11. Dragons

(Ritsuka fujimaru pov)

"I look forward to working together with you, Fujimaru," she said as she accepted my handshake.

"Then listen to our story," I began, explaining what had happened to humanity in the future and why we had come to this place.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of four people approaching the town.

They were not ordinary individuals; they were servants. But who could they be? And who summoned them?

"Technical Advisor Leonardo!" exclaimed a female worker.

"Hey, I told you to call me Da Vinci-chan," Da Vinci insisted.

"Look ahead, we observe four Servants' Saint Graphs," the worker pointed out.

"What?" Romani exclaimed.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, be careful," Olga warned, her thoughts dwelling on the mastermind behind this.

"Don't worry, they seem weak. Probably casters or riders. Get ready," I said, turning my head to prepare for their arrival.

"Exchange," I commanded, and in an instant, we disappeared and reappeared near the four servants.

"How convenient," Alter remarked upon witnessing my teleportation skill.

"I want to know whose side you guys are on," I asked them, observing one male and three females among them, three of whom appeared to be from France.

"Hey, we're not the bad guys, kid. We came here to help. And who are you guys? And why is Dragon Witch Jeanne with you?" the male guy inquired.

Observing no evil or killing intent from them, I concluded they were not adversaries, at least for now.

"I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru, and she is not the Dragon Witch; she is Jeanne," I clarified, introducing ourselves.

"So, there are two Jeannes exist," remarked the elegant woman. "It's nice to meet you, everyone. I'm Marie Antoinette. My class is Rider."

"You're seriously going to reveal your true name and class? I guess it's fine. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. My class is Caster."

"Elizabeth Bathory, my class is Idol... Lancer," declared another.

"I am called Kiyohime, my class is Berserker," said a Japanese loli girl.

Observing their identities, Beru couldn't help but think about their historical significance. They resembled historical musicians and idols. He yearned to witness their performances but refrained, knowing his master wouldn't approve. "Shit, maybe next time," he thought, restraining himself while still observing them intently.

"We were summoned by the human order using the Grail to save the world. But it's a huge task I don't want to do," Mozart explained, voicing his reluctance.

"So this is like the Holy Grail War but to stop the Grail owner," Olga remarked.

"If this was a Holy Grail War like Fuyuki, there's already too many servants," Romani commented.

"Yes, but unfortunately, that evil witch killed all of them who got summoned before us," Mozart revealed.

"She's not as stupid as I thought," Alter added.

"Anyway, that's what's up with us. Now it's your turn, voyagers, or should I say drifters?" Mozart inquired of us.

"Okay, I will tell everything," I said, and began explaining what had happened to the human order in the future and why Singularities occurred, affecting everyone, including Jeanne.

*****

"It seems it's not just France, that's even more reason why we can't lose!" Marie exclaimed.

"Yes, my master will win to save the world," Tamamo affirmed.

"To take back an incinerated future, Chaldea sent these kids. It seems my own worries were rather small," Jeanne reflected.

Just like that, we joined them in our team.

While they were engrossed in their conversation, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the situation.

'After hearing Jeanne's words, she at least remembers her childhood memories to some extent. She knows her mother's face too. So then why did the evil Jeanne send monsters to kill her mother?' I pondered.

Suddenly, I felt mana beasts approaching the town. I understood who was coming to this place. And Fou to felt the presence of mana beasts.

'Evil Jeanne is coming here, good,' I thought.

"Master, there is someone I must defeat. Please, can you give me the chance?" Elizabeth said to me, her eyes filled with determination.

I observed her resolve, reassured as long as she wouldn't harm the human order.

"Okay, Elizabeth," I agreed.

"Oh, thanks, I like you, puppy," she said, prompting me to mull over the term "puppy."

Fou jumped onto my shoulders, giving me a sympathetic look.

As I observed the group, it seemed Tamamo and Kiyohime had become good friends. Beru was engaged in conversation with Mozart, while Alter was talking with Igris.

Marie was deep in conversation with Romani. Wait, Romani's face looked different. Did he have an interest in idols?

But seeing Marie, I felt a surge of different emotions. I had heard about her in Da Vinci's class, and Mashu had explained what had happened to her. Even after her children's heads were cut off and she lost her life, she was still striving to save the world.

Was this why she became a heroic servant? How could she be like that even after experiencing such tragedy?

At that moment, I realized she was truly an amazing person.

And then I noticed Jeanne lost in her thoughts.

"Jeanne, do you love France or resent the people who didn't save you?" I asked.

"Huh, yes, I love this place and its people. There's no way I resent them," Jeanne replied confidently.

"Then stop worrying about Evil Jeanne or whether you're real or fake. The Jeanne this world knows saved many people by ending the war. It doesn't matter what you are. Do what your heart says," I assured her, already understanding her concerns. I would be freaked out too if I knew my evil version was doing terrible things. But I've read many stories like this in my past life, common in Marvel and DC comics.

Hearing my words made her regain her confidence.

"I need to do what my heart says... Thank you, Master. I will follow your advice, but I need to talk with my evil version one time," she said, her eyes brimming with confidence.

My eyes started to glow in purple.

"Then be ready, she's coming here," I warned as an army of wyverns emerged in the sky, heading our way.

"Ritsuka! We've confirmed a large number of life forms a few meters away from the town. They're going to destroy the town," Romani urgently informed us, his words shocking everyone, including Olga and Da Vinci.

"Master," Alter said, preparing to unleash her Noble Phantasm to attack the army in mid-air.

"Ritsuka, we need to stop them, they're going to destroy everything! What the hell are you waiting for, idiot? Throw a black hole at her, damn it!" Olga yelled at me through the transmission screen.

'I know Master can create barriers with a snap, which can withstand black hole effects, so why are they shouting at Master like that?' Tamamo wondered.

Then everyone saw a dragon leading the army, with Evil Jeanne atop it.

"It's a d-dragon," Romani, Da Vinci, and Olga exclaimed simultaneously, shocked to the core.

'Mother,' Jeanne thought, and she began to run to save her mother before Evil Jeanne could attack the town. Her mind urged her to hurry as fast as possible.

Jeanne Alter, the Dragon Witch, ordered her dragon to attack the town. The dragon opened its mouth wide, and fire engulfed its jaws.

"Ritsuka, there's a magical reaction from its mouth," Romani warned.

The dragon unleashed its powerful attack, and the flames surged towards the town.

{{{ Hymn of Protection }}}

But suddenly, the dragon's attack, which should have decimated the town, was blocked by a powerful barrier. It was Tusk.

Tusk had already cast a huge magical barrier around the town.

Ritsuka Fujimaru had already taken emergency safety precautions. Drawing from Jin Woo's memories of the attack on his sister, Ritsuka knew that just having shadows wouldn't save anyone in the wrong time. That's why he had created a barrier around the town. He didn't want to see the townspeople get murdered in the fight.

Jeanne Alter saw this and grew angry. Then she noticed the one responsible for the barrier. She smiled and ordered her dragon army and servants to follow her.

Meanwhile, Jeanne, who had been running, stopped and saw that my barrier had saved her mother and the townspeople.

"I see, Master already created a barrier. I didn't even sense it until now," Mozart remarked.

"Wow, Master nearly stopped my heart for a second," Marie exclaimed.

"You should have said something to us before, puppy," Elizabeth chided.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, you should at least inform us from now on. Okay, don't throw us into a thriller show," Romani said, clearly angry.

"I thought you guys already knew about me," I replied with a dumbfounded expression.

"Don't give me that dumb look," Romani retorted, while Da Vinci simply laughed.

We approached Jeanne, and Evil Jeanne came towards us. All her army landed on the ground.

"Was this your doing, you small fry? And what's with that face?" Jeanne Alter taunted us, her words making Jeanne serious and nervous.

"It's so ridiculous that I might die from laughter. But before that, I need to kill you all," Jeanne Alter said with an evil smile.

"Stop that, dumbass. You act like a third-rate villain," Artoria Alter retorted.

"How dare you call my Liege a small fry. I will rip you into pieces and eat you," Beru declared with killing intent towards Jeanne Alter.

Seeing them appear out of nowhere, Jeanne Alter grew angry.

"Hahaha, aren't you the ice queen bitch? Aren't you as boring as I heard?" Jeanne Alter taunted, ignoring Beru.

"At least I'm better than your dumb brain," Alter retorted.

"The most disgusting woman in the world is you! What's with that black holy sword? Isn't that a contradiction? Haha, for something holy to be pitch black... How repulsive can you get?" Jeanne Alter continued.

"I'm going to enjoy this. She is well worth getting beaten by me. At least I will not be bored on our journey, Master. Let's beat her ass together," Alter said to me.

Both Jeanne Alter and Artoria Alter engaged in trash-talking each other, much to everyone's dismay. Meanwhile, Beru was admiring Artoria Alter and wanted to learn her trash-talking skills. He even started to ship her with his master.

"We're in the middle of a fight, what are they doing?" everyone thought, even my shadow soldiers.

"That's it. With my dragons and my servants, I'm going to kill everyone and your precious little master," she declared before leaping to the ground.

"The true name of my dragon is Fafnir," she revealed, the name looming menacingly behind her back.

"Fafnir, making its name known in many myths and stories, it is said to be the greatest being of dragonkind," Romani exclaimed, his face filled with shock.

"I've had enough of your bullshit. I'm going to end this Singularity today. If you want to bring one dragon and wyverns into this, then I will bring my dragons," I declared to Jeanne Alter.

As I stopped talking, the sky grew dark, and the silence was broken by screams of fear from the wyverns. All of us looked up to see three ginormous dragons with black scales and glowing purple horns emerging from a portal. My dragon shadow soldiers only showed their heads, but even then, their size covered the whole area. As the crowd of wyverns screamed in fear, they bowed their heads before my dragons. Even Fafnir, the strongest dragon in this Singularity, appeared small in comparison to my colossal dragons. Jeanne Alter was shocked to her core at the sight of my dragons. Even with the Holy Grail, she didn't know she could summon dragons like mine. For a brief moment, she felt fear.

At this point, Romani wasn't even surprised because he had gotten used to this.

"Evil Jeanne, summon your strongest dragons. Let's see whose dragons will win," I said, looking at her confidently.

Well, I still haven't summoned my strongest dragon, Kamish. My three dragons alone are already overkill.

"Now what you are going to do dragon witch?"