Hispania, 60 AD, Septem Singularity
Ritsuka POV
It had been the day after Zenobia had given her ultimatum, and to say that the generals were not happy with the idea of Nero leaving them behind to go off into Hispania by herself was an understatement.
Despite their pleas for her to stay to lead her army, she refused and made her venture appear like she was personally going out to deal with the heretic goddess and drag her back to Rome herself.
Reluctantly, they relented and so, Nero joined them for their adventure into enemy territory.
Initially, he assumed he and Nero would be carried like princesses throughout the whole trip.
Thankfully, Martha offered to use Tarasque as a mount again, but Jalter intervened and offered an alternative, as she claimed that it would be too slow to travel by land.
Which is why he and his entire party were now flying high in the sky atop of Biscione, who had transformed into a dragon large enough to accommodate three passengers.
Mash, Nero and Himself were all just riding the dragon directly on top of her warm scales, which kept the worst of the chill from the air at bay.
The only thing preventing any of them from falling to their deaths were the modified DIY harnesses that they had installed on Biscione before they took flight.
The rest of his servants were astralized but they were ready to go into battle at any moment.
The only one who wasn't astralized was Jalter, who was standing proudly in front of them like she was the captain of a ship, unbothered by the wind or the movement of Biscione's body as she flapped her wings.
Romani's voice took him out of his musings as he was finishing reciting the plan they had talked about last night.
" It looks like Zenobia isn't making any efforts to hide her presence. Chaldea's scanners have already pinpointed her exact location, roughly south east from where Madrid, the future capital city of Spain, will be, so you guys are headed in the right direction.
But it's going to take a while, the energy signature is quite far. So do with this free time what you will. " With his peace said, Romani ended the call, leaving them to continue enjoying the scenery.
[Man, seeing someone experience the intoxicating joy of flying for the first time is quite the treat. ]
[VioletZephyr_Falk: Same, I remember the first time my Pidgeotto was large enough to let me fly on their back, I will cherish that memory until my last breath.]
He was a modern person that had grown accustomed to riding on multihour airplane rides to visit family in Japan every other year.
Sitting inside an economy plane seat while in the same tube as a crying baby and several airsick people vomiting in plastic bags made mundane flying seem like hell.
Even Marie's flying carriage seemed mundane when compared to what he was experiencing right now.
It felt wrong for him to compare those experiences to riding on an actual, living, breathing dragon.
The experience just hits different, but it hit harder for some more than others.
Like the blonde gremlin bouncing in place in front of him. Emperor Nero was taking in the sight of true flight like a kid who had been given the keys to a candy store and been told they can eat as much as they want.
"Incredible!! I had no idea I was missing out on such a spectacular view of my Roma!!" Nero's enthusiasm was only to be expected. How else would a person from before the first manned hot air balloons rose to the sky know the wonders of flying?
"Flying is really cool huh?!" Biscione seemed to have drunk a lot of Nero's enthusiasm as she spoke to the emperor without stuttering.
"It truly is 'cool' as you and Charlemagne would say, but that is a poor descriptor for the beauty before me! I have read the myth of Icarus and of his hubris to ignore the wise council of his father and now that I am here, I can understand why he was so willing to commit such a foolish defiance of the gods."
Suddenly Nero's confidence slipped, "um… while I do enjoy the view, please do not take my words as consent for you to fly into the sun. I do not wish for us to meet the same fate as him."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that, the sun is about 150 million kilometers away from the Earth, you would die long before I reached that place."
[Wide_OpenSky-la: Dang it Biscione!! That was not a very tactful thing to say during someone's first flight!! ]
A wet drop of water hit his face, he wiped it away and chalked it up to condensation due to how high up they were. He was unaware of the fact that the drop of water that hit him was actually a bead of nervous sweat that originated from Nero's flawless skin.
[DragonMasterLance donated 100 bits ]
["Do not worry Emperor Nero, Biscione is flying at a relatively safe altitude for humans. There is no need to fear dying, Ritsuka and Mash wouldn't have let you board the OL she-dragon if that were the case. "]
TTS's voice brought out a sigh of relief from Nero, "thank you for your words of comfort, Master of dragons. I did not mean to show such an unsightly performance for someone of your expertise."
["Think nothing of it, you are doing very well for your first dragon flight."]
The she-dragon's confidence crumbled and the shy dragon he had grown used to seeing had come back and was apologizing to Nero, "S-Sorry!! I didn't mean to scare you Emperor Nero!! While I find the username DragonMasterLance to be quite suspicious and a bit creepy, he is right. You are safe while flying Biscione airlines!"
[(≧▽≦) ] x203
[DragonMasterLance: C-Creepy?!! ]
[Fairy-Queen-Valerie: I mean, from her point of view, a person declaring themselves a master of dragons does sound quite creepy without context. ]
Hm, now that he thought about it, he hasn't talked to Biscione much, aside from pleasantries. And now that she mentioned it, he was curious about something.
"Hey Biscione, I have a question for you."
"What is it, Master?"
[DragonMasterLance: Oh, so I am creepy for calling myself a dragon master but she calls Gudao her Master and it's suddenly no big deal. ( ᴖ̈ ) ]
[Dragon's-Iris: There there Lance, I'm sure if she met you in person she would think you're a wonderful guy. ]
"Have you ever heard of this game franchise known as pokemon?"
"Hm… Oh, I think I do… as the embodiment of dragons that appear from stories, I do have some vague understanding of the concept since it does count as a story with dragons… But it's a limited understanding since those dragons are from a modern videogame rather than a European dragon folklore."
Interesting.
"Would you be able to turn into one of those dragons if you tried to?" He asked the question that had been bugging him for a long while when he read her abilities and parameters from a while ago.
[( ★ ᗜ ★ ) ] x628
[Blue-TheCHAMP: Gudao is asking the real questions here! ]
[JigglyWiggly: Could this be it? Could this be Gudao's chance to finally interact with a real life pokemon?!!]
[Please Arceus let her say yes!! I promise I will be good from now on and go pray at your shrine more! ]
Biscione was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking about his question seriously.
"I… honestly do not know… perhaps If I use the connections between the myth and the lore I could… but I apologize, I do not think it would be wise to attempt such a thing while I am carrying passengers."
Oh?!! So it wasn't impossible?! Cool!! But yeah, she was right, it wasn't a good idea for her to do that now.
"It's alright, I was just asking out of curiosity."
But man, it would have been so cool to ride atop a rayquaza or even a dragonite. Perhaps it was still possible once they were in the safety of Chaldea and she answered his call.
"Umu. These pokemon you speak of, I remember you mentioning them a few times. To think that there could exist a place where children are encouraged into the wilderness to face wild beasts and gain fame through battle with their own beasts, it sounds a lot like the myths of Greece."
"In a way it is, but it's a lot safer and more modern." Mash added, though her voice was a bit harder to hear for him as she was further behind.
"Umu, tell me more."
With nothing to do for the next few hours, they indulged Nero in some pokemon lore.
Hours passed without interruption.
While he did his best to explain pokemon stuff to Nero, it was rather hard to speak about one topic for hours so naturally, the conversation went to more non pokemon related topics.
He still did most of the talking though, given how Mash didn't have much of a social life and preferred to listen while Jalter was even worse and had much less pleasant experiences to talk about.
When the conversations died down, he took the time to ask Biscione some dragon specific questions that he and the members of chat wanted to know about.
Biscione indulged them and provided some interesting insight on earth dragons habitats, diets, and overall just random dragon questions that they were curious about.
It was something that many of the researchers and dragon type trainers in his chat really appreciated. He did apologize for bugging her with so many questions but she said it was okay since she rarely got the chance to talk about dragons to this degree.
Everyone was having a good time, but that moment of peace was disrupted by Romani's frantic yelling.
" Incoming projectile at 3 o clock!! Move!! "
[SURPRISE SKY BATTLE!! ]
[VioletZephyr_Falk: Not a surprise, we knew she was coming the moment we boarded a dragon. ]
[Here she comes!! ]
Biscione turned her head in that direction and her eyes bulged out in shock at the attack coming toward her.
"Hold on everyone!!" He gripped some protruding scales just in time as Biscione dove to avoid the streak of light that passed where her center of mass used to be.
The light projectile crashed into the forest below with a loud boom, leveling the small area below them to the ground.
He turned toward the direction the projectile came from and noticed a small, white speck in the distance.
He knew who that was, and unfortunately for them, her attack did not stop at one shot.
Another projectile spewed from behind the white dot and flew at them with the intent to shoot them out of the sky.
"Cheh, don't fuck with me you flashy bitch!!" Jalter cursed at Zenobia, and hardened her glare in her direction.
Zenobia darted away, avoiding whatever Jalter was sending at her.
One of the projectiles that had gotten in the way caught aflame, and was incinerated into cinders.
Now it made sense why Zenobia fled, she likely sensed the incoming attack before it struck her. Jalter didn't give up and continued to spam her burning glare at the white speck, which forced Zenobia to make aerial dodges to avoid getting burned.
[Top-Hat-PSY: Huh, I forgot Jalter had the ability to use heat vision. ]
[It has been a while, and it's one of those attacks she only used once. ]
[MalasadaMayhem: Yeah, I remember, it was back when we first met her and her cronies. RIP Romani's booba mousepad. ]
[ThunderCles: She never paid Romani back for that did she? ]
[He tried, but he backed off when she threatened to burn off his ponytail. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: I hope Jalter burns Zenobia's shitty purple hair until she's bald. ]
Unfortunately for Jalter, and them by extension, Zenobia adapted to the death stare attack and shot out attacks as she zipped through the air, all of them still coming towards them.
He could hear Nero and Mash scream their lungs out as Biscione ducked, dipped, dived and dodged the nonstop barrage of attacks.
But this frantic evasion tactics made it harder for Jalter to keep her gaze steady and she was forced to crouch to hold onto Biscione's scales during these swift aerial maneuvers.
As soon as Biscione's fight levelled out, Tamamo took the opportunity to manifest herself on top of Biscione's head.
"Cat?!! Careful! It's not safe-"
Tamamo ignored Biscione's plea as she placed her hands in a kamehameha pose and charged up a ball of superheated plasma.
"Nyah!! Ninjin banzai!!!" Tamamo cried out as she shot out a miniature sun at Zenobia, who saw the attack coming and came to an abrupt halt. She swerved away from the attack, avoiding the explosion of fire that would have consumed her.
[CaptainDrakeE4: Wow, that was a nice shot from the foxy lass. The would have definitely been a hit if Zenobia wasn't an expert flyer. ]
[Wide_OpenSky-la: Gotta give credit where credit is due, girl knows how to fly. ]
Another bolt of light shot out from her hovering constructs and collided with Tanamo's attack.
The two forces collided and exploded in the air a bit too close for comfort.
"Eep!! That almost hit me!! Thank you Tamamo… Whah!! Tamamo!!!!"
To everyone's horror, the kitsune had slipped during the counterattack and was free falling to her death.
The servant's eyes were bulging from her head while she screamed out "NYAN!" as she fell.
Biscione dove after the fox cat to try and save her, all while evading the attacks from Zenobia.
Thankfully for Tamamo Cat, Biscione managed to catch her before she could splat on the ground and gently put the shaking cat on her back.
The shivering Tamamo was placed right on top of Nero's lap, who was surprised by the sudden intrusion to her personal space. But all was forgiven as the woman got a chance to enjoy the sudden fluffyness that clung to her.
"I-I almost turned into a pancake nyan…"
Tamamo Cat yelped and hugged Nero tighter to her chest as Biscione evaded more attacks.
It was obvious that it was getting harder for Biscione to stay airborne like this, so it was time for him to intervene.
From a wisp of shadows, shadow EMIYA emerged in his full splendor. Orange hair, red armor, and his signature bandana, its long ends swaying in the wind.
[Heck yeah, time for GARcher to show Zenobia the Bone of his sword!!]
[GARcher: (ᵕ—_—) ]
The shadow servant knew his purpose and manifested his futuristic bow and drew back the steel cable bowstring.
EMIYA projected and modified a sword in a split second, then aimed at the enemy.
The bowstring cracked like a gun as it loosed its arrow. The arrow flew for a brief moment, but then splintered into multiple smaller arrows that intercepted the incoming projectiles from Zenobia.
The sky was filled with explosions, and the hot wind from the shockwaves slapped him in the face. Thankfully, that was all the damage Zenobia would do to him, as none of those javelins of hers reached them.
Zenobia noticed that her attack failed and he could feel the intensity of her gaze increase manyfold.
" Guys!! Her magical energy is skyrocketing!! " Romani yelled out a warning but it was an obvious one given how he could taste the dense magical energy in the air.
Hundreds of javelins shot out from her back.
Eerie howls of wind reached his ears, serving as a prelude to the rain of death that was coming for them.
[Dragon's-Iris: That… I never noticed how close to draco meteor Zenobia's attacks was. ]
[Lanette34: I noticed the moment she first unleashed that attack the first time we met her. ]
[All the old veterans of the Unification war in chat getting PTSD rn. ]
[Kohga: You're about to find out why that is very soon boy. ]
Javelins fell from the sky like rain, many of them never made it close as arrows intercepted them and detonated them far from the targets.
Shadow EMIYA tried his best, but even he had to take time to reload, and it was during those brief moments of reloading that poor Biscione was forced to dodge the attacks like she was playing on the hardest difficulty level in a danmaku game… but harder since she was playing in first person instead of top down.
She got brief breaks when EMIYA shot out his arrows, but again, they were brief. Even with Jalter's help, Zenobia was simply too slippery for any of them to land a hit.
The rain of light never let up, and in fact, it kept getting worse. He could tell Zenobia had given up any notion of holding back and was doing everything in her power to kill them all.
The ground below was the biggest victim of her rampage, as hundreds upon hundreds of craters dotted the landscape. Forests which had been growing here for hundreds of thousands of years were now barren wastelands that had been stripped of vegetation.
Explosion on the ground, explosions in the sky, it was too much and it was starting to fray everyone's nerves.
[Ho-sheet, that is too much!! ]
[SeeDotbyTheSea: This is even worse than Fuyuki man, at least back then they had cover. Here they are like sitting ducks and one fuck up could kill them all. ]
These nonstop attacks were starting to tire Biscione due to the constant erratic movements she was doing.
He realized too late that this was Zenobia's plan all along.
Shadow EMIYA seemed to realize it too, as he tried to reload his bow faster, but it wasn't fast enough.
FWOOOM.
RIP.
Biscione yelped as one of Zenobia's attacks managed to pierce a massive hole through her wing.
[Σ(°△°ꪱꪱꪱ) ] x452
[Shit, they're dead. ]
[Beaumains: Shuddap!! Don't jinx it!! ]
"Biscione!!" he yelled out in terror when the now wounded dragon began to lose altitude as her damaged wing struggled to keep herself in the sky.
The shockwave from the explosion that was caused by the projectile that pierced her wing only made their descent worse.
Even through the loud winds deafening his ears, he could still hear Nero and Mash's cries of fear as they fell from the sky.
"Mayday! Mayday!! I've been hit, I don't think I can keep flying!!" Biscione was frantically trying to stop her fall but the hole in her wounded wing did not allow her to rise higher.
He activated a heal spell and channeled it directly on the she-dragon.
He could see the wound close, but it was a bit slow, thankfully the small pause in the barrage, courtesy of EMIYA, was enough to seal the sound.
He could feel Biscione was calming down.
"Thanks master!"
"Thank him later!! The sky is too dangerous to fly now, try to land as safely as you can on that flat area down there!"
[TheIcePryce donated 100 bits]
["Land near the mountains! It would be for the best if you find a cave quickly to avoid the bombardment!! "]
No one had the time to object and did what Pryce commanded.
Biscione let out a nervous, high pitched squeak but listened to Jalter as she guided the dragon to the mountains below.
✦✧✦
Chat POV 01
Chat's camera appeared near Zenobia, which caught her attention for a brief moment, however, she didn't dwell on them. She had more important things to care about than worry about an audience watching her.
She was more focused on the dragon that was trying to land safely on the ground.
A smirk crawled up her face, at the sheer audacity of Gudao to think she would let them get away so easily.
The two halos behind her spun and she unleashed more attacks on the defenseless fly below her.
Unfortunately for her, EMIYA's arrows refused to let her take them down that easily and intercepted her attacks midair.
She scowled and clicked her tongue, "that red archer is annoying. I have to prioritize taking him down if I want to kill the others."
However, there was one thing Zenobia wasn't counting on when she attacked Chaldea, and that was that the orb next to her could fight back.
[PerfectlySaneHex: The hell you are!! Over my dead body you exhibitionist slut!! ]
[PerfectlySaneHex redeemed Axe Kick.]
[Chat is voting… done. Chat poll results:
Splash: 0.1%
Sand attack: 15%
Swift: 10%
Hold hands: 4.9%
Axe Kick: 70% ]
[Chat used Axe Kick]
Zenobia's head snapped downward as a foot construct kicked her in the back of her head.
The palmyran queen grunted when the heavy blow struck her but she shook off the slight headache that she received from the attack.
"Where?! How?!" Zenobia looked around herself, confused about where that attack had come from.
[Bruh, that was a really powerful Axe Kick to the head and she ate it up like it was nothing!! ]
[Damn, either Zenobia is tougher than Jalter or the last attack of ours was a fluke. ]
Then the goddess's eyes landed on Chat, and she connected the dots. One of her floating ballistas lined up their aim at the camera.
[Uh oh. She spotted us, and she knows we're the ones who hit her. ]
[Everyone brace yourselves!! ]
Fortunately for Chat, their attack proved to be enough of a distraction to save their skin.
Zenobia let out a scream of agony as hellflame engulfed her body. Jalter's glare had landed a direct hit.
[Oh arc, that was close. For a second I thought I was dead.（´∇｀''）]
[Fire&FlameZ: That's right, BURN BABY BUUUURN!!!!! ]
[Hotheaded_Quiz_Master: I usually do not make puns during serious moments like this, but Zenobia is too HOT to ignore. ]
[BestKohai-BB(MOD): She's not just hot, but she's also juicy. Just look at all the drippings coming from her body. ]
[Hotheaded_Quiz_Master: …On second thought, I take it back. I think I'm going to cool it with the fire jokes. They are getting too morbid for my tastes. ]
Zenobia let out a yell and expelled a burst of divine energy from her body, extinguishing the flames.
Her skin was now inflamed, and covered in third degree burns, but she had no time to worry about the state of her skin as her instincts screamed at her to move.
She barely managed to dive away from the modified noble phantasm that would have pierced her body had she stayed put.
BOOM.
An explosion even more massive than one of her ballista arrows exploded in the horizon, which caused her to swallow her nervousness down her throat.
She turned back to stare at the bowman, and was now regarding him with much caution than before.
Zenobia began to glow as her skill activated, and slowly, the damage to her body was undone, her skin had regained its flawless appearance.
To an outside observer, it looked like she had regenerated from the damage, but in truth, the flesh under her flawless skin was still in pain.
[GroundHippowdon: Oh man, It's like she never got hit with an attack at all! ]
[Regeneration is going to make this fight trickier than anticipated. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: It's magic tauros shit again. Man I am so jealous, I wish my skin could just shrug off those kinds of ugly marrings too. ]
✦✧✦
Ritsuka POV
"Owowowowowowowo!!" Biscione whined as she slid on the ground much more roughly than she anticipated.
Her belly and chest scraped on the rough patch of dirt and rocks where she crashed.
Finally, she came to a stop with a groan, and all he could do is channel another healing spell through their skin on scale contact.
The green light enveloped Biscione, which elicited a sigh of relief from the dragon.
"Thank you Master, it's so nice to have higher ups who care for my health…."
"Did your archer manage to kill her?" Nero asked, her face pale and her hair now a mess from the sudden landing. Not even getting smothered by Tamamo's fluffyness was enough to cushion the fear that had just assaulted her.
Romani answered Nero before anyone else could get a chance to do it.
" Negative. She's still hovering several miles away, but she's distracted. Now stop chit chatting and start packing!! Quickly, before she recovers!! "
The group all dismounted from Biscione, which took a heart-pounding amount of time as they had to unbuckle themselves from the harnesses holding them. Once they slid off the dragon's back, Biscione's body flashed and shrunk into her servant self.
The dragon got up with a groan and paused as the wind caressed the exposed skin where her clothes used to be.
[Heart0f6old: I knew it, she was wearing a black bra underneath that prim and stuffy suit!!]
[Krystal: Gold!! Stop staring!! ]
Biscione looked down, her glasses askew as she observed the damage. Once she realized how bad it was, she gasped in horror,"oh no!! My business suit is ruined!"
"Nevermind your business suit, your body is exposed!!" Mash pointed out, to which Biscione let out a squeak when she remembered and covered her generous chest with her arms.
[IliekQTthings: Priorities ladies!! We are still under attack!! ]
"Worry about that pointless shit later!! We gotta move!!" Jalter roughly lifted Biscione off her feet and carried her like a princess. Biscione squeaked at the sudden action and tried to protest, but a glare from Jalter shut her up.
The moment he saw Jalter do that, he knew what came next, and he also knew that it wasn't the time to complain about it. He accepted Mash's embrace as she carried him the same way Jalter was carrying Biscione.
Similarly, Charlemagne followed suit and carried Nero the same way, although she had no reservations about being carried as such.
All three carriers made a beeline towards the cover of the trees, all of them staying close enough together to not stray too far away from the other.
Meanwhile, the astralized servants all scoured the area for shelter, and thankfully, it didn't take them long to find it.
Siegfried's voice echoed in his head as he reported his find.
'Master, I found a suitable cave system, it's not too far, but it's still going to take a while to reach.'
He nodded and relayed the information to the rest of the group and they all made their way towards the cave Siegfried had found.
Whatever distraction Zenobia had been preoccupied with, she got over it and she continued to unleash her noble phantasm again.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The explosions were more scattered than last time, which made it easier to evade them as they moved through the bush. They were more exposed to danger from above, but now that the group was on solid ground, the other servants were able to act without fear of falling.
Tamamo and Shadow Emiya were working overtime to ensure the explosions never reached them, all while trying to keep their location hidden from Zenobia. It seemed to work and it gave them enough breathing room to reach their destination.
The cave was exactly where Siegfried said it was. It was remarkably well hidden and looked wide enough to let them enter.
"Everyone inside!" He called out and followed his command, and not a moment too soon.
By the time the last member of the group had gone inside the cave, the landscape aboveground exploded.
✦✧✦
Unknown cave, somewhere in Hispania
Even after they had entered the cave, the explosions did not let up at all, in fact they had gotten even worse.
Romani told them it was not a good idea to camp next to the entrance of the cave and told them to go deeper inside to avoid the worst of the explosions. Of course, by doing so, they sacrificed their visibility but that is why they had emergency flashlights for a reason.
The muffled explosions still managed to reach them even this far underground, but the shockwaves had been reduced to hums under their feet. Their improvised shelter was already proving its worth. It was also wide and tall enough that it could accommodate everyone.
" Again, good thinking on Chat's part. Caves are an excellent shelter for aerial bombardments. Now all we have to do is wait it out. " Da Vinci said with confidence, but the sentiment was not shared by everyone else since they were still recovering from the intense air battle.
[StevenLieksMinerals: Caves are truly wonderful shelters, trust me, I've slept in caves my whole life. They are surprisingly comfy. ]
[BestKohai-BB(MOD): It's only natural for apes to be fond of their caves. ]
[Eon_Red: But caves are comfy though? They get really warm in the winter and keep the rain away. ]
[StevenLieksMinerals: Don't pay her any mind, she's just being speciesist against humans. ]
[BestKohai-BB(MOD): If only you knew Steven, if only you knew. ]
[StevenLieksMinerals: ? ]
"Man that was wild, I thought we were going to be blown to smithereens" Charlemagne said, clearly relieved they survived.
"Well, Master did dump her in front of thousands of people, if I was her, I too would want to wipe that man off the face of the earth no matter the cost, nyan." Tamamo's words stung, but he still didn't regret his actions.
"Well, I guess this proves that Zenobia isn't a clairvoyant. She cannot find you and is wasting energy trying to bomb the shit out of the landscape. Though it's possible she's just making it easier to spot us by destroying every possible trace of cover in the area.
So the only thing you guys can do is wait until she gets tired of it and leaves. Knowing Zenobia still prefers sleep, it would be best for you to save your energy and try to get some shuteye now so you can travel at night."
Nero sounded affronted by Romani's orders, "you expect me to sleep while all this noise is occurring? I apologize but I do not think I will be able to follow that command given how impossible it is."
Nero crossed her arms like a petulant child, and he sighed. Then, he reached into his storage and pulled out a pair of emergency soundproof headphones and approached Nero. They were mystic codes designed to dampen the effects of Elizabeth's singing. Unfortunately for him and the others, Da Vinci only made one pair and they were rather unwieldy. Nevertheless, they were going to prove quite handy when the time came for Elizabeth to go all out in an enclosed space.
She noticed his approach and was about to ask what he was doing, but he placed the headset over her ears and turned them on.
A solid blue light blinked to life, indicating they were active and at full battery. Nero's mouth formed a wide "O" shape as the sound literally reduced to less than a whisper.
"Oh, that is much better! Truly the future is filled with wonders. But it is a tragedy that I cannot fully appreciate the sound of my own voice since these contraptions work too well at blocking sound."
[MagnetKing: Talk about being a narcissist with a capital N. She needs to learn to be more humble. ]
[No. Umu is perfect as she is. :UMU Emote:]
[MagnetKing: Don't encourage her, she's only going to get worse if you keep treating her like she's some infallible figure. ]
[GARcher: Humble and Roman Emperor rarely mix together. Nero in particular has difficulty with not being the center of attention. ]
[MagnetKing: ( – ⌓ – ) ]
With his mission complete, he looked at his communicator and asked, "are you sure we don't have anything else to talk about while we wait? It seems like a waste to just sleep and not make some more plans."
Romani sighed, " While that is true, there really isn't much more we can talk about that we haven't already talked about. Shadow Emiya and Tamamo performed just as we planned earlier in the morning. They and Siegfried are your only reliable long distance attackers, unless you manage to drag Zenobia into an enclosed space where she can't blast you into kingdom come.
But we can deal with that later, for now, sleep is more important. You and Nero really didn't get enough sleep last night than you should have, so make it count. "Romani cut off the communication, which told him the conversation was over.
With nothing else to do, he shrugged and followed Romani's orders. He walked over to a nearby wall, sat down, closed his eyes and allowed the hum of the explosions to lull him to sleep.
✦✧✦
Days later
Just outside Anti Rome's Headquarters, Hispania
Cleopatra POV
"Well well well, so the rats finally decided to come out of their burrow and fight, it took you long enough to get here, " Cleopatra said as she looked down at the small group of ragged Servants and the master of Chaldea as they sauntered onto their doorstep. It was quite bold of them to finally approach their base from the front door, especially when they are faced with thousands of enemies and three servants.
She sneered at the peasants before her as they dared to approach her alluring majesty with such filth. She could see the sweat and dust clinging to their skin, which made sense given how Zenobia told them they hid inside the cave systems of this land like cowards, which made it impossible for her to destroy due to how numerous they were.
"Please forgive my wife, she is just tired of waiting in the midday sun for so long." Her darling Ceasar was too soft, both in body and in personality at times. She wasn't mad because she was waiting in the sun, she was mad because the little boy in that horrendous mystic code had broken her cute descendant's heart.
He straightened up and put his hands behind his back, "welcome to Hispania invaders. While you have earned my respect for confronting an army by yourselves, I am afraid this is as far as you go.
Unfortunately for you, our goddess Zenobia has called for your deaths. As one of her retainers, I am now obligated to see her orders through."
He unsheathed his sword from his hip, revealing his signature weapon for all to see. He looks so powerful and authoritative when he points Crocea Mors at his enemies.
"It is truly a shame that I will have to restrain myself before the beauties in front of me, but alas I have been reunited with the love of my life. So I hope you forgive me for not giving you more compliments before I kill you."
The most beautiful among them, the infamous Emperor Nero, spoke up for the first time in their entire exchange.
"I am sorry great Caesar, but I will have to refuse you. I cannot afford to lose here. My Rome may be doomed to die in a whimper, but I'd rather it fall on its own terms than allow you and your seductress to destroy it, just for the sake of legitimizing your illicit affair."
The smile on Caesar's face fell into a frown, "I see, well forgive me for ruining your divine vision of me Nero, but while I am a dead spirit, I am a very selfish man. I want to spend the rest of my existence with Cleopatra and I will not let you stand in the way of our future."
A warmth spread through her cheeks at hearing her beloved's confession. The feeling quickly soured as she turned her attention back to Nero. The hypocrisy of this petulant child was too annoying for her not to correct.
"You have no room to talk Nero, you have already shown your colors. I was there when you were drooling over Zenobia and hoping to woo her as your lover. You are no different than my beloved Ceasar."
Nero became flustered by her comeback, but she didn't give any rebuttal to her claims, because the blonde knew she was right.
One of the male servants of the group, who was sporting a ridiculous half black and half white colored hairstyle, saw an opportunity to take the scrutiny away from Nero and spoke up.
"You are right Lady Cleopatra, Nero is just as much of a philanderer asJulius Caesar was, but what people do in their intimate, personal love lives has nothing to do with why we are here. We are here because we wish to stop your flawed plan of destroying and replacing Rome with a fragmented alliance of nations."
She lifted a brow, "flawed you say? And who made you an expert in time travel?"
The man shook his head, "I am not an expert in any capacity, but it doesn't take one to know that changing history to the extent Zenobia wants will inevitably fail, because the World will not allow it."
The man gained a harsh look on his face, "people only see the hardship that comes with the rule of Rome, the dysfunction, and the corruption. But I never heard your goddess mention the technology that came as a result of the Roman empire and how she plans to recreate it."
"If Rome falls early, there's no guarantee the same technologies that were developed in the centuries following the death of Nero will still be invented.
If the humanity that falls under your jurisdiction fails to meet the standard the World set up, all your efforts will be in vain when your timeline is culled."
She pursed her lips at the logic. What this man said was the truth, time locks are a very real thing, and the World does not tolerate any world that deviates from proper human history in ways it dislikes.
Yet even so, she can't accept it.
"Perhaps you are right, but we will never know unless we try right?" She let a yawn escape from her throat, showing that she had grown tired of their attempts to talk.
"I am getting bored of all this pointless talk. It's obvious that we will not betray Zenobia, so just save your breath."
The servants in front of them all tensed as her words had sent her intended message.
Good.
"Well, you heard my love, the time to talk has passed. Now prepare yourselves Chaldeans…."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as her beloved Ceasar unleashed his thick, raw magical energy. The peasants felt it too, as they all shuddered under its girth.
His body glowed brightly and an oversized, disproportionate white arm and gauntlet appeared over his left arm.
"For I have come, I have seen…."
Faster than an eye could blink, her Ceasar had already launched himself forward, his blade glowing brightly in his hands like a shining beacon of divinity, ready to strike down the slack jawed blonde emperor before him.
"And once again, I will conquer."
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AN: It was a close one, but I managed to finish this week's chappie comfortably and without being delirious from staring at the screen too hard.
Like and/or comment if you guys enjoyed it. I really appreciate the support and feedback guys. See you next week.