Time shifted back to before sunrise.
When Jeanne woke up due to the voice in her dream.
"Dragon's Roar and Thunder (Kilenc Sarkany)——!"
After confirming that her Master had awakened, the summoned Elizabeth Báthory immediately deployed her Noble Phantasm.
The little loli spun the magic spear in her hand, named the Prison Castle of Csejte, and began a mysterious incantation.
Afterimages flickered, and thunder roared.
The next moment.
It actually began to function like a loudspeaker, then sent the sound from the magic spear outwards like a tidal wave.
It was a terrifying breath of destruction.
The moment it was released, it directly caused a powerful impact on everything around it—and the black shadow confronting it was no exception.
She was clearly disturbed by Elizabeth Báthory, making it difficult for her to organize a strong offensive.
"What a blunder-filled performance——!" Elizabeth Báthory exclaimed, her red eyes shining with disdain.
"Someone like you... how could you possibly have a good show?!" she scoffed, her voice filled with mockery.
Elizabeth Báthory poured magical energy into her magic spear and directly thrust it towards the black shadow that had attempted a surprise attack in the dead of night.
It must be said.
Although Elizabeth Báthory's figure looked quite petite, she didn't hold back at all when launching an attack.
Stab—thwack—
The magic spear pierced through the black shadow's body, and hot blood, along with it, danced in the pitch-black night.
"Hmph, so easily defeated!" Elizabeth Báthory said, holding up her spear.
"The other me... I didn't expect you to be so weak," she sneered, her red eyes looking down at the dissipating shadow.
"What the heck?!" Mordred woke up covering her ears—clearly, Elizabeth Báthory's indiscriminate attack had also affected her.
"..." The black shadow seemed to realize that the situation was far more complicated than she had imagined. She waved her scepter and once again swung it towards the little loli before her.
But how could Elizabeth Báthory give her the chance to hit her?
She quickly pulled her magic spear out of the other party's body, then swung it horizontally left and right, adopting a blocking stance.
Clang!
The magic spear and the scepter collided once again, making a crisp sound.
"Too weak!" Elizabeth Báthory said.
However—
The black shadow's purpose in attacking wasn't even to harm the little loli before her.
The moment they clashed, she retracted her scepter, then kicked up dust and quickly fled in the other direction.
"Tch." Looking at the black shadow that had disappeared without a trace, Elizabeth Báthory's expression was somewhat dissatisfied.
"This is too terrible... the future me would actually become like that," she muttered, her red eyes looking in the direction the shadow had fled.
"It's really annoying——! My mood has suddenly turned bad!" Elizabeth Báthory complained, crossing her arms and pouting.
"Um..." Jeanne looked at the battle that had been resolved in a very short time, a bit dazed for a moment.
"You are—" Jeanne began, her blue eyes looking at Elizabeth Báthory with confusion.
"Eh?!" Elizabeth Báthory turned around. "Didn't I already explain once? Did you forget so quickly?" she asked, her red eyes widening in surprise.
"E-li-za-beth Bá-tho-ry, the Servant you summoned!" she declared, striking a pose.
"Seriously!" Elizabeth Báthory huffed, her cheeks puffed out.
"Remember my name properly, okay!" she demanded, pointing a finger at Jeanne.
A few minutes later.
The extinguished campfire was lit once again.
However, compared to the last time, there was now one more figure sitting around the campfire.
That was Elizabeth Báthory, who claimed to be Jeanne's Servant.
The little loli was hugging her legs, looking at everyone present with a very curious gaze, appearing very cute.
Her gaze swept over Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mashu, Mordred, and Jeanne present, and then she said some strange names.
"Little deer." Elizabeth Báthory said, looking at Mashu.
"Little cow." She said, looking at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Little sparrow." She said, looking at Mordred.
"And——" Elizabeth Báthory turned her gaze to Jeanne.
"Master."
"I, have recognized everyone——!" Elizabeth Báthory declared with a bright smile.
Elizabeth Báthory's appearance was already the cute type, and using such fairytale-like names further enhanced this feeling.
This made the sensitive Mashu couldn't help but ask her a question.
"Um... why do you call us by the names of small animals?" Mashu asked gently, her violet eyes looking at Elizabeth Báthory with curiosity.
"Oh, you're asking about that?" Elizabeth Báthory looked at Mashu, a bit of inherent pure malice appearing in her innocent blue eyes.
"Because——" Elizabeth Báthory said, her smile widening.
"In my eyes, you're not even human~" she declared, her voice sweet but her words harsh.
"..." Elizabeth Báthory spoke the most vicious words with the cutest face.
The atmosphere present instantly plunged into a cold silence.
And the first to break this silence was Mordred, who had come back to her senses.
"Hey!" The girl stood up, pointed at Elizabeth Báthory, and spoke rather unconvinced.
"What do you mean by that?!" Mordred demanded, her violet eyes narrowed in anger.
"What do you mean by 'in your eyes, we're not even human'?" she asked, her voice filled with indignation.
"Eh——?" The little loli tilted her head slightly, showing a puzzled expression that was difficult to tell whether it was intentional or unintentional.
"Is what I said that hard to understand?" Elizabeth Báthory asked, her blue eyes looking at Mordred innocently.
"It just means you don't count——?" she added, tilting her head further.
"You can't even understand such words, did you get your Servant position through nepotism, you idiot?" Elizabeth Báthory sneered, her sweet smile never wavering.
While saying these words, Elizabeth Báthory maintained an extremely sweet smile throughout.
But such cuteness paired with this undisguised aggressiveness now seemed somewhat mocking.
"You!" The hot-tempered Mordred stood up, rolled up her sleeves, and wanted to punch the little loli.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu quickly grabbed her, preventing a civil war from breaking out.
However, although they stopped Mordred, the two of them actually had similar thoughts to some extent.
"Um..." Fujimaru Ritsuka wiped the sweat from her forehead, then looked at Jeanne by the campfire.
"Miss Jeanne, how did you summon her?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, her brown eyes looking at Jeanne with curiosity.
"This kind of personality is really..." The half-baked Master didn't continue speaking, but looked at the Saint Maiden before her with a subtle expression.
But this was enough for Jeanne to understand what she meant.
But unfortunately—
Jeanne herself didn't fully understand the situation right now.
"I'm sorry," Jeanne said softly, her blue eyes looking at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"I don't know how I did it," she confessed, shaking her head slightly.
"I just heard a voice in my dream, and when I opened my eyes, Elizabeth was in front of me," Jeanne explained, her voice gentle.
"This..." Hearing the actual situation, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mordred looked at each other in dismay.
One of them hadn't received too much formal training, and the other simply didn't know the relevant knowledge.
So they had no idea what Jeanne's words meant.
And Mashu, who knew more about this aspect, was in a different state.
After hearing Jeanne's explanation, she began to think.
After a long while, the pink-haired girl spoke again.
"Um..." Mashu began, her violet eyes looking at Jeanne with a thoughtful expression.
"If that's the case, I think Miss Jeanne might have performed a Heroic Spirit summoning," she suggested tentatively.
"..." Mashu's words caused everyone's gazes to focus on her in an instant.
This made her a little embarrassed—the girl who had always been a background character in Chaldea wasn't used to being the center of attention.
Jeanne noticed this.
She smiled and comforted the pink-haired girl.
"Don't be nervous," Jeanne said gently, her blue eyes looking at Mashu with reassurance.
"Just bravely speak out what's in your heart... everyone will listen carefully," she encouraged, her voice soft.
Jeanne's voice was very gentle, and her eyes were also comforting the other party.
This inexplicably reminded Mashu of Ian, and she immediately felt a little more relaxed.
"Hmm..." The pink-haired girl looked at the little loli holding her magic spear beside her.
"Since Elizabeth acknowledges you as her Master... then that means you've already formed an actual contract," Mashu explained, her violet eyes looking at Jeanne.
"According to what I learned in Chaldea, this can already be considered a Heroic Spirit summoning," she concluded, her voice filled with certainty.
"This..." Hearing the explanation, Jeanne's eyes still held some doubt.
"If I remember correctly, Chaldea is the name of your organization," Jeanne said, tilting her head slightly.
"But—"
"I've never been there before, so can Heroic Spirit summoning be done remotely like this?" Jeanne asked, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.
"Yes, it can," Mashu nodded. "Chaldea isn't the only place where Heroic Spirits can be summoned," she explained.
"As long as the conditions are met, it can be done anytime, anywhere!" Mashu declared confidently.
"Meet the conditions?" Jeanne asked, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Yes!" Mashu nodded. "For example, a sufficient source of magical energy... then it can be done with just a simple ritual," she explained.
Fujimaru Ritsuka interjected at this moment.
"Eh? Is there one around here?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, her brown eyes looking around curiously.
"This..." Mashu frowned slightly. "I'm not too sure," she confessed, shaking her head slightly.
"..." Listening to this continuous explanation, Jeanne looked down at her arm and began to think seriously.
Finally, she had her own answer.
"Then—" The Saint Maiden once again showed the red markings on the back of her hand to everyone present.
"Do you think it might be guiding me to the 'source of magical energy' you mentioned?" Jeanne asked, her blue eyes looking at them with anticipation.
"Eh?!" Jeanne's words awakened Mashu.
All the doubts in her mind connected in an instant.
"Speaking of which—it's definitely possible!" Mashu exclaimed, her violet eyes widening in realization.
"After all, the one who attacked us was also a Servant... so there must definitely be a source of magical energy used to summon them!" she pointed out.
"It's not strange for Master's Command Spell to react to this," Mashu concluded, her voice filled with certainty.
"Wait a minute!" Fujimaru Ritsuka also reacted.
"Speaking of which, shouldn't we quickly follow that attacker then?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, her brown eyes looking at the others with urgency.
"But how are we going to follow her?" Mordred muttered, pouting. "She's been gone for a long time now, right?" she pointed out, crossing her arms.
"..." Everyone fell silent again, lost in thought.
Only Elizabeth Báthory still had a rather happy expression.
Having been silent for a long time, she looked at everyone who was deep in thought and began to speak.
"If it's just about following that person from before... I think I can do it," Elizabeth Báthory declared confidently, a bright smile on her face.
"You can do it?" Mordred was full of doubt about this.
"Don't look at me with those eyes, you idiot little sparrow," Elizabeth Báthory said, gripping her magic spear. "I'm not the kind of Servant who just talks nonsense," she scoffed.
"However——" Elizabeth Báthory paused, her red eyes looking around.
"I have one condition," she announced, pointing a finger towards Mashu's shoulder.
"That is..." The little loli pointed at Fou on Mashu's shoulder.
"Let me hug it!" Elizabeth Báthory exclaimed, her red eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Fou?!" Fou, being stared at by everyone, could only raise its paws in surrender.
Thus, with Fou as the "price," Fujimaru Ritsuka and her group followed the fleeing black shadow under Elizabeth Báthory's guidance.
However—
The other party's Class characteristics seemed to allow her to hide her tracks very well.
The group frequently lost her along the way.
But Elizabeth Báthory was always able to find a suitable path again in a miraculous way.
"How exactly is this being done?" Mordred couldn't help but ask.
"It's blood," Elizabeth Báthory replied, hugging Fou. She seemed to be in a great mood and actively responded to Mordred, whom she considered an idiot.
"It's too troublesome to explain, a stupid Servant like you definitely wouldn't understand, just follow obediently," Elizabeth Báthory said dismissively.
"..." Although she had been retorted with such words, considering that Elizabeth Báthory was indeed playing a role, Mordred had to swallow her anger.
"I'll settle the score with you sooner or later..." she muttered under her breath.
Thus—
After a night of rushing, the group arrived near Jura.
Jeanne, thinking of France, was the first to step out of the forest.
But what entered her eyes was a scene she had never expected.
On the city wall that separated the inside from the outside, a man and a woman were embracing and passionately kissing each other in the sunrise.
If it were ordinary times, Jeanne, seeing this scene, would probably be very willing to bless them.
After all, she also quite yearned for that kind of simple, unadorned, but very beautiful love.
It was just that, due to her past, she didn't dare to have too many fantasies.
But this time.
She simply couldn't do that.
Or rather, she couldn't even calm down.
Because—
The two people in the Saint Maiden's vision were too special.
The woman had almost the same appearance as her, with only a slight difference in hair color.
And the man... completely overlapped with him deeply hidden in her memory.
"Bro... brother?" Jeanne whispered, her blue eyes wide with shock.
"How... how is this possible?" Jeanne couldn't imagine such a thing at all—the brother who had always doted on her was actually kissing another her!
She knew that was the Dragon Witch who was bringing disaster to France!
Why did things turn out like this?!
What exactly happened?!
Before the girl's consciousness could fully recover, she and he on the city wall had already finished one kiss.
But the other Jeanne seemed far from satisfied.
Her hands hooked around the man's neck.
She looked at him rather affectionately, then parted her lips slightly, and with a smile, whispered a few words.
The two kissed again.
Jeanne felt like the world was collapsing.
She could accept the poverty brought by living in anonymity, and she could also accept the various inconveniences of living alone.
But there was only one thing she absolutely couldn't accept no matter what.
That was someone trying to take away her brother!
No matter who it was, that was absolutely not allowed!
That's right.
She was a witch, wasn't she?!
She must have done something to her brother for him to become like this!
The girl, her consciousness caught in obsession, gripped the holy banner given to her by her brother and walked forward step by step.
It was an almost instinctive action, without any command from her brain.
She got closer and closer to the city wall, until she could clearly see the lips of the two touching.
Unable to restrain her emotions, the Saint Maiden held up the holy banner and shouted upwards.
"You witch——!"
"Give him back to me quickly!"