[FMMIKA] Chapter 245: The Hundred Years' War of the Dragon Emperor

"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."

"!"

Artorius spoke bluntly, revealing Gilles's most significant secret.

The Dragon Emperor's tone was relaxed as if discussing something insignificant, but every word, pronounced in standard and elegant Latin, left Gilles shocked and even fearful.

Unlike the village girl beside them, who looked baffled and couldn't understand Latin, the former Marshal Gilles, a hereditary nobleman with a good education, felt a shiver run down his spine.

"What are you saying? What nonsense are you spouting? She is Jeanne! Jeanne is back from the depths of hell, with a burning desire for revenge—"

"—It's all fabricated by you, Marshal." Artorius interrupted him once again.

"Gilles, what are you all talking about?"

The village girl Jalter, speaking in rustic French, gazed at Gilles with a puzzled expression, expecting him to provide an answer.

In their time, French had not yet replaced Latin as the court language in France. This world was not as convenient as that gacha game where everyone, even aliens, spoke Japanese.

So, for the time being, Jalter was destined not to understand the conversation between Artorius and Gilles.

But, from a certain perspective, her lack of understanding was a blessing.

"This child, you created her."

"You used dark magecraft, your obsession, madness, and knowledge obtained through a deal with a demon god, to create a fake Jeanne d'Arc."

"Her anger is fake, her desire for revenge is something you instilled in her. Her memories, her personality, everything is fabricated according to 'Jeanne' and 'your desires'."

"She doesn't harbor any hatred, discontent, or a desire for revenge herself—and even if she did, it wouldn't be against France. Furthermore, it wouldn't be so intense that it calls for the destruction of the entire country and the deaths of millions."

"Everything was under your manipulation, Gilles de Rais."

Artorius really enjoyed interrupting the marshal. When he spoke out all of the above in one breath, Gilles attempted to interject several times but found no opportunities. But unfortunately for him, this time, Artorius spoke in French, and Jalter finally understood what they were saying.

Still immobilized by Artorius's paralysis magecraft, Jalter's body remained motionless, but her mind was in turmoil.

'What the hell is going on?'

At that moment, she had no faint suspicions and was completely unaware, unprepared, and hadn't guessed her true identity. So, when Artorius abruptly revealed the truth, she merely found it absurd and difficult to believe.

"Ahhh, ahhhh, ahhhhh!"

In contrast, Gilles, whose truth was laid bare, went mad once again.

"You bastard! This is all wrong! None of it! It's all nonsense you're spewing... Jeanne, Jeanne! My holy maiden! Don't listen to him, don't listen to what he was sayinggg!!!"

A sane marshal would never reveal such self-incriminating behavior, of course. But then again, a sane marshal would never have fallen to this state in the first place.

Initially, Jalter had a ninety percent disbelief in Artorius's words, but with Gilles's hysterical outbursts of denial, that trust wavered to seventy percent and was likely to continue to decline.

Artorius just indifferently gazed at Gilles and continued:

"Hmph, whether it's true or not, you know it yourself. Deception or obfuscation, it doesn't matter. Even if you were a schemer or an ambitious man, it wouldn't change, but you're obviously not. Your actions come from the 'heart', from your inner desires.

Therefore, lies and deceit mean nothing to you. The moment everything is exposed, you've already lost. It's not a defeat in battle, but a failure of your heart.

When you created an imitation of Jeanne, you lost.

When you poured your desire for revenge into this child, you lost.

When you deluded yourself into thinking she was Jeanne, you lost.

You failed in your love for Jeanne.

You failed in your obsession with Jeanne.

The purity of this love, this obsession, is simply flawed because, in the end, it proves that your love, emotions, and obsession for Jeanne are just mediocre.

Your top priority is just yourself, your primary priority is your own feelings, not Jeanne. You even used her as a tool to handle your feelings and desires.

You, who know Jeanne so well, should know that the real Jeanne would never do something so cruel. She holds no grudge against France, let alone some melodramatic revenge.

She is naturally pure, a true noble saint.

And now, everything you're doing is tarnishing that holiness and nobility. You're smearing the name of Jeanne with your own selfish desires.

What an ugly man you are, Gilles de Rais. Do you even have the right to utter 'My Holy Maiden'?"

"Y-You, I..."

Gilles's lips trembled, and at the same time, Artorius released the paralysis magecraft on Jalter.

The black-armored girl, ignoring her own injuries, rushed directly to Gilles, grabbing his shoulders.

"Hey, Gilles, what the hell is going on?! That bastard is lying, right?! It's all lies, isn't it? Counter that bastard! Speak, Gilles!"

Shaken like a reed by Jalter's forceful shaking, Gilles remained silent. He stared at Jalter, but his gaze didn't focus on her; it passed through her, looking at the Dragon Emperor behind her.

He was nervously waiting for the Dragon Emperor's verdict as if it were his judgment.

"You have no more qualifications, you loser."

Artorius didn't 'disappoint' Gilles either, as he made a straightforward judgment.

"At this point, you've completely lost your qualifications. Even if Jeanne were to show you mercy and forgive you, what face do you have to appear in front of her shamelessly? What you've done is unforgivable, even worse than Lancelot when he betrayed King Arthur."

As Artorius's words fell, the Marshal of France, the heathen who had gone mad with a desire for revenge against God, and whose heart was already full of holes, finally collapsed.

Gilles knelt on the ground, covering his face, crying out, "Forgive me, forgive me, Jeanneee!!!"

With Gilles de Rais, the true core of the Dragon Witch's group, losing his will to fight, the so-called 'Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragon' came to a complete end before it even began.

As a result, the disaster inflicted on France was minimal, much less than the 'story' originally dictated. More importantly, the linchpin the Dragon Emperor expected to enter this world, and the pawns required for the game, were already in place.

The group that had just arrived in the village of Domremy through Rayshift knew nothing of this and was completely unaware that their opponent had changed.

He was more powerful, more sinister, more unbeatable, and would leave a lasting, lifelong memory for the members of Chaldea.

Therefore—

The 'Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragon' scenario ended.

The 'Hundred Years' War of the Dragon Emperor' scenario began.