Nero-Fest: VIII

"We're so gonna lose." Romani blurted out as he stared down at the arena before raising his hands up and covering his face "I'm serious…even if we somehow manage to beat the two Divine Spirits down there - one of which is an actual wargod - we also have to worry about Heracles." he groaned, leaning back into his chair "And then there's also Romulus with his fame boost."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Roman." Ritsuka gave the man a flat look through the communicator before he released a sigh "I mean…won't Nero also have a fame boost?" he pointed out with a faint smile.

That got Romani to pause in his groaning and gradually turn his head to look Ritsuka in the eyes. "She will." he admitted "But compared to Romulus? It really isn't going to happen."

"W-well…" Mash spoke up with a hopeful tone of voice "There's no guarantee that the other Servants won't battle each other!" she stated, smiling confidently "They might battle amongst themselves while the Chaldea Servants are a team of sort?"

Romani paused, slowly moving to cup his chin. "I suppose we could be hopeful for that type of situation." he admitted as he scratched his neck "But it's not like our team is really all that astounding."

"Don't we have a Caster who beat a fire god?" Ritsuka asked, pointing down at the man in the ragged cloak of furs and fabrics with their hood still up. "That's got to count for something."

"Yeah, but they aren't a Chaldean Servant nor do we even know who they are." He sighed "I mean…they did step in to help us." he muttered "And Nero did say that the Shielder who beat Verndari seemingly up and vanished the moment they were done."

"So we don't need to worry about spontaneous photosynthesis?" Ritsuka hurriedly asked with wide hopeful eyes, Romani rolled his own before offering a small nod. The Master let out a sigh of relief "That's good…although we do have a Servant who can just set things on fire-"

"Not our Servant." Olga pointed out "An ally who seemingly decided to help us out of pity." she clicked her tongue "Considering they have yet to reveal their true name to anyone or even show their face, that hardly inspires any degree of confidence." she then paused and looked at Cecilia "...Can you tell anything about them?"

"He is human." She replied "...But I would need to be closer to fully allow mine sight to expose his true identity." she added on soon after, deflating the Director "I could make an attempt should it please thee?"

"Y-"

"Would it hurt?" Ash asked, standing behind her with his arms crossed and looking down. Cecilia remained silent for a few moments before she replied.

"T'would require the use of mine eyes, Milord." She admitted "And would be most unpleasant for my person, but should thee require it-"

"No." Ash replied before anyone else could "There is no need for it."

"I think there is." Olga snapped backwards "She has the capability of a Ruler to discern true names and you think that we should just avoid using it?"

"You wish for her to suffer agony instead?" Ash's eyes fell upon her, his face in a slight scowl and emerald orbs narrowed in suspicion. Olga flinched at the expression before she slowly turned back around to face the arena.

"...I-it…um…" She coughed into her hand "She-"

"Director." Mash whispered across to her with a slightly urgent expression "I don't think Ash-san will approve."

"He's your Servant Fujimaru!" She hissed towards the Master "Make him listen to reason!"

"I…don't think I want to make her suffer just to see someone's name." Ritsuka replied "And even if we do learn it, they might be someone from Ash's world and its not like we know that many people from there." he paused and looked around, seeing the blonde Servant peering down at them with a blank expression "Do you?"

"My knowledge is limited." Ash affirmed "As the name Flann meant nothing to me, nor did the name of Caffrey despite her being the creator of the coins I myself have used on occasion." he looked back towards the Caster on the field "However, he is of the Great Swamp and home of the Pyromancers, that much I am certain of."

"Really?" Ritsuka blinked "How can you tell?"

"Master Cornyx wore similar garbs to him." Ash replied "And his mastery of pyromancy far exceeded my own. From that we can determine Caster is likely a Master Pyromancer from the Swamp."

"Well…that's nice to know at least." Romani rubbed his forehead "...Know any famous Pyromancers?"

"There was the Goddess Quelana?" Ash shrugged, earning blank looks from everyone in front of him.

"...I don't think that Caster is a Goddess." Romani pointed out "Aside from the fact they've already been confirmed as human."

"Not going to mention they're also the wrong gender?" Ritsuka asked, leaning forwards slightly and raising an eyebrow at the man. Romani gave a mirthful huff in response and shook his head.

"When you're in the same room as King Arthur and Emperor Nero and both of them are apparently women, I think arguing against an identity purely because it's the wrong gender no longer applies." He remarked with a dry look in his eyes, Da Vinci leaned out from behind him and looked like she wanted to comment before she paused and blinked several times.

"You know, he is actually right." She remarked, cupping her chin and humming to herself "Although the question remains of whether you are familiar with any other Pyromancers?"

Ash frowned in thought for a few moments before he looked back at the inventor "The only other famous Pyromancer I know of is the founder of the practice within humans itself. That would be Salaman."

Olga's head whipped around to face him with wide eyes "S-Salaman? Is that some sort of joke?"

"No." Ash shook his head, then paused "...I am now noticing the similarities between Salaman and Solomon in terms of naming." he realised with a small noise "How strange."

"Salaman…" Romani was busy frowning "What do you know about them?" he asked with a slight intensity to his voice "What was their legend about, anything outstanding?"

"Everything I know comes from Cornyx." Ash replied "Salaman was the only pupil of the Goddess Quelana where Pyromancy had been only used by the Witches of Izalith beforehand. After being taught the art of Pyromancy, Salaman returned to the Great Swamp and took on many pupils and eventually made it a school of magic that humans could use."

"So before then it couldn't be used by humans?" Romani muttered, cupping his chin "Hmmmm. Anything else?"

"He was known as the Great Fireball." Ash shrugged "Beyond that, he was also regarded as the King of Pyromancers…Or Master Pyromancer depending upon who you asked, Cornyx never referred to him as a King but he said there were those who did." he paused before adding on "Although I believe it was simply because he founded the art rather than being of a ruling class."

"That's a really weird coincidence." Romani was still cupping his chin "...Anything else? Clairvoyance? Summoning?"

"I do not believe he had either of those talents." Ash shook his head "He is just the first human pyromancer and founder of Pyromancy within the human world. I only know of it because his legend is one that all Pyromancers know, bringing about the practice of a single master and a single pupil at any given time."

"Always two, there are." Ritsuka nodded his head with an oddly serious expression, Ash merely raised an eyebrow at him before grunting in affirmation.

"Still though, Salaman?" Da Vinci was busy looking just about ready to laugh behind Romani "Not only are the names similar enough, but it would seem their place in magical history remains the name if somewhat limited." she tilted her head "Whereas King Solomon is the King of Magecraft because he created it through revelation by God, it would seem Master Salaman or King Salaman was the creator of the magic school of fire spells after receiving a tutorship by a Goddess."

"...That's weird." Ritsuka slowly nodded his head "So he's like…fire Solomon?" he asked, tilting his head.

"It seems so but not quite." Da Vinci shook her head before she snickered "Considering he managed to get only several steps into the arena before he fell flat on his face and accidentally hit Sulyvahn in the side of the head."

Ritsuka snorted at the memory "Yeah…he still beat a Flame God though." he pointed out "So that's something."

"That is something indeed." Da Vinci nodded "However, I suppose the real question now is whether he actually looks like Solomon." Romani frowned intensely, moving his hand up to cup his chin as his eyes narrowed.

"That would be rather strange…" Romani muttered "Considering our current situation."

"All of which matters little right now." Olga waved her hand "Despite how useful it would be to have a Solomon type Servant at our side, from the sounds of things, despite their similar situations Solomon is undoubtedly superior to Salaman…and if that is Salaman down there, then he is a clumsy fool."

"Clumsy fool he might be, but he still bested a God in single combat with his own element." Ash pointed out "Not to mention he would be a far better Pyromancer than myself."

"Yes well…" She huffed, shaking her head "Forget it, for now all we need to do is focus on the Grail and getting back to Chaldea." she groaned, her head falling into her hands "This has been one headache after the next."

"How odd." Kojiro suddenly remarked as he looked around, his arms crossed in front of him with his hands resting in the sleeves "I feel as though someone might be complaining about our situation."

"Yes…well…" Caster coughed into his hand as he stood next to Sasaki "They wouldn't be wrong…this is actually terribly awkward for me."

"Oh?" Sasaki blinked "How so? I daresay you are in a uniquely suited position, given your victory over your last opponent."

"That's true." Caster admitted, what was visible of his face displayed a somewhat nervous smile "But the um…Chaos witch in the stands is now staring at me." he hastily whispered out while not so subtly pointing in the general direction of his observer.

Following the finger - sure enough - Sasaki soon spotted the shape of the half-woman/half-spider staring down at them or more specifically staring down at Caster with slightly narrowed eyes. Kojiro soon grew a slightly teasing smirk.

"I suppose I should offer my congratulations." He chuckled lightly "Your skill has earned you a not so secret admirer."

Caster gave him a deflated expression before shaking his head "You laugh now but I don't think I can actually beat half of these people."

"Oh, don't worry about that." He reached out, giving the Caster a reassuring pat on the shoulder "I don't think any of us can either."

"That's hardly reassuring." Caster almost whined before he looked towards the direction of their opponents. The Demi-God, wargod, Goddess and man standing in the corner with his arms raised to the sky were a rather intimidating sight, however the wargod himself was staring at Artemis with a slightly narrowed gaze to his eyes while the Goddess looked as though she would rather be anywhere but stood next to him.

"...I may have made a terrible mistake." The timid voice of Nero came from behind the pair as she stared at the list of adversaries with a bead of sweat running down the side of her head "I don't think I can fight the Holy Progenitor."

Caster blinked "...I can fight him." he remarked "Actually, I would rather fight him than any of the individuals who have close relations to Gods or are themselves Gods."

"Really?" Nero stared at him in surprise "But you did so well against the last one."

Caster winced "W-well…this and that are two different things." he remarked while raising one hand on either side of his person to articulate the point "Flann is a God of Flame." he pointed out, then slowly raised his hand towards the group, first pointing to Artemis "She is a God of just destroying the manhood - which I am very attached to - of her opponents." Sasaki gave a sage nod, then Caster pointed at the Nameless King "And he looks like he's the God of just hitting people with sharp weapons….also I don't think I can fight a dragon."

Nero opened her mouth to reply, then understood his point before closing it again.

"And finally…" His hand fell onto Heracles "...He looks like he could just snap me like a twig." he let out a nervous chuckle before gesturing to himself "I'm…um….I'm not that durable."

"...There is a solution to that." Sasaki remarked, giving Caster a supportive smile "Just avoid letting him catch you."

Caster stared at the man in dead silence for several seconds with an expression akin to bewilderment before it shifted into a slightly critical eye "You…you're joking, right?"

"I might be." Sasaki admitted with a shrug "But you cannot say I am wrong, can you?"

"...No. I suppose I can't." Caster replied, placing his hands on his hips and releasing a snort before turning to face the opposing Servants once again "...Do you think they actually will try and fight each other instead of us?"

"Who can say?" Sasaki merely offered in reply, looking far more calm about the situation than anyone else felt right about now.

"W-well…" Caster coughed before he looked towards Nero "Can we actually use Noble Phantas-"

"Yes!" Nero hurriedly replied with wide eyes before she quickly composed herself "I-I mean." coughing into her hand, she swiftly raised her voice so more people could hear her "As it is the grand finale, the use of Noble Phantasms is allowed!"

"Far be it from me to question the interest of fairness." Sasaki spoke up in a slightly strained tone of voice "But haven't there already been several uses of Noble Phantasms thus far?" he asked, looking at Nero out of the corner of his eye "Not to mention that our opponents have now been given the freedom to use their full power as well?"

"...Errrrr…oops?"

"Haha!" Caster let out a forced laughter as he placed his hands on his hips "My mentor always said my luck was amazing!"

"Did your introduction not involve you falling flat on your face?" Sasaki asked with a curious expression "And then did you not proceed to punch your ally in the side of the head?"

"...Quelana also said I was an idiot." Caster quietly replied as his shoulders deflated "A-although I think she used the term 'rascal' more than idiot more often so that's better, isn't it?"

"A sound improvement to be sure." Sasaki said with a straight face and faint smile "Then perhaps you might employ some of that legendary luck of yours-"

"You think so-"

"And fall flat on your back instead."

"...Okay."

"One more thing I feel I must ask." Sasaki suddenly turned to Nero with a raised eyebrow "Why did you include Hercules of all Servants in this roster?"

Nero blinked "Because all Romans know of the tale of Hercules." she paused. "Well…there was another Berserker who asked to take part but I had no knowledge of his legend and therefore it was unlikely to bring much excitement to the crowd." she shrugged "That and I seriously doubt he could contend with Hercules."

"I suppose there are few who can." Sasaki shrugged "Did you ever get a name?"

"Umu!" Nero beamed before she tilted her head "But I had never heard the name of Godfrey before…have either of you?"

Sasaki and Caster shook their heads.

"Exactly!" Nero pointed at the pair of them "A Hero like Hercules guarantees a grand gathering…what manner of strength could one that no one knows of give?"

Artemis - meanwhile - was busy staring up into space while nervously whistling to herself. She could feel the eyes burning into the back of her skull before she eventually couldn't take it and leaned her head down to Orion who was comfortably tucked away in her chest.

"D-darling? Is he still looking?" She whispered to him, Orion let out a sigh and turned his head up to stare at her, giving a half-lidded expression as best he could with his limited features before he climbed onto her shoulder and peered just behind her.

The Nameless King was still glaring at her back, his dull golden eyes entirely focused on the Goddess and his expression - as best as could be seen through the scarf - consisted of one of perfect calmness to it. Although Orion believed in such a thing as quiet anger, so this was more likely that.

"Yep." He affirmed to Artemis "He's still looking." turning around, he climbed back down into his hideaway "Boy, you really stepped in it."

"Why?" She whined "What did I do to him?"

"Maybe using me to neuter his brother played into it?" Orion rhetorically asked, shivering at the memory "I still think he's in the recovery tent."

"He was bullying you-"

"I was kicking his ass, I'll have you know!" Orion hotly cut her off, looking up at her "And while I am nowhere near the biggest fan of the Gods - aside from you - that doesn't really mean I wanted the guy to suffer that of all things!" he hissed out, widly waving his arms around "Especially not when his older brother, the War God, with a fucking Dragon mount was watching!"

Artemis flinched, her eyes watering slightly and earning a flinch from Orion. The bear let out a loud sigh as he reached up and nursed his forehead.

"Look…" He spoke in a much quieter tone "I appreciate it, really I do but come on…A Noble Phantasm to his dick? Really? Not to mention the fact he's still a virgin! I'm half convinced that the injury has now been burned into his Saint Graph!"

"...Is it really that painful?"

"You're the one who came up with it in the first place!" Orion exclaimed, then clambered up onto her shoulder again "Hey, big guy!" he shouted across to The Nameless King. Golden eyes slowly drifted from the back of Artemis' head down to the bear.

"...What?"

"So, Artemis is really sorry that she did that to your little bro." Orion began "And she's very, very sorry that she beat him-"

"It is not his loss that concerns me." Nameless cut him off, still speaking in an eerily calm tone of voice "Nor was it the humiliating display of her beating him like a squire with her bow." Artemis winced "Nor you bludgeoning his deformity with your club."

"Hehe?" Orion nervously rubbed his head and looked away.

"Nor was that his first battle I ever saw ended in defeat." Nameless went on "It was the fact you destroyed his genitals in front of his love interest."

"...Say what?"

Nameless nodded "I was informed that he was spending time with some woman by the name of Medusa-" Orion choked on air and Artemis brows furrowed "-and even went so far as to come to this festival with her…my own limited experience with women aside, I doubt their relationship is ever going to progress now that you have - quite literally - destroyed any chance at intimacy."

"...I swear I was kidding when I told him to go for the Gorgon." Orion hurriedly replied "But seriously?"

"I have no idea what the 'Gorgon' is." Nameless shook his head "However…" his expression darkened "But this is a loss I will not tolerate." he paused for a few moments before continuing on "And I would also prefer that the first battle I saw him in didn't end with taking a projectile weapon to his manhood."

"...Fair enough." Orion offered with a shrug "...Would an apology-"

"No."

"Worth a try."

"I-I suppose we can no longer put it off…" Nero muttered as she walked forwards, stabbing her burning sword into the ground and taking a deep breath. "A-and without further ado, we begin the battle for the Holy Grail between the Servants of Chaldea and those independent of it…" she gulped loudly as she stared at the opposing Servants.

"A-a-and…B-begin!" She pulled her sword out of the ground, already expecting to be rushed by every Servant present.

What happened was something entirely different.

"Help me little brother!" Artemis virtually screamed out at the top of her lungs and she leapt over the Nameless Kings head the moment Nero called out to begin.

The wargod looked momentarily dumbfounded before he turned around to face her only to catch Heracles fist to the face, the punch instantly knocking him off his feet and sending him flying into a wall. Artemis was busy cowering behind him with a now confident smile on her face as opposed to the earlier worry.

Nameless ripped himself from the wall, rolling his neck and shoulders and earning a crack from each of them before he uttered a single word.

"Storm."

Artemis promptly paled as the air shimmered in front of them, Storm's taloned feet fell upon the ground with a shaking thud, the feathered drake's head rising up and glaring at the duo in front of them before its four wings spread out on either side before giving a single powerful beat, unleashing a titanic gust of wind which kicked up a veritable storm of sand directly into the faces all all those on opposing side, Artemis herself being launched into the air due to her floating nature.

Heracles remained on the ground, the only noticeable impact on him was his scraggly hair flapping in the wind before it died down. The Berserker let out a low growl as he narrowed his gaze upon the drake. Storm inclined its head down to stare at the Demi-God with a hiss of its own before Nameless voice cut through.

"No Storm." He interrupted the drake as he stomped forwards towards Heracles, glowing eyes fell upon the wargod "Deal with the luna lordkin." he struck the butt of his spear against the ground "I shall test the strength of this one myself."

Storm let out a grunt before it spread its wings wide and launched itself into the air, Heracles remained unmoved by the display as he continued to fix his attention upon the Nameless King.

"Defeat of Havel is no small feat." Nameless praised as he strode towards the Demi-God "However, you and your sister would do well to remember…" he came to a stop a few metres from Heracles "I honed my skills against Ancient Dragons at the dawn of time."

Heracles released a roar and charged forwards at the same time Nameless kicked off the ground with a sonic boom, the pair rocketed towards each other and collided in an explosion of dust.

"So…" Caster coughed into his hand "Does this mean th-"

"ROMA!" The man promptly let out a panicked gasp and rolled to the side, the cry coming from above before he could finish his sentence. Sasaki and Nero also ducked away as a bronze blur crashed into the ground directly in between them. The pair spun around and stared at the shape of the crimson lance embedded in the ground before their eyes trailed towards its wielder.

Romulus kept a stony expression on his face as he looked between the three Servants before falling upon Nero. "Flower of Rome…I shall see the extent of your love as an Emperor." his eyes flashed as he ripped the spear from the ground.

Nero settled for merely staring at the man with wide eyes.

Romulus then moved, holding up the flat of his spear as a shield as a burst of fire came in from the right side, the flames washed over the spear and avoided the Emperor before dying out. Lowering the weapon, Romulus stared at the attacker.

"Caster from afar…That you fight in the colosseum of Rome is truly Roma." He gave a single nod of his head "I accept this declaration."

"Ummm…okay?" Caster replied with a slightly unsure shrug "I don't quite understand it all that well…" the man admitted, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck "But thank you for the praise, I suppose?"

Romulus' eyes swung to his left, raising his spear up and parrying away the nodachi aimed at his back, the Lancer pressed the attack with wide heavy slashes. His eyes narrowed slightly at the thin samurai who continually managed to block or avoid the attacks with relative ease, however it was clear that blocking them directly was something he wasn't going to be able to do for long.

His foot stomped into the ground, forcing him into a pivot as he swung upwards into Nero as she tried to flank in from the right, the crimson weapons collided with each other and earned a brief grunt from the Saber as she tried to contend with the superior strength of Romulus. Eventually, the Progenitor's strength proved superior and was able to knock her away before he thrust the spear back around and towards Sasaki.

The thin man ducked low, deftly avoiding the spear before he swung up towards the Emperor. Romulus backflipped through the air to avoid the attack before landing back upon his feet, then narrowed his eyes as he felt the ground heat up beneath his sandals for a split second. The Emperor trusted his gut and rolled away moments before a pillar of bright orange flames rose up from the ground and consumed the spot where he had been last. Red eyes darted towards the Caster who was already working on another spell when the Emperor spotted him.

Heracles' stone sword collided with Nameless Sword Spear in another explosion, the two struggled against the power of their opponent before Heracles kicked upwards, catching Nameless in the chest and hurling him up into the sky with a wheezing cough.

The Demi-God launched himself off the ground in pursuit, shattering the earth beneath his feet in the process as he raced up through the sky. Nameless eyes narrowed before he pulled his left hand back and clenched it in a spear throwers position. Heracles' eyes narrowed as the fist suddenly exploded with golden lightning, the crackles of light elongated into a large spear before Nameless hurled it downwards.

Heracles swung his stone sword up and braced the flat end of the weapon with his free hand like a shield, the lightning slammed into the makeshift barrier and sent the Demi-God hurtling back towards the ground like a rocket, smashing into the ground.

Nameless pointed his spear behind him as his momentum slowed, then shot out a jet of miracle light from the end of the spear and propelled himself back towards the ground and Heracles, the smoke already clearing and revealing the Demi-God in full. The wargod cut out the spear charge and swung his body sideways as he approached. Heracles' head snapped up just as Nameless closed in, the shin of the wargod smashed into his nose in a vicious kick which slammed the Greek into the ground.

Using the momentum of his fall, Nameless' kick dragged the pair along the ground for nearly a dozen metres before he raised his spear up and stabbed it into the ground just ahead of the pair. Releasing another explosion, he forced himself into the air in a flip while the detonation sent Heracles spiraling away from him in a mad tumble before roughly landing on the ground.

"A decent kick." Nameless commented as he made landfall, his legs bending slightly before he rose back up. "Although I find myself slightly vexed that you are under the influence of madness as opposed to a more…coherent opponent." he remarked as he started to walk towards the dust cloud where Heracles had landed.

"However, I was anointed a God of War not simply because of my raw strength." He commented, raising his spear and pointing it towards the cloud "But because of my intellect. Something this 'Berserker' class robs you o-"

A deafening roar cut him off, the force of the scream blasting the dust cloud apart as Heracles came rocketing out of the dust towards Nameless. The wargod narrowed his eyes slightly before quickly reversing his grip on his sword spear and throwing directly at the demi-God. Heracles swung his stone sword upwards, parrying the spear and sending it sailing through the sky.

Nameless rocketed forth after it, moving his body directly into Heracles' guard and thrusting his elbow out like a spear into the Berserker's gut. Heracles released a deep wheezing sound at the noise of cracking emanating from his body. Nameless swung the arm up like a catapult, smashing the back of his knuckles into the face of the Berserker before his left hand thrust itself out and his fingers speared themselves, the attack slamming into Heracles' collarbone and causing his body to jolt.

Nameless raised his boot upwards and stamped down on the toe, a small crunch echoed out as he broke the little toe of the Demi-God before he ducked down low and wrapped his arms around the Berserkers waist and hurled him over his body and sent him tumbling through the air, his stone sword falling from his grip and embedding itself in the ground.

Tilting his head, Nameless eyes narrowed slightly "...I suppose you would now be immune to my fists?" he muttered to himself as he stared down at his hands and clenched them "An opponent who becomes immune to that which harmed him…powerful indeed." he continued on, raising his head and watching as Heracles pushed himself back out of the ground.

"However…I was once heir to sunlight itself." Nameless hands started to crackle with lightning as he assumed another stance, raising his left hand and beckoning the Berserker to charge him "Perhaps I am not as grand as I used to be…however, I will not allow myself to be bested quite so easily." a smirk came to his face behind his scarf "Before this sight is over…I shall take half your lives."

Heracles only response was to spit out a glob of blood as it nose righted itself, his skin steaming and shifting in colouration as God Hand recovered his injuries.

Several glowing arrows of light struck against the beaked head, washing over the skin and earning an annoyed growl in response. Storm reared his head back, taking in a deep breath as his nose began to smoke, black fumes leaking from the beaked maw.

Orion let out a panicked squawk as he realised the intention "Fire! Fire! FIRE!" he cried out loud, Artemis coated herself in light and forced herself to the side as the stormdrake swung his head forwards. The beaked mouth split open, the black fumes ignited as they spilled forth from the mouth like a river, the glowing light of fire soon followed as the flames poured across the ground towards the Goddess.

Artemis dived to the ground as the fire washed past her, scorching the sand black before the drake turned his neck and started to pursue the Goddess, flames still billowing from the mouth at high speed before they started to sputter out. Artemis went skywards, pulling her glowing string back as far as she could with the arrow elongating into a spear before she released it downwards.

The light struck the side of Storm's head, earning a flinch from the drake in response. Mouth snapping shut and cutting off the stream of fire. His eyes glared up at her, releasing a glow menacing growl from his throat. Artemis released a nervous giggle before she swiftly unleashed another dozen arrows towards the drake's head, showering the dragon in light as he raised his wings and started to beat them furiously, unleashing powerful gusts of wind with each flex of his limbs. The hurricane of sand immediately swept across the entire stadium, blanketing the field in a thick cloud of dust and blocking out any hope of seeing what was going on.

"Can't see what's happening…" Ritsuka muttered out as he leaned over the railings, squinting his eyes and staring down at the cloud looking for any sign of movement from within it. His eyes fell upon the spot where Nero and the others had been fighting Romulus, he could occasionally make out a shape of someone from the flashes of orange light - presumably from a fireball - emanating from the blanket of sand but that was it.

"I suppose we are fortunate they elected to fight each other first." Ritsuka looked over his shoulder as Leonidas strode in, a rather large bruise around his neck in the shape of a hand from where Romulus had grabbed him. The Spartan rolled his shoulders and gave a hearty laugh "Still…to fight the founder of something as far reaching as the Roman Empire was a grand opportunity."

"Even if it resulted in failure?" Ash asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Failure?" Leonidas paused for a few moments "Perhaps so. It was indeed my defeat, while I would certainly have liked to have claimed victory in that bout, I will not complain about being bested by such an opponent. It merely gives me the chance to better myself for the next time I face such a foe on the field of battle." he exclaimed as he thumped his hand into his chest "In that regard, it is no different than a training exercise!"

Ash stared at him for a few moments before nodding his head. "The manner in which I was trained was similar enough. Die often enough to the same opponent and you will eventually learn their mannerisms and methods of fighting and claim victory."

Leonidas gazed back at the Saber in silence for a few moments before he eventually replied "...Yes, although I would like to ask if the dying aspect was truly necessary?"

Ash blinked "...It is not like I had a method of escape."

"I see." Leonidas nodded his head "Very well then."

"Hey!" Mash suddenly interrupted them, pointing down towards the far end of the field "I think I can see Faraam-san and Heracles-san!" The others - Leonidas and Ash being the fastest - quickly rushed over to the barrier and peered to the direction she was pointing in.

They watched as occasional flashes of yellow light illuminated the bulky forms of the Rider and Berserker as they traded blows

"The mighty Heracles getting the chance to best a wargod." Leonidas almost squealed "And I shall be here for that moment!"

Ash looked at him out of the corner of his eye "...And what makes you certain of his victory?"

"He is Heracles!" Leonidas boasted "That is reason enough!"

"...Faraam is a wargod and firstborn of Gwyn, Lord of Light."

"Heracles is the son of Zeus, King of the Gods."

"Hmmm."

"Hmph."

Ritsuka and Mash stared at the duo with flat expressions on their faces before the former blinked and looked at the Saber "Hey…Ash?"

"Yes?"

"How come you're…" Ritsuka paused, searching for the right word "Invested?" he paused, then nodded his head "Yes. Invested or supportive of Faraam?"

Ash tilted his head in confusion "Because he is the Patron God of my Covenant?"

"Alright…but it's just you seemed a little…" Ritsuka searched for the right word once again "Apathetic to this sort of thing?"

"The Warriors of Sunlight fight on the behalf of their summoner." Ash replied "Faraam is the Patron God of my faith and from what I gather, played no part in the machinations of Gwyndolin. The Warriors of Sunlight fight in order to bring about peace for those who they are called by, therefore it is a method of removing suffering." he looked back at the fight "Even if he is a wargod. Lord Faraam is the Patron of a Covenant that fights on the behalf of a better life, or so I believe. I have every reason to support him."

Ritsuka blinked at him "Huh…alright then." he smiled, looking back down at the fight "A method of removing suffering, huh?" He gave a light chuckle. "That sounds pretty nice."

A lighting covered fist slammed against Heracles cheek, the blow staggering him before he swung back and struck Nameless in the gut with a return punch. The God responded with several more punches to the body before Heracles let out a roar and shoulder barged him away from him.

Nameless was sent into a backwards roll before Heracles rushed forwards and uppercut him as his head rose back up. The God's head snapped backwards as blood spurted from his mouth, golden eyes burned as they snapped down towards Heracles, both his arms shot up above his head and clasped together before swinging down into the top of the Berserkers head.

The lighting covered fists unleashed a powerful explosion of light, the miracle charged attack sent Heracles flying away from him with his skin scorched and parts of his hair missing. The sand around them was instantly parted by the force of the detonation and revealed Nameless slightly hunched over and panting slightly.

Heracles rolled across the ground before his head snapped up and faced the Wargod once again. His eyes narrowed as his skin once again steamed over, his wounds slowly healing themselves and returning back to their original state.

Nameless released a slightly irritated huff "This is hardly sporting." he muttered as he straightened himself out and rolled his shoulders, punching his fist into his palm and unleashing another crackle of lightning with the impact.

Heracles roared and charged forwards, Nameless pivoted his body as the demi-god approached and narrowed his eyes.

Storm's head burst from the sands, the beak snapped shut around the top half of the Berserker before a jet of fire erupted from the mouth, scorching the body instantly. Nameless blinked in surprise at the sudden display - and the fact the flames were still shooting out of his drakes mouth - before Storm unhinged his jaws. The force behind the fire sent the smouldering remains of Heracles through the air before landing in an ashen heep on the ground. The top half of his body virtually unrecongisable.

Nameless threw his arms up in response "What was that? What happened to the Goddess you were chasing!?"

Storm gave a grunt followed by a series of rumbling growls as his wings inclined themselves like a shrug.

"You lost her?" Nameless parroted back "How? How did you manage that?"

Another series of grunts followed.

"You were the one who kicked up the cloud of dust in the first place!"

A single quiet growl was the response.

"Then get rid of the sand and find her again." Nameless palmed his face, shaking his head in irritation at the Drake.

Storm released a snarl before raising all four of his wings wide and giving a single powerful flap, instantly clearing away the sand on the field and sending it skywards.

"Hey!" Caster shouted out "We can see aga-"

"ROOOOMMMMMAAAA!"

"Oof!" Caster was cut off by a shout followed by a haymaker from Romulus that sent him bouncing along the ground like a stone across a lake before he eventually rolled to a halt. "...ouch." the man's voice echoed out soon after.

Turning away from the display, Nameless quickly located Artemis, the white haired Goddess coughing loudly as she waved her hand in front of her face to get what was left of the sand away from her.

She paused mid-cough as she noticed both him and Storm staring at her.

"Now I trust you can-" He was cut off when something grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the ground, the bellowing roar of Heracles came next as the Servant pulled him from the ground and hurled him through the air.

Nero grimaced as she struggled against Romulus' strength, the taller man bearing down on her with his crimson spear locked against her burning sword. His eyes bore into her with a certain intensity even as his expression remained perfectly straight.

"I see…" He muttered out eventually, pushing downwards and sweeping his leg out towards Nero. The blonde Emperor ducked low as the leg sailed above her head and forced her to roll away from the taller man. He lowered his leg and turned back to face Sasaki as he moved in from the side.

The Samurai moved in close, his sword virtually a blur as he started to trade blows with Romulus, the thinner man looking hardly concerned about the prospect of engaging the Lancer in a straight fight. Holding his own rather well as the two continued to exchange glancing blows.

Romulus leaned backwards as the edge of Sasaki's sword just nipped his side and cut a thin line in his body. The Emperor's eyes narrowed before he stabbed his spear into the ground and twisted it before ripping it free of the earth like a shovel, hurling all manner of debris towards the Assassin.

Sasaki narrowed his eyes and started to dodge and weave through the rubble before he moved in closer to Romulus and slashed down in a single attack. Romulus raised his spear and blocked the attack before parrying it to the side and lashing out with his fist at the Assassin. Sasaki dodged to the side to avoid the blow before he leaned back and swung upwards at the same time. This time managing to cut a thin line across Romulus' chest.

Caster sat up at that moment in time, looking around bleerily as he shook his head before wincing and pressing his hand against his bruised cheek. His hood having been knocked from his head and exposing his face to the world. The man slowly sat up fully and looked around, his long white hair flowing freely and dark amber eyes blinking repeatedly as he tried to get himself accustomed to his surroundings before he shook his head and stood up.

"Owwww…" He groaned, rubbing his face once again and wincing before his cheek embered up slightly before fading away and taking the bruise with it. The man rolled his shoulders and looked back towards the action. "Oh…oh my." he widened his eyes as he watched the fights across the entire arena continue onwards.

"Ah! You are awake again!" He jolted at Nero's voice suddenly next to him, the Emperor beaming up at the man before blinking and cupping her chin "Say…you seem to be strangely familiar somehow…"

"Really?" Caster blinked in surprise "I do not recall meeting you…"

"No, perhaps it is someone else I met who looks similar?" Nero frowned, scrunching her face up in thought.

"...Cute." Caster muttered out before his eyes went wide and his slapped a hand over his mouth "I-I mean-"

"Umu!" Nero beamed, a wide proud smile on her face "I am adorable, however this is no time to bask in my beauty - however you are free to do so after - for now we must battle against our foes!" she pointed in the direction of the fighting Gods "Do you think you can do something to weaken them?"

Caster shook his head before furrowing his brows slightly, looking over and nodding his head once "I think I can."

"Excellent!" Nero reached out and patted him on the shoulder, earning a slight jolt from the man "I am most satisfied!"

"A-ah, well…um…h-happy to help." Caster quickly replied, giving a nervous smile and rubbing the back of his neck while his eyes looked away from Nero.

Shaking his head, Nameless turned around as Heracles tackled into him, the gods legs dug into the ground to halt his momentum before he wrapped his arms around the Demi-God and hurled him to the side, freeing himself from the tackle and causing the Berserker to roughly impact the ground.

Nameless charged forwards, launching a haymaker into the side of Heracles head with his right hand. The punch impacted and snapped his head to the side before doing nothing else. Heracles' eyes slowly trailed back to Nameless and glared up at him, his left hand reached up and tightly grasping his wrist earning a wince of pain from the God before he swung up with his right arm.

Nameless caught the fist with his free hand, stopping the attack dead in its tracks and glaring down at the Berserker as he slowly rose to his full height, the pair now shoving against their opposite strength. Heracles let out a deep rumbling groan as he started to push Nameless back step by step, the Demi-God clearly the stronger of the pair, although Nameless hardly looked concerned by it.

Dull golden eyes narrowed slightly at the Berserker before he strained his body as far as it would go, slowing both of them to a halt and cracking the ground beneath his feet. Heracles followed suit, digging into the sand under him and leaning forwards with all his might, the pair straining against their opponent.

Storm's jaws snapped closed in empty space as Artemis once again avoided being dragon food. The beast let out a low growl before it dashed after the Goddess, continually biting at her and causing her to let out a slightly more panicked gasp each time.

"We need the big guy." Orion muttered, looking past Storm towards Heracles fighting with Nameless "That means we gotta swap opponents!"

"But he's scary!" Artemis whined.

"So's the dragon trying to eat-duck!" He exclaimed with sudden horror as Artemis dropped down, a jet of flames shooting out just above her head with the heat of the flames still felt by her clearly as she shot through the sky. Spinning around, she shot the next arrow towards the dragon's foot as it charged forwards, the light projectile slammed into its large toe and earned a whine from the beast in return, the animal barreling over in a tangled mass of limbs.

Artemis let out a pleased cheer before watching as the dragon quickly shot back to its full height, righting itself and charging back towards her. Artemis ducked down low, shooting forwards and sliding across the ground underneath the dragon and it rushed above her, the Goddess firing off arrows as she went beneath it, the projectiles burning thin plates along the armour of the drake and causing it to let out a hiss of pain.

Sliding back up, Artemis spun back around as the dragon slowed itself to a halt, rearing his body back and peering down at his chest and the black spots lining his plate armour where the arrows had struck. Storm let out a growl before they slowly shifted their head to look behind themselves at Artemis, the Goddess wet her lips as the dragon seemingly glared at her for a few moments before his tail rose up.

The extra limb slammed back into the ground, cracking the earth and releasing a small quake which had the Goddess stumble slightly and rise into the air to avoid the worst of it, as she righted herself she soon noticed a blur in the corner of her eyes. Her head snapped towards the movement, soon finding herself sailing through the air as the tail slammed into her gut like a hammer as the dragon spun around.

Artemis let out a pained cough from the impact before she then let out a deeper gasp as her back crashed into the side of the arena. The Goddess coughed heavily, blinking repeatedly from the strike and shaking her head to try and re-orientate herself once again.

Her eyes went wide as she saw Strom slowly stalk towards her, the dragon leaking black smoke from its maw as his eyes remained fixed upon her.

"Teach you to bully the only God I like!" Artemis blinked at the sudden shout before a small blur landed on Storm's beak. The dragon himself looked rather surprised before letting out a hiss as Orion rushed the length of the beak and lept across onto the right side of the dragon's head and clung onto the eyebrow, swinging his club down directly into the eye.

Recoiling, Storm let out a pained hiss as Orion repeatedly struck his club against the eye and then the eyelids as the dragon snapped them closed to try and protect the optic nerve. All the while he was furiously shaking his head to try and dislodge the small bear from his face.

"Get Heracles!" Orion shouted out at the top of his lungs "Now dear!"

"But you look so cool!" Artemis called back "Are you sure you need he-?"

"YES! Send help!"

"Alright!" Artemis called back, then turned towards the direction of Heracles and Nameless. Taking a deep breath, she drew back her bow and allowed the glowing arrow to manifest. She loosening the arrow of light, she watched as it instantly crashed into Nameless's back, the wargod letting out a shout of pain before Heracles threw his arms wide and kicked the god in the gut and launched him away, his body skipping along the ground like a stone across a river before crashing into the side of the arena.

"Little bro!" Artemis hollered out, earning Heracles attention before he could chase after the wargod, his head turning in her direction before she pointed towards Storm "Help Orion please!"

Heracles stared at her before giving a single grunt and throwing himself forwards.

Storm finally succeeded in freeing himself from Orion, flicking his head to the side and sending the bear hurtling through the air while crying out. The dragon growled before turning his head back towards Artemis.

Only for the blur of Heracles to crash into the side of his head and barrel him over completely. The Demi-God let out a bellowing cry as he did so as the dragon fell onto his side while thrashing about wilding. Heracles leaned down and clasped both parts of the jaw and forced them shut, his body straining as he kept Storm from moving before he pulled up with his back.

Heracles pulled as hard as he could, Storm's eyes widening as the Berserker proceeded to bodily throw the dragon over his shoulder and onto his back while maintaining a grip on his beak. Storm tried to right himself only for Heracles to pivot and pull at the same time, Storm letting out a muffled cry of alarm as he was dragged across the ground and then released, ragdolling through the air and then crashing into the ground in a mess of ruffled feathers and limbs.

Heracles roared and charged forwards once again.

"That's little brother for you! Right Darling?" Artemis gave a prideful smile before she paused at the lack of response and looked around "Darling?" her expression became slightly worried as she continued to look around "Daaarrrrling!"

"You mean this?" She turned to the voice, only for her eyes to bulge out of their sockets and for her to crumble over as something impacted her gut at high speed. The Goddess dropped to her knees and coughed heavily as a result, turning her head and seeing Orion lying near her with a dazed look in his eyes.

A stomping sound which gradually grew in volume reached her ears, her head craned up while her face was still in a strained expression of pain as the form of Nameless loomed over her. She made to move back however found herself too slow before a large hand clasped around her neck, halting her movements and pulling her into the air.

Nameless then slapped her bow out of her grasp with his left hand, sending the weapon skidding along the ground.

"Not so fast." He coldly remarked, bringing his foot up and stamping down on Orion as the bear tried to get up. The small toy let out a wheeze before he stopped struggling.

"Okay…I'm out of moves." Orion managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"Now then…" Nameless sighed out, looking between the two of them "I can just as easily snap your neck-" he tightened his grip around Artemis for point of reference, earning a wince from her "-as I can crush you underfoot." he turned his eyes down on Orion and glared at the bear, as if daring him to move.

Orion gave a weak nod in response.

"However…I shall offer you the opportunity for a surrender." He looked back at Artemis and narrowed his eyes "But I would prefer a swift answer as I am-" a distant rumbling sound went off as Storm was thrown into the ground by Heracles "-I am in a rush to be elsewhere."

"...A surrender sounds good." Orion muttered out from underneath Nameless, he then looked over to Artemis and smiled up at her with a very exasperated expression "Really…you aren't all that cut out for this type of fighting anyway."

Artemis pouted slightly, her shoulders deflating "...But I was good at it. I won too!"

"Hmmmm." Nameless gave an incredulous hum in response "Your surrender?"

"Fine!" Artemis huffed "We lost."

"Excellent." He grunted, then paused and looked up before growing behind his scarf "...Where are all the flames going?"

Romulus ducked back as Nero swiped at his head before he swung his leg out low and kicked Nero's feet out from beneath her. The Emperor let out a gasp of shock before Romulus shin lashed out and kicked into her side and sent her flying away from him.

The Emperor turned away and faced Sasaki as he moved in closer, immediately going on the offensive with a series of rapid slashes and thrusts. Romulus immediately put himself on the defensive from the barrage of attacks, his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched each attack come in from an entirely new angle.

Even the mind's eye granted by his imperial privilege didn't do anything to try and negate the attacks. As if each one was entirely unpredictable which was rather impressive and slightly worrisome. Sasaki suddenly paused, looking behind Romulus with wide eyes and soon backing away as fast as he could.

Romulus blinked and risked looking over his shoulder.

The torches which had been lining the outer wall of the stadium had been snuffed out, their fires trailing through the sky as they all moved towards the Caster, his hands extended into the air and his palms facing the growing ball of fire hanging above his head.

The Caster had his eyes closed as he then unleashed his own flames from his fingers into the ball of fire, the orb spinning rapidly as it gathered more and more flames into itself and soon started to grow in size to the point where it was over two metres in diameter.

Dark amber eyes snapped open as he stared back at the group in front of him before he opened his mouth and spoke aloud.

"First Noble Phantasm deployed." He called out as the light above him intensified to the point it was blinding to look upon, the heat emanating from the sphere at the closest Servants taking several steps backwards. "The moment of igniting the world has come. I am he who mastered the Fire of Life. Now, let these flames reduce you to ash."

He spread his arms wide "Magnus Ignis Sphaera!"

The ball of fire suddenly hurtled forwards at the centre of the arena, causing all the nearby Servants to immediately widen their eyes in alarm - including Heracles who jumped off Storm and leapt away from the impact zone - and made as much distance as they could.

The ball of fire crashed into the ground, soon unleashing a devastating explosion which consumed the entire inside area of the stadium, the torrent of fire washing across the length of the arena and burning the sand to glass as it continued on before consuming the Servants within it.

Roots ripped themselves from the earth, rising higher and higher into the air as they formed an inner wall around the explosion and contained it within them, a transparent blue hue surrounding the white plants as they managed to block the fire from touching the citizens.

The white roots remained present up until the fire started to die down before they retracted back beneath the blackened earth and out of sight. None noticed the small figure with long blue hair in a white cloak standing atop the outer wall of the stadium give a pleased smile before disappearing into motes of light.

As the flames retracted, only Caster was still seen standing with Sasaki and Nero both ducked behind him while looking as though someone had taken a flamethrower to their outfits.

The Caster only managed to give a nervous chuckle in response "A-ahaha…o-oops?"

A hand burst out of the rubble and clawed at the ground, the rest of the body soon followed as Heracles dragged his burnt body out of the blackened glassy earth and back into the open, his wounds already knitting themselves shut after restoring his body from however many lives he had lost.

"U-ummm…" Nero swiftly looked around before her eyes widened and she suddenly pointed towards the air "Chaldea win!" she hurriedly shouted out "We're the last team standing and I never specified that we had to kill all our opponents, only best them!" she pointed at Heracles who was now standing stock still "W-we managed to beat you and all the others, so it's our win! Haha!"

Caster blinked and turned to look down at Nero "Is that really allo-"

"Hahahaha!" Nero gave a forced laugh as she reached up and clamped a hand around Casters mouth and stopped him from speaking further before she leaned towards him "Do you want to fight Hercules?" she whispered out to him in a panicked voice.

Caster shook his head.

"Me neither!" Nero unhanded him "S-so Chaldea win! You can't say I'm wrong because I'm the Emperor and whatever I say goes!"

"You know…ordinarily I would debate the legitimacy of what she just said…" Romani remarked as he stared down at the arena "But I think it's best that if we overlook it in this particular case, right everyone?"

"Ummm…d-did that Caster just kill everyone else?" Ritsuka found himself asking as he pointed down with wide eyes "Also is it me or does he look like-"

"Solomon?" Mash nodded her head "Yes Senpai…he does…"

"That's freaky." Romani added on with a shiver "Really freaky."

"Yeah…" Da Vinci chuckled from behind the Doctor, earning a flat look from him in response.

"So…what now?" Ritsuka asked as he turned to Olga "Director?"

"Now?" Olga groaned "Now we get our Grail and get the hell out of here." she grunted, not even making an effort to hide her annoyance "I've had enough of Rome to last the rest of my life."

AN: Yep, Nero wins through cheating again. Because that's how she would win everything and whether you hate it or not, it's perfectly within character for her to do that.

Anyway! Nerofest ends next Chapter so you can all look forward to that.

Also I may or may not have revealed a hint for Casters true name…but you're gonna have to wait for it to get revealed in full before I give any stats!

Will it be the next chapter or will it be when he's summoned?

Who knows!