"Now, Samael—devour the 'Infinite.'"
At Georg's command, the [Dragon Eater] Samael finally moved.
Opening its mouth wide, a beam of pitch-black darkness shot forth directly toward Ophis.
But it wasn't a beam of light at all. Despite its speed, what shot out from Samael's mouth was actually—his tongue.
Snap!
Before Rias and the others could even react, Samael's tongue had already wrapped itself around an arm.
Ophis stood frozen, staring blankly at the back that had appeared suddenly before her.
Everyone present—Rias's group, Georg's team alike—watched in shock as Jeanne Alter stood protectively in front of Ophis and Asia.
It wasn't Ophis who'd been caught by Samael's tongue; it was Jeanne Alter, and the sinister black flames of corruption rapidly spread along her arm.
"…How utterly foolish," Georg muttered gravely, eyes flickering. "To think you'd unhesitatingly sacrifice yourself to protect Ophis. You could've used all your remaining power to escape, yet you chose to shield her instead…"
"Shut up already. Your rambling is getting on my nerves," Jeanne Alter retorted irritably, cutting Georg off as she grimly eyed her corrupted arm.
"Seriously, though—using a tongue as a weapon? That's disgusting."
Within mere moments, the malevolent flames had nearly reached her shoulder. Even summoning the bottomless mana reserves of the Holy Grail only slightly delayed the corruption—and worse yet, her mana itself quickly became contaminated, forcing Jeanne Alter to continuously expel it from her body.
Alright, this is looking more and more like Angra Mainyu… If this keeps up, is the Holy Grail in my body going to turn into a Black Grail?
Even without dragon attributes, this thing was extremely dangerous.
She had to cut it off quickly.
"This is the howl of a soul filled with hatred!"
"[La Grondement Du Haine]!!"
An EX-ranked Anti-Army Noble Phantasm erupted, the cursed flames that purified all impurities and negative energies combining with black spears and slamming heavily onto Samael's tongue.
BOOM—!
The roaring flames surged upward, an intense wave of searing crimson devastation.
Shockwaves scattered flames across the landscape; the ground cracked, melted, and magma erupted from fissures, the scorching air itself warping space.
One moment earlier, traces of human civilization dotted the surroundings—now, only scorched wasteland and blazing skies remained, apocalyptic and burning red.
Not even a Maou-class being would dare to face this attack directly.
And yet…Samael's tongue still remained, still tightly bound around Jeanne Alter's arm.
"It's useless. Once Samael targets you, he'll never let go until he's devoured everything," Georg said calmly. Yet, even he felt a momentary pang of panic witnessing the destructive flames.
Only Jeanne Alter had clearly seen what happened. As her flames and spears struck Samael's tongue, an even darker flame surged forth, instantly devouring her attacks—consuming them entirely.
Georg had briefly worried that Samael's tongue might be severed, but fortunately, everything proceeded smoothly.
Moving like a phantom, Kiba Yuuto appeared instantly beside Samael's tongue, slashing fiercely with his Holy Demonic Sword.
The sword blade shattered cleanly in two without leaving even a fragment, utterly annihilated upon contact with Samael's tongue.
It wasn't just Kiba. Rias's [Power of Destruction], Koneko's senjutsu-infused blasts, and Rossweisse's barrage of magic spells all proved useless against the tongue.
"How…?" Rias murmured, shaken. Her destruction magic had never been consumed like this. Everyone else was equally stunned.
"Lady Jeanne! [Durandal] should be able to cut it!" Xenovia shouted urgently. Golden flames roared from her holy sword [Durandal], intimidating even nearby reapers and burning its wielder. Such was [Durandal]'s fierce power.
Xenovia believed if any sword could succeed, it was Durandal.
But…
"Oh my, I can't let you past that easily~!"
A dragon composed entirely of countless holy swords blocked Xenovia's way, with Jeanne of the Hero Faction perched atop it, pouting playfully.
"I'm right here entertaining you, yet you're still thinking of someone else? That hurts, Little Miss Holy Sword."
A massive, vicious golden slash was Xenovia's furious reply, cleaving a huge gap in the sword dragon, slamming into the mass of reapers behind Jeanne and annihilating them.
"Shut your mouth, impostor!" Xenovia shouted furiously, chest heaving. "How much longer do you plan to defile the Saint's name? You're not worthy of it!"
"Are you that desperate to save her? Do you care for her that deeply?"
The holy sword dragon quickly reformed beneath Jeanne's feet. Her Sacred Gear, [Blade Blacksmith], paralleled Kiba's [Sword Birth], creating countless holy swords instead of demonic ones. Her [Balance Breaker: Stake Victim Dragon]—stood complete again.
Smiling down mockingly, Jeanne said, "You all trust her unconditionally, yet she's never truly revealed her identity to you. Honestly, Big Sister feels sorry for you poor little things…"
"Even now, you still pretend you're the real Saint Jeanne d'Arc?" Xenovia's voice grew icy, her eyes cold with disgust. "You shameless fake… The real Saint Jeanne is infinitely kinder, nobler, gentler, and greater than a terrorist like you! You're not even worthy of touching a single hair on her head!"
Meanwhile, tightly bound by Samael's tongue, Jeanne Alter fell into deep thought.
Its resilience far surpassed her expectations. It withstood even Rias's [Power of Destruction], absorbing their attacks without issue. Even her unleashed Noble Phantasm had failed.
It was clear—she needed a Noble Phantasm far beyond the ordinary.
Since arriving in this world, her use of the [Sword of Salvation] and other top-tier weapons had noticeably increased. She had no choice: as a "Dragon Witch," she was too thoroughly countered by Samael, the ultimate dragon slayer, even though she herself wasn't dragon-attribute. But nearly everything she wielded was severely disadvantaged.
She had to avoid contamination—especially those Noble Phantasms with dragon or serpent attributes.
I'm not some nouveau riche like Gilgamesh, who throws treasures from his vault like fireworks without batting an eye.
Thus, she chose a weapon that absolutely couldn't be corrupted.
Golden eyes flashed sharply as Jeanne Alter slowly raised her hand, gripping empty air.
A platinum-white flash illuminated space briefly, seemingly stretching that moment into eternity. The world itself seemed to groan under its oppressive presence.
All living beings briefly lost consciousness, trembling uncontrollably.
When time resumed, a horrific howl pierced the air, snapping everyone back to reality.
"UUUOOOAAAHHHH——!!"
Pain, resentment—dark emotions twisted into curses erupted from Samael, making every soul feel an icy chill penetrating their bones.
Everyone's pupils shrank, astonished at what they saw—Samael's severed tongue.
And in Jeanne Alter's hand glowed an overwhelming platinum radiance, as bright as a dying star.
Speechless, minds blank, they stood frozen, captivated by that brilliant light.
The Devil-King Annihilating Blade. The Sword of the Last King. The Divine Blade that cleaved stars. The blade forged by the heavens to grant the final hero victory over all Devil Kings—the [Sword of Salvation].
Its radiance now appeared in this world for the first time.
With a simple, unadorned strike, Samael's tongue had been severed. The remaining half ignited into platinum-white flames under the divine brilliance, swiftly consumed.
Bathed in celestial fire, Jeanne Alter's whole form burned with holy flame, eyes shining like twin blazing suns—so intense that meeting her gaze threatened to sear both sight and soul.
And in that instant, her scorching eyes fixed upon Samael.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down, silencing Samael's agonized shrieks instantly.
With profound dignity, Jeanne Alter spoke, her voice echoing like divine decree:
"Awaken, [Sword of Salvation]—sharpen your edge, release your brilliance. The time to slay evil has come!"
Platinum-white radiance engulfed everything, purifying the world into pristine whiteness.
This was a land untainted by evil—a holy paradise manifesting divine authority and righteousness.
"My will is unyielding, my brilliance undying, my glory eternal! I invoke victory by my words—this is the Hero's Blade that annihilates Demon Lords!"
With these words of absolute power, destiny was set.
The path to victory was revealed.
When this sword fell, death and destruction would be inevitable for her foes.
The outcome was already determined.
Thus, she swung her sword, establishing the cause.
Pure whiteness split the heavens and earth—recreating the cosmos, dividing chaos into clarity. Yin rose to form the sky; yang sank to form the earth.
Stars emerged, elements manifested.
The sun and moon cycled anew.
The world itself seemed reborn, yet unchanged.
As everyone's awareness returned, an immense unreality lingered.
Only then did they notice the one true change—
Samael had vanished.
No trace remained—neither torture device, nor cross—only the faintly glowing summoning circle Georg had created lingered behind.
Even the lingering curses in the air had completely disappeared.
"…What did you do?"
Georg stared blankly, bewildered.
Jeanne Alter's reply was calm, still enveloped in divine radiance:
"I simply destroyed Samael completely. His hatred, curses, pain…even God's own malice—I wiped them all out."
"You say…you destroyed God's malice?" Georg murmured incredulously.
Jeanne Alter's expression remained serene.
"The [Sword of Salvation] did."
Georg trembled slightly, finally whispering:
"…Salvation, you say?"