The Great Saint Was About to Save France Once Again

Siegfried is one of the antagonists in the ancient heroic epic "Nibelungenlied," and is a dragon-slaying hero who killed the evil dragon "Fafnir."

He shares the same origin as Sigurd in Norse Mythology, and his deeds are remarkably similar. Although modern scholars believe that Siegfried may be a later re-creation of Sigurd's deeds, in a world where mythology is real, Siegfried is undoubtedly a real hero.

Their relationship is more similar to that of Scathach and Skadi in this world... or rather, even closer than their relationship, sharing the same origin, bond, and path.

It is precisely for this reason that the Dragon Witch summoned the evil dragon Fafnir with her resentment towards the world and France for betraying her.

Siegfried followed.

This is a self-summoning originating from the Holy Grail.

Gilles de Rais used the Holy Grail to summon four Heroic Spirit, but there were still vacancies in the Servant that the Holy Grail could summon. The World Counter Force, which was hoping to repair the Singularity Point, would certainly not let this opportunity pass.

Without a doubt—

Siegfried came precisely to kill Fafnir!

"The hero who slays the dragon..."

The carriage came to a stop, dust swirling in all directions, wild grass billowing, and distant mountains stretching like the undulating spine of a dragon. The black horse pulling the carriage stared at the man blocking the road in the distance, letting out a series of dragon roars.

The towering hero of the Nibelungenlied slowly raised the silver greatsword in his hand. He glanced at the carriage being pulled by Fafnir, who had transformed into a steed, and his gaze became slightly fixed.

"Has the former evil dragon fallen to such a state?"

His words contained no sarcasm or irony, but simply expressed his doubts, yet they struck a nerve with Fafnir.

"What's it to you?!" Who would willingly act like a dog if they had no other choice?

The dragon roared, and the black horse's forelegs instantly rose, accompanied by echoing sound waves, as its black body swelled and expanded in an instant.

The steed transformed into a giant dragon in the blink of an eye, its outstretched wings covering the vast wilderness like dark clouds.

"How do I reply?"

Ritsuka, who was in the carriage, instinctively wanted to stick her head out, but was stopped by Rovi.

"I'll go out and take a look; you guys can stay here."

"I'm going too!"

Joan of Arc stood up.

The dragon outside reverted to its original form. Siegfried gripped his greatsword tightly, exhaled, and the silver armor he wore instantly shone with a brilliant light.

In the ancient Nibelungenlied, Siegfried, the dragon-slaying hero, after killing Fafnir, bathed in dragon blood and gained an indestructible body known as the "Armor of Fafnir," which can nullify most attacks and even withstand the power of mysterious Noble Phantasm imbued with his dragon blood.

This was Siegfried's glory in slaying the dragon, a great achievement he made on countless battlefields, and also the key to his ultimate defeat... Those who bathe in dragon's blood are not without weaknesses. Behind him, there was a place covered by a fallen leaf, a place that was not soaked in dragon's blood. That was also the place where he finally died from the betrayal of the person behind him.

—Correspondingly, there was the heavy sword in his hand...

The sword that slays dragons.

—Fantasy Greatsword: Fallen Demon.

"O evil dragon, display your evil, and then fall into ruin!"

Facing the menacing dragon, Siegfried, Siegfried had traversed thousands of miles, lowered his body slightly, his dragon armor gleaming, and the greatsword in his hand emanating crimson magic.

Burning, splashing.

A jet-black evil dragon unleashed a raging black storm, its fangs bared and claws radiating a power that seemed capable of crushing the world.

The earth shattered as their forces collided and clashed, and the sky was shrouded in dark clouds and blood-red streaks of light.

"The hero who slays the dragon..."

"This is no longer your era!"

Fafnir opened his mouth, and Dragon Breath surged forth.

Siegfried stood upright, his demonic sword poised at its peak.

They collided with each other.

In just a moment—

"I am here!"

A crisp, clear sound suddenly rang out, and the fluttering Fleur-de-lis Banner fluttered and unfurled in the wind, its shimmering, holy light falling like ripples, weaving an invisible barrier.

The demonic sword that slays dragons collided with the ferocious dragon that bared its fangs and claws.

The terrifying magic spread out, yet it was impossible to cross the line; the raised flag, an invisible barrier, seemed to separate two different times and spaces.

Siegfried was stunned.

The evil dragon Fafnir immediately withdrew his attack.

"Woof!"

Siegfried: "?"

He glanced at Fafnir, the evil dragon who was sticking out his tongue and looking ingratiating, completely devoid of the majestic and terrifying appearance he had just displayed.

Then I looked at the figures blocking each other's way... and the two who suddenly appeared.

"Who gave you permission to start a war with others without authorization?"

Rovi looked at Fafnir.

"Woof woof woof!"

The dragon is roaring.

"..."

Siegfried finally realized he hadn't misheard.

Is this Fafnir?

Is this a 'dragon'?

Although he was introverted and humble, possessing the admirable qualities of a 'hero,' Siegfried had always considered the slaying of the evil dragon Fafnir as proof of his own glory.

Fafnir is an evil dragon, a malevolent dragon, the embodiment of a 'curse' that ravaged a region in ancient Mythic Age.

No matter how much outsiders despise or look down on it, they cannot deny its immense power, a power that even gods cannot easily expel.

Siegfried only managed to kill him by sheer chance and luck, narrowly escaping death.

But now...

"This is the thing I killed back then!?"

Is a dog barking?

So what did he become?

From a 'dragon-slaying hero'... to a 'dog-slaying hero'!?

"I never imagined that the Dragon Witch would have such power, causing a once-powerful dragon to abandon his dignity to this extent!"

Without a second thought, Siegfried showed no anxiety, but looked at the newcomer—more precisely, at the girl dressed in black, covered in silver armor, and holding the Fleur-de-lis Banner.

As a Counter Force Heroic Spirit Servant summoned by the Holy Grail through the Singularity Point by the Counter Force, he had seen the Dragon Witch residing in the heart of the Singularity Point, in the city of Paris, from afar.

Different hair color, different clothes, but the figure in front of me is without a doubt the one ' Jeanne '.

Siegfried wouldn't be mistaken...

Jeanne paused, instinctively wanting to shake her head, but then suddenly remembered the reason she had been asked to disguise herself Dragon Witch, and fell silent.

Siegfried then gripped the Fallen Demon tightly and swiftly shifted his target...

"Even a hero like him couldn't recognize you, so it seems there shouldn't be any problems."

"Well... after all, it's 'me' too!"

Jeanne looked at Rovi, who was speaking, and pursed her lips.

"Do you really harbor resentment towards the France?"

"Perhaps..."

Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief.

What does that mean...? Siegfried paused again. He didn't rush to make a move. Although he believed that the girl in front of him was the source of the Singularity Point, the Dragon Witch ' Jeanne of Arc'... they didn't show any hostility, nor did they make a direct move. Upholding the character of a hero, Siegfried wasn't so reckless.

Hearing their conversation at that moment, Siegfried seemed to understand something.

"As you can see." Rovi looked at Siegfried and grinned. "This is Joan of Arc."

"The real deal—"

Joan of Arc!

Genuine and high-quality...

"Is it not the Dragon Witch, but the Joan of Arc?"

Siegfried was taken aback. "You, too, are a guardian summoned by the 'World'?"

"Yes." Jeanne nodded, responding frankly.

"Indeed... they look exactly the same, but the feeling they give off is completely different." Siegfried put aside his doubts. It wasn't that he easily trusted others, but rather that he had great faith in himself.

Trust your intuition as a hero, trust your vision as a hero.

Even though Siegfried had been betrayed because of this during his lifetime.

He also had no intention of changing this confidence in himself—because it was the self of the hero named Siegfried.

"It was my rudeness!"

The magic sword in his hand slowly lost its power, but Siegfried still had many questions in his mind. "Who is this...?"

Jeanne opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Rovi: "My name is Rovi."

"An unknown missionary."

"Missionary?"

"That's right, missionary." Rovi clapped his hands and smiled. "The religion I believe in is the human heart and the self."

"The human heart and the ego... that sounds pretty good. The preacher must be a saint, right?"

Siegfried's expression shifted slightly. "Then, could you tell me—why are you here with the evil dragon Fafnir?"

The dragon-slaying hero glanced at Fafnir, who was standing next to him, tongue lolling out like a dog, his face filled with grief and indignation yet utterly helpless.

The confusion in my heart grew stronger.

If she's not the Dragon Witch... why is she with Fafnir?

"It's very simple."

"In order to... completely dismantle the Dragon Witch's power."

Rovi didn't hide anything and told Siegfried his plan directly.

"So that's how it is—'Joan of Jeanne ' versus ' Jeanne '? That's certainly a solution!"

Siegfried's eyes lit up.

It must be admitted that although the Dragon Witch is not the real Jeanne, she is still Joan of Jeanne, the "Saint of France" and "Jeanne Darc". At this moment, the France people's call for the Saintess who Saved the Nation is extremely high.

This applies to both the military and civilians.

Countless people were also deeply dissatisfied with the upper-class nobles for betraying Jeanne, for handing her over to the enemy country, and for sending Jeanne to the gallows.

Therefore, when the Dragon Witch came back from the dead and raised her wrath against the world, most people approved of it.

So it wasn't the Dragon Witch who conquered France, but rather the France people who welcomed the saint in their hearts.

Although the Dragon Witch's goal was revenge, Gilles de Rais's goal was to completely destroy everything in this era. Therefore, they actually only conquered Paris, and there were still many nobles who stubbornly resisted in various parts of France.

It is a fact that he enjoys public support.

Under such circumstances,

The people who repair the Singularity Point face far more than just the Dragon Witch and her hostile minions.

They were facing the entire population of France.

It is the people of this era.

Heroes will not turn their swords against ordinary people; this is the bottom line.

Therefore, Siegfried praised Rovi's method without reservation.

Or perhaps this is why the Counter Force summoned Joan of Arc's true form... he thought.

"If you're interested, would you like to come along?"

"When it's possible—"

Siegfried accepted Rovi's invitation to accompany him without hesitation. "I am Siegfried."

"I am willing to do this!" Siegfried was unaware that Rovi's goal was not to repair the Singularity Point... What he wanted to do was to expand the Singularity Point's influence, using it as a torch to ignite a flame, and ignition requires 'energy'.

Heroic Spirit are energy.

Therefore, it is only natural that Rovi would extend an invitation to this dragon-slaying hero from the ancient epic.

As he said this, the ancient dragon-slaying hero looked at Fafnir again. "I have never believed that there is any inherently evil being in this world, and even so-called curses are definitely not eternal evil."

"So, dragon, at least for this moment, I am willing to set aside my prejudices and fight alongside you."

"If you do evil—"

"I will still kill you!"

Fafnir grinned, its huge and ferocious dragon head instinctively trying to roar, but the sound that came out was a 'woof woof'.

This is Rovi's punishment for it taking matters into its own hands.

So the evil dragon turned its head away, snorted, and ignored Siegfried's 'provocation'.

"You don't have to turn into a horse anymore, just leave it as it is!"

Rovi glanced at Fafnir and clapped his hands. "Want to come into the carriage together?"

Siegfried glanced at Rovi, then at Jeanne, and pondered for a moment, "No..."

"I can stay outside."

"Whatever you say!"

Rovi clapped his hands and walked with Jeanne of Arc toward the carriage.

"A dragon-slaying hero fighting alongside the dragon... Ha, what an unexpected turn of events!"

Siegfried grinned.

Fafnir did not answer, but simply flapped its wings again and dragged the carriage.

The drooping golden dragon eyes seemed to say, "Come on up, don't move."

Otherwise, I will kill you!

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Siegfried bowed, then knelt and leaped onto the dragon's back.

The dragon spreads its wings.

Ahead lies the border town—

A rare large city in the heart of the France era.

There are still many areas there that even the Dragon Witch has never reached.

'A vicious witch is about to attack Vichy!'

'An unspeakable demon has climbed the walls of Bourges!'

'The resurrected monster has set the city of Tours ablaze!'

' Jeanne Dalque, in Orléans, swore once more that she would fight for France once more!'

'The great Saintess who Saved the Nation will once again save France, and the stubborn old aristocracy will surely face destruction!'

'...'

In the central France plains, Atalanta, with her long, flowing emerald-green hair and dressed in hunter's attire, gazed at the crumbling, shattered mountains that had witnessed the war between dragons and humans, and pondered for a moment the information she had gathered along the way.

"That witch... has she come out of Paris?"

No--

"Could it be that guy's doing!?"