Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 58: Battle at La Charité

With Sieg and Jeanne

It only took a few moments before Fafnir came into view in all its magnificent and terrifying glory. The dragon honed in on me as if by instinct and let out a roar.

“Get ready, Jeanne,” I called out. She nodded, and we landed in an open clearing away from everyone else’s battles.

Probably sensing danger from the combination of my blade, my nature as a Dragonslayer, and my blood as a Campione, Fafnir didn’t waste a second. It began absorbing a massive amount of mana from the atmosphere, preparing a breath attack.

“Damn it. He’s going for a breath attack. Jeanne, please ready your Noble Phantasm in case mine isn’t able to fully block it,” I instructed, then began preparing to unleash my own as Balmung started glowing with magical power.

“Leave it to me!” Jeanne answered seriously. She slammed her battle standard into the ground in front of her, and it began to glow.

“The evil dragon shall fall,” I started reciting, Balmung releasing even more magical energy into the air.

“And the world will reach its sunset.”

“I will bring you down—”

Just as Fafnir opened its maw and released literal death upon us, I swung my sword down and met the attack head-on.

“Balmung!”

The two attacks collided in the middle with a violent explosion and fought for supremacy. Slowly, Balmung began overpowering the dragon’s breath, thanks to its nature.

‘Tsk. And here I was hoping for a quick battle before we went back to help the others,’ I thought, clicking my tongue in annoyance. I hadn’t expected Fafnir to attack at full power right from the start.

As they say, though, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

I could only have faith that the others’ battles were going better than my own.

=====

Scáthach vs Berserk Lancer

The sounds of battle rang out as Scáthach and Vlad III clashed again and again. She held the upper hand, wounds beginning to appear across his body from her pair of Gáe Bolg.

“Hehehe. You’re quite strong, woman. Who are you?” Vlad asked in a rare moment of sanity as they paused.

“My name is Scáthach. I have gone by many titles over the ages, but the one I am most proud of is one I gained recently. The lover and future wife of my most beloved pupil, Sieg,” she declared, pride leaking into her voice.

“Hehehe. The Witch of Dun Scáith, huh? A worthy opponent. Face me, Queen of Shadows, for you stand before Vlad III, King of Romania!” Vlad yelled as his reason began to slip away, and they resumed their battle.

As the fight continued, Scáthach slowly overwhelmed him. Vlad’s sanity faded further with every passing moment.

“Tsk. I will drain you dry, woman, before I kill that Master of yours!” he roared in a maddened tone. His features darkened, and his eyes turned red as he completely lost all reason.

“Then it looks like I should wrap this up,” Scáthach answered calmly, though a sudden cold look entered her eyes at the threat to her lover.

“Let me give you a worthy death, King of Romania, before you fully succumb to the beast inside.”

She released a monstrous amount of mana as she prepared her Noble Phantasm.

“Stab and penetrate!”

“Thrust and impale!”

“Gáe Bolg Alternative!”

Using both spears, Scáthach vanished, then impaled the vampire through the chest and sent him into the air, immobilizing him in place. She focused a massive amount of mana into her second spear and threw it with all her might.

She wasn’t finished. Gathering mana once more—just in case he was still alive, and unwilling to disappoint her lover if Vlad fully succumbed to his nature—she continued.

“I will show you the true Land of Shadows.”

“Open the curtains to the strange land.”

“Even your soul is mine!”

“Gate of Skye!”

Behind her, a massive gate appeared and opened, sucking all life within a certain range into it. With a blank expression, Scáthach watched as a wounded but somehow still living Vlad III was pulled into her realm before the gates closed.

Only then did she allow herself to relax a little. She let out a small sigh.

“I hope we get to face each other again in the future and have a true battle, King of Romania,” she muttered to the air, then disappeared to see if she was needed elsewhere.

=====

Artoria vs Jeanne Alter

“Grrr—why won’t you die already!? And stop wearing my face!” Jalter screamed at the top of her lungs as she sent another wave of flames at Artoria, who shared a strikingly similar resemblance to herself.

Dodging the flames with the help of Mana Burst, Artoria held her sword ready—still hidden by Invisible Air—and frowned at her opponent.

“I apologize, but that is something I cannot do. As a knight, and as a Servant of Sieg, I cannot allow you to continue these actions,” Artoria declared in a righteous tone. A moment later, though, her eye twitched, and her calm, composed expression cracked.

“And for your information, this is the face I was born with. As the older one between us, you are the one wearing my face,” she added, a little childishly, with a small glare.

“Shut up! Don’t bring up his name!” Jalter screamed hysterically. Her face suddenly turned red as she launched a massive wave of flames at Artoria.

Dodging once more, Artoria blinked at the sudden change in her opponent’s expression at the mere mention of Sieg’s name, and she couldn’t help asking.

“What has Sieg done to make you react that way at the mere mention of his name? As far as I know, today should be your first time meeting him.” Her tone was faintly curious.

“And why did you call him a pervert?” she added, a small flush rising to her own cheeks as she remembered the previous evening, when she had been forced to listen as Sieg copulated with Caster and with her current opponent’s original self.

“I said shut up! Didn’t I just tell you not to mention his name in front of me!?” Jalter screamed, looking even angrier than before, her blush reaching all the way to her ears.

“And of course he’s a pervert! H-He d-did all those things! I bet you’re in on it too, aren’t you!?” Her anger climbed even higher, now directed entirely at Artoria, who only found herself more confused.

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Artoria shook her head, then adopted a serious expression once more.

“Forget I asked. I will simply have to defeat you to stop this madness.”

With that, she went on the offensive.

=====

Astolfo, Fran, and Cleopatra vs Carmilla, Berserk Assassin

“You bastards! Have you no honor as Servants!?” Carmilla’s frantic voice rang out as she barely dodged another attack from Fran—only to be forced to summon her Iron Maiden in front of her as Cleopatra’s snake crashed into it a moment later, launching her backward.

“Honor? Those are some pretty amusing words coming from someone who dared to mention draining our dear Master dry a second ago,” Cleopatra purred with sadistic delight. She stood back at a safe distance, commanding her beast.

“Just accept defeat, evildoer! I’m feeling pretty confident today~” Astolfo declared happily, riding his Phantasmal Beast, Hippogriff, and holding his lance, Trap of Argalia, in his free hand.

“Defeat. Master ordered,” Fran said simply. Her giant mace began emitting extreme amounts of electricity. Now that she no longer had to worry about wasting power thanks to her beloved Master, she wasn’t afraid to use her Galvanism to its fullest extent.

“Tsk. Such words shouldn’t come out of the mouths of such young girls. It will ruin the taste of your blood!” Carmilla declared as Mad Enhancement began overwriting her senses.

“Fufufu. You have great taste indeed for choosing us as your targets, but I’m afraid I must inform you that I’m not such an easy woman,” Cleopatra sassed with a smirk as her cobra was suddenly engulfed in flames.

“My heart only belongs to Master. Sorry~” Astolfo added, sticking out his tongue.

“I was not referring to you!” Carmilla shouted back in anger at the playful Rider.

With nothing more to say, their battle continued. Carmilla quickly began losing ground against the onslaught of three Servants.

=====

Artoria Alter vs Chevalier d’Eon, Berserk—Saber

Artoria—or Alter, as Sieg had started calling her—found herself facing the enemy Saber and having some difficulty putting them down.

Chevalier d’Éon, as she had come to learn, was a tricky opponent. They were also rather fast, and they refused to take her head-on, probably knowing they were no match for her in pure swordsmanship. Instead, they had resorted to hit-and-run tactics.

“I know I cannot best you, so the least I can do is keep you occupied here. As a knight, I apologize, and I urge you to please defeat me as quickly as possible,” d’Éon said. Surprisingly, they still held onto their common sense despite Madness Enhancement, but it was clear they were under orders and could not disobey.

“Silence. I was already planning to do that from the beginning. I was given a task by my Master, and even though I may have fallen from the ideals I once held as a knight, I refuse to disobey him,” Alter declared seriously. She poured a massive amount of mana into Excalibur Morgan, ready to fully unleash it and end the battle.

“…You say that you are no longer a knight, but from where I stand, you have managed to keep the most important part.” d’Éon offered a small smile, then brought their rapier into a ready stance. “Loyalty to the person you have sworn yourself to.”

“Now let us bring an end to this.”

They prepared to unleash their Noble Phantasm as well—Fleur de Lis.

“Prepare yourself!” Alter declared, raising Excalibur into the air as d’Éon began to dance, lily petals scattering around them.

=====

Tamamo vs Saint Martha, Berserk—Rider

“Fufufu. You’re pretty strong for a saint,” Tamamo complimented her opponent in a teasing tone, her five tails holding back the massive form of the dragon Tarasque that Martha had manifested.

Tamamo was still feeling as if she were on cloud nine after finally becoming one with her beloved. She had only been a little surprised when her fifth tail suddenly manifested, but she quickly got over it.

Unlike in the past, when such a thing would have filled her with nothing but dread and fear that she was rapidly returning to her true divine self as the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, Tamamo now knew there was nothing to fear.

Unlike her naïve past self, who had had no one and had been living a lie, her beloved husband had known everything there was to know about her from the moment they met. Despite all the dangers involved, he had still chosen to accept her for who she was.

The Tamamo of the present was living a life she could never even have dreamed of before, and she would not let anything or anyone ruin the happiness she had found. She was even fully willing to embrace her full power if it meant she could protect her beloved, even if he ended up hating her for it.

Though that would never happen, of course. She had the most wonderful husband in the universe—and in all of reality.

Just picturing what the future had in store for them—the image of a pair of twins with fox features happily running around in a garden that resembled the one back home, their faces a mixture of Sieg’s and her own—filled Tamamo with such delirious happiness and longing that she wanted that future to arrive even faster.

Her daydreaming was suddenly and rudely interrupted by the saint in front of her, who wore a serene expression.

“To think I would ever see the day when an enemy of humanity would happily call another Master and willingly submit to them. The world is truly full of ceaseless wonders,” Martha said calmly, a small smile on her beautiful face.

“Hmph. Of course I would submit to him~” Tamamo pouted and threw the saint a small, cute glare as she crossed her arms. “As his beautiful wife and the mother of his children—”

She couldn’t help squealing at the mere mention, letting out a few happy giggles before she got herself together again and demurely coughed into her hand.

“Ahem. As I was saying~ It’s only natural, of course. Just as the sky is blue and the grass is green, this Tamamo will forever follow her beloved on whatever path he takes, no matter where it leads,” she declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

“Then I am glad that such people appeared here to stop this madness. Allow us to finish our battle. Even if I know I cannot defeat you, I cannot go against my Master. I ask that you please defeat me as soon as possible. I have already caused enough suffering to the people here.” Martha pleaded as she drew her golden cross-staff, which began glowing with golden light.

“Hmph. You’re just like that perverted Saintess. Always so righteous.” Tamamo huffed cutely, but she did as requested. Her mana skyrocketed, warping the air around her.

“Luckily for you, though, my beloved is counting on me to defeat you, and I would rather die than let him down.”

Her playful aura vanished, replaced by something blank and cold. Behind her, her tails tore Tarasque to shreds in seconds, freeing themselves and waving ominously.

With an explosion of movement, the battle restarted—and ended in an instant. Tamamo mercilessly tore Martha apart, leaving nothing behind as her remains were consumed by the flames of her curses.

The next moment, her usual bubbly personality surfaced again. She fanned herself with a giggle and started skipping in her beloved’s direction.

“Fufufu. I wonder if I can ask Sieg-kun for a reward for doing such a good job~?”

=====

Sieg and Jeanne vs Fafnir

“Balmung!”

I released the full power of my Noble Phantasm at point-blank range against Fafnir after Jeanne had temporarily immobilized him. I watched silently as the attack split the dragon in two. A moment later, I was bathed in its blood, completing my promise and recreating Siegfried’s legend.

As the blood seeped into me, I felt my skin harden and even begin to shift toward a more tanned tone instead of my usual fair one—before it immediately returned to normal.

‘So that’s how Siegfried got his skin tone,’ I wondered silently. Apparently my Company defenses had detected the slight change in me, and sensing my unconscious dislike for it, they had blocked the process.

They hadn’t blocked the benefits, though. I had now become much harder to kill, having gained the Armor of Fafnir even in my regular form. It paired well with the defenses I already had as a Campione.

Seeing that Fafnir’s body was not disappearing, an idea struck me. I summoned my Primal Shroud and had it envelop the corpse. Deep Weave did its work, adding any additional traits and abilities Fafnir possessed and granting me a copy of them.

“Sieg, what are you doing!? Stop! That could be dangerous! Don’t you remember that you ended up transforming into a dragon last time!?” Jeanne’s worried voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to find her watching me with a clearly anxious expression.

Blinking at her words, I wondered if she had already forgotten that I was a dragon. And even if I weren’t, with the Company’s defenses, I was fairly sure nothing bad would happen.

“Relax, Jeanne. I was already a dragon anyway,” I replied with a reassuring smile, only to blink again as her eyes widened in surprise.

“Eh!?” she muttered in confusion, blinking herself before her eyes widened in realization. “R-Right. I almost forgot.” A cute, embarrassed blush colored her cheeks.

Smiling at how adorable she looked, I patted her shoulder. “It’s fine. Now let’s see if any of the others need help.”

Jeanne’s expression turned serious again as she nodded. “Right. We still have to take down that other me.”

I nodded, and a moment later we took to the sky. Silently, I hoped everything would be resolved soon.