Jeanne, Let's Dance

The number of swords I forged had surpassed a thousand.

Unbeaten across countless battlefields.

Unaware of loss.

Never defeated even once.

Nor did I know what I had gained.

Nor had I ever achieved a single victory.

"Thus, as I pray—Unlimited Blade Works! This body was destined to be born for the sword!"

The Inherent Domain unfolded. It was a crimson wilderness planted with countless swords. Flames danced along the distant horizon, while enormous rotating gears filled the murky sky. The sight was exactly as the Youth had seen it in his previous life.

But in the next moment, holy light flashed behind where the Youth stood. A green field and lake appeared there, along with a city where people lived... before finally becoming a huge blue planet. This was the new realization the Youth had gained in his second life, now revealed within his Inner World.

The entire wilderness, its flames, and its gears became walls protecting all of it. The Youth stood atop those walls, with the beautiful planet floating in the sky behind him.

Then his Magic Eyes opened. The rainbow-colored eyes locked onto the meteor in the sky and discovered the twisted black shadow hidden within it. That was the devil's incarnation. Observation, analysis—the devil's weakness was revealed in his eyes in an instant.

Its true form was Samiel, the devil said to dwell in Germany's Wolf Valley. It delighted in playing tricks on people, making all sorts of deals with humanity in exchange for human souls.

Projection!

Noble Phantasms appeared one after another in the space around the Youth. Golden and silver swords, weapons gleaming with strange radiance—some were renowned throughout history, while others were ancient weapons buried by time. Every one of the several hundred Noble Phantasms possessed anti-demon properties.

Several hundred Noble Phantasms flew out at once, targeting the weakest points in the meteor's structure and piercing into them.

"Uwaaaah!!" The devil's shadow let out a pained howl before vanishing.

Finally—Broken Phantasm!

Several hundred Noble Phantasms flashed with blinding light at the same time. At the cost of destroying the Noble Phantasms, the magical energy and faith contained within them exploded like high-energy bombs.

"Ten seconds until the meteor hits the top of the tower!"

"Leave it to me!" The blonde girl had long been prepared. Golden radiance bloomed from her body as she raised the holy sword high. The moment the meteor in the sky shattered, she swung at it.

"—The King of Tyrants. Aurora Recoil. Drink the Radiant Light... Excalibur Morgan."

The fragments in the sky were swallowed by the Noble Phantasm at that instant, and silence fell over the area.

Inside Chaldea's control room.

"The meteor... has... has been completely eliminated!" an employee reported excitedly.

"Wonderful! Shirou-senpai! Miss Artoria!" Mash appeared in the hologram and said.

"Well, I was only in charge of blowing it up. Artoria was the one who really saved this place. Thanks," Shirou said with a smile to the blonde girl beside him.

"No need to be modest! Shirou, you did very well just now! You would qualify even if you became my knight. I would not mind praising you," Artoria said with a smile as she put away her holy sword.

Jeanne d'Arc, Let's Dance

"Right! Is Gudako alright over there? If he realized the plan had failed, he would not try to pull something else, would he?" Shirou asked.

"Yes! Gudako-senpai's side also concluded smoothly! With the arrival of powerful reinforcements, Moriarty has been defeated. This Singularity incident has now been resolved!" Mash answered with a smile.

It turned out that after Shirou and Artoria left, Gudako and the others who remained behind had also entered their final battle with Moriarty.

Count of Monte Cristo—the true King of the Cavern—had blasted his way in. Entrusted by a certain being, he had come with Andersen as his guard to rescue the restrained Shakespeare.

The two writer Servants joined forces to create the ultimate weapon against Moriarty.

The blue-haired boy in Western clothes said, "Ahhh! Enough already. I only got aboard this fanwork pirate ship for popularity! Not having to spend effort designing characters is nice, but being so restricted while writing is a massive pain!"

Shakespeare said, "Though the fanwork I write may struggle to reach the heights of its original work, I still hope that, for one brief moment, it may bloom with a splendor no less dazzling than the original!!"

Andersen unfolded his manuscript and shouted, "Marchen meines Lebens!"

Shakespeare also opened his book, swung his black-gloved hand, and shouted, "It is truly rare to activate a Noble Phantasm in this form. The hour of performance has come—offer thunderous applause, First Folio!!"

The two Mages released an unusual radiance. Something was being summoned!

Not Servants. Their spiritual foundation values were too low... nor were they Shadow Servants.

There were many of them... one hundred, no, more than two hundred.

Two hundred Phantom Spirits appeared here. Four figures stood at the front as their representatives: a round-faced priest, a disheveled Doctor, an old man playing cat's cradle, and a serious gentleman.

The round-faced priest: Father Brown. Round-faced, short, fat, honest-looking, and prone to stammering, yet a seemingly foolish but truly wise priest detective. He wore a small round hat and round glasses, often carried a black umbrella, and had a famous line: "Criminals are creative artists, while detectives are merely critics."

The disheveled Doctor: if Holmes was the most famous detective of the "physical evidence deduction" school, then this famous detective was the representative of the "mental evidence deduction" school.

He was the aristocratic detective who stood above logic, a thinking machine—Van Dusen. His hairstyle somewhat resembled Einstein's.

Van Dusen had never learned chess, yet claimed that as long as he analyzed its rules and logic clearly, he could defeat the world champion. He spent half a day understanding the rules, then played against the world chess champion.

By the fifth move, the champion's smile had vanished. By the tenth move, cold sweat had appeared on the champion's forehead. By the fifteenth move, Van Dusen said, "Check."

The champion thought for ten minutes but still could not find an answer.

Relying on logic, he had defeated the world champion in fifteen moves.

"You are not human. You are a 'thinking machine'!" the pale-faced champion said.

The old man playing cat's cradle: he was the world's first armchair detective. Unlike Holmes, who barged into private homes everywhere and took stimulants, he lay in a rocking chair in a café corner, reading newspaper reports. Through thought alone, he could solve cases without leaving the building—the Old Man in the Corner.

The serious gentleman: active in The Red Thumb Mark and the anti-narrative detective novel The Singing Bone, Dr. Satō was a lawyer as well as a Doctor of medicine. Learned and versatile, he was known as "the Great Analyst." Unlike most eccentric detectives, he was a serious, conservative handsome man. He did not rely on intuition, but used scientific methods to investigate cases.

Many other famous detectives did not intend to show themselves, merely hiding among the Phantom Spirit figures behind them.

"Gudako! For the works created by Andersen and Shakespeare, and for your feat of saving even worlds that have nothing to do with you and have already been divided apart without discrimination, all the detectives present have descended upon this world. Let us lend you our strength!" the Phantom Spirit detectives said.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Have detectives from every walk of life all come to defeat me? Do not insult me! I, James Moriarty, will never lose to anyone other than Charlotte Holmes! Since you detectives have gathered together, then I shall borrow power from evil itself!" Moriarty took out the Holy Grail and drew upon the magical energy within it.

Empowered by the Phantom Spirit detectives' abilities, and with Jeanne d'Arc and King of the Cavern attacking while Shakespeare and Andersen provided support, they successfully defeated Moriarty, who possessed the Holy Grail and had fused with Holmes and The Freeshooter.

When Moriarty still wanted to use the Holy Grail to begin a second round of battle—

More than two hundred Phantom Spirit detectives, represented by them, entrusted Gudako with the one thing to which they had devoted their lives: the ability to solve the mysteries of crime. It became the shared Noble Phantasm of the Phantom Spirit detectives.

"Come! Master of Chaldea! Speak those words!" the Phantom Spirit detectives said in unison.

Gudako swung down her raised hand, pointed at the Bearded Uncle, and declared loudly, "James Moriarty! You are the culprit!!!"

In life, the "Napoleon of Crime" had never left behind evidence, so no detective had ever accused him.

At this moment, as the greatest villain, he was accused by the wisdom, deduction, and reasoning of over two hundred Phantom Spirit detectives gathered together.

The record of his "perfect crimes" was broken at that moment, and Moriarty's power as a criminal was greatly diminished in an instant.

"I never imagined that being identified by detectives as the culprit would weaken me to such an extent... But even so, I should not have lost. Neither the calculations, nor the analysis, nor the outcome should have turned out this way. Why is that?" Moriarty asked in confusion.

"Do you still not understand?" Gudako looked at the uncle and asked sadly.

"Master, tell me what happened. Otherwise, I will find it hard to rest in peace even in death," Moriarty said.

"Because... Uncle, you actually think doing good things is pretty fun too, right?" Gudako said.

"Ah... I see... It seems that both the demon god's dream and my own dream have been shattered... I was one step short again." Moriarty sighed.

"It is a little too late to say this now, but... I am truly sorry, Master, Gudako. I used your honesty and innocence to set a trap. But please believe at least one thing! The one who fought beside you, chatted and laughed with you, was that straightforward, justice-believing good Moriarty. He is a good person. Mm... probably."

Moriarty said solemnly to the girl, "As for the me standing here now, please regard me as nothing more than a great villain who merely resembles him!"

"No!" Gudako puffed out her cheeks and refused. "I will find a way to summon you and make full use of you!"

"You are really stubborn! Well..." Moriarty said with a helpless smile.

"Master! Do as you please. If summoned, then I will indulge you to your heart's content. Well then! Ha ha ha ha ha! This is farewell! Adios, Amigo!" The Bearded Uncle waved one last time and shouted loudly.

"Meow meow meow?" Gudako blinked.

Perhaps because he saw his Master's bewildered expression, Moriarty laughed like he had evaded taxes before turning into fluorescent light and vanishing.

At that moment, in Chaldea's control room, an employee operating the monitoring instruments reported:

"All environmental parameters in Shinjuku have returned to normal values!"

"Spiritron Transfer can be performed at any time."

"Good! This incident is finally over!" Da Vinci said happily.

"Then let us spend a few more days wandering around Shinjuku for research materials," Shakespeare said as he headed outside!

"What nonsense are you saying! You are coming with me into writing hell!"

Andersen grabbed Shakespeare and dragged him into the space to write another work.

King of the Cavern, acting as their guard, would accompany them as well. Before leaving, he looked at the girl and laughed.

"Never forget, my accomplice. No matter how perverse the world may be, retribution shall always come. If you yield now, that would not be your style! When that time comes, simply call my name! Then I shall immediately rush to wherever you are! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahahaha! Got it! See you next time!" Gudako laughed along with her hands on her hips.

"One noisy person after another, and they have finally all left," Jeanne d'Arc complained.

At that moment, Shirou, who had been on the rooftop terrace, returned here as well.

"Welcome back, Shirou-senpai. Where is Artoria?" Gudako greeted the returning Youth with a smile.

"Oh, she went to find Ca-vall II," Shirou said.

"What! That woman ran off on her own? Forget it... at least she knows what is good for her." Jeanne d'Arc looked at the girl, hesitating to speak. "Then, Gudako..."

"Ah! Right! Come to think of it, I have something to do too, so I will head downstairs first." Gudako understood and walked outside, secretly giving Jeanne d'Arc a thumbs-up.

Now, only Shirou and Jeanne d'Arc remained on the tower's top floor.

The silver-haired girl had changed her Spirit Origin outfit into that purple-black evening dress. She said to the Youth, "Shirou! Let's dance!"

"Huh? So that was what you wanted to say. I was wondering why Gudako was acting so strangely." Shirou laughed in realization.

"What? You can dance with Britain's idiot king, but you cannot dance with France's country girl?" Jeanne d'Arc glared at him impatiently and asked.

"It is not that..."

"Then dance! Lead already! Dance with me! Honestly!" Jeanne d'Arc urged.

"Alright." Shirou changed his Spirit Origin as well, putting on a Western formal suit. He stepped forward, took the girl's hand, placed his other hand against her back, and began to dance, leading her along.

"Hey! Why are you suddenly so close? Your breath is hitting my face, and do not touch my back! Pervert!" Jeanne d'Arc cried, blushing.

"That is how dancing works," the Youth said helplessly.

"Huh... ah... Why does this feel completely different from dancing with Gudako?" Jeanne d'Arc lowered her head, her face red.

"Relax. Keep your head up and chest out. This kind of dance is meant to show confidence and beauty. That is the only way it will look good," Shirou said gently.

"So that is how it is... I understand." Jeanne d'Arc raised her head and looked at the Youth's face.

The two gazed into each other's eyes, swaying and turning gently in the room. Their steps were slow, yet measured in advance and retreat, like little birds flying and playing in pairs in the morning. The male bird would fly up into the branches with the female, then spread his wings and fly with her again. The female led while the male followed behind.

With every step, they maintained just the right distance. Neither was left behind because of the slowness, nor did they seem rushed.

The breeze made the outer door sway slightly. Light reflected off the silver doorknob, seeming to shimmer faintly. The wind blowing through the gap produced a rhythmic sound, as if it were accompanying the two with music.

"How does it feel?" The silver-haired girl gazed into the Youth's eyes and suddenly asked.

"What?" Shirou asked in confusion.

"Of course I mean my dancing! How does it compare to that king?" Jeanne d'Arc asked.

"It is quite good. For this kind of dance, as long as you practice more, get familiar with the steps, and develop a sense of balance and rhythm, you will only get better and better," Shirou said with a smile.

"Mm... Then after I return, I will practice properly too. So... let us dance together next time. It is a promise!" Jeanne d'Arc said.

"Of course. If you like dancing that much, I can practice with you," Shirou nodded in agreement.

"Is that so..." Jeanne d'Arc pressed her lips together, her pretty face faintly red, wearing a strange expression as if she wanted to smile but forcibly held it back.

"Pfft." Seeing the girl like that, the Youth could not help laughing.

"What are you laughing at? I will burn you! Lead the dance! There is still time, so let us practice a little longer." Jeanne d'Arc scolded fiercely.

"Yes, yes." The Youth agreed with a smile, took the silver-haired girl's hand, and led her through a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. The hem of her purple-black skirt blossomed like a flower as it spun and fluttered.

The silver-haired girl gradually began to feel the joy of dancing, revealing a rare sweet smile before the Youth.

Then the bgm abruptly stopped. Someone had reached out and switched off the phone in Gudako's hand as she peeked from the doorway.