The Triumvirate Chapter 6

The Viper's Nest

Day 10

"Umu, how are the new defenses holding up?" Nero asked.

"Well judging from what Jeanne and Vlad said in this report, the defenses are almost done." Tatsuko answered.

Nero smiled and looked at the night sky. Ever since the Chaldeans came to this city, it has been almost non-stop work in getting the city prepared for a possible siege from the United Empire. The problem though, was just how long Rome could last. Fortunately for them, once the imprisoned soldiers learned of what happened to their comrades that escaped, they immediately joined the fold to defend Rome, and thanks to Ritsuka's quick thinking, the issue of food shortages won't be an issue since he rounded up the known thieves. However, food can only last so long….

A sharp pain shot through Nero's head. The emperor clutched her face in pain, causing Tatsuko to rush to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I-i-i-it's nothing." Nero said. The emperor immediately groaned in discomfort as she clutched her head in pain.

"Is it another migraine?" Tatsuko asked. Nero turned to face her shyly, and reluctantly nodded. "I'll go find Ritsuka and get an ice pack for you."

"I don't know if I can wait that long!" Nero said.

"Okay, I have an idea but I don't know if it'll work." Tatsuko answered. The orange haired teen walked up to Nero, and gently put the emperor's hands down from her head. The female Master then immediately began to rub Nero's head gently, causing the blonde woman to sigh in bliss.

"Umu, this feels wonderful." Nero said.

"Good to hear." Tatsuko replied.

"Umu, you're very good with your fingers." Nero said flirtatiously.

Tatsuko closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them up again to stare at Nero's head. "Nero, can I ask you a favor?"

"Name it!" Nero exclaimed.

"Can you please stop flirting with me?"

Nero's eyes widened in shock. "Why? Did I do anything to offend you?"

"No, nothing like that." Tatsuko answered. "It's just…I'm not really interested in you in….that light….."

"I see….." Nero muttered. "Then I have a request of my own."

"Name it."

"Can…can we at least be friends?" Nero asked.

Tatsuko stopped to think for a few moments. On one end, this was one of the worst emperors in the history of Rome, and a known tyrant. Being friends with someone like that wasn't usually something to be proud of. But on the other end, from what they have seen, Nero wasn't as evil as the history books said. Then again this was before everything went wrong…. Tatsuko took a deep breath and smiled, it shouldn't be so bad….

"Of course." Tatsuko answered.

Nero smiled. "Splendid!"

Tatsuko thought to herself once more. There was something that was nagging her the past few days, but she didn't want to seem too intrusive. But now that they were in this situation, she might as well take that leap.

"Say Nero, remember five days ago when I walked into your….love nest I think you called it?"

Nero nodded. "How could I forget? That day was absolutely maddening! But why ask about the love nest?"

"Were those your concubines?"

"Yes they are!" Nero exclaimed proudly. "Did one of the girls you saw strike your fancy?"

"No, not really." Tatsuko answered. "But I have to ask; why did you decide to have an orgy that particular day?"

"Actually I didn't even plan on it." Nero answered. "I WAS planning on inviting a couple of my male and female concubines for one, but when I entered the love nest, I saw my entire harem already in there ravishing each other."

"I have to wonder just how much they actually enjoy it." Tatsuko muttered.

"Umu, this will probably surprise you, but my concubines ALWAYS want one." Nero said.

"Honestly, by the way all of them were going at it I'm not that surprised." Tatsuko said. "But then what do you and they do about…..unwanted surprises?"

"You mean pregnancies?" Nero asked. "Well, unless they REALLY want a child, then the next day they take some herbs and tonics to prevent them from happening, me included."

"And what happens if multiple girls in your harem get pregnant?" Tatsuko asked. "Wouldn't that cause a crisis?"

"The harem and I decided that only those born from me, or from my chief concubine would be part of the line of succession." Nero answered.

Tatsuko's eyes widened. "Wait, that girl that was eating you out, was she the chief concubine?"

Nero nodded. "She's my constant companion. In politics and in bed."

"Really? She wasn't here when Jing Ke attacked you, and she isn't here now."

"Umu, the first instance was more of a rare occurrence. She was with a few other concubines and wanted to be warming their bed that night." Nero replied.

"And tonight?" Tatsuko asked.

"She should be here soon." Nero answered.

"~Oh Nero, I'm coming in now~."

Both girls turned around and saw the chief concubine smile at the emperor, and sashayed into the room seductively towards Nero. The blonde emperor smiled, left Tatsuko's side and extended her hand out to the woman.

"Lucia, how is it that you always look so beautiful no matter what?" Nero asked.

Lucia giggled. "I am nothing compared to you, my love."

The chief concubine and the emperor shared a tender kiss, when Lucia's eyes looked at something else with a raised eyebrow, causing them both to break their kiss. "What is that?"

"Who, me?" Tatsuko asked.

Lucia shook her head and pointed out the window. "No, I mean out in the city?"

Nero and Tatsuko looked to where she pointed, and saw a bright light in the capital. The three of them looked closer, and noted the orange coloring of the light, and a strange smell.

Tatsuko continued to sniff the air. "Huh, is that…..smoke?"

The three of them widened their eyes in terror as they realized what was going on, when Jeanne burst into the room.

"FIRE!" She shouted.

Nero cursed under her breath. "Okay, Tatsuko and I will find the others to deal with it. Can you watch over Lucia in the meantime?"

Jeanne nodded in agreement. Nero then turned to Lucia and kissed on the cheek. "I'll be back."

"I know." Lucia replied. "Now go, Rome needs you right now."

Nero nodded and ran alongside Tatsuko to find the others and combat this threat.

(Twenty minutes later)

It didn't take long to find the others, but by the time they reached the area that was in flames had grown significantly bigger. Thankfully for them, some of the commoners already started to combat the flames, throwing water onto the raging infernos engulfing their homes and stalls. The Chaldeans and Nero immediately sprang into action, finding buckets and dunking them into a nearby well to throw onto the closest fires. It only took a few minutes to do it, but the closest flames were put out. However, it was unfortunately not enough to stop the fires, and it was slow progress. Even after an hour of trying to douse the inferno, there were still buildings in flames, and the fires were starting to engulf more and more of Rome. Ritsuka thought of what they could do, when an idea popped into his head.

"Hang on a moment….." He muttered. "Guys, dunk the buckets again but lay them at my feet, I have an idea!"

"You can't be serious." Tatsuko said. "That is incredibly risky!"

"We don't have the time or any other options." Ritsuka countered.

"Have you ever tried this before, Senpai?" Mashu asked.

"Using water at such a scale? Yes but I always failed in doing so." Ritsuka said. "But with this Mystic Code, I should be able to do it."

The male Master took a few deep breaths before activating his magic circuits. He then raised his arms towards the sky, making the water in the buckets rise up. He looked at all the buildings in front of him, and with one sweep of his arms, shot the multiple masses of water at each house, completely dousing them.

"Okay that was cool!" Tatsuko shouted.

Ritsuka smiled at the comment before going weak in the knees. The male Master nearly fell to the ground before Siegfried caught him from falling. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just out of energy." Ritsuka answered.

"Okay, well thanks to that the fires won't be spreading if the rest of us are quick enough." Nobunaga replied. "So just rest and the rest of us will take it from here."

"But we cannot leave him here alone." Vlad countered. "It's too risky."

"Umu, I'll stay with him." Nero said. "I'll bring him back to the palace, so we'll meet you back there."

Everyone nodded and picked up their buckets again to dunk them into the well again. As that was happening, Nero helped Ritsuka back to the palace to rest. It took another twenty minutes to return and make it to the entrance. The moment they saw the entrance to the palace, they raised their eyebrows in suspicion.

"Where are the guards?" Nero asked.

"No clue." Ritsuka answered. Nero looked around the entryway until she saw a foot. Nero helped Ritsuka along as they moved closer to the foot. The moment they were close enough, they turned around the corner, and the sight made them sick to their dead bodies of some of the guards and some servants were strewn in front of them, some of them were torn apart as if it were by an animal. Their blood covered the entire hallway, making Nero's eyes widen in horror.

"Lucia!"

Nero immediately released the male Master from her grasp and ran towards her room, with Ritsuka running after her. After many turns in the hallway, they reached their destination, and immediately widened their eyes in horror.

Lying on the floor heavily injured was Jeanne. Blood was pouring out of multiple wounds on her body. Ritsuka immediately rushed to her side and applied a healing spell. Jeanne opened her eyes and stared weakly at the emperor and the black haired teen.

"The fire….was a diversion….." She muttered weakly.

"Who did this?" Nero asked.

Jeanne took a few labored breaths as Ritsuka continued to heal her. The male Master looked at the Ruler and noted how she seemed to be struggling with trying to speak now. He was about to suggest that they wait until morning when she could properly be healed, but Jeanne looked at him knowingly. Jeanne took one last deep breath before opening her mouth to speak.

"It was Lev Lainur."

Ritsuka's eyes widened in shock. "Lev was here?!"

Jeanne nodded. "Green suit and hat, right?"

"Yeah, that's him….." Ritsuka answered.

Jeanne touched the teen's shoulder and looked at him calmly. "Please listen to what I have to say. I do not think this Lev Lainur is even human…."

"Why do you say that?" Nero asked.

"Because no human, mage or no mage, should have been able to move as fast as he could." Jeanne answered. "And the power in his attacks was something I didn't think was possible…"

Nero looked towards her bedroom in fear. The emperor immediately rushed in to find her lover. She looked around the room for a bit, and heard heavy breathing from under a table next to her bed. She rushed to the table and saw Lucia curled up under the table in shock.

"Lucia." Nero said quietly. The emperor knelt down and took her chief concubine's hand into her own, causing Lucia to calm down a bit.

"Nero." Lucia muttered. Nero gently helped her from her hiding spot, and pulled her in a deep embrace.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked.

Lucia nodded. "I-I-I'll be fine…..I….I just need time to collect my thoughts. If that girl with the flag wasn't here, I would have been….."

Nero said nothing. Instead, she gently shushed her lover, and held her close. Lucia eventually returned the embrace as the fires in the distance finally started to dim.

Day 11

"Unfortunately there were more fires that sprang up in the night." Seneca said. "Though thankfully, with the help of our newest allies, we were able to keep the flames from destroying much of Rome's infrastructure."

"There's more to this, isn't there." Nero said.

"Yes…." Burrus said. "The places where the fires appeared were where some of our defenses were made….."

The throne room broke into murmurs. Nero took a look around the room and saw their horrified expressions. It wasn't enough that the fires destroyed the defenses. No, there was also the attack on the palace to consider. There was only one explanation now.

"The fires were not just meant as a diversion." Nero said. "They were also meant to sabotage our ability to defend ourselves….."

The room became even more loud as the group of Romans in the room began to talk over themselves in fear and desperation. Linus and Mr. Mittens started to rise up, baring their fangs and growling in annoyance to the noise. Nero saw the irritation in the lions, and immediately rose up.

"Silence!"

Everyone turned silent as they stared at their emperor. Nero took a look at each of them and took a deep breath. "I will think of a plan with my advisors later to see what can be done. In the meantime, you are all dismissed."

The group of Romans bowed and left the chambers, leaving Nero alone with her lions, and her two advisors. Standing to the side listening in, the Chaldean Trio watched on with calm gazes. After everything that happened in the night, Nero thought it was best not to disturb the Chaldeans from recovering from the strain of putting out so many fires, and to make sure Jeanne rested.

"I did not expect Nero to…." Mashu muttered.

"Not be able to control the room?" Tatsuko asked. "Honestly given what we know of Nero from the history books, I'm not so surprised."

"You might not be," Johan said from the comms. "But we're still reeling from the fact that Rome was on FIRE! That wasn't supposed to happen yet!"

"I'm sorry but what did I just hear?"

The Trio and Johan turned to see Lucia glaring at them and tapping her foot.

"Lady Lucia, it's not what you think!" Johan said frantically.

"Well, it would seem to me that I found a group of conspirators." Lucia said coldly.

"You have to believe us!" Tatsuko said. "We'd never-"

The sound of Lucia's giggling caused them all to stare at her in surprise. "I was only teasing you all."

The group sighed a breath of relief. Mashu regained her composure and smiled sympathetically at the chief concubine.

"Are you feeling better, Ms. Lucia?" She asked. "I understand that last night was…..frightening for you."

"I'm feeling better." Lucia answered. "I was actually hoping to run into you. Is Lady Jeanne awake?"

"She's awake." Ritsuka answered.

Lucia breathed a sigh of relief. "I wanted to thank her. If it wasn't for her, I probably would have been killed."

"We're just glad you're okay." Tatsuko said. "And I know Jeanne would be happy to know you got out of there unharmed."

Lucia shivered. "I'll never forget what he did when he entered the room."

Mashu raised an eyebrow. "I am so sorry for asking, but can you tell us?"

Lucia looked at the Trio reluctantly, causing Johan to raise his hand in reassurance. "You don't have to say anything if it makes you uncomfortable."

Lucia shook her head. "Thank you for your consideration. But I think this is something that you all should know."

"Okay, if you really feel okay with this, then we won't stop you." Tatsuko said gently.

Lucia nodded and took a deep breath. "Before he even entered the room, I hid under the table, and when he entered, I could hear him chuckling to himself. But that changed when he realized that Nero wasn't in the room. He was angry for a moment."

"He really expected Nero to be in her room while Rome was on fire?" Ritsuka asked. "Why would he even think that?"

"I do not know." Lucia said. "But afterwards, he seemed to think of something else…..and decided to use her absence to his advantage."

"What did he do?" Mashu asked.

"He…made a copy of Nero. And had her play an instrument, and when she did so, she said for Rome to burn…"

Everyone went deathly silent as Lucia shook again. The Trio and Johan then looked at each other with grim faces. It was clear to them that Lev was toying with Rome, and treating it as his playground.

"How long did he have this copy do this?" Ritsuka asked.

"An hour or more." Lucia answered. "And he left just a few minutes before you and Nero came back."

"It would seem Lev Lainur has something else planned now." Mashu said.

"You know, if his scheme didn't involve burning Rome to the ground, he'd be a perfect Roman politician." Lucia said.

The Trio and Johan looked at her in shock, but Lucia remained calm. "I do not wish to worry you with this, but you are all in the viper's nest. So you must be careful, otherwise you will be in danger. Just like my beloved Nero is."

Tatsuko opened her mouth to speak when the sound of running footsteps rang throughout the throne room. Everyone turned to see a young man gasping for breath as Nero turned her gaze to him.

"What is wrong?" Nero asked.

"The United Empire is approaching!"

Everyone in the room widened their eyes in shock. This was definitely part of Lev's plan. Burn the defenses, and have the United Empire finish the job…..

Nero rose up from her throne and looked at Burrus calmly. "Tell the soldiers to meet me at the gate. I'll get the Chaldeans and head there immediately so we can face them."

Burrus nodded and left the throne room to give the order. Nero looked at the Chaldean Trio and walked towards them with a calm gaze.

"Gather up your friends. We need a plan."

After leaving Rome, Nero's forces were now underway to meet the United Empire in open battle. As part of the plan, Nobunaga, Siegfried and Jeanne were to stay behind while the rest of the Chaldeans would go with Nero. Everyone remained deathly silent as they made their way to where the enemy was last sighted. They didn't want to get careless and walk into an ambush. That all changed when Roman appeared on the communicator with a calm expression.

"The United Empire's forces are just ahead." He said. "Though I have to warn you, their forces seem to outnumber yours by a large margin."

"We knew this going in Roman." Vlad countered.

"They have a Servant with them." Roman said. "That changes things."

"We already faced Darius, so we know what to expect." Liz chimed.

"It's not Darius leading them."

"Then who is?" Sanson asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it is, don't let your guard down." Roman answered.

"Well we're about to find out." Ritsuka said. Not a moment later, Nero's forces stopped in their tracks, and saw the undead soldiers of the United Empire spanning the field. Not one showed a hint of fear as they saw how outnumbered they were. However, a sense of unease soon enveloped them as the undead soldiers started to split down the middle as if to make a path. Nero and her forces watched as a lone man walked through the undead horde until he stood at the front of the army.

"Surrender, I do not wish to spill any more Roman blood than has already been spilled."

A million thoughts raced through Nero's mind. His words gripped her like a hook, and would not let go. All she had to do was surrender, and it would all be…..

The blonde emperor shook her head. What was she thinking?! There was no way she would ever surrender to this man. Rome was depending on her, and she would not let her beautiful city fall into enemy hands. "It is YOU who should surrender."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You DO realize I have the larger army, do you not?"

"At least my army is alive and willing to fight." Nero countered. "Your army is full of undead, and trapped in servitude."

"You may be correct about that." The man said. "But is your army willing to fight alongside you, after seeing how vast the United Empire's forces are here?"

Vlad looked at Nero's soldiers and noted their fear. The Berserker was even more surprised to see them starting to shake in their armor. These men did not flinch when he first saw them fight his first day in the Singularity. They did not shake, nor crack when Darius's forces were outside the city gates. But now they were starting to second guess themselves? Something wasn't right here….

"They will fight for their emperor." Nero countered.

"I have a hard time believing that."

Nero clicked her tongue in frustration. This man was getting on her nerves. "Who are you to speak about my men like that?!"

"You should already know the answer to that already." The man said.

"Hey jerk, how about you just tell us instead of being cryptic!" Tatsuko shouted.

"Very well…" The man muttered. He then drew his sword from his back and planted it on the ground.

"I am the third of the Triumvirate. I am Gaius Julius Caesar."

A chill ran up everyone's spine. Ritsuka looked at Nero and saw the look of absolute shock on her face. The blonde emperor shivered as it dawned on her. The last of the old Roman Republic was right in front of her. Caesar sighed at the display and took a deep breath.

"Once more, you disappoint me."

Nero broke out of her trance and stared at the Rider in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Caesar answered. "You are an immature child who thinks that they are the greatest monarch of their age."

"That's-"

"Furthermore," Caesar interjected. "Your debaucherous lifestyle brings shame to Rome. You spend your time bedding your concubines when Rome needed your guidance."

Johan walked up behind Roman and stared calmly at the Rider. "Your words ring hollow, Caesar, for your large sexual appetite is known far and wide."

"Ah, so I see the Chaldeans are here as well." Caesar said. "Oh yes, I know who you are. I am one of Lev Lainur's Servants, you see. But it should please you to know that I am not particularly happy with this arrangement."

"And yet you don't seem particularly fond of us either." Ritsuka countered.

"That is mainly due to my disappointment for emperor Nero here." Caesar answered. "That man mentioned my….appetite as he so eloquently put it. While it is true that I had my share of women over the years, I also tempered myself with discipline, and worked hard to bring Rome prosperity. SHE, on the other hand, did nothing."

"Rome has entered a golden age under my rule!" Nero countered.

"Oh, has it?" Caesar asked. "Well I guess we should commend your advisors for that then, because you have done NOTHING to prove yourself a worthy ruler!"

Caesar then looked at Nero's soldiers with a stern gaze. "Maybe we should ask your soldiers what they believe. Would you rather fight by your emperor's side, despite knowing what kind of emperor she is?"

The response was immediate. Nero and the Chaldeans watched as the Roman soldiers immediately ran back to the capital at full sprint. The blonde emperor and the Chaldeans immediately followed after them, causing Caesar to click his tongue in irritation. "It would seem that her army is also undisciplined."

The Rider summoned his steed and turned to his army. "Let us give chase!"

As that was happening, Nero and the Chaldeans caught up with the rest of the soldiers. Ritsuka mentally cursed under his breath. This was not how things were supposed to go…..

"Looks like we're going to spring the plan early then…" He muttered.

"Wait, I thought that was why all of us were running!"

Rituska turned to look at one of the soldiers looking at him in confusion. Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What?"

"Well think about it, if we ran now, then it'll be less obvious when we spring the trap, right?" The soldier asked.

Ritsuka looked at the man in shock. "Oh, yeah it does make it less obvious."

"Exactly!" The soldier said.

"Hey guys, Rome is in sight now!" Liz shouted.

"And Caesar is hot on our heels!" Sanson shouted.

Ritsuka looked back and saw the United Empire's forces were indeed closing in on them. Nero growled and rode towards the front of her army. "STAND AND FIGHT! DO YOU WANT YOUR BELOVED CITY TO FALL?!"

The soldiers stopped in their tracks. They looked to the capital, and to the enemy forces gaining on them, and gripped their weapons tightly. The soldiers then formed a shield wall, and readied their weapons. Caesar saw this and raised an eyebrow, only to return to his stoic expression.

Ritsuka closed his eyes to form a telepathic link. It was time to spring the trap.

"Nobu, start firing!"

"On it!" Nobunaga shouted back. A large volley of musket rounds whizzed passed Nero's army, and shredded through the heads of the undead soldiers. Vlad immediately got to work, he used the blood on the ground from the undead soldiers, and used it to create spikes to impale the most current wave of undead soldiers. The Berserker then sank into the bloodied earth, and reappeared on one of the spikes, stabbing one undead soldier with his spear, before slicing another. Nobunaga's volley of musket fire continued to kill the undead soldiers, but some managed to get through. Thankfully, the Roman soldiers kept their shields up, and slew any undead soldier that got close. They were soon joined by the soldiers that were held in reserve, and created a long wall across the battlefield that the enemy continued to batter against. Caesar watched on with a sigh.

"How predictable."

The Rider tapped his steed to charge forward, surprising everyone. The horse leapt into the air, and stomped its hooves into one of the shield walls, breaking the defenses needed to keep the undead at bay. The Chaldeans and Nero stared in shock at the display. Vlad immediately retreated towards the dent in the formation to close it up, but Caesar was waiting for him. The Rider raised his blade to strike the Berserker, only for Liz to dismount the enemy Servant by killing his mount. Caesar merely landed on his feet, and blocked an incoming strike from Sanson. The Rider grabbed the Assassin by the arm, and threw him into Liz. The moment they were knocked down, Vlad immediately tried to enter the fray.

"Don't stop!" Tatsuko shouted. "You and Nobu need to keep the undead from pouring through. We'll handle Caesar!"

"If that is what you wish." Vlad said. The Berserker returned to his position and slew another undead soldier and was about to attack another on his right, only for the undead soldier to get cleaved, revealing Siegfried as the culprit.

"As much as I want to fight Caesar to protect our Masters, you and Nobunaga need my help too."

"Then at the first sign of danger, you must be the one to protect them." Vlad said.

Siegfried nodded and blocked another strike from an undead soldier, before slicing its head off. As that was happening, Sanson and Liz attacked Caesar from both sides, but the Rider simply picked up a shield from one of the dead Roman soldiers, and blocked both strikes with it and his blade. Caesar widened his eyes as he became staggered as a large shield was thrown, and broke his defense. Mashu used the opening given to kick the Rider away from her allies, and grabbed her shield to attack once more. Caesar used Mashu's momentum against her by stepping to the side and kicking her in the gut when he found an opening. The Shielder fell to the ground, only to quickly get back up as she and the other two Servants attacked Caesar with everything they had. Ritsuka and Tatsuko used this opportunity to buff their Servants up with their Mystic Codes to finish the fight as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it was not going to be enough.

Caesar deflected a strike from Sanson with his sword, while blocking Liz's spear with his shield. The Rider pushed Liz back into Mashu and then bashed Sanson in the face with the shield. The Assassin had no time to move out of the way as Caesar raised his blade to strike. Mashu sprung into action and tried to strike him from behind, only for Caesar to raise his shield as well, and block her strike without even looking at her. The Rider then thrusted his blade into Sanson's leg, causing the Assassin to hiss in pain. Caesar was about to finish off the white haired Servant, but instinctively dodged a strike from Liz. The Rider then got behind the Lancer, and sliced into her back, causing her to shriek in pain. Caesar let her fall to the floor and stared at Mashu calmly. The Rider threw his shield away, and charged at the Shielder with his blade. Mashu dodged the strike, and punched Caesar in the gut.

The Rider grunted in pain, but did not stagger. He elbowed Mashu in the face, staggering her for a moment before recollecting herself. She widened her eyes as Caesar prepared another assault, and raised her shield. Caesar unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes with his sword, pushing her back a bit until she could no longer hold on. Caesar closed in on her in a flash and struck her with his blade, only for no wounds to appear. Instead they seemed to have bounced off of her. He stopped his attacks for a moment, and Mashu immediately raised her shield to strike him, but the Rider lunged forward, and cut into Mashu's leg. The Shielder did not flinch, despite the pain and brought her shield around to slam into the Rider, but Caesar was much quicker, kicking the lilac haired girl and knocking her to the ground.

"Your resilience is quite astounding, my lady." He said. "It is a shame that your Masters haven't been the most willing to help."

"Oh they've been helping. Mashu was just wanting to buy them some time!"

Caesar dodged two incoming strikes, and saw Liz and Sanson up once more and readying another attack. The Rider flashed a small smile at their recovery and turned to the two Masters. "It would seem I have misjudged you."

Ritsuka immediately applied another healing spell on Mashu, allowing her to get up and ready her shield for another attack.

"Looks like even with the soldiers running early, Ritsuka's plan worked like a charm." Tatsuko said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the statement. Caesar was cornered in a two pronged formation. The three Servants facing him, the two Masters and Nero, the Roman soldiers alongside Siegfried, Nobunaga and Vlad holding back the undead…soldiers….

Everyone looked and watched in horror as the remaining undead soldiers finally broke through the shield walls, killing many of Nero's soldiers.

"Looks like this battle is over." Caesar said.

To counter his declaration, Siegfried, Vlad and Nobunaga quickly doubled their efforts in finishing off the remaining undead Roman soldiers. The moment the last undead soldier was felled, the surviving soldiers of Nero's army and the two Servants raised their weapons towards Caesar.

"It would seem Ritsuka's plan worked after all!" Nero said with a grin.

Caesar turned to the male Master calmly. "I take it that would be you, boy."

Ritsuka nodded, causing Caesar to smile. "I must commend you. You created a fine strategy. It would have worked…if I wasn't your adversary."

Caesar saluted with his sword as he stared down his opponents. The Rider took a moment to take a deep breath, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Ve-"

"That will be enough, child."

Everyone turned around and saw a large hooded man walking towards them. The Chaldean Servants widened their eyes as they felt his presence.

This man was a Heroic Spirit.

"Friend of yours?" Sanson asked Caesar.

"I don't even know who he is." Caesar answered. "Who are you?"

The large man took off his cloak and hood, revealing his imposing figure. He had red eyes, and wore an ornate golden headdress with one horn in the center. His outfit was blue, but incredibly revealing, showing off his muscles and abs. He wore a red cape that fell to his knees. He stared at the combatants calmly.

"I am Rome."

Nero's and Caesar's eyes widened in shock. Caesar shook both in fear, and awe as the man stared into his soul.

"It cannot be…the great founder…..Romulus….."