Bzzzz—!
Three golden halos burst forth from the blazing inferno. The enlarged cat-shaped energy attack unleashed from Pardofelis' spinning ring blade, [Phantasmal Dream of Bygone Eras], was instantly reduced to nothingness by the surging flames.
The next moment, a brilliant white light illuminated the entire intersection.
From below, Waver saw it clearly. What split apart the flames was a magnificent banner, its tip set with a sharp spearhead, the entire standard shaped like a lance.
Upon it, the fleur-de-lis flag symbolizing the glory and honor of the era of French monarchy fluttered in the wind.
"France..." Sitting on the ground, Waver lifted his head and muttered in stunned disbelief.
As the golden radiance descended, the flames instantly converged, transforming into a human silhouette that shone within the light before finally solidifying.
A young girl clad in a deep blue battle robe and draped in silver armor appeared before Waver.
Her resolute and heroic features were beautiful and sculpted. Her delicate lips were pressed tightly together, and paired with the soft curves of her face, they stirred an irresistible urge to kiss.
Her long golden hair was braided and swayed gently in the wind.
And at her chest, the fullness beneath her clothing stretched the fabric taut, round and ample—an unreachable curve for a certain petite swordswoman once mistaken by her marshal. It perfectly displayed the sensual allure belonging to a woman's body.
Most eye-catching of all were her eyes—clear and crystalline like blue gemstones—glimmering with a gentle, water-like radiance, filled with lively beauty.
"Servant—Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, heeding the summons—"
Holding the battle standard in one hand and resting the other lightly against the half-sword at her waist, the gallant girl turned with a faint smile. "May I ask—are you my Master?" Her presence was like a blooming carnation, refreshing and warm.
"Ah, my name is Waver Velvet. Please take care of me, Ruler. During this period—" Hearing this, Waver first nodded blankly and instinctively began a formal self-introduction.
Halfway through speaking, Waver suddenly snapped back to reality. His expression changed drastically as he grabbed his thick, enviably lustrous hair and smashed his forehead against the ground, letting out a shrill, marmot-like scream.
"Ah—! No! This isn't what I wanted!! My Majesty—!"
"Eh, Master? You... is something wrong with me?"
Seeing her Master suddenly bowing dramatically and wailing upon their first meeting left the Saint utterly flustered. She hurried forward to help Waver up, her expression somewhat dazed.
"No... no, I'm fine. Ruler, first stop the two Servants in front of us from attacking the third-party adjudicator."
With lifeless eyes, trembling hands, and a chilled heart, Waver covered his face and shakily stood with Ruler's support.
It's fine...
Right now, the most important thing is staying alive. As for Iskandar, there will be another chance to summon him in the future...
"Two? Understood. Master, please be careful."
Nodding, Ruler Jeanne gently lowered the dream-shattered Waver before rising to face Li Sushang, who stood balanced on a traffic light, and Pardofelis not far away, holding her ring blade and watching with curiosity.
"Foreigner—Li Sushang. Your act of attacking a Master serving as a third-party adjudicator—may I regard it as provocation? Leave immediately!"
Pointing the banner's blade directly at Li Sushang atop the traffic light, Ruler Jeanne spoke sternly.
Ruler class skill—True Name Discernment: B.
When summoned as a Ruler, the true names, classes, and parameters of all Servants directly encountered are automatically revealed. If the opponent possesses an ability or Noble Phantasm that conceals their true name or attributes, a Luck-based check is applied.
Although Li Sushang and the others did not belong to the seven standard classes of the Lesser Grail, they had been summoned upon the spiritual ley lines of Fuyuki. They were automatically integrated into the system and counted within the Greater Grail framework. As a safeguard established by the Greater Grail, the Ruler naturally possessed the authority to inspect them.
Moreover, Li Sushang had no Noble Phantasm that concealed her true name. Or rather, she simply disdained such concealment.
"Master, there is only one Servant on the opposing side. Her class is Foreigner. The one with weaker base parameters and animal traits appears to be Li Sushang's... mount-type Noble Phantasm?"
Through the special magical link between Servant and Master, Ruler Jeanne transmitted her voice to Waver.
"Foreigner class? What is that? The seven standard classes in our records do not include Foreigner. Could this be an irregular summoning like the Einzbern's violation in the Third Holy Grail War?"
Hearing this—especially the designation Foreigner—Waver immediately shifted into professional mode.
It seemed that the anomaly in the Fifth Holy Grail War known to the upper echelons of the Clock Tower lay with this Foreigner. Even if not entirely, it was at least related to the Servant named Li Sushang.
"Oh? You can see my true name. It seems Miss Ruler possesses some sort of referee skill. Very well. Playtime's over. Time to stretch a little."
"Pardo, come back."
Pardofelis was already at the bottom in terms of strength. After being further weakened by becoming a Servant—and appearing in the form of a Servant Noble Phantasm—it was simply adding frost to snow. Li Sushang had never expected her to achieve much in battle.
"Provocation? Words are useless. Let's fight first."
Li Sushang leaned forward. A sword like a vortex of flowing water condensed in her hand. The red tassel behind her fluttered violently in the night wind. With a smile on her pretty face and a spirited gaze in her eyes, she looked down at the girl below.
"Master, be careful."
Jeanne immediately stepped forward, wrapping the banner's cloth tightly around the steel shaft. With a flourish, she spun it like a spear and assumed a defensive stance.
"Taixuan—Ruoshui Sword."
As the words fell, Li Sushang suddenly raised the water-blue blade in her hand. Carrying a roaring gale, she shot downward from above the traffic light like a cannonball.
"Get down!" Shielding Waver behind her, Jeanne abruptly swung her weapon. The banner shaft, carrying fierce wind pressure, smashed toward the incoming vortex blade in midair.
The whistling banner edge immediately clashed head-on with the surging torrent of wind and water.
Clang!
In that instant of collision, accompanied by rippling sprays of water, the asphalt at the intersection cracked and sank. Rubble shot outward in every direction as dust billowed into the air.
Craaack—
The nearby traffic lights emitted a teeth-grinding metallic groan before snapping cleanly in half.
Crackle! Pop!
The underground electrical network was instantly destroyed by the force transmitted into the earth, sparks bursting forth as the circuitry failed. Rows of traffic lights went dark one after another, tilting and collapsing.
Yet neither side in this battle was hindered by the darkness. One was a Servant—no longer bound by human limitations. The other had trained in martial arts since childhood, her technique peerless. And Jeanne, blessed with divine revelation, fought as though she could foresee the future, repeatedly predicting and intercepting her opponent's strikes.
Jeanne's personal skill—Revelation: A.
An ability equivalent in effect to "Instinct," "Mind's Eye," or a "Sixth Sense."
Bang!Clang!Ring!
The relentless clashes only intensified, transforming into shockwave-laden gusts like surging tides that blasted outward in all directions.
Li Sushang's fighting style resembled that of a true wandering hero. Every movement of her hands and feet flowed like a painter sweeping ink across parchment. One Ruoshui Sword after another, formed entirely from magical power, was slashed out, hurled, smashed—
When each Ruoshui Sword fell and burst into sprays of "water," ripples spread across the road's surface, interacting with the dim surroundings to form a scene like an ancient scroll come to life.
"Foreigner—this is your final warning!"
The response came instantly: "Ki—Mountain Breaker!"
Growing ever more satisfied with her opponent, Li Sushang released the vortex blade in her hand. Using the recoil from Jeanne's push, she twisted sharply midair. Then, driving power from her waist and abdomen, dark blue magical energy surged from both hands as she cleaved downward with one arm.
At this sight, Jeanne cast a subtle glance behind her and clenched her teeth.
Why is it always like this? Do participants in the Holy Grail War take pride in beating up the referee? Did I offend you somehow?!
As a Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail War itself, Jeanne could descend by possessing a living body or be summoned like any other Servant. She bore the responsibility of properly managing the Holy Grail War.
Thus, unlike other Servants, she inherited memories from previous iterations of this endlessly repeating game—the Holy Grail War.
Among those memories, the image of being attacked en route in Romania by Karna remained vividly unpleasant.
This time, she had descended using Waver's Command Spells and the holy relic he had prepared because the Greater Grail had detected that all Servants had already been summoned—fourteen or more in total.
Waver happened to enter Fuyuki at that precise moment. As the Mage's Association's investigator, the Command Spells naturally sought him out. Most importantly, he possessed a suitable catalyst for Jeanne's descent.
After a certain procedure within the Greater Grail was activated, Jeanne responded to its call and manifested.
However, Waver as a Master was useful for little beyond providing magical energy... though in truth, even the bulk of that energy was supplied directly by the Greater Grail and the underground ley lines. Waver merely acted as a relay station...
The special black Command Spells on his hand held no binding force over Jeanne. Naturally, he could not command her.
Whether she addressed Waver as Master, protected him, or obeyed his orders was entirely up to Jeanne's own will. Clearly, she had no intention of abandoning him.
"Hah—!"
With no time to consider anything else, Jeanne gripped the battle standard with both hands and hastily raised it.
Boom!
With a heavy crash, the downward cleave aimed directly at Jeanne's head slammed viciously into the banner shaft. Flesh and steel collided, sending sparks flying as though iron had struck iron.
Rumble—!
The already shattered roadway, broken moments earlier by their clash of raw strength, sank once more under Li Sushang's crushing blow. A crater over twenty meters in diameter formed, fissuring into irregular slabs of earth that shot outward.
Sewage from beneath the ground sprayed into the air. Stones of all sizes blasted in every direction, each carrying the destructive force of a large-caliber machine-gun round. Storefronts and dividing walls along the roadside were reduced to wreckage, glass and masonry fragments scattering in sheets.
"Exhilarating! How delightful!"
"Again!"
Knocked back by the banner, Li Sushang's bright eyes gleamed with excitement. Rather than retreating, she pressed forward. This time, she did not condense another Ruoshui Sword. Instead, a streak of golden light flashed.
Ring!
Jeanne saw it clearly now—Li Sushang's Noble Phantasm. The blade gleamed gold, two chi and one cun in length, double-edged, adorned with dark gray patterns.
Clink!Clang-clang!
Amid the crisp ringing of steel and bursting sparks, Jeanne's figure suddenly shot out from the rolling smoke.
"This is bad, bad, very bad!"
Nearly a hundred meters away, Waver—who had already retreated—was staggered by the roaring shockwave. Watching the lights of surrounding buildings extinguish one by one at a visible rate, darkness spreading outward, he inwardly cursed.
I knew it.
This isn't Romania. Not some medieval town like Trifas. Not a port, not a suburb, not a park. This is the busiest public transportation hub of Shinto Station in Fuyuki!
In a modern city, how many underground drainage systems, gas lines, power grids, and internet cables intertwine beneath the streets? Tug one thread, and the entire network trembles.
And they're fighting this fiercely on a main traffic artery. Absolutely—what's being destroyed below are core municipal lines.
Once water, power, and communications are cut, even with a People-Clearing Field in place, the concealment will be drastically weakened!
Even if this area was preemptively set with an avoidance bounded field, with commotion on this scale, under the eyes of the public, it will be impossible to clean up afterward.
No—if this continues, it will become impossible to contain!
"Foreigner's Master! You're observing from the shadows, aren't you?! Your actions have already severely violated the established rules of the magecraft world!"
Li Sushang might not care. In her world, the supernatural walked openly among people. But Waver could not. As a Lord of the Clock Tower, he had to uphold the established laws of Mystery.
"Ruler, this can't continue. Nearby patrol officers have already been alerted."
"Understood!"
Gripping her battle standard, Jeanne disengaged from the raging winds at astonishing speed, rapidly widening the distance while weighing her options.
If she wanted to end this quickly without using her Noble Phantasm—it was impossible.
After that exchange of close-quarters combat, Jeanne could clearly sense it. Although their base physical parameters were similar, her technique was far inferior.
True Name: Jeanne d'Arc
Class: Ruler
Strength: B+
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Mana: A
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: A++
Each had advantages and disadvantages. Her opponent possessed superior technique. In close combat, Jeanne had been entirely suppressed, rarely finding opportunities to counterattack.
Yet at the same time, Jeanne's anti-magic defense—approaching an impenetrable shell—greatly reduced the effectiveness of Li Sushang's magical output.
In other words, despite the intensity—explosions, slashes, widespread environmental destruction—neither had truly sustained substantial injury.
"Heh, not fighting anymore?"
Hearing sirens wailing in the distance, Jeanne ignored Li Sushang. She knew she could not drag this out any longer. After exchanging a glance with Waver and seeing him nod, Jeanne clenched her fist and placed it over her full chest, her expression solemn.
"Foreigner, this is the final warning. Should there be a next time, I will exercise the authority of a Ruler and order you to commit suicide and withdraw from the Holy Grail War."
"God's Resolution—"