France.
The plains.
The sun had climbed from the soft orange glow of early morning to the crisp white-yellow of late morning.
Adam had lingered in the city long enough to catch up with Kishinami Hakuno, then sent her back to Chaldea. After that he linked up with Ritsuka and the rest of the group. They left the city gates behind and headed out to the open plain.
Every recruitable Servant in the French Singularity had now been gathered.
The whole party sat in a circle on the grass, trading information with Saint George, Kiyohime, and Elizabeth Bathory while hammering out a strategy against Jeanne Alter.
"Jeanne Alter's strength…"
Ritsuka laid out the full picture—Jeanne Alter's world-shaking power and her unmatched cunning.
Saint George's face tightened with worry.
"From what you're telling me, she could wipe us all out without breaking a sweat."
Ritsuka nodded gravely. "Yeah. That's exactly right."
"I never imagined the one responsible for turning France into this nightmare was already this powerful…"
Saint George's brow knotted even tighter, his expression darkening.
"So how do we even beat her?" He fell into deep thought.
After a long moment, he recalled the battles against Jeanne Alter's Berserk Servants and found a possible opening.
He looked at Ritsuka. "What about the Servants around her? How strong are they?"
"Most of her forces are average at best. The only real threat is Jeanne Alter herself," Ritsuka answered after searching her memories.
"In that case, there's only one plan with the highest chance of success."
Saint George's face grew serious as he laid out his idea.
"A surprise attack on Jeanne Alter's stronghold!"
"A surprise attack?!" The group looked startled.
"Yes, exactly—a surprise attack." Saint George nodded and explained further. "It's not honorable, but we're the weaker side. We have to use unconventional tactics."
"We have no choice. The fate of France rests on our shoulders."
"Can it actually work?" Mash looked uneasy.
"At this point, it doesn't seem like we have a better option, does it?"
While everyone else fretted over the odds, Adam sat off to the side and couldn't hold back a quiet chuckle.
Thankfully the group's discussion covered the sound.
They were still worrying about how to defeat Jeanne Alter.
Meanwhile Adam was already scrolling through his Servant list—over four hundred Servants—deciding exactly which ones would maximize the emotional payoff against Jeanne Alter and her crew.
If he got serious, how many seconds could Jeanne Alter and her Servants last against his seven Grand Servants and several Beasts?
Three seconds? Maybe?
As Adam pondered how long the enemy forces could survive…
Ritsuka and the others were still deep in anxious strategy talks, picturing the overwhelming Jeanne Alter from their memories and wondering how they could possibly win.
He wondered what their faces would look like once they saw her real strength.
"Adam, what do you think of the surprise-attack plan?" Ritsuka asked.
"Huh?" Adam looked up, momentarily lost in his Servant menu. He hadn't caught the question.
Ritsuka mistook his blank expression for disapproval of the underhanded tactic. She sighed, her voice full of understanding.
"Adam, we don't have a choice. We really are the weaker side here."
Saint George chimed in, backing her up. "If the surprise attack succeeds, we can eliminate all of Jeanne Alter's subordinates first. Then we can focus every fighter on her."
"It's the only way to maximize our chances."
"I know what you're thinking, Master," he added gently. "A surprise attack feels dishonorable. But we're at a disadvantage. It greatly improves our odds of victory."
Adam pressed his lips together, trying to hide the grin threatening to break out. Once he had it under control, he put on a serious face and gave an objective analysis of Saint George's plan.
"You're right. For the weaker side, a surprise attack is the safest option."
The words had barely left his mouth when the surprise attack arrived—from the other side.
A sharp whoosh sliced through the air.
A massive black dragon burst from the clouds overhead. Flames gathered in its jaws as it dove straight toward the camp.
The beast opened its maw and unleashed a blast hot enough to vaporize steel.
The attack came without warning. Most of the group barely had time to react.
But [Mash] was already moving. She stepped forward and deployed her Noble Phantasm.
Lord Chaldeas.
A colossal magical shield unfolded above them, large enough to cover the entire party. The steel-melting flames slammed into it and stopped dead. Not a single spark slipped through. The excess heat scattered around the edges, instantly turning the lush green grass into blackened ash. The air reeked of smoke.
"That's… Fafnir!"
Siegfried recognized her mortal enemy at a glance.
The black dragon's dive continued even after the failed breath attack. At the last second, just five meters above [Mash]'s shield, it pulled up sharply.
As it climbed, several figures leaped from its back.
Jeanne Alter.
Charles-Henri Sanson (Shadow Servant).
Vlad III.
Carmilla.
Atalanta.
Chevalier d'Eon.
The moment they hit the ground, the enemy Servants charged without a word, turning the camp into a chaotic melee.
Everyone found their match.
Jeanne Alter versus Jeanne, Ritsuka, and Mash.
Chevalier d'Eon and Charles-Henri Sanson versus Marie and Mozart.
Vlad III versus Saint George.
Carmilla versus Elizabeth Bathory.
Atalanta versus Kiyohime.
Because Adam had already eliminated two of Jeanne Alter's Servants earlier, she didn't have enough forces left to spare anyone for him and [Mash].
Adam stroked his chin, watching the battlefield, the smile on his face impossible to hide any longer. He glanced over at the fight between Jeanne Alter, Jeanne, Mash, and Ritsuka. The two half-baked defenders were clearly being pushed back.
He turned to [Mash].
"[Mash], go help Ritsuka and the others. You don't have to defeat Jeanne Alter—just keep her occupied."
"Understood, Senpai."
[Mash] nodded once, then dashed into the fray.
Adam shifted his gaze to Siegfried, who was now facing her old nemesis—Fafnir. He checked his Servant list for every anti-dragon effector and began walking calmly toward that part of the battlefield.
...
On Ritsuka's side of the fight.
She stared at the chaotic battlefield, then at the mastermind behind it all—Jeanne Alter.
The tactic Jeanne Alter had just used against them was exactly the same surprise-attack plan they had been discussing moments earlier.
"Jeanne Alter, you're already this powerful. Why are you still being so cautious? Using a sneak attack against opponents who are far weaker than you?"
Ritsuka's face burned with indignation.
After knocking Jeanne aside with a heavy blow, Jeanne Alter heard the accusation and stared at Ritsuka in total confusion, face full of question marks.
"Huh? What are you even talking about? Our overall strength is what now?"
"What do you mean we're far weaker than you?"
...
A few dozen minutes earlier.
Jeanne Alter's stronghold.
The group sat around a round table, discussing their battle plan against Adam and his forces.
Jeanne Alter occupied the head seat, fingers laced under her chin, expression deadly serious as she stared straight ahead.
She was clearly thinking hard about how to counter them.
"The enemy's strength is overwhelming. You all saw that massive pillar of light. We can't face it head-on."
Carmilla and the others nodded in agreement.
Jeanne Alter's thumbs rubbed together nervously as she laid out her strategy.
"I know this tactic isn't honorable, but against an opponent this strong, a surprise attack may be our only option."
"If we pull it off, we'll have several advantages. First, that man called Adam can summon multiple Servants at once. If we strike fast and take out the ones around him, we can concentrate all our power on Adam himself."
"That should raise our chances as high as possible."
"And there's one more crucial point…"
"Even if the surprise attack fails, we can still use Fafnir to force a close-quarters brawl. That giant pillar of light won't be usable if we're all tangled together. They wouldn't risk wiping out their own people just to take us down."
Jeanne Alter finished and looked around the table.
Sanson lay nearby, undergoing modification by Gilles de Rais (Caster). His Spirit Origin was too damaged to function as a proper Servant, so he was being converted into a Shadow Servant.
Carmilla remained expressionless. All she cared about was crossing blades with Elizabeth Bathory, and this plan clearly gave her that chance.
Chevalier d'Eon, Vlad III, and Atalanta wore faint looks of displeasure. Some felt the tactic was beneath them; others worried about the safety of Adam's group, who were trying to save France.
Jeanne Alter noticed their expressions and assumed they were all simply ashamed of the underhanded plan. After all, one was a knight, one a hero, and one a duke. She tried to reassure them.
"I know some of you might feel uneasy about this…"
"But we're the weaker side. To defeat a far stronger enemy, we have to use every unconventional means available."
Their expressions eased a little.
Carmilla, however, still couldn't shake the image of that colossal light pillar. She looked at Jeanne Alter gravely.
"Master, do you really think we can win?"
Jeanne Alter thought for a few seconds, then gave a small, crooked smile.
"…We'll win."
...
Clang—clang—clang—
Jeanne Alter's blows rained down on [Mash]'s shield. No matter how hard she struck, the defense wouldn't break. Instead, one powerful counter from [Mash] sent her flying back more than ten meters.
"Ugh… that thing's tough."
"Is it made of a thousand-year-old turtle shell?"
Jeanne Alter shook her numb arm. The recoil from [Mash]'s counter had clearly rattled her.
Before she could recover, Jeanne and Mash pressed the attack again.
Jeanne Alter wielded her lance in one hand and her black holy sword in the other, fending off both at once. For a moment the three were locked in a stalemate.
Then she seized an opening—knocking Jeanne's guard aside and kicking off [Mash]'s shield to launch herself forward. She wasn't trying to send the shield flying; she used it as a springboard, stabbing her lance at Jeanne to eliminate the nuisance first.
But [Mash]'s shield bash struck again.
Jeanne Alter's attack never landed. She was sent flying once more, tumbling through the air before crashing to the ground in a heap. One hand braced on her sword, the other gripping her lance, she panted as she glared at Jeanne, Mash, and [Mash].
Ritsuka watched the bedraggled Jeanne Alter and frowned in confusion.
The power Jeanne Alter was showing right now was nothing like the world-ending monster in Ritsuka's memories.
What was going on?
Did Jeanne Alter have some other plan? Was she still holding back?
Even now, Ritsuka was convinced the enemy was hiding her true strength.
"Jeanne Alter, it's come to this and you're still hiding your real power?"
Ritsuka's gaze sharpened. "Or are you waiting for the exact moment we think we're about to win, just so you can reveal your full strength and watch the despair on our faces?"
Jeanne Alter finally caught her breath. She looked down at her mud-stained clothes and the sorry state she was in, like some refugee who had lost everything.
She had just been thinking how ridiculously strong [Mash] was when Ritsuka's words hit her.
The look on Jeanne Alter's face was priceless.
"Wait—what?"
"Hiding my strength? What the hell are you talking about?"
"You've been spouting nonsense since the beginning!"
"Are you mocking me?!!"
Ritsuka still believed Jeanne Alter was deliberately holding back.
"There's no need to say anything more, Jeanne Alter. No matter how much you pretend to be weak or hide your power, we won't fall for it. We'll fight you with everything we have."
She signaled Mash to give it her all.
Jeanne Alter was once again caught in a three-on-one pincer between Mash, [Mash], and Jeanne.
She couldn't keep up.
Every exchange ended with her being blasted back by [Mash] or forced to retreat after a near miss.
Ritsuka's expression grew even more serious as she watched.
"Jeanne Alter, why won't you use your real power?!"
"You're getting beaten this badly and you're still acting?!"
Jeanne Alter: "..."
She had no breath left to answer. The three-way assault gave her zero opening to speak.
But the look on her face made it perfectly clear—she desperately wanted to say something to Ritsuka.
***
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