29

Hassan continued to grimly look at the slowly approaching banners on Vichy's gate, feeling the rickety cart creaked under his weight.

"We're getting closer," Marie Antoinette, as if to just state an obvious fact, said it and then leaned over a cart wall to Mozart, who was holding the reins, looking at him.

"Rider, don't attract more attention to us than necessary," Archer said frowningly, after which he wrapped himself tighter in a cloak from someone else's shoulder, "We are already quite suspicious."

Rider, obeying the man's words, returned to her seat, after which she straightened her dress, "It doesn't fit me."

"Mari, this is not clothes created by your tailors - of course, it will not be designed for you," Mozart just lazily looked at his own shirt and a pair of worn pants, and then sighed, "At least they washed it."

Hassan was not particularly against such a decision, but did not share the views of his fellow travelers. He could get rid of an entire peasant family without dropping a drop of blood on their clothes, after which they could pick up their cart without resistance, but instead, Marie Antoinette offered her ring for such a junk. Hassan was not against making deals, but in this particular case it seemed to him that a golden ring decorated with a ruby was still worth more than peasant clothes and a half-dead horse with a rickety cart in addition, even if the peasants at least offered to wash their clothes and feed them dinner. Fortunately, Assassin himself did not need to change into someone else's clothes because of his skills, which hid him from prying eyes. Unfortunately, this method was not suitable for masking the rest.

The gates gradually came closer and closer - unlike military fortresses they passed before, they were open wide, but no carts full of merchant goods or people on foot moved through them. There was practically no people on the streets inside the city itself too - only sometimes residents of the city timidly looked around and slipped out, immediately escaping the streets into the doors of another building.

"Fat Duck Pub" - Hassan read the name of the place that the random traveller on the streets chose and shook his head - " In spite of whatever happened, this trait will always remain with people."

"Hold!" - the voice of the guard was heard when the wagon had already entered the city, after which Hassan saw a man dressed in chainmail appearing from a small gatehouse - "Who are you?!"

"Peasants", - Mozart was the first to speak with the guard, forcing the guard to pay attention to the guy, - "We are going to this city."

"And for what reason?" - the man casts a suspicious look at the cart, pausing to look at Archer - "Not the best time for festivals."

"Yeah, it's not," Mozart agreed, sighing, after which he looked into the guard's eyes, "Yet we have nowhere else to go."

Understanding flashed in the man's eyes, after which he examined Mozart once more, not looking at him much, then Marie Antoinette, then again carefully looking at Archer, nodded in his direction,- "And this one?"

"We picked a traveler along the way," Mozart answered again, after which he looked at Archer himself, as if evaluating him, "He says that he also has nowhere to go."

"Can't he speak for himself?" - the guard took a step towards the man wrapped in a cloak.

"I have nothing else to say," came Archer's voice, as tired as possible, "I have nowhere to go and nothing to do. They brought me here - it means I will look for happiness in the city. If I can't find it - I'll go to the next one."

The guard once again carefully glanced at him, - "Are you carrying a weapon?"

"Would be - if I have one," Archer answered to this, after which he opened his cloak a bit, allowing the guard to see the absence of a sword on his belt, and then snapped back.

Once again, with a disapproving glance at the man wrapped in a cloak, the guard shook his head, "I really need to check you - but for what? What good will a weapon bring you in this city?"

"Okay, you may go," the guard finally waved his hand, then turned around and slowly began to walk back to his gatehouse, without even looking at the cart.

"It's even worse than I thought," the voice of Marie Antoinette was faded, so that without even looking at her, Hassan could have guessed that she continued to look after the leaving guard.

"Wyverns on the walls," Archer noticed this instantly, and then said quietly, "Every two hundred meters. The guards are trying to not get close to them, they are afraid."

Mozart only nodded at this, after which he slightly spurred the horse, forcing the horse to move forward.

The streets of the city were deserted, but not because there was no one left in the city - Hassan himself occasionally saw the faces of people in the openings of doors and windows looking at the daredevils who ventured to enter the city of the Witch.

An instantly a fine detail caught Hassan's attention - turning, he managed to notice how Mozart grimaced.

"Any problems?" Archer looked at Caster, noting the same as Hassan, but Amadeus only waved off.

"A terrible symphony," the man shook his head, after which, without looking at the Servant, he sighed, "I hear them. Sweeping steps in the rooms, restless sighs, muffled conversations. A Symphony of despair."

"Do you hear them?" Archer bowed his head. "From who exactly?"

"All of them," Caster answered simply. "The whole city."

For a second, Archer fell silent, "And you haven't said this before, why?"

"This will not distract me from the mission," Mozart just nodded, not turning. "This is just a condition that I learned to live with."

For a few seconds, Archer continued to look at Caster, after which, realizing that now he could not do anything with Mozart, he only sighed, "Let's hope you hear the ambush then."

Amadeus did not say anything, only continuing to control the horse.

The Servants went through the streets silently, observing only the rare travelers wandering somewhere, slowly walking down the pavement. Despite the fact that the buildings around were not destroyed, in many places the windows were completely boarded up, making it impossible to look into them, which made the city seem completely empty and abandoned. However, this was for the best - having made his way to the indicated Chevalier church, Mozart stopped his cart, and then rose from his seat. The other Servants followed him, including Hassan, who jumped first, instantly hiding in the building's shadows. It was not required for him now - but old habits die hard.

Fortunately or not, the Chevalier's kept his promise - the church was really empty, and d'Eon himself, already feeling the Servants approaching, was sitting on one of the benches, examining his sword. Nodding to himself, Assassin left the church, after which he stood next to Archer.

In order not to appear before d'Eon, who could detect the Servant - Hassan slapped Archer twice on the shoulder, giving him the sign that the agreement with Chevalier was valid without leaving his concealment,. Archer just nodded at it - "Well, let's move forward."

Mozart and Marie Antoinette also nodded in response, moving forward. Hassan, having waited a few seconds before Archer went inside, entered after him.

"So you still decided to trust my offer," Chevalier nodded to the Servants who appeared, and then sighed, "If my Milady trusted me as much as you..."

None of the Servants reacted to this, so Chevalier himself was forced to only nod to himself, "Yeah, right..."

"In any case," finally rising from the bench, Chevalier walked around it and looked at the Servants who arrived, but his face instantly changed, as soon as he saw the two that were ahead, "My Queen and... Mozart, is it you?"

"Glad to see you again, Chevalier d'Eon!" - without giving Chevalier a chance to speak, Marie jumped forward and hugged her old friend and knight, - "How glad I am to meet you again!"

"My Queen!" - dumbfounded for a second from such a sincere manifestation of emotions, Chevalier nevertheless pulled himself together and hugged the girl in response, - "I never thought that we are destined to meet again. As I see it, you are still fighting for the good of France."

"As are you, my Chevalier!" - the girl smiled, after which, for one last time, squeezed the man in her arms, took a step back, continuing to sparkle with her smile, - "Oh, we need to discuss so much! You have no idea how many more dresses and clothes I have to dress you up in - and shoes! And jewelry - how much more awaits you!"

"Yes, my Queen, of course..." Hassan was able to see that Chevalier, after the wardrobe was mentioned , felt a little awkward. Most likely, despite the joy of the meeting, the prospect of being a mannequin in the service of the French crown still did not suit him, - "But first, a duty. I'm afraid we will not be able to return to this... Noble deed yet."

"Of course, Chevalier," the girl smiled, "But we will definitely do it again!"

"Yeah, I look forward to it." This time his smile came out a little taut.

"At least I'm not the only one who will suffer from it now," Mozart said quietly, after which he extended a hand to Chevalier who shook it, "I am glad to see you in good health, Chevalier."

"Likewise, Amadeus," Chevalier finally shook the man's hand, after which he looked at Archer, who removed his hood, "And this..."

"And this is our friend," Marie-Antoinette smiled, "Get to know this wonderful gentleman, Chevalier!"

"Ah, of course," taking a step, Chevalier held out his hand to Archer, "Chevalier d'Eon."

"Nice to meet you," Archer answered with a handshake, "I saw you in battle."

"Oh, I saw you too," the guy smiled at it, after which the handshake became a little stronger, "It will be nice to fight side by side with you."

"Thank you," answered Archer without a single note of gratitude in his voice, after which he stepped back.

Hassan, who remained invisible, naturally, was ignored by Chevalier.

"So it's three..." Chevalier nodded several times. "In that case, it will be easy to guide you through the corridors without being caught by a guard. Good."

After these words Chevalier headed to the standing pulpit, after moving around it he touched something inside the pulpit, forcing it to slowly move to the side. There was a hole under the stone pedestal.

"Ta-dah!" - the guy smiled, after which he took a step back, continuing to look at the opened hole as if he was proud of it, - "The secret passage from the castle to the church is an ageless classic!"

"Thank you, Chevalier," Marie Antoinette smiled at him, after which Hassan, slipping past Chevalier, instantly ended up below. What awaited him was a long and rather narrow corridor, practically unlit - however, oiled torches were still stored in several stands, so this should not be a problem. Looking around with a quick glance, the man did not find anything suspicious and in one powerful leap appeared again on the surface, after which, rounding the speaking Chevalier and Mozart, as well as Marie Antoinette buzzing around them, he again signaled to Archer. To this Archer only nodded imperceptibly.

"We have to go," Archer said finally, after which Mozart and Chevalier nodded at each other.

"Okay, I'll go ahead," Chevalier nodded. "The tunnels are quite branched. It would be foolish to get lost a step away from the target in the current situation."

Hassan, realizing his mission, again jumped into the hole with the goal of being ahead of Chevalier and preventing him from leaving all the Servants behind.

Instantly after Assassin, the others also went down inside, after which Chevalier reached for one of the torches and, sharply striking them on the wall, achieved a spark that set fire to the torch.

"Welcome," he smiled and moved forward. Hassan moved ahead of Saber, trying to control his steps to determine at what point he decides to turn. Fortunately, Chevalier himself continued to move along the catacombs exclusively forward, without turning at all.

After a dozen minutes on the move, when steps appeared in front of Hassan, Archer said, "I feel a Servant."

"Yes, one," Chevalier said calmly, "an Archer, very dangerous in a long-range battle, but at close range it is much weaker. The main thing is not to let her shoot - in this case, victory over her will be simple."

"You don't give us the names," Archer remarked calmly.

"As you are," Chevalier turned for a second, smiling at the man, and then continued to move forward.

Hassan had to climb the stairs before he finally saw what was ahead. A large, massive locked door studded with iron.

This time, Hassan did not have the opportunity to be ahead of Chevalier, so he was forced, using his inhuman dexterity and strength to jump ,in one leap, onto the nearby torch stand. Fortunately, it was nailed to the wall and withstood his weight without the slightest creak.

"Hm," Chevalier said at that moment, after which he took a step toward the door.

"Is something wrong?" - Archer asked, to which Chevalier shook his head.

"No, but I did not close the door behind me," Chevalier said this, after which he went to the door and pulled it. Fortunately, it was not locked, - "How strange…"

At that moment, Hassan felt a moment of unease.

This time he did not have the opportunity to be ahead of Chevalier, so having waited until the rest of the Servants entered, he made his way last,then bypassed Chevalier again.

"Prison cells," said d'Eon, after which he moved forward between the rows of standing cells. They were all empty but the sour stink of moldy straw and spoiled food instantly struck the Servants' nose.

"Disgusting!" - Marie Antoinette was indignant, - "What a terrible smell!"

"I'm sorry, my Queen," Chevalier bowed. "Plese, bear with it a little bit - It's not for long."

"One can only hope " Antoinette sighed, after which she glanced at Chevalier, who had just nodded to that and moved forward. However, this time the walk was short-lived.

Suddenly, Chevalier froze in the middle of the corridor after only a few steps, because of which Marie Antoinette almost stumbled into his back.

"What happened?" - Marie Antoinette looked anxiously at Chevalier, whose face was concentrated for a few seconds before he cursed.

"Damn it!" - Rider wanted to scold Saber for his words, but he managed to speak out earlier, - "The Witch is already on the way to the city. I thought that she would arrive in two hours!"

Archer only frowned at Chevalier at that. "What does that mean?"

"That means you have to get out of here yourself," Chevalier grimaced. "The Servants of Milady have no excuse to not welcome her appearance."

Archer only frowned at this, and Hassan completely agreed with him. It looked more and more like a trap.

"There is a turn to the right, to the end of the corridor and then to the left," Chevalier grimaced. "He's in the third cage. You won't be immediately felt by the other Servants in the casemates, but you should not try your luck - you need to take him out of here so that he does not die by chance during the battle - after which, I think, the Witch will attack you."

"Yes," Archer only nodded, after which Chevalier put the unnecessary torch into the holder standing nearby and quickly went off into the distance, turning left at the next turn.

Hassan, only having observed how Chevalier moved forward, waited for Archer to go forward and moved himself, holding himself a little ahead. Mozart and Marie Antoinette also followed him.

Almost immediately, they turned a corner to the right, after which they continued to move along a long corridor between the rows of cells.

"Mozart," Archer suddenly said in the middle of the corridor, to which Caster just nodded. "Good."

Hassan did not have time to think about what they had in mind when suddenly Archer struck. In his hands appeared his two faithful blades, seemingly cutting open the empty space behind him.

'Not empty,' Hassan instantly realized at the moment when the air at the site of the blow suddenly sprayed with drops of blood, after which the empty spot disappeared, rippling, turning into a human figure.

"You are the worst Assassin I've ever seen in my life, you know" Archer instantly issued a verdict when the silhouette finally took the form of a man in a cloak with a high standing collar.

"I apologize," the man took a step back and smiled, not paying attention to the long cut that was bleeding on his chest "I suppose the reason was that I was not used to hiding during my killings. Our long separation made you even more beautiful, my Queen. Admit it - did you like how I executed you last time?"

"Charles Henri Sanson," Marie Antoinette's face turned pale at the moment she realized who she was meeting at that moment, "King's executioner and executioner of Kings."

"And Queens," the man smiled, "Well, then, in that case, I suppose our little farce was uncovered."

Hassan knew his mission in this case, so he did not see the further development of events. A moment later, the Assassin rushed forward to the specified cell - and contrary to possible expectations, he indeed found a person in the specified cell. Of course, the cage was locked, but the iron bars were not an obstacle for the Servant, so Hassan's hands touched the door.

A sound-piercing arrow pierced Assassin's lung. To his credit, it was worth saying that avoiding this attack was impossible due to the fact that immediately a dozen arrows pierced the wall behind him. Hassan, attacked in this way, instantly lost his stealth, manifesting itself in reality to the delight of his opponent.

"I admit, I felt stupid shooting an empty corridor," the girl's voice sounded even somewhat cheerful, "However, I am grateful to d'Eon for being able to notice you — otherwise it would be an unpleasant surprise for us all."

"Archer," Hassan said this at the moment when his gaze was still able to identify the attacker.

The girl at the end of the corridor was beautiful - even if her beauty was somewhat unpolished. She was wearing a dress - a sure sign a Servant - and her hair descending to the lower back could not be defined as having some specific color, since part of them was turquoise, part white, and part pinkish - and held in her hands a huge bow larger than herself. However, the most outstanding detail of the girl was also located on her head - but it was not her hair at all.

"Assassin," the girl smiled back, after which she instantly charged several arrows.

Mozart's music instantly took shape in reality, turning into an attack spell. Sanson managed to dodge this attack at the last second - but he paid for it with another deep cut made by Archer.

"Assassin got into battle," Mozart said this instantly when he heard the moment when a girl tens of meters from him pulled a bowstring "The prisoner is also there."

"Damn it," Archer bounced off for a second, letting Sanson take a step forward - receiving a blow from the completely unchildish strong hand of Marie Antoinette, "We have to get the prisoner."

"So it was a trap after all," Mozart said it calmly, "Mari - take the prisoner."

"Amade..." the girl tried to be indignant, but was instantly interrupted.

"We don't have time for bickering," Mozart said as calmly as he could in the current conditions, using one spell after another, but firmly enough to prevent the girl from protesting, "The prisoner is more important."

Marie Antoinette only nodded, and then rushed away.

"My Queen!" - Sanson rushed after her, but was immediately thrown away by Archer.

"Don't worry about her. Worry about us," the man said, delivering the next blow.

Marie rushed forward, ignoring the last attack of her executioner.

The mission turned into chaos in seconds. Indeed - because they brought Hassan, who was in hiding, with them, why couldn't their opponents do the same?

Marie nearly crashed into a wall in a bend to look at a long corridor full of old metal crates. Somewhere nearby the sounds of battle were heard - from two sources. Apparently, Hassan still managed to take the archer somewhere in the next passage - however, Marie could not take the risk and linger even for a second. Now she had to save the captive - after which she would return to the fighters and help them to defeat Charles.

Thin girlish hands grabbed the steel gate, and then with an unbearable sound to the ears tore it off the hinges, throwing it to the side, making the iron rumble on the stone floor - however, the man inside barely reacted to this by moving his head slightly.

Jumping inside, the girl was dumbfounded for a second - what lay in front of her could hardly be called a man. It was just a slaughtered, blood-soaked piece of meat, still barely preserving its human shape - and yet alive. His wheezing whistle of breath still rang out in the room - however, it would have been a miracle if he could ever get back on his feet.

But such little things did not interest the girl - she still had to save him - after which they could cure him in the camp. Sure they can. She was sure of it.

The girl grabbed the man in her arms - a surreal picture in which a girl, just over sixteen, could pick up a huge, muscle-bound man in her arms, after which she threw him on her shoulder and turned to rush off.

Instantly the narrow point of ablade rested against the girl's throat.

"Chevalier..." Marie instantly recognized the traitor, even before she could see him. "You betrayed me."

"I serve France, my Queen," the guy said calmly. "Not you."

The next moment, the blade twitched again. Perhaps if Marie was not holding the captive in her hands, she could have bounced back — however, under the current conditions, at a similar distance, everything that happened was a foregone conclusion.

The girl managed to jerk to the side, but the narrow sword of Chevalier entered the flesh of her defenseless neck as if not encountering any obstacles in the form of the famed strength of the Servants, after which it jerked to the side, cutting half of the girl's neck and carotid artery, due to which blood poured from Marie's wound as an unstoppable flow.

"Damn..." she only managed to utter before the next blow knocked out her breath, forcing her to bend over the ground, gasping for air — however, she never dropped the unconscious man on her shoulders.

The next leg kick knocked the girl on her back, after which a small boot pressed the queen to the ground.

"I am sorry, my Queen," Chevalier bent over Marie Antoinette, and she managed to notice a shadow of regret flashing across his face, "I will finish it all with the next blow. I know that Sanson would have done a more beautiful job - and he really wanted it, he dreamed about your neck - but I'm afraid I cannot fulfill this desire."

After this, the Chevalier raised his sword again, in the manner of the executioner's sword, and Marie Antoinette clearly understood.

She can't be saved. Again.

For a second, the girl closed her eyes before she heard beautiful music. For a second, it seemed to her that she found herself in heaven and heard the voices of angels before the pain in her neck forced the girl to open her eyes in order to look at Chevalier.

"Ah, Mozart," he said without moving, "I must admit that I had already forgotten about you."

"Big mistake," came the cold voice of the girl's faithful friend, after which the blow literally swept Saber away, pressing him deep into a stone wall, which crackled plaintively under the force of the blow.

"Mari!" - the man leaned over the bloodied girl, whose consciousness began to faze from the bleeding, but she nevertheless waved her head and pointed to the prisoner lying nearby.

Mozart just smiled at it, and then pointed a finger at her. For a second, it seemed to the girl that she again heard angelic music - after which her consciousness cleared up and the pain in her neck subsided. Unfortunately, the girl understood that Mozart did not have the ability to cure in the full sense of the word, which meant that this effect was temporary.

The girl rose from her seat, after which she rushed to the prisoner and picked him up again.

"And you are still beautiful, my Queen," said Chevalier, who finally managed to cope with the restrictions imposed on him by Mozart. "Putting the good of the people above your own."

"I'm fighting for France, Chevalier," the girl shot him an angry look, to which Saber only grinned.

"Like all of us, my Queen," grabbing his sword, the man held a feint in his hands, checking his balance, "Like all of us."

Rider did not pay any more attention to this, rushing away - and Chevalier did not follow her. He ran into another foe.

"Amadeus, my old friend," the man smiled, pronouncing Caster's name, "I must confess that I don't remember that you possessed such strength in the past."

"Music gives me strength," Mozart looked at his acquaintance with a challenge.

"Oh yes, the magic of Orpheus," Chevalier shook his head a little to the side, "I forgot... After all, you studied it during your life... It seems because of it you even abandoned your real goal, right?"

To this, Caster only frowned even more, after which he answered with a spell.

"You are weak for a Servant, aren't you," Sanson dodged the next blow, after which he counterattacked. The weapon in his hands did not suit an Assassin, in any way - but suited best for the executioner. The terrible cleaver in his hands could not even be called a sword in the full sense of the word - it was only a huge blade, held on a short handle. a Guillotine blade.

"But I'm not wounded yet," Archer said calmly, after which he continued to attack further, striking blow after blow. Sanson managed to get away from them - but only for now - "Or do you think that an Assassin with the presence concealment of your level is the one to talk about the weakness of the Servants?"

"Oh, are you talking about my little misfortune?" - Sanson only smiled at this, after which the monstrous weapon in his hands flashed, striking a blow at Archer, which moved his two faithful blades to the path of attack. The brute force of the weapon cracked the floor under the man's legs, but the blow did not touch the body, - "In that case... How did you get the idea that I had not completed my task?"

For a second of Archer's consciousness, soft, beautiful music touched him, after which his feelings screamed. Archer only had to turn around, after which his pupil dilated, "Oh fuck..."

The next blow knocked Archer out.

"I admit, you have become stronger," Chevalier praised his opponent. The tabard with three lilies on his chest was destroyed by the very first spell, due to which nothing now covered either his tattered shirt or the body hiding under it, so it was now possible to determine with certainty whether Chevalier was a man or a woman. However, such details did not interest Mozart at the moment - "I am sure that if we had fought at the moment of our life, you would not have survived even ten seconds."

Mozart looked many times worse than Chevalier. His clothes were torn and cut, and his body was covered with numerous bruises, some completely superficial, like scratches - and somewhere they continued to bleed mercilessly - but he only smiled, - "I thank you for the compliment - and for the fact that we only encountered in battle now."

"Of course," Chevalier smiled. "Otherwise, the battle would have ended too simply."

Mozart barely managed to make out the next movement of the enemy. A magical shield that appeared for a second delayed the blow of Chevalier, however, the sword was still able to break through the hastily created spell, slashing the man on the shoulder, causing a few drops of blood to fall to the ground.

"Tell me, Chevalier," Mozart created another spell, after which he jumped back at the same time as a burst of music rumbled like the clang of plates and Chevalier's position exploded in fire, "The Witch didn't come to this castle, did she?"

"It doesn't matter what I'll say if you have already learned not to trust my word, does it?" Chevalier smiled, appearing almost unscathed from the fiery flare - only his hair fell off at the edges. "Moreover, even if she was not here, she will definitely arrive soon after noticing your attack. Ten or fifteen minutes, I think."

"Bad," Caster said simply, after which he attacked again.

"Hope to run away now?" - Saber evaded the next spell, which took the form of several stakes rushing forward, and then closed the distance between him and the mage, flashing a blade in his hands.

"Yes," Caster did not deny the obvious, dodging the blow that this time passed right next to his head, cutting off a lock of hair.

"Then you need to hurry," Chevalier nodded a couple of times, after which he dodged the next spell with a pirouette.

"I understand," Mozart nodded, after which he froze for a second. Chevalier, waiting for the new trick, stopped, after which, realizing what was happening, he rushed forward - but it was already too late - "Requiem For Death!"

For a second, it seemed as if the whole world became deaf and all the sounds were gone. Chevalier managed to take another step and bring the sword for a decisive blow in an absolutely quiet world before falling to the ground.

Something alien and unnatural sounded in his ears. Sounds that cut reality itself were disgusting to all of his nature and at the same time as beautiful as the feeling of flying for a suicider, observing the approach of the earth, may be. Something seemed to break his mind into a thousand pieces of broken glass, and then let them through his veins, forcing his mind to give rise to impossible thoughts and unknowable forms that destroyed his whole idea of the existing.

It seemed as if his consciousness was in this agony forever, from the creation of the universe to its very end, but at some point the unnatural music ceased to sound in his ears and Chevalier was able to open his mind, wiping his mouth from the things that his body vomited out at the sound of violence against reality.

Mozart was nowhere to be seen.

Marie Antoinette continued to run through the castle, not paying any attention to the panicking servants and the guards trying to pounce on her, feeling her strength gradually leave. Mozart's spell has already weakened, because of which the girl felt herself weaken with every step. She could barely make out the road, crashing into the walls - often with the goal of making the shortest and most direct way out.

"Just not now..." - the girl continued to run forward, feeling her legs becoming heave with every meter - "Not now... Not now..."

Marie Antoinette felt that she was close to the exit, but it seemed as if her body had stopped listening to her completely and every step now were an incredible burden for the girl - "Almost... Almost..."

The girl crashed once more into agroup of guards, but instantly her gaze was nevertheless rewarded with the view of the street that had opened before her, sparkling behind the door, "I made it! I made it!"

Just a dozen adult men tried to hold her back - and under normal conditions, the girl could have thrown them away with one move of her hand, but now, when she even had difficulty blinking, the iron armor and steel grip became an insurmountable obstacle for her - "Almost... So close..."

The girl tried to jerk, forcing several guards to recoil from unprecedented strength, but she could not rise again - "So close..."

"Get away!" - One spell was enough for tens of people to immediately recoil from Marie Antoinette in horror - "Run away!"

After that, Rider felt her body being lifted into the arms of the man and pressed to his chest.

"Archer, take the prisoner!" - came a familiar voice from the man.

"Amadeus…" - the girl smiled through the upcoming dream, - "You're still here…"

"Shut up," came the man's voice. Overwhelmed and nervous, the girl nevertheless distinguished anxiety and care in it, - "Be quiet... Now they're getting you…"

"It's alright," the girl smiled. "It's not scary to die for France..."

To this, Caster did not answer. The girl only heard his intermittent breathing and felt a sway from the man's run. Somewhere around her the wyverns were wailing and howling all over the city, soldiers fled - and ordinary people too.

Suddenly, she heard a sharp wheeze, after which Caster, who had run before, froze in a half-step. The girl felt a few drops fall on her face.

"Amadeus?" - the girl was still able to open her eyes for a second, looking at Mozart's face. He looked terrible - there was still a deep wound on his cheek that continued to bleed, and his hair randomly lay on his head, clinging with sweat and blood - but the man only smiled at the girl.

"Everything is alright," the man put the girl almost calmly onto a drawer next to him, and then turned around. "Wait a second, I will be here in a second."

The girl was only able to see how the man turned away from her, noticing the plumage of a long arrow that entered Caster's back, after which a drop of blood slid down her forehead.

"Amadeus..." the girl held out her hand, however, the man had already disappeared from her field of vision, "Good... Luck..."

Then she closed her eyes.

Ainz expected the need for emergency teleportation, but at the moment he appeared next to Archer, he realized that he did not think about the level of urgency.

At the moment when he reappeared in reality, a half-ruined city appeared before his eyes, not reminiscent of the deserted Vichy it was an hour ago, with broken roofs and houses torn apart stone by stone. On the streets lay corpses of wyverns and people who had been tormented by creatures that had torn off their leash, fires blazed everywhere and battles rages on, where it was not clear who was fighting and with whom. Ainz had never seen riots in his life, but listening to the stories from Punnito Mine, he imagined something completely different. What he saw now did not look like a revolution - it was like a gigantic fight between gangs, enough of which he had seen in his life.

Archer looked bad - his clothes and cloak were torn and numerous wounds covered his body - however, it was still incomparably better than the prisoner's condition, which looked like a bleeding piece of meat.

"Where are the others?" - Instantly asked the magician, to which Archer just waved his hand to the side and fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

Ainz did not like the current situation, but he still waited a few seconds before repeating the question, "Where is everyone?"

"There," Archer sighed again, "The battle with them dragged on. They should be here in a minute and also…"

"The Witch is on the dragon," Ainz finished Archer's sentence, glancing up at the sky, where the Servants were felt.

The Witch was practically invisible from such a distance, but Ainz could easily make out the dragon itself.

The monster was huge. So huge that Ainz could not even correctly estimate its size - it looked more like a huge transport plane than a dragon - it was not less than a hundred meters. Hundreds of meters of muscles and hide, covered with black scales of armor and huge horns, growing along the whole body of the creature. On the chest of the huge black dragon was a drawing resembling a huge white cross, glowing with pure white light, like a star.

"Judging by the look, he is not lower than the eightieth level..." - Ainz noticed this offhandedly, and then blinked - "But it can be stronger. The battle with him is impossible for now."

At that very moment, he saw Mozart fly out of one of the nearby buildings. He looked even more miserable than Archer - his body was pierced by arrows in several places - and he flew out not with his magic, but breaking through a wall, because of which, flying a dozen meters, he hit the pavement and remained in place.

"You are not so strong, Caster," the newly appeared girl, holding a bow in her hands, immediately attracted Ainz's attention — but only because in her hair he could see two big cat ears, "Although your Phantasm... It's still ringing in my ears... But Chevalier called you the most dangerous of all. Apparently, the bastard do make mistakes sometimes."

"Napalm," Ainz used the spell, that was already proven as useful, after which the girl, caught in fire, made a cry and instantly bounced back.

"Mozart!" - Ainz managed to move to the mage before he rose from the ground and waved.

"I'm fine," the numerous wounds continued to bleed, but the man just brushed a lock of hair from his forehead and looked at Ainz, "Where is Mari?!"

"I don't know," Ainz answered honestly, after which he looked at the sky, where the dragon turned from a small silhouette into a huge monster, already approaching a rising wyverns cloud above the city, "We need to leave."

"Where is Mari?!" - Mozart bursted with emotions, after which he looked at Archer. He, as if suppressing an urge to vomit, rose from his seat.

"Hassan should have taken her," Archer said this instantly, after which he glanced at the dragon. "There is no time, we should leave!"

"Hell, Mari!" - Mozart turned to the side to see the familiar silhouette.

"I have a low Presence Concealment, but it was enough as you can see," Sanson, who appeared on the roof of a neighboring building, smiled, "La Mort Espoir!"

The power of the Noble Phantasm of the executioner was not directed at Caster or Archer. No, the Assassin was waiting for his moment. His goal was the Master - Ainz himself.

It was as if darkness and evil itself were gathering together around the figure of the magician, forcing him to become the executed man watching the lowering blade of the guillotine - after which a blade arose over him. It was a blade sharpened to the highest point of sharpness, not designed for battle or murder. Only for execution.

In an instant, the blade of the guillotine fell, making a final verdict - after which the cold metal touched the necromancer's neck.

And scattered with many iron snowflakes.

At the moment when the blade touched the body of the magician - as if something had gone wrong. A second of confrontation turned into the sound of rattles and crackling - after which the steel in contact with the flesh crumbled powerlessly.

"Impossible..." Sanson paused for a second, watching what had happened, before Ainz reacted to it.

"Napalm," he used a spell, forcing Assassin to immediately retreat, enveloped in fire, "Hmm, I wonder what was his ability?"

"This is La Mort, the embodiment of the guillotine of the French Revolution," Caster answered him, lifting himself a little from his seat, "A tool that punishes convicts and criminals, an instrument for eradicating evil."

"Oh" - Ainz suddenly realized that he had walked on thin ice - 'That is, this is an ability that acts against the owners of negative karma ?! It's strange, why didn't it affect me then? I have the lowest karma possible for a player...'

Ainz was right, as Mozart also. Unfortunately, none of them possessed the complete information necessary for a correct understanding of what happened.

However, such things were of little interest to both at the moment, so the magician only looked away to look at the streets of the city.

"Damn him!" - Archer's vision allowed him to look at the approaching figure first, - "That is Hassan!"

Hassan was not far behind in the number of injuries from both Servants - his cloak was lost and the bandages from his hand were removed, which meant that he was at least ready to use his Phantasm - however, instead, Assassin's huge Cursed Hand held something.

"Mari!" - Mozart instantly recognized the figure in the hands of Assassin, but his joy was short-lived.

"God, you are persistent!" - Chevalier's voice was full of almost mocking joy, - "Great, great! It is the saviors of France that we need!"

Chevalier ran along the roofs of the houses, periodically making jumps that were impossible to a human, trying to catch up with Hassan. In other cases, this would be almost impossible, but Hassan was seriously injured and carried Marie Antoinette in his hands, because of which his speed of movement was drastically reduced, so that Saber gradually caught up with him. Hassan understood this himself, because of which he chose the solution to the problem. If he got rid of Marie Antoinette now, then he could have escaped from the blow, but he preferred another option.

Stopping for a second, Hassan determined the direction - after which he sent the girl on a flight with one movement of his hand. Hassan had a fairly significant throwing ability, which is why Mozart instantly caught the injured Rider, but this also meant that Hassan stopped.

"And here I am!" - Chevalier was on the road behind Hassan at the same second, breaking his shoulder with a sword. The Assassin swayed a little ,in pain, but tried to strike back.

"We should leave!" - Archer said this again at the moment when he saw how a huge dragon began to take air into his lungs for fiery breathing.

Ainz doubted for a second, but Chevalier cleared his doubts.

"Oh no, not so easy!" - he smiled, after which the blade in his hands lit up. Ainz remembered his Noble Phantasm, but he didn't use the same trick this time.

"Fleur De Lis," Chevalier smiled, "Gorgeous Splendor of Blooming Lilies!"

Instantly, the world froze, as if in order to admire the blossoming flower.

Instantly, Chevalier's body seemed to flare up with light that illuminates the world around him. The radiance spread in all directions and all the Servants froze. It seemed as if the radiance of an angel had opened to them - the endless beauty of Chevalier made them all forget about everything that happened to them - and what would happen.

All but Ainz, who was completely immune to all kinds of charm.

"Hassan!" - he managed to shout, but Assassin could not answer him. The dragon in the sky, stopping to gain air, exhaled at the moment when his cross on his chest lit up especially brightly. Ainz just sighed.

"Sorry, Hassan," the magician closed his eyes. "Teleportation."

At that moment, Ainz and the rest of the Servants left the stage. Hassan was left alone.

Chevalier interrupted the action of his Phantasm a second later, after which he jumped back. It only took a second for the Assassin to recover.

However, after a second, a stream of dragonfire struck the city, setting fire and destroying an entire block to the ground.

Assassin, Hassan of the Cursed Arm, died.

Denial of Life - This skill is a skill that springs from and denotes the nature of the undead. As such,this skill is responsible for the entire existence of the undead as a single creature and for all abilities and features that it possesses based on its species, such as living using negative energy, a sense to detect life, perfect vision in the dark, protection from dark magic, curses and other abilities that makes the undead themselves as a being.