Martha stood atop Tarasque's back, gazing down at Adam and the others. She clenched her fist tightly, visibly struggling to hold something back, before gripping her large cross with her other hand to finally suppress the urge.
"Good afternoon, everyone. The light you all gave off earlier was brighter than the sunset."
She smiled with gentle grace, presenting herself as a reliable and benevolent saint.
"Are you… an ally?" Jeanne asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing Martha like this, she naturally assumed the saint was here to help them against Black Jeanne. After all, what kind of enemy would greet them with such kindness?
"No. Unfortunately, she's an enemy Servant," Adam warned, knowing this Singularity well.
"Huh? She's an enemy?" Jeanne looked surprised. "But she seems like she wants to join us…"
Martha gave a regretful sigh at their exchange and spoke to the group below:
"I'm sorry to confirm it, but the young man is right."
"Young man?" Adam blinked at the title.
"Yes… I am indeed your enemy!!"
Martha raised her cross and charged forward in a sudden rush. Strangely, her target was very deliberate—she went straight for Mash, whose defense looked the most solid, clearly calculating that her attack wouldn't do any real damage.
The cross slammed into the shield with a grinding metallic screech.
As expected, she failed to break through Mash's guard.
Mash countered with a powerful shove, sending Martha flying back. The saint used the momentum to land neatly on Tarasque's back once more.
Every Servant on Adam's side was now fully alert.
Seeing that they were properly wary of her and wouldn't be caught off-guard by a sudden berserk attack, Martha smiled softly.
"As you can see, I really am your enemy."
"Although that strike wasn't from my own will—I've been afflicted with Mad Enhancement. I can no longer control myself."
"Mad Enhancement?"
Jeanne and the others hadn't fought many of Black Jeanne's Servants yet. This was the first time they'd heard the term.
"In simple terms, their reason is suppressed, forcing them to obey their Master's commands no matter what," Adam explained.
Martha glanced at him with mild surprise. "You're quite knowledgeable for someone so young."
She stroked the cross in her right hand with a heavy sigh.
"That's right. Because of Mad Enhancement… even though I keep reminding myself to be a proper saint, I was summoned by this broken world and that broken saint."
Martha glanced at the group, checking whether they understood her meaning, then continued:
"Because of her, my reason has all but vanished. I've become incredibly violent. Right now, I'm desperately fighting back the urge to slaughter every one of you."
She looked at Jeanne again, remembering the hope the girl had shown earlier.
"It's quite the headache. While I appreciate your expectations, I cannot become your ally. You couldn't possibly accept a Servant who might stab you in the back the moment you lower your guard…"
After hearing this, Jeanne looked even more confused.
"If you were summoned by Black Jeanne, you're our enemy. And you were given Mad Enhancement, so your actions aren't truly your own—then why appear before us at all?"
Martha smiled, about to answer.
"Naturally, because I wanted to—"
Her words cut off halfway. She had planned to say she came to train Adam's team so they would be strong enough to face Black Jeanne later.
But then she spotted an unexpected figure among them.
Swimsuit Black Jeanne.
Martha froze. Her eyes darted around guiltily, unable to meet the other woman's gaze directly.
"M-Master…? Why are you here?"
Even though she didn't understand why Black Jeanne was present, her Mad Enhancement-addled mind couldn't process much. She instinctively reverted to the loyal subordinate she once was.
"The reason I came here is simple… I couldn't stand by and watch you people bully Master! You're ganging up on her—I'm here to stand up for her!"
"Stand up for her?"
Ritsuka immediately sensed something off. Would a real saint use phrasing like "stand up for her"? It sounded more like something a street thug would say.
Nearby, Swimsuit Black Jeanne's mouth twitched violently. She took a deep breath, her emotions extremely complicated.
Although she now belonged completely to Adam, she had once been the Black Jeanne of this Singularity. Watching her former subordinate casually leaking information to the enemy made her expression look like one of Olga Marie's disastrous cooking attempts—utterly awful.
Swimsuit Black Jeanne muttered under her breath:
"So that's why the Chaldea group suddenly knew so much after I chased them… It was because of you!"
At that moment, Martha also noticed something strange.
"Huh? Wait a second."
"Why isn't there any Master-Servant bond between me and this Black Jeanne?"
"You're not Master."
Swimsuit Black Jeanne waved her hand dismissively, clearly irritated. "Yeah, I'm not. That's correct. Moving on."
Her attitude was extremely half-hearted. Being in a bad mood, she wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible.
But Martha kept staring, tilting her head left and right. The resemblance was uncanny…
Yet there was no contract response. Eventually, Martha began doubting herself.
"Did I mistake her for someone else?"
"Has Mad Enhancement driven me this crazy?"
"Besides, Master would never wear clothes that revealing…"
In the end, Martha concluded that the sight was just a hallucination caused by her broken mind and dismissed Swimsuit Black Jeanne entirely.
She then turned back to Adam's group, recalling the threat posed by Black Jeanne and her dragon:
"In short, the one standing in your way is the Dragon Witch, riding the ultimate dragon species—the crystallization of calamity itself!"
"You have no chance of defeating the dragon controlled by the Dragon Witch."
"I won't tell you that the one capable of slaying dragons is neither a saint nor a princess!"
"Since ancient times, dragons have always been slain by Dragon Slayers!"
"It's an unchanging law. And I definitely won't tell you that the Dragon Slayer is located in Lyon—which is this very city right now—"
Once again, Martha's words stopped abruptly.
Because she had just spotted a very familiar figure in Adam's team… one that looked exactly like the Dragon Slayer they had been hunting earlier.
"Huh? You've already found the Dragon Slayer?"
Swimsuit Black Jeanne's face had gone past mere twitching. Veins were now bulging on her forehead from pure rage.
No freaking way! You're seriously not even pretending?! Are you just slapping the answer sheet directly onto the student's face?!
Martha scratched her head in confusion as she looked at Siegfried. It seemed Adam's side already knew just as much as she did.
But that was actually fine. The stronger they were, the happier she felt. She had been worried her Tarasque might be too powerful and cause serious casualties.
With Siegfried here, she no longer had to worry about that.
Feeling it was still necessary to give them a proper threat, Martha struck a battle-ready stance. A flash of excitement crossed her face.
"Anyway, if you can't even surpass me, you have no hope of defeating the Dragon Witch."
"My True Name is Martha. Defeat me!"
"Drive your blade into my chest without hesitation! Let me test whether you can step over my corpse!!"
Her voice grew increasingly passionate. She clenched her fist as if something feral was about to break free, but she gripped her cross tightly once more and held it back, choosing to fight in the proper manner of a 'Saint.'
The way Martha was handing out critical information while basically offering her own head made the situation obvious even to Swimsuit Black Jeanne, let alone everyone else.
"Oh my god… she really is… this is killing me."
Ritsuka sighed, deeply moved by Martha's selfless way of helping from the inside.
At that moment, a communication window from Chaldea appeared on Ritsuka's hand, showing Olga Marie looking equally impressed (while chewing on something).
"Indeed. As expected of a Saint, I suppose? (munch)"
"Legend says Martha can make even a monster like Tarasque submit through prayer alone."
Mash, focused on Martha, didn't notice anything strange about the Director.
Thinking back on the impression Martha had given since appearing, Mash spoke with genuine emotion:
"If Martha hadn't been afflicted with Mad Enhancement, she would definitely be a gentle big sister."
Adam, who was currently deciding which Servant to summon, almost burst out laughing.
"Pfft~"
"A gentle big sister, huh? Yeah… a very gentle big sister indeed~ (deadpan)"
On the battlefield.
Tarasque let out a roar and charged, intending to barrel straight through them.
Mash immediately planted her shield in its path.
Tarasque looked at the small figure before it with clear disdain.
Watch me send you flying!
But the moment it slammed into Mash's shield—
CLANG!
Tarasque's head spun. It felt like it had crashed into an entire continent.
Mash considered whether to blast the dragon away or simply launch it sky-high, but she held back, waiting for Adam's command.
Nearby, Marie and Mozart were attacking Tarasque, but their strikes couldn't penetrate its thick shell.
Siegfried stared at the armored, turtle-like dragon. Its carapace was incredibly tough—Marie and Mozart's attacks were completely ineffective.
Remembering the encouraging words Adam had given her earlier, Siegfried felt that the moment to fulfill her duty as a Dragon Slayer had arrived!
Using her greatsword as a crutch, she staggered to her feet and stepped in front of Adam, pointing her blade at Tarasque.
"Leave this to me. This time, I will definitely…"
"No. You're still badly injured. Rest for now."
Adam stopped her immediately. Using her Noble Phantasm in her current condition could cause her Spirit Origin to collapse.
"But I…"
Siegfried hesitated. Adam had hyped her up so much that her desire to slay a dragon had reached a boiling point. Not fighting one right now felt unbearable.
Fortunately, just as Adam could ignite that desire, he could also suppress it.
"Siegfried, in your current state, releasing your Noble Phantasm might destroy your Spirit Origin completely."
"Remember—Fafnir is still waiting for you. She's the true greatest evil dragon you must face!"
Siegfried looked like she wanted to argue, but she eventually sat back down in disappointment. As she did, her chest gave a noticeable bounce.
"I understand."
She seemed genuinely apologetic about her weakened body.
"I'm sorry. My injuries are too severe. When the time comes to face Fafnir, I will give everything I have."
"Good. Slaying Fafnir is your role and yours alone."
Adam nodded, then glanced at his Servant roster.
Truthfully, he planned to summon most of his Anti-Dragon Servants when they finally faced Fafnir.
As for Siegfried, he might have pumped up her dragon-slaying urge a bit too high. Oh well—at least he could harvest some nice Emotion Points from her later.
Adam turned his attention back to Martha.
Tarasque was clashing with Mash, Marie, and Mozart.
Martha herself was locked in combat with Jeanne. Cross and lance collided violently, sending sparks flying.
Even while fighting, Martha gave Jeanne a smile full of mutual respect.
"It's such a shame. As fellow saints, there's so much I wanted to talk with you about. If I weren't under Mad Enhancement, I really would have loved a proper conversation."
Jeanne didn't ruin the mood by claiming she wasn't worthy of being called a saint.
Looking at Martha—who had dedicated herself completely to saving humanity and even showed them such care—Jeanne felt sincere admiration.
"You are a truly gentle person. You have not sullied the name of Saint at all."
"If we get the chance, I would love to talk with you as well."
Right now, Jeanne's impression of Martha was that of a genuinely gentle saint.
Martha continued suppressing the wild beast inside her. She forced herself to show a dignified smile instead of her usual bright grin.
"Those words are more than enough."
Adam stroked his chin thoughtfully. Since this Singularity's Martha had such strong resolve…
The best person to defeat her would be Martha herself.
Perfect. The Ruler version also had healing abilities, which would be useful for treating Siegfried's injuries.
Adam locked onto Martha (Ruler) in his roster.
As per Nasuverse tradition: I fight myself.
And the Martha he knew wouldn't care about appearances. Once summoned, she would fight using her most natural style.
That is—ORA ORA ORA ORA!!
***
If you want to read up to 25 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)