After passing through several more trap-filled chambers, Jeanne d'Arc and Mordred finally reached the Audience Hall at the deepest part of the Hanging Gardens.
Semiramis sat poised upon a throne dozens of meters high, looking down at the Holy Maiden and the Knight of the Round Table who had stepped into the Queen's domain.
"You arrived at just the right time, though I suppose that is not quite fitting under the circumstances, since I was the one who guided you here."
The "Red" Assassin gave a bewitching smile.
She did nothing at all, yet that single smile alone seemed to possess a power close to charm Magecraft.
No wonder some legends hailed Semiramis as the incarnation of Ishtar, the goddess of beauty, capable of effortlessly stealing men's souls.
Of course, no matter how much she flaunted her charms, it was wasted effort against Jeanne and Mordred.
"Ruler, you may pass.
The person you seek is in the Garden above. My Master also happens to wish to speak with you."
Jeanne raised her head and met Semiramis's gaze, then walked around the long staircase leading to the throne and headed for the hall's rear door.
"Huh? Only Ruler gets to pass?"
Mordred rested her magic sword on her shoulder. "My Clarent would like to have a nice chat with that fake Father too."
Hearing the taunt from the "Red" Saber, the "Red" Assassin let out a low giggle.
"A crude creature like you has no right to meet Master...
Saber, you will remain here and let me 'entertain' you."
"You call it entertainment, but there isn't even a single dish."
Semiramis slowly raised her right hand. "Do not be impatient. I shall now..."
A current-like sensation shot through Mordred's body. Instinct had activated.
"Tch...!"
Mordred released the helmet stored within her armor, but even then, she was still half a beat too late.
"...Damn it...!"
This was... Assassin's Magecraft poison.
Semiramis, humanity's oldest poisoner. Her Origin Poison could connect to all toxins.
Normally, Mordred, who possessed A-rank Magic Resistance, would not be affected by toxins in the air.
But inside these Hanging Gardens, Semiramis was practically a god, and her poison had risen from Magecraft to a level approaching authority.
Fortunately, Mordred's helmet was a Noble Phantasm bestowed upon her by her witch of a mother, and it could neutralize the toxin to some extent.
"Oh my... I see. The maker of that helmet must have been quite the remarkable Magus as well."
"Of course... She's a woman ten thousand times more powerful than you!!"
As she said that, Mordred activated "Mana Burst." Her feet shattered the marble floor, and her body shot toward the throne in midair like a bullet.
Semiramis was secretly startled.
The toxin she had released was meant to paralyze nerves and dissolve muscles, yet Mordred had regained full mobility almost immediately after being poisoned.
Even for Mordred, who was known among the Knights of the Round Table for her tenacious vitality, this was far too abnormal!
Could it be that aside from that helmet, the "Red" Saber was now carrying some other defensive Noble Phantasm?
...
Several hours before the decisive battle, Shirou had come looking for Mordred.
"Father, did you call me?"
The red-haired youth nodded, took a massive golden plate out of the treasury, and tossed it to Mordred, who hurriedly caught it with both hands.
"This is... Prydwen!?"
Its name was "Prydwen."
It was the wondrous tool once wielded by King Arthur, capable of serving as both a ship and a shield.
Light yet sturdy, and sharing the same design language as the Holy Sword's scabbard, it gave off an overwhelming sense of security.
Shirou said, "Mordred, take this.
It should be useful in your fight against the 'Red' Assassin."
"Huh? Thank you, Father~ I'll make good use of it!"
Mordred did not stand on ceremony with Shirou in the slightest and happily accepted the golden shield.
"But that aside, Father, how did you know I was planning to go pick a fight with Assassin?"
Shirou gave her a meaningful look.
Well, Semiramis is quite similar to Morgan, after all...
It was probably inevitable that you would end up clashing with her...
"Since you accepted something this good from me, don't lose, all right?"
"Whose son do you think I am?"
"You mean daughter!"
...
Golden light burst from the silver armor in midflight.
That was not the Rebel Knight's Mana. It was the protection of the liberated King's Shield (Prydwen).
It allowed the shield's defensive effects to function without taking up either hand. More than that, it also greatly enhanced the user's flight capability and mobility.
Its principle was the adjustment and optimization of "Mana Burst."
In every respect, Prydwen was the Noble Phantasm best suited to Mordred.
With the King's Shield empowering her, "Mana Burst" closed a distance of dozens of meters in an instant, and Mordred arrived above the Empress's throne.
She raised the magic sword in her hands high and swung it down toward Semiramis's head.
"Die, Assassin!" The blonde girl wore a fierce, delighted grin.
"You are the one who shall die!"
Though Semiramis was taken aback, she quickly regained her composure and calmly curled her slender fingers.
Judging that a defensive spell would never block a magic sword wrapped in lightning, she decided to strangle Mordred herself.
In an instant, countless dark-green chains tipped with hooks shot out from the void.
...
...
"This way is the fastest route to the Audience Hall. I think Assassin's Master should be directly above it."
Atalanta and Shirou had already been running through the corridors of the Hanging Gardens for thirty minutes.
During that time, they had not encountered a single enemy or ally.
The situation seemed to be developing in a strange direction.
It was as if every Servant taking part in the battle had vanished, leaving only the two of them alive.
Shirou suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Atalanta asked in confusion.
"Someone is approaching."
"Huh? That's impossible..."
Atalanta's fine brows furrowed. Shirou had slowed her down, but she had never once imagined that anything could catch up to her from behind.
Still, Shirou's sense was soon proven right.
The "Red" Rider, whose presence had vanished for a time, appeared before them.
"Rider, where did you run off to?"
Atalanta had just been about to step forward and greet him when Shirou reached out and stopped her.
"Don't get close."
He could sense an unbelievably intense killing intent coming from Rider.
Considering the other party was Achilles, that unruly great hero, this evil, frenzied aura was far too strange.
Atalanta also noticed that something was wrong with Rider and asked in confusion.
"What happened, Rider?"
Achilles did not answer. He simply snapped his fingers, and a chariot drawn by three fine horses immediately appeared behind him.
He looked at Shirou with empty eyes and said, "Sorry, 'Black' Saber...
I have no grudge against you, but you have to die here.
Only when you die can this world be saved."
"Huh?"
Shirou frowned in irritation. What the hell was this guy talking about?
On the other side, Achilles leaped directly onto the chariot and flicked the reins.
The warhorses let out ringing neighs as their iron hooves struck the ground, and in the next instant, the chariot became a streak so fast that even a Servant's eyes could barely follow it, charging straight toward Shirou.
The three horses pulling the chariot were no ordinary beasts. They were the immortal divine horses Xanthos and Balius, gifts from the Sea God (Poseidon), as well as Pedasos, the famed steed obtained during the conquest of Eëtion.
The chariot was called "Troyius Tragoidia : Tempestuous Immortal Chariot," a god-speed weapon (Noble Phantasm) capable of leaving everything in the world behind.
The Hanging Gardens were vast, but their smaller rooms were not suited for a chariot's movement. In the long corridors, however, that was no concern at all.
The Immortal Chariot crushed the floor and walls as it charged toward the red-haired boy and the girl tucked under his arm.
Come to think of it...
As Shirou fled, a thought crossed his mind. Wouldn't I be faster if I rode on Atalanta instead?
...
...
Jeanne had once tried to understand Amakusa Shirou's motives.
As a Servant, once she recognized a Heroic Spirit, she could automatically draw relevant knowledge and information from the Holy Grail.
What Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had experienced in life, what he believed in, how his story ended... Jeanne had known all of it for some time.
Just like her...
No, he may have been even younger than Jeanne, a boy executed at the age of fifteen or sixteen.
His life had been far too short, and there was hardly any valuable information to find.
So Jeanne made use of the library in the Fortress of Millennia, where records of the Third Holy Grail War were kept.
In Amakusa Shirou's first life, he had witnessed the Shogunate forces' massacre with his own eyes. Thirty-seven thousand people in Shimabara Castle, including women and children, were slaughtered to the last.
In his second life, he had personally experienced the ugly conflict between Magi and the military against the backdrop of a world war.
"Artorius, what do you think? Do you believe Amakusa Shirou is serious about his declaration of 'salvation for all humanity'?"
Jeanne sat on the edge of the bed in the inn and closed the Holy Grail War records she had borrowed from Yggdmillennia.
"If it were just a whim... there's no way he could have held on to such an impossible dream for sixty years."
"Mm, you're right. I think so too."
Jeanne murmured, "Living as a hero or a saint, one naturally sees both the ugly and beautiful sides of humanity.
Human wickedness, human goodness, and things that transcend good and evil. No matter how much ugliness one sees, one still wants to believe in their beauty.
Perhaps he wants to save them precisely because he 'wants to keep loving humanity.'"
"Then why did you appear here, Ruler?"
"I..."
"You've sensed it already, haven't you? You may have been summoned to this world to stop Amakusa Shirou."
Jeanne nodded gravely. "Yes. My premonition has been growing stronger over the past few days...
Amakusa Shirou may be planning something extremely dangerous. At least, that is what the Greater Grail believes.
I have to ask him myself exactly how he intends to save all of humanity."
"Right. Let's set that smug fake Father aside for now... How have you been lately? Are you used to that body yet?"
Shirou suddenly sat down beside Jeanne, and her cheeks instantly flushed.
"Huh? W-why are you asking that all of a sudden? I'm fine, ahahahaha."
Jeanne lowered her head and pressed her plump thighs together, looking bashful. Is he worried about me?
"Glad to hear it. I was a little worried you might be putting Leticia through too much."
"So you were worried about Leticia all along!"
"What else?" Shirou said, dumbfounded.
Jeanne puffed out her cheeks adorably. "Idiot Artorius."
The blonde Holy Maiden cast Shirou a sidelong glance, then explained the situation to him.
The body she currently possessed, the body of the French girl Leticia, had a backup preserved.
The moment Ruler fulfilled her objective or was defeated midway, Leticia's body would return to the state recorded in the information and, depending on the situation, be forcibly transferred to a safe location.
During that process, no matter what injuries she suffered, she would immediately regenerate.
In other words, no matter how badly Ruler was wounded, Leticia's life would not be endangered.
"I see. So the base body was saved in another realm ahead of time?"
"That's right. I'm not being reckless, you know~"
Jeanne proudly thrust out her impressive chest. "As the final measure in case the operation fails, the host's body has been perfectly 'saved'... Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
Shirou looked at Jeanne curiously as her expression turned blank with surprise.
Ruler snapped back to herself and hurriedly shook her head. "N-nothing..."
Shirou frowned. "You're acting really suspicious today. Don't go easy on Amakusa Shirou out of sympathy when the time comes, all right?"
Jeanne looked annoyed. "What kind of person do you think I am? I'm a fair and impartial Ruler.
You're the one, Artorius. Don't go easy on any cute female Heroic Spirits from the 'Red' faction, all right?"
"I won't."
"Hmph. I'm not so sure about that."
Jeanne placed a hand over her chest.
The heart beating inside her now was not her own, but Leticia's.
To protect her life, the Spiritual Descent ritual had used a method to preserve the base body.
Then what had Artorius, who manifested in this world as the "Keeper," come to protect?
If Amakusa Shirou was her enemy, then where was Artorius's enemy?
"Smack! Smack!"
Jeanne slapped both cheeks twice to clear the confusion from her mind, then walked into the battlefield of the final confrontation.
...
The Garden on the uppermost deck of the floating fortress.
Although she had already prepared herself, when Jeanne saw her opponent clearly with her own eyes, she still fell silent for quite some time.
One of the privileges of the Ruler was a skill known as "True Name Perception."
This skill allowed her to see through a Servant's Class and True Name, and naturally, it applied to Incarnates as well.
The other party's identity appeared clearly before her eyes.
The Ruler summoned during the Third Holy Grail War, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
"Greetings, Ruler of this war."
The white-haired, brown-skinned boy gave her a gentle smile. "I am the one you have been searching for, the first Ruler.
To tell the truth, I've been wanting to speak with you for quite some time as well."
Jeanne said irritably, "Don't joke around. Haven't you been avoiding me this whole time?"
Amakusa Shirou scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, if I had met you on the battlefield too early, my entire plan would have gone up in smoke...
Though at this point, it has already failed completely."
The boy laughed brightly. There was no hatred in his voice, only unwavering resolve.
Amakusa Shirou understood his current situation perfectly. He had been driven into a corner, but even so, he could not be persuaded.
As long as he was alive, he would never stop. Jeanne was certain of that.
The Holy Maiden looked at the boy with her amethyst eyes, skipped the meaningless pleasantries, and asked him directly.
"Amakusa Shirou, how do you intend to redeem all of humanity?"
"The Third Magic."
Amakusa Shirou answered calmly, "I will use the Third Magic to achieve the 'salvation of all humanity' and grant eternal life to the human race."
Jeanne said nothing.
"That is not some half-baked immortality. It is immortality achieved by casting aside the corruptible flesh.
And it will not be granted to a single person alone, but shared by all humanity, regardless of good or evil.
Human emotions and desires will fade. Vanity will become meaningless. The world will welcome eternal peace.
That is my wish."
The Third Magic, the materialization of the soul.
By sharing this Magic, which embodies true immortality regardless of good and evil, with all humanity, every human being would become an existence sustained by the soul alone.
With desires and emotions cut off, humans would become beings with thin emotions, much like Homunculi.
The struggle for resources would disappear, and conflicts born from ideology and religion would surely vanish as well.
The chain of vengeance would be severed, and the world would be linked to eternal peace.
Just as Amakusa Shirou said, this was true "salvation for all humanity."
If all human conflict arose from selfish desire, then severing it completely would undoubtedly bring more benefit than harm.
"Isn't that right? You think so too, don't you, Jeanne?"
Amakusa Shirou walked toward the Holy Maiden.
"Are my thoughts, my wish, wrong?"
"No. They are not wrong. They are so complete that I can hardly find words.
I wish we could have spoken properly sooner, but it should not be too late even now."
Amakusa Shirou did not hate Jeanne. He had sent Karna to hunt her down only because he did not want her interfering with his plan.
Now, he urgently wanted to draw the Ruler over to his side.
On one hand, he naturally had his eye on the dozen or so Command Spells Ruler held. Even though the Great Holy Grail War was nearing its end, those Command Spells remained a decisive force.
On the other hand, Amakusa Shirou believed Jeanne was also one of this world's victims. If they could join hands, there would be nothing better.
"Let us bring about the salvation of all humanity together."
"Smack."
Jeanne knocked away Amakusa Shirou's outstretched hand.
"No."
With a solemn expression, she shouted, "That is not salvation at all.
What you are doing cannot be called the salvation of all humanity! You are only running away!"
I know what true "salvation" is.
When Jeanne was still a little girl, she had been utterly captivated by those legends.
The boy who drew the Holy Sword fought on and on for the people, for the nation, and for the world.
He did not hesitate to abandon the happiness of being human. He even devoured the heart of Dragonkind and willingly cast aside his humanity.
Even so, he never gave up on humanity's future.
He believed with absolute certainty that humanity would one day begin a new journey as the primate species, and he fought for that belief until the very end.
Compared to that person's devotion, Amakusa Shirou's wish was clearly wrong.
That conclusion moved Ruler so deeply she nearly cried.
She forced back her tears and glared at the idealistic boy before her.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, I cannot accept your redemption."
Jeanne believed the boy before her was a true saint.
Before his death, he had witnessed a living hell, yet it had not twisted him. He had not hated the Shogunate, but had instead sought a way for humanity to be redeemed.
However, Jeanne did not approve of his method.
"Your actions show a lack of faith in humanity. They would reduce everything humanity has accumulated until now to nothing.
For thousands of years, humanity has struggled against suffering and calamity.
Even after repeated defeats, they never gave up. They overcame countless sacrifices to arrive here!"
"If we follow your idea and bestow that fruit upon humanity, then yes, peace may come to the world. Many things may remain unchanged forever, and eternal tranquility may await us.
A world without change, without conflict, without wounds. A world where everyone can remain forever."
Without desire, human civilization would no longer progress.
Without death, no new life would be born.
All that would exist was an unchanging, stagnant world.
"I see. What a shame... I thought we might become comrades."
The smile vanished from Amakusa Shirou's face.
Just as no one could persuade him, the Holy Maiden's refined face was filled with absolute, unshakable resolve.
It seemed she, too, had grown considerably during this Great Holy Grail War...
Even if Caster were here, she probably would not be able to interfere with her now.
Making a third-rate pseudo-saint from the East like me fight a world-famous Holy Maiden is asking far too much...
The white-haired Father gave a helpless smile and drew the Japanese sword at his waist.
"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada shall face you with this Miike Tenta."
Though it was an ancient blade with more than five hundred years of history, and though it had been enchanted and strengthened by the "Red" magus, it was still equivalent to a C-rank Noble Phantasm at best.
On the other side stood Jeanne d'Arc, a Holy Maiden whose defensive power ranked among the very highest in human history.
Even if he struck her directly, he did not know whether he could cut through that soft skin.
In Amakusa Shirou's original plan, he would already have connected to the Greater Grail by now and obtained power beyond the specifications of a Servant. Even Jeanne d'Arc would not have been worth worrying about.
Where exactly had things gone wrong...
After Jeanne d'Arc rejected him, Amakusa Shirou understood that he had lost.
He no longer had any possibility of victory. What he was about to do was practically the same as martyring himself for his dream.
The young Father took his stance, and the Holy Maiden silently drew her holy banner.
Just as this final battle was about to erupt, footsteps sounded from the stairs at the entrance to the deck Garden.
Jeanne and Amakusa Shirou looked over at the same time.
Who was it?
Mordred or Semiramis?
Had their battle ended so quickly? Who had won?
Depending on the outcome of the battle in the Audience Hall, the final direction of the Holy Grail War would change drastically.
Then Jeanne saw someone completely unexpected.
"Manaka-san... what are you doing here?"
***
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