Chapter 713: The Easiest Woman to Deal With, Joan of Arc Alter!
"Ria, I'll leave the trash to you."
Ren stood on the elevated platform, looking down at the chaotic battlefield.
"Oh, right. Leave that Bluebeard guy for last. I have a special guest for him."
Ren said, snapping his fingers. A holographic screen appeared in front of him, and he directly started a live broadcast to the multiverse.
[Ding! Group Administrator Ren has started a live broadcast!]
[Ding! March 7th has entered the live room!]
[Ding! Misaka Mikoto has entered the live room!]
…
[Misaki Shokuhou: Why a sudden live broadcast? I was in the middle of tea time.]
[March 7th: Isn't Ren playing that game? The one with the cups?]
[Kushina: That's called the Holy Grail War, March-chan.]
[Ren: Look closely. The finale is about to begin right below.]
[Silver Wolf: Emmm, this game is so boring. It's actually just real-person fighting. No combo mechanics? Lame.]
[Esdeath: Is that so? I think the slaughter could be more intense. The smell of fear is delicious even through the screen.]
Below, in the devastation of the Fuyuki harbor.
Ria, the Blackened King of Knights, landed heavily on the concrete, cracking the ground beneath her greaves.
Shing!
She revealed her corrupted holy sword, Excalibur Morgan. The blade pulsed with ominous red and black mana, thirsty for blood.
The sword point was aimed at everyone present—Lancer, Rider, and the hidden rats.
She said coldly, her golden eyes devoid of mercy, "All of you… come at me together! Don't waste my time."
"Should we retreat first?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi's face was grim, sweat beading on his forehead. His elegant facade was crumbling.
Kirei was dead. Hassan was gone. His command spells were spent. And his trump card, Gilgamesh, was currently kneeling on the ground under Ren's pressure like a disciplined dog.
Now that he was just an ordinary magus without a Servant, how could he be a match for these monsters?
Someone made a decision earlier than him.
That was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. The Lord of the Clock Tower was not a fool; he knew when he was outmatched.
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, his Lancer, gripped his twin spears, eager to fight for his lord's honor.
Unfortunately, Kayneth's decision was cowardly but pragmatic:
"Lancer! Forget honor! Take me away! Now!"
"..."
Lancer gritted his teeth. Even though he didn't want to be a cowardly escapee who fled before a challenge. He was even less willing to disobey his Master's command. His loyalty was his curse.
"Yes! My Lord!"
He grabbed Kayneth and prepared to flee at blinding speed using his agility.
Bang!
But suddenly, he ran into something solid.
The impact was so severe that Kayneth fell face-first onto the asphalt, groaning in pain.
"What's going on?!"
Lancer stood up, clutching his nose. He reached out and felt the air, but his hand touched an invisible, impenetrable wall. It was a spatial barrier.
Ren scoffed from above, his voice amplified by magic. "Don't overthink it, Kayneth."
"You can't escape this area. I've locked down the spatial coordinates."
"The Holy Grail War will definitely end here, tonight."
"You... You bastard did this?!" Kayneth glared up at the figure in the sky, humiliation burning his face.
"Whoosh!"
Ren didn't even bother to look at him. He simply waved a finger.
A gust of wind, heavy as a hammer, swept up.
Kayneth was directly sent flying, tumbling across the ground like a ragdoll before sprawling in the dirt.
"Watch your mouth when speaking to a God."
Ria slowly retracted her sword, her stance shifting. It wasn't just a Saber's stance; it incorporated the agility of an Assassin and the reach of a Lancer.
Diarmuid's eyes narrowed. He sensed the shift.
"Dare to harm my Master! Come and fight, tyrant!"
One red spear (Gáe Dearg) and one yellow spear (Gáe Buidhe) appeared in his hands. He charged directly at Ria, moving so fast he became a blur.
But Ria responded calmly and steadily.
Clang!
She parried the red spear with effortless grace, then sidestepped the yellow one with a fluidity that shouldn't belong to a knight in heavy armor.
The current her was no longer the same Artoria from the Fourth War.
All the power of her different classes—Saber, Lancer, Assassin, Archer—and the experiences of her heroic variants had converged within her Spirit Origin.
Ria had already completed her transformation into the Ultimate King.
The battle between the two was supposed to be a duel of equals. Instead, it was an execution. Ria's black blade moved like a phantom, crushing Diarmuid's defenses inch by inch, forcing the proud Knight of Fiona to his knees.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.
Matou Kariya, his face twisted and veins bulging with crawling worms, glared venomously at Tohsaka Tokiomi.
His mind was broken. He believed Sakura had been persecuted. He believed Aoi was gone.
And he blamed Tohsaka Tokiomi for everything. For the destruction of the Matou family, for the misery of the woman he secretly loved.
"Tokiomi... It's all your fault!!! YOU KILLED THEM!"
Matou Kariya ferociously revealed the back of his hand, glowing with red light.
"By the name of the Command Spell, Berserker! KILL TOHSAKA TOKIOMI!"
"By the name of the Command Spell, Berserker! KILL TOHSAKA TOKIOMI!"
"By the name of the Command Spell, Berserker! KILL TOHSAKA TOKIOMI!"
Three Command Spells were used consecutively. A triple-boost of madness enhancement.
It was clear his hatred for Tohsaka Tokiomi had reached its peak.
"Roar!!!"
The Black Knight (Lancelot), emitting an ominous black mist, roared like a beast from hell. The magical energy surged so violently it cracked the pavement.
He swung the corrupted Arondight in his hand and charged towards Tohsaka Tokiomi with the speed of a jet fighter.
"!!!"
Tohsaka Tokiomi retreated in horror, his elegance gone. He screamed, "King! Gilgamesh! Save me!"
"…"
But Gilgamesh, still kneeling nearby, didn't move. His crimson eyes were as dark as stagnant water. His gaze was fixed only on the ground, his pride utterly shattered by Ren's earlier suppression. He ignored the mongrel's plea.
The sword was inches from Tokiomi's neck.
Snap!
A sudden snap of fingers sounded clear as a bell.
"Don't be such a spoilsport, Kariya."
Ren intervened.
Space froze. The Berserker, mid-swing, was locked in place as if encased in amber.
Then, Ren waved his hand.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Waver Velvet, Kayneth, Tohsaka Tokiomi, Uryu Ryunosuke, and the hidden Kiritsugu Emiya—all five Masters were teleported instantly.
They were moved to the edge of the arena and forced to kneel in a row by an overwhelming gravitational force. They were like spectators in the coliseum, forced to watch their fate being decided.
"Servant versus Servant," Ren declared.
"The rest of you masters are boring. You can watch from the sidelines for now."
"…"
Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, narrowed his eyes.
His mood was extremely heavy. He stood beside his trembling Master, Waver.
This 'Ren', with his mysterious methods, was likely the greatest enemy in this Holy Grail War.
He had instantly killed Assassin. He casually suppressed Archer and Berserker. Furthermore, he controlled all the Masters and imprisoned all the Servants here within a spatial lock.
Truly excellent, terrifying methods.
"Hahaha! It seems this battle is unavoidable!"
Realizing there were only two possible outcomes—fight or die—Iskandar burst into boisterous laughter. He slapped Waver on the back.
"In that case, let me show you the King's magnanimity! Let us make this a battle worthy of legends!"
In front of everyone, Iskandar drew his sword and slashed the air.
"A-la-la-la-la-lie!!"
Light exploded.
He unfolded a world like a desert. That was his Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, Ionian Hetairoi!
When using Ionian Hetairoi, space would warp due to the "army's" shared mindscape, forming a Reality Marble that overwrote the physical world.
The scenery changed instantly. The concrete harbor vanished, replaced by an endless open plain under a scorching sun and swirling hot sand.
That was the land Iskandar's army had galloped across together in their conquest of the East. It was imprinted in the hearts of all the army members, allowing the Reality Marble to unfold even without the Grail's support.
Even more wondrous were the tens of thousands of soldiers that appeared within this Reality Marble.
That was an army. An army of peers.
All members of the legion were genuine Heroic Spirits—kings, generals, and foot soldiers who had sworn loyalty to Iskandar.
"Charge!!" Iskandar roared.
But he wasn't the only one with a trick.
"No! No matter what, the Holy Grail must be mine! I want to create a world where only saints exist! Jeanne! I will save you!"
Bluebeard, Gilles de Rais, shrieked in madness. His eyes bulged as he pulled out a grotesque grimoire made of human skin—Prelati's Spellbook.
Then, within the Reality Marble of the King of Conquerors, he summoned a monstrosity.
A huge, twisted, octopus-like creature resembling a mass of filth and nightmares rose from the sand.
Its name was the Sea Demon (Gigantic Horror).
At the same time, Gilles de Rais himself merged with the Sea Demon, becoming its core.
For a moment, the Reality Marble became incredibly lively—an army of heroes versus a Lovecraftian nightmare, with Ria standing calmly in the middle.
Ren, floating above the battlefield, glanced at Ria, who was handling the Lancer and preparing to face the Army with ease.
He then said to her, "Ria, you deal with the Lancer and the Rider. They are warriors; they deserve a King's blade."
He pointed at the writhing mass of tentacles.
"I'll find someone else to deal with this disgusting thing. It's an eyesore."
"You're welcome to it," Ria scoffed, parrying a spear thrust without looking.
Ren smirked.
He reached out his hand into the void. He wasn't reaching into the local Grail system. He was reaching into his domain.
He directly pulled a female Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes he had cut off from Alaya earlier.
"Summon."
Black flames erupted next to Ren.
"Tch. You just got ownership of me and you're already throwing me out to work? What a hassle. Are you a slave driver?"
Speaking beside Ren was a woman who radiated heat and hatred.
She had short, ash-blonde hair and eyes that glowed a luminous yellow. She was tall and slender, dressed in black armor adorned with fur, holding a flowing banner that bore the symbol of a dragon.
One of the easiest women to deal with (if you knew how to handle a tsundere).
Her name was Joan of Arc… or rather, the twisted, vengeful state known as Joan of Arc Alter (Jalter).
Joan of Arc Alter glanced at Ren, who was embracing Irisviel and holding Illya like a family on a picnic. Her lip curled in annoyance.
Her expression was complex.
Through the connection formed at summoning, she knew. This man had completely taken control of all the female Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes.
And he had turned the Throne of Heroes into an independent, self-governing world inside his Infinite Tree.
This was information known to everyone in the new Throne.
Not only that. Everyone discovered that they and the world and history had been severed. They were no longer bound by humanity's history; they were bound to Ren.
She truly didn't understand how such a person could do such a thing, or why he bothered to collect so many spirits.
And why Alaya would agree to such a thing (rumor had it she was bribed with power).
Scáthach, Medusa, and the others were all very interested in Ren, their new Master. They saw potential.
But Joan of Arc Alter didn't understand one thing.
Why did he summon her first?
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