The Fallen And The Planet

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Malzeno was cloaked in red and black miasma. The Qurio he summoned flickered in the air like dazzling red stars. He was preparing his Noble Phantasm. He promised he would free Martha from her shackles and intends to carry out that promise!

"If you're going to use your Noble Phantasm, it's only right I do the same!" 

"Child of Leviathan, now a guardian of the people.

Become a meteor…"

Popping up from beneath the ground behind Martha, a turtle-shelled dragon appeared. Its bellowing roar shook the land and ceased the flames surrounding Malzeno and Martha. 

"TARASQUE!"

Martha expertly flipped behind the large Dragon that curled its body into a ball, slapping it with her cross staff with tremendous force.

"Fallen from nobility, I now walk the line of redemptive despair!" Malzeno chanted. 

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"Scarlet Rain!"

In front of Malzeno was a large cluster of black and red energy. The Qurio from above all faded into pink particles that fell into the cluster, enlarging it before a devastating beam shot at the incoming meteor of a dragon. The two powerful Noble Phantasms slammed against each other, with the barreling Tarasque making headway through Malzeno's attack. 

The two attacks were in a stalemate. The sounds reverberated a painful echo as no headway was being achieved now. For the first time since coming here, Malzeno found himself struggling. Whether it was because of his overconfidence or simply because a Dragon shooting at him with the force and speed of a comet wasn't something he encountered every day.

He made sure to stay away from Valstrax.

"Malzeno, I'm here!" 

Malzeno blinked, taking his eyes off the struggle to look to his right. He saw the shining silver gauntlet of Jeanne's arm. His eyes widened to pinpricks. The utter stupidity of this girl knew no bounds!

"What're you doing here? You idiot," Malzeno shouted through the harsh sounds of his attack.

"To help! I can't let you fight every battle!" 

Jeanne lifted her flag high, and a blinding light exuded from it. Pure and untainted, it released motes of light over Malzeno, shocking him as he began to feel the boost from whatever Jeanne did.

"You're truly a princess! Fine, as your knight, I will win!" 

"E-enough with that!"

Without saying another word, Malzeno's attack was suddenly mixed with a bright blonde aura. His eyes sparkled as he knew it was from Jeanne. However, he didn't see the sparks of purple flames within it.

After a few seconds, Malzeno's attack exploded, sending ruptures through the ground and the winds howling like a symphony of wolves. 

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As dust clouds rose, Malzeno felt himself out of breath. Next to him, Jeanne stood like a protector, her flag the only light source within the thick dust.

"Thanks, Princess," Malzeno felt his arms pulsate with pain, most likely from straining his Noble Phantasm. 

Jeanne wanted to slap him for the persistence of being called Princess, but she just refused. It was quite touching, and there was no real harm in it. As long as she doesn't view herself as a Princess, it wouldn't hurt.

"Amazing, truly amazing," Martha's words cracked through the air like shattering glass. Martha had blood coming out of her mouth and blood staining her clothes. Tarasque was completely killed off.

"You two are something else. Although I was close to winning, in the end, it seems total cooperation wins this time."

Malzeno stood up, with the help of Jeanne, and looked at Martha with solemn gazes. 

"Martha…."

"I wanted to test you all, and my hopes were answered. Yes, as long as you two are together, it seems you're an invincible force." 

Malzeno scratched his nose. "I want to thank you for the fight. Sorry, it had to be cut short like this. I'm sure we'll fight again in the future." 

"You're serious about protecting her. You were a Dragon, correct? Saying such things to a girl in front of another is rude."

"Wait…"

"There's a Dragon Slayer in the town of Lyon. I managed to hide him there. He will aid you when it's time to fight that evil Dragon the other Saint summoned." 

Malzeno summoned his Impaler. "Thank you for your help, Saint Martha. I will…heed your words carefully next time." 

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A few minutes later

"Master, are you well?" 

Ritsuka felt drained, most likely from signing a contract with Jeanne so abruptly. Her face was pale, with her eyes sunken.

"I will manage!" 

"Not likely," Malzeno spoke in a firm manner, hinting at the pale complexion on Ritsuka's face. 

"Yes, Master should rest to recover her strength…but..."

Jeanne was hinting at the hardheaded knights, the ones who wanted her dead. It was truthfully hurtful, but she must remain stalwart in peril. The words she spoke before remained true, and she was ready to die again. If becoming corrupt was a way to satiate the hatred of her compatriots, then so be it.

Malzeno, however, wasn't in such a bright mood as he had displayed up until now. He was at his end with these Humans. It didn't help that they somewhat made a line to stop them from continuing, and Mash even went to guard Ritsuka.

Malzeno walked up, summoning his Impaler. The last few words Saint Martha said to him were freshly on his mind like a headache. He was surprised to see that the humans didn't budge. 

"What're you all doing? Step aside!" Gilles admonished, his tone conveying his disappointment and surprise at the Knights he led here. 

"No! We want her dead!" A knight pointed at Jeanne. "One good deed doesn't-"

However, half of his face was blown apart before he could speak. No one but the Servants registered this. Blood sprayed into the air like a faulty faucet before an echo of screams from the Knights occurred a few seconds after one of them fell.

"I warned you before," Malzeno began. "Any harm that comes to Jeanne D'Arc has to come through me first. I showed you my power, yet you're all in the way. Do you think I don't have the strength to kill you all?" 

"Malzeno, don't! They're just…"

"You can't even find the words to defend these people," Malzeno spat venomously. 

"It's all the same-"

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"No matter how much you try to protect someone or something, you can't get that reciprocated."

Inside the Cathedral in Orleans, Jalter spoke to herself as she looked up at the large sculpture of God. Her mind raced with thoughts about her other half, which she supposedly discarded to the riverside, never to be found again.

She's been getting dreams (read: nightmares) about her other half, seeing what she is currently doing as if she was there. It was frustrating, but a part of it was riveting. 

Night had fallen through, seeping through the sky like an eraser over written words. She saw parts of the fight between Saint Martha and Malzeno, and a part of her was worried. There was a Dragon who could counter her. And by the looks of it, an extremely powerful Dragon. 

He was a foreigner to this world entirely. His name wasn't in history, so why was he interfering with her plan? She could see bits of his life as a Dragon, an Elder Dragon, she corrected herself. However, the Dragon she saw wasn't the one she had the luxury of meeting.

No, the one she saw was godlike, a being of unattainable grace and elegance. If she was a believer, she would immediately fall to her knees and pray to him, but she wasn't, not anymore! 

He was like her, fallen from grace but under different conditions. He attained a power he once fought off to protect the humans of his world while she protected her country with every fiber of her being. 

She missed….she missed…

What did she miss? No, this was wrong!

She couldn't remember anything from her past! Why was this happening?

"GILLES!" Jalter shouted helplessly, with a current of anger.

"Yes, Dear Jeanne?" 

"I can't remember anything from before I joined the army!"

Gilles closed his eyes, and his hunched-looking posture straightened. "Worry not, Jeanne. I have the answer to this dilemma!"

Jalter nodded thankfully, "Dependable as always."

Gilles smiled, his expression hard to read. "It's the faker. Due to her being summoned, it splintered your memories into fragments. If we kill her, then you will be able to see your past!"

Jalter found nothing wrong with this assumption; her yellow eyes shone under the luminescent glow of the moon, and her skin flawlessly flickered. 

"Yes. However, that damn Ruler. He was the one who replaced you, not the little rodent."

"Worry not! I, Gilles De Rais, will handle the lizard problem. All you have to do is corner the faker, and I'll handle the rest!"

Jalter hummed. "This will work?"

"Of course, of course! I will see to it that your fragmented memories return!"

"Ha…how can I doubt you, Gilles? Thank you."

Jalter left, leaving the infamous Bluebeard behind. His grotesque appearance colored the light black as if tainting the moon.

"It seems I will have to sacrifice her once more to create another more malleable Jeanne. Forgive me!" 

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Malzeno sat by the lakeside, looking up at the pale moon with starry eyes. He was always fascinated with the moon back in his world. He wondered if this was why Lunagaron was always howling at it to see if it would respond. 

"You can't respond because you don't have a voice," Malzeno said despondently. 

To say Malzeno didn't miss the times back home would be the slight truth. He was enjoying his time here, although he was immediately thrust into another battle to determine the world's fate. 

It reminded him of the Archdemon, Giasmagorm. A being of immense power that is said to have the capability to destroy a country if left unchecked. Malzeno's kind was always traveling, destroying the Qurio in the process. 

The Qurio were parasites to those who refused the bonding. Malzeno was at his weakest when Giasmagorm sent a horde after him. He struggled for a long time, eventually overcoming the affliction.

This phenomenon was known as "Risen." Elder Dragons are the only ones recorded to survive successfully, getting a state called the "Risen State." Which is what Malzeno's [Bloodening State] is. 

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Suddenly, Malzeno felt his entire body glitch, just like when he was summoned here. His surroundings were pitch black, but several dots were in the distance.

"Ah! Finally, you've arrived here."

Malzeno looked at the ground, noticing he was on a crater, a very large one at that. His crimson eyes met a similar shade, but it was hiding mischief but also a bit of longing. 

"Welcome! Foreigner from Another World!"

A bundle of blonde hair, free-falling like a bottomless waterfall, and a shade of captivating red eyes immediately captured Malzeno's attention. With a white dress accented by cerulean blue linings, Malzeno gulped. 

"You…that presence," Malzeno couldn't find the words to describe the immensely powerful being before him. 

"I am Archetype Earth…or Gaia for simplicity. I was the voice you heard back in your world. Who knew your world was running smoothly before a slight gap allowed me to see it."

"That makes sense," Malzeno didn't feel like going over how that didn't make sense, so he lied.

"You're lying, aren't you?" 

"Me?" Malzeno looked away with a whistle. The body he used as a vessel seemed to egg him on to do this gesture. "Nope!"

"You!" Gaia pinched Malzeno's cheeks, but he didn't seem bothered. He could feel the power coming off her, making him subservient to her.

"Anyway, Gaia. There must be a reason why you called me here, yes?"

Gaia removed her fingers with a huff; she wouldn't admit it, but she feared the being in front of her. The other Dragons from his world ignored her voice, and one of them even flipped her off! What was his name…Fatalis? Yeah, that one! 

"Yes, you see, our worlds are different, extremely different. In fact, I'm envious of how well it's structured. For all my powers, I am a bit of an idiot."

"Usually, the most powerful is, My Lady."

"Hmm, I can see why you answered my call," Gaia spoke with a foreign seriousness, her crimson eyes glowing. 

"It's only right to respect those who could kill you, yes? Hm, no. It's more like I feel compelled to call you by such a title. It's as if the body knows you."

Gaia smiled. It was as serene as a clear lake. "Yes, that would be thanks to my other half. We're fickle…women."

Malzeno felt a shiver but ignored it. "What is it you wish for me to do?"

"Unfortunately, thanks to the gap in our worlds, the one called Gilles De Rais, the nasty one, managed to…."

"….?"

"He's summoned the Archdemon from your world."

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AN: 1 Out Of 3 Chapters for this week. This was longer than I thought, with 2k words. I know Archetype-Earth is Arcuied with her long hair being returned from Altrouge, but I want to humanize Gaia and Alaya a bit. 

Let me know your thoughts!