Normally, any proper magus Master, who has undergone systematic training, would avoid provoking the Ruler, the referee of the Holy Grail War. After all, the Ruler's authority over the Servants is vast.
For instance, the Ruler has the power to issue compulsory Command Seals to every participating Servant. This alone is enough to deter most Servants. The Ruler can bypass the Master and directly command any Servant to self-destruct. If the Master catches on, they have no choice but to use one of their own Command Seals to cancel the order, or else risk losing their Servant and exiting the war entirely.
However, since each Master only has three Command Seals, losing even one unnecessarily is a significant blow to their chances of victory.
Even this assumes that the Master is quick enough to react and that their Servant is powerful enough to resist for some time. Not all Servants possess the high levels of Magic Resistance that Artoria does, which allows her to withstand even precise Command Seal orders. Most Servants, like Cu Chulainn, could be instantly taken out by just one suicide command.
Thus, provoking the Ruler is a terrible strategy for Masters—it's simply not worth the risk. The only exception is someone like Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who harbors ulterior motives.
But Jeanne d'Arc is too stubborn, too rigid in her righteousness, even somewhat foolish. She's unwilling to resort to methods that, in her view, are dishonorable.
If a different, more resolute Heroic Spirit were in her position as Ruler, things might have gone very differently—starting with the case of Lancer Karna attacking the referee. Jeanne's handling of that situation was clearly flawed!
In any world, in any competitive event, no matter how much we despise referees who make biased calls, give unfair advantages, or favor local players, there's no denying one thing: their authority as referees must be upheld. Even if we curse them during the match, even if they face public condemnation after the game, the referee's role is sacred. That's an ironclad rule.
The Holy Grail War can be seen as a competition, with the Ruler acting as the referee. Any challenge to the referee's authority must be met with swift and severe punishment—severe enough that even expulsion from the competition wouldn't be surprising.
When someone disrespects the referee, spits in their face (metaphorically speaking), and the referee does nothing, their authority crumbles. Who would listen to a referee who allows such treatment? It would open the floodgates for everyone to trample over them.
This kind of precedent cannot be set!
From Selene's perspective, if she were the Ruler, such offenses wouldn't be tolerated. Who dares to provoke me?! I'll make sure you pay!
One Command Seal to force a suicide would've taught Karna a lesson.
Even if his Master reacted in time and used one of their own Command Seals to cancel the order, the struggle between the conflicting forces would render Karna temporarily powerless. In that moment of weakness, even Jeanne—let alone a powerful Heroic Spirit like Selene—could have seriously injured or crippled him.
Jeanne's reluctance to use such methods has completely eroded her authority as a neutral Ruler. No one on the Red side takes her seriously anymore, and trouble keeps coming her way.
Watching Jeanne swing her Fleur de Lis battle flag and send Assassin Jack flying, Selene thought to herself, "She's so stubbornly righteous, almost adorably so… perhaps even a bit naïve and foolish. She's certainly living up to the title of Saint."
Selene had a degree of respect for Jeanne but did not agree with her approach, nor did she wish to be like her.
"I may not agree with your methods, but you have the right to choose them," Selene thought. "Your near-selfless kindness is your choice, and I won't belittle it. But be ready to swallow the bitter fruits of your decisions."
"For me, however, kindness is conditional—it comes with a price that must be repaid."
As Selene drew back the curtain, her eyes narrowed. "Jeanne refuses to use her Ruler's authority to issue compulsory Command Seals… transferring the Command Seal is going to be a bit tricky."
Tsk, if only she had access to spatial sealing.
Unfortunately, Selene had been summoned as a Rider, and spatial sealing clearly fell under the domain of a Caster.
"I'll have to cut this off at the source… Reika Rikudou, you must be nearby… But sensing her is such a hassle—she's just a normal person with no magical power."
...
Reika Rikudou, the Master of Assassin Jack the Ripper, was not originally from the world of magic—she was a novice, a latecomer to the field.
She had no idea that Assassin's signature skill, Presence Concealment, was essentially useless against the Ruler, who possessed special privileges over all Servants.
In front of Jeanne, who had activated several of her Ruler privileges, Jack's small figure couldn't hide.
To the left!
Clang!
Directly ahead!
Clang!
Behind!
Clang!
...
The sound of Jack's short blades clashing with Jeanne's flagpole filled the misty air, sparks flying from each clash.
Under Jeanne's precise pressure, Jack's attacks became weaker and weaker.
"Why?! Why can you find us so easily?!" the silver-haired girl shouted, her face full of disbelief.
No matter which direction she attacked from, the Servant in front of her seemed to anticipate every move, as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
"Because I am the Ruler."
Jeanne replied flatly, her face expressionless. As she spoke, she put more force into her hands, knocking Jack's two short knives aside before spinning around and delivering a sidekick.
With a loud bang, the small girl's body was sent flying again, crashing into the wall of a nearby building, tiles shattering on impact.
"Ugh!"
Sliding down the wall and coughing up blood, Assassin Jack the Ripper felt as if all her bones were about to break. She barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid Jeanne's next strike, which would've finished her off.
She quickly leapt backward several times, putting distance between herself and Jeanne, finally stopping on the roof of a nearby house. Jack could feel her magical energy dwindling—she needed to replenish it fast!
Throwing off her cloak, she pulled out two spare hearts she had stored, both still fresh from her recent victims. She began chewing on them rapidly. Before long, the cuts and bruises on her body started healing at a visible rate.
Seeing this, Jeanne's expression darkened. Even with all her experience on brutal battlefields, she had never seen anyone eat human hearts like that.
Judging by how fresh these hearts were, Jack must have taken them from people she killed only a short while ago!
"Black Assassin Jack the Ripper… you've gone too far!"
"It doesn't matter!"
The silver-haired girl, her mouth smeared with blood, raised her head and looked coldly at Jeanne with her glowing green, cat-like eyes. In a chillingly crisp voice, she said, "We will do anything—anything—to win the Holy Grail and be with Mommy!"
'Little Jack, you're hurt. Shouldn't we retreat for now...?' her 'Mommy,' Reika Rikudou, sent the suggestion through their Master-Servant contract.
Nodding in agreement, Jack prepared to retreat.
Suddenly, Jeanne's voice rang out, "Mommy? Who is that? Is she your new Master after you betrayed your previous one? Is she the one who urged you to kill innocent civilians? If that's the case, she will face punishment. Black Assassin…"
"Don't you dare talk about Mommy like that!"
The silver-haired girl snapped. Halting her retreat, she reversed her grip on her two knives, her small body now radiating a surge of magical energy. "From this moment, you shall enter hell—!"
"She's about to activate her Noble Phantasm!" Jeanne's face turned serious upon hearing Jack's chant.
Jack didn't possess any Noble Phantasms that concealed her true identity, so Jeanne had all the necessary details on her parameters, class, skills, and Noble Phantasms.
"Jeanne, use this opportunity to force her Master to use a Command Seal to recall her," Selene instructed.
"Understood." Knowing that Selene was searching for Jack's new Master, Jeanne responded in a low voice.
Black Assassin Jack the Ripper's Noble Phantasm, Maria the Ripper, ranged from D to B in rank. It dealt curse-type damage to opponents who met certain conditions.
Its power increased depending on three conditions: nighttime, the target being a woman, and the presence of fog. With all three conditions met, its destructive potential was significantly enhanced.
In this scenario, Jeanne unfortunately met all the conditions. Though she had faith in her high-level Magic Resistance, she knew it was best to remain cautious.
"We are fire, we are rain."
"Our strength…"
Suddenly, a torrent of red-black magical energy erupted from Jack's small body, resembling the black smog of 19th-century London. Her eyes and twin daggers glowed with an eerie red light within the mist.
"Maria the Ripper!!!"
Moving like a ghost without weight, Assassin Jack the Ripper shot through the fog, her form now a blur of dark light.
Clang—!
With a face devoid of expression, and even a hint of pity, Jeanne suddenly slashed upwards, sending Jack flying once more.
Jack flipped through the air, regaining her balance as she landed, but there was now a flicker of panic on her young, fragile face.
"Why? Why is it happening again?! Our attack… how can you be completely unharmed?!"
"No, you did hurt me. Though your blades didn't physically touch me, your curse-based attack definitely took effect. It's just that my resistance to curses is quite high."
Wiping away the small trickle of blood from her mouth, Jeanne advanced on the visibly weakening Jack. "You're out of magical energy now, aren't you, Black Assassin?"
At this point, the small figure of Jack, her body bathed in Jeanne's radiant golden light, seemed to tremble. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
"Are you going to kill us?" Jack asked, her voice filled with fear.
"There's no other choice... wait, what—?!"
Whizz—!
Suddenly, Jeanne's Revelation skill warned her of incoming danger. In the next instant, several arrows came whistling through the fog, hurtling toward her.
"Red Archer Atalanta!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jeanne quickly deflected the arrows, but just as she finished, two more came flying at her, their speed several times faster than the previous ones, crackling with blue-green magical energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With a sharp whine, the two arrows tore through the air.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions ripped through the street, sending Jeanne flying backward.
"Red Archer, explain yourself."
Glaring at the green-clad figure who now stood protectively in front of Jack the Ripper, Jeanne finally began to realize that, yes, the Red faction really had a habit of attacking referees. Was her punishment too lenient?
"Ruler, aren't you supposed to be a saint? Why are you trying to kill a little girl? You're nothing but a hypocrite!" Atalanta snarled, her bow drawn taut.
Atalanta had defied her allies and Master's orders to come here. She simply couldn't sit by and watch a child be killed. She had to intervene, even if it cost her life!
"Red Archer, step aside. She's become a dangerous wraith that threatens the lives of innocent people. She must be purified, for their sake, and for her own."
"A wraith..." Atalanta couldn't argue against that. She could feel the overwhelming stench of blood and malice emanating from the silver-haired girl.
This was something the familiars hadn't shown her from the floating garden's vantage point. Seeing Jack up close, Atalanta now understood that this girl truly had become a wraith.
"But... Ruler, aren't you a saint? Can't you save her...?"
"No. I can't," Jeanne replied firmly, shaking her head.
While the two debated, a transfer magic circle appeared beneath Jack, who was too weak to move.
"A Command Seal transfer?" Jeanne muttered as she noticed the glowing circle.
However, just as Jack was about to be teleported away, a loud explosion echoed in the distance.
The transfer magic suddenly halted, and both Jeanne and Atalanta felt the ground tremble slightly beneath their feet.
In the distance, a two-story building had been completely demolished, smoke and dust rising into the night sky.
"That's…"
"That's where Mommy was!"
Though the Command Seal's transfer had been interrupted due to the severed connection with her Master, the Command Seal had already been used. Without a proper target, its energy flowed back into Jack, temporarily boosting her.
Jack quickly rose to her feet and leaped onto the roof, staring in horror at the scene. Her expression turned chilling, her emerald eyes brimming with malice.
"Our connection with Mommy... it's broken. Mommy..."
"She's not dead… yet."
Reika Rikudou.jpg
Boom!
Half of the small square caved in as a silver-white figure landed heavily, sending shockwaves through the ground.
An overwhelming force surged into the earth, creating a web of cracks that spread outward, and the air pressure from the impact sent trees and streetlights crashing to the ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The ground crumbled into a five-meter-wide crater beneath the impact.
"A bit of a hassle, but if it weren't for the magic surge from the Command Seal, I wouldn't have been able to find that normal human so quickly."
"Mommy—!"