The Sun, or more accurately, the copy of the Sun that illuminated that fake world, had risen for a few hours. For a French spring, it was fairly warm. One could stroll around the beautiful gardens. And yet, peace and quiet were not present in Versailles that day. Perhaps quiet, but certainly no peace.
Everyone was hanging at the edge of their seat, ready for anything, for everything, or at least, believing so. Some trembled at the prospect of what was about to happen. Others prayed. Others felt like they were already dead. But no one dared to back down.
Everyone was waiting impatiently for one thing and one thing only: a sign of the enemy. Anything, just the tiniest of dots scattered on the horizon, or the most minuscule sound that their ears could perceive. The tension was almost palpable. The stress was so high that if a fly had passed in that moment, the entire army would have attacked it instinctively.
Alas, the moment finally came. At first, it was the tiniest feeling, but slowly, as the brain began to realise that it was not an illusion, one by one, everyone felt the ground start to shake under their feet. Then, in the distance, red spots started to appear. It took a few seconds to realise that those weren't flags, but soldiers, and their number grew more and more every single second.
"Well, Portos, we'd better finish our wine quick."
"Why?"
"Because it will probably be the last thing we taste."
"Exactly. So let's just enjoy it slowly instead."
"I'm sure we'll be able to drink together once more in Heaven."
"Heaven? Bold of you to assume you're not going to Hell, D'Artagnan."
"After I'm done with the enemy, maybe you're right, I'll be worthy of Hell."
As the Roman army approached, everyone steeled their resolve.
The two groups drew closer and closer, until they were at a standstill. Everything paused for a second.
Remus stood in front, looking at the palace in front of him, eyeing it up like a prize. Then he looked at its defendants. He gave a simple order.
"Kill them all."
Immediately, the legionnaires rushed forward in a blood-curdling war cry. The French army drew their weapons and charged forward too, encouraged by Jeanne's words.
"Vive la France!"
As the two armies clashed into a whirlwind of noise, the group wasted no time and went into action.
A golden light nearly blinded everyone. Before they could react, golden projectiles started flying in all directions, landing in a sort of explosion not too far from an actual bombardment.
Nero moved quickly through the lines, cutting down enemies with incredible speed. Even when 6 or 7 soldiers surrounded her, she defeated them instantly, almost as if she had more than one sword in her hand.
Suddenly, a silver arrow nearly impaled her chest, but she deflected it in time.
"To be able to survive one of my arrows... I commend you, worthy adversary."
"Is that you... Uncle?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Are you not Caligula, Roman Emperor?"
"Indeed, I am, the great-"
"How can you call yourself the greatest when I am present?"
Another figure said, as he approached the two.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"You dare speak to me in such a way? You should bow down in adoration. I am the blessed child of Rome, the Emperor who had the longest reign and the most prosperous and the saviour of the Great Fire. I am Nero Claudius."
"No way, so am I!"
"But you're a woman..."
"Well, the multiverse, I guess."
"We are not from another universe. We are you. We are your reality. Only better. Fairer. A world in which the defeated become the winners. If you had any respect for yourself, you would just give up."
"Thanks for the offer, but I quite like myself the way I am, so no can do."
"Very well, then it's only fair that I'm the one to put you out of your misery."
Opening the palm of his hand, a powerful spray of compressed water flashed in the direction of his enemy. However, (our) Nero jumped up, while the men behind her were split in half by the corrent.
Nero landed and quickly bent down, avoiding another attack, while simultaneously moving towards the other Nero. She took a step back, dodging another arrow from Caligula.
"Don't interfere!"
"I saw her first!"
"Pay attention!"
Nero swung her sword with all her might, but to her surprise... it didn't connect. The blade stopped inches from the emperor's neck.
"Huh? What?"
A swarm of coins suddenly surrounded her.
***
"So you're the commander of that king's army... I must say, I'm disappointed."
The man commented as he stood before a bloodied D'Artagnan.
"Hehe, well, you know... kinda busy powering everyone up... but you're right, it is a shameful display."
"Then, allow me to remove your shame."
Before his spear could pierce the Frenchman's heart, a golden blade stopped it.
"That's enough, I'm your opponent now."
"This sword... it is certainly the subject of great myths."
"It appears that gauging each other's identity might be futile, since our counterparts are very different."
"Unless we skip to our introductions."
"I have no qualms with that. I'm Artoria, Queen of Knights."
"I am Germanicus, the Avenger of Teotoburg. Roman Emperor after my father, Tiberius, and conqueror of Germany."
"Emperor, you say? It seems like your end was more suited to a man of your stature."
"I am flattered. However, I must kill you to ensure that this is the end of my story."
"Bring it on, then!"
An eagle statue attached itself to the blunt end of his spear as Germanicus attempted to stab right through Artoria. Lifting Excalibur, the pointy end clashed against her scabbard. Avalon redirected the attack, but the result was turning everything around it into a pulverised mess. The pressure was so strong that the Queen of Knights was knocked back a bit.
"Such power..."
Artoria noted. Even more concerning was the fact that more eagle statues hung around his belt.
***
"Charge!"
"Damn it, they're even sending the cavalry."
"Just blow them away!"
"Why can't you use your dragon, you witch!"
A black chopper in the sky sprayed the Roman horsemen with bullets. It then landed and out of it came Galter.
"Girls, we don't have time to waste here! Artoria, you have your target. Jeanne, help clear a path for her. Do you see that?"
He asked, pointing at a huge explosion not too far, as bright as a solar flare.
"We need to get rid of that before it costs us the battle. Now, I'll head back out there and take out their balistas. You two behave. You think you can do that?"
"We're not children."
"Good, then don't act like it!"
Galter said as he flew off again.
"Cheeky bastard."
"I'll knock his teeth out later. Let's go, Fafnir!"
***
"It seems like all pieces are falling right into place, no?"
"They are."
"The question is, for whom exactly?"
"Do you really think you can win, Sun King?"
"How strong is the most powerful man on Earth compared to the Sun?"
"You think your title is worth anything? I have several people bearing that very title under my command."
"And what exactly is your title? Brother to the King of Nation Building? Traitor of the First King? Kin of the Man turned God? Your entire existence is born out of envy towards your brother. But taking away his achievements, what's left of you as a person, Failed King?"
Remus impaled Louis through the heart, but just when the spear connected, Louis disappeared in a flash. Behind the Roman, Louis continued.
"A man who only lives to envy is not fit to be King. A King is the subject of envy. A King must not envy anyone, because who is greater than the King? You think fate was unfair? Judging by the way you behave, fate gave you exactly what you deserved."
Remus threw a spear at his head, but the figure of the Sun King vanished.
"Enough talking. I didn't come here to chat. I came here to destroy you and this whole world."
"Of course. Kill everyone you envy, until the only thing you'll envy are the ashes of those greater than you."
Louis's voice came from multiple sources. As Remus looked around, he was surrounded.
"You think you're greater than me? Stronger? Better?"
"You can't even tell who's the real me."
"It will be the only one of you who will bleed."
Waving his right arm, Remus generated a dozen wooden spears. They all struck the various projections, making them disappear, all but one, who blocked the attack with a barrier.
"Found you!"
From his scepter, Louis unleashed numerous light attacks, but Remus swerved his way through his offensive, closing in. Before he could stab his adversary, the light rays came back and coagulated into a shield. Through an incantation circle he drew on the air, the French king turned it into a column of lava.
The Roman king leaped into the air, throwing five spears down on the ground. Drawing across the air, from the golden scepter sprouted an equal number of bird-like familiars who stopped the projectiles. Knocking on the ground with his peculiar staff, or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as a wand, Louis summoned a golem.
With a swing from the ornate spear in his left hand, Remus cut it in half before cracking the spear in his right arm and flinging it against the Sun King. Evoking a series of runes, the Caster transformed the attack into an even weight of gems before sending them back to the sender.
Remus blocked the counter effortlessly and noticed a second Louis behind him. Without paying it any mind, he charged forward.
"You fool! I already know you can make projections of yourself."
He could barely finish his sentence when he was forced to turn around and block an air slash. The other Louis moved at increased speed thanks to magecraft and hit him behind with his scepter. Remus tried to cut him, but he was paralysed. At the same time, the second Louis spun around his wand, and from the sky a powerful lightning bolt came crashing down on Remus.
Before the dust could settle, another spear stopped a hair away from Louis's throat. Remus stood there, having stopped the lightning with his main weapon.
"It seems like even a cocktail of the most powerful poisons, freezing and time-dilating spells will only block you for a second or two."
"How is this possible?"
"You know that I can make projections of myself. I know that. That's why I made a clone of myself. A true magician never uses the same trick twice."
"I see, I wonder, when I pull out your heart, what trick will you use then?"
"Let's see. You have plenty of me you can try that on, right?
And I have plenty of tricks left."