Joker and Mona had battled many Palace rulers before. Most of the time they took the form of disgusting monstrosities and had some sort of weapon or trump card they utilized – Kamoshida’s trophy, Kaneshiro’s mechanical pig, Sae’s roulette board. Okumura didn’t transform but sent legions of his robotic employees after them. All to tip the balance in their favor. And why wouldn’t they? It was their Palace.
The stronger ones kept their human form, if enhanced in some way – Shido looking like a wrestler if he took a pound of steroids every breakfast and Maruki with his golden outfit (though it was honestly closer to a Phantom Thief regalia than anything). They were strong but ultimately surmountable. Work with their friends, dismantle them, beat them. Straightforward.
However, nothing had prepared either of them for this.
The fight quickly devolved into a morass of chaos as scores of demons lunged from at all sides while wyverns swopped in, roaring. Archer and Kiyohime immediately began firing off arrows and fireballs respectively to ward off attacks from above as the rest began cutting down the demons swarming in. For every enemy Joker and Mona took out, three more seemed to spring up in their place. Even the fight with Okumura’s horde of employees wasn’t nearly as hectic as this.
Suddenly, Mash raced forward and raised her shield above them – in time to intercept a slew of spears made of darkness that burst into flame. They crashed against the metal, causing her to buckle slightly before they faded away. Looking over, Joker saw the Witch charge forward, her flag lowered with the point seeking to impale Mash’s gut.
“Cu Chulainn!”
The persona burst forth, whirling its red spear. The polearm crashed against the flag in a shower of sparks before rapidly jabbing away at the shadow, forcing her back. It faded away as Ren lifted his pistol firing a volley of shots that the Witch quickly deflected, her blade moving with inhuman speeds. It gave Mash the opening needed to reset her stance – just in time to shove off another demon and become preoccupied with yet another pack that leaped in. “S-senpai!” she cried.
“Don’t worry, Mash, I got this!” Joker called back, not taking her eyes off the Palace ruler. At least, that was what he said. She hadn’t transformed except for her hair lengthening and the wardrobe change, but the pressure that came from her was immense. Far more than he had felt before from her or from her self in reality.
Despite his nervousness, he mustered up a grin. “Cute wardrobe,” he called out as he transformed his weapon into its knife form. “You got a tailor? Maybe yours and mine can trade tips!” He held up his bloodstained glove. “They might even have similar fashion sense!”
“Still playing the wise guy, huh?” the Witch noted scornfully. Kicking off the sooty ground, she charged once more at Joker, who barely raised his knife in time to intercept the blow. The sheer strength of the swing threw him back, almost into the back of Siegfried who was cutting down another pack of demons. This was far different from the time when he fought her within Archer’s Pala – reality marble. If he didn’t take this seriously, he was dead.
“Satan!”
The blue monstrosity burst out once more in the air behind him. The Witch’s eyes widened, pupils shrinking. The persona pointed at her and engulfed her in ice, freezing her into a pillar. Not two seconds later, however, the ice began cracking as flames erupted before shattering in a loud crash, the shards immediately evaporating under her wrath. “You dare?!” she snarled. “You try to pull that shit on me again?! I told you, none of you have the right to judge me! So get out of my goddamn way or BURN!”
Her roar was the only warning before the flames around them intensified, leaping into the air. Joker only sensed danger and dove aside moments before another batch of black spears burst from the ground where he had been standing. He switched from Satan back to Cu Chulainn. Okay, provoking her with Satan was definitely a bad idea. Whatever feeling the cognition caused, she was now throwing off with nothing but sheer rage. In a way, admirable – but that only made things more complicated.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have much in terms of backup. Literally everyone else was busy fending off the horde all around them. While Siegfried and Georgios were known dragonslayers, they couldn’t exactly reach up with their blades easily to cut down the wyverns. Mona was busy supporting everyone else, distributing power ups or heals as necessary while still fending off the demons and wyverns in his own right.
As much as Joker wanted to take on the Witch alone and leave it to everyone else, he couldn’t. She was simply too strong and powerful for him to do so. Going against her was a suicide wish. “We need to clear everything else,” he called out behind him before lunging at the Witch again. She swiftly deflected and stuck back, the two dancing with their flurry of slashes causing a shower of sparks everywhere. “Anyone got any ideas?”
Elizabeth grinned. “Glad you asked, puppy!” she yelled back. She whirled her spear above her and slammed the point into the ground. A glowing pink portal appeared underneath her as a miniature (only in the sense that it wasn’t full size) castle rose up out of the portal, much to the surprise of the demons, wyvern, and the Witch. Mounted on the castle were gigantic speakers as the Lancer rode the rising castle, grinning from ear to ear.
“Báthory Erzsébet!” she called out cheerfully.
The amount of power pouring out of the Noble Phantasm never failed to catch him off guard, but it was certainly a reassuring feeling to have it on his side. He heard a shift of movement behind him and spun around – just in time to summon Cu Chulainn and have him bat away the spears shooting for Elizabeth. “Already bored of me?” he asked, shooting a mocking grin at the Witch. “I’m honestly hurt by that!”
“Do you ever shut up?!” she screamed in response, lunging at him with her flag.
Kiyohime stared critically at the castle before turning back to the horde on the other side of the group. “Hmph, how inelegant,” she muttered, opening her fan and holding it in front of her, ignoring the catlike Master who was still staring up at it whimpering. She concentrated her own prana, the temperature increasing around her rapidly, even compared to the stifling heat around them. “Watch over me,” she intoned. “As of now, I’ll eliminate the liar.” Then she waved her fan.
“Tenshin Kashō Zanmai!”
A serpentine dragon made of blue flame twisted into being out of the ground around Kiyohime as it rose into the air, glaring at the demons. The Berserker pointed with her fan and the dragon rushed forward, the ground around and under it bursting into blue flames – and taking its victims with it. It easily swam through the air, incinerating both demons and wyverns on the ground and in the air alike. Joker could see it all from the corner of his eye.
Suddenly, he was extremely glad for how relatively calm Kiyohime had been dealing with him, all things considered.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth took a deep breath and let out her note once more. “LAAAAAAA~!” she sang. Those around her, friend and foe, winced in pain as it felt like needles were boring into their ears. Ren thought that because it was sound, maybe Cu Chulainn would do something to block it. If the persona was blocking the pain that came from the sound, then he hated to think how everyone else was taking it. It still hurt – a lot. And looking at the Dragon Witch’s expression, she was feeling the effects as well.
That paled in comparison to the hapless demons and wyverns who were in front of the castle, however. The speakers amplified her voice to absurd degrees, blasting them to oblivion. They either disintegrated on the spot or were flung back, THEN disintegrated upon landing. None of them could withstand the power that was Elizabeth’s voice. This included Morgana, who was rolling on the ground and trying to press his ears against his head to block out as much sound as possible.
By the end, the area around them was bathed with blue flame from Kiyohime’s noble phantasm, while Elizabeth’s had carved a circular channel through the streets and buildings. The Lancer’s castle sank back into the ground as the dragon dissipated. There were still a couple packs of wyverns and demons who were more than ready to attack, but it was still far better than the horde they were facing just moments ago.
However, that didn’t improve the Dragon Witch’s temper. “So, in the end, I still have to take care of everything by my goddamn self,” she snarled, her grip tightening around her flag and sword as flames began emanating from her once more. “Well, let’s go then – the fires of hell will burn all of you to cinders. Everything will!”
Jeanne gulped and stepped forward. The other Servants moved to deal with the last stragglers. In the end, it was Jeanne, Joker, Mona, and Mash. “Please, won’t you reconsider?” the saint pleaded. “We may have grave injustices done to us, but to drag innocents into this is nothing short of madness and evil. Please, I beg you – stand down so that we may resolve this in a peaceful manner.”
The Witch was silent for a moment. The four held their breath. Then she let out a breath. And slowly she began to laugh, louder and louder, until it was a mad howl that drowned out the flames of both Hell and Kiyohime. “Are you seriously asking for that even now?!” she screamed. “After everything you have been through?! After all you’ve seen me do!? You must be the most idiotic creature to walk the face of this godforsaken planet! Oh, this is beyond rich!”
She continued howling with laughter, eventually dwindling down to silence. When she faced them again, her face was nothing more than a mask of sheer contempt and rage. “You know and understand nothing,” she snarled. “You think what happened to us was an isolated thing? No. It’s gonna happen again and again. Once a person has run their course, be they saint or sinner, they’ll be tossed aside like so much chaff. No one will save them. Not a king, not a judge, and certainly not God. I’ll burn everything to the ground and have everything start from the soot.”
Her mouth turned into an utterly twisted smile. “You love Him so much?” she asked mockingly. “Fine. I’ll kill every single person and burn them all. Let God sort them out. Sounds fair, don’t you think?! Don’t see what you have to complain about now!”
The saint took a deep breath. “… I tried,” she murmured. “I truly wanted to steer you to the right path again. To shepherd you as He did for me. But you will not listen to reason.” Jeanne raised her flag. “I will put a stop to your madness, here and now,” she declared.
Joker grinned. “Well said, Jeanne,” he complimented, lowering himself into a stance with knife in hand. Mash and Mona did so as well. The Dragon Witch snarled as she charged forward, ablaze.
—-------
Roman rubbed his eyes as he monitored the screen. The vitals of Ren, Mash, and Morgana were still bouncing around everywhere with very odd readings he only got when they vanished. The Servants they had gone with were still stable as well though unchanged in comparison. Frankly, it drove him crazy – here he was supposed to be the acting director of Chaldea and keeping tabs for the Masters but he was left completely in the dark.
And Da Vinci, who was standing beside him staring at the monitor, was no help either. The requests Morgana had given here were certainly odd and vague, but the Caster seemed to have absolutely no trouble figuring out what he meant and had them all ready within the night. And when Roman asked about it, all he got was a finger to her lips and a “That’s a secret between the ragazzo, the catto, and me~”
He sighed. Well, he was putting a lot of faith in both Ren and Morgana. Mash seemed to vouch for them, so there was really nothing they could do now except wait. The debriefing after this singularity certainly promised to be interesting, to put it mildly. He was thinking what branch of magecraft the two specialized in but given the wide assortment, it was extraordinarily difficult to pin down. Summoning their own beings of legend which included divine spirits with elemental magic of their own?
If the Clock Tower or the Church ever heard about this along with everything else, the two of them would be slapped with so many sealing designations that their heads would spin. He swore to himself that he would never allow that to happen.
“Hey, uh, doc?” one of the analysts piped up worriedly. “I’m getting some activity here for Orleans. Really big readings, and they don’t look good at all”
The interim director blinked with surprise and switched windows from the Masters’ and Mash’s vitals to the maps of France – and his mouth nearly dropped open. To say there was ‘some activity’ or ‘really big’ was fiercely underselling it. The wyverns and ghouls that had been holing up Orleans were scattering from the city in multiple directions like ants marching from the anthill. Coupled with that were new readings he hadn’t seen before up until now – and what he did see sent shivers up his spine.
He immediately tried hailing for the ground team. No luck. “Do any of you have any readings whatsoever on Ren, Morgana, Mash, or the Servants?” he demanded, panicked. “Anything at all?!” Beside him, he could hear Da Vinci stepping forward to take a closer look at the monitor, her enjoyment replaced with utmost seriousness at the development.
“No, sir!” called back another voice. “I’m scouring all of France for any trace of their signal and about to move even beyond that but so far, I’ve got nothing! It’s like they vanished from the world altogether!”
Vanished from the – he checked back to the vitals again. Despite the strange readings, there was nothing that indicated their health was out of any extreme parameters for the most part. That shouldn’t be possible. The fact he could still get their vitals and they’re relatively stable meant they were still in the singularity in some form or function. But how could they be there and not there at the same time? Perhaps a reality marble? But he didn’t detect any explosion or concentrated source of prana that came from one.
But that would mean… he licked his dry lips. Was it possible they entered some other texture of the World? But such a feat shouldn’t be possible! Any magus would be frothing at the mouth for such a mystery, and Ren and Morgana weren’t magi in the slightest! Their circuits had only appeared after they were marooned on the first singularity!
The only other location he could think of they could’ve slipped into would be Imaginary Space. However, that also seemed highly unlikely for many reasons. It wasn’t an easy place to access for any magi, let alone two people who hadn’t been mages until just a few days ago. Not to mention, it was an absurdly dangerous location. Daemons traveled through it and navigation was borderline impossible without a great amount of assistance. Still, what other options were there? It was basically either going to another texture (impossible) or Imaginary Space (extraordinarily unlikely).
Shaking, he reached over to grab his cup of coffee to take a calming sip – and only found the cup had long been drained dry. He could only sigh as he put the cup down and helplessly watched the monsters swarming from Orleans. The doppelganger and her Servants haven’t moved themselves but that was only a small comfort, especially compared to the horde pouring out.
He didn’t have nearly enough coffee for this…
----------
Mash charged forward and intercepted the Witch’s blade, her sword locked against her shield as sparks flew off. Joker and Mona immediately charged into her flanks with knife and scimitar respectively, forcing her to retreat – and dodge a flag thrust by Jeanne. With a scowl, the Witch summoned more dark spears and bombarded them. They quickly moved aside, each spear hitting the ground causing an eruption of purple flames.
It had been a while since Joker had been pushed to such a degree. There were four of them and one of the shadow, but she was nimble and skilled. The others were busy dealing or fending off the demons and wyverns as more trickled in, meaning they couldn’t assist in subjugating the Witch in turn. It couldn’t be helped but it certainly made matters harder.
As Jeanne went in for another stab, the Witch deflected with her own flag and kicked hard, causing Jeanne to fly backward and crash on the ground. Before she could capitalize on the fallen saint, both Joker and Mash rushed in to pressure her once more, depriving her of the opportunity.
“Diego!” Mona cried.
With another burst of blue flame, the blue musketeer once more appeared and traced a pattern in the air. A glowing green light flashed around Jeanne as she stood up, her wound rapidly closing. “My thanks, Morgana,” the saint called to the catlike Servant gratefully. Before she could charge back in, the Dragon Witch roared as she stabbed her sword into the ground, causing the area around her to explode and knocking Mash and Joker back.
Joker backflipped backward as he did and changed his knife to a gun, firing a volley at the Witch in the air. This time, she was a bit slower to react as several bullets found their mark, piercing her armor into her flesh, one brushing past her cheek and leaving a scratch. Roaring with pain, she summoned more dark spears – and was unable to send them as blades of wind crashed against her, tearing through her.
As the fight continued, it was becoming extremely clear: The Witch was far stronger than any of them individually, but she couldn’t handle all four of them combined. Working in tandem, they all covered one another or followed up on attacks, not allowing her to gain any momentum. Frankly, if the other Servants were able to join in, it would’ve been a rather trivial matter to deal with her immediately. Joker considered using the Gae Bolg to immediately end the fight multiple times.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Then he remembered the cognitive Gilles de Rais dying in the Witch’s arms. No. He wasn’t going to kill her shadow. Inducing a mental shutdown was a line he didn’t want to cross if he could help it at all. He had to retain something from being a Phantom Thief, no matter how impossible it was.
A combination of a shot to the face from Mona’s slingshot combined with a bullet to the knee from Joker sent the Dragon Witch crashing to the ground, panting heavily. The other four were okay thanks to Joker and Mona’s healing personas, but the fight had certainly been draining. “You think… you think you can win?!” she panted out. “I’m the Dragon Witch, damnit! This country, this world… I saved it, I can burn it down! If you think I’m going to let any of you get in my way-!”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard this speech a thousand times before,” Mona scoffed. “Unfortunately for you, the only thing you’re gonna end up burning is a matchstick! Joker? Wanna do the honors?”
Joker grinned. Ah, this position again. “Jeanne, try to keep up with us!” he called out to the surprised saint before rushing in. Summoning Cu Chulainn once more, the persona rapidly stabbed the Witch and flung her into the air, followed by Joker doing a passing slice before whirling around, switching his knife into a gun and putting more bullets in her. Mona moved after, quickly running in and keeping the Witch in the air with the winds from Diego before jumping in the air, curling up, and spinning like a buzzsaw with his scimitar sticking out, cutting the Witch as he did so.
Next came Mash, who charged in and bashed the Witch with her shield with a fierce uppercut before ramming her upwards. Finally, Jeanne, who had seen what was going on, finished off with her flag, doing two jabs before swinging her flag down, smashing the Dragon Witch into the ground. The four backed off with their weapons ready, waiting to see her reaction… and backed up even further as purple flames erupted from her.
Slowly, the Dragon Witch stood back up, using her flag to support her. She was bruised and bleeding in multiple places, her armor cracked and shattered. The fury in her eyes hadn’t diminished whatsoever as she glared hatefully up at all of them. It was clear she was on her last legs, yet Joker couldn’t help but feel a shiver down his spine. “Fine,” the Witch growled. “You want me dead so badly?! Then I’ll burn. And you’ll burn. And everyone will burn! I’ll burn everyone with me!” The flames began getting hotter and hotter, pulsing around the Witch. Joker’s eyes widened as his grip tightened on his gun. He had a clear shot. Cu Chulainn was also at the forefront as well. He could end right here and now. But he hesitated. If he did any of that, then that would mean-
“Enough of this!”
The one who caught their attention was Jeanne d’Arc who stepped forward once more. She looked determined, but instead of any anger or killing intent, she seemed far more sorrowful instead. “You call yourself me,” she yelled over the rage. “But tell me, why do I not see the people here we should know? We’ve met, talked to, and fought for so many before our death! Where are they?”
The Dragon Witch sneered. “You think I remember every bitch and bastard I ever killed?!” she snapped. “I got that damn priest, the Dauphin, and that Burgundian Lord. That’s all I care about! Everyone else is just goddamn tinder in the way!”
“You know that’s not true!” the saint cried. “Do you remember Pierre, the innkeep who gave us that tiny flagon of ale to try for the first time and we nearly spat it out everywhere? How he and the others around us laughed and laughed. Or Francois, the soldier who talked to us about maintaining our sword so it wouldn’t rust and get stuck in our sheath? He always had some little song about maintenance that was… well, ‘obscene’ would be the closest word for it. I still blush every time I think about it as I cared for my own.
The doppelganger didn’t answer. She still glared at the saint hatefully but something else crept into her eyes: Trepidation. Doubt. Fear. They got the better of her as she looked over at La Pucelle, still in her hand, still burning. The saint wouldn’t lie about this. Her younger, naïve self could never do such a thing, especially now. She remembered those people clear as day, yet as the Witch looked at her blade, she couldn’t remember any such men. What… what did that mean?
Jeanne watched the Witch as she looked down at her blade. Tears started spilling from her eyes. “Do… do you remember mama and papa?” she whispered to her, somehow still audible despite the flames. “Our brothers and sister? I never forgot them. I prayed for them as I marched with my men, I prayed for them as I held audiences with the Dauphin and the various lords and generals. And… I prayed for them still, even on the eve of my execution. Beside the Lord, they were the dearest treasures to my heart.” She gulped as she stared plaintively at her doppelganger in the eye.
“So please, tell me, my other self… if everyone should be in Hell, then where are they in here?”
The Dragon Witch opened her mouth to respond… and closed it again, with her flames diminishing. The realization dripped in steadily that she had no memories at all: Of her family, of her friends, her comrades, nothing. All she had were the memories of the trial and her execution, and everything that came after. She still burned with the injustice of it all, but without the memories of what she fought for and everything that came before, then what exactly did that make her?
She scowled as a new rage lit within her heart, one born of desperation rather than vengeance now. “So what,” she snarled. “So what if I don’t remember them?! It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t change what happened to me! I’ll see everything through, and everything will burn! And you can just shut your mouth! I’m beyond sick of your preaching!” With that, the Dragon Witch charged toward the saint with La Pucelle raised, roaring. Jeanne d’Arc stared sadly at her counterpart…
… and dropped her flag.
La Pucelle pierced through her armor and her gut to the other side of her body. Joker, Mona, and Mash cried out, about to advance, but a raised gauntleted hand from Jeanne stopped them. The Witch’s eyes were wide with shock as she looked up at the saint. “What the – a-are you taking pity on me?” she growled. “What the hell are you doing?! Why aren’t you defending yourself?! You’re the goddamn Maid of Orleans, aren’t you?! Pick up that flag and defend yourself, damnit! Th-this… this isn’t how it’s supposed to go!”
Jeanne smiled, despite a bit of blood escaping from her lips. “Because I wished to meet your rage head-on,” she murmured kindly. “Perhaps you are not me, and that is a wonderful thing. The rage you carry within you was against a cruel injustice, simply untempered by other experiences. But now that you realize, you can be someone else, something else: Your own person. You can choose your own path. If fury and rage is still what you feel, then now the choice is yours to direct where you will.”
“My… own path?” the Witch echoed hollowly.
The saint’s smile widened. Despite the sword in her gut, she stepped forward and embraced her doppelganger. “He is merciful to saint and sinner alike,” she whispered. “I cannot absolve you of your sins and these deaths, nor would you accept them. However, at the very least, you can choose something else. Not as the vengeance or shadow of Jeanne d’Arc, but just… well, you.” She drew back and beamed. “Is that not a most wondrous miracle in the end?”
The Dragon Witch let out a shaky breath. La Pucelle dissolved as she dropped on her knees, her own flag crashing to the ground. The other three immediately rushed forward, with Joker summoning Pixie to fix the hole in Jeanne’s gut. “My own person, huh?” she chuckled, the sound hollow and bitter. “And here I was, thinking I was doing something by my own will instead of His. Instead, I was still just as bound as I was before.” The Witch sighed. “I’m tired,” she murmured. “I’m really freaking tired. I should probably get back to my actual self. I… I got a lot to think about, it seems like.” She glanced up at Jeanne. “For the record, I still think you’re insufferably naïve and dumb.”
Jeanne smiled. “Is that your own thought?” she asked.
The Witch blinked in surprise, then barked out in genuine mirthful laughter. “You’re damn right it is, saint!” she declared as she began glowing, her body fading out. “Looks like there’ll be a lot of clean-up to do. Might as well leave you lot to it. See you guys soon enough.” With that, she faded away, her body dissipating into sparkling motes of light.
Mash blinked in surprise. “Is… is it over?” she asked as she lowered her shield. All around them, the demons and wyverns dissipated into black dust, leaving the other Servants fighting thin air.
“Yeah, it is,” Mona confirmed as Joker picked up the Witch’s flag. “She’s gone back to her conscious self. We’ve succeeded in changing her heart. All we need to do is to –“ Suddenly, the entire place rocked as if an earthquake hit. The buildings around them began crumbling. “We need to get out of here!” Mona hurriedly finished. “With a change of heart, the Palace will collapse – and if we don’t get out of here, it’ll take us with it! Joker!”
Joker looked over as Mona jumped up. With a glow of light, he transformed – into a black minibus, with headlights resembling Mona’s blue eyes and a pair of large cat ears sticking out from the top. Joker had to grin. He hadn’t seen this in a while. He caught everyone staring, flabbergasted. “Everyone, get in!” he commanded. “We gotta go, now!”
His shout startled them out of their shock and they immediately boarded the bus. “Allow me to drive, Master,” Saber stated, stepping forward. That caught Joker by surprise, but with her sheer confidence and charisma, he almost reflexively stood aside, quickly taking shotgun. With Mash, Archer, Siegfried, Jeanne, Elizabeth, and Kiyohime packed in, it was a bit cramped though not unduly – not that anyone would complain right now.
Saber’s hands flew as she changed gears and put pedal to the metal, with the Morganamobile blazing down the streets. Her green eyes focused as she dodged collapsing buildings and shards of ice with ease, swerving and drifting around corners while adjusting for the ice. Everyone in the car hung on for dear life. Joker and Mona had to admit, they didn’t expect Saber to be such an amazing driver, but they certainly weren’t going to complain. To the side, they could see the castle collapsing with a deafening boom as they went down the street that they entered the Palace in. They got closer and closer to the point –
And in the next moment, they were out, with everyone sprawling on the ground as Morgana was forced back into his cat form. Ren caught his breath as he lay on the grass, back in his Master uniform once more. That was certainly a hassle. But it was a successful mission without any more deaths. That was all he could ask for.
Suddenly, his communicator rang. He tiredly reached over to hit it, and once more saw Roman’s panicked face. “Ren, what’s going on over there?!” he demanded. “The readings have been going crazy! The wyverns and ghouls are collapsing and dissolving, the Servants are vanishing, and – wait, what’s that huge prana signature at your location? Wait… it… it can’t be…”
Ren blinked with surprise. Oh right. He picked up the Treasure from the doppelganger’s Palace. He glanced at his hand… and his eyes widened in surprise at what he held.
A Grail.
“I- wh- how did-!” Roman stammered, completely at a loss for words. He checked the readings once more. “W-we’re still d-detecting a Grail signature w-within Orleans,” he stuttered before looking back at the screen with Ren holding up the Grail. “Where… where the hell did that… how… Ren, what on Earth did you do?!”
Ren chuckled uneasily, noting that literally everyone else was staring wide-eyed at the Grail. Another surprise in a day full of surprises. “Part of what I need to explain once I get back,” he admitted. “Shouldn’t be too much longer though. We got things resolved. We’ll grab the other Grail and be on our way.”
Roman could only just stare at Ren before collapsing in his chair. “Yes, yes, of course,” he replied, defeated. He knew he wasn’t going to get any answers at this point – only a massive headache that was only getting worse. “Just… report back when you’re done so we can get you back to Chaldea. I’ll… I’ll keep monitoring things from here.”
He reached over to end the communication. His finger missed the button – though he didn’t notice in time before his head collapsed on the desk, groaning loudly in frustration. Da Vinci leaned in with an enormous, very amused smile and waved. “Ciao!” she called over cheerfully before ending the communication herself.
Ren shook his head as he turned off his own communicator before looking over at the Grail. “Master, where… where did that come from?” Saber asked, looking incredibly nonplussed that he had one in his hand. Well, given it was a powerful magical artifact, he couldn’t exactly blame everyone’s reactions to it.
“A Treasure is what caused the distortion and formed the Palace to begin with,” he explained as he held up the Grail. “Meaning this was the source of her distortion. It’s as genuine an article as the actual thing. The actual Grail would still be where the Witch keeps it. Mash, think you can stow this away?”
The Shielder blinked from gawking at the Grail. “Um, o-of course, senpai!” she replied with surprise as she took the Grail handed to her, stowing it behind her shield with their other supplies. She really wasn’t sure what to think at this point. Just as her senpai had done one impossible thing, he goes and does yet another. She would be present for the debriefing after this singularity – there were simply too many things to go over to debrief all of them separately.
“We’ll answer any questions later on but for now, we should get going,” Morgana said, looking over to Orleans. “The sooner we can get the Grail, the sooner we can get out of here. Normally it can take a few days to weeks for a change of heart to occur, but I don’t think we have that kind of time. Also, she should still be feeling the effects regardless, if what Roman told us about her Servants and the wyverns is true.” Everyone nodded and proceeded towards Orleans.
-----------
The ruined city was far emptier now, allowing them to see the crumbling ruins and former splendor of the place. Ren glanced over at Jeanne, worried about how she felt. Jeanne for her part only gazed upon the ruins forlornly, bowing her head in a quiet prayer. Despite that, she kept marching on, not slowing down even a bit. He had to admire her resolve on that front.
The castle itself was empty. No signs of tentacled monstrosities or other Servants. The castle was eerily quiet all things considered, with even the distant roars of any remaining wyverns being muffled by the stone ruins. Nevertheless, they all took their regular formations. They would rather not get ambushed if they could help it. They moved through hallways and up multiple flights of stairs. It was… a different experience than going through the Palace’s castle.
Ren couldn’t help but feel a shiver up his spine. It felt like when he went back into Shujin after infiltrating Kamoshida’s Palace. For days after, despite the students in the halls, he still expected to see a shadow stomping around a corner. Ryuji and Ann had told him the same one of their hangouts later. It was a disturbing feeling.
Eventually, they came to the throne room and stepped in. It was surprisingly well maintained still, with sunlight filtering into the grand hall. It definitely felt far different than when it was completely frozen over and the crucifixes of three men standing in the middle. On the throne was the doppelganger, her head buried in her hands, and the robed Gilles de Rais, shaking her urgently by her side.
At their entrance, the Caster immediately looked up, his bulging eyes narrowing in pure, undiluted rage. “You, you did this!” he spat, moving protectively in front of the doppelganger. “You are the ones who brought my dear Jeanne so low! The ones who defiled her! Tainted her! Especially… you!” He pointed to Ren in sheer hatred. “She told me about you, you abomination!” he snarled. “One who would bring angels and demons side by side to bear! An affront is what you are! An affront to His works and His will! You truly are nothing but a monstrosity!”
“That is enough, Gilles!” Jeanne shouted, stepping forward. “You are a captain of France and sworn to defend her people! Please! This fight is over, Stand aside!”
Gilles’s eyes bulged even further (how that was even possible is best not explored) at the sight of the saint. “You… you would dare, you vile abomination?!” he snarled again, glaring at Ren. If hate could be manifested into laser beams, Ren was certain he would be flash-fried on the spot. “No, no! I will not allow this! I will not allow you to defy all we have worked towards!” He opened his book – and got an arrow right into his gut, courtesy of Archer.
The red-mantled Servant clicked his tongue. He reflexively aimed lower as a respect for Jeanne but all his instincts were flaring up. He should’ve aimed for the head. An instant later, he was proved correct as a portal underneath Gilles opened and countless tentacles wrapped around him. Nocking another arrow, he fired another directly at the Caster’s head, only for it to be intercepted by another tentacle bursting out of the ground. The other Servants charged in but were similarly intercepted.
Finally, the doppelganger stirred. Her face was tear-soaked, her eyes red – and they widened as she witnessed all the tentacles. “What the-“ she murmured before turning to the mad Caster. “Gilles, I ordered you to stand down! The campaign is over! I-I don’t want to do this anymore! Too many are already dead and it’s my fucking fault!”
The Caster blinked and turned. His face morphed into one of inconsolable grief and sadness. “Ah, my Jeanne,” he whimpered. “My dearest, dearest Jeanne. They have wreaked their black magics on you and tainted you. No more do the fires of salvation burn within you. But no matter. The Grail has responded to my wishes once. It shall respond again.” He took out the Grail as the entire castle rumbled. The portal quickly started enlarging underneath him.
Tentacles shot out and grabbed the doppelganger. “Wh-what are you doing, Gilles?!” she demanded, a note of panic in her voice as she struggled. “Listen to me, damn you! I ordered you to stand down!” Her eyes widened as a hideous maw emerged.
“Ah, my dear Jeanne, do not fret,” Gilles cooed. “I shall deal with these heretics and kill that abomination. After that, you will be birthed anew with your fire and spirit once more. Never fear. But for now, for now, I shall take you to bosom, so that you may be renewed. Please, wait for me my dear Jeanne!”
“Gilles, you bastard – NO!” Those were her last words as the maw reached up and devoured her, cutting off her words into screams of pain and torment. Unfortunately, neither Master nor Servant would be able to reach her in time. The Caster reached into his robe and pulled out a Grail as well – the one sustaining Orleans, and he dropped it into the bloody maw of the creature. The castle began quaking even more.
“Senpai, we have to retreat!” Mash cried out desperately as she fended off another tentacle.
Ren and Morgana barely heard her, trying to process the horror before them. They had stolen her heart. It was supposed to be their victory. Yet Gilles took everything from them in an instant and put the doppelganger through a far worse fate than they had ever planned. They had made a critical mistake.
Archer clicked his tongue. Rather than wasting more words, he quickly grabbed Ren underneath his arm and Morgana in his other hand. With that, everyone began dashing out of the castle as the tremors got even worse. They barely got out of the castle in time before it exploded, unveiling a gigantic tentacled monstrosity that reached into the sky.
“Oh God! How I love thee! How I reject thee!” Gilles screamed into the sky as his monstrosity kept ascending. “You who shows mercy and compassion to all, even your lowliest subject! You who cruelly torments and delights in their suffering for your enjoyment! I praise your name! I curse your name! The venerated saint shall be reborn, and her flames shall scorch your very gates! O Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name! Witness your majesty and glory! May you be terrified and delighted! I shall bring it all to bear in thy name!”
Only once they escaped to the outskirts did they dare turn around. No one could have expected the sight that awaited them: A gigantic, tentacled monstrosity, its countless boneless limbs lashing out and easily crushing the buildings underneath like they were made of twigs. The figure of Gilles de Rais could barely be seen above its head before sinking into the creature. The smaller monstrosities they faced in the Palace were horrific, but nothing compared to the sheer dread and horror they felt facing this thing.
They were exhausted and drained from the Palace and the shadow, but it seemed their fight wasn’t over yet.
—-------
She could barely constitute her thoughts anymore. One moment she was outside in the throne room, hit with wave after wave of guilt until it washed away her rage and vengeance, leaving her barely comprehensible. The next, she had been taken by Gilles’s monstrosity and devoured alive. Ha. A monster devoured by a bigger monster. What a fitting way it should end.
Was she whole or was she in pieces? She couldn’t tell. The creature wasn’t the cleanest eater. She was surprised she could even think at all. Were any of her other victims here as well? How many did this thing devour? Was the saint’s group here as well? No, they probably escaped. They weren’t the ones that needed to face punishment, after all. She was the one who spilled countless amounts of blood through dragonfire and her own blade, then defiled their bodies by raising them as undead ghouls.
Sin upon sin upon sin she had committed. And it would all end here. It was surprisingly painless, almost like being lulled to sleep. But she knew it was just a prelude. She would awaken again and when she did, it would be the flames of Hell that would greet her. Or would it be ice? That Master’s creature was the Devil, after all, and it used ice. Either way promised eternal torment.
Then she saw… no, she didn’t see. She wasn’t sure she had eyes left. She felt. A presence infinitely stronger than her own. Whole and powerful. Almost unconsciously, she reached for it. Perhaps this power here would allow her to right her wrongs, grant some atonement. She was still the Dragon Witch, but perhaps she would be able to undo a bit of the damage. She would still be condemned without a doubt, but purgatory would be long and harsh anyway. Might as well do what she could.
As she approached, a vast consciousness brushed up against hers. It felt powerful, foreign. It was a power she hadn’t felt from anything before. And at that very moment, she was afraid again. Who are you? she asked.
There was silence. Then the voice of legion answered her.
We are Orobas.