Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Blood Armor of the Evil Dragon.

—A Noble Phantasm that brings to life the story of Siegfried bathing in the blood of a dragon.

All attacks below rank B will not harm him. For attacks of rank B or higher, the damage will be calculated with the equivalent of rank B deducted. A-rank normal attacks will become A minus B, equivalent to an E-rank attack. When using a Noble Phantasm, it will be activated with a defense of rank B+.

However, it will still have an impact in cases involving Noble Phantasms or skills such as Dragon Special Attack.

Furthermore, even with a B+ rating, damage is simply taken without question; if a defensive action is taken with the "Balmung" sword, the damage will be further reduced. Siegfried, going all out in a defensive battle, is truly a mobile fortress.

However, since the only part behind it, which is covered by the leaves of the Bodhi tree, has no effect, it is extremely difficult to repair it with healing magic once it is damaged.

His back, being a weakness, was completely exposed, as he was conceptually unable to protect himself from the "curse."

Even if Siegfried were protected with something like a spherical shield, there would still definitely be a hole in his back.

Ultimately, there are very few heroes who possess the ability to attack Siegfried from behind.

In a head-on confrontation, Siegfried, who possesses the Blood of the Dragon and the Holy Sword Balmuk, and Karna, who wears golden armor and wields the Spear of Godslayer, are both high-attack, high-defense, and high-health characters. They are evenly matched and their talents are comparable. It will be difficult to determine a winner without a fierce and intense battle.

However, at this moment, the two did not focus their attention on each other. Instead, they almost simultaneously looked at the several astonishing auras and swaying figures that erupted from the billowing dust behind the plowed-out slope.

There are experts too!

"I was just eating some melon seeds, why did you have to blast me with your Noble Phantasm?!"

A resentful rant drifted from the billowing smoke and dust. Samael, covered in soot, stared at his wrecked car and Natalia's personal collection scattered all over the ground, feeling a pang of heartache.

"It's you!"

The moment their gazes met, Karna, the son of the sun god, and Joan of Arc, who was watching from the sidelines, both changed color and were greatly shocked.

"Hey, enemy magician! You've finally given yourself away! Come on, for the sake of a magician's honor, let's have a fair and square... woof!"

Gold, standing by the roadside, saw this suddenly appearing figure and immediately became like a fighting rooster seeing its opponent, raising its neck and barking fiercely.

But before he could finish speaking, Siegfried, who was usually indifferent and calm, suddenly appeared behind his Master, knocked Gordes unconscious, and dragged him away with an apologetic expression.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that someone who can make two top-tier heroic spirits feel so threatened is definitely not a simple opponent.

If one's own Master truly angers the opponent, they might be reduced to ashes in a single round.

As this suddenly rising dragon-slaying hero moved, his heart pounded, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the holy sword Balmuk. He vaguely aligned himself with the other two, their auras echoing each other, as they jointly confronted this mysterious figure who had been hiding and watching for a long time.

At that moment, Samael, seemingly aware of something, raised his hand to touch his face, and his cheek twitched slightly.

Damn, he got hit head-on by a [Heavenly Demon, I apologize, I'm kneeling in my imagination], and the [Cognitive Distortion] surrounding him was unintentionally broken through.

Of the three heroes present, two were acquaintances.

Moreover, one of them had been beaten up by him, and the other had been...

He'd already fooled her, and now even the only one who seemed easy to fool was wary of him. This was a bit awkward.

The ancient snake forced a stiff, fake smile, its eyes darting around as it tried to appease the situation while its mind raced.

"Oh, what a coincidence, you're here too?"

"..."

However, both Karna and Joan of Arc were on high alert, glancing intently at a bystander in the smoke and dust who had snake-like vertical pupils and whose golden hair had turned black.

"My hamburger! My Coke! You bastards, give me back... Waaah..."

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, Mordred, who was a beat slower to recover, looked at the KFC takeout food scattered all over the floor and immediately flew into a rage.

However, before this rebellious knight could pick up his greatsword, search for the culprit, and fight, Samael, who was busy getting away, quickly pulled Mozai over, covered his servant's mouth, forced a stiff smile, and solemnly assured him.

"We're just passing by!"

"..."

silence.

Karna and Joan of Arc remained silent, their grips on their respective spears and iris banners speaking volumes.

"If there's nothing else, shall I head out? You guys continue?"

Samael blinked, dragged the flailing Mordred in his arms, and quietly retreated, preparing to begin.

Upon hearing this, Karna breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

After all, he hadn't forgotten that in the Battle of Thermopylae, this guy, all alone with a sword, crushed the Seven Riders of the Holy Grail summoned by Cyrus, along with his Indian trio and a coalition of thousands of War Angels of Light... and nearly leveled the camp of a million-strong army.

At his peak, this guy personally led the gods of the ten realms to blast the descending predatory planetary body into dust under the burning World Tree.

Even if Karna was very confident, he knew that if the other side intervened, he had no chance of winning.

There wasn't even a chance to escape...

After all, on par with this guy's exceptional combat prowess are his infamous skill in deception and his almost insurmountable calamity constitution.

In short, wherever they go, chaos follows.

If we can successfully get rid of this plague god, at least we won't have to worry about some hellish natural or man-made disaster suddenly appearing and hitting us on the head.

"Your appearance in Tulifas suggests you also intend to get involved in this Holy Grail War?"

However, before Karna could exhale all the pent-up anger, a figure stepped past the crowd, his stern question suddenly ringing in their ears.

Joan of Arc frowned and looked ahead, the flag in her hand fluttering in the strong wind, her vigilance self-evident.

The holy light and the profound darkness form a stark contrast, like two colors that cannot coexist.

Karna, with his aloof personality, stared at the figure who had stopped in front of him, his face stiffening slightly. He turned his head to look at the imposing Joan of Arc beside him, and for the first time, he experienced the feeling of "resentment".

You said you were fine, why did you have to ask another question? Why did you provoke him?

At this moment, Samael, who had turned around leisurely in the darkness, raised his fingers and stroked his chin, looking at the holy girl in front of him with a meaningful gaze.

"So, in your eyes, what am I now? Joan of Arc..."

The problem is like the first meeting in a century-old prison.

Under the battle flag, the French saint gazed silently at those dark, serpentine vertical pupils, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"The unclean, the lightless..."

The answer remains the same.

"Hahaha! This is hilarious, so hilarious!"

Upon hearing this, Samael raised his hand to cover half of his cheek and burst into hearty laughter.

The rising sun leaps above the horizon, the saintess stands in the descending light, and the demon hides in the lingering darkness.

The figure in black raised a hand to his chest, bowed slightly, elegant rather than polite, and a pleased smile played on his lips.

“Well then, welcome to Tulipas, welcome to my hell, Jeanne Darc…”

The response was the same as always.

"Well, since we're already here, as fallen ones, we should naturally do things befitting our status."

Then, the ancient serpent seemed to realize something, paused slightly, raised its eyes, and looked at the still devout holy maiden, its smile becoming even brighter.

"So, let's play a game, Joan of Arc?"

Joan of Arc moved her lips, but ultimately stopped herself from speaking, maintaining the silence of a saint.

Samael smiled dismissively and began to analyze the situation on his own.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Holy Grail should be with the Yggdrasil family. As a saintess, she should naturally protect the Holy Grail, which is overflowing with the Lord's majesty, and lead the common people to resist the oppression from the system and class, such as the Clock Tower against the Yggdrasil family?"

Immediately, the ancient snake seemed to have thought of a good idea, raised its hand and snapped its fingers crisply beside its ear, and spoke with pleasure.

"Here's what we'll do. I'll allow you to join the Yggdrasilian faction, fill the Assassin void, and take advantage of Ruler's privileges to gain a small edge."

As for me, I'll join the heretical faction that the Mage's Association has brought in.

Samael pointed to a certain Indian god's son, which drew a bewildered look from Karna, who stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

This guy wants to join us? Are you kidding me? Do we even need to fight the rest of the battle? Isn't this practically a victory?

However, as the game's designer, Ancient Serpent clearly took this bug into account.

"To be fair, I..."

The Greater Grail is like the king piece for each side; it is not played and cannot be easily moved during the battle. The side that can break through the knights' protection and seize the opponent's king piece wins.

As a reward, I will grant the winner some interesting requests..."

Samael smiled as he looked at the holy maiden bathed in light and spoke softly.

"Of course, that includes you..."

As he spoke, the ancient serpent's eyes were as deep as an abyss, revealing the original sin of desire and the depravity of the soul, his tone full of seduction.

"As a saint, spreading the gospel of the Lord, singing the glory of heaven, and cleansing the darkness of this world—isn't that what you've always dreamed of? How about we make a bet?"

Joan of Arc's brows furrowed and relaxed, and after a long period of silent struggle, she finally made up her mind, looked up at the newly fallen one who had approached, and loosened her tightly pursed cherry lips.

"So, what's the price?"

She really understands things so well!

The demon, whose true nature had been exposed, couldn't help but smile with pleasure as he leisurely announced the price.

"The stakes are your other half's soul!"

What he couldn't have before, he will now hold firmly in his grasp.

The saintess and the demon stared at each other silently for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Okay! I promise you."

Samael smiled with pleasure, stretched out his arm, and happily grasped the other's hand.

Well!

As their bodies made contact, Joan of Arc felt a burning sensation spread across the back of her hand, causing her to furrow her brow and instinctively withdraw her hand.

When the saintess came to her senses, she looked down and was shocked to find that there were three black, serpentine-wing-shaped runes forming a ring on the back of her hand.

"As the one who wields the chess pieces, how can one be without the seal of command of the entire army?"

Samael stared at the distinctive mark, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he explained with a sly smile.

"The Great Command Spell, a little gadget I developed, allows you to unconditionally command the summoned Grail Servants three times, helping you 'friendly' take over some of the Yggdrasil's influence."

As the saying goes, "once bitten, twice shy," and ever since being tricked in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, the Serpent has put a lot of effort into mastering the Command Seals.

This Great Command Spell, which enhances control based on the Holy Grail spell, is one of the products of this research.

Upon hearing this, Karna and Siegfried's expressions changed, and their eyes revealed apprehension.

Joan of Arc herself, who was delighted to receive the "Great Command Spell," reacted rather calmly to it.

Samael, equally unconcerned, opened his arms to Joan of Arc, grinned, and enthusiastically announced the start of the game.

"Then, from this moment on, if you want to preserve your faith and the other half of your soul, then lead your subordinates and struggle hard for me. Use this game to please me to the fullest, Your Highness."

Then, the ancient snake contentedly put his hands back into his waist pockets, called Mordred, Six-Director Lingxia, and Little Jack, and turned to walk away.

Karna hesitated for a moment, then finally withdrew his God-Slaying Spear and followed the four people ahead.

The group of five gradually disappeared from the view of the Thousand World Tree.

Siegfried, standing still, looked at the situation that seemed to have gone seriously off track right from the start. He glanced at his Master Gold, who was sleeping on the ground, and then turned his gaze to Jeanne, who seemed to be somewhat distracted, and asked a question.

"Your Highness, then we..."

Startled by the question, Joan of Arc regained her senses. Her purple eyes swept over the snake-shaped brand on the back of her hand. She shook her head slightly, then looked up at the dragon slayer in front of her, exhaled a few breaths, and spoke solemnly.

“Weren’t you going to invite me back to Yggdmirrenia Castle? I want to talk to Danic in person.”

Siegfried, a man of few words, nodded seriously, then hoisted his sleeping Master onto his back and led the way through the dense forest.

Having made her plans, Joan of Arc was about to turn back and pack her bags.

However, upon turning around, the scene of utter chaos, with only a few scraps of paper remaining amidst the charred black soil, caused the Holy Maiden's composed and elegant expression to freeze momentarily.

My homework, and next semester's textbooks...

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Peeping Tom (4.5k)

In the marketplace, Mordred, with her childlike nature, forgot her previous unhappiness after receiving a large bag of snacks and two cans of soda as compensation, and instead surrounded Samael, asking her questions with curiosity.

"Hey, partner, where do we go next?"