"Can you still move?"
"Phew... barely... but I definitely won't be much help..."
Takumi broke away from Jeanne's support, gritting his teeth as he lifted the demonic sword Balmung.
"Let's go together."
"Mmh."
Jeanne nodded with a complex expression, charging first toward Martha, who was simply watching them calmly not far away.
Takumi dragged his heavy body and followed behind Jeanne.
Battle between Servants wasn't like the "slow motion" shown in anime. The rhythm of combat between Servants was incredibly fast; the naked eye of a normal human would struggle to even capture their movements.
Because of this, in battle, even a tiny difference could produce a completely distinct outcome.
And in this battle, it manifested as—
Following behind Jeanne, under the influence of pain and weakness, Takumi's steps were completely out of form.
Even though Takumi was using all his strength, he couldn't keep up with Jeanne's rhythm.
'I can't catch up. My speed is too slow...'
Takumi, whose combat intuition could be considered excellent, had already sentenced their hasty attack to death.
But the arrow had left the string; there was no turning back. Even knowing there were problems, they couldn't restart now. Takumi could only bury his head and charge forward.
Martha watched their actions quietly. Only when the tip of Jeanne's lance thrust toward her did she swing the cross-staff in her hand.
Clang!
Accompanied by an ear-piercing sound, Jeanne's flag-lance was swept to the upper right by Martha.
At this moment, Takumi was still a short distance away from Jeanne. If Takumi's speed had been just a little faster, he could have taken this opportunity to slash down. Even if he couldn't defeat Martha, he could have forced her back.
Unfortunately, there were no "ifs."
Martha saw the opening, gathered Mana in her fist, and ruthlessly punched Jeanne in the stomach.
Jeanne was sent flying back like a cannonball.
Only then did Takumi arrive belatedly, swinging the greatsword to slash at Martha.
Faced with Takumi's chaotic slash, which relied barely on brute force, Martha had an even easier time.
With just a swing of her cross-staff, she easily parried Balmung. She even leisurely twirled the staff before smashing it down.
Takumi only had time to block Balmung in front of him before being knocked back by Martha's staff.
His palms trembled, and Balmung nearly flew out of his hands.
Martha looked at the two with some disappointment and said:
"Is that all? If this is your limit, then this is as far as you go."
Tarasque had already turned around, following the scent it hated, and locked onto Takumi, the existence who inherited Siegfried's Spirit Origin.
It was difficult for Takumi to even move right now; how could he possibly dodge Tarasque's charge?
He had to continue using Balmung as a shield in front of him while trying his best to move aside.
Tarasque's horn crashed into Balmung.
"Ugh—"
A massive force transmitted from the sword blade to Takumi's hands, then to his body.
Meeting almost no resistance, Takumi was sent flying directly by Tarasque's headbutt.
Takumi felt his vision blur, his arms go numb, and a sharp pain in his chest before he briefly lost perception of the outside world.
When he came back to his senses, he was leaning in a familiar embrace.
"Are you hurt?"
Jeanne, looking dusty and disheveled, looked down at Takumi in her arms. Traces of pain could be seen in her brows and eyes.
Clearly, taking a punch from Martha head-on wasn't easy for Jeanne either.
"Cough, cough... I blocked it with the sword, so I'm fine..."
Because he had fused with Siegfried's Spirit Origin, although he was incredibly weak, Takumi's body was now much more durable. He wouldn't lose combat capability so easily.
'Looks like the plan to take out Martha first won't work either...'
Martha's martial prowess was a bit too abundant. Even if the two half-crippled fighters went another few rounds, they might not be able to do anything to her.
"We have no choice. You fused with Siegfried's Spirit Origin, so you obviously have an advantage against Tarasque. Let's work together to deal with it first."
There was no helping it. The team of Jeanne and Takumi was simply abstract; neither had a fully functional combat capability. Two-on-one might have been fine, but facing a Servant like Martha who brought a Dragon Kind pet, they were stretched to the limit.
Moreover, due to the influence of the curse, it was incredibly difficult for Takumi to even use his innate abilities now.
Tarasque charged again. This attack was different from the headbutt earlier; it switched to biting.
Clearly, even if Tarasque wasn't very smart, it knew that headbutting didn't seem to do as much damage as it imagined.
Seeing this, Takumi tried to inject Mana into Balmung, attempting to release the Noble Phantasm.
The blue jewel on the hilt flickered with light—
'Circulating Mana is so difficult, and...'
Crack!
It wasn't an illusion. Takumi could feel the Spirit Origin inside his body emitting an unbearable scream during this process.
Just like when he used Cú Chulainn's power before, every time he used more power, the Spirit Origin moved a step closer to disintegration.
In the end, Takumi only had the ability to compatible with a Spirit Origin, not the ability to fuse with it to become a Demi-Servant. Once the Spirit Origin merged into his body, it became a consumable item.
Furthermore, when Siegfried entrusted the Spirit Origin to Takumi, it wasn't intact either.
Takumi stopped his action, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
If he couldn't use the Noble Phantasm... he could only rely on Siegfried's inherent skills.
[When it charges over later, watch for the timing and pull me away. I'll see if I can wound it.]
Using the connection between Master and Servant, Takumi said to Jeanne.
"Okay!"
Jeanne wrapped her arm around Takumi's waist, her eyes staring tightly at Tarasque, which was about to charge over.
Takumi gripped Balmung tightly.
Inherent Skill [Dragon Slayer] activated!
A fluctuation imperceptible to humans radiated from Takumi. Like encountering a natural predator, it caused Tarasque to freeze for a moment.
Slash!
Takumi seized the opportunity to step forward and swing the sword down. Under the enhancement of the [Dragon Slayer] skill, Balmung easily pierced through Tarasque's scales, leaving a bloody gash on its body.
"ROAR—"
Tarasque roared in pain, its eyes instantly turning red. It twisted its body violently, its tail lashing out like a whip.
Jeanne's reaction speed was already fast, but carrying a person, her movements were still a bit slow. Both were grazed by the tail.
Fortunately, Takumi's reaction wasn't slow either. He blocked with the flat of the sword again, avoiding direct damage.
They were knocked back a dozen steps before finally stopping their momentum.
They gasped for breath.
Looking at Tarasque, which was staring with a pair of crimson eyes, opening its bloody maw, and gathering strength to spew Dragon Breath.
Perhaps people really lose their sense of urgency when a situation becomes critical; the two suddenly laughed.
"I feel like ever since we started, we've either been fighting or on the way to a fight..."
"Haha, indeed..."
The corners of Takumi's mouth turned up. Using all his strength, he held Balmung in front of him, recklessly injecting Mana into the blue jewel at the hilt.
Jeanne also put away her smile, took two steps forward, and solemnly raised the flag in her hand.
The flag unfurled, making a snapping sound in the air, and golden light spread from the fabric.
As if telepathic, the two made up their minds to unleash their Noble Phantasms simultaneously.
It couldn't be helped.
After all, no matter which direction they tried to break through, they couldn't. Escaping Martha was impossible. They could only rely on their Noble Phantasms to decide the outcome.
Only by surviving could they deal damage. For this, even if it meant damaging Siegfried's Spirit Origin prematurely, it was worth the cost!
Just then, a colorful light suddenly appeared in everyone's vision.
The tense atmosphere on the battlefield instantly eased.
Looking closely.
"Is that... a rose made of glass?"
Takumi paused for a moment, and an answer instantly appeared in his mind. He looked up at the sky in surprise.
"Yaha! A magnificent entrance!"
A pink figure riding a white horse made of glass descended from the sky, smashing straight onto the head of Tarasque, which was about to spew Dragon Breath.
Tarasque's mouth was forced shut by the heavy pressure. The Dragon Breath exploded inside its mouth, producing an unnatural muffled sound.
Screech—
Before Tarasque and Martha could react, another ear-piercing sound wave attacked from an unknown direction.
Both involuntarily covered their ears.
"Are we late?"
Under the surprised gazes of Jeanne and Takumi, a Servant holding a baton, dressed in strange clothes, and wearing a smile on his face deactivated his Spirit Form.
After speaking, he even raised an eyebrow at them.
"No, you came right on time!"