[FMMIKA] Chapter 242: First Singularity—Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragons

"It's really thanks to you."

There was still some time before the Rayshift. Other staff members began to focus entirely on their work, and during this interval, Romani found a moment to thank Da Vinci.

He felt relieved, not having to make decisions as a director.

"It's just a small thing." Da Vinci said in a relaxed tone. "But, you are the director of Chaldea now, can't you be a bit more confident?"

"Well..."

"What's bothering you so much?" Da Vinci continued, "If you hesitate too often... hmm, oh..."

Without further explanation from Romani, Da Vinci understood.

"The key isn't the Singularity itself, but how this Singularity was generated, right? It's because of this that you're worried, isn't it?"

"Yes, you see right through me..." Romani sighed in resignation. "Dealing with the current crisis is already difficult enough. So—"

"We can't be sure yet." Da Vinci interrupted him and continued with a reassuring smile. "Things might not be as bad as you think. Perhaps it's for a different reason or even a problem with the observation device. Anyway, let's focus on getting through this first Singularity first."

"Ahh... yeah, you're right. Let's concentrate on that for now."

After their brief conversation, the Rayshift had already begun.

Meanwhile, in a city known as Orleans, a place that Chaldea was unaware of, a figure of a man who was causing Romani's concern, slowly opened his eyes.

"The time-space travel was successful."

"This Singularity... oh, the Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragons."

"But... it seems like the plot has not started yet... that's good."

"Just in time."

A man in frosty silver armor raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a charming smile.

If Romani were here at this moment, he would surely shout something like—"Why is your armor matching Mash's like a couple's outfit?!"

Of course, if he did ask, Artorius would probably not hesitate to reach out and embrace Mash, then playfully ask back—"Is there something wrong with that?"

Fortunately, Romani didn't know him; otherwise, he would likely be infuriated sooner or later. Even if not infuriated, he would probably end up mentally exhausted and die of overwork.

"However..."

Artorius frowned as he looked around.

There were very few pedestrians, and almost none of the shops on the street were open. The few people on the streets looked hurried, and the whole city seemed depressingly desolate.

This was probably due to the resurrected saint who had turned into the Dragon Witch of Vengeance, known as Jeanne d'Arc, now going by Jeanne Alter, or simply Jalter.

The original story didn't delve into how they managed their controlled territory, which was one of the weak points of the Japanese author.

Of course, even without being mentioned, one could easily imagine what it was like within the territory controlled by the Dragon Witch—without control.

Within the domain of the Dragon Witch, it was undoubtedly a chaotic no-man's land. It was like Gotham City without Batman, or perhaps even worse than that.

"The situation is only going to get worse; this is just the beginning..." Artorius mused as he strolled down the streets nonchalantly.

Orleans, as well as all the regions controlled by the Dragon Witch, were most likely in the same state. Everyone was currently in a state of bewildered shock, still digesting and organizing what was happening.

So for now, society and order continued to move forward out of inertia. But as time passed and with the Dragon Witch's revenge in motion, things were going to take a turn for the worse.

With the goal of burning human order and seeking energy, with the aim of avenging France, and destroying the entire country, the common objective of the King of Demon Gods and the Grail's holder ultimately boiled down to the incineration of human order, and in practical terms, it was quite simple.

Killing.

The simplest way to disrupt this timeline and thoroughly burn human order was to kill. Kill, kill, kill, and wipe out everyone. Naturally, the timeline would be disrupted.

If there were no unexpected events, everyone in Orleans at this moment would meet their end.

They would be devoured by the dragons, ravaged by the Berserk Servants, slaughtered by legions of undead, the city would become ruins, villages and fields would turn to nothingness, and the whole of France would cease to exist.

Although Artorius knew that this Orleans was not his own Orleans, he still couldn't help feeling irritated.

"What a foolish girl."

Artorius muttered under his breath and headed towards Orleans Palace, his eyes flickering as he pondered his strategy.

'The simplest way, of course, is to watch Chaldea and Jalter fight each other, and then, Jalter's side will perish, and Chaldea will leave satisfied. Afterward, this Singularity will be mine.'

'But...'

With this in mind, Artorius continued onward.

'But they're like rats in a gutter, vultures feasting on carrion.'

"Wait, who are you?!"

Just as Artorius was lost in thought, Orleans suddenly sprung to life. The undead army, the wyverns in the sky, they all began their slaughter of humanity.

This meant that Jalter, the foolish girl who didn't know what she was doing, had finally made up her mind and was getting ready to execute her strategy to destroy France.

The wails of humanity, the rampage of monsters, and the faint but eerie laughter mixed together, creating an atmosphere akin to doomsday.

"Tsk."

Artorius became annoyed and drew his sword.

First, a group of skeleton soldiers rushed towards him.

Then, two wyverns swooped down from the sky. In theory, these dragon subspecies should have been terrified by the Dragon Emperor's presence who was a true dragon. Regardless of anything else, they should have never dared to attack him.

However, they were completely and utterly lost to madness, to the point that they would attack without hesitation even if they faced a true god of the multi-verse.

"Annoying pest."

Artorius annihilated the batch of skeletons with a single strike.

"It seems like, Your Excellency is not on our side." An elderly man's voice suddenly resounded. With an imposing and noble posture, the man raised his spear.

However, in the next moment, without a chance to react, the man was instantly defeated by Artorius.

"Just one move!? How could—"

In the next second, among the Servants summoned by Jalter and one of the stronger ones, Lancer—Dracula of Wallachia, Vlad III—turned into spirit particles and vanished.

Artorius stopped in his tracks and looked up.

On the balcony of the palace tower, a hunchbacked grotesque figure with bulging eyes rubbed his hands together and locked eyes with Artorius.

"Ooohhh... it seems like we've got ourselves quite a guest..."

The grotesque figure muttered to himself.

Despite it being their 'first encounter', his liking for Artorius was surprisingly low. It was the kind of dislike that would make him want to kill Artorius in the next second.

"My soldiers, my monsters, my loyal men under my command—"

"—Wait a moment, Gilles."

However, someone stopped him.

"That guy..."

Words that sent shivers down Gilles de Rais's spine spilled from the lips of 'Jeanne' beside him.

"That guy... seems like..."

In stark contrast to Gilles, a woman dressed in pitch-black armor had an unexpectedly strong closeness to Artorius. Even though, just like Gilles, it was also her 'first encounter'.

"Jeanne, that man just killed our people!" Gilles almost shouted in frustration, "It's one thing for others, but Vlad is not any ordinary figure. He's a strong general on our side! And he was just killed like an ant!"

"You're right, but..."

Gilles's words were not wrong, but Jeanne—or Jalter, hesitated.

Of course, this hesitation was enough to make Gilles jealous—even though it would undoubtedly lead to her displeasure, even anger. But that was something to consider later.

'This is also to protect, to protect my beloved holy maiden, yes, that's right, so—'

With these thoughts in mind, Gilles gave the order:

"Open fire! Press all our forces forward! Kill him, kill him, kill him! Kill him for me! Cut him to pieces, crush him, chop him into fragments, grind him into dust, even his bones—!"

However, as Gilles wanted to release his madness without restraint, he abruptly stopped speaking, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

His already bulged wide eyes bulged even larger as if they were about to pop out.

Unparalleled fear washed over him as if he were facing not a knight in frost-silver armor with a tall and handsome figure, but a gigantic frost-silver dragon.

"You, you, you..."

As Gilles was in the middle of giving the order, Artorius broke through Jalter's forces and arrived in front of Gilles in an instant. If Artorius wished, he could kill Gilles in the next moment.

"!"

Seeing this, Jalter drew her sword and attacked Artorius.

No matter how good her first impression of Artorius was, no matter how dissatisfied she was with Gilles's recent decision, Gilles was one of her own, and Artorius was the enemy. This distinction, she couldn't ignore.

"Step back!"

Jalter yelled while swinging her sword at Artorius, striking at him. But in the next moment, Artorius broke her sword with his hand.

"!?"

Although it wasn't her most famous Noble Phantasm, that ominous black sword was still extraordinary. However, the handsome man on the opposite side simply snapped it with just a 'pinch' of his hand.

This unbelievable, terrifying strength even left someone like Jalter, who was an 'Avenger', momentarily stunned.

"Do you want to continue, little girl?" Artorius calmly asked without expression. "I don't mind at all if you want to continue."

"!!!"

His question was met with a vicious swing of a flagpole.