It was a new day, and saying everyone looked refreshed after a good night of sleep would be an understatement.
They were all in the Throne Room for a meeting. Of course, in reality, they just were there 'listening' to Nero ramble on and on. The Emperor looked way better than yesterday and more, considering that the wall had been mysteriously repaired by someone when she woke up this morning.
"Anyway, what should we do about the information the Goddess gave us? I don't want to lead my men to a place where we aren't sure we will find something." Nero, in her Emperor mode, asked the rest.
"Where did she tell you the location of the United Empire was?" The Egyptian God already knew the correct place, but he wanted to make sure the others did. Sending them to another place would be truly meaningless, and it would only delay what they had to do.
"She said it was to the far west from my capital, in Hispania." Nero didn't waste time answering, hoping he could help them. As much as she was wary of his headlock, she couldn't deny his prowess. When he wanted to battle, at least...
'It seems the girl didn't lie to them.' He mused before speaking. "The information is correct. The United Empire's capital is in that direction. That's the place where I feel the presence of a strong Servant, at least."
"How strong that Servant is?" Romani's hologram appeared for the sole reason of asking that question. Information, as little as it may be, could help them plan their final fight and raise their chances of survival.
However, the others had a different thought from the Doctor. 'He...he knew?!' Did that mean they went through all that trouble for nothing?!
The atmosphere between the Servants became gloomy in an instant. It was hard to digest, mainly since they played according to that Goddess' whims for most of their stay on that island.
Ignoring them, Seth answered Romani's question. "They are all right—probably can beat everyone here without problems, I would say." His words shocked some and offended others.
"Beating eight Servants, including you, is not something I would consider all right, though..." Dr. Roman couldn't understand his thought process. He gave them too much bad news with an attitude like it wasn't his problem as well.
"I didn't include myself; I can beat him if I put some effort into it. But I'm not going to fight him, you all will." Seth pointed a finger at them, bringing confusion to everyone present. Now he was making even less sense than before.
"Why won't you fight, Master? it's an important battle!" Jeanne asked, not understanding his motives at all. She felt that the times when he took a 'vacation' during their battles were becoming too much of a habit.
"Who says I will not be fighting? I'm just going to fight another opponent on par or even stronger than that Servant." The Egyptian God thought they could make some sort of circus with all the different expressions they had.
"Someone stronger...?" Mash asked in confusion before she remembered something Stheno had told them while they were on the island. "Are you going to fight a Divine Spirit?!" Shielder's loud voice reverberated across the room, surprising everyone.
'Oh, crap. I forgot to tell Seth about that thing yesterday.' Realizing his mistake, which wasn't one, Caster turned his head to the side, wanting to make his presence unknown.
Seth lightly tilted his head. "Divine Spirit? What are you talking about?" He didn't notice another God apart from the girl on the island, and he was sure that they didn't know about him. Otherwise, Mash wouldn't ask him if he was going to fight himself, that would be stupid.
"Stheno said there was another Divine Spirit on this land and that he was combat-oriented, different from her, and that he was extremely dangerous." The lilac-haired girl informed Seth everything the Goddess had told them before. She didn't want him to be ill-prepared.
'I wouldn't call myself extremely dangerous... maybe.'
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure it's just something she said to mess with you, what I'm going to fight is far from being considered even a Demi-God." Seth reassured her with a wave of his hand. In fact, it was kind of the opposite. However, he already said he will fight that thing himself without involving them, so for obvious reasons, telling them about it in extent would be counterproductive.
"With all that said, are you guys going to accompany me to their capital?" Nero directed her gaze to everyone present, they have been through a lot of battles together, but she wanted to be sure she had their support in this final battle.
"Don't worry, we have come this far; we will help you to the end!" Mash said with a smile, although some Servants would appreciate it if their opinion had a say in the matter.
Jalter looked at her Master seeking confirmation; she gave a damn about what these pansies decided. If he didn't want to go with them, she would gladly accept it.
Understanding what she was thinking, the black-haired man gave her a small nod. He wasn't lying when he said the enemy Servant could easily beat them. That said, fighting together would make their chances of victory go up. Not to mention Jeanne Alter was the strongest alongside Vlad in the group. Taking her out would be putting them in a tight spot.
"Umu! I knew I could count on you!" Nero was pleased by their response. Her happy moment was interrupted by Seth, though.
"Some Servants are closing in on our location." The atmosphere immediately became tense. The black-haired God walked with slow steps to the window to get a better picture.
"Hm... They are some kilometers away, a boy... or a girl? In white and a man in blue armor. They are together with soldiers belonging to you, so I guess they are allies. Apparently, they are being chased by an opposite army. Their numbers are smaller, so I think they want to prevent casualties despite having the capabilities of facing their opponents on their own." He informed them once he could see the place better.
"Yes, they are my other Generals! Alright! We have to help them combat the enemy." Nero loudly declared.
"Forget it; we don't have time. I will be the one going." His words surprised the Emperor as he mostly just sat there doing nothing. If he were to know what she was thinking, she would be in a lot of trouble.
Dark clouds began to gather in the sky out of nowhere as if something terrible was about to occur. Opening the window, Seth proceeded to jump.
The rumbling of thunder traveled far and wide. A lightning bolt descended from the sky and impacted Seth's falling body, making him disappear. When that happened, however, lightning could be seen moving like a serpent through the clouds and in the Generals' direction.
Once the lightning was above the enemy, it stopped. "I don't have all the time in the world, so might as well." Floating in the dark clouds, Seth materialized his spear and raised it.
Like a magnet, the spear started attracting the surrounding lightning on the tip, forming a ball. The clouds spun around Seth as if he was their center of gravity.
As always, the soldiers got scared, thinking this was a bad omen or some sort of divine punishment. The two Servants, however, attributed this to another Servant.
No matter which one was correct, the outcome wouldn't change. And that was, "Total annihilation," Seth spoke, bringing his spear down. With no suspense, the strike was released upon the enemy army.
Like a laser, the attack moved across the enemy lines. Wherever it passed, multiple explosions in succession would follow soon after.
Despite only affecting the soldiers from the United Empire, Roman soldiers had to shield themselves from the aftermath with everything they got, or they would be blown away by just the wind alone.
The laser-like attack only lasted for ten seconds at most, but the destruction it caused was not small at all. There were no signs of the opposing army anymore. Dozens of thousands of people were obliterated in an instant, leaving only scorched earth.
"What power, I didn't want to leave behind these soldiers and escape on our own, but now it seems it won't be a problem. Still, it sends shivers down my spine." One of the Servants commented, seeing the 'show' that happened before them.
"■■■■■―――!" The other Servant just released a peculiar sound from his mouth. Strangely enough, it seemed the other one had understood.
"You are right. We need to meet with Emperor Nero and plan what we are going to do next." The taller Servant, presumably a Berserker, nodded in response.
Not long after, the black clouds started to disperse, giving way for the sun to shine on the surface again.
Seth reappeared in the room as if nothing had happened.
"Honestly. You sure are something." Having seen everything from the Throne Room, those were the only words Caster could get out of his mouth after the display.
The two Saints were not so happy about the massacre, though. They believed there were ways to do certain things. A scolding was in order!
Nero, for her part, had stars on her eyes. She was going around Seth while waving her arms in excitement. "So you were this powerful?! Why didn't you tell me?! Now our victory is assured. Umu, this cause for celebration!" The little girl gave him multiple slaps on the back while joyfully laughing.
Safe to say, her end was not a pretty one.
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It's been three days since Seth helped the two Servants, who introduced themselves as Jing Ke and Lu Bu. As soon as the two new allies reported to Nero, who had a bump on her head, they received new orders: To attack the United Empire's capital!
These orders weren't just for the two of them, but most of the soldiers at her disposal, including the ones stationed in other places, like Boudica and Spartacus. Of course, some would stay behind to defend the capital. Now that she witnessed Seth's power, she believed they didn't have to use the whole army. If he weren't a bully, then it would be perfect, though...
So, here they were, in a meeting with every Servant plus Nero and Fujimaru. Naturally, Spartacus was also there. The strange thing was he didn't become crazy and attacked Seth like before. Not only that, but it also looked like the Berserker Servant didn't notice him at all.
"We are nearing the end of this war against the pretenders of my Empire. We clashed multiple times against them in these last three days, and so far, we have been victorious. Now it's time to advance and destroy them once and for all!" Nero spoke confidently to everyone present.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, young Emperor. Still, the fact that we only encountered small and independent enemy groups along the way is not a good signal. Considering they have a strong Servant capable of fighting us all, I don't think we can celebrate yet." Vlad said in a level-headed tone.
"He is right; something about this just doesn't sit well with me. We better be careful, especially you since you are a normal human, little girl." Cu Chulainn agreed with Berserker, he may be a Caster, but that didn't mean he lost his instincts gained through uncountable battles.
"I'm not a little girl! And I know how to take care of myself!" Nero pouted, feeling wronged by their words.
Boudica sighed, seeing her behavior. "They are just worried about your safety, don't need to act like that. They aren't wrong, either. The enemy's movements are too suspicious."
"Be that as it may, we still have to attack their capital, and we can't delay it any longer." Seth, surprisingly, backed Nero up. It was not like he was impatient per se, but the more they waited, the more casualties there would be, and the more Servants the other side was going to summon. In the end, if they did nothing, it would become a war of attrition, something they couldn't allow themselves to do due to their smaller numbers.
"Umu! The Emperor abuser is right! With his power, we have nothing to fear—Ouch!" The blond girl held her head in pain.
The others simply averted their eyes, trying to act as if they hadn't seen anything. "Stop with your nonsense and order your troops to move, we don't have all day," If he didn't set the girl straight, she would go on a rant all day long and they would have nothing done by the end of the week.
They had the initiative; losing it was not an option.
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In the United Empire's capital, Lev Lainur was about to summon another Servant to fight against the Chaldeans.
His face didn't denote happiness. He hoped Caligula managed to do something before dying, but he didn't. Honestly, a bunch of stupid goods for nothing.
Meanwhile, the other Servant present in the room simply lamented the loss of another Roman Emperor. They sometimes wondered if all of this was worth it. If seeing their brothers in all but blood perish senselessly in a war with the outcome having no victor, but only the side that lost the least. However, They reminded themselves that this also served to test the road Rome would go toward in the future.
"Let's see if this time someone useful appears. Failing many times in a row is certainly annoying." Lev sounded upset as always. Many constant failures had left him feeling incredibly irritated. The other Servant, for their part, remained silent.
Like the time when he summoned Leonidas, the circle lit on the floor lit up in white light. The Servant that got summoned was...a boy. It was a thin, red-haired boy with black leather armor and a red runic that went from his waist to just above his ankles. He was also wielding a black and white short sword.
"Servant Rider! I guess? So, what's my mission, Master?" The boy asked Lev whose eyebrows were twitching uncontrollably at this point. He couldn't be that unlucky, could he? Now children were being summoned? What was next? Infants?!
"Go and crush the enemy army, make sure to not leave anyone alive, especially Nero Claudius." Whatever, he will do with what he had.
"You can use my soldiers, but use them wisely." The other Servant said to the little boy.
"So I have to start a war, right? I guess it's time to conquer!"