"There's a task from above that needs to be assigned to you. Name your price."
Lion Calamity's face twitched hard. He knew that whenever those big shots offered terms like that, it always meant a mission that forced people into an impossible corner. His first instinct was to refuse.
But the envoy continued speaking, "Right now, the elites of the Clock Tower have all been wiped out. Someone has to stop the Black Caster and Father Kotomine… We can only rely on you."
The two he referred to were Lion Calamity and Cella. These two were the only Masters the Association could still contact, and Iori and Mordred were also the last remaining hope.
"Rely on us?"
"Two Servants alone obviously aren't enough, so we still have to seize back command authority over the faction… If we can rescue those Masters, that would be even better."
"Hmm…" Lion Calamity pondered for a moment. "Why don't you just say it directly. What exactly is the mission?"
"You. Go kill Shirou Kotomine!"
"Huh? Me?"
Lion Calamity took a drag from his cigarette. Behind his sunglasses, the way he looked at the envoy became strange.
———
Bang!
In the forest where scorched earth and greenery sat side by side after being ravaged by war, Ruler Jeanne swung her flagpole and knocked away a magical beast with a body the size of a calf and a pair of saber fangs.
With overwhelming strength, she directly shattered its internal organs and ended the battle cleanly.
But after that, Jeanne's expression instead turned serious.
These magical beasts were becoming more and more bold.
The beasts and the dense fog had appeared together. The root cause of this phenomenon was that the presence of Yamata no Orochi and the Greater Grail had disturbed the leylines.
In addition, the lingering "poison" and "demonic nature" of Yamata no Orochi had seeped into this land, awakening the evil that once lay dormant.
At the beginning, the magical beasts only gathered in the vast wasteland centered around the place where Yamata no Orochi had died.
But as the fog gradually thickened, the range of their activities expanded and had already reached Trifas.
Before this, even if a magical beast occasionally entered Trifas, it would be dealt with by certain Servants who were also wandering around the city, so it never caused any major problems.
But in the future…
As the beasts grew more daring, perhaps one day even Heroic Spirits would no longer be able to intimidate them.
"This won't be good if it continues like this… Oh merciful Father in heaven, please grant your grace to this land that suffers."
"As long as the innocent people can be saved and protected from evil, I am willing to give up everything…"
Jeanne had no better solution. Devout as she was, she clasped her hands together and prayed softly.
Suddenly, she snapped her eyes open.
For a brief moment, shock appeared on her face. Then she followed her intuition and dashed out of the forest.
Crossing patches of scorched earth, the holy maiden reached a high ridge, trying to find the presence that had stirred her heart so strongly. She looked into the distance, yet saw no trace of any human.
At that moment, a sudden thought made her raise her head.
Her eyes widened.
'Two human figures are falling from the sky!?'
"I thought you said this time it would be flat ground, aaaaah!!!"
———
Roar!
"Mash, use Shield Bash!"
Awoo!
"Go, Jeanne! I choose you!"
Bang!
BOOM!
In the hilly region, after Jeanne had just defeated several magical beasts and stopped to rest, she couldn't help looking at the "two people who fell from the sky" with a strange gaze.
One of them was a girl with pale purple hair that leaned toward pink, cut short with bangs covering half her eye. She wore light yet exquisite armor and held an eye-catching round cross shield.
The other person was dressed even more strangely. A conservative academy-style top was paired with a surprisingly bold tight miniskirt and long stockings.
The exposed stretch of fair thigh between them formed a perfect absolute territory. Even though the amount of exposed skin wasn't high, it somehow still made people's hearts flutter.
This energetic orange-haired girl wore glasses, but it was obvious they were plain lenses with no vision-correcting effect, existing purely as decoration and a magical Mystic Code.
With the authority of the [Ruler] class, Jeanne could tell that the two were a Servant and Master pair.
However… they didn't seem quite "normal."
The shield-bearing girl named Mash was not a spiritual body. Instead, she had inherited a Servant's Saint Graph with her physical body.
Her existence was similar to Jeanne's current state of possession, except Jeanne herself was in control of her will, while the Heroic Spirit who had once possessed Mash seemed to have left, leaving control to the girl herself.
The orange-haired Fujimaru Ritsuka looked like an ordinary mage. But compared to the first-class Mystic Codes she wore, her personal magical aptitude wasn't very high.
Even someone like Jeanne, who was practically illiterate... ah no, an outsider, could see that.
Their combat style had Mash as the main fighter, while Fujimaru Ritsuka commanded and supported from the rear.
A standard Master-Servant combination.
What was fascinating was that although they seemed ordinary, their coordination gave Jeanne the feeling of flowing clouds and running water, as if each movement followed the other naturally.
That unspoken understanding meant that even before a command was spoken, their intentions were already aligned. It felt as though they were thinking with the same brain.
Experience?
No. More than that.
Pure accumulation of experience couldn't reach this level. It was like doubles matches in sports. If the compatibility wasn't right, then even if two people stayed together forever, it wouldn't help.
Even though they had only met for a short time, Jeanne could already sense the invisible yet resilient bond between them.
Well… that was just Jeanne's personal impression. It wasn't the important point.
What mattered was that these two had appeared out of nowhere.
They weren't participants in the "Holy Grail War" at all.
Also, what kind of class was [Shielder]? The Greater Grail had never taught her that…
Fortunately, there had already been far too many unexpected events in this Holy Grail War, so Jeanne's ability to accept strange things had improved a lot.
Besides, it was [Revelation] that guided her to these two.
Her intuition told her that Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash would be important figures capable of changing this twisted Holy Grail War.
"Miss Ruler, you worked hard. Here, have some water~"
Mash ran over warmly, holding water she had just fetched from a nearby stream. Even the cup was a Mystic Code, equipped with purification and heating functions.
They had many convenient little tools like this on them. At a glance, it was obvious they were used to camping outdoors.
"Oh… thank you."
Jeanne politely accepted the cup, marveling inside.
She trusted the two because [Revelation] guided her.
But Mash and Ritsuka were also very friendly toward her, as if they were old friends who had known each other for years… Even more strangely, Jeanne herself naturally accepted this way of interacting without any sense of distance or wariness.
'Perhaps we really are acquaintances.' Jeanne already had some understanding.
The Throne of Heroes exists beyond time and space. These two had probably met another version of her on a different timeline and gotten along very well, and that influence had somehow carried over to the current her.
"Um, judging from how you fight, it doesn't seem like this is your first time dealing with magical beasts. Have you encountered situations like this before?"
The three found an open patch of ground and sat on a fallen tree trunk, chatting in a relaxed atmosphere.
Although they had introduced themselves earlier, they hadn't gotten to the important topics before magical beasts suddenly interrupted them. They had no choice but to focus on the battle first.
Strangely enough, ever since meeting this duo, Jeanne felt that the frequency of magical beast encounters had increased drastically.
It almost felt like the moment they started talking, beast roars would follow. Their conversation was interrupted again and again, and even someone as patient as Jeanne felt a bit irritated.
Now it seemed they had entered a temporary quiet period, so Jeanne quickly asked about their origins.
"Yeah. Among all the enemies we've encountered, magical beasts are actually quite a friendly type."
"Friendly?"
"Yeah. After all, they just want to kill you and eat your meat. And their appearance is easier for people to accept."
"Senpai is right. Compared to swarms of insects, rotting ghouls that stink of decay, twisted and cruel new humans, or those sticky tentacle monsters, magical beasts are actually pretty nice."
"As expected, tentacle monsters are absolutely unacceptable," Ritsuka said with a look of disgust.
"And Demon God Pillars too. Their whole bodies are covered in eyes. That's the most disgusting thing."
Mash nodded.
"Enemies like robots, stone statues, or magical beasts are much better. Tentacles and slime-type creatures are absolutely not good!"
"But speaking of which… if it's Abby-chan's tentacles, I might not be completely..."
"Senpai!"
"Uh, sorry. Please forget that." Ritsuka scratched her head awkwardly.
Jeanne, sitting nearby, fell silent for a moment. Her eyes showed a hint of confusion.
Before she realized it, she had straightened her back and was looking at the two sweet-looking girls with deep respect.
Their appearances were lovely, but their experiences were unimaginably complicated.
"May I ask… who exactly are you two?"
"Oh, we're from…"
Chaldea. Rayshifting. The Incineration of Humanity. The Demon God King. Singularities…
A door to an unknown world slowly opened before Jeanne.
As Ritsuka explained things bit by bit, more unfamiliar knowledge appeared directly in Jeanne's mind, just like the information granted by the Holy Grail. Gradually, she came to understand everything.
"I see…"
Ritsuka had only given a simple summary, yet Jeanne already grasped the entire cause and effect.
At present, the "Incineration of Humanity" had already ended, and the world was slowly returning to normal.
However, just like the whirlpools left behind on the sea after a ship sinks, the legacy of the Demon God King was still influencing multiple timelines. Chaldea called them Sub-Singularities.
As the last Master of Humanity, Fujimaru Ritsuka's main mission at this stage was to repair these Sub-Singularities.
As for the "Holy Grail War" taking place in Trifas, it did not belong to these Sub-Singularities and had nothing to do with the Demon God Pillars. Instead, due to certain unexpected factors, it had deviated from its original course of history.
According to Chaldea's judgment, the normal version, this place was a naturally formed small Singularity.
Fortunately, it had only just begun to spiral out of control and had not yet developed more serious consequences, so repairing it shouldn't be too difficult.
"How shameful!"
After learning everything, Jeanne's face grew slightly warm.
"As the overseer of the Holy Grail War, I failed to keep the situation under control and let it develop into a Singularity… Fortunately, with your help, there is absolutely a chance to correct this mistake!"
"That's what we think too," Mash said with a sweet smile. "And being able to meet Miss Jeanne right at the start this time is really lucky!"
If it had been another Servant, the Chaldea duo would still need to stay alert in case the other party was an undercover agent.
After all, many corrupted Servants themselves were the creators of Singularities, and some with bad personalities enjoyed playing spy games with Masters.
But Jeanne was trustworthy.
First, this holy maiden didn't have a "dark" or "reversed" side. She always stood on the same side as Chaldea.
Second, her stepsister with the same appearance, Jeanne Alter, also wouldn't play spy games.
Seriously, the Jeanne series simply doesn't have that many scheming thoughts.
"I need to confirm something… This really is a 'Holy Grail War,' right? All the Servants were summoned by the Holy Grail?"
"Of course," Jeanne replied naturally. "It's just that there are quite a lot of Servants, divided into two factions fighting against each other."
"As long as they're all 'normal Servants,' that's fine~"
Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief.
"Right now Chaldea's power supply is low. If we run into something too outrageous, I can't bring out a very luxurious lineup… Hmm, maybe we can also contact the local Servants."
"Miss Jeanne, what's the current situation roughly like?"
"It's rather complicated." Jeanne organized her thoughts and briefly explained the background of the Red and Black factions, as well as the current stalemate between them.
"No wonder things went out of control…" Mash said with emotion. "We've participated in Holy Grail Wars before, but having fifteen Servants at the start is really rare."
"A challenge! Anyway, as usual, let's start with 'Servant summoning' first!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka stood up energetically. Mash nodded firmly as well. The two looked toward Jeanne.
"Miss Jeanne, we're going to look for the nearest leyline node and set up a magic circle to summon Chaldea's Servants. Could you accompany us?"
If this were an RPG game, there would probably be a notification saying "Someone has sent you a party invitation."
Jeanne had never played games, but she could still feel the goodwill from Ritsuka and Mash. She agreed immediately.
However…
"Leyline nodes might be difficult to find."
Jeanne explained to them, "Because Yamata no Orochi descended a few days ago and disrupted the leylines. Now Medea is also extracting power through the Greater Grail, so it's hard to find stable nodes in the wilderness."
"Yamata… huh?"
Ritsuka was from the Far East, so she naturally recognized that name.
"Wait, what's going on… Didn't you say it was a small Singularity? Is Yamata no Orochi something that appears in a Holy Grail War?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. Yamata no Orochi has already been defeated by the heroes working together," Jeanne quickly reassured her.
Ritsuka sighed with relief, "Good thing the local Servants are strong enough to defeat Yamata no Orochi… Hmm, they must have paid quite a heavy price, right?"
"It was indeed very difficult. If Susanoo hadn't descended to the world as a human, killing Orochi definitely wouldn't have been so easy."
"…Huh? Susa… Susanoo?"
Ritsuka's eyelids twitched slightly, and she immediately pressed her lips together.
"I knew that shady merchant wasn't reliable. What do you mean 'fix a small Singularity while you're at it'!
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