Nero-Fest: VI
Stahl slammed into the ground as Heracles threw it over his shoulder, the Greek let out an earth shattering roar before he raised his fists above his head and clasped them together before swinging them down like a hammer. Stahl grasped their shield with both hands and raised it up in a blocking motion as the attack struck the shield. Ground cracked and shattered and sand was blasted away as the shockwave of the attack echoed out in a metallic scream.
Heracles growled before his hand reached up and clasped the rim of the shield and wrenched it to the side with his left hand as his right coiled itself back for a punch. Stab rolled their body to the side as Heracles swung the fist downwards, the limb implanting itself in the ground before Stahl swung their body back and slammed the Demi-God in the side of the head with its elbow. The Berserker released a grunt as the jab against his head caused him to stagger slightly. Stahl used that as the opportunity to rush back to their feet before spinning around and swinging its shield arm towards the Berserker.
Heracles looked up just in time for the rim of the shield to smash into his nose with a weighty thub, the impact causing him to stagger back before Stahl launched itself forwards. Heracles' eyes flashed as he raised his palm and caught the jab aimed at his torso in his fist, clenching the muscles in his hand and causing a low groan to echo out as he slowly but surely started to crush Stahl's fist. The Dragon Slayer armour held its shield out in front of it and rushed forwards in a quickstep, bulldozing into Heracles and causing him to loosen his grip on the arm.
Stahl pulled its hand back and flexed the fingers before they tightened into a fist, the Berserker Golem now fighting while being armed with a shield and nothing else. Despite the fact that Heracles had long since lost his club, it didn't seem to slow him down in the least. Indeed, it was obvious from the initial encounter that Heracles himself was the much better hand to hand fighter even with his mind clouded under the effects of Madness Enhancement.
Not that any of this registered in the Dragonslayer Armours thought process. It had been given a command to win so it would fight until that was no longer possible. Hunching itself down, the armour raised up its large round shield to cover its front before it raised its right hand to support the shield, the charged forwards like a battering ram.
Heracles growled as he watched the Berserker speed towards him with very clear intentions. He tensed himself, holding his arms shoulder width apart and placing his right foot behind himself to brace his body as Stahl shot towards him, its footsteps echoing out in heavy clunks as it closed in.
Stahl smashed into Heracles with all the force of a freight train, the initial push managed to force the Demi-God back for a few metres as his feet duck into the sand to try and halt his momentum. The Berserker let out a growl as his hands clasped around the side of the shield and he pushed back, eventually slowing the charge to a crawl before it finally halted into a shoving match. Heracles released a growl as his eyes glowed red and he started to push back against the Golem.
Stahl released a growl of its own as their feet dug into the ground to try and keep themselves still as Heracles started to push forwards, step by step he gradually started to force Stahl backwards, its feet loudly scraping against the ground as it was pushed away from him. Releasing a final roar, Heracles tightened his grip around the shield and lifted upwards, pulling Stahl off the ground and above his head before spinning his body around and hurling him as far as he could, ripping the shield from his arm in the process.
Stahl tumbled through the air in a clumsy mess before they crashed into the ground in an explosion of dirt, rolling across the sand for several metres before they slid to a halt, digging their hands into the land to halt their rolling and abruptly jolting to a stop. The Berserker's head snapped towards Heracles as he held the circular shield in his hand before his eyes fell onto Stahl and narrowed.
The Golem gradually picked themselves out of the ground as Heracles coiled his arm around the rounded shield and pulled his body backwards.
Assuming the average stance of a discus thrower.
Stahl rocketed to his feet and broke into a charge as Heracles started to spin on his heel, twirling around several times as he spun faster and faster until he was but a blur. Stahl continued to charge in - oblivious to the danger - before the voice of his Master rang out through their head.
"Duck you idiot!" She virtually screamed out in realization, they obeyed without question and dropped to the ground as Heracles stopped spinning the shield and threw. The metal disc shot through the air - releasing a high pitched whistle as it went by - in the direction of the Golem as it ducked down. The disc passed cleanly over its head and continued on before slamming into the side of the arena wall and implanting itself within it over half way. Several spider web cracks emerged from where the shield had struck.
The crowd nearest to the impact were dead silent for a few moments before they erupted in a frenzy of cheers, as if completely uncaring as to the fact they had come close to being cut in half by the world's largest discus.
Stahl raised itself up, focusing on Heracles before it turned around and saw its shield buried in the wall. They remained stationary for a few moments before turning back to see Heracles rocketing towards them in a mad dash with their arms out in front of them.
Hunching its body forwards, Stahl assumed a similar grappling stance as Heracles closed in before they launched themselves forwards at the last possible minute as Heracles collided with their midsection in a tackle, the force of the impact released a shockwave and a cannon like boom as the pair were blasted into the air by the momentum of Heracles tackle. Stahl's back hit the ground with a heavy thud after a few seconds of flight, crunching and splitting the earth beneath it as it made contact with the ground. However, the impact didn't stop there as the momentum forced the pair to flip over each other and split apart before falling into separate ragdoll shapes.
Heracles was the first to recover, scrambling to his feet and rushing forwards as Stahl only just managed to push themselves up onto their hands and knees. The Demi-God slammed his shin into Stahl's helmet with a kick packing enough force to dent the metal inwards and send them flipping through the air, he kicked off the ground towards the Berserker as they tumbled through the sky before smashing into their body and grabbing ahold of the head and throwing them back towards the ground.
Stahl hit the ground with enough force to crater it, their body bouncing up slightly before Heracles fell on them with an elbow strike to the gut. The impact only served to bury them further into the ground as if driving a nail through wood. Stahl's body contorted at an angle to accommodate the new shape of the hole as Heracles rose up from the body slam.
Coiling his right fist back, Heracles released a roar before he threw it forwards and slammed it into Stahl's head and smashed it into the ground. Stahl's left hand lashed out, clamping down around the wrist of the outstretched limb and held it in place. Heracles roared, raising up his right foot in preparation to stomp down on the Berserker before they twisted Heracles arm to the side and threw a punch with their right hand into his gut.
Despite the poor angle and even worse style, it changed nothing in regard to the power they packed behind the jab. The punch easily knocked Heracles off their body and sent him reeling backwards in a short flight before they landed back onto the ground. Stahl pulled their body free of the hole, ripping up parts of the earth as he did so. They pushed themselves to their feet, hunching their body forwards and allowing sand to pour out of their joints as they stared at the opposing Berserker in silence.
Heracles straightened his body out, glaring back at the Golem before throwing back his head and letting out another roar as Stahl released a metallic scream of its own. With that finished, the two charged at each other again with reckless abandon.
Havel held his arms out in front of him in a crossguard as Caligula's arms blurred, his fists crashing into the guard with muted flashes of red light as the deranged Emperor continued his offensive barrage against the stone Bishop.
"See clearly ROOOMAAA!" Came the final cry from the Emperor and he flexed his body and swung his arms outwards, this time releasing a crimson pillar of light directly from his body shooting skywards, the sudden explosion caused Havel to take a step back in surprise before he hunched his body over slightly. The moment the light died down he rushed forwards, coiling his arm back and swinging it downwards towards the smaller man. Caligula's red eyes widened before they narrowed as the fist rocketed towards his face. The Emperor adjusted his head at the last moment causing the fist to just narrowly sail past his cheek as he swung his right arm into his guard and slammed it into Havel's face.
The helmet tanked the blow, only barely moving his head to the side in response but it was enough for him to get momentarily distracted. Caligula used the distraction to cock his left arm back - red lightning crackled around his fist - before he launched it forwards while releasing a scream "Zeiih!" the fist smashed into the side of Havel's body and jolted him slightly to the side as the punch seemed to almost detonate in a bright flash of light.
Havel staggered before he swung his right arm out, Caligula raised his right arm in a guard to protect the side of his head as the armoured forearm made contact with him. The Emperor was violently pushed by the force of the blow and sent into a roll away from him. Havel grunted as he shifted his body around to face the Emperor as the man spun through the air and landed on all fours.
Caligula's head snapped up, eyes burning brightly before he let out an incoherent scream and charged forwards. Throwing himself into the air and launching himself feet first towards Havel. The Bishop raised his arms in a guard again as Caligula slammed into him, his feet glowing brightly as he bicycle kicked the Berserker repeatedly with each strike unleashing its own miniscule explosion of light. Eventually Havel had enough, swinging his arms out the the side he grabbed Caligula by his legs and swung the Emperor around before hurling him away.
Caligula ragdolled through the air before crashing into the ground, Havel took off after him. His much larger and denser body lumbered along at rather slow speeds for a Servant as he rushed towards the Emperor. Caligula had more than enough to pick himself up and turn to face Havel before the stone bishop was upon him.
Havel thrust out with a quick jab towards his head, Caligula raised his arms to tank the blow and winced at the force behind the punch. Quickly pulling his arm back, Havel launched into another series of jabs - which while being much slower than Caligula's punching rush - which were aimed much better than what Caligula had attempted earlier, the larger stature just being an added bonus to him.
Pulling his left arm back, Havel turned his body slightly to the side to swing his body through with the punch, the uppercut slammed into Caligula's guard and shattered it instantly, causing both his arms to fly upwards and spread apart as his red eyes widened in alarm. Havel coiled his right arm back and crashed his fist directly into the Emperor's face, snapping his head back and sending him staggering.
Havel made to follow through, swinging his left arm down like a club towards the Berserker before Caligula's body flashed red. The Berserker's eyes glowed before he swung his own arm up to counter the blow, striking directly into the elbow with his hand shaped like a spear. Havel flinched slightly from the blow before Caligula swung his other hand downwards and struck him in the knee, then brought his arm upwards in a backhanded uppercut and smashed it into Havel's chin and sent him stumbling away from the Emperor.
Caligula roared as he charged after Havel, the Berserker stamped his foot down and lurched his body forwards.
And headbutted the Emperor.
Caligula dropped down from the attack almost instantly, falling back a perfect ninety degrees and letting out a pained groan in response.
Havel straightened himself out as something soared over his head, casting a growing shadow as it rocketed towards him. Havel frowned behind his helmet and turned around, looking upwards and seeing the Dragonslayer armoured hurtling through the air towards him. The Bishop took the initiative and stepped several steps backwards to place himself outside of the impact zone.
Caligula was just starting to reorient himself again when the shape of the armour suddenly filled his vision, the metal golem crashed into him in a massive explosion of dirt, forming a rather large crater as a result. Havel looked down at the crater and then back towards the direction the armour had flown in from.
Heracles was already readjusting himself from having thrown the armour when he caught sight of Havel and growled, hunching his body over slightly in a tackling stance as he acquired a new target.
Havel rolled his shoulders and slammed his fists together before he started to march towards the Demi-God at a slow pace. Heracles started to move forwards as well, jogging along with his hands clenched into fists as he approached the stone armoured Berserker.
The two gradually started to pick up speed as they rushed towards each other, the echoing crashes of their feet impacting the ground almost shook the stadium as they charged at each other with as much speed as their containers would allow.
"I can't help but wonder how it took this long for those two to actually get to fighting each other." Romani remarked as he stared down at the Servants charging towards each other "It just…did anyone else get that immovable object meets unstoppable force vibe?"
"You as well?" Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief "I was worried I was going to be the only one." he then looked over and noticed Nero with her arms crossed and in a slight pout, the boy winced and leaned towards her. "Sorry about Caligula by the way."
"Hm? Oh, thank you." She replied back with a grateful smile "Uncle did his best and I am certain he shall recover from this slight setback."
"He has a strong spirit." Cecilia commented, turning her visor towards Nero and giving a faint smile "The blood of thy family is strong."
"Umu!" Nero beamed widely in response "Your words are like lavish praise to me…please, do not stop!" she spread her arms wide as if to encourage the Fire Keeper further "Do not limit your compliments to my ancestors strength, you are free to comment on my beauty also fair little petal!"
Ash slowly turned his head towards Nero, staring at her in silence with a completely blank look before his brows furrowed slightly and his lip curled down into a miniscule frown. "Fair little petal?" he parroted incredulously.
Nero turned to him and nodded "Umu! And to think she is your adopted mother as well-" Ash didn't even dignify that with an answer, having long since abandoned the notion of correcting them.
That and he didn't think he could correct them. He didn't know what a mother was supposed to do to begin with so he wasn't sure if Cecilia had been a good one or a bad one. She had continually encouraged him forwards but the end goal - up until he gifted her eyes - had always been for him to sacrifice himself to the flame.
"-I am most jealous!"
Was it something to be jealous over? He looked down at Cecilia and noticed that she had looked away from Nero with her lips drawn into a thin line. He imagined that neither of them were ignorant of their position. Cecilia had - for all intents and purposes - helped shape him into the individual he was now but that didn't change anything in regards to their relationship. She had always been prepared to abandon him if he had hollowed at any point because the duty of the Fire Keeper took precedence. She was always meant to guide the unkindled most suitable for being kindling for the flame.
It just so happened to be him by the end of it.
Letting out a small hum in response, he watched as Havel and Heracles collided with each other, the pair locking hands and shoving against the strength of their opposing individual.
Olga - meanwhile - was staring down at her Berserker as they dragged themselves out of the pit inch by inch before they staggered on their feet and dropped down to one knee. Their right leg had been mangled and bent at an odd angle which made standing on it impossible. Less to do with pain as that wasn't an issue for Stahl and more to do with feasibility.
Watching her Servant get manhandled by Heracles was eye opening and bitter as well.
No matter how much she tried, it seemed there was still some insurmountable obstacle she couldn't overcome.
Honestly, how was she even supposed to deal with Heracles of all things!? That just wasn't fair!
"So…We all know who is going to win, right?" Romani eventually called out in a slightly dejected voice "We knew the moment he took to the field."
Ritsuka begrudgingly nodded his head "Even if Havel does beat Heracles once…he is just going to get up again."
"Yeah…" Romani sighed "A shame-"
"A shame!?" Leonidas roared indignantly "We are watching the mighty Heracles fight in the field of battle! My legendary ancestor stands before my very eyes and trades blows with a man who might be a physical match!" the Lancer sounded incredibly giddy at this point as he stared down at the fight "It matters not who is the victor and who is the loser, what matters is the warrior spirits being revealed to us!"
He got silence in response to his exclamation before he eventually raised his fist up to the front of his helmet and coughed once to clear his throat.
"With that said, I fully believe that Heracles will triumph handily."
"So much for it not mattering who the winner or loser is." Romani remarked while rolling his eyes and giving a good natured smile.
Leonidas sputtered for a few moments before he pointed down at the arena "But it's Heracles!" he almost whined.
Havel's uppercut connected with Heracles' chin, causing the Berserker's head to snap up as a result before he retaliated with a swift punch to the gut in response. The blow connected and earnt a wheeze from Havel in response, the Bishop stamped his foot into the ground to right himself as he swung his whole body with the next punch into Heracles ribs.
A meaty thud was the result followed by a groan from Heracles, the Berserker's eyes glowed before he bucked low and spun on his heel while raising his left leg up in a spinning kick. The heel of the Demi-God connected with the side of Havel's head and blasted the Servant off his feet and into a roll through the air before crashing into the ground. Heracles righted himself and chased after Havel as the Bishop returned to his feet and braced his body.
Heracles swung his arm forwards in a full haymaker into the guard and forced the Berserker to dig his feet into the ground to remain standing upright. Havel grunted as he threw his arms wide and knocked Heracles fist away before he stepped into the larger Berserkers guard, spinning his body and slamming his shoulder into the Demi-God whilst grasping the outstretched arm and twisting it over his shoulder. With a grunt of exertion, Havel bodily threw Heracles over him and onto the ground with a heavy thud before he dragged the Berserker across the ground and threw him away.
Heracles rolled across the ground for several metres before sliding to a halt, the Greek snapped his head towards Havel and growled before kicking himself off the ground and into the air, flipping through the air several times, he rocket towards Havel as the Bishop stepped forwards with his fist cocked back in preparation.
Heracles straightened himself out as he closed in, swinging his right arm forwards to meet its opposite match. The two punches collided with a deafening crash as the ground directly underneath them ripped itself apart from the aftermath. The explosion sent both of them hurtling away from each other and to the opposite ends of the arena. The pair crashed into the walls, implanting their bodies into the walls.
Havel released a low groan as he pulled himself free of the arena wall, taking with him several bricks as he fell back onto the ground and shook his head. Heracles at the opposite end had a much easier time of freeing himself, virtually disintegrating the wall as he freed himself and landed back onto the ground.
The Demi-God threw his head back and let out another ear splitting roar before he charged towards Havel as he only just started to pick himself up and shake himself back into a state of readiness. Heracles cleared the distance of the field in but a few short leaps before he crashed into Havel, slamming the Berserker back into the wall and causing yet more cracks to rip their way through the brick work. Giant hands clamped down around Havel's chest and shoulder before ripping him out of the arena wall and holding him aloft into the air before swinging him down into the ground with enough force to elicit a bounce from the Bishop as he smashed into the ground before eventually lying motionless.
"...And the winner is Heracles!" Nero cried out after a few moments of silence, the crowd exploded - with a certain spartan cheering the loudest of all of them - as they whooped in glee.
"Should we really ask about why one of Chaldea's servants is cheering about our defeat?" Romani asked quietly as he sent a perturbed look towards Leonidas, the Spartan general was clapping loudly while cheering and screaming congratulations at the top of his lungs. "Does that not bother anyone else?"
"Well…" Ritsuka let out a slight chuckle "It's not like it's doing much in the way of harm, is it?"
"I suppose not." Romani agreed after a few moments of thought, then gave Ritsuka a shrug "It just feels like the principle of the matter."
"I guess?" Ritsuka murmured to himself, then looked at Leonidas "Do you think he'll eventually realise?"
"Right now I don't think he cares too much." Da Vinci hummed with clear amusement in the background "This leaves us with just two classes left before the finale, I believe." she added on, breaking everyone out of their puzzlement and onto her in realisation.
"Oh yeah." Romani nodded his head "Lancer and then Saber…So who is going up for that. Also, Director?" he looked to the white haired woman who was currently staring at the ground in defeat "Are you alright?"
"Hm?" She blinked, then sent a dull look at Romani "Fine…fine…what were you saying?"
Romani gave her a slightly concerned frown before he spoke again "Is your Servant alright? They looked pretty injured."
"Berserker is a Golem." She replied without much in the way of hesitation "They don't feel pain and whatever damage they have sustained will be dealt with in time." she huffed, crossing her arms and looking towards Nero with a slightly irritated glint in her eyes "Although perhaps some warning would have been nice as to who exactly was being fielded against us." she growled out "Not that it would have mattered."
To her credit, Nero did look away from Olga with a moderately guilty expression, her eyes flickering around desperately to avoid making eye contact with anyone else from Chaldea.
"L-let us move onto the next event?" She hastily suggested, trying to change the subject with all the subtlety of a bulldozer. "The Lancer servants are next!" she rushed forwards, Leonidas himself turned around and swiftly made his way towards the exit of the seating booth and out into the hallways leading down to the main fighting pit.
Little wonder where he was going, having already informed Ritsuka and everyone else that he was going to compete for the Lancer section. The other person they had to compete with was something of a matter of contention between Cu Chulainn and Gareth. With both of them fervently wanting to compete but neither willing to back out.
Gareth because she wanted to show off in front of her King.
Cu just wanted to fight someone.
Unfortunately for him, a Cu had already competed in the Caster round and Nero counted them as the same person.
"And now for the battle of the spears!" Nero shouted out with an ecstatic glee to her as she stared down at the stadium "For this glorious engagement we have the finest spearmen to be summoned possible! For the Chaldeans, they field a King of Ancient Sparta and the one who stood alone with three hundred spartans - and around six to seven thousand other Greek warriors - against the Persian invaders! Leonidas of Sparta!"
The Spartan King thinned his lips behind his helmet at the mention of the other warriors at the battle of Thermopylae. How was it that everyone kept forgetting they exist to begin? Ignoring that, he strode out into the arena with powerful steps, his rounded shield in his left hand and spear in his right with his crimson cape billowing in the wind.
The Spartan could feel the excitement of the ground and relished in it, already awaiting who his opponent would be. He would be hard pressed to follow up on a performance by the mighty Heracles but he was certainly going to put his entire being into winning. If only because it would give him the chance to show off to his great ancestor.
That thought made him a little giddy.
"Another Servant of great renown comes from the island of Britain! A legendary fighter of the Roundtable and one of the youngest among their number! Sir Gareth!" Leonidas looked down to his right as the small girl practically bounded towards him before sliding to a halt, the wide positive grin on her face was almost infectious.
She remained smiling for a few moments before she frowned in thought and looked at Leonidas "I know they might know who you are…but are they going to have any idea about who I am?" she found herself asking with clear puzzlement. Leonidas stared blankly at her for a few moments then looked up at the crowd - who were cheering loudly - before shifting his attention back to the young knight.
"I do not believe they care as long as you are here to fight." He replied truthfully "They might be the sort to care only for the action and less for the introductions."
"...Huh." Gareth blinked, then slowly nodded her head "That makes sense." she hummed to herself, then looked towards the far end of the arena "So who do you think we're fighting?"
"Who knows, with the quality of combatants we have faced thus far." Leonidas replied with a shrug before twirling his spear and hunching his body forwards slightly. "However, I shall meet them head on!"
"Yeah!" Gareth beamed, cocking her lance back and allowing the cartridges on the weapon to light up with a subtle blue glow and hum slightly. Leonidas glanced at the weapon briefly before looking away.
"...Did all the Roundtable have weapons such as that?"
"Huh? Oh, no." Gareth shook her head "Theirs were much more impressive. Even Sir Bedivere had a spear which could shoot gusts of wind through the air likes arrows…although I don't think it had a name." she paused, then winced "I think it might have been to compensate for his…um…single arm."
"...I see." Leonidas blinked, then looked at his own spear - nothing more than a simple weapon - then to Gareth's "...Is there something wrong with just using the simplicity of a mundane weapon?"
"Well…um…" Gareth faltered slightly "No? I just didn't ask about why I was receiving it and just accepted the weapon from Lord Merlin without complaint."
"Very well." Leonidas dropped the topic and returned his attention to the fight.
"And welcoming our first challenger, a Servant of the Gods of the distant land and Knight in service of the Blue…Sir Sanura of Heide!"
The woman in dark iron armour with a helmet molded into the shape of a lion dropped down into the stadium, swirling her cross spear as she approached at a steady pace before coming to a halt and planting the butt of the weapon into the ground.
Faraam adjusted himself to lean forwards more than usual, earning bemused looks from everyone around him as his eyes gleamed with clear interest.
Lothian looked at the wargod and then back to the fighting pit before tilting his head in puzzlement "Is there something about the young warrior which intrigues you, Lord Faraam?"
"Hm? Oh…just a passing interest is all." He remarked as if he was the only one informed of an inside joke "That and I am picturing how a certain knight would react to this." he let out a deeply amused, if a little quiet, chuckle to himself as he shook his head. "Gough was right to laugh…it is very funny to consider."
His lip twitched slightly behind his scarf before thinning out again "Regardless. I am curious to see how capable she is…" he then sighed "And Heide? That will be Flann once again…" he sent a look across the stadium and noticed the red haired god also staring at him out of the corner of his eye "I will be most displeased if he has simply gifted one the armour of the Lion Knight without ensuring she is of capable skill."
"And to aid this lion knight…we have the greatest legend of all…He who stands atop all Spirits especially those from Rome…the greatest Lancer bar none-"
Several servants gave Nero incredulous expressions for varying reasons.
"-and the strongest Servant Rome has ever produced and their greatest ruler…I present to you all…The Holy Progenitor Romulus!"
The crowd exploded with cheers of jubilance as next to Sanura, a much taller man slowly started to assume servant form. Bronze skinned with little in the way of armour save skin tight black cloth around his legs and forearms along with a half tunic around his chest and small pants. Atop his head was a golden crown with a single spoke jutting from the front.
Faraam did an almost double take at the man's stance.
"What in the Flame is he doing!?"
Sanura was staring at the giant next to her with rapt attention, if only because she'd never actually seen a member of the Sunlight Covenant that tall.
Their stance was easily identifiable as one of the Warriors of the Sun, the standard 'Y' shape with their head facing the sun all but announced their loyalty. That combined with Nero's introduction soon made everything clear as to why they were all so strangely positive.
They were clearly a country which was governed by the Sunlight Convenant.
It made perfect sense.
The large man turned his head and stared down at her, his crimson eyes with black sclera bore down into her with an oppressive weight as he seemingly examined her.
"You…" He eventually spoke in a deep tone which commanded authority "You are not of Rome and yet fight for her…" he gave a sage nod before he lowered his arms and placed a massive palm atop her shoulder "That behaviour…is Rome."
"Er…" Sanura wasn't entirely sure how best she could respond to that, especially when now that she was close enough she could clearly feel the sliver of divine being within him. An obvious trace of Divinity marked him as being above the common one and certainly made the claim that he was the Holy Progenitor rather more substantial.
"Your praise is welcome…Divine One.'' She fell back to her practiced behaviour when dealing with the Gods, bowing her head slightly and speaking in a deeply respectful tone towards the man.
Romulus continued to stare down at her before giving a single nod and returning to his praising of the sun, at least by her logic. Then she noticed the large crimson stone chiseled into a sharp weapon on his back with the edge pointing upwards being twice the size as the stone embedded into the bottom part of the handle.
It was certainly an odd weapon and much stranger than she had seen, then again the previous round she saw a Servant running around with a club of stone carved to look like a sword so it was difficult for her to tell whether or not it was actually that strange.
"Now…we fight for the pride of Rome." The man spoke again with his sage tone as he started to walk forwards. Without actually lowering his arms to do so, leading to the odd image of the bronze man crossing the distance of the arena with both his arms pointed skywards in an upside down arrow shape. Sanura watched him walk with a puzzled expression behind her helm before she shook her head and followed after him at a comfortable pace.
"...Should we start walking as well?" Gareth asked as she watched the two approach "And who do you want to fight? We could try and take them together but-"
"No, we will have to divide." Leonidas muttered in response before nodding to Romulus "I will fight the larger foe, he appears to have much more strength than the smaller one. I would suggest that you both employ a similar manner of attack style given that you are both lightly armoured."
"...You're not wearing any armour though?"
"I have my helmet." Leonidas huffed "That is armour enough!" After announcing that, he broke into a moderate jog as he moved towards Romulus with obvious intent. Gareth frowned at the peculiar boast before she followed after him.
Looking towards the individual - who Leonidas he dubbed as her opponent - she saw they were only slightly taller than she herself was and were lacking in a shield. The cross spear looked mundane enough but one could never tell with certain weapons whether or not they had some manner of trick to them.
Romulus halted a few metres from Leonidas, staring down at the Spartan with his ever-present stone features as Lancer stopped as well. The pair stared at each other in dead silence as Gareth and Sanura caught up with their respective partners.
"We now fight for Rome." Romulus spoke, his powerful voice reverberating across the arena "To bring about joy within your spirits." his eyes swept across the crowd, silencing them before coming to a halt "And with my Lance-" his hands lowered themselves, the right one moving towards the large 'weapon' on his back and unholstering it before bringing to to his front and pointing the crimson slab towards them "-I shall demonstrate the power…of Rome."
"Begin!" Nero shouted out before hastily adding on "U-um-! Whenever you are ready, Holy Progenitor!"
Evidently he was more than ready as the second Nero had finished speaking, he charged forwards with much greater speed than could have been expected from a man of his build. The tall figure crossing the distance between the two groups in a single step and swinging the crimson lance sideways with both hands towards the pair of them.
Gareth raised her shield and stepped backwards as the stone sailed through the air, the tip of the spear catching her guard and almost flinging her to the side with the power behind the strike, easily wrenching her shield to the side and breaking her guard. Sanura took full advantage and rushed forwards, sailing through the air and landing a kick into the young Lancer's sternum and forcing her into a backwards roll.
The spear continued on before it slammed into Leonidas' shield with a heavy crash, the Lancer buckled slightly from the force before he replied with a roar of his own and pushed back, throwing his shield arm up and sending the attack skywards before he thrust his spear towards Romulus chest. The Roman narrowed his eyes before twisting his body to the side in order to avoid the strike, then spun and formed the full three-sixty spin before swiping his elbow towards Leonidas head.
The Spartan once again shifted his shield and caught the elbow with the blow before he shoved backwards and rushed towards the Emperor, thrusting the spear forwards and once again causing Romulus to dodge, the Spartan this time twisted his body and supported the spear under his arm before straightening it out and swinging the butt of the weapon towards Romulus. The Emperor raised his arm and blocked the strike as it smacked against the limb, not even flinching at the thwack before he dug his legs in and pushed back.
Leonidas allowed the momentum to carry him backwards as he swung his shield arm sideways towards Romulus' head. The Emperor deftly blocked the attack with his spear before lashing out and slamming his palm into Leonidas chest, causing the Lancer to stumble backwards but otherwise maintain his footing.
Gareth ducked down at the spear swept through the air where her head had been, then raised her shield and tensed her body and Sanura followed the strike through and converted it into a roundhouse kick. The boot collided with the shield and caused Gareth to flinch before she thrust her spear downwards at the ground.
Sanura watched the tip of the weapon smack into the ground and release a clicking noise. Then the cartridges on the side of the weapon glowed brightly before they exploded with blue light, knocking her off balance and reeling from the impact. Gareth charged towards her, leaping into the air and swinging the lance downwards at the Lion Knight. Sanura dropped to one knee and raised her cross spear above her head with both hands supporting it as Gareth's spear fell upon it like a club.
Gritting her teeth, Sanura pulled the spear to the side and caught the jousting lance with the cross-section of the spear and hooked it around the weapon. Pulling down, she managed to free herself from the attack and swung her right hand forwards in a jab, Gareth already raising her shield to block the fist. Power flooded through her body as her Leo Ring came into effect, enhancing her strength.
Gareth released a surprised gasp as the fist slammed into the centre of her shield with much more force behind it than she was expecting. Sanura pulled her fist back before shooting back to her feet and rushing the Lancer in her slightly surprised state. A small leap off the ground saw her land atop Gareth's shield - much to the surprise of the servant in question - before she lashed out and caught the girl in the side of the head with another kick, knocking her over.
Sanura spun through the air before landing on the ground, pulling her spear back slightly then clasping it with both hands before she swung it like a hammer downwards. Gareth rolled to the side as the spear thudded into sand and rocketed to her feet. The Lancer narrowed her eyes at the Lion knight and rushed forwards. Sanura pulled her spear from the ground and was already bracing herself for whatever Gareth was planning.
Then the girl leapt into the air, pulling her head back and sporting a steeled expression. Sanura allowed herself only a moment of confusion before the girl's head swung downwards and slammed into her helmet.
Sanura felt her brain rattle around in her skull as the impact actually caused her to stumble away in both shock and pain, Gareth looked only moderately dazed for a few moments before she shook her head and refocused her attention onto Sanura, raising her shield up in front of her and charging towards the Lancer. Sanura only just managed to recover from the rather powerful headbutt before Gareth's kite shield slammed into her chest and barrelled her over and onto her back.
Pulling the shield to the side, Gareth thrust the lance down towards the Lancer, Sanura shifted her head to the side as the spear buried itself into the sand next to her head.
Then the cylinders on the side glowed again.
"Oh-" Sanura managed to get out before an explosion went off next to her head and knocked her away. She felt fresh air wash over her face and a weight free itself from her person as her helmet was blasted off her shoulders. The woman eventually rolled to a stop before shakily climbing back to her feet and looking around. Noticing her helmet lying a few feet from her before she heard hissing noise, her head turned back to see Gareth retract her spear from the ground and turn her attention to Sanura, only to blink in surprise.
"You're a girl too?"
"Of course I-" Sanura frowned before she paused. "You only just noticed?" she asked, looking more perturbed than anything else as she scratched her chin "I have not made much of an effort to hide it…"
"You did wear a full face covering helmet." Gareth pointed out, gesturing to the location of the helm with her spear "Although I haven't seen you before today so I didn't know."
"...That is an acceptable excuse." Sanura nodded her head slowly "...Shall we get back to it?"
"Huh? Oh right, yeah." She smiled before preparing herself again, Sanura twirled her spear and grasped it with both hands with the tip pointing directly towards the Roundtable knight.
The spear tip crackled with dark blue lightning before it unleashed a thin beam towards the Lancer.
Whereupon it collided with an invisible barrier and dissipated harmlessly.
The two women stared at it in dead silence before Sanura looked down at her spear with a frown and then towards Gareth.
"Magic Resistance." Gareth explained easily "Mine is pretty high."
"Oh." Sanura nodded her head "I see…That is unfortunate."
"Yeah…" Gareth slowly nodded her head, then gave an easy shrug "Oh well!" With that, she charged forwards like a battering ram, Sanura kicked off the ground and into the air as Gareth rushed towards her, sailing over the shorter Lancer and landing on her feet behind the Knight. Sanura spun around, swinging her spear towards Gareth at the same time she halted her movements and performed the exact same maneuver. The two weapons collided with each other with a clang as the pair struggled against their opposites strength.
Romulus stumbled back from the blow to the head, shaking it a few times before his eyes narrowed upon Leonidas as the man charged towards him. The Spartan jumped into the air and thrust the spear dowards, using his falling momentum to propel the weapon with greater force.
Romulus raised his spear and angled it to the side to brush the weapon past him and off to the left, turning his body he shoulder barged into the Lancer and slammed him backwards. Leonidas fell back onto the ground, rolling across the dirt before rushing back to his feet and raising his shield and Romulus swung his spear down like an axe.
The crimson stone smashed into the shield in an explosion of force and caused the Spartan to jolt slightly as a result. Romulus raised his spear back up while swinging the butt of the weapon in an uppercut motion, catching the rim of the shield and throwing it wide, his left leg followed through in the aftermath and caught Leonidas in the chest, knocking the wind from the Spartan and sending him into a backwards roll across the ground.
Leonidas let out a slightly pained groan as he pushed himself back to his feet, watching as Romulus's leg returned to the ground. The Spartan let out a pained sigh. It would appear that the buffs one received when in the land of their birth were not to be underestimated at all. That said, he wasn't out of this fight yet.
A grunt from his left had his eyes briefly dart over to see Gareth knock her opponent back with another flash of light. The red haired woman she was fighting let out a hiss in response before she stabbed her spear into the ground and used it to vault forwards into a kick. Gareth stepped backwards as the woman's boot crashed into the ground. Not to be stopped by this, Sanura pulled her spear free and spun her body clockwise towards her head.
Gareth twisted her body to allow the spear to impact against her shield. Her eyes darted over to Leonidas and made contact with his. The Spartan gave a brief - almost imperceptible - nod before he fixed his attention back onto Romulus and straightened himself out.
Leonidas rushed forwards with a bellowing roar, raising his shield up in front of him and crashing into Romulus' guard as the Emperor brought up his ludicrously sized weapon in front of himself like a shield and braced it with his other hand. The two locked themselves together in a shoving match, Romulus took in a sharp intake of breath before slowly pushing forwards, dragging Leonidas with him.
The Spartan cared little for it as everything proceeded as he calculated.
Gareth rolled back as Sanura stabbed her spear into the ground, her eyes darted past the Lion Knightess and towards Romulus and Leonidas shoving against each other. The Lancer shifted her eyes back to Sanura as she ripped her spear free of the ground and rushed after the Knight. Gareth turned on her heel and broke into a sprint, using her superior agility to begin to circle around Sanura and moving away from her.
Sanura frowned and chased after her, breaking into a sprint and moving as fast as she could allow as Gareth seemingly led her on a goose chase across the arena. The Lancer eventually shifted her feet and charged off directly towards the back of Leonidas with Sanura right behind her.
The pair rushed forwards, kicking up a small dust cloud behind them as they moved as fast as they could towards the shoving Lancers.
Romulus' head snapped up as he noticed the duo rushing towards him, a frown came to his lips as he briefly took his attention off of Leonidas.
Something the Spartan took full advantage of as he shoved upwards, breaking Romulus guard before he ducked low and swept his leg out. Kicking Romulus feet out from underneath him and earning a surprised gasp from the Emperor before he rolled away from the Roman.
Gareth stabbed her lance into the ground, the sudden halt causing her to spin at an angle due to the spear acting as a stopper. Sanura widened her eyes before Gareth hurled her kite shield at the ground at the base of the Lancer's feet. Sanura stepped on the shield, moving far too quickly for it to be safe before she lost her footing and slid across the distance towards Gareth with the shield acting as a skateboard.
Gareth leaned back as she pulled her lance out of the ground as Sanura rushed past, the girl cocked the spear back and allowed it to thrum up with power before she thrust it towards the Lion Knightess back.
"Imitation Aronidght Overload!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she tip of the spear crashed into Sanura's back and exploded with a brilliant flash of light, the detonation launched the Lancer like a rocket towards Romulus who was beginning to right himself as Sanura slammed into his midsection and barrelled him over and onto his back while the momentum carried Sanura further on and face first into the ground where she slid through the sand for several metres before coming to stop,
"Yeah!" Gareth let out a pleased cheer as she thrust her lance upwards, Leonidas picking himself up and shaking his head while letting out a pleased grunt of his own.
The cheer slightly died down as Romulus returned to his feet, looking down at Sanura and giving a brief smile. "You fought well, Knight of a Distant land…you are worthy of Rome." he complimented before shifting his attention to the pair of Servants in front of him.
His eyes fell upon Gareth "Knight of Britain…distant colony of Roman and grand child of its empire." he gave her a nod "You…are Rome."
Gareth blinked once "...Eh?"
"Warrior of Greece." Romulus turned to Leonidas next "Your spirit stands strong and unbroken against superior strength…that too…is Rome."
Leonidas inclined his head slightly as a show of bemusement at the words.
Romulus took in a deep breath before twirling his spear and implanting it into the ground. "Now…I shall be Rome." he shifted his stance while unarmed and narrowed his eyes. The intention to fight them unarmed was plain as day. "Distant child of Hercules and child of Rome…I shall fight with all my spirit…as that is also Rome."
He charged forwards, rushing at Leonidas before the man even had a moment to contemplate the words.
"ROMA!" He shouted out as loudly as he could before the strikes fell, a barrage of well aimed blows against Leonidas had the Spartan reeling from the first attack as he raised his shield and spear. Romulus grasped the spear and jerked it forwards, pulling Leonidas with it before thrusting his elbow into the man's face. Leonidas stumbled back slightly before the Emperor slammed his sandals down into his toes, earning a squawk of pain from the Spartan.
With a ferocious backhand, Romulus smacked the shield to the side and grasped the throat of the Spartan with the same limb before hoisting him up into the air and chokeslamming him into the ground. Romulus twisted his body and clasped ahold of Leonidas' ankle before lifting the dazed man off the ground and soon was rapidly twirling him around as the pair spun on the spot before releasing him and sending him hurling through the length of the stadium.
Gareth watched as he crashed into the ground, clearly out of the fight as she slowly returned her attention to Romulus with wide eyes as she watched straighten himself out. The Emperor turned to her with a cool expression as she tensed herself, her eyes briefly darting to the shield still on the ground and then towards him.
The pair remained in a standoff until they both moved.
Gareth dived at the shield while Romulus charged forwards, the girl barely managed to grab ahold of the defensive instrument when she caught sight of a bronze fist rocketing towards her face before her vision went black.
"Ooooh!" Ritsuka covered his eyes and looked away as Romulus delivered the savage haymaker and knocked the Lancer out with blow to the face. Mash looked similarly distraught about the sudden defeat.
"...I suppose we should have seen this coming." Romani muttered with a slightly defeated tone, Ritsuka managed to compose himself to give the Doctor a frown.
"What do you mean? They had him."
"Yes…but remember, we're fighting the founder of Rome in Rome." Romani replied back with a sigh, then paused and noticed Ritsuka looking at him oddly "Have…we not covered regional benefits with Servants yet?"
"Regional what?"
"Ah…" Romani winced "Well, basically if a Servant is summoned in the land that they actually lived in, they are typically more powerful than they otherwise would be or have access to perhaps more Noble Phantasms than they otherwise would have." he explained "A figure as powerful as Romulus in Rome…" he hissed "That's like fighting King Arthur in Britain."
"...So it was another rigged match?" Ritsuka sent a suspicious glance at Nero, who was now looking as though she was sweating bullets.
"Given how Nero behaved during the olympic games, is this actually a surprise to anyone?" Romani asked with an exasperated frown "Really?"
Mash opened her mouth to reply before she slowly closed it, turning to Nero and giving her a disappointed look.
Ash looked around before turning to Romani "I feel uninformed about something."
"Basically she's a cheater." Romani dryly explained, Nero sputtered before turning to the Doctor with bright red cheeks and an indignant expression.
"Rome does not cheat!" She exclaimed "We merely stack the deck in our favour more than our enemies and ensure victory whenever possible!"
"So why has every single Servant we've fought been designed to beat us?" Olga hissed "First there was the the God of War and the Undefeated general-" Nero finched as the Director raised a single finger "-then there was the actual God of Fire who was only bested by the appearance of a mysterious Caster who has since vanished "-then there was the Goddess of the Moon who is also Diana neutering our God-" Ritsuka and Romani winced "-then we had Heracles!" she raised a third finger and growled out the name before stabbing towards the arena. "Not to mention the actual Nature Spirit or Fae being which showed up and grew a tree from the earth like it was nothing and finally we have the actual founder of Rome in ROME!"
By the end of her rant, she was panting heavily with her cheeks slightly flushed and eyes frenzied. "Are you trying to make us lose on purpose!?"
"N-no!" Nero hastily waved her arms from side to side "I'm going to be fighting in the Saber round next along with him-!" she pointed at Ash, who looked moderately surprised to be called out "-So you get the same benefit!"
Ritsuka blinked, looking over at Ash in surprise "You volunteered to take part?"
"No." Ash replied instantly, staring at Nero with a faint frown before he shrugged "However, our goal is the Grail so battling to earn its victory is within my duty as your Servant, therefore I have no issues with this arrangement."
"S-see!" Nero pointed at Ash with a wide smile "How can you lose with such a talented Servant!" she pressed a hand against her chest "You also have Ash aside from myself!" she beamed at her self praise, earning a twitch of the eye from Olga before her attention snapped onto the unkindled.
"You." She regarded him with a critical eye, Ash stared back at her in silence "Don't lose."
"...I…wasn't intending to?" Ash stared at her with puzzlement, wondering why anyone would actually lose on purpose.
"For the final round in preparation for the grand Finale…we have the Saber Servant of Chaldea!" Nero's voice echoed out, although she no longer stood in the VIP section but instead in the arena itself "The great Emperor of Roses…Myself!"
As the crowd roared in joy, Nero basked in the praises with a wide smile.
Ash to her left stood completely stone faced, his right hand resting atop Galvatyne as it was implanted in the ground. He was content with simply staring across the arena in preparation for his next combatant. Having witnessed the types of opponents Nero had fielded, he was more than prepared to be facing some manner of old lord or renowned warrior.
"And fighting alongside the Emperor is the child of the Consort!" Ash blinked at the name, frowning as his head snapped towards Nero as she continued on "Adopted by the bountiful mercy of Cecilia…Ash!"
Ash continued to stare at her incredulously. Not a single word of that sentence was even remotely true.
"And to face such a grand duo, we need but another set of equally skilled warriors!" Nero pointed Astus Estus towards the far end of the stadium "Ruler of Camelot and holder of the sacred sword…She is the King of all Knights, Artoria Pendragon!"
Ash could faintly make out Olga's scream of incoherent rage in the distance.
Artoria? He frowned to himself, his eyes squinting as he watched the blonde haired woman in silver armour with a blue dress walk towards them with a cool expression in her eyes. He was curious why she looked different to her version in the burning city.
Perhaps it was a similar case of there being two Jeannes in France? He dismissed the thought. He had already fought the King in the burning city.
Did he beat her that time? Yes.
Did he beat her alone? No.
Was he confident he could beat her here? Not really. She was a much better swordswoman than him and her other self had been able to negate his pyromancy with her Magic Resistance. He would have to be more careful. However, it was unlikely she was going to be fighting alone.
One thing he did notice was as Artoria's gaze swept across the pair of them, she stared at Nero with obvious surprise and nearly jolted. Not that Ash could blame her, considering the pair were identical. Then her gaze fell upon him.
Her eyes once again widened and her lips parted slightly. Ash frowned for a few moments before he realised the issue.
"It is because I look like Sir Gawain, is it not?" He called out to her from across the field.
Artoria remained silent for a few moments before nodding her head in response "Indeed! The resemblance is rather striking, however you share his face from his early days in Knighthood than the one I knew from the end of the Kingdom." she replied back.
Ash merely nodded in response once.
Nero looked between the two of them with obvious surprise "...This is quite the coincidence." she muttered to herself before shaking her head "Fighting alongside this great King, we have another warrior who holds the title of lord who - according to him - sacrificed his very being to the world!"
Ash frowned slightly at the words.
"From the distant land of the Gods and Champion of Cinders!" Nero exclaimed out "I present Sir Bedric of Lordran and Lord of Cinder!"
Artoria looked to her left as the new individual assumed Servant form next to her. Clad in thick leather armour with metal shoulder plates and steel arm guards and boots, he was wearing a traditional helm.
Ash recognised the armour, the helm of an elite knight and hard leather armour with metal gauntlets. At his waist he had a straight sword on each side. The left being a sword of Sunlight while the right bore a striking resemblance to Anri's sword.
The man reached up, clasping his helm and slowly removing it from his head.
Ruffled dark red hair and purple eyes stared back at Ash with a cool expression before his lip twitched into a casual smile and he offered a nod. "Greetings, to see another undead here warms my heart…" his smile died "However, to know the cure was indeed not as permanent as I hoped does wound my spirit also."
"I am unkindled." Ash replied, staring at Bedric with narrowed eyes "Raised again after death for failing to light the flame."
Bedric blinked before his lips pursed "...I see. Then you have my sympathies." he offered with a nod "Still, to meet here on the field of battle is good, no?" he smiled "We might test our mettle against one another with no ill feelings afterwards."
"Lucius!?" Artoria sputtered out while gaping at Bedric in surprise. The man blinked and looked down at her with wide eyes.
"Who?"
"No…your face is…" She still stared at him before shaking her head "No…perhaps it was my mistake." she offered "I apologize for my lack of composure. It is simply that I find myself surrounded by familiar faces…" she muttered out, looking at Nero with a more perturbed expression than anything else "...Very familiar faces."
Bedric looked at Nero and then looked at Artoria before he sported a similarly puzzled look "Indeed…I can see some…passing resemblance?" he offered with a shrug before he sighed "A distant relation perhaps?"
"Ah, so my descendants inherited my great beauty!" Nero puffed herself out "That is most rewarding to hear!"
"...I see." Bedric frowned ever so slightly, staring at Nero with a curious expression "...Does King Arthur's legend not state that she could pass as a young man though?"
Nero's smile froze.
"Indeed." Ash pursed his lips "I was curious about that myself." he shifted his attention to the knight in question "How were you able to achieve that?"
Artoria blinked, "For the most part it was a simple affair." she replied "Caliburn halted the process of my aging, therefore all assumed I simply bore the appearance of a young man rather than a prepubescent girl."
"The sword made you immortal?" Ash blinked at her, Artoria opened her mouth to reply before she stopped.
"I believe it only stopped my physical appearance from changing." She replied, then frowned "I am unsure as to whether Caliburn or Excalibur could prolong a life that long…It is disconcerting to think about such a life beyond Camelot."
"An item which can grant immortality." Bedric hummed "I believe that is rather an odd thing to consider…I believe the Curse could do as much however retaining your ability to remain sane is quite another obstacle." shaking his head, Bedric gave a pleasant smile at Artoria "Regardless, perhaps we should return to our assigned role here?"
"Indeed." Artoria nodded her head, turning to face Nero as she glanced at Bedric out of the corner of her eye "How strange…you share the face of a past foe and yet your personalities are akin to night and day."
"Then I am thankful to be told as such." Bedric replied with a sincere smile "To be granted a compliment by a King of Knights…that is certainly something to be amazed by, considering I was only a Knight for a short time before my death."
"Oh?" Artoria blinked "I see." she nodded "I trust you were a valiant and dutiful knight to your lord?"
"As well as I could be." He replied, then turned to Ash "Forgive me, I should introduce myself fully. I am Bedric of Lordran and Knight of the Darkmoon."
"...Ash of Lothric." The Unkindled nodded back, frowning ever so slightly "Warrior of Sunlight."
Bedric gave a pleasant smile "Oh? A warrior of Sunlight? That is pleasing to hear, I knew a great man of your order." his smile turned bitter "...and he deserved a better end." shaking his head, his hands rested upon his swords "However, now is not the time for melancholy."
"...No." Ash replied, clasping his hand around Galvatyne and pulling it from the ground before resting it on his shoulder "It is not."
Bedric slowly drew his swords from their scabbards and held them at his sides. Artoria raised her sword - cloaked in wind - and pointed towards the pair.
"We stand prepared for your advance-"
"-So advance you may." The pair stated.
"...So be it." Ash replied in a toneless voice, his greatsword ignited itself with demon fire as he lifted it off his shoulder. Nero's own sword ignited with a strange flame as she stared at the duo.
"...Begin!"