————Fafnir.
This is an evil dragon recorded in Norse mythology, appearing in works such as "Poetic Edda," "Prose Edda," "Völsunga Saga," and "Nibelungenlied." It is a legendary dragon species.
It's dragon breath once claimed the lives of countless heroes. It wasn't until the appearance of the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried, who used a holy sword to kill it, that this evil dragon was finally defeated.
However, even that hero faced countless dangers and relied on numerous strokes of luck before managing to defeat the dragon, bathing in its blood, and gaining invincibility.
Now, a dragon of such legendary stature has appeared in this world.
Summoned forth by Jeanne Alter using the Holy Grail as a medium.
————Roarrr!!!!!!————
The dragon's roar was like a violent storm, turning the air into a whirlpool. As it continued ceaselessly, the malicious dragon at its center caused the soundwaves to spread in all directions.
Mighty waves of air surged.
Impacts layered upon one another.
The legendary evil dragon emitted a roar that seemed capable of shaking the entire world, causing even the airflow to become chaotic.
————!
In the face of this roar, fear began to creep in.
Confronted with this soundwave, their mind was shaken.
Almost reflexively, Rozen raised his hand to shield himself from the oncoming shock of the roar.
"Senpai!"
"Master!"
Fortunately, both Mash and Jeanne reacted promptly, without a word, positioning themselves in front of Rozen. One raised a shield, the other a holy flag, blocking the approaching tempest.
Yet, even amidst the storm conjured by the dragon's roar, sweat appeared on the faces of Mash and Jeanne.
"It's Fafnir...!?"
Jeanne's expression became unusually grave.
"A dragon of legendary rank...!"
Mash, too, clenched her lips.
Evidently, even as Servants, the two young women felt an indescribable pressure and sense of danger in the presence of this ferocious monster.
"That's not an opponent ordinary Servants can handle! Be careful, you two!"
Romani's voice echoed from Chaldea. He was stating the obvious.
And there stood Jeanne Alter in front of the dragon named Fafnir. Her back faced the approaching soundwave, and the dragon-etched evil flag in her hand rustled, her expression equally cruel.
This appearance perfectly aligned with her epithet, "Dragon Witch."
"Go! Slaughter them!"
Jeanne Alter seemed to relish the impending scene of destruction, a malevolent grin on her face.
Indeed, the outcome matched her anticipation.
Although Mash had undergone a fair amount of training and had a rudimentary grasp of her abilities as a demi-Servant, she was ultimately still a young girl. She fell short of the heroes and legends from myths. As a Servant, she was still immature.
As for Jeanne, her abilities had been severely weakened, and for this particular manifestation, she was only half as capable.
Given these circumstances, facing a legendary-ranked evil dragon, even with Rozen's support, would be an almost impossible feat for these two Servants.
Even Rozen himself arrived at this conclusion.
"If we focus on defense, we might be able to hold on for a while."
Both Mash and Jeanne were skilled in this type of combat, so if they focused on defense, even if they couldn't win, they wouldn't lose.
However, if they aimed to defeat Fafnir, it would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.
In this way, the scene of destruction that Jeanne Alter anticipated would naturally unfold.
If there were no further changes.
"Roar..."
Fafnir, which had fixed its fierce and menacing eyes on Rozen and his group, suddenly let out a hoarse roar. The fearsome dragon seemed to lose its vitality and drooped slightly.
This change left everyone present in astonishment.
"What...?"
"How...?"
Mash and Jeanne were completely dumbfounded.
"What... what's happening?"
Caster also expressed his shock.
"Fafnir!? What's going on!?"
Jeanne Alter turned around abruptly, looking at the abnormally behaving dragon behind her, raising her voice in bewilderment.
However, Fafnir seemed to have lost its previous ferocity and menace. It appeared fatigued, its eyes half-closed, and its movements growing sluggish.
"Fafnir? Fafnir!"
An uneasy feeling crept over Jeanne Alter, and she shouted the dragon's name loudly.
Unfortunately, the dragon finally seemed unable to hold on any longer. Its eyes closed completely, as if it had fallen into a deep slumber.
"Thud..."
Not long after, with a dull sound, the enormous dragon slumped onto the ground, settling into a sleep within the massive crater it had created upon its appearance.
The sound of snoring emanated softly from the dragon's body.
"..."
An atmosphere of stillness pervaded the air.
Mash and Jeanne exchanged glances.
Caster couldn't comprehend the situation.
And Jeanne Alter stared fixedly at the slumbering Fafnir, before turning her sharp gaze to the only person on the field whose expression hadn't changed.
"Did it work?"
Rozen mumbled these words, extending one of his hands.
"Swoosh!"
From Fafnir's body, a black shadow suddenly shot out, flying towards Rozen's direction and clinging to his arm.
It was a snake.
A snake that appeared entirely black, yet somewhat transparent.
Seeing this scene, everyone present understood.
Fafnir's anomaly was Rozen's doing.
"...What have you done?"
Jeanne Alter's expression turned extremely dark.
Observing this, Rozen smirked.
"I should be the one asking you, why do you think I haven't done anything?"
Rozen said this.
"Even though I've seen that dragon before and know its threat, I still came here. Didn't you think I must have some way to deal with it?"
After all...
"Since two days ago, I already know that you summoned a true dragon species."
Rozen said so.
Two days prior, when Rozen attempted to attack Orleans, he already knew that even if he could successfully breach Orleans, he would face two dangers— one witnessed firsthand and one he was already aware of.
Among them, the first danger was the threat Rozen witnessed within the castle, the true dragon species summoned through the Holy Grail—Fafnir.
This was a dragon species present in legends, situated at the apex of Phantasmal species, a creature possibly reaching the realm of divine beasts.
To successfully defeat such a monster, one would need to be a hero like Siegfried, a dragon slayer, or a figure at the pinnacle of Servants. Even someone like King Arthur, whether they could successfully defeat Fafnir, was still an unknown.
Given this, this danger needed to be dealt with.
This was something Rozen had considered well in advance.
Exactly because of this...
"Exactly because of this, when that dragon lay motionless before me, sound asleep, did you really think I wouldn't do anything?"
Rozen raised the snake clinging to his hand, revealing it to everyone present.
"At that moment, I had already sent this familiar onto the dragon."
This was the reason why Fafnir had fallen into slumber.