"Phew, just barely made it in time. Thanks to you guys, I've recovered a bit of mana."
Mash had already braced herself to defend once more. She was starting to find Laurent somewhat unreliable. Moreover—if you couldn't block it, why were you acting so carefree earlier!? Why do you look like you're about to cry now!?
"Laurent, are you alright?" Jeanne hurried anxiously to his side.
The ten thousand points of emotional damage Laurent had just sustained instantly healed by half. No good, Jeanne's warmth alone isn't enough—I need emotional healing.
"I'll be fine if you give me a little touch."
Jeanne didn't immediately react.
"You damned worms!" Jeanne Alter's curses rang out again.
She hated that woman, hated Laurent, hated all of their actions, and especially hated seeing them together.
Every time those two stood side-by-side in her sight, an inexplicable anger rose within her heart.
It feels like something that should've been mine was stolen by this ignorant village girl…
Why!? Why!? You abandoned him, yet you can still stand beside him! He should be supporting ME instead!
Jeanne Alter couldn't help but curse again, "Just seeing you appear in front of me hurts my eyes!"
Yet nobody noticed the faint grievance hidden within her words and the sadness buried deep in her eyes.
Laurent felt wronged.
Luckily, at this moment, the wounded Servant they had rescued stood up slowly.
"It's been a long time, Evil Dragon. Since you've awakened again, let me destroy you once more!"
At these words, Jeanne Alter clearly felt Fafnir shudder slightly. "Could this Servant be… Siegfried?"
With both hands gripping his sword tightly, he declared loudly,
"Let the heavens bear witness! My true name is Siegfried! The one who once defeated you!"
"I WILL BRING YOU DOWN—"
"[BALMUNG]!!!"
"Fafnir, ascend quickly!"
A blue sword-light pierced through the heavens, rushing toward Fafnir at lightning speed.
At this moment, Laurent's expression abruptly twisted with anger.
Oi, oi, oi—don't joke around. I won't let some Servant who just popped up hurt her.
Countless threads of blood simultaneously surged into the sky, attempting to intercept the attack.
Fortunately, Fafnir's flight speed was incredibly fast, and Laurent's threads were nearly invisible, so no one noticed his intervention.
He subtly glanced at Siegfried, suddenly wary of the man.
"Huff… huff…" After unleashing that attack, Siegfried gasped heavily. "Apologies, that was already my limit. Take advantage of its retreat… Quickly…"
"Right! Let's fall back!" Fujimaru swiftly responded.
Meanwhile, thousands of meters in the air, Jeanne Alter's expression was unsettled.
Just now, at the very last moment, the attack had nearly struck her—but suddenly, a crimson net appeared before her, enveloping the attack and dissipating it completely.
…Why would that bastard's power… help me?
Doubt arose within her, immediately replaced by intensified annoyance.
What the hell? What's the meaning of this? That bastard…
Crack! She clenched her fist tightly, wishing she could drag him over and interrogate him on the spot about exactly what was going on inside that bastard's mind.
"Forget it. I can't exhaust Fafnir too much right now. That sword is troublesome enough."
"Berserker, Saber, concentrate your attacks on the Dragonslayer. Kill him!"
"Yes!"
...
"Run as far as you can while we still have the chance!" Laurent urged. "Those guys will catch up soon enough—that last attack was just meant to scare us!"
Honestly, Laurent had no interest in fighting these Servants until he fully understood the situation.
However, not long after they'd escaped, Laurent spotted two figures chasing after them. One of them went utterly berserk at the sight of Jeanne, charging straight toward her with incoherent roars.
Jeanne turned to face this new enemy, but the black-armored knight was already right before her with astonishing speed.
In the next instant, Mash appeared at Jeanne's side, mercilessly slamming her shield into the knight, sending him flying.
Clang—!
A thunderous collision erupted as shield met armor, cracking the ground beneath them.
The group stopped instantly.
Laurent quickly checked the situation, relieved to find everyone unharmed.
"What's with this guy? He's been going berserk ever since he saw you…" Watching the black knight continuously roaring uncontrollably, everyone was on high alert.
The Saber-class Servant accompanying him clicked his tongue in annoyance at the Berserker's madness. "Already out of control, huh? This will make fighting troublesome. It seems I'll have to postpone elegantly removing your head, my Queen," he said regretfully toward Marie. Unlike the raging knight, this white-haired Saber didn't charge recklessly forward.
Another Berserker? Laurent took a deep breath, facing the black knight. Such thick negative aura…
If I devoured him, I'd probably gain plenty of energy…
This temptation's too strong… He swallowed nervously.
Unfortunately, before anyone could think further, the black knight—Lancelot—had already charged madly toward Jeanne.
"I gave you a chance already, and you still dare to try again!?"
Laurent reacted even faster, instantly appearing before Jeanne, kicking Lancelot away.
"Let's take care of him first, Master. He seems isolated anyway."
"Right!" Fujimaru nodded decisively.
Lancelot casually grabbed a fallen tree, immediately turning it into a Noble Phantasm and lunging forward again.
"This… just now…"
"It seems he can turn anything he touches into a Noble Phantasm!" Doctor Roman calmly analyzed.
Laurent, likewise, shaped his blood into a weapon, charging to meet the attack head-on.
Clang—!
"Damn, that ability's really convenient."
Mash, Marie, and Jeanne quickly took advantage to flank from three sides.
"I think Laurent-san's weapon is even more convenient!" Mash couldn't help but comment mid-combat.
Laurent shook his head, "Mine's just something hard. His is an actual Noble Phantasm—it's different."
Then, "Ah—sorry, can you guys give me some space? It's inconvenient to use my sword techniques like this."
"Eh?" Everyone was puzzled but obediently backed away.
The next moment, Laurent stood alone before Lancelot, gripping a blood-red sword in his right hand.
He took a deep breath, gathering energy in his core. The ground beneath him cracked from sheer force. His eyes glinted like stars.
Thanks to Absolute Evil, his growth and learning ability had reached terrifying extremes.
He stepped forward, right leg sliding back, sword positioned at his waist. He spoke the embarrassing words decisively:
"[ULTIMATE KILLER MOVE—BLOODY WEB OF ANNIHILATION]!"
The moment his words rang out, countless invisible threads instantly filled the air around Lancelot, slicing toward him like razor-sharp wires.
Like tofu sliced by countless steel threads, Lancelot froze in place, utterly motionless.
Everyone gaped, utterly stunned at the scene.
Just now… that was an instant kill, right? Laurent-san's amazing…
Only Laurent himself understood: in that instant, he hadn't even pierced the armor—instead, his blood had slipped inside, instantly devouring Lancelot's entire body from within.
Such a perfect source of energy—letting it go to waste would be foolish. An empty shell left behind is enough.
He clenched his fist, savoring the newfound strength. Sure enough, I still need to devour a few more to ensure no unexpected issues arise…
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