They had been walking for thirty minutes after Seth finished almost all the Wyverns. They decided to stop walking a rest a bit in the walls surrounding an abandoned fort.
"At least we can rest now," Fujimaru said with tiredness present in his voice. All the supply of mana he had to give Saber during her fight with Lancelot had taken its toll on him.
"Yes, you especially need to rest, senpai. I will give you something to replenish your magical energy, just wait a moment." Mash said once her Master sat down on the ground with his back resting on the wall.
Now that they didn't have to hurry, they could relax a little and chat about things, especially about Siegfried's situation right now which was the most important topic.
"What were you doing in that town? How did you get wounded?" Dr. Roman was the first one to ask. He wanted to be informed of what had transpired to provide better help.
"I was defending it. When I came across that town it was already being attacked by multiple Wyverns, I managed to fend them off. Sadly, reinforcements came, this time they were Servants. They were the ones who caused the wounds I have now." Siegfried explained to them what occurred after his summoning with as much detail as possible. Although he most likely missed some things since he was fighting for his life, which left little to no time to worry about anything else.
"I'm surprised you are still alive considering how the Dragon Witch operates." Amadeus sounded perplexed, but no one could fault him. It was the logical course of action to get rid of the biggest potential threat, in this case, him. Leaving the Dragon Slayer alone was just asking for defeat. One could even say it was a daring move on her part.
"I was actually saved by a woman mounting a Dragon... No, a Turtle... No, that's not right either. A Dragon Turtle? Anyway, she was the one who hid me inside that castle." He was a little confused but still tried to clarify.
"A Dragon Turtle? Could that be—"
"Tarasque." Marie wanted to speak but was interrupted by Seth, not being offended she nodded confirming their guess matched.
"Tarasque? So the woman who saved me was Saint Martha, huh?" Once the name of the Dragon was said, Siegfried finally knew the identity of the woman who saved him. He felt a little complicated knowing their similarities and differences. They both defeated a Dragon, but where one used a sword to slay it, the other one just used her prayers.
"Yes, she was also the one who told us to find you before dying," Seth added causing the white-haired Servant to release a somewhat sad sigh. He at least wanted to meet and thank her for the troubles she went through for him, but it seemed that was an impossibility now.
"I see... I wish I could have repaid her for what she did. But I guess she was prepared for everything and did what her faith told her in the end." After the momentary discomfort, he gave a smile.
"U-um... Master, I think you should be more tactful about these things." Jeanne whispered to him in an attempt to prevent him from being misunderstood.
"... And you should worry about your troubles before worrying about someone else." He hit where it hurt without mercy.
"I will worry about my troubles when I'm done worrying about yours." She didn't have any mercy either.
"..." The Kingslayer gave an unamused stare to his Servant. The girl was lacking discipline. Really bad, He wondered how in the world an Army could put up with her antics. 'You know what, it's better not to know. I don't think those guys were right in the head either. They might have had some questionable tastes even.'
"We should do something about Siegfried's wound and fast." Fujimaru came to a decision as he couldn't allow the armored man to suffer more than he is now.
"I agree with senpai, but how do we do it?" Mash asked unsurely.
"Oi, Saint. Do you have any idea how to cure this guy?" Saber asked Jeanne who didn't seem to be into the conversation.
"Eh? Ah, yes! There are multiple layers of curses intertwined together. Baptism Rites should remove this curse. The thing is, we need another Saint to perform it as I alone am not enough." She was startled at first but still explained the best solution they had at the moment.
"Another Saint? There certainly is a chance considering Saint Martha and Jeanne were summoned..." Mash said after a bit of contemplation.
"Yeah, we must pray the Counter Force summoned another one," Romani said from the side. He didn't want to rely on variables like these, but at the moment it was all they had.
"What if we divide ourselves to search, it's not the safest option but it will save us time." Marie proposed the best way she could think of to find another Saint...if there was one, of course.
"Great, another search. Are we explorers or something?" Saber clicked her tongue in annoyance. First, they went through all the trouble of finding a Dragon Slayer, and now they have to find a Saint to cure him. By the end of this Singularity, they would have a bunch of random Servants each with their own specialty.
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble..." Siegfried felt he was apologizing too much lately...
"Don't mind it, Artoria didn't mean to be rude." Fujimaru smiled in reassurance.
"If you are feeling upset then you should smile! It will surely brighten your day." Marie did her signature pose while smiling, earning a twitch on Saber's eyebrow. She was still not used to her bubbly personality, and probably never will.
"But how are we going to form groups, Maria?" Amadeus asked Marie, he was already used to her antics so it could be said he was immune. He could even discern the true meaning behind her words of enthusiasm sometimes.
"Hm... Oh! I know, we can draw lots! That way it will be fair." She came up with a proposition after thinking for a bit.
Amadeus smiled seeing her eagerness. "Then I will go search for some twigs we can use to make them."
After a minute, the musician was back carrying twigs in his hands, they then proceeded to draw lots and the results were as follows:
Group one: Amadeus, Siegfried, Mash, and Fujimaru.
Group two: Marie, Jeanne, and Artoria.
Seth didn't pick one as he said he needed to do something first and will later catch up to the group who had less overall fighting power which in this case was group one.
After that, the conversation somewhat ended in a story about how Amadeus proposed to Marie which neither Seth nor Saber had any interest in.
Before parting, the three girls received a communication device from Mash to keep in touch in case they found something. Just as they were starting walking Seth stopped them.
"Wait, Ruler." He said while approaching the trio.
"What is it, Master?" She cutely tilted her head in confusion. Seth didn't say anything and just extended his right hand toward her head, something that for some reason caused her to be embarrassed.
However, contrary to the expectations she wasn't sure she had, the black-haired man just flicked her forehead. "A lucky charm." He said which honestly confused her more and made her question his reason while holding her forehead. What she didn't notice, like the rest of them, was the little mana that entered her when he did that 'weird' action.
Thinking this was some kind of change of his personality for the better, Jeanne got motivated and this time truly left with the other two.
"I didn't know you could actually show care for her," Amadeus said with a smile and although his words seemed to mock him, they didn't have that purpose nor Seth took it that way.
"What can I say...miracles happen sometimes." He said before sitting down next to Siegfried.
They started to talk about random things with Seth intervening every now and then. Different from the other group, they had to rest a little more due to Fujimaru who was tired as he was not yet used to the continuous drain of mana.
Sometimes, beasts would come from the little forest near the fort but they were all burned before they even got a little close to it. Now that his Authority had grown enough, Seth didn't have to fight the pack of monsters personally except for some special cases.
Resting for half an hour more, the group was finally ready to depart. After getting up, they all looked at Seth but it was Mash the one who asked. "Kuro-san, are you sure you don't want to come with us?"
"I already told you I have things to do, I will catch up later. You can move on your own now, right Siegfried?" The Egyptian God reassured them before asking his Servant. If he was going to become a liability, it was better for Saber to come with him.
Nodding, Siegfried spoke. "Yeah, at least now I can walk without support. I still can't be of help in combat, though."
The black-haired man waved his hand dismissively. It would be enough with just being able to move. After all, it would be harder to react if someone was carrying him. At least now they didn't have to worry about that.
After exchanging a few more words, the group also departed in their respective direction. Seeing them disappear in the distance, Seth decided to jump and sit on top of the wall of the fort waiting for 'them' to arrive.
'They sure take their time...' It's been one hour since he sent Fujimaru's group off and he was starting to feel bored out of his mind.
Just as he was thinking this, his senses caught magical reactions getting near. They were ten kilometers far but judging by their speed they would be here in one or two minutes.
After the said time passed, two beings mounted on two Wyverns with many more behind them appeared before him.
"I was getting tired of waiting for you, bloodsuckers." Seth addressed the new visitors, Carmilla and Vlad, with a little annoyance in his tone. In normal situations, he wouldn't have minded even if he had to wait days, but now he couldn't allow himself to be careless when he had two kids, a musician, and a half-dead man to take care of.
"Oh? Is that so? My apologies, but they said that meat gets better if you left it in the sun for a while, I was hoping that principle applied to blood too." Carmilla did a curtsy bow that was as sarcastic as her words.
"My tardiness is inexcusable, but I at least promise to keep you alive so that our Master can finish the job herself." Vlad's magnanimity was royally ignored by him. Threats wouldn't change the way they viewed him anyway.
"Hm...now that I look carefully, there are no signs of the others, don't tell me they left you alone? A poor soul indeed." Carmilla said in fake lament. It was obvious she was enjoying it too much, considering the black-haired man to be nothing more than a sacrifice to stall for time, similar to how she did with Lancelot.
"Did you come here to talk or you came here to die?" Seth jumped off the walls, landing on the ground without making a single sound. He might not have opted to threaten them, but that didn't mean he was willing to listen to their blabber all day long.
Vlad chose not to comment—a sentiment Carmilla did not share. "Didn't your parents teach you manners? Food needs to obediently stay on the table."
Deciding that speaking with dead people was of no consequence he started walking toward them. With each step he took the atmosphere became heavier and the illusion that gravity was increasing was making its way into the minds of everyone present. Even the Wyverns started having trouble maintaining flight.
Carmilla and Vlad could feel the increasing pressure so they decided to throw all pretense out of the window and also become serious.
Thus, the battle began.
____________________________________
After a long walk, the group of four arrived on the outskirts of Thiers. "It seems this city is still intact, I must say it's surprising." Amadeus was truly amazed looking at the still-standing settlement. He didn't think there were still places like these where the black Saint's forces hadn't ruined them.
"If it hasn't been destroyed there is a possibility of a Saint being there. Doctor, any signals of a Servant being there?" Mash asked Romani through the communicator.
"Yup! I'm actually detecting two Servants in that town, and they are actually close to each other." Dr. Roman gave a positive answer.
"Close to each other? Are they fighting?" Fujimaru asked unsurely. Just when he said that, a pillar of flame went toward the sky from the town.
"I guess that was the confirmation we needed." Siegfried released a small sigh. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. A fight breaking out was the less desired outcome seeing as he was wounded, Amadeus was not combat-oriented and Mash was inexperienced and could only hit hard with her shield.
"Agh! What is this?!" Amadeus suddenly fell to the ground covering his ears and having something like an epilepsy attack.
"Amadeus, are you okay?!" The young Master kneeled beside him trying to do whatever he could.
"I don't know what's happening. I don't detect anything abnormal from here!" Romani's analysis came all negative when it came to sudden enemy attacks, so he was as clueless as the rest of the group regarding the sudden development with the Caster Servant.
"Oh God of Music, what is that infernal sound?! That's a crime against music, it's terrorism! Someone, please make it stop!" Amadeus trembled while everyone else exchanged glances of confusion.
"I-I think we should check the city out, maybe that way we will know what's causing Amadeus to be like this..." Mash made a proposition, not knowing what to make of the strange situation. She had never been faced with something like this.
"Shouldn't we wait for Master? I won't be of much help at the moment, and if we consider the state Caster is in..." Siegfried didn't want to say it out loud, they were in deep trouble if they faced an enemy as they were now.
"I'm not sure if Amadeus can wait, though..." Fujimaru said, scratching his cheek while looking at the state of the musician Servant. He was pretty sure Caster was shooting foam from his mouth. That couldn't be healthy...
"Then there is no alternative, I apologize for being insensitive." With pretty much no options left, they started walking toward the town, Amadeus was being supported by Fujimaru as he still was suffering from the 'evil sound'. The Servant was surprisingly light, which was why Mash could focus on defending them from sudden attacks instead of carrying Caster.
What greeted them as soon as they entered was the sight of two little girls bickering and throwing insults at each other faster than a machine gun could shoot.
"Please stop this sacrilege! I feel like my ears will bleed if you don't stop talking." Amadeus' face was pale. It was so white that Fujimaru was getting a little nervous wondering if he would throw up on him. 'Wait, can Servants even do that?'
"What do you want? Don't you see we are busy?" The first to speak was a red-haired girl with strange horns and an equally strange tail swaying from side to side. The way Amadeus trembled seemed to indicate that she was the main culprit of his suffering, or at least the one with the biggest involvement in it.
"For the first time, I agree with this lizard. We are in the middle of something so why don't you return from where you came." This time, the one who spoke was the other one. A green-haired girl with a green kimono and two white horns on each side of her head. She was covering her mouth with a fan as if afraid they would contaminate her with their idiocy.
"Who are you calling lizard, you creepy stalker?!" Despite their momentary truce to address the group, the red-haired girl detected the insult thrown at her, which was why she immediately retorted to her words.
And so, the verbal fight started again causing Amadeus to suffer even more. "Enough! Please, I beg of you, let's fight them and get this over with. I don't think I can continue standing if this keeps up!" The musician begged the rest of the group to fight to put an end to his suffering.
"Hm? You guys haven't gone away yet? I think I was clear enough." The green-haired girl's displeasure was now reaching an all-time high. The way her eyes took a dangerous glint didn't reassure them either.
"Are you an idiot, Kyohime? It's obvious they want to fight!" Now it was the turn of the first one to insult the girl named Kiyohime. As much as she wanted to finish things with her first, it seemed the newly arrived group wouldn't let her.
"Shut up, Elizabeth! After I burn them I will make sure you will be the next." Kiyohime was not in the mood to bicker with her now either, but that didn't mean she would listen to the red-haired girl talk her ears off.
"That's my line, this is just a temporary truce!" Elizabeth pointed at the green-haired girl, shaking it with every single word to emphasize her point. It looked as if they would descend into another quarrel when their original intentions were the opposite.
"Can you both shut up and get this over with?!" Amadeus was at the border of insanity. The more he listened, the more he wanted to tear his ears off. He was sure the pain from doing so would be less than having to listen to these two fight among themselves all the time.
He was in hell.
...
The group of women had been walking for a while, talking about a lot of things although it was mostly Marie who spoke, Artoria stayed silent and Jeanne found it difficult to talk as most topics were kind of embarrassing, or rather, too 'Marie-like'.
"It's nice that we could all be grouped together, it must be destiny!" Marie smiled while skipping like a rabbit without a care in the world. She wanted to conserve energy as much as possible, which was why she didn't summon her crystal horse.
"I'm also glad we could be grouped together, Marie." Jeanne gave a smile of her own. Saber just ignored them and continued walking.
Seeing this, Marie pouted. "Don't be grumpy all the time, you need to have fun once in a while!"
Closing her eyes, she spoke. "I didn't come here to have fun, I came here to kill the one who is behind this."
"But that doesn't mean you can't relax from time to time! Look at Jeanne, even if she is facing another her who is destroying everything she fought to protect, she still smiles!" Marie countered, a little sad for Artoria's gloominess.
"Don't lump me with her. We are totally different." Saber said coldly causing Jeanne to look at the side uncomfortably. Although they had made some progress, their relationship of camaraderie was still a work in process.
"Hm..." Marie looked at Saber intensely trying to figure something out before she came to a realization. Putting her fist on her palm, she said, "Oh! I've got it! You are jealo—" Before she could finish, a sword was on her throat.
"One more word and it won't be that white-haired weirdo the one who will end slice your neck." Her pale face had gained some color at the insinuation, but she still had enough pride not to be roped in her stupid jokes.
"Okay~" Marie gave a knowing smile.
They continued idly chatting like that for the rest of the journey, with nothing major happening.
After a while, though, the women trio finally found a city, which they didn't hesitate in exploring in their search for another Saint. To avoid suspicion, Ruler grabbed some rags lying around and used them as a makeshift hood in order to prevent potential witnesses from recognizing her.
That was when Jeanne noticed a brown-haired man with bronze armor mounted on a white horse. Even with the capabilities of her class being restricted, she was still able to discern the nature of that person.
"Halt. Who are you?" The man inquired the group with a hand on the handle of his sword. It was obvious that he regarded them with wariness, obviously having arrived at the same conclusion the blonde-haired girl did.
"I'm a Servant, Rider Marie Antoinette." Marie replied with a smile. The man looked at them for a few seconds before abandoning the hostile stance he had previously. He doubted anyone would act like that if they were an enemy; unless they wanted him to let his guard down, of course. However, he had the feeling it was not like that this time.
"I see... You are not under Madness Enhancement so I presume you don't work for the Dragon Witch." The man inquired further, this time not so sternly. It was a welcome change from the sight he was used to seeing these last few days.
"Yes. In fact, we are opposing her. There are more of us who separated to search for a Saint." Marie hoped they could reunite soon, though.
"Our Dragon Slayer is suffering for multiple curses but I alone can't remove them, that's why we need the help of a Saint, you are one right?" Jeanne's question stemmed from the feeling of familiarity between the man in front of her and Saint Martha.
The brown-haired man peered beyond the hood and into the face of the blonde. His eyes gained some recognition in them. "The Holy Maiden, huh? Yes, I'm in fact one, my name is Georgios. I more or less get the situation now. The residents of this town are evacuating, we can depart once they are done." The Saint gave a positive response which made the two girls happy.
After that, the man turned to the woman in black armor. "And you are...?"
"Saber." She simply replied, understanding she was a woman of few words the man merely assented. There was probably going to be another time to properly get acquainted with each other.
With their conversation done, Marie and Georgios started helping the residents evacuate faster while, for obvious reasons, Jeanne stayed on standby. Saber just didn't have any interest to help. She wasn't the social type, after all.
They have been evacuating for one hour before Georgios looked toward the sky. "I'm feeling the presence of a dragonkin approaching, another Wyvern attack?"
"No! This presence...it's not just Wyverns...It's the Dragon Witch!" Jeanne exclaimed, clenching her fist. There was no way she could forget about the singular presence of her other self. Why did she have to come now? This was possibly the worst timing for that.
Now, THIS got Saber's attention. It seemed the time to avenge Sir Lancelot was closer than she thought originally.
"We must retreat!" Jeanne's voice was panicky. As much as she wanted to face the black Saint, she knew how pointless it was now. If they wanted a chance to truly liberate France, they couldn't throw their life away.
"I'm sorry but we can't do that. There are still civilians evacuating." Georgios shook his head at her words. As much as he understood the gravity of the situation, his duty to the people came first.
"I agree, we can't retreat now." Artoria was of the same mind as the brown-haired man, albeit for totally different reasons. However, it didn't really matter when the outcome was the same.
"But you will die!" Jeanne tried to reason with them, Saber was an irreplaceable fighting power and Georgios was needed to cure Siegfried. They couldn't lose both! Now she understood the frustration of her Master when she didn't want to use common sense.
"I'm aware of the consequences, however, I can't simply abandon them when they have asked for my protection." Georgios' words caused Jeanne a feeling of dismay. It wasn't like she wasn't also torn between helping the people and prioritizing her mission, which left her at a crossroads inside her mind.
"This is the perfect chance to teach that mad dog a lesson, you can go and cower all you want." Saber was in support of the male Saint. Again, she had her own agenda, but that wouldn't change her stance on the matter.
"Lord Georgios, can I ask you something?" Marie finally spoke, interjecting in the conversation for the first time after having listened to both sides' arguments.
"Yes, go ahead." Giving his confirmation, the Saint motioned her to ask.
"You only are staying to ensure these civilians evacuate safely, aren't you?" The man nodded in affirmation. "Then, let me assume that role. As a Queen is my obligation to protect the people of France, and I'm sure your help is more needed than mine." She made her proposition with resolution—one that left the man with a feeling of admiration for the girl.
"Marie...!" Jeanne was surprised at her words. Rider just giggled a little, not minding the expected surprise from her fellow friend. "It's fine, Jeanne. This is what I want to do."
The man thought for a bit before finally agreeing. "If that is your desire, then I entrust the lives of these people to you."
"Thanks!" Marie smiled before looking at Saber, who by the looks of it, wouldn't be convinced so easily.
She got near to her and whispered something in her ear. "Wha—! You wouldn't dare!" Saber's eyes opened wide at her words. Marie in response just smiled innocently.
'This wretched woman, she is way more cunning than she looks...!'
"Kuh...FINE! But this will be the last time!" Artoria reluctantly accepted, although without forgetting to elevate Marie's level of threat in her mind. She would need to be careful around that girl if she ever came back alive.
"Then it's decided. Have a safe trip!" Marie waved at them cheerfully as if what she was about to do was nothing short of suicidal. That was simply because she didn't want to be remembered for anything other than the way she smiled.
"Promise you will catch up to us, Marie—Gah!" Jeanne was saying her goodbyes when she felt pain in her chest like something was trying to get out. She kneeled on the ground and used her free hand to support herself before vomiting a black liquid.
"Jeanne, are you okay?!" Marie rushed to her side in concern, not understanding what was going on.
"Y-Yes...I'm fine, sorry." Jeanne got up slowly while looking at the strange substance that seemed to be corroding the ground before disappearing.
"Was that a curse?" Marie asked a little worried, both Georgios and Jeanne shook their heads. "It's not, I don't know what that is but it's definitely not a curse."
"If you are done then we need to hurry, don't make me regret my decision." Artoria couldn't care less about her fellow blonde's situation. It was already annoying to have to listen to that girl's threats, she didn't have to stand there seeing the Saint's charade.
"She is right...we must go, good luck Marie." The Holy Maiden said looking at the Queen in the eyes one last time. She didn't want to part, but she also didn't want to make her decision of staying behind be meaningless.
"Rest assured." With those final words, they separated again.
____________________________________
On Seth's side, the moment Jeanne threw up, the Kingslayer looked at her rough location. "I knew it, Fate is always a bitch no matter the era or the world." It didn't take a genius to notice the displeasure in his voice. It was a good thing he prepared for such a situation.
"Don't you agree, you two?" Seth said looking at the decapitated heads he was holding in his hands before they disappeared.
All around him, a sea of blood, guts, and body parts was the only thing that could be found. The abandoned fort that stood strong just a few hours ago was nothing more than ruins now. The Vampires died, and the door inside of him howled as another chain broke. He was one step closer to a full-fledged God now.
At his command, the sky began to darken. Soon, clouds filled with thunderbolts that danced amidst them manifested above him. Suddenly, the black-haired man was struck by a lightning strike, banishing him from the battlefield. Once that happened, the storm began moving in Marie's direction.