Fate/Bastard

The timelines of both sides converged back to the present moment.

In front of the Demon King's Castle, Orléans.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Ian.

The man before them had stayed by the Dragon Witch's side for far too long.

At this moment, his entire being exuded an uncontrollable aura of magical power.

Was he an enemy?

Or a friend?

No one dared to give an accurate answer.

Except for—

Saint Jeanne d'Arc.

The moment she saw her brother, she ran towards him.

Even though the man was covered in blood, she still unhesitatingly threw herself into his arms.

"Brother~" Jeanne cried out, her voice filled with relief and affection.

"..." Looking at this familiar way of acting spoiled, Ian's heart, which had become heavy with sorrow due to excessive killing, gradually softened.

He returned to being her brother.

He reached out and stroked Jeanne's smooth golden hair, saying gently,

"Sorry for making you worry." Ian's voice was soft, filled with remorse.

This incredibly intimate scene was also reflected in everyone's eyes.

There was no clash of weapons, nor any confrontation.

There was only a gentle embrace—the so-called worry disappeared completely at this moment.

Soon, Gareth and Mordred, as his daughters, also ran over.

Then came Mash, as his Servant.

Finally, it was Fujimaru Ritsuka.

The girls surrounded Ian, silently celebrating his return.

Everything was just as Jeanne had said.

He had never betrayed them, but had instead secretly helped everyone in a different way.

A few minutes later.

Having regained their trust, Ian told everyone present what had happened in the past three hours.

Hearing these words, Mash looked very surprised.

"So you're saying——"

"All this blood on you, Senpai, is from those Servants?" Mash asked, her purple eyes wide with disbelief.

"Pretty much," the man nodded, confirming Mash's statement.

"So amazing!" Gareth, as always, admired her father.

"Fath..." But before she could finish speaking, her mouth was covered by Mordred beside her.

The latter pulled the former aside and whispered,

"Sister Gareth, don't call him that in front of others!"

"Father will be very unhappy!" Mordred warned, her green eyes darting nervously towards Ian.

"..." This was the first time Gareth had heard such a request.

But she still nodded.

"Okay, I understand." Gareth replied softly, though a bit confused.

Completely different from the boisterous sisters, Fujimaru Ritsuka noticed another part in Ian's words.

She said,

"Um, Ian."

"According to what you just said——"

"Wouldn't the Servants summoned by Miss Jeanne also have to all perish in this Singularity?" Ritsuka asked, her brown eyes filled with concern.

"..." The man remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded.

"Ritsuka, you're right."

"This... is indeed also part of the plan." Ian said, his voice heavy with the weight of his actions.

"..." Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't know how to respond to Ian's words for a moment.

She did indeed have a strong sense of justice.

But—

She still couldn't quite accept this situation where Servants had to willingly go to their deaths.

What's more.

These Servants had all come to this era because of their respective senses of justice!

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a little lost, a hand gently patted her shoulder.

She turned her head and saw that it was Jeanne.

The Saint offered a slight smile and then said in a soft voice,

"Let me do this."

After saying these words, her gaze swept over all the Servants present, and then she bowed deeply.

She directly confessed,

"Just Servants filled with a sense of justice, I am truly very sorry!" Jeanne's voice was filled with sincerity and regret.

"I originally wanted to continue this journey with all of you."

"But due to some reasons."

"Now——"

"You might have to return to your respective eras ahead of schedule." Jeanne concluded, her blue eyes looking at them with apology.

"..." Complete silence filled the air.

This wasn't without unexpected reactions.

After all, in a sense, this was equivalent to making the Heroic Spirits from various eras make a trip for nothing, and there was a bit of mockery involved.

However—

The Servants didn't seem to think so.

"Master." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart looked at Jeanne before him, his attitude still as respectful as before.

"I want to know——"

"After I leave this place, will the land beneath my feet truly be able to obtain lasting peace?" Mozart asked, his expression serious.

"..." Jeanne didn't respond to Mozart's question immediately, but instead looked at Ian beside her.

She was asking for his opinion.

And the man didn't hesitate, directly nodded, and then answered Mozart's question.

"Yes."

"I guarantee you—after you leave, this place will definitely be able to have the peace it was originally meant to have." Ian said with conviction.

Although he wasn't his own Master, seeing Jeanne's attitude towards him, Mozart immediately understood a bit.

Ian's opinion, in a sense, was Jeanne's opinion.

"I see." The great musician nodded.

"Since the symphony of peace requires me to be a note within it——" He spread his hands.

"Then I don't mind welcoming my own demise." Mozart said with a gentle smile.

Mozart's attitude was clear—he didn't object to being killed here.

And Marie Antoinette, seeing him like this, hesitated for a moment and then put her hands on her hips, saying in a mannered way,

"Seriously!"

"Mozart, you said that way too fast, didn't you?! You stole all my lines!" Marie complained playfully, though a hint of sadness lingered in her eyes.

As if joking, the queen from three hundred years later also looked at Jeanne.

"Master, I also accept this ending."

"Anyway——"

"As long as everyone in France is doing well, that's enough for me!" Marie declared, her voice filled with sincerity.

"I don't care about anything else!"

Seeing that Marie was also willing to die to repair the Singularity, Ian couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

However—

Things didn't end there.

Because Kiyohime came over at this moment.

She stood before Ian, tiptoed, sniffed slightly with her nose, and then said,

"You... are you a dragon?" Kiyohime asked, her red eyes looking at Ian with curiosity.

"What?" Ian was a little confused.

In his past memories, he could indeed transform into Fafnir to protect his sister Jeanne.

But at this moment—

The man didn't think he still possessed that ability.

And seeing Ian's appearance, Kiyohime seemed to understand something.

She sneered, "Hehe... it seems you haven't figured out how to use your own power yet."

"Oh well, it has nothing to do with me anyway."

"Master——" The petite Kiyohime looked at Jeanne.

"Since it can indeed solve the problem... then please kill me painfully."

"I don't have any attachment to this land itself."

"Going back earlier isn't a bad thing either." Kiyohime said, her voice nonchalant.

Kiyohime's attitude was very indifferent, as if it didn't matter whether she stayed or left.

But her words made everyone's gaze focus on Gareth.

And the latter said casually,

"Since it can solve the problem——"

"Of course, I don't mind either." Gareth said with a bright smile.

"Mo-chan, it looks like we'll have to find another time to play!"

"Eh?!" Although Mordred was a little reluctant to part with her sister Gareth, she also knew that this was the only way.

She wiped the corner of her eyes and replied with a smile,

"Yeah! Let's play together again next time~"

A cold wind blew past.

The figures of the Servants disappeared one after another.

Ian looked at the Excalibur Morgan projected in his hand, saying nothing.

He realized that this was far more painful than he had imagined—after all, one of them was a genuine daughter.

However—

He also knew that this was a responsibility he had to bear.

Rather than letting his other daughter Mordred do it, it was better for him, as the father, to bear all these sins.

But things hadn't ended yet.

To repair the Singularity during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, besides dealing with all the Servants who shouldn't have been there, there was an even more important condition.

That was to retrieve the Holy Grail that Lev had buried in this era from the Black Jeanne and return it to Chaldea.

Only in this way could the distorted history be truly restored to its original state.

But—

Would that Dragon Witch really be willing to hand over the Holy Grail voluntarily?

Ian didn't have the confidence to say yes.

And just as the man was pondering this question, a figure appeared at the city gate.

It was Gilles de Rais, disguised as a Caster in human form—he had probably been attracted here by the residual magical energy after the Servants disappeared.

The moment he saw Jeanne, the madman's pupils dilated instantly, and then he knelt on the ground with a thud.

"Saint!"

"It's the real Saint!" Gilles de Rais exclaimed, his voice filled with awe and reverence.

"..." Listening to the words Gilles de Rais shouted, Ian suddenly realized that he had overlooked something.

That was, as the actual "summoner" of the Black Jeanne, Gilles de Rais didn't actually know that Jeanne herself was still alive.

If he had been able to prove this earlier, the situation might have been a little easier than it actually was.

However—

It didn't seem to make much difference.

After all, the Black Jeanne had already been "summoned" when he met Gilles de Rais.

Even if he knew these things, it probably wouldn't change anything.

But speaking of which—

He was actually able to recognize Jeanne at a glance.

This kind of piety was definitely not something that ordinary people could possess.

A few minutes later.

Gilles de Rais, who had learned the truth of the past from Ian and Jeanne, stood there in a daze.

He was both happy for Jeanne's survival, but at the same time felt immense pain for what he had done.

"I... have caused so much trouble for Miss Jeanne and France?" The man, now lucid, was filled with remorse.

He finally realized what a ridiculous wish he had made to the Holy Grail.

And seeing Gilles de Rais like this, Jeanne felt a little sorry for him.

She thought for a moment and then spoke to comfort the other party.

"Um——"

"Gilles, I don't think you need to blame yourself so much." Jeanne said gently, her blue eyes filled with compassion.

"After all, from your perspective... it did indeed seem like I had died in that trial."

"But——" Jeanne took Ian's arm beside her, her eyes already filled with love.

"I was actually rescued."

"So I don't think you should feel guilty about this either—at least not guilty towards me."

"After all... you wanted to revive me out of kindness, and that is something that will never be wrong." Jeanne concluded, her voice soft but firm.

"..." Listening to Jeanne's forgiveness, Gilles de Rais could no longer control his emotions.

The tall man burst into tears like a child, completely different from before.

Ian didn't say much about this—he knew that the other party had just tried to do a good thing but messed it up.

The man silently waited for Gilles de Rais to vent his emotions.

Finally, he calmed down.

Ian patted him on the shoulder and said in a tone that tried to avoid stirring up emotions as much as possible,

"Since you know that what you did was very wrong."

"Then answer me one question."

"How can we make that Jeanne you 'summoned' voluntarily hand over the Holy Grail?"

"..." Hearing these words, Gilles de Rais shook his head.

"I don't know either."

"But——"

"If we follow the wish made back then... perhaps this can only be achieved if she herself agrees." Gilles de Rais said, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"..." Ian didn't doubt what Gilles de Rais had said.

After all, during the time he was "married" to the Black Jeanne, he could indeed only see the Holy Grail when she agreed.

And Ian knew that it was also impossible to take the Holy Grail by force through another method.

Because "attacking" the Black Jeanne was equivalent to directly "attacking" the Holy Grail—no one could be certain about what would happen after that.

The atmosphere at the scene fell into silence once more.

Clearly, only the last step remained to repair the Singularity, but they couldn't take it.

Even Ian, who had experienced so much, didn't have a very good solution at this moment.

And just at this moment—

The man felt his sleeve being pulled.

He turned around and saw that it was his sister Jeanne.

"What's wrong?" Ian asked.

"Um... I just wanted to ask you a question." Holding the Holy Flag, Jeanne looked at Gilles de Rais, a hint of concern in her eyes.

"The other 'me'... did she come to this world burdened with all sorts of grudges?"

"..." Although he wasn't very clear about why his sister was asking this, Ian quickly gave an affirmative answer.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Her birth was a tragedy."

"Then——" Jeanne looked up at her brother.

"What kind of person do you think she is?"

"..." Ian frowned slightly, pondering this question.

After a long while, he spoke again,

"If you ask me... she's probably a pitiful person?"

"A pitiful person?" Jeanne repeated, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"Yeah," Ian nodded.

"She doesn't actually know what she's doing at all, and she hasn't thought about what her future goals are."

"The only guiding principle for her actions is the word 'instinct', and... emotions that even she isn't very clear about."

"To be honest——"

"I think she's a bit like you when you were sleepwalking." Ian said with a wry smile.

"Eh?!" Jeanne showed a surprised expression.

But soon, this surprise quickly turned into a new plan.

Jeanne took over Ian's words and continued,

"Then if that's the case——"

"I actually have an idea."

"What idea?" Ian asked, his blue eyes looking at her with anticipation.

"Hmm..." Jeanne pointed at herself.

"Since even brother thinks she and I have something in common——"

"Then why not just really acknowledge this younger sister!" Jeanne declared, a determined glint in her eyes.