Coughing-click-trickling-
The doors of Strike Freedom slowly opened, and from inside, eight figures emerged: two humans, two Heroic Spirits, and four shipgirls. Despite the aircraft having fallen from high altitude, the anti-gravity field and internal stabilization systems managed to minimize any serious damage. There were no civilians in the cockpit-and that was probably their only stroke of luck so far.
Still, the passengers had been thrown around and shaken up pretty badly.
Gudao-more commonly called Gudazi by his team-was still staggering, his vision swimming. Mash and Formidable rushed to support him.
"Ugh... Damn it, fuck..."
Gudao groaned as he shook his head quickly, trying to dispel the dizziness.
"What the hell was that?! Where did that dragon even come from?!"
Reuel shook his head too, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
They had landed right in the middle of the city plaza.
A massive crater, hundreds of meters in radius, marked the spot where Strike Freedom had crashed. The explosion had torn through the city's infrastructure, left ruins scattered everywhere, and set surrounding buildings ablaze. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
Even worse, in the shattered streets, the bodies of civilians lay in horrifying conditions-impaled on spikes and spears, partially charred, with not a shred of clothing left on them. The signs of torture were obvious; it was pure savagery.
"Ugh... disgusting..."
Formidable covered her mouth, her expression turning pale. "I've never seen such inhuman cruelty before."
ROAAAAAR-
A thunderous roar shook the air. Not far from them stood the massive culprit behind all this chaos.
A dragon.
Over a hundred meters long, its entire body was covered in black scales. Two long horns curved back from its head, and a pair of dark yellow eyes radiated a deadly aura. Its breath still glowed hot, as if it could unleash another torrent of flames at any moment.
For a second, Reuel was reminded of something.
"Holy shit... this looks like Thor's dad from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid..." he muttered instinctively.
The dragon looked unsteady. The collision with Strike Freedom had done a number on it, leaving it staggering. It wobbled for a moment, then slowly rose to its feet.
Artoria, who had been scanning the battlefield, finally spoke.
"...Fafnir."
All eyes turned to her.
"This is Fafnir," she said with certainty. "The dragon from Norse mythology. He was once human, transformed into a dragon by greed. He hoarded treasure and would devour anyone who came near."
Reuel frowned. "Fafnir? But isn't he usually summoned by Jeanne d'Arc Alter (Avenger)?"
"Exactly."
Gudao tensed. "If Fafnir is here... then Black Jeanne is probably nearby."
"Find her! Now!" Reuel ordered, his tone suddenly firm.
But before anyone could move-
Zzzzt-Zzzzt-
A distorted sound like a magical frequency transmission echoed in the air.
"...Is anyone alive? This anomaly..." "No... that's not a normal person."
Reuel quickly looked up.
Standing atop the scorched ruins of a church were two figures.
A man and a woman.
The man wore a long black robe reminiscent of a medieval noble. His skin was pale as a corpse, and his white hair hung loosely to his shoulders. His gaze was empty, yet piercing.
The woman beside him was just as striking. Silvery hair, porcelain-white skin, and an eyepatch that gave her an aura of mystery. Her aristocratic gown was slightly revealing, showing off an elegant but dangerous silhouette.
"My Lord... it seems there are other Servants~," the woman murmured with a faint smile.
The aura around them pulsed with danger.
Artoria immediately stepped in front of Reuel, drawing her sword and activating the Wind King Barrier. The weapon's light shimmered, though its form remained hidden to those not under contract with the King.
She knew... these two weren't just anyone.
"Is that... a Saber and a Master?" the man asked in a flat tone.
"Jeanne didn't tell us there were other Servants in this city," the woman continued.
"And... what's that? Beside them... strange creatures?"
Their gazes landed on the shipgirls-entities outside the Fate/Nasuverse system. Their existence prevented the pair from reading their status or identity using normal Clairvoyance.
"...A Lancer and... Camilla?"
Reuel recognized them.
They were the two insane Servants summoned by Jeanne d'Arc Alter.
Vlad III the Impaler-also known as Archduke Dracula-was a legendary figure in Romanian history. A hero, now more widely remembered as the archetype of the classic vampire, and in this world, he had taken the form of a bloodthirsty, ruthless impaler. He delighted in skewering his enemies with spears, then displaying their bodies like trophies.
Looking at the devastated state of the city, with its citizens massacred in horrific ways, Reuel was sure: this was the masterpiece of the Impaler.
Standing beside him, Camilla was no less terrifying. The bloodstained countess was historically known for bathing in the blood of young girls in pursuit of eternal beauty-and from the aura she radiated now, it was clear that legend was no mere fairytale.
---
"Hey, you two strangers," Reuel said coldly.
"Were you-and that dragon-the ones who destroyed this city? Please observe proper air traffic regulations... Sorry."
He glanced around. The city was nothing but smoldering rubble. The people had been slaughtered. Only ruins and blood remained.
Reuel quickly assessed the situation and formed a strategy.
Eight versus three.
Mash was guarding Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Richelieu and himself would take on the dragon.
Enterprise, Formidable, and Dafeng were assigned to fight Vlad III.
The remaining members would engage Camilla.
"Clear," he murmured.
As weapons of war, the shipgirls possessed high discipline. The moment the orders were issued, they moved without hesitation.
Bang-bang-bang!
Heavy gunfire struck Vlad and Camilla's position. Explosion after explosion rocked the area.
"Long-range projection sorcery?" Vlad hissed, leaping backward at high speed.
His eyes locked sharply onto the shipgirls.
He didn't understand their modern technology. But from instinct and combat experience, he could tell: this was a form of fire-element sorcery-heavy-grade war magic.
"But this... is my domain..."
His eyes narrowed.
"Barbarians from another world. The time for execution has come!"
---
"Kazikli Bey, King of Executions!!"
Swish-click!
With that cry, Vlad III unleashed his Noble Phantasm.
The sky turned black.
From above, tens of thousands of impaling stakes emerged and shot out in every direction. Each stake radiated a cursed aura-sharp, blood-hungry, and unrelenting.
Once a single spear pierced an enemy, it would explode into a swarm of tiny spikes that tore through their body from the inside-killing them slowly and painfully.
This wasn't just a brutal attack-it was methodical. A true anti-army Noble Phantasm deserving of its title: The Punisher.
"O Earth!"
Vlad swung his hand downward.
KRAAAKKK!!
Metallic spikes burst from the ground, impaling Formidable and Dafeng's legs, pinning them in place.
"And Sky!!"
Tens of thousands of spikes rained down from the air like a deadly metal storm.
The clash of steel and panicked screams blended into a twisted symphony of death.
Fujimaru Ritsuka could only stand frozen behind them, his body trembling.
"H-Holy shit..."
In a flash, the battlefield's sky and ground had transformed into a forest of iron thorns-a place where only those truly alive... or truly insane... could survive.
Just like the tens of thousands of prisoners he once executed as trophies of glory, the Archduke once again looked upon his masterpiece with satisfaction.
A field of jagged stakes jutting from both earth and sky, forming a death prison that left no hope for survival.
Under such a brutal assault, no living being could possibly survive-
At least, that's what he believed.
Click... click...
Suddenly, a creaking sound echoed from within the dense, crisscrossing thicket of stakes.
"...What's all this about?"
A light, casual voice came from behind the metal. Followed by a sharp cracking noise.
"This magic's kinda cool... summoning so many objects out of thin air. But I can't tell if this is steel or iron..."
Dafeng and Formidable emerged from behind the pile of stakes, snapping through the metal thorns like dry twigs. Their bodies were completely unscathed-not even a scratch on their skin, not a tear on their uniforms.
They stood calmly, curiously surveying their surroundings.
It was the first time they had seen magic that could manipulate terrain on such a massive scale in an instant.
"Not that strong... but kinda fun," Formidable remarked with a slight nod.
And of course, that made sense.
The shipgirls' main bodies had been modified by Akashi using top-grade materials-a joint technomagical collaboration between the Azur Lane Arsenal and the Tech-Priests of Mars from Terra Aeterna. Most of their physical structures had been rebuilt using Imperium of Man technology, including composite materials similar to those used in the construction of Imperial Navy warships.
While they had yet to achieve warp-level space travel like the fleets of the Imperium, their physical durability already far surpassed what any ordinary world's technology could produce.
A Servant's attack-even one specialized in execution like Vlad III-was nothing more than a mild itch to them.
"...You're... not dead?!"
The Impaler took a step back. His stakes-once able to pierce through human bodies with ease-couldn't even scratch their skin now.
"114 meters of waterline armor," Dafeng said, counting on her fingers, "plus 64 meters of internal bulkhead plating."
"Homogeneous composite steel," Formidable added. "Adamantium alloy. Want to try again?"
She tapped her chest a few times-ke ke bang bang bang bang-creating a loud metallic thud that echoed across the battlefield. Her uniform was so tight it reflected sunlight in sharp flashes that almost blinded the Impaler.
"You're trying to pierce a Ceramite-plated aircraft carrier... with a stick? Are you brain-damaged?"
The Archduke scowled in confusion, his expression shifting from rage to near panic.
"What even are you... TM?!"
He didn't understand their terminology. He didn't understand how these beings could survive his Noble Phantasm.
His eyes shifted. He looked up at the sky.
And there stood Reuel.
Facing a massive black dragon rampaging through the air.
Reuel tilted his head, weighing his options.
Use the power of the Emperor of Mankind? Too easy.
Activate the Mind Cube and pilot a Gundam?
-Far more fun.
"I'll strike... in Gundam form!"
In an instant, a brilliant light engulfed Reuel's body.
Technology and imagination fused, manifesting through the power of the Mind Cube.
Particles of energy converged into a complex mechanical structure.
Armor locked into place. Sensors came online.
Within seconds, Strike Freedom Gundam blasted into the sky, propelled by dazzling rainbow-colored jets.
He gripped a blazing plasma beam saber in one hand, and a light shield in the other.
The aerial battle ignited-Strike Freedom vs. Black Fafnir, the roaring dragon in the skies.
Though smaller in size, Strike Freedom was far faster and more agile.
He maneuvered swiftly around the dragon's massive frame, slicing through black scales with pinpoint precision.
Each strike left deep gashes, spraying dragon blood into the air.
Fafnir retaliated with a blast of flame-but Reuel raised his hand.
FWOOSH-
A shimmering rainbow energy shield expanded in front of him, completely absorbing the magical inferno.
On the ground, Vlad III stared in shock.
"...What the hell is this?!"
The Impaler was speechless. He could accept holy swords. Heavenly lances. Even undead armies.
But-mecha?!
What kind of Noble Phantasm was this?!
"This... this is way too science fiction..." he whispered.
He had witnessed many strange things in his life as a Servant.
But never had he seen someone transform into a giant combat unit made of metal and energy.
"...Is this man... a Servant from the future?!" he thought. "That must be why I can't recognize his equipment!"
His voice exploded into the sky:
"Are you a Master... or a Servant?!"
And from above, amidst the battlefield shaking with fire, plasma, and magic, came one line-
A line that all who were present that day would never forget:
"My Class is-GUNDAM!!!"