The bells of judgment continued to echo in the sky.
Seven-colored light was shining upon everything it touched with a dazzling posture.
"What is... that?"
Jeanne [Alter] looked at the sky, which had changed into an almost completely different appearance, her pupils trembling.
Even though it was such beautiful light, why did she feel...
Afraid?
"Are you trembling?"
The man's voice rang in Jeanne [Alter]'s ear.
"It's not too late to run away now."
"Who said I'm going to run away!" Jeanne [Alter] directly denied Ian's words. "I won't run away! I am definitely going to be the witch who saves the world!"
"Then we must act quickly."
"Otherwise, just these people rushing forth will likely create a disaster we cannot anticipate—"
As Ian said this, Jeanne [Alter] finally noticed that along with the melodious sound of the bells...
Those people who had been intimidated by the dragons and scared into hiding in various houses began to walk out one after another.
Only, there was no communication between them.
But in this silence, these people walked step by step expressionlessly, as if their destination had long been set.
"Hey, everyone!"
Jeanne [Alter] tried to stop the crowd that had started moving because of the bells, but found it was completely futile—
They were like established gears, destined to slide towards that judgment.
"It's useless."
Ian stopped Jeanne [Alter].
"They won't stop."
"Then what should we do? And where are they going?!" The young girl was very anxious.
Unlike the version of her that descended filled with resentment, this appearance of Jeanne [Alter] seemed unexpectedly to care about the people she knew.
"Orleans."
"That is the only possibility—"
"But that's still a long distance away from us!" Jeanne [Alter] bit her lip tight. "If they set off unprepared like this, they will absolutely die of exhaustion on the road!"
"So what?"
"Whether they can finish the path of judgment is in itself a kind of judgment."
"You don't think the person who could issue such an invitation would care, do you?"
The man's words made Jeanne [Alter] realize the reality.
"So, is this something prepared by the other 'me'?"
"Most likely."
"And she very likely knows of your existence too, which is why she declared it in this manner."
"In other words—"
Ian pinched Jeanne [Alter]'s cheek.
"She is waiting for you right there."
"Then let's set off right now!"
"If we have dragons..." Jeanne [Alter] ignored her cheek being pinched by the other party and immediately proposed the next suggestion.
"Even for Orleans, we can fly there very quickly, right?!"
"That kind of thing is impossible."
Ian looked towards the sky overhead.
In his field of vision, those seven-colored streams were no longer just light, but confinement like a cage.
"If I'm not sensing it wrong, those lights... have probably completely sealed off the sky."
"Didn't you feel it?"
"Even if you say that, I'm afraid not a single dragon can fly up."
Having her idea denied once again, Jeanne [Alter] was about to die of anxiety.
"This won't work, that won't work either!"
"Then what do we do!"
"Are we not going to this Orleans?!"
"Of course that's impossible—"
"Although dragons can no longer fly in the sky, using them as a means of transport on the ground is still much better than walking on foot like this."
"But we can't just go over there now."
Ian looked at Jeanne [Alter].
"You still have to do something else."
Once again returned inside the church.
But Jeanne [Alter]'s mood was completely different.
Intuition was telling her that the man in front of her could not be compared to his attitude from the previous time.
Sure enough—
The other party's first sentence was directly:
"Kneel before me."
"..."
If the previous Ian still had a somewhat good temper to talk things over, then the current him was completely merciless.
Jeanne [Alter] even felt that if she didn't listen to him, an irreversible tragedy would brew.
"What are we doing?"
"Open your mouth, hold it."
"..."
A shadow cast down upon the young girl's cheek.
She really wanted to ask why, but she saw the man's gaze which was so fierce it was difficult to look straight at.
"If you don't tell me why later, I will absolutely kill you..."
Jeanne [Alter] did as told with incomparable humiliation.
But she soon discovered that this was just a beginning.
The young girl's head was held down by the man's hands; in this moment, she transformed into an existence like a tool.
By the time she reacted, her throat was already full of the fishy taste.
"Mn—"
"Don't spit it out, drink it."
"Then... continue doing what you should do."
This was an act like torture.
Jeanne [Alter] originally thought the "I'll scald you next time you come in" she said jokingly was a joke, but didn't expect it to become reality so soon.
And the man inexplicably started being particular about efficiency.
He did not hold back; when the point was reached, he poured it directly in.
After finishing, he would directly start the next time, not even giving much time to breathe in between.
So—
When the man finally stopped, Jeanne [Alter] gasped for breath with her whole being.
Supporting herself on the ground with both hands, she managed to lift her head with great difficulty, looking at the man with a face full of anger.
"What do you take me for!"
"A container."
"Con... container?"
Jeanne [Alter] never expected the other party to be so blunt.
"Oh, let me explain a little—"
"That just now was merely a ritual."
[Slaanesh] is not only absolute [Indulgence] and [Immorality].
Within it, there also exists a special path named [Pain].
However, there hadn't been a chance to try it before.
And Jeanne [Alter] happened to be the most suitable existence—ever since the man first saw her, there had always been an echo of [Pain] on this witch.
Applying slightly excessive violence would immediately garner a response from it.
The witch carrying [Pain] rather than [Indulgence] was sufficient to turn her unfulfilled summoning into reality.
In other words, she was the "Grail".
This absolutely could not be conducted with her knowledge.
Of course.
This was a truth he could not speak; for Jeanne [Alter], it would be a different set of rhetoric.
"..."
Jeanne [Alter] had already felt that surging magical energy.
Was it those things of his burning inside her body?
Or...
Something else?
"Come, my Witch."
Ian's hand rested on the head of Jeanne [Alter], whose eyes were blurred.
"This is your chance to summon a Servant in the true sense—"
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