Chapter 14. Ruler

I Will Eventually Embark on the Path of No Return Called a Hero [Arc2] - 14. Ruler

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Dungeon.

Seeing Astolfo nailed to the wall with his hands and feet pierced, Jeanne d'Arc fell into silence.

"This feeling? I see, so you're a Ruler," Astolfo slowly lifted his head.

"Did you... never think you would fall to such a state?" Jeanne said softly.

"Consequences? Are you really going to push away those who beg you to save them just because of this?" Astolfo tilted his head and flashed a radiant smile. "That person wanted me to save him, so I wanted to save him. But..."

Astolfo's expression began to turn dejected. "I'm too weak; I couldn't even keep that child alive."

"It's not your fault," Jeanne shook her head.

"Hey... can I ask you a favor, Ruler?" Astolfo pressed his lips together. "Please save that child! He's just been born! The first thing he learned after being born is that he's about to die. This is too cruel! He doesn't even know who he is, so please!"

"I..." Jeanne opened her mouth, "I can't interfere with the Black Faction."

"But that child doesn't belong to the Black Faction! He has a soul! He's a person, not an object!" Astolfo shook his hands vigorously, with blood running down his white skin and dripping onto the floor.

After a moment of silence, Jeanne heavily nodded. "I understand, if that child has his own will."

"That's really great..." Astolfo sighed in relief. "That child should be in the Caster's workshop."

"Leave it to me," Jeanne nodded and then turned toward the Caster's location.

Is this really the right thing to do?

Standing in front of the magic workshop, Jeanne fell silent, her raised hand resting on the door.

As a Ruler, she was summoned merely to ensure the Holy Grail War was conducted properly; she couldn't intervene otherwise. Yet she couldn't forget the look in the homunculus's eyes and Astolfo's plea.

She wavered...

"Are you really going to do this?"

Cyd's voice made Jeanne flinch.

"Aren't you supposed to be..." Jeanne awkwardly scratched her face.

"Chatting with my teacher?" Cyd smirked. "Instead of that, what do you want to do now that you've come to the Caster's workshop after meeting the Rider?"

"I want to save that child," Jeanne lifted her head, her clear eyes staring directly into Cyd's. "That child is an outsider."

"Even if he was created here, he is still an outsider?" Cyd tilted his head.

"He has a soul..." Jeanne bit her lip.

"Bang---"

Cyd raised his right hand and slapped Jeanne's ear heavily. "A soul? Then can you just take his soul away?"

Jeanne's eyes widened. "Just taking his soul, how can that..."

Isn't that equivalent to killing him?

"Jeanne, you and I are Rulers. We... no longer have the power to save him," Cyd sighed. "Maintaining the Holy Grail War is the purpose of our existence here. Even if you want to violate the rules and interfere with the Black Faction's actions..."

Cyd leaned in close to Jeanne's face, his eyes deep. "Then give me all your Command Seals. Without being able to maintain fairness, you are not qualified to hold these Seals."

Jeanne held a stiff expression as she stared back at Cyd.

"That..."

Gordes cleared his throat behind Cyd, his gaze somewhat strange.

"Is this how Rulers communicate with each other?"

"Cough, no, we..." Jeanne blushed and instinctively tried to move around to the other side, but Cyd showed no intention of letting her go, reaching out with his left hand to grab Jeanne's right hand and press it against the wall.

"Answer my question."

"This is not the time!" Jeanne retracted her neck.

"No, it is precisely the time. That... wait a moment," Cyd smiled apologetically at Gordes, then brought his face close to Jeanne's. "Choose: your duty or that homunculus's life."

"How could I possibly choose..." Jeanne bit her lip.

She couldn't let go of the person she could save in front of her. Her strong sense of responsibility was why she became France's saint, but it was also why she was unfit to be a Ruler.

Cyd sighed.

The girl before him was like a clear spring, making it hard to desecrate her, but the Holy Grail War was the dirtiest place in this world. No matter how noble the reasons, it couldn't cover up that everyone fought for themselves.

Jeanne was too stubborn, unwilling to let go of her bottom line, but the Holy Grail War had no such thing as a bottom line.

Rules?

What rules are there in the Holy Grail War? There's only one: the existence of the reverse world, the mystery must not be known to the real world. Besides that, there are no rules. As long as secrecy is maintained, murder or using living beings as sacrifices is permitted. Magic practitioners' worldviews are twisted; there is no humanity in the magical path.

Anomalies?

In the Holy Grail War, all anomalies are normal because that is the Holy Grail War.

"You shouldn't have been summoned," Cyd released Jeanne. "You are not suited for the Ruler class; you cannot achieve fairness that convinces everyone."

Cyd's merciless denial hit Jeanne's heart like a heavy blow, causing her legs to give way and she sank to the ground.

"That..." Gordes pointed at the door to the magic workshop.

"Mm," Cyd reached out, grabbing Jeanne by the collar and dragging her away.

"Uh... Thank you," Gordes twitched his mouth and pushed open the door to the magic workshop.

Siegfried nodded to Cyd and Jeanne before following Gordes into the workshop, closing the door behind him.

"Really... I don't deny your wish to save him," Cyd crouched in front of Jeanne and patted her head. "But you are not like Astolfo."

"But... that child..." Jeanne lowered her head.

"Ah~ Don't forget you're already dead. That saint was long burned away in the flames of betrayal," Cyd sighed. "As long as..."

"Boom---"

The closed door shattered with a loud bang as Caster crashed into the wall like a cannonball.

"Teacher!" A blonde-haired figure shouted as he rushed out, helping Caster up while yelling into the smoke, "What do you want to do!"

"What do I want to do?"

The smoke was sliced away by a sword, and Siegfried, holding Balmung, coldly stared at Caster, while Gordes impatiently fiddled with the homunculi on the experimental table.

"Weren't you the ones who called me to debug him? Wasn't it? Roche," Gordes casually threw a limp homunculus's hand onto the table.

"But he's dead!" Caster pushed Roche aside and yelled, "It was so hard to find the core! He was on his last breath! I wanted you to debug him because you understand the homunculi technology the best!"

"Well, too bad, it's too late. He's dead," Gordes shrugged.

"You bastard!" Caster raised his hand, and the working homunculi immediately stopped and pounced on Gordes.

"Step back," Siegfried casually swung his sword, shattering all the attacking homunculi.

"Saber, Caster is a bit unstable. Let's calm him down," Gordes yawned.

"Understood," Siegfried nodded and directly charged at Caster.

Against the highest-rated Saber, Caster had no resistance and was easily pressed into the ground.

"Let go of my teacher, you bastard!" Roche screamed and lunged at Siegfried.

And was promptly pinned next to his teacher.

"Don't get angry," Gordes carried a homunculus on his shoulder. "Even though he's dead, the body is still here. I'll go back and see if I can replicate it. Of course, if you want to complain, I don't care. After all, I did nothing; he died because of your poor technology."

"Damn it!" Caster roared with immense hatred.

His obsession, his origins, collapsed at the moment of completion!

"Ha? If you want the core so badly, why don't you become the core yourself!"

With that, Gordes leisurely sauntered past Caster and Roche, but his expression faltered slightly when he passed by Cyd and Jeanne, especially with those two pairs of bright eyes staring directly at him.

"Cough, what are you staring at!"

Gordes shouted nervously and fled around the corner of the corridor with the homunculus.

After confirming that Gordes had run far away, Siegfried dematerialized.

"Should we help them?" Jeanne tugged at Cyd's sleeve, pointing at the Caster and Roche lying motionless on the ground.

"This is their internal conflict; we cannot interfere," Cyd pulled Jeanne up. "Well~ let's pretend we didn't see anything!"

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