002 - Fate/Half Astral

"Hello," Ritsu waved her hand at them, smiling innocently.

"A child? Why is there a little girl appearing here out of nowhere?" Jeanne Alter eyed Ritsu, her expression a mix of confusion and suspicion.

"My name is Ritsu. Does anyone know where Fujimaru-niichan and Mashu-neechan are?" Ritsu asked, her eyes scanning the group curiously.

"Looks like she's a lost child, Jeanne. What do you want to do with her?" Gilles asked, glancing at Jeanne for direction.

"Lost child..." Jeanne muttered, but then something caught her attention. Her eyes widened in shock as she sensed the immense Mana radiating from Ritsu. "That child has so much Mana! It's even more than any of us here!" Jeanne stood abruptly from her throne, unable to hide her surprise.

"Mana? Yeah, I have a lot of Mana! Papa said it's because I'm their daughter, so I inherited their Mana!" Ritsu replied proudly, puffing out her chest.

"Come here, child. Let me see you closer," Jeanne said, smiling—but her smile wasn't kind or gentle. It was a cold, calculated smile.

"...No. Mama said not to follow strangers," Ritsu responded, stepping back cautiously.

"You don't know who I am?" Jeanne asked, her voice laced with curiosity.

"No, who are you, beautiful lady?" Ritsu tilted her head in confusion, genuinely not recognizing Jeanne.

"My name is Jeanne d'Arc, the one who will destroy France. My campaign will prove God's love and existence by punishing those who stand against it," Jeanne declared proudly.

"...Eh? You're Jeanne?" Ritsu looked genuinely surprised, her eyes widening as she processed the information.

"Yes, I am. Now come here, let me see you," Jeanne's voice was firm, expecting Ritsu to comply.

Ritsu hesitated, her innocent eyes narrowing slightly as she observed Jeanne closely. Inside Jeanne, she could see something unusual—a golden grail, glowing faintly and pulsing with Mana, fueling Jeanne's very existence.

Ritsu suddenly disappeared from where she was standing and reappeared right in front of Jeanne Alter.

"Wha!? When did you get here??" Jeanne Alter's eyes widened in shock, taken aback by how fast Ritsu had moved.

"Shhh." Ritsu hushed her, her gaze fixed on Jeanne's body as if she were inspecting something deeper.

"What are you doing?! Gilles, get this little girl away from me!" Jeanne Alter barked, her patience quickly thinning.

Gilles rushed forward, intending to pull Ritsu away from Jeanne, but before he could grab her—

*BAM*

Ritsu punched Gilles with surprising force, sending him flying across the room and crashing into a wall.

"You're not really Jeanne, beautiful nee-san," Ritsu said calmly, her innocent eyes now focused with a strange understanding.

"Not Jeanne? What are you talking about? I am Jeanne—" Jeanne Alter started to argue, but her words were cut short as Ritsu extended her hand and, without hesitation, plunged it directly into Jeanne's chest.

Jeanne gasped in shock as Ritsu's hand effortlessly passed through her body, reaching inside. Ritsu's small fingers curled around the glowing object that pulsed within Jeanne—the Holy Grail.

"This is the Holy Grail... I remember this. My house has one too," Ritsu said softly, her expression unchanging.

The Mana that surged through Jeanne began to resonate with the Grail. Ritsu's eyes gleamed with recognition, and without another word, she called out, "Draco, come out!"

In an instant, Draco small figure materialized behind her while looking toward the other servants.

"Make sure the others don't interrupt me," Ritsu said casually, her small hand still deep within Jeanne Alter's chest, grasping the Grail.

"Alright," Draco replied in a soft, childlike tone before her expression twisted into something far more sinister. A horrifying smile spread across her face as she turned toward the gathered Servants. "Let's play!" she giggled, immediately charging toward them with terrifying speed.

The Servants braced themselves, but none could prepare for Draco's overwhelming power. Chaos erupted as she engaged them, her smile never fading.

Meanwhile, Ritsu remained focused, her hand still inside Jeanne Alter's body. She was trying to manipulate the Grail, unsure exactly how her papa would handle this, but trusting her instincts as an Astral being. She could feel the swirling energy, the immense hatred within Jeanne.

"So much hatred inside of you right now..." Ritsu murmured, her fingers delicately probing the Grail's essence.

"Stop what you're doing before I burn you to the ground!" Jeanne Alter hissed, fury blazing in her eyes, but her voice trembled with frustration. Since Ritsu had touched the Grail, Jeanne's body had stopped responding to her. She couldn't move, couldn't defend herself—only sit, helpless, on her throne while Ritsu worked.

All Jeanne Alter could do was glare down at the little girl with increasing dread, unable to do anything but wait.

---

Meanwhile, with Fujimaru and Mash

After arriving at the singularity, Fujimaru and Mash found themselves at a ruined fort filled with wounded soldiers, despite it being a supposed period of peace. They inquired about King Charles VII, only to learn that he had been killed by flames from Jeanne d'Arc, who had risen again as "The Dragon Witch." This terrifying Jeanne forced England into retreat, creating chaos in France.

After battling several Wyverns, they unexpectedly encountered Jeanne, who helped them fend off the creatures. Now, the group had arrived at a forest, discussing the strange events unfolding in the singularity.

"Another Jeanne has already materialized—the one who killed King Charles VII," Mash noted as they pieced together the situation.

Just as they were analyzing the events, Fujimaru's communication bracelet began buzzing repeatedly.

"Looks like Director Olga has something urgent to tell us," Fujimaru said, pressing the bracelet to activate the hologram.

A projection of Olga appeared in front of them, and she was clearly in a panic.

"Fujimaru! Mash! This is an emergency!" Olga's frantic voice filled the air.

"Director? What happened? Why are you so panicked?" Mash asked, worry creeping into her tone.

"Ritsu has disappeared from Chaldea! We can't find her anywhere!"

"What!?" Fujimaru and Mash exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with shock.

"H-How is that possible? Did you check her room? Or Da Vinci's workshop?" Mash asked, now visibly shaken.

"I've already checked," came Da Vinci's voice from the hologram. "She's not here, and I even searched my entire workspace!"

"All available staff are searching for her right now," Olga added, her voice strained. "Romani is helping, but even he also can't find any trace of her!"

As panic began to set in, Jeanne—who had been listening quietly—looked confused. She didn't know who this "Ritsu" was or why everyone seemed so distressed.

"What about Fou?" Fujimaru asked again, grasping at any solution. "He usually finds her with no problem. Did anyone ask Fou about Ritsu?"

Everyone at Chaldea knew that Fou always followed Ritsu around, almost like he was her guardian. Somehow, Fou always knew where Ritsu went, even when she vanished from sight.

"We can't find Fou either," Olga replied with frustration. "It looks like he tagged along with Ritsu and disappeared as well."

As the panic spread among the group, Jeanne, who had been silently observing, finally spoke up, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me, but can someone explain what is happening? Who is this Ritsu you're all so worried about?"

Fujimaru and Mash turned toward Jeanne, realizing they hadn't explained Ritsu's significance. "Oh right, you don't know who Ritsu is," Mash said, glancing at Fujimaru before both began to explain the situation to Jeanne.

A few moments later, after hearing the full explanation, Jeanne murmured in thought, "A kid from another world? Is she a Foreigner?"

"No," Olga corrected. "She's just... well, it's hard to explain. She's like a human kid, but not entirely human. She said she's Half-Astral."

"Astral?" Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of that race before. So she disappeared from your base?"

"Yes," Fujimaru answered, worry etched on his face. "She's gone from Chaldea, and considering her ability to open portals, she could be anywhere at this point. We really don't know where she is."

"Then, Fujimaru, Mash," Olga interjected, "try to clear the Singularity as quickly as possible. Once that's done, we can use the SHEBA system to track her down."

Both Fujimaru and Mash nodded, resolving to finish the Singularity so they could focus on finding Ritsu.

---

Meanwhile, in another part of the Singularity...

"And they just watched as I burned to death... No one helped me, they just stood there and watched! It hurt so much… my skin peeling away in the flames, the smoke suffocating me!" Jeanne Alter's voice trembled with fury as she recounted her suffering.

"Hmm hmm, they sound like really bad people, not helping you at all," Ritsu nodded, listening intently.

"And then, after that, I woke up thanks to Gilles. Now, I'm going to make them pay!" Jeanne Alter declared with bitter determination.

"Hmm hmm, I understand. I'd want to do the same thing if they let me suffer like that," Ritsu agreed earnestly.

"See? You get it!" Jeanne Alter's eyes glinted. "So let me destroy France!"

"No no," Ritsu shook her head, her voice matter-of-fact. "If you do that, then the future will change, and all of humanity might go extinct."

As the two continued their conversation, the rest of Jeanne Alter's servants watched in utter confusion. The oddest part wasn't just their conversation but the fact that Ritsu was currently sitting comfortably on Jeanne Alter's lap, being hugged from behind while Jeanne played with her cheeks.

Jeanne Alter's demeanor had drastically softened after Ritsu had done something strange—plunging her hand into Jeanne's chest earlier. No one understood what had happened, but now Jeanne was doting on the little girl like she was precious.

The servants stared at the scene with disbelief. Gilles, however, was seething, his expression full of rage. It was clear his thoughts were something along the lines of 'How dare she sit on Jeanne's lap and punch me!'

Jeanne Alter frowned slightly at Ritsu's words. "Then what? How can I make them suffer for what they did if I can't destroy France?"

Ritsu blinked and started thinking, tapping her chin as she tried to come up with a solution.

"Hmm, what would Papa or Mama do in this situation?" Ritsu murmured to herself, trying to figure out a solution.

In her mind, her Papa's voice echoed, "Of course, we destroy them. Who cares about humanity anyway? I can just recreate it."

Then her Mama's voice chimed in, "Of course, humanity's extinction is bad, but who said you need to kill them? We can just beat them so hard without killing them."

Ritsu quickly shook her head, dismissing their advice. "That's bad..."

Since her parents weren't helping, she decided to try something else and began rummaging through her pockets.

"What are you doing?" Jeanne Alter asked as she pinched Ritsu's cheek, watching her search through her seemingly endless pocket.

"Trying to find something useful for this kind of situation," Ritsu replied, still digging through an assortment of items: cards, a sword, a magical staff, and countless other things she rarely used.

"Oh, this is probably good," she said, standing up from Jeanne's lap and pulling out two weapons from her pocket: Hermanubis and Scales of Dominion.

"Huh? What are those?" Draco suddenly materialized behind her, eyeing the strange weapons.

"This one is Hermanubis," Ritsu said, recalling the description. "It's something like the Axe of Judgment, used to judge sinners before they pass into the next world. The one who wields this staff holds all of creation at their beck and call."

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She then held up the Scales of Dominion and continued, "And this one, Scales of Dominion, weighs everything in nature—prosperity or destitution, order or chaos, life or death. It delivers a fair and just verdict to everything. Only those who wield it can know the full truth of the world… or something like that."

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Draco blinked, clearly confused. "…What?"

"Don't think too much about the description," Ritsu said with a grin before turning to face Jeanne Alter.

"With this, we can find and punish the people who were actually involved in your death, Jeanne-neechan! That way, the innocent won't have to suffer too!" Ritsu added cheerfully.

Jeanne Alter blinked, taken aback by Ritsu's words. "Punish only the ones responsible…?" For a moment, doubt flickered across her expression, as if Ritsu's suggestion was something she hadn't considered before.

"You really think that will make me feel better?" Jeanne Alter's voice wavered slightly, torn between her anger and this strange child's logic.

"Of course! Why make more people suffer when we can go after the ones who actually deserve it?" Ritsu responded with enthusiasm, holding the Hermanubis and Scales of Dominion confidently.

Jeanne Alter looked down at the child before her, then sighed. "You're… something else. Fine, we'll see if your plan works. But if it doesn't, I'm burning everything down."

"Deal!" Ritsu said with a big smile, pleased with the compromise.

Behind them, Draco smirked, clearly amused by the strange direction the situation had taken.