Author Note
Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond.
Here we are with the third part of the Septem Singularity. Here is the chapter.
Avalon Bond
Part II – Fate Grand Order
Chapter 23 – Septem Part III
Beta: Axel Emiya
As Shirou had opened his eyes, he stirred at the ray of sunlight that invaded the room he and Arturia shared. The usual and quite pleasurable weight of his fiancées head on his chest brought a content smile on his face. As he looked around the room, though, Shirou found himself at a loss for words to describe it. Sure, they were staying inside the Emperors manor, but it didn't sink in until just now.
The room was fit for royalty, no question about it.
The bed was enormous, and it could fit four people easily. The room walls were filled with golden ornaments and statues of Roman warriors and figures of history, well, history even before the history they were in right now.
The view of the room, however, was what made him gasp.
During their adventures for the Clock Tower and for the Church, they had been to Rome a couple of times. And it surprised Shirou to realize that aside from some monuments still under construction, 1st century Rome and 21st century Rome were almost the same. He couldn't tell they were 20 centuries in the past as he observed the magnificent Empire capital in all its splendor. Gently placing Arturia's head on one of the pillows, the redhead servant got up and then approached the open window and just admired the sights for a good while.
When Arturia woke up and found her favorite pillow missing, she looked around the room, only to smile when her eyes saw Shirou looking outside.
"As loathe as I am to admit it, this city is quite beautiful."
The redhead turned as Arturia stepped closer to him and leaned on his arm while embracing him.
He knew about her entanglement with the Roman Empire in her time as he kissed her forehead.
"It is indeed. I was surprised to see that it almost looks the same from our time as Freelancers."
"It does…from the European cities we visited, Rome is the one that changed the least throughout the ages. In my time, the monuments were already built though."
"In a way, we are blessed with this opportunity, right? Who would have thought that we would be traveling to the past and see this with our own eyes?"
The King of Knights looked at Shirou's smile and melted in delight. Many times she had seen that look in his eyes and in all of those times, her knees would simply melt.
"We are indeed blessed Shirou…" Arturia felt even more so, considering everything that has happened thus far in their lives and in her life.
===Main Hall===
The servant couple then left the room and went towards the main hall where they had dinner yesterday.
When they got there, though, they had to sweat drop as the emperor's staff ran left and right with the necessary arrangements to accommodate for Nero's guests. Even without guests, satisfying Nero was already quite a troublesome task and extending the courtesy to her guests was a must for the pompous Emperor. Arturia had to stop Shirou from offering his kitchen services to the emperor. While she craved for his food almost daily, the King of Knights wasn't interested in Nero knowing about this specific trait about her fiancée. The less interest Nero shows in Shirou the less irritated Arturia will be at her, meaning that they could solve this singularity much easier.
"Good morning Shirou, Arturia, did you have a good night's sleep?" Jeanne approached the couple from the back and they could see that Jeanne appeared to be floating, instead of walking. "That bed was out of this world…even better than the one from Chaldea." It was not a good comparison, seeing as most rooms in Chaldea were single beds of standard quality but for someone like Jeanne who never had much in terms of accommodations, it was a completely new experience.
"It was indeed, Jeanne." Shirou and Arturia had slept on some very comfortable beds during their travels, but not to this extent as well.
"Say Shirou, are you cooking today. I was hoping to eat some of your pastries today after a good night's sleep." Shirou scratched his head as he looked at his fiancée.
"Actually Jeanne, not today…for some reason, Arturia was most insistent that I allowed the staff to do their job."
Jeanne looked at the irate King of Knights and giggled, while Shirou walked towards the tables to join Mash and Ritsuka, leaving Jeanne alone with Arturia.
"Something the matter, Arturia? You love Shirou's pastries as well." Arturia, though, merely shrugged at the questioning, as they walked. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Emperor Nero taking an interest in him, right?"
Arturia wasn't even trying to deny the accusation.
"Well, the less she decides to antagonize me the better…so, yeah, you're right." Jeanne only smiled as she looked at the irate Arturia from the corner of her eye.
"I see…I guess I can wait until we return to Chaldea to have his cooking once more."
As they arrived, Nero was seen talking with Mash and Ritsuka about their ongoing plans for today as part of her garrison, so Arturia and Jeanne just took a seat together with Shirou, while receiving breakfast by the Roman Empire's Staff. And because Arturia kept Shirou's prowess from the Emperor, breakfast remained a quiet affair for everyone, except the occasional personal boost from the Emperor, here and there. Still, it was far better than what it could be, had Shirou offered to help. His cooking had that much of an effect on most people.
With breakfast out of the way, the team from Chaldea and Nero stood inside her personal chambers for a war meeting.
"Okay then, let us proceed. So please be seated." Nero commanded everyone to sit in a gigantic mahogany table with plenty of seats for way more than they had today. "So you informed yesterday that this Holy Grail you seek is the cause for the creation of the United Empire. So am I to believe that the so-called Emperors could be servants like all of you?" Ritsuka and Mash took in the reins of the conversation revolving around Chaldea as they were the original members of the team. Shirou, Arturia and Jeanne were there as the muscle and front-line fighters.
"Precisely your highness, we believe so…have you or your viceroys encountered any figure from the past or someone who would be already dead?"
Nero had placed both hands together beneath her chin, contemplatively.
"So far, we know that are these so called 'emperors' that formed the United Empire, but their identities so far remains a mystery. The only one that would fit that criteria would be Caligula, my uncle. He was killed some time ago, but strangely so, he appeared and was even responsible for killing my court mage. Ironic was that my mage had boasted that he had created a spell for immortality and was killed soon after." Nero's sudden pause at least gave to Arturia the notion that the woman cared for her subjects, despite the use of the word 'ironic'.
This time, Romani made his voice known as he addressed the Emperor.
"Forgive me Emperor Nero, but is the name Lev Lainur familiar to you? He is a mage from our time and we believe he may be in this era."
"No, my obscure friend mage…that name is unfamiliar to us…should I place an alert on this elusive mage?"
It was an awkward method of conversation to the Emperor to talk to a screen floating next to Ritsuka, but the woman was nothing if not adaptable.
"If he's here, then for sure he is aiding the United Empire, your highness. I bet that we shall meet him as we search for the Grail." Mash replied, earning a nod from Ritsuka.
"So, what can you tell us about Caligula, your highness?"
Emperor Nero turned her attention to the almost shirtless servant Shirou. The memory from her uncle brought a down look from the petite Emperor.
"When alive, he was first a beloved and wise ruler, but before his death, he became a total sadist, performing atrocities and misdeeds upon every enemy that he laid his eyes on. Today, I don't have much information to provide, the only member of my army who saw him trembled in fear and became catatonic. He wasn't able to supply me much, except that my uncle appeared mad from anger and murdered everyone with his bare fists. All he managed to report was the sudden glow of the moon before my uncle up and killed everyone." The description was enough for the members of Chaldea to know that he became a Berserker like servant, though the moon description didn't fit.
It was Romani, however, who filled in the blanks as he processed the info from the Database.
"The moon reference must be Caligula's Noble Phantasm. The moonlight is the sublimation of the legend expressing the madness of Caligula as the affection and divine protection of the moon."
"Umu…I see, so the gods blessed my uncle's madness…well, far from me to question the actions of the Gods. Thank you, my obscure friend. Now, let us move on to the next item…a war expedition to the city of Gaul. The goal here is to aid and give encouragement to my fellow subordinates. I'd like you all to accompany me. Well, what say you oh proud Chaldeans?"
"If I may ask your highness, what is the situation in the city of Gaul?" Ritsuka questioned and Nero replied in a monotone.
"Gaul is a front-line in the war against the United Empire. If what you said is true, then these so-called servants must be there as well and we could use all of your strength to aid the Roman Empire."
Ritsuka then exchanged looks with the servants, earning nods of approval for him to proceed.
This place would be perfect for them to scout the area and provide reconnaissance about the doings of the Grail in this singularity.
"Yes, count us in your highness." Nero practically jumped on top of the table excited for having this group's aid.
Ritsuka was even more surprised when the tiny blond woman, still on top of the table, inclined her body and her face stood inches from Ritsuka.
"Excellent, we shall proceed then. My garrison shall leave right away. Please follow me, then."
===Route towards Gaul===
The expedition towards the city of Gaul went as fine as one could expect with the occasional enemy force here and then, but nothing either of the servants couldn't handle. Still, Nero ended up praising Ritsuka's leadership in handling the situation and even had the audacity to offer him Britannia if he became her commander. No doubt, Arturia had to be mentally restrained by Shirou from openly attacking the Emperor. It was bad enough that King Arthur was helping a Roman Emperor, it was worse with this woman openly admitting to just giving Arturia's own country on a whim like that.
If this was the real history, then Nero would be tasting Arturia's blade right now for such travesty.
The entire journey took most of the day, considering that Nero's troops marched behind them. The ones from Chaldea were provided horses for the trip.
Eventually, they arrived at the Gaul camp site and they could see tents of various colors and sizes built in a clearing between two mountains. There was a lake nearby for water supply as well. The people from Chaldea rapidly received tents of their own to rest and recover while Nero gathered the troops that accompanied her as well as the ones stationed in Gaul. The Emperor then stepped on a platform as she received cheers and applause from everyone. It was quite easy to see how the woman thrived in this scenario.
"Wow senpai, listen to them. So this is how Emperor Nero was at her peak?"
Mash and Ritsuka were truly awed at the leadership display. Shirou, though, only sighed as he heard Arturia murmur atrocities.
"Don't start Shirou, what respectful leader goes out and says that whatever victory the army achieves belongs to her. That's not what a leader is supposed to act." Jeanne by this point was getting used to the righteous warrior and her friend, so she just laughed as Arturia inflamed her notion of what a leader was supposed to be like. "A leader needs to be at the front lines with her troops…she needs to unsheathe her blade as much as demand her army to do the same. She needs to shed blood as much as the amount of lives lost in the battlefield. A leader needs to lead by example and not simply stay in the back and bask at the glory achieved through sweat and blood from the brave army."
It was clear at this point that whoever Arturia was talking to was no longer her fellow servants, but herself.
"Wise words stranger, wise words indeed."
Everyone then turned to see a woman with short red hair, wearing a white blouse and yellow lines and a roman tunic in her waist region.
Next to her, a gigantic blond man with strong muscles and a full out smile that bothered on the psychotic.
"Are you a part of Emperor Nero's garrison? I was expecting her to arrive much later. Well, thank you all for coming and aiding us. I'm Boudica, general of the Gaul Expedition and this fellow next to me is Spartacus." Arturia heard no more and looked at the woman that inspired generations before her and even her to aspire into greatness of becoming a knight and then king. She certainly ignored the boosted and quite strange presentation of the warrior known as Spartacus, though the name wasn't completely unfamiliar to her.
"B-oudica…" The person in question saw the blonde looking at her and only smiled at the interest.
"Yes, Boudica, the 'former' queen of Britannia." Arturia wasted no time and crossed the group until she shook hands with the other Britannian.
"It's an honor to finally meet you, your actions have inspired our country and many of our citizens to fight towards a better world and you have inspired me as well." The red-haired looked dubious at Arturia, who of course realized that some clarification was needed here. "Oh sorry…allow me to introduce myself, my name is Arturia Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon and former King Arthur of Camelot. It was my goal to unite the islands of Britannia into a single country under one rule." Boudica's eyes widened as she shook Arturia's hands more fervently.
"Oh my…so you are servants as well. And I didn't realize it that my actions helped that much….Pendragon…that last name is quite familiar. Oh my, we have lots to talk about, for sure."
Shirou and Jeanne could see the radiance in Arturia's expression. It was quite a rare situation for Arturia to meet a heroic spirit that predates herself from her land. Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Mash were trying to make sense of the man named Spartacus's words, though both were failing miserably. Plus, the strange and sickening smile of his only served to unnerve them and even the people from Chaldea who were seeing the whole thing. Romani could see from the database that these two were servants just like Shirou, Arturia and Jeanne.
"Well, then, another champion was invited to the battlefield. You should all be pleased; this garden of battle is filled with oppressors." Spartacus was even swinging his sword for good measure while he spoke. "The oppressors are committing atrocities as they approach. It is time to rise up, let us battle side by side. You who dare defy this unparalleled tyranny." The man even paused for effect, but still Mash and Ritsuka were lost for words. "So, warriors of the rebellion, give us your names. Let us revolt together against the inhumane empire and shout in glory under a free sky."
Ritsuka and Mash still weren't sure how to respond, but at least they got to introduce the team to the exuberant looking man.
Spartacus, after hearing Shirou's introduction, saw the redhead extending his hand in greeting and squeezed it hard.
Boudica was prepared to see the fellow redhead complain about the hard handshake, but she was surprised when Shirou measured the same amount of force, despite the smaller hand in comparison and even size wise. Spartacus took a liking immediately to him, none the wiser that Shirou was drawing energy from the Earth by standing still, a skill he inherited from Muramasa.
"Oh yes, indeed you're worthy of standing next to me fellow warrior as we march together against the United Empire. Let us march straight against those oppressors who threatens the citizens' freedom."
Shirou just laughed at the gigantic man and shook his hand.
"Well, I don't much follow your way of thinking, but seeing as you are all fighting with Emperor Nero, I guess I can state that we are allies in this war."
Mash and Ritsuka now turned to Shirou as he managed to conduct the conversation.
Boudica observed it and laughed at their befuddled expression. They weren't the first and sure won't be the last to get used to the strange warrior mannerisms.
"Ah Boudica, you said that you are a servant as well. But when we talked to Emperor Nero, she was unfamiliar with the term."
Boudica shifted her attention from Arturia to Mash as she smiled.
"Yes, she doesn't know about our situation thus far…which is a strange situation altogether. It was Nero who killed me and overthrew Britannia, but here am I reborn in this singularity, fighting on her behalf. It's quite vexing indeed if you ask me to fight alongside the one responsible for ruining my life." The group stood on edge as Boudica narrowed her eyes in clear anger. "Her army killed my family, took over my beloved country and despite my most valorous efforts even rallying the other kings together, the Roman Empire still were victorious and I perished." After the explanation, Ritsuka and Mash looked to one another in concern as they didn't know if Boudica was actually a foe disguised as a friend. However, her tone and even facial demeanor suddenly shifted. "But I hate the United Empire more, so the choice was not that hard."
"Ah I see, so…" Boudica stopped talking when Nero approached.
"Your highness, how can we be of service?" The Emperor looked pale and quite tired as evident of her holding her head while walking towards the group.
"Boudica, I shall rest for a while, please provide any and everything they require for the evening. We shall talk tomorrow about the plans to attack the United Empire."
Boudica bowed at the order as the Emperor turned and went to her tent.
Mash even ushered Ritsuka to go inside their tent as well and the boy didn't offer much resistance, leaving only the servants to make camp for the day.
"Well, usually, it would be preferable to see what you all are made of to see how to better use you all. But anyone who can shake hands with Spartacus is pretty strong to me." Boudica smiled at the disarming smile from Shirou at the praise. "Also, you all are dressed to impress in the battlefield, so I have no doubt about your skills. Now, allow me to whip you all something to eat. Come…Spartacus can build us a fire and I can cook you guys something…not Roman, but Britannian." The mention of food brought about a sudden thunderbolt in sound as everyone turned to the blushing Arturia, earning a rise out of Boudica.
She even stepped into Arturia's own personal space and hugged her with much happiness.
"W..what are you doing?" Shirou smiled at Arturia's trepidation, knowing that she wasn't much in favor of such intimacy with strangers.
"Oh sorry about that, it's just this feeling I have looking at both you and Mash here. I feel like you guys are family."
"Miss Boudica, allow me to help you with the cooking. It's the least I could do to help." The Queen of Victory turned to the redhead and beamed at the offer.
"Oh, wonderful, I'd love the help."
As such, the group of servants got around a campfire as Mash, Jeanne and Arturia explained their situation to Spartacus and Boudica.
The woman Rider servant was basking in her time together with Shirou as the two whipped up something quite delicious for the group. Boudica had hearts in her eyes when Shirou had explained about his relationship with Arturia. Being a servant herself, she was no stranger to the Throne of Heroes system and even less so with the knowledge that most of these servants were not only from a foreign land but also from a time much further in the future. She was further surprised when Shirou displayed a thorough ability in cooking and to someone who's been from the past like her with men in the field and women (most women) in the kitchen, it was quite a welcoming sight to see.
Also, Boudica could see the look of adoration from her successor in the Britannian throne as she ravaged Shirou's plate like no tomorrow.
Boudica then took a seat next to Arturia who was by Jeanne's side. Mash was still trying to talk to Spartacus until Shirou came to her rescue.
"So successor…" Arturia followed Boudica's movement until she took a seat. "you said that I inspired you. What can you tell me about our beloved country? I always loved it…the wind and the earth, the flowers and the plants, the springs and the clear streams. I love everything about our country and it thrills me to understand our country's future." Arturia kept hearing Boudica talk with a lovestruck expression on her face and Arturia understood it…perhaps more than anyone.
And she wanted to alleviate Boudica's concerns and say that it got better with time, but it wasn't true.
"Unfortunately, not much was changed after your time and even in my time as King. Human nature just took a long time to solidifiy our country into a united front. Actually, it was only close to Shirou's time, that our country later named the United Kingdom truly flourished. In my time, major skirmishes still occurred, some I'm sad to say happened because of my actions and even my omissions towards my knights and even myself. It was only when I met Shirou, my fiancée, that I realized the folly of my actions and way of thinking. Still, the fall of Camelot was destined into happening."
"Wow, I bet that's much to your history than that, I'd love to get the opportunity to hear more about it. And you said that Shirou is from a time even further than your own. How did you two meet then?"
Boudica was eyeing the redhead sparring against Spartacus and Mash looked frantic worrying about it going overboard.
Jeanne had already listened to this story, so she just stood on the sideline, enjoying the rest of the delicious food that Shirou gave her.
"Putting your time into perspective, Shirou's time is almost two millennia in the future in a country located at the far east of Britannia. At the time, I met him as his servant in a Grail War, he was an amateur magus with a heart of gold and quite the stubborn head." Her words appeared somewhat harsh, and Jeanne was caught giggling at the description, but Arturia was reminiscing on the time when Shirou first summoned her…he was on the ground in his school uniform looking puzzled and she standing resolutely in her silver armor and blue dress.
"Oh fierce warrior, so this is the 'samurai' style of your land…huge honor to cross swords with you, my friend."
Shirou and Spartacus crossed swords in the middle and Boudica was surprised to see Shirou holding his own despite the difference in mass.
"I would imagine something out of this world happened to turn him from an amateur magus into this person I see before me. Wow, quite a story indeed."
Arturia nodded with a smile as she observed the fight progressing.
Eventually, Boudica provided tents for the rest and they went to sleep since the next day they would move against the United Empire and finally reclaim Gaul.
===Next day===
The next day, Nero took leadership followed by Boudica and Spartacus as they marched past the division between the Roman Empire and the United Empire.
The team from Chaldea had a small change with Shirou and Jeanne staying closer to Ritsuka, while Arturia grabbed Mash by the hand for the shielder demi-servant to stand in the front lines more. Everyone later learned that Shirou was a jack of all trades, being a battle menace both in close-range with his many different swords, but also in long-range with his bow and arrow. As such, he didn't need to stick to the frontlines to deliver the most damage. One visible string release from his bow was enough to send a bombardment of arrows at the army. Still, this was Mash's show today, so Arturia had talked with her fiancée and asked him to protect Ritsuka, so that Mash could have more freedom to move.
Jeanne, with her lance, would be the middle-range fighter and deal with anyone who managed to escape from the army towards Nero.
The rest of the Roman Empire army took up arms and screamed in triumph at their new allies. The soldiers' morale was even higher as they followed General Boudica, Spartacus and the blonde warrior known as Arturia.
Nero, confident of her odds in this, galloped up front and screamed to her army:
"Today we shall take Gaul back from the false Emperor, let's go!"
Her scream echoed throughout the entire clearing followed by her own army's yell. Mash could feel her blood boiling and heart beating in excitement. Her confidence was through the roof right now as she stood next to her leader. It was quite a welcoming surprise for Mash when Arturia talked to her and said that Shirou would be responsible for Ritsuka's protection today. The shielder servant was quite eager to prove herself worthy of standing next to the infamous King Arthur.
That being said, when Romani said that he was receiving readings of magical creatures as well as the enemy soldiers, Mash didn't even hesitate and followed through with Arturia in their combined assault.
Arturia approved of Mash's confidence as she would use her shield to parry the Golem's attacks and Arturia would follow through with her sword.
Any United Empire soldier that tried sneaking behind them was stopped by Shirou's arrows. Boudica and Spartacus were leading the Roman Empire forward and gaining momentum against the United Empire's army. And Jeanne would be the buffer in between in case anyone managed to pass by the first lines of defense. Ritsuka could only look in awe at the war games. He was looking at the redhead servant next to him posed with the bow and arrow and couldn't help but be in awe at the display. The boy was by no means an expert, but he knew that being an Archer required loads of concentration and patience to strike a target.
He couldn't even follow Shirou's movements, before the arrow was released from the bow and straight to the enemy army's shoulder, arms and legs.
Their advance was going well until Romani's voice echoed through their communication devices:
"Halt…this is the first time I received the reading of a servant nearby." The news was alarming, indeed, but not unexpected as Mash and Arturia walked forward together with Nero until they came face to face with a man in his mid-twenties, dressed in red roman overcoat, golden butttons and a giant belly. The man was holding quite the elegant golden sword with a cross-shaped hilt and guard, decorated with blue symbols.
This over-weight fellow was clearly a servant in Arturia and Mash's book.
"Emperor, please stand back, this man before us is a servant. We shall deal with him." Emperor Nero had her sword drawn as well and looked conflicted at Arturia's information. She wanted to stand up and fight against this person who appeared to be the leader of the United Empire's Gaul side. And beating him would finally allow Nero to reclaim this area for her Roman Empire.
As such, it came as no surprise as Nero charged towards the enemy servant, despite screams of protest from both Arturia and Mash. The overweight servant just showed some teeth at the opposition and parried Nero's attack, before using surprising agility despite his weight and slash Nero in half. Or he would, had Arturia not parried his sword with her own, while Mash took Nero backwards.
"Emperor Nero, please stay back."
"Oh so you're the Roman Emperor…" The man's grave voice called for attention as Arturia stood in position while observing his sword. "And your name is Nero…how interesting to see a woman in the throne." The tone was about to be questioned, when he continued. "A fine, beautiful woman indeed, while not as beautiful as my Queen of the Desert, but indeed beautiful."
Nero seriously looked divided into accepting the praise and offering an opposition to this man.
Mash took position in front of the Emperor Nero, waiting for her acknowledgement that she couldn't face this man. All it took was a downed nod at Mash, before the shielder servant appeared next to Arturia to face the rotund man.
"Well, then, two servants against one, perhaps it's only right that my greatness requires a higher opposition and from two gorgeous women no less."
"Arturia, how are we going to go about facing him?"
The king of knights looked at the lilac-haired servant from the corner of her eye, before releasing her hidden sword, much to Mash's surprise.
"Mash, you shall face him alone."
"A..alone, but I'm not ready yet."
Arturia, though, merely closed her eyes and crossed her arms, despite her eyes never leaving the enemy.
"In battle, one will never be fully ready…no matter how much you train; once you step onto the field, you need to learn this important lesson. While his sword appears powerful, so was Saber's in Fuyuki and even Jeanne Alter in Orleans, and yet you managed to hold your own against them. You do remember what I said about the shield, right?"
Mash looked uncertain at that, before remembering her words in Fuyuki.
"Yeah, always remember about the desire to protect and the shield's full strength will come." Arturia nodded still not giving anything in her stoic demeanor. The girl known as Mash Kyrielight would have blushed at the praise, but now it was not the time for sentimentality. The crux of the matter is that Arturia trusted her to deal with this enemy servant and she shall not disappoint.
Mash focused prana in her shield and the enemy servant sensed it instantly.
"Oh interesting weapon there…let us see if your shield is enough to face against my sword Crocea Mors."
Mash didn't wait for the man to attack and charged ahead. As soon as she did so, Ritsuka, Jeanne and Shirou arrived next to Arturia as they observed shield and sword battle against each other. Shirou looked at his fiancée quickly and then went back to the fight, while Nero observed from behind the Chaldea team.
"Do you know who he is, Shirou?" the redhead servant turned to Ritsuka and nodded.
"Yes, his sword speaks to me. Crocea Mors is the sword of the Roman legend Gaius Julius Caesar."
"W…what, how is that possible? He is the ruler who preceded our first Emperor. But..he's dead, how can that be?" Nero's question would be understandable, had she not already been informed of her uncle Caligula's appearance before, but meeting Julius Caesar on the flesh was quite a surprise for anyone.
"As we mentioned before, Emperor, he's a servant like all of us…a human being who ascended to the Throne of Heroes and manifested here because of the Holy Grail. It's not the real Julius Caesar that came from the grave." Nero was still gawking at the revelation and couldn't even acknowledge Arturia's explanation. Well, not that she cared either way and she won't bother explaining it once more.
This time, Mash skidded towards the group as she blocked Caesar's powerful sword strike.
She held her shield tighter as she observed the rotund man with a smile as he suddenly charged at her once more. Only this time, Mash's eyes widened when the sword glowed in golden energy. Surging even more prana through the shield, Mash's eyes followed as Caesar bombarded her with an impressive sequence of sword strikes that appeared to be endless. The first ones she was able to block without much trouble, but she caught a cunning smile on his face, before the strikes increased in speed and power.
It became too much for Mash to keep up and she was sent flying after Caesar's last strike. Her arms hurt like hell just trying to keep up the shield. And some of Caesar's strikes pierced her defense and caused slashes on her arms.
Jeanne was about to go and help her, but Arturia extended her arm, stopping the Holy Maiden.
Ritsuka was already protesting at Arturia and Shirou to help Mash, but neither of them moved an inch.
The shielder servant got up from the ground with a snarl as she eyed the enemy.
"You know for a tiny woman, you are certainly holding your own, I'm impressed. But you'll have to do better than that, if you hope to defeat me." Once more, Mash kept her resistance as Caesar exercised his sword. Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Jeanne were both pleading for Shirou and Arturia to go and help Mash, but once more neither moved an inch. It took some time, before Shirou turned to Ritsuka and he could see the incredulous look from the boy master.
"Ritsuka, you need to trust that Mash can defeat her opponent on her own…there may come a time when she is on her own and she must be able to handle your protection by herself." Not to mention that once Sir Galahad awakens, her strength will triple. That last phrase was stated through his internal link with Arturia and the King of Knights nodded at her fiancée.
Mash, despite facing a tough battle, heard Shirou's words.
Remember about the desire to protect and the shield's full strength will come.
Mash then exchanged eyes with the worried Ritsuka and allowed a smile in her features. Her desire to protect senpai above else and Shirou is right…everyone of the servants may be defeated and leave and she could be on her own to protect Ritsuka. She needed to face this foe alone. Looking up as Caesar used his extreme agility once more and initiated the attack. Mash squeezed the handle of her shield as white energy surged through her hands and then towards the shield.
Arturia and Shirou smiled as they saw the weapon come alive.
Lord Chaldea!
When Caesar slammed his sword, he was then suddenly blocked by a brick wall of extreme repulsing skill, forcing Caesar backwards and without his guard. Mash then got inside Caesar's guard and swung her other part of the shield that and caused great damage to the enemy. Caesar held his suddenly open stomach and Ritsuka praised Mash's fighting.
"Ahhh, that hurts indeed." Despite the amount of pain and feeling his magical energy lessen, Caesar addressed Mash, who was kneeling on the ground, almost out of breath. "well, being taken out by beautiful women isn't so bad. It's not feasible for me to act like a mere soldier anyway."
"You did good, Mash."
The one praised smiled in content as she saw Arturia looking at her with a proud smile.
Shirou was already by Mash's side using his healing mage craft. Arturia, Jeanne and Ritsuka were by her side as well, while Nero looked at the strange scene of the great Julius Caesar not dying like a normal human, but glowing yellow instead.
"Emperor Nero, please know that the true Emperor of this Era awaits your arrival at the capital." Nero looked surprised at that, wondering who could possibly be. "When you see that person's name and face, I wonder how you'll react. On and little girl…" Mash looked to Caesar as they saw the man's smiling at her. "You did earn at least some reward, so I'm certain that you seek the Holy Grail, correct?"
This got the attention of everyone as Caesar told his peace before leaving for good, returning to the Throne of Heroes.
"The Holy Grail is located in a castle within the United Empire's capital. More precisely, in the hands of our Court Mage." The last name brought up a chill up everyone's neck at the possibility.
"Ah can you tell us the name of this Mage?" Caesar, though, merely smiled.
"I can't, your reward ends here for as I have no reason to tell you more."
Nero observed the 'servant' turning into golden sands of prana and just couldn't understand what was going on here. Still, in the end, the conclusion was that her Roman Empire was able to reclaim the city of Gaul. As such, there was only thing she could do right now as she turned to her Army and pronounced the defeat of one of the Emperors and the reconquering of Gaul.
As usual, she basked under her army's praise of victory, while Shirou helped Mash get up.
===Unknown Location===
"So, Caesar was defeated…Lev." The mage who betrayed Chaldea stood in all his pride, merely snorting at the comment of the 'Emperor'.
"Yes, it seems that way. I only used him because he had a wish for the Grail. This shouldn't cause many issues for as I can summon as many servants as I want. Now, Berserker, you shall be the one who will kill Emperor Nero, your niece. Then, with Rome gone, humanity will perish. That is my duty, bestowed upon me by our King."
Caligula stood next to Lev wearing his golden armor and his cape, smiling ruthlessly at his mission.
With that, Lev began the summoning ritual for another servant, before a new servant emerged.
"…Servant, Lancer. True name, Leonidas. I will serve you from here on." Lev could only laugh in cruelty as he inspected the powerful warrior he had gotten.
Author Note
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Next update: Nidaime no Sairin
