"...Who are you?"
Jeanne, banner in hand, stepped to my side and fixed the woman who had emerged from the forest with a wary gaze as she spoke.
The berserk Rider gave a low reply.
"...Indeed. Who am I, I wonder? I bound myself so sternly, striving always to remain worthy of a saint. And yet in this world, I have become the errand-runner of a fallen holy maiden."
"...A fallen holy maiden?"
At Martha's words, Jeanne unconsciously echoed the phrase, as though reacting to another self. Martha gave a small nod.
"Yes. Because of that woman, my reason has nearly been swept away. Even now, I am fighting with all my strength to suppress the impulse."
"I see. Then in the end, you are our enemy."
"That is right. A Servant who might strike her own allies the moment her concentration falters could never truly stand on the same side, could she?"
Martha gave a bitter smile at my words. Jeanne, hearing her, asked another question.
"Then why have you appeared before us?"
"At first, I was meant only to watch. But... the last remnant of my reason whispered that I should test you. Consider this a trial."
Martha, who had been seated atop a dragon resembling a monstrous turtle, leapt lightly down from its back. Seeing that, I adjusted my grip upon my sword. She glared at me and spoke.
"My True Name is Martha."
[Martha...? W-wait! Saint Martha? Everyone, be on your guard! She is the saint who subdued a dragon through prayer alone... and if such a woman has manifested as Rider, then...!]
A dragon rider.
At Romani Archaman's warning through the communicator, every face grew taut. Martha, seeing that, settled into her stance.
"Now then—"
"Try to kill me."
Tap
With those words, Martha brought the lower end of her cross-shaped staff down toward the earth.
And before the staff had fully touched the ground, my instinct screamed a warning.
I saw it all in an instant: the explosion that would occur the very moment the staff struck, heedless of causality itself, and Jeanne, unable to answer that sudden blow, suffering damage to her Saint Graph and being rendered unable to fight.
Having glimpsed that brief future through an instinct bordering upon foresight, I seized Jeanne by the nape the instant the staff met the ground and hurled her backward.
"...!? Elius, what are you—"
Boom
At that same instant, the place where I had stood erupted in a violent blast. Jeanne, whom I had thrown just beyond the edge of the explosion, stared in horror.
"...I had expected more, after what you showed at La Charité. It seems my hopes were misplaced."
"Elius!"
Martha looked toward the dust-choked blast zone and slowly shook her head. Jeanne, staring at that same place, wore the hollow expression of one who had lost all will to fight.
Seeing her thus, Martha let out a sigh and spoke to Tarasque behind her.
"...Haa. How disappointing, Tarasque."
"Grrr?"
"Finish it."
Tarasque gave a heavy nod.
At Martha's command, the beast slowly advanced toward Jeanne d'Arc.
Jeanne, seeing the dragon approach, tightened her grip upon her banner. Mash Kyrielight had taken position in the rear to protect her Master, Fujimaru Ritsuka. In such a situation, neither Mozart nor Marie Antoinette could be relied upon for battle. Jeanne therefore steadied her banner and prepared herself.
In the meantime, Tarasque had already closed the distance and stood before the holy maiden. Despite its immense bulk, the creature was swift. Jeanne's eyes widened.
Tarasque thrust its head forward and accelerated further, seeking to ram her outright. Seeing that, she set her stance to endure the impact.
CrashKra-boom
Yet just before it could strike Jeanne, Tarasque was sent flying with a thunderous roar. It smashed through trees and vanished back into the forest.
Jeanne and Martha alike stared wide-eyed at the spectacle, then turned toward the one who had wrought it.
"...!"
"...Who, exactly, are you calling disappointing?"
Using [Mana Burst], I had crossed the distance in an instant through the swirling dust and sent Tarasque hurtling away. I came to a halt before Martha and spoke.
"Did you truly think such a paltry staff would be enough to kill me? If so, I regret to disappoint you. My body is rather hard to break."
"...Ha, haha!"
At my words, Martha laughed.
"Yes! That's more like it! Good—then... hyah!"
Crack
"!?"
Still laughing, Martha seized her staff in both hands and drove her knee up into it. The blow split the staff neatly in two with a sharp, cheerful snap.
The utterly unforeseen act made my eyes widen slightly. Unbothered, Martha flung the broken halves to the ground, dusted off both hands, and declared,
"This thing? Had that person not given it to me, I would never have carried it in the first place. I shall face you in earnest!"
With that, Martha raised both fists.
In that same instant, the air about her changed.
There was nothing ordinary in that pressure. I reset my stance with my sword and spoke.
"Jeanne."
"Yes?"
"The dragon still lives. While I engage Rider, bind its movements. With your defense, it can be done."
"...Yes!"
At those words, Tarasque burst from the forest once more. The beast looked toward Martha and me, where we stood opposed.
It trembled.
Ah. So it was because of the dragon-slaying aura rolling off me. Well, that was only natural. With the killing intent of a dragonslayer upon me, a dragon such as Tarasque would indeed quail.
Seeing Jeanne move toward the beast, I turned my gaze away from it. She would manage well enough on her own.
And thus I failed to notice the truth.
The one at whom the trembling creature stared was not me, but Martha—more precisely, her two raised fists.
Unaware of that fact, I looked at Martha and spoke.
"My True Name is Elius Alter. I have manifested in the Berserker class. I commend myself to you, saint of the waterside!"
"...Hallelujah!"
And with that cry, my Twilight and Martha's two fists collided.