Chapter Text
CRASH
The shield the skeleton soldier raised splintered into pieces.
Metal struck bone, and the boney arm holding the shield shattered beneath the bladed edge of a massive shield.
The strike carried through, slicing its ribs and splitting one of its femurs like an axe through wood.
The skeleton collapsed in twain, dissolving into dark purple motes of energy as it failed to hold its existence together.
The one who cut it down, Mash Kyrielight, paid it no mind, shifting her focus to the three other skeletons attempting to surround her.
With a sweeping horizontal slash, she reaped them like they were wheat. Their bodies fell to the ground and vanished in dark purple motes of light
A loud screech, followed by the terrified shrieks of the women inside one of the wagons, drew Mash’s attention.
A skeleton riding a wyvern was charging straight toward it.
The wyvern’s jaws opened wide, flames flickering at its throat as it prepared to incinerate the wagon.
Mash crouched low, her leg muscles coiling like springs.
Her armored heels did not sink into the earth and got her stuck. Instead, they allowed her to launch herself forward with the explosive force of a missile.
The shield came down like a guillotine.
The wyvern’s hide was thick and dense with mystery, which made it difficult to cut and therefore spared the creature from getting decapitated.
Unfortunately for the beast, the force of the blow still snapped its neck.
The beast crashed to the ground, pinning its rider under its heavy bulk.
Both dragon and rider vanished, leaving behind only a claw and a femur bone.
Mash landed lightly before the wagon, her body glistening with a thin sheen of sweat after fighting off a horde of enemies.
Another screech tore through the air.
Mash grit her teeth as three more wyverns descended, led by yet another skeleton dragon rider.
[ OMA, These bastards are just as annoying as Zubats!! Take down one and thirty more take its place!! ]
[ I’ve lost track of how many Mash has taken down. ]
[DragonMasterLance: A lot. The answer is a lot. Frankly speaking, even I am starting to grow weary of seeing them. ]
[ Liar. You’re only saying that ’cause you don’t wanna get canceled for gushing over child-eating dragons. ]
[Dragon’s-Iris: Let’s not go making wild accusations there buddy. It’s possible for us dragon trainers to get annoyed by dragons too, after all we are only human. ]
[Pressing X to doubt. ]
<message deleted by moderator >
[ User timed out for 1 minute ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): stop shaming dragon trainers for liking dragons just because of what’s happening on stream. ]
“Gandr!!” A red bullet of energy shot from Ritsuka’s finger, striking one of the wyvern riders in the face and stunning them.
Unlike the wyverns they were riding, the skeletons were still vulnerable to magical attacks. Mash thanked Ritsuka through their mental Master/Servant bond before going out and killing more dragons.
[ Nice shot! ]
[ All those hours playing Call of Duty finally paying off I see. ]
[ Too bad his Gandr is weak AF compared to Olga’s, else he could have one-shot the calcium man. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Hey leave him alone, he’s trying his best!! ]
Ritsuka felt a chill run up his spine and in a split-second decision, he pressed the buttons inside his shoes.
A blast of wind helped propelled his body sideways, just in time to avoid a sword swing aimed at his head from a skeleton that snuck up behind him.
The skeleton recovered from its swing and marched straight at him.
Mash saw the skeleton targeting her Master and desperately tried to reach him but was unable to help due to having her hands full fighting off the wyverns. The surviving soldiers were also busy protecting the wagons from other skeleton warriors.
Ritsuka was on his own.
[TheIcePryce: Remind me again, why did we send the last Master of Chaldea into an active warzone without a weapon? ]
[CasCu: there are plenty of reasons why. Mainly it’s because mundane weapons are not very effective against dragons and other magical beings. ]
[GARcher: Plus, he is the last qualified Master candidate left. Giving him a gun or a sword will only plant the idea that he can fight, when he should be running. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: Master is allowed to be a coward. Because if he isn’t, everyone dies!! ]
It was getting closer, its blade itching to cut his flesh. But Ritsuka wouldn't allow it.
He took a deep breath and readied himself, then channeling his inner Dragon Ball fan, he pointed his finger at the target, and fired.
“Gandr!”
The Gandr shot raced forward, the skeleton was too dumb to evade the attack and was stunned when the attack hit squarely in the chest.
Ritsuka, seeing his attack hit, blitzed towards his enemy using his running shoes to boost his speed.
His Gandr shots were too weak to do more than stun an enemy, but that was sufficient for his needs.
Using the momentum from his run, he transferred the energy to his leg and threw out a kick.
His foot struck the boney hand, which caused it to release its grip and for the blade to clatter to the dirt below.
Ritsuka ducked and swiped the blade from the ground just in the nick of time, as the skeleton regained its mobility and attempted, but failed, to slash his face with its sharp boney fingers.
Ritsuka created some distance and pointed the blade at its former owner, who was somehow glowering at him despite not having skin to show facial expressions.
[GARcher: Hmmm, not bad. Reckless, but not bad. ]
[OrochiMochiHime: My Lord is still holding up rather well. Lady Kick’s self defense lessons have served him well. ]
[KicksYouIntheFace193: He would have already won if I had given him proper instructions in person rather than through a screen all these years. ]
[CasCu: Don’t worry Lass, you did your best. You can leave it to us, we’ll whip him into shape after this! ]
[Beaumains: it sucks seeing our Master fight without us being there to protect him! ]
[ I have faith in Gudao. If there’s one thing he’s good at, it's his tenacity. ]
Letting out a war cry, Ritsuka charged at the skeleton and used all his strength in a downward strike.
A dull crack reached his ears.
Chips of bone flew into the air as the blade bounced off as it partially broke the enemy’s skull.
[CasCu: That blade is DULL. If it were properly sharpened, that attack would have ended the fight. Guess that’s to be expected from a sword taken from an undead. ]
The undead didn’t care for the damage and made another attempt to slash Ritsuka with his hands.
Ritsuka dodged again using his running shoes’ boost. He swung his blade, this time aiming at the skeleton’s arms.
The blade cut through its arm with ease.
But the skeleton didn’t mind the sudden dismemberment and continued his assault.
“Gandr!” Another pulse of energy hit its boney midsection.
Now that it was unable to move, Ritsuka finished it off by cutting off its head.
The skeleton, and its sword disappeared, an evil bone taking the latter’s place in Ritsuka’s hand much to his annoyance.
By the time he looked back at the battlefield, everyone had wrapped up their battles.
Relieved that the fighting had come to an end, for now, he walked back to the wagons. His relief went away and was replaced with somberness as he heard the sobs coming from the caravan.
✦✧✦
After more bodies were laid to rest, the group continued their trek.
A solid hour passed and thankfully, there weren’t any more ambushes.
The families could now properly take a moment to mourn in peace without being interrupted by the threat of death. Or so one would think. Everyone was on edge after the constant attacks so it was difficult for people to truly take a breather.
On the bright side, people had quickly warmed up to them despite their bad first impression.
It turns out that saving people from a swarm of “demons” would cause the group of people who feared you to suddenly be more friendly and accepting.
Which is why when Mash had attempted to interact with the civilian passengers, all of them were being chummy and respectful towards her.
One would think that they would be decrying her or ignoring her due to her provocative state of dress. They were in 15th century France after all, a time when people had very strong conservative views on sexuality. All the women were covered in long dresses and even wore head coverings. Compared to them, Mash was effectively naked.
But no, that wasn’t the case, as Da Vinci had explained to them that their mystic codes had spells engraved into them that would allow them to ‘blend in.’ Which meant that, for all intents and purposes, to the locals, Mash looked like a normal peasant woman from 15th-century France.
Right now, Mash was entertaining a little girl by listening to her talk about her favorite flowers that grow around the area.
Seeing Mash was busy and having nothing interesting to talk about with the soldiers he hadn’t already talked about, he decided to read what chat was up to.
[ Huh, so it looks like Vaucouleurs is going to be in the same place where The Kalos Pokemon League is. ]
[ Oh Dear… ]
[ But the comparison map between Kalos and France says the Pokémon league building is based on a cathedral, one which is located a bit away from where the Pokémon league is. ]
[SoniaYampers: Guys, there’s a reason we’ve all been saying that regions and Earth countries are NOT 1:1 the same, however, that is ok. Because it would also be boring if it was all the same. ]
[ What are the odds that Ritsuka and Mash get turned away by a guard at the gate for not having enough badges? ]
[ Very, he only has 1 so far. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: I keep seeing terms like “Conference” and “Pokemon League” thrown around and I gotta ask, are they really that big of a deal? ]
[Ms.Roxanne: In our world, once a trainer has collected 8 badges, they are qualified to join their region’s pokemon league conference. Essentially, it’s a tournament where everyone faces off to prove their worth as a pokemon trainer. Most never get first place and settle for using their placings for sponsorships and securing job opportunities, but for the first place winners, they gain the privilege to challenge the Elite Four and champion for their titles. So yes, it is a HUGE deal. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: ah ok thanks! Btw, no matter how many times I hear about it, a pokemon journey still sounds like a weird, but fun concept!! Especially the 10 year olds leaving home with only a phantasmal for protection. ]
[OrochiMochiHime: Agreed. It's hard to imagine that an entire civilization exists where people allow children to travel the wilderness to fight dangerous yokai with their own tamed yokai. ]
[CasCu: Meh, hardship builds character. Having spoiled brats be forced to fend for themselves in the wild against the elements and dangerous animals is a good way to instill discipline and responsibility in the youth. ]
[ In the past that was the case, but now? The official routes are some of the safest they’ve ever been. ]
[CasCu: I take it back. That is lame. What’s the point of adventure without any danger? ]
[Mighty1Oak: Well, it's not like kids are 100% safe all the time. Incidents still occur even with the rangers doing their best to keep the worst pokemon out of the safe routes. ]
“Monsieur, we have arrived.”
Ritsuka looked up from his chat window and saw a castle fort in the distance.
It was still a long walk from where they were, but at least they could see it now.
He thanked the man for letting him know before he went back to reading chat, who were busy answering Pokémon League questions to his servants.
He knew his chat well enough to know that they were using the pokemon league as an excuse to avoid bringing up the wyverns picking off and eating women and children.
So far, his chat had been surprisingly hardy and adaptive when they encountered disturbing stuff from his world. They often went on tangents about such things when they occurred, but it would seem seeing children engulfed in flames and devoured by dragons was proving to be too much for them to discuss beyond what they needed to say.
Which is completely understandable.
[Gudao: You know… I wouldn’t mind if you guys stop tuning into my channel when things get too graphic. I’ll still do normal streams after each singularity finishes without all this traumatic stuff attached. I am worried about your guys’ mental health. ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): We are fine Gudao. We want to be here. Sure it's scary and the raw violence can be too much for some of us, but we are here to support you. ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): Also, I know some of the people in here are adrenaline junkies who get high off seeing excessive amounts of violence. Seriously, it's rare for such uncensored content to be available for the general public due to the strict regulations our governments placed on said graphic content. It’s messed up, but that is an aspect of human nature that we can’t really help, unfortunately. ]
[Gudao: if you guys say so. ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers(MOD): Don’t worry your pretty little head about them Gudao. Just focus on the mission and worry about the skies dropping more wyverns on your head. ]
[Gudao: gee, thanks Frisk. Btw, I’ve been meaning to ask, if you are from my world, how are you watching these events? Actually, how are you even alive? ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers: Magic. (｡･ω･｡)つ━☆・*。 ]
[Beaumains: (≖_≖ ) ]
[Gudao: … that’s all I’m getting from you, aren’t I? ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers(MOD): Yuppers. Oh, and you should probably focus on the road. Walking and reading text is hazardous to your health, you know? ]
Ritsuka lifted a brow before he realized what Frisk was talking about. He had nearly stepped on a rock on the road that could have twisted his ankle. Following his advice, he kicked it out of his way and continued walking like he hadn’t almost hurt himself for being an idiot.
Ritsuka decided to instead focus on the castle that was in the distance and blinked when he realized it was much closer than he anticipated.
He cringed when he saw the state of the castle, as it looked like it had been roughed up pretty bad.
The rest of the group also seemed to have picked up on the damage and seemed more uneasy.
[SoniaYampers: It hurts my soul seeing such a beautiful piece of architecture in such a poor state. ]
[Duchess-Diantha: That Jeanne woman needs to be stopped before she ruins more precious historical buildings. ]
The closer they got to the castle, the more the stench of burnt flesh and wood assaulted their nostrils.
Broken wagons, scattered splotches of blood, and broken pieces of metal were littered all around the road, which only served to spike the anxiety of the group.
Finally, they arrived at the gate, which was guarded by two weary, sleep deprived soldiers.
The guards demanded them to identify themselves.
The commanding soldier walked up to them and promptly explained who they were and why they were here.
The guard pointed out Mash and Ritsuka, but the commander vouched for them after helping them out with driving off the wyverns who attacked them.
The guards gave them a nod, which they returned, before they proceeded to check the wagons.
The guards gave a few prayers as they peered inside one of the wagons and saw the state of the refugees coming to their fortress.
“Alright, everything seems in order, you can go-”
Before the guard could finish, a woman grabbed Isabelle’s hood and yanked it back, revealing golden locks of hair. The woman’s eyes were struck with surprise and then fear when she saw the soldier had paused when his eyes landed on her.
His eyes went mad with fear as he beheld the woman in front of him.
“T-The Dragon Witch!!!”
These two words immediately caused the soldiers from the fort to draw their blades. The women in the wagons schrieked, which only caused the situation to spiral further out of control.
“I-I’m not-” the older blonde woman tried to say, but she was cut off by the woman who had pulled off her hood.
“She’s the dragon witch's mother!!”
Isabelle’s head snapped to see the woman who spoke with such vitriol in her voice. One of her neighbors who she had known since they were children had stabbed her in the back and exposed her.
“Oh is that right? Well, in that case. get out of the wagon!! You are forbidden passage into our city. Take your things and leave.”
Isabelle tried to look at the others for help, but they either refused to meet her gaze or were glaring at her.
The woman, seeing no one was going to help her, did as the soldier told her and stepped out.
Once outside, she tried to argue her case once again but her pleas were met with a sneer, “No. Your witch of a daughter has caused too much grief and bloodshed for you to be allowed entry.”
As soon as those words left his lips, something inside Isabelle snapped and without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped the man in the face.
“How dare you speak of my sweet Jeanette like that!! She dedicated her life to help liberate France and her people!! She would never commit evil acts of heresy you all accuse her of!!”
Before Isabelle could continue, the soldier recovered and returned the slap with one of his own. The back of his hand hit the woman with enough force to send her sprawling backward into the dirt.
The soldier clicked his tongue and looked at her with disgust, hand going towards the pommel of his sword. He stopped when he saw the woman on the ground sobbing as she held her swollen cheek.
He clicked his tongue but did not draw his blade, "Consider yourself lucky that I am letting you live after that foolish act. The only reason I’m letting you live is that the last time someone tried to punish a witch, she came back from the dead and started slaughtering us, and the last thing we need is a second witch rising from the grave and bolstering her army. ”
Isabelle shook in fear but nodded in understanding. She stood up from the ground and walked away, nursing her cheek while sniffling.
[ Bruh. That was fucking brutal. ]
[ She was asking for it. She slapped a soldier of her country, she is lucky she only got a pimp slap to the face. ]
[Gible_Archeologist: Unfortunately, it was common in the past for an entire family to be punished for the actions of a single member, even if they openly decried those actions. In this case, however, it’s even worse. That woman tried to argue her daughter wasn’t the Dragon Witch towards people who were able to recognize her based on sight alone. Quite frankly, she dug her own grave with that slap. ]
[Lusamine_Aether: A mother’s love knows no bounds. Even when her child becomes a monster, that flame of love and compassion will still burn bright. ]
[ I can excuse it for now. The woman clearly has no idea just how rotten her daughter has become. And in a time without TV or the internet, it’s easier to dismiss gossip as mere rumor. But once she does find out, she had better do the right thing and disown her. ]
Ritsuka stared at the woman with sympathy in his eyes. She was merely Jeanne’s mother and was not responsible for what she did. If she goes out there by herself, she is going to get ripped apart before she arrives in the next town.
[GARcher: oh god, I know that look. ]
[ What look? ]
[GARcher: The look of a stupid kid who is about to do everything he can do to “help.” ]
[Kream: Master, unfortunately, has a hopeless heart of gold. We need to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t go down the path of a ‘selfless hero’ and end up getting himself killed. ]
[GARcher: on that I can agree. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: oh Gudao, older women too? What will I do with you my adorable husbando? ]
[ Older *married woman ]
[Heart0f6old: For all we know, her husband is dead too. So really it’s just winning over a broken widow. ]
[ Too soon guys. The lady is mourning and in distress. Let’s not take away the Waifu Counter’s job and just let Gudao helping an older woman just be that, helping for the sake of it. ]
Seeing the look on his face Da Vinci spoke up, 《Gudao-kun, I know what you’re thinking, and I understand that Mrs. D’Arc’s situation is tragic. Helping an unfairly treated civilian in need is noble, but you have to remember that your life takes precedence. Taking her along could bring unnecessary risk to your own life. If she dies, it can be undone when we resolve everything, but if you die, the entire human race is lost. 》
The Last Master of Chaldea didn’t hesitate to shoot a rebuttal, “I know that. But I still want to help. What would be the point of me saving humanity if I abandon my own? You can’t expect me to sit back and let people get hurt or die if it's happening in front of my eyes.”
[Blue-TheCHAMP: Dude, just admit you have a thing for hot, older MILFs in your area. I promise we won’t judge you as much! ]
[Kream: Goodness, I hope that isn’t the case. If that is his real reason for helping her then his reformation is going to be much more painful and time consuming than I anticipated! ]
[GARcher: Honestly, I’d rather he choose to save her for that reason rather than the smooth brain reason of “just because.” Unfortunately, you can all be rest assured, that he’s not saving her because of hormones. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Oh good. I don’t think I would be able to compete if Gudao was into wrinkles. ]
[Frisky1ntheFlowers(MOD): Hey, wrinkles on a woman are not always a bad thing. Depending on where they are, they can be quite tantalizing. ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): shut up, No one asked you! ]
He glared at the wristband, meanwhile in Chaldea, Da Vinci just let out a sigh.
《To be honest, I expected this of you. You aren’t the type of person who would abandon people in need. Go. You can help her, just keep in mind that should Mash or your other servants ever be forced to choose between you or her, they will always choose you. 》
Ritsuka let the words sink into his mind for a moment and gave an affirmative response to Da Vinci. Then he turned to Mash, who merely gave him a warm smile.
“I’ll be by your side wherever you go, senpai.”
Ritsuka returned the smile and turned his gaze back to the form of Jeanne’s mother, who was a bit further away than earlier.
“Let’s go Mash. “ Ritsuka walked toward the direction of the woman, followed by Mash. However, before he could leave, a voice called out to him.
The soldier who led the caravan was looking at him with concern.
“Are you sure you wish to follow her? She is the Dragon Witch’s mother, after all. “
“I apologize, Monsieur, but I have a bleeding heart. Whatever Jeanne did or didn’t do, her mother is innocent, so I will help her get to safety.”
The knight took a hard look at his face before letting out a sigh. “Well, while I don’t approve of your actions, I, no, we all owe you and your lady companion a debt for saving our lives.”
He pointed in a direction. “Head southwest from here; you should be able to reach La Charité. I’ve heard many refugees are gathering there. Take the Dragon Witch’s mother with you. As long as she keeps her hood on, she should be given shelter.”
“Thank you, Monsieur.”
He gave them a nod. “May God be with you, Monsieur Ritsuka, Mademoiselle Mash. I pray that your kindness will not be in vain.”
[ Respect to that man for not letting biases cloud his judgment. He could have easily just kept quiet and let Gudao wander aimlessly, but he pointed him in the right direction despite his feelings on who Gudao was helping. ]
[ So I guess we are doing an escort mission now. Hooray! ]
With his peace said, he walked back to the group being allowed into the city. Mash and Ritsuka already confirmed a lot of information chat gave them by talking to that soldier, so there was no need to go inside the city, and instead they could focus on finding a leyline.
A mission which could be done while escorting a person in need through dangerous territory.
“Madame. Wait up!”
The woman was startled when she heard Ritsuka’s voice. She turned to see the young man and woman who had protected the caravan she was traveling with run towards her. “Ah, the young couple from earlier. Aren’t you going to go inside the city?”
Ritsuka and Mash blushed when they heard the woman call them a couple.
[ *Spits drink* Hahahahahahaha!! ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: how vexing. Just because a man and a woman travel together doesn’t mean they are together together. ]
[ @ PerfectlySaneHex the cope is strong with this one. ]
[CasCu: No, it doesn’t, but the way the lad and lass look at each other, how they speak to one another, and how comfortable they are in each other’s presence… Not to mention the fact that they don’t look like siblings, to an outsider, it seems pretty clear that they are a couple. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Guh! ]
[ When he puts it like that, it's easy to see why someone would think that, especially someone from the past. ]
“We aren't dating, ma’am, we’re just normal travelers who wanted to help you reach the next city safely.”
The woman, hearing Ritsuka’s words, gave him a skeptical look before she gave Mash a sympathetic one.
[ She pressed X to doubt. ]
[ Lol she thinks Ritsuka is ignoring Mash’s feelings for him. ]
“Well, it is not my business to pry into your romantic lives,” she pursed her lips, “but I am still confused as to why you would help me.”
“Because, I don’t think it's right that you’re being punished for the…” Ritsuka nearly misspoke and corrected himself before he continued, “alleged actions of your daughter who people believe is the Dragon Witch.”
She frowned at his near slip of the tongue, “and do you believe this Dragon Witch is my daughter?”
The older woman blatantly placed a land mind under his feet and Ritsuka now had to figure out a way to step away without blowing up. Luckily for him, he was really good at defusing bombs.
“I am someone who likes to give people the benefit of the doubt. If Jeanne D’Arc has been framed, then I will support her, regardless of what others say I should believe. But I first need to meet her before I can say, without a doubt, if she is or isn’t the Dragon Witch.”
Sweat trickled down his temple as the woman scrutinized him for a moment before sighing. “I suppose that’s a fair point. But know this: whoever the Dragon Witch is, she cannot possibly be my sweet Jeannette.” She brought her clenched hands to her chest. “I’ve seen that girl grow up. She is sweet, caring, and always willing to spread the good name of the Lord. There is no way that Dragon Witch is my Jeannette. There’s just no way!”
[MalasadaMayhem: Oof, looks like Hex isn’t the only one high off copium. ]
[ Dude, this is sad. I don’t think she would accept Jeanne turning edgy and roaming the streets in all black while burning everything to the ground, even if she saw it with her own eyes. ]
[MagnetKing: On the topic of Gudao helping her, I don’t blame her for being skeptical. These are people she doesn’t know, who claim to not care that she is the mother of the person responsible for the calamity befalling France. It’s extremely sus that they would willingly lend her a hand when everyone else has been spitting in her face about it. ]
[Junior_Researcher: It is a shame that humans always devolve into savages when society collapses. ]
“Be it as it may, I’ll say it again, regardless of your daughter’s reputation, I personally dislike seeing someone punished for someone else’s actions. Please, allow us to escort you to La Charité safely.”
The woman searched Ritsuka’s face for deceit. After a long while she gave in to his offer.
“Very well, I accept your help. My name is Isabelle, may I know your names?”
“My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru, I hail from the far east and this is my travelling companion Mash, also from the far east. It's nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Well, we should get a move on, before the roads grow dark.”
And so, Mash and Ritsuka began their side mission to escort Jeanne DArc’s mother to La Charité, leaving Vaucouleurs behind them.
✦✧✦
Jeanne D’Arc POV
It had been a few days since she manifested in France. The sheer confusion she felt upon realizing she had been summoned just three days after her death quickly became the least of her worries.
She had been summoned just outside the fortress of Vaucouleurs as a Ruler Class servant. Except, she was weaker than what she should be. She lacked her command seals and did not have a clue of what was happening as the Throne that had not provided her with any information as she would have if this was a normal grail war.
Things only got worse when she heard rumors of her resurrection and becoming the dragon witch.
Jeanne had the misfortune of finding this information when she tried to approach a group of people who she thought were on a pilgrimage, and they began screaming at her in sheer terror while calling her “The Dragon Witch.”
She has had the hindsight to wear a cloak to hide her appearance since then, but those reactions only seemed to strengthen her resolve to get to the bottom of things.
Recently, she came across a curious master servant pair. It was then that she realized that she was also unable to use her abilities to identify the servant girl’s class or identity.
In any case, her chance to get close to those two was postponed after she saw her mother.
It hasn’t even been three days, and Isabelle has already lost her daughter, her husband, and her home.
Showing up in front of her mother before she even had a proper time to grieve will only give her false hope. Which is a cruelty she doesn’t wish to inflict upon her.
She was dead, and a person should not interfere with the living, and that was especially the case here since her mother was a normal civilian. Involving her in this messed up grail war would be something that would not be allowed.
That was the reason why she had saved her mother from a wyvern but did not stick around after helping.
She was initially going to approach the Master/Servant pair and introduce herself after ensuring her mother had found refuge in the fortress city. However, the Lord had other plans, as her mother’s identity was revealed and she was rejected at the gate.
Jeanne was already moving as fast as she could when she saw the man strike her mother across the face. She had already manifested her banner and was about to block the man’s blade before he could cut her mother down. Thankfully, the man somehow found some twisted form of mercy and let her mother go.
She felt relief that the situation hadn’t escalated, but fear for her mother’s safety was still driving her to try and find a way to help without giving away her identity.
And once again, the Lord acted before she could muster the courage to approach her the mysterious duo had offered to give her safe escort to the next settlement.
Seeing her mother in good hands, she decided to just stick close to them to ensure her mother would make it safely to La Charité. Then, once they dropped her off, she would follow through with her previous plan and introduce herself to them.
Currently, she was hiding behind an extra thick oak tree, just far enough away to stay out of the servant girl’s senses while still close enough for her to hear their conversations.
“Oh, my dear Jeanette has always been a very boyish girl. Sure, she did enjoy doing the womanly chores and crafts, but she was also faster than all the boys and girls her age. She was so boyish that even the local boys refused to see her as a girl and named her as their leader, and that continued even after she started developing into a young woman.”
“Ah so she was a tomboy?” The young man said, a response which caused Jeanne’s face to grow red with embarrassment.
Out of all the things the throne of heroes chose to inform her about, why did it have to be that word?!
Her mother made a confused noise, “A tomboy?”
“It’s a girl who enjoys doing things that are normally associated with boys, like being outside and running around in the mud and playing with bugs when all her peers are inside sewing and stuff like that.”
Her mother paused for a moment, and when she spoke, she sounded like the light of god had bestowed her with an answer to a question she didn’t know she had, “That word fits my Jeanette perfectly. Yes, she was my cute little tomboy.”
Was this a punishment by the Lord for sneaking around like a highwayman? If it is, then she will endure it, for the sake of her mother not being involved in this mess of a Holy Grail War.
“But despite her boyish tendencies, she was also the best at sewing and spinning threads in our village. All the boys and girls tried very hard to compete against her talents, but none could ever match her. To their credit, none of them gave up and always tried to beat her at every opportunity, however,the only activity that no one was interested in beating her in was attending church. That girl was even more devout than our bishop, who dedicated his life to the study of our Lord. ”
The young woman sounded like she was in awe of what her mother told them.
“That’s impressive.”
“Yes she was. Not even her loyal followers would willingly follow her into the church outside Sunday mass, because they knew if they did, they wouldn’t get to play the rest of the day. It was so cute seeing her rosy, chubby cheeks pout when they turned down her invitations.”
Dear Heavenly Father above, please grant me the strength to endure this moment of shame.
✦✧✦
It had been a few days since Ritsuka and Mash had decided to provide Isabelle an escort to La Charité. To say that Ritsuka felt tired would be an understatement.
Not physically mind you, as his mystic code had shouldered most of the burden. He could walk for hours and not be winded. However, the sheer distance they had walked was still mind numbing, especially when under the stress and anxiety of a possible ambush at any given moment.
Honestly, this trip would have been much slower had he not worn these wonders of reverse engineered Pokémon technology married to magecraft.
He would have to thank Da Vinci later.
His chat, meanwhile, was envious of the fact he could walk so long without being tired due to his clothes and were calling him a cheater. Somehow, that conversation ended up devolving into a few of them bragging that as 10 year olds, they would easily walk circles around him without relying on fancy magic clothes.
To his surprise, his servants, the traitors, had agreed with them. One of the few times when his servants and his chat could agree unilaterally with each other, and it related to how out of shape he, or rather, modern Earth humans were.
As for Isabelle, it was a bit awkward to make conversation with her, but walking in silence was something that would bore even the hardy people of the past. She had mostly been talking about gossip she had heard recently before the Dragon Witch had arrived.
She also spoke of her family, her three sons and her other daughter. They had apparently fled further south to avoid the armies of skeletons and wyverns. She didn’t know if they were still alive, but she still prayed for their safety.
Whenever she spoke of Jeanne, she preferred to speak about her younger years as a child rather than when she had left for war.
When they learned what she was like before her execution, to say they were shocked by the stark difference between her childhood self and who she had become would be an understatement.
Chat, however, seemed unwilling to be swayed by the woman’s words. The Kalosians, in particular, did not care how cute and adorable Jeanne had been as a child. In their eyes, she was still a monster who had killed innocents en masse, and they proudly exclaimed that they would never forgive her for what she did to their sister nation.
After that, chat went on a tangent of nurture vs nature, and how death and betrayal can affect a person into becoming a monster.
The dragon trainers wisely kept their comments to a minimum, but they still participated in the tangent despite the shade people kept throwing at them and dragons in general.
The arguing got so bad, he had accidentally told chat to calm down when Isabelle was in hearing distance. He managed to bullshit his way out of the awkward conversation, but the damage was already done.
Awkward moments aside, he and Mash had done their best to keep her out of the loop and used the PM feature in Twitch to communicate with Romani and Da Vinci.
There was no need to drop a massive exposition on the poor woman, and they had done their best to omit as much about the fact they were time travelling mages as best they could.
The only exception being when he sneakily healed her swollen cheek at night. He knew chat was going to tease him for looming over a sleeping woman like some creep, but he didn’t care what they said.
And then there was the other issue that they had recently found out about.
[Gudao: Is she still following us? ]
[ Yep. She’s hiding behind that myrtle shrub over there in the distance. ]
[MashuMellows: It’s been two days, why hasn’t she come over and talked to us yet? ]
[NinJanine: Dunno, but it’s still hilarious to see that woman hiding behind bushes and tree trunks like she was a kid. ]
[OrochiMochiHime: Even my youngest pupils would have been able to hide better than her. ]
[ Stealth check? Failed. Comedy? Gold. ]
Yeah, the weak servant, Mash’s words not his, who had helped them out earlier had been stalking them since they left the last city. Chat had managed to get a closer look at them and were able to identify that the servant was a woman.
Why she had been following them like she was an anime character stalking their crush when they were on a date, he had no clue. But she did not have ill intentions for them so they just let her be for now.
“Senpai, I can see buildings in the distance.”
Ritsuka looked to where Mash was pointing, and he could indeed see the town of what he assumed was La Charité.
[ Finally. It’s been ages!! ]
[ It's nice to see civilization again after so long!! ]
[VioletViola: A shame that Earth no longer has giant bugs, they would have added to the beauty of this landscape. *sigh* If only I could cross the border between dimensions. would have taken some breathtaking scenic shots of this wonderful view. ]
[ It’s better that way. If you were there, then you’d also be fighting for your life against a horde of wyverns looking to rip you apart. ]
[VioletViola: oh. Right, I forgot about that. ]
“Well, it looks like our journey is nearing its end.” Mash said, more towards Isabelle than to him. She knew that their mission was far from over.
“Yes it has. It’s been an enjoyable and peaceful trip, in spite of the dangers that hang over our heads.” Isabelle responded with a smile.
Huh, that was true wasn’t it? It's been surprisingly peaceful the entire walk they had since they left the last city. No wyverns, no skeletons, not even random wild animals.
While it had been a relief and a nice break from the constant fighting, Ritsuka still couldn’t help but feel like he was in the eye of the storm and that very soon, something bad was going to happen.
As if to confirm his fears, a strong gust of wind blew in their faces.
Then, he saw it.
His mouth hung open.
His reaction caught the attention of his travelling companions and when they followed his gaze, they also mirrored his expression.
A massive swarm of wyverns was making their way towards the same place they were headed.
La Charité.
That alone would have been cause for alarm, but no, what was really drawing their attention was the massive black dragon leading them. Even from this far away, the sheer power the beast exuded was undeniable.
[DragonMasterLance: The dragon from the video… it's even more magnificent and imposing than I expected. ]
[ Oh shit. Oh fuck. If that dragon is here then that means SHE’S here too!! ]
[ Jeanne D’Arc is here. It’s too soon. We haven’t even gotten Kream over to fight off the dragons!! ]
[Kream: That dragon… it can’t be… HOW IS IT HERE?!! ]
This scene was so terrifying, that Romani stopped caring about keeping Isabelle out of the loop and openly spoke from his communicator.
《N-No way… this energy signature… A true Dragon!! 》 Romani said through the communicator.
Isabelle jumped in fear, looking around for the unfamiliar voice but finding no one.
Mash and Ritsuka paid her no mind as they were still transfixed on the dragon army before them.
Then they heard it.
A roar so loud that it shook the heavens.
The dragon in the distance had set its wrath on La Charite.
[Just_N: That human settlement is doomed. ]
[ Dude, We can see that!! ]
[Mew_TheSecond: The sheer draconic energy this being exudes is just incredible. ]
[ Bro!! Don’t compliment it!! It’s going to kill a lot of people!!! ]
[Mew_TheSecond: I will do what I please. I respect power when I see it. And that dragon has plenty of it. Ergo, it has earned my respect. ]
[Just_N: My companion thinks much the same. ]
The dragon opened its mouth and took a breath.
The marks on his chest glowed with energy as the magical energy inside its lungs ignited normal, mundane air into something sinister.
Black flames coalesced in its mouth.
Then it lifted its neck and spit the ball of fire into the air.
The group saw the fire travel in an arc directly in the center of the town.
*KABOOOM*
A massive sphere of fire engulfed the settlement with a loud bang.
Buildings crumbled.
Trees became charcoal before they too were blown away from the explosive force.
All the residents who lived in the town barely had a moment to realize they were covered in flames before they died, and their ashes scattered to the destructive winds.
Ritsuka and the others could only watch in horror as they watched their destination be wiped from the face of the map.
And things only kept getting worse, as Twitch’s camera did a dynamic shot that focused on the dragon’s face as it turned towards their group’s location.
[ Oh fuck. It knows!!! ]
[ Shitshitshitshitshit!! ]
[ PerfectlySaneHex donated 100 bits ]
[“ RUN AWAY GUDAO!! RUN AWAY PLEASE!! RUN BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!! ”]
《Too late!! They can’t run!! That thing is moving too fast to outrun!! Ritsuka, Mash!! Look alive!! The enemy is headed your way!! 》
Mash instinctively moved in front of the group, her shield at the ready.
It didn’t take long for the heavy sound of wing flaps to reach their ears.
Romani wasn’t kidding.
The dragon had easily reached them and landed in front of them with a heavy crash, creating a miniature earthquake.
Isabelle instinctively got behind Mash, her pupils shaking in fear as she beheld the giant dragon staring down at them.
Suddenly, a figure jumped from behind the dragon and gracefully landed in front of them.
Isabelle’s breath hitched, her face turning a shade paler as she beheld the dark figure of the woman whose eyes stared at her with the promise of brutality and sadism.
“...Jeanette?”
New Chatters:
VioletViola = Viola, the Bug Type gym leader from Kalos.
Duchess-Diantha = Diantha,. The Champion of Kalos.
AN: Have a cliffhanger. Mama D’Arc and her goth daughter finally meet!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!