98 Chapter 24

"He's coming. Be prepared!" Jeanne Alter warned. "You can count on me!" Rémy replied, already prepared for the impending confrontation. He was excited because he would finally meet this other side of himself. Emiya was already ready at any moment, ready to use his projections.

"He attacked!" Jeanne Alter shouted as a spear came flying towards her at high speed. Jeanne Alter was already prepared to defend herself. "If you don't mind, I'll step in." Rémy spoke. He positioned himself in front of the incoming spear. The spear collided with his lance. Rémy felt the force behind the spear and skillfully used his lance to deflect the impact that was still occurring. The redirected spear ended up striking the ground where the wreckage of the houses lay.

"You dodged? A new servant? I think you'll need more than that." A dark voice echoed, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. "I don't think so. I should be enough. Without that spear, you'll be easily destroyed..." Rémy said confidently. He knew better than anyone that, without that spear, even if the opponent was powerful, they would still perish. Just the thought of it made Rémy feel sad. He hadn't fulfilled what he had promised.

"What a familiar voice... Is it mine?" Rémy Alter said in confusion. He heard a voice that sounded very much like his own. He looked towards the passing smoke. "Now is not the time for you to be sad. What's gotten into you? You were fine until now, and suddenly you're sad." Jeanne Alter spoke beside Rémy. She nudged him with her elbow.

"It's nothing. I'm back now." Rémy smiled at her. He decided he would apologize to Jeanne later. He hadn't fulfilled what he had promised. "Good, it's not a good time to lose focus." Jeanne Alter lightly reprimanded Rémy. She couldn't allow him to do that again, especially if they were in the midst of a battle. She hoped he would be strong. Jeanne Alter couldn't see Rémy's stats, so she wasn't certain how strong he was.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again. Let's defeat this other me!" Rémy felt grateful that Jeanne Alter understood his perspective, even though she wasn't the Jeanne he loved. Still, having her by his side eased his mind. "I hope so. I don't want to waste my time trying to get your attention during the fight." Jeanne Alter didn't want to lose this battle, especially after being humiliated by Rémy Alter. She couldn't forget that, even if she wanted to.

"Yes, I can see that you're another me. Tell me, how was your story? Tell me everything! I want to know it all!" Rémy Alter saw when the dust settled that it was another Rémy. He wanted to know if this Rémy had suffered like he did, if he had been rejected like him. He wanted to know if this Rémy had sacrificed everything only to gain nothing in the end, except for the taste of cold and cruel betrayal.

"I think you've gone mad. Tell you my story? Why would I do that? Will you stop if I do? If so, then I'll tell you." Rémy didn't understand why his other self wanted to know his story. They were probably not from the same reality, but he saw no reason to share his own story.

"You don't need to know. You just need to tell me. I'll draw my own conclusions afterward, or else you can say goodbye. I will crush you!" Rémy Alter doesn't want to keep arguing with his other self. He just wants the other one to tell his story, to see how it was.

"So, go ahead and try!" Rémy ran towards his other self, Rémy Alter, seeing that his Rémy was going to fight against him, prepared himself. Rémy Alter would take the words out of Rémy's mouth one way or another.

"Unlimited Blade Works!" Emiya activated his Noble Phantasm, and the entire field changed into a desert with several swords on the ground. "Three against one in..." Rémy Alter looked at Jeanne Alter, who started running from the side, and Emiya, who activated his Noble Phantasm. Rémy swiftly moved his lance with impeccable speed, launching several consecutive attacks that hit his enemy.

"You should know better than anyone present that this won't hurt me. It won't even scratch me, but you still try." Rémy Alter didn't feel any impact from Rémy's lance. He attacked Rémy right in the middle of his chest, but Rémy's lance had no effect on him.

"You should know too, but it seems your paranoia is getting in the way, which is why you don't remember." Rémy couldn't resist making a joke. He quickly turned and kicked Rémy Alter in the face, but Rémy Alter stood his ground firmly. While still in the air, Rémy used his other foot to strike Rémy Alter's chest, pushing him away.

"Emiya!" Rémy called out to his combat partner. Emiya pointed his hand, as if aiming and directing. All the weapons on the ground began flying towards Rémy Alter, while several others materialized behind Emiya and flew towards Rémy Alter.

Jeanne Alter charged towards Rémy Alter, using her Noble Phantasm against him. A tower of flames rose to the skies within the space they were in. Rémy knew that this wouldn't be enough to defeat Rémy Alter, but it would be an opportunity for him to try and disarm him.

"Argh! You wretch!" Jeanne Alter emerged from the dissipating tower of flames, looking angrily at Rémy Alter, who was now covered in mud. He ignored her, as she wasn't a significant threat to him, unlike Rémy. "I'll make you pay for underestimating me." Jeanne Alter grew increasingly frustrated, feeling humiliated fighting against this Rémy Alter.

"Moving on to the next round, because this one was too weak. Let's see who'll be the best! Who'll be the winner!" Rémy Alter decided to attack, and several mud constructs started emerging from him, heading toward all his enemies. "Jeanne, can you provide me with a lot of mana, right? If so, then I'll use everything I've got." Rémy began summoning his Noble Phantasm, his horse. Soon, it appeared, and Rémy mounted it, rushing towards Jeanne Alter.

Jeanne Alter took Rémy's hand and mounted behind him. Rémy's horse galloped towards where Emiya was. "You seem different... I didn't have a horse, but you do. So, maybe the actions you took are different. That makes me more curious." Rémy Alter began by looking at Rémy, who was avoiding the mud that was trying to catch him.

"Toss me up, and I'll destroy all this mud." Emiya shouted to Rémy. He had an idea to get rid of the incoming mud constructs. Rémy listened and took Emiya's hand, throwing him upwards. In mid-air, Emiya materialized his bow along with a lance. He pulled the bowstring, and the lance flew with full force toward the ground.

At that moment, Emiya's lance struck the ground with tremendous force, causing a shockwave that dispersed Rémy Alter's mud constructs. Emiya skillfully landed on the ground and quickly joined Rémy and Jeanne Alter.

"Is it now? What do you plan to do? Don't think about talking." Jeanne Alter asked Rémy. She hoped he had a plan and wasn't considering conversing with their enemy.

"Fight head-on. I'll use my other Noble Phantasm, even though I don't like using it because of the appearance it gives me. I have another one, but Jeanne isn't here." Rémy replied, unaware that Jeanne's face had become irritated for some reason. She looked at Rémy with remorse and anger.

"Jeanne here, Jeanne there. What does she have that I don't? Aren't I Jeanne too?" Jeanne Alter grew increasingly angry, feeling something inside her hurt.

"Here we go, then. I didn't want to use this Noble Phantasm, but it's necessary." Rémy spoke as he walked toward Rémy Alter, who seemed to realize that he wanted to fight her again.

Jeanne Alter felt a mix of anger and frustration building up inside her. She noticed that everyone seemed to prefer the presence of the other Jeanne, who received more attention and support. This situation made her question her own identity and feel neglected.

She felt isolated, as if no one was willing to help or understand her perspective. The fact that Rémy mentioned the presence of Jeanne, even though it wasn't her, only fueled her resentment. Why did everyone seem to value the other Jeanne more than her?

This constant comparison and the feeling of being underestimated and belittled made her even more enraged.

Emiya looked closely at Jeanne Alter and noticed a dark and threatening expression on her face. Intrigued and cautious, he decided to question her about her thoughts, aware that something disturbing was going on in her mind.

In a careful voice, Emiya asked, "What are you thinking?" His question carried a mix of curiosity and concern, revealing his desire to understand the origin of that intimidating expression. He hoped that Jeanne Alter would share her dark thoughts and, perhaps, find a way to help her dissipate the threatening aura surrounding her.

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