"—A warm-up, as they say."
Separation
"Oh, Jeanne! What a piteous state…!!"
Gilles bursts through the door, nearly in tears as he rushes to the Witch.
"Tch, that pathetic dragon duo. Failing to hold them off is a laughable result."
"I can hear you, Gorgeous! They fled at breakneck speed, okay?!"
"Like rabbits in a panic. It's over, isn't it?"
"Yes… somehow."
Master and Mash support a staggering Jeanne.
Thank goodness. No matter the outcome, she's safe…
"Thank you, both of you…"
Truly, well done…
"Both sides are battered to bits. A fine spectacle, but a fake can't match the original, can it?"
"Hero King—!!"
Gilles glares, but the vessel laughs it off, brushing past.
"Getting riled up only proves me right. Where's your grit to stand firm?"
"…Jilles."
"Jeanne!?"
Jeanne speaks slowly.
"I'm sorry, Jilles… I lost."
"What are you saying? You fought valiantly, truly… I swear it on my soul…!"
"But… I…"
"It's alright, Jeanne. Leave the rest to me."
"…Jilles… Yes…"
"Rest now. When you wake, it'll all be over. Just a little while…"
"…Okay. Thank you, Jilles… You've always been my ally…"
"Let me offer you one piece of advice."
The vessel speaks. If there's a next time for her…
"Hero King…!?"
"Your defeat stems from one flaw: the wrong 'vessel.' Your regret, your hatred—they're the furthest thing from a 'mediator.' That's why you fell behind."
"—Then…"
If there's a next time…
"You don't exist in the Throne. But if another chance comes—be summoned as an 'Avenger.'"
Avenger. The class of all-consuming hatred.
It would suit her, Jeanne yet not Jeanne.
What's made cannot be unmade. At least, let it be true to itself.
"…Heh, hehehe, hahahahaha…!"
The Witch laughs hysterically.
"Yes, I understand. Thanks, you gaudy eyesore."
Her soul burns again.
"If there's a next time… No, when I seize the next chance, I'll stand before you as an Avenger."
Black flames flare…!
"Prepare yourself, Jeanne. —And you, goldie, first."
"For making a fool of me—I'll slit your throat first—!!!"
Leaving her vow of vengeance, the Dragon Witch vanishes.
"Hmph, a king doesn't flee. Try burning me with your pitiful sparks. If you can stay sane in my Chaldea's hospitality, that is."
"…I hope we can summon her someday."
Master murmurs softly.
"She was… really cool."
"…Yeah, Senpai."
And then—
"—Finally, I meet the treasure I sought. I've waited long enough. It was amusing enough, though."
The Holy Grail appears…!
"No surprise there. That Jeanne was your creation. Time to spill the beans, clown."
"You're sharp…"
"What's that mean? Hey, what's that mean?"
"Be quiet."
"Jilles… You…"
Gilles rises slowly, flames flickering in his eyes.
"…I wished to the Grail for 'her' revival. Truly, with all my heart!"
Just to bring back someone dear, no matter the cost.
"But the Grail, the so-called omnipotent wish-granter, couldn't fulfill that—!!"
The loss was that great.
"My only wish was her! So I made her! Under my desire! Jeanne d'Arc, the Dragon Witch, the Witch of Vengeance!!"
That was his… 'love' for her.
To reclaim his stolen 'love,' he achieved this monstrous feat…
"So it seems. The regret, anger, and hatred you didn't bear—she carried them fully, didn't she?"
"…Yes. It seems so… But, Jilles."
Jeanne lifts her face slowly and speaks.
"Even if you revived me… I would never have become the 'Dragon Witch.'"
"…Yeah. I understand now."
"Yes, Senpai. Jeanne would surely have forgiven France."
They nod, meeting each other's eyes.
"Because France has… Jilles. You and everyone else."
Jeanne could never hate it.
She staked everything—racing to protect her beloved France.
"…So kind. Truly kind words, Jeanne."
Tears stream down Gilles's face. —But.
"Your kindness overlooks one thing."
His tears turn to blood.
"Even if you don't hate… I do! France that betrayed you! The vulgar masses that tarnished your light—!! I'll never forgive! Man, nation, king, or god—!!"
He slams his hand on the human-skin book.
"Even you, if you stand in my way!! —Jeanne d'Arc—!!!!"
Instantly, the castle quakes, and countless demons swarm toward Gilles.
"Bwa—!! There's still this many—!?"
They devour, multiply, entwine, and expand.
Swelling massively, until—
"Look, everyone!"
"What is that…?! Grotesque doesn't even cover it! Is this what Elisabeth's singing looks like visualized?!"
Even from afar, Marie's group sees the colossal demon, towering to the heavens—!!
"Lord! Arrogant Lord who mocked us! This is the form that curses you! This is the form that hates you! I'll blaspheme, defile, and ravage you! As you did to my light—!! Hahahahaha!! Hyahahahahahaha!!!"
A demon reaching the sky. Laughter echoing in the darkness.
"…So he says. Got anything to say to the country girl who made him pay for your heedless ways?"
"…Yes, Jilles. Your hatred is utterly justified. Then—"
Her step falters.
"Guh!"
"I said you were battered. A gritty fight lacking elegance—but splendid."
Truly… splendid.
"You've got more to say to him, don't you? —I'll handle this filth."
Now it's my turn.
"Gil!?" "Hero King!?"
"Hmph. Don't look so shocked. I said I'd take the head. You set up the checkmate; I'll deliver the check. —Master."
"Huh?"
"This expedition was splendid. For a first step, well done. Mash, you protected well."
"…T-Thank you!"
"Leave the rest to me. —Jeanne."
He calls to Jeanne in Chaldea.
"Yes, Hero King!"
"I'm getting serious, so I'll go all out. Guard the rear. Don't get caught up. Understood?"
"Understood! —'My God is here with me'—!!"
Jeanne unfurls her flag, shielding Master and the others.
"Hero… King…?"
"Watch closely. The majesty of a king. The absolute truth of a true king's strike. —Needless to say…"
He turns slowly to the writhing sea demon.
"…This is just for you lot—?"
Wealth doesn't choose.
No need to choose. For this journey's judgment, his will isn't needed.
He recalls—
Master's courage. Mash's steadfastness. Romani's ease. Olga Marie's sincerity. Jeanne's directness. Marie's radiance. Amadeus's philosophy. Siegfried's grandeur. Georgios's baptism. Kiyohime's madness. Elisabeth's antics.
And—the worth of the man before him, who warped the world for love. —To answer that with all his soul, he seizes the fitting Noble Phantasm—!!
"A third-rate stage, but I'll indulge it."
He grips a sword adorned with golden hilt and ornaments.
—No, not a sword.
"This journey will be long. A warm-up here isn't bad, is it?"
When the world was primal chaos. The embodiment of the primal force that shattered, spun, and made the world a world.
Three cylinders form its blade, slowly spinning, compressing gales, clashing, accelerating, raging, and rising.
"No need to show your true worth against this filth. Just shake off your rust."
The supreme sword, wielded only by the king, that sundered heaven and earth, the world itself—!
"Hero King—!!!!"
A mass of flesh surges to crush him—
The sword's true name, 'Nameless'—the primal blade christened by the king—!!
Hero King… With all my soul,
I acknowledge their worth—to reward their valor—
"That's enough for now—!! Roar, 'Sword of Rupture'!"
Raising the blade, raging with tempests—
An unprecedented strike—!!
"Sweep it away—'Ea'—!!!!"
A critical tempest is unleashed. A force and pressure to shatter worlds obliterates everything, tearing, scattering, and consuming all—!!!
"Kuuuuu!!"
"Jeanne-san!!"
"All Command Spells to Mash and Jeanne! Full guard!!!"
"Yes—!! Deploying Noble Phantasm—!!"
A tempestuous feast rages, threatening to erase even Mash and Jeanne—!!
"K—AAAAAAAA—!!!!???"
The pitiful monster, unable to dodge or defend, is devoured instantly by Ea's storm.
Its might permits not even a speck of dust, nor any form to remain.
"No way!? The castle—!?"
The prison castle—blown to smithereens—!!
A crimson storm rages wildly, then subsides.
"…That's all a treasure hiding its true worth can do."
The Hero King lowers his sword with a clink.
"Well, a finely tuned force was fortunate. Who knew I could be so considerate—hahahahaha!!"
There lies the castle's flattened ruins—
And Gilles, collapsed like a tattered rag.
Bathed in sunlight, the Hero King shines golden.
"Guh, a warm-up, and the castle's gone."
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