At first glance, it would seem the Palace hadn’t changed whatsoever. The streets were still frozen, glistening coldly in an unnatural illumination. The sky was still a dark void without a sign of any light. Crucifixes lined the streets, their victims still hanging from where they were nailed on the crosses. It was still the very image of Hell itself.

However, as soon as they entered, everyone noticed the atmosphere had changed. The very air pulsed around them like a heartbeat, each time seemingly illuminating the Palace in a harsher red light. Wyverns shrieked as they took to the skies, demons scrambling about everywhere. In the distance, they all could hear the cognitive Satan roaring. It all set the Servants on edge as they immediately summoned their weapons in preparation.

Joker and Mona, once more in their Phantom Thief regalia, felt a shiver down their backs. It was out of nervousness and fear of failure of course, but more than anything: Anticipation. The heartbeat pulsing through the air, the red glow, the very tension the Palace radiated… It all felt so familiar to them. Even though this was their make-or-break moment as well as the dangers the Palace presented, they couldn’t help but feel that this was their own home territory.

Their change in attitudes didn’t go unnoticed by the others – and neither did the grins that spread across their faces. “That’s a better look on you two than just moping about,” Elizabeth commented with a giggle. “Only fitting though! But you two aren’t allowed to outshine me, got it?”

The leader of the Phantom Thieves chuckled. “I make no promises, Elizabeth,” he replied with his usual cocky grin, causing the Lancer to pout and turn away with a small blush on her face. He turned back to the others. “Alright everyone – it’s showtime!” he declared, tugging his glove tighter around his hand. His enthusiasm dampened a bit when he noticed that the blood still stained his gloves, but he dismissed the thought. It wasn’t important for now.

Not noticing Joker’s faint unease, they nodded. Turning, everyone began running down the icy streets. Wyverns and demons shrieked, diving towards them with claws bared. The Servants didn’t even slow down as they shot or cut down the monsters as they approached. Joker and Mona had taken out pistol and slingshot respectively, shooting them down as they approached with unerring aim. Every once in a while, one of the creatures tried diving in directly from above, only for Mash to deflect the creature and open it up to be taken out.

As Joker raced through the icy streets and alleys, his vision kept flashing – in front of him were castle halls, then museum paintings. He felt his feet hitting the solid tile of a bank floor before feeling the sand against his face. He heard the rings and bells of casino machines and the excited gossip of crowds milling about on the cruise ship. The air was clean and sterile through his nose and mouth like that of a well-maintained laboratory. Yet no matter what, the heartbeat in the air and the flash of red didn’t change. He could almost hear the footsteps of the other Thieves running alongside him-

He blinked and shook his head. Suddenly, he was running through the frozen ruins of Orleans again, passing by crucifixes. Gulping, he forged onward. Indeed, everything seemed far too familiar. They needed to finish this quickly. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed his lapse in attention. Good. Again, he would rather not deal with any concerns right now. Not when they were so close to finishing this.

They came once more to the breach in the wall. Saber went through first once more as a vanguard – and her eyes widened as tentacled monstrosities poured out of the front gate towards them. “Enemies incoming!” she shouted through the breach to the others, raising her blade.

As she charged into the fray to cut them down, the group quickly rearranged the order they would get through. Siegfried and Georgios were next to cross over so they could reinforce Saber. Archer and Jeanne stayed behind as a rearguard once more – and more than once, the former had to shoot down incoming wyverns as Jeanne kept the demons at bay.

Joker and Mona gaped for a moment at the number of tentacled monstrosities coming through the door, then immediately went into action. The former summoned Metatron who proceeded to cast beams of light at the creatures as Mona summoned Diego, whose winds sliced them to bits.

Elizabeth came through and her face immediately twisted in disgust. “Gross, gross, gross, GROSS!” she shrieked as she lashed out with her spear. The blade sank into the soft flesh of the tentacled monsters, causing murky, dark green blood to splatter out. The Lancer frantically hopped backward to avoid getting even one drop on her. “What ARE these things?!” she screamed out, swinging her spear to keep the other creatures away from her.

“I doubt they will respond to your shrill inquiries, you false dragon,” Kiyohime deadpanned. With a wave of her fan, a stream of fire blasted forth and incinerated more of the monstrosities, filling the air with a rancid smell. “That said, I will fully admit that these creatures are thoroughly unpleasant,” she noted, wrinkling her nose at the stench.

One of the creatures dropped from above, tentacles outstretched towards the Berserker. Her eyes widened but before she could react, a red spear flashed out and impaled it against the wall. She glanced over in time to see the Cu Chulainn persona fade away with Joker flashing her a cocky smile. She briefly narrowed her eyes before giving him a short nod of acknowledgement and continuing to incinerate the creatures.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re stopping anytime soon,” Archer casually noted. He had been the last through the breach, picking off the creatures with his bow while simultaneously making sure nothing was following through. “We’ll need to press onward and find the source of these creatures or we’ll be fighting forever at this point.”

“It’s fine, we just need to grab the Treasure!” Mona shouted, dodging some tentacles that shot towards him before slicing them with his cutlass. “After that, we can get out of here and not deal with these… things anymore! Saber, Siegfried! Can you cut a way through for us?”

The two swordsmen spared only a glance back at Mona before facing their enemies again. This time, instead of holding their position, they charged forward. The blade shrouded in wind and the dragonslaying sword moved with masterful fluidity, slicing through the abominations as they carved a bloody path. Georgios and Jeanne immediately moved right behind them, covering their flanks and keeping the way open for them. With that, everyone began advancing, with Archer, Elizabeth, and Kiyohime providing a rear guard.

Joker and Mona continued to support how they could, the power of their personas and their aim providing key openings and covering any gaps in the Servants’ defenses. The tentacled creatures came in thick and fast with no reprieve, seemingly pouring in through any doorway or hall they could. It was impossible to pinpoint their location. Times like this, Joker wished he had Oracle with him – she would immediately be able to find the source of them.

Still, wishful thinking wasn’t going to do anything. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad that it was the Servants that were with them as opposed to the other Phantom Thieves – he deflected one or two tendrils with his knife and was nearly knocked into a wall each time. The Thieves would’ve quickly been overwhelmed with enemies of this caliber, especially when they were aggressively swarming them in such raw numbers.

Up more stairs, corridors, and halls. The rate of the creatures coming through didn’t slacken, though the narrow passageways thankfully limited their numbers. Still, the constant battling was starting to take its toll – Joker and Mona could feel their stamina starting to flag, and the Servants were getting tired too. The Phantom Thieves knew that they would need to reserve their strength for the battles ahead. No doubt the doppelganger’s shadow would be there to meet them.

As they burst into the throne room, they were met with… silence. The crucifixes of the three men were still there. The ice glistened on the walls and floor as they always did. There were no tentacled monstrosities, no cognitive Servants, no shadows, nothing.

The only difference was a flag that leaned up against the throne. A replica of Jeanne d’Arc’s own banner, only darkened somewhat.

Mona’s eyes widened as he laid his eyes on the flag. “That’s it,” he gasped. “That’s the Treasure!”

Joker dashed forward and grabbed the flag. He could feel the thrum of power through it. This was, without a doubt, the Treasure. However, it felt far more powerful than all the other Treasures. What kind of Treasure did she have?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more wet slithering. Spinning around, he could see more of the creatures sliding in. They couldn’t even see the outside properly anymore – just a writhing mass of tentacles ready to swarm them. The Servants stared down the horde as the monstrosities watched for an opening. They could fight through to get back down but it would be tremendously difficult.

Archer, however, had a different idea. Summoning his bow once more, he formed a drill-like sword which extended into an arrow. He then aimed it… towards the throne. Joker and Mona’s blinked before quickly diving out of the way. Archer waited a split second until they were out of range, then loosed the arrow.

The arrow penetrated the wall and exploded, sending out a shockwave that almost knocked Joker and Mona to the floor while buffeting the Servants. The tentacled monstrosities immediately shrank with instinctive fear from the explosion. When the ice and dust settled, all that remained was a hole that led outside – far above the ground. But that didn’t matter. They had a way out.

Joker grinned. “Great work, Archer!” he called out before dashing for the hole. Mona followed. The Servants did as well, keeping a rear guard as the tentacled beings surged forward to cover the ground they had given up. He looked down from the hole. They were rather high up, far too high to descend just from dropping. His vision darkened as his eyes turned red. Certain ledges and outcrops glowed blue in his vision as he mapped out the path. If he made a mistake, he would be splattered on the ground.

He grinned. Piece of cake.

Glancing back at the others, he asked, “Are you guys able to get down from here?”

The Servants glanced at one another. “I think we shall manage, Ren Amamiya,” Georgios replied with a reassuring smile. The other Servants all smiled as well – some haughtily (particularly Elizabeth), most the same as Georgios. Only Kiyohime didn’t, looking away from Joker. However, she didn’t voice any difficulties with her own descent. That was probably as good as he was going to get.

“Um…”

Joker blinked and looked over to see Mash nervously peering over the edge. “Th-this is very h-high up, s-senpai,” she stammered, nervously adjusting her grappling hook. Oh right – she didn’t have the instinctive knowledge of the grappling hook that came from being a Phantom Thief in the Metaverse. He had completely forgotten that detail. She would definitely need some actual training to use it properly.

“She’ll probably need help getting down, Joker,” Mona quickly supplied, albeit with a very wide grin on his face. Joker knew his old friend well enough to know his ulterior motive and only barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “Don’t worry about me – I’ve been at this and watching you long enough to know how it works. We’ll follow your lead!”

The Master of Chaldea nodded. He turned back to the Shielder. “Hope you don’t mind…?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

Mash blushed but nodded. “O-of course,” she replied softly. “I-I’ll be in y-your care, senpai.” She stepped closer to him. Joker smiled reassuringly, causing her heart to beat even faster in her ears.

“Stop flirting with her, puppy, and go already!” Elizabeth screeched. That shocked Joker and Mash out of their reveries. The monstrosities were coiled up, ready to spring. They were running out of time, and in such cramped quarters, they would be easily overwhelmed.

Joker flashed Mash a grin before wrapping an arm around her waist, causing her face to take on a hue of a tomato. Before anyone could say anything else, Joker jumped into a freefall from the hole. Mash immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him, squeezing her eyes shut. The ground was coming up worryingly closer and closer as the wind whistled in his ears, but it was fine. He had done this before.

Reaching out, his grappling hook shot forward and attached itself effortlessly to an edge of a tower mounted on the wall. The cord tautened as it took on the weight of the two, stretching to lessen the impact on Joker’s arm as he swung easily, utilizing the momentum to carry the two over the wall. Detaching the hook, he shot it again at the roof of a nearby building. It reeled in and shortened as he swung, eventually allowing them to reach an apex of a height about maybe twenty feet from the ground. Once more detaching, they landed softly on the rooftop.

Mash opened her eyes at the feel of solid ground and looked up instinctively at the confidently grinning face of Joker. Blushing once more, she turned away to look at the castle they had just come from. The Servants were rapidly descending, dropping from the hole and kicking off the castle walls to reach the outer ramparts before leaping down to the buildings below. Mona could be seen as a swinging black blur, moving about with as much ease as Joker did.

He was fairly certain they saw where he landed, but there wouldn’t be any harm in making sure. And he had just the thing to get their attention. Letting go of Mash, he held the flag up aloft and began waving it, the fabric catching even in the still air. The Servants’ eyes locked on to the flag and Mona’s swings adjusted to head closer toward them. Well, that did it.

Jumping down with the Shielder, it wasn’t long before they met up with the others. “Stylish as always, Joker,” Mona chirped, grinning up at him. “And using the Treasure like that? You’re such a showoff like always.”

“Same to you, Mona, as expected,” he replied. Mona chuckled in response. Joker glanced up at the others. “Are we being followed? What’s the situation?” he asked the others.

“The monstrosities have no capability of following us in such a manner,” Siegfried reported, looking back at the castle. Indeed, they could see the writhing creatures waving their tentacles in evident frustration from the hole but otherwise made no moves to follow them. “I do not know whether they’ll follow us out of the castle or not, but I suggest we make haste and escape. We have our objective, do we not?”

Joker glanced up at the flag. True, they had the Treasure now. The shadow wasn’t defeated though. If they escaped, it would be the first time they had completed a heist without doing so. Still, with how dangerous the Palace was – with the demons, wyverns, cognitive Satan, and the tentacle monstrosities – it was probably for the best. Theoretically, it should be enough. Hopefully. He nodded at the rest. “Alright, then let’s get going, everyone,” he ordered. No reason to stick around. With that, everyone in the group began running back to the entrance of the Palace.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Things were going smoothly so far…

----------

Jeanne d’Arc Alter was in a foul mood.

She was sitting on the throne, tapping her fingers impatiently against the armrest. Scattered all around were ashes of those thrice accursed cards that had filled the throne room only moments prior. The doppelganger saint was pissed, and, frankly, this waiting wasn’t helping it any. She had already dispatched her Servants and other creatures, but so far there was nothing.

It had been a simple day overall – she had been conferring with Gilles and D’Eon when the arrow had burst into the window and exploded. Those cards were nothing less than an absolute affront to her – her sins? Her wrath?! Who the hell were they to judge?! God Himself certainly didn’t bother judging those damn fools who burned her at the stake, so what right did they?!? And those angels and demons – they really were mocking her, weren’t they?!

Still in a foul temper, she stomped over to the window, glaring at the hole the arrow had made earlier. Looking out, she could see her wyverns flying over the perimeter and searching for any traces of those damned fools from earlier. So far, they had found nothing. The only thing they had found was some contingent of French soldiers marching through the countryside nearby. Idiots thought they were safe since she had pulled back all her wyverns. She had them all incinerated.

“My dear Jeanne.”

The Alter whirled about, her hateful gaze resting on her majordomo. Gilles de Rais had been with her from her days as a saint and had been steadfastly with her as the Dragon Witch. Of the Servants she had, he was one of the only ones she placed any sort of trust in. That being said, even he wouldn’t be spared her anger if he didn’t have any good news. “Well?” she growled.

The Caster bowed low to the ground. “A thousand apologies, my dear Jeanne, a thousand apologies,” he whimpered. “We have found no traces whatsoever of the enemy. The wyverns and the Servants have been scouring the land for them, but they seem to have vanished without a trace.”

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. At all. “What do you mean ‘vanished without a trace?!’” she screeched. “Do they have some sort of Assassin with them? Or a Caster?! There’s no way in hell they could’ve just – just vanished!”

Gilles was almost prostrated on the ground. “I’m so sorry, my dear Jeanne,” he whimpered. “I have had everything and everyone redouble our efforts but we have not found anything of them. But…. If I may offer my opinion?”

“What?” she snapped.

“If they have done nothing but fled with their tails between their legs,” he offered. “And after taunting us so brazenly, then perhaps they aren’t anything worth worrying about? It would be better to spread our forces out and resume our destruction as opposed to holing up here and have our forces become further restless.”

The Alter scowled. “You think I’m going to let those fuckers free after that?!” she hissed. “I’m going to burn them alive after pulling off shit like that! No one – NO ONE is going to –“ She paused. Wait. They had her naïve self with them and those idiots were do-gooders. Oh. Oh, she had an idea. If they weren’t going to show themselves, then perhaps she could flush them out like chickens out of the coop. All she needed was to send a fox in.

Or rather, foxes. Hundreds upon hundreds of them.

“Send the wyverns everywhere,” she commanded. “Have them burn EVERYTHING to the ground! Any corpses, raise them and send them towards any known surviving towns and villages! And also, summon more of your creatures and have them swarm the villages too! Send every last one of them!”

Gilles’s mouth dropped open. “Wh-what?” he gasped. “But, my dear Jeanne, that would leave you defenseless! We cannot have that, even if these accursed people must suffer! And they will suffer, but not at your expense, my dear Jeanne!”

The doppelganger scoffed. “Of course not,” she snapped. “I’ll be keeping the Servants here for now. Meanwhile, those idiots will be too busy trying to ‘help everyone’ and ‘saving towns’ to do crap about it. We’ll flush them out and exhaust them that way. Like hell we’re just gonna sit on our asses at this point! They wanna fight, then we’ll take it right to them!”

The Caster’s eyes widened, then he clapped his hands together. “Oh, brilliant! That is brilliant, my dear Jeanne!” he exclaimed. “They will not sit quietly as we burn everything to the ground! Yes, we shall flush them out like devils exposed to the light! Oh, a most brilliant maneuver! I bow to your wisdom and strategy!”

Her mouth curled into a smirk. “Glad to see you approve of my plans,” she replied drily. “Now, get to it. You have your orders, don’t you?”

Gilles nodded enthusiastically and shuffled away, already opening his spellbook in preparation to summon his new tentacled monstrosities. Those nightmarish creatures had been patrolling the castle day in, day out. While they were certainly powerful guards, even she had her limits in terms of the help she wanted for her campaign. Frankly, the sooner those… things were out of the castle, the better she’d feel. Besides, they stank up the place something fierce. She lived here, damnit!

Still, with those horrific monstrosities, her wyverns, and her ghouls moving about, they wouldn’t stay quiet. That naïve saint would never stand for it. True, she lost a figuratively and literally huge asset with Fafnir, but that couldn’t be helped. Frankly, he had been unruly ever since he smelled that damned dragonslayer. She would’ve set him up with some backup if he hadn’t flown away impatiently.

Bah, she was always surrounded by idiots.

But that didn’t matter. She went back to the window and smiled, already imagining the peaceful countryside burning under the flames of a thousand wyverns as monsters and ghouls shambled about, chasing and devouring the unlucky few remaining. The country she had saved and yet didn’t bother lifting a finger to save her in the end.

The last bit of resistance was almost gone. Then she would begin her long campaign. And she would let nothing stand in her way.

----------

The group traversed through the streets, making a dash for the entrance. The demons and wyverns were coming thick and fast and in worrying numbers. It wouldn’t be long before they were wading through enemies much like they had to go through the castle earlier. They needed to be quick about it. Thankfully, Saber, Siegfried, and Georgios were making great headway and punching a hole through the creatures as everyone else kept the flanks and rear clear.

Joker fired more shots into the group before summoning Cu Chulainn to spear through a few demons leaping towards them. He didn’t recall a Palace that had so fiercely resisted any infiltrations or exfiltrations. Even when they had sent their calling cards, often it was just a straight shot to the Treasure, with the shadows keeping more or less to their usual routes. Whatever resistance there was came from the Palace ruler themselves. The fact that they were absent was disturbing in of itself-

“Senpai!”

Before he could turn to see what’s going on, a wyvern had swooped in among the swarm and grabbed him – no, grabbed the flag. “Joker!” Mona screamed as he was lifted into the air. Joker grit his teeth as the wyvern’s claws dug into his shoulder, trying to not look down as the ground got smaller and smaller. Struggling, he aimed his pistol up and fired. The wyvern roared as the bullets punctured its belly. It let go of the shoulder but kept a tight hold of the flag, leaving Joker dangling as it flew.

Before Joker could do much else, the wyvern rapidly descended, adjusting its grip. Low enough that he was smashed into the roofs of buildings, scraping along the wood and ice and the ruins as the wyvern did its utmost to get him off. He tried standing up or offering his persona, but it took so much willpower just to hold on that he couldn’t do much else. He tried crawling up so he could run – then a chimney came and slammed into him, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to let go.

The pain was muted by the Cu Chulainn persona, but it still hurt. The wyvern flew a bit further before crashing down into the streets below. Wincing as he held his gut, he jumped down, moving carefully to catch his breath. He summoned Pixie to quickly fix him up before moving on, gun at the ready. On the street was the collapsed form of the wyvern, which gave one last shudder before it went still. That wasn’t what had Joker’s attention right now.

Rather, it was the doppelganger’s shadow, who had gotten off her evident mount and took the flag from the dead wyvern’s grasp. “You really think you could escape from Hell with this?” she hissed, her voice reverberating through the air. “In fact, you really think you could escape at all?! No, that’s not how it fucking works, you thief. If anything, I’d say this place is perfect for you – you’re a sinner. You deserve to rot here.”

Joker gulped as the shadow fully turned to face him. Her glowing yellow eyes drilled into him, her scowl unmistakable. He thought he would be used to shadows after dealing with so many like Shido or Sae, but this was different. He could practically feel the sheer bloodlust and rage emanating from her. “Well, I’ve escaped from tighter spots before,” he replied as casually as he could with a grin. “This won’t be any different.”

The shadow narrowed her eyes as she drew her blade. “I don’t think so,” she snarled. “Not this time. You and your group will rot here. I’ll see to it. And I’ll make sure this whole miserable country rots with you!”

The Master of Chaldea clicked his tongue. He needed to buy time for the others to track him, but would they even know where they are at this point? Reaching into his coat, he grabbed two bombs – and rolled out of the way as the shadow lunged forward, slicing the air where he had been a split second ago. Throwing one bomb at the ground, it erupted into a thick black smoke as Joker leaped back and out. The shadow screamed in rage as she began slashing about, trying to find where he went.

The second one, Joker tossed straight up into the air, where it exploded in a bright flash. That should be enough for Mona or the Servants to track his location. In the meantime, he needed to end things once and for all. He reached up once more to his face, his mask burning off once more.

“Cu Chulainn!”

The warrior persona came forth again, wielding the blood-red spear. It whirled the polearm expertly and settled into a crouch, its stoic expression once more breaking into a feral grin as the spear began exploding with prana. He needed to end this here and now. The Berserker had survived this as a cognition - there was little reason a Palace ruler wouldn’t survive it either. It would incapacitate her enough for him to retrieve her Treasure. The shadow burst through the smoke, but by that point it was too late…

“Gae Bolg!”

The crimson spear once more shot forward, ready to seek her heart. There should be no escape from this. For a second, time slowed. The spear was a red line as it streaked through the air. The shadow’s eyes widened, transfixed. Even if she could move or block, it would do nothing. The cursed spear had dictated that it would be her heart it would take, and therefore it would. There was nothing she could do as a figure rushed forward and pushed her to the side-

Gilles de Rais coughed up blood as the Gae Bolg pierced through his robes and straight into his heart. He had shoved the shadow away just in time for the spear to target him as opposed to her and paid the price for it. The persona withdrew its spear and vanished, leaving a hole that gushed out blood onto the ice below. The Caster collapsed to the ground, his hands over his wound in a vain effort to staunch the bleeding.

The shadow immediately ran and knelt to Gilles’s side, cradling him. “You goddamn MORON!” she screamed in rage. “Why did you do that?! You could’ve ambushed the Master or-or summoned more of your creatures to drag him away! Just… just anything else! Why did you do that?!?”

The Caster chuckled, a horrible gurgling sound as more blood bubbled out of his mouth. “M-my apologies,” he whispered. “But I c-could not fail to s-save you once again.” His breathing was labored, each breath refreshing the flow of vital fluids from his wound. “I moved as I c-could t-to save you, m-my dear J-Jeanne. And… and I’m p-proud to say, th-this time, I succeeded…”

He reached up to gently touch Jeanne’s face, his blood staining her skin. “Ah, my dear J-Jeanne,” he gasped. “I go to H-Him now for judgement. I shall burn, b-but it matters not. Y-you will see y-your campaign through and s-stand taller than all else. F-farewell, my dearest J-Jeanne. It… it truly was… an honor…” With that, his hand fell, and his body dissolved into black dust, leaving the shadow cradling empty air.

Joker had done nothing the entire time, unable to speak or breathe. The Gae Bolg had just taken the life of a person. It was a cognition, sure, but the effect would’ve been the same if he had used it on the shadow. It would’ve likely pierced her heart as well and killed her, which meant the real Servant would’ve undergone a mental shutdown. Had Gilles de Rais not interfered, then he would’ve-!

His thoughts were interrupted by a roar. Behind the shadow, buildings were smashed aside as the cognitive Satan slithered forth, its maws once more bloody and hungering. He immediately braced himself until he noticed that the shadow was unmoving. “Get out of there!” he shouted to the shadow desperately. “I’ll distract it – run!” And yet she didn’t. She was still kneeling there, motionless.

“You know, don’t you, false saint?”

The Phantom Thief froze at the voice, looking about for its source. But there could only be one source: The monster who was glaring down at the unmoving ruler of the Palace. It didn’t reach for her, nor did it rampage around. Its attention was focused solely on the shadow. “A sinner who condemns sinners is still a sinner,” it boomed. “To pretend otherwise is nothing more than folly. How many men have spilled blood for you? Died for you? How many have you massacred and killed, calling it justice when it was naught more than vengeance and pettiness?”

Hearing a sound behind him, he risked a glance back. The other Servants and Mona had arrived, with their eyes immediately widening at the cognitive Satan and the fact that it was speaking. They immediately took positions around Joker, ready to fight and retreat if necessary. None of them risked talking. It didn’t matter, however - The doppelganger was the sole focus of its attention.

“You shackled the minds of your underlings so they would follow your will,” it admonished. “You used dragons to burn and ravage those you had sworn at one point to save. You burned and condemned the priest who had you tried and executed. You are beyond all salvation. There shall be no repentance nor absolution. There shall only be torment, the same you would invite on your ‘people’, the same you for those who followed you to Hell. Jeanne d’Arc, as judge and executioner, I denounce you as guilty, and your suffering shall be infinite.”

“No!” Jeanne d’Arc screamed. “She deserves another chance! You are not the real Devil, merely a conjured monstrosity! Begone and trouble us no more!” Before anyone could stop her, she made to rush forward to fight off the cognitive Satan, raising her flag.

“Shut up.”

That one phrase from the shadow stopped everyone in their tracks. Slowly, she stood back up. “Condemn me?” she asked, her voice barely above a murmur. “Judge me? Save me? Are you mocking me? No. You have no right – none of you have that goddamn right. I bled, I fought, I saved all I could, only to be put up on a stake and burned for it! Did those I helped try to help me? Were the ones who condemned me also judged and punished? No. I had to fucking do all of that myself! I don’t need your pity, you naïve idiot. I don’t need salvation.”

She turned to glare at the cognitive Satan as her prana began building, filling the air with her malevolent power. “And I definitely don’t need this bastard judging me for my ‘crimes’!” she snarled. “You don’t have that right – no one does! It’s time you learned your fucking place!” With that, she burst into flame as she pointed her blade at the cognitive Satan who roared at her in turn, raising a claw to smash her to pieces.

“La Grondement Du Haine!” she roared.

The flames exploded from the shadow, blinding everyone in the vicinity as they spread across the ground. Through slitted eyes, Joker could see giant black spears erupting from the ground, piercing through the cognitive Satan, one after another as hellfire leaped up to incinerate it. The demon’s roars of pain filled the Palace before it was drowned out by the roar of the inferno.

After a moment, the light abated. They opened their eyes to look. The Palace had changed – before it was completely frozen, now flames raged throughout the ruins, consuming the flesh from the crucified victims. The air was incredibly hot and choking, as if they would burst into flame simply from being here. Embers leaped high up into the air, the sky now a cloud of ash and fire. And before them all was the lifeless corpse of the cognitive Satan, skewered on countless black spears.

The shadow turned around. Her pale hair had grown significantly to where it flowed down to her calves. Some of her armor had vanished, revealing considerably more skin and clothing, particularly around her shoulders, back, and thighs. She was still consumed by flame, though they took on a more purple tinge than the inferno around her, nor did she seem affected by them. Her glowing yellow eyes were resolute and powerful. This was hardly the same shadow as it was before.

More roars got their attention. All around them, demons and wyverns began perching and collecting, rapidly surrounding them. They were in just small packs or disparate numbers anymore. They had gathered into a horde united under one leader. No longer were they afraid. They were here to hunt down sinners and torment them until the end of days.

“Hear me, you wretches,” the shadow boomed out. “I was known as Jeanne d’Arc. I have bled and served for the salvation of France, and yet the only gratitude I was offered was a false trial and being burned at the stake. Now I have come back – not at God or the Devil’s behest, but my own. I am the Dragon Witch of Orleans. Just as this country was saved by me, so shall it burn under my will.”

She raised her blade – La Pucelle – at the group. “Do you wish to save the country once more, my naïve self?” she asked. “You have been wronged as well. Your grievances are my grievances. Fight with me, Jeanne d’Arc, and we shall seize what should be properly ours, and find retribution.”

The saint narrowed her eyes. “… No,” she declared. “You’re wrong. I have accepted my sacrifice and my trials. I fought to save France and her people, not to torment and kill them! Whoever you are, you are not me! As a sinner and heretic, it is my sworn duty to cast you down! Ready yourself!”

The Dragon Witch narrowed her eyes. "So be it,” she growled. “You will all burn.”

Then the wyverns, the demons, and the Witch, all charged as one.