Been a while. Got burned out a bit with things in life so I needed to change things up. But enjoy the new chapter!
Lucius Tiberius was not in a pleasant mood. The Red Dragon was missing, and so was the chance to defeat and show his superiority over the Britons and the might of Rome. He was separated from his beloved Flora whom he recalled was still recovering after her loss of arms (a sore spot that stung deeply) and the fact he now had memories of the Far Side to contend with. He saw the fury in Hakuno's eyes for something he did not foresee in those memories of a forgotten time, as his mages went behind his back and hypnotized Hakuno against her will to marry him.
That was not Rome. Even Romulus gave the women of Sabine choices of whether to marry or not when Rome was founded, all of it their free will. What he was indirectly responsible for, was a stain on Rome's reputation and standard and will be his sin to bear. He would have to…apologize to her. Give her something genuine, something that shows he meant he was sorry for that. The Vestal Virgin would not forgive him completely but would at least tolerate him a bit more.
While he pondered it, he looked to the sword on his hip, Florent had been acting differently since his summon. The power had always heeded his beck and call, but now…it was as if the blade had developed a will of its own and refused to utilize its full power for him. It never happened before, and that realization that something happened to the sword made itself apparent when that woman Ritsuka sent him out to collect those Hellfire of Wisdom objects (which he's supposed to eat with an infusion of QP) to strengthen his Saint Graph. When he demanded an explanation why his sword was no longer at full power, even the supposed Last Master of Chaldea was wondering about it. Stating that some get stronger through certain trials Chaldea sets up to improve a Noble Phantasm like they have done several times over.
No, he was certain that something else had happened to Florent, and while he had it on his person all the time, there was a moment prior to one summoning he bequeathed it to someone else: Hakuno.
Now he did not know what she did to the blade, but he was certain those from the Moon's Holy Grail War would know of the situation. Which is why he has cornered the foul-mouthed fairytale author himself in the hallways. If there was one thing he learned from his limited time in Chaldea, was that Andersen was honest as he was savage with his choice of wording.
"So the murderous tyrant is seeking information on something Hakuno has done in the past? Is that why you came here in the first place? To fill in the missing periods between what happened back then and now?" Andersen asked with a raised brow.
Lucius already hated the man with a passion just by listening to him. If he stayed any longer, this man would insult the Sword Emperor in some way beyond the limits of his rather short temper. "What did Hakuno do to my sword?" he demanded, presenting the demonic sword to the Caster who blinked at it before looking at Lucius then back at Florent.
"Seriously? Of all things, that is what you're curious about?" Andersen asked, sounding disappointed. It caused Lucius to bristle at the author who chuckled. "Now that was quite the little interesting story with that girl. A tale of a fairy girl and a demon sword." he told him, pulling up a manuscript from his long white coat.
"I never finished the damn story because of the shit everyone had been pulling (that and procrastination) but I did have the basic outline of what that girl did. She purified the damn sword of the demonic power influencing it."
"She did. WHAT?" Lucius forcefully spat out, disbelief in his voice as Andersen laughed.
"She purified the damn sword! Turned it into a lump of dull iron as it turned into nothing more than a simple sword. No elegance or divine protections! Not even the lily decorations were spared from being damaged from the explosion that ritual caused! Fuck, I lost hours of precious sleep when she did it during the middle of the night. Woke up the damn school doing it. Though I admit it was fun to see that fat cow complain about sleep problems." the author noted with an amused smile to his face.
"Is that the only reason?" Lucius skeptically asked. He knew there was something else going on and he was missing something.
"Not even the tip of the iceberg you violent baboon." Andersen replied, getting a snarl from said baboon in question. "The sword was a wreck and the girl had the audacity to fight with it. Something about 'regaining its former glory' or some crap. Didn't understand it until I saw the damn sword looking refined after she fought with the sword for numerous battles. Got the rare sight to see a goddess appear before that girl and bless the sword." he admitted while rubbing his chin in thought. "That'd actually make a good scene in a story. A sword-maiden purifying an evil sword, redeeming it with the blessings of a goddess. That'd work out nicely…"
Lucius lost all thoughts when he heard a goddess blessed the blade and looked at Florent. He wasn't skilled at magecraft since it was usually his mages that did this kind of stuff, but he knew the blessings of each god had a different frequency to them. It would allow them to influence things no one else can and his blade would be no different.
Through the divinity in his blood from his ancestor Romulus, he sensed only the blessings of Flora alone which confused him. He was certain another goddess from either Rome's pantheon or another culture was responsible for the blessing, yet why was Flora's the only one on the blade unless…!
"Why did Flora appear when she was wielding Florent the entire time?" he muttered in confusion as he felt something hard hit him in the face. It was a book. A fairytale book, and the one responsible for throwing it was Andersen himself, looking pissed.
"A dimwitted fool like you needs things spilled out just to get the fucking point across!" the author snarled, pointing at Lucius with accusation. "Hakuno is not Flora. There are people out there who can bear resemblance to someone else in life! All you did was harass a poor girl because she barely resembled the goddess you blindly simp for like a fucking retard that you can't even think straight with the battle lust and idiotic romance filling your puss filled brain!" Andersen spat with contempt.
"Why you little-!" Lucius growled, ready to impale the impudent author's stomach when a strong, firm hand grabbed his shoulder in restraint. Lucius froze, recognizing the familiar grip and presence anywhere. How could he not? The Crimson Divine Father's presence alone, even in human form, is capable of turning Lucius into a meek child by his sight alone. He had almost forgotten that Romulus was keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything…unbecoming of Rome.
He breathed, forcing himself to calm down and think logically. It would do him no good if he made an enemy of Romulus. He would be against Roma itself and that was not a good thing at all. Besides, he needed to hear more about what Hakuno had done to Florent. He cleared his throat, "So what happened after?" he asked, sensing the focused look of Romulus behind him as Andersen sighed.
"A final phase in reforging the sword is unfortunately unfulfilled. That girl said something in the last few steps but failed to reach that goal when the blade got destroyed by Saver in the final battle for the Moon Cell. I was disappointed in the fact I could not witness the end result of her goal when the sword was reduced to fragments." Andersen said, looking disappointed with the outcome himself. "A tale of redeeming the irredeemable and making it into something new. That girl was something else."
That Lucius can attest to. He's seen his beloved violet's swordsmanship against the 'Sword Princess' (a title that still affronts him still) and her ability in magecraft to know she's a force to be reckoned with. Looking at Florent in his hands with a mental inquiry, he felt the blade warm in confirmation of its desire. The blade sought Hakuno as its new master. The problem was that it was tied to Lucius as his Noble Phantasm and cannot remain in the world even after his Spirit Origin is destroyed. Perhaps if he could get his hands on a Holy Grail he could incarnate the blade itself?
"Thanks, author. I have things to ponder." Lucius said, walking past Andersen who was watching him with a raised brow before looking to Romulus.
"The boy got himself confused and lost with that little revelation. He's still a muscle-headed idiot, but at least he's calmed down on the homicidal tendencies of his. But keep an eye on him. He's up to something." Andersen warned.
"He is a child of Rome, as his father, I must ensure he becomes a proper emperor. That is Rome." Romulus answered, slowly following behind his descendant to keep him out of trouble.
"Compared to that cow who became a True Demon, and that boy known as The True Demon, that girl was the real demon amongst the three." Andersen muttered, recalling that particular incident with Kazuradrop and those two battles the girl had against such demons with her Servants. Needless to say, nobody wanted to remember what Hakuno did to the Alter Ego when she crossed a line with Hakuno. Every person had a breaking point when they snapped, and oh boy, did Hakuno snap. To think Hakuno tolerated the idiot emperor's presence showed how much restraint the girl had, and still impresses him.
Recalling the girl gave him pause, realizing he had a story about her that he had yet to write. It was rare, but he might as well. A story of a girl from the moon awakening a golden tyrant inside an abyss. Overcoming many dangers, they rose to the sky. It needed a title, symbolic of their journey through many dangers of the Far Side and the beings from beyond time-space interfering with things beyond this world's understanding. From the dark, they reach the light.
"Dark Seeks Light." he concluded, writing the title of his newest manuscript on a spare sheet of paper.