"Ugh!" Saint Martha coughed up blood, lying next to Tarasque.
"That was one tough battle. She really was the toughest opponent," Gudako said, wiping sweat from her brow, exhausted.
Tough opponent my ass! You ganged up on her!
"So this is it, huh…" Martha looked up at the sky, then at Jeanne.
"As a saint like you, go to Lyon city… There's… There's…"
"What's there?"
"There's…"
"What's there?! Just say it!"
"There's… ugh!"
"Oi, oi, don't die yet! I haven't heard the rest!"
"…a prison, bleh."
And with that, Saint Martha vanished.
"…Rider really is a tough class to be," Mash said, wiping away tears.
"At least she could've clarified what's in that prison!" Gudako shouted.
"Well, let's head there and find out," Caster Cú said with a grin, while both Nura and Chen Gong nodded in agreement.
[But is she trustworthy?]
"Trustworthy! She's a peaceful girl who settles things with her fists!" Marie said cheerfully.
[I wonder how those two things go together so well?]
"She pointed us to Lyon city and mentioned a prison, so there's likely a Servant there! Who knows?" Amadeus said.
"The real question is, are there enemies there?"
Hmm…
"I'll go with Caster," Nura said, stepping forward and looking at Gudako.
"Me?" Chen Gong pointed at himself.
"No, I mean Caster Cú."
"You sure? What if the Lancer dies?" Gudako said, worried.
"Don't jinx it!"
"It's fine. I trust his rune magic will come in handy, especially when he summons those two dogs—perfect for scouting," Nura said with a smile.
"Bro…"
Caster Cú was on the verge of tears, touched by Nura's brotherly bond… if not for Gudako's intense stare.
"Sigh… Alright, just be prepared!"
"You got it, Master!" Nura pulled out his katana, inspecting the blade.
'After a few more battles, it'll break. Guess I'll use it to its fullest until then.' Nura thought with a sigh, sheathing the sword and looking at Caster Cú.
"Let's go, brother!"
"Yeah!"
The two took three steps and then stopped.
"Huh? Why'd you stop?" the group asked, looking at them.
"…Where's Lyon city?" both asked in unison, turning back to the group.
…
And so, Amadeus joined them, making the scouting team a trio of guys.
***
"Sing a song, Caster!"
"Lalala! Chumbalaka! Yadayadeyalolala!"
"Yoo! Cool song!"
"Isn't it?!"
Amadeus wanted to die. These two had terrifying musical talent.
You call that music? It's no different from torture!
"By the way, haven't your two dogs come back yet?" Nura asked, looking toward the nearby city.
"Not yet. They're still gathering info. If they don't find anything useful, we'll just have to go ask around ourselves."
"If that's the case, we're probably gonna get ambushed…" Nura said, scratching his head.
"Dude, you've got that super stealth ability, don't you? You practically make people forget you exist!" Caster Cú raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah… I'm lazy."
Are you kidding me?
"You two get along so well it's almost comical. I wouldn't complain as much if you'd both shut up and let me listen," Amadeus said to them.
"Huh? Why?"
"My ears are so sharp I can hear every single part of your body making noise."
"…"
Caster Cú and Nura stepped back, whispering to each other.
"This guy's a creep."
"No wonder Marie called him trash."
"I can hear you."
Suddenly, the two dogs returned.
"Ohh! What'd you find out?"
Somehow, the dogs relayed the information to Caster…
"Got it. Lyon's been destroyed. Great."
"She told us to go to Lyon even though it's been razed. Trying to lure us into a trap?"
"She's the Iron Saint. You've got to trust her," Amadeus reminded them.
"Well, let's report this to Master. Anything else?"
"Yeah, apparently someone fought off a bunch of Wyverns right before Lyon was destroyed, only for that emo Jeanne group you mentioned to wipe the place out and defeat that person."
"Sounds rough."
"Now what?"
"What do you mean 'now what'? Let's move on to the next place. You call that scouting with just that little bit of info?"
And so, the three continued on.
This time, they arrived at a ravaged, deserted town…
Well, not entirely deserted—there were undead and Wyverns.
"These pests are so annoying, showing up everywhere," Amadeus muttered, glaring at the Wyverns.
"Bet that emo Jeanne isn't here, right?" Nura said, slicing off an undead's head.
"I'm curious just how strong she is," Caster said, using his staff to bash undead one by one.
"Oh, come on… I hope these people can rest in peace," Amadeus said to the undead while blasting them with magic.
"Rest in peace?"
A voice rang out, making all three Servants turn warily toward the figure before them.
"Rest in peace for whom? Their souls are already gone. Do those words even mean anything anymore?"
It was a Servant!
"Alright, pal, I'm not here for philosophy. Let's get this over with," Caster said, firing a fireball from his staff at the figure.
The fireballs passed right through him.
"?"
"I am Phantom, the Phantom of the Opera, the one who controls this place."
"I didn't ask for your name!"
"Well, well, well, this is a living hell, where the dead walk. What will you do?"
He asked us, making us glance at each other.
"No one asked, and he's already answering himself. Narcissist much?"
"Eh… let's just take him out. Got enough juice for your Noble Phantasm, Caster?"
"You bet I do."
The three of us turned to Phantom, who was still standing there, waiting for our response.
Caster stepped forward, and Phantom locked eyes with him.
"What will you—"
"WICKER MAN!!!"
BOOOOMMMM!!!
The town, already resembling hell, now truly looked like one thanks to Caster.
All the undead and Wyverns were obliterated.
Phantom's core was destroyed instantly, without even a chance to say another word. Poor guy.
"We were pretty rough with that enemy Servant," Amadeus remarked.
"Enemies don't deserve respect. Give them the quickest death as punishment for getting in our way," Nura said, pulling out his pipe and taking a puff.
"…So, where to now?" Caster asked, looking at the other two.
"Wait a minute… This is Lyon city!" Amadeus exclaimed.
Hearing that, the other two were confused.
"Then where's the prison??"
"No idea."
"Everyone! Something's flying toward us!" Amadeus's ears twitched wildly.
"Huh—"
CRASH!!!
"…" Nura and Caster slowly turned around.
Before them stood a massive, terrifying dragon.
"…That big?"