32

Ainz was moving forward slowly while feeling the wagon swaying beneath him. Of course, he could also ride in front of the army, on horseback with Gilles, Jeanne and John - perhaps even carry his flag along with the standards of the army - but being unsure of his abilities as a rider, he preferred to just sit in the wagon, allowing himself not to worry about a possible fall from the horse and just indulge in observation.

The army was moving slowly — soldiers clinking with weapons — horses sometimes spurred by their riders — all slowly moving forward. Ainz once again looked around, noticing the trees slowly passing by and the faces of the soldiers, ready for a new battle, maybe the last for them.

"L'HOMME ARME!" - an unexpected sharp sound startled Ainz - "DOIBT ON DOUBTER!"

The sound was like a scream, if the scream periodically changed its tone and depth - for a second, Ainz thought that someone had stepped on a cat very close to him.

"ON A FAIT!" - Ainz flinched once more, when after a second of delay the scream rang out again and again, Ainz began to turn his head in all directions, - "PARTOUT CRIER!"

"Where are these hellish sounds coming from?!" - Mozart's voice distracted the magician for a second, after which he glanced at Caster, who was trying to plug his ears with all his might.

"QUE CHASCUN!" - the sound capable of tearing eardrums rumbled once more and Ainz saw several soldiers moving in front of the column and not so far from him grimacing, "SE VIEGNE ARMER!"

After these words, Ainz was finally able to find the reason why this terrifying noise was now pouring into his ears.

"D'UN HAUBREGON DE FER!" - shouted one more line from a terrible monster, hiding under the face of a young girl, marching not far from the wagon of Ainz himself.

"Please stop, I cannot bear this torture anymore!" - Mozart's voice became even louder, but Bathory had already opened her mouth to sing further, so Caster had no choice but to just shut her up with his own hands, - "I swear I hear everything a thousand times better than a normal person - but never, never in my life have I regretted it more than now!"

"Ugh!" - immediately Elizabeth pulled away when Mozart shut her mouth, - "What do you think you are doing?!"

"What you am I doing?!" - Mozart instantly pulled away from the girl, looking at her in horror, - "What kind of torture was that?!"

"Torture?!" - immediately Bathory was offended, after which she looked at Caster with anger, - "The song is to raise morale before the fight!"

"So that was a song!" - Mozart immediately grabbed his head, and then looked at Lancer again, - "So you say that it was... A song?!"

"Of course!" - Bathory was indignant with the look of insulted innocence, - "What else could it be?!"

"It was just a scream!" - Mozart accused the girl with a finger.

"How dare you!.." the girl tried to be indignant, but her speech was interrupted by the heavy fan of Kiyohime, which was delivered to the top of her head a second later, "Why?!"

"The fake dragon is causing problems," Kiyohime opened her fan, after which she fanned herself, - "Moreover, for the dragon himself... It is incomprehensible to the mind how I could spend so much time with you."

"You!" - Lancer immediately rushed - but this time she nevertheless chose Mozart as her target, that already ran away from her anger a second prior. Kiyohime, feeling some responsibility for the stupid creature entrusted to her, rushed after her. However, Ainz only looked away from the fight that remained behind the march. The magician was not even worried that the Servants might be left behind - they would still catch up with the army, so instead of worrying, he simply turned his eyes to another company of Servants who were moving next to him.

"They are too relaxed for those who are going to fight," Archer said calmly, and then moved forward. Of course, there was some distance between him and Ainz, but fortunately being a Servant still allowed the magician to make out his words.

"Come on," Cu Chulainn only dismissed the thought, "Let them have fun before the fight. Everything is better than senseless jitters."

"Maybe," Archer said sparingly, after which he turned his eyes to the army, which was moving next to him, and was now passing by a swarm of three Servants, trying not to stare at them with all their might, "However, I'm still wondering what the army will think, watching an adult man fights with two girls.

"Only that children have no place on the battlefield," Caster shrugged and turned his eyes to Archer. "And perhaps you should watch the kids closer."

"Me?!" - almost stumbled out of the red Archer, glancing at Cu Chulainn, - "And why should I?!"

"Well, look," Cu Chulainn used his staff to lean on him, after which he began to speak. "Jeanne obviously should not deal with children, since she is a symbol of France, not Gilles, because he is the main commander, and not Ainz, since most soldiers do not even know about his existence. Not me and not Rider, since we were busy with soldiers in the infirmary. And, of course, not Serenity - no one in his right mind would trust her with kids. You are the only one that remained - a cold and detached cool warrior - the love for children would complete your image completely."

"I'm a warrior and an archer, not a nanny!" - the guy was indignant, but this was not enough.

"You aren't an archer really if you use only swords," Caster sighed.

"I don't want to hear this from a magician whose main weapon is a spear," Archer sighed and looked at Caster angrily, but Cu Chulainn just grinned back.

"But at least I have ny runes," Caster just shrugged, "And I can do pretty impressive things with them."

"I'm also pretty good at a sword fight," Archer replied calmly, finally moving away from the thought of children.

"More or less," Caster waved ambiguously with his hand in the air, showing his attitude to Archer.

"And what makes you consider me this "more or less"?" - only looked at Caster Archer.

"You shoot swords well," Caster smiled at the absurdity of the phrase, "And you can fight with them because you know how to fight with swords. As a Servant, you are not particularly strong."

"Should I consider that an insult?" Archer looked coldly at Caster.

"No, rather it's a praise," Cu Chulainn unexpectedly declared, after which he looked at Archer. "What you cannot take by force, you take with cunning and skill. It is worthy of respect, actually."

Archer, not fully understanding whether he should have been offended by this or not, stopped, looking only at the back of Caster, who was moving forward.

Ainz looked again - this time finding a group of three riders moving slightly ahead of him.

"I will consider it an honor to fight with such a legendary knight side by side," Siegfried smiled at Rider, dressed in a white cloak, that only slightly spurred his horse.

"Not worth it," the man dismissed these words, "We all are fighting together today, and besides, perhaps I am the one that is honored. I have never fought alongside other dragon slayers side by side in my life."

"As I am," Siegfried only smiled, after which he turned to the third participant in the discussion, which at that time only remained silent.

"In this case - I can't even describe what an honor it is for me to fight with you two side by side!" - Mashu smiled at both riders, after which the horse under her arms suddenly bucked, forcing the girl to grab onto the reins.

"Not the best stallion you got there" Siegfried smiled at the girl.

"No, no, it's not that!" she immediately tried to brush aside these words, - "I must have the Ride skill, just... I'm not the best with regard to being a Servant."

"But!" - the girl immediately tried to make excuses, - "I can protect you! I can do a great job with the shield!"

"I apologize," Siegfried apologized immediately for touching on this topic, after which he smiled. "In that case, I will rely on your shield."

"Of course," the girl smiled, after which she turned her gaze to Rider nearby, "True, the shield does not help me on horse riding... Tell me, could you teach me this?"

"I?" - The Rider stopped, after which he smiled a little - "I'm sorry, but in truth I myself am not particularly good at this."

"Really?" - Mashu looked at Rider in disbelief, - "But you are so confident in the saddle…"

"This is not my achievement," the man smiled. "This is all my horse... In truth, this is all his doing."

"You value him highly," smiled Mashu, after which her horse kicked back again.

"Of course," Rider smiled. "I would not be afraid to entrust my life to him."

At this moment, the Mashu's horse finally stood up, after which the girl tried to spur him uncertainly to force him to move along with two other riders, but this did not work out for her.

"Apparently, there's indeed a problem," Siegfried said in the end, after which he pulled his stallion, "Well, I'll look for another..."

"Don't!" - immediately Mashu tried to stop the guy, - "I'll do it myself now…"

"It's no problem," the dragon fighter smiled.

"But you are a legendary hero, Dragon Slayer Siegfried!" - The girl was immediately dumbfounded, - "You should not do this!"

"I shouldn't," Siegfried smiled. "And if there was a dragon here, I would have not. But now let me fix this little annoyance."

Instantly spurring the stallion, Siegfried rushed back. Mashu, with a sigh, kicked her horse lightly in frustration, making him snort.

"I feel bad for him," Shielder rubbed her face. "He shouldn't do that."

"He just does his job, nothing more," Rider smiled back, "If he decided to help, then why should we be against it?"

"And yet," Mashu sighed, after which Ainz turned his gaze to the side again. This time only to face nose to nose with Serenity, who was next to him, unnoticed by Ainz himself.

"Ah, Serenity," the magician smiled instantly, suppressing the urge to flinch at the unexpected effectiveness of her presence concealment, after which, trying to hush his inner awkwardness, put his hand on her head and patted her hair. She, sensing a familiar action that she lacked so much, only giggled confusedly.

"Thank you, Master," the girl smiled instantly. "You know how to help a girl with her thoughts."

"Help?" - Ainz looked at that incomprehensibly, - "But I did nothing."

"You did even more than necessary for me, Master... My husband," the girl nevertheless said a few seconds later, after which she smiled.

"I did nothing special," Ainz smiled at Serenity in response, feeling a slight misunderstanding rise inside him.

To this, Serenity only shook her head a couple of times, after which she looked at the magician carefully, "My whole body, my breath... I myself am a poison from which there is no escape. Even if you are protected from poison, then this is still a risk... And I am grateful to you that you still risked for me."

"Nothing of the kind," Ainz sighed. "I didn't risk anything for you... Speaking of which, it is more likely that you are the one risking yourself for me... Sorry for that."

"It's okay, my husband," the girl smiled. "Such is the life of a Servant."

"Thank you, Serenity," Ainz smiled back, then ruffled the girl's hair. After sitting for a few more seconds, she finally got up from her seat and, a little unexpectedly for Ainz, jumped off the wagon, and then headed back.

"Hmmm..." - Ainz looked after the retreating girl, and then nodded - "Okay, maybe she is just... No, not a single thought. Maybe she needed something there? Women are strange creatures."

Ainz continued to look after the retreating girl when a new face appeared next to him.

"Good afternoon," Jeanne said it calmly, so this time Ainz did not jump, nevertheless hearing her steps.

For a second, Gilles also slipped by next to Ainz, greeting him with a nod, and then headed off somewhere back into the ranks of the army.

'Maybe he went to stop the fight?' - Ainz remembered the three Servants left behind and sighed. Nevertheless, such events are really sad.

"Good day," finally Ainz nevertheless answered Jeanne's greeting, after which he turned to face her.

Jeanne smiled back at him, after which she turned her gaze to the Servant's nearby.

"Hell, I'm the greatest Celtic hero, I must not drag horses!" - Cu Chulainn appeared next to Rider and Mashu, holding the reins of a new stallion, - "I have to fight in great battles, and not do the manual work!"

"I apologize," Mashu bowed in response, forcing Cu Chulainn only to wave his hand.

"Ah, forget it," he sighed, after which he waved at the horse next to him, "Climb up."

Apologizing again, Mashu nevertheless dismounted, after which she moved to Cu Chulainn's horse.

"They are good people," came a voice next to Ainz, making him remember that Jeanne was now right next to him.

"Yes, perhaps," Ainz sighed at these words, after which he looked at the people behind. A whole army of people.

Jeanne, catching his eyes, sighed.

"Many will die on that day," she said, causing Ainz to shake her head. He did not feel anything from the realization of how many people would die in a future battle, but...

"In the end, none of this happened," the mage sighed.

"What do you mean?" - Jeanne looked at him carefully.

"All this..." - Ainz sighed "After all that has happened and in the end the story will simply be erased. Soldier, battles, Witches, monsters, magic, undead... In the end, nothing like this will ever happen."

Jeanne, hearing this, however, only smiled, - "That is not important. Even if some things do not remain in people's memory and in history textbooks - we will remember this all the same. Memories and our lives... They will not be in vain simply because they will not be remembered after many centuries. After all, we lived... And we had a meaning in this life."

"It is possible," Ainz sighed. "However... What is the point? The battle in the end is pointless - the soldiers who survive in the battle of Orleans... History will erase them all - some of them will be lost, some disappear without a trace - but still they will all die."

"It is possible," Jeanne sighed, "But the memories of them will remain — at least for us. And it is also valuable in itself."

"Memories…" - Ainz paused for a second, feeling how something moved in his soul from this word, after which he dismissed this.

"Yes," however Jeanne only smiled, "We will know and remember that we fought for a reason - that we did something miraculous... Something right... The bad things that happened to us should not erase all the good that we did. Our battle is a battle against monsters, Witches, evil - it cannot be meaningless... Even if no one else will remember it."

For a second, Ainz froze. Jeanne's words suddenly touched his soul.

"Jeanne," Gilles appeared next to Jeanne, distracted the girl, but could not get Ainz out of his thoughts, "We are approaching Orleans. Could you speak to the soldiers? Words from their Saint could help them."

"Of course," the girl sighed, after which, glancing at Ainz, still pondering next to her, jumped off the wagon and moved back. Gilles, being next to her, nodded to the girl, after which he did not follow her, but remained next to the magician, who was still thinking about something.

For a few seconds, Gilles moved next to the wagon, and then nevertheless, looked at the magician, - "You know... I envy you a little."

"Hmm?" - finally distracted Ainz from his thoughts, glancing at Saber.

"Jeanne talks a lot about you," Gilles smiled at Ainz, after which, when he finally made sense of what was said, he shook his head, "No, no, nothing. In fact, I'm even glad."

"Glad?" - Ainz looked at Gilles.

"Yes, glad," Gilles smiled, "When she talks about you, she always smiles, and her eyes sparkle. I'm glad to see her like that."

Ainz silently continued to stare at Saber for several seconds, then sighed.

"You heard my plan," Ainz looked at the soldier again. "You should not overestimate me, really. And my plan… it's not built around the survival of people and of good deeds."

"I know," Gilles sighed at this, and then smiled, "They say that a bad deed done for good is worse than any evil... Tell me then, can you say the opposite - that a good deed done even with the most selfish of motives should it still be considered good?"

For a few seconds Ainz was silent, after which he looked at Gilles, "I don't know."

"Nobody knows," Gilles sighed, "Nobody. But one thing that I know - they are good people... And you are also a good person, Ainz. I'm glad to fight in my last battle with you."

With these words, Gilles directed the horse back, back to Jeanne, leaving the magician alone.

And yet, not quite alone.

"This girl!" - in the end, Cu Chulainn appeared as if from nowhere, fortunately not being near Ainz, but joining Rider, who was moving nearby, on foot, - "Oh, Rider!"

"Yes?" - the brown-haired man turned to Caster, but he only shook his head.

"No, not you," he grinned, after which he turned in the direction of the horsewoman who stood farthest from the moving army and shouted to her, "Medusa!"

The girl, in the end, reluctantly, however, moved her horse towards Cu Chulainn, forcing him to grin.

"By the way, I never thought about it, but," the mage sighed and glanced at the two Riders, "Won't you become a great team, since you are both Riders?"

The brown-haired man only shrugged and looked at Medusa, who was holding the blindfold at her eyes at the moment.

"I don't know, but I would be glad, if this will turn out to be true," the man smiled at Medusa, after which he looked at Caster, "I am not the most suitable person for a battle. In the end, I am more likely a protector than a warrior."

"Yes?" - Cu Chulainn looked at him a little in surprise, - "But aren't you a dragon-killer?"

"Yes, that's what they call me. I'm not saying that I'm useless in battle," the rider smiled. "However, I'm not quite a warrior. "

"Excellent," smiled Cu Chulainn, "Because I would need a defender. At least then I could do whatever magic I myself wanted. What about you, Medusa?"

"It doesn't matter," the girl only sighed. "I have good opportunities for attack and a couple of abilities suitable for defense."

"Fine!" - Cu Chulainn smiled, - "At least I could then kill at least one noticeable enemy on my own! Maybe even the dragon himself - I think we would be able to knock him down together."

"It is possible," the man on the horse shrugged, then stopped and, looking back, sighed, "It seems that Mashu didn't manage to cope with the horse. I will return to her."

"Wait," Cu Chulainn stopped the rider when he was already heading back. "The soldiers will approach her."

"It is possible," the rider did not argue, "But I will still help."

"Saint," Cu Chulainn grunted, watching the horseman's back move away from him, after which he looked at Medusa, "At least the two of us would definitely work together."

"I'm not a vampire," the girl sighed, "But I swear to Hera, I will find a way to let all your blood out of you if you start this conversation again."

"Hey, that was only once!" - Cu Chulainn immediately tried to object, but Rider looked away from him and directed the horse away. It seems that something happened between them in the camp, which Ainz did not even know about.

In the end, Ainz sighed and looked up at the sky.

It is like his days in Yggdrasil...

Ainz smiled, after which the suppression of emotion made him go dark again.

But those days have passed and they could not be returned.

His Ainz Ooal Gown will never return. Never.

Conversations stopped.

At that moment, Ainz felt a connection with a Servant form in his head and nodded. They are approaching Orleans.

It is time to carry out his plan.

At the moment the foot of Medusa touched the road in front of the gates of Orleans, Chevalier was already in place, watching the Servants approach with his usual cheerful smile, as if he were not at all bothered by the impending armada of his future opponents.

"I must admit that I expected you earlier," the guy smiled at the moment when Archer — and then all the other Servants — stopped in front of Saber himself at a distance of several tens of meters, "Besides, I don't see the army behind your back - although I was sure that you still will bring it with you... And I don't feel three more Servants - hmm... Does this mean that your Master chose to send you to fight on the front line on your own, without his support?"

"Like yours," Archer just shook his head at Chevalier's words, after which he carefully looked at the walls that stood literally a hundred meters behind d'Eon's back, "Why the farce? You would not fight alone - maybe in this case you will introduce your friends to us?"

"Ah, of course," Chevalier immediately smiled, after which, as if not afraid of an attack, he turned around, "Guys, get down! It is impolite not to greet the guests!"

After a second, five shadows instantly jumped from the wall - and Medusa felt the appearance of new Servants very close to them.

"I suppose you already managed to meet all the gentlemen present," at that moment Chevalier glanced at the two standing girls on his side - Carmilla, who looked at the Servant opposite her with hatred, after which she looked at Archer, holding a huge bow, - "And the ladies of course. But just in case, let me remind you."

"Saber," the man pointed to himself, "Chevalier d'Eon."

After that, the guy moved his hand to the right, - "Carmilla, our beautiful Assassin - and her two colleagues, Charles Henri Sanson and the Phantom of the Opera."

"Let me also introduce you to two faces, possibly new to you," at that moment Saber lifted his hand, pointing to a girl with a huge bow and a man in a black gown standing to his left, "Archer and Caster."

"I hope you get along," the guy smiled, causing Medusa to tense up. The most paradoxical thing in Chevalier was that Medusa could not determine with certainty-was his tone mocking at the moment when he said this - or was it friendly.

"I think we'll come up with something about this," Archer nodded in response, without a single emotion in his voice, after which he glanced at Chevalier.

"Well, then," Chevalier sighed, and then slowly pulled his blade from its scabbard, causing the rest of the Servants to strain, "I must admit, I would like to continue our meeting - but the reality is that we need to fight - and possibly kill each other."

"Although, of course," the moment Chevalier finally pulled out his sword and stood in the rack, he sighed, "I would expect such meanness from myself — but not from you. On your side, let me count... A girl with a shield, Archer, Mozart, Medusa, that poisonous girl, Cu Chulainn - and four Servants who refused to serve the Witch. Saber, Lancer, Rider and Berserker. Ten against six - do you not think that this is a little dishonest?"

"Behind your back are three hundred wyverns and tens of thousands of dead," this time Cu Chulainn intervened in the conversation, "Finish this farce."

"Oh, really?" - a little surprised, as if he had just realized this, Chevalier turned to the city, over which hundreds of wyverns continued to turn and whistled, "I completely forgot. In that case, perhaps... It would be foolish not to use them in battle, right?"

"Commander ..." he glanced toward Caster, who was only taking a breath. After a second, hundreds of wyverns fell down over the city.

The battlefield instantly exploded with flickering figures and dozens of attacks.

The first was Chevalier.

Without even turning his face from the city, he suddenly pushed off the ground, and then with a united movement, in some unthinkable pirouette, while in the air, he struck. The narrow blade of Chevalier aimed at Archer - but the Servant easily jumped back - after which Chevalier's sword grated powerlessly against the metal that appeared before him. Huge metal shield.

"Oh, and you are very beautiful, lady," Chevalier smiled at the moment when he could see Mashu blocked the blow. A second later, the long narrow dagger of Medusa stuck in Saber's stomach, forcing him to gasp, after which a sharp blow of Mashu sent him in a short flight.

Archer rushed forward a moment earlier, bypassing the situation. His goal was Sanson, who until then seemed to him to be the most suitable opponent for him - however, an arrow plunged before him into the ground, from which Archer jumped back, and made him stop.

"So you're the one they call Archer?" - the girl who was holding a huge bow in her hands instantly pulled a new arrow, after which Archer went to the side in a leap, - "Let's see what you are really worth."

Unlike the two previously mentioned, Elizabeth Bathory was able to get to exactly the enemy with whom she wanted to fight.

Carmilla easily walked away with a graceful movement from the spear that arose in Lancer's hands, after which she easily repelled a direct attack with her hand, leading her to the side. Bathory, however, instead of stopping in a vulnerable position, continued to move, plunging her spear into the ground, and then used it like a pole to turn around sharply, trying to kick Carmilla. Assassin was not ready for this, and therefore the girl's knee crashed into the face of the woman, who staggered back.

"Long time no see, Elizabeth Bathory!" - the girl smirked at the moment when Assassin was able to erase the blood that suddenly spilled on her beautiful face from her broken nose.

"Girl," Carmilla frowned in disgust, "You... Are nothing — you are unworthy of my name!"

"I gave up my fate and human accusations," she grinned, and then turned her spear in her hands, "I don't even want to hear the accusations from the murderer of hundreds of women!"

"You are just the me who could not accept the truth about herself," Carmilla looked with hatred at Lancer, which she only stuck her tongue out childishly, taunting the woman.

"You are just the me who agreed to accept evil and turn into a monster because of resentment and hatred," countered Lancer, and then pointed her spear at Assassin, "Now - shut up and let's fight!"

Right next to them, Caster - Caster of the Witch - only looked at the empty space next to him, and then gave the order to the remaining Servants.

"Go," he ordered instantly, after which the Phantom and Charles rushed off, leaving Caster alone. He, however, did not begin to move anywhere after - instead, unexpectedly, the black mage's spell struck an empty place very close to him. Serenity, whose movement was noticed, threw off her disguise, after which she threw several blades in a jump. Caster himself did not respond to this - a sharp gust of wind knocked down the blades before they could pierce his body.

"You," he said, immediately pointing to Assassin, who had come out of invisibility, "That poisonous bitch that poisoned Jeanne!"

Serenity did not begin to talk - instead, she rushed forward to Caster, with the intention of driving a blade into his body. However, Caster did not take risks.

"Book of Prelati!" he called instantly to his own Phantasm, after which a violet tentacle that hit the ground made Serenity step back.

"I know that you are poisonous," Caster grinned smugly. "In that case, the solution is quite simple. I won't fight you by myself."

A second later, the ground trembled beneath Serenity's feet, causing her to jump back several times, dodging tentacles that appeared as if from nowhere, covered with transparent mucus and half-open mouths with saliva dripping from them.

"Tell me in this case, bitch," Caster looked at the tentacle, where one of Serenity's poisoned blades pierced into its body, at its convulsive trembling and how, just after a few seconds after the blow, it fell to the ground dead, "Why is your Master - and its allies - aren't there on the battlefield right now?"

Serenity only looked at Caster like an idiot, thinking for a second about whether there would have been at least someone from the Servants who would so easily reveal a secret to the enemy - after which she came to the disappointing conclusion that there are still a lot of such people - and rushed into the battle.

Siegfried was preparing to fight the dragon. Rider was also preparing to fight the dragon.

However, both of them were waiting for a strange disappointment at the moment when they met with the Servants - but could not see their main opponent anywhere.

Or is it? ..

The two Servants rushed forward - but the one whom Chevalier named as Sanson blocked the way. For a second both swordsmen froze.

The assassin looked before him... Strange.

His body was not wounded and even his clothes were fully restored - but to say that he was healthy was impossible. Instead, Assassin continued to stand in his place, looking at the floor - sometimes a small cramp ran through his body and his head twitches to the side, as if from time to time he had seizures.

"So you are our opponent?" - Siegfried said it out loud, but Assassin did not react to the hero's words, only jerking his head again.

"I feel the evil of the dragon from him," Rider leaned toward Siegfried, and then quietly said this in his ear, but that was what caused Assassin to jerk his head sharply, raising his face to the two dragon-killers.

"Siegfried, my good friend," he smiled. "How long have we not seen..."

"If my memory serves me right, then we never saw each other," Siegfried looked at Assassin. He, hearing the words of Saber, froze.

"Of course..." he said and smiled. Sanson's smile gradually grew in breadth, turning into a beastly grin - after which Assassin raised an open palm to his face, - "That's right... That's right - we never met... Ha ha ha…"

Sanson's quiet chuckle reached the ears of the two Servants despite the battle unfolding around them.

"Ha ha ha..." Sanson grinned again, and then laughed out loud.

Siegfried pushed his blade forward - but suddenly noticed a strange thing. Gradually, the Assassin lowered his palm, running across his face - however, Saber could see that in those places where his palm runs across his face, there are bloody marks. Siegfried instantly determined that the guy's hand was clenched like claws piercing Sanson's flesh.

"It's self-torture," Rider leaned toward Siegfried. "He's ripping off his skin."

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" - Sanson continued to laugh, slowly running his hand over his face, after which, at the last moment, reaching the end of his face and tearing off another piece of skin, he suddenly stopped, looking at his opponents. Blood continued to drip from the many wounds on the guy's face - but he only smiled - "Tell me why I... Why he... Why do we both suffer? What for?"

"I will free you from your suffering," Siegfried put his blade forward, pointing to Assassin, "Surrender now."

"Surrender?" - Assassin staggered back from the word, as if from a whip, after which he laughed again, - "Oh no, my dear friend, not at all! I will not give up - I have no right and way to do it! I will fight - fight with all our strength!"

"Our?" - Siegfried prepared his blade for the strike, to which Rider answered the same. However, Charles only laughed at these actions, - "Stupidity, Siegfried, stupidity! That is your main mistake, my dear friend! Really - stupidity…"

In the hands of Assassin, still covered with his own blood, his blade appeared instantly - a huge and awkward, like a guillotine.

"And now - fight, dragon-killers!" - Sanson grinned madly, - "Free us from this torment!"

"So we meet again?" - The Phantom of the Opera said this calmly, observing how Mozart is slowly approaching him, - "Great, great! After all, it is in this battle that your death will become another step on the path of my Christina!"

"I would argue about this," Mozart said it calmly, after which he pointed to the man, "And now, I'm sorry, but I have some responsibilities in this battle. Requiem for Death!"

Impossible music, not created by God's Child, seemed to feel the moment of possible invasion of reality - however, it was not so simple.

"Christine, Christine!" - the power of the Phantom of the Opera took shape in the same second - after which the world froze when two destructive songs collided for a second. This confrontation lasted only a second - after which Mozart's music, ready to tear reality, receded. The destructive song of the Phantom of the Opera died down in that second too.

"I didn't know that you could do that," said Mozart at the same second, but the Phantom of the Opera only smiled.

"Your Phantasm embodies music that cannot be written," Phantom explained benevolently to Caster, "My music embodies all the songs that could have been - but did not happen. We are equal in this."

"Maybe," Mozart smiled, "But this does not mean that your singing has become better."

"Oh," the Phantom smiled, but his smile came out contemptuous and a little bit angry. Assassin's hands began to turn into two huge, blade-clawed paws, - "I will stuff those words into your throat."

"And even that won't make your singing better," Mozart smiled, after which he sent a spell.

"Damn it, I again remained to carry out side tasks!" - Cu Chulainn uttered angrily, sending spell after spell into a huge cloud of wyverns moving right into the thick of the battle.

"Could you stop whining?" - Kiyohime responded calmly, dodging the blow of the next wyvern, and then with a flick of her hand sent it on a short flight, - "I have enough of it from the stupid girl."

"You can't imagine what it is like! - Caster indignantly waved his staff, sending a fire arrow at the nearest wyvern, - "To be the greatest Celtic hero and to turn out to be unnecessary all the time! Even in this damn battle, I was forced to kill the wyverns - wasn't that why we took the army with us?"

"The army will be here in a few minutes," the girl answered calmly, after which she easily pulled her fan. The rising gust of wind caused the wyvern to recoil - after which, with a slight movement, Kiyohime separated the creature's head from its body, - "Just in time to move the Servants out of the way, otherwise the army would simply die as a side effect of the battle."

"All according to the plan, yeah, yeah," Cu Chulainn muttered to himself, after which he shook his head, not forgetting to burn another monster with a stream of fire, after which he looked at Serenity, "Although, even after Archer told me, I just can't believe in the fact that Ainz created such a plan so long ago... Damn, how did he even manage to predict the fact that Archer would fall under the control of the Phantom of the Opera and not tell him the plan so that the Phantom would not know about it and at the same time learn about its existence, to make enemies behave in such a way that the plan become possible... Damn it, it hurts my head to even think about the very fact of the existence of such a plan! This is complete bullshit!"

"Yes, I confess, only once I happened to meet an equally stunning man," Kiyohime hit the wyvern, and then suddenly froze. The monster, sensing the absence of blows, tried to rise, but Kiyohime, still in thought, pressed it to the ground with her foot and looked at Caster, "By the way... Where does Ainz come from?"

"If I knew," Cu Chulainn sent a spell forward, "He never told it. Judging by his habits, he may be Japanese - or maybe just a traveler who spent a lot of time there."

"Traveler?" - Kiyohime thought about it, slightly shifting her weight to the other leg, making the wyvern plaintively howl, - "Hmm..".

"Hey, don't get distracted!" - Cu Chulainn sent a spell, after which he glanced at Berserker, - "Even if we do not like this work there is no reason not to do it."

"Yes, yes, of course," Kiyohime raised her leg, and then lowered it, breaking the spine of the wyvern, "I just thought..."

"About what?" - Cu Chulainn asked a question, sending a flurry of fire in three wyverns at once, forcing them to separate.

"Nothing special," Kiyohime took a few steps, appearing next to the head of the wyvern, the spine of which she broke a second ago, and then put her foot on its head, "Just... I think I should talk later with Ainz... Closer."

"All the girls want to talk to him," Caster sighed.

"Oh," Kiyohime smiled, from which Caster suddenly felt a chill run down his back, "I think that the other girls will not become... An obstacle... On my way."

Eye of the Mind (True) - a skill that indicates the ability of the user to look at the current situation from all points of view, evaluating all possible risks and opportunities for the development and outcome of a situation, the conditions that led to it and the features surrounding it. This skill is responsible for the ability of the Servant to determine not only the weaknesses or strengths of opponents, but also to create plans or correctly assessing the situation in which they are, as well as the ability to avoid the effect of illusions or understand the principle of an ability or its mechanism.

There are two versions of this skill, True and False. The false version is a granted power - either from a special birth or from divine intervention, or, perhaps, from the effect of an artifact - while the Eye of the Mind (True) is an ability achieved by the person himself, from the vast experience of the Servant or from a long study of the subject.

In other words, Eye of the Mind (True) is a manifestation of incredible experience and insight from the mind associated with their experience. This skill only works in areas in which it was originally acquired - most often in combat.