Fate: Livestream in Chaldeas

Chapter 23: The Dragon Witch Has Arrived!

"Senpai, the temporal coordinates have been confirmed. It looks like this is the year 1431."

Before entering the small city, Mash contacted Chaldea through the communicator and determined the current time period.

"Right now, it should still be within the Hundred Years' War, but this period is supposed to be a truce."

"But no matter how you look at it, this doesn't seem like a truce at all."

Ethan observed his surroundings. The closer they got to the city, the more broken weapons and damaged armor littered the ground.

Occasionally, along the roadside, there were patches of dirt mixed with dark, dried blood—clear signs that this place had experienced brutal battles.

Ethan then looked up at the sky.

High above, an abnormal streak of light stretched endlessly, covering the entire sky, resembling a glowing ring encircling the Earth.

That was not a halo, but a collection of hundreds of millions of rays of light.

It was Solomon's third Noble Phantasm.

The light that heralded the annihilation of humanity.

Though Solomon had yet to become aware of this, for now, it didn't matter.

Before long, Ethan's group arrived at the city gates.

Rather than calling this place a "city," referring to it as "a pile of ruins" would be far more accurate.

The gate had long been destroyed, and countless wounded soldiers were slumped against the walls.

Upon seeing Ethan and his companions, they no longer had the strength to resist.

"Ugh… they're coming again?!"

"We can't hold out any longer…"

On the walls, a group of spear-wielding soldiers struggled to stand, attempting to block the path of these unfamiliar visitors.

"You think you can stop me? You brats are way too green!"

Mordred rested her sword on her shoulder and let out a loud shout toward the trembling soldiers, immediately scaring three of them into retreating.

"Mordred!"

Ethan quickly called out to stop her.

"Let's leave this to Mash."

"Tch, fine, I'll let you guys deal with this annoying stuff."

As Mordred backed off, Mash stepped forward, speaking in a gentle tone:

"You don't have to worry. We mean no harm and are not your enemies."

"…You're not our enemies?"

Not sensing any hostility from Mash, the soldiers slightly lowered their guard.

"Isn't this supposed to be a ceasefire period? Who exactly are you still fighting against?"

Mash directly addressed the suspicious detail.

"Has King Charles VII not signed the truce?"

"The King… was burned alive…"

A soldier hesitantly answered.

"Burned to death by a witch's flames."

"A witch?!"

Mash and Mordred immediately turned to look at the soldier.

"That's right. It was the 'Dragon Witch'…"

The soldier immediately revealed the truth, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Senpai, it looks like we've found the problem!"

Mash quickly noticed the anomaly in their words.

"There was never supposed to be anything called the 'Dragon Witch' in this era. The appearance of this 'Dragon Witch' must have distorted the history of this time period!"

Ethan nodded.

As expected of little Eggplant, she caught on quickly.

[What did they just say? Can someone explain?]

[So there's a Witch existing in this era?]

[A Witch?? Like those medieval European witch hunts?]

[That was the Inquisition, but this doesn't seem to be the same kind of 'Witch.']

The livestream viewers were somewhat confused, but a large portion of them, upon hearing that this was during the Hundred Years' War, immediately realized there was one person who was bound to appear here.

[As expected, she's coming soon, right?]

[When you mention the Hundred Years' War, there's only one woman who must be here!]

[Hey, stop being vague! Who exactly are you talking about?!]

[It's that woman!]

[Quit the guessing game and just say it already!!!]

As the livestream audience debated intensely, the trembling soldiers at the scene finally revealed the truth.

"It's Jeanne d'Arc! After that great lady was burned at the stake, she came back to life and became the Dragon Witch!!!"

Sure enough, the moment those words were spoken, the livestream chat exploded.

[Jeanne d'Arc! It really is Jeanne d'Arc!!!]

[After all, in the Hundred Years' War, this woman single-handedly turned the entire tide of battle with her strength.]

[In Fate/Zero, Jeanne d'Arc only appeared for a few frames, but she was still absolutely stunning.]

[Ohhh, I remember that scene too! When Saber did EKKUSU KARIBAAA ====)))) Caster, she showed up briefly... though I always felt she looked a bit like Saber.]

[Now I get it! No wonder Tentacle Bro is obsessed with her. Maybe we'll actually see her in a bit?]

[Jeanne d'Arc! Oh, my Saintess Jeanne d'Arc!!!]

Ethan watched the skyrocketing viewer count in the livestream without saying a word.

Just mentioning Jeanne d'Arc was enough for anyone to talk about her for ages.

Because her life was truly legendary.

A simple village girl, yet at the age of 13, she received the "Revelation of God" and led the army to reclaim the land occupied by Britannia—only to ultimately be burned at the stake.

She was later canonized as a saint and praised by generations to come.

A legendary life like that—who wouldn't know of her?

But perhaps they didn't expect that Jeanne d'Arc had now been corrupted.

Still, that was fine. According to the sequence of events, he would meet Jeanne d'Arc 'white' first before making his next move.

Judging by the timing, Jeanne d'Arc 'white' should be appearing soon.

Ethan planned to wait at the city gate for a while, but before he could do so, panicked screams erupted from the soldiers on the city walls.

"Enemy attack! We're under attack! Uwaaa, don't eat me!!!"

Along with the sound of wings beating through the air, something seemed to be approaching from above.

"Hurry! Anyone who can still move, help the wounded into shelter!!!"

The soldiers on the walls were thrown into chaos, scrambling to flee into the ruins of the city.

Ethan looked up—a massive flock of wyverns was diving straight toward them?!

"Master, be careful!"

Mash immediately raised her shield, protecting Ethan.

"Oiya, looks like things are about to get interesting."

Mordred grinned with excitement, lifting the radiant Clarent before charging toward the nearest wyvern preying on the soldiers!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, just before Mordred's sword could strike, a barrage of bullets precisely pierced through the gaps in the wyvern's tough scales. The beast was torn apart, crashing straight to the ground in a gory mess.

From the shadows of the city walls, Emiya Kiritsugu silently observed the battle before swiftly replacing the empty magazine of his Calico M950.

"Hey, Assassin! Don't go stealing my prey!!!"

Mordred growled in frustration before kicking off the city wall, leaping high into the air, and cleaving another wyvern in half with a single strike.

The battle between the two servants sent the livestream audience into a frenzy.

[Sugoi, she just straight-up cut a dragon in half! The effects look amazing!]

[That's a wyvern, not a dragon.]

[Beyond ten paces, the gun is faster! Within ten paces, the gun is both faster and deadlier! Truly, Daddy Kiritsugu is a master of traditional American martial arts.]

Before long, the massive flock of wyverns had been completely wiped out.

Ethan looked at the wyverns scattered across the ground, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

These were all Dragon Fangs! High-quality crafting materials!!!

But before he could figure out how to collect the loot, a contemptuous laugh suddenly echoed from a distance.

"Hmph, at first, I thought you were just a bunch of insignificant insects unworthy of my attention, but I must admit—I didn't expect you to be capable of driving back my subordinates. Very well, I'll acknowledge you just this once."

A young woman, holding a blackened dragon banner, stood above them like a wicked saint.

"But your path forward—ends here!"