"So these are the reinforcements."
One of the Servants looked on in surprise as Daniel and Da Vinci stepped out from the golden portal. Through that portal, they could clearly glimpse certain aspects of Chaldea.
"So this is France..."
Da Vinci was visibly moved. As one of Chaldea's essential support staff, she typically wouldn't be dispatched to Singularities. In the original timeline, she only joined the field team during the repair of the Sixth Singularity, the Sacred Round Table Domain.
But now, with a stable portal and Daniel present, there was no longer any reason for her to remain behind. Of course, neither Romani nor Olga Marie had come along—given the ongoing battle, their presence on the field would be far too dangerous. Despite Da Vinci's relaxed demeanor, she was still a Servant. And even a seemingly weak Servant could not be underestimated by ordinary magi. Pitting Olga Marie against her would be a hopeless mismatch.
"There sure are a lot of enemies. I'll handle this. You guys go help the civilians evacuate."
At the moment, none of Jeanne Alter's Servants had shown up—only a horde of Dragon Tooth Warriors and close to a hundred wyverns. While not a threat to the Servants like Mash and the others, they posed a significant danger to the local civilians.
Even trained soldiers would struggle unless they had access to artillery. And yes, by this era of France, cannons already existed.
Despite the "dragon" in their name, wyverns couldn't hold a candle to real dragons. Mash had easily downed them with a single shield strike each.
"Are you sure you can handle this many enemies?"
A red-haired, horned girl—Elizabeth Bathory—asked doubtfully. Beside her, the green-haired Kiyohime silently nodded in agreement, a rare moment of unity between the two.
By this point, Ritsuka and Mash had gathered quite a few Servants: the Ruler Jeanne d'Arc, Queen Marie Antoinette, Amadeus (Mozart), the famed dragon slayer Siegfried, and the saintly knight St. George.
Unfortunately, Siegfried was severely injured. If he were in top form, they could have faced Jeanne Alter head-on. Jeanne Alter's trump card was the evil dragon Fafnir, a true behemoth among dragons. Among the current roster, only Siegfried stood a chance against him.
Thanks to his anti-dragon trait, dragon-type enemies posed minimal threat to Siegfried. In life, Fafnir could have fought him evenly, but now, as a Noble Phantasm-tier entity summoned by Jeanne Alter, he was no match—Siegfried could deal with him in one blow if fully healthy.
Of course, not all traits were purely advantageous. Take the Divinity trait, for instance. Despite being an immense power—especially among the Greek demi-god heroes—it was considered a debuff in the Nasuverse. Many Servants possessed anti-divinity abilities or Noble Phantasms. Just look at Gilgamesh's Chains of Heaven or Karna's anti-divine armament.
"Don't worry. This many? I've got it. Ten Thousand Swords Technique."
Daniel formed a sword seal with his fingers, and instantly, hundreds of glowing sword lights appeared overhead. With a flick of his hand, the swords rained down, annihilating every wyvern in the sky in seconds. The rest of the barrage turned toward the Dragon Tooth Warriors and zombie soldiers below, cleansing the field in moments. Only when the final threat fell did the sword lights fade away.
"That doesn't look like magecraft..."
Da Vinci wasn't especially shocked by Daniel's display—someone who could travel between worlds naturally wouldn't be weak.
"That's sword cultivation. You've heard of sword immortals, right?"
"So that's a sword immortal... I was hoping to see some exotic magecraft."
"Oh, I know plenty of magic too. Just not anything quite this destructive."
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since Da Vinci insisted on calling all magic "magecraft," Daniel let it slide. No need to be particular about terminology.
"Alright, we can talk more later. With all these wyverns, we might as well collect some materials."
A rare opportunity—these fantastical creature parts would be incredibly valuable. In modern times, such beasts were nearly extinct. Even low-tier wyverns were enough to make magi jealous.
Dragon Tooth Warriors, for instance, could be crafted using teeth from wyverns like these. Even in modern society, they were exceedingly rare.
Normally, Chaldea's spiritron transfer system couldn't bring back such materials. That's why Ritsuka and Mash, even when visiting the Age of Gods, could never bring any back. But with Daniel around, that restriction didn't apply.
"Good point."
Da Vinci nodded and immediately began collecting materials: dragon meat, dragon blood, dragon bones, and dragon fangs. All were excellent resources for creating Mystic Codes or alchemical agents.
Thanks to Daniel wiping out the enemy in an instant, the civilian evacuation proceeded smoothly. Though not without issue—some people, seeing the threat eliminated, wanted to stay behind. It was their homeland, after all.
But with Saint George, Mash, Ritsuka, and especially Elizabeth and Kiyohime persuading them, they eventually relented. The presence of those two horned girls, plus their firm tone, helped sway stubborn hearts more than soft words ever could.
Mozart merely shook his head at the scene. Marie and Jeanne had no particular reaction.
"Servant signatures incoming—approaching fast. Be on guard."
Perhaps realizing the vanguard had been wiped out, Jeanne Alter's elite Servants advanced quickly. Soon, three appeared before the group.
Seeing them, several Servants immediately stiffened.
"Long time no see, Sanson."
Marie and Mozart stepped toward Sanson. The three shared a complex past. After all, Sanson had been the executioner who beheaded Queen Marie Antoinette.
"I'll handle her."
Elizabeth's normally playful expression hardened with rare seriousness. Even Kiyohime, her usual rival, held her tongue.
Elizabeth's opponent was herself—or rather, her future self. Jeanne Alter had summoned the version of her that embodied the legendary Blood Countess. Though she herself had not yet become that, she refused to acknowledge such a future.
And on the other side, the Blood Countess—Carmilla—felt the same revulsion toward her innocent past self.
The two stood like EMIYA and Shirou, each disgusted by their other self.
"Then leave this one to us."
Marie and Mozart faced off against Sanson, unwilling to let anyone interfere in their personal duel. Elizabeth fought Carmilla, leaving the final opponent—Archer Atalanta, who had been forcibly summoned and Berserked by Jeanne Alter—to Mash, Kiyohime, and the rest.
Atalanta, a genuine ranged Archer, was nothing like EMIYA with his twin blades. She kept her distance and fired barrages of arrows, requiring careful coordination to approach her.
Here, Mash's role as a shield was vital. Only she could safely withstand the storm of arrows.
Daniel paid no attention to these battles. Instead, he flew forward to confront Jeanne Alter, who had arrived atop Fafnir.
"Dedicated to the twin gods..."
"Activating Noble Phantasm!"
As Atalanta and Mash clashed, their respective Noble Phantasms collided. Atalanta's powerful anti-army barrage was stopped cold by Mash's defensive shield.
"Next, I'll destroy that lying faker. Sanzan Flame Spiral."
With Mash buying time, Kiyohime unleashed her Noble Phantasm. Blue flames took the shape of a massive serpent, surging toward Atalanta like a dragon. The fire engulfed her entirely.
Hit dead-on by a Noble Phantasm, Atalanta began to glow golden—her spirit dispersing. And yet she smiled in relief.
At her core, she never wanted to fight Ritsuka and Mash. But due to her Berserk state, she had no choice. Among Jeanne Alter's Servants, only Saint Martha could resist the madness—she was the one who'd secretly delivered intel to Mash, guiding them to find Siegfried.
Saint Martha—the Iron-Fisted Saint—was said to have tamed a rampaging dragon through prayer alone. Though upon seeing her in person, few would believe that version...
"Blood... blood... endless beauty, eternal banquet, ageless torment, Iron Maiden Fantasm."
"Let me perform the Servant world's hottest single! This is the final act—Bloody Witch's Finale! La la la la—!"
With Atalanta gone, Carmilla and Elizabeth both activated their Noble Phantasms for one last clash.
"The past rejecting the future… what a joke. I guess I was always alone—dead or alive."
Carmilla didn't hate her past self. She envied her. That innocent girl who hadn't yet become a monster.
In the end, the innocent Elizabeth won.
"That voice... No wonder she's considered a singer on par with Nero."
Using song as a Noble Phantasm wasn't unheard of. But to this level? She was probably the best of them all. Though to Daniel, it sounded more like screaming.
He couldn't help but think of Nero. Her singing was also considered legendary—possibly even a hidden Noble Phantasm. Gilgamesh likely never survived a full performance.
"Death shall bring hope for tomorrow..."
"Shine and bloom! Keep dancing! I'm going now! Long live the crown of lilies!"
"Listen! This is a demonic requiem, offered to Death itself!"
With the other battles ending, Marie, Mozart, and Sanson activated their Noble Phantasms. Two against one—Sanson stood no chance.
"Goodbye, Sanson. I don't hate you."
Marie smiled sadly. Even in victory, there was no joy. Mozart looked the same. In that era, even they had been powerless to change the tide.
"Hello, Jeanne Alter."
Riding his flying sword, Daniel hovered in front of Fafnir and waved up at her.
To Jeanne, Mash, and the others, Jeanne Alter's rampage across France seemed excessive. But to Daniel, it was understandable. Jeanne had dedicated her life to France—only to be burned alive by her own people. If it were him, he'd have done something similar.
Even Marie, who claimed to love France unconditionally, harbored bitterness. Only a true saint like Jeanne could forgive it all. That's why she refused to believe Jeanne Alter was her reversed form.
"Are you talking to me?" Jeanne Alter was slightly surprised by his address.
"Of course. That's White Jeanne. You're Black Jeanne."
"Shut up! Kill him!"
As an Avenger-class Servant, Jeanne Alter had no patience. Especially now, after seeing all her allies defeated. She had no interest in chatting with Daniel.
"No need to be so hasty. You've vented enough. Why don't we talk?" Daniel dodged Fafnir's strike using sword flight.
Fafnir's speed wasn't slow, but neither was Daniel's.
"Careful now."
As Fafnir attacked again, Daniel made his move—not at Jeanne Alter, but at the dragon. With a single sword stroke, he sliced off most of one wing. A creature of that size was an easy target to him.
Had he wanted to, he could've finished off Fafnir right then—even without an anti-dragon trait.
But if he did that, it would render Mash and Ritsuka's quest to find Siegfried—and the effort to bring together two saints to lift his curse—entirely meaningless. Siegfried's summoning would've been pointless.
Ritsuka and Mash needed these trials to grow. The singularity's journey wasn't just about fixing time—it was their crucible.
Knowing something and living through it were different. Like reading a book versus experiencing the story yourself.
Jeanne Alter had all of Jeanne d'Arc's memories—because she'd been created by Gilles de Rais. But memories were just that. She was now her own person.
If memories alone defined someone, she'd act just like Jeanne d'Arc. But she didn't. Her Avenger nature—also a creation of Gilles—defined her new self.
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