[FMMIKA] Chapter 244: Total Defeat

Another round and Jalter still failed. Besides the pain, her wrist was dislocated by Artorius. It seemed like the Dragon Emperor wanted to resolve the fight without taking her life.

As Gilles watched his holy maiden get beaten black and blue, a growing sense of frantic despair overcame him. He gazed at the three Servants who were only watching in silence.

"Why are you all just standing there like fools?! Hurry, go help Jeanne!"

"..."

"If we fight against someone like that..."

Although the three Servants had already been buffed with Mad Enhancement by Jalter, almost losing their ability to think, the fear deep within them when facing the Dragon Emperor sent shivers down their spines.

Now, there were tens of thousands of troops surrounding the Dragon Emperor, covering the sky and the earth. Yet, in terms of sheer presence, he was still overwhelming them all by his existence alone.

"This is getting boring... let's end this quickly."

In the next moment, Artorius thrust his sword forward, piercing through the Servant who seemed the most mindless and weakest.

It was Charles-Henri Sanson.

His eyes dimmed as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, he turned into light particles and disappeared without a trace.

"..."

Next was Chevalier d'Eon's turn.

Although the power gap between both sides was insurmountable, the musketeer who upheld chivalry gritted their teeth and launched an assault against the Dragon Emperor.

"Musketeer huh..."

Artorius felt a sense of nostalgia for the opponent's profession.

While literary works often emphasized the excellence of musketeers in swordsmanship, Artorius valued the essence of the changing times and the somewhat amusing black history of his own youth more than ordinary fencing.

His nostalgia for the past only lasted for a few seconds.

The Dragon Emperor's hand made a flick, causing the musketeer to spin in mid-air 720.25 degrees before colliding with an object, which raised a significant cloud of dust.

Afterward, beside Jalter, who was barely holding on to keep standing, there was only the vampire lady left.

"Are you going to stop me too?" Artorius asked calmly with indifference.

"..."

Carmilla struggled to swallow.

"Be it as a vampire or a dragon." Artorius gazed at the mature woman across from him with a calm expression. "Do you want to oppose me?"

After saying that, he continued to move forward calmly step by step, seemingly treating the woman in front of him as insignificant.

Carmilla, after pursing her lips and a brief moment of contemplation, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She respectfully bowed to the Dragon Emperor and then stepped aside, signaling her stance through her action.

"!"

Watching this scene, although Jalter knew that Carmilla wasn't a match for Artorius, and she'd likely be taken down with a single strike like the other Servants, she still felt annoyed by her direct surrender.

"In the name of the command spell—"

*Snap!*

Jalter only got halfway through her words when she heard Artorius's clear snapping of fingers, and the command spell she was about to use disappeared instantly.

"Wha—!?"

Staring at this, Jalter was momentarily stunned, and she tried it again with a determined heart, but it was still in vain.

The Dragon Emperor effortlessly nullified the essence of summoning magecraft, which could forcibly command, strengthen, or even warp the will of a Servant, as easily as turning the palm of his hand.

"Why?! Why?! How is this possible?!"

As a village girl, Jalter didn't quite understand this. She felt confused and somewhat disgruntled. It was Gilles beside her who widened his eyes as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

He opened his mouth as if to scream, but in the end, he didn't utter a word. All that came out was an "Ahh... ahh..." as if his throat had been blocked.

"Bastard..."

Even though the situation had become so dire, Jalter still refused to give up.

She gritted her teeth and launched a few attacks at Artorius, which he easily deflected easily. It seemed that conventional tactics wouldn't work against him, so she clenched her teeth and made up her mind.

"Since it's like this..."

With this thought, Jalter's magical energy surged violently, akin to a bomb about to explode.

"So, you chose to self-destruct if you can't win?" Artorius couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Don't throw a tantrum like a brat."

*Snap!*

With another snap of his fingers, Artorius exerted even more force than before, pinning Jalter in place with his magecraft. Her body, her magical energy, everything was immobilized, like a statue, with only her eyes remaining agile, glaring at him viciously like an angry cat.

Of course, it lasted only a few seconds before Jalter started shedding tears, resembling a bullied child. Her emotional maturity was that of a child student after all.

The outcome was already decided from the beginning.

Artorius decided to deliver the final blow to Jalter as he started approaching her.

"Jeanne!" Gilles cried out as he watched the hopeless situation.

As Artorius arrived in front of Jalter, he extended his hand and gave her forehead a firm finger flick.

*Sniff... Sniff...*

Jalter actually started crying.

Though it wasn't the outcome she had expected, it really hurt terribly, be it physical or mental, so she genuinely wept in grievance.

"Let the fool be for now..." Artorius said, looking towards Gilles.

Having injured his own body beyond recognition, Gilles now looked like a grotesque monster.

"So, is this the ending you desired?"

"Is this what you wanted?"

"Anti-human, anti-social, a complete scum."

Regardless of the reasons for Gilles's actions, no matter how much hatred or resentment he held, Artorius had to give a thumbs up to the judge who had dragged him to the stake.

Be it in modern times or medieval times, whether it's about the law or viewpoints, the man known as 'Bluebeard' was undoubtedly a scumbag who deserved his death.

Was his affection for Jeanne sincere and passionate? But, so what? That wasn't a reason to kill randomly and indiscriminately.

"Who are you?! Why did you come to stop me?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Because I didn't like it, so I did." Artorius replied with an emotionless tone, "You kill, destroy nations, and burn villages and cities. As a human, I stand up to stop you. Do I need any other reason? If you do bad things, you should be ready to take a beating and be dealt with. Don't act like a victim, that disgusts me and is unfair to the innocents you brutally killed."

"..."

Listening to Artorius's reasoning, even Gilles, the former Marshal whose mind had almost completely deteriorated and become lunatic, momentarily froze, displaying an expression of 'He makes a lot of sense, and I can't refute it.'

Of course, it only lasted a moment as Gilles's tone grew even angrier as he yelled at Artorius:

"They're not innocent! Jeanne! My great, pure, innocent Jeanne! They brutally killed my holy maiden! This is revenge against this cruel world! I don't care about justice or gods! That's why—"

"—Let's step back a bit." Artorius interrupted him. "Let's assume for a moment that what you're saying has some truth... the problem is, this child is not Jeanne."