I'm in a damn bad mood right now.
Why? Did you even read the last chapter?! That brat and the girl abandoned me alone and ran off into the sunset!
Just let me get my hands on them. As soon as we're done with this business, I'll personally make sure the kid starts learning "black magic" that very day!
What? How to learn it? – (whispering) – Look it up on Wikipedia...
"Okay, fine. And where do I go now? Go back? Or go on the offensive alone?"
After pondering his route, Deadpool ultimately chose the most obvious option: "Straight to Orléans!"
"Screw it, I'll cause a ruckus there, and they'll catch up on their own."
With these words, Deadpool strode directly towards Orléans.
Suddenly, his gaze caught two women. One had a reptilian tail dangling behind her, and the other, clad in snow-white robes, sported horns on her head.
"How much longer do we have to walk? Useless bat. What good are wings to you? Maybe I should rip them out, damn it?"
"Shut up, snake. You think I'm thrilled about this walk? Want me to rip your mouth open?"
The ladies were exchanging pleasantries, probing for a fight. It seemed their compatibility was below rock bottom. Deadpool, hoping to get at least some information, headed towards them.
"Hey, ladies! Can you help a poor lost boy find his way..."
He didn't get to finish. The bat and the snake simultaneously raised their fists, and Deadpool, without even a yelp, received a direct blow to the jaw. With a juicy crunch of something bony, he flew aside and fell onto the dry ground.
"Oh, Kiyohime! Why so hard? You almost killed an innocent person!"
"Ho-ho, blaming me, Bathory? Your fist flew first!"
Now they turned to arguing about whose blow was more significant.
"O-o-oh! A magnificent hook to the jaw! You know, I actually like it. It's like a long-forgotten feeling has awakened... Ah-h~"
Fortunately, his face didn't turn into a pulp, but his neck was severely twisted. Deadpool crunched his head back into place and decided that dealing with these girls was more trouble than it was worth. He turned and started walking towards Orléans again.
"Hey! Where are you going? Decided to ignore us after we roughed you up?"
"Listen, sweet Batgirl. Gotham City is two blocks down."
But as soon as he tried to elegantly ignore the tailed Bathory, something slippery and strong grabbed him by the throat with a death grip.
"Ignoring ladies... How uncivilized. You seem to just dream of death?"
Kiyohime, the horned maiden in white, was squeezing his neck with her serpentine tail, which her lower body had transformed into.
"I... I...! They've already drained all the energy from me! My virginity... my honor... everything's been taken! I'm empty inside and out! Like my wallet!!"
When Kiyohime loosened her grip, Deadpool greedily gulped air. He trembled with a strange ecstasy, but quickly regained his composure.
"So I'll be regressing to childhood soon. It's enough to drive you mad."
"Hey! You! Where are you rushing off to?"
Understanding that if he tried to escape, he'd be caught again and forced to "reminisce about his youth," Deadpool decided to answer Bathory's question.
"To Orleans? You're going there too? We're on the same path. Let's go together."
"Wait, what? With you? Me? Why would I..."
He had zero desire to go in such company. It was clear they'd start bickering over some trivial nonsense within a couple of steps. However, Bathory's tail and Kiyohime's tail were already aimed at his neck and backside, respectively.
In principle, there wasn't a spot on him that wasn't already injured, but the prospect of returning to "childhood memories" was more terrifying, so he agreed.
◇
Meanwhile, Ritsuka's group, having escaped Jeanne Alter's clutches thanks to Maria's sacrifice, left their grief behind. Taking advantage of the enemy's distraction, they fought their way through the furious attacks of wyvern legions, aiming to capture Orleans.
"There's no end to them. We've killed so many of these creatures, yet their numbers don't decrease!"
"That only proves Fafnir is somewhere nearby," Georgios replied. "If we break through further, he'll appear."
Jeanne and Georgios led the vanguard, Mash, Ritsuka, and Mozart covered the rear, and Siegfried was kept in the center of the formation. He was protected from the wyverns' assaults so he could conserve his strength for the main objective – the battle against Fafnir.
Soon, the lizards' onslaught weakened, and Orleans appeared before them – Jeanne Alter's citadel. Whether due to her will or the Grail's influence, the castle had deformed bizarrely, transforming into a true abode of devils.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves! He's here!"
Siegfried felt it first. "Fafnir's Armor" responded with a barely perceptible vibration, as if greeting its former master.
The wyverns in the sky shrieked in unison, welcoming their lord. Jeanne Alter's dragon, clad in impenetrable scales – the evil serpent Fafnir – revealed its colossal face.
"Lord Georgios and I will support Siegfried with the Baptismal Hymn. Mash, Master Mozart, protect us!"
At Jeanne's command, the Servants took their positions. Siegfried drew Balmung, a hint of bitterness flashing across his face at a reunion he didn't desire.
"I will slay you once more. Fafnir!"
As a Saber, Siegfried concentrated magical energy into his blade. The outcome of this battle could be decided by a single blow.
Fafnir roared as if the very sky was collapsing onto the earth, and brought down a massive paw on Siegfried. Mash instantly raised her shield, taking the blow. But the ancient dragon's power was immense: the shield wavered, and she began to be slowly pressed into the ground.
"Mash! Hold on!"
At Ritsuka's cry, Mash responded with a desperate surge, pushing the shield out and dislodging the monster's paw.
"We'll have to disorient him a bit..."
Mozart stepped forward and waved his conductor's baton. As he focused, a spectral orchestra, resembling angels, descended from the heavens, and music began to play.
A funeral march for the god of death.
"Requiem for Death."
Mozart's Noble Phantasm didn't inflict mortal wounds on Fafnir, but it made him grimace furiously. The dragon was distracted, trying to ward off the spectral musicians circling around him. This gave them a little time.
"Jeanne! How much longer?!"
"A little more... Buy me a little more time!"
The beat of colossal wings generated an air current that scattered the orchestra to dust. Fafnir turned his gaze back to Siegfried and began a relentless series of blows.
"Not happening!"
Mash rushed forward again, blocking the dragon's claws. But even for a Demi-Servant, Fafnir's attacks were overwhelmingly powerful. With each new blow, the onslaught grew fiercer, and holding the shield became almost impossible.
"Mash! Be careful!"
Mash, exhausted by the endless attacks, lowered her shield for a moment – and Fafnir, seizing the opportunity, delivered a decisive blow. Ritsuka rushed towards her, trying to save her, but it was too late.
"There's nothing to be done. I didn't want to go like this," Mozart, who had appeared nearby, sharply pushed her aside, moving her out of the line of attack. He smiled broadly. "Thanks, it was fun. If you summon me again, we'll have more fun."
Taking Fafnir's crushing attack upon himself, Mozart disappeared. His sacrifice saved Mash's life, but the situation became critical: following Maria, they had lost him too.
Fafnir was already preparing his final salvo. Opening his maw, he inhaled deeply, gathering power for the true symbol of draconic majesty – Dragon Flame.
"Mash, watch out!"
"Senpai... I... I have to protect Zigg and everyone else!"
They needed to hold on just a little longer. But if Fafnir's flame wasn't stopped, Ritsuka's group would perish, and humanity's history would be utterly burned away.
To ensure Mozart's sacrifice wasn't in vain, Mash, overcoming her fear, raised her shield before her.
"Mash!"
"Senpai... no, Master! Order the activation of the Noble Phantasm...!"
Ritsuka no longer hesitated. The operation had to succeed at any cost. They just needed time, a little more time. He extended his hand, on the back of which the Command Seals burned, and shouted:
"I, Fujimaru Ritsuka, command by the power of the Command Seal! Mash Kyrielight, I permit the activation of your Noble Phantasm!"
One of the patterns on his hand extinguished, and a flow of magical energy, necessary to awaken true power, surged into Mash's body. The Command Seal, granting absolute authority over a Servant, provided her with enough mana for one decisive blow.
"Noble Phantasm... deployment!"
Mash concentrated all her magic into her shield. The very power that once held back Saber Alter's Excalibur Morgan in Fuyuki. A portion of the power left to her by the heroic spirit who responded to her desire to protect her senpai.
This was...
A False Manifestation of a Noble Phantasm.
"Foundation of Humanity – Lord Chaldeas."
The magical energy accumulated in the shield instantly expanded, taking the form of a colossal barrier. A radiant dome with magical inscriptions grew before their eyes, covering Ritsuka and the others.
"Kgh! It's coming!!" Georgios exclaimed.
At that moment, Fafnir's furious torrent of fire descended upon Mash. Its power was truly monstrous – comparable to a nuclear bomb.
Upon the collision of the dragon's flame with the Phantasm's defense, a furious vortex arose, and the ground beneath their feet cracked. The wyverns circling nearby instantly vaporized, touched by the reflected flame of their lord.
"Mash! Hold on, just a little longer!"
Pushing through the storm wind, Ritsuka stood behind the girl and covered her hands with his, gripping the shield's handle. They couldn't fall now. They would reclaim the Grail, restore order, and save humanity!
"You did excellently. Shield Servant, and you, Master."
A familiar voice sounded from behind. Siegfried.
Thanks to Jeanne and Georgios's purifying prayers, his true strength had returned. His sword, Balmung, pulsed wildly, emitting a magical energy that even Fafnir's flame paled in comparison to.
"The evil dragon shall be cast down.
All existence on the verge of light and shadow...
The world has now reached sunset.
I strike!"
"Destroy him, Zigg!" Ritsuka shouted.
Siegfried struck. From top to bottom – a deceptively light, yet devastating movement. The colossal wave of mana contained within the blade literally split Fafnir's flame in two.
Fantastic Great Sword – Twilight of the Heavens' Demon.
"BALMU-U-U-U-U-UNG!!"
A furious magical storm engulfed the fire and covered Fafnir entirely. The monstrous power of the sword... It was the strength of the legendary Dragon Slayer who had once slain this very monster.
"VANISH-H-H-H!!"
Fafnir roared in pain: his impenetrable scales were torn to shreds under the onslaught of Balmung's radiance. In an instant, the great serpent dissolved in a blinding flash.
"We did it!"
But the joy of victory was short-lived. Deprived of their leader, the wyvern flocks went completely mad and began to randomly attack everything alive.
"It seems... things have only gotten worse," Ritsuka muttered.
"Se-senpai... we need to leave..." Mash could barely stand, completely exhausted after activating her Phantasm.
The enraged beasts charged at the wounded heroes, sensing their vulnerability.
"Now! Fire!"
At this critical moment, the sky was covered by a cloud of arrows that rained down on the wyverns.
"Is that...!"
Jeanne, astonished, turned around. The French Resistance army, which had recently refused them in Lyon, was rushing to their aid. The army was led by Marshal Gilles de Rais.
"From now on, we fight on the side of the true Holy Maiden, Jeanne d'Arc! We will show the Dragon Witch who has defiled that name that France is not so easily destroyed!"
Under the Marshal's thunderous speech, the soldiers charged at the wyverns with a battle cry.
"Jeanne! Jeanne!"
Seeing Gilles, Jeanne gave a barely perceptible bow – their first meeting since her death.
"It doesn't matter if you are real or not," Gilles de Rais said, drawing level with her. "The Jeanne I knew always acted according to her conscience."
"Thank you, Gilles. Please... don't lose your faith."
"Hurry. We'll handle things here."
Obeying his words, Jeanne quickly gathered the Servants and headed towards Orleans Castle.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan