Along the highway in the outskirts of Fuyuki, a silver Mercedes-Benz blazed forward—
well over the speed limit, and worse, it was driving against traffic.
"Hey, hey! Pretty fast, isn't it?"
Lady Irisviel, now fully embracing her role as the veteran driver, spoke with glee to the passenger in the front seat.
"Truly... quite unexpected... such skilled... driving..."
Saber forced a stiff smile. Even for a Servant, this speed was making her clench her fists nervously.
"I practiced a lot to get this good, you know,"
Irisviel said proudly, fumbling with the gearshift, which groaned ominously in her hands with every click and clack.
"Of all the 'toys' Kiritsugu brought into the castle, this one's my favorite.
Back at the castle, I only drove in circles around the courtyard... this is my first time driving somewhere this open! It's amazing!"
"...A toy, huh... heh..."
Saber turned away, cold sweat dripping.
Ordinary people would never treat such a lethal machine as a "toy"—
let alone call a Mercedes-Benz a mere plaything.
But right now, here they were, zooming toward Einzbern Castle in that very "toy."
"Wait a moment, Irisviel...
Haven't you been driving on the wrong side of the road this whole time?"
Like a student suddenly enlightened, Saber had found a fatal flaw.
"Ah—right!"
Irisviel blinked. Then, as if it were nothing, she yanked the steering wheel, swerving the car back onto the correct side.
Thank goodness she still knows to stop at red lights...
Saber muttered silently with relief—only to suddenly catch sight of a shadow standing in the middle of the highway.
"Stop the car!!"
"Eh!?"
Before Irisviel could respond, Saber lunged over, grabbed the wheel with one hand, and slammed the brake pedal with her foot.
The Mercedes screeched as it carved a sharp arc across the pavement, narrowly avoiding a collision.
Standing in the road was unmistakably—a Servant.
"I knew it…" Saber's voice was calm but wary.
"I'll get out first," she instructed. "You follow immediately. Stay close."
Without waiting for a response, Saber stepped out of the car.
The figure before her... was likely one of the two Casters who had yet to make an appearance.
But what surprised her most was his unexpected behavior.
Instead of attacking, the Servant dropped to one knee on the asphalt—bowing deeply as if in the presence of royalty.
"I have waited long for your arrival, Holy Maiden."
He looked up with reverence and explained,
"Forgive my tardiness. How could I have been so blind? I saw two Holy Maidens in my crystal ball, but when I followed one into the mountains, she vanished... It must've been my heart conjuring illusions, so desperate was I to see you again... There cannot possibly be two Holy Maidens. My old eyes have deceived me."
"Saber… do you know this person?"
Irisviel whispered cautiously.
"No. I've never seen him before in my life."
Saber was just as lost.
As if hearing their exchange, the Caster looked up in panic.
"You don't recognize me? How could you say such a thing!?"
"I have no memory of you," Saber replied bluntly. "Perhaps you're simply mistaken."
"But it's me! I'm your most devoted servant, Gilles de Rais (Bluebeard)! I've waited so long for your resurrection, for this moment to see you again! It was for this very wish that I came here... Jeanne!"
Tears welled in Caster's eyes as he cried out her name.
But Saber stood firm, her knightly posture unshaken.
"I don't know you, nor do I know any Jeanne.
But since you have revealed your name, I shall respond in kind."
"I am Artoria, son of Uther Pendragon. King of Britain."
Caster's lips trembled in disbelief.
"How... how could this be...? Why would you treat your poor, faithful maiden this way…? God… how cruel You are!!"
He raked his fingers through his tangled hair, howling incoherently—
"AaaaaaaAAAHHHHHHHHH—!!"
Then, as if a switch flipped, he abruptly calmed.
His burning eyes turned to ice.
"I see now. Then... it seems I must prepare the proper treatment. Whether you like it or not—
next time, I'll be ready."
His body drifted backward into the shadows, black robes fluttering like wings in the wind.
His final words echoed into the night:
"I swear to you, Jeanne—next time, I will free you from the curse of God!"
---
Jeanne slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bench beside a fountain.
"Oh, Miss Saint, you're finally awake."
Turning her head, she saw Elizabeth the Dragon Girl and Kiyohime standing beside her.
"Um… Elizabeth, where are we?"
Sitting up, Jeanne looked around in confusion. The scene before her was that of a bustling city, grand and resplendent. And judging from the abundance of cross-shaped decorations and the towering cathedral in the distance, this place was clearly devoted to faith—something that made the saint feel at ease.
"This is likely the Master's dream…" Kiyohime murmured from behind her folding fan. "After forming a bond of love with the Master, Servants gain access to each other's dreams—fragments of memories stitched together…"
"But really, how inconsiderate. This dream was supposed to be a sacred space for just me and the Master… Now it's filled with you stray cats." Kiyohime huffed with clear displeasure.
"What's that supposed to mean, you overgrown lizard?!" Elizabeth shot back, hands on her hips. "Besides, we all share the same Master, remember? That makes you the third wheel, not us!"
She pointed toward two other familiar figures—Nero and Mordred—accompanied by someone who should have been Kagarino Kirie's Master, not theirs.
"Oh my, Jeanne, you're here too?" Nero waved cheerfully. "This place is much like Rome. I'm quite pleased."
"Hello, Nero," Jeanne greeted her politely.
Kirie, ever the analyst, added thoughtfully:
"It seems Lord Dracula's mental fortitude is far beyond the norm. Normally, Masters can only conjure fleeting fragments in these dreams, but this level of clarity..."
"Indeed! So, the reason Little Mo, the Songstress, and I are all pulled into this dream must be due to his overwhelming spiritual power," Nero nodded, patting her chest proudly. "Enough of the technicalities! Let's go find where our Dracula has wandered off to."
The moment she finished speaking, Kiyohime pointed excitedly.
"Look! Over there—is that not our Master?"
All eyes turned to where she gestured—and there, they saw a younger version of Gabriel Belmont. Back when he was still human.
Wearing a radiant smile never before seen on Dracula's face, he strode toward the cathedral, clad in a grand red coat—a fusion of knight's armor and ceremonial robes. A swarm of rowdy children trailed happily behind him.
"Let's follow him," Kiyohime said, taking the lead, and the others trailed behind.
Authors Note:
Hi everyone, Author here. We're doing a mass release today. Honestly, I feel like translating is not for me. Or rather, I'm getting bored translating this fic. It's not that the fic is bad or whatever, but I think I've been focusing on a hard goal of posting more than a hundred and fifty chapters in the span of 6 days. So I decided to stop translating as frequently for the meantime and just be a normal reader. I would still post about 15 to 20 chapters a week, tho or maybe more, depending on the mood. I'll also be posting all the remaining draft chapters today. So yeah, Enjoy, everyone😊😊😊