Dangerous Situation

As Arkhan stepped into the small grove, he sensed a Servant's aura, unmistakably Berserker of Black, Frankenstein.

He immediately dashed toward the source of the aura and soon spotted a girl in a white wedding dress, wielding a menacing massive round hammer in the center of the grove.

Arkhan's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

According to Gordes, Frankenstein seemed to be in grave danger, with her life hanging by a thread. Yet, the girl standing before him had a peaceful aura and no visible injuries. It didn't look like she had suffered any significant harm.

However, cautious as he was, Arkhan didn't approach her and simply called out to her from a safe distance.

"Berserker?"

Hearing his voice, the girl shivered slightly and turned toward him.

Observing the silent Frankenstein, Arkhan furrowed his brows slightly.

Without making it obvious, he took a few steps backward. His instincts told him that something wasn't quite right with her.

"Grrr—AAAHHHHHH—!!!"

Suddenly, Frankenstein let out a wild roar without any warning, emanating a fierce killing intent, and swung the massive hammer as she charged toward him.

"As I thought..."

Arkhan narrowed his eyes slightly, wielding Abyss Flower to parry Frankenstein's hammer.

*DING!*

Simultaneously, golden spears with chains flew out from behind him, securely binding her.

"Grrrr! Aghhh... Ugh..."

Even though Frankenstein was like a perpetual motion machine, she had no room for resistance against the binding power of the Oath of Judah.

After a brief struggle, she finally fell silent.

Arkhan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, observing Frankenstein very carefully.

He didn't sense any sort of magecraft on her, which meant that the sudden madness probably originated from something within her mind.

"Alright, let me see what's going on with you."

With a casual wave, a crimson feather slowly descended from the void, casting a red glow over Frankenstein's eyes, immediately rendering them dull and lifeless.

"Is this her mental world? It's quite spacious."

Utilizing the power of Fenghuang Down, Arkhan submerged a thread of his consciousness into Frankenstein's mental world. It was even more massive than he had imagined, meaning that not much had left an impression on her mind throughout her life.

But considering her experiences, it was normal.

However, it was precisely this emptiness that allowed him to effortlessly locate the source of her madness.

Deep within Frankenstein's mental world, a mysterious vortex was slowly spinning. It was filled with endless chaos and abyssal depths that even Fenghuang Down's power couldn't penetrate.

Nevertheless, a strong sense of impending danger warned him that whatever lurked inside was far from harmless.

"As long as I destroy this thing, she should return to normal."

Now that he had found the anomaly's source, Arkhan didn't hesitate. He immediately unleashed the power of Fenghuang Down.

*Swish!*

The crimson feather instantly transformed into a sharp divine sword, piercing straight into the center of the mysterious vortex. After a moment, the chaos and abyssal depths gradually vanished, and the vortex stopped spinning.

"This should be enough..."

Just as Arkhan was about to disperse his strand of consciousness to observe Frankenstein's situation, he suddenly noticed that the mysterious vortex began to spin again. It even expanded several times in an instant and erupted with a tremendous suction force, directly pulling his consciousness into it.

"Aaahhh~ Aaahhh~ Aaahhh~"

"Joy~ Joy~ Joy~ Joy~"

"Love~ Love~ Love~ Love~"

As he fell into the vortex, echoes of sweet and fragrant whispers, like those of a lover, echoed in his ears. Just listening to these voices, his mind involuntarily conjured up vivid and beautiful scenes.

Despite having no physical form, he felt as if countless soft hands were gently caressing his body, teasing the strongest desires deep within him.

Gradually, Arkhan's consciousness became blurred.

He didn't want to think anymore; he just wanted to follow these voices, release all his desires, renew his life, and find liberation, until he reached the pure land of bliss.

This was something he had never considered.

Although he frequently used the Abyss Flower among his Divine Keys, when it came to the most effective one, he would undoubtedly choose Fenghuang Down without hesitation. While lacking powerful attack capabilities, Fenghuang Down's supportive abilities were top-notch among all Divine Keys.

Whenever he used Fenghuang Down, there was hardly anything he couldn't solve in the field of the mind, mental, or consciousness. It was these experiences that filled him with confidence in Fenghuang Down, but he had never imagined that even with Fenghuang Down in hand, he would be suppressed in the mental world that should be its forte.

However, this time he underestimated it.

This vortex was essentially a manifestation of an incomplete authority of some 'Beast', and he had unknowingly stepped into someone's carefully prepared trap!

If this continued, he would soon be completely engulfed in this hell of bliss, both physically and mentally melting away, disappearing from this world.

However, at this moment, another inexplicable power suddenly awakened within him.

A pure and immaculate radiance penetrated his consciousness as if salvation itself were imminent in the face of impending doom.

Clearly, this pure and immaculate radiance originated from the 'Savior' and helped him resist the vortex's influence.

During this brief gap, Arkhan's consciousness finally regained some clarity.

Realizing his current dangerous situation, he immediately severed the connection with his strand of consciousness inside Frankenstein's mental world.

However, he now found that the power of the vortex had already invaded his consciousness. If he didn't expel it soon, he would end up in a situation similar to Frankenstein's, or even worse.

Without hesitation, Arkhan immediately activated Fenghuang Down to its maximum output, suppressing the power of the vortex with the help of pure and immaculate radiance from the 'Savior'.

"Grrr—!!!"

A ferocious roar suddenly echoed in his ears.

Arkhan struggled to regain some focus, only to find that Frankenstein, who had been bound by Oath of Judah, had somehow freed herself and was slowly approaching him with her hammer.

Due to the vortex's influence earlier, Fenghuang Down and Oath of Judah lost control, providing Frankenstein with the opportunity to break free.

"AAAHHHHH—!!!"

Frankenstein roared like a wild beast, devoid of clarity, with only boundless rage in her eyes as she stared at Arkhan.

*Whoosh!*

She swung her hammer mercilessly toward his head.

*DING!*

Arkhan, unable to muster enough focus, could only barely defend against the blow with Abyss Flower. The terrifying impact shook his wrist, making it slightly numb, almost causing Abyss Flower to be shaken off from his hand.

Not giving up, Frankenstein lifted her hammer again and smashed it toward his chest.

*BANG!*

This time, Arkhan had no strength left to counterattack.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

He was sent flying like a projectile, smashing through several trees along the way, breaking them into two.

*Cough!*

As Arkhan coughed, crimson fresh blood slowly trickled down from the corner of his mouth. The intense pain made him momentarily lose focus as the vortex seized the opportunity to counterattack, further corrupting his consciousness.

Facing external and internal threats, Arkhan found himself in the most dangerous situation he had ever encountered in his entire life. At this moment, he felt like walking on a tightrope over a deep abyss, where even a gust of wind could send him plummeting.

In such a critical situation, he couldn't even spare a thought to think of a way out. As soon as he lost concentration, the vortex's power would relentlessly corrupt his consciousness, like a pack of wild dogs.

"AAAHHHH!"

Frankenstein raised her hammer again, and a surging magical energy quickly gathered. Yellow arcs danced frenziedly on her hammer, creating one scorched pit after another in the surrounding land.

Frankenstein's Noble Phantasm, Blasted Tree!

Countless yellow arcs, like electricity, splintered from the hammer, resembling a frenzy of serpents and dragons as they roared toward Arkhan and turned all nearby trees into charred remnants.

"O Lord, I beg of you..."

In the nick of time, a slender figure suddenly stood in front of Arkhan.

Clad in an armored dress, hands tightly gripping a holy flag adorned with the emblem of a fleur-de-lis, her dignified face exuded a sacred aura.

Her commanding voice echoed through the air.

"Grant me the strength to protect those precious to me!"

"Luminosite Eternelle!"

A bright yet gentle radiance emanated from the holy flag, swallowing all the electricity radiance in an instant, leaving no trace behind.

"Great, I finally caught up..."

Before Jeanne could even exhale in relief, however, Frankenstein roared angrily, emanating even more colossal magical energy.

"What's going on? Her magical energy capacity shouldn't allow for consecutive Noble Phantasm releases?" Jeanne widened her eyes in disbelief.

She was well aware of Berserker of Black's ability to recover magical energy with her Noble Phantasm, but releasing it twice in such a short time seemed impossible.

However, unknown to her, due to Caules's two previous command spells, Frankenstein's body was now brimming with a massive amount of magical energy. Without considering the side effects of Noble Phantasm, she could even perform a three-time consecutive release.

'Should I use my command spells?' Jeanne's face revealed a conflicted expression.

Intervening to protect Rider of Black from the previous attack was already pushing the boundaries of her stance as Ruler. If she used a command spell, even she would feel uneasy about her decision.

'Oh Lord, please tell me what to do!'

In the end, Jeanne prayed to God for the answer.