The Triumvirate Chapter 16:

Flauros

Silence filled the courtyard as Altera and Nobunaga stared at each other. The black haired Servant raised an eyebrow as she stared at the Saber in front of her. She never knew any Heroic Spirit by the name of Altera. Nobunaga narrowed her eyes and continued to stare. Altera? Why did it sound like… Nobunaga's eyes widened in shock.

"No fucking way. You're Atilla the Hun!"

Altera raised an eyebrow as Nobunaga began to laugh loudly. "What is so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry. I just wasn't expecting this!" Nobunaga said.

"Have you always been this foolish?" Altera asked.

"Sorry again." Nobunaga said, her laughter now dead. "I shouldn't be laughing considering your situation."

Altera wasted no time and lunged at Nobunaga. The black haired Servant immediately fired more musket rounds at the Saber to keep her distance. Altera deflected the rounds with a great swiftness in her movements, but she could not react accordingly as Nobunaga used the opportunity to appear at her side, ready to strike. Altera simply readjusted her position, and swung her blade at the black haired Servant. Nobunaga was forced to block the strike, but the impact alone sent her into one of the pillars in the courtyard.

Nobunaga groaned as she slowly got up, but widened her eyes in shock as Altera leapt into the air, and extended the length of her sword to attack her. Nobunaga had to dodge the strike, and summoned more muskets for a defensive position. The black haired Servant fired all the muskets she had at that moment at the Saber. Altera deflected as many of the projectiles as she could, but soon she was overwhelmed, and was knocked back by the barrage of bullets hitting her blade.

Soon a surge of magical energy surged wildly. Nobunaga and Altera stopped their fight, and looked at the direction where the infiltration group ran towards. The black haired Servant turned to the Saber with a shocked expression.

"What in the hell was that?"

"That would be my Master." Altera answered.

Nobunaga's eyes widened. That energy came from her Master? If what she said was true, then she needed to end this quickly and join the others. The black haired Servant closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It can't be helped."

Altera felt the air twist and distort for a moment, before she hit the ground hard. The Saber groaned in discomfort before feeling sweat come off her brow. The white haired woman opened her eyes and was shocked at what she saw before her.

The very earth was in flames, and a great temple burned in front of her. She looked down and was nearly taken aback as she saw countless skeletons on the ground before her. But that wasn't what made her curious. No, what made her curious, was the fact that there were no skulls. The Saber soon started to gasp for air. She could feel herself getting weaker, but she could not figure out why…

"I'm surprised that someone with a high Divinity level is still standing, let alone move."

Altera turned around, and saw a large throne before her. She looked up and saw Nobunaga staring down at her. Altera looked closer, and her eyes widened as she got a better look at the throne.

It was made entirely of skulls.

"Before you ask, yes, this is my Reality Marble." Nobunaga answered. "I made this when I was still conquering my homeland in order to fight a certain War God of Echigo. But then they died before we could duke it out, and so I had this space with no one to use it on."

"What is happening to me….?" Altera asked.

"Here's the short version," Nobunaga replied. "In here, I have absolute power against those with high Divinity and Mystery. They will have trouble keeping focus, and survival becomes incredibly difficult."

Altera clenched her sword tightly, trying to keep her focus. "Just who are you?"

Nobunaga took a deep breath and stood up from her throne. "Very well. I guess it's only fair."

The ground shook. Altera looked around the hellish landscape, and thought she saw something move on her right. No…..something DID move.

"If the Scourge of God is your title, then I shall give you mine." Nobunaga said. The ground shook more as the flames of the land grew higher and higher. "I hail from the Land of the Rising Sun. I am the First Unifier of Japan, with the Second and Third being my underlings. I am the fool of Owari. Every man, woman and child know of me, of my deeds, and the blood I have spilled."

Altera's eyes widened as she finally saw the thing that moved from the corner of her eye. It appeared behind Nobunaga. But the moment it did so, Altera noticed something about Nobunaga. Parts of her hair turned red as the looming shadow finally appeared from the darkness.

A colossal blackened skeleton, wreathed in flames. Its red eyes glowed like flames as it roared at her.

"I am the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! Oda Nobunaga!"

The Chaldean Servant raised her katana and pointed it at the Saber. "Do not fear. I will make this as quick as possible."

"Did we find them?" Tatsuko asked.

"Yes, just behind this door is this Lev Lainur and the Whore of Babylon." Romulus answered. After they escaped Altera's clutches, it did not take long for the rest of the infiltration group to find where the final two leaders of the United Empire were located. After a few more twists and turns a large, ornately made golden door right in front of them would lead them to their enemies. Romulus turned to Nero with a warm gentle gaze. "Are you ready, my child?"

Nero nodded. "I am ready."

Romulus stepped to the side and smiled. "Then you should have the honors of beginning the end of this war."

Nero took a deep breath, before opening the doors before her. They soon walked in and saw the golden decor and floor that led to a grand throne. Sitting on said throne was none other than the Whore of Babylon.

"I was wondering when you would arrive." She said.

"Skip the pleasantries." Nero said. "You know why we're here."

"I have NO idea what you're talking about." The Whore of Babylon said.

"Don't be coy." Tatsuko said. "We're here to take you down!"

"Under normal circumstances, you would be correct, Ms. Tachibana."

Everyone watched as Lev walked from behind the throne and to the Whore of Babylon's side. "But unfortunately for you all, we still have the advantage."

"What do you mean by that?" Jing Ke asked.

Lev took the grail from his coat pocket and smirked. "I have this."

"Oh….that does make a difference…." Liz said.

"Court Mage, please put that down upon the throne." Whore of Babylon said.

Lev chuckled and put it down on the throne. "I won't be needing it anyway. Nor would I want to use it."

"You're quite the bold one." Boudicca said.

Lev scowled at the Rider. "Says the woman who failed in her rebellion against Rome."

Artoria appeared on the communicator and smirked. "This, coming from the man who failed to kill three teenagers not once, but twice."

Lev looked at the Saber and gritted his teeth. "Of course you had to appear to taunt me."

The Whore of Babylon looked at the communicator, and clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I can smell the holy blade upon you from here."

"How did you-"

"I know of it, and yet I do not know why I do….how curious…" Whore of Babylon answered. "Oh, lovely, just thinking about it gives me a migraine."

"Oh believe me, dealing with her is always a migraine." Lev said. The Chaldean traitor turned to face the infiltration group, and slowly walked down the steps from the throne. He then glared at the two Masters with utmost fury. "You two have proven to be incredibly annoying. My failure to kill you has barred me from returning to my home."

"What do you mean by that?" Ritsuka asked.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stared in shock as Lev's body began to change. His bones shattered as his arms and legs twisted in unnatural angles, blood splattered all around him and his mouth began to widen into what seemed to be a twisted grin.

"Lev Lainur's magical energy is growing!" Mashu shouted.

No sooner did she say that Lev's mouth shot out a black protrusion. His body started to rip and tear, causing everyone to stare at him in shock and terror.

"You got ahead of yourself." Whore of Babylon said to the transforming Lev before turning her eyes again to the Chaldeans. "How fun, this reminds me of how we used to throw lions against helpless slaves."

Both Masters couldn't believe what they were seeing. What they were seeing wasn't even human anymore. Instead it looked like a humongous black pillar, with red eyes all over, looking in every direction.

Roman appeared on the communicator with a shocked gaze. "This magical energy…That's definitely not a Servant nor Phantasmal Beast. Just what is he?!"

"That's right!" The creature said. "I am far above any of you! Now tremble in despair!"

"And so your outside matches what was inside." Ritsuka said. "You truly are a monster."

"Do not even bother begging for your lives!" The creature said. "For I, Lev Lainur Flauros, one of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, will not show mercy!"

Roman's eyes widened. "Did he just say Demon God?"

"That is right!" Flauros answered.

"Uh oh…..this isn't good." Roman muttered.

"Roman, what do we do now?" Ritsuka asked.

Roman looked at Ritsuka with a conflicted gaze. "You're going to have to kill him."

"I don't think he's going to give us a choice…." Ritsuka muttered.

"SILENCE!" Flauros shouted. The multiple eyes fixated upon the masters, and fired red beams towards them. Mashu and Romulus sprang into action, with the Shielder blocking the beams with her shield and the Lancer summoning roots from the earth to stop the beams in their tracks.

The Whore of Babylon grinned and drew her sword. "I think I'll join in on the fun."

"Okay, we'll have to split up and deal with both this Flauros guy here, and the Whore of Babylon." Jing Ke said. "How shall we-"

"No, I'll deal with her alone."

Everyone turned to Nero in shock. The emperor simply gazed upon the two opponents and gripped her blade. "You all deal with this monstrosity here."

"Are you an idiot?!" Liz shouted. "She'll demolish you!"

"I understand your concerns." Nero said. "However, this man is yours to deal with, remember?"

"Then let Romulus or me handle her." Boudicca said.

"No. Nero is right."

The Chaldeans turned to Romulus as he walked towards Nero. The Lancer looked at Nero with a curious gaze. "Are you ready to face her?"

Nero nodded. "If I need aid, I will let you all know. So please, let me do this."

The Chaldeans stared at her for a moment and saw the look in her eyes. She was determined to do this. All they could do was nod reluctantly.

Romulus nodded. "Then allow me to do this for you."

The Lancer placed a hand upon the emperor's shoulder. A surge of Magical Energy flowed into Nero, shocking her a bit until he released his hand. "Go, and make Rome proud!"

Nero nodded and broke away from the group. Surprisingly, Flauros let her go, and continued to focus on the others. Nero and the Whore of Babylon stared at each other for a moment, before walking towards each other. The Whore of Babylon grinned as Nero glared at her. The two of them started to pick up the pace in their steps until they went into a full sprint. The two of them then raised their blades as they got closer and closer, until they finally clashed. The two broke away from the blade lock, with the Whore of Babylon attacking first.

Nero blocked the attack, and deflected the strike. The blonde emperor proceeded to try and stab her enemy. The Whore of Babylon dodged the attack, chuckling as she swung her sword towards Nero's head.

Nero ducked and swung her blade towards the Whore of Babylon's feet. The opponent simply jumped over it and was poised to strike again. The two of them raised their blades, and clashed once more.

The ringing of swords could be heard throughout the garden. Kriemhild and Siegfried tried to overpower the other, but unfortunately for the Berserker, Siegfried was now starting to force her on the defensive. The two of them broke away, allowing Kriemhild to make another lunge at Siegfried. The Saber dodged the strike, but noted the ferocity in her movements.

"I know you must be angry at me." Siegfried said.

"Angry?" Kriemhild said softly. "You think I'm angry?"

Siegfried's eyes widened as Kriemhild swung her sword at him, forcing him to block the strike. The Saber grimaced as he felt the strength behind the blow, and saw the look in Kriemhild's eyes. She was getting angry. "After you died, I mourned you for days…..nay, weeks."

The Berserker pushed Siegfried back, and swung again. "Then, when I heard that it was a murder, I swore revenge not only on Hagen, but on my brother as well."

Kriemhild tried to kick the Saber, but Siegfried dodged the strike. Kriemhild lunged again, and pushed Siegfried back from the strength from her blow. "I wanted to make them pay for killing you. I wanted justice. For twenty years, I vowed to have my revenge on them."

"I kn-"

"And I managed to get my vengeance. I killed Hagen and Gunther for your death…. Or so I thought."

Siegfried dodged another strike. Kriemhild's attack destroyed part of the garden.

"Before Hagen died, he told me it was YOU who told him to do it." Kriemhild said. "So everything I did, all the blood I spilled in the name of vengeance….was for NOTHING!"

Kriemhild charged at Siegfried and swung her blade. Only this time, the strike connected. Siegfried winced in pain as the cut on his chest spilled blood upon the ground. He was not the only one wounded, however. Kriemhild was also cut on the chest, her dress now torn slightly. The Berserker stared at him in shock, only to see his horrified expression.

"What have I…"

Kriemhild did not let him finish that sentence. Instead, she charged and cut him on the arm. "For twenty years, I sacrificed everything to get my vengeance! TWENTY! FUCKING! YEARS! SIEGFRIED!"

Siegfried was left with no choice but to attack. The Saber managed to cut her arm, but Kriemhild ignored the pain and swung her blade wildly at him. Siegfried locked blades with the Berserker, and saw the rage within her.

"DID YOU EVER LOVE ME?!"

"Of course I did!" Siegfried yelled back. "And I still do!"

Kriemhild's eyes widened as she saw the serious look in his eyes. Tears started to fall down her face as she realized the harsh reality. He was telling the truth. He had, and still does, love her.

"How…..How could you leave me like that?" Kriemhild asked through choked sobs. "We could have worked something out…so why did you do it….?"

Siegfried trembled slightly. "I have no excuse."

The two Servants broke away from their clash for a moment, before lunging at each other. The Saber and Berserker traded blows with their blades, but their swings were halfhearted, and did not hit flesh. It was clear to both that they were now holding back.

"I was a fool." Siegfried said. "I should have stayed in bed with you that day."

"Stop…." Kriemhild muttered.

"I should have stayed by your side through it all." Siegfried continued.

"Please stop…."

"If I did, then we could have won the war." Siegfried said. "But it would not have brought us peace. And so I let fear take hold."

"Don't say it…." Kriemhild said.

"It was my fear of potentially losing you in the war that spurred me." Siegfried said. "I was scared that you would be killed…."

"SHUT UP!"

Siegfried watched as Kriemhild trembled and stared at him with mixed emotions. The Saber walked up to her to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but Kriemhild smacked it away. "Don't touch me! I don't want your heroism to be corrupted on a good for nothing like me!"

"I don't understand." Siegfried said.

"It's because I don't love you anymore." Kriemghild said coldly. "So you'd be better off finding someone else, and forgetting about me."

"That won't be possible." Siegfried said. "I only ever had eyes for you."

Kriemhild blushed slightly. "Didn't you hear a word I said?! I said that I don't love you anymore!"

"Do you really feel that way?"

Kriemhild stared at him in shock. The Berserker trembled as she gripped her sword. He saw right through her lie. She did love him, her heart belonged to him, and she knew it.

"Do you know why I decided to fight you?" Siegfried asked.

"Enlighten me." Kriemhild answered.

"I wanted to speak to you again and open the air." Siegfried answered. "I want to make things right."

A weak smile formed on Kriemhild's face. Siegfried smiled back, only for him to lose said smile when he noticed something was off. "What's wrong?"

"Do you know what happened with the First of the Triumvirate when they tried to fight Lev Lainur?" Kriemhild asked.

"Ritsuka told me Lev confessed that he used a Command Seal on them to get them to obey." Siegfried answered.

"Correct. But she wasn't the only one… When I was summoned, I tried to fight him as well. But he used some sort of curse on me. Now I cannot disobey him….."

Siegfried's eyes widened in horror. "So when you were saying all those things earlier…..you were trying to get me to kill you to release yourself…."

"I was going to say those things anyway." Kriemhild answered. "When he said you were here, I froze and was about to leave and fight you alone, and let you know how much pain you caused. But in my distraction, he cursed me to serve him."

"So you never wanted to destroy Human History?"

Kriemhild scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. If I did that, then what would happen if we succeeded? I wouldn't have obtained my goal…"

"And what goal is that?" Siegfried asked.

Kriemhild sighed. "Don't make me say it….."

Siegfried stared at her sadly. He knew that there was only one thing she wanted by the way she looked. But Lev had to twist it.

"Is there any other way?" Siegfried asked.

Kriemhild shook her head. "There's only one way this can end….."

Siegfried stared at her in shock, before taking a deep breath. "I understand…."

The Saber and Berserker raised their blades. They had to end this now. The two of them charged at each other one last time to end the fight as quickly as possible.

White hot pain shot through Kriemhild as Siegfried stabbed her Spirit Origin. She opened her eyes, only to stare in shock as she saw blood upon her blade. Siegfried grunted in pain and coughed up blood as her Balmung ran right through him.

"Did…..did you do that on purpose?!" Kriemhild asked.

Siegfried shook his head. "No, I just came in at a bad angle. And as fate would have it, the weak spot on my back is on the other side of the wound…"

Golden lights started to envelope them. They knew they didn't have much time left before they disappeared. Siegfried took a deep breath and stared at Kriemhild, holding back the pain he felt.

"Kriemhild, my love, I want you to listen to me." Siegfried said as he embraced the Berserker. "If there is ever a chance we end up in Chaldea, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make things right. I will do anything to earn your forgiveness."

Kriemhild said nothing. Instead, she merely closed her eyes, and returned his embrace. A small smile formed upon her face. Even with all the anger she felt towards him, she could not deny that she was happy to be in his arms again. The two of them stayed like this, until they turned into golden dust.

The only sign of their battle now, was the white flowers blooming.

Caesar and Cleopatra panted heavily as they stared down Darius. Even the two of them together weren't able to defeat him, but they managed to keep him occupied long enough for some other Servants to come to their aid. Astolfo, Vlad and Jeanne decided to help them in dealing with the Berserker. The Ruler wanted to deal with the undead soldiers and purify them, but that would leave the Roman soldiers to deal with Darius's familiars. The best option they had right now was to defeat Darius first, and then deal with the undead.

However, that was easier said than done. The large Berserker always seemed to disengage from one of them to focus on another. This would have been a boon for them to try and attack while he was preoccupied, but his attack range kept them all from making progress. Astolfo charged at Darius, but the Berserker blocked his attack. Darius proceeded to swing one of his axes down upon Jeanne, but the Ruler easily blocked the attack, giving Cleopatra and Caesar an opening to attack Darius. The two lovers managed to land a hit on the Berserker, with Caesar stabbing him with his blade, and a pillar of light burning his skin. Darius roared, and blew them away from him. Caesar looked at Vlad and Astolfo with a knowing gaze.

"Finish it!"

Astolfo and Vlad charged at Darius, and stabbed him together. The Berserker slunk to the ground slowly, before lowering his head. The two Servants released their weapons from the Berserker and turned to Jeanne.

"Is it over?" Vlad asked.

Jeanne shook her head. "No, it's not! He can revive!"

Vlad and Astolfo wasted no time, and attempted to finish Darius once and for all. Unfortunately for them, the Berserker was already back up, and swatted them away. The two Servants landed with a loud thud, and Darius made a mad dash towards Caesar and Cleopatra. Jeanne leapt to their defense, and the three of them managed to lock him into a stalemate.

The stalemate ended when Astolfo came up and stabbed the Berserker in the thigh. Darius swatted the Rider away, and immediately charged at him. A pike erupted in front of him, stabbing him in the arm, courtesy of Vlad. The Berserker tried to attack him, but Vlad summoned more pikes from the ground. This gave everyone enough time to try and attack him together. Their weapons raised to take his head.

Unfortunately, Darius broke the pikes, and dodged at the last second. The Berserker stabbed Vlad in the gut with his axes, and threw him away. Jeanne and Astolfo landed a few hits, but Darius smacked them away into Cleopatra and Caesar. The four Servants collided with each other and hit the ground. As they got up, they saw Vlad lying on the ground, his blood spilling around him, and not getting up. It would seem he was out for the count. A roar from Darius brought them all back to reality, the Berserker charged at them. Caesar raised his shield and blocked the first incoming strike, with Astolfo and Jeanne about to attack one side and Cleopatra the other, but the Berserker broke away from the engagement and swung his axes at them, forcing them all to duck.

Darius leapt at them with a mighty roar, only for a pike made of blood pierce his shoulder.

"Someone once told another version of me this one fact; Always make sure your opponent is down."

Everyone turned to see Vlad rising up from the ground, slowly, but with a steadiness to him. The Berserker raised his hands and shot forth more pikes from the ground to distract Darius from them.

"Okay, this isn't working." Cleopatra said. "Everytime that we try to attack him he just disengages. Attacking him one on one doesn't work, but apparently attacking him simultaneously doesn't work either."

"If only there was a way to keep him pinned." Caesar said.

Darius roared and swung his ax towards the group. They were forced to dodge the strike, but they all had one thought on their mind. Hold him in place, so that one of them could finish him off.

Caesar was the first to try. The Rider attempted to stab the Berserker in the foot, but Darius swung his ax at him. Caesar was quick enough to block the strike with his shield, but he became staggered.

Cleopatra gave Caesar some breathing room by using her snake to try and subdue Darius, but the Berserker leapt out of the way, causing the snake to incinerate a few undead soldiers. Caesar looked at Cleopatra in disbelief, causing her to blush.

"It's not my fault!"

Darius landed on the ground, and smacked Cleopatra into Caesar. The two lovers quickly recovered as Darius was about to swing his axes at them, only for Vlad to summon pikes to stab into his back. The enemy Berserker shrugged them off, and grabbed Vlad by the throat before throwing him to the ground. Jeanne came to his defense, wrapping her standard around the enemy Berserker's neck to try and suffocate him a bit. The two of them struggled for a bit, but Darius dematerialized both of his axes, grabbed the standard and shook Jeanne off onto the ground. Jeanne tried to get up, but Darius slammed his foot onto her, pinning her screaming form onto the ground in pain.

Darius materialized both of his axes, held them in a reverse grip, and swung down to end the Ruler.

SHLICK!

Jeanne's eyes widened in horror as blood splattered her face. Standing before her was none other than Astolfo. The Rider took the blow meant for her, with both axes protruding from his gut. Astolfo gritted his teeth and held the axes in place with one hand, and summoned his lance with the other. The Rider continued to cough up blood as he activated his Noble Phantasm.

"Trap of Argalia…."

Astolfo hit the Berserker with the lance, causing him to fall, but not without Astolfo falling next to him. The Rider turned to look at Caesar and Cleopatra's shocked expressions, but gave a sharp gasp for air.

"Finish it….."

The two lovers nodded at him and leapt at Darius. Caesar's blade and Cleopatra's serpent pierced Darius's Spirit Core, finally killing him. The group watched as the Berserker dissipated into golden dust and completely vanished. It was only then did they rush to Astolfo's side. The Rider continued to cough up blood, and his eyes were struggling to stay open. It was clear he didn't have much time left.

"I can't believe we finally brought him down….."

Astolfo continued to cough up blood. Jeanne knelt down and held his hand. "Don't talk. Just try to save your strength."

Astolfo chuckled weakly. "Jeanne, we both know I'm not gonna make it."

"Is there anything we can do to make you comfortable?" Cleopatra asked.

As soon as she said that a huge surge in magical energy erupted from the fortress. The Chaldean Servants and their allies looked towards the building in shock. Just what could be giving off such a powerful reading?

The communicator Mashu gave Jeanne started to ring. The Ruler turned it on and saw Roman's concerned face. "Roman, what's wrong?"

"Lev isn't human!" He said. "He says he's a Demon God and now everyone's beginning to fight him while Nero is about to face off against the Whore of Babylon!"

"Do we need to go and help?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes, but only one of you." Roman answered. "Everyone else needs to help out here."

"I will go." Vlad said.

Roman nodded, and turned off the communicator. Vlad then knelt down towards Astolfo, confusing the Rider. "Why are you still here?"

"I want to pay my respects to you." Vlad answered.

Astolfo flashed a weak smile. "Thanks….."

Everyone watched as the Rider started to dissipate in golden dust. "Hey Vlad, can you apologize to Ritsuka and Tatsuko on my behalf? I promised them I'd be here when we won, but I ended up breaking my promise….."

Vlad nodded. "I will relay the message, my friend."

Astolfo then turned to the others with a gentle smile. "Thank you guys for making this a memorable journey. I hope….we can….meet again sometime…..when I come to Chaldea…."

Jeanne and Vlad simply nodded. Astolfo took one last breath, before finally dissipating into golden dust. With him gone, Vlad got up and nodded at the rest of the group.

"I will help them face Lev Lainur." He said. "Jeanne, if you would please hand me the communicator so Doctor Roman may guide me to them."

Jeanne nodded and tossed him the communicator. "Good luck."

Vlad nodded and rushed towards the fortress. Jeanne, Caesar and Cleopatra looked at the remaining undead soldiers and readied their weapons. With silent resolve, they charged back into the battle.

Meanwhile back in the throne room, The Whore of Babylon attacked Nero's legs, but the blonde emperor deflected the attack with her blade. The leader of the United Empire immediately recovered from the failed attack and grinned. The Whore of Babylon attacked again, but Nero dodged, and tried to attack the exposed back of her opponent. The Whore of Babylon blocked the strike by bringing the blade behind her. The Whore of Babylon kicked Nero away, with the blonde emperor rolling on the floor. Nero immediately rolled out of the way as the Whore of Babylon leapt into the air and tried to strike her when she was down. The opponent's blade only hit the floor, giving Nero an opening to strike, cutting the opponent on the thigh. Nero grinned as she ignited her blade. The Whore of Babylon grinned as she got up. "This is more fun than I thought."

"And you're not right in the head." Nero countered.

"We're the same person." The Whore of Babylon replied. "So when you insult me, you're also insulting yourself."

"Keep saying it all you want. I'm not letting you get to me." Nero said.

The Whore of Babylon grinned. "Your denial always amuses me."

Nero readied her blade as her opponent lunged at her. At the very last second, Nero dodged, and swung her blade.

Slice!

The Whore of Babylon's eyes widened as she looked down, and saw her left arm get severed from her body, and fall to the floor. The Whore of Babylon roared in pain, before staring at Nero angrily.

"Has the reality of the situation finally set in for you?" Nero asked. "You're done."

The Whore of Babylon roared as she charged at Nero once more.

As that was going on, the Chaldeans, Romulus and Jing Ke faced off against Flauros. Sanson attacked from behind, causing Flauros to growl. The Demon God shot beams at the Assassin, but Romulus summoned tree roots to take the blow instead. Jing Ke and Liz went up next, with the Lancer carrying the Assassin towards where Sanson cut Flauros, and dropped her towards the target while dodging more beams. Romulus gave her an opening by piercing the Demon God with multiple roots and branches, giving Liz some ground to land on, and to attack any places where the roots pierced Flauros. Liz used the opportunity to thrust her lance into one of the pierced wounds, digging the root in deeper. Jing Ke thrusted her dagger into the wound Sanson made earlier, and then cut upwards to deepen the wound.

Mashu, Boudicca and Romulus attacked in tandem with each other. The Shielder struck first with her shield into one of the Demon God's many eyes, before Romulus attacked another eye with his lance and conjured roots.

Boudicca used said roots to run above the others and leapt towards one of the upper eyes. Mashu took her shield out from the wounded eye and threw it beneath Boudicca, allowing the Rider to use it as a springboard to slice open one of the eyes. As soon as Flauros growled, the Servants and Mashu retreated back towards the Masters in a protective formation.

Flauros focused some of his eyes behind him, and mentally growled as he watched Nero face the Whore of Babylon.

What was an even match-up is now going entirely in Nero's favor.

"I have had it!" The Demon God said. "I'm going to end it once and for all!"

Everyone watched as smoke started to build up at the base of Flauros's form.

"His magical energy is rising…." Mashu muttered. The Shielder's eyes widened in realization. "He is about to prepare an attack!"

"DIE!"

The Demon God fired the smoke in all directions. Mashu and Boudicca got in front of everyone to protect them.

"Lord Chaldeas!"

"Chariot of Boudicca!"

Before the smoke hit them, Romulus sent some roots and branches to shield Nero, which also coincidentally covered the Whore of Babylon as well. The moment the smoke hit, the impact pushed them all back a bit. Mashu and Boudicca groaned from the strain before Ritsuka and Tatsuko raised their hands, and activated their Command Spells.

With the Masters giving them that extra boost, the Rider and Shielder dug in their heels and continued to repel the attack before them. The two of them together were able to repel the smoke until it finally dissipated. The moment the coast was clear, the Chaldeans resumed their assault on Flauros.

As that was happening, Nero continued to face the Whore of Babylon. The blonde emperor was punched in the face by the Whore of Babylon, but recovered in time to dodge another strike. Nero took the opening and cut into the Whore of Babylon's back. The blood seeped to the floor, but before Nero could finish off her opponent, the Whore of Babylon set the blood on the floor on fire, forcing Nero to retreat.

"How did you do that?!" Nero asked.

The Whore of Babylon did not answer, instead she attacked Nero again. The blonde emperor ducked under the blow, and retaliated by cutting her opponent in the midsection. Blood sprayed onto the floor, and the Whore of Babylon fell to the ground.

As that was happening, the Chaldeans continued their assault on Flauros. The Demon God could no longer fight back, as it was on its last legs. A little before Nero knocked down the Whore of Babylon, Flauros aimed a large beam towards the Masters to kill them. Mashu blocked the attack, and redirected it back at him, finally bringing him into the state he is in now. Soon, the pillar dissolved into red blood that covered the entire floor. The Whore of Babylon looked at the blood, and then saw the battered form of Lev Lainur, struggling to stand.

"Impossible….impossible." Lev muttered. "You cannot defeat me!"

"I do believe we actually did." Romulus countered.

"No! I am just in a weakened state." Lev said in denial. "All I have to do is aid the empress in killing Nero and then victory is mine!"

"That won't be necessary."

Schlick!

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the Whore of Babylon's blade pierce Lev Lainur through the back. Lev gasped in pain as the Servant dug her blade further into him.

"But….you….were….supposed…to obey me!" He said.

The Whore of Babylon smirked. "An emperor bows to no one."

The Whore of Babylon raised her blade upwards, and bisected Lev Lainur completely. The traitor's blood sprayed onto the floor as his corpse fell to the ground. Before anyone could react, the Whore of Babylon used the blood on the ground to create tendrils to grab the Grail on the throne, and brought it to her. The woman laughed as soon as it was brought to her.

"You killed him just to get your hands on the Grail….." Ritsuka muttered.

"Oh I was planning on betraying him anyway." The Whore of Babylon said. "In fact, I planned a lot of this out already."

"What do you mean?" Mashu asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Whore of Babylon asked. The enemy Servant turned to Nero and grinned. "I LET you cut me! I can control my blood using magic."

"So you planned on letting me cut your arm off?" Nero asked.

"No, that actually wasn't." The Whore of Babylon answered. "But it worked out in the end…..besides I can do THIS!"

Almost instantaneously, the Whore of Babylon regrew her arm, but instead of it being normal looking, it was completely red with scales and claws. The Whore of Babylon took the Grail with her new hand and grinned sinisterly.

"I do believe this is checkmate."

Altera grunted as she was launched into some debris thanks to the giant skeleton. The Saber tried to retaliate but had to dodge numerous musket volleys from Nobunaga. The moment the volley stopped, Altera aimed her blade at Nobunaga from behind cover, hoping to end this fight to free herself from this Reality Marble.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Nobunaga said. "With how weakened you are because of this place, it'll only blow up in your face."

Altera did not heed her words and gripped her blade with both hands. The blades started to spin, but Nobunaga did not move. She simply watched as the sword spun faster and faster.

"Phot-"

BOOM!

Altera was knocked back onto the ground, her Noble Phantasm failed, just as Nobunaga said.

"I warned you." Nobunaga said calmly. Altera got up and lunged at Nobunaga. The black haired Servant blocked the first strike with ease. Altera heard a roar and saw the skeleton attack with its hand again. The Saber had to break away from Nobunaga and dodge the attack. The white haired woman had enough of that skeleton, and ran up its arm to attack. The skeleton used its other arm to try and squish her, but Altera leapt onto the arm instead, and lunged at the skeleton's chest cavity. The Saber used a burst of mana to lunge further into the skeleton, and used her sword to destroy the spine.

The skeleton began to collapse, until it fell completely apart. The moment Altera landed, Nobunaga attacked her from behind, not giving her a moment's breath. The Saber panted heavily as the wound on her back started to drip blood on the ground. Nobunaga watched the Saber grip her sword tightly and readied herself. The black haired Servant did the same, but there was only one thing on her mind.

Take her down before the Reality Marble disappeared.

The two Servants lunged at each other, their swords clashing and ringing throughout the Reality Marble. Altera swung at Nobunaga's sword arm in order to end the fight, but Nobunaga blocked the attack, and was pushed back from the strength of the blow. The black haired Servant conjured more muskets to try and keep her at bay, but the Saber deflected the attacks and swung her blade at Nobunaga. Nobunaga simply dodged the strike and cut Altera's cheek. The Saber tried to block the next strike, but Nobunaga switched her trajectory and cut Altera's arm. The Saber raised her sword to block the next strike from Nobunaga, but her strength was already failing….

That was until the Reality Marble collapsed. Nobunaga mentally cursed at herself for taking too long. The black haired Servant punched Altera in the face, knocking her down. Nobunaga conjured more muskets to try and finish her.

"Wait!" Altera said. "Give me a moment. I need to be sure of something."

"And why would I do that?" Nobunaga asked.

"I'm not sensing something." Altera answered. "I have to be sure it's what I think it is."

Nobunaga looked at her for a moment and raised an eyebrow. The two of them looked for any abnormalities, only to sense something definitely was missing.

The large energy surge was gone.

"My Master is dead."

Nobunaga looked at Altera with a raised eyebrow. "Are you certain?"

Altera nodded. "With him dead, we have no reason to continue our battle."

"How long do you have?" Nobunaga asked.

"An hour or so." Altera answered.

The two Servants widened their eyes as they felt another surge of magical energy coming from where the infiltration team went.

"What was that?" Nobunaga asked.

"I believe that the Whore of Babylon killed my Master for the Holy Grail." Altera answered.

"That is exactly what happened."

The two Servants turned to see Vlad walking towards them, with Roman on the communicator.

"Wait, Vlad you're supposed to be out there fighting the undead soldiers." Nobunaga said. "Why are you here, and where is Siegfried for that matter?"

"Darius has been taken care of." Vlad answered. "When Doctor Roman told us what was happening, I volunteered to come."

"And as for Siegfried…He and Kriemhild took each other out from the looks of it…." Roman muttered.

Nobunaga cursed at the situation mentally. "Okay, we have to get over to the rest of the infiltration team then. Whatever is happening, I'm getting bad vibes from there."

"I can tell you where they are." Roman said.

"I'll lead us there." Altera said.

The two Chaldean Servants nodded and followed Altera towards the source of the energy spike. All the while Nobunaga felt a chill up her spine. She hoped they weren't too late.

OC: Holy shit…I can't believe it. Lev finally got axed. Hallelujah!

CV: He got destroyed by Mother Harlot, good riddance.

OC: It was a long time coming. And it happened in forty-four chapters after he killed Olga. Justice has been served today.

CV: Until he pokes his head again for Solomon but that's a few months down the line so don't worry about it.

OC: Unfortunately yes. But that's not all we had this chapter. Lev may have been killed, but the good guys took some losses this chapter as well, with Siegfried gaining a mutual kill with his wife, and Astolfo sacrificing himself to give the others the opportunity to kill Darius.

CV: They may have been able to get through Orleans with little harm, but starting from here and onwards, no battle will be won without losses.

OC: That's correct. So don't be thinking every battle will end up being a flawless victory for Chaldea. Otherwise you all will be in for a VERY rude awakening.

CV: Speaking of said deaths, let's start with Kriem and Siegfried's fight. A duel between the two spouses was pretty evident the moment she was introduced, and Owen did a pretty good job applying their personalities during the battle, especially near the end with their hug right as both died.

OC: Awwww, thanks. But the truth is that when I wrote that fight scene it was actually really difficult mainly because of how we should make Kriemhild behave. Did she agree to help Lev fully without question? That would have made her too evil, which is not accurate to who she is. Did she only agree to do it to fight Siegfried and let him know how she felt? Close, but again, she isn't the type of person that would doom Humanity like this just to get a shot to speak to Siegfried. So in the end, I decided to make it so that like Altera, she tried to fight Lev, but instead of a Command Spell, she was cursed to fight for him. She was still mad at Siegfried, but she was also mad about her predicament. As for why she decided to "attack" Siegfried as he was about to kill her? It was the curse that did it. She intended to miss, but Siegfried accidentally didn't adjust himself in time to dodge.

CV: That's weirdly funny not gonna lie.

OC: And yet it gave way to an incredibly beautiful moment between the two, and how they met in a field of white flowers, and their marriage started to be on the road to recovery in a field of white flowers.

CV: This will be the basis for Kriemhilde's later summon at Chaldea, where she and Siegfried will continue to mend their relationship.

OC: The reason we both wanted her to arrive early is because Traum ended on a cliffhanger, and due to concerns that it would pick up right where it left off, we needed to get her over here sooner rather than later. And our concerns were warranted since right after Traum the group immediately went to the seventh Lostbelt. So there would have been NO breaks in between. These two need the help sooner rather than later. But I still managed to surprise Vlad with Kriemhild coming EARLIER than he thought hehehehehe.

CV: Indeed, and in case some of you are wondering "Then what will happen with the Traum version of both?" The answer is, we'll get there, when we get there.

OC: And now there is Astolfo's death. This one was actually kinda a last minute one for us. And by last minute, I mean it was planned a couple of weeks ago when we decided to spare Caesar and have him fight Darius alongside the others. You see, in the original plot we agreed on, Caesar was supposed to go with the infiltration group like we said last week and he was supposed to die with Spartacus, and Jing Ke was supposed to fight Darius alongside the others. And in that idea, it was supposed to be JING KE who died, and she would have killed Darius at the cost of her own life. Now that she went with the infiltration group, we needed someone else to die in her place. And Vlad suggested Astolfo, and the scenario of his death was entirely his creation.

CV: From the start we knew that Darius, especially one that's being powered by the Grail, would require a sacrifice to be taken down, and I think we did a pretty good job doing so with Astolfo. For him, who was the goofy dude of the Singularity to sacrifice himself to help his friends win.

OC: Well Darius also has Guts and a Disengage skill, so he would already be hard to keep down anyway. But it's ironic that the person he saved and sacrificed his life for was the woman he would always bicker with. It really shows that he's not a paladin for show. He IS a true knight.

CV: Lots of people tend to forget that Astolfo wasn't one of the members of the 12 Paladins without reason. Goofiness aside, he earned that title.

OC: True. But now onto perhaps one of my favorite moments in the chapter. Nobunaga activating her Reality Marble. Just having Altera looking around the hellish landscape, to seeing Nobunaga sitting on a throne of skulls and explaining why she has the Reality Marble was incredibly goosebump inducing.

CV: Yeah that was one of the highlights of the chapter and of Chronicles' current run in general.

OC: But there's more. To our readers, when you finish this chapter, I heavily suggest rereading the first scene again with a…..particular song. That song being Tenma/Nemesis of the Divine. Trust me, you'll understand why one day. That, and it's an incredibly epic combination.

CV: Fits quite well if I do say so myself.

OC: Yup. And now onto the biggest part of the chapters. Lev's transformation, the fight with The Whore of Babylon, and the final fight, and defeat of Lev. Do you want to take care of that first part, Vlad? Or shall I?

CV: Allow me. The idea for Lev's transformation here was basically to make it as inhuman as I possibly could, so I decided to use some of the classics, like the limbs twisting and the body stretching into unnatural angles, as well as the mouth opening in a way that looked like a horrifying smile, fitting for Lev's nature.

OC: I remember when you suggested that a couple of months back and I knew we absolutely HAD to do it.

CV: It simply felt right y'know?

OC: That it did. Almost as right as the Whore of Babylon fighting Nero and "losing". Seriously, the fact that she let Nero hit her so many times to give her and the others that sense of security basically shows how calculating and sinister she is.

CV: Trademark features of a good villain, leading the heroes into a false sense of security.

OC: Don't forget how she betrayed Lev.

CV: That as well. This is the payoff for The Whore of Babylon's inclusion in Septem as the true antagonist, and as you all saw, she got the upper hand on everyone, including Lev. Always keeping him believing he was in control.

OC: His arrogance was his downfall. Especially against the Chaldeans. To be honest, I had a hard time figuring out HOW the Chaldeans were supposed to fight something that was that big and stationary. Vlad suggested just harassing it and that was just what we went with.

CV: It was tough when the only examples of an animated fight against a Demon Pillar are in Solomon movie, and half of those are Scathatch one shotting like 3 of them in a row.

OC: Yeah, that really didn't help in how to fight them. So we had to get creative.

CV: In comes the fight y'all see in this episode, with the Servants slowly weakening it until one can land the finishing blow.

OC: And how fitting it is that it is Mashu to do it. The eggplant just redirected his beam at himself, and it just fucked him up royally.

CV: And then came the Whore of Babylon and delivered the finishing blow.

OC: Yup. She took over Altera's part in this scene of the fight. And for those wondering why she's able to control blood like she's doing? Well this is a bit of a nod to the original rough draft where we had her kill Lev. The original draft was actually similar to how the game played out, but it also was supposed to be where she was properly introduced. Her introduction was for Lev's blood, and some blood to spill out of the Grail, and form a puddle. And she would rise from that puddle like Mogh from Elden Ring, and basically introduce herself.

CV: Welcome, honored guest… To the birthplace of our Dynasty!

OC: Oh god, I'm now having flashbacks of fighting him again….that guy has killed me more times than almost any other boss…

CV: Sorry, sorry. I had to do it.

OC: (Mogh's second phase vietnam flashbacks) AHHHHHHH NOT THE BLOODFLAMES! NOT THE-Oh, sorry. Where were we again?

CV: Discussing the second-to-last chapter of the Septem arc, next week is the grand finale!

OC: Oh right! As Vlad has pointed out, we are finally ending the Triumvirate arc. It's been a long time coming, and it was indeed fun to try and write our own version of Septem, but it's time for the Roman Singularity to come to an end. And it's all thanks to Vlad that this arc came to be what it is today.

CV: I got a bit silly one day and pumped out some ideas lol.

OC: Silly? Bruh!

CV: Very silly indeed.

OC: Well in anycase thank you all for reading this chapter of Chronicles. Please stay tuned next week for the final chapter of the Triumvirate arc, "We are Rome."