"How foolish of you, Jeanne… No—should I call you Laeticia instead?"
The mocking words dripped with venom and cold malice. Behind Jeanne, the air twisted violently, and Rhodes stepped forth from the distortion.
"As the vessel of a Saint Graph Possession, you've turned Jeanne's power against her. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming. But the price for wielding that power… is becoming Alaya's hunting dog, isn't it?"
"What… are you talking about?" The Heroic Spirit Jeanne—no, Laeticia—answered in an icy tone, utterly devoid of emotion.
The Counter Force, Alaya, could never directly control a Heroic Spirit. But the Ruler of this Holy Grail War was no ordinary summon. Jeanne had manifested through Saint Graph Possession, not through a proper summoning ritual. While this lessened her dependence on magical energy, it carried a critical flaw.
She was still Laeticia—never Jeanne. And as a mere human, she was subject to Alaya, humanity's Counter Force. By manipulating Laeticia, it could turn Jeanne d'Arc's strength against Rhodes, hoping to erase the man who dared to steal Heroic Spirits.
In the Type-Moon World, a Heroic Spirit was tantamount to a nuclear weapon—an absolute Mystery beyond the reach of magi. Even Magicians, those exalted few at the pinnacle of Magecraft, could only break against the might of the strongest Heroic Spirits.
The mission of the Counter Force was to maintain the stability of human civilization, to ensure progress at a sustainable pace. And Rhodes, by mastering the power of Heroic Spirits, now possessed the ability to shatter that balance. Just like a Magician—"a natural enemy of the world." A man who could bind and command Heroic Spirits for extended periods was now a splinter in the world's eye.
What made him even more dangerous was that his technique wasn't limited to forcibly dragging down a handful of Heroic Spirits from the Throne. He could gather them in bulk, manifest them en masse, and forge a true army of Heroic Spirits.
Such a power would destroy the balance. The Counter Force would never allow it. Neither Alaya nor Gaia could permit that knowledge to spread—nor could they tolerate the creation of armies built upon Heroic Spirits.
That was why, sensing the threat, the Counter Force hijacked Laeticia. Through her, it sought to harness Jeanne's power and kill Rhodes in a surprise strike, burying that forbidden knowledge forever.
But clearly, it had failed.
Rhodes stood before Jeanne without a scratch, his snow-white suit spotless, his indigo cloak billowing in the wind. His handsome face was etched with ridicule.
"Pathetic, Laeticia," he said flatly. Even standing a mere two meters away, he showed not a trace of fear—only a playful smirk. "You might wield a Heroic Spirit's power, but you can't use Revelation. Without that little cheat code, you can't even tell a Golem double from the real me. And you think you're fit to kill me?"
Schrrk— Jeanne didn't answer. She simply swung the Holy Banner, its shaft whipping through the air toward Rhodes's skull.
Forged from a rare metal, the flagpole weighed dozens of kilograms—more than enough to pulp a human head in one blow.
And with Alaya's perception guiding her, there should have been no way for Rhodes to dodge.
But just as the pole was about to strike, it froze mid-swing.
The heavy silver shaft roared with gale-force winds, the flag snapping across Rhodes's face. Yet Jeanne made no move to follow through. She only stood there, trembling, her eyes filled with sudden confusion.
Clang!
The Holy Banner slipped from her hands, crashing to the ground. The flag unfurled as it fell, and Rhodes's figure came back into view.
He was holding a photograph. A colour print, clear as day. Several figures were displayed on it—people Laeticia knew all too well.
Her family. Her elders. Her brothers. Even distant relatives she barely recognized. Her classmates. Her teachers. The people closest to her.
Over fifty faces in all, each etched with anguish so raw it bled through the paper itself.
"You… what have you done…"
Laeticia's will surged back, breaking Alaya's control. The sight of her loved ones in such misery shattered the Counter Force's grip.
"It's very simple." Rhodes smiled with pure innocence. It was a gentle, guileless smile—yet it carried the cruelest malice. "I merely invited them to a 'lovely place' for a little trip. I won't kill them. I won't even torture them—so long as you follow my orders and bow to me alone."
"Why… why would you do this!" Laeticia's voice rose in fury, her delicate hand grasping the cross-shaped sword at her waist.
That weapon—La Pucelle: The Crimson Holy Maiden—her self-sacrificial Noble Phantasm. If she unleashed its true name here, it wouldn't just kill Rhodes in his weakened state. It would annihilate every Heroic Spirit present in an instant.
But even faced with that threat, Rhodes's smile remained soft. His eyes shone with calm, crystalline reason.
"Oh? You're still asking why? What a stupid question." He chuckled, voice thick with scorn. "As arbiter of the Holy Grail War, you attacked me—a magus not even involved in the conflict. And you think I can't abduct the family of 'Saint Jeanne d'Arc' in return?"
"Those aren't Jeanne's family—they're mine—"
"True. But the effect is the same, isn't it?" Rhodes pressed, voice silky with persuasion. "If I recall, you're the one who leads this Saint Graph Possession, aren't you? Jeanne can't use your body without your consent. That makes you the true authority here."
"Despicable…"
Like a heroine in a hentai doujin, Laeticia's strength crumbled. Jeanne's holy armor dissolved from her body, and she collapsed to the ground in despair.
The powers Alaya had granted her were gone. Without them, Laeticia was as fragile as any ordinary girl—no different from those helpless heroines on the page.
"Oh? Despicable, you say? That's the survival creed of every Arcanist."
Rhodes spread his arms wide, as though embracing the dark, oppressive world around him.
"I seek only results. I never ask whether the path is right or wrong. Obsessing over good and evil—that's the mark of losers. Nothing more."