Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

"But right now I don't even have the power to touch the records, so you could say I'm an incompetent Servant, just like when I first went to war in my previous life... Just now, Mr. Nianzhuo said I was a saint who would save the country, but I don't have the power to match that." Her face flushed even more, and turning her head, Jeanne's voice, barely audible, drifted out.

"So...so...I feel like I'm the one who's holding you back..."

“Lady Jeanne, if that’s what you wanted to say, then there’s no need to worry,” Mashu replied with a smile.

"Huh...?"

"Because I'm like you, someone going to war for the first time..." Zhuo on the other side also raised his hand.

Me too.

"Both of you...are you?" Jeanne asked, her eyes wide, looking at the two smiling people before her. "Especially Mr. Nianzhuo, he doesn't seem like it..."

“Because I am a Demi-Servant, I cannot fully unleash the power of a Heroic Spirit.” Mash stroked her shield, her smile widening. “Even so, the Heroic Spirit within me said, ‘It’s alright even if it’s like this.’ Mr. Nianzhuo also placed his complete trust in me.” Recalling that Heroic Spirit who completely trusted her, Mash looked at Zhuo beside her, her eyes flickering with emotion.

"...We don't fight for the sake of 'becoming stronger,' neither I, Mr. Nianzhuo, nor our seniors. We're just doing what's right. So please don't worry... even though it's baseless."

"Thank you all, I feel much better now." Joan of Arc let out a sigh of relief, her mood seemingly improved considerably. "I now fully understand this era and this country, so let's work hard together tomorrow!"

Zhuo waved goodbye to the two girls.

"Well then—goodnight."

The campfire gradually ignites.

I don't think it's a crime, but you're a real jewel in the crown.

Nothing in the night

When Ritsuka rubbed her eyes and woke up, it was already morning.

Mash and Jeanne had already gotten up early, and needless to say, Zhuo was also up early. The men on night watch also possessed the basic abilities of Servants and did not need to rest.

"Anyway, let's leave this forest and head to Orleans first." After stretching her limbs, Jeanne decided on her first destination. "Of course, infiltrating Orleans directly would be quite difficult. But perhaps we can gather some intelligence in the surrounding cities or fortresses."

With intelligence gathering as their primary objective, the group embarked on their journey once again.

Our first destination—Lhasa Litai. The group walked across the grassland, watching the massive buildings gradually come into view in the distance.

"If we can't get any information about Orleans here, we'll have to keep moving closer to Orleans." Joan of Arc rubbed her forehead with a worried look, but there was still hope in her eyes. "Let's try not to let things get to that point. With our current strength, we can't launch an attack without a sure chance of victory."

"Mmm, that's true~" said Ritsuka, who was quite exhausted. "But Jeanne-de-Claude seems very calm..."

“No,” Joan of Arc shook her head, a hint of anxiety in her expression. “To be honest, I’m very anxious because no matter how you look at it, the other me doesn’t seem normal. After the wyverns dominate humanity, you can imagine what she will do.”

"No matter how noble a human being may be, they will crumble before overwhelming power and hatred..."

(A certain noble pope just wants to prprprprpr)

“Beep beep—” Mashu’s communication device rang again, and the director’s voice came through it, “This is probably the first good news in the past few days. We have detected traces of Servants ahead of you. The location is in La Salite, which is your destination.”

"Hmm!" Upon hearing this news, the group perked up. Whether friend or foe, the appearance of a Servant was a good way to gather information.

"Huh? No! The other side is moving away from you! It's no use! The target has disappeared, it's moving too fast." Just as everyone was preparing to accelerate towards Lasharitai, the director's words came again, pouring cold water on their hopes.

the more you hope, the harder you fall.

Suddenly, Fufu, who had been silently perched on Zhuo's shoulder, jumped up and started pressing her paws against Zhuo's face, as if trying to make him see something.

Zhuo looked up and saw black smoke suddenly rising into the sky above the city.

"Damn it! Lasharita is on fire!" Zhuo strode forward, leaving a small crater in the ground, and rushed towards Lasharita at top speed. "No time to explain, you guys hurry up too!"

Not wanting to fall behind, the three quickened their pace and ran towards the burning city.

Broken walls and ruins, blood flowing everywhere... This was the scene that Nianzhuo, who was the first to arrive, saw.

The city was deserted, flames still clung to the buildings, burning fiercely. The entire city had lost its vitality, utterly silent.

Judging from the Servant's innate detection abilities and the terrifying silence, Zhuo knew that there were no survivors left in the city.

This is absolutely the worst possible outcome.

Later, the three women rushed over and were equally shocked by the sight.

"Based on our probes here at Chaldea... there is absolutely no sign of life there anymore..." The director's voice shattered Ritsuka's illusions.

But there are also people—no, they should be called monsters.

The sound of wood breaking underfoot nearby made everyone look up. They thought it was a survivor, but it turned out to be a corpse that looked like it should be dead.

"Ah... how could this be..." Filled with resentment, this person did not die after death, but turned into a living corpse.

Not far away, several other living corpses also appeared.

He drew his Time Limit Gunsword, transformed it into gun form, and aimed it at one of the staggering monsters.

"rest in peace."

—Pull the trigger

When the smoke cleared again, the baptism was over. He sheathed his Ultimate Gunsword. Zhuo didn't relax; instead, his body tensed again. He looked up at the sky.

As he looked, several enormous figures, their dragon wings flapping, flew rapidly toward him.

Wyvern.

However, the two-legged wyverns ignored the three of them. They folded their wings and landed next to the corpse, opening their mouths to tear at the flesh of the dead man.

A purple bullet sent him flying again.

Still turbid, he pointed his gun at the dragon that was about to bite it. "In my country, people should die peacefully and completely." Magic gathered again, and purple light waves formed a barrage that shot towards the dragon.

"So, you guys make me very unhappy."

Jeanne and Mash stepped forward as well. "Mr. Nianzhuo, we also want to join the battle."

No further words were needed; absolute trust in the two was evident. Zhuo's figure flashed, charging towards the foremost two-legged wyvern.

The other two flapped their dragon wings, trying to join the encirclement, but a giant shield or a flag blocked their way.

"This road doesn't work!"

The battle ended as the blood of the last wyvern splattered on the bricks.

After stretching his muscles and patting Mashu's head, even Ritsuka, who was directing from behind, relaxed and sat down.

But Joan of Arc remained standing, clutching the flag, gazing at the surrounding ruins. A look of bewilderment crossed her face.

“Jeanne…Miss?” Nianzhuo stepped forward. “You don’t mean you think that another version of yourself caused this situation and are trying to take the blame upon yourself, do you…?”

"But...the only one who could have done such a thing is probably another version of myself..." Joan of Arc's question was uttered with absolute certainty, as if she were convinced that it was another version of herself who had committed such an act.

“That’s not certain yet—” Mashu wanted to comfort Zhen, but was interrupted.

“No, I understand, I can be sure of it.” Joan of Arc’s hand holding the flag trembled. “There is just one thing I cannot understand.”

"What kind of hatred must one have for humanity to commit such an atrocity..." As a devout follower of God and the chosen saint, Joan of Arc was undoubtedly on the side of goodwill towards humanity. It was precisely for this reason that she could not understand why her other self would wreak havoc on humanity, even destroying her own homeland.

"This is the only thing I can't find the answer to." No matter how Joan of Arc thought about it, she couldn't come up with a reason why another version of herself would commit such a crime against humanity.

But there was no time to think about it for her.

Mashu's communication device on her bracelet rang again. The director's slightly anxious voice came through.

"My system shows that the Servant who just left has turned back! The worst-case scenario is that they seem to have become aware of your presence!"

"How many people..." Mashu was still gazing into the distance, where several small black dots were rapidly growing larger.

"Hey! Stop joking! There are five of them!" The director's shout even made the communication device crackle.

"The speed is incredibly fast! ...Could it be the effect of cavalry?!" Without time to think further, the director patted the control room console. "Anyway, run! Otherwise, we won't be able to escape! We don't have the advantage in numbers, and we can't gamble on Zhuo. We need to preserve our strength first!"

"But—" Mashu hesitated, about to escape this golden opportunity to gather information. (My silly girl, how could all five teammates possibly appear at once in the early stages?)

"If your numbers were equal, I wouldn't stop you from fighting or talking," the director's urgent voice rang out. "But now you have five opponents! Five! I can't let any of you get hurt or even die. So run! The best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee!"

Looking at Joan of Arc, who remained unwavering before him, Zhuo, who knew the plot well, knew that this battle was unavoidable.

“Jeanne… Miss is also—” Mashu still wanted to persuade Jeanne to leave.

However, she remained motionless, simply standing there in the once bustling city.

"I won't leave. At the very least... I need to find out what their purpose is!"

Zhuo's expression suddenly changed, and in his view, a blue light screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Mission: Fight against Jeanne Alter's Servants and escape safely."

Rewards: Kamen Rider Drive Watch x1, Extra Rich Soy Milk x1

"Note: Ex-Aid watch face level up is enabled. During this battle, the host can obtain secret items to upgrade the watch face."

"Secretly made props..." After pondering the word for a moment, Zhuo could only smile helplessly and walked to Jeanne's side.

“Mr. Nianzhuo? You…” In Jeanne’s view, there was no need for them to stay here with her weakened self.

“We’re partners, right?” He hooked his little finger with his, meeting Nian Zhuo’s carefree smile.

"...Wherever Mr. Nianzhuo is, I will fight there." Mash raised her shield, protecting Ritsuka behind her.

"What the hell!!!! I don't care about you guys anymore! Just don't miss a single one of you, do you hear me?!" The director's frantic voice came from the communication device, and then the communication was cut off.

"Hurry up, analyze the abilities of Nian Zhuo and their opponents!" The director, biting his thumb, grew increasingly anxious.

"Don't die... Mashu, Nencho, Ritsuka."

—Five dark figures arrived in an instant—

The battle has begun.

I got up and killed him with one shot! (Come on!)

Standing before Nian Zhuo and the others were five figures.

His murky gaze slowly scanned each of their faces, and in almost an instant, he discerned the identities of the Servants before him.

The French swordsman, as beautiful as a lily—Dürer

Vlad III, the Grand Duke of Romania and also a vampire.

Martha, one of the twelve saints of Christianity, helped the people defeat the evil dragon.

The Blood Countess, and also the ending that Elizabeth reached after growing up—Camilla.