"But…how do we save her? We don't even know where she is now," Adam said.
"That's true, hey you! Quickly give us an alternative way to meet our friend!" Nico snapped at Empedocles.
Empedocles wanted to speak but a wad of cloth blocked his voice, making Nico confused.
"What is this? Cloth?"
"Ah, that was my doing, he's so talkative and annoying so I wrapped his mouth with cloth so he would shut up."
"I see, feel that, you stupid skull!"
Sasaki Kojiro took a step forward and slowly drew one of his katana blades.
"I'm forced to use this," he said.
Sasaki Kojiro drew his sword, then swung it in the opposite direction. A dimensional space suddenly formed in front of them.
"Wow! What is this!" Nico exclaimed in awe.
"I apologize for hiding this from you all. Actually, my Starku isn't just about using swords or anything like that. There's so much I can do, for example, my extremely sharp instincts are also my special ability."
"So…you can also create a portal?"
Sasaki Kojiro shook his head, "Not creating a portal—but splitting space."
'What? Splitting space? That's amazing…' Adam thought.
"Does that mean you can help us meet Jeanne d'Arc?"
"Yes, but it doesn't seem like it will be easy."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't even know where she is now, moreover, the Servant she's fighting is the dream sculptor—Mona Lisa."
"Do you know anything about her?"
"Yes…she's one of the Servants who's a bit troublesome. I met her shortly before this fight."
"What? That means—"
"Wait! That doesn't mean I'm allied with them, it's true they came to see me and offered me to join them."
"In the end, you refused," Empedocles interjected. "Tsk, even though you could have gotten everything you wanted if you joined us."
"I'm not interested in your offer!"
"So stubborn…that's why you don't have comrades."
Adam was a little surprised to see Empedocles, 'how did that cloth get off his mouth?'
Sasaki Kojiro's face paled slightly when he heard Empedocles' words. Seeing Sasaki Kojiro's face like that, Nico quickly wrapped his mouth again with the cloth he had previously managed to remove.
Nico stepped forward—approaching Empedocles and silencing his mouth again with a thicker wad of cloth.
"This way it will be much calmer."
"MMMMM!!!!"
Empedocles tried to speak, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.
'Good job, Nico!' Adam thought.
Sasaki Kojiro smiled slightly when he saw their behavior. As Adam turned his gaze towards him, a laugh emerged—illuminating Sasaki Kojiro's face.
"Hahaha!! You two are truly interesting, aren't you…" he said, wiping away the tears that began to appear from his loud laughter.
Seeing the smile etched on Sasaki Kojiro's face, Adam was a little touched and responded with a smile as well.
"So…where will this portal you created lead?" Nico asked.
"Ah, right! Sorry I didn't get to explain it. Actually, this isn't a portal!"
Hearing that, Adam and Nico were a little surprised.
"What?"
"Not a portal? Then what is it?"
"As I said earlier, I can't create portals. This is just a dimensional space that I opened, the side effect is that my katana will erode according to how far we go."
"Does that mean we have to find another space directly connected to Jeanne?"
"Exactly, but of course, it won't be easy. In the worst-case scenario, we could get trapped in this dimensional space—if we don't find it quickly. But if we can find it right away, then we can save her."
"That's a huge risk…I don't mind it, but is your sword okay?" Nico asked.
"Ah, don't worry. My katanas each have their own souls, because I'm using this sword—which I named "Ryuo". And the other one I named "Endo"—so the one that will slowly be destroyed is the one I'm currently using."
"Are you okay with that?" Adam asked.
"Don't worry, this katana can recover over time. It's likely about 1 month or more—depending on its use, so when one of them is destroyed, I can still use the other."
"I see…"
Sasaki Kojiro stepped forward a bit and patted Adam's shoulder, "I told you it's okay, besides…this is my own initiative to help you. From the beginning, I didn't like alliances like them!"
Sasaki Kojiro's eyes stared sharply at Empedocles. With a feeling of fear, Empedocles could only turn his face away.
"Then we must hurry now!" Adam asserted.
"Yes!" Nico transformed into Lu Bu, but his spear was still recovering after shattering into pieces, "let's save her!"
"But before that, what should we do with this skull?" Lu Bu asked.
"Ah, right. I don't care anymore."
Empedocles was instantly shocked and disappointed. He began to look gloomy when he heard Adam's words.
"Wait! Just bring him. We can use him as bait and also a bargaining chip. This will be very useful for us—given our current situation."
"That's true…then let's go in."
"Yes!"
The three of them—and Empedocles' head—entered a dimensional portal created by Sasaki Kojiro and stood there. The three of them were a little confused—except for Sasaki Kojiro. Adam slowly stepped forward and saw a faint light surrounding them.
They were in a blue room. Some silhouettes, like people's faces, occasionally slapped their faces, and unknown voices also reached their ears.
"What is this?" Adam asked.
"That's time recording," Sasaki Kojiro replied.
"Time recording?"
"In short, everything around us is in a different Universe."
"You mean…we can see ourselves in another universe?"
Nico asked confused.
"Yes, more or less. But that would be very dangerous, because if we go to a different universe and meet ourselves, it will cause damage to the root of the universe."
"Root of the universe?" Adam asked curiously.
"The place where everything runs. In short, it's like the roots of a tree that spread and fill the ground beneath it, when one of those root branches is cut, the tree growing above it might not bear fruit."
"Confusing…" Lu Bu muttered, scratching his head.
"I understand more or less, but I still don't have a clear picture. Sorry."
"It's okay, this is a bit complicated. By the way, we can't waste time here!"
"Ah, right! We have to find Jeanne. Sasaki, do you have any clues?"
Sasaki Kojiro pointed something forward, "we have to go through all these spatial corridors!" he asserted.
"What?!" Lu Bu and Adam shouted.
The three of them—along with Empedocles' head—began to traverse every spatial corridor created by Sasaki Kojiro. Who knows how long they had been in there. Adam tried to look closer, but as soon as he stepped out of the corridor's path, a sudden hard blow hit his head.
"Argh!! What is this…" Adam said, holding his head in pain.
"That's the spatial boundary. You must not cross it or even approach it. Electromagnetic waves can strike your brain nerves if you try to force yourself out of the path."
"This is a bit troublesome…" Lu Bu mumbled.
"Corridor? But I don't see anything…" Adam said.
"Look beneath you!"
Adam looked down, following Sasaki Kojiro's instructions.
"Red line? What is this?"
"That's the spatial boundary you must not cross. If you cross it and go off your path, you will feel the same pain as before."
"But if it's limited like this, we'll have trouble finding her!"
"It's okay, leave this part to me. Remember? One of my Starku is a very strong instinct. Just by knowing her characteristics, I might be able to find her."
'Then why didn't you say so from the start!' Adam thought, cynically.
"She is…hmm…she wears silver armor. There's a red cloth draped behind her neck. Ah! She also wears protection on her hands and feet. And…she fights with a long sword that glows slightly in the middle of the blade."
Sasaki Kojiro nodded, "That's enough."
Sasaki Kojiro began to close his eyes, slowly the area of space they were standing on seemed to spin very fast. Lu Bu lost his balance as he saw his surroundings begin to spin. Adam held his body slightly and still tried to stand.
Sasaki Kojiro slowly opened his eyes and the room spinning around them became a little calmer.
After opening his eyes, Sasaki Kojiro exhaled deeply. Sweat began to soak his body and he immediately fell to the ground.
"Sasaki? What's wrong?" Adam asked.
"Sorry, I've walked around this entire room, but I couldn't find any characteristics similar to what you mentioned earlier."
'What? In such a short time he managed to go around everything?' Adam thought, surprised.
"How?" Lu Bu asked.
Sasaki Kojiro shook his head and tried to stand up again.
"Can you mention other characteristics? Like her personality or behavior."
Adam pondered for a moment and began to think, "Honestly, I haven't known her for very long. I still don't understand her. She can be angry and selfish sometimes, but at the same time, she can also be a very gentle person. Her face is beautiful, her behavior is sometimes a little feminine—even though she always hides it. But, that's what I like most about her. Her real name is Sylvia, she is a woman with extraordinary determination within her. She doesn't give up easily and is always confident when fighting her enemies. Please, help me find her!!"
"I understand, that's enough. I'll try again."
Sasaki Kojiro began to close his eyes again. The entire room they were standing on slowly began to spin again.
'Please, Sylvia…' Adam tried to speak in his heart.
"Found her!!!" Sasaki Kojiro exclaimed, his eyes wide open.
– –
In a different dimensional space. Towers soared high into the sky. The ground used to support the towers slowly began to shake and form a giant crater.
On top of the towering structure, a man stood tall—his eyes gazing downwards. He was Leonardo da Vinci.
Below him was a woman—Jeanne d'Arc, staring intently at Leonardo.
They stared at each other, silent, neither of them moving or attempting to attack.
Jeanne d'Arc's body showed several scratches caused by Leonardo's attacks.
Leonardo's left arm was also slightly injured from a direct hit by Jeanne d'Arc.
"Now is the time. I can't waste any more time, so let's finish this here now," Leonardo said.
Leonardo snapped his fingers upwards. Slowly, a cloud of colorful smoke began to fill the surrounding area.
The colorful smoke flowed from the air like spilled ink from the sky. It formed circles, helices, sketches that moved as if alive—at a glance, they looked like breathing paintings. All of them were created from Leonardo's thoughts. Flying machines, human anatomical structures, future weapons, and portraits of worlds Jeanne had never seen.
"This…" Jeanne d'Arc furrowed her brows.
"Behold, the evolution of dreams flowing in the human mind!"
The sketches slowly solidified and began to stare at Jeanne d'Arc with angry gazes.
'Ganging up again!'
"Now, face my world created from my thoughts and dreams. A world not bound by the laws of nature, not subject to fate, and where there is no God. Yes…this is the dream world I have always dreamed of!"
"I don't know what you're talking about…" Jeanne d'Arc raised her long sword and pointed it directly at Leonardo, "But I don't like your dream world without God!"
Hearing that, Leonardo's face furrowed slightly. Gloomy, then he extended his index finger—pointing at Jeanne d'Arc.
"Then, enter into emptiness…"
ZRAK!!!
Suddenly all the illusions he created surrounded Jeanne d'Arc and now they were ready to ambush her.
Jeanne d'Arc let out a faint smile, "I understand! I will destroy this imaginary world of yours and fight the idealism you boast about!"
Jeanne d'Arc disappeared from where she stood and then reappeared, raising her long sword upwards.
BOOM!!!
The unseen attack instantly destroyed several illusionary sketches created by Leonardo da Vinci.
Jeanne d'Arc looked around. She realized that Leonardo had disappeared from her sight. Suddenly, a bright light struck her eyes, making her look upwards.
Leonardo now ambushed from above, unleashing energy arrows carved from perfect calculations.
WHUMM!!!
The arrow struck with incredible speed and headed directly towards Jeanne d'Arc. With her superhuman reflexes, Jeanne d'Arc could only shield herself behind her long sword.
BOOM!!!
She fell to her knees. Blood flowed around her body.
But from the ground where she knelt, small flowers began to grow.
Leonardo stared at her in astonishment, thinking silently, 'That light…'
"You destroyed your world with your own attack, but I will repay it with life," Jeanne whispered. "That is our difference."
The flowers around Jeanne d'Arc slowly began to emit a dazzling light, causing Leonardo da Vinci to close his eyes and cover them with one hand.
When the light began to dim, Leonardo slowly opened his eyes. How surprised he was to see Jeanne d'Arc—who had previously been far below him—now standing directly in front of him.
"No way—"
"ARFANAMA!!!"
Jeanne d'Arc's long sword began to emit a golden light and a direct hit struck Leonardo da Vinci. As a result of Jeanne d'Arc's attack, Leonardo was thrown far back and crashed into several nearby towers.
BRAKK!!!
The rumbling sound of the collapsing towers began to be heard. A cloud of smoke began to cover the area around them.
Jeanne d'Arc slowly descended and landed on the ground. The illusionary sketches surrounding her slowly disappeared, which was good! But unfortunately, her body's condition was now worsening due to the absence of the armor that usually protected her body.
Jeanne d'Arc began to groan in pain. But then she began to feel a terrifying aura slowly emanating from the rubble of the destroyed towers.
Right in front of her, Leonardo da Vinci stood tall—staring at Jeanne d'Arc with full anger and carrying a sharp-tipped brush.
"Someone like you doesn't understand art and beauty. Now…let me paint your colorless life!"
Jeanne d'Arc slowly stood up, enduring the pain that filled every part of her body.
"You love eternity too much that you forget that mortality is what makes something beautiful."
Jeanne d'Arc slowly raised her long sword, "I will purify you and make you kneel before me!"
Leonardo da Vinci only responded to Jeanne d'Arc's words with a wide smile, "Good! I like that bluff, now…my entire mind is filled with the dreams and imagination I've always dreamed of. Come on, Jeanne d'Arc!!!"
Both charged.
An explosion of emotion, art, and light struck the dimension itself.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The sky collapsed. The towers trembled. The dimension began to shatter like cracked glass.
Jeanne's sword slashed forward.
Leonardo's brush slashed upward.
They collided right in the middle.
Light and color exploded—filling the entire illusory world.
Silence…
Only a cloud of dust and smoke surrounded the illusory room.
Behind the thick, impenetrable smoke, someone stood tall, holding their body to keep from falling.
The person standing was Leonardo da Vinci. Holding his giant brush, he let out a satisfied and terrifying smile.
"This is what happens when you fight beauty. In this world full of falsehoods, I am the only one who can uphold the dreams and imagination that fill this colorless world!!!! HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"
With a very loud laugh, Leonardo da Vinci slowly walked closer to Jeanne d'Arc.
The sound of footsteps began to be heard in her ears. Jeanne d'Arc, who was lying weakly on the ground, slowly opened her eyes, She wanted to pick up the sword lying right beside her, but her body refused, she couldn't move it at all.
Leonardo da Vinci approached her. He threw away the brush he had previously used to attack Jeanne d'Arc and picked up Jeanne d'Arc's sword, which was now right in front of him.
With a gaze full of emotion and a very strong killing aura, Leonardo slowly raised the sword and pointed it at Jeanne d'Arc, who was lying weakly.
"Now…accept the consequences of surrendering too much to faith."
Jeanne d'Arc began to realize the end of her life. Tears fell and dropped below her face.
'Sorry…Andri…'
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!!!"
As Leonardo da Vinci was about to stab Jeanne d'Arc with the long sword, a sudden hard blow struck his face.
BOOM!!!
The blow sent Leonardo flying far back, crashing into the rubble of the collapsed towers. Jeanne d'Arc's sword fell back to the ground and someone picked it up.
"Sorry, I'm late. Now leave the rest to us."
Adam, Lu Bu, and Sasaki Kojiro stood tall in front of Jeanne d'Arc, who was lying helpless.