"What? Subtitle? Lies! No way they get a role in Septem! Event Servants stealing the spotlight? Lies!?"
Leaving the goddess' island, the group headed to Rome's capital.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"
Nero rushed to intercept the fourth assault of the day.
"Fourth time? That's a lot," Romani noted.
"Lots of attacks. Soldiers are oddly strong," Ritsuka said.
"Yes. With Rome's capital so close, this frequency is abnormal," Mash added.
"Strange indeed. We took Gaul, yet assaults don't lessen. Thoughts, Hero King?" Nero asked.
"Perhaps elite infiltrators, swift and skilled enough to neutralize your scouts," Gilgamesh replied.
Soldiers outwitting an emperor's army… Highly skilled, maybe Servants?
"Elite soldiers… No way they'd join this senseless fight, right?"
Leonidas cut into the comms, muttering thoughtfully.
"Got a hunch, Leonidas?" Gilgamesh asked.
"No certainty—Ngh!?"
Romani shouted, "Servant signals ahead! Hundreds of similar signatures!"
"Hundreds!?" Nero gasped.
"So many!?" Ritsuka exclaimed.
"To the front!" Mash urged.
Countless elite soldiers stood, exuding menace, led by a masked, spear-and-shield-bearing guardian of flame.
"Fools. Fatally flawed tactics. As blind as that country girl," the figure scoffed.
"I hear you, Goldie!!" Jeanne retorted.
"Meant for you to hear," Gilgamesh smirked.
"Leonidas… san…" Mash's eyes widened in shock.
"Indeed. Servant, Lancer. True name: Leonidas. Henceforth, we defend this stronghold," he declared.
His soldiers formed a phalanx—tight, disciplined ranks.
"Leonidas! The famed Spartan king!" Nero exclaimed.
"Correct. Though unjust, our duty remains: protect. Stronger than attack, harder than defense—!!"
Sparta. At Thermopylae, 300 held off Persia's army. Spears broken, they fought with shields, then fists—strategy and muscle incarnate.
Chaldea's reliable king of finance and training now stood as their foe.
"Troublesome, Leonidas. You face us as an enemy?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Regrettably. Hero King, a suggestion," Leonidas replied.
"Speak."
"Fear not. In this Rome, they're the frailest, easiest prey," Leonidas said.
"Ho?" Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.
Frail? Prey?
"Master, Mash-dono, don't fear. Strike as you will," Leonidas urged.
"B-But… I know King Leonidas' greatness best. 'Scatter' them…?" Mash hesitated.
"It's fine, Mash-dono. Master," Leonidas continued.
"What? What's up?" Ritsuka asked.
"A Servant recommendation: borrow the 'Shinsengumi' duo's strength," Leonidas advised.
He has a plan.
"Trust Leonidas. His tactics are unmatched, despite his fervor," Gilgamesh said.
"Got it! Come, 'Hijikata-san,' 'Okita-san'!"
Ritsuka's hand glowed, summoning two sword-wielding champions of sincerity.
"Showtime!! Okita-san can't contain her excitement for round two!" Okita cheered.
"Sparta's king recommending us? Fine. The Shinsengumi takes this!" Hijikata declared.
"Odd attire again," Nero mused.
"Far Eastern swordsmen. Both at once!?" Romani gasped.
"Not just us!" Okita raised a flag high. "We found it, Hijikata-san!"
"Yes! Our oath of sincerity!"
The flag shone, summoning more swordsmen.
"Come! Under our ideal, we rise again as wolves of sincerity!!"
"Ohhh!" Ritsuka marveled.
"Not bad, Saber wannabe. Mimicking the Conqueror," Gilgamesh praised.
"Right?! No 'crappy Saber' here! Behold!!"
The Shinsengumi—Japan's famed man-slayers, wolves of a turbulent era—emerged.
"The Shinsengumi!!" Ritsuka shouted.
"Consecutive Heroic Spirit summons!? Insane! Okita's that exceptional!?"
"No matter if it's Sparta," Hijikata said, drawing his sword, pointing at the phalanx. "As long as I'm here, this is Shinsengumi ground. Watch closely!!"
His men drew blades, Okita's cheerful air turning lethal.
"Wait here. We'll clear the path," she said.
"Okita-san… so cool…" Ritsuka whispered.
"Perfect. They're fit to crush Sparta," Leonidas said.
All readied. The command fell.
"Shinsengumi!! Move out!! Draw blades—"
The battlefield's demons roared!!
"—Slaughter them all!!!!"
"UOOOOHHH!!!"
The Shinsengumi, fueled by Hijikata's fervor, crashed into Sparta!
"First Squad Leader Okita Souji! Cutting in!!"
Okita warp-dashed, her blade a blur, beheading foes instantly.
"No coughing blood, Okita!! Split the team, flank them! The front's tough—Hijikata and I break through!!"
Slashing, shooting, blinding, grabbing hair, crushing foes, Hijikata roared.
Sparta's unyielding phalanx held firm, unshaken.
But the Shinsengumi's sincerity-driven blades broke through!
"Slash! Advance!! Slash! Advance!! Cowards who retreat, I'll cut! Crush their defense!!!!"
"Ngh, guhh—!!" Sparta began to falter under the Shinsengumi's ferocity.
"Amazing… This is the Shinsengumi!" Ritsuka gasped.
"This is nuts! They're warping, using magic-like swords! Not my swordsmen!?" Romani stammered.
"Well said, wolves. Bloodthirsty, desperate savagery. Reeks of blood," Gilgamesh remarked.
"That's why they're perfect to break Sparta's spineless defense," Leonidas said.
"Never retreat!! Slash!!"
Slaughtering, shooting, shattering shields, bones, flesh—the demons roared!!
"Advance!!"
"Slash!!!"
Hijikata faced Leonidas.
"I am—!!"
"Nuuu!!"
Leonidas blocked Hijikata's strike with his shield—then!
"We are—!"
Okita leapt, blades flashing behind Hijikata!
"—!!"
"The Shinsengumi!!!!"
"Shinsengumi!!"
Two swords, one gunshot, obliterated Leonidas!
"—As expected. Without something to protect, we falter," Leonidas acknowledged.
"Exactly. They're worthy to defeat Sparta," Leonidas said.
"Their sincerity's ferocity—"
"We… won?" Mash whispered.
"Shinsengumi—AMAZING!!" Ritsuka cheered.
"Well-used hungry wolves, Far Eastern isle," Gilgamesh said.
Yamato spirit… Samurai Japan…
"It's over…" Mash sighed.
"Okita-san! Shinsengumi victory!! Yay!!" Ritsuka celebrated.
"Next," Hijikata said.
"Sparta, with nothing to protect, couldn't stop them," Leonidas concluded.
The clash of contradictions ended.
The group triumphed toward Rome.
"Favoritism, author!! What's with this spotlight!? Okita's just a comedic Mapo-eater! Pickle-space Hijikata, Shinsengumi bot!? Hijacking a whole chapter!? I'd one-punch them in three thousand worlds—"
"Stick out your neck."
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