"How was that? Moved yet?"
Riding her glass-white horse, the Servant named Marie Antoinette leapt down from Tarasque's head and landed lightly beside Jeanne and Lin Qi, smiling radiantly.
Moved? Lin Qi was this close to crying from relief.Had she not arrived when she did, he might've been forced to burn through the last of Siegfried's power—and then what? Even if they somehow survived, defeating the remaining enemies afterward would've been impossible.
"Of course. You two arrived just in time!" Jeanne said with heartfelt gratitude.
"Hehe, I'm glad to hear it! Then our mad dash wasn't in vain."
Marie's smile grew even brighter at the compliment.
"Hmph. Though I must say, for a musician, rushing about like this is hardly elegant," Amadeus muttered, tapping his leg with a weary sigh.
Wait—could a Servant even feel leg cramps while dematerialized?
"Oh honestly, even I haven't complained yet, and I'm supposed to be the delicate one!" Marie puffed her cheeks.
"I've traveled plenty myself," Amadeus replied dryly, "but never at this ridiculous pace, without a single break. And besides, Marie, you're a Rider-class Servant. You're much more suited to long journeys than I am."
"Alright, enough chatter," Marie said, turning serious again. "We can gossip later. Our opponent's been waiting patiently, you know."
"And it's ungentlemanly to keep a lady waiting," Amadeus added with a wry grin.
All eyes turned toward Martha, who still stood silently on the opposite side of the battlefield.
"…In fact, you could keep talking for a bit longer," Martha said evenly. "I can still barely resist the urge to launch a surprise attack."
"Er… is this lovely lady complaining about us?" Marie whispered to Amadeus.
"…Marie," Amadeus sighed, rubbing his temples, "some things are better not said out loud."
Seeing Martha's expression darken further, Marie flashed a sheepish, apologetic smile.
"Enough talk. Tarasque—attack!"
Martha swung her cross-shaped staff, commanding the charred, tongue-lolling dragon beside her to charge once more, ignoring its resentful glare.
The battle reignited in an instant.
With two new Servants joining the fray, the tide finally turned in Lin Qi's favor.Though neither Marie nor Amadeus was particularly combat-oriented, the added strength was enough to tip the balance.
Under the blessing of Siegfried's Dragon Slayer, Tarasque was the first to fall, retreating with a thunderous crash. The group then focused their combined efforts on Martha.
By that point, though, Lin Qi was utterly spent. After helping bring down Tarasque, he could barely stand—reduced to tossing a few half-hearted fireballs from the sidelines.
At last, the battle ended.
"So this is the end, then…"
A golden light seeped from the gaping wound in Martha's torso, but her expression remained serene.
Jeanne looked at her with a faint, sorrowful hesitation.
Not only because Martha was an even greater Saint than herself—but because even with the Madness Enhancement forced upon her, she had managed to retain fragments of reason.
To be honest, had Martha been fighting seriously from the start, Jeanne and Lin Qi likely wouldn't have survived long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
Martha smiled faintly. "You think I went easy on you? Impossible. You truly did defeat me. You have done well."
Her gaze softened as she looked at her juniors.
"Then, a word of advice: head north. There lies the means to lift the curse upon him.If that curse is not dispelled, you will never be able to defeat the Dragon Witch—or the Fafnir that guards her."
With that, Martha's body dissolved into golden motes of light and vanished.
—Elsewhere—
"…So, the Rider's been defeated."
A voice echoed in the dim hall. "Even under Madness Enhancement, that Saint managed to retain her sanity… how unexpected."
"Gilles," the black-armored Jeanne d'Arc Alter said, lips curling into a feral grin, "take the Servants I've summoned—and Fafnir—and prepare for an all-out assault. I'm dying to crush their pitiful hope."
Behind her stood a Servant known in history as the monster Bluebeard, his true name Gilles de Rais—a twisted reflection of her former comrade.
"As you command, my holy maiden."
His bulging, fish-like eyes gleamed as he bowed deeply and withdrew.
"Gilles…" Jeanne Alter's voice softened suddenly. "Tell me—what am I?"
Her face was hidden beneath shadow, her tone unreadable.
"You are Jeanne," he replied without hesitation. "A perfect being. The true Saint—reborn from hell to punish the nation and people who betrayed you."
"…I see. Go, then. Gather them."
Her voice carried a strange, weary note.
Gilles bowed again and departed.
Only once he was gone did Jeanne Alter step out of the darkness, the candlelight reflecting a faint confusion in her golden eyes.
"If that's true… then why is it only when I destroy and take revenge that I feel alive…?"
Even that fleeting joy, she realized, was fading with every act of vengeance.
The crackle of a campfire filled the night air. Warm light danced across the faces of Lin Qi's group.
"So that means," Marie murmured softly, "you're the only Master left still fighting to save humanity…"
After hearing Jeanne's explanation, her gaze toward Lin Qi turned complicated—pity, admiration, and sorrow all mingled together.
Even as a Heroic Spirit, she could hardly imagine what it would be like—to fight utterly alone, with no one to rely on.Just living by oneself, with no one to talk to, sent a chill down her spine.
"Mhm… my first meeting with him was quite something," Jeanne said, smiling faintly at the memory.
"When I first manifested, my Saint Graph was unstable. I got lost almost immediately… and then, wandering aimlessly, I found this child—also lost, crying all alone."
Her eyes softened as she looked down at Lin Qi, who lay resting with his head on her lap. She brushed his messy hair aside with gentle fingers.
The curse never let his body rest—pain and exhaustion gnawed at him constantly. After the battle with Martha, he'd barely stayed conscious before drifting into uneasy sleep.
Even now, the faint furrow in his brow showed how little peace he had.
"Crying, yet so stubbornly strong… or maybe defiant is the better word."
"He kept saying everything was hopeless, yet he knew things even I didn't."
"He wanted to give up, yet with just a few words, he decided to fight again. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could keep going myself."
"I thought I'd be the one protecting him—but somehow, it feels like he's been the one carrying me along."
Jeanne sighed softly, pinching his cheek in quiet affection. "You really are something else, you know that?"
"Mmhm! The little Master is quite the strong one! Let me pet him too~" Marie said cheerfully, reaching out to ruffle Lin Qi's hair with careful gentleness.
"If we really manage to end this Singularity with him," she murmured, "I can't even imagine what lies beyond."
"Hm? That gives me an idea," Amadeus said suddenly, producing his conductor's baton out of thin air. "Perhaps I should compose something to commemorate this moment."
"Oh no you don't!" Marie protested. "Now's not the time! The little Master needs rest! Your music's always too loud!"
"Hey now," Amadeus argued, "not all of my compositions are loud. Ever heard of a lullaby?"
"Then you're going to compose a lullaby?"
"…No."
"Then hush!"
Marie thumped him on the arm with her tiny fist.
"Honestly!"
And for the first time in what felt like forever, laughter mingled with the warmth of the fire.
...