34

At the moment when Caster stopped moving, affected by Chevalier's Phantasm on his mind, Serenity only hesitated for a second, after which, immediately taking advantage of the distraction, she rushed away.

Caster, powerlessly frozen, as if struck in awe by the first time he saw the sunrise, only managed to think this last thought.

"Damn you, Chevalier," he sighed, feeling his mind sink into the captivity of Saber. " I had every reason not to trust you..."

After that, Caster's gaze was lost in the beauty revealed to his mind. It seemed to him as if he had once again found himself there, far, so far...

It was as if he again was slowly leading his horse through fields of wheat, and in front of him was his Jeanne. Smiling, she casually held her banner with her left hand, brushing the bangs from her forehead with her right, trying to stay on the horse moving forward. And Gilles himself smiled at her, looking at how the girl was trying to act as an adult and to be strong, to appear in the eyes of the soldiers following her, as a symbol of the victory of France. It was as if he again was now moving to the camp, where he would have to slurp a pot of disgusting camp soup, and then, hiding it from Jeanne, pull out a bottle of wine from the cart, which he hid just in case. It was as if he was waiting for a long planning of the attack again, and then a sound sleep until the next day, after which he would rise again in the morning. He will smile at Jeanne, who woke up early again, after which he will invite her to a nearby field, where he will train her to fight with swords. Of course, in the end he will win, but not strike the last blow - Jeanne herself admits defeat - after which Gilles will begin to teach her the correct stance, and then - the right hit.

As if he was reliving the distant days of his life ...

Chevalier's Phantasm stopped unexpectedly - as if at some moment Gilles suddenly realized that distant memories were only memories - and now he was here. He fought under Orleans, again. Again with Jeanne, but now...

Caster's shoulder suddenly echoed in pain, forcing him to grab hold of it- and discover the blade. The small dagger used by that Assassin. While running away, she nevertheless took the time to throw poisoned weapons at him. And that meant only one thing.

Gilles de Ré, the Caster of the Dragon Witch, was dying.

No, he would not die now - even if Assassin was dangerous, like her poison - it would take a long time before he died. However, he will inevitably die.

Caster looked at the monsters he had called. During the battle with the girl, many of them died - many parts of the bodies, cut up tentacles and dead carcasses of monsters lay around him, sometimes languidly twitching in their death throes. However, none of the monsters that were injured will survive. Not even a couple of minutes.

Caster was a Servant - he was much more powerful than his summoned monsters, and the dose of poison that he received with the attack was minimal. But still he will die soon. That was a fact.

But not so soon.

Caster smiled.

But not as soon as his enemies would hope.

At that moment, the earth shook beneath him, after which the monsters called by the mage, the thoughtless monsters, suddenly began to look around, and those who only thoughtlessly pulled the tentacles began to twitch their whole bodies, as if trying to escape from Caster's magic.

Slowly new tentacles began to rise from the earth, however, instead of the expected dozens, hundreds pushed up, almost merging with each other into a single forest of hungry hands rising to the sky. The monsters, previously under Caster's control, were taken up by tentacles, which dragged them inside an ever-growing lump.

He used his Phantasm earlier - but the full strength of such an ability took time to activate.

The tentacles began to wrap around Caster, as if merging with his body, until the whole body was buried under a huge multitude of black and purple hands.

The mass took shape gradually, turning from a ball of tentacles into a single form of a giant monster. A huge monster, as if born from a nightmare, consisting of tentacles flowing into each other and flickering between them multitudes of always hungry mouths.

Then, at the moment when the monster was fully formed, Gilles, who became the likeness of its heart, grinned, slowly turning to the Servants who continued to fight, watching the army burst into the open gate, slowly clearing the way to the castle.

He will die, of course. It should be so. For his sins and for his deeds, he will go to Hell.

But before that, he will fight for Jeanne. Just like then.

The monstrous roar made all the combatants pause for a second.

Almost all, to be precise.

Kiyohime continued to look at the body of Lancer, who died in her arms.

Berserker's head was empty.

Why was Kiyohime called into this world?

This question was asked of her by Ainz at their first meeting and Kiyohime dismissed him.

But once she had heard this question before.

From herself.

It was strange - for faraway France in distant times, the legend of Kiyohime had no meaning - it had no fame. In fact, her summoning should not have taken place. Neither her appeal, nor her appearance in this world, created around one impossible event in a distant country on the other half of the earth, should not have been.

And yet she appeared in this world.

Why? It was difficult to answer this question. Perhaps the Holy Grail was to blame, or perhaps the will of the world. Perhaps someone intervened in the measured course of events and made Kiyohime appear where she never existed - it was too difficult to answer.

But Kiyohime was not supposed to appear in this distant time, in this distant place, in this distant world. But still she appeared.

And unlike many other Servants who arose in this world that fought for the Witch, or against her, she did not appear in the center of events, wanting to protect people or allow the Witch to rule these lands. She was called up in a distant village, on the very outskirts of France, alone, not understanding anything, empty and wandering senselessly through this wrong world.

She did not need rest or food, did not have a Master and should not have fought. She was not needed here.

So she just walked. She traveled the strange world days and nights, looking at the living peasants, fighting soldiers, dying monsters. Without any meaning or hope. Just walked, looking at it all.

Until one day she met a stupid girl. Loud and catchy, terribly noisy and annoying, with two horns and a tail peeking out from under her skirt, she demanded that she be allowed into the most luxurious inn room without charge, after which she was served hot water, a hearty dinner and a clean bed.

Back then Kiyohime didn't like her at all - and this was the first time that Berserker used her fan as a weapon, hitting it on the girl's head, silencing her from surprise at first - and then causing her to scream at Berserker, trying to defend her insulted dignity.

Kiyohime answered her the same way - and they first got into a fight. Without her Phantasms, Kiyohime had low chances - however, she was able to, by sheer chance, knock out the girl during that fight. Then, when she was convinced that Lancer was still alive, Berserker passed on.

A few hours later she saw a red spot blazing with hatred, approaching her. Then they fought a second time.

This time, Lancer won. Kiyohime remained lying down, and Lancer stood with a grin over her, telling her that she was a dragon, so victory was natural for her.

After that, Kiyohime became furious and used her Phantasm, after which Lancer lost again.

After that, Kiyohime left the girl and moved away. And at night she saw the girl approaching again.

She told her that as two dragons they should stick together with each other. Kiyohime then first told her that she was just a fake dragon and set off. Lancer did not remain far behind.

So they passed the day - Lancer screamed, sang and in every way irritated the nerves of Kiyohime. Kiyohime first tried not to react to her, then sometimes she began to hit Lancer with her fan when she was especially unbearable. And in the end, she came to the conclusion that if Lancer gets on her nerves, then Kiyohime has every right to answer her the same. And endless insults from Berserker rained down.

Lancer was angry, screaming, getting on her nerves twice as much, threatened to beat Kiyohime again, but did not leave. And then kept walking next to Berserker.

So they walked, foot in foot, all this time. How long have they been going this way?

When she walked alone, she counted every second that she lived. Six days eight hours twenty seven minutes forty two seconds. The time until her meeting with Elizabeth Bathory.

How much later? Kiyohime did not count. They walked with her around this world, wandering unceasingly from city to city, for so long... Weeks? Months? Years?

They met recruiters from the Witch, fought with her monsters, encountered robbers, tried to travel the world...

And now, Elizabeth Bathory, annoying, stupid, brainless, with zero hearing and voice...

Died.

Just died.

Kiyohime could not understand this.

"Stupid girl," Carmilla said this, shaking off her stupor, after which she glanced at Bathory's body, and then at Kiyohime.

"Yes," Kiyohime said this, looking at Elizabeth.

So long together, so many nerves wrecked by each other, so many quarrels and insults...

"Yes, she's a stupid girl," at this moment, as if just realizing what had happened, Kiyohime felt something wrestling her mind for control over her body. And she did not want to resist this, so instead she turned to Carmilla, looking at that one with almost pity,- "But you are a dumb bitch."

Carmilla was taken aback for a second, after which Kiyohime realized that she had lost control of her body.

"Tenshin Kashou Zanmai," she smiled a crazy smile, "Samadhi Through Transforming Flame!"

In the next second, a blow of incredible strength almost swept away all the buildings standing nearby, turning the street instantly into a cluttered wasteland.

Caster's monster froze at that moment, glancing at the sight that opened to him.

The fire, so hot that it burns with a blue flame, descended to the earth, taking shape. A huge, clawed paw emerged from the blue flame, immediately crushing the buildings next to it like a house of cards, after which the second, destroying everything that was left behind. Then the third and fourth - after which the huge wings cast a shadow over the entire city, forcing the Servants, who had already glanced at the appearance of Caster's monster, to freeze again, looking thoughtfully at the next giant monster that just appeared in the last minute.

After that, the long neck that made the dragon look like a snake stretched out of the fire, carrying the dragon's face, with two pairs of white horns on the sides of its head.

After that, Kiyohime lost her mind and did not respond to what her mind was saying. But even if she still retained control over her body, her actions would not have changed. Because her mind screamed only one thing.

'Burn them!' her mind screamed, 'Kill them all!'

And Kiyohime was happy to obey.

A stream of flame instantly struck, burning hundreds and thousands of monsters in its path. Carmilla tried to rush away - however, she instantly noticed that she was not even the target of the attack. The dragon's tail, long and flexible, like a snake, swept her from its place, throwing her away like unnecessary garbage, throwing the woman hundreds of meters away.

After that, the dragon turned his gaze to the giant monster, in the center of which Caster was still located - and Caster could swear for a second that the dragon smiled.

And rushed to the most noticeable goal.

Archer continued to strike blow after blow. The other Archer continued to defend herself as best as she could, but Chevalier was right - in close combat she was much less dangerous than in long-range combat. Of course, when they fought before,the female Archer, knowing her weakness, did not allow the enemy to approach her, keeping him at a distance - but after the Phantasm of Chevalier she lost the initiative to Archer, fighting almost completely defensively.

"How dare you call yourself an Archer if you fight with swords?" the female Archer knew about this fact, so she tried to compensate for her weakness even if just verbally, but her opponent was not so easily provoked.

"How can you fight for the Witch?" He retorted calmly, after which he sharply swung the blade, forcing the girl to hiss in pain and back off again, pulling the bowstring of her bow.

"I can understand why the Phantom of the Opera agreed to work with her," Archer said calmly, "I can understand Sanson or even those Servants who died long ago - Dracula and Lancelot."

After that, the girl shot, but at this distance it was not difficult to predict the attack path, so Archer easily dodged it and continued striking with his two blades at the same time.

"I can't understand Chevalier," Archer said calmly, "But that's a given, I suppose, I don't think he can be understood so simply."

"But without knowing anything about you, I can only judge you by your behavior," Archer struck once more, but this time his opponent was able to block the blow by substituting her huge bow for a sword, "And you do not look crazy, loyal or so absorbed in the prospects of ruling the ashes in place of this world. So tell me, why are you fighting for the Witch?"

"Is not enough reason that she is my Master?" The female Archer grinned viciously, and then backtracked again. Archer chased her like a hunter chasing prey.

Somewhere in the distance came the cry of the monster of Caster, to which Kiyohime, turned into a dragon, answered with a volley of fire, after which the angry roar gave way to a painful howl.

"It would be enough if you showed even a drop of loyalty," Archer continued to attack. He was not particularly interested in finding out the personality of his opponent, however, by conducting a dialogue there was a possibility that she would give out information about herself - besides, this distracted the enemy from the battle, so he continued the offensive.

"What do you want to hear from me ?!" the female Archer fired again. The arrow could have pierced Archer through - but fortunately, he stepped aside from the attack.

"Everyone has at least some justifications for their actions," Archer continued the attack, forcing the girl to jump again.

"Okay, so be it," The female Archer sighed. "And what do you want to hear from me ?! I fight because this is the only way possible!"

"Really?" Archer said this while at ease, delivering another blow. This time, the blade still reached her body, causing her to scream in pain, "The way to what?"

"To salvation," the female Archer answered, after which she tried to hit Archer with a shot — but he managed to get away from the attack.

"Another Saint?" Archer scoffed at that, "Too many of them being gathered..."

"No, I'm not a Saint," she jumped away, and then again and again, trying to gain distance, "But if I can save the children of this world, I'm ready to sacrifice everything that I have."

"Save the children by supporting the Witch?" Archer arched an eyebrow. "An unconventional method."

"You won't understand," the female Archer sighed, and then attacked again. "Take a look at this world. Is this the world that the children need? Is this the world in which they should live? If the world around is trash, then why should we make them suffer? Tell me, Archer, are you really so cruel?"

Archer sighed. He had nothing to answer to such an exclamation, but he slowly learned the facts about his opponent, so after delivering another blow, he was forced to continue, - "And what do you suggest? Burn those children who already live in this world so that they do not suffer? Don't you think this is somewhat... A cruel act?"

"Sacrifice one to save a hundred," the girl answered with a shot. "Isn't this the right action for a hero? If this world is destroyed, then children will not have to be born in this damned place full of pain and suffering."

Archer - actually, both Archers believed that the Hero's vocation was to sacrifice one to save hundreds. However, such a thought - to destroy the world so that evil had nowhere to happen - was for Archer - a man like Archer - somewhat... Counterproductive.

Archer sighed, and then attacked again - but his opponent did not jump away this time. For a second, he wondered why, after which the enormous mass of Caster's monster that swept behind the girl made him understand why.

"They are having their fun" - Archer noticed this when he saw a monster collapse nearby, after which a huge dragon stuck his teeth into it. Of course, Caster was strong - his monster was very strong - but against a real dragon, against Kiyohime, he was nothing.

"You have a very bad understanding of what Buddhism is," answered Archer, after which he dodged the girl's shot. This time, however, he nevertheless managed to get to her - having failed to retreat, the female Archer suffered under the blow of Archer, so that he was finally able to slash her hand. The girl screeched and jumped back.

"Enough talk, Archer!" - in the end, she came to the conclusion that she couldn't win in any other way, "Let's get this over with!"

Archer nodded, then rushed forward. The girl was an Archer, so it would be most logical to assume that her Phantasm was a long-range attack, she would not shoot at herself.

The girl, however, did not interfere with his attack, grinning instead, and then put her hand on her bow.

"Phoebus Catastrophe!" - the next second, two arrows in the girl's hands lit up, after which, instead of firing at the approaching Archer, she suddenly lifted her bow to the sky, firing both arrows into the sky, causing them to disappear with two solar flashes.

"Ah, so that was the reason for this talk about children," Archer sighed. "Atalanta."

The girl did not react to this, immediately stepping back, fleeing from Archer's blow - but he was in no hurry to pursue her.

"Well, if we have already reached the point of using Phantasms," Archer sighed, "I am the bone of my sword..."

A second later, the Reality Marble of Archer was imposed in reality, turning all reality surrounding him into his own world. Unlimited Blade Works.

Instantly, it was as if the whole city was covered with a shroud, as if in a second it had turned into the fields of forgotten wars and thousands upon thousands of battles, lost and won - but nobody cared about their results. Just a lot of battles - distant and meaningless.

The power that Archer possess gave him the ability to reproduce any blade that he had ever seen and knew. However, instead of the blade itself - it was only a copy of it, albeit only a little but still inferior to the original. And at the same time, Archer's strength and Phantasms was not embodied by a single blade or even a multitude of blades. It was his forge for blades.

A Servant's Phantasms were only capable of being used when used with a certain level of infused Mana. Too little - and the Phantasm will not activate. Too much - and the Phantasm will break. Almost all Servants have the ability to use their Phantasm with a strength even greater than what was originally intended - however, all that would accomplisht only one thing. That their Noble Phantasm will be destroyed.

Therefore, Servants are only incredibly rarely, almost never resorted to this ability. But not Archer.

Archer could reproduce thousands of copies of blades that were slightly inferior to the original. However, he could use them as never before by their original owners. Unlike the heroes, Archer could afford to squeeze the maximum out of the heroes' weapons, allowing it to collapse from overload. Because the strength of Archer was not in his weapon, but in the forge, that could produce weapons. What difference does it make if you lose your weapon if you can regain a new one, exactly the same, after only a second?

However, Atalanta's Phantasm was not only two arrows shot into the sky, so when the forge of Archer's swords took its place in this world, a distant midday sky suddenly flashed.

It was like a storm in the middle of a clear sky - after which it was as if a clap of thunder resounded in the ears of all the Servants and soldiers below. The sky, illuminated by a bright flash, instantly turned into the color of the sun, then flared up, striking a thousand lightning strikes down. Although, they were not lightning at all.

Thousands of arrows, shining white like God's wrath, struck down from the sky.

This was not one of those Phantasms whose power is easy to control - it was an attack aimed at the whole area. It was easy for them to hit the target - but only because the target could hardly dodge the thousands of arrows that hit the ground at the same time,arrows blessed with the strength of Apollo and Artemis. Therefore, Atalanta could control the target of this attack, hoping to catch Archer - in this Atalanta was successful. However, this did not mean that she planned to do this initially.

Not far away, Caster's monster just made a mournful howl when Kiyohime, turned into a dragon, pressed it into the ground, and then raised her eyes to the sky, only to see God's inevitable anger hit the ground.

The Rain of thousands of arrows found its target - after which hundreds upon hundreds of blows dug into the body of the dragon, causing Kiyohime to roar in pain. However, this was not enough to stop the attack.

The arrows struck with cruelty, tearing apart the flesh of the dragon, piercing the skin, damaging the scales and breaking its wings, causing Kiyohime to howl from pain. However, the rain continued and continued, with all the menace in the world striking blow after blow.

Archer did not see this, seizing the opportunity he had, and then instantly hit Atalanta. This time there was a blade in his hands - the legendary Gram sword that was recreated by his forge - and from just one blow the girl was thrown away, like a weightless fluff.

This time, the girl was thrown tens of meters - punching through walls and roofs, she fell to the ground, and then rolled over several more times, stopping at the very end. After a second, she got up again - this time looking at Archer not with hatred, contempt or misunderstanding - but with some respect.

"Perhaps you are strong," she finally admitted, "However, you will never be worthy to be called Archer while fighting with blades."

"In that case, let me fix it," the blade in Archer's hands disappeared, after which a bow and arrow appeared in his hands. However, although his forge could create copies of other kinds of weapons - it was not a bow from legends at all, like the other blades he created - it was a regular bow, albeit excellently made. The next second, Archer shot an arrow - however, Atalanta easily dodged the attack, as if the shot was not intended for her at all, after which she looked at Archer with a sneer - "You are a failure of an Archer."

"Perhaps," Archer allowed himself a grin this time.

The arrow crashed into a stone pavement, causing Cu Chulainn, who was finally distracted from the extermination of the wyverns due to the coming of the army, to stand still.

"What the fuck is this?" Caster extended his hand to the arrow, and then with a slight pressure palmed it.

An arrow. An ordinary arrow - Cu Chulainn was not sure what kind of arrow it was, but it was the most ordinary of arrows.

"And where did it come from?" Caster twisted his head around. As far as he knew, there were no archers among the dead in the service of the Witch, and no one in the French army wanted to kill him with an unexpected attack. Of course, there could be Servants - however, the only Archer among the Servants of the Witch - as well as among the Servants of Ainz - would hardly have missed when trying to attack from afar - and both of them were busy with their battle. At least the storm that arose from the sky, which overwhelmed Kiyohime, was a confirmation of this, as did the swords archery of Archer.

"And what is it then?" - Caster looked at the arrow carefully, after which he tried to look for the two fighting Archers. Fortunately, they were not far away - Cu Chulainn managed to see both Atalanta dodging the attacks and Archer chasing her - "Wait a minute, in Archer's hands - is that a bow?!"

Cu Chulainn, of course, joked that he was not an Archer in the literal sense of the word, if he continued to fight with swords - however, this did not mean that Archer had to use a bow if it was a weaker option. Yes, and Archer himself would not have chosen this option for no reason. So why?

The cry of the wyvern distracted Cu Chulainn - however, turning to his opponent, he saw how Medusa pushed herself off the roof with an elegant jump and ended up in the sky - after which she kicked the wyvern into the pavement.

"I'll take it from there," answered the girl to Caster, and then turned around. Cu Chulainn nodded in appreciation, after which he returned to observing Archer.

After a second, a detail caught his eye - another of Archer's arrow fell off the bow, but this time it plunged into the pavement not so far away, where now the wounded Kiyohime, who had already turned back into her human form, continued to lie, and where Bathory died. For a second, Cu Chulainn thought for a moment, after which he realized something and looked at Archer.

'Damn you, Archer!' Cried Cu Chulainn mentally, 'And if I hadn't noticed it?!'

Archer in the distance only smirked.

The battle with Sanson was not progressing at all in the way the two dragon-killers might have hoped. The Assassin was not particularly weak on his own - however, having turned into a chimera fused with Fafnir, he became only stronger. However, the battle with a stronger opponent was not new to the dragon-killers - the problem was from a different source.

"No attack affects him!" Siegfried exclaimed, fending off another blow from Sanson's monstrous cleaver. Rider only nodded, attacking from the other side - however, Assassin burst out laughing and grabbed Rider's blade, injuring his hand, after which he jerked sharply to the side, easily throwing Rider himself.

Sanson was injured - however, this was nothing compared to the injuries of Siegfried and Rider. Both of them were wounded - not even looking at Siegfried's armor, not looking at Rider's defense - it seemed as though they had been passed through a meat grinder. Their armor was twisted and crumpled in many places, blood continued to gush through numerous holes, while the Assassin only continued to brandish his weapons in all directions, completely unoccupied with wounds.

"Are you really so weak?" Sanson laughed, striking another blow with his monstrous blade, "Come on! I was hoping you would set us free - but no, Siegfried, you are weaker than I remembered you!"

Siegfried avoided another blow, after which he tried to attack, but Sanson only got away from the blow, "Isn't it difficult to fight when your opponent is not so huge and slow, huh?!"

"You don't say," Siegfried sighed intermittently, catching his breath, which caused Rider to attack.

The merger of the Servant and the dragon was disgusting - but effective. Having gained the power of a dragon, Sanson could fight with both Servants on equal terms with only brute force and speed, and at the same time, since he was protected from the weakness of being a dragon - most of the tactics and abilities of both dragon-killers were now useless.

Even when Chevalier's Phantasm made him freeze - the Servants hardly managed to do more than inflict a couple of wounds. Even the attempt to cut off Sanson's head ended only in a long, narrow, bleeding - but not at all dangerous wound on his neck.

"How weak you are!" Sanson swung for another blow. "And we lost to you in the past, Siegfried?" How weak we were then!

The next blow fell on Saber, almost drove him knee-deep into the ground, after which Rider had to attack again, distracting Assassin, who gained strength beyond even a Berserker.

"It is impossible to fight him in this form," was Rider's only conclusion at the time when his next blow was fended off, "Even if he were a dragon, the battle would have been much easier."

"Well, let's show us why you are called murderers of our kind!" Fafnir grinned in Sanson's body. "Why can't you even fight us?!"

"Siegfried, distract him!" Rider stepped back, not allowing Sanson to follow him.

"Distract us?" Sanson burst out laughing, even for a second interrupting his attack. "Why distract us?! We are happy to fight Siegfried ourselves!"

After this, Siegfried, who had just freed himself from the captivity of the earth into which Assassin drove him into with a blow, instantly parried the next blow, allowing Rider to retreat to a distance.

Heck, he did not plan to use his Phantasm in this way!

"Abyssus Draconis!" He finally said, pointing to the enemy, "In my name, in the name of Saint George, I announce that your nature will now become visible to our gaze and your evil will be revealed to this world! Amen!"

For a second, Sanson froze, ceasing to attack Siegfried, allowing him to take a breath.

"Saint George!" Sanson turned to Rider, "There it is! That's whose smell aroused hatred in me! Of course, the famous dragon slayer himself! Siegfried, you know how to pick allies for yourself!"

Siegfried tried to attack, but Sanson, completely unconcerned, only put his hand against the attack. Siegfried's blade instantly crashed into his hand, almost cutting into bone, but the extent of his attack ended there.

"Well, it looks like I now have no choice!" Sanson suddenly jerked his hand, almost tearing the blade out of Siegfried's hands, "Fine, fine! Let's drop the masks!"

After this, Siegfried stepped back, making Sanson twitch again.

"Fine! Excellent!" - as if Assassin's body continued in getting cramps, forcing him in unimaginable poses, changing his voice, turning it from a mad human to an animal roar, "Come on! Set us free!"

In the next second, clothes tear, after which part of his cloak swelled, after which a huge hand - no, a dragon's clawed paw - hit nearby, demolishing the buildings with ease.

Somewhere in the distance, rain of arrows fell on Kiyohime, burying her underneath it, after which Caster's huge monster began to turn into black slurry, freeing the body hidden inside - however, the two dragon-killers did not care.

"Excellent!" Sanson's words were almost impossible to make out at that moment, when the second hand was transformed into a clawed paw and the face of the person began to turn into the face of a monster, "Great!"

After that, as if someone had pulled the last switch - and in an instant, Assassin's body exploded in seething flesh, taking the form of a dragon.

Rider got to Siegfried at the moment when the dragon nevertheless issued its roar, at the moment taking on its true appearance.

"Now he took the form of a dragon," George calmly remarked, forcing Siegfried to look at the dragon from the bottom up. "Has it become better?"

"Not really," Saber said. "Now I can't even see his head."

"What are we going to do?" George asked calmly.

"The same as before," Siegfried answered no less calmly, " Try to kill him."

The next cry of the dragon stunned both Servants, after which both of them noticed how a huge cross on the dragon's chest shone at the moment when it began to draw in air.

"When he was a Servant, he would at least not spit fire," said George, after which both rushed away.

At such a distance, dragon's breath would fry both of them, so they should have avoided the attack. However, at the same time, if they had not taken the flame upon themselves, the fire would have hit the other fighting Servants.

Therefore, it was a stroke of luck when, at the moment before the dragon exhaled, a small shadow darted towards them.

"Lord!" The girl managed to shout, putting up her shield, after which the second part of her sentence was drowned in the roar of a dragon, breathing out its flame. Fortunately, the magic of Mashu's shield managed to block the flow of flame, becoming an invincible wall that arose on the enemy's path.

"Mashu!" Siegfried remarked to the girl, at the moment when the stream of flame of the dragon died out and a new roar of the monster shook the earth.

"I'm here!" The girl rushed to the Servants. "What should we do with him now?!"

Siegfried raised his eyes to the huge monster, which was already preparing for a new attack, after which he looked at George. He, catching Siegfried's eyes, only nodded.

Siegfried exhaled and looked at the girl. "I have a plan."

Archer continued to attack. Atalanta continued to avoid it. Unfortunately for her, Archer was winning this confrontation.

This time, he was no longer holding Gram in his hands, but Caliburn, that at the moment with every blow that didn't hit the opponent's body, was destroying the walls of the houses that get under his blade and destroying the environment, crushing stone with the ease of a hot knife through butter.

"Damn you, Archer!" Atalanta exhaled, then stepped back. Archer did not respond to that, only continuing to advance.

In fact, Archer's opponent was driven into a corner - she could only retreat without the ability to even try to attack, expecting how her life could end with the next blow. Yes, Atalanta was stronger than Archer in terms of parameters - but Archer outpassed her many times in terms of skill, because of which, even her seemingly complete superiority could not even force Archer to slow his advance.

Atalanta was legendary - she was one of the Argonauts, a great archer of Ancient Greece, a pupil of Artemis and Apollo herself, saved from death in childhood. She vowed to serve them and she dedicated her victories to them...

"Fuck you, Archer!" Atalanta dodged another blow, barely having time to remove her head from the blade, "Why the hell are you even fighting with swords?! Do you even understand what the essence of the Archer class is?!"

"What difference does it make if it works?" Archer answered almost melancholically, almost shrugging his shoulders, and continued to attack.

'Damn, damn, damn!' - Atalanta was thinking about how she could get out of this situation. She had the opportunity, she had another chance, another Noble Phantasm - but the damn Archer did not even give her a chance to use it, forcing the girl to run away, as if like a scared beast, fleeing from the hunter.

'Damn him, I'm first in running!' The girl almost bit her lip in frustration. She left so many men like fools forcing them to lose on the run - was it really now that she had to lose?! Damn it, it wasn't even a race to determine the worthy of being her man - it was a battle! In the end they will kill her, damn it!

Fortunately for the girl, however, the roar that rang out at that moment distracted the fighters, forcing them to look for a second at the picture of a rising dragon that had appeared before them.

"Kiyohime?" Archer thought for a second, but before realizing that the new dragon had nothing to do with the girl, Atalanta managed to seize the opportunity.

'Damn you, Sanson, and damn the Witch for this magic - but it turned out to be useful!' - the girl instantly reached for the hide, all this time waiting for the right time, then, at the moment when Archer rushed to her, she used her second Noble Phantasm, - "Agrius Metamorphosis!"

The next second, Archer, who carried the blade for the attack, was nearly demolished by a blow of magical energy that spilled out at the moment. The black, cursed mana instantly permeated the air, turning it into a viscous black whirlwind, as if created from pure evil - after which, after a second, Archer received a blow of such strength that pain and awareness of receiving damage came to him only when he flew a dozen meters through the air.

Fortunately, Archer was able to catch himself, after which he sighed and reached for his ribs. Six is broken, a lung is pierced - but in the general picture it is not so scary.

A second later, a creature appeared in a huge hole in the building that was made by Archer's body.

Of course, the features of Atalanta could still be seen - however, now she looked like a werewolf. Her gaze was insane and even her pupils was changed, turning into beast like ones - a slow-swaying film of black energy covered the girl's body, looking at which Archer could instantly understand that it meant nothing good.

"The skin of the Calydonian Boar," Archer instantly recognized the Phantasm, after which he glanced at Atalanta, "The great archer, whose most famous achievement was not even made by her..."

Atalanta attacked - however, this was not because Archer's words agitated her. At the moment, her mind was clouded, so she hardly even heard his speech - and it is unlikely that she could understand it. She rushed at him precisely because her mind was clouded - the situation had finally changed. Now she was a hunter - and Archer was a prey.

"An archer who does not use a bow is not worthy of being an Archer," Archer prepared to strike, quoting the words of Atalanta, "What a hypocrisy."

After a second, the blow crashed into him, it almost sent Archer on the next flight, forcing him to be driven back a little on the ground from the forceful blow, after which the next knocked the ground out from under his feet - and the third one crushed him into the pavement so that he barely managed to use the blade for protection.

'Good,' Archer sighed and sneaked a glance at the square where a second arrow was stuck into the ground, 'It will be harder than I thought... I hope Cu Chulainn will not let me down.'

Kiyohime slowly opened her eyes, looking at the situation in which she was now. To her right lay the remains of a monster that she had destroyed while she was in transformation, slowly spreading out in a pool of black slime. Caster was not among the remains.

"He escaped after all..." - the girl remarked to herself, after which her body responded with pain. Of course, the wounds received while in the form of a dragon did not disappear - and even if they became less dangerous after the transformation - the amount was such that Kiyohime understood that her regeneration could not cope with it in any case.

Somewhere in the distance, a dragon's roar rang out - and the girl looked at the bulk of the monster.

"Sorry, we won't be able to fight as two dragons," the girl sighed, and then turned her gaze to the left.

Bathory's body lay to her left. Her body had already begun to crumble with sparks, so the girl knew that Lancer was dead. And Berserker herself did not plan to linger on this world for long.

"At least I won't have to walk this world alone again" - the girl sighed and a slight smile touched her lips, after which she closed her eyes.

She did not know how much time she continued to lie so, feeling the strength leaving her before she was attracted by a sound.

"So this is what your saving of children looks like?" "Archer, the one whom she initially considered Anchin, was standing nearby. His condition was terrible - his right hand hung lifelessly, continuing to bleed, and there was no unharmed space on his body - multiple wounds and injuries covered him from head to toe. The left hand continued to hold a blade, which at the moment is pointed to his opponent. Kiyohime understood that she did not have long in this world, but nevertheless she shifted her gaze to his opponent.

There was almost nothing human in Atalanta - a film of black energy covered her body, not even allowing her features to be seen, and the small cat ears, which had added cutesy to her mind previously, now looked like animal atavism, which made the girl look like a werewolf. Even her gaze was full of bestial cruelty - however, for a second, when the gaze of Kiyohime and Atalanta touched - she suddenly saw it all for a moment - that her mind returned to her eyes.

"That's the price of salvation," the girl said it firmly, making Kiyohime smile. What a pity that she could not save anyone...

After that, Berserker, Kiyohime, closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

However, Archer continued to fight. Looking into Atalanta's eyes, he slowly turned his blade. "So what? Destroy the world to prevent anyone from suffering? I did not know that the ability of creating brilliant plans were included in the legend of the Argonauts."

"Let one suffer in order to prevent the suffering of hundreds," Atalanta slowly turned her gaze from Kiyohime to Archer, "Tell me, is this wrong? One or many, that's the whole question."

"Throughout my life I fight, killing one to save hundreds," Archer said as he exhaled, "But your approach... It's an insult to everything I fight for."

"I don't need your approval, Archer," Atalanta prepared for a new blow, "I only need victory."

After that, Atalanta moved - but she did not succeed. A moment later, the girl looked at the ground beneath her to see the runes around her.

"When will you learn," Archer said calmly, "Don't let your opponent talk in the middle of the battle. It seems to me that no one even respects this rule."

Atalanta looked at Archer in a panic. Runes?! But how?! Archer should not have such abilities. Other than…

The girl glanced to the side, only in order to see not far from Archer the mage responsible, that at the moment is lazily leaning on his staff, looking at the trap created by his hands.

"Do not allow any new suffering, Archer," said Atalanta at the last second.

"I'm sorry, but this story is not about me," Archer sighed, after which he lifted his blade and slowly put it on the bowstring of the created bow, aiming at the shot at a distance from which he could not miss.

After a second, Archer, Atalanta, was consumed by an explosion, which in one instant wiped her off the face of the earth.

Cu Chulainn approached after a couple of seconds, when the mana from Archer's shot dissipated in order to see how slowly Archer settles to the ground.

"I was well-battered," he said with a smile, after which he finally fell to the ground.

"Hey hey, Archer, let's not die here yet, huh!" Caster shouted at the archer.

"Ah, Cu Chulainn," the Servant saw, after which he looked at him, and that at the dragon, which made another roar in the distance, "Better deal with this one."

"They will be able to do it without me," Cu Chulainn grumbled, "I'd rather patch you up. Medusa showed me how it's done."

"Then take care of the little girl over there," Archer nodded to the side, where the weak but still living signature of Kiyohime could still be felt.

"Well, you are a bastard, Archer," Cu Chulainn sighed, moving closer to the guy. "That's how he added work for me. And by the way…"

At this moment, despite the fact that Archer was injured, Cu Chulainn, who was not restraining himself, punched him in the face.

"Did you fucking go mad to put such puzzles for me?" Caster looked at Archer with anger, "And if I hadn't understood what you meant?!"

"Caster, you're not as stupid as you try to seem," Archer grinned, and then fell to the ground.

"It seems now that I understand how you reacted to my compliment," Cu Chulainn sighed, but Archer could no longer hear him.

Archer, name unknown, fell into a deep sleep.

"Is it clear?" Siegfried glanced at his two allies, after which Mashu and George nodded in response, and then looked at George separately, "Then get started."

The plan was extremely simple - Mashu and George had to serve as bait, distracting the dragon - George had to attack and Mashu withstand a dragon's strikes, after which Siegfried would finish the job. This is a plan Mashu could approve of.

So a moment later, Mashu rushed to the side with George, leaving Siegfried behind. Five steps, ten, fifteen...

'Now George is supposed to attack' - the girl looked at the man next to her and prepared to take the dragon's strike.

Twenty, twenty five...

'Why isn't he attacking?!' Mashu looked at Rider, which seemed to be not paying attention to the dragon at all. The dragon, without even looking at the two running Servants, began to turn to Siegfried.

Thirty, thirty five...

Mashu stopped, "Rider, what the hell ?! We must help Siegfried."

"It's pointless," George said calmly, after which he picked up the girl and rushed away.

"What?!" Mashu was definitely quite surprised by this turn of events, "What are you doing?! Put me down! We must help Siegfried!"

"Siegfried cannot be helped," George answered calmly, "This is a dragon, a living embodiment of power, and not some boss from a computer game. He cannot be distracted by such a primitive trick, so our attacks are pointless - he would still continue to attack Siegfried."

"Damn it, Rider, let me go!" Mashu tried to break out of his grip, but she didn't succeed, "We have to help Siegfried!"

"No," George answered calmly, as if not at all concerned about what had happened, "Siegfried himself decided to stay and sacrifice himself."

"He didn't say that!" The girl jerked again in Rider's hands, forcing him to hold her tight.

"Of course, because in that case you would have decided to stay," George answered calmly.

"You tricked me into simply removing me from the battlefield!" Mashu would gladly point a finger at Rider, but she couldn't do it. "You're Saint George, defender of the weak!"

"And I protect the weak," George answered calmly, "Not the warriors who accepted their duty."

A second later, Mashu felt that the run had stopped and she was let out of his hands, but Rider just turned to Cu Chulainn, next to whom they turned out that he was slowly healing Archer and Berserker - "Cu Chulainn. Hold her."

"Don't," Mashu sighed. "I get it."

Rider, glancing at her, only shook his head, "I apologize for that."

"I understand," Mashu only shook her head and looked at Siegfried in the distance.

He, only smiling, looked at the dragon, who was very close.

"Well, Fafnir," he glanced at his opponent. "Let's finish this!"

The dragon, issuing its last roar, sucked in air, preparing to incinerate his enemy.

"Hah, I thought so," Saber smiled, then lifted his blade into the air. The cross on the dragon's chest flashed white light, after which the cross on the Siegfried's chest flashed with white light, "Balmung!"

After a second, as if a stream of whitish-blue flame is hitting the sky, cutting it into pieces - after which the incredible power of the dragon-slayer blade, freed from all seals, fell upon the dragon. The dragon, anticipating his death, released the last breath of his flame toward his killer.

A moment later, the Assassin, Charles Henri Sanson, Dragon, Fafnir, and Saber, Siegfried, were consumed by incredible strength in a flash - and were dispelled a second later.

Carmilla slowly felt her face. Despite the fact that she was now lying under the rubble, barely feeling her body - the first thing she was worried about was her face.

And her face was disfigured - the nose broken by Lancer's blow was still broken, her beautiful cheekbones were disfigured by wounds, her hair looked like a burnt rag, her lips were smashed, huge bruises were forming under her eyes - but this was the least of Carmilla's worries.

Her whole body was broken - her right arm was practically not felt, both her legs were broken and her spine was broken in two places.

They just didn't notice me.

Carmilla stopped at that thought.

They just didn't notice me.

Kiyohime did not even pay her any attention - she was simply swept and thrown away, like some kind of garbage.

Carmilla closed her eyes, trying to understand where she was.

The blow of the dragon threw her away like garbage, but this did not make it lose its strength. Carmilla flew many hundreds of meters from one blow, so breaking through the roof she found herself in the very center of Orleans, in the damned Witch's Palace.

Carmilla tried to take a deep breath, but her broken ribs dug into her lungs, causing her to cough.

Damn this girl, damn Bathory! Damn her friend, Kiyohime! Damn their Masters, the Witch, all of them!

The girl slowly tried to rise from the floor, but in an instant a blade dug into her shoulder, causing her to fall again with a hiss in pain.

"Who?" The girl glanced to the side only to see the poisonous girl there. She did not even pay attention to Carmilla, only rushing past her.

After all, now Carmilla was poisoned. Now she will die.

'No!' Carmilla wanted to yell from this.

'No, no, no!' - the girl grabbed her head. Not so easy! This is not the way her story should go! She can't die for nothing!

A thought pierced Carmilla's head. Of course, because if she is healed now, then she will not die! She can't die so easy! She will simply expel this poison from her blood!

But for this she needs blood.

Carmilla's gaze fixed on Serenity's back, which simply continued to run away, ignoring the already doomed Assassin.

Young.

Beautiful.

Girl.

The ideal goal.

"Phantom Maiden!" Carmilla used her Phantasm, after which an iron maiden, who appeared as if from nowhere, instantly extended her chains to Assassin. She tried to evade - but she was not given a chance to do so. A moment later, Carmilla's Phantasm pulled Serenity inside, then closed, piercing her with a multitude of iron spikes.

Carmilla burst out laughing instantly when she realized that she was able to survive again.

The steel spikes of the Carmilla's Phantasm didn't just pierce the body of their target - they plunged into the flesh and began to pump out the victim's blood, returning it to Carmilla, pouring new strength into her veins.

The girl slowly rose from the ground, feeling her wounds instantly heal. Yes, she could.

Serenity, absorbed by the Phantasm, was supposed to experience hellish suffering - it was an ideal target for Carmilla's Phantasm - so the girl is prepared to hear a scream of pain.

However, instead, only a quiet chuckle came from the iron maiden.

"What's so funny?!" Carmilla looked at her Phantasm. Her opponent was supposed to be in incredible pain now - Carmilla felt her blood pouring into her now.

"My body is poison," came the voice from the virgin - calm and even a little detached, "Perhaps you are the most inappropriate opponent for me."

"Girl," Carmilla sighed and smiled. Having regained her health, she acquired a magnificent mood - "I would never fall for this trick. Of course, my Phantasm can filter poison from your blood - do not rejoice ahead of time."

"What a stupid thing," Serenity's voice did not at all sound like the voice of a suffering person. In her life, during the training of Hashishin, she suffered much more pain, - "There is no poison in my blood. My blood is the poison. Zabaniya."

After a second, Carmilla's body exploded in pain.

Serenity's Phantasm allowed her to multiply the effect of her poison many times - therefore, Carmilla, who had already filled her body with liters of blood of Serenity, felt in an instant, as if her whole body had been ignited by incredible fire. She was not so wrong.

Serenity's venom was not like the poison people make - it was a special, incredibly strong mixture, for which there was no antidote or a safe dose, so Carmilla, who let whole liters of poison into her own veins, felt how every cell of her body instantly died.

A moment later, the withered body that was left of the Assassin, Elizabeth Bathory, crumbled to dust.

Her Noble Phantasm crumbled a bit later, allowing Serenity to take a step forward. And fall to the ground.

"Bad," the girl stated. The fact that she could not feel pain did not mean that she became much more powerful - therefore her body, bloodless and tormented by many thorns, could not move on.

The girl closed her eyes, - "I hope I did it."

"Thank you, Serenity," after a second her Mast... her husband's voice came, "You did everything right."

"This is nothing, my husband," the girl smiled at the moment when a hand touched her head and ruffled her hair, "You have done much more for me."

With a smile from these words, the Assassin, Hassan of Serenity, died.

Ainz, having run a hand over the girl's head for the last time, rose from his knees, "Forgive me, Serenity."

After that, the magician turned back, - "Forward, the Witch is waiting for us."

Jeanne and Gilles, teleported with Ainz, only nodded, forcing the magician to nod and head forward.

The last and most powerful of reinforcements have arrived.

Eye of the Mind (True): EX (Case)

If we take into account only Satoru Suzuki, a person and a player, then he would still have a similar skill at the level of A rank. As a person who spent years in battles, albeit virtual, Satoru possesses an incredible wealth of knowledge regarding tactics and strategy, immense knowledge in the field of understanding opponents, special abilities of many different creatures, but the creature known as Momonga - or Ainz - reinforces this skill to incredible heights, incomprehensible to the simple mind.

Ainz is a being who surpassed divinity, existed before the birth of the world of Yggdrasil and after its end, a being who reached the heights of skill and killed gods and demons for fun is the whole story of his existence. In the world of Yggdrasil, a world devoted to the battle with countless many of the most incredible opponents with abilities exceeding human understanding, there is not even a couple of dozen living creatures that Ainz did not kill. Ainz is a kind of special killing machine, sharpened to destroy millions of types of opponents, prepared for all possible and impossible conditions, repeatedly crushing creatures so ridiculously powerful that their mere presence can distort reality and destroy worlds. In other words, Ainz is a perfect mechanism of victory.

However, victory does not always mean the ideal planning or execution of the plans.