Buzz—!
Three golden rings burst forth from the blazing inferno, and the swirling flas instantly reduced Pardofelis’ cat-shaped energy attack—fired from her spinning ring blade [Purana Phantasma: Nighteye]—to nothing.
A brilliant white light illuminated the intersection.
From top to bottom, Waver could see it clearly. Piercing the flas was a magnificent banner, with a sharp blade affixed at the tip—more of a lance than a flag.
Upon it fluttered the fleur-de-lis, symbol of the glory and honor of France’s royal era.
"France..." Waver murmured, sitting on the ground, eyes wide with awe.
As golden light descended, the flas withdrew and coalesced into a figure, glowing brilliantly before solidifying completely.
There stood a young woman clad in a deep-blue combat dress and silver armor.
Her features were strikingly handso and full of resolve, lips pursed in determination. Yet her soft facial contours gave her a gentle beauty that inspired the urge to kiss her.
Her long blonde hair was braided tightly into a single rope-like braid that fluttered in the wind.
Her chest strained against the fabric of her outfit, round and full—a curve unattainable for a certain petite swordswoman who had once been mistaken for her. It was a flawless display of feminine allure.
But most captivating were her eyes, a pair of crystalline blue orbs that sparkled like jewels, filled with warmth and vitality.
"Servant Ruler, Jeanne d’Arc, summoned in accordance with your call—"
Holding a battle flag in one hand and resting the other on the hilt of her side-sword, the gallant young woman turned with a gentle smile. "May I ask—are you my Master?"
Her presence was as refreshing as a blooming carnation.
"Ah, I’m Waver Velvet. Pleased to et you, Ruler. During this ti..."
Waver began his formal self-introduction, nodding absentmindedly—then suddenly snapped out of it. His expression contorted, and he clutched his luxurious hair, letting out a miserable, ground-pounding wail like a distressed prairie dog.
"Aaaahhh—! No! This isn’t what I wanted!! Your Majesty—!!"
"Um, Master? Is there sothing wrong with ...?"
Her Master collapsing and screaming the mont they t left the saintly maiden flustered. She quickly stepped forward to help him up, a bit stunned and uncertain.
"No... no, I’m fine. Ruler, please first restrain the two Servants currently attacking a neutral arbitrator."
Eyes hollow, hands trembling, and heart cold, Waver clutched his face as Ruler helped him to his feet.
It’s fine...
For now, staying alive takes priority. As for Iskandar—there’ll be another chance soday....
"Two Servants? Understood. Master, please stay safe."
Nodding, Ruler Jeanne gently laid the devastated Waver down, then turned her attention to Li Sushang, who stood one-footed on the traffic light, and the amused Pardofelis nearby with her ring blade.
"Foreigner, Li Sushang. You attacked the Master of the arbitrator class. Shall I take that as hostile intent? Leave imdiately!"
Jeanne pointed her flag-lance directly at Li Sushang, her voice stern.
Ruler Class Skill — Revelation of True Na: B
When summoned as Ruler, the Servant automatically perceives the true na, class, and basic paraters of all Servants directly encountered. If the opposing Servant has inherent skills or Noble Phantasms that conceal their identity, revelation is judged based on their Luck stat.
Though Li Sushang and the others weren’t among the seven official Holy Grail participants tied to the Lesser Grail, they had still been summoned onto the leylines of Fuyuki City. As such, they were automatically connected to the leylines and fell under the scope of the Greater Grail system—thus making them visible to Ruler as part of her preventative authority.
Moreover, Li Sushang didn’t have a Noble Phantasm that concealed her true na. In fact, she couldn’t care less about hiding it.
"Master, only one Servant on the opposing side. Class: Foreigner. The one with animal traits is... a mount-type Noble Phantasm belonging to Li Sushang?"
Using the special mana link between Servant and Master, Ruler Jeanne transmitted the information directly to Waver.
"Foreigner class? What’s that? That wasn’t one of the seven standard classes listed in the intel. Could it be an irregular summoning like the Einzberns did in the Third War?"
Upon hearing the word "Foreigner," Waver imdiately snapped into work mode.
It seed that this was the anomaly the higher-ups at the Clock Tower had mysteriously picked up on. Even if not the root cause, this Foreigner—Li Sushang—was clearly related to it.
"Oh ho, so you know my na? Looks like Miss Ruler has so kind of judgnt skill, huh? Well, enough chit-chat. Ti to stretch my limbs."
"Pardo, return."
Pardofelis was weak to begin with, and after being converted into a Servant-form Noble Phantasm, her power was further nerfed. Li Sushang hadn’t expected much from her.
"Provocation? No need for words. Let’s just fight."
Leaning forward, a whirlpool-like blade of water ford in Li Sushang’s hand. The red tassels on her back fluttered in the night wind. With a smile on her pretty face and her sharp eyes blazing with fighting spirit, she looked down at Jeanne.
"Master, stay alert."
Jeanne stepped forward at once, wrapping the banner around the tal shaft and spinning it into a defensive stance.
"Tai Xu · Rushing Water Sword."
With that, Li Sushang raised her blade of water and, like a cannonball, launched herself downward from atop the traffic light with roaring wind at her back.
"Get back!" Jeanne pushed Waver behind her and swung her banner, channeling a fierce blast of wind to et the incoming watery strike.
Clang!
The mont their weapons clashed, waves burst out like ripples. The asphalt at the intersection cracked and sank, rocks flying everywhere in a cloud of dust.
Craack—
Nearby, the traffic lights let out a tallic groan and snapped cleanly in half.
Fzzzt!
The underground circuitry, fried from the impact, sparked and died. Rows of traffic signals went dark and tilted at odd angles.
But neither combatant was affected by the darkness. As Servants, they weren’t bound by human limitations. One had trained in martial arts since childhood and was a master of technique; the other bore divine revelation, enabling her to read her opponent’s moves as if blessed with foresight.
Jeanne’s Unique Skill — Revelation: A
A skill equivalent to Instinct, Mind’s Eye, or Sixth Sense.
Clang! Slam! Cling!
The sound of relentless collisions escalated, forming a hurricane of impact that rippled outward like raging waves.
Li Sushang fought like a true immortal, every movent like brushstrokes on a canvas. One after another, she conjured swords of water from magic, slicing, smashing, and hurling them through the air....
As the splashes of the Rushing Water Sword struck the pavent, they created ripples that blended with the dim surface of the road, forming a scene that looked like an ancient painting co to life.
"Foreigner, this is your final warning!"
The response: "Inch Power · Mountain Splitter!"
Li Sushang, increasingly pleased with this worthy opponent, let go of her swirling water blade. Using the force of Jeanne’s block, she twisted mid-air, then channeled her strength from her core. Her hands surged with azure mana, and she brought one hand down in a crushing chop.
Seeing this, Jeanne gave a subtle glance behind her and clenched her silver teeth. Again? Why does everyone in the Holy Grail War seem to take pride in attacking the referee? Am I in your way or sothing?!
As a Servant summoned directly by the Greater Grail system, Jeanne had the duty of properly overseeing the Holy Grail War. She could manifest by inhabiting a human host or be summoned like any other Servant.
But unlike the others, she retained the mories of prior iterations of this endlessly repeating ritual.
One such mory—of being attacked by the Sun God’s child before even arriving in Trifas, Romania—remained fresh and unpleasant.
This ti, she was summoned through Waver’s Command Seal and the relic he had prepared because the Greater Grail had detected more than fourteen Servants already summoned. A particular subroutine of the Grail was activated, drawing her into the war.
Waver had simply happened to enter Fuyuki at that ti. As a magus from the Clock Tower, the Command Seals naturally found him. And, crucially, he possessed a suitable relic for Jeanne’s summoning.
Technically, all Waver did was act as a mana conduit... though even most of the mana ca from the Greater Grail and the leylines. Waver was little more than a relay station.
The black Command Seals on his hand held no binding force over Jeanne. Whether she called him Master, protected him, or listened to his orders was entirely up to her discretion. And clearly, she had no intention of abandoning him.
"Haaaah—!"
With no ti to think further, Jeanne gripped her flag tightly and raised it in a defensive stance.
BOOM!
The heavy chop aid at Jeanne’s head crashed onto the flagstaff, producing a shower of sparks as flesh t tal.
RUMBLE—!
The already damaged roadway caved under the impact, forming a crater over twenty ters wide. Shattered earth exploded outward in jagged chunks.
Sewage sprayed up from below, and fragnts of stone flew in all directions—each one with enough force to rival a high-caliber bullet. Nearby shops and barriers were blasted apart, and glass and bricks rained down like shrapnel.
"What a rush! Glorious!"
"Let’s go again!" Knocked back by the flag, Li Sushang’s eyes sparkled with excitent. Rather than conjuring another water sword, a golden gleam flashed in her hands.
CLANG!
Jeanne saw it clearly this ti—Li Sushang’s true Noble Phantasm: a golden sword about 70 centiters long, double-edged, adorned with dark gray floral engravings.
Ding! Clang clang!
Amid crisp clashes and flying sparks, Jeanne burst from the swirling dust.
"Not good, not good, not good!"
Having retreated almost a hundred ters, Waver stumbled as a gale of mana whooshed past him. Watching the lights of surrounding buildings flicker out at a visible pace, the darkness spreading outward, he couldn’t help cursing under his breath.
This level of force... I knew it.
This wasn’t Romania, or the quaint dieval town of Trifas. Nor was it a port, the outskirts, or so empty park. This was the busiest district in Fuyuki—Shinto Station’s public transport hub!
In a modern city, underground infrastructure such as drainage systems, gas pipelines, power lines, and internet cables are densely packed and intricately interconnected. A single disruption could cascade into a citywide crisis.
And now they were brawling like this in a major traffic hub? There was no doubt about it—those city functions running beneath their feet were the main lines.
Now, even with displacent enchantnts in place, a loss of power, water, and internet would severely weaken their effectiveness.
Even if the area was marked with a "non-interference" enchantnt, with this level of destruction under public scrutiny, there would be no covering it up.
No—at this rate, continuing the fight would make a cover-up impossible!
"Master of the Foreigner! You’re watching from the shadows, aren’t you?! Your actions have already severely violated the established rules of the Mage’s Association!"
Li Sushang might not care—in her world, supernaturals walked openly among society—but Waver did. As a Lord of the Clock Tower, it was his duty to uphold the secrecy of magecraft.
"Ruler, we can’t continue this battle. The local police have already been alerted."
"Understood!"
Jeanne gripped her flag tightly and disengaged with lightning speed, retreating through the gale as she reassessed the situation.
If she wanted to end the fight quickly, she’d have to use her Noble Phantasm. Without it, it wasn’t happening.
After that fierce lee with Li Sushang, Jeanne could feel it clearly: while their raw stats were comparable, her technique fell far short.
True Na: Jeanne d’Arc Class: Ruler Strength: B Endurance: B Agility: A Mana: A Luck: C Noble Phantasm: A
Each had their strengths. Li Sushang had the superior skill, and in close combat Jeanne was being thoroughly outclassed with few chances to counter.
However, Jeanne’s EX-ranked Magic Resistance made it hard for Li Sushang’s mana-based attacks to inflict real damage.
In short: despite all the explosions, sword strikes, and widespread destruction, neither side had sustained any significant injuries.
"Hey, calling it quits?"
Hearing sirens in the distance, Jeanne ignored Li Sushang. She knew they couldn’t afford to drag this out. She exchanged a glance with Waver, and upon seeing his nod, Jeanne placed her fist solemnly to her armored chest.
"Foreigner, this is your final warning. If there is a next ti, I will exercise the full authority granted to as Ruler and force you to withdraw from the Holy Grail War."
"God’s Resolution—"
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