A Call from Monaco

A drug against a virus either worked or it didn't. There was no such thing as "slightly effective."

Viruses evolved too. A drug that was slightly effective would soon stop working altogether.

Xu Fu tested poisons on herself, cultivating herself into a host for the pathogen. Then she tested drugs on herself until she found one that could kill the virus.

The pain she endured was hard to imagine, both physical and mental.

The moment the drug spread through the air, Pale Rider sensed that something was wrong.

First its senses dulled. Then it lost contact with every ordinary person it had enslaved. Soon it struggled even to maintain its body, which kept shrinking.

It didn't know what had gone wrong, but instinct told it to retreat. If it survived this, it would be stronger next time.

It cast one last, unwilling glance toward Tsubaki Kuruoka, then dissolved into dust and vanished.

Xu Fu had created a targeted cure, and the results were immediate. The barrier that formed a path to the underworld was already showing signs of collapse.

Cerberus shrank several sizes too. Everyone who had been suppressed regained their former strength. Things were finally looking up.

The ordinary citizens under its control collapsed one after another, and every sign of disease vanished from their bodies.

Now they had to crush Pale Rider completely, without giving it time to adapt. As the embodiment of disease, it could not be killed. But they could beat it down and deny it any chance to turn the tables before the Holy Grail War ended.

Everyone had received Sigma's message, and the main force was pursuing Pale Rider.

That left Father Hansa and Xiao Sha. The members of the El-Melloi Classroom were free now as well.

The El-Melloi Classroom students might not be