I Am Honkai

Sighișoara.

This was the small town where Shirou Tokisada Amakusa's previous base, the hilltop church, was located. It was adjacent to Trifas, the town under the control of the Yggdmillennia clan.

Since this area was considered the stronghold of the Red faction, a joint occupation of the Mage's Association and the Holy Church, the number of mages in this small town was quite substantial.

In addition to dispatching six Masters, the Clock Tower of the London Mage's Association had sent many mages to assist the Red Masters in gathering intelligence before battle and handling post-war cleanup after the Holy Grail War ended.

Combined with the presence of personnel from the Holy Church, Sighișoara was filled with a considerable number of people versed in the mysteries, making it a prime target for Black Assassin Jack the Ripper.

At this moment, standing on the broken stone steps of the hilltop church's ruined remains, two figures—one tall and one short—observed the war-torn battlefield, now a shattered landscape caused by the battle of Servants.

The area was littered with chunks of concrete, broken statues, twisted, melted steel beams, and craters of various sizes, creating a chaotic scene.

It was strange that, despite such a large explosion and fire, Romania's emergency services hadn't reacted. Even with their slower response times, something like this should have been handled by now.

The most likely explanation, no—almost certainly—was that the Mage's Association had sent its personnel to suppress any official response. Aside from that, Selene couldn't think of any other reason.

"This was once a church... Truly, no matter the form of war, it should never happen," Jeanne sighed.

"But that's clearly impossible. Wherever there are people, there is conflict, and human desires are endless..."

Selene picked up a piece of scorched iron debris that had been flung by the explosion, crushing it into iron powder between her fingers. Ending the conversation, she said thoughtfully, "The Red faction has already withdrawn. It seems Shirou Tokisada Amakusa doesn't wish to meet you."

"Then, Your Majesty, do you know where the Red faction is now? That surveillance projection Noble Phantasm..."

Jeanne gestured as she spoke. She was anxious to meet with Shirou Tokisada Amakusa to confirm certain matters. If she couldn't meet him, she would settle for meeting other Red Masters.

Normally, Ruler-class Servants possess a unique skill called True Name Revelation, which allows them to see the true names, classes, and abilities of other Servants.

Even someone like Selene—no matter how powerful her true self—was still an entity that, when transformed into a legend and recorded as a Heroic Spirit, operated under the Holy Grail system.

If not for her Noble Phantasm's hidden effects, she too would have been exposed by Jeanne's True Name Revelation.

Selene's Noble Phantasm, Radiant Moonlight, had various effects, one of which was concealing her identity.

With an A-rank Noble Phantasm, its concealment effect was much stronger than Red Saber Mordred's C-rank Secret of Pedigree helmet.

Though Selene's class and skills couldn't be hidden, any attempt by Jeanne to discern her true name, parameters, Noble Phantasm, or unique abilities would be futile, unless Jeanne's Luck stat surpassed Selene's.

Selene incinerated the iron powder she had crushed with her fingertips and replied irritably, "It's called the World Chronicle."

"Can the World Chronicle be used to find their location?" Jeanne blinked and asked again.

"It used to work, but not anymore. Red Assassin Semiramis has an EX-ranked barrier-type Noble Phantasm. We were able to track them before because her Noble Phantasm wasn't fully complete."

"Now that Semiramis's barrier is likely finished, it's impossible for the World Chronicle to penetrate it to observe their movements unless the Red faction steps out of the barrier..."

"And the Red faction won't sit idly by."

Selene glanced up toward a nearby tree branch, where a faintly glowing, pale gray pigeon was perched, staring down at her and Jeanne.

"A familiar..." Selene didn't bother destroying it. Instead, she made a toast-like gesture with a delicate glass goblet that appeared in her hand.

"It's a familiar from the Red faction, isn't it..."

Jeanne ended her brief moment of compassion for the damaged church and stepped forward, now donning a stern expression in her classic school uniform—a white blouse and long-sleeved navy jacket with black shorts and over-the-knee socks.

"I am the Ruler of this Holy Grail War, Jeanne d'Arc. Now, to the Masters of the Red faction, I ask you—why did you attack me, a Ruler, the overseer of this war? You must understand the gravity of such an action!"

...

On the other side, in a sealed garden illuminated by artificial light, the remaining Servants of the Red faction sat around a stone table in the center of the courtyard.

"There's something I've always wondered—Your Majesty, you're supposed to be an Assassin, right? Why do your abilities seem more like those of a Caster? Is this garden a form of territory creation?"

One of the two remaining Red Masters, Kairi Sisigou, asked curiously, staring straight at Semiramis through his sunglasses.

Glancing briefly at Shirou Tokisada Amakusa and seeing that he didn't object, Semiramis answered, "Dual Summoning. It allows me to retain both the Assassin and Caster classes' unique abilities."

"Is that the same white-haired woman who gave you such a hard time in your battle, Saber?" Shirou Tokisada Amakusa asked, referring to the white-haired, red-eyed woman on the screen.

"Yeah, that's her!"

Sitting cross-legged beside Kairi, Mordred's expression was serious as she replied, arms folded. "Looks like she's noticed us. See? She's even making a toast toward us—is that a challenge?"

"Isn't it natural for her to notice? If a goddess couldn't detect my little magical trick, then what kind of weak goddess would that make her? And what would that say about you, having been defeated by her?"

Seizing the opportunity, Semiramis shot back with her usual biting sarcasm.

However, this time, in a rare turn of events, Mordred didn't fly into a rage or retort with harsh words. Instead, she casually replied, "Yeah, yeah, you're right about everything. So, why don't you go and face Black Rider head-on?"

It was true that she had been overwhelmed in their previous battle. There was no point in denying it, and since it didn't hit any of her sore spots, Mordred wasn't the type to throw a tantrum over it. She wasn't some berserker who was always angry.

Ah, here we go again... At that moment, Shirou Tokisada Amakusa was immensely relieved that he hadn't forcibly seized control of Saber Mordred.

Due to the pressure brought on by the Black faction, the Red faction had united. Most of the basic information about each other had already been shared.

Saber Mordred, the rebellious knight who betrayed King Arthur, and Semiramis, the Queen who ruled as a tyrant in Assyria—Shirou didn't need to feel it to know that the two of them were fundamentally incompatible.

Moreover, with the father-son dynamic between Mordred and her Master Kairi, forcibly taking control of her would almost certainly lead to internal strife within the Red faction.

For now, it was best to maintain the current situation. Under the joint leadership of himself and Kairi, their disputes were limited to verbal clashes that didn't affect the bigger picture.

"Well, let's forget that idea. Having Assassin and Rider face each other head-on isn't realistic. And if the divine ruler is offering a toast, I must humbly accept. How could I not?"

With those words, Shirou Tokisada Amakusa deftly diffused the tension between Semiramis and Mordred. He smiled warmly as he raised his teacup in response to Selene's toast on the screen, making an exaggerated motion as if clinking glasses from afar.

"To this Holy Grail War, to the honor of meeting Your Majesty—cheers."

He raised his cup in a toast, made a clinking motion, and then drank his tea in one go.

As soon as he finished, he saw Jeanne step forward on the screen, but Shirou wasn't interested in listening. He immediately turned away.

"Assassin, make that familiar vanish. For now, what we need is to gather our strength..."

"Understood."

At that moment, a pigeon appeared out of thin air, gently landing on Semiramis's hand, its small head rubbing affectionately against her fingers.

Semiramis had been abandoned by her mother shortly after birth, and never knowing her mother's warmth, she had been warmed by the wings of pigeons and sustained by the milk they brought her. Since then, pigeons had always been her faithful companions.

This legend had been sublimated into the ability to use pigeons as familiars, without the need for any contracts—just a simple expression of her will was enough.

"Master, I have good news. Black Assassin has betrayed Yggdmillennia. She is currently in Sighișoara."

Semiramis's previously lazy demeanor instantly shifted, her eyes narrowing as she lifted her head. "My familiars have found her."

"There are reports that Yggdmillennia's Master, Hyouma Sagara, has been killed. It appears Black Assassin has defected. Master, should we recruit her?"

"No, Black Rider is likely here to deal with the traitor. Let's avoid direct conflict for now. Just keep watch and gather intelligence. Our top priority is to complete the Hanging Gardens of Babylon!"

...

"You should know what this implies! Huh? Wait a minute..." Jeanne's righteous reprimand was cut short as she noticed the magical energy surrounding the pigeon dissipate.

What... Did I really upset the Red faction that much? I haven't even done anything!

"Hmm, seems the Red faction doesn't want to hear from you. They've declined your video call request and blocked you," Selene chuckled softly as she patted Jeanne on the shoulder before continuing down the steps.

"Uh... Wait for me!" Jeanne quickly caught up with Selene, realizing what had just happened. "Your Majesty, how are we going to track down the Red faction now?"

Selene's response was simple: "We won't. The Red faction will come to us once they're ready to attack. Right now, the most important thing is for me to eliminate the traitor, and for you to purify the evil spirit. Our goals don't conflict."

Since this was only an avatar and not her true self, Selene's ability to monitor the Red faction through the World Chronicle had only worked because Semiramis's Hanging Gardens hadn't been completed yet.

Now that the World Chronicle had lost its ability to track the Red faction's movements, it could only confirm that they were still in Sighișoara. This also meant that the completion of the Hanging Gardens was imminent.

The real battle of the Romanian Holy Grail War was about to begin.

"But... it's still a while before nightfall, isn't it? Jack the Ripper only comes out at night, so we have some time..." Selene said, turning around suddenly and pulling Jeanne in front of her with a mischievous smile.

"I've just thought of something fun. I think you might find it very useful."

"Huh? Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Jeanne looked confused. However, her gaze was quickly drawn to the enormous pile of gold and jewels Selene had just summoned from a glowing purple portal.

"So... so much gold! Th-these are rubies the size of pebbles, diamonds, and emeralds?"

In that moment, Jeanne's eyes nearly turned into dollar signs. Forgive her for her limited knowledge—through the portal, she could see mountains of treasure, so dazzling that it nearly blinded her.

Though the Holy Grail had given Jeanne the knowledge she needed to live in the modern world, it hadn't included textbooks on everything. Her understanding was capped at what her host, Laeticia, knew.

The sight of countless colorful gemstones and shimmering gold filling her vision nearly left Jeanne speechless. She couldn't even name most of them, though she felt instinctively that the gold and silver items were probably the least valuable.

Of course, some of this reaction was influenced by Laeticia's own desires affecting Jeanne's judgment. Even though Jeanne had never seen this much money in her entire life, she wasn't one to lose her composure so easily.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of the distracting thoughts, Jeanne quickly pushed away the handful of treasures Selene had offered her and stepped back a few paces. "N-no, Your Majesty! I can't accept this. I'm not that kind of person!"

Jeanne firmly rejected the offer. Even though she had grown up in a small village, she had principles!

"Are you sure you don't want it? This is just a small part of my daily spending. My vast palaces are filled with endless treasures—gems and gold bricks as far as the eye can see..."

Selene continued to dangle the treasures in front of Jeanne, whispering temptingly in her ear.

"And, let's not forget the damage you've caused to your host's belongings. Wouldn't you like to repay her? These riches could ensure that young girl lives in luxury for the rest of her life."

"I'm offering it to you freely. I won't ask for anything in return related to the Holy Grail War, so it won't violate your principles. All I need you to do is..."

"Mmmm..."

There was no doubt that Selene had Jeanne's personality completely figured out, leaving her utterly defenseless. She was overpowered on every front.

This round, Jeanne d'Arc was completely defeated!