Though nearly an hour had passed since the search began, the Servant Martha had spoken of—the one who seemed to be a dragonslayer—had yet to reveal himself.
Elizabeth Bathory, having returned after sweeping the sector assigned to her, cried out in irritation. "How vexing! We've searched every last corner and found nothing. Are you certain this dragonslayer is truly here?"
"Have patience a little longer. This castle is the last of them."
So saying, I turned my gaze from Bathory and looked upon the fortress we were presently searching.
It seemed to have once housed a local lord. Though much of it had been shattered, as if it had suffered a violent assault, its general form still remained intact.
The interior as well was largely sound, save for traces of partial ruin. After taking stock of it, I resumed my search of the surroundings.
Marie and Mozart were still combing through the remaining outer grounds, and if they had not found the dragonslayer, then he must surely be here.
If he was not here either... then so be it. In the end, we would have no choice but to abandon the search.
The reason we had sought a dragonslayer at all was simple: he possessed an absolute affinity against the dragon ridden by the Dragon Witch.
If one considered only the keyword of dragon-slaying, then I too qualified, having slain Vortigern. In that regard, there was no true difficulty.
It was merely that, if he were with us, our chances of triumph over the Dragon Witch would rise all the more.
'...Must I give it up?'
I did not believe Martha had lied. They say the eyes reflect the heart, and the eyes I had seen in her then had held a truth purer than any other.
Yet we could not continue to squander time in pursuit of this dragonslayer alone. Without question, he would become a valuable force in battle.
And yet, valuable though he might be, he was not a presence worth wasting the dwindling hours that marked the countdown to mankind's ruin.
We stood in a moment where the Singularity had to be restored and human order reclaimed with all haste. We could not remain forever chasing after one man.
Having reached that conclusion, I let out a sigh and was just about to voice my resignation when—
"...I've found him!"
"...!"
At Mash's cry that she had found our quarry, we all ran at once toward the place from which her voice had come. And there we beheld him.
"...Kh."
A man grievously wounded, swaying upon his feet, and yet still forcing himself upright through sheer strength of will.
The bright blue radiance of prana shining near his heart told me at once that he was the dragonslayer. And from memories of a former life, which I had thought long since faded, I recalled his True Name.
"Siegfried."
"...!"
At my words, Siegfried looked startled and immediately grew wary. Yet Jeanne, standing beside me, stepped toward him.
At the sight of Siegfried, Jeanne's eyes widened at the severity of his wounds, and she moved closer to examine them.
"...! You are badly hurt—"
"Dangerous."
At once I seized Jeanne and pulled her back. It was an act born of instinct, a warning that I must not allow her to approach him.
Whoosh!
And indeed, my intuition had not erred. The instant I drew her away, Siegfried swung the sword in his hand.
The rushing blade passed through the very place where Jeanne's neck had been a moment before. Seeing that, her eyes flew wide.
Siegfried, though plainly wracked with pain from his grievous injuries, raised his sword toward us once more. Jeanne watched the motion in confusion for only a moment before his next words made his misunderstanding clear.
"...One by one... one by one..."
"Wait! We are not your enemies! At the very least, we have no intention of harming you!"
"...?"
At Jeanne's words, Siegfried looked at her as though he could not make sense of what he was hearing. Mash seemed to read that expression as well, for she stepped out from behind me and spoke.
"We do not stand with the Dragon Witch. We came here to secure the strength of a dragonslayer, so that we might oppose the evil dragon and the Servants she has summoned."
"...A dragon, then... I see. So that is why I was summoned, and why I was attacked."
"Most likely. More precisely, it is because of the True Name of the evil dragon the Dragon Witch summoned. That dragon's name is—"
"Fafnir... is it not?"
"...It is."
At Siegfried's question, I gave a quiet nod. Seeing my affirmation, he too inclined his head.
"...I understand. And I am sorry. I was mistaken."
Ritsuka accepted Siegfried's apology with a smile. "It's all right! In the end, it was settled peacefully, and no one had to fight."
Then she turned at once toward Mash. "Mash, now that we've found the dragonslayer, let's contact Chaldea. Is the line still down?"
"I shall try once more, Senpai."
Crackle...
At Ritsuka's words, Mash operated the communicator. Static spilled from it, as though the connection remained unstable.
Yet only for a moment. Little by little, the noise began to fade, as if the transmission were stabilizing at last. Seeing that, Mash attempted the call.
"Doctor Romani, can you hear us?"
[You... safe... th... ere... at once... run...]
"Romani?"
The words came broken and severed by static. Hearing it, Mash adjusted the communicator again and spoke.
"My apologies, Doctor Romani. The connection is poor, and I could not hear you clearly. Would you repeat that?"
[Run! Get out of there at once!]
Romani's shout rang out from beyond the communicator. Startled by the sudden cry, Mash then understood the meaning of his words and asked in alarm, "What do you mean, Doctor? Run from what—"
[That Grand Grail-class magical energy reaction we detected before—there's another one of similar scale! It's moving toward your position at high speed! And we're detecting Servant signatures too! It has to be the Dragon Witch! She's coming your way! Leave there immediately!]
The news Romani delivered was despair itself. The Dragon Witch was descending upon us together with the evil dragon.
The instant I heard it, I swept Ritsuka up into my arms.
"Eek?!"
"We leave this place at once! Ritsuka, call the other Servants to us by telepathy immediately!"
"Y-yes!"
Ritsuka let out a startled cry, then hastily nodded at my shout. Mash and Jeanne seemed to grasp the urgency as well, for they moved at once to support the staggering Siegfried.
And so we hurried from the castle with all speed. But...
"...Good heavens."
We saw it then: far off in the distance, with the sun at its back, an evil dragon flying toward us with dreadful speed. And standing upon it was the Dragon Witch, bearing aloft her banner of hatred.
They were already far too near.
An inescapable battle was bearing down upon us. I ground my teeth and spat out a single curse steeped in bitter despair.
"...Damn it."
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