A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 441: Chapter 400

Olga Marie Animusphere POV

Things were going bad, and then they went worse. It was already a horrible situation with half of France literally burning or having been burnt down the ground. Then we figured out how many enemy Servants there were, nearly a dozen! And if that wasn't bad enough, the name Dragon Witch wasn't in reference to the literal army of wyverns!

I could feel the dragon pulling the insane amounts of Mana from the air to use its breath attack as it tied with Saber's Noble Phantasm.

Fafnir that was what Siegfried claimed it was.

I almost thought we were lucky that we had the Dragon's mythological weakness, until I was informed that our Dragon Slayer had barely recovered!

Then Wilhelm did something to ground the dragon. I didn't even feel the Magical Energy in his spell. Oh, and that was after he gave Caster a damn Divine Construct like it was a random Mystic Code!

And to top all of this ridiculousness off, he decided to taunt the Dragon Witch to her face.

I watched in anxiety as the Dragon let loose a breath attack at him and he took it head on.

I knew he was strong, but still, it was hard to see. I was heavily relieved to see him apparently unscathed from the attack. And then he continued to mock the Dragon Witch. I was fuming, I knew he was doing it on purpose, drawing her undivided attention onto himself. But I couldn't call him out on it or get angry at the moment.

He obviously had a plan, and I knew he could handle the Servants that appeared to engage him. I....trusted him not to do anything stupid and get himself killed.

However, it seemed like I wasn't the only one that was upset. Saber lashed out with pure anger towards the Dragon, and I decidedly choose not to comment.

Wilhelm's Servant, Siegfried, Saber, and Lancelot all attacked Fafnir. And the Dragon showed no visible signs of struggling under their assault.

I did not remain distracted for long, the Wyverns that still filled the sky made sure of that as I could feel the heat from so many readying their breath.

"Εστ?α Εκ?τη Χρ?νο?" Caster Medea held up the staff immediately, casting words I couldn't understand, but a powerful spell actualized. A shield colored lavender appeared overhead, runic symbols and images unknown to me filled every corner of it.

The Breaths fell down onto it, but it held firm against the onslaught of Wyvern.

"Damn, that's a nice staff." Caster Cu whistled. "Can see why you offered your hand for it."

"Never thought I'd see a Staff in this age better than my mine, let alone my teacher's. I think even Circe would have thrown herself at him if she could get this Staff in return." Medea commented. "Half the effort, ten times the results."

.....What kind of ridiculous thing did you hand over, Schweinorg?

"What're you gonna do if he takes you up on your offer?" Cu cracked a smile.

She shrugged. "Probably just kill him in his sleep."

"Damn, what a cold bitch."

"I'd atleast make sure he went to sleep happy." She smiled maliciously.

Cu just laughed.

"Enough chit-chat." I announced. "We need to –"

Caster Cu slammed his staff on the ground, and massive Roots sprang up to cover us. Arrows made of Magical Energy fell down, tearing them apart, but protecting us, if barely.

There was an Archer sitting on one of the Wyverns up in the air. First things first we –

"Medea, can you handle Archer?" Pierre spoke up before I could. I was about to admonish him...but that is exactly the same order I would have given.

"I can keep her busy." Medea nodded.

"And take out any Wyverns if you get the opportunity."

"Will do, Master." She flew up into the sky.

....Good Job Pierre.

"Well, this puts me in a rather bad spot." Cu hummed. "Hey Lass, guard my Master and the others." He glanced back at Mash.

"Yes!" Mash held her shield up.

"As much as I want to take a crack at that dragon...my Magic aint gonna do much unless I whip out the big stuff, and I'd just be getting in the way at that point."

I could understand his sentiments. I wasn't sure I even had any Magecraft capable of harming a Dragon through their insane Magic Resistance. Besides, those four Servants were keeping it busy for now and not....losing it seemed.

"Well, looks like my opponent is here." Cu Chulainn looked forward and a rather well dressed....man, woman? Person walked calmly our way.

"I shall be your opponent." The strange Servant declared. It was odd, the person didn't seem hostile, yet there was a faint...bloodlust regardless.

"Introductions?" Cu asked.

"Do you really think that's going to –"

"Chevalier D'Eon, Knight of the white Lilly." The servant introduced themselves without hesitation.

"...work."

"Haha." Cu chuckled at my expense. "Don't underestimate a Servant's pettiness, lass. It's obvious this person isn't working under their own will."

"You speak the truth." He nodded darkly. "This bloodlust is not mine; it clouds my mind. Once we begin, I will not be able to hold myself back. I do not choose this path of my own will, but I shall fight with the intent to kill."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Cu barked with a wide grin. "Cu Chulainn, unfortunately summoned as a Caster, but I'm up for a fight regardless."

"The Hound of Ulster, you honor me." The Servant held their rapier infront of themselves. "Please give me a good death. Know that unless I am commanded, I will not utilize my Noble Phantasm. En Garde!" He stepped forward with the speed of a being beyond Humans, and Cu responded, swinging his staff to block the thin blade.

This is getting more and more ridiculous....

The transmitter started beeping too. "Roman, what is it?" I answered.

"Director, we picked up some insane readings! What's going on!?" Roman's face appeared on the small projection above my wrist.

"There's a Dragon, Roman!"

"Dragon?" Da Vinci's face appeared separate from his. "Does it have a name?"

"Fafnir." I responded.

"I'll pull up the information we have....Ah, here it is. Fafnir isn't a natural born Dragon, but a curse that is derived from the concept of Greed. Such that both Sigurd and Siegfried both slayed the Dragon Fafnir in their legends. The legends say that Fafnir has nearly impenetrable armor."

I looked at the Dragon who barely had a scratch on him after getting hit by four Servants. "I am aware, Roman."

I couldn't expect any more than that. It's not like we have perfect records from things that took place so long ago in myths and legends.

"Roman, how are the generators holding up? Do we have enough for multiple, simultaneous Noble Phantasm activations?" It was best to prepare to defeat the Dragon now.

"The Generators are holding well enough even if we have only these few up. We have enough in the reserves for the Rayshift that we can shift everything into supporting the Servants available." Roman relayed.

"Best to err on the side of caution. Let the Masters use up their own Magical Energy first before the FATE system handles the burden." I decided after a moment. One of them could restore their own reserves after a day or so of rest. And it felt like if we didn't win in this encounter, it would become prolonged enough that such a concern was unneeded.

"Fujimaru, can Siegfried release his Noble Phantasm?"

"Uh....he said that he can, but it'll take him out of the fight." Ritsuka took a moment to respond, presumedly after asking.

"Hinako, go aid Cu." I quickly decided.

She was hovering near us protectively like Mash was. "He's going to hate it."

"He can file his complaints with out HR department." I snorted. He wasn't looking like he was in a favorable position. "Samuel, I'm giving you free rein, if you see an opening, use a Command Seal to end the fight with his Noble Phantasm."

"Yes, Ma'am." He quickly nodded.

I looked up, and Medea was doing a phenomenal job of keeping the Wyverns preoccupied and the Archer, even if it didn't look like she was gaining any advantage, it was the best possible situation for us.

The Dragon Witch herself was....just watching the 'real' Jeanne D'Arc and Wilhelm fight with the other Servants.

If she didn't wish to participate, that was fine.

I aimed my hand up and fired off a few Gandr shots, hitting one Wyvern. It was taken by surprise an lost its flight rather quickly in the confusion and plummeted to the ground.

"Roman, did you get any readings from that?"

"I was watching, director."

"If I use the same amount of power, calculate the shots needed to defeat a singular Wyvern." Wilhelm mentioned that they should be...lower than traditional Wyverns, as odd as that was to consider.

"With the same output, you would need three Shots, landing center mass. Perhaps less if you hit them in a vital." Roman replied back rather quickly.

"Suboptimal." I clicked my tongue. "I will run out of Magical Energy far before I make a dent." However, I could snipe any that got ideas about us down here instead of focusing on another Servant.

I nearly fell over when the Dragon let out an earth-shattering roar. It looked like Siegfried got a good hit in on it.

"Fujimaru, prepare to – "

"Director!" Mash yelled.

I blinked, noticing something out of the corner of my eye, as a blade was coming right for my neck.

"Mash, by the power of this Command Seal! –"

It happened so quickly, but I could see the sparks fly, and the sound of steel clashing with Mash standing over me, her shield deflecting an oddly shaped sword.

I quickly regained my composure. "Mash, Assassin Protocols!" I shouted, ducking and rolling to the side. It wasn't the time to worry about my appearance as I did the best I could to get away from them.

Despite my reservations, Mash performed admirably. She used her large shield to push the Assassin Servant away from us and force him to keep a distance.

A strategy we devised for her, simply become a wall between us and an Assassin.

The Servant didn't appear like an Assassin, but looks can be deceiving. He held a large....oddly shaped blade.

Mash and him began exchanging blows. The sword of his lashing out against her shield. Mash didn't need to do much to keep him at bay as his attacks never came close to harming her. In fact, he seemed to be relying more on his pure strength than anything.

Wide, open arcs....I was no Swordsman, but that seemed odd even to me. Almost like a pendulum as he continued his swings and, then it made sense. "Ritsuka, command Mash. He's aiming –"

"I saw, Director!" Fujimaru cut me off. "Mash, he's aiming for your head!"

Mash quickly changed up her pattern, once she was informed, she was weaving between strikes. Then dodged and caughthim in some awkward spots. Every so often, her shield would land on him, causing some amount of damage.

The tide further turned as a root sprung up out of the ground and wrapped up the Assassin Servant's foot. Both him and Mash were surprised by the sudden turn of events, but Mash was quicker and her shield smashed into his face, sending him flying.

I glanced at Caster Cu, but he was still preoccupied with his fight. Instead, I looked towards Samuel. He had a hand on one of Cu Chulainn's Roots that he himself had summoned earlier.

"Ah....there was some magic left in this, thought I'd use it to help?" He looked embarrassed.

"Well done." I gave him a brief word of praise.

They all had been taking the initiative lately, their training was paying off in spades. I was genuinely surprised at how far they've come in the meant time, even if they still had further to go.

I surveyed the battlefield again as Mash was putting the Assassin on the defensive at this point.

"Roman, quickly, scan Wilhelm and report." I reinforced my eyes to see clearly what he was doing. I could hear it, even over the battlefield's chaos, it sounded like Japanese, but I wasn't an expert. He was chanting something, and it was long.

"I'm getting some strange readings." Roman confirmed.

"Oh wow, those are weird." Da Vinci chimed in. "There's no Magical Energy present, but there is an unknown phenomena occurring."

"How is there no Magical Energy? I'm seeing an unnatural occurrence with my own eyes. There has to be Magical Energy!" I could literally see the energy around him conglomerate into a solid color. And whatever spell he cast actualized, trapping the Servant he was fighting. Some kind of black box that had stakes stab into the side.

I had no idea what was happening, but as soon as it unraveled the Servant was utterly defeated.

"Nope, nada. Whatever he did, it was not Magecraft or Magic. Tell him to give me an explanation after the fight is over, I want to see it again." Caster cheerfully chirped.

"....wonderful." More things I just had no knowledge for.

How many lines of an Aria count was that? It was strong enough to take out a Servant, so it had to be at least an A Rank Spell.

"Woah woah!" Roman squeaked from his side of the projection. "Something's going on, be careful. These readings, it's like the Singularity is being torn open in a small scale."

"What..." There was nothing like that? Just battles going on, a new Caster joined the fight it seems, and Wilhelm engaged him. Summoning some kind of tentacle construct....eww.

But otherwise –

A deafening scream silenced the battlefield.

It was wrong.

It didn't belong.

Every fiber of my being told me to eliminate whatever it came from. I had to cover my ears, but even so, I felt my Aura vibrate in nausea at the sound.

I felt my head wobble and I nearly fell over.

Eyes, Tentacles, like something massive was looking at me from the other side of a mirror.

I only regained my senses with Sir Wiggles jumped onto my head. A tiny jolt from his lightning cleared away the foreign feeling.

I wasn't the only one who felt that. Wyverns fell from the sky like flies. The others, they were having trouble climbing to their feet.

And the enemy Servants....they were glowing bright and they simply disappeared a moment later, along with the massive Dragon.

"Director, what just happened!?" Roman called out.

"I-I don't know..."

"Well, that was a nasty surprise. Ruined my fight too." Cu grumbled, walking over. "Been awhile since I've felt something like that."

"You know what that was?!" I questioned him.

"Something that doesn't belong." Medea floated down. "I was barely paying attention to the source, but it's a taboo that shouldn't be touched by humans."

"Something from the Age of Gods?"

Medea snorted. "Not even Hecate herself would willingly touch the source of that. I don't know too much, but It's something from outside. Something that the Gods themselves actively denied access to our world."

"Yup, things got a bit more complicated." Cu nodded. "Something like that popped up in my homeland once. One of the few times I saw Pops serious about something."

..... His father was the God of Light, Lugh.

Medea said even the Greek Gods were critical of the source...

"Don't even bother asking for details." Hinako scoffed, cleaning blood off herself from where her wounds were healing. "I'm pretty sure I recognized what it was as it originated from my part of the world a long time ago. A spellbook that shouldn't exist, from a person who's name I refuse to even mention. If I saw it in any other circumstance, I'd been forced to take action. Humans these days, I think you call them 'Outer Gods'?"

.....why did that sound familiar?

[***]

Jeanne D'Arc, The Dragon Witch POV

"Gilles, Gilles!"

"Jeanne, what's wrong?"

"I....?" I looked around, why were we back at the castle? "Why are we here, why aren't we fighting that fake and those others!?"

"A temporary retreat." Gilles reassured.

"Your book?" I looked at the Book he always carried; it was cut in half.

"Fear not, Jeanne." He held up the cup and it glowed bright, and the book began to mend. But something weird happened, and the faces on the cover changed, and I think I heard some crying? As soon as it was fixed, it split apart again, lightning jumping between the two halves. His face twisted, and he looked really mad before he returned to normal. "....divinity."

"Something wrong, Gilles?"

"Only a small hindrance. Nothing will be able to stop our goals." The two sides opened up and tentacles jumped between both sides, pulling the edges together, and binding them. "It will have to do."

Goals?

"What were our goals again, Gilles?"

"Why, to show that this is a Godless world." He swept his arms around. "To prove that there is no God."

"....right, thanks Gilles." It made sense.

If there was a God, why did I burn?

That made a lot of sense.

Of course, that's what we were doing. And getting revenge, that was important too.

But why.....did something feel wrong?

Why was there a pain in my chest? I didn't understand, I wasn't hurt so why did my chest hurt so much?

....my head was feeling funny too.

"Gillles, I'm confused."

"What bothers you, My Jeanne?" He asked in concern.

"I don't know, but I feel confused. I keep remembering things, but then I forget them. But I know things that aren't true? That person...why was he familiar? Why is it that I know him?"

"He was simply beguiling you, Jeanne. There's no need to pay him any heed. I will remove the pest the next time we meet."

A Grail War....

Two Side, and then, why was that guy with Red Hair so....vivid?

Wait...

"Gilles, did we ever do a Grail War?" I asked my closest friend.

"A Grail War?" He tilted his head. "Why would we fight a war for something we already possess, my dear Jeanne?"

"....yeah, you're right. That makes sense. But why does it feel like I know him so well? I was happy when he came to me, and not that....fake." I scoffed. "Do you think the fake me is confusing him? I don't want to fight my friend again."

"Your.....friend?" He looked at me strangely.

"Oh yeah." I couldn't help but smile. "We fought together! In the Grail War that I was a Ruler of. He even summoned that cow of his." Annoying bitch that she was. "But he's here again! We should go get him, I'm sure he'd help us if we just told him what we were doing."

That Fake Jeanne must have done something, that's why he was on her side. I'll just have to show him the truth.

Huh....when did the war happen? Didn't Gilles say that there was no Grail War? Maybe he's just mistaken, it must have been a hard few days. Taking over Orleans, burning the country down, yeah, that must be it.

"Are you feeling unwell, Jeanne?" Gilles asked.

"I don't know." I still felt it. "There's something painful in my chest, Gilles. Ever since I saw him on that Fake's side, it started hurting. Is something wrong with me, Gilles?" He would know, he knows everything that's been happening.

".....nothing you need to trouble yourself with my dear Jeanne." He held up the Golden Cup and it began to glow. "Why don't you take a rest?"

"A nap?" I felt my eyes getting heavy.

"Precisely." I saw his warm smile before my eyes closed. "When you wake up, all will be better."

"Mmm, I'll listen to you Gilles, you're the best. You stood by me when no one else did."

"Of course, of course. Don't trouble yourself with anything confusing, let me handle the troublesome matters."

So tired all of the sudden. He's right, a nap will be nice. "What's the plan to deal with the fake and those others? I think we lost one of our servants." I yawned, finding the ground comfy.

"I will prepare something special. We have plenty of living materials left in the dungeons that I can use." He laughed.

That's good.

And then he can come back to my side, not that fake.

Then everything will be good again.

[***]

Non-Canon Omake -- What really happens in Wilhelm's soul.

Finding out that a bunch of other entities took up residence in my soul, what else was there to do?

"Alright, I'm going to roll a perception check." I stated, tossing my dice. "12."

"12..." Musū Tengai paused, looking down at some papers. "You notice that the cave is oddly dry despite the heavy rains you suffered the last few nights. But that is all."

"I would like to cast Glimpse of Evil." Meridia spoke, clutching her own dice.

"You cast Glimpse of Evil, giving you sight beyond your own. Any evil creature within 40 yards is known to you. However, nothing appears." Musū Tengai replied.

"Enough with this!" Odin slammed his fist on the table. "The great Berserker Grimmar isn't a coward! I rush into the cave with my battle axe, ready for battle!"

"ah fuck, I realized what's going on." Ddraig covered his face with his claw.

"Roll for me." Musū Tengai ordered.

Odin, the great All-Father threw his dice. ".....1." He said quietly.

Musū Tengai nearly laughed. "With a blind fury, you rush into the cave as something didn't quite feel right, you were on edge. Your boisterous roar as you charged forward awakened something. Something ancient opened a single eye, its red iris illuminating the cave with a soft blaze. You then realize what monster you have awoken as flame spew from its nostrils, revealing what hid in the darkness. You find a Dragon, in all its glory staring down at you.

"Oh god dammit!" I threw my arms up. "Wait, how did Meridia not detect that?"

"I would too like to know." Meridia asked.

"Most Dragons aren't Evil." Ddraig shrugged.

"Ddraig is right, Dragons are more natural calamities than evil entities. With exceptions, of course. But you no more call a wolf evil for hunting a deer, than a Dragon does hunting to satiate its own stomach." Musū Tengai clarified.

"Joy, the one-eyed bastard woke it up." Meridia drawled.

"I can handle this!" Odin huffed. "Grimmar is a hero worthy of Valhalla! A mere Dragon can not defeat him. Do I have an action or does the beast wish to start combat?" He asked towards our vaunted Dungeon Master.

"The Dragon, waking up after so long, is confused as to your presence. It does not attack immediately, and silently stares at you." Musū Tengai elaborated.

"Alright, alright, we have a chance." I tapped the table impatiently.

"What every you do –"

"I attack the beast with my axe!" Odin roared, cutting off Meridia.

"You idiot!" She spat out.

"Roll." Musū Tengai smiled.

".....four." Odin whispered.

"We're fucked." I sighed.

"You swing your mighty Axe with such fury and ferocity that songs would have been spoken of your prowess, had you not deemed to do so against a Dragon. Your axe collided with the Dragon's mighty scales and snaps, leaving no damage done to the beast. However, what would have been a peaceful and amicable Dragon, is now utterly furious. Roll for initiative."

"You damn fool!" Meridia scowled.

"Wait!" Ddraig held up his claw.

"You have an action before combat, Ddraig?" Musū Tengai asked.

"I am a Dragonkin." He puffed up proudly. "I attempt to seduce the dragon."

".....you're lucky that I already decided that the Dragon was Female." Musū Tengai grumbled. "Roll." He sighed. "And give me your best attempt, if you say something good, I'll give you an extra point on your roll."

Ddriag cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for intruding on your lair, Great Dragoness. I understand if my friend here enraged you enough to burn us all alive. I do not ask for forgiveness, only that you grant this poor Dragonkin one act of mercy. Let me gaze upon your beautiful scales for even a moment longer, and I will be content with whatever end comes for me."

"....not bad." I had to acknowledge.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I've been laying down Dragonessess before you were even born!"

Ddraig looking confident, he clutched his dice between his claws and tossed them onto the table. ".....3."

"The Dragon's name is apparently Tiamat, negating any chance at your seduction." Musū Tengai replied.

"Dick!" Ddraig pouted.

"Right then, there goes that.....can I roll another perception check?"

Musū Tengai shrugged. "Go ahead."

"11." I stated, looking at the dice I just rolled.

"It's a Dragon." Musū Tengai stated.

"Well, we're right fucked, aren't we?"

"I did say Ancient Dragon." Musū Tengai reiterated.

"Do you have a plan, Wilhelm?" Meridia asked.

"Die horribly?"

"We could run while the one-eyed fool attempts to fight it." Meridia offered.

"I will slay the beast!" Odin slammed his fist on the table.

"With what weapon?" Meridia countered.

"....I'm working on it." The God scowled.

"Alright, I have a plan!" I clapped my hands. "I would like to make an action before combat."

Musū Tengai gestured for me to continue. "This is the last action then we roll for initiative, choose wisely."

"I attempt to seduce the Dragon."

"Oh come on." Musū Tengai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Proceed, same as Ddraig."

"Really, Brat? Why do you think you're going ot succeed where I failed?" Ddraig scoffed.

"No faith." I shook my head, juggling the 20 sided dice in my hand. "Swiggity swooty, I'm coming for that Dragon booty!" I threw it across the table. "18!"

"Thank god, it's not enough." Musū Tengai sighed in exasperation. "The Dragon –"

"Wait..." Meridia groaned. "I would like to make it known that I do this with as much hate I could possible possess....I cast Divine Radiance on him, giving him a +2 to his Charisma roll."

"Woo!" I cheered.

"Dammit, fine!" Musū Tengai threw his hands up. "The Dragon is swooned by your mastery of the common language and falls heads over heels for you."

"That's bullshit." Ddraig huffed.

"It's called charm, Ddraig. Ever head of it?" I said smugly.

"I also attempt to Seduce the Dragon." Odin spoke up.

"Why!?" Musū Tengai groaned.

"I won't be out done by a brat! This beast needs a real man!"

"Roll." Musū Tengai Seethed.

[***]

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