Chapter 264: Fafnir, I Am Turning Around and Running
A Singularity could not be born without a cause.
As a critical node in human history with severe deviation, each Singularity existed only because something had forced history far enough off course. Human Order itself possessed a corrective force. Most distortions were repaired while still small, before they could spread, and before they could develop into a world scale Singularity.
Here, in fifteenth century France, the cause was undoubtedly the man now hiding in the deepest part of a castle in the French heartland.
He wore a black cloak over a gaunt body so thin the bones were visible through the outline. His black hair hung in tangled clumps like dead grass. His eyes bulged unnaturally from a pallid face, making him look less like a man and more like a corpse that had forgotten to lie down.
His name was…
"Gilles de Rais, what are you doing now?"
A cold voice descended from above, and the chaotic inverted atmosphere in the chamber froze at once.
The silver haired girl who had been directing the giant dragon atop the castle stepped forward. Her short hair framed a face both exquisite and severe. Black armor traced the lines of her slender figure, while the flowing hem of her dark robes curved around either side of her fair legs.
Her golden eyes held a cruelty that seemed impossible to explain and a hatred for the world that needed no explanation at all.
"Ah, my Holy Maiden, you remain as beautiful as ever…" The gaunt man called Gilles de Rais could not help but sigh in admiration. His protruding eyes reflected nothing but worship for the girl before him.
The only answer he received was sharp and merciless.
"Enough of your disgusting words, Gilles."
"You felt that anomaly just now."
"Yes, my noble Holy Maiden." Gilles de Rais grinned, and the exposed fangs made his already skeletal face even more terrifying. "I can feel it. A very powerful Heroic Spirit has manifested. Perhaps even a god from mythology."
"But it does not matter. The Holy Grail is already fully activated. Aside from a few stubborn remnants, this land has already fallen into our hands. And because you are the invincible Jeanne d Arc, under your banner we will surely claim the final victory."
"The flames of wrath have already swept through this world. This is our revenge. Our resentment, finally fulfilled."
His voice echoed through the deepest hall of the castle.
Gilles de Rais was a Marshal of France during the Hundred Years' War, and one of Jeanne d Arc's followers.
After Jeanne d Arc was betrayed by the French nobility and sent to the gallows, Gilles de Rais withdrew from the stage of history. Yet his admiration for the Holy Maiden did not fade. If anything, it deepened into obsession.
He hated the nobles who betrayed her.
He longed to see that sacred figure once more.
To that end, he fell into corruption. After his prayers to God brought him nothing, he abandoned devotion and descended from pious Catholic to infamous sorcerer, remembered by another name.
Bluebeard.
In a normal timeline, one without a Singularity, Gilles de Rais's lifelong wish would have ended in failure.
But here, he encountered a man calling himself Solomon and obtained from him a Holy Grail said to be soaked in the blood of the Son of God, a Grail capable of granting any wish.
That was how he fulfilled the desire he had clung to for so long.
The person before him now was the result.
This Jeanne d Arc before him was the ultimate product born from his admiration of the saint and his hatred toward the world that betrayed her.
She was not the true Saint Jeanne d Arc.
But she was the resurrected figure Gilles de Rais believed Jeanne d Arc ought to be.
A Jeanne who embraced hatred for the world.
A Jeanne who drove Fafnir, the evil dragon from the abyss.
A Dragon Witch Jeanne d Arc who would burn all of France with the fury of betrayal.
"Hmph. Do as you like." Compared to Gilles de Rais's ecstatic frenzy, the Dragon Witch remained indifferent. "I have already sent Fafnir to scout."
"What you intend to do, what you are plotting, I do not care."
"But there is one thing."
"The final revenge will be carried out by me, personally."
Her figure receded into the dark, but her cold voice lingered.
Gilles de Rais watched her departing back and bowed slightly.
"As it should be, my noble and beloved Holy Maiden."
"But as your Marshal, it is my duty to sweep away every enemy before you. Anyone standing in our path is an enemy."
"Even gods."
"Do you… agree?"
The space fell silent.
Silent, oppressive, and unnatural.
Then a vast grinding tremor reverberated through the air. It made the heart restless, the nerves irritable, the mind sink into gloom. Eyes became frantic. Thoughts decayed toward madness.
The book in Gilles de Rais's hand opened again.
Countless writhing tentacles spread from it, veiling the surroundings like mist. On every tentacle, eyes opened. Within each eye were clusters of compound eyes nested layer upon layer, dense as a honeycomb.
Noble Phantasm, Prelati's Spellbook.
Gilles de Rais had obtained this book from the Italian magus François Prelati while seeking a method to revive Jeanne d Arc. It was said to contain the forbidden knowledge of ancient evil gods from before the age of humanity.
Though the original was a strange grimoire from the East and the one in Gilles's hand was only a copy, it still retained one terrifying function.
It could communicate with ancient evil gods.
And perhaps because of the presence of the one descending this time,
that communication was unnaturally effective.
So effective that it nearly became an invocation.
"Great Cthulhu, sleeping god, Lord of R lyeh…"
Tentacles writhed and swayed as though submerged in a deep sea trench.
…
"Ritsuka? Mashu? What is happening over there!?"
Romani Archaman's voice remained sharp with alarm over the Chaldeas comm channel.
Beside him, Da Vinci's face was equally grim.
Before this day, both of them had been logistics personnel more than front line combatants. Even having worked in Chaldeas since its founding, neither had ever seen a phenomenon like this.
On the Human Order Observation device, the simulated Earth called Chaldeas, the France region in the fifteenth century was already scorched black, a charred zone of incineration.
And now, centered where Ritsuka and Mashu stood, a clear golden storm had appeared.
Sacred.
Majestic.
Like divine light descending from heaven.
But Romani's anxious calls received no answer.
"The magical energy storm is expanding beyond any prior case. It has cut off communication with Chaldeas…"
Communication across time and eras, whether Human Order observation or spiritron transfer, belonged to the domain of Mystery.
And Mystery failed when confronted by a higher order of Mystery.
"What exactly happened?" Romani ran a hand through his orange red hair, his delicate features full of distress and strain. He was supposed to be a doctor in charge of the Masters' physical and mental health. Why was he doing this kind of work at all?
Da Vinci, on the other hand, abruptly calmed down.
Her long dark hair with curled ends fell over her shoulders, and the face of the genius artist from the Renaissance, dressed in a gown like a lady of a medieval court, sharpened with thought.
"I have a guess."
"It might be the one we were just discussing."
"He may have arrived."
Romani's expression changed instantly.
"You seem a little frightened." Da Vinci glanced at him from the side.
"How could that be?" Romani forced a smile, but it looked painfully stiff. "If it is that person, then Ritsuka and Mashu should be safe. I should be relieved…"
"Is that so?"
Da Vinci lifted her coffee and looked at him with narrowed eyes and a trace of amusement on her lips.
That expression made Romani feel guilty for reasons he did not want to examine.
Still, regarding Ritsuka and Mashu's safety, he truly could relax for the moment.
If what that Saber said was true, then that person should be their ally.
Romani exhaled and turned back to Chaldeas.
The golden radiance blooming inside the Singularity was unmistakable.
This presence could not be mistaken.
"Has the Lord… descended…?"
Romani Archaman, or rather, the first Heroic Spirit of Chaldea, King Solomon himself, murmured the words only in his heart.
…
Majestic light fell from the heavens, bathing the world in brilliance.
"…What is this!?"
"I do not know, but I will protect you, Senpai."
"Ah, do not worry. I will fight too. Whatever comes."
"Mhm."
Though confused, Mashu instinctively moved in front of Ritsuka.
The girl in black fitted armor stepped forward. A flash of light gathered in her hand, and a massive cross shaped shield appeared at once. She gripped it and raised it high.
She was a Demi Servant, a living human granted the power of a Heroic Spirit. In danger, she was meant to stand before her Master.
But Ritsuka did not retreat.
The red haired girl only looked up at the sky.
Their link to Chaldeas had long since been severed.
Yet at this moment, neither she nor Mashu had the leisure to worry about communications.
The scene before them was too overwhelming.
And the sensation pouring into her heart was so vast it bordered on terror.
An existence descending with the world itself as a Spirit Origin.
The Holy Shroud in her hand.
The words Saber had spoken earlier.
All of it pointed to the same identity.
Golden light descended from the sky to the earth, then spread in ripples like water, layer upon layer without end.
It submerged the ground like a tide, yet the wild growth it brought was not ruin.
Grasses surged upward.
Trees rose.
Hundreds of flowers bloomed.
It was as if the earth itself were gathering to welcome and guard the one appearing there.
In Ritsuka's and Mashu's eyes, the figure in the sky took shape at the same time.
Formed from nothing.
Condensed out of the golden light covering the world.
A slender figure, straight as a drawn blade.
Black hair stirred in the wind.
The robes he wore looked ancient.
His lowered eyes seemed to contain endless wisdom and compassion, like a saint.
Yet also endless killing intent.
The scene and the figure called to mind a line of scripture.
I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
Endless wisdom.
Endless compassion.
Endless killing intent.
Mashu and Ritsuka both felt a chill in their hearts.
Then a soft cry sounded, and a small white figure shot out from behind them, rushing ahead to place itself even farther forward.
"Fou!?" Mashu froze.
The pale little beast was her companion, but she had no time to think about when Fou had followed them into the transfer.
Because the descending figure slowly opened his eyes and touched the ground with the tips of his feet.
Friend or enemy.
Unknown.
So Fou's sudden lunge made both girls tense up at once.
Mashu called him a pet sometimes, but she treated him as a friend.
Fortunately, the man simply caught the charging white beast with one hand and held him lightly by the neck.
The anomaly faded.
The impossible spectacle vanished as though it had never existed.
Only the man remained, eyes flowing with molten red gold light.
He looked at the little beast in his hand.
Then at the two girls waiting in the distance.
"Fou…"
The little beast gave a soft chirp.
Rowe exhaled.
"Another world fated for destruction?"
After the Origin Universe had been forged,
after the Chaldea of Origin that linked all worlds had been established with the Phantasmal Tree as its core,
Rowe had traveled across times and worlds, saving dead realities and reigniting the sparks of life in place after place.
This was not his first time.
And he hoped this one would not become another failure among countless failures.
A failed attempt to die as a Heroic Spirit.
That was why he had scattered his existence across worlds in the first place.
If one succeeded among thousands of dead worlds, he could rise at once.
Cast a wide net.
Rowe was, by his own standards, an experienced fisherman of catastrophes.
"Hmm. So this is…"
He was interrupted by a clear voice.
"This is a Singularity." Mashu paused, then glanced back as Ritsuka stepped from behind her.
The red haired girl gave Mashu a reassuring look and walked forward.
"My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"Mash Kyrielight," Mashu added quickly.
"You do not seem afraid of me." Rowe stroked his chin while looking at Ritsuka.
Though it was never intentional, he seemed to bring a spectacular phenomenon every time he manifested in a new world. It was an unavoidable side effect of descending at the upper limit the world could withstand. He could suppress it, of course, but unless necessary he had no reason to.
As a result, anyone witnessing his descent directly usually cowered, even if they knew he was no enemy. Instinctive fear came first.
But the girl before him held no such fear in her eyes.
"Oh… I am scared, actually," Ritsuka answered honestly. "But I am used to it."
As an ordinary person who somehow entered Chaldeas and became its last Master, everyone around her had been an elite of the world of Mystery, people who could kill her easily if they wished.
For someone in that environment, Fujimaru Ritsuka had long since become accustomed to standing next to monsters.
"And you are not going to kill me, right?" She blinked. "Mister Rowe, like Miss Saber said?"
The newcomer was strong.
Whether he was the same kind of being described in scripture or not, if they could secure his help, he would become their greatest ally in restoring Human Order.
Ritsuka had already decided that much.
"Fou." The little beast in Rowe's hand let out a timely cry and shook the tuft of fur on his head. His catlike face looked almost pitiful.
Rowe casually tossed him to Mashu, who caught him in a fluster.
Rowe clapped once.
"Saber. Was that Lily?"
"Lily?"
"So you do not know who she is, but you know who I am." Rowe narrowed his eyes, thinking. Should he call that diligence, or sabotage? "Miss Saber did not reveal her identity, but she told us many stories about you." Ritsuka's lips curled upward. "Creator of the Origin Universe. Most ancient advisor of humanity. Wise man who left behind countless clay tablets spread all over the world…"
"Oh, and Miss Lily seemed to bring some of those tablets too. She said she planned to spread your teachings in Chaldea."
Spread my teachings, my foot.
"Where is she? Do not worry. I will leave a complete corpse." Rowe rolled up his sleeves.
The youthful Artoria was not the King who ruled Camelot. She was another possibility of Artoria, one who had embraced the freedom of a knight before kingship hardened into duty. A mischievous streak was perfectly plausible.
"Actually, no." Ritsuka stuck out her tongue. "Miss Saber only heard those tablets existed."
"Then you know too much. My apologies. Only the dead keep secrets."
"Sorry, sorry. Actually I do not know anything."
"…"
Mashu held Fou and watched the exchange with a strange expression.
What were they doing?
Sharing some kind of code?
What am I even watching?
"Fou." The white beast raised his head and chirped.
Rowe suddenly laughed.
"So this is Chaldea's Master on this worldline. As expected of the last hope of Human Order."
"Hmm. Just as Miss Saber said. You face power and do not become arrogant."
"There is nothing to be arrogant about." Rowe waved a hand. The wind moved across the plain, carrying the scent of wildflowers through the grass. He looked up toward the sky. "No matter how powerful someone is, if they are human, then as persons they stand equal."
"We can discuss the rest later." Rowe clapped his hands again. "Something is coming."
Ritsuka and Mashu both stilled. A faint tremor spread through the ground underfoot.
The sky was clear, and the traces of Rowe's descent had vanished completely.
The approaching presence could not be sensed in advance.
Only when enormous dragon wings spread wide did it announce itself, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The evil dragon Fafnir.
The dragon of deepest malice from Norse myth, the ultimate dragon species slain in different tellings by Sigurd and by Siegfried.
A dragon whose power rivaled divine beings.
Driven now by the Dragon Witch, it came roaring across the sky.
Its body was like a moving black storm cloud.
Its posture was like a mountain in flight.
Savage.
Brutal.
Primal.
Bloodthirsty.
"Still a familiar face." Rowe chuckled.
The evil dragon heard the sound.
It looked down instinctively.
Its gaze met Rowe's.
Then its wings snapped inward.
Its gigantic body curved through the air in one smooth turn, circling away with astonishing agility. Limbs and wings worked together as it accelerated at once.
It turned around and fled.
Mashu and Ritsuka, who had been bracing for battle, both froze.
"Ritsuka, what is happening over there?" Romani's voice suddenly came through as Chaldeas communications reconnected. "A second magical energy source just appeared. Dragon class magical energy."
"Nothing."
Ritsuka scratched her head and stared at Rowe, who was already moving.
"The dragon… ran away."
The legendary evil dragon now looked like a panicked dog that had seen a lion.
Its four limbs flailed as it banked.
Its jaws hung open.
Its tongue nearly lolled out in terror while it glanced backward.
Backward at Rowe, who was already chasing after it.
"Running?"
"Get back here!"