To become a king and a magician

Jeanne Alter was created by Gilles de Rais through a wish made to the Holy Grail, and was not, as she herself claimed, another Jeanne born from the dark side of Jeanne's heart.

He had been instilled with the ideas of Gilles de Rais—to take revenge on France for betraying him, on the people for betraying him, and on the gods for failing to save him. Therefore, the only emotions Joan of Arc could feel were anger and hatred.

Now, this feeling has been pushed to the extreme.

"You bastard..."

The karmic fire of the crimson lotus suddenly ignited on Jeanne d'Arc Alter's body!

but--

"Noisy."

"Pfft—!"

With a cold, indifferent remark from Floros, the tentacle piercing through Jeanne d'Arc Alter's body immediately pushed outward with force! Like adding more air to an already inflated balloon, a huge gash was torn open in Jeanne d'Arc Alter's body! From her left chest to her left foot, that entire section vanished from her body!

Seeing the lifeless body of Jeanne d'Arc Alter lying helplessly on the ground, Floros had no intention of continuing to look at her, completely ignoring her angry gaze, and raised the Holy Grail high in his hand.

"Zheng—!"

An extremely intense light emanated from the Holy Grail, like overflowing liquid or a volcanic eruption. Infinite magical power poured out of the Holy Grail and enveloped Rafe.

In that instant—

[The magical reaction is surging dramatically! Far surpassing that of a Servant! Even stronger than Lady Aozaki's attack just now! And the nature of this magical energy... there's no mistake! It's the same as what King Solomon summoned back in Fuyuki City!]

[Fujimaru! Mashu! Akuta! Watch out, someone's about to come out over there—]

Roman's warning was not heeded by Fujimaru Ritsuka, because before that, a colossal creature had slowly appeared in the intense light, and what her eyes caught made her consciousness and spirit tremble so much that she could not hear any sound from the outside world.

It was a fleshy pillar.

A colossal fleshy pillar, its size comparable to a small mountain, its entire body shaped like a pillar, and besides its jet-black flesh, it also had countless scarlet eyes.

"This is......"

"Just like back in Fuyuki City..."

That's right, this is—the Demon Pillar.

54. Our nuclear missiles...are not on their way.

Demon Pillar.

The four pillar monsters that were summoned by King Solomon in Fuyuki City in the past.

Because Natsukawa Torato was holding off the enemy and covering their retreat, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others didn't really get a clear idea of ​​what kind of thing it was.

But now, after truly confronting this existence with their own eyes, they realize just what kind of monster it is!

Her body was sending out warnings, her hands, feet and torso trembling uncontrollably. A strong sense of fear rose uncontrollably from Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart. Just by looking at it, she knew that it was something she could not possibly handle. Even Mash and Akuta Hinako beside her, as well as Aoko who could use magic, Fujimaru Ritsuka could not imagine what it would be like for them to fight against this being.

An overwhelming presence, an overly malevolent and demonic power, and an excessively terrifying intensity of magic...

(Minister... you were fighting against these kinds of things back then? And there were four of them?!)

A profound shock filled Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart. Little did she know that the Demon God Pillars Natsukawa Torato had faced were not just four; after they left, he was now confronted with sixteen Demon God Pillars.

"Let me introduce myself in a simple and easy-to-understand way."

Rafe's voice seemed to emanate from the abyss, coming from within that fleshy pillar.

"I am Raef Lenore Floros, who can know the past and present and foresee the future. I am a supreme life form that surpasses humanity, one of the seventy-two demon gods under our most exalted throne—Floros."

"This is my true stance!"

"Feel honored!"

Feel fear!

"You will be eliminated here by the pillars beneath the Great Throne!"

Endless magical power suddenly surged out from the Demon God Pillar!

Almost reflexively, Mash and Jeanne arrived in front of the group at the same time, raising their shields and banners. But before they could unleash their Noble Phantasms, the terrifying magic transformed into a dense black mist that surged forth like a raging tide!

Besides its intense magic, the black mist also possessed terrifying high temperatures and pressures. Like an avalanche, it swept through at an alarming speed, crushing everything in its path—the ground, the space itself, and even the still-burning flames—into fragments.

Within the black mist, Mash held her shield, desperately trying to withstand the onslaught. Her arms, supporting the shield, trembled uncontrollably. Even with an unbreakable shield, Mash's spirit wasn't strong enough; she was still afraid, still filled with dread.

Supporting Mash's body from behind, Jeanne said apologetically, "I'm sorry, my Noble Phantasm was used up just now... Is there no way to help? Miss Aoko, Miss Akuta, and the magicians at Chaldea."

"I think there must be some."

"Or rather, why wouldn't it be there? Hey, Romani, is it on its way?"

Yes, he just left the control room—Mash! Fujimaru! And Jeanne d'Arc, five minutes! Just five minutes at most! After that, victory is ours!

"Five minutes... Ah!"

After Roman pointed it out, Fujimaru Ritsuka realized something she had been overlooking. So much had happened in those few hours that she had almost forgotten about it.

Before she set off, Natsukawa Tora had said this to her—

I can assure you, I will arrive within five minutes of you being in dire straits.

(Five minutes... If you don't come by then, I'll haunt you even if I die, Minister!)

"Mash!"

After placing her hand on Mashu's shoulder and, with rather amateurish skill, channeling her magical energy into her body, Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath: "Hang in there, until the captain arrives!"

"Yes, Master!"

Mashu nodded vigorously.

however--

【Huh? Natsukawa? What are you still doing here?!】

Roman's voice suddenly rang out again, startling the group for a moment.

Is Natsukawa Tora still in the control room?!

Why do you think I'm not there? I just drank too much Coke and needed to pee, so I went to the restroom. What, is there a super crisis?

[Professor Rafe has revealed the true form of the Demon Pillar! The situation over there is extremely critical, how can you still be so leisurely here!]

Even from here, one could hear the anxiety in Roman's words. However, in response to these words, the voice that Natsukawa Tiger followed up was quite unexpected.

"That's it? This isn't a crisis they can't solve no matter what, and Aoko is there too. What's the rush? Move aside, let me speak—cough cough! Fujimaru, can you hear me?"

"Minister...aren't you coming?"

"Yes, I'm not going this time, because there's no need."

"I can speak calmly," Natsukawa Tora said.

[Listen up, Fujimaru. You might think I'm abandoning you, but actually, this isn't nearly enough to kill you. It's just that you're giving up after getting a little stuck on a math problem. How are you going to face the final exams if you're like that?]

[Give me a harder shot, fight me to the death! If you still can't win after giving it your all, then come and ask me for help.]

"..."

Hearing the words coming from the other end, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others were speechless for a moment, with only the booming explosions caused by the Demon God Pillars remaining all around.

After a long silence, Fujimaru Ritsuka brought the bracelet to her lips, took a deep breath with all her might, and then smiled and said, "I understand, Captain. I will fight to the death and win."

[That's good. By the way, according to our observations, just now, the magical reactions of Joan of Arc and Atalanta disappeared, or rather, merged with the reactions of the Demon Pillar.]

"Does it mean... it was absorbed?"

[Pretty much. Although I don't know why Floros did this, perhaps it was just a random act, it's also an opportunity for you. After all, Floros's actions weaken it in a sense. Servants aren't so easily absorbed, especially not the hateful and angry Jeanne Alter. I can assure you, she won't obediently be assimilated by Floros after being absorbed.]

In other words, at least for now, Floros cannot focus all his attention on dealing with Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others.

Being unable to exert its full strength means there will be an opportunity to defeat it.

[Akuta, stop thinking about self-destructing. Let's have a normal fight once in a while. Aoko, I don't believe you'll stop fighting after using magic once. Didn't you have more stamina than you could use when you sparred with me? Use that stamina now.]

"What nonsense are you spouting, you idiot tiger!"

Aozaki Aoko's face flushed slightly for a moment, but she quickly recovered: "I know, I didn't say I wouldn't help. I just thought you would come, didn't I? Actually, you didn't come this time because you wanted to slack off!"

"Oh, the signal's not very good here. What did you just say? I didn't hear you for a few seconds."

(This guy!)

Listening to Natsukawa Tora's nonsense, Aozaki Aoko sighed helplessly, exchanged glances with the others around her, and then—

"Then let's go."

"We can't let that lazybones look down on us."

55. Desktop Cleanup Master Aozaki Aoko

Inside the control room.

Looking at Natsukawa Tora's nonchalant expression, even though he knew Natsukawa wouldn't do something without being sure of success, Roman couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not going, Natsukawa? Rafe... You should know very well the power of the Demon God Pillar."

"Ah."

"Then... even if it's to train Fujimaru and Mashu, starting like this is a bit too much..."

"The difficulty level is set too high, isn't it?" Xia Chuanhu smiled. "Perhaps that's how it seems to you, but Roman, this is only the first singularity, the one with the least fluctuation and the easiest difficulty. What we will experience in the later singularities... I think I've already mentioned some of that to you."

Roman had indeed been told not long ago what he would experience in the subsequent singularities.

Besides various Servants, they will encounter Demon Pillars one after another, and even gods, and even the creator goddess in Mesopotamian mythology—these are all enemies that Fujimaru Ritsuka and her friends will have to face in the future.

"Compared to the enemies we'll face in the future, what we're dealing with now is just a Demon God Pillar. Its level as a boss is just the limit that the group over there can handle. If they need my help even with something like this..."

"I can't stand you. Aren't your expectations for that child a bit too high?"

"Really? Compared to what I've experienced before, I think the situation of the One-Pillar Demon God is already quite easy. I wish I had been this relaxed before."

Hearing Xia Chuanhu's words, Roman glared at him in annoyance, but at the same time he had to admit that Xia Chuanhu was right. Compared with his previous experiences, the situation in the First Singularity was really easy now.

"Besides, I never said I wouldn't help."

Natsukawa Tora suddenly changed his tone.

“I only said I wasn’t going there, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.”