Jeanne d'Arc wrapped Siegfried in the Shroud of Magdalene, performing the Baptism Sacrament once more. The foreign energy etched onto his body vanished like snow melting in the spring sunshine.
Quickly recovering his strength, Siegfried gratefully accepted Ritsuka's prana. He swung his Balmung a few times, then hung his head in shame, apologizing as if he were undeserving.
"It seems I have become a burden… I am sorry."
"If you're truly sorry, just do your part properly from now on! I'm counting on you, Siegfried."
"That's right. You are, after all, the great dragon-slaying hero—you're basically our trump card for victory."
"Likewise, Finis Chaldea."
With 'Sumanai'—no, with Siegfried fully recovered, we had managed to secure quite a formidable force.
Even if the name value wasn't as high as the opposition, our number of Servants was now comparable, and we had secured Siegfried, who was essentially a Fafnir-killer. Besides, since I could tie down Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc Alter, the two masterminds would essentially become 'Emperor's New Clothes' if we managed to dispose of the other Servants in the meantime.
The issue would be the sheer volume of Dagon-class beasts Gilles de Rais might churn out with his abilities, but in that case, I could counter with the quantity of my own Animal Path or simply shift to a decapitation strike.
"So, what shall we do now?"
[I ran a scan and confirmed two Servants nearby. Since they aren't registered on the Spirit Graph, they are likely either wandering Servants like Siegfried or ones newly summoned by the Dragon Witch.]
"Two of them… We should probably go meet them. With this level of combat power, we shouldn't lose even against a Berserk Servant, right?"
"Of course."
Two wandering Servants, huh.
Probably Elizabeth Bathory and Kiyohime.
The music (debatable) and love (insanity) possessed by these two Servants would likely cause major headaches, but given Ritsuka's capacity for acceptance and the combat power they bring, it's well within the tolerable range.
In a situation where Siegfried is the only one with an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, the combined strength of Kiyohime and Bathory—ranging from Anti-Army to potentially Anti-Fortress—could fill the gap in our firepower. And since we have Siegfried, the hero of 'Dragon-Slaying,' controlling these two Servants with dragon-related lore should be easy.
"Alright! Let's head out right away!"
"Huh? Right now?"
"Yeah… Oh, wait! Marie, could you summon your glass carriage for me and the others to ride?"
"If it's that, calling the carriage is faster!"
The carriage Marie created appeared to be a 4-person, 4-wheeled carriage on the outside, but it was large enough to hold everyone easily if even just one person climbed aboard.
"…With this, we really won't have to worry about a lack of mobility in the Singularity."
"Mister, hurry up and get on! We have stars to collect… I mean, we need to go meet the Servants!"
"Your true intentions are leaking out there, you know?"
I retorted to Gudako, who was starting to get a bit 'Guda-Guda,' and quickly climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
Ritsuka stomped her feet as she hopped in, followed by the other Servants. As the sound of wheels turning filled the air, the glass carriage shot off at high speed.
Marie's glass carriage moved smoothly toward 'Thiers,' where Romani had provided the briefing. However, by the time we arrived after several hours, Thiers had already been reduced to a devastated wasteland.
In the ruins of Thiers, it was natural that there wasn't a trace of human presence to be found. Only, from deep within the city, we could hear the voices of individuals presumed to be Servants, just as Romani had mentioned.
'As expected, it's Kiyohime and Bathory. Their personalities are a huge problem, but Ritsuka should be able to cover for it somehow. If it comes down to it, I can just have Siegfried suppress them.'
Perhaps Romani was thinking the same thing, as a radio transmission came in from his holographic projection.
[Even if we lead in the number of Servants, they possess a Grail. Please don't forget that every individual wandering Servant is a crucial piece of our fighting strength, Miss Ritsuka.]
"I know. I'll try to persuade them!"
Hmm, no. They probably won't even need persuasion.
A madwoman obsessed with singing and Kiyohime, who has the preposterous setting of loving her Master by mistaking him for someone else. It would be rare to find a character that pushes the 'menhera yandere' trope to this extreme.
"Let's head in."
As we slowly entered the ruins of Thiers, the voices of two women arguing reached our ears.
When the two who were bickering came into view, they both turned their heads, apparently having noticed us…
'Ah, wait…'
Just as I was about to step forward to talk, Ritsuka spoke up first.
Certainly, her natural affinity for people seemed to shine even in these situations.
"So you really were Servants. Nice to meet you!"
"Hmm? Who are you?"
"If you ask us our name, the proper etiquette is to answer! I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, Master No. 48 of the Organization for the Preservation of Human Order. I am here to resolve the issues that have arisen in France."
After finishing that long sentence and taking a deep breath, Ritsuka spoke with a slightly muffled voice.
"Can you… lend us your strength?"
Mash stared at her, as if surprised that I didn't step in to take the initiative and instead just stood there watching, and shocked that Ritsuka had decided to negotiate directly.
And when the two Servants tilted their heads at Ritsuka's proposal, Jeanne d'Arc and Marie Antoinette also stepped forward to assist with Ritsuka's explanation.
"I am Jeanne d'Arc, manifested in France as a Ruler class. I stake the name of the Saint that I guarantee the purity of these individuals' motives."
"Ah, don't tell me you are the Saint of Orleans! I heard the refugees cursing that you had been resurrected as a Dragon Witch… So that must have been a different Servant after all."
"Very well. If the Master of an organization tasked with the preservation of humanity says so, then the current situation must indeed be abnormal. As a Heroic Spirit tasked with protecting the Human Order, I shall gladly assist you."
"If the Human Order collapses, we'd be in danger too, so… well, I'll cooperate."
"Ah, wait a moment."
At that moment, I cut in and interrupted the two.
[Hmm? What is it? You were the one who said we needed to recruit Servants to replenish our strength, right?]
"That's true, but we need to check Ritsuka's prana levels as well. She's already connected to Jeanne d'Arc, Gareth, and Mash. While I have the Magic Circuits and the dolls to sustain it, Ritsuka is just a normal person whose Magic Circuits haven't even been properly activated yet."
[Ah… that's true. Then what should we do?]
The most appropriate way in this situation is for them to contract with me.
"Contracting with you… that's fine. It doesn't matter whose orders I take, as long as the Human Order is protected."
"How do we make the contract? Is it a kiss on the hand like the usual?!"
"Haha, don't worry, it's connected now."
Once the link was established, I felt that familiar sensation of the pit of my stomach lifting, accompanied by a cold shiver as a chunk of prana was drawn away. A signal confirmed that the link had been made.
"Is that all there is to a contract?"
"Yeah. Now, let me fill you in on our plan."
"Plan?"
"That's right, Ritsuka. Even though we've reduced the enemy's Servant count, as long as they have the Holy Grail, they can summon others. If it becomes a war of attrition, we'll be at a disadvantage without backup forces."
"So we have to finish this all at once!"
"Exactly."
In that sense, having Bathory and Kiyohime join up was a godsend.
"The enemy's strength mainly lies in three entities: Gilles de Rais, the Caster with the ability to summon demonic beasts, and Jeanne d'Arc Alter, who can control dragons and has the ability to return damage taken as flames and spikes. Those two Servants are effectively the brains of the enemy operation."
"Jeanne d'Arc Alter must be holding the Holy Grail, right?"
"No, it's probably with Gilles de Rais."
"Hmm… I suppose that's likely. Even in the past, I tended to rely on Gilles and the others for tactical decisions."
As Jeanne d'Arc added this, the others nodded as if convinced.
"Second is Fafnir. Siegfried must handle that one unconditionally. Without overcoming that hurdle, there's no way forward. Ritsuka, even if you have to exhaust all your Command Spells, dispose of Fafnir."
"I get that, but what if Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc Alter just resummon Fafnir as soon as he's dismissed? It takes three days for all the Command Spells to replenish."
[That shouldn't be an issue, Ritsuka.]
"Ah, Romani!"
As the former King of Magic and an apex authority in summoning theory—a Grand Caster (former)—he logically resolved Ritsuka's concerns.
[Essentially, a summoning ritual requires an immense amount of resources. That goes doubly for a Dragon Kind, which is on a different scale than ordinary Servants—especially Fafnir. Summoning a Berserk Servant takes time, and summoning a dragon like Fafnir is not something one can just pull off in an instant.]
"Hmm…"
[At a minimum, three days. At most, a week or more. Considering that Gilles de Rais isn't a proper Caster but someone who became one through a Noble Phantasm, it will likely take about five days to bring Fafnir back to life.]
"Thanks for the briefing, Romani-wagon. Anyway, since Fafnir is a dangerous opponent even for Servants to face, he must be brought down by Siegfried. Understood?"
"No problem. There is no dragon that I cannot slay."
Hmm, Siegfried's confidence, is it? It's the first time I've seen this hero, who used to always have his head stuck in the dirt, speak with such assurance.
"Lastly, the Berserk Servants. I've confirmed three. Chevalier d'Eon, Martha, and Atalante. Respectively, a Saber, a Rider, and an Archer."
[Do you have info on those Servants as well?]
"Martha will likely use the dragon species she tamed, Tarasque. As for the Archer, it will either be a crossfire she constructs with her arrows or a single-target Noble Phantasm focused on one point."
"…Focusing on one point sounds dangerous. If you get sniped, you could die, right?"
Ritsuka said, recalling the Archer from Fuyuki.
"Don't worry, Senpai. With my Noble Phantasm, I can block it."
"Mash…"
"Yeah, Mash's shield should be able to stop the Archer's Noble Phantasm. The real issue is the crossfire intended to keep Servants in check."
[Hmm? Couldn't you stop that with Mash's Noble Phantasm or your Shinra Tensei?]
As Romani said, an attack pattern that scatters arrows widely works very well against mindless ghouls, but it's essentially a waste of prana against Servants who have intellect or individual evasive measures.
"Atalante is under the command of Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc Alter. If their prana supply is sufficient, they can unleash that Noble Phantasm as many times as they want."
"Ah… then how about just closing the distance so she can't use the Noble Phantasm?"
"That's risky too. Atalante also has the Boar Hide Noble Phantasm, which allows her to forcefully transition her own class into Berserker. If you engage her in close combat, it'll be dangerous in many ways."
By the book, the way to go is to have a great hero like Siegfried or Gareth—someone who can suppress her by force—and use Command Spell boosts to overwhelm her.
But Gareth needs to stay with Mash to protect Ritsuka, and Siegfried has to face Fafnir. In that case…
"Marie, could you perhaps keep Atalante in check?"
"Hmm? Me?"
"Among the Servants here, you have the highest mobility, Marie. Just keep her distracted with Amadeus—it doesn't have to be perfect, just keep her from focusing. But if she shifts into Berserker mode, get out immediately. Atalante is a hero called the fleet-footed of Greece, so even as a Rider, you might get caught."
"Got it, so just make sure she's distracted from as far away as possible?"
"That's it exactly."
Once the opponents for the pesky Archer were decided, the remaining positions began to fall into place smoothly.
"Martha's Noble Phantasm is Anti-Army. Trying to target those who are fighting Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc would be tantamount to suicide, so she'll likely aim for the Master side or towards Siegfried, who is fighting Fafnir."
"If it's my side, that's no problem. If her Noble Phantasm is dragon-based… I'll just slash through it."
"Right. And if they go for Ritsuka… then Gareth will have to step in."
"Understood!"
"Wait a minute, then what are we supposed to fight?"
Elizabeth asked, stepping forward.
Soon, the eyes of the others were drawn toward me, and I replied with a smile.
"Actually, you and Kiyohime are the key persons for our operation."
"Key persons?"
"It means you are the most important people for this mission. The work you have is simple."
"Oh, what is it, what is it?"
"I am also curious, Master of Chaldea."
Hmm, it's this.
"I command with my 3 Command Spells. Commit suicide right now, Bathory."
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 132
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T