Crossover Anime: Picking up Medea at the Start

Page 205

However, Joan of Arc was still there watching, so Roland didn't explain anything. He simply walked slowly to the reception area where Joan of Arc was, and with Roland's keen senses, he could clearly feel Joan of Arc tense up.

Eh!

Roland sighed inwardly, then sat down opposite Joan of Arc.

"I'm sorry to have brought you here in this way, but if it weren't for this, no matter how polite my people were, you should be in Romania by now, not here with me."

As Roland spoke, he waved his finger, and the magical costume binding Jeanne d'Arc was thus untied and retrieved by Roland.

Joan of Arc stretched her wrists, then frowned slightly and looked at Roland.

In that instant, Joan of Arc felt a blur before her eyes.

She was already used to this situation.

Because this is one of her abilities, a revelation skill called Apocalypse.

She would occasionally see things that would happen in the future, and then she would make choices based on these revelations.

But this time she clearly failed.

Although she saw the revelation, it was very blurry, as if distorted by something, making it impossible for her to see anything clearly.

Then, by the time she came to her senses, the revelation was over!

This made Joan of Arc look at Roland with some surprise.

Because this apocalypse was clearly triggered after seeing Roland, but is this the kind of revelation that applies to the man in front of us?!

In an instant, all the resentment from being forcibly defeated and kidnapped by Artoria disappeared, leaving only concern for the revelation she had just received.

"It's very blurry, isn't it?"

Before Joan of Arc could even ask a question, Roland spoke first.

Um! ?

Joan of Arc was even more puzzled by Roland's words, while Roland continued speaking.

"Although I know that your apocalypse was triggered passively rather than actively, if it were someone with a worse temper, it probably wouldn't have been as simple as just blurring the image."

In fact, Joan of Arc's revelation had no effect on Roland.

Because Roland manifests independently, even if Roland doesn't blur the image, Joan of Arc will only see a future scene without Roland's interference.

However, such a revelation would involve Artoria and the other members of the divine group who came with him. In addition, Jeanne d'Arc may have also received a revelation about the original situation before their arrival. Therefore, after Roland used the power of the Herrscher of Consciousness to intercept the contents of the revelation and read it himself, he directly used Honkai energy to interfere with the scene that the other party saw.

"Ah...sorry."

When Joan of Arc heard Roland say that, she very honestly apologized.

Seeing Joan's reaction, Roland pushed a cup of black tea over, then picked up another cup for himself, took a small sip, and only continued speaking after seeing Joan pick up her cup.

"Don't be nervous. The reason I had you captured is completely different from what you're thinking right now—you have the Apocalypse's abilities, so you should have already seen some of what happened in the Holy Grail War where you were supposed to be the referee. That's why I came to you."

Upon hearing Roland's words, Joan of Arc relaxed her furrowed brow.

"I only saw a few images, but even those few images were enough for me to imagine some things... That kind of wish is truly amazing."

Joan of Arc thought of what she had seen about Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's wish. She searched for a long time for an adjective before finally choosing "astonishing".

Roland nodded in agreement.

"Saving all of humanity... Sigh, these kinds of people appear in this world from time to time. Some want to become partners of justice, some are stimulated by the dark side of reality and become extreme, and some, because their wishes are too difficult, start to pursue immortality and eventually their souls decay over a long period of time, and they unknowingly become great villains."

"Although I've seen similar things many times before, I'm still amazed every time I see them."

"Especially Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, who plans to use the Greater Grail to make a wish to accomplish this."

"If his wish could really be fulfilled, that would be fine. I don't have any particular opinion on the Third Law interfering with the surface world—but the problem is that it's impossible to do so."

Roland's answer was very affirmative.

Because he knew very well that Gaia and Alaya had been troubled by the fact that human reason was destined to lead to destruction before they met him, so if it were so simple to make a wish on the Greater Grail, then they wouldn't be in that situation.

Joan of Arc, however, had some doubts about Roland's affirmation.

"It's impossible... To be honest, although I think we should stop him, I'm still a bit hesitant about what to choose. After all, I've also thought that if his wish could really come true, wouldn't that be a good outcome...?"

Hearing Joan of Arc say this, Roland smiled.

"That's why I contacted you beforehand."

As he spoke, he activated the power of the Herald of Knowledge, and in Joan of Arc's eyes, the world underwent a dramatic transformation in an instant.

"If we let the other party's wishes continue, the Holy Grail will probably push the world toward such a future."

In the world constituted by the power of the Law of Knowledge, Roland and Joan of Arc reside high in the sky.

Then Joan of Arc could clearly see the humans on the ground, under the intervention of the Third Law, transforming from matter into souls, which were then pulled in one direction and ultimately merged together...

No one died—because the concept of being alive no longer existed.

No one will get sick—because even the body that carries the disease is gone.

There is no strife or oppression—because the concepts of wisdom and individuality have been eliminated.

It seemed as if all ideals had been realized and all problems had been solved, but looking at this future, Joan of Arc fell silent for a moment, and then her eyes became unusually firm.

At this moment, she triggered the apocalypse once again.

Roland extracted the contents of the apocalypse, but this time he didn't interfere with her, because what she saw was not much different from the scenes before her eyes—the future after Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's wish was fulfilled.

Roland also released the power of the Herald of Knowledge, restoring the conference room to its original state.

"His ambitions are too grand..."

"If he only wanted to prevent humans from getting sick or dying, then although the magic power accumulated by the Greater Grail would still not be enough to do something like that, the miracles brought about by the Third Law would be manifested in a more positive form within a certain range."

"But his aspirations were too grand and too burdensome, so this is the final result."

"The Greater Grail cannot contain his wishes."

"But as a fellow believer, and someone who also possesses divine revelation, you should understand that words cannot persuade him..."

At this point, Roland extended his hand to Joan of Arc.

“I have my own goals, but at least on this matter, I think we can reach a consensus—so Jeanne, let’s put the Holy Grail War aside for now and join forces with me to stop what’s happening right now, what do you think?”

Hearing Roland say this, Joan of Arc breathed a sigh of relief.

She is the adjudicator, the referee of the Holy Grail War. Logically, she should reject Roland and treat the Holy Grail War fairly, instead of targeting the Master of one side of the Holy Grail War.

but...

When Joan of Arc saw that vision of the future through the Apocalypse, she made up her mind.

So there's nothing I can do...

To use a word from the knowledge possessed by the owner of the body she possessed—she's going to blow the whistle against everyone this time!

Having made her decision, Joan of Arc gently grasped Roland's outstretched hand.

"Okay, let's join forces!"

....

161. Artoria: Is that all?

The strong always make the rules. The rules that the weak make are nothing but empty words and worthless paper to the strong who can overturn the table at any time.

This is not obvious in the surface world because there are no such powerful beings in the rules of the surface world, so at most it will be reflected in the strength of diplomacy.

But in the underworld, even if it's an unwritten rule, no one would completely deny it.

Even knights like Artoria and saints like Joan of Arc—they wouldn't.

Even if this differs from their beliefs, they would not deny the existence of something that truly exists.

Possible

Are you sure we can really do this?

After listening to Roland's plan, Joan of Arc's eyes widened in astonishment, even though she had experienced a lot.

Only at times like these does Joan of Arc appear more like a human being, and only at times like these can you realize that the Joan of Arc before you, with her unwavering will, decisive actions, and seemingly iron-willed strength, is actually a girl who received divine revelation at the age of thirteen and died at nineteen.

"of course can."

Roland sighed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged; he even continued to leisurely sip his tea.

“Joan of Arc, you have fought in battles before, so you should know very well that when our side is far stronger than the enemy, we must make full use of our strength, try to do more, guide the winds of war, and make the enemy fall into our rhythm.”

"While 'playing the fool to catch the wolves' has its merits, I wouldn't rule out implementing such a strategy if the need arose..."

As he said this, Roland slowly put down his teacup, then crossed his hands, supported his chin, closed his eyes, and shook his head slightly.

"...but ultimately, he lacked the boldness of a true powerhouse."

Upon hearing Roland's words, Joan of Arc agreed with what he said.

She also understood one thing: when fighting some people, even if their strength wasn't much greater than hers, they fought with such imposing spirit and overwhelming pressure that anyone would find them difficult to handle. That was the fighting style of a strong person.

There are also some people who are clearly much stronger than themselves, but they are timid and hesitant in doing things, and they only work on one thing at a time. So even though they are very strong, they have no sense of pressure or presence. Such people, even if they are really powerful, will only become a knife in other people's hands and will not be able to bring pressure to others on their own.

You can't definitively say which of these two attitudes is better without considering the specific circumstances.