—Are they planning to use a turtle tactic?
When they saw Jeanne activate her Noble Phantasm, all the Servants—including Jeanne Alter—assumed this was the case. At the same time, they inwardly scoffed.
Did they really think hiding in one place and not moving would work? It would only lead to a slow, inevitable death.
Yet the scene unfolding now—exactly what was happening at this very moment—made them understand why Jeanne and her allies had taken shelter within the Noble Phantasm.
Torrents of crimson rain continued to drench the entire land. Anything touched by this blood rain instantly seemed to burn—or more accurately, became cursed. Their entire bodies were consumed by raging flames, then enveloped in thick, suffocating blood mist that slowly eroded and destroyed them from within.
Since this was rain, the first to be affected were the Wyvern swarms filling the skies.
"GAAAAAAAA!"
Wails of agony rose like waves, echoing endlessly through the air. Despite dragons being renowned for their immense physical strength and high resistance to both physical and magical attacks, they were utterly defenseless under this blood rain. They were tortured, burned alive by the blood flames and cursed energy. One by one, Wyvern corpses plummeted from the sky, quickly piling up across much of the fortress interior, which wasn't all that large to begin with.
Hiding in shadowed corners untouched by the rain, Atalanta stared at the crimson downpour. "I never expected that woman's suicide attack would trigger such a phenomenon. A curse this widespread and powerful—it might as well be a Noble Phantasm."
In terms of sheer power, Atalanta considered this phenomenon on par with divine curses. Even a Servant caught in this blood rain would soon be ensnared by the curse, suffering torment and being burned alive by the bloodfire.
"Truly a trick that inspires no laughter."
Planting her dragon banner beside Atalanta, Jeanne Alter watched the scene with a calm, composed expression. "She wanted to unleash a large-scale attack through self-destruction, likely aiming to wipe us and the Wyvern swarm out at once. Since our forces outnumber theirs, it's only natural they'd resort to such a desperate tactic."
"But this blood rain doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. When it finally stops, the enemy side won't be able to escape either."
Besides—
Glancing at the dragon banner in her hand, Jeanne Alter wore a cold, supremely confident smile. In this way, the enemy lost one fighter. Meanwhile, she could use the Holy Grail's power to summon the dragon swarm again at any time. Not to mention, Fafnir still remained.
No matter what, her other self was destined to lose.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Meanwhile, on Jeanne's side.
Sheltered within the Noble Phantasm and watching the blood rain fall outside, Ritsuka and Mash still felt a deep sense of dread despite having seen it before. Especially Ritsuka, who had nearly died from the curse during its first occurrence.
"No matter how many times I see it, I still think Akuta-senpai is incredible."
"Indeed... So this is what she meant by 'blowing up'?" Aoko looked slightly stunned. "I thought 'blowing up' meant she was using Magecraft. But she actually self-destructs?!"
Mash nodded. "Yes. Just like her sister, Akuta-senpai is a fairy born directly from the planet itself. Even if she dies like this, she can revive."
"So that's why she can pull off such insane tactics... Honestly, this is just too crazy."
Jeanne, who was maintaining her Noble Phantasm, could only remain speechless. As a Marshal who led the French army, she had used various strategies to win battles. But a suicidal tactic this extreme? She had never even considered anything like this.
However, since Hinako was a fairy, such a strategy was actually possible.
At that moment, the torrential blood rain finally ceased. Within the fading crimson downpour, Hinako's form reappeared—human once more, as if time had reversed. After scanning the fortress now littered with Wyvern corpses, she quickly returned to where Jeanne and the others were gathered.
"Good. The Wyvern swarm has been dealt with."
"Thank you for your hard work, Akuta-senpai," Mash said, stepping forward with her shield. "But even though the Wyverns are gone, we don't know if the enemy Servants were eliminated..."
"Then, Mash, go back inside. I'll blow up again."
Like a mother sending her daughter to school, Hinako forcibly pushed Mash back into Jeanne's protective barrier. Then, under the shocked stares of everyone inside, her body—barely recovered less than a minute ago—exploded once more!
Torrents of blood rain poured down again.
Jeanne Alter and her allies, who had just been preparing to emerge, saw this and immediately scrambled back into their already-damaged shelters from the previous bloodstorm.
(Why is the blood rain falling AGAIN?!)
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Control Room
Though they couldn't see the battlefield directly, Naoki and the others could piece together what was happening from the ongoing communication.
Roman, whose face had finally relaxed slightly, now massaged his temples with a wry smile. "Honestly, this feels like cheating. Akuta is becoming way too overpowered. If this keeps up, she'll destroy the entire fortress—Jeanne Alter and the others included—buried under Wyvern corpses."
"Yeah, honestly, it's a bit wasteful."
Naoki rested his chin on his hand.
"Even if they're low-tier Phantasmal Species, Wyverns are still Phantasmal Species. If we could preserve their corpses—scales, claws, wings, fangs, anything—it'd all be high-grade raw material for crafting Mystic Codes."
In the modern age, where Phantasmal Species are nearly extinct, even materials from a Wyvern-tier creature could bankrupt entire Magus families just to purchase.
And now, these incredibly valuable materials were being massively obliterated by Hinako. If any Magus saw this, they'd burst into tears on the spot.
"Ugh... Wasteful... This is so wasteful..."
Correction—not just 'might cry'—he was already on the verge of tears.
Having no combat experience, Marie—who had been quietly observing from the side—now stared at the screen, watching the Wyvern mana signatures vanish one by one. Though she knew it was impossible to recover them, as a magician, she still felt profound sorrow.
Originally, Chaldea's Rayshift experiments were forced upon them under immense pressure from the Clock Tower. If they failed to deliver results, the consequences demanded by the Clock Tower would have been severe. But now, if they could've brought back even a fraction of these Wyvern remains, Marie wouldn't just meet the Clock Tower's demands—she'd have the leverage to negotiate with them!
"Damn it, is there no way to salvage them...?"
Watching Marie bite her nails and think intensely, Naoki and Roman exchanged glances—and then shared a helpless smile.
Their director was truly... something else.