See you again, people! In an unexpected twist, this story turned the tables on the poll I did for my next update, so as promised, here's the prologe. Honestly, while I'm writing this introductory author's note, I have no idea what title I'm going to give to this story, but well, I'll make something up.

On the other hand, for those of you who have not read any of my previous stories, you will surely wonder, who is King of Fakers? As the OC label marks, yes, he is an OC that I "created". Its history and background is explained in my first story, "King of Fakers: saving them all." And also, this story is more or less a continuation of my previous ones, "Fate/Stay night: King of Fakers' route" and "Similar ideals diferent methods", in the sense that the relationships established in those stories will be maintained. In short, King of Fakers is an alternative version of Emiya Shirou who lived during the first century. I will not do any more spoilers if anyone wants to read his story.

Without further ado, let this story begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate franchise.


In the middle of a bloody battlefield, there were two men facing each other.

On the right was a man, or rather, an older-looking being wearing a luxurious black suit. His eyes were red as blood, his pupils torn, and his hair was a gray mane. His expression was full of confidence, as if he had already won the fight that had not even started.

On the other side, opposing him, was a tall man with auburn hair with several white strands and golden eyes. His skin was slightly tanned, and he wore a black and silver sleeveless armor covered by a red cloak. His expression was a frown, but he did not hesitate in front of the being before him.

"No matter what trick you pull, you have no chance against me right now, human! Thanks to that fool magus, I have reached the peak of power!"

His speech was more like an inevitable death sentence. Such power was impossible for a human to face, no matter if he was a magus or not. You just had to look at the huge amount of bodies around to realize that.

The corpses of the members of a family specialized in hunting beings like him, slaughtered without even being able to graze him.

Still, the determination in the red knight's eyes did not waver. His grip on the hilt of the sword in his hands tightened as he prepared to swing it forward.

It was a European sword with a longer than average length, with a golden hilt and hardly any ornamentation. It was not a legendary sword, yet it gave off immense authority.

The battlefield was silent. Both opponents looked at each other in silence, separated by ten meters.

The being was simply having fun, giving his lower opponent the advantage of making the first move. The red knight knew this very well. The moment he attacked, he would die. Such was the current power of his opponent.

That's why he would have to gamble everything on that one attack. Killing such a powerful being in just one hit before he kills him.

" Exterminate the impure..."

Taking the initiative, the sword in his hands was wrapped in golden light, and he began to swing it forward.

"That sword!"

It was at that moment that the being realized what was the sword wielded by the red knight. It was a 'model', the foundation of a legend. A legend that was to begin right now.

He immediately lunged forward toward supersonic velocities. His hand with huge claws flew aiming at his opponent's head. It would hardly take him an instant to pulverize his head.

But, that instant produced by his overconfidence, was all the red knight needed.

" MERODACH!"

With the true name of the sword uttered, the light that burns all it touches was fired, completely enveloping the being and incinerating him to oblivion.


"Fou, Kyu!"

A pair of golden eyes opened to look at the strange but cute creature next to her in bed.

"Oh... It's you Fou..." The scruffy red-haired girl murmured as she began to lazily get up and crawl out of bed.

Slowly, she began to change from her pajamas to Chaldea's standard uniform. Mornings had never been her thing, unlike her brother, but today she had to try harder than usual.

Because today would be the beginning of the journey to repair the second singularity in the human order.

Still, her head was still a little dizzy. " I had a really weird dream... Is this something like what happened to Onii-chan before we went to the first singularity?"

Her reflections were interrupted when the automatic door to her room opened and two people came in.

"Oh, you're awake, Ai. And you were also here, Fou."

The first was a young boy a couple of years older than her, with blue eyes and short black hair. He wore a male version of the same uniform as her, and looked at her with a soft smile. He was Fujimaru Ritsuka, her older brother.

"Good morning, Ai-senpai. I hope you were able to have a good night's sleep."

His companion was a girl about the same age as her brother, with short lilac hair and lavender eyes. She wore glasses and wore grey hoodie over a black shirt over a white collar shirt, a red tie, a black skirt and tights and brown shoes.

She was Mash Kyrielight, the self-proclaimed kohai of the Fujimaru brothers, and after a series of events that occurred a few months ago, a Shielder class demi-servant with a contract with her older brother.

Fujimaru Ai finished tying her hair in a side ponytail to the left of her head and slapped herself on the cheeks to finish waking up.

"Yosh, I'm totaly ready."

"We still have twenty minutes before the meeting with Doctor Roman. Let's have some breakfast while."

"Fou Fou!"

And with that the three young teenagers who formed the last force of humanity to avoid their incineration, along with their peculiar pet, headed for the cafeteria.

Everything had happened very quickly in recent months for the Fujimaru siblings. They were normal people who lived in Japan alone as their parents often went out on business trips. One day they filled out a strange anonymous survey that they received, and a few hours later some people dressed in black suits who looked like they were from a certain sci-fi movie showed up at their home.

After giving them equally strange tests, they said something about both having a high compatibility as masters, and shortly afterwards they were traveling to a secret base on Antarctica to be replacement masters in case the main team failed in their mission.

After that came the betrayal of Lev Lainur, who placed a bomb in the control room. The explosion left all the masters except for both them in critical condition and left Chaldea isolated from the outside world.

The only one who could be saved from the team that was originally going to travel to a singularity in 2005 was Mash, and for that she had to form her contract with Ritsuka.

From there, the three traveled to singularity F to repair it with the help of a Caster servant they found and made a provisional contract with Ai.

The singularity was repaired, but Chaldea's acting director, Olga Animusphere, was murdered by Lev Lainur. He himself declared himself an enemy of humanity and disappeared.

Once they returned to Chaldea, the outside world had been completely incinerated, and the CHALDEAS system detected seven singularities in the human order.

A few months ago they managed to repair the first of them located in Orleans, at the time when Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake.

To this day, they continued to prepare themselves for the next singularities, summoning more servants willing to assist them in their task and strengthening bonds with them.

After filling their stomachs for the last time before the rayshift and saying goodbye to the servants who would not accompany them, the trio and Fou went to the command room.

The command room was a large place filled with computers and screens that are used by Chaldea personnel to monitor the Fujimaru siblings and their servants during the rayshift. And at the center of the place was the CHALDEAS system, which at first sight looked like a three-dimensional projection of the globe.

There they were waiting for Dr Roman, current acting director of Chaldea, and the third servant that the FATE system could summon, Leonardo da Vinci. The first was a middle-aged man with green eyes, fluffy hair and a green lab coat. The second, for some reason, had adopted the appearance of the woman appearing in one of his famous works of art, the Mona Lisa.

"Here we are, Doc!" Ai announced their presence as they entered the room.

"Ah, good morning to everyone. Though by that, I only mean three people." The doctor greeted them as soon as he saw them.

The drowsy genius at 'his' side greeted them as 'he' yawned. "Yawm! Oh, 'morning... With you here, we are all here now..."

From the other side of the room, three figures approached the last two masters of humanity.

The first was a short knight wearing silver armor over a blue dress. Her hair was golden blonde and tied in a bow, and her eyes were emerald.

"Servant Saber, Arturia Pendragon. It will be an honor to be your sword on your journey to restore Human Order."

The second servant was a girl who looked very much like Saber. Her hair was equally blond, but it was tied in a long braid, and her eyes were amethyst. She wore silver armor over a purple dress and wielded a banner.

"Servant Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc. It will be a pleasure to accompany the three of you again on your journey."

As for the third servant...

"ANCHIN-SAMA!"

After that scream, a blue blur crashed into Ritsuka and knocked him down. When the boy opened his eyes, he found a girl with pale skin, blue hair and horns on her head, hugging him tightly.

"Servant Berserker, Kiyohime. Your trusty wife will accompany you on your journey to protect you and prevent any harlot from approaching you."

They all rolled their eyes at that scene that had already happened several times before. Ritsuka chuckled awkwardly as he softly peeled away from her.

"Then I will be in your care, Kiyohime."

"Well, with everyone together we can get started." Roman called everyone's attention by raising his voice. "We're ready for the rayshift. This time you will leave for the Europe of the first century. Specifically ancient Rome, the great empire that grew from Italy to control all the Mediterranean Sea. Your teleportation point will be the capital of the Roman Empire, which is also called Rome and is geographically similar to your previous destination. The exact location of the supposedly existing Grail is unknown, and there may also be historical changes. Neither can be determined. I'm sorry, the accuracy of the observation is still unstable."

Roman breathed a long sigh after his lengthy explanation.

"Don't worry, Dr. Roman. We'll find it ourselves."

"Yeah, leave it to us, Doc!"

All those present smiled at the resolution of the Fujimaru siblings.

"True, that is the spirit. You really are trustworthy. Like the last mission, you will arrive and correct the singularity. Also, find the Grail and either retrieve it or destroy it. The continuation of Humanity is on your shoulders. I hope you will also succeed this time. And, most importantly... that you return safe and sound."

"Yes. We will return to Chaldea, I promise."

The other three servants nodded with Mash. None of them intended to let anyone harm their current masters.

Romani continued shortly after. "Well, as you can see, we are still very limited in the number of servants who can accompany you. But, like the last time, there will surely be servants summoned to that time. If possible, call upon their power. And if you find a suitable ley line, it may be possible to send reinforcements. Anyway, we will be supporting you from here. We can detect local people and servants, although we still can't be 100% sure if they're hostile."

With that, Romani finished his explanation and remained silent to hear any questions.

After a few seconds of silence, Ai looked over to see a slightly restless Jeanne. It didn't take her long to guess the reason, and a mischievous smile peeked out at her face.

"C'mon, Jeanne, it's okay to ask about him."

She blushed under everyone else's curious gaze. "If it's okay with you... is it true that the King of Fakers lived during that time?"

They all blinked a couple of times before giggling. It was rare to see someone as calm and composed as Jeanne acting like a normal girl of her age.

"To tell you the truth, I too am looking forward to seeing him again. He would be a formidable ally in our mission." Arturia commented nodding in agreement.

"Then you're in luck!" Da Vinci caught both their attention. "At the request of Ritsuka and Ai, I've been doing some pretty thorough research into the data we have on the hero King of Fakers."

"Then..."

"The date on which he died defending Britainnia from demonic beasts is a few years after the date you are to be sent. In addition, some writings mention the sporadic appearance of an anonymous hero on the continent, and all agree that he was wearing a characteristic red cloak. And also, there is a version of the legend of Nero Claudius that tells how this nameless hero brought reason to the Roman people, and the emperor could have a happy ending surrounded by his people. So yes, the possibility of you meeting him is quite plausible."

Jeanne's eyes lit up. Even if the King of Fakers she was going to meet was not the same one who fought in that Holy Grail War, and he surely would not know her, her heart warmed. Because, no matter what, he was the man she had promised to love.

At the same time, the redheaded master stroked her chin as she remembered that strange dream. Could it be that that red knight was King of Fakers?

Anyway, she left it for later. It was time for their mission to begin.

"Program, start!"

Unsummon Program start.

Spiritron Conversion start.

Rayshift starting in 3, 2, 1...

All procedures cleared.

Grand Order commencing operation.


The six opened their eyes and found themselves at the top of a green hill. It was a quiet and even more refreshing landscape than Orleans.

Mash took a long breath of the clean air of the place. "Ahh... We've all teleported successfully, Ritsuka Senpai. The feeling of the wind, the essence of the earth, and the vast blue sky..." She was really excited.

"Yes, breathing fresh air again feels good. In Orleans it was one thing after another, so we couldn't stop to observe the landscape..."

"Fou... Kyu Kyu?"

What Ritsuka was saying was interrupted when a small white-haired ball jumped out of his Kohai's uniform.

"Ooh! Fou joined us again, and came stuck in Mash's chest."

"Fou doesn't seem to like being locked up in Chaldea all day either. That's something I agree with."

As the three teenagers were talking, Jeanne and Arturia frowned at the sky.

"Was that huge ring of light also present in the previous mission?"

"Yes, it is exactly the same phenomenon as in France."

"A ring of light, eh?" A voice came out from the bracelets worn by Ritsuka and Ai. It was Romani communicating with them through space and time.

"Like last time, we can't get a good look from here. But it's an intriguing phenomenon. I'll continue investigating it. By the way, aren't you supposed to be in Rome?"

"We're on a hill, and we can't see any buildings nearby, Dr. Roman."

"That's weird, I've confirmed it from here too. That's not the capital. I'm sure I fixed the coordinates for the teleportation... You seem to be in a suburb of Rome. Was there a mistake in the coordinates? Is the era correct? No... The era is correct. You are definitely in the first century where the singularity exists. During the reign of Nero Claudius, fifth emperor of Rome. That's for sure. Still, this is strange. Why are you so far from the capital? Anyway, you notice something strange around?"

Everyone was silent after the question. After a few moments, Arturia was the first to speak, her eyes narrowed and her hands firmly gripped the hilt of her invisible sword.

"I heard sounds of battle, master. It sounds quite close, and it looks large scale."

All the others nodded in earnest expressions... except Kiyohime. She kept looking at Ritsuka with a tender smile behind her fan with a stamped flame.

"What!? A full-scale battle!? No no no, impossible. Despite the poisoning of Empress Aggripina last year, Nero is not in his declining years yet. This should be a time when the emperor is loved by his people and the city of Rome is prosperous. There should be no large-scale battle. That means..."

"That there is a historical anomaly. That must be it." Mash completed the sentence while manifesting her purple armor and her huge shield.

"Let's take a look."

Everyone agreed with Ai and ran in the direction the noise came from.

"That's..."

What they encountered upon arrival was in fact a great battle between two armies. One side was overwhelmingly larger than the other, and both carried red and gold banners but of different design.

But the most remarkable thing was the woman who led the smaller side. She was taking all by herself the enemy forces trying to make their way to the capital.

She was short, blonde and with emerald green eyes. She wore a rather revealing red and white dress, along with gold steel boots, and wielded a red sword whose blade emulated the shape of a flame. She moved gracefully and elegantly among the enemy soldiers, as if dancing while cutting them.

"Hey, Arturia, do you have an identical twin sister?" A confused Ai asked the servant next to her.

She shook her head, suppresing a grimace at the sister subject. "No. Besides, considering the current date, that woman may even be an ancestor of mine."

"Leaving aside her enormous resemblance to Arturia and Jeanne, she is really strong. Perhaps a servant?"

It was Romani who answered Mash's question. "No, I'm not getting any reading of servants. You don't feel it either, do you? She is definitely human."

"Anyway, we have to help that woman. We cannot let that army reach the capital. Prepare for combat, Mash, Kiyohime!"

I agree, Senpai. Servant Shielder, entering combat!"

"If that's what you want, master, your wife will gladly burn them."

"You too, Arturia, Jeanne. I'm counting on you."

"Of course, master."

The two nodded at Ai's request, and the four servants charged to the battlefield.


The woman in red was having a hard time. Despite her superior combat skills, the enemy's enormous numbers were beginning to dent her resistance. And to make matters worse, the troops she brought with her had already been reduced to a quarter of their original number, and the men who could still fight were being defeated quickly.

But still, she did not give up, and she continued to swing gracefully her crimson sword. With every swing of her Aestus Estus, she made sure to take down one of the enemy soldiers.

If she fell there, the city behind her would follow her soon after. And that, was something she would never allow. Her precious Rome, and the beloved people she swore to protect, she would give her life if necessary to repel this invasion.

Finally, she ended up being surrounded. Her sword burned in flames responding to her unwavering will, scorching more than one enemy for each attack. But still, none of them wavered.

They were not human. Their appearance was identical to that of any regular Roman soldier, but even she could say that they were not. After all, humans didn't dissolve into particles of light when they died.

An enemy who did not tire or falter in front of an opponent as superior as her. It was certainly terrifying.

The attacks began to arrive from all directions more and more frequently despite all her efforts. It was only a matter of time before she ran out of stamina and was defeated.

Five soldiers with shields approached her ahead, while two trios of lancers surrounded her to cut off any escape route. Her breathing was messed up, and her body was beginning to be unable to keep up with her mind.

She bit her lips. Was this how a great artist like her was gonna die? On a horrific battlefield, with her army slaughtered and unable to protect her people.

She forcefully suppressed the desperate cry that reached her throat, and closed her eyes before receiving the final blow. At least, she would die with her head held high and with dignity...

But, that blow never came. Instead, she heard the sound of steel crashing into steel. Her emerald eyes opened, and she saw two people he had not seen in her life blocking the attacks that were certainly to end her life.

To her left was Mash, who had repelled the spears with her huge shield, and to her right was Jeanne, who had done the same with her banner.

Just moments later, Arturia crashed in front of the girl dressed in red, sending all the soldiers flying in front of them. At the same time, the flames rained down on the soldiers around them, incinerating them quickly.

Kiyohime approached them, with her soft smile still on her face and several fire orbs hovering over her.

The girl identical to Arturia blinked a couple of times in disbelief. Everything had happened too quickly. At one point she was completely cornered and helpless, and at the other all the enemies around her had been annihilated.

She watched the people now surrounding her. Two of them looked a lot like her, but their armor and clothing seemed foreign. But, that didn't matter. The important thing was that they had saved her, and now they were fighting her enemy.

She glanced sidelong at her remaining men. No attack by these four strangers had harmed them. Still, they were in no condition to follow, so only she could join them in the battle.

Firming her grip on Aestus Estus' hilt, she threw herself back into the fray.

The ferocious attacks of Aturia's invisible sword obliterated anyone in her. way Having seen that these soldiers were some sort of mass-produced familiar, there was no need to restrain themselves.

Kiyohime's furious flames did likewise, leaving nothing but scorched earth and ashes in their path. Mash and Jeanne helped the girl who looked like Arturia to defeat the enemies that managed to avoid the other two servants.

The enemy army was quickly defeated by the four servants and the girl in red clothes. When no enemy soldier was in sight, Ritsuka and Ai approached them.

"That was splendid work, Mash, Kiyohime."

"You too, Arturia, Jeanne! That was awesome as always!"

Their conversation about the battle did not last long. Their attention turned to the blonde girl who was now looking at them thoughtfully.

"Reinforcements from the capital...? No... never mind." Her frown faded, and instead, a bright smile peered out of her lips. "I praise you! No matter who you are or whether you are former enemies, that was indeed a magnificent fight. Very well, I will allow you to fight beside me. Rejoice in the highest honor!"

Her speech paused for a moment as she took a long look at the six. "Still, you sure dress strangely. Are you foreigners?"

"Well... "

Ritsuka hesitated for a few moments without knowing how to answer that complicated question.

However, Ai got ahead of him. "We're from an organization called Chaldea and we come from the Future."

The girl blinked for a few moments. "What? If that's true, we'll have a problem. You have my sympathy, but perhaps you fell down the stairs?"

Everyone sighed at that. That reaction was to be expected. Ritsuka gave her sister a blank stare.

"Ai, if you say it so bluntly, there's no way anyone would believe it."

"Huh?" She put a questioning expression. "But in France everyone believed us at first."

"Most of them were servants."

"Oh, right."

The conversation between brothers was interrupted by the girl. "Well, leaving that aside, it is clear that you are not from around here. Perhaps from Britannia...? The two women who look like me could be, but the others... The far east...? Oh!"

Her reflections were cut off when she seemed to be struck by a realization. "Before asking your lineage, I will introduce myself." She set her crimson sword before her, resting her hands on the handle of the handle. "I am the true protector of Rome. Truly, I am Rome itself. I am Nero Claudius, the fifth emperor of Rome!"

There were a few brief moments of silence before everyone gasped for surprise. The reaction caused Nero to be unable to suppress a giggle.

"Heh heh heh, are you surprised? You are surprised! Of course. All right, be surprised and amazed all you want, I shall allow it."

Apart from Kiyohime, whose attention was still fixed in Ritsuka, the least surprised of all was Arturia. She was putting on a thoughtful expression as she stroked her chin.

"Come to think of it, I think I've already heard about this from someone... That Emperor Nero had a condition much like mine."

"Still, first the King of Knights, and now the Emperor Nero also turned out to be a woman. History is... deep..." The voice of a stupefied Romani could be heard through Ritsuka and Ai's communication devices.

"By the way, who did you hear that from, Arturia?" Ai asked the servant curiously.

"Well, if I remember correctly, it was the King of Fakers himself who told me about her during that Holy Grail war in which I broke my contract with the world."

After that, everyone looked back at Nero, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She was staring frantically at all sides, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"What is it?"

"There's a man around here who can be heard but not seen... By the feeling, maybe a magus?"

"I'm glad you know about magecraft. Yeah, the six of them and myself are from an organization called Chaldea-"

Dr. Roman's speech was cut off abruptly by Nero. "That's all right. You six, no, seven of you."

"Hey, you interrupted me..."

"I'm not sure about the formless man, but you all sure had fought magnificently. I praise you again! Now, how about-"

This time, it was Nero who was interrupted when the three servants suddenly became tense.

"Master, I sense the presence of a servant nearby."

"It is as Arturia says! From here I can also detect a servant!"

Just moments after Romani's warning, something crashed violently a few meters from them, creating a crater in the ground.

Once the dust settled, they could see a tall, muscular man. His hair was dark blue, and his red eyes were full of madness. He wore a black and gold armor, wrapped in a red cloak, and exuded a great amount of power.

"My beloved younger sister's child." The attention of the unknown servant seemed to be completely focused on Nero.

"Uncle!" She was surprised to see the man for a few seconds, but immediately frowned and glared at him. "No... Let me call you this now. You fool who inexplicably lost his way, aligning with the United Empire, 'Caligula'!"

The servant did not flinch at his words full of contempt. "My... My actions are destiny! Give up your life. Give up your body. ALL OF IT! GIVE IT UP!"

The now-identified Caligula threw himself toward Nero at immense speed, his fist prepared to destroy her in a single devastating blow. To the human eye, he was a blur that crossed the distance in just one blink.

Nero's eyes have widened. She saw the fist carrying a certain death coming towards her, but her already tired mortal body could not react in time to dodge it.

Once again, she found herself being saved by these aliens. Mash stood firmly in front of her, blocking the blow with her shield.

The sheer force of the blow made her whole body shudder, and her boots sank into the ground.

"Huh?" Caligula snarled with a mixture of surprise and anger. "Get out of my way to my beloved Nero!"

The servant of madness began to strike frantically with his fists at the shield. His immense strength pushed Mash back little by little, her Demi-servant body barely resisting without her bones and muscles breaking.

"Arturia, Jeanne!"

Help arrived immediately. The two servants followed Ai's command and rushed to Caligula from both sides, forcing him to retreat.

The King of Knights continued the offensive, chasing the mad man closely and swinging her invisible sword at his neck.

Caligula barely dodged the blade tilting back. Saber gave him no room to recover, and kept throwing fast cuts at him. The enemy servant was quickly filled with cuts. Unable to see the weapon that was attacking him and with nothing to defend himself with, all he could do was prevent the attacks from landing at a vital point and let his golden armor take most of the damage.

However, the mad man made a move that surprised Arturia. His right hand caught the invisible blade with an iron grip that prevented Saber from moving it no matter how hard she tried. From the blood she saw beginning to drip from his hand, she could say his hand was practically torn apart, but the servant did not flinch.

"You- You look like my beloved Nero, but you are not Rome. GET OUT OF MY WAY TO DESTINY!"

Before she could take countermeasures, she was thrown aside like a rag doll. With his way to his target clear, Berserker charged forward with devilish speed.

But this time he had to slow down halfway. A huge torrent of flames passed just a few inches in front of him, scorching everything in its path.

Taking advantage of the smoke that raised the attack as cover, Jeanne descended upon him, swinging her banner toward his head. The mad man crossed his arms over his head, successfully blocking the attack.

Despite the force Jeanne was exerting with gravity in favor, he pulled her aside easily. As soon as she landed, she had to bring her banner to one side to block a kick that was going straight for her head.

The handle of her weapon was even slightly bent by the force of the mad warrior, and her arms trembled.

"Another imposter! You will not deny me my beloved Nero!"

But Caligula did not have time to continue attacking as he had to dodge the blade of Mash's shield.

The man's gaze focused on the two people blocking his way. His fists closed tightly, as his body began to tremble with sheer fury and his power began to overflow.

"RAAAAAGH!" Releasing a beastly roar, he charged again with his fist overflowing prana toward both girls.

Both jumped sideways just in time to avoid the fist of the mad servant who crashed into the ground like a meteorite. The impact caused a huge shockwave and destroyed the ground, raising debris and dust.

That gave the servant of madness a brief rest, but not much.

The dust quickly dispersed unnaturaly. The hill on which until a few moments ago there was hardly a calm breeze, was invaded by violent gusts of wind.

The servant saw Arturia a few feet ahead of him, in a posture in preparation for a thrust with her invisible sword forward. The air that sheathed her blade now roared outward like a miniature hurricane.

"Strike Air!"

All the layers of invisible air surrounding her blade were shot at Berserker all at once. The air at immense pressure hit Berserker's body hard like a huge hammer and sent him to fly several meters back.

The air compressed again around the holy sword to hide it, as Arturia squinted at the defeated opponent.

Caligula rose again slowly, but it was not difficult to realize that that last attack had left him very hurt.

"Oh... Oh... My dear... son of my sister..." His legs could barely keep him standing. His armor was shattered, and his body was bleeding everywhere.

"Why don't you... give it to me? Why can't you... give it to me? My beautiful... My... My... My... My..."

With those last words, his body vanished into particles of light and his overwhelming presence ceased to be felt.

"Did you manage to finish him, Arturia?" Ai asked her servant as she watched her relax.

"It was not a fatal blow, but we forced him to withdraw. That servant was a pretty tough opponent."

"Uncle... he must have been the general of that battalion... I didn't think I'd see him again..."

They all turned to see Nero looking with a complicated expression in the direction the servant went. But, a few seconds later, her expression filled with life again.

"You have impressed me again. That was another magnificent battle indeed. As I was saying before that rude rebel interrupted me, how about you come with me back to the capital? I will reward you generously."

All the members of Chaldea looked at each other and nodded. Ritsuka, as everyone's voice-over, responded to Nero's request.

"Of course, we would love to."


A few hours later, the members of Chaldea were in Nero's palace, located of course in Rome.

The journey to there had been exciting, to say the least. The majestic capital of the empire in all its splendor was a sight that managed to impress even the King of Knights.

Despite the precarious situation they seemed to be in, the streets were full of life and people wore smiles on their faces. The return of Emperor Nero did nothing but fill the place with more happiness. Her people greeted her with applause and cheers, and even the merchants offered to give her some of their merchandise.

As Romani had said, at this time, Nero Claudius was still a ruler loved by her people.

Upon arriving at the palace, Mash and Ritsuka proceeded to explain to Nero more clearly who they were and the reason for their arrival in Rome.

"So, you say that you three are pupils of the magus whose voice can be heard but cannot be seen, the three warriors who accompany you are your helpers, and you come to recover this Holy Grail that is causing trouble to my Rome... Well, that's better than all that weird talk about masters and servants and singularities."

Nero nodded to herself as she finished processing all the information.

"In short, yes. Excuse Doctor Roman, he can get very theoretical sometimes." Mash put on an uncomfortable smile as he remembered how intense Romani was to explain to Nero on the way that their goal was to correct history.

"Although you seem a little suspicious, I can say that you are totally sincere. Now then. It is my turn to explain our situation. My Rome is currently endangered. My great empire's territories are now, vexingly, ripped apart and scattered all over. On the one hand there is the true Roman Empire that I rule over. The area centered around this capital, Rome. On the other hand, there is an alliance controlled by multiple 'emperors', who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The United Empire. That's what they called themselves when they stole half my empire."

She grimaced at naming her enemy, but continued to explain. "The United Empire is still an enigma to us. No matter how many scouts we send, none have ever returned. Even the location of the capital in which these false emperors gather is unknown to us."

"Multiple emperors you say?" Ritsuka asked, though he could already get a sense of what they were.

"That's true. In my eyes, they are but a gang of treacherous bandits. And..." Her earnest expression shifted to one full of concern for a few moments. "No, it's not worth mentioning. Only rebels spreading their vicious lies. They call themselves emperors, but they are nothing but pretenders."

"Is there something bothering you?" Ai asked directly as she noticed the sudden mood change.

"Ai senpai..." Mash proceeded to admonish her for lack of tact, but was interrupted by Nero.

"No, it's okay. You saw one of them before. Caligula, the enemy general. The man who singlehandly slaughtered my forces before you arrived. He is one of the traitors who calls himself 'emperor'. As he is as well... my uncle."

"Shouldn't he already be dead?" Romani asked through the device.

"Yes, dear formless magus. That's right. Even our court magus was killed by Uncle Caligula, but if he were still alive you might have gotten along. Our magus boasted of having overcome death. Indeed, he taught me some impressive spells. yet... he was killed by the sword of that 'emperor'. A master of spells who should not have died, yet died easily... That should not have been possible, but he did."

"To easily defeat a magus of this era... That was certainly not a human, but another servant."

"That must be the cause of the historical anomaly. Similar to how it was in France, one of those 'emperors' must have the Grail." Mash said aloud the suspicions everyone had in mind.

"Yes, it is very likely that this is the cause of the singularity."

Nero continued not to pay much attention to what they were saying as it was out of her range of understanding.

"Honestly, the United Empire is very strong. Violent battles are happening on all sides and people are suffering. I have sent all my viceroys and generals, and I have thrown practically all my troops at them. But the power of the United Kingdom is undiminished. Recently, an expeditionary force of them pressured the capital. They even managed to get in. I only had a few troops to defend myself. I hate to say this... but it showed me that this situation is beyond my ability to break up by myself."

The chaldeans made solemn expressions. It must have been really frustrating not being able to protect your people no matter how hard you tried. Arturia was the most sympathetic to her as a fellow king.

"Therefore... I order you, no, I implore you! Become my generals! Then Rome and I will assist you in obtaining this Holy Grail!"

Romani responded to her proposal. "Such a heaven-set proposal. It seems we have a common cause."

"That's true. Of course, we will cooperate to defeat this United Empire. We all agree on that, don't we?"

All the others nodded in confirmation to what Ritsuka said. Upon hearing them, Nero smiled radiantly again.

"All right, so it's settled. Rest well tonight. I will prepare suitable quarters for a viceroy for you. Oh yes, will the invisible magus require one as well?"

"Don't worry about me. Providing rooms for the six will suffice. By the way, Your Highness, have you ever heard the name Lev Lainur?"

She put an expression of confusion. "Lev... I have not, who is he?"

"A magus of our era. He betrayed our organization and humanity. There's a chance he's in this era. Although, we do not know if he has revealed himself or has taken any action."

"A magus from a distant land? Hmm..." Nero stroked her chin as she thought about the matter. "I have heard that there is a powerful magus in the United Empire. It's just a rumor, but someone saw that magus on the front line."

They all looked at each other, and practically communicated with each other without the need for words. Ever since that traitor betrayed humanity and cruelly murdered Olga Marie, everyone had agreed that this man should pay for what he had done.

"Your Highness, we have a request." Ai spoke to Nero in a really serious tone.

"Speak."

"We'd like you to send all of us to the front lines if possible."

I wouldn't mind, but will you two be okay, Ritsuka, Ai?"

"No problem. That guy is our enemy. We have to settle scores with him."

Seeing the sheer determination in the eyes of the two masters, Nero nodded. "Very well. Nero Claudius shall honor your request. I will pray to the gods and divine ancestors of Rome that your enemy be defeated."

That made the two masters smile. Then Jeanne stepped forward, and spoke to Nero.

"Your Highness, may I ask you another question?"

"Of course, go ahead."

"Have you ever heard of the King of Fakers?"

She thought about it for a few moments, but at the end she shook her head. "I'm not familiar with that title... From what land is this King you're talking about?"

"Well... we think he's from Britannia. By the way, how's the situation there?"

"Britannia, huh? Well, we really don't know for sure what the situation is there. Shortly after the United Empire appeared, we heard rumors that Britannia was being attacked by some kind of demonic beast army. It's been a few months, and what little we have is some unconfirmed rumors of an anonymous hero who appeared and defeated the leader of the beasts."

"Well, that certainly sounds like him. Although that's another historical anomaly, since those events shouldn't happen for a few years. And, well..."

The six fell silent when Romani left the sentence hanging. Although it was not the main mission, Jeanne still had little hope of meeting him again. But the clearest part of the legend of King of Fakers was his battle against the demonic beasts. And although he was able to defeat them and save them all, he died at the end of that battle.

"Anyway-" Nero's words interrupted the heavy atmosphere. "How about a banquet before you go to rest? Not as great as usual because of the war, but it will still be a banquet in which I will spare no effort. Do any of you drink? We have something special imported from the East!"

"We don't drink. And you, Arturia, Jeanne, Kiyohime?"

"Well, it would be impolite to decline her generosity..."

"Your Majesty!" The conversation was cut short when a soldier ran into the room where they were. "The east gate is being attacked by a great force of the United Kingdom! We think they are the remnants of that expeditionary force! Our East door cannot hold them."

Nero snapped her tongue at the bad news. "Tsk. Just as I was about to have a rare pleasurable feast." Her gaze turned to her foreign guests. "I am counting on you. Show those dazzling skills you showed earlier! The banquet can wait! We'll look foward to it!"

"Roger. Let's go there, everyone!"


The battle at the eastern gate lasted for several hours. Arturia and Jeanne went to fight in front line, with Kiyohime providing distance support with her flames, and Mash staying close to the masters.

Still, even though the servants were making a dent in the enemy lines with each attack, the enemy soldiers kept coming.

Soldiers who looked like some kind of family mass-produced despite their human appearance. They did not tire, and continued to hurl themselves at them with the intention of overwhelming them with their higher numbers.

The only thing they could speculate was that they were soldiers produced by some kind of skill or noble phantasm of an enemy servant.

Such a situation would not be of concern to them, were it not for the fact that Ritsuka and Ai were not appropriate magus. They were ordinary people with virtually no magecraft training. So mantaining the servants fighting for so long was exhausting even with Chaldea's technology helping them.

"If this continues like this, there's no choice but to use that." Ai pondered as sweat began to fall from her forehead. "Arturia! Prepare to use your sword!"

The King of Knights turned to look at her with some concern. "Are you sure, master? If I use my noble phantasm I will leave you totally exhausted."

"There's no other way. It will be a shame to miss the banquet while I rest, but it must be done. Jeanne, cover Arturia while she gathers the prana!"

"Mash, Kiyohime, you too!"

The four servants mobilized to carry out the orders of their masters.

But something stopped them before even Arturia could release the invisible air that hid her holy sword.

One of the soldiers near them suddenly collapsed on the ground. No, it would be more correct to say that he crashed violently into the ground, even raising some debris and dust.

The four servants stared perplexed at the vanishing corpse, more specifically, the blade that stabbed his back. It was an ordinary European sword, but somehow it had struck the soldier so hard that it shattered him.

That was only the beginning. That sword was quickly followed by many others.

A literal rain of steel descended upon the enemy army. The battlefield was filled with thunder and explosions. Swords of all shapes and sizes fell as if they were mere arrows and impaled each of the soldiers, slaughtering them in a matter of seconds.

"Wow..."

The battlefield was completely quiet. The dust raised by the massive attack settled, and ahead was nothing but a devastated land full of swords that began to fade in specks of blue light.

That had been practically like witnessing a full attack from the Gate of Babylon.

They all got tense. Although not a single sword had been directed at them, there were few people who could perform such attack, and one of them could be hostile.

In the distance they could see a man walking towards them. He was tall, his auburn hair full of white tufts deep in the wind as he approached them, and his golden eyes watched them calmly.

More closely, they were able to distinguish that he was wearing a light black armor, covered by a red cloak. A combat suit that everyone recognized.

"Shirou...?" Arturia murmured in confusion. The suit was not the same as that of the heroic spirit Emiya, but that man looked very much like her former master.

She and Jeanne knew it in that moment. Even if the appearance was not the same as they remembered, the piece of the red cloack tied on his head gave it away. That man could only be him...

Ai squinted as she watched him. Her memories of the dream she had that morning were somewhat blurred, but she could safely say that the man was the same as the one she saw in her dream.

"Doc, that man... is he a servant?"

Romani's answer came in a nervous tone. "No, he's a human. But... these readings... there's no way... impossible..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If these readings are correct... there is a Holy Grail nearby, moving towards you... And it seems that it is in possession of that man..."

Silence followed after his reply as everyone processed that information. When their brains finished assimilating it, they all reacted in the most expected way.

"WHAT!?"


And that's it for now. Yes, a classic textbook cliffhanger. Well, this is a prologue, so the idea of this from the beginning is to leave you with the intrigue.

What do you think? This is the first time I start a story and it's not from the perspective of King of Fakers himself. The introduction of the characters of Chaldea was necessary, as I have taken a few liberties. Most of them are the ones that I was asked in the reviews, like the inclusion of servants accompanying Ritsuka to the singulariti and the fact that in this story are present both the male and the female master.

The reason for the latter, simply because I wasn't able to decide whether to put one or the other, and some of you asked me to do so as well. I didn't give them much more background as, well, Fujimaru Ritsuka doesn't have much background canonically either. As for Ai's name, the two couldn't be called the same, and as for how I chose it, I just thought up a few Japanese anime girl names, and I rolled the dice.

Now, speaking of the servants, I kept them at a low number because if not, this would be a walk in the park. And for the choice of servants, Jeanne had to be one. Those of you who have read my previous story will understand. Arturia, well... it's Arturia, the original Saber, and as for Kiyohime, it's a bit of a humoristic factor, and I also rolled the dice. I also thought about sending another Saber Face for laughs, but that would be too much. Anyway, there is still the ritual they do in all singularities to 'call for reinforcements'.

As for Jeanne remembering her love for King of Fakers, that's simple. The power of the script XD.

Now seriously, if in Fate/Apocrypha she never forgot Sieg until they met on the reverse side of the world, why should it be different here? And Arturia, she's special. Her contract with the world makes her technically alive during the Fifth Holy Grail War, so her memories from that time should count as memories from while she was alive, right? Anyway, in FGO they completely ignore the rule that the original heroic spirit does not remember what his servant counterpart did, and everyone remembers what they did in other Holy Grail Wars.

Now, turning to the "holes" that have the plot of the second singularity, it is not only strange that Nero is able to fight servants being human and without being a magus. The thing is that in the final fight against Flauros, it's impossible that just Mash and Nero can beat a Demon God pillar all by themselves. At least with Nero being human and not being able to use either the imperial privilege or the Domus Aurea. That part of the story is writen bearing in mind that the Chaldea's master is accompanied by more servants. In my head the end is already planned, more or less, and will have enough changes, such as, for example, that Flauros is not defeated so easily.

And to finish, the reason why King of Fakers has a Holy Grail... you'll see that in the next chapter. That's what cliffhanger is for. But anyway, the dream that Ai had at the beginning, and if you compare the differences between that and my first story, you can get the picture. And on the subject of pairings... did anyone say harem route? Well, my idea here is that unlike my first story, the relationship between Nero and King of Fakers developed further. Before I step on a landmine, as I did with Jeanne, I will listen to your opinions.

As always, any constructive review is welcome, as well as favs and follows motivate me to continue writing. As for my next update, itit will "Date to Density", because the poll had been very even, and the chapter is half finished.

With this I bid you farewell for now. Until we meet again!