Chapter 68: Just Beam It!
At Gilles de Rais's command, a torrent of black mud suddenly erupted from the Sea Demon's body!!!
The wyverns that failed to evade were instantly consumed by the mud. They didn't even have the chance to let out a final cry before being completely absorbed.
On the other side of the battlefield, Johanna quickly noticed this abnormality.
She immediately raised the silver cross in her hand.
"Tonbi, cover me!!!"
"Chiuuu——!!!"
The white owl let out a sharp cry, soaring forward and flapping its wings forcefully.
A violent gust of wind arose, merging with the shining silver laurel from Johanna's cross, barely managing to hold back the surging black mud.
Martha also managed to break away from her fight and quickly returned to Johanna's side.
From a distance, Tarasque finally arrived, panting heavily from the long journey.
"Haa... haa..."
"Tarasque, have you gained weight? You're already exhausted from just a little running."
Martha stared at Tarasque.
"If you keep this up, you might really end up as Mordred-san's mount."
"Guh! Guhuhuhu!!"
Tarasque frantically shook its head, looking utterly unwilling.
Meanwhile, Johanna kept her gaze fixed on the black mud.
"I can feel it… this mud is filled with intense resentment… Be careful! Something is about to emerge!"
The black mud hesitated for a moment, then suddenly began writhing as if something was struggling inside. It churned violently before eventually taking on humanoid shapes?!
The sight of the black mud transforming into Servants left the live stream audience in utter shock.
[Gilles de Rais, Sea Demon, black mud… I get it now, Fate/Zero Saintess and Tentacles!!!]
[Something about this doesn't seem right. Is this an eBay knockoff?]
[eBay mud can summon Servants?! Can it summon Artoria? I'm placing an order!!]
[As expected, the Holy Grail is nothing good, always filled with this kind of stuff.]
[That's because Angry Mango corrupted it.]
[But… doesn't this kind of look like chocolate?]
[This could totally be a chocolate ad. The host should reach out for a sponsorship.]
[Dude! Why do you see food in everything?! Is your wife starving you?]
[It started off serious, but how did we end up here? All you guys think about is food! Can we focus on the livestream?... Also, send me the product link.]
[Blink twice if you're suffering from domestic violence.]
[No no, it's fine… Just that she's been draining me dry lately...]
[At least you have a wife!!]
[I'm jealous! Just one more year and I'll officially be a Great Sage. sob Hopefully, in my next life, I can ate all the beautiful women.... Elf women are best.]
[Hey hey! You guys are getting off track!]
[Okay okay, back to the chocolate discussion. I sell chocolate. Any orders?.]
[...]
…
At this moment, Jeanne Alter, standing atop Fafnir, looked rather irritated.
More than half of her wyvern army had been lost, yet the Sea Demon summoned by Gilles showed no sign of collapsing.
She had the nagging feeling that Gilles was hiding something from her.
"Gilles, that bastard, what trick is he pulling this time?"
Jeanne Alter muttered.
Vwoosh————————————!!
Something shot up from the ground, aiming straight for Jeanne Alter!
Fafnir flapped its wings, and with just the force of the wind, it deflected the attack.
Only then did Jeanne Alter see it clearly—directly below, a figure covered entirely in black, resembling an Archer, was drawing his bow at her.
"So that bastard Gilles really used the Holy Grail to summon this thing."
Jeanne Alter frowned.
"Fafnir!!!"
"GRROOOAAARRR——————————!!!"
A massive surge of magical energy gathered in Fafnir's chest before it unleashed a powerful dragon breath straight down at the black mud below!!!
BOOOOOM——————————!!!
Under the sheer destructive force of the dragon breath, the blackened Servant was obliterated instantly—
But in the next moment, a new Servant emerged from the black mud.
"Servants summoned by the Holy Grail return to the Grail after death. While it can no longer summon Servants in the usual sense, it can create as many of these as needed!"
"Combined with my Prelati's Spellbook… Jeanne, if you still have time to come to your senses, it's not too late. But if you insist on stopping me, I'll have no choice but to use this..."
Inside the Sea Demon, Gilles de Rais turned his head to look at another figure emerging within the monster's body.
The person was tightly bound by the Sea Demon's slimy tentacles, with only his head exposed. Nearly all of his magical energy had been drained, leaving him with just enough to barely remain conscious.
A pained expression covered his face, as if he were trapped in a never-ending nightmare.
From his lips, only faint, broken murmurs escaped.
"Maria... I'm sorry..."
...
CLANG————————!!
Mordred knocked away the black Saber's sword, then rushed in to finish off the opponent with a decisive slash.
The entirely blackened Servant turned to dust, but immediately, another Servant stepped out from the black mud before her.
"Tch, still not done!!!"
Mordred swung her sword again. This time, the one who appeared before her was a blackened Vlad III.
But he said nothing, showed no expression at all. The only thing he did was brandish his spear and charge into battle against his opponent.
"Be careful, Senpai!!!"
Mash used her shield to knock away a black Assassin that suddenly lunged at Ethan, then stood in front of him.
"Are you alright, Senpai?"
"I'm fine."
Ethan did not show any panic, as he had already anticipated this situation.
When cornered, Gilles de Rais would summon these Shadow Servants to fight back.
Although they weren't particularly powerful, Caster's goal was simply to buy time. Once Jeanne Alter's Noble Phantasm wore off, the Sea Demon could regenerate.
The tide of battle would immediately be reversed at that point.
"EMIYA!"
Ethan shouted toward the back.
"Master, I'm here."
Emiya Kiritsugu immediately appeared beside Ethan.
"Fire a signal flare, call that witch down."
"Understood."
Emiya Kiritsugu pulled a flare gun from his coat and fired it straight into the sky.
PANG————————!!!
The moment she saw the flare, Jeanne Alter frowned.
This was the method Ethan had agreed upon to communicate with her. Though clearly displeased, she still directed Fafnir to descend.
"What is it? I'm busy over here."
As soon as she saw Ethan, Jeanne Alter spoke in annoyance.
"The enemy is stalling for time. We need to find a way to destroy the Sea Demon immediately."
"No need for you to say it, as long as Fafnir and I—"
"The Sea Demon's outer shell is too thick. Just you and Fafnir alone aren't enough. We need a Noble Phantasm powerful enough to finish it off in one strike."
Ethan interrupted Jeanne Alter, then turned to Mordred.
"When Fafnir attacks and exposes the monster's core, I'll use the flare to mark its location. At that moment, all you need to do is unleash your Noble Phantasm, destroying both the black mud and the Sea Demon in one go."
Just like a certain king once did.
"I have no problem with that, but Master, how do you plan to get close to the core?"
Mordred asked.
Ethan took the flare gun from Emiya Kiritsugu's hand.
"Obviously, from the air."
"???"
Jeanne Alter stared at Ethan, then suddenly realized.
"Don't tell me you're planning to ride Fafnir with me! Don't push your luck!!!"
"If we want to destroy that Sea Demon, this is the only way."
Ethan looked at Jeanne Alter with serious eyes.
"What I promised you, I will definitely fulfill."
"…Hmph."
After a brief moment of thought, Jeanne Alter let out a small huff.
"If you can't prove that to me, I'll make you experience hell later!"
Then, the massive dragon Fafnir obediently lowered itself, allowing Ethan to step onto its back by stepping on its wings.
"Ehm, if I'm wrong, you can just burn me with your fire."
"Senpai!!!"
Mash's voice rang out from below.
"…Senpai, please be careful."
"Umu, don't worry, Mash."
Ethan nodded at Mash.
"Protect Mordred. Don't let her be disturbed while she unleashes her Noble Phantasm."
"Yes! Leave it to me!!!"
Immediately after, Fafnir flapped its massive wings and soared into the sky.
"——————?!"
Before he could find his balance, Ethan almost slipped, but a hand quickly grabbed his arm.
"Hey, are you that afraid of being burned by my fire?"
Before him was Jeanne Alter's scowling face.
Ethan merely chuckled.
"Saying I'm not scared would be a lie, but right now, it doesn't seem all that frightening."
He quickly steadied himself, then, together with Jeanne Alter, looked down at the Sea Demon below.
"Let's begin. Give it a fatal blow!"