save a portion of it until she'd beaten her! But now she wouldn't be able to at all! Even with all her frustration and refusal to die, Elizabeth knew that this was the end for her. No matter how much it infuriated her, she was well aware that there was nothing she could do...

'

...And yet, the instant before she should have felt countless spikes piercing into her body, she could only feel a blunt impact striking her back, followed by the distinct feeling of being launched through the air.

'

Then, Phantom Maiden's doors slammed shut with a loud, metallic thunk.

'

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'

Mash could only stare in disbelief as Emiya's first arrows struck the closest approaching wyvern, only to get deflected off of its deep orange scales. The Archer let out a frustrated growl. "Damn it. You weren't kidding about their strength."

'

"We need to keep them away from Rider! She has enough to worry about with Atalanta!" their Master shouted quickly, all the while Mash had fallen into contemplation over the situation. To think that the difference between these wyverns and the others was this great. She honestly wasn't sure if she could do much against them if they got too close...

'

"Easier said than done!" Emiya replied, still continuing to fire arrows at the same beast, gauging its defenses at different points. "These wyverns are far more powerful than any we've seen so far. They are actually starting to approach the realm of genuine dragons."

'

The redhead fell silent for a moment, rapidly snapping her fingers like she usually did while deep in thought, before speaking in a firm voice. "Archer, feel free to use any force you deem necessary! Including Noble Phantasms!"

'

The Archer nodded with an approving smile. "Roger that, Master. These aren't exactly enemies I can hold back too much on. I'm switching to dragon slaying weapons." With that, Emiya projected a new arrow that Mash had yet to see him use. It looked rather similar to Georgios' Ascalon, and was more than likely a copy of that exact sword. No doubt an excellent weapon against these types of enemies. As he pulled the bow to its limit, the missile began to glow with a golden light, resulting in a brilliant, comet-like shot as he released it. As it flew towards the closest beast, there was no effort to dodge, likely due to how the other attacks had gone. Yet this one was far more potent. The arrow struck the wyvern directly in the head, piercing deep, and the beast started to plummet uncontrollably soon after. It clearly hadn't expected this new attack to be that much more powerful than the earlier ones. A satisfied grin spread on Emiya's face. "Now that's more like it."

'

"Good! Keep it up." Her Senpai let out a relieved sigh for his success, something that Mash could very much understand. Without the Archer's incredible arsenal, there was little they could've done against these new wyverns.

'

Still, now that the situation had changed, she turned towards the redhead expectantly. "Master, what should I do?"

'

"Huh? Um..." She looked surprised by the sudden question, falling silent for a few seconds before answering. "For now... Just stay ready in case any of them get close enough to fight in melee. We'll need your shield if that ends up happening."

'

"...Understood," the Shielder muttered, slightly disappointed as she turned her attention back to the approaching enemies. She knew that order was sensible since there wasn't anything she could do until the wyverns got closer, but she couldn't help but to feel somewhat useless just waiting.

'

Yet those thoughts were short lived as her Senpai suddenly squeezed her arm, letting out a faint groan. "Nngh..."

'

In an instant, Mash had closed the short distance between them, rapidly looking her over for even the faintest sign of an injury. "Master, are you all right?"

'

The redhead raised her hand calmingly, even if her brows were still somewhat furrowed. "Yeah. Jeanne has just started fighting harder than usual, so she's drawing more magic power," she explained. "I'll get used to it in a minute."

'

Before the Shielder could even speculate, Emiya cut in, even while he still continued firing at the approaching hostiles. "Her group is no doubt facing off against more of these same wyverns at the moment." A remark that made the situation click in her head. Yes, that certainly made sense. Since Jeanne had no connection to Chaldea's Summoning System, she received absolutely no energy through it. She could only use what she had stored and what their shared Master could spend. Had any other Servant been responsible, Mash would have likely been discontented with them, but since this was Jeanne, the extra energy was no doubt necessary. She could only hope that the situation would be resolved soon so that their Master could avoid any excess strain, as well as that the other teams would be able to handle it safely. Seemingly noticing her concern, the Archer continued speaking. "Still, given that both Siegfried and her are together, I doubt there is reason for us to worry." A rather fair point that did indeed ease her nerves somewhat.

'

Dio even proceeded to further elaborate. "Yeah. These wyverns might be stronger than the rest, but Balmung can still slice right through them without any issue. Siegfried is unquestionably the most effective Servant on our side when it comes to handling them." he noted, further calming her down. Yet... "In that regard, it's good that most of the new guys headed for that group, since they're moving ahead of the army." A remark that gave Mash a small pang of guilt. It made her feel like they were almost using the French army as bait, even if that wasn't their intention...

'

"Ah!" One of the staff members behind Da Vinci suddenly let out a startled gasp, gaining the attention of most listeners around. Even if she was in the background, the image quality was clear enough that Mash could recognize her as Yuan Huifen.

'

"What is it?" Roman asked, some concern in his voice.

'

Ever since the Grand Order had begun, the Chinese woman had appeared to be on edge just about every time Mash had seen her, yet now she seemed genuinely anxious, eyes wide as she held her hands in front of her mouth. "J-just a moment ago, tw-two Noble Phantasms were used..."

'

A reveal that fully got the attention of everyone around, and Mash shared a quick, concerned glance with her Senpai. It seemed that Miss Yuan was keeping watch on one of the other teams. The Noble Phantasms must not have been particularly flashy or powerful ones, given that they hadn't noticed anything, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be deadly. "By who?" the Doctor proceeded to ask the question hanging in the air, causing Yuan's anxiety to only increase.

'

"It... it seems to have been by G-Georgios first, and then... Carmilla..." After she'd just barely choked out the last word, the atmosphere tensed considerably.

'

Some murmur began to take place in the background of the Command Room, and the Shielder turned to face her Master again, the concern she'd felt having only increased by the confirmation. The fact that Carmilla had used her Noble Phantasm later was the especially worrying part, leading to a rather dreadful conclusion. "You don't think...?"

'

But before she could voice her thoughts, Dio's words suddenly cut her off. "Hey, come on. Why the hell did you have to put it like that?" Turning back towards the screen, Mash was met with an unexpected sight of the Spaniard standing in front of Miss Yuan, his arms crossed as he stared down at her. Yet, he didn't appear angry or even troubled by the situation. In fact, he sounded more disappointed than anything. "Ritsuka's group doesn't need any distractions at the moment, so I was keeping my mouth shut, but you just went ahead and told them anyway."

'

The earlier tense atmosphere had changed into one of confusion, with most present staring at the two unsurely while the Chinese woman sank down in her chair, her face downcast as she tapped her fingers together nervously. "Ah, right... I... I'm s-sorry..." she mumbled, her voice barely audible.

'

It was now that everyone had quieted down that Mash could finally process the Spaniard's rather unexpected statement. It sounded like he had been keeping an eye on the other groups as well. As the silence drew on, she shared a quick glance with her Senpai, who looked quite exasperated. Not that the Shielder couldn't see why. While Dio's point in avoiding distracting them was fair, he certainly could have addressed the situation with Miss Yuan more delicately. The redhead let out a cough to break the silence before speaking. "...Well, now that we know something's happened, can you at least elaborate?"

'

Dio turned towards the screen with a dauntless smile as if the last minute hadn't even happened. "Sure. She's right in that Georgios used his Noble Phantasm, specifically to kill off one of these new wyverns, and that Carmilla fired off her Noble Phantasm afterwards." A dire confirmation that hardly fit his current demeanor, yet before anyone could cut in, he continued. "No need to worry though. Carmilla tried a sneak attack, but she had no idea just how capable our new military saint friend is."

'

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'

Elizabeth could only stare in shock as her body felt numb, dull pain on her back being the only distinguishable feeling that she could perceive. The target filling her field of vision was obviously Phantom Maiden, the Noble Phantasm of her other self, that had just been activated, but not for the reason one would expect. Sharing in her shock, Carmilla was staring at it as well, stunned to silence. It hardly needed to be said why they were both so shocked. After all, Elizabeth, who should have been trapped inside it, was staring at the torture tool from the outside just like Carmilla. She had heard a warning shout a second before the Noble Phantasm had been activated, and in the instant before the doors could slam shut around her, a strong, blunt impact struck her on the back, pushing her out of its range. As the Lancer snapped her head around before even hitting the ground, she'd seen the source of the blow; Georgios, with his leg outstretched, more than likely from kicking her. And true enough, the kick had sent her out of Phantom Maiden's range... while leaving the Rider in her place. Before she could so much as make a sound, the torture device's doors closed in a flash, stopping with a loud, metallic thunk.

'

And thus, given what had just happened, it was no wonder that both manifestations of Elizabeth Báthory were staring at the scene in front of them in equal disbelief. A noble self-sacrifice from an ally that had saved her, yet doomed the brave knight in her place... Was what the two of them had expected.

'

Indeed, Georgios had been the one to take the attack from Phantom Maiden, which would have likely resulted in his death... If it had been allowed to fully close. His holy sword, Ascalon, had been lodged lengthwise between the doors, keeping the torture tool from closing, while the bulky spaulder and gauntlet on his right arm were assisting in the task and blocking the spikes on the other side. It was honestly astounding to look at. While the spikes contained within did manage to draw some blood from less protected areas, it was clear at a glance that he had taken no serious injuries.

'

Elizabeth could only stare at the knight in wonder, mouth hanging agape, mystified by his valiant figure... until he shouted at her. "Do not dawdle! Finish her while I keep the Noble Phantasm occupied!" His voice was strained with effort, the result of holding back Phantom Maiden, yet it was just the thing that snapped the Lancer back into reality.

'

"Ah! Right!" Twisting her body around as quickly as she could, Elizabeth charged towards Carmilla with newfound determination born from her near-death experience, the sharp end of her mic aimed straight at her chest. The Assassin snapped out of her daze just a second later, yet still quickly enough that she managed to block the incoming blow with her staff, even if it was powerful enough to push her backwards.

'

The vampire grit her teeth, her fury obvious even through the mask. "Of all the damned things!" Coating her nails with blood, she swiped at the Lancer, trying to slice her head off, yet Elizabeth crouched at the last instant, managing to avoid the talons even if she felt a disturbing scraping by the tips of her horns. "You! You of all people were saved by a legitimate Saint!? This really is the end of the world!"

'

A rant that planted some glee into Elizabeth's heart, prompting her to smirk at Carmilla. "No need to be mad just 'cause I've got better allies than you!"

'

And like she'd hoped, her reply only made the Assassin's fury flare up brighter than ever. "Y-y-you! You accursed, half baked brat!" Carmilla started barragging her with bloody swipes and swings from her staff, attacking with no regard for anything else. She was really putting that Madness Enhancement to good use, to the point where the Lancer was starting to have a hard time keeping up with it all. While no decisive blow was struck, she did take more than a few scratches across her body without being able to counterattack. "Just die! Die, die, die die die die diediediediediediediediedie!"

'

In response to the screaming, Elizabeth put on the most annoying sneer she could manage. "Sheesh... Did a disk get stuck in your head or something? Old gadgets really do seem to break down easily." Comments she'd come up with for the sole purpose of riling Carmilla up, and their effect was immediate. Without the tiniest hint of elegance, the seething Assassin grabbed her scepter with both hands and raised it over her head, charging towards her in the most obvious, predictable way imaginable. As the staff swung down furiously, Elizabeth deftly sidestepped the strike, using the momentum to twirl her body and deliver a tail smack on her completely defenseless opponent. And the result was amazing. She nailed Carmilla right in the face, even managing to crack that stupid mask in the process! The vampire screeched as she was flung away, looking extremely disoriented as she wobbled on her feet, shaky eyes trying to focus back onto Elizabeth. Yeah, it was absolutely the perfect time to finish this. With Georigios holding Phantom Maiden busy, she didn't even have to worry about a sneak attack and could just go all out. "Now! I've got my cutest classic song ready, and you get to have the front row seat!" the Lancer declared, pointing a finger at Carmilla who growled back, her fury not having diminished in the slightest.

'

"What is with you and that make-believe idol nonsense!?" she hissed through closed teeth, managing to annoy Elizabeth in return.

'

"I already told you, it's not nonsense or make-believe!" Slamming her mic into the ground she started pouring magical energy into it, summoning her stage. "Time for the finale! Báthory Erzsébet! [Fresh Blood Demoness]" As her castle/amplifier manifested behind her, she hopped on top of her mic, eyes locked onto Carmilla, who's face now had a tinge of fear mixed in with her anger. They both knew that she wouldn't be able to evade this. "YOU'RE DOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!"

'

While the Assassin tried desperately to put up any sort of defense to reduce the force of the incoming attack, it was all for naught as the shockwave reached her. The great blast of sound blew away her staff, ravaged her body, and shattered the mask she'd worn to hide her face all this time. Like a ragdoll caught in an explosion from a cannon, her body was flung in the air before crashing back down, rolling along the ground uncontrollably before finally coming to a halt. As her castle dematerialized, Elizabeth hopped down onto the ground and let out a deep, relieved sigh. Thank God that had actually worked. She'd have been in serious trouble otherwise. As she returned her gaze on the vampire, she took note of her appearance; all the metallic accessories had been shattered and blown away, leaving her barely covered in the tattered remains of her outfit. She remained nearly motionlessly on her back, with the only sign that she was even alive being her slow breathing. The Assassin was done, her spirit core shattered, and would disappear shortly. And with that, Elizabeth began to quickly march towards her, intent on being able to fully speak her mind before the end. Behind her, Phantom Maiden faded away, letting Georgios immediately charge towards the remaining wyvern that Amadeus had somehow managed to keep busy. He really was a genuine knight in shining armor straight from a storybook...

'

Still, the Lancer had something more important to focus on right now, the body lying on the ground. Though even as she walked right to her side, Carmilla's gaze didn't move in the slightest, her blurry eyes staring hazily towards the sky. "...So the future doesn't reject the past, but rather, the past rejects the future?"

'

"...Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. The only reason their positions weren't reversed at the moment was that she had way better allies. It was thanks to them that she could speak like this to herself. "I just couldn't overlook what you were doing."

'

"From the moment I was summoned here, I had a feeling I would be killed, even if I never expected you to be the one to do it," Carmilla admitted quietly, her gaze still upwards. "The two of us are anti-heroes, evil that ought to be defeated. The Madness Enhancement doesn't change anything. We were the ones getting drunk on the blood of others. After how far we've gone, even if we try to atone for our sins, what would be the point of it?"

'

She was right. Carmilla was absolutely right, and Elizabeth knew it. "...Once a sin has been committed, it doesn't disappear. No matter how righteously I act from now on, I can never be forgiven," she agreed, falling silent for a moment to gather her resolve, before continuing with a firm voice. "But I understand now. What we did was wrong." For the first time since they began this talk, the Assassin's eyes regained their focus, widening as their attention moved to the younger version. But even under the pressure from the disbelieving golden eyes, the resolute blue eyes remained firm as they delivered their message. "And that's why I can't let you continue your slaughter, your failure. Because my ending won't change, it may just be ugly self-deception, but even then, I'll keep on screaming! I'll keep telling you, as many times as it takes! Elizabeth Báthory doesn't want to become like you, Carmilla!" The Lancer was perfectly aware that her opinion and feelings on the matter were wildly different from her original self's. In truth, even she didn't know where these feelings came from. It was most likely a summoning that had managed to leave a lasting impact on her very self as a Heroic Spirit, even if she had no proper memories of it currently. But still, she couldn't deny that she liked these feelings. They just felt right. And so, she'd decided to honor them, even if they made her an enemy of her original self.

'

For the next few seconds Carmilla just kept staring at her in pure disbelief, not saying a word. Then, a deep sigh escaped her mouth and her gaze moved back towards the sky. But just as Elizabeth was expecting her to ridicule what she'd said, she received something she hadn't even imagined; resignation. "...I see. So that really is your answer." There was no longer even the tiniest hints of scorn in her voice or eyes. Above all, she just sounded tired. "Then, let me return to the darkness. That last instant... That light that I saw between the bricks..." The Lancer felt a small sting in her heart upon hearing the muttering. She was painfully well aware of what the Assassin was referring to as she started to glow faintly. "That's right... Whether I live or die, I... am always alone..."

'

"...Farewell, my future. Farewell, the part of myself so sad I had to separate," she whispered as Carmilla faded away, yet she still kept speaking, her resolve having only grown through this fight. "While this will not lessen my sins, nor the fear others feel towards me. I... will deny the future as many times as I must, and sing as many times as I must." And with those final words Elizabeth turned away, leaving behind the spot her other self had just perished in, her mind moving onto a more pressing matter; making sure that those who helped her get this far wouldn't follow the Assassin anytime soon.

'

...Yet she honestly wasn't even surprised as she spotted the last of the wyverns dead right in front of Georgios, Ascalon embedded in its head. Amadeus sat by his side, resting from having actually worked hard for once. "You sure you're alright? You did technically get hit with a Noble Phantasm," the Caster asked as the knight pulled his blade out of the wyvern's skull.

'

"Yes. The Noble Phantasm itself wasn't particularly powerful, especially since I don't fit the criteria it's effective against," he confirmed with a smile before turning towards the approaching Lancer. "You fought admirably as well, Elizabeth. It is no easy task to face off against one's alternate self, yet you managed to overcome her."

'

"Um... Thanks..." Elizabeth muttered, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. She wanted to avert her gaze incredibly badly, but forced herself to look the Rider directly in the eyes. She really wasn't used to this kind of stuff, but she at least wanted to make sure that she came across as sincere. "I would've totally bit it back there if you hadn't blocked Carmilla's Noble Phantasm, so I... I really appreciate it..."

'

Yet Georgios just shook his head, his smile not fading in the slightest. "While I appreciate it, there is no need for such a humble apology. I am a Servant that excels in protecting others, so I only did what was natural." An answer that finally got the Lancer to look away, his shining earnesty having overcome her frail sincerity. Uuuhh! This guy was just way too much of a storybook prince for her to handle at moments like this. Meanwhile, the Rider had already moved his attention on the third member of their group. "Now, there was a third Servant, was there not? Shall we head to face them as well?"

'

"Yeah, he's the one I've been focusing on," Amadeus confirmed, turning towards the northeast. "I'm pretty lucky that he's still around."

'

Elizabeth blinked with surprise while Georgios cocked a brow at the answer. This kind of diligence wasn't something either of them had expected of him. "Someone you're familiar with?" he asked.

'

The Caster nodded stiffly, his face uncharacteristically severe. "It seems that I still get my chance to speak my mind."

'

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A lone man ran through the barren fields around Orleans. Or more accurately, he hastily lurched through them. It was no wonder that he couldn't run properly, given that he was missing an arm and how the 'bandages' wrapped around the stump and his torso were severely limiting his movements. Still, the man himself didn't seem to care and just moved forward without stopping. "OOOOOOH!" Most of his face was covered in a mix of blood and some dark, vile fluid that splattered around while he screamed, leaving a trail wherever he stumbled. It dripped from his eyes, nose and mouth in a manner that would have thoroughly disgusted the man under normal circumstances, but right now, he had something far more important to focus on. "MAA-A-RII-II..." He was headed for the largest group of people he could detect, since that was most likely where she would be. "MAAAARIIIIEEEE!" He had to find her! He had to cut off her head! Only then would her suffering be over! Only him! No one else! Only he could do it right!

'

"Wow, you really look like crap."

A sudden voice caught the man's attention, only for it to be followed immediately by a louder, much more powerful sound that knocked him off his feet. He scrambled to his feet, looking towards the source of the voice... and froze. Even through the gunk in his eyes, he could see a man. A pale man with blonde hair in black and purple clothes that was smirking at him. A sight that ignited something inside him. "A... Aaa... Aaaaaaaa!" He roared, blasting as much of the gunk covering his mouth out of the way as he could. He had no idea how or why, but he knew this man, and just the sight of him filled him with rage. So strong was his anger that it even managed to pull a name from his ravaged mind. "Aaaaamaaaaaadeeeeeeuuuuuus!"

'

"Tch, tch, tch. And barely even able to speak," Amadeus clicked his tongue while shaking his head, his smile fading slightly. "You know, it's really rough seeing you like this, even for me."

'

The man grit his teeth. Every word spoken just fed his anger more. Was this bastard seriously looking down at him? "Yyyy-yyooouuu!" he bellowed and tightened the grip on his sword. This was the one man he would never lose to!

'

"So..." Pulling out some strange, white apparatus from behind his back, Amadeus' face grew serious. "Let me play you a nice requiem."

'

'

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'

The instant Amadeus had laid eyes on Sanson, he'd visibly cringed. He'd thought the Assassin had sounded bad, but he looked so much worse it wasn't even funny. From what Jeanne had surmised, Maria had faced off against Sanson before the Dragon Witch showed up, and most likely beaten him. With that information and judging by his behavior, Sanson got rejected by Maria but still refused to give up... Not that he was one to talk, though. More than likely, the fact that the Assassin was still around at all was thanks to something either the Dragon Witch or one of her Servants had done, explaining his sorry state. Screaming out something unintelligible, Sanson actually tried to charge straight at him while swinging his sword wildly, but Amadeus quickly put a pause on that by conjuring some musical staves to bind him, keeping him still for a moment. He wanted to exchange a few words with his companions before getting this little showdown started.

'

"Ew! What's wrong with him?" Elizabeth asked, very reasonably for once, as she landed beside him. "He looks even worse than all the other Berserk Servants."

'

"His spirit core has been nearly destroyed, yet some sort of magecraft is being used to keep it together," Georgios explained, confirming what the Caster had suspected as well. "In his condition, it's effectively like a bisected man's body being supported by just bandages."

'

The Lancer frowned disapprovingly. "Seriously?" A rather fair reaction.

'

"You two can just focus on the wyverns. I'll take care of Sanson on my own," Amadeus declared, taking a firm step forward to make it clear that he was actually serious about this. He really didn't need to do this. The Assassin was already well on his way out. Even if they just left him alone, he would disappear anyway. But still... He couldn't stand the man, but seeing him reduced to this was enough to make even Amadeus feel some sympathy for him.

'

After a quick look, Georgios gave him a stiff nod. "Very well, but I will step in if it looks like you're about to die."

'

A statement that earned a smile from Amadeus. "Fair enough. I appreciate it." He was pretty sure that the Rider would've done so even if he'd completely refused all aid. It was precisely things like this that made him such a reliable ally.

'

As the two headed to take care of the nearby wyverns, the Caster released the raving Assassin from his bindings, who shot forward like a rabid animal, blade aimed at his neck. "Aaaahh!" ...A decently unnerving sight. Frankly, even with Sanson's awful state, he wouldn't have normally been able to take him on in a straight up fight. He was a musician after all, not some brute who killed people during his life. But today Amadeus was carrying something extra. Something that was more than enough to close the gap between their combat abilities.

'

In the blink of an eye his fingers played a few notes on the kantele he had borrowed from Lemminkäinen, and results were immediate. The delicate sound slammed into Sanson like an explosion, blasting him backwards several meters as he rolled across the ground. Amadeus could hardly hide his pleased smile. "I might have gotten to use a few magical instruments during my life, but they may as well have been completely ordinary when compared to this." With even just a few more experimental tunes, the effects were staggeringly noticeable. Each time his fingers plucked at the strings, a surge of power ran through both it and him, greatly amplifying his magecraft. Blasts of sound that would have usually caused his foe to stumble at best, were now enough to blow him backwards, while the musical staves he conjured through playing were now sturdy enough to bind him. He might have produced some of the most horrendous singing Amadeus had ever had the displeasure of hearing, but there was no denying that Lemminkäinen was gifted when it came to the musical arts. Both when it came to creating the art itself, and the instruments used to expand it. Although, the longer the Caster played, the more he couldn't help but notice something. Despite his clear advantage in the situation, Sanson just kept charging straight at him without slowing down, no matter how many times he was blown back. While it was admittedly kind of funny, it was also starting to freak him out a bit at this point. "But man, you are seriously fired up. Don't tell me Maria said something she shouldn't have," he smirked, mostly trying to just calm his own nerves. "For example, maybe something like; although we are both scum, she said I am 100 times better. Something like that?"

'

"Hah... Ah... ah..." Standing up after being blown away for who knows how manyth time, the Assassin panted heavily, glaring at him intensely enough to be visible even through the gunk on his eyes. "Shu... t up..."

'

"Huh?" Amadeus' eyes widened in surprise. Was that an actual, sensible response?

'

"Shut up, Amadeus!" Sanson screamed, blowing away quite a bit of the grime on his face, and confirming the Caster's suspicion. "I won't let you beat me! Not you!"

'

Amadeus took a step back over the sheer intensity of the furious declaration. "...Whoa!" Did his taunting seriously give this bastard some of his sanity back? That probably made him even tougher to fight. It got the Caster thinking that maybe he actually should've kept his mouth shut for a change... But that thought soon passed. This unexpected turn just made things all the more worth doing. "Well, can't say that I expected this outcome, but it isn't entirely unwelcome," he smirked while locking eyes with the Assassin. "Charles-Henri Sanson, are you ready for me to take my frustration out on you? I've actually got some energy for once. Enough energy to play an extra song just for you."

'

Sanson just scoffed at him while starting to close the distance between them. "Whatever, I'll chop your fingers off."

'

A reply that got Amadeus to click his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk, this is the problem with gloomy muscleheads! Always responding with violence!" Raising the kantele in his hands to prepare, the Caster gathered his focus. This would be his last gift for Maria, so he was going to make it a good one.

'

As Sanson charged at him once again, it quickly became quite apparent that getting a bit of sanity back didn't change all that much. Sure, he no longer charged straight at him, but a few extra swerves and rolls to dodge some of the attacks Amadeus threw at him only went so far. His shockwaves were simply too fast and covered too much area to avoid completely, so the Assassin was still at a clear disadvantage. Something the Caster was quite relieved over, given that he'd gotten a bit worried for a second. But, he could still work with this, so he put his plan into motion. While Sanson was busy trying to cut his head off, he started sending out his angels to the surrounding area, waiting for the perfect moment. The meathead was too focused on him to even notice them until it was too late. Then, as he played a quick and sharp melody, the angels resonated with the tune, firing out musical staves that wrapped around the Assassin like a net, binding him completely. "D-damn it!" he grunted, furiously attempting to move his sword arm. "These tricks won't hold me for-"

'

"Yeah, yeah," Amadeus cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "A few seconds is all I need." With that, he began his little construction project to make himself the perfect instrument for the job. While the kantele he was holding was exquisite, what he really needed to play this was a piano. It just wouldn't feel right without one. Strumming a melody while focusing on the mental image of what he wanted to create, the Caster began materializing his piano through Gradation Air. While he was hardly an expert with this type of magecraft by any stretch of the term, he was very familiar with the structure of pianos, and the kantele helped pull the whole thing together. And the finished product was quite a fine piece of work. A most splendid fortepiano with surfaces so smooth that light reflected slightly off of it. There wasn't a single flaw anywhere to be seen. Of course, as it was effectively made from nothing, the instrument would disappear in a few minutes, but that was more than enough for him. Putting the kantele away for the moment, Amadeus stretched his fingers, his excitement rising at the thought of getting to play a piano again after such a long while. "Now then, let's finish this."

'

"Amadeus!" Sanson roared, finally managing to move his blade enough to cut the staves binding his arm, and with a few more swings, remove the rest of his bindings as well. His anger burning as fiercely as ever, he charged forward. It would take him only a couple of seconds to reach the Caster. "I won't go down that-"

'

"Way too late for that," he interrupted with a smirk. And so, the musical genius laid his fingers on the keys of the piano. "Listen, to this bewitching sound! Requiem For Death! [A Funeral March For the Grim Reaper]"

'

And within just the first dozen notes, the battle was already over.

'

The Assassin's charge came to a screeching halt, eyes wide as he stared at the man playing his famed Requiem. As the seconds ticked on and the song advanced, he just stood there, frozen like a statue. And then, after what seemed like an eternity, the executioner's sword fell to the ground as the arm holding it vanished, and following that, Sanson's knees hit the dirt as well. His face downcast, he was once again still as a statue for several seconds, until his mouth opened. "I realized at the point she defeated me, my own distortion, and the sins that I've committed... What should have ended there, continued on in this state..." he muttered, though Amadeus kept playing even through his words, knowing better than to interrupt his unfinished work. Not like it mattered, since he could still hear the Assassin perfectly well. "And your Requiem was what released me from that..." Slowly, Sanson raised his head, facing the Caster properly with a faint smile. There was clarity in his eyes that had been absent throughout his materialization in this singularity. "What irony... Even though I've always hated your Requiem..."

'

Amadeus nearly fell over from shock, his divine skill alone allowing him to keep playing despite hearing such an outrageous reveal. "Huh? Seriously?"

'

The Assassin smirked at his reaction. "Of course I hated it. To us executioners, death is sacred, and you lowered it into music, a form of amusement..." His head lowering, Sanson's voice fell into a frustrated mutter. "That's why it really is painful for me to say this..." And then, as he raised his face, unlike the scowl he had expected, Amadeus was met with a genuine, grateful smile. "Thank you for releasing me." The Assassin's body started to glow, tiny sparks flowing off of it, making his fate clear. "The evil one is me, no question about it. Justice is on your side. As she took in the witch's flames, the queen smiled, just like last time. Not with resignation, but with hope." With most of his body already gone, his smiling face was the last to go. "...May blessings be upon you."

'

As Sanson vanished, Amadeus couldn't help but to scoff, a grin growing on his lips. "You idiot, you actually cared whose side justice is on? Talk about gloomy. This is why we need to get rid of jobs where you do nothing but kill people all day." ...Still, him revealing that Maria had indeed vanished with a smile did manage to ease the Caster's heart a bit, enough to hand out one last lighthearted jab. "Bye Sanson, next time I see you I'll play my Requiem until you're sick of it."

'

Turning around, he spotted his two companions, to no surprise, standing around waiting. While he hadn't looked over to actually watch them, he'd known from the sounds alone that their little battle had ended a while ago. Still, he really appreciated the fact that they hadn't interrupted his confrontation with Sanson. Elizabeth looked rather bored, leaning against her strange lance, while Georgios started approaching him now that the fight was over. "Well done, Amadeus," the Rider congratulated him with a smile, laying a hand on his shoulder. "To grant such a merciful passing for a soul that tormented is not something just anyone could do."

'

"Saints aren't the only ones capable of miracles," he replied as a half-jest. "Music can at times make impossible things seem possible as well."

'

A reply that caused Elizabeth to turn towards them with excitement, her eyes practically sparkling. "That's right, even my songs-"

'

"No! Stop! Not another word!" Amadeus shouted with all his might, startling the dragon girl into silence. He just absolutely refused to deal with that can of worms right now, or preferably ever.

'

His gaze shifting between the two, Georgios shook his head with an amused smile. "In any case, we've finished dealing with two enemy Servants and a number of those powerful wyverns. I believe it would be best for us to take this opportunity to regroup with one of the other teams."

'

Amadeus nodded in agreement. While he would've loved to take a nap after already putting in so much effort, he'd gone far enough with this whole mess that quitting at this point would just leave a bad taste in his mouth. Plus, in a larger and more powerful group, he could safely commit less without the effects being too noticeable to their overall fighting strength. "Jeanne, Siegfried and Kiyohime are closer to us, so I'd suggest them."

'

"I agree." Though as they were turning to leave, Georgios gave a cautious glance at the castle looming in the distance. "But, let us hurry. With most of her pawns gone, the Dragon Witch will no doubt join the battle soon herself."

'

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'

As Medusa weaved through another barrage of arrows from Atalanta, she couldn't help but notice a few details about her that felt off. While most of her changes were from the demonic beast that she had bonded with, there was something in her besides that. Something... extraneous. Her twisted face had a mix of blood and some dark, vile fluid all over it, mostly coming from her eyes, nose and mouth, that splattered around with every movement. If her instincts were correct, it was demonic in origin and had been bonded to the Archer with magecraft, more than likely by a Caster of some kind. If the Rider had to guess, she had been forcefully modified to do the Dragon Witch's bidding, because for some reason she had completely refused her orders unlike the other Berserk Servants. Frankly, seeing the huntress twisted like this brought some rather unpleasant memories into her mind. She was closer to a demonic beast than a human at this point, with the bodily might to match. Sneak attacks wouldn't work well due to her sharp senses, and the Rider was well aware that she would lose in a contest of brute force. The only reason she'd held out for so long without taking any hits was because of Atalanta's insistence of charging straight at her like a mad boar, making her quite predictable. Her wild, reckless attacks had even taken out some of the wyverns who were supposed to be her allies, which was admittedly quite helpful.

'

"Aaaargh!" The Archer roared while rushing her, going for an obvious kick that Medusa dodged with a graceful leap, leaving the tree she had just been on to be practically obliterated by the force of the strike. Taking the opportunity to counter with her chains, the Rider launched them from different angles by twisting them around nearby trees in an attempt to confuse her opponent, only for the daggers to be easily swept aside by Atalanta's beastly strength. Medusa clicked her tongue in annoyance as she deftly avoided more arrows fired at her. She wasn't making any progress like this. She even wondered for a moment if she should just go ahead and ask her Master for permission to use her Noble Phantasm... Until she felt a quick warning from her Master, followed by a barrage of arrows heading their way, from a direction completely different from Atalanta.

'

Moving into a position to avoid being hit as discreetly as possible without letting her opponent catch on, Medusa's efforts were ultimately wasted as just a moment before the arrows started raining down around them, the Archer's ears stood up straight and she started firing her own arrows in the direction of the barrage. The clash of numerous missiles in the air was quite a spectacle, with Atalanta managing to stop most of them despite starting to fire far later than the other Archer. But she was still unable to stop all of them, with a number of projectiles raining down around her. Frustratingly, none of the arrows had actually managed to score a proper hit on her, with the most accurate shots being scratches at best. Yet despite that, even the minor scratches seemed to have fully earned Emiya the Berserk Archer's ire, judging by the sheer bloodlust on her face.

'

"...I'll kill you... I'll kill you all!" Malicious, black magical energy radiated from Atalanta as she aimed her bow skyward, before the energy gathered to form a dark arrow. Medusa quickly jumped back to put some distance between them. Oh, this was quite troublesome. "Every last one of you, shatter before my bow! Tauropolos!"

'

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'

"Oh, that ain't good," Dio muttered, followed by a frantic shout from Roman.

'

"Noble Phantasm incoming!"

'

"Yes, we see it," Ritsuka confirmed, even though it would've been quite hard to miss what they were referring to. The dark arrow blasted high into the sky before warping into something that looked like a mix between a cloud and a mass of energy, malice radiating off of it. There was no doubt that it would turn into a proper attack in the next few seconds... Which was apparently enough for the Spaniard to clarify what they were seeing.

'

"Technically it's not a Noble Phantasm, just an attack with power comparable to one, but I doubt that you care about the distinction right now."

'

"We really don't!" the redhead shouted, most of her focus on the attack. She knew that it was powerful and dangerous, which was enough.

'

And then, the form of the dark mass finally started shifting, splitting into a rain of countless black arrows, all aimed in their general direction. Naturally, Mash had already moved right in front of her, shield at the ready. "Master, let me-!"

'

"Hold on, Mash," Emiya called out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Save your magical energy for something more devastating. I have a shield that is perfect against something like this." He then shifted his gaze towards the Master meaningfully.

'

Ritsuka's eyes widened, recalling the Archer mentioning that he had a shield that specifically possessed anti-projectile properties. If he really did have such a shield, it really was perfect for the job. "Go ahead," she nodded, and Emiya got to work immediately.

'

"I am the bone of my sword." Moving in front of the two girls, the Archer held out his hand towards the black rain of countless arrows as he spoke an incantation. "Rho Aias! [The Seven Rings that Cover the Burning Heavens]" Seven flower petals made of light manifested from his outstretched hand, forming a shield in the shape of an iridescent flower, large enough to easily cover the three of them. And not even a second later, Atalanta's bombardment fell upon the area. For the next few seconds, it was almost like they were inside the detonation zone of a fireworks show. The sheer volume of the sounds made the Master cover her ears, fearing that her eardrums would burst otherwise. And yet, sounds were all she had to worry about at the moment. It was honestly astounding just how effective Emiya's shield was. The deadly rain of arrows battering against it was essentially like droplets falling on top of an umbrella, impacting it harmlessly before slipping off its surface and falling to the ground. If it weren't for the large craters they created when impacting the earth, Ritsuka might've even been fooled to think that the dark arrows weren't all that powerful. Though as the attack finally died down, the landscape, with the sole exception of the portion protected by the Archer's shield, had been thoroughly devastated. All plant life had been annihilated, leaving only burned soil and tiny pieces of gravel on the ground. In all honesty, it reminded the redhead of photos she'd seen of locations that had been bombed. The power possessed by the enemy Archer was no joke. "Now, then..." As his shield faded away Emiya projected a new weapon, nocked it on his bow, and aimed towards Atalanta. While it was an arrow Ritsuka had never seen before, it somehow looked rather familiar. In fact, now that she took a closer look, the golden fletching and nock on the back end of it looked very familiar. But, she didn't have time to figure out its identity as it was time for action. "Time for a counterattack." And with those words he released the missile, which blasted off with speed comparable to a bullet.

'

The fact that these two could fight each other with arrows over such a long distance, not to mention properly see each other through all the foliage, was something the Master was honestly still processing. Still, to better observe the situation, she closed her eyes and focused on her connection with the Archer, sharing senses with him to see whatever he saw. As his arrow soared towards its target, Atalanta responded by firing an arrow of her own, so thickly coated in her dark magical energy that it appeared like a black bolt. The two missiles closed in on each other with astounding speed... only for the golden arrow to release a burst of flame from its fletching at the last second, altering its course so that the collision was avoided. If the enemy Archer was surprised she didn't show it, as she started to immediately fire more arrows to shoot the approaching missile down, yet more bursts from Emiya's arrow allowed it to evade them all. And still, the whole sight was oddly familiar to Ritsuka for some reason. Then, as it got even closer, the golden arrow fully ignited with crimson flames, its stored magical energy pouring out as less than fifty meters remained to its target. That was when Atalanta released one last arrow, likely knowing that her opponent's missile was too close to be able to avoid being shot down by this final shot. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the two arrows closed in on each other, one burning bright with crimson flames, the other crackling with dark, malicious power... And then they collided, resulting in a flash of energy. For that following instant, Ritsuka thought that the golden arrow had been successfully stopped, and she likely wasn't alone in her assumption. However, Emiya's arrow still had one final trick stored away. As opposed to a giant ball of fire everyone was expecting, it released its flames in a directed burst. Instead of exploding like a... well, a normal explosion, the golden arrow's fiery wrath was all focused in a single direction: towards Atalanta. In a flash all foliage with the exception of large tree trunks was blown away in a roughly 30 meter long line, leaving an obvious mark in the otherwise untouched forest. Not even Atalanta had expected such an attack, judging by the fact that the flames had managed to hit her as well. It was sudden enough that one would've literally missed it by just blinking, a nigh-instantaneous burst of fire that pushed through everything in its path... Oh.

'

And then the reason the arrow had looked so familiar fully clicked in the Master's head. "Wait, was that-" But before she could even finish, a thoroughly outraged howl overpowered every other sound in their vicinity.

'

"DID THIS BASTARD SERIOUSLY JUST STEAL MY SWORD!?" the roaring voice of Lemminkäinen echoed across the communication, startling Roman and some of the staff in the background.

'

"See, I told you he pulls shit like this," Cú Chulainn followed, sounding both annoyed and somewhat gleeful that he'd managed to prove his point.

'

While the furious Saber's voice continued raging in the background, the Doctor, trying his best to ignore the barrage of swear words, turned towards Dio questioningly. "I knew that the Spiritual Containment Cistern in the Infirmary had a screen that lets whoever is in it watch everything that we see here, but why does it also have a mic to just let them cut in on our conversations?"

'

"I mean, it's meant for situations where information needs to be shared quickly. Like, if the pod's occupant notices something that everyone else missed," the Spaniard explained, making a fair point, though he tapped his chin musingly right afterwards. "But yeah, maybe it'd be better to have it make a call to one of us first, and wait for us to link it with everyone else to prevent interruptions."

'

Meanwhile, after Lemminkäinen had ranted long enough that he actually had to pause to take a breath, Emiya took his opportunity to say his piece. "Apologies, Lemminkäinen, but it is quite an excellent weapon. Especially against evasive targets or those that try to shoot projectiles down like this."

'

"Well yeah, obviously, but... Damn. This feels real shitty..." The Saber's previous roar died down to a mutter, his voice a bizarre mix of pride, frustration and uncertainty, as if he wasn't entirely sure how to react to the situation any longer.

'

As the muttering continued, Ritsuka decided to cut in, hoping that Lemminkäinen would be confused for at least a while longer so that they could talk. "Putting aside the legality of you projecting other Servants' Noble Phantasms for a moment..." Facing the Archer, she flashed him an approving smile. "Nice work. You even controlled the explosion to make sure that Rider wasn't hit." In fact, had Medusa gotten caught in the blast, they'd be having a very different conversation at the moment.

'

Emiya returned the smile eagerly. "Yes. That is partially what makes the sword so excellent. The sheer control it has over its fire emissions is second to none." That didn't really surprise her, given what Lemminkäinen could do with it. Although, she couldn't help but to notice that the Archer seemed to be in a rather good mood at the moment, and not just from the shot, but specifically from the talk afterwards...

'

"You know, that was great and all, but I'd like to point out that it didn't actually finish Atalanta off." Da Vinci's calm observation brought her attention back to the situation, and as Ritsuka's gaze snapped on their map of the area, she could indeed confirm that Atalanta was still very much around. And within the next second, she was rushing through the forest at astounding speed.

'

"Oh, damn! She's coming right towards you, fast! Really showing off that legendary speed of hers!" Roman chimed in, sounding alarmed for a very understandable reason. Even while Ritsuka could clearly see the Berserk Archer dashing forward, it was at such an astounding pace that she almost doubted her eyes for a second. She was a Servant, so it was no surprise that she was faster than any ordinary being, but the speed that she was moving at was impressive even among the Servants she'd seen so far. Thankfully, Medusa seemed to be able to keep up with her, at least for the moment, but stopping and/or catching Atalanta would be another problem entirely.

'

"Just letting you guys know, but I doubt either of you two will be able to last more than a few seconds against her in close combat," Dio noted, pointing at Mash and Emiya, and Ritsuka unfortunately agreed. Given that Medusa, their group's primary melee combatant, hadn't managed to take the Archer down thus far, the Spaniard's assessment was most likely right.

'

Still, she couldn't afford to just shut down like this, so the redhead got to work fulfilling her duties as a Master. "Mash, please get into position in case she seriously tries to charge us and manages to get close!" she quickly instructed, and the Shielder followed immediately. "Rider, do your best to slow her down while we try to think of something more concrete," she called out through their shared connection, making sure that Medusa knew that they were actually working on something. That just left Emiya, who was... surprisingly calm. In fact, he didn't really seem surprised or bothered by this development in the least, exuding a confidence that managed to calm the Master down somewhat. "Archer, do you have something in mind?" she asked hopefully.

'

And those hopes were answered immediately by a smile so confident that she almost thought she was looking at Lemminkäinen for a second. "Indeed. That wasn't the only new trick I've picked up since I was summoned to Chaldea." A surprising statement that the redhead made sure to remember for later, but for now her focus was on the arrow Emiya had just projected. "Now, let's put the legendary huntress out of her misery."

'

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Atalanta raced through the forest while trading blows with the Servant she had been fighting for a while now, yet she was a secondary concern at the moment. For now, her main focus was the enemy that had fired that fire arrow at her. She knew that her earlier attack hadn't finished him off, so she'd decided on a more direct approach. While the Archer hadn't realized it herself, not that she could in her current state, she was hardly acting like her usual self or the altered version she could become by using her pelt Noble Phantasm. The heavy transmutations she had gone through over the past few weeks had left her personality fully suppressed, leading to her body and all of its abilities being controlled by the latent thoughts of the Calydonian Boar, whose pelt she had now properly fused with. As the boar was no ordinary beast to begin with, it could utilize the body's abilities in an effective, if reckless manner. The change had made her an ideal killing machine that the Dragon Witch had approved to be sent out to hunt her enemies. Not that Berserk Archer cared about any of that. She knew that she had to kill everything she came across and that was it. That was what her existence amounted to at the moment. She was in essence a mass of raw instinct, fueled by the malice of the demonic beast.

'

Whenever an opportunity presented itself or her opponent fired at her, she made sure to unleash her arrows to either hit him or counter. Within just a few of such exchanges, she was confident in her assessment of her foes. The enemy Archer couldn't match her firing speed, yet he seemed to have several special arrows at his disposal, so she couldn't underestimate him. If he fired them at her, she couldn't just try to overwhelm them with numbers, and would need to focus enough magical energy into her own arrows to intercept them. That was fine. With her bow and this newfound power, she knew that she could pull it off. Yet that wasn't her only problem. There was not only the female Servant she had been fighting the longest, but also another Servant with a large shield that had blocked some of her arrows standing in front of the Archer. If her attacks had done any damage to the shield, it was too minor for her to notice, so fighting that girl from range would certainly be troublesome. So with that, her plan of action was clear: Close the distance and cut the weakest link of their group, the Master hiding behind the two Servants. Even with her animalistic mind she still understood that the Master was the one she should target. She was not only the weakest, thus easiest to kill, but killing her would also make the others weaker. While the Archer and the girl with a shield posed some issues at the moment, she was certain that she would be able to rush past them once she got close enough. Then, she would kill the Master, and the rest would soon follow.

'

Yet just as she'd focused on a concrete plan, the enemy Archer did something unexpected. Aiming upwards, he fired a large arrow that glowed red into the sky, where it slowly began to curve towards her. Without missing a beat, he fired again, this time a curved shot aimed at her, and right afterwards another arrow, this one aimed straight at her. With the curves on the first and second arrows, all three would hit her at approximately the same time. Atalanta let out a growl. The enemy had picked a moment to fire right after she'd taken a large leap forward, so her position was bad. She wouldn't be able to dodge or intercept all of the arrows headed towards her, especially with the other Servant attacking her as well in a flurry of blows and chains. Pushing her senses to their limits in desperation, she observed each of the arrows, from their level of magical energy to where they were most likely going to hit her, and made her choice. Focusing her magic power into her arrow, she aimed upwards at the red, swordlike arrow flying at her and fired, resulting in an explosion that obliterated both of the missiles. Next she focused on the second one of the curved shots, an arrow that made her feel uneasy, meaning that it was most likely effective against demonic beasts or something similar. She blocked a kick from the other Servant by responding with one of her own, the impact creating distance between them that she used to ready another arrow. Just then, the third, weakest arrow hit her in the left shin, but she ignored the pain as she focused on her own arrow. She really had made the right choice, given how weak the arrow that hit her had been, to the point that it hadn't even managed to fully pierce her leg, just enough to push the arrowhead into her flesh. It had likely been intended as a distraction, yet she had seen through it. Confident in her actions, she fired at the second arrow, destroying it before landing back on the ground, ready to pounce forward... Only to find out that she couldn't move her left leg. Confused, her focus snapped towards the limb and-!

'

Atalanta let out a surprised gasp as her eyes widened. Her left leg below the knee had turned to stone. She didn't understand exactly how it had happened, but she knew that the arrow still piercing it had to be responsible. But, even if she had identified the problem, she hadn't solved it. She couldn't move the petrified area and it was slowly spreading, not to mention that it weighed her down. To make matters worse, in addition to its ability to turn her into stone, the arrow itself had been fiendishly designed. The arrowhead was barbed in a manner that didn't impede its ability to sink into the target's flesh, but made it extremely difficult to pull it out without causing damage. An attribute that when combined with the petrification, made it completely impossible to extract the arrow without breaking something. And with that knowledge, she did what an animal with no other options would. With a single, swift strike of her clawed hand, she cut the stone part of her leg off.

'

"Grrhh!" she growled while dashing forward with her remaining leg, using her arms to assist in both propulsion and balance. It was certainly painful, but her instincts focused on the battle at hand managed to dull the pain. She was close to the edge of the woods, and with just a few swift leaps, she would be able to reach her target, even with only a single leg. And then she would just need to slip past the two Servants, and the Master would be free for her to kill. As she approached, the girl with the shield had fear in her eyes, uncertainty written all over her body. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stop Atalanta once she got close enough.

'

As the Servant with long, purple hair charged her once more, the Archer blocked her daggers with her bow, countered with a swipe of her clawed hand, which was dodged, and finally launched a kick at her opponent's torso. While her final strike was blocked, it didn't matter as the enemy Servant was blown backwards by its force, leaving her with enough space to rush the three remaining foes. One more leap and she would be close enough to reach them. The shield girl's fear had only intensified, and the Master had a hint of nervousness on her face. The only one that remained completely focused was the opposing Archer, who materialized a new arrow, one with an extremely sharp and narrow tip, and drew his bow. Atalanta mirrored him, dark magic power swirling around her arrow as she focused. The arrow he was aiming at her didn't have that much magical energy in it, so all she had to do was fire a more powerful arrow to overwhelm his, and she'd have won. After this shot, he wouldn't have time to draw another one before she closed the distance between them.

'

The two arrows were released simultaneously, hers like a crashing meteor, a dark storm of wrath threatening to blow away everything in its path, and his like a shooting star, shining and quick enough to miss if one blinked. Of course, Atalanta was fully confident that her arrow would win... Which was exactly why she was so shocked when the arrows collided without a sound and the other Archer's arrow flew cleanly through hers, before continuing its flight and passing right through her chest. Meanwhile, her own arrow had continued uninterrupted until it collided with the girl's shield, where it smashed into the mass of metal and split apart lengthwise. The Berserk Archer could only stare forward in disbelief. For the next instant she couldn't even feel the wound, wondering if the arrow had been an illusion of some kind... Until she twisted her torso and caused blood to start spilling out of her chest. Her confusion only intensified. Unable to understand what had just happened, her mind searched for answers... Until deciding that it wouldn't matter. She had been shot while her enemies were still alive. That was all that mattered. The wound she had suffered was fatal, but she still wouldn't die instantly, so she might still be able to take a few of her enemies with her-

'

The thought was cut short as Atalanta felt two stabs on her back, cold metal sinking deep into her flesh. As she snapped her head around she found herself staring right at the blindfolded face of the Servant she'd been fighting the longest, the woman taking advantage of her moment of confusion to slam at her back with her entire body, daggers first. Before the Archer could even hope to properly retaliate, the chains connected on the daggers had wrapped themselves around her upper body, restraining her arms. "Y-yoooouuu!" she roared as the Servant flipped in the air, pulling on her chains to launch Atalanta upwards only to immediately change her direction to slam her into the ground hard enough to create a crater. Despite the impact, the restrained Archer snarled as she tried to break free of the chains, yet found herself unable to as her strength kept fading by the second. No matter how she struggled, it wouldn't change the fact that she would disappear any moment now.

'

But as her spirit core began to crumble, so too did the madness binding her mind and the spell corrupting her. As her struggling died down, instead of fury, an overwhelming feeling of relief washed through her entire being as her rationality fully comprehended the situation and what had happened to her. And with that comprehension, her relief was joined by gratitude. Gratitude over being stopped before she could be forced to do something completely unthinkable. Such gratitude that even as her body collapsed, she forced words out of her mouth. "Ahh... Thank you... thank you... thank you..." While struggling to speak and even while she was still bound by the chains, she extended her trembling hand towards her saviors; the woman with the long, purple hair, the girl with a large shield, the Archer in red, and the Master with orange hair. "You stopped me... before I could... kill any..."

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With that final gasp, Atalanta scattered into tiny sparkles, leaving only silence behind. Even if she didn't manage to finish her sentence, Ritsuka could guess what she had wanted to say by the sheer gratefulness she had radiated. ...But that only made her feel worse. "Berserk Archer's elimination is confirmed." A confirmation from Roman verified that she was truly gone, yet did little to improve her mood.

'

"...This is a really conflicting feeling," the redhead muttered, the last few seconds playing on a loop in her head. The sheer contrast between the feral, murderous Berserk Archer and the desperate gratitude of Atalanta made her genuinely dizzy. For someone to be that grateful for being killed... "I'm relieved that we managed to stop her and how thankful she was, but the fact that she got twisted like that is just..."

'

"Makes you wanna puke, doesn't it?" Lemminkäinen muttered, his voice severe, and she could do nothing but nod.

'

"Yeah..." The Dragon Witch had committed a great number of atrocities, but this one hit her particularly hard. Ritsuka felt genuinely angry and disgusted by the whole thing... Yet she couldn't dwell on it too much, not now. When the battle was over, maybe, but for now she had to keep her emotions in check. She needed to distract herself, and thankfully, an excellent topic for that had just presented itself. Turning towards Emiya questioningly, the Master shot him a slight frown. "And what exactly was that, Archer? Didn't we agree that you wouldn't hide any of your notable weapons from me? How come you didn't tell me that you had an arrow that can turn its targets into stone?"

'

"Ooh, someone's in trouble," Cú Chulainn chuckled, and Lemminkäinen laughed along with him, both clearly pleased that the Archer was facing some consequences for his projections. Ignoring the two completely, he gave her a somewhat repentant smile.

'

"Apologies, Master. While I did make that promise, I acquired this spear quite recently, so I just forgot to bring it up."

'

An explanation that got Ritsuka's brows to rise considerably. "Wait, 'recently'?" None of the Servants she had summoned possessed something like that. The closest were Medusa's eyes, but this was clearly something different. So if it didn't come from any of them, that left only a single alternative that she could think of, yet she made sure to ask for a clarification. "Where exactly did you get it from?"

'

"Dio was kind enough to show me the original," Emiya confirmed, motioning towards the screen where the Spaniard waved back with a smile.

'

"Yeah, it's mine."

'

The Master genuinely wasn't sure how to react to such a reveal, and it seemed that she wasn't alone. The Command Room was filled with surprised murmur, and it didn't take long for Roman to snap out of his surprised daze either. "Huh!? You've seriously got something like that here, in Chaldea?"

'

"Yeah, it's in my closet," Dio confirmed casually, as if they were talking about something as mundane as clothes. "I like to keep it around in case shit goes down unexpectedly. It's really useful in situations that you can solve by just stabbing someone."

'

Perfectly representing the confusion of most listeners, the Doctor held his head, trying to make sense of the situation. "But that's... It could turn a Servant into stone, even if just partially. How in the world...?" The question that was likely at the forefront of everyone's mind, yet the Spaniard's casual tone didn't change in the least as he gave them the answer.

'

"Oh, that's simple. It's because the spearhead is made from the beak of a cockatrice."

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"...A cockatrice?" Roman repeated, still clearly baffled, while Ritsuka began to ponder over the answer. While she was hardly an expert on the subject, she knew that cockatrice were a type of demonic beast that could apparently petrify their prey with a few different methods, one of them being by striking it with their beak, so that at least explained that ability.

'

"I thought it would be best to show it to Emiya while I had time, and have him put it to good use," Dio continued with a smile, motioning towards the Archer. "I also let him take a look at Mimung, which is what he used to finish Atalanta off."

'

Emiya nodded gratefully with a matching smile. "Yes, and it performed exquisitely. It not only pierced cleanly through Atalanta's arrow, but also shot straight through her spirit core."

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The Spaniard chuckled, giving a thumbs up. "Oh, I saw. A damn fine shot."

'

As the two continued their conversation happily, Ritsuka was still doing her best to wrap her head around everything she'd just heard. Mimung... She had a feeling she'd heard that name before, but couldn't fully recall the details. But, based on the way they were talking about it and what she'd seen, it was most likely a sword. An old sword from a myth or legend of some kind. As for where Dio got something like that, well... He at least seemed fairly rich and was almost definitely from a long line of mages, so him owning an ancient weapon wasn't the most unbelievable thing. Still, this conversation had answered her question in a satisfactory way, so with that in mind she gave Emiya an acknowledging nod. "Alright, I accept your explanation. Having a few more options in your arsenal is only a boon for us. They might even be able to lead us to victory in this fight. That petrification is no joke." After all, a single, well placed shot had managed to turn Atalanta's leg into stone. An arrow shot into a more vital area might even end a battle in a single blow.

'

The Archer's smile faltered a bit, growing stern. "While that's true, you shouldn't count on it too much when it comes to our strongest foes."

'

The redhead tilted her head in confusion. "Why?" It had seemed extremely effective. Or was there some sort of drawback she was unaware of?

'

"The spear is strong in that it can practically guarantee victory against weaker opponents, but it's by no means a perfect weapon," Dio elaborated. "While the rate that it can petrify someone is technically superior to Medusa's mystic eyes, it falls behind in other aspects. Mainly, for the petrification to spread, the spearhead needs to be in physical contact with the target."

'

Ritsuka listened carefully, beginning to contemplate the additional info. "I see... So a single spear is realistically only useful against a single target at a time." Though since Emiya could project multiple copies at the same time, he could technically work around that. But in that case, the magical energy costs would also climb up considerably, to the point where it might be easier to just project a single, powerful weapon to attack the enemy with...

'

"Exactly. It also wouldn't really work that well against something as big as Fafnir, and the absurd levels of magical energy reduce the effectiveness even further," the Spaniard continued, followed soon by Emiya.

'

"Basically, I'd need to shoot it right in the eye for the spear to have any effect."

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The redhead nodded, having now a better understanding of the weapon's properties. "Yeah, that makes sense." She recalled that was also one of the limitations with Medusa's mystic eyes. Targets with plentiful magical energy could resist the petrification. Since the effect was the same, it was only natural that the way to resist it was too. "Well, it's not like we were counting on it when we made the plan in the first place, so that isn't an issue." Still, this had also confirmed something she had suspected for a while; Emiya really enjoyed talking about weapons. Not really that surprising, given what his main ability was, but she hadn't expected him to be this into it. Was this like the Heroic Spirit version of a gun nut?

'

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold a moment," Roman suddenly shouted, turning everyone's attention to him for a turn. "Where the hell did you even get the beak of a cockatrice in the first place?" he asked, staring at Dio with genuine confusion, and for a good reason. That detail had also slipped Ritsuka's mind, but now that attention had been brought to it, she had to agree. That really wasn't something that could just be found lying around, so there had to be more to the story...

'

And yet, as all eyes moved onto him once more, Dio returned to his earlier nonchalant tone as he gave them the most mundane answer imaginable: "I bought it."

'

The previously curious stares shifted to disbelief, and following that, a wave of disillusionment took over the area. "...That's it? You just 'bought it'?" the Doctor muttered, as if hoping that there would be more to the answer than that.

'

Yet the Spaniard just shook his head, smiling apologetically. "Roman, there are very few things in this world that you can't get by just throwing ridiculous amounts of money at them. And to be clear, a cockatrice beak is not one of those."

'

Romani continued staring at Dio, even as that slight hope faded from his face. It wasn't until Da Vinci tapped him on the head that he was startled out of it. "As funny as this conversation is, we're still kind of in the middle of something here."

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"R-right, of course..." he mumbled, awkwardly rubbing his neck as the Caster returned to her seat with a giggle.

'

Ritsuka had to agree as well. Yes, this had been a nice little break, but it really was about time that they got back on track. While the conversation had helped to distract her from Atalanta's end, getting too distracted from her duties was even worse. Still, it at least looked like most of the others had managed to improve their moods, so that made the distraction worth something... Although now that she focused on her, Mash seemed somewhat down as well, and probably not just because of how things ended with Atalanta. She'd been pretty quiet for a while now. If Ritsuka had to guess, it was most likely because she felt like she hadn't contributed much in terms of direct actions in the battle thus far. But that wasn't true in the least. She had the important role of shielding both her and Emiya in case the enemy unleashed some sudden, devastating attack. Quite literally the last line of defense. ...Although the Archer using a shield of his own to block Atalanta's devastating attack probably didn't do her confidence any favors. Still, this wasn't an issue the Master could just will away, so she just had to hope that Mash would be presented with an opportunity of her own to shine. "Right. While we took down one enemy, there are still more left," Ritsuka said, starting to bring the conversation back on track.

'

"Yes, I believe we should-Ah!" The instant Roman let out a startled gasp, the entire team was back on battle mode, with Mash moving right to Ritsuka's side with her shield, and Medusa and Emiya raising their weapons. "I am getting a reading of an ultra-size lifeform!"

'

On cue, everyone turned their attention towards the castle in the distance, and indeed, a familiar, ominous dark mass slowly rose from it. "So, the evil dragon is finally joining the fray," Emiya muttered, his expression hardening. "Now that the three Servants she sent out first have been taken care of, the Dragon Witch is pulling out the big guns."

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Ritsuka agreed. This was where all hell would likely break loose. Thankfully they had made several plans in preparation for the assault, so there was no need to start thinking up a new one. "In that case, let's-"

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"And that's not all," Dio cut in. "She's riding on Fafnir's back herself, but moving in before either of them is another big issue. He's gunning straight for Jeanne."

'

The atmosphere tensed. There was no doubt who he was talking to. "The black knight," Emiya confirmed, eyes fixed some distance away from the castle. "He's flying on one of those stronger wyverns, and should reach Jeanne's team in less than a minute.

'

The Master pinched the bridge of her nose. "Three of the most troublesome enemies showed up at the same time... Figures." But, despite the awful turn of events, she remained calm. After all, this was hardly unexpected. "Good thing we at least planned for this."

'

Dio flashed her a grin with a raised thumb. "I've already linked the call to the other two teams. They joined up a while ago, so all six of them will have no trouble hearing you."

'

"Thanks." The already present projected screens shrunk a bit to make room for two new ones, and Ritsuka focused on the newcomers. "Alright, everyone, I'm pretty sure you're all already aware, but the worst case scenario just got unleashed. Let's proceed as planned and really hope that they'll take the bait."

'

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Notes:

First off, I'd like to apologize for how long writing this Chapter took. While it wasn't a full year this time, finishing it up took far longer than it should have. This past year I've been struggling to get my groove back when it comes to writing efficiently, but as those of you who read my updates know, it's been rough. I can only hope that I'll manage to get better as the year goes on. The few comments I've gotten since I put out Chapter 15 have been encouraging as well, so thanks for those. I always feel better when I get one.

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As for the actual Chapter, there isn't too much for me to add.

As usual, I had fun writing the action scenes in the story into something more than: "And then they fought", which was neat. I also took Sanson and Atalanta as the prime examples of just how badly Jalter/Gilles can fuck up some of the Servants that don't want to fight willingly, and they sure won't be the last ones ;D

One change I was more than happy to make was giving Georgios more to do. My mans gets done so dirty in the Story with how little he does, even though he's so vital to Orleans' plot. Hell, one of the manga adaptations cuts him from the story completely. So with all that in mind, I had to give him some time to shine, and you can be sure that he gets more in the future.
Also, if anyone is confused by the Noble Phantasm Georgios used, I don't blame you, since his role in the Game is so minimal. He actually has 5 Noble Phantasms, with the one the Game uses being a combination of two of them. If you want more info on the rest, I'd recommend reading his profile from the Material Books. The translations for those should be fairly easy to find online.

Though, someone I'm sure pretty much everyone was surprised to see make a "cameo" was Jeanne's older brother, Pierre d'Arc. I'm honestly really confused by the fact that Fate has never acknowledged anyone from Jeanne's family aside from her mother, especially since two of her older brothers fought together with her during the war. Sure, we don't have aton of info about either of them, but there's at least enough for them to be acknowledged, damn it!

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Anyways, that's enough rambling for now. I'll begin working on the next Chapter in the coming days, (while trying not to take longer than half a year to finish it) so remember to check out my profile for updates from time to time.

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Next time: [The Dragon, the Witch and the Knight]