Chapter 64: Is this the third season of Fate/Zero?
A horde of tentacles burst out from the ruined mass of the massive sea demon, attacking Fafnir in midair at an astonishing speed.
They coiled tightly around the dragon before it could even react.
The surrounding wyverns weren't spared either—they let out painful shrieks as they were dragged down.
"GRRRROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Realizing that it was once again ensnared by this disgusting thing, Fafnir let out a roar that shook the battlefield.
It immediately swung its claws, tearing apart the tentacles constricting its body, but they seemed endless, relentlessly wrapping around it.
Fafnir thrashed in fury, struggling to fight back as it opened its mouth wide.
An immense amount of magical energy began to gather within its chest, even stronger than before.
Jeanne Alter watched the scene with confidence:
"That's right, Fafnir! Unleash the finishing blow! And while you're at it, knock some sense into Gilles!"
But in the next moment—
Fafnir suddenly writhed violently.
The massive magical energy that had just been concentrated within its chest was rapidly dissipating.
It could no longer feel any trace of its magic.
Upon closer inspection, countless tiny tentacles had latched onto Fafnir's scales, continuously siphoning its magic.
Ethan's eyes widened as he witnessed the scene.
That massive sea demon… was "devouring" Fafnir?!
A being that had absorbed the Holy Grail was capable of consuming a Phantasmal Species?!
—
Meanwhile, Ethan's livestream exploded once again as viewers watched the battle between the two colossal creatures.
[Don't tell me the dragon's about to get eaten?!]
[A rare sight! A wild sea anemone hunting a giant lizard!!]
[Dragons are just oversized swallows. This time, it ran into a real beast!]
[No way, this is the infamous dragon from Norse mythology!]
[Wait a sec, why does this scene look so familiar…? Is this a replay of FZ? Wasn't it Gilgamesh and Berserker in the sky before?]
[Haha, you caught on, huh? This is FZ Season 3!]
[Back then, this monster was already tough to fight, and now it's got a Holy Grail buff? Who the hell is supposed to beat it?!]
…
[System: 'The Real Ryunosuke' has sent 100 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: Oh my god, this is so coooooool!!!]
[System: 'Burger King' has sent 100 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: My son, back then I skewered this beast with Excalibur. Now it's your turn!]
[System: 'Burger King Junior' has sent 100 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: Roger, Daddy! I'll definitely fulfill the sacred duty of the Hamburger bloodline!]
[System: 'Darkness-kun' has sent 100 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: HOSTTTTTTT! PLEASE LET ME TAKE FAFNIR'S PLACE!!! PLEASSSSSS!!! I'VE NEVER TRIED TENTACLE PLAY BEFORE!!!!]
...
[Darkness-kun, you're getting more and more disgusting!]
[OHHH! Yasashi-kun, long time no see! The moment we meet, you praise me like that. Ehehe~ I'm so embarrassed.]
[A bystander enjoying the drama: What a beautiful friendship, Hic!]
—
Realizing the situation was dire, Jeanne Alter immediately shouted:
"Fafnir, retreat immediately!!!"
"GRRRROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The more Fafnir struggled, the more tentacles surged up from beneath the water, tightly wrapping around its massive body.
The tiny tentacles relentlessly drained Fafnir's mana. The more it thrashed, the tighter they constricted.
In just a moment, the massive dragon was staggering, on the verge of being dragged to the ocean depths—
BOOM!!!
A sudden surge of crimson mana swept across!!!
"KIEEEEEE—!!!"
The tentacles that hadn't yet retracted were instantly incinerated by the blazing red light, writhing in agony.
"Shine forth!!!"
A silver crescent shot in from afar, exploding in a dazzling burst of light!
The grotesque flesh that came into contact with that radiance sizzled, as if it were burning.
Even the massive tentacles trembled, sending waves surging high!
—
"Master, are you alright?!"
A familiar voice rang out.
A girl clad in armor, carrying the Clarent sword, was rushing swiftly toward Ethan.
With her was Johanna, tightly gripping a silver cross, her face full of concern.
"Mordred-san! Johanna-san!"
Mash exclaimed in surprise upon seeing them.
The moment Mordred arrived, she immediately took a battle stance upon noticing Jeanne Alter standing beside Ethan.
"Hey Hey, Dragon Thot! Get away from my Master!!!"
"You called me what, you bastard child?! Hmph, do you think I want to stand near this guy?" Jeanne Alter coldly retorted.
"And also, tell that Assassin not to point that weird weapon at me."
Right behind Jeanne Alter, Kiritsugu had silently appeared, his automatic gun aimed straight at her head, ready to fire at any moment.
"If you were this rude before, you would have already been reduced to ashes by my flames of hatred." Jeanne Alter spoke arrogantly, her expression unwavering.
"No need for hostility, Mordred. She's not our enemy anymore."
Ethan calmly explained.
"Huh?!?!"
Mordred's eyes widened, staring at Ethan, then turning to Jeanne Alter.
Finally, after receiving Mash's confirming gaze, she could only stand frozen, her face full of disbelief.
"Hey hey hey, Master, what the hell did you do while I was gone? You even allied with this witch hag—the one who wanted to destroy the whole country? Are you sick or something?"
"Because she's not our real enemy. And besides, you guys just saved Fafnir."
"What?!"
Mordred was stunned.
She immediately looked up at the sky—sure enough, the wicked dragon was slowly descending.
Even though it had just taken a full-force Noble Phantasm attack from her, its body remained unscathed. It no longer exuded the chilling killing intent from before, only silently observing Mordred without making any moves.
"I clearly went all out in my attack… even calculated to include that giant thing behind it… Hmph, was I still not close enough?"
"But thanks to that, you unintentionally saved it. Consider it a lucky coincidence."
Ethan smiled.
"Damn it, I thought I could take both monsters out in one shot... Was the mana output still not enough?"
Mordred grumbled in frustration.
After all, just a moment ago, this dragon had been her enemy.
And in the blink of an eye, her Master suddenly claimed it had become an ally?!
Is this how you fight a war?
"Hmph! We don't need help from an enemy!"
Jeanne Alter huffed and turned toward Fafnir.
"Fafnir, finish off that disgusting pile of flesh already!"
"Grrr..."
Fafnir let out a low growl, as if it were complaining.
"Huh? What kind of attitude is that?! I told you to destroy it immediately!!"
Jeanne Alter snapped in frustration.
Seeing Fafnir's reluctance, Ethan quickly stopped Jeanne Alter.
"You can't destroy it using this method."
"Oh? Then what brilliant idea do you have? Let's hear it."
Jeanne Alter crossed her arms and shot Ethan a skeptical look, as if to say: If you're so smart, go fight it yourself.
"In order to take down a creature with infinite regeneration, We need to destroy its entire body in a single strike. The problem is, now that it has the Holy Grail supplying it with mana, its recovery ability far surpasses normal limits. Fafnir alone won't be enough to deal with it."
Seeing Ethan's serious gaze, Jeanne Alter was about to mock him, but in the end, she swallowed her words.
"Moreover, the most important thing is to suppress its growth rate. If we let it expand infinitely, we won't have a chance to destroy it in one strike."
"But the enemy has an enormous amount of mana. I'm afraid we won't be able to seal it using conventional methods..."
Johanna expressed her concern.
"That's right, conventional methods won't work. But right here, we have someone who can do it."
"Who?"
As everyone wondered, Ethan's gaze shifted toward Jeanne Alter.
"???"
Jeanne Alter froze.
"Me???"