章 49: Departure; to the Grand Order
"Caught you."
Aisha smiled coldly. She held 'Ryan' face down on the ground as she held his hands tied on his back.
"Hah. It is useless. You've been bamboozled, Aisha." 'Ryan' laughed lightly. Even if he was caught in the end, he had still fulfilled his purpose.
He had led her so far away from the underground cavern, preventing Aisha from potentially disrupting his deed.
"En. I know. You aren't him."
Although, Aisha's next words made him surprised. He looked perplexed, "But, then… why?"
Aisha slightly shook her head. She felt quite annoyed, though she also appeared to understand a little.
"He still has things to do here, right? That's why I followed along his play to catch you."
It was already dawn. As the morning sun gradually rose up, Aisha and Tomoe were slowly engulfed inside a flash of light.
"I will wait for him in the next stage. Tell him that if he dares to hide from me again, I won't back down easily the next time. I shall not explain what'd happen next, right, 'Ryan'?"
Aisha smiled mischievously as she left those words before she disappeared along the flash of light, leaving the dumbfounded 'Ryan' behind.
"Ah…"
Holy shit… she's still crazy as ever, in a sense.
He thought as such while his existence gradually turned into a mirage. Ryan's doppelganger had disappeared, returning to original Ryan as a fragment of memory.
. . .
Jeanne d'Arc.
She was the Saint of Orleans. A Catholic saint born in 1412, at Domrémy, France. She was the heroine of France who liberated Orléans in the Hundred Years' War.
Originally a common farmer's daughter, she departed her home at 17 years old to raise her arms against the ongoing Hundred Years War at that time.
Jeanne carved herself into history during the short years she was in battlefield. What she did could be said as a miracle as she managed to put an end to the war which had lasted for hundreds of years in that short two years.
Although, the end she received was neither glory nor appreciation from her countrymen, but despise and scorn as she was burned at the stake.
At the end of her life, she was shamed and charged as a witch by the very people she tried to protect...
To her, she merely wished to soothe the Lord's grief upon the never-ending war at that time.
The revelation she had heard contained no glory or victory, no obligation or sense of purpose, only the Lord's lament. She heard His sorrow murmur which others failed to hear; that the world changed straight into hell and no one could stop it.
During those long periods of war, people were not even allowed to live simply; they either became beast or foods. Conflict never ended, and blood continued to rain incessantly and soak the land.
After she got that revelation, Jeanne discarded her simple life as a farmer's daughter. She threw away the joy of loving someone and being loved back as she raised her banner to stop the war.
She knew that there would be no compensation, and she would be scorned by both the masses and enemies alike. Considering their belief in the church's guidelines for proper behavior in woman, for her to join the war where killing intent swirled about was a terrifying thing to contemplate.
Even so, she would not turn her back on the Lord's grief.
She decided to devote her life to oppose this world's hell to help stop the Lord's tears and soothe Him. She donned her armor on her body, hung a sword on her waist and carried the flag. She fought alongside with Gilles de Rais at the Hundred Years' War of Orleans.
She was a brave and cool girl as a Servant. She put order first and foremost, and would wield her sword for the rules.
But…! What's with her now?
Jeanne was staring at Ryan like he was the worst scum on earth, while muttering to herself,
"…perverted scoundrel…horny rogue…lewd beast…"
Jeanne was already fully clothed as of now as they were having breakfast in the hotel's dining lounge.
However, when Jeanne was reminded of her memory of from last night, of those embarrassing and naughty scenes… her face blushed so hard as she was too embarrassed!
Artoria sipped her tea calmly. She looked at the embarrassed Jeanne as she spoke softly, "Now that we have seen each other in all of our entirety, what are you embarrassed about? Moreover, at the latter half of the night, weren't you–"
"Ahh! I can't hear it! I can't hear it!"
Jeanne held her head as she shook herself in denial.
'She looks quite pitiful…, but isn't she also kind of cute?' Ryan thought quietly.
Then, he confirmed it again in his System Panel. There was really an addition of a new Soul Contractor without him realizing before.
[Soul Contract]
Jeanne d'Arc (Ruler)
[Strength]: B
[Vitality]: B
[Dexterity]: A
[Spirit]: A
[Luck]: C
[Skill]:
>> Magic Resistance (EX)
>> Reinstatement of the Radiant Holy Light (B)
>> Revelation (A)
>> Charisma (C)
Ryan nodded, 'Yep. She is really there. But, I didn't remember how we came to be like this, though…'
As far as he remembered, when he came to his senses, he found Jeanne and Artoria were lying softly on each his side respectively. In addition, the three of them were only wearing their birthday suit.
Ryan could feel a blissful sensation on his left and right side as their soft mounds were resting peacefully on his arms.
At that time, Ryan had a thought, 'Is this heaven?'
It would be hard not to have some assumptions on that extremely stimulating scene!
However, when he saw the familiar ceiling of underground cavern, he realized that it wasn't the case. Though he wouldn't deny that that sensation was definitely a heavenly bliss...
Anyway, after Ryan's upgrade to level 6 of Demon King Arcane Art, he didn't only get a new [Soul Contract], but there were also some improvements on his status.
His [Strength], [Dexterity], and [Vitality] stats got increased evenly to [B] rank from [C+] rank. He acquired the third Samsara seal, and more importantly, he finally got himself the [Demon King Transformation] skill.
He didn't know if such skill would be granted by the normal progression of Demon King Arcane Art, since it was mainly training his soul, hence why he insisted to create it himself by devouring Angra Mainyu.
By adding a transformation vessel that he could access at moment's notice, Ryan was able to create a trump card that he could relatively use often other than the Sixth Magic – Six-Paths of Samsara.
Since he was bound to go to outside world following this trial, and he still didn't know how his current strength would fare againts the others there, it would better for him to be more cautious.
After all, blatantly showing all his cards would only make him dead faster. People would become cautious and wary of him if they didn't know much about his trump cards.
As the saying went; it was the unknown which was scary.
Not to mention, there was a high chance that he would lose the immortality perk he was currently enjoying from Yu Miaoyi's link with Gaia. That was why he had to be more careful. Because, if he met some misfortunes, it wouldn't only affect him, the girls too would bear the brunt of it...
As for the [Demon King Transformation] skill, although he had yet to try its actual power, but he had high hopes that it wouldn't be worse than the [Frost Dragon Transformation] he once owned before.
On another note, Artoria also got a major upgrade after their previous session of 'dual cultivation'; she got promoted to level 2 of Frost Dragon King Arcane Art, and she was about to break through to level 3 with just a bit more push.
'Yeah, dual cultivation is really the way to go! But…, that's strange, Yu Miaoyi's stats are also raised quite a bit. How did she do it in just these few days?'
In his System Panel, Ryan could see that Yu Miaoyi had also broken through level 2 of her Destruction Dragon King Arcane Art. However, she still had quite a long way before breaking through into the third level.
39:28:34
That was the countdown which appeared on the grey bracelet; the time he had left before he was forcibly transported to the battlefield of second trial.
'There is still more than a day and half. Although it's short, there are still things that could be done within this duration.
'Now that Aisha has gone to the second stage, it is likely that Kizuna has also gone earlier there. She would probably try to fight me at this second stage...'
Bam!
Jeanne suddenly slammed strongly on the table.
"...I saw it.
"One of you indulge him too much, and the other is a willful woman who likes to do as she pleases. Now that it has come to this..., I will definitely manage you properly, Ryan!"
"Eh, why the sudden motivation, Jeanne?" Ryan turned to look at Jeanne when he sensed her outburst.
Jeanne looked damn straight into his eyes as she finalized her verdict,
"I won't allow your debauchery to continue unimpeded! From now on, you can only do it once a month!"
Ryan: "..."
Ryan was dumbfounded silly when he heard Jeanne's sudden decision.
"Y-yo-you...! Are you a devil, Jeanne?!"
That kind of thing is one of his main motivations along the way. For it be cut off, to be limited for once a month..., if she isn't a devil then what is she?!
"I am certainly not a devil. This is for your own good, Ryan. I won't allow you to be a perverted rogue!"
"Hmm, I see. Beauty is the grave of heroes indeed. Perhaps the holy maiden is right, Ryan. You need some restrains."
"You too, Artoria?!"
Artoria Lancer nodded. She smiled faintly when she saw the look of hopelessness inside Ryan's eyes.
Heavens...!
A pain greater than being sliced to pieces, most painful than being rejected by one's crush, to him it was the torment of being blue-balled!
'Right! There is still Lady Yu!'
"I can convince Assassin if that's your concern, Ryan. I am sure she would agree to it in a heartbeat."
Like a final hammer deciding the fate of the convicted criminal, Jeanne added that final line with stern look on her face.
"..."
Ahh... life is not daijōbu...
There was no light of life within his eyes as Ryan was slumped on his seat. He was extremely devastated when he saw the seriousness inside Jeanne's and Artoria's eyes.
At that time, an annoying glare came from the side table.
"Have you done with your family quarrels? If so, I'd like for that bastard to quickly revive my Master. I will definitely fulfill my end of bargain as long as you–"
"Ok." Ryan replied half-heartedly.
Medea scoffed when she looked at Ryan's current state. She felt a little bit better seeing him grounded by his women.
'Serves you right!'
Ryan, still feeling weary and losing hope, lightly raised his hand.
Six-colored wheel of light shone radiantly behind him, and its light soon descended upon the corpse of Kuzuki Souichirou which had been preserved by Medea since last night.
"Why?"
Not only Kuzuki, to Medea's surprise, she was also shone by that six-colored light as her existence rapidly became more defined and she gained a true corporeal body.
Unlike her ether body as a Servant, this time she was resurrected as a proper living being along with Kuzuki's resurrection.
As for why Ryan dared to use such blatant show of magic, that was because there were no strangers among them. The entire place had been shrouded by a veil of illusion spell casted by Medea.
Jeanne stared unblinking at Ryan performing the Sixth Magic on Kuzuki and Medea. Although she already saw some images of the Sixth Magic in Ryan's memory, she was still unable to get her mind around on such miraculous yet also blasphemous Magic!
Soon, under everyone's eyes, Kuzuki Souichirou slowly opened his eyes. He looked confusedly at the crying Medea in front of him, and also at the young man and his group who were his enemies last night.
"I thought I was going to die that time… how about the Holy Grail War, Caster?" He looked warily at Ryan and the others as he took a defensive stance.
Medea shook her head slightly. She spoke with downcast look, "The War is over. We lost, Souichirou…"
Kuzuki was taken aback. But he quickly regained his calm as he nodded. He was quick to accept such result, muttering calmly, "I see."
Ryan, feeling like they were being slightly dramatic over their definite loss, shooed them away.
"Shoo~ Shoo~ Just go away, Caster, Kuzuki-sensei. I am in a bad mood now, so I won't send you off."
Ryan was still slumped on his seat, looking bleak just like how bleak his future night life would be...
Though, Medea was stunned.
She couldn't believe that perverted young man was going to let her go so easily like that, especially after he also incarnated her as a living being again.
"Didn't you say…?"
"I've got what I wanted. So, now go." Ryan shook his head slightly. He didn't care one bit about Medea and Kuzuki as his mind was still occupied by Jeanne's sudden decision to put a ban on him.
Kuzuki didn't know what kind of matter Ryan and Medea were talking about, though after seeing their expression, he concluded that they had made a deal about something.
However, now, it seemed like Ryan wasn't too keen about getting Medea to fulfill the deal between them...
"Let's go, Caster."
Kuzuki held Caster's hand as he led her away from the hotel lounge.
Although he didn't know what kind of deal they were on, but he firmly believed that he should have died last night. If Medea could heal him by herself, she would definitely not make some kind of deal with that young man.
The fact was that he survived now, alive and well even more so. If he was supposed to die last night, yet he was alive by the next day, then...
"Thank you for your help, benefactor. Now, if you allow it, please excuse us."
'Just what kind of a devil that you made a pact to? Regardless of who he is, we should get away before he changes his mind, Caster.'
Medea looked deeply at Ryan before she left with Kuzuki. She seemed like she was saying something, but her voice was too soft for Ryan to hear.
(Thank you.)
Ryan was silent as he laid lazily on his chair.
In truth, he didn't really have much feeling for Medea and Kuzuki Souichirou. It was just, he once thought that it would probably good for them to be together after what they had been through...
Of course, the story would be different if he was interested in Medea. At that time, he would definitely snatch her away from Kuzuki Souichirou if he had to.
"...you let them go just like that?" Jeanne looked profoundly at him. From what she saw through his memories, he wasn't the kind of man to do charity.
"What else do you think I would do to them? She did her part, and I've got what I wanted. That's enough for me."
Ticks mark seemed to appear on Jeanne's face when she looked at Ryan's smirk. She felt like she wanted to poke his eyes a little bit...!
*Stare* *Stare* * Stare*
Jeanne kept staring at Ryan, making him uncomfortable like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Ryan then relented. He sighed a little as he scratched his head, "Remember what I asked her before? I want her most precious thing; I want her heart.
"The fact that she still came to me despite knowing such condition meant that she has chosen to sacrifice herself for his sake. She already gave her heart to him, what came here was only a woman who already lost her heart.
"However, what I really wanted to get isn't her service. I can reach her level of magecraft sooner or later by myself. I only wanted her to know that she is more than a witch of betrayal..."
Jeanne was slightly agape when she heard Ryan's unexpected reply. She felt that he wasn't really a honest guy... and that's also slightly cute of him, in his way.
*Cough*
"Flirting like there are only you two in the world, are you forgetting about us here, Ryan?"
From another table, Raikou was smiling gently as she looked at Ryan. Beside her were Medusa, Ushiwakamaru, and... Artoria Saber.
Just moments ago, Medea already transferred their Command Spell to Ryan after she cut their contract with their previous Master.
Ushiwakamaru was his Servant to begin with.
As for Raikou, she didn't have a problem with the matter of changing her Master. She even offered Ryan her help if he wanted.
Medusa acceded to her new contract with the premise that Ryan wouldn't harm Sakura. Though, not that that he even planned to harm her to begin with.
Ryan accepted her request easily. Moreover, he also added another safety net on this worldline's Rin, Shirou, and Sakura respectively which would at least protect them several times in emergency.
What made him surprised was Artoria Saber's choice. She decided for herself to see the kind of a man the other her (Artoria Lancer) decided to stay with...
'Hey, Artoria, I wonder how Jeanne came to accept the [Soul Contract]... I didn't have any recollection of that time. Do you know something about it?' Ryan talked to Artoria Lancer through their mind.
'You should ask her this matter yourself.'
Ryan thought for a while, 'Is it something embarrassing to talk?'
'Sort of.'
'...I feel like I am becoming more of a hentai harem protagonist day by day...'
On the outside, Artoria was sipping her tea calmly as she responded lightly, 'It always has been. Have you just realized it by now?'
Ryan: '...'
Then why are you and Jeanne trying to cockblock me?!
...Wait, Jeanne said that I can only do it once a month. Did she mean it one time for each of them?
Ohh, I see! If I add another twenty or so girls, wouldn't I be able to get through the month as usual? Well, well, aren't I a genius?
Ryan was smiling lightly when he reached that conclusion.
At same time, Jeanne felt a foreboding omen in her heart. She subconsciously turned to look at the gleeful Ryan...
'What's he up to now?'
Artoria Saber just finished her meal as she then turned her attention on Ryan, "What are you going to do now?"
The Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail War in this worldline was over.
With the Greater Grail had been devoured by Ryan, the only thing that was keeping Artoria Saber, Raikou, Ushiwakamaru and Medusa in this world would be their contract with Ryan.
He alone replaced the Greater Grail and provided the upkeep for four Servants simultaneously.
"It is time to continue my journey. This place is merely a pit stop after all. However, before that, I need to pick up someone first."
Now that Ryan had found a solution for his night tryst, his feeling turned for the better. He had the mood to laugh as he held the Jeweled Sword Kaleidoscope,
"Old man, I know you can hear me. If you still dare to troll me again, I swear that I will use anything on my power to hunt you down, and teach you an unforgettable lesson for your life. Remember; Samsara is ever-present, old man."
At their stage, for a battle between Magician, the only thing that mattered would be their control of their own True Magic.
Currently, after his Sixth Magic underwent an upgrade after travelling between worlds, Ryan was able to utilize more authority of the Sixth Magic.
Slash!
"Come on, let's go, girls!"
Jeanne and Artoria went inside his soul altar. The Servants; Raikou, Ushiwakamaru, Medusa and Artoria Saber, they turned into spiritual form as they followed Ryan into the portal.
. . .
Meanwhile, inside the Second Magician's true space, old man Zelretch shook his head slightly.
"What a nasty temper. I only guided you into your destiny. How could you call me a troll, young man?
"However, it seems like he has realized the potential of his Sixth Magic by quite a bit. I should give him a nice surprise there."
. . .
The moment Ryan slashed the space in front of him, he immediately dashed into the portal created by the Jeweled Sword.
Ryan immediately realized that he had arrived at his original worldline according to his connection with Yu Miaoyi.
Without further words, he instantly flashed toward Yu Miaoyi's location, which happened to be at London.
"You have arrived, Ryan."
Yu Miaoyi seemed slightly stiff when she called out to Ryan, though she quickly returned to her usual appearance.
Ryan smiled mysteriously when he saw Yu Miaoyi.
'Interesting.'
He grinned lightly as he took her waist, pulling her closer to him, "I am back, my dear consort."
"Ahh!"
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You seem different, Lady. You'd usually kiss me soon as we meet though..."
Ryan looked a little bit disappointed as he glanced at her, giving her a hint.
"I-is that so?"
Then, while looking slightly forced and embarrassed, Yu Miaoyi braced herself to savor his lips. They were so into the act as they didn't realize that few minutes had passed as they seemed to devour each other's lips and tongue. When their lips were separated, a thread of saliva could be seen connected their lips for a while.
At that time, Ryan suddenly smiled. He spoke sincerely, "I am glad you are here, Lady Yu."
"Enn..."
They were embracing each other for a while before Yu Miaoyi also went inside his soul altar.
Now that he had her picked up, the only one left would be a certain Lord of Clock Tower.
[Mirror Alter]
Ryan created several doppelgangers at once as he thought about it. Some of them would be moving in secret to protect his little brother and future sister-in-law, while some would be going to Illyasviel to protect her and continue his research.
'I will definitely come back here after I've finished with the trial...'
Then, Ryan lightly stepped into the Clock Tower domain in stealth. He immediately went toward the Astronomy department, and found Marisbury was still cooped in his office to oversee some tasks.
Ryan felt that It was worth to remember about how shocked Marisbury was when he suddenly spotted Ryan at the corner of his office.
"Why are you here, young man?" Marisbury calmed his heart as he asked Ryan.
"Well, I am here to fulfill my promise; I will bring you to 'that' place, Marisbury."
"Wait–"
Marisbury Animusphere still didn't quite catch on Ryan's words before he felt he was pulled into a portal along with Ryan...
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