Chapitre 152: -149- [ The Dragon Witch ]
The battle ended within a few short minutes.
After witnessing Mash's overwhelming combat prowess, the wyverns emitted mournful cries and scattered in all directions like birds dispersing. This could be considered fortunate.
No matter what, even if individual wyverns couldn't match up against a Servant, when their numbers reached a certain level, they could still pose a threat. If the wyverns had chosen to call for reinforcements rather than retreat, the situation would have been much worse.
Fortunately, the wyverns ultimately gave up their pursuit. After witnessing the Servant's power, they chose to retreat.
A crisis had been resolved with minimal danger.
"Senpai, I've brought a wyvern."
Mash withdrew from the battle, one hand supporting her large shield and the other dragging an unconscious wyvern towards them.
The sight of a seemingly fragile and delicate girl dragging a wyvern with one hand was incredibly impressive. The French army fell into stunned silence. Even Marshal Gilles de Rais raised an eyebrow but chose to remain silent.
"Nicely done, Mash."
Rozen couldn't help but pat Mash's head, causing her to blush and lower her head slightly.
But this was a reward from Rozen.
"Without my support, you managed to decisively drive away a group of wyverns. I'm sure you've worked hard on your combat skills during these three months, right?"
Rozen spoke in this manner.
It's worth noting that during the Fuyuki Singularity, Mash possessed strength but lacked combat experience. Consequently, her defensive capabilities were high, but her offensive abilities were lacking. Rozen had evaluated her as having the combat power of an advanced Familiar with defense reaching the level of the highest-ranked Familiars.
If it had been the Mash from that time, she wouldn't have been able to drive away the wyverns so easily.
Now, however, Mash's combat strength had significantly improved. Although she still didn't surpass her exceptional defense, she can easily go up against a group of wyverns.
Naturally, Rozen could easily deduce that Mash had undergone rigorous training.
Mash didn't deny this.
"This was all Director's arrangement."
In just a few words, Rozen fully understood the situation.
With Olga-Marie's unyielding personality, she wouldn't stand by and watch as Mash remained solely reliant on brute strength. So, during these three months, Olga-Marie had likely utilized numerous resources from Chaldeas to create specific training plans for Mash. She had taken part in countless simulated battles, which had greatly improved her skills.
If the current Mash, placed back in the Fuyuki Singularity, combined with Rozen's expertise from the world of automaton, even without utilizing the power of the Greater Grail, she would have an ample chance of defeating a Saber.
"It seems I'm not the only one striving for improvement."
Rozen couldn't help but sigh a little. He continued to pat Mash's head with more force, making her even more embarrassed.
"Fou!"
On the other hand, Fou jumped down from Rozen's shoulder and fearlessly approached the unconscious wyvern, poking it playfully with its front paws, seeming to have a great time.
At this point, Gilles de Rais approached with his army.
"Thank you very much for your assistance."
Gilles saluted the two, first with a military salute and then with a noble gesture, as he spoke.
"If you need any assistance, feel free to ask. We'll do our best to help."
This had been previously arranged.
Rozen, however, wasn't the least bit reserved.
"What we need is information."
Rozen said this.
"Information?"
Gilles frowned.
"Exactly." Rozen pointed to the unconscious wyvern beside them. "What exactly is this? Why would creatures like these appear within the borders of France?"
Since Gilles de Rais might not have been exposed to magic at this point, Rozen didn't explain too directly. He merely asked the question. In this era, while the mystic wasn't as diminished, it wasn't at a point where phantasmal species would freely roam the streets. Rozen believed that Gilles would be able to provide valuable information.
And sure enough...
"I see, you're not from France, and you don't seem to be from England either. You must be from a distant foreign land, right?"
Gilles seemed to understand Rozen and Mash's reason for seeking information and spoke as such.
"If you were French or English, you'd know that just a few days ago, these monsters suddenly appeared within the borders of France and wreaked havoc within our country. The entire land of France was attacked by them, with several cities being destroyed. This eventually led to the withdrawal of the English forces within our borders, leaving only us."
Upon hearing this, Rozen hadn't said anything yet, but Mash was already surprised.
"In other words, England withdrew because of the wyvern attacks?" Mash couldn't help but ask. "Didn't Charles VII sign a ceasefire agreement?"
If a ceasefire agreement had been signed, the English forces should have withdrawn independently, rather than being forced to retreat by the wyverns.
However, Mash hadn't anticipated that her question would lead to astonishing news.
"...You don't even know about this?" Gilles fell silent for a moment before calmly saying, "Charles VII is dead. He was killed by the Wyverns summoned by 'The Dragon Witch.'"
The astonishing news caused Mash to take a sharp breath, and it made Rozen narrow his eyes.
Rozen then turned to Gilles and asked the most crucial question directly.
"Who is this 'Dragon Witch'?"
Rozen inquired about the key point.
And the answer he received was even more shocking.
"Who is she?" Gilles met Rozen's gaze, sounding both self-mocking and ironic, as well as nostalgic.
"Anyone from France… or even those who aren't from France, couldn't possibly not know her."
After all...
"Just three days ago, she was burned at the stake, dying on a crucifix."
Gilles clenched the sword in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His words revealed to both Rozen and Mash the identity of this so-called 'Dragon Witch.'
"That's right."
Gilles spoke somewhat fanatically.
"She is our saint, the eternal saint—Jeanne d'Arc."
In other words, it was as he said.
"Jeanne d'Arc has been resurrected, and she's completely disillusioned with the Lord. She has decided to embrace the path of darkness, carrying the flames of revenge. As the Dragon Witch, she's mercilessly wreaking havoc upon the France that betrayed her."
Gilles conveyed the most critical piece of information to Rozen.
At this point, the anomaly of this Singularity had become apparent.
The resurrected Jeanne d'Arc was the most significant abnormality within this Singularity.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone