Chapter 60: No Romance Allowed on the Battlefield!
"You are not the real Jeanne d'Arc."
Ethan's words made Jeanne Alter freeze for a moment, but she quickly regained her usual cold demeanor.
"Are you blind? Even the bishop who burned me alive was horrified to recognize me, kneeling in terror before the flames of this hell."
"But you have no memories, do you?"
Ethan looked directly at Jeanne Alter, who was struggling to stay upright.
"So what?"
Jeanne Alter responded with a sharp gaze.
"It's just a slight error in the process of my summoning by the Holy Grail."
"It wasn't a summoning error. Because from the very beginning, you were never Jeanne."
Ethan stated decisively.
"Are you telling a joke? Haha... How funny, so funny I could vomit."
Jeanne Alter raised the long sword in her hand, pointing it directly at Ethan. At this moment, her anger had reached its peak.
"If I'm not Jeanne, then who am I? Tell me!"
"You weren't even summoned by the Holy Grail."
Ethan shook his head.
"You are a Servant created by the Holy Grail, brought into existence by Gilles de Rais himself."
"——————?!"
Jeanne Alter's face showed extreme shock.
"In truth, you've already realized this, haven't you? Your existence is too faint, especially when you stand before the real Jeanne. At that moment, you must have understood, at least to some extent."
"Absolute nonsense!!! If I am not the real Jeanne, then what is this raging fury burning inside me for this country?!"
Immediately after, as if forcing herself to cut Ethan off, she swung the banner of the dragon witch and charged forward.
"Senpai, be careful!!!"
Mash raised her shield to block Jeanne Alter's fierce attack.
The hellfire blazed wildly, igniting the black lance as it descended from the sky!
A series of violent attacks continued, proving that Jeanne Alter's heart had begun to waver.
"Haa——————!!!"
Martha, unable to extinguish the flames clinging to her body in time, charged at Jeanne Alter alongside Tarasque.
"Every Servant has a darker side, and that country bumpkin certainly does too! She fought for this country, but in the end, she was cast aside, burned alive before a crowd! A country like that isn't worth protecting! At that very moment, she must have felt hatred!"
Jeanne Alter seemed to be convincing herself, unleashing relentless strikes.
Just as Martha and Tarasque closed in on Jeanne Alter, a violent explosion erupted around her!!!
BOOOOM————————!!!
Tarasque's entire body was sent flying, while Martha barely managed to stop herself thanks to Mash using her shield to absorb the impact.
"Ah, that's right, I am Jeanne d'Arc! I am the Dragon Witch, summoned by the Holy Grail to destroy this country!!!"
At this moment, Jeanne Alter's armor had begun to crack, but she paid no heed. In her eyes, only the light of vengeance remained.
"Mash!!!"
Ethan shouted towards Mash.
"Understood!"
As soon as she heard Ethan's call, Mash immediately raised her shield and charged forward.
"Stay away from me, you sewer rats!!!"
Jeanne Alter, now completely consumed by madness, once again attempted to detonate the hellfire right in front of her!
"This is the moment!!!"
"True Name, Pseudo Register—Unleash the Noble Phantasm! Lord Chaldeas!!!"
The silver shield formed instantly at point-blank range.
"————————?!"
Before Jeanne Alter could react, the black flames exploded!
BOOOOOM————————!!!
The massive shockwave from the explosion even forced Mash—who had deployed her Noble Phantasm—back several meters.
Looking back, Jeanne Alter was kneeling on one knee amidst the shattered ground at the center of the grand hall.
Her armor was broken, the banner of the dragon witch had fallen, but she still gripped the black sword tightly, struggling to stand once more.
"A bunch of sewer rats dare to speak down to me… No, I haven't lost yet. I cannot lose!!!"
Jeanne Alter was clearly severely injured, her judgment shaken by Ethan's words, yet she was still desperately holding on.
"You don't need to destroy this country, because Jeanne d'Arc never held hatred for it."
"Shut up!… I am Jeanne d'Arc!!!"
Jeanne Alter swung her longsword and lunged straight at Ethan, but Mash immediately used her shield to forcefully push her back.
"I must destroy France, this wretched country! That's why I must defeat those who stand in my way!!!"
Martha's right fist slammed directly into the fractured armor of Jeanne Alter.
"The battle is already over, Dragon Witch."
BANG——————!!!
Jeanne Alter's entire body crashed onto the shattered archbishop's throne, her gaze gradually losing the will to fight.
"I had the Holy Grail in my hands… And yet it ends like this… Could it be… Is it true…? Am I really just an empty, fabricated shell…?"
"No, even if you're not a true Servant, you are absolutely not an empty shell!"
Ethan's face appeared within Jeanne Alter's field of vision.
"Even if you were a false Servant born from the Holy Grail, even if you are a being manifested purely from hatred… that doesn't make you 'fake.' You are a unique existence."
"...I am, a unique existence?"
In Jeanne Alter's wavering vision, Ethan ignored Mash's attempts to hold him back and continued stepping closer.
"Yes, that's right. You don't need to become Jeanne d'Arc, and you are not Jeanne d'Arc. You are yourself, isn't that obvious? If you are not Jeanne, then naturally, you don't need to hold hatred for France."
"But… it's too late…"
Jeanne Alter shook her head.
"What I have done to this country… cannot be undone."
"No, I came here precisely to correct that mistake, to meet you in this place."
"——————?!"
Ethan's expression was etched into Jeanne Alter's eyes.
"There's still time… Let's end this here."
Jeanne Alter stared at the young man before her in disbelief.
His words carried a strange power, making her feel, even for a fleeting moment—Maybe this is okay…
Can I really… choose to trust him?
Tens of thousands of viewers in the livestream were watching this scene unfold, their comments flooded with question marks.
[????]
[?????]
[??????]
[Oh shit! Bro becoming a shounen main charater???]
[Tajiro staring at his phone with a disgusted face.jpg]
[Hey, get serious! This is a battlefield! No romance allowed on the battlefield!!!]
[This host really knows how to play. Thought this was the Final Boss, but turns out it's just another harem +1.]
[Host, please open a dating course! I seriously need it!!]
[Mash: Oh no! A new love rival has appeared!!!]
[Mashu-chan, I just ordered a kitchen knife. Send me your address, and I'll personally deliver it to you!]
[Oi oi oi, bro up there really knows how to seize the moment.]
[This livestream is more sci-fi than actual sci-fi movies.]
[Others told me this livestream was absurd. At first, I didn't believe them, but now I do.]
[I know sometimes the story needs moral speeches, but this… does it have to be this corny?!]
[Cringe!!!]
[Host, where did you even get these lines from? This is so sappy it's scary!]
[I'm drowning in the cringe! My toes have curled up so hard my toenails are about to pop off.]
[LOL LMAO BRUH! I thought you were the protagonist of a harem story, but turns out you're a shounen protagonist instead.]
[Jeanne Alter swings her sword for a counterattack, host dies, the end.]
...
[System: 'Ultimate Joker' has sent 10 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: If Jeanne-chan actually agrees, I'll eat the dog shit my neighbor's dog just dropped in front of their house this morning!!!]
[System: 'Bruce-kun' has sent 1,000 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: I'm watching (≖_≖ ).]