"All for Jeanne Alter."
When speaking of the Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragon, one must inevitably mention Jeanne Alter. Unlike Artoria Alter, who exists due to being reversed by the black mud, Jeanne Alter's existence is unique to this singularity. Once the singularity is repaired, she will vanish.
This is because she was not a corrupted version of Jeanne d'Arc, but rather a being created directly by the Holy Grail. Since Daniel had arrived here, he naturally had no intention of letting her disappear. Under normal circumstances, bringing a singularity-born Servant back to Chaldea was exceedingly difficult due to the nature of their summoning—bound by the Holy Grail and the singularity itself.
That said, with Daniel's intervention, it wasn't entirely impossible. This Jeanne Alter was one-of-a-kind. Letting her vanish would be far too great a loss.
"Reverse summoning system initiated. Beginning spiritron conversion. Commencing spiritron transfer…"
With the electronic voice echoing through the control room, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight vanished from Chaldea.
"Director, Doctor, we've arrived safely." A few moments later, Mash's voice came through the monitor.
"What's your surroundings look like?" Romani immediately asked.
"It's a vast plain... So this is what the outside world looks like." Mash's voice was filled with awe. Born and raised in Chaldea, she had never seen real blue skies or white clouds until now—even if these were only part of a singularity.
"There's a giant band of light in the sky." After her moment of emotion, Mash's tone returned to calm.
"That's likely the abnormality. For now, find out your exact location and investigate the source." Romani instructed.
"Understood. We've spotted a military unit. Master, let's go." Mash and Ritsuka approached the army—only to turn and run seconds later. They'd encountered a French patrol unit from the Hundred Years' War, and Mash's first words were in English.
"Capture a prisoner and gather intel." Daniel's voice suddenly came through. As a Servant, Mash had no problem taking down ordinary soldiers.
"Understood." After a moment of hesitation, Mash stopped fleeing. The enemy forces were small in number—clearly a patrol. Mash hadn't wanted to fight needlessly, but now that they needed information, she had no choice.
"Make sure to strike with the back of the blade!" Romani called out quickly.
"Where's the back of a shield!?" Da Vinci grumbled beside him.
"Just… go easy, then." Embarrassed under the director's and everyone else's eyes, Romani scratched his head and reminded her again.
Technically, anything that happened within a singularity would be reset once it was repaired. So even if Mash killed these soldiers, it wouldn't matter. But both she and Ritsuka had kind hearts. They'd never accept unnecessary killing—unlike other Masters who would do whatever it took to restore the timeline.
"She's already been burned at the stake, huh... That makes sense. If she hadn't died, Jeanne Alter wouldn't exist. Looks like I won't get a chance to save her."
Learning that Jeanne d'Arc had been executed just days earlier, Daniel sighed inwardly. Had she still been alive, perhaps he could've rescued her. As for altering history and provoking the Counter Force? Not a concern—so long as the public record showed Jeanne's death, it didn't matter whether it was truly her who died.
"The Dragon Witch... So that's the abnormality. Mash, find a leyline and set up a summoning circle."
The prisoner quickly revealed the singularity's disturbance. The Hundred Years' War had officially ended, yet a Dragon Witch had suddenly appeared and led an army of dragons to raze the royal palace. The king and church officials had all perished. Now, her minions were attacking cities across the land, seemingly bent on destroying France entirely.
"Got it, Doctor."
With the information secured, Mash released the soldier and began searching for a leyline to place a summoning circle—an essential step. A Servant's magic supply was critical, and with Ritsuka's current capacity, she couldn't possibly support multiple Servants. They would need to rely on leyline magic energy.
Chaldea had one remarkable piece of tech that caught Daniel's interest—it could convert electricity into magical energy. While not as efficient as leylines, it was stable and practical, and something Daniel found quite useful.
As Mash and Ritsuka carried out reconnaissance, Daniel headed to Chaldea's laboratory—Da Vinci's workshop. Since many staff had perished earlier, including engineers and technicians, Da Vinci had taken over all technical responsibilities. Fortunately, she was the Universal Genius—there was nothing she couldn't handle.
"How's it going?" Daniel asked, looking at the body inside the culture tank.
"Stable so far. A few more days, and it'll be fully ready." Da Vinci nodded gently.
The body in the tank was none other than Olga Marie. Though her temporary artificial body (the homunculus vessel) had been fine for housing her soul, the original had been that of a mage—with Magic Circuits. In the Nasuverse, Magic Circuits couldn't be cultivated or trained; they could only be inherited through blood. That's why bloodlines were so highly valued—the longer a family had been around, the stronger their Circuits.
Magical Crests, likewise, grew more refined with each generation. This was why Waver Velvet, who became Lord El-Melloi II, was initially looked down upon—his family had only been magi for three generations. His Circuits were too weak. It was his eternal regret. Even after becoming a professor with top students, he remained the weakest among them in pure combat.
There were exceptions, of course. Shirou Emiya was a first-generation magus, yet had an unusually high number of Circuits. And there were ways to artificially implant them—many homunculi had Circuits embedded throughout their bodies. Illya was one such example.
But artificial methods often came with heavy costs. Most such individuals were treated as tools. Illya had been no different.
Olga Marie, being the daughter of a Lord, naturally had powerful Circuits. She had been considered a genius at the Clock Tower. Thus, they had gone to the effort of cultivating a new body for her.
Fortunately, Chaldea had preserved samples of her blood as a precaution, and these were now being used to regrow her body. Her Circuits would return—but her Crest was lost forever. The thousand-year-old family Crest was gone, and every time she thought of it, her face darkened.
Even if she wasn't obsessed with reaching the Root like most magi, she didn't want to be the one who brought ruin to her lineage. Without the Crest, their family's power would plummet.
With a Crest, a magus essentially wielded a powerful Mystic Code embedded in their flesh—one that didn't even require casting rituals.
"That's good. Once this is done, we should be able to stabilize Mash's body as well."
The Nasuverse had advanced technology in creating artificial humans. Many magi families specialized in it, but even the famed Einzbern clan couldn't overcome the greatest flaw—short lifespan.
Einzbern homunculi lived longer than most, but even so, they were short-lived. Most artificial beings survived only a few years. The Einzberns' could last decades.
Mash, while not a homunculus, was a test-tube child who had undergone constant experiments and fused with a pseudo-Servant. Her lifespan had been drastically shortened—she had roughly a year left. Just enough to resolve the Human Order Incineration.
Now that Daniel was here, he wasn't about to let that happen. But this was the Nasuverse, and its rules were different. He had to be cautious. Using Olga's regrown body as a prototype was a good starting point.
This new body wouldn't suffer from short lifespan. In fact, he'd enhanced it. Even without her Crest, Olga's future strength wouldn't suffer much.
"Thank you, truly, for Mash's sake."
"No need to thank me. Since I'm here, I won't just stand by. Now let's talk about Mystic Codes."
Da Vinci, as the Universal Genius, wasn't famous for her magic—but for her skill in making tools. Mystic Codes, gadgets, equipment—all of it. Both Mash and Ritsuka's gear had been her work.
It was a rare opportunity. Daniel took the chance to study Mystic Code crafting. In some ways, they resembled enchanted tools or spiritual artifacts—each had their own merits.
Daniel's goal? To see if he could turn the Sharingan or Rinnegan into Mystic Codes.
He still had Obito's eye and Madara's Rinnegan. Since he already had his own functioning eyes, he didn't want to replace them—even if his Ope Ope no Mi allowed painless transplants. But it felt like a waste not to use those powers. If he could craft them into usable Mystic Codes, the issue would be solved.
"This is magic from another world? It truly is something else."
"It's magic. You people differentiate between magic and magecraft. Other worlds don't—power is power."
Daniel mainly discussed the magic of the Harry Potter world. Da Vinci, of course, was fascinated. She asked for several wands to study.
What really intrigued her, though, was the Undetectable Extension Charm.
"I'd love to see other worlds for myself."
"Well, that's not out of the question—if you're interested."
As a Servant, Da Vinci could accompany him across worlds as long as they formed a contract. And even if something happened, it didn't matter—this Da Vinci was only a facet of the Heroic Spirit.
"In that case, once this mess is over, I'll be counting on you, Master."
"Likewise. And we may get the chance sooner than you think."
While Daniel suspected the problems of this world weren't so easily solved, that didn't stop him from laying the groundwork for future journeys with Da Vinci.
And if he explored other versions of the Nasuverse, Da Vinci could certainly come along. Fixing the Human Order wasn't a constant battle. Mash and Ritsuka needed rest too.
"Suggestion, Projection, Reinforcement, Transference… People look down on basic magecraft, but if taken to the extreme, it can tear through Servants."
Shirou's magecraft was Projection—one most magi considered worthless. But in his hands, it could reproduce Noble Phantasms.
As for Transference, there was an entire family in one alternate Nasuverse that had turned it into an art—capable of spatial manipulation and more.
"Looks like I can't replicate Noble Phantasms... Is it due to my origin? I wonder if the Herrscher of Reason's powers could mimic them instead."
Daniel picked up foundational magecraft quickly. Creating projected swords was easy—even Excalibur, at least in appearance. But appearance alone wasn't enough.
"Mash is moving quickly. Already found Siegfried and the others? Guess it's time for me to head over."
While Daniel stayed at Chaldea to study and research with Da Vinci, Mash and Ritsuka made swift progress. They had already encountered several Servants—including the recently deceased Jeanne d'Arc.
Jeanne, true to her saintly nature, held no grudge against the people who had just burned her alive. Instead, she continued tirelessly rescuing others.
Few would be so forgiving. And because of this selflessness, she and her allies were now in danger—buying time for civilians to escape while they faced Jeanne Alter's army.
In the original timeline, a Servant sacrificed themselves here to ensure Mash and Ritsuka could flee.
"Mash, Ritsuka—well done."
Through a golden portal, Daniel appeared beside them and smiled warmly. He hadn't accompanied them initially on purpose. Their journey to save humanity had to be their journey of growth as well.
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