A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

"Tell me, what did you find over there?"

“Indeed, there are some. They are related to Gilles. He seems to have been detached from us and acting alone. He hasn’t even been with Jeanne Alter in recent days. His behavior is indeed very strange.”

Martha said earnestly:

"Your servant Jeanne Alter tried to investigate, but failed to detect anything amiss, and ultimately the matter was left unresolved."

“That’s normal. She’s not suited for this kind of thing. That’s why I arranged for the two of you to do it instead. But haven’t you found any clues either?” Wang Chong asked.

“He’s too cautious. He makes sure no one is following him every time he leaves. And it’s the same now. Even with the final battle approaching, he’ll be sneaking around somewhere… But Atalanta seems to have a way.”

Martha looked at Atalanta and said.

"Master, I've found some clues." Seeing that she was being talked about, Atalanta didn't continue to act coquettishly, but instead took out a tattered cloth from her pocket.

Wang Chong squinted as he observed the black cloth. The color seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Then Wang Chong looked up, signaling Atalanta to continue.

Atalanta didn't keep them in suspense and said directly:

"These are the tattered pieces of Gilles de Rais's clothing, stained with some of his blood. This is from an arrow I shot at him when he angered me once, when I pretended to lose my temper."

Atalanta then placed the cloth on the ground, traced something in the earth with her fingers, and muttered incantations.

The fabric was covered with a faint light, and then began to vibrate slightly in a certain direction.

"Alright, now we know their approximate location," Atalanta said with a sigh of relief.

"What's the principle behind this?" Martha asked, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

“This is a method of tracking prey that has been passed down in my hometown,” Atalanta said slowly.

"Yes, it's actually about identifying a target through the resonance of blood. Various civilizations have this technology to varying degrees."

As the True Ancestor who was most skilled at manipulating blood, Wang Chong could naturally see through the trick at a glance.

“Let me do it. By manipulating the blood, I can pinpoint the target more precisely.” Wang Chong manipulated the bloodstains on the black cloth, which then condensed into a drop of blood. This drop of blood then flew rapidly toward the city of Orleans.

"Let's go!" After Wang Chong enveloped Atalanta and Martha in the black mist, he led the two of them silently in pursuit of the Blood Bead and infiltrated the city of Orleans.

Somewhere in the castle, the blood droplet pointed intently to a dry well. Wang Chong, who emerged from the black mist, first explored the area around the well, and after confirming that there were no suspicious traces, he focused his attention on the well itself.

"Jill must be up to something from inside," Wang Chong said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Atalanta jumped into the dry well first, followed closely by Marda, and finally Wang Chong brought up the rear.

However, to the three's surprise, when they jumped into the dry well, they discovered that it was a completely different world inside, much larger than they had imagined.

Looking at the huge cave beneath the dry well, Wang Chong's eyes flashed with surprise, and a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time was finally answered.

"The atmosphere is so oppressive... And did you hear any strange noises?" Martha said with a very serious expression.

“Yes, there is some strange sound, it’s unsettling to listen to,” Atalanta nodded in agreement.

“Found it… if I’m not mistaken, it’s right here,” Wang Chong suddenly said.

"You mean the mastermind behind the attack on Siegfried and the destruction of his Noble Phantasm? I see, hiding underground? No wonder there wasn't a trace of him anywhere on the surface, so he was underground?"

Martha looked ahead and said.

"Hmm, no wonder my black mist also couldn't find any trace of that guy on the ground... It really is hidden in a good place."

Although he spoke with a lighthearted tone, Wang Chong remained vigilant. He was well aware that the current situation was significantly different from the game's plot he remembered.

It's important to understand that after the final battle in the game, with the evil dragon dead and Jeanne d'Arc Alter defeated, only Gilles de Rais and Jeanne d'Arc Alter remained, and they were already outnumbered. Even with the Holy Grail in his hands, Gilles ultimately fell to the combined forces of the enemy.

As for the Demon Pillars... they never even appeared. After all, they joined Chaldea's side long ago. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Demon Pillar who sold his soul to music, never even considered destroying the world.

Unfortunately, things are completely different now. What exactly happened that led Mozart to ultimately side with the Demon Pillar?

Perhaps all the answers will be revealed in the future.

Wang Chong pondered this, using his innate skill [Spell Sensing] to analyze the intermittent sound waves. As he understood their meaning, he began to envelop the three of them in black mist, instructing them:

“My power can temporarily block out the influence of those sounds and conceal our forms. I have a premonition that we will see the truth ahead. Whether it is Gilles de Rais or the mastermind behind it all.”

"Let's not alert them yet. Let's slowly infiltrate and see what's really going on."

Upon hearing Wang Chong's instructions, the two women nodded in agreement without hesitation and began to explore the interior.

As he went deeper, Wang Chong was able to perceive the fluctuations in that sound more and more clearly.

Wang Chong not only needed to eliminate the impact, but also absorb these sound waves and then appropriately release the same frequency waves behind him. In other words, he needed to allow the sound waves to pass through him without any obstruction and without any rebound.

Only in this way can we completely prevent the other party from directly sensing our presence through sound waves.

At the same time, Wang Chong was also mentally assessing his position relative to the ground. After walking for a considerable period of time, Wang Chong realized that if they continued forward, they would leave Orleans and return to the battlefield on the outskirts of the city.

"Right beneath our feet where we're fighting? The Great Hollow... the Great Hollow..."

A bad feeling rose in Wang Chong's heart. He suddenly thought of the Great Hollow in Fuyuki City and what he had done at the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Could it be...?

"There's a strong smell of blood ahead!" Atalanta suddenly warned in a low voice, her expression turning grim.

"Damn it—!" After walking for a while, they finally saw the source of the strong smell of blood. Martha's expression turned extremely angry, and she wanted to rush out.

Chapter 51 Facing Fafnir

On the battlefield outside Orleans, Field Marshal Gill continued to command his troops in battle against the wyverns. Both sides suffered heavy losses.

"Hold on a little longer. If we can hold out until our allies defeat the evil dragon, we will achieve final victory!"

Despite saying this, Marshal Gilles' face showed a hint of gloom.

It's not that the battlefield situation is dire and hopeless. On the contrary, everything is developing in a positive direction.

The strange travelers who followed the saintess had begun to gradually suppress the "Dragon Witch's" lackeys. Meanwhile, the dragon slayers, on whom great hopes were pinned, had already made contact with the evil dragon, and perhaps it wouldn't be long before they defeated it.

Marshal Kejil was constantly haunted by a shadow. Ever since he set foot on this battlefield, he felt as if he had a thorn in his side, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Even more strange images would flash through my mind: the depths of a dark, enormous cave, a raging sea of ​​blood and vengeful spirits, piercing demonic sounds, and a terrifying pillar standing in the center of the sea of ​​blood...

He didn't understand why these signs were happening, nor did he understand the meaning of those images. Therefore, he only treated them as illusions for the time being, suppressed his inner unease, continued to maintain the front line, and constantly observed every movement on the battlefield.

"Hmm, the Dragon Witch and the Saintess... where did they go?" Just as he finished surveying every part of the battlefield, Marshal Gilles unexpectedly discovered that Jeanne d'Arc and Jeanne Alter were nowhere to be found.

As for the whereabouts of these two Joan of Arc's... they haven't actually completely left the battlefield. They are currently on a nearby mountain, searching for something.

"As expected... there are traces of spiritual veins here."

Joan of Arc carefully sensed it for a moment, and then spoke.

"I did so many unnecessary things. Jill... did she still manage to be found out? Although I acted entirely according to my memory... I still did a lot of unnecessary things and was suspected."

At this moment, Jeanne Alter was no longer as cold and resentful as she had been on the battlefield. She was also seriously sensing the changes in the spiritual veins within her body using the Holy Grail.

"Damn it... at least half of the magic inside has been drained. If we don't stop it, it might brew something that will completely destroy this world."

Then, Jeanne Alter spoke with a grim expression.

“Tell Wang Chongjun about the situation. We have found several spiritual vein nodes. Once they are ready, you and I will use Ruler’s powers to intervene and sever them, stopping this magic.”

Joan of Arc couldn't help but say.

"Hmm..." Jeanne Alter nodded, immediately took off her arm guards, removed the black mist ring hidden inside, and began to explain the situation inside.

"Understood. You and Jeanne await our orders. Once we find the weakest point in the magic circle, we will act together!"

Wang Chong's voice came from within the black mist, followed by a moment of silence. Then, after Jeanne d'Arc (Black) precisely planted her flag spear in a certain spot, she said:

“That guy Gil, trying to mobilize such a huge amount of magic on his own... he doesn’t have that ability yet. I can sense an external force that’s familiar to me as it’s drawing on the magic in the ley lines.”

"Do you mean the Holy Grail?" Joan of Arc guessed.

"Hmm... but the Holy Grail that Gil originally possessed is clearly with me. So when and from whom did he obtain this Holy Grail?"

After speaking, Jeanne Alter suddenly looked towards the battlefield and said:

"We've come this far, is there any need to continue fighting? There are terrifying bombs down there."

“I’m afraid it’s hard to stop now. The chains of hatred can’t be broken. As a former avenger, you should know this better than anyone,” Joan of Arc said slowly.

"Ha, I never expected to hear such arguments from you. It seems this trip home has made you understand some things, more or less."

Jeanne Alter couldn't help but reveal the mocking smile she usually wore when treating Jeanne, and then said:

"Then let them fight on, until one side destroys the other, just like in the stories, where justice triumphs over evil..."

……

"Roar"

Fafnir, the evil dragon, roared and slowly rose from the ground. Siegfried and the others finally arrived in front of Fafnir.

"It seems she's already recovered from that dizzy state. I was thinking of taking her down... I guess my luck has never been very good." Siegfried sighed as he looked at the recovered Fafnir.

“It’s alright, Mr. Siegfried. We were already prepared to face them head-on and break through their defenses, weren’t we? Now it’s just a matter of returning to the starting point.”

Ritsuka couldn't help but say.

“You’re right, Ms. Ritsuka. But before we officially begin the battle—I want to tell you the truth. I don’t actually know how I defeated it before.”

"Huh? Don't suddenly say things that make people uneasy." Mashu's expression changed upon hearing this.

"One thing is deeply etched in my memory: it was not a battle that could be won easily. It was a battle that we won by sheer luck after countless failures."

Siegfried looked reminiscing, then said:

"Plan carefully, act boldly, have a comprehensive view of the whole situation, and concentrate on one point. You must be able to embrace and implement contradictory ways of doing things, like the sea and the sky, light and darkness. Otherwise, you will never be able to defeat that evil dragon."

“Understood… I will try my best!” Mashu said, her spirits lifted.

"Hmm, Ritsuka-san... no, I should call you Master right now... are you prepared for that?" Siegfried couldn't help but ask.

"Of course—let's go!" Ritsuka said, her eyes also showing determination.

"Fortunately, Master, you are so brave." Siegfried chuckled, then looked at the roaring Fafnir and shouted, "Return to dust once more, evil dragon!"

Siegfried charged forward first, followed closely by Mash.

"Roar!!"

The first thing they encountered was Fafnir's scorching breath. The dragon flames instantly scorched everything in the path and pierced straight towards them.

"Don't engage head-on! Spread out and make him distracted!" Ritsuka commanded as she ran to the side, dodging the dragon's breath path.

Siegfried and Mash immediately dodged to the sides, avoiding the dragon's breath while attacking Fafnir from different directions.

For a moment, because the two were separated and no one was in command, Fafnir did not know who she should attack and was caught in a brief hesitation.

However, it was this brief moment of hesitation that Mashu seized the opportunity to get close.

"Drink-"

Mash roared angrily and slammed her shield into Fafnir's thigh, which was firmly planted on the ground. Fafnir winced in pain and shifted its massive body, attempting to crush Mash, whom it considered an ant.

However, Mash was much faster than it had expected. In an instant, Mash dodged from its original position, giving Fafnir no chance to trample on it.

Meanwhile, Mash continued her harassing attacks on Fafnir. Although these attacks could not cause effective damage to Fafnir, they caused her great pain and anger.

Therefore, Fafnir's attacks became increasingly brutal and rapid, and she even released a large amount of dragon's might and magic power, forcing Mash to retreat.

However, Mashu's strategic objective had already been achieved. Because another man in the distance had already raised his greatsword high.

It turned out that while Fafnir's attention was focused on dealing with Mash, Siegfried finally accumulated enough magical power to unleash his Noble Phantasm and began to swing it at Fafnir.

"Noble Phantasm Unleashed—Bal Mung (Fantasy Greatsword: Fallen Demon)!!!!"

Siegfried roared, and the holy sword burst forth with blue light. The soaring magic power directly drew Fafnir's attention away from Mash, and it was too late for her to dodge.

Fafnir roared, no longer defeated by the terrifying images in her memory. Her will to survive made her act decisively, gathering enough magic power to unleash a flame attack on the blue-white beam of light emanating from Siegfried's holy sword.

"boom!"

The two forces collided, generating a massive surge of magical energy. Fortunately, there were no other living beings nearby, otherwise they would likely have been swept away by the overwhelming force.

Ritsuka, who was directing the battle from close range, immediately lay down on the ground to avoid being swept away by the aftershocks of the magic. At the same time, she observed the battle situation and began to contact Mash, warning her to be careful and seize any opportunities.

Ultimately, Siegfried's legend of slaying dragons played a crucial role. Driven by a special force, the beam cannon gradually suppressed Fafnir's dragon breath and struck her directly.

"boom!"

"Roar--!!"

Fafnir let out a painful howl, its figure seemingly enveloped by Siegfried's beam of light.

"Is this how we win?"

Following Ritsuka's orders, Mash, who had been waiting for her chance, couldn't help but comment upon seeing this scene.