Blade swung his massive golden greatsword down at Tsutsumi, the sheer weight of the strike splitting the ground apart. Tsutsumi stepped back, narrowly evading as the blade cleaved into the earth.
"Henshin."
Kamen Ride: Zero-One!
A flash of yellow light surged across his body, forming the sleek, high-tech armor of Zero-One. Lightweight, flexible, built for speed, perfect against a lumbering titan like Blade King Form.
Blade's sword came around in another brutal swing.
The golden blade cut through the air where Tsutsumi had been an instant before. Rolling back, he countered with a sharp kick aimed at Blade's helmet, only for the strike to bounce harmlessly off the thick armor.
Blade's gauntleted fist slammed into him like a hammer. The impact launched Tsutsumi into a nearby tree, the trunk splintering and collapsing as he crashed through it.
Blade advanced, his massive sword raised overhead as he tried to push himself up.
Form Ride: Shining Hopper!
His armor flared, expanding with a burst of golden-green light. His figure blurred and vanished, leaving behind a trail of glowing cybernetic lines that flickered and died in the air.
"What!?" Blade muttered, his instincts jolting a second too late.
Tsutsumi reappeared at his flank, his fist driving into Blade's helmet with enough force to finally make the King stagger, his head snapping to the side.
Blade swung his golden sword toward him, but Tsutsumi vanished again. The rider's eyes darted left and right, catching only fleeting flashes of green cybernetic trails before they faded.
Each time Tsutsumi reappeared, it was only for a heartbeat, a blur of motion, a punch, or a kick, then gone again. His attacks didn't leave much damage, but they were irritating, wearing Blade's patience thin.
"Archer!" Blade barked.
Two archers answered his call. One, a green-haired cat girl, the other, a red-clad man. Both raised their bows, arrows drawn and aimed at Tsutsumi.
The green one fired first, an arrow slicing toward Tsutsumi's head. He twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding it before disappearing again, slipping past another slash from Blade's sword. More arrows chased him as he blurred around the golden rider, the battlefield filling with flashing steel and glowing trails.
"I am the bone of my sword."
The red archer's voice cut through the chaos. He loosed an arrow that Tsutsumi evaded easily, but it exploded behind him, shaking the ground.
Attack Ride: Invisible!
Tsutsumi disappeared from the spots, causing everyone to look around, staying on guard. The battlefield fell silent. Eyes shifted nervously, waiting.
Then, green cybernetic trails flared right behind the golden rider.
Final Attack Ride: Z-Z-Z-Zero-One!
Tsutsumi's foot slammed into the red archer's side with brutal force, blood spraying from his mouth as his body was launched through the trees.
"Archer!!" Ritsuka cried out, panic breaking her voice.
Two sword-wielders dashed in. One, a blonde with a holy blade shining like the sun. The other, pink-haired, coughing blood but gripping her katana tight.
Final Attack Ride: W-W-W-W!
Tsutsumi spun his metal staff, green cyclone energy whipping outward. A miniature storm roared to life, knocking both women back. He didn't stop, staff and wind striking in rapid succession, each blow heavier than the last.
The sickly swordswoman collapsed first, choking on blood, while the blonde steadied herself and pressed forward. Together with Blade, she brought her golden sword down on Tsutsumi.
Steel clashed, his staff shattered instantly under their combined strike. But Tsutsumi had already slipped back, narrowly avoiding the follow-up.
The purple-haired shield bearer rushed in next, but he sidestepped and kicked her in the back, sending her crashing into Blade himself.
Arrows rained down again now that Tsutsumi was forced away from the melee.
Form Ride: OOO! Sagohzo Combo!
He stomped down. A surge of gravitational force exploded outward, dragging every arrow into the dirt, along with servants and even their masters.
"GAAAH!" Fujimaru Ritsuka's scream tore out, raw and human, panic spreading through the Servants and her older brother.
"Jeanne, let's leave!"Tsutsumi urged, already turning back toward the saint's side. He grabbed her hand and was about to run until he realized something was off; the hand he was holding felt like metal.
When he looked, the hand belonged to Jeanne d'Arc all right, but not the one he'd come to save. The figure before him wore her battle armor: the Heroic Spirit Jeanne d'Arc. She blinked at him, cheeks flushing faintly, and for a heartbeat she looked embarrassed, her fingers tightening around his unconsciously.
"Uhh… hi," she said, voice small and shy. "It's… wonderful to finally meet you." The crimson on her face was almost comical, with hot steam emitting from her head.
While Decade and Blade were busy throwing hands, the Heroic Spirit Jeanne and the still-alive Jeanne were actually having a chat.
The Heroic Spirit's eyes held something like longing, and a little sting of jealousy. In her time, there had been no knight who saved her, no one who accepted her as a frightened girl rather than a fabled saint. No one to cook for her, to share a starry night, to hold her hand and call her Jeanne. The idea that such simple kindness could exist made her ache.
The living Jeanne, in turn, now knows about the future she would shape. The names that people would remember her by, the courage she would inspire after her death, and how she would become a Heroic Spirit and would rise again to help others.
Her death wasn't just a simple betrayal; it's also an important moment in human history. If she leaves and lives on, history would change, and her timeline would turn into a Singularity, eventually leading to the end of her timeline where humanity would eventually fall.
"Sorry, wrong Jeanne." Tsutsumi released the Heroic Spirit's hand gently and reached for the living Jeanne's fingers instead.
"Tsutsumi… thank you," she whispered, smiling through the tremor in her voice as she fought back the salt of tears. "But my fate… it is set in stone." She stood beside him, small and steady, like a lamp refusing to be snuffed.
"Jeanne, don't be stupid," he said, squeezing her palm until she felt the heat of him. "You've given them everything. Let me take you away. Let's disappear together."
She shook her head, a soft, aching sigh. She brushed her cheek with the back of her hand. "I can't. My death is an important part of human history. I… I can't let all of them lose what they would become because of my selfish choice."
His voice pushed on, raw and urgent. "Jeanne, why do you insist on dying for these fools? Come, let me take you-"
She cut him off with a single motion. She stepped up and kissed him, a goodbye pressed into his mouth like a promise. When she pulled away the tears came. She had not wanted this, and yet she had already made her choice.
"Thank you for loving me, Tsutsumi... for seeing me as just a girl that I have once abandoned. You don't need to worry about me anymore."
She smiles, the image of the saint faded, replaced by the innocent girl that she once was.
The innocent girl who didn't know about war and the cruelties of humanity.
She looked at him with clear, painful resolve, the child who had known only fields and simple joys resurfacing for a fleeting heartbeat.
"Please live on, and continue fighting for a world of Love and Peace. Let me bear this burden. Let my death awaken these ignorant people."
Her smile was simple, yet devastating. The kind of smile that carved straight into the chest, leaving behind an ache too deep to name.
Tsutsumi's face twisted, torn between disbelief, anger, and a confusion that refused to let him breathe. His heart rebelled against the sight of her acceptance, against the quiet resignation that stained her warmth.
Why would she throw everything away, her happiness, her life, simply because fate had declared it so? Why chain herself to a destiny written in someone else's hand?
His hand shot forward, gripping her shoulder tightly, desperation bleeding into every movement as he shook her.
"Jeanne, wake up! Fate is not fixed!" His voice cracked with raw emotion, eyes blazing as though he could burn destiny itself. "The moment you and I make a choice, our fates change. Just like today, when I chose to step in and save you!"
Time Scarab! Fusion Eagle! Absorb Capricorn! Evolution Caucasus! Change Beetle!
Royal Straight Flush!
Blade finished charging his strike and swung down, unleashing a massive golden energy slash. The attack tore through five giant golden cards in sequence, each one amplifying its power until it roared forward, unstoppable.
The slash came straight for Tsutsumi and Jeanne. He shoved her aside, taking the full force head-on. The blast hurled him through a line of trees, snapping trunks like twigs, before his body slammed into the ground.
"Tsutsumi!" Jeanne cried out, rushing to his side.
"Master, please stop!" the Heroic Spirit Jeanne shouted, planting herself in front of Blade with her arms spread wide.
"Out of the way, Jeanne!" Blade's voice was cold, merciless. "The only way to save the world… is for Decade to vanish completely."
One more time… it's happening again.
The cruel, untimely fate of those who dared to care for him. Those who once whispered that they loved him.
It feels like a sick joke the world insists on repeating, a loop with no end, a punishment carved into his very existence. Every confession, every fragile moment of warmth, always followed by loss.
Every time someone said they loved him, it wasn't long before the world tore them away.
Tsutsumi tells himself he has accepted it. That he is nothing more than a devil wearing the mask of a man. A creature imitating humanity, clinging to it like a drowning man clings to driftwood, hoping it would grant him the one thing he always craved: to be loved.
Yet here it is again. Another soul he treasures, about to be stolen away.
His body aches to fight it, to rip destiny apart, to drag her from this path of sacrifice. To stop her from giving herself to a world that does not deserve her. To hold her so tightly that nothing could take her away.
But he does not move.
He knows her heart, her unshakable resolve. He knows she will never turn away from her chosen fate. If he caged her, if he bound her to him against her will, it would no longer be love. It would only be chains.
Love is not possession. It is not a command.
To truly love someone is to have the strength to set them free, even when it shatters everything inside.
"Spirit Jeanne…" Tsutsumi's weak voice reached them as the living Jeanne helped him up. "Take her, take Jeanne back to where she belongs. To her destiny. I'll follow later."
Both Jeannes froze, their faces twisting with shock and pain. His lips curled into a faint, bitter smile. "I won't change the ending. I just… don't want her to face it alone. I'll stay beside her until the very end."
The finality in his tone left no room for protest. After a long silence, the Heroic Spirit Jeanne gently placed a hand on her counterpart's shoulder, her own expression heavy with sorrow, and guided her away, toward the path that would end in fire.
Left behind, Tsutsumi exhaled a ragged breath and pushed himself upright. The warmth in his gaze bled out like a dying ember, leaving only a hollow emptiness. His eyes dulled, stripped of feeling, as if he had shut the door on his own humanity.
"Henshin."
Form Ride: Decade!
The transformation engulfed him. His body shifted, draped in the magenta coat that whipped in the night wind. The tails of his bandana fluttered like banners of war. But now his form looked more devil than man, his horns sharper, his eyes rimmed with dark green pigment, and the once bright yellow gem on his center horn replaced by an ominous purple stone that radiated malice.
Now he looked less like a man, and more like the devil the world had always whispered him to be.
Tsutsumi began to advance, each step calm yet heavy with menace.