The sky had yet to brighten—darkness still blanketed everything.
Across a desolate expanse of ruined wilderness, a single figure was sprinting at full speed, the dust stirred in her wake stretching behind her like a "yellow line."
Looking closely, that figure was a golden-haired girl.
And on her back—she was carrying a black-haired boy.
After a brief period of rest, Jeanne had shouldered Lin Qi once more, hurrying at full speed toward Saint George's location.
Marie and Amadeus, having turned into spirit form, kept vigilant watch around them.
Since Amadeus had loved to travel while alive and knew the geography of France quite well—and with Jeanne's [Revelation] guiding them—finding Saint George wasn't especially difficult for their group.
The real issue was timing.
Jeanne's body was soft, and there was a faint, pleasant fragrance about her.
But Lin Qi wasn't in the mood to enjoy any of that.
"…How long can this moment last?"
He had no idea what kind of end awaited them at their journey's conclusion, but if his intuition thus far was any indication—it probably wouldn't be a good one.
"Suddenly I remembered an essay I wrote back in school. Kinda feels like our situation right now…"
"Essay? What's that?"
Hearing Lin Qi's voice, Jeanne asked in confusion.
"It's like… writing a short story. There was this ancient, overused template I once memorized—something about a mother braving the rain to take her sick child to the hospital…"
The corners of Lin Qi's lips lifted slightly, as if amused by the memory.
"Eh? D-Don't tell me—you're calling me 'Mother'?"
Completely missing the point, Jeanne's eyes widened in shock, her face instantly turning red.
"No. Of course not."
Lin Qi shook his head gently, but for some reason, his own cheeks also flushed faintly red.
Jeanne exhaled in relief and continued running.
"If only time could stop here…"
Even slowing down a little would be enough.
Watching Jeanne's delicate profile—the faint sadness hidden behind her steadfast gaze—Lin Qi quietly closed his eyes and rested peacefully against her back.
————
————
With two additional Servants joining them, they soon found Saint George without much difficulty.
"Sir Georgios, there's no time to explain—please, help this child remove his curse first!"
Jeanne carefully supported Lin Qi, who could barely stand anymore, setting him down and looking anxiously toward Georgios.
The Servant known as Saint George had long red hair and wore dragon-shaped armor over a white surcoat lined with red stripes. At his waist hung a longsword with a blunted tip.
"So many curses… This will probably require both of us to perform the Baptismal Chant together if we're to lift it…"
Though surprised at Jeanne and the others' sudden arrival, Georgios quickly grasped the situation.
Especially after seeing the crimson markings on the back of Lin Qi's hand—he understood immediately how important his task was.
However…
"It seems the enemy won't allow us the time to carry out the purification in peace."
Sensing something, Georgios looked up solemnly toward the sky.
The others followed his gaze.
High above them, a colossal black dragon, vast as a mountain, was beating its wings and descending upon them. Its entire body was wrapped in suffocating magical energy as it flew straight toward their location.
"…So that's the evil dragon, Fafnir?"
Even though it hadn't yet reached them, the pressure exuded by that highest-class dragon species was so overwhelming that everyone felt the air itself tighten.
Their eyes shifted to the nearby wyverns—several figures stood upon their backs.
"Not just that—there are quite a few Servants as well…"
Jeanne Alter,Gilles,Vlad III,Carmilla,D'eon,Sanson,Atalanta
The enemy had mobilized nearly all their forces—enough to fight an entire Holy Grail War on their own.
And on their side—
Jeanne (half-injured), Lin Qi (completely incapacitated), Marie Antoinette, Amadeus, Georgios…
Altogether, barely three and a half people.
"So it's finally time for the decisive battle, huh? Feels like it hasn't been that long since I was summoned."
Amadeus's face was grave, though his tone carried a faint wistfulness.
Seeing that, Marie Antoinette made up her mind and turned to the others.
"Jeanne, Sir Georgios—please focus on dispelling the young Master's curse. Leave the enemies to me and him!"
Perhaps Marie Antoinette truly was someone who could bring warmth to others no matter the situation.
Even now, her face still bore that gentle, dazzling smile.
"Yes, Maria is right. With our current strength, we'd be no match for that group if we just charged in recklessly. Only by completely freeing the power of the Dragon Slayer do we stand any chance."
Amadeus nodded in agreement.
"So don't worry. We'll risk everything to hold them here!"
Marie smiled as she said this.
"...I'm counting on you two. Georgios and I will lift the Master's curse as fast as we can!"
Jeanne fell silent for a moment, then solemnly bowed her head.
Her gaze shone with unwavering determination, as firm as steel.
"Mhm, that's the spirit!"
Marie nodded cheerfully, then turned and followed after Amadeus, who had already walked ahead.
"To be summoned together with Maria really is a stroke of luck… though it's such a short time. Who knows when we'll meet again…"
"That's already more than enough! To think we'd actually fight side by side—something I never could've imagined when we were alive!"
"Heh… true enough."
They smiled at each other, standing upon the road where the enemy would inevitably arrive.
A few seconds later—
A figure leapt down first from a wyvern.
"What a fateful reunion, isn't it, Marie? Don't you think?"
It was Sanson, the executioner who had once taken Marie Antoinette's life. As he landed, he stared directly at her, smiling like one greeting an old acquaintance.
"To think that among so many Servants, we'd be summoned to the same place… Isn't that destiny? Let me execute you once more!"
"Hmm… or maybe we were just both summoned because we're local Servants?"
"And sorry, but I don't like clingy men with weird tastes."
Faced with this familiar face, Marie looked a bit troubled.
Even she couldn't exactly say she liked being beheaded.
"Hmph, you heard her, didn't you, Sanson? Maria doesn't like clingy men. And you dare say you'll execute her right in front of me? You're looking down on me way too much."
Amadeus stepped forward with a smile, though his eyes were cold as frost.
"You really dare talk to me like that…"
Having his reunion with Marie interrupted, Sanson glared furiously at the man standing before him.
At that moment, the other Berserk Servants, along with Jeanne Alter, all leapt down from their wyverns, landing with loud crashes that gouged out deep craters in the ground.
One after another, they stood facing Marie and Amadeus.
Jeanne Alter glanced past them toward the figures in the rear, her lips curling in a sneer.
"Heh, trying to buy them time, are you? What a ridiculous dream. Don't worry—I'll crush every last trace of your hope!"
Without further words, Jeanne Alter raised her flag high, signaling the other Servants to attack.
The curtain of battle had risen.
Marie and Amadeus were not combat-type Servants, yet in this short-lived fight, they displayed astonishing resilience. Once they unleashed their Noble Phantasms, they never stopped—Marie's glass horse scattered shining fragments wildly, and Amadeus's piercing music filled the battlefield without pause, disrupting the enemy Servants' fighting rhythm.
Minor wounds were ignored, serious wounds couldn't be treated—it was a completely reckless, all-out fight. All they cared about was holding Jeanne Alter's group back.
Even the Berserk Servants opposing them couldn't help but feel a trace of respect.
"What indomitable will… what fearless resolve. Were I not bound by this state, I would have loved to speak with you—perhaps even considered bringing you under my command."
Watching this, Vlad III seemed to regain a brief moment of clarity. His eyes carried admiration, though his voice was filled with regret.
Now, however, he had no freedom to resist Jeanne Alter's control.
After all, her madness had been strong enough to overwhelm even a Saint like Martha.
With visible reluctance, D'eon struck, sending Marie and her glass horse flying.
"Ugh—!"
Rolling several times across the ground, Marie barely managed to steady herself. In the next instant, she pulled herself and her steed back up again, without pausing for even a moment.
"To think there'd be a day when someone called me tenacious… It's not really the right moment, but it makes me kind of happy."
Her delicate body was covered in wounds, her gorgeous garments soaked through with blood, her face smudged with dirt and blood into a messy patchwork—but her smile still shone brightly, glittering like a jewel.
"But the duty of a star is to grant light to others. As long as what I do can help that Saint, Jeanne, and the little Master, even if my life bursts like a bubble, I will still bloom with joy until the end."
"So until they finish over there, I won't let you take even half a step forward!"
Marie urged her steed forward again, blocking a sneak attack from Carmilla aimed toward the rear.
Not far away—
"Enough! How long are you going to keep playing that horrible music?!"
Sanson ground his teeth and glared at the man before him, itching to cut him down on the spot.
From afar, seeing Marie—her body covered in severe injuries—made Sanson so anxious he was nearly frantic.
Only I'm allowed to kill her! The rest of you—stay away!
If Sanson had enough strength, he might have cut down friend and foe alike.
"Cough, cough… Against people without a sense for music, of course it sounds awful. If you want to hear something pleasant, you'll have to wait till you're in hell."
Amadeus forced a faint smile. His condition was even worse than Marie's; after all, both of them were each fighting against multiple Servants. Just managing to hold out this long was already beyond expectation.
After saying that, Amadeus activated his Noble Phantasm again, striking down Atalanta's rain of arrows midair, even disrupting the wyverns' flight paths, making them wobble and crash.
Judging by his practiced movements, this was clearly not the first time he'd done this.
"...Just as Maria said, we won't let you interfere with what's happening behind us. Especially you, Sanson—I'll be watching you the whole time, so don't even think about slipping over to her side!"
Amadeus said with a cheerful grin.
If not for the blood at the corner of his mouth, he would have looked quite dashing indeed.
...