Kamen Rider Date A Live

—Intelligence exchange in progress—

"I see. Joan of Arc, you were originally supposed to manifest in the world by possessing a French girl, but for some reason, this time you manifested directly as a spirit. The reason you manifested as a spirit is because a special magic power was injected into your body. And the reason you are chasing me is because the Holy Grail has given you a rare and clear instruction."

"Yes, that's right. But who exactly are your predecessors? It's unimaginable that they could infiltrate the magic circle that summoned me from the Holy Grail."

Jeanne looked on incredulously, never expecting such a powerful person to exist in another world. In her world, only the Counter Force could do something like this. So, Shido's senior was just as powerful as the Counter Force.

“I understand that very well… However, now that we’ve exchanged information, I need to examine your body, Jeanne. In the magic within you, besides the magic of our predecessors, I sensed an extremely strange kind of magic in your spiritual core and magic. I have a feeling that this magic is not a good thing.”

"Bad magic within me? Really...!!!"

Before Joan of Arc could finish speaking, she suddenly turned to look into the distance, where a mountain road stretched out.

"What's wrong, Joan of Arc? Have you discovered something?"

Shido asked Jeanne with a puzzled look, but after hesitating for a while, she still answered Shido.

"On the highway over there, two Servants met and started fighting."

"How did you know?! I didn't feel anything!"

Shido asked, somewhat incredulously.

"As a ruler, my perception is ten times that of other servants."

Joan of Arc's serious answer elicited a gasp from Shido: "Really?"

However, Shido immediately became serious as well.

"Since it's a battle between two Servants, how can I not go? And if I'm lucky, it might be a battle between a Caster I've never met before and another Servant."

Shido had no idea that his joke had actually come true.

"Let's go, Joan of Arc! Let's go take a look together."

As soon as Shido finished speaking, a mechanical motorcycle silently appeared in front of him. Shido readily got on, while Jeanne hesitated for a moment before also getting on and hugging Shido's waist tightly.

"lst~go!"

Shido and his companion sped off towards their destination!

My Joan, Chapter 132.

Article 132 Myjoan.

"Saber, Jeanne, let's talk about that later. I want to ask Saber first, could you tell me some information about that mad Caster you mentioned?"

Hearing Shido speak in such a serious tone, Ria also became serious. She coughed and said with a solemn expression.

"Itsuka, that's fine. That Caster not only gives me the feeling of madness, but he also has an extremely strong smell of blood on him. He doesn't seem like a good person, and I want to get rid of him as soon as possible. And he keeps saying that I am..."

At this point, Lia suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes showing a look of sudden realization, and pointed at Jeanne.

So you were the culprit behind everything!

For some reason, Ria's action reminded Shido of the eternal elementary school detective who had been serialized for over four thousand chapters, pointing out the culprit.

However, while Shido's thoughts were somewhat nonsensical and he didn't understand what Ria meant, the other two, Irisviel and Jeanne d'Arc, showed expressions of sudden realization and excitement, respectively, clearly understanding what was going on. This only made Shido more confused and unable to comprehend it.

Fortunately, Lia didn't intend to leave Shido hanging and quickly explained what she had to say.

"Actually, when Caster first met me, he called me 'Your Highness,' and claimed to be my most loyal servant. He said he had been looking forward to my resurrection, and like Rider, he told me his real name directly, and at the same time called me... Joan of Arc."

When Ria mentioned that Caster addressed her as "Her Highness the Saintess," Shido's eyelids twitched. As soon as Ria finished speaking, Shido had already thought of a 'hero' under Jeanne d'Arc who fit Ria's description and couldn't help but say that person's name.

"Could it be that the Caster of this Holy Grail War is none other than Gilles de Rais, the French Marshal who was once hailed as a national hero and a comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc?!"

"Yes, that's the French marshal."

Upon hearing Lia's nod, unlike Shido who gasped, Jeanne smiled happily.

"Great! It really is Jill! I wonder where he's been. I haven't seen Jill in so long!"

Unlike Joan of Arc, who wore a happy smile, the other three, who were familiar with history, could not laugh. After all, what made Gilles de Rais famous was not some French hero!

Seeing Jeanne d'Arc grinning somewhat foolishly, Shido asked a question that seemed a bit odd.

"Joan of Arc, you know the history of the heroic spirits who come here, don't you know the history of Gilles de Rais?"

"Gil's history? I haven't read it. Shortly after I was born, I was studying your information and thinking about how to defeat you. I only glanced at the true names of all the Heroic Spirits who appeared."

Joan of Arc, puzzled by Shido's question, asked him the question out of curiosity. Shido, with an air of "I knew it," hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Joan of Arc, although it's a little hard to tell you, it's better to tell you this. You should be mentally prepared."

“…Speak.”

As Joan of Arc gradually came to her senses from her excitement, she saw that the others were all silent and looking strange. Coupled with Lydia's words just now, an ominous thought arose in her mind. Her emotions told her not to listen, but her reason told her that she had to listen.

After a mental struggle, Joan of Arc silently uttered two words.

"Ah."

Shido agreed briefly, and after carefully considering his words, he spoke.

“Joan of Arc, do you know? Although Marshal Gilles de Rais is very famous, what made him famous and turned him into a Heroic Spirit was not that kind of fame, but another kind of fame, the fame of evil.”

"!!"

“Gilth de Rais is not most famous for being a so-called national hero, but for being a notorious black wizard in European history.”

"After Joan of Arc was burned to death on trumped-up charges, Gilles de Rais suffered a severe mental blow, became mentally unstable, and retreated to the lands of Machkull and Tiforias to devote himself to the study of alchemy. He hoped to use the power of alchemy to resurrect Joan of Arc, and, believing the words of a sorcerer, tortured and killed more than 300 children, using their blood to create a magic circle in an attempt to resurrect her. Although all of this was eventually discovered, he was burned at the stake for this heinous crime."

"...No! No! It can't be! How could Jill do such a thing! You're lying to me!!!"

Joan of Arc couldn't believe it, or perhaps she forced herself not to believe it, but Shido's next words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, silencing Joan of Arc from her shouts.

"If you don't want to believe it, then look for yourself! Didn't the Holy Grail already tell you? The history of all Heroic Spirits! If you're not even willing to face this, then can you still call yourself a hero—'Joan of Arc'?!"

Shido's words caused Jeanne to fall into an unusual silence, standing motionless. However, everyone present knew that Jeanne was reading the history of Caster.

About ten minutes later, Joan of Arc's previously motionless body began to move, but the first thing she did was to burst into tears. No one could tell whether she was weeping for Caster, for the innocent children who had suffered endless torment at his hands, or perhaps both. But no one spoke; even though they were on opposing sides, it was clear that no one wanted to stop Joan of Arc from crying…

Half an hour had passed since Jeanne had cried her heart out. At this time, Lia and Irisviel had said goodbye to Shido and headed towards their own castle. They made a promise with Shido that if they encountered Caster, Shido and the others would come to defeat him!

Shido remained there until he saw Jeanne d'Arc finish crying. He didn't say anything, but simply tossed her a helmet and told her to get into the carriage.

Meanwhile, Joan of Arc silently put on her helmet, got back into the car, and hugged Shido tightly.

Shido silently started the motorcycle and headed towards his master's house.

…………

"...Hey, Joan of Arc, are you listening?"

While driving, Shido's soft voice came through the window.

"……What's up?"

“Although I know you are in pain, Caster is right in front of you, in the same city as you. As Caster’s superior, how can you not think about saving Caster?”

"save?"

“One of Caster’s abilities must be the ability to be mentally unstable, otherwise, even though you and Saber look very similar, it would still be easy to tell the difference at a glance, let alone Caster who has always been by your side serving you. But since it’s not obvious, it means that Caster has mental problems.”

"...That's right, Jill does have this skill among her abilities."

"In that case, shouldn't you save Jill even more? He killed so many innocent children and went insane in order to resurrect you. He sacrificed so much for you."

"Of course, I'm not saying that Caster's evil deeds can be forgiven, but even the most heinous criminals can have a good meal before they die, so why can't Caster be redeemed by you? Defeating Caster is just one step; what you need to do is liberate Caster from his mental derangement! Just like in the legend, you risked everything to save a prisoner of war's life with your precious amulet."

"...Thank you, Shido. This is something only I can do. I will definitely save Jill! So please, can you help me?"

Joan of Arc's voice at this moment lacked its usual heroic tone; instead, it sounded like that of a helpless, ordinary woman.

"Happy to serve, my-joan."

(Long time no see, 'You': Flag! Flag! The flag is up!!)

The second day of the 133rd appointment was just as busy.

The second day of the 133rd appointment was just as busy.

"It's almost noon now, Master should be waking up soon. But sleeping so late, it must be because so much happened last night. Speaking of the night..."

Shido, who was having tea with Jeanne on the rooftop, looked up at the dilapidated Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel in the distance halfway through his conversation.

"I never expected that a master would actually blow up the hotel where a team was staying with a technological bomb just to destroy a team. That's really not the way a magician would do."

Shido paused for a moment and took another sip of tea.

"Luckily, that person had some conscience; before blowing up the hotel, he set it on fire to cause a commotion, so not many ordinary people were hurt. Otherwise, besides Caster's group, that Master would have been my first target to eliminate!"

Shido took a bite of the chicken leg he had taken out of his belt with a hint of resentment, swallowed it, and then spoke out.

"Speaking of Caster, Jeanne. The latest newspaper says Caster's gang has struck again. More than a dozen children have gone missing. We need to act quickly, and it's not just us."

Jeanne, who was quietly drinking tea and eating pancakes, looked up in confusion at Shido's meaningful words and asked in bewilderment.

"Why do you say that?"

“Uh, Jeanne, think about it. What is the biggest principle of the Holy Grail War? Isn’t it that the Holy Grail War must be conducted in secret? But Caster is using magic to kidnap children without any scruples. Even I can sense subtle clues of magic power where the children are kidnapped, let alone the people of the ‘Sanctuary Church’ and the ‘Founding Three Families’. One of the ‘Founding Three Families’ or the ‘Sanctuary Church’ will definitely take action to destroy Caster, whether for the dignity of a magus or the principle of secrecy in magic.”

Shido's reasoning was so logical and methodical that Jeanne d'Arc nodded repeatedly in approval.

"However, without any reward, it's simply impossible for our Master to go and destroy the Caster. Even if we Servants wanted to, it wouldn't make a difference."

"Therefore, the 'Sanctuary Church' or the 'Founding Three Families' must have prepared quite a generous gift. If I'm not mistaken, the 'Sanctuary Church,' which is neutral, should send familiars or something similar to gather all the Masters soon. I guess the bargaining chip... will probably be Command Seals."

Although Shido spoke of it casually, as if the matter were unimportant, Jeanne was greatly surprised by Shido's reasoning!

"Command Seals!? No wonder, even if it were just one Command Seal as payment, I'm afraid all the Masters would be unable to resist the urge to join the battle against Gilgamesh... We really need to hurry!"

Joan of Arc looked serious, but from the way she gripped the teacup, one could tell that her inner world was not as calm as it appeared.

Shido saw Jeanne d'Arc pretending to be strong, gave a wry smile, reached out and grabbed Jeanne d'Arc's hand, and said.

“I already told you, I will help you, so don’t be so tense, relax. I will help you subdue the Caster and drive away the other Servants. But you have to promise me that you will indeed save your former comrades.”

When Jeanne saw Shido speaking in a serious tone, a blush crept onto her face. However, more than shyness or excitement, Jeanne was genuinely moved by what Shido said, and even had the absurd thought that being captured would be wonderful.

However, Jeanne's hands, which had been tightly gripping the teacup, did relax a little, which pleased Shido. But before Shido could say anything more, magical smoke suddenly appeared in the sky from the east, in the direction of the 'Church of Saints,' along with the magical pulse that had just suddenly sounded. Shido knew that his guess seemed to be correct; the 'Church of Saints' was now gathering Masters.

He and Jeanne exchanged a glance, then simultaneously jumped downstairs and rushed into the Macage couple's house. Fortunately, the elderly couple had gone out early that morning, and now only Waver was a human in the house; the other three were Heroic Spirits.

Upon entering the house, what greeted Shido and Jeanne's eyes was a large, destructive figure!

"Rider!! At least put your underwear on!!! There's a woman here!!!"