Hi everyone and welcome back to chapter 29 of the story!
Today right now I don't have much to say so let's jump straight into the chapter.
DISCLAIMER: All the Nasuverse character belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author.
With the formation now made, the soldiers of the Roman Empire awaited with their weapons in hand, for the arrival of the enemy. Their generals, El-Melloi II and Alexander stood behind the line, watching the big entrance that would lead to their accampment. And it wasn't the only path that would led to them. Just more to the right there was another one that would end in the same area. El-Melloi had ordered a part his soldiers to also make a defensive line and get ready just in case that the enemy may invade from there instead.
As the grown man tought about all that, the boy Alexander would do some quick warm ups, seeming excited for the battle that was getting near by every second.
"So they bring new reinforcements from what I've heard." Alexander commented with a smile on his face. "They will try their everything now won't they?"
"That goes without saying." El-Melloi responded. "We are what separates the enemies from the rest of Rome and the emperor herself. If we get defeated here, a path all the way to Rome will be laid for them. And it's a certainty that they know this too." The man analyzed the overall situation. "So pay attention Alexander, for our enemy will try of everything now."
"Understood El-Melloi-san!" The young king exclaimed with confidence. "They are welcome to try!"
As he ended from saying that, the sound of hundreads and poissbly a thousand of steps could be heard coming from the entrance to the area of their accampment. All the soldiers got even more on caution, with many on the line grabbing a bow on their back and preparing an arrow to shoot.
"They're here." El-Melloi said shortly and simple.
It didn't last very long for the adversary to show up with it's soldiers appearing and running at the entrance, letting out a warrior's scream while heading torwards the defensive line. However, something was quite wierd with them. Their numbers were few, scarce even when comparing to the Roman Empire's unite. Such awkward thing was even worthy of El-Melloi to raise an eyebrow.
"Hm? This is all of their soldiers that they decided to bring to such decisive battle like this one?" The strategist tought before looking to the mentioned second path on the right. "Did they planned to split and attack from the two ways? Most likely to get us off guard?" El-Melloi then went back to look at the newly arrived attackers. "Are they just a decoy? Hmm, no it can't be. A plan like that would be too obvious and easy to predict. They wouldn't be stupids to the point of doing that."
Alexander seemed to have been let down a bit. "Oh, only this? It's barely half a thousand." He said dissapointed. To the young king, a battle needed to be epic and grandiose. This almost felt like an insult to him.
"Don't put your guard down just because of it! Remember that the enemy can always have something up it's sleeve." El-Melloi warned and called the boy out, before putting his arm in the air. "Fire!" He then lowered the arm as he had given the command to his men who immediatly shot the arrows from their bows into the sky.
The reaction of the United Roman Empire soldiers was also a quick one. The soldiers were fast to take the shields from their back and use it to protect themselves before the rain of arrows could strike them. Avoiding any casualty in the end, the soldiers advanced once again to the defensive line, getting closer to them now.
"You're right El-Melloi-san! No matter the size of our foe, we should always be aware of them! Right?" Alexander's mood had gone up again after hearing the adult man's words. Even if a battle didn't had the aspect of being incredible, it was still a battle needed to be won at the end of the day.
El-Melloi gave a little smile. One so small and fast that it could have gone unnoticed. "You spoked well now." The man stretched his arm to the front and gave his next order to the legion of soldiers in front of him. "Attack!" With that said, the line still maintained it's formation altough now it had gone for the offensive instead of staying in the defensive.
Alexander didn't want to stay just watching it and so he decided to go tk the front with his men too, leaving El-Melloi behind. "Onward my soldiers! Let's show them what we can be capable of!" He shouted with determination and thanks to the fact of being a servant, he now was in front of the line, leading his soldiers to the clash with their enemy.
As the soldiers clashed their swords upon contact, so did Alexander. But instead of being with a normal soldier, he had clashed with a young white haired girl around his age, surprising completely the young king.
"Woo! You must be one of the new ones! First time I'm fighting with you!" Alexander said happily despite still being at clash with the girl.
"I wouldn't be so joyful if I was you." Nala gave an arrogant smile as she undid the clash between her and Alexander. "Because you're about to be defeated right here!" She exclaimed, getting in a battle position.
Alexander however, didn't looked to have taken that as an insult or provocation. Instead, he seemed way more happier now. "Hahaha! You sure have some fighthing spirit in you! I never expected to have to fight a girl around my age in the battlefield for once in my life. And a beautiful one too."
Nala blushed a bit and let her smile fade out as she heard the praises from Alexander's mouth. "B-Beautiful...?"
"Looking at that sword, I'd say you must be quite the warrior figure. Are you a famous queen perhaps? Or a notorious female knight from history? Man, now I'm way more excited to fight! I may have just become the luckiest boy in the world for having to face someone like you!" Alexander continued to transmit his radiant boy vibes unknowingly and without meaning to. "I mean it's not every day one can fight against such intresting and charming opponents such as yourself!"
Nala on the other hand was getting her face redder and more embarassed by hearing such praises of a young boy like Alexander to her. His appearence, personality and the way he praised the girl was giving strange feelings to Nala who didn't know exactly how to react but to give an embaressed silly smile while looking to the side and rub her hair a bit. "T-thank you...hum...b-but I think I'm n-not really that spec-"
"Watch out your back!"
A warning scream alerted Nala who had for a second let her guard down due to Alexander's compliments. Thankfully for her, whoever was going to attack her got knocked out by a sharp kick of Cleopatra who had just appeard behind the girl, saving her from a surprise attack.
Nala had immediatly snapped back."Crap! I just let my defense down in plain battlefield!" She tought to herself how easily she had let herself opened.
"So let me see. Money, territories and power don't call your attention or intrest in any way." Cleopatra said, adding a smirk. "But common flattery from a pretty boy will melt you down like chocolate. Hm, now that's intresting." She teased Nala who blushed from embarassement again.
"S-Shut up!" Nala responded back agressively. "H-He just has a way with words that's it!" Nala attempted at an excuse.
Meanwhile Alexander was still watching with the same natural happy face of his. "Hey, I remember fighting you that other time! Does this means we can go for a second round?"
"I pass." Cleopatra said, not even looking at the boy, instead kicking another enemy out of the way. "This time I'll just be here for support."
The red haired kid wasn't expecting to hear that. "Oh, ok then." He looked at Nala. "So it will be only you and me. Hope to have a great fight with you!"
"You can also count me in!"
Hearing the voice from his left side, Alexander was quick to act and blocked the attack from a white haired boy.
"Damnit! It didn't worked." Peko said to himself after seeing Alexander easily blocking his sword.
"Just a quick tip: If you wanna do surprise attacks on the enemy, the wisest thing is to say nothing while sneaking up on them." Alexander advised him. "But that was still a good attempt."
"He's actually right Peko. Why did you had to announce yourself like that?" Nala scolded her brother a bit, seeing that their little strategy to caught the opponent off guard was ruined by sheer incompetence.
"My bad." Peko apologized for the mistake he had made to his sister. "Altough you could have also done more than blushing all over his praises to you." He critizised Nala in a low but slightly upset tone.
"Now it's not the time to have an idiotic sibling squabble!" Cleopatra hit both of the two kids heads, who flinched in pain. "I'll guard your backs and make sure no enemy soldiers interfere with your battle. Just like we planned. Understood?"
Peko and Nala were still rubbing their heads due to the punches from the egyptian woman.
"Y-Yes."
"You didn't had to hit us like that! But yeah, understood."
Allowing the two to recover, Alexander was now in front of his two opponents who put returned to their respective battle positions. The boy was excited. "Whoa! Two versus one! And against a pair of twins no less! Haha, now this is a fight that I wanna make sure to remember!" He pointed his sword at the two. "Come and show this juvenile King of Conquerors what you two are capable of!"
"A king huh? I think that's a first for us." Peko remarked, not expecting for the boy who looked the same age as him to actually be someone with such title as a king.
"King or not we will defeat him!" Nala told to him. "Just because he is one doesn't mean he is stronger than the enemies we already faced before!"
"Your words are quite the nice encouragement for your brother. I see that you are a good sis that cares for him." Alexander smiled innocently as he praised Nala again.
"...D-do you really think that?" Nala said, trying to hide the blush from her face.
"Do you like to get praised or something?!" Peko shouted to his sister in a comic frustration.
"Those two are their new allies? So the suspicions were true. They really abandoned and betrayed the emperor, working for the enemy now." El-Melloi tought to himself as he caught sight of the two siblings who were about to fight against Alexander. Seeing them confirmed the theories that Nero had about them the morning she found out they had fled from her palace. Altough El-Melloi never saw the mage group personaly due to his and Alexander's duty to hold the line, he had heard about them and what they look like, with Peko and Nala's description fitting with the two kids he was now seeing. El-Melloi took a cigaratte out of his pocket and smoked a bit. "However, Cleopatra and those two alongside some soldiers can't be all of it..."
The man blew the smoke to the air, not even reacting at the beggining by the sudden appearence of Mash and Boudica next to him, ready to attack.
"...right?"
In a space of three seconds, El-Melloi was able to dodge the attacks of both, gaining some distance and space between him and his enemies.
"Was he counting on it?" Mash asked to Boudica, seeing how naturally El-Melloi was on dodging.
"This man is a very astute person. Don't let your defense near him down Mash!" Boudica warned the shielder. "He's very good at analyzing the enemy's movements from what I've heard."
"Got it! I'll keep with my guard on Boudica-san!" Mash told her, repositioning her shield.
El-Melloi smoked more before sighing as his reaction. "I'm not a fan of having to do head to head battles. It's not even because of the Heroic Spirit that is inhabiting in me but because it's a bit of an headache." El-Melloi closed his hand with the cigaratte on it, putting it out. "A man can't think and analyze with such tranquility that he would like to. Still..." He took his glasses out. "My posture has to remain one of someone who's always with it's head in place. Such is my job as the tactician that is inside me." He reached out for an item under his black suit and from it took out a hand fan made of crane feathers. "Now, to not sound rude or anything, please dissapear." And he waved his fan of feathers.
"!" Boudica immediatly knew what this meant. "Mash watch out!"
Mash saw a round shadow form beneath her on the ground, not understanding what it was. "Huh?!" Confused, Mash looked up to see countless boulders descending in her direction. Not wasting any time, Mash put her shield in front of her and defended herself from the falling rocks. "Grgh!" "How did these boulders appeard so randomly?!"
"Mash are you alright?" Boudica checked to see if her companion was good while the dust settled down, showing an unarmed Mash. "I'm fine Boudica-san! I blocked his attack!" She told Boudica.
But while it seemed El-Melloi had ended his attack, he snapped his fingers of the right hand wich resulted in a fire explosion near Boudica's feet.
"HYAA!" Boudica screamed as she was hit by the flames of the attack.
"Boudica-san!" Mash yelled in alarm, about to help her allie but was stopped as a beam was targeted at the shielder, forcing her to block it. "Ngh!"
Summoning an ying and yang symbol that had fired the beam, El-Melloi went back to look at the second path that would lead to the accampment. The entrance still remained undisturbed, with the second line still holding it's formation. The battle in front of him was balanced and so he didn't had the need yet to call the soldiers from that line to help. "Then these two couldn't have come from there. They really went through all the battlefield in order to fight against me. Good grief, if I hadn't noticed their presence for a couple more seconds they may had got me. They already know that I am the most important piece here. Still, it's strange how they decided to show up with inferior numbers to ours like this. It can't possible be just this. There are certainly more on the way here!"
A sound came from his left side and El-Melloi turned around to see Boudica running torwards him. "Don't think this is over already!" She swinged her sword torwards the man who dodged again despite this time being closer to have hit is face.
"Aaah!" Mash came from behind and moved her shield agressively at El-Melloi who this time didn't dodged completely successful, being slightly cut on his right cheek by the sharpest part of Mash's shield.
El-Melloi retreated by some meters and touched the newly made wound on his cheek,looking at the blood. "Hmm am I getting sloppy? I know that servants don't need sleep but perhaps I should start taking that in consideration. Yes, a good eight hours of sleep at night should help me relieve a bit. Or perhaps rise the quantity of coffee I've been drinking." He then looked at both Mash and Boudica, noticing only now that his attack had damaged Boudica's left arm by having some burns in it.
"Can you still fight Boudica-san?" Mash asked her, seeing that the wound on the redhaired woman's arm didn't looked pretty.
"I can Mash. No problems." Boudica said, smilling with confidence. "Let's just focus on defeating the enemy."
Mash nodded. "Understood! I will do my best for it!" She and Boudica then targeted their attention to El-Melloi who had lightened another cigarette. "As expected, you two won't go down that easily. Good lord, I can never have some easy rest can I?" The man stared at the two women. "What is the plan here? What are your hiding by doing this?"
"Phew! Almost got me!" Alexander commented as he evaded Nala's blade and attacked back with his own sword, clashing with Nala's.
Nala then moved away from the enemy, allowing Peko to shoot the light bullet from his fingers. The bullet rapidly went torwards Alexander, taking out some bits of his hair, passing narrowly close to his head. Peko however wouldn't let Alexander have room to breath and so he jumped torwards the other boy, almost cutting him but failling by mere centimeters. Alexander replied with a quick counter and cut Peko in his left shoulder.
"Peko!" Nala screamed and went to back up her brother by making Alexander focus on her instead. The two clashed and allowed Peko to retreat for an instant. Seeing that, Nala undone the clash with Alexander and went back to her brother, checking up his wound. "You good?"
"Y-Yeah. It was just a minor cut. I can handle it." Peko said while trying shove the pain away. "He's good however. Way too good." Peko said as he cleaned the sweat from his face. "He is aware of the surroundings and his fighting skills are so much better than mines and Nala's. Tsk! Seeing a guy who looks as young as me fighting like that while being a king as well is that type of thing to put someone envy." Despite feeling that way, Peko smiled. "But if someone like him can achieve that potential, it means I also can!"
Getting back on his feet, Peko was ready to continue fighting.
Alexander liked seeing that. "You handled that cut pretty well. The way you grab your sword shows that you still have somethings to improve but I would be lying if I said fighting you and your sister hasn't been fun!"
"Thanks! You also fight very well." Peko praised his opponent equally, before thinking on what Alexander said about the way he grabbed his sword. "Huh? Am I handling my sword wrong?" He checked his own weapon while making that question.
"Kinda. But don't worry. I too used to be a bit clunky with how I grabbed my sword just a while back haha." Alexander laugh while rubbing his head. The young king then pointed to the hand that was grabbing his own sword. "You need to have a tight grasp over it. Real tight, or else your sword will fly away when clashing with stronger opponents." He advised Peko. "Also, this advise of mine may be just some personal preference of mine but I would council you to position your hand in the middle of the hilt. However, if you want to put you hand at the beggining or ending of the hilt is fine by me." Alexander smiled, putting Peko confused on why he would give helpful advises to his enemy.
Eitherway, Peko looked at the grasp of his sword and decided to do what was told to him. "Like this?"
Nala was shocked by seeing him following Alexander instructions. "This is no time for training you idiot! He probably just wants you to slow you down!"
But Alexander had no such intentions like that. The boy truly wanted to help his enemy to get better on the notions of figthing. So he ignored Nala's small rant. "Yes! Like that. Now swing your sword vertically."
Peko did that.
"Good! Don't you feel a slight change on the way you swinged your sword?" Alexander asked while still maintaining his smile.
"Hmm, a bit I guess." Peko responded. "Even if I find it weird that he is advising me in the middle of a battle, I can't help but think he really wants me to do my best in it." "Thank you for helping me anyways. I appreciate it."
"The pleasure is mine. It's very rare to have the chance to fight someone as old as yourself haha." Alexander smiled cheerfuly.
"That's true hahaha." Peko joined Alexander in what was now a duo of two boys laughing and smilling happily with each other.
Nala who was watching from behind couldn't help but let some small drops of sweat apppear on her head. "Did they turned into best buddies or something?"
Meanwhile Cleopatra was even way more behind, fighting and kicking any enemy soldier that would approach, leaving the twins to fight Alexander alone. "Hey what's happening? Are you two winning?" Cleopatra asked despite still maintainig her focus on kicking the incoming soldiers.
In Nala's perspective, it was a bit hard to tell as she continue to watch both Peko and Alexander smilling and laughing together. "Hummmmmmm...It's kinda of a draw?"
After some more couple of seconds, the two boys finally stopped laughing.
"You really seem to be a cool and worthy guy to fight with. What's your name?" Alexander asked Peko.
"It's Peko. And I say the same about you...hum..."
"Alexander. Alexander the Great." The young king responded. "Altough that greatness is yet to come as I still stay in this young form of mine." He sighed a bit. "It was nice chatting with you Peko but now we have to fight. It's that my superior over there would be mad if he caught me relaxing and all."
"I can understand that." Peko responded. "This is a battlefield after all. I too can't be slacking off while everyone else is trying their best to succeed." He entered his battle position again. "So once again, thank you for a king like you to have teached me a bit here. I can indeed feel that fighting you is a honour that only few have! Come with everything you got, Alexander!" He shouted at hus opponent.
Nala joined him too. "Finally! I was already expecting that you two would start to talk about your favourite colour or something. Now we can fight for real!"
"You're Nala, aren't you?" Alexander speaked torwards the girl. "You also fight pretty well. The way you fight has some beauty in it if I'm being honest." Alexander praised Nala out of benevolence again, resulting in ghe girl to blush once more.
"Ah! S-Stop with that already!"
"I see you are making friends even when you aren't supposed to." El-Melloi tought after taking a side glance to observe Alexander with Peko and Nala. "Not only that but you also help them. No matter how old you are I guess you will always behave like an idiot, won't you? At this point I'd say it's even your main trait. Being an idiot. A respectable and charismatic leader with the dreams and ambitions of a moron." El-Melloi turned his attention back at Mash and Boudica. "Perhaps that's how you got so many followers."
Boudica and Mash charged torwards him. El-Melloi responded by smmoning more ying and yang symbols wich fired at the two. Mash blocked all of them and Boudica immediatly got out from Mash's cover, proceeding to continue her sprint torwards El-Melloi.
The man however, was already counting on that and so he summoned more falling rocks to hit Boudica. The redhaired woman this time was well prepared and was able to avoid the attack, getting now close to El-Melloi.
"Hm, impressive." He said to himself before narrowly dodging from Boudica's sword, who still got a bit of his skin, and elbowing her in the right beneath the chest.
"Gghaa!" Boudica coughed dryly as she felt the blow being received in the area of the diaphragm.
Mash also went close to him and tried to pull a surprise attack. And she would have done it if El-Melloi didn't noticed her presence and snapped the fingers of his left hand. "Kyaah!" Mash screamed as she was hit by the fire explosion.
"Not bad at all you two. You even forced me to have to hit you with my own arms." The man took another cigarette from his pocket and cleaned the blood running down from his cheeck. "I'm not someone who enjoys violence nor violent people, so to have to hit you with my own fists is not an action that I take it proudly." He said, watching the female pair recovering their breath from the attacks they suffered.
"I admit that you are a good tactician..." Boudica slowly got um from the ground. "But you're experience in a close fight isn't the best. I'ts only a matter of time until we memorize your attacks fully and proceed to defeat you."
Mash, now with some burns and a tiny line of blood exiting from her mouth, also went back to stand on her feet. "I can also feel that too Boudica-san. We are wearing him down."
"Hmm..." El-Melloi was again back to hiw own toughts, before asking something to both Mash and Boudica. "Where are the rest of your men?" He questioned.
"What are you talking about? What you're seeing is all of our men here!" Boudica answered him. "Everyone from our army is here!"
"Is that so? Do you honestly believe I would believe in an excuse like that?" El-Melloi could clearly see through his opponent's lie. "I know that you wouldn't be stupid enough to show up with only these numbers. There is more of you that have yet to arrive. The situation may be balanced now but it's a question of time until the numbers make a difference and my army destroys yours." El-Melloi said, staring briefly at the battle occuring in front of him. "And there's still the second line guarding the other entrance. I could call it at any moment and the numbers beetween the two armies would get larger. The only reason I won't do that, it's because that's exaclty what you want me to do." El-Melloi speaked with a cold voice.
"Ggh! That's just you being paranoic!" Boudica told him. "I already told you that every soldier of our army is here!"
El-Melloi still didn't believe it. "If I called all of the second line for support in order to smash you, the entrance would be left opened for the rest of your soldiers come out and catch us off guard. You can deny it all you want, those mere bluffs won't work on me."
"If we were really planning on doing that, don't you find it weird that we are letting ourselves fight in minority throughout all this entire time instead of calling our remaining troops to blow up their cover in order to aid us?" Boudica tried to justify the veracity of their low numbers to El-Melloi.
The man couldn't lie that she was making a good point. "Really, no general or commander would let their army fight this long when in clear numerical disadvantage if said army has remaining troops ready to attack. Perhaps they are really stupids and I'm just overestimating them. Could it be that?" El-Melloi stared at the second line of defense at the other's entrance. His mind analyzed the situation for a bit. "No! I'll still keep it untouched! I can't be totally sure that they aren't just trying to deceive me." El-Melloi stood a bit silent, when his mind remebered something. "Wait! If I remind it correctly, there's actually..."
Being apparently distracted, Boudica tried to take this as a chance to attack him. She jumped torwards him, already with the sword in hand.
"The secret passage." El-Melloi turned his head around in a menacing way. "The rest of your troops are trying to get here through the secret passage."
"!" Boudica gulped as she stoped for a quick moment, being caught by surprise by El-Melloi's thinking. And before she could return back to her main objective of cutting him with her sword, Boudica was hit under the chest by a second time. And it was stronger than the last one, making Boudica cough some blood out. "Kgh!" The warrior woman fell to the ground some distance away from El-Melloi.
"Boudica-san!" Mash went right next to her, checking if she was alright.
"H-How?" Boudica cleenched her teeth in anger. Their plan had apparently been discovered.
"You tought that the information of the secret passage was only a thing you knew. Sorry to inform you but we also discovered it not a long time ago. I also put a good amount of soldiers to guard that secret passage just the day before the battle. Guess it was a wise choice of mine." El-Melloi told them. "Now that I discovered your secret strategy, I guess my mind can put that whole charade to rest. Now it's time to focus on a more important thing..." El-Melloi let the cigarette fell from his mouth and step on it with his foot. "To destroy you right here and now."
Nala rushed torwards Alexander who had just finished from dodging Peko's blows. She swinged her sword from below and right to slash the enemy. Alexander reacted quickly again and blocked Nala's sword. What he didn't blocked however, was an unexpected kick from Nala's leg on the right side of his abdomen.
"W-What?!" Alexander said in shock.
"Just because I fight with my sword it doesn't mean I can use my legs as well!" Nala responded. "Now Peko!"
Peko slashed Alexander on his left side, putting him helpless to block Nala's second kick who hit them in the head, throwing him away a couple of meters.
"Nice!" Nala closed her fist in joy, seeing that their mini combo had wroked well.
"Since when have you decided to fight with your legs?" Peko asked curiosly.
"I decided to take some inspiration." Nala responded as Cleopatra was still at the back kicking her enemies left and right.
"Ow! That was clearly something I wasn't expecting at all." Alexander got back up, rubbing his head and moving his body to see if anything hadn't broken. He was notoriously wounded, with some visible damages on his skin and body. "I have to say that I actually like when a fight causes me to sweat. It means the time and opponent are indeed worthy." Alexander continued to show his smile. Nothing seemed to anger this boy who always had his mood up. "Even tough it may be reaching it's end." Alexander commented, seeing the state Peko and Nala were in. The two siblings also had some notorious wounds and cuts, their bodies feeling a little bit tired already. After all, it wasn't like Alexander wouldn't give them a tough fight.
"I feel that too." Peko took a deep breath. "The next clashes will be crucial."
"And we will make sure to not miss a single one." Nala added with a determinant smile.
"Glad to hear that." Alexander pointed his sword at the two. "Unfortunately for you, I also plan to not miss my blows."
Mash breathed heavily as she and Boudica stopped their attempted assault on El-Melloi. She and Boudica were wounded pretty bad but at least they weren't the only ones as El-Melloi also showed to have some significant injuries.
"Graah!" Boudica leashed out to El-Melloi who used his fan of feathers to make another spell, summoning an agressive breeze of wind that hit Boudica back and distanciated her from him.
El-Melloi was even sweating a bit from how long he had been fighting these two. Looking ahead, he saw that Alexander was also having some difficulties. "This isn't being easy for neither of us. We may eventually win by the number's difference but if me and Alexander die during the battle the moral of our soldiers will go down while theirs will rise. Tsk! This is a bad day to have a stress. I should take advantage that my two foes are currently recovering to do the following..." El-Melloi looked to the second line of defense far in the distance and put his arm in the distance. "It's time to have some reinforcements."
"Hey look! Lord El-Melloi-sama is calling us! Did you heard that men? Let's go help him and Alexander-sama on the battlefield! Our position here is no longer of importance!"
Giving the signal, the line of defense quickly unmade their formation and were now heading torwards the center of the battle.
"Oh no! He called the troops that were doing that defensive line!" Mash said to Boudica in distress. "We won't be able to hold that many!"
"We have to try!" Boudica replied back, painfully getting up on her feet. "Or else Nero wins and my tribe..." Boudica shaked her head. "No, I can't let my hope die now!"
Seeing the incoming troops getting closer, El-Melloi felt a bit of peace inside. "Good. This will undoubtly take a lot of weight out of our shoulders. Now it's just dealing with these two women and let the army destroy what will be left of theirs. And perhaps, taking some quick rest of maybe half an hou-"
"Attack man!"
A thunderous collective yell that followed a voice that El-Melloi recognized well at this point, made the man himself widen his eyes in shock. As he turned around to see the new problem, his chest was slashed due to hav being caught so off guard. That and the quick sword movement of non other but the legendary roman figure and ex-dictator, Julius Caesar, followed by the gigantic numerous of soldiers of the United Roman Empire and Ritsuka who was also behind him. They seemed to have been all covered in dirt.
"No worries ladies. We are here!" Caesar told to both Mash and Boudica.
"About time!" Boudica said slightly angered by the time it took for them to finally come to help, but deep down she also feel grateful for their arrival.
Ritsuka walked torwards Mash. "Mash! Those burns, are you-"
"They just hurt a bit Senpai, don't worry. I can still fight." Mash comforted him.
"Good to hear that. Are Peko and Nala doing well?" Ritsuka asked about the two siblings.
"They are in the middle of the battle up ahead." Mash turned her head to look at the warzone in front of them. "But I think they are doing fine against the other servant."
"Then let's hope they can defeat him too." Ritsuka said.
"Fu, fou." The animal creature appeard behind Ritsuka.
"I'm glad to see you again as well Fou." Mash smiled to the pet.
"Blergh!" El-Melloi vomited some blood due to the recent wound he received from Caesar. "Why are you all with bits of dirt on your clothes? The secret passage doesn't contain a cavern for what I can recall!" He exclaimed, not being able to comprehend why his freshly arrived enemies were all covered in dirt.
Hearing that, Caesar couldn't help but to drop a laugh. "As I expected, we managed to fool you, O Great Tactician. We never actually used the secret passage to get here as I suspected you already knew about it's existence before this battle."
"T-Then how did you arrived here?!"
"Funnily enough, it also has to do with the fact for why we are covered in dirt."
Some minutes ago
Ritsuka was accompaining Caesar with the rest of the troops while everyone else had gone straight to the enemy's camp. Caesar had told the master of humanity about this part in specific, altough it didn't included the shovels and pickaxes when Caesar first told him about the strategy. So now he was walking with a shovel and pickaxe in hand just like every other soldier that was following the two.
"I already knew the part that we are supposed to be the ones to pull a surprise attack on them while the others keep them occupied. But you still haven't told me about why we are walking around with all this excavation material." Ritsuka said to Caesar, still trying to figure out what the purpose of the shovels and pickaxes were.
"You will see it..." Caesar stopped talking when he pushed some bushes aside and looked at something ahead of him. "Right there!" He exclaimed, pointing at a man made cave that appeard to still be unfinished despite of it's incredible lenght.
They walked inside it and went deeper until they reached it's end. They were now face to face with the wall that had apparently been digged for some time now. It was at that moment that Ritsuka concluded what was Caesar's intentions.
"So this is your plan?" He told to Caesar.
"I know another path that could lead us to their accampment but the enemy probably knows about it too. So I tought to myself, why not create our own path? Me and the soldiers have already been digging this place for weeks." Caesar put an hand on the wall. "I can feel that we are reaching it's end, ready to come out on the other side, right in the enemy's camp!" He picked his own pickaxe. "Now start digging everyone! The faster we dig the quicker we will be able to help the rest of our army and companions!"
All the soldiers obeyed without questioning and proceeded to help Caesar with it.
"You really have some crazy ideas." Ritsuka laughed a bit, seeing now with his own eyes the master plan of the great Julius Caesar.
"The so called thinking out of the box, wouldn't you say?" Caesar asked to Ritsuka who nodded. "Now help me mage of Chaldea! Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was this cave!"
"Understood, commander!" Ritsuka started mining alongside Caesar.
"You created a new path by making a tunnel?" El-Melloi was completely flabbergasted despite maintaining his calm demeanor.
"That explains why you are covered in dirt then. And all those shovels and pickaxes too." Mash said to Ritsuka.
"It felt like doing some community service. I still feel some pain in my shoulders from all that mining and digging." Ritsuka commented. "But I think it could have been worse. At least we all reached in time to help you."
"And talking about help..." Caesar said before raising his hand in the air.
"Charisma!"
Suddenly, Mash and Boudica felt invigorated, the fatigue and wounds on their bodies having less impact on them. And a sudden burst of strenght entered into their muscles.
"I do feel a lot better! Almost as if I didn't spent fighting during all these minutes." Mash said, moving her muscles of a now renovated body.
"I feel the same here." Boudica said, thankful for having all that exhaustion replaced with more strenght. "It's rare of me to say this to the likes of you but, thank you Caesar."
"No worries lady Boudica, I'm glad I could help." Caesar replied back. "Now all of our soldiers are back with the strenght to give a final push for the victory!"
Meanwhile El-Melloi frowned slightly in anger by seeing the situation starting to get worse for this side. "I'll need to do something fast!"
"Oh! This sensation..." Cleopatra stopped fighting for a second after feeling the power of Caesar's skill entering her body. "It's Julius! They have arrived just like planned!"
Peko and Nala were still fighting Alexander who couldn't help but notice that something wrong was going for his in the heat of the battle, the young king made the mistake of looking behind, seeing the large number of soldiers that the United Roman Empire suddenly had. "What the hel- Grggh! " Alexander felt a deep cut on his back, made by Peko's sword.
"A better surprise attack, don't you agree?" Peko said as she took a few steps back, allowing Nala to come fastly near Alexander and slashing him on the chest.
"Ritsuka and the others have arrived! Now I can feel the win getting closer!" Nala exclaimed happily.
"I also think that sis." Peko responded. "We completely caught them off guard! Also, doesn't your body feels better somehow?"
"Hmm, now that you say it, I do indeed feel less tired and my strenght seems to have returned." Nala said. "You know what that means?"
"No?"
"That we are about to kick his ass!" Nala said with a determined face, staring at Alexander in front of them. "Get ready for it King of Conquerors! You are about to be defeated here!"
Alexander leaned on his sword, now seriosuly injured. In this conditions, it was almost impossible for him to win now. "Hey, El-Melloi-san, I hope you have a plan to help us here."
"There's really no other alternative but using it. Right here, right now. My trump card." El-Melloi, remaining calm despite of the situation, adjusted the tie on his black suit and looked at all of them. "I have to congratulate you, Julius Caesar. You were able to trick me by doing something completely unexpected. You really do live up to the deeds you did while alive."
"Why thank you! Still, that won't be enough for me to spare you." Caesar said, thinking El-Melloi was trying to get out of the hard situation through compliments.
"I'm not looking for a way to bail out of this. Quite the contrary. This will be my all." El-Melloi smiled a bit, gaining a suspicious glare out of Caesar and everyone else. "I'll show you now, a technique that the spirit inside me shared with. One that was famous to bring entire armies down!"
Caesar immediatly saw what El-Melloi was about to do. Without time to waste he decided to attack the enemy. "I won't let you!"
Boudica, who also saw from the get go the intentions of El-Melloi, put an arm in front of Ritsuka and Mash. "You two better stay back!"
"Huh? Why?" Ritsuka asked confused.
"That man is about to unleash it's most powerful attack! His Noble Phantasm!" Boudica told the two.
El-Melloi swinged the fan of feathers and summoned a powerful wind, pushing Caesar and everyone else back. "I won't let you interrupt me that easily!" He shouted.
Mash quickly defended Ritsuka with her shield as the winds hit it with brutal strenght. "Ggh! This power! He will really do it! Stand behind me master!"
"Understood!" Ritsuka responded. "I hope Nala and Peko can manage to take cover too!"
"Fighting is not just physical attacks
El-Melloi started to activate his Noble Phantasm. A great amount of mana emanating from his fan.
This is the ultimate formation of the Great Tactician!"
El-Melloi pointed abruptly his fan to the sky, the mana around it dispersing off.
"Unreturning Formation:
Suddenly, eight giant red and black pillars fell from the sky, landing all around the camp.
"W-what's this?" Ritsuka said in utter confusion.
"Stone Sentinel Maze!"
And to end the Noble Phantasm, a giant ying and yang symbol also fell from the sky and fit perfectly with the pillars, making a sort of roof.
Break it if you can."
Upon being completed, Caesar, Boudica and everyone from the United Roman Empire felt a little bit weaker now. The newly built maze had definetly something to do with it.
"So that's your Noble Phantasm..." Caesar said.
"The Stone Sentinel Maze." Mash put a finger under her chin. "I think I've heard something like that before."
"You know what it is Mash?" Ritsuka asked her, trying to see if she could jog her memory.
"I remember! The maze was a tactic performed by a great chinese tactictian Zhuge Liang! A popular figure from the Three Kingdoms tale!" Mash figured it out. "However...I feel that the servant in front of us isn't exactly entirely him." Mash observed, finding out that the main personality showing on their opponent's body, was in fact not the one of Zhuge Liang.
"Hm. Very cleaver of you, maiden of the shield." El-Melloi commented, seeing that Mash has find out who he really was. "The person that you are seeing and talking to right now, is a complete different identity from that of the famous Zhuge Liang. I may have his Saint Graph implanted deep inside me, but I'm still the one that has the more dominance over this body. I am actually Lord El-Melloi II, using the spirit of the chinese tactician to fight." He revealed to them. "This Heroic Spirit needed a vessel to use in order to been summoned by Nero and so it choosed me."
Mash reacted in a wierd way upon hearing the other name and the person's true identity. "Lord El-Melloi II? I think I've also hear that somewhere else..."
"Whoever you are, it doesn't matter! Even if it slows us a bit down, you still have to fight against three of us!" Boudica told El-Melloi, pointing her sword at him. "We will defeat you and then have all the way opened to go to Rome and bring Nero down!" She exclaimed.
"Good choice of words Lady Boudica." Caesar said. "Even if your Noble Phantasm does indeed slow us down, I'd say you have used everything you could have. There's no options left for you."
"Heh." El-Melloi smiled. "At least it's more honorable to go down this way, don't you agree?" The man entered in his battle position. "That's what he told me that time. Honestly, how can someone be inspiring and dumb at the same time? I bet you also agree on this take, Alexander."
Lord El Melloi II's Case Files OST- You Were My King
"Ggh!" Alexander barely parried the blow from Peko, resulting in the young king to take a step back.
"You always push forward, in hopes of seeing that sea."
"Not yet!" Alexander shouted as he retaliated back and clashed with Peko. "This Noble Phantasm is yours, isn't it? Then I won't let that last effort you did be in vain El-Melloi-san! I won't fall until victory is achieved!" Reuniting all his strenght, Alexander pushed Peko back and slashed him in right side of the chest.
"Khg!" Peko grunted from the pain. "These pillars appeard out of nowhere. It can only be the work of the other servant he is with! It somehow made me and Nala felt a bit weaker!"
Nala went immediatly to Alexander, trying to cut him with her sword. He reacted fast enough to block it and then in no time cut Nala in the leg. Despite the odds and the factors, Alexander was being able to maintain his ground. All that thanks to El-Melloi.
"Even if you are a younger version of him, I can still see the same enthusiastic glare of those eyes. Eyes full of ambition and determination, fitting of a great king that would go around conquering lands."
"Charisma!"
Alexander casted a skill on himself. "This will end now!" Alexander runned torwards the two siblings. "As a king, I won't allow myself to be defeated here!"
Thinking on something quickly, Peko looked to his sister. "Nala! With me!" He said.
"Sure!" Nala shouted back and the two also runned into their enemy's direction.
"Life is full of surprises. And perhaps one of them was seeing you again but not in the way I expected. I wasn't even expecting to see you again at all. I guess that's where the surprise comes from."
Due to her speed, Nala reached first to Alexander and the two clashed multiple times, trying to hit each other. Peko arrived shortly after, now joining his sister in attacking Alexander left and right, who would defend himself in the best way he could.
"Life is a short thing to many of us, and one never knows when can it be the last time we see a friend or beloved person with our own very us."
Nala and Alexander hit each other with both swords, causing Nala to fall behind the young kid in order to recover as Peko continue clashing with him.
"What I want to say here is...that despite of having been a short reunion of some days with a version of you that I wasn't familiarized with..."
Alexander cut Peko in the knee of his left leg, causing the boy to stumble. Alexander would go for another attack but to his bad luck, Peko was able to avoid it at the same time he fell to the ground.
"It was still good to have seen you again. I'm glad I got this opportunity to see what was the young boy that would later become my first and only friend in my life at the time."
While on the ground, Peko made a fingergun with his hand and aimed at Alexander.
"It was nice to have met you again..."
In an instant, Peko fired the light bullet that was aiming at the opponent's head.
"..Iskandar..."
Alexander was took it in thr abdomen. "Ghrgh!" But he still wasn't down for. Immediatly after and with no time to waste, Alexander raised his sword up high, ready to put,an end to Peko who was still on the ground.
"Nala! Now!" Peko yeld as right behind Alexander, the light bullet he had apparently managed to dodge hit Nala's sword, ricocheting it back torwards Alexander
"Take that!" Nala exclaimed in the moment, with the bullet going at an high speed that the poor boy didn't even had time to dodge from it.
"...My old friend."
The light bullet perforated Alexander in the left side of his chest like an arrow, blasting out his heart completely.
"Blergh!" Alexander vomited a huge amount of blood from his mouth, proceeding to fall flat on the ground, right next to Peko, who now had no doubts in who the winners of this fight were.
"The win is ours!"
El-Melloi dodged as much as he could. Having to do it against three opponents all in the same time wasn't an easy task. This was when he saw that something was clear here: they had already lost. Then why did he still choosed to fight? Maybe he or the Heroic Spirit inside him had too much pride to go down without a fight. Or he had some hope left inside him, no matter how small it was. Or perhaps "His idiocy has probably reached me." That was what the mage from the Clock Tower tought as his movements would get lower and his enemy attacks would hit him. Even if everything could look in vain in the end, El-Melloi learned that if his body still resisted, he would foght till the end.
"Ya!" Boudica slashed him in the stomach. "Do it Caesar!" She shouted to the roman man who put in position to unleash his devastating attack.
"My,my, I'm not sure I am up for this
The sword he wilded, started to shine a yellow light
I came, I saw! Therefore the next thing to do
Caesar sprinted torwards El-Melloi, ready to finish him.
is declare my victory!"
In an instant, Caesar sliced El-Melloi several times with his sword and his left arm transformed into a giant stone arm shinning in the same yellow light.
"Yellow Death: Crocea Mors!"
Caesar slammed his stone arm into El-Melloi, blasting him off in a yellow explosion. "This is what the famous roman general can do!"
As the explosion wore off, El-Melloi appeard, still on his feet, looking at them with a stoic face and calm posture, despite his body being all bloodied and wounded. The maze slowly started to fade, the scenario of the battlefield coming back to normal.
"He's still standing after that?" Mash was impressed in seeing the enemy on it's feet after being brutally hit by Caesar's Noble Phantasm.
Standing or not, Boudica was willing to continue battling until he'd be defeated "Then we need to-"
Interrupting Boudica, El-Melloi started to clap, gaining their confusion. "Congratulations. You have bested us..." He smiled as his body, alongside his maze, started to vanish. He looked to Alexander in the distance. "This is defeat for us..."
"Peko! We did it!" Nala went to hug her brother, celebrating their victory together.
"Yes we did!" Peko smiled alongside his sister, but couldn't but to stare at the fallen body of Alexander in front of him. There was still some words Peko wanted to say to him before the servant could dissapear completely. Having difficulties to get up due to the injury on his leg, Nala helped him stand up on his feet as she alongside him walked torwards the defeated Alexander.
"Hey..." Peko called him, resulting in Alexander to slowly move his head to stare at both siblings. "...Thank you, for being a good opponent." He told him.
Alexander smiled. "Hm. Likewise." Altough his body got up from the ground, it also started to dissapear. "It was a fun fight, don't you think?"
"Heh. I think I enjoyed it too." Nala said. "You made us sweat a lot. I'd say these injuries will take their time to heal hehe."
"I also have to thank you for one more thing Alexander." Peko told to the young king. "You showed me that with the right person or opponent, battles can be fun. I-I know it's a strange thing to say it, but that's what you made me feel during our fight."
"Same tought here." Nala said. "Hope tere is a chance we can battle with you again another time. But a 1v1 please! My brother is a bit of a slow horse." She teased Peko.
"H-Hey! My attack was the blow that finished him!" Peko protested to his sister.
"That was rebounded by who?" Nala smirked in a sly way.
"Hugh. Guess there's no rebuttal for that." Peko said sadly. "But I do agree that it was something of unfair that you had to fight the two of us. Perhaps you would have one if it was just one."
"Heh. No problem." Alexander told him. "What matters is that you guys also showed me that there are things that I have to improve in order for me to become the great king in the future. So let me thank you as well." Alexander then frowned a bit. "It's a pity that you two aren't from my time or that we couldn't have met on the same side. I would love to have you join me in my journey for a great sea. After all, a king also needs his fellow subordinates and generals to help him. Just to think on that possibility..." Alexander sighed. "Guess it can't happen in this lifetime."
"What is that sea that you are talking about?" Peko asked with curiosity to Alexander.
"Okeanos. A sea that dreamers like I wish to see. No matter the distance, I'm always hearing it somehow. I want to gaze at it's waters at least once in my life. And be next to companions that I trusted with during all my life when it happens. That is my life goal." Alexander responded, delievering his words in a calm and melancholic way.
Both Peko and Nala couldn't help but feel touched about hearing the boy's dream.
"That is a very noble dream Alexander." Nala told him. "I'd say a person like you deserves to see it."
"Thanks. How about you two? Do you also have any goal in mind?" Alexander asked to the siblings.
"Save humanity and..." Peko tought about the faint visions of his dad, like the one dream he had the other day. "Searching out for something too."
"I see. Then keep looking for it and I bet you'll find it." Alexander then stretched his arm to the front with his fist closed. Peko and Nala were oblivious of what Alexander was trying to do.
"W-what are you doing?" Peko asked in confusion.
"I heard it's called a fist bump. Just close your hands into a fist and touch it with mine." Alexander smiled happily. "It will mean that from here on out we will be friends!"
Peko and Nala seemed amazed by such idea and concept, expressing huge smiles in their faces as soon as they heard the explanation.
"Sure. We're friends now." "Friends of a great person and king."
The siblings bumped their fist into Alexander's, symbolizing the formation of their friendship.
"We...are friends..."
"!" Peko and Nala's head suddenly felt a sharp pain, causing the twins to flinch and touch their forheads in a small agony.
"Huh? Are you alright?" Alexander asked with some preocupation.
"Y-Yeah. It's just the wounds messing with our nerves." Peko told him.
"Can't wait to have them treated and rest as well." Nala said, going along with his brother's talk.
"Oh! Sorry for that then." Alexander smiled shyly.
"No big deal. We were fighting after all." Nala said.
"I see that the things are done over here." The voice of Cleopatra sounded as the woman approached the trio. "You did well." She said while looking at the surroundings and seeing the enemy soldiers being overwhelmed, with many surrendering as they saw clearly understood the route this battle ended up taking. Looking more down on her body, Cleopatra's legs were drenched in red blood. It wouldn't be way over the top to say that the egyptian queen had spent the whole battle relentlessly kicking her opponents.
"Hum...Your clothes are..." Peko tried to politely tell Cleopatra about the state of her clothes.
Cleopatra wabed her hand in dismissal. "Meh. Just wash them off for an hour and will come out like new."
"Putting combat system off. The enemy has been defeated." Mash announced as she lowered her shield to rest and looked at Ritsuka. "We've won, master"
Ritsuka put an hand on her shoulder "Good job Mash."
"I wouldn't have made it without the help of Boudica. She did a lot too." Mash said, turning around to speak with Boudica herself. "Your will to fight is pretty impressive, Boudica-san."
"Thank you Mash. But I only did what I had to do." Boudica looked at Caesar who was next to her. "Now I undertsand how the Roman Empire got as big as it did."
"To be real, I wasn't quite sure if it would work in the end." Caesar rubbed his cheek with his finger. "But it's good to see the wackiest of plans are always the most effective. Well, I wouldn't have to come to this point of doing it if it wasn't for a equally brilliant minded opponent." He stared at El-Melloi. "I also applaud you for fending me and my troops off for several weeks that made me have to come with a plan like this. You really are as great as the tales about you say, Zhuge Liang."
El-Melloi sighed. "I told you that you are talking with a completely different person who happens to have his Saint Graph embedded. But it's too you that I wanna talk to." El-Melloi stared at Ritsuka. "You are the last master of humanity, correct?"
Feeling the authority and superior position on the man's voice, Ritsuka responded a bit cluncky. "W-who me? Yeah, I-I am the master of humanity."
El-Melloi took a closer look. "Hmmm, I see." "He is borderline an average human. His mana circuits are as small and weak that they could be considered non-existent. This boy is just a plain ordinary teen. Yet he is the remaining glimmer of hope to our species existence. The pessimistic-no, the realistic side of me wants to say that it's all doomed then. That there is no way of a simple human to go against the major forces that plan to end us. But in my time as a teacher, I wouldn't ditch off even the weakest of my students. If he already cleared one Singularity out of seven and is surrounded by great allies that help them, then I might be really behaving pessimisticaly. This poor boy, has a lot of weight on his shoulders." "Do you believe you can save humanity?"
Ritsuka was taken aback by El-Melloi's question, bue he definetly knew the answer. "Absolutely! As the remaining master, I won't stop until the Human Order Inceneration is stopped!" He exclaimed with full confidence to the adult man.
"And I will help him as well!" Mash added. "Everyone in Chaldea will!"
El-Melloi stood silent before smilling and letting out a small chuckle. "Incredible. Moronic people are always the most optimistic." He closed his eyes. "Wich I could think like that."
"Hey Ritsuka! Mash!"
The voices of Peko and Nala caught the master of humanity and shielder's attention as they saw both kids with Cleopatra walking torwards them.
"Peko! Nala!" Ritsuka and Mash went running torwards them, happy to see they also won their battle.
"Julius!" Cleopatra went happily torwards her partner, hugging him. "Your plan worked as expected!"
"You we're right my dear Cleo. Those sunbaths really made my mind get more creative haha!" Caesar laughed as he embraced Cleopatra's hug. "But damn woman if you aren't covered in blood! It ruins a bit of your beauty."
"If it's for you, then I don't mind to get my clothes dirty." Cleopatra said as she continued to hug him.
Ritsuka observed Peko and Nala's wounds. "You two also don't look that good. Your body must be hurting a lot."
"At this point I'm already accostumated having bandages around it." Nala joked a bit.
"What matters is that we won and now have the whole path to Rome opened!" Peko said.
"True! We should report that information back to Romulus!" Mash told them.
"Once we do, the final assault to Rome will at last occur." Boudica said. "And I'll bring Nero to justice!"
El-Melloi, who was now in the distance, decided to walk up to Alexander who was now alone in the middle of what was before the center of the battlefield. He could see that the posture of the boy was of someone who looked...sad, dissapointed at themselves.
"We lost...I could have done better..." Alexander lamented to himself as tears were appearing in his eyes. "If only I was stronger and more-"
"Hey. Are you crying?" El-Melloi asked him, sitting down right next to him.
"E-El-Melloi-san!?" Alexander quickly brushed the tears aside the moment he noticed his colleague was right next to him. "N-No! I wouldn't cry even in the lowest moments! Quite the opposite, I had great fun while fighting!" Alexander forced a bit to smile.
"Glad that you did." El-Melloi said lowly, smilling as he stared to the scenario in front of them. Their bodies were dissapearing even faster.
"However...I think that this battle made me realize something." Alexander said. "There are still some aspects I need to better on myself."
"Hm? Is that so?"
"Yeah. Also, can I ask you one more thing?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"That great King of Conquerors, the one that I will turn into in the future. Was he really that great?"
"Heh. The greatest king that I've ever seen. With the greatest generals and teachers that accompanied him."
El-Melloi smiled to Alexander and the boy did the same, with the two servants finally dissapeard.
"ROOOOMMMMAAAAAAA!" Romulus cheered all happy and joyful as his commanders returned back with the information that the defensive line and enemy's bastion on the frontier had been taken down. "Better news than this couldn't be possible to have! ROMA ROMA ROMA!"
"Eeeh, he's really excited, isn't he?" Ritsuka and everyone else from the Chaldea group watched in some discomfort Romulus celebrating and posing gracefully.
"The Great Founder is a very emotional individual you see?" Caesar told him. "He likes to express himself very much."
"That sounds almost like an euphemism." Peko commented as he saw Romulus hugging with passion one of his soldiers.
"Can't even imagine him in a party." Nala said.
The two siblings alongside Mash and Boudica were still wearing some bandages around their bodies despite of already have passed a day ever since they won the battle. Thankfully, they were recovering at a good speed.
"Oh of course! We must throw a party to celebrate this!" Romulus exclaimed euphorically. "Now if only the other ally also could come here to help us despite of the situation..."
"Huh? We have another ally?" Mash questioned, being the first time she ever heard about it's existence alongside the rest of her group.
"From what Romulus says, it's a servant as well." Cleopatra told them. "At the current time, it's also fighting the forces of the Roman Empire in the East. We are trying to contact it but the messages are hard to reach there. At least it's helping us by making Nero having to watch out for both sides. As for the party Romulus..." Cleopatra snapped her fingers. "Count on me to do the decoration. It will be done in less than a hour!" She said as she grabbed Caesar by the arm. "And you are going to help me, my chubby ball!"
"And here I was hoping to have a full day of resting and sleeping." Caesar lamented as he was dragged by Cleopatra out of Romulus tent.
"Those two are something." Nala commented.
Ritsuka then turned his head around to see Boudica. "And what will you be doing Bou-" But he stopped as he spoted the woman also leaving the tent. "Wait! Boudica!" Ritsuka and the rest of the group went after her. "Won't you be at the party too?"
"No thank you. I have things to do in my tent." Boudica told him as she was about to walk away.
"Like what? Do you prefer to spent another night by yourself than with someone's company?" Mash asked her, knowing that Boudica was just finding an excuse to stay alone again in her tent.
"You know my history do you?" Boudica looked at them with slight coldness. "I already said I'm not a fan of romans, much more so to coexist among them. The only times I walk inside here is to do report, nothing else. Now leave me."
"But you saw that not every roman is awful did you? Every civillian here are just as normal as the people from your tribe. You have no reason to hate an entire group just because of some individuals." Peko said to her.
"Would you say that if the same happened to you? If you saw your homeland being destroyed and burned to ashes? By the people who were supposed to 'protect' you?" Boudica said to the boy. "Don't talk what you don't know about. Nero has to pay for her crimes."
"And she will. But that doesn't mean you have to hate everyone who also happens to be roman. Will you also hate on innocent children just because they are roman?" Nala confronted Boudica.
"..." Boduica stood silent for some seconds. "I don't hate them, but I also don't have motives to like them." She responded.
"Then what about us?" Ritsuka said, putting an hand on his chest. "We are not romans and want you to have fun spending time with others. Do you consider us to be your friends or not?"
Boudica grunted slightly. This was an hard question for her to respond with a clear answer. "Look,I-"
"Your hate for us is justified." Romulus said as he exited from his tent. "If you want to go to your tent, you can go. I won't fight it. You are here as our allie, not our prisoner."
"Romulus..." Ritsuka said as he stood watching the founder of Rome walking past them and torwards Boudica.
"It's true that we as a nation aren't perfect, much less one full of saints. Even I can see it despite being the one who created it with such love." Romulus stoped right in front of Boudica. "What Nero did and is doing is truly of evil nature. She is not perfect. Far from it." Romulus looked at his own hand. "But, even I wasn't when creating the birth of this empire. So if you hate us, I understand it. I understand that you aren't helping me out of benevolence nor compassion, but for a personal goal of yours. You have no reason or obligation to like us. To force you against your will would be as bad as the amount of times you have suffered already under Nero." Romulus bowed to Boudica. "I know that it may amount to nothing doing this, even more of a person who didn't had nothing to do with the tragedy that happened to you. But, as the founder of the empire that as been tormenting you for so long, I apologize for the crimes that my descendants did on you and your tribe."
"..." Boudica didn't knew what to say. The founder of the Roman Empire himself was apologizing right in font of her for everything of bad she suffered for all these years. She didn't know if she should feel happy or angry. For one side, it was Romulus himself doing the apology, but on the other, the crimes to her tribe had already been done, and the main culprit wasn't here to pay for it nor apologize.
Ritsuka went to Romulus. "You aren't the one who needs to do that Romulus. It's N-"
"Okay. I accept your apology." Boudica told him. "You showed me that the romans are still capable of feeling guilty for their mistakes. Also...I'll go to the party if you want to."
"Oh neat! I promise you won't regret it Boudica!" Ritsuka told her.
"Yes you won't! I'll make sure it will be the best party ever!" Romulus said happily.
"Fine." Boudica told them. "But don't expect me to interact that much."
"Pffffhahahahahaha! You call this a drink!? Get me another one please!" Boudica, already drunken, ordered for another cup as she was sitting to the table next to Romulus, who was also drunk. "Also, what the hell is this food? I can cook better with just one hand!" She exclaimed while pouring the drink into her mouth.
"Hahahahaha! I see that you like to make a challenge! Fine then! I'll order my cooks to do the best roman dish ever!" Romulus said all drunk.
"She really socialized very easily, don't you think Senpai?" Mash whispered to Ritsuka's ear.
"It seems so. Boudica is actually funny." Ritsuka smiled in seeing the red haired woman partying with happiness and genuine smile on her face.
"I bet that she was more like this in her tribe." Peko said. "The real Boudica."
"I too would be happy if I was eating this food." Nala speaked as she chewed a piece of her dish. "It's so goooood!"
"Yeah. Didn't knew that the romans could cook this well." Ritsuka told. "Altough the cutlery looks a bit...funny." He said, seeing that the looks of the knife and fork he was using were very different from the ones of the modern age.
"At least it's better than eating with your hands." Mash told him as she took a bite from her dish.
"If you think that this dishes are good, then you all have to experiment some from Egypt." Cleopatra said while she let Caesar lean on her body, feeling sleepy.
"What's up with him?" Peko asked for the why Caesar was like that.
"I'd say all this partying and whatnot has costed his energies." Cleopatra responded while patting his head. "Or the great Julius Caesar can't drink that much in a single day." She laughed
"Hmm...A-Ave...me..." Caesar mumbled in his sleepy state.
"Wait, servants don't need sleep last time I checked." Ritsuka said before feeling his arm being poked by Nala.
"Hey Ritsuka! Ritsuka!" Nala called him.
"What is it Nala?" He turned his head to look at the young girl, who then pointed at a bottle of wine at the top of the table.
"Can you give it to me?" She asked politely with such innocent smile.
"Hmmmm..." Ritsuka closed his eyes and started to think.
"Pretty please?" Nala begged him.
"Hmmmmmmmmmm..."
"Just a tiny drop!" She started to shake his body.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...Ah!" Rituska opened his eyes and looked at Nala with an happy smile. "Guess what Nala?"
"Ah." Nala smiled joyfully, seeing the face Ritsuka was doing.
"...I'm not giving it to you." Ritsuka said with the same happy face and went back to eat.
"You're evil." Nala complained in discomtent before going back to her seat.
"Juice is also good you know?" Peko told his sister.
"Eh, I guess." Nala said.
Wihtout warning, Romulus climbed the table cheering and laughing. "Let's dance! Who's with me?"
"I approve that stupid idea!" Boudica said, sobbing from how drunk she was, climbing on the table as well. "You against me, r-right now!"
"Hum, aren't they too drunk already?" Mash asked to Cleopatra who was enjoying the moment.
"Yeah, but on the other hand, this is way too fun, don't you think?" She replied.
"H-Hum...perhaps." Mash said.
"C'mon Mash. Let's enjoy the show." Peko told her, smilling as he watched both Boudica and Romulus dancing.
"I think we deserve it after that battle." Nala told the shielder, equally as happy as Peko.
"B-but...don't you two think-"
"They are right Mash." Ritsuka told her. "Now let's just relax and enjoy. All of you deserve this moment."
"M-master..." Mash felt touched by Ritsuka's words. She let out a smile. "S-sure! I think there's no harm in wanting to party." She said.
And the night went on and on, with all of them laughing, drinking and eating, for a brief moment being able to forget their responsabilities and duties. After all, a party was that. To enjoy the time with friends and family alike. To put everything of important to the side and have some basic fun. It was like that until everyone was already exhausted or drunk, complitely ending up sleeping at the table or somewhere else in the colliseum who had gone messy due to all the partying. But they didn't care. Just for this one night, being a general, emperor, king or master didn't matter. All that mattered, was spending time with the people they liked.
"H-Hurgh...my head..." Boudica said as she slowly woke up in the middle of the table. Looking around, she saw that everyone, even the servants, were sleeping. "What...a night..." She said, still drowsy, moving away from Romulus who had fell asleep with his face resting on two cups of beer. Boudica staggered her way out of the colliseum, making sure to at least not step on anyone who had fallen asleep on the ground. But before she could exit, she noticed Peko and Nala's bodies trembling a bit. Both were making whimpering noises due to the coldness that they were feeling from the night.
Wanting to resolve that. Boudica went to grab a mantle from one of the tents of the colliseum and wrapped it up around the two kids, who stopped trembling and whimpering, feeling much comfortable in their sleep now. Boudica giggled. It reminded her from how she used to take care of her two daughters. She wished to see them again. She looked to the side, and saw that Ritsuka and Mash were also sleeping, with the shielder leaning her head to the human master's chest. "How cute" She tought.
Without waking anybody, Boudica made her way out of the colliseum and wandered in the now sleeping city, going to her tent.
"Do you consider us to be your friends or not?
" Boudica remembred as she watched the sky full of starts on the outside of the city. The sound of Ritsuka's voice. The way he and everyone else from his group cared about her even if they just knew each other for some days by now. She could tell that they were good people. "Heh. I say that the answer is clear now."
Back in Rome, on the same night, Nero was lying on her bed uncomfortably. Ever since the people from the Chaldea have deserted that night, she wasn't able to spent an entire day with tranquility. In her own mind, she should have killed in that dinner of the same night. She felt tha her life now was being more threatned than ever. Now it felt like forever to fall asleep for her. Even the company of Seneca in her room couldn't calm the emperor down that much. The security of the palace had been upgraded in the day after the people from Chaldea had run off. Nero at this time knew and feared that the end of her life was coming. Way sooner than she'd wished too.
Hugging tightly to the Holy Grail around her body, Nero stared to whatever was in front of her, just trying to think on something else that could comfort her. Seneca was sitting near her bed, staying next to her until she could finally close her eyes and rest. Unfortunately, it was taking forever for that to happen. The old man knew about the defeat of El-Melloi and Alexander by this point, but he felt that if he informed Nero of that, the poor girl would start having anxiety attacks and extreme paronia. So it was better as of now to keep it secret, for te good of Nero's mental health.
"Hey,Seneca..." Nero called the philosopher's name weakly.
"What is it, my emperor?" Seneca asked her, willing to comfort any of her internal problems.
"You will never betray me, will you? You will always stay by my side right? You aren't like the others, are you?" Nero said with apprehension and a slight fear. She had witnessed and hear about so many betrayals and backstabbings that she couldn't be sure of who to trust at this point.
Seneca gave her his hand, wich Nero took gladfully, feeling it's warm reception. "I will never, ever, do something like that to a person I love. I hold you dear in my heart Nero. To kill you in your sleep, would be the last thing that I'd ever wish to do."
His words were able enough for Nero to feel a tiny peace in her mind. She felt that he was the only person she could trust now. Because unlike him, the words from any other person's mouth would sound scummy, treacherous, deceiving. To the emperor's ears, everything was an awful and treatning noise, except for the voice of her old mentor.
"Seneca, is that woman..."
Seneca didn't knew if he should respond to that. He knew what Nero was talking and referring, and yet, he felt that giving that an answer would only make things worse for her. "I do not know my Praetor. That woman as I know is long gone and dead. You dont have to think about her anymore. For now, just rest your eyes and sleep."
"...okay." Nero said. "You can go Seneca. Have a good night." Nero discharged him, feeling that at least she was now safe and calm enough to try to sleep.
"Understood." Seneca got up from his chair. "Have a good night Nero." And Seneca walked out of the room, being received by the presence of Jing Ke who was waiting for him on the outside.
"So? How is she?" The assassin woman asked Seneca.
"I wouldn't like to fear the worst but..." Seneca said sadly. It has been a long time now since he saw Nero smilling.
"Hurgh! Those damn traitors! They used our sympathy and then choosed to flee just like that." Jing Ke said in anger, remembering of how shocked she got when she discovered the Chaldea group had abandoned them without saying nothing. And now apparently they were working for the enemy.
"Hmm. Perhaps they had their motives to do so." Seneca said, walking down the stairs with Jing Ke accompanying him with a puzzled look.
Nero, now alone in her room, decided to get out from her bed and walk to her personal balcony. Standing there on the outside, she got the view from the city of Rome below, shinning by the moonlight. Nero stared at it with conflicted emotions. Did they really hated her that much? Was all the praise and joy she heard daily just an act? Rome wanted to see her dead? Was she not good enough to rule the empire?
"No! That can't be! T-They are all just jealous! It must be that!" Nero cleenched her teeth as she observed the city more and more. "It's not my fault that I am the main star. And whatever all of you like it or not, Rome is my stage! My beautiful stage! And no one will take it away from meeee!" Nero screamed from her balcony, down to the buildings of the capital of the empire. But of course no one at that distance would be able to hear her. They were all asleep. Something that she now struggled to do.
Regaining her breath and feeling frustrated, Nero was about to walk back inside to her room. But suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine as a presence could be felt behind her. Something sinister. Something mysterious and bizarre of malicious nature. She didn't dare to look behind at the moment, but she still felt that there was clearly an identity with her in that moment. The presence of something or someone, staring at her from behind.
A small fly passed by her and went to the certain figure that was behind. Sitting on the bars of the balcony, a shadowy dark figure with humanoid arms that were as black as the dark paint itself, with only small bits of skin showing up, and dressed in a ragged black cloth, had come to pay Nero a visit.
"Hallelujah, Emperor Nero Claudius."
To be continued...
And that's it for chapter 29! Oh boy! This might have been the longest chapter of the story until now haha!
Before anything, sorry if it felt to long for you. Originally I was planning to end it at the moment Waver and Alexander are defated but something in the back of my mind told me: 'Extend the chapter for a bit more and have it end in a cliffhanger so they keep waiting agonizingly for the next chapter." And I as the evil son of bitch went along and did it. Now don't worry, I don't plan for the next one to be has nearly as long as this one. That I guarantee you.
Something off topic here, but also I've been having some trouble with the site, since it appears to have stopped updating the daily views of the story since the 27th of February. It's an error because the story has been receiving views everyday, even if it was just 4, so to have it no views for 4 days straight now all of a sudden is definetly sus. Hope they can fix this soon. And lately I've also tought about posting my story in AO3 too, so I can share with more people and have more notoriety. But I'll think on that first before. For now I'll keep it in these site for a bit more.
As for the chapter itself, lot of stuff happening, mainly more with the battle against El-Melloi and Alexander. And that ending eh? Let's see what that will lead up to.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 30! Peace!
P.S: Do you want to know who does it feels like to finally end writting a long chapter likes this after been writting for 3 hours straight? It feels GODDAMN satisfying.
