Gilles de Rais carefully picked up the flag that had fallen to the ground. It was the holy flag that had flown with Joan of Arc on the battlefield, but the flag was covered with heartbreaking cracks.
"Joan, please take this. This is the banner you should hold - but unfortunately, my broken body can no longer fight under it with you."
"Gill..." Joan of Arc lowered her head, looking at this man who had completely changed but still vaguely regained the bravery of a young French marshal, with a sad expression.
"So, please allow me to watch over you in a different way."
Gilles de Rais said as his figure became illusory. He was a Servant summoned by Shakespeare. Theoretically, he would not disappear as long as he had enough magic power. However, now, he burned his spiritual base with his own will and injected all his spirit particles and will into the holy flag in Jeanne's hand.
The fleur-de-lis flag, which had endured multiple attacks and was on the verge of breaking, was miraculously restored to its original state under the watchful eye of the soldier who had also held this flag.
"Joan of Arc, please be victorious, just as you were in your lifetime."
Gilles de Rais, whose presence was already very slim, handed the holy flag to Joan of Arc as if he was on a pilgrimage, and Joan of Arc took it very solemnly. At this moment, the two seemed to have traveled through time and returned to that war-torn era.
"Jill, there is one thing I forgot to tell you before I die."
"Hey, that's—"
"Thank you, I am really happy to meet you."
After hearing this, Gil stared at Jeanne in silence as if in a daze. Should she laugh or cry? He couldn't even make a judgment on this.
However, this moment, this instant, will probably not be forgotten even after returning to the Throne of Heroes.
"I am satisfied (Plenus sum)!"
Gilles de Rais, the French Marshal with countless merits and "Bluebeard" with numerous crimes, closed his eyes and murmured softly, ending his brief journey in this world and bringing down the final curtain on this stage which was definitely not a comedy.
The closed world opened, and the script written by the greatest playwright in human history ended here.
"Snap, snap, snap!"
There was applause and cheers from the audience.
"Ohhh, what a beautiful ending. So touching."
The heroine on the stage wiped her wet eyes vigorously, raised a brand new iris flag, and pointed it at the only audience member who was also the creator of the stage.
"Use whatever tricks you have, Crimson Caster!"
"Of course there are no tricks. After all, I am just a writer. When the pen and the script are no longer effective, they are worthless." Shakespeare shook his head comically. "Thank you, Saint of France, your beliefs and the bond between you and your companions are so firm and dazzling that you allow us to see the bright side of human nature. At the same time, please allow me to express my belated apology for the untrue content I described during my lifetime and for my behavior just now. I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to meet Jill again and say everything I wanted to say."
Joan of Arc also shook her head and forgave this great writer who would do anything for fun.
"You, won't stop me anymore?"
"Of course, of course, you can always move on. If you continue along this passage, you will enter the altar where the Greater Holy Grail is. If you pass through my study, you can also quickly reach the Queen's room - although, no matter where you go, it will be too late."
"Eh?"
"You should be able to feel it, through the special privileges of the adjudicator!"
The clownish expression on Shakespeare's face finally faded, replaced by a smile of extreme joy - this was his real purpose.
From the very beginning, he didn't think that his treasure would have much impact on Jeanne d'Arc. His mission was only to trip her up and prevent her from reaching the two most critical battlefields.
At this moment, his mission has been successfully completed. Jeanne's monitoring list of all servants shows that just now, the status of Knight King Artoria changed from alive to dead.
Almost at the same time, an unimaginable violent magic power gushed out from the deepest part of the underground, like a volcanic eruption.
In an instant, the earth shook and the entire garden trembled.
At this moment, both the servants and the various magical beasts were impacted by the magic power, and they staggered and could not stand steadily.
"This, this is... How could it unfold like this? This is so interesting, so wonderful. This Holy Grail War has given me so many surprises. It's great to be able to participate in this war, and it's great to be able to witness such a scene with my own eyes."
Unlike Shakespeare's excitement, madness, and dancing, Joan of Arc's pretty face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it.
The death of Artoria means that the first victim of this decisive battle has finally appeared, and it also means that the last piece of the puzzle to activate the Holy Grail has been assembled.
The subsequent eruption of abnormal magic from deep within the underground altar was undoubtedly intended to prevent the activation of the Holy Grail.
There was only one person who could sense Altria's death at the first moment, just like her, and that was Altria's master, Shinji Matou. During the previous combat meeting, he also said that he would go and settle the matter with Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.
Because they had been crushed once, Jeanne and the others were naturally opposed, believing that they should be fully prepared to use their numbers to attack. But Shinji said that he had a secret weapon for the decisive battle, and because it was too powerful and could not distinguish between friend and foe, he had to go alone.
Shinji did not reveal what the secret weapon was, but he repeatedly begged that he should take the lead first, and if he failed, he could then carry out the siege plan.
"I'm not a Heroic Spirit. Even if I fail, my spiritual power is not enough to activate the Greater Holy Grail. If I succeed, that would be the best. If I fail, it won't have much of an impact."
The realistic and cruel reasons thrown out at the same time as the plan became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Although Jeanne d'Arc, Altria and others were emotionally unwilling, in the face of the survival of the world, personal feelings had to give way.
And now, Jeanne finally knows the identity of Shinji's secret weapon.
This magical nature full of destruction and rebellion, this explosion method that you will never forget once you have seen it -
"Secret weapon, is this your secret weapon? I've never heard that your secret weapon is this!!! That's why you didn't promise me that I would definitely survive... In that case, I should be prepared."
Joan of Arc's gaze extended along the dark passage, her white teeth biting her pale lips, and there was a sword in her hand.
The name of the sword is Saint Catalina.