β β β β β β
What the heck was going on?
At that moment, Jeanne's head was spinning.
A giant female zombie warrior had suddenly vanished and turned into an old man uglier than a monkey.
Their very nature had changed. The undead giantess had felt something like a reanimated corpse, albeit one infused with immense dark magic and empowered by that strange belt. This old man, however... he was alive.
Jeanne could clearly sense the powerful aura of a living human emanating from him.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the revolting presence surrounding him.
The old man seemed to realize she couldn't understand him. He frowned slightly and switched to another language.
Then another.
And another.
Unfortunately, he was dealing with Jeanne d'Arc, whose academic abilities outside of whatever Tom specifically ordered her to learn were... less than impressive.
Still, Jeanne wasn't the only person present.
The old man hadn't bothered lowering his voice, and in the empty valley his words carried far.
Isabella and several of the more knowledgeable professors immediately paled.
"Miss! He calls himself Herpo! That's Ancient Greek he's speaking!"
Herpo? Herpo the Foul?
Jeanne's expression grew even more serious.
Unlike Isabella and the others, however, she wasn't particularly shocked that Herpo was still alive.
She had heard the name plenty of times before.
Tom and Andros had discussed more than once whether Herpo might still be alive somewhere.
As the supposed creator of Horcruxes, though Morgan had since proven that claim false and established that Horcruxes were an ancient form of dark magic predating Herpo by several eras, his disappearance from history had always seemed suspicious.
Someone who created a Horcrux would almost certainly make one for himself.
And Herpo had been a dark wizard of utterly unmatched power in his age. There should have been no one capable of threatening him.
Unless he suffered the same absurd misfortune as Voldemort and somehow encountered a destined nemesis who systematically destroyed every one of his Horcruxes.
Yet no such figure appeared anywhere in the historical records.
When it came to dark wizards, Tom always preferred to assume the worst. And now it seemed his caution had been fully justified.
"So Ares's Belt was turned into a Horcrux?" Inside the Study Space, Tom stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Did every dark wizard who made Horcruxes have some kind of obsession?
Voldemort had targeted the relics of Hogwarts' four founders.
Herpo had gone even further, corrupting a divine artifact.
Though separated by an enormous distance, Tom could tell from Jeanne's reactions alone that Herpo was extraordinarily dangerous.
Fortunately, he wasn't especially worried.
He had already arranged for Usaki to watch over Jeanne from the shadows.
....
At this very moment, high above the battlefield, Usaki was staring down at Herpo like a predator eyeing its prey. Herpo, meanwhile, remained completely unaware of its presence.
After cycling through several languages and failing to establish communication, the ancient wizard finally gave up.
Prompted by Isabella's words, his cloudy eyes moved past Jeanne and settled on Isabella and the professors behind her.
Slowly, he raised a withered hand. Jeanne's brows knitted together.
She swung her flag forward.
"LΓ est mon Seigneur!" (God is Here With Me!)
The familiar milky-white radiance immediately enveloped Isabella and the others once again.
Before they could even react, wisps of black mist appeared on the surface of the protective glow.
The two forces collided.
Entwining. Erasing. Melting each other away with a sharp sizzling sound.
Isabella and the professors were instantly horrified.
The black mist was a manifested curse.
Without Jeanne's protection, they would have been struck without warning and likely never realized what had happened.
"Interesting."
Herpo withdrew his gaze from the group and focused on Jeanne, who stood ready for battle.
A look of genuine curiosity appeared on his face.
Such pure, unwavering faith... even during the height of Ancient Greece, among the countless high priests and priestesses he had encountered, he had never seen anything quite like it.
And the girl's talent was equally extraordinary.
She had perfectly transformed that devotion into the greatest driving force behind her magical growth.
Combined with her youthful appearance, it left Herpo genuinely puzzled.
What exactly had happened to the world while he was gone?
Those older wizards in the distance were little more than rotten fish and spoiled shrimp. Yet this girl, who looked barely past adulthood, was terrifyingly powerful.
Even he found that shocking.
A vicious glint flashed in Herpo's eyes.
This girl had to be hiding an enormous secret. There was no way someone could grow this strong so quickly.
And even if there wasn't a secret, her talent alone was reason enough not to let her live.
Someone like this could eventually threaten him.
Originally, Herpo had intended to capture Isabella and learn the language Jeanne had been using earlier.
Now he had changed his mind. He would capture Jeanne instead and force her to reveal everything.
Though he had only just revived and his body was still in its weakest state, he had absolute confidence in subduing a single great wizard.
Herpo raised a hand again.
The earth trembled violently. Then it split apart.
Three colossal serpents burst from the cracks, massive enough to resemble dragons emerging from beneath the ground. Their jaws stretched open as they lunged toward Jeanne.
At the same time, a fierce gale swept across the sky.
And countless leaves were ripped from nearby trees. Dark magic stained them black.
Under Herpo's power, each leaf transformed into a razor-sharp projectile.
Attacks came from both the sky and the ground. A perfect killing field had formed around Jeanne.
And this... this was accomplished with nothing more than a passing thought.
Such was the terror of a legendary wizard.
Having studied under Ravenclaw for so long, Jeanne instantly reached a conclusion. This was an opponent she could not defeat.
Yet not the slightest trace of fear appeared in her unwavering heart.
Instead, her fighting spirit surged even higher.
Strange crimson patterns began spreading across her fair face. They climbed upward like living flames before converging at her forehead, forming a beautiful yet ominous lotus blossom.
"Bad woman, time for you to do your part."
"Hmph. Idiot. I know that without you telling me."
The consciousness of Jalter slowly awakened.
Jeanne's eyes changed.
Her left eye remained its usual emerald green. But her right eye turned into a majestic golden iris that radiated authority.
She drove the flag into the ground.
An explosive vortex of flames erupted around her, swallowing both the giant serpents and the rain of arrows descending from above.
Then two voices spoke from within the inferno.
Perfectly synchronized. As one.
"Divine Grace Manifestation: Crimson Saint!"
The flames exploded skyward.
.
.
.