However, even in that state of near-total magical energy exhaustion, Arthur noticed something slowly approaching their position.
The movement was slow and irregular, but there was no doubt that it was a Heroic Spirit.
"Ishtar, there's a Servant coming this way."
"Hm? I missed the part where that's my problem."
The goddess raised an eyebrow.
"Drop the attitude or I won't keep that promise. Now go get him. He's seriously injured," Arthur ordered.
"Tsc. You really do enjoy using me as a messenger."
Despite her complaint, Ishtar didn't hesitate to act.
She still remembered his earlier promise and intended to make absolutely certain he fulfilled it, no matter what.
---
Meanwhile, the white-haired Servant continued advancing slowly.
His sword served as support for his body, almost like an improvised crutch.
The distance between his original location and the battlefield was not particularly great.
Under normal circumstances, he would have crossed it in mere seconds.
Now, however, nearly twenty minutes had passed and he had not even covered half the distance.
The curses afflicting him slowly eroded his spiritual body. A Servant's natural regenerative abilities were incapable of neutralizing their effects, forcing him to endure constant pain as he moved forward.
That was when a figure suddenly appeared before him.
Ishtar crossed her arms and looked him up and down.
"...Wow, you're really a mess."
An unfamiliar voice rang out.
He remained silent as he looked at the unfamiliar Servant.
The goddess sighed at his lack of reaction.
"Come on. My Master wants to speak with you."
Without waiting for a response, she tossed a small sphere onto the ground, immediately opening a golden portal.
The white-haired Servant followed her.
When he stepped through the portal, he appeared directly behind the group.
Arthur, who had been watching the battlefield from a distance, turned toward him.
He was a tall man with gray hair. His body was covered in silver plate armor. The exposed portions of his skin bore the darkened hue left behind by dragon's blood.
Standing beside Arthur were Ritsuka, Mash, Tamamo, and the remaining Servants who had either not entered combat or had already concluded their respective battles.
When his eyes met Ritsuka's, he recognized her immediately.
The young Master seemed equally surprised.
"Siegfried..."
The Dragon Slayer gave a faint smile.
"So you're here as well, Master of Caster, Ritsuka Fujimaru."
The memories of the Great Holy Grail War remained vivid in his mind.
Although they had fought on opposing sides during that conflict, Ritsuka had earned his respect. She had been Tamamo's Master during that war, and the events of that conflict were still far too fresh to forget.
Seeing her again under such unexpected circumstances was something he definitely had not anticipated.
Tamamo also seemed surprised to see him.
"Oh?"
Her fox ears twitched slightly as she examined Siegfried.
"Now this is an unexpected coincidence."
A playful smile appeared on her face.
"It's been a while, Mr. Dragon Slayer. I never imagined we'd meet again here."
Siegfried nodded.
"Neither did I," he replied with a sigh.
Tamamo rested one hand on her hip.
"Though, looking at your current condition, I would have preferred for our reunion to happen under better circumstances."
Her gaze briefly swept across the knight's injuries.
Despite her lighthearted tone, there was genuine concern behind her words.
"You know each other?" Arthur asked, confused.
"Yes."
Ritsuka nodded.
"I had the honor of meeting him during my last mission before we arrived in this Singularity."
"It was during the Holy Grail War where I participated as Ritsuka's Servant," Tamamo explained.
"Back then, Mr. Siegfried was already just as serious as he is now."
"You say that as if it's a flaw," Ritsuka teased.
Wait just a damn second... How does Siegfried still remember that Micro-Singularity? That shouldn't even be possible.
Arthur suddenly frowned as the thought crossed his mind.
What the hell is going on here!?
"It's not a flaw," Tamamo immediately replied.
"It just makes him very difficult to tease."
Mash let out a small laugh.
Siegfried merely shook his head.
"I'm afraid I don't have much talent for this sort of conversation," he said.
"Yes, I noticed that quite a long time ago."
"Tamamo..." Ritsuka muttered in warning.
"What?"
The fox raised both hands in surrender.
"I'm being perfectly polite. Just look at how much I've matured."
No one seemed particularly convinced by her words.
Even so, a small smile appeared on Siegfried's face.
For a few moments, the atmosphere became lighter.
"I had hoped our next meeting would occur under better circumstances," Siegfried said as his gaze lowered toward his own body.
"I thought we would finally have the chance to fight side by side, but I ended up in this condition."
The smile quickly faded.
"Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do. Facing multiple Servants at once was beyond my capabilities."
After a brief pause, he added:
"I'm sorry."
It was a sincere apology.
While everyone listened to the Dragon Slayer's words, Arthur carefully analyzed the knight's condition.
It didn't take long for him to identify the real problem.
This wasn't simply the result of injuries accumulated during battle.
It was a curse.
A particularly unpleasant one.
Considering the existence of his armor, ordinary attacks would have had great difficulty leaving such persistent damage.
The fact that Siegfried was still suffering from those effects spoke volumes about the nature of the attack he had received.
"Hm..."
Arthur examined the dark energy spread throughout the knight's body.
"It's a composite curse."
Tamamo immediately raised an eyebrow.
"A composite curse? How unpleasant."
The fox's smile disappeared as she spoke.
Mash also looked concerned.
"So removing them wouldn't solve the problem?" Mash asked curiously.
"That's not exactly how it works, Mash. Only the baptismal rites of a holy Servant can completely remove the curses affecting his body. Unfortunately, I still can't sustain the magical energy cost required for Jeanne to fully heal him."
Arthur shook his head.
Ritsuka grimaced.
"In other words, someone really went out of their way to make this almost impossible to remove."
"Basically."
Arthur nodded.
"What kind of awful person creates a curse like that?" Ishtar snorted.
Tamamo answered before Arthur could.
"I think it's pretty obvious who did it."
Tamamo pointed toward a certain fallen saint currently battling her counterpart.
Arthur ignored the side conversation and continued analyzing the situation.
He could alleviate the symptoms and stabilize Siegfried's condition.
But completely removing the curse was entirely out of the question.
Fortunately, Arthur already knew of a holy Servant who had been summoned into this Singularity and could help with that.
After this battle, they would leave in search of him.
After several moments of silence, a golden ripple appeared beside Arthur.
He reached into it and pulled out something very small.
It was a simple green bean.
The entire group fell silent.
Ishtar was the first to break it.
"...Is that a bean?" she asked in confusion.
"Yes."
"You seriously opened the Gate of Babylon to get a damn bean?"
Her eyebrow began twitching in disbelief.
"Yes."
Arthur nodded once more.
Tamamo leaned closer to inspect it.
"Master, I've seen you pull all kinds of things out of there, but this is a first even for me."
She pointed at the bean.
Arthur ignored everyone and extended the bean toward Siegfried.
Unconsciously, he wore an expression remarkably similar to that of a certain Number One Hero from a certain world full of hero academies.
"Eat it."
The knight looked at the tiny bean in Arthur's hand, then at the expression on his face.
"..."
"Trust me, Siegfried."
Siegfried stared at Arthur for several seconds before shrugging.
"Alright. You don't seem like the type of person who would try to kill me with a bean."
"I'm glad you figured that out."
Arthur replied with visible annoyance.
Without further hesitation, Siegfried put the bean into his mouth.
The next instant, his eyes widened.
Every bit of damage accumulated throughout his recent battles vanished as though it had never existed.
Siegfried opened and closed his hand several times before lifting Balmung.
His body had returned to perfect condition.
Mash's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible..."
Tamamo started laughing.
Ishtar was staring at Arthur as though he had just broken some universal law.
"What the hell was that bean?" she asked, moving closer.
"It was a very special bean."
Arthur nodded to himself.
"Arthur."
"Yes?"
"I really hate your answers."
Ishtar mocked him.
Despite the complete recovery, Arthur continued observing Siegfried for several more seconds.
Even though he had been fully restored physically, the composite curse still remained.
Siegfried noticed his expression.
"Is there still a problem?"
"Well, the curse is still there, but you're in condition to fight again if necessary," Arthur replied.
Siegfried closed his eyes for a moment before revealing a faint smile.
"That's already more than I expected."
Meanwhile, Ritsuka continued staring at Arthur.
"You know..."
She began.
"Yes?"
"I'm not even going to ask where that bean came from because I'm almost certain I'll regret the answer."
Ritsuka spoke.
"Excellent decision, Ritsuka-chan."
Arthur replied with a smile.
(End of Chapter)