"A truce?"
Samael paused slightly with a chess piece in hand, then came back to his senses. As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, he turned and sneered, his expression abruptly turning cold.
"Why should I? As long as I keep all of you here and wait for the Holy Grail to be reconstructed, I'll be the final winner."
"But winning isn't all you want..."
Joan of Arc shook her head slightly, her expression as calm as ever. She raised her gaze to meet Samael's eyes atop the pavilion and coolly exposed the demon's true intentions.
"You want me to submit and prove that I was wrong."
"So you're not convinced by this loss?"
Samael neither confirmed nor denied it. He rubbed the King in his palm and looked teasingly at the Saintess who had stepped into the demon's palace.
"This was Darnic acting on his own. He wanted to win by cheating, but outside the Rules, no one can beat you. That isn't fair."
Joan of Arc lodged her protest with righteous conviction, showing no intention whatsoever of taking responsibility for this defeat.
Samael looked down at the Saintess seeking "fairness" below the steps and could not help laughing.
"Fairness? You're actually asking me for fairness?"
"You set the wager. I only want fairness. What's wrong with that?"
"Fair Joan" spoke with conviction, neither intimidated nor ashamed as she stared earnestly at the King of Demons before her.
"Fine! Since you want fairness, I'll give you fairness!"
This unexpected resistance and reasoning seemed to pique Samael's interest. Curling his lips, he tossed the King in his hand to the Saintess below the steps and spoke mockingly.
"Come, play a game of chess with me. If you can beat me, I'll let them go and give