Hordes and masses of mindless, faceless soldiers. Disguised officers barking orders amidst a sea and clamor of iron. Hails of arrows being issued and received. The din of war rang loud in one’s ears, yet the lack of war cries and pained shouts made things feel oddly surreal. A rather gross reminder that these soldiers weren’t human. In a way, it certainly made it a lot easier to kill them metaphorically. On the other hand, it was a lot harder to kill them literally, and impossible to scare off no matter what show of force or brutality they enacted.
Loki had to sigh. They hadn’t expected such a battle to be so… well, boring . None of their usual tricks worked. The soldiers wouldn’t panic no matter how much of a frenzy they went. And every time they popped out, it wasn’t long before all the nearby soldiers sprang at them. They couldn’t do much against a Servant, but their sheer numbers combined with their utter lack of fear made things dicey, forcing them to vanish once more.
Thus, they relegated themselves to simply taking out siege engines like their Master ordered. Stepping out, killing off the designated engineers and turning the catapults into so much mulched wood, then vanishing before the surrounding soldiers could overwhelm them. Classic guerilla tactics that they had been asked to do time and time and time again throughout this entire singularity.
Frankly, if it was possible to die of boredom, they would’ve done so a thousand times already.
Right now, they were sitting outside, far away from both the city and the URE forces but close enough to at least watch them, catching their breath. As much as they pretended otherwise, constantly stepping in and out of the Metaverse was incredibly draining for them. They had been trying to dial it back as of late but with the demands of battle, it had been getting harder and harder to do so.
It certainly didn’t help that the siege right now was perhaps the direst battle they had been in. The strain couldn’t be helped, but it certainly didn’t make things less annoying.
They glanced up at the darkening sky as the sun set. They didn’t have to do as much anymore as the attack slackened off. They weren’t building their siege engines nearly as quickly either – they most likely needed to either procure or make the parts as necessary and go from there. There was a forest nearby they could use but they certainly weren’t sure if that lumber was suitable. Well, if it resulted in lower quality siege machines then all the better.
Maybe they could go torch that forest. ‘Borrow’ some tar from the Romans, bring it over, set it alight to get a good blaze going. That would certainly put a damper on creating new siege equipment. The more they thought about it, the broader their grin got. Standing up, they stretched. Servants don’t need to rest like humans do and frankly, that idea only got them excited. It was about time they livened things up. They prepared to move back to the city-
“ Loki, we have a situation. ”
The Avenger almost started at his Master’s mental communication. “ What is it ?” they snapped back, annoyed at the interruption. Under normal circumstances they would’ve been even more irritated, but there was an undercurrent of… fear in his Master’s message. Something that was extremely unusual given his coolheaded nature. They awaited an answer, but none came. That set off alarm bells in Loki’s head – Ren was prompt to respond, even if he was preoccupied. Perhaps it was nothing and he was simply distracted, but something told them otherwise.
Changing trajectory, they vanished into spirit form with a shower of golden light, quickly traversing the distance back into the city. Passing by ruined buildings and corpses, they quickly approached where Ren was supposed to be resting – and quickly noticed something amiss. There were Roman soldiers around the building, steadily closing in. Their movements weren’t that of men sent to protect, but rather to harm.
The trickster god almost laughed. Ah, now these were the Romans they were expecting: Backstabbing, infighting idiots who couldn’t keep their shit together for more than a couple minutes if their lives depended on it. Frankly, they were surprised it took this long – probably thanks to Nero’s skill with politics and boosting morale – but stupidity had always been an inevitability.
Still, it wouldn’t do for them to target their Master. Ren could take care of himself. It was best to deal with these other idiots first. Popping out of spirit form high in the air, they summoned their blade as they fell, plunging the sword straight into the first soldier’s head as they landed on top of him. Pulling out their blade, they spun around and decapitated another soldier who approached them. “Sorry,” they called out with a sardonic grin. “My Master’s not one for surprise parties! But don’t worry – I’ll play.”
The other soldiers looked at each other, then charged. A gun appeared in Loki’s free hand. Lifting it up, they fired twice and two soldiers fell with holes in their heads. Jumping, they kicked behind them and caved in the skull of yet another soldier who snuck up from behind. Three down, a good number left to go.
Charging forth, Loki dealt with the other soldiers in a similar manner, their blade easily carving through iron and flesh as their gun punched out holes. The last three soldiers, they whacked on the head with either the pommel of his sword or the butt of his gun. They needed information, after all.
Finally, Loki charged into the building – and was transfixed by what they saw: a dead soldier on the floor, with the neck bloody yet partially healed. Two more soldiers standing by, their eyes glowing with a faint purple light. And most importantly, their Master sitting on the ground against a carved chair, looking exhausted and out of it.
They scanned each detail, trying to glean what happened. Their eyes rested on the dead boy. “Did you kill him?” they asked.
Ren glanced up blinking before shaking his head. “N-no, I didn’t,” he replied, his voice faint. “He, ah, brought me dinner. It was poisoned. I don’t think he knew it was. The other soldiers killed him. Tried to save him but I was… he was…” He let out a shaky breath without finishing the sentence.
Loki frowned. Of course his Master would be shaken up by the whole affair. And of course he’d try to heal the man. But it seemed like he was too late. In the meantime, they blurred for a second, changing from their black and blue combat uniform to their regular suit-like clothes. Reaching into their breast pocket, they tossed down a handkerchief onto Ren’s lap, to the Phantom Thief’s surprise. “Wipe off your hands,” they curtly stated.
As Ren hesitatingly began wiping the blood off, the trickster god meanwhile leaned down and stared at the dead soldier. Still in the prime of his life, albeit a bit older. Healthy and hale. But whatever further signs they could’ve seen had bled out with the man’s lifeblood. Now all that was left was a corpse, his glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling. Reaching over, they gently closed the man’s eyes. Frankly, they couldn’t care less but if it assuaged their Master and got things back on track, then they would do it.
They sat down in the other chair. For the moment, the only sound was that of Ren wiping the blood off his hands. Glancing over, they nodded over to the soldiers standing nearby. “What’d you do to these ones?” they asked casually.
Ren blinked before following Loki’s gaze. “Oh, them? I used Dionysus to brainwash them,” he explained. “It’s not something I like to do, but we do need information. Better than knocking them out or using something else like making them forget.”
Loki blinked in surprise, then nodded approvingly. “Smart,” they commended. They had already been pondering how to interrogate the soldiers properly – and as trained soldiers, they most likely would have to be rather rough on them – but with this, they didn’t have to waste any time or effort and possibly still be given lies or false leads. What a wonderful ability. “We should ask them for information then,” they stated. “Before whoever’s behind this knows their plan has gone awry.”
Sighing, the Phantom Thief nodded. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed as he stood up, keeping his gaze away from his corpse. He knew that it wasn’t Loki’s impatience that they’re pushing things along, but more they knew that it was better to move onward and gain momentum than wallow in any hopelessness or despair. They were understandable emotions, but it would not serve them. Not when there’s much that needed to be done.
He only regretted not learning – or rather, remembering - this lesson sooner.
Ren turned to the two soldiers, their half-lidded eyes still glowing. Against shadows, the effects of the brainwashing already lasted a considerable amount of time. Against regular humans however, it would last even longer. It was a comfort that it was easy to remove or overwrite – he hated this ability. “Why were you sent to attack us?” Ren asked.
“We had our orders,” one of the soldiers rasped out. Meanwhile, Loki casually stepped aside and leaned against the doorframe leading outside. If there were to be any more assassins, they would have to deal with the Avenger first.
“Under whose orders?” Ren asked.
“Centurion Cato,” the soldier responded.
Ren frowned. Another centurion ordering his assassination… It'd be great if that was the end of it, but considering he was high in Nero’s favor, Cato would have to be an absolute idiot to try something like that without repercussions. Of course that couldn’t be ruled out, but the more likely reason was there was someone behind Cato pulling the strings. “Where is centurion Cato posted?” he inquired.
“His quarters are to the southern side, closer to the wall,” the other soldier replied.
“And how will I know which quarters are his?” Ren asked. This back-and-forth method of questioning was mildly annoying, but it did show the amount of mental discipline these soldiers had. They only answered his questions directly and no more. He would have to be thorough if he didn’t want to make some crucial mistake.
“He always hangs up a wreath of oak twigs where he is situated,” the first soldier replied. “As a good luck charm.”
He nodded in consideration. “Were you expected to report back to him after you were finished?” Ren continued. “And with what evidence?”
“We were,” the soldier confirmed. “The evidence we were to bring back is your weapon.”
Ren blinked with surprise and brought out the Chaldean Arms, currently in pistol form. True, it was a unique weapon only to him, and he made sure to always keep it on his person. It would serve as the most subtle yet most outstanding evidence of his death. If he had been any ordinary person, if he hadn’t gone through half the hell he had been through, and if he didn’t have his personas, there was a good chance he would’ve been cut down here with no one the wiser except Chaldea.
“The one you killed,” he added as he finally glanced back down at the corpse. “Was he one of you?”
The soldier slowly shook his head. “A scapegoat,” he rasped.
He could only scowl. So if the poison succeeded, the man would’ve taken the blame for it anyway while the true culprits got away scot-free. It felt like he was back in Tokyo again, and not in a good way. They needed to trace this back to the source. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the information collecting of Futaba nor the analytical mind of Makoto by his side. He would have to do this by himself.
No, not by himself. There were others as well. He couldn’t forget the advice from Igor, Lavenza, and his personas. Not again.
“Loki,” Ren called over, catching the Avenger’s attention. “Find Joan and let her know what’s going on. After that, let the emperor know too. Make sure she’s alone first before telling her anything. We don’t know who to trust within the army at the moment.”
The trickster god nodded. “And what about the others I’ve knocked out or killed?” they asked, stretching casually.
Ren blinked in surprise, then sighed. Of course there were other soldiers. At least Loki dealt with them. “See if you can dispose of the bodies and for the ones knocked out, find a quiet place to keep them,” he ordered. “The less of a ruckus we can manage, the better.”
“And what about you?” Loki asked, glancing over at the two soldiers.
The Phantom Thief looked back at them. “Succubus,” he called out.
The devilish persona appeared with another flash of blue flame. She pointed at one of the soldiers, causing the soldier to immediately collapse in a heap, gently snoring, leaving the other soldier still standing as the persona faded away. “I’m going to follow a lead,” he replied calmly. “With any luck, it’ll give me more clues and evidence to work with.”
Loki blinked, then chuckled. “A Phantom Thief playing a detective?” they asked with a grin. “How deliciously ironic. Very well, I’ll play along. Do stay safe – I wish to see how this little diversion resolves.” With that, Loki turned away and vanished in a shower of golden light, leaving Ren alone. Meanwhile, the Master turned back to the soldier, staring at his glowing, purple eyes.
“Right – here’s what I want you to do…”
----------------------------------------
The evening was quiet. A watchful peace settled over the city of Massilia as everyone rested, recuperated, and resupplied. The Roman soldiers huddled beneath the battlements, quietly chatting or gnawing on some bread as they stood – or more accurately sat – for sentry duty. A soldier occasionally peeked over the battlements to check for activity, but so far there had been none. The URE were content to simply stand at the ready, and no one wished to risk retaliation.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
A Roman soldier marched through the streets of the city. Passing by runners or smaller contingents of soldiers, they barely acknowledged each other as they moved. The only thing peculiar was a small bundle he carried in his arms that no one asked about. Whether it was more supplies or reconnaissance reports, no one knew, nor did they bother to ask. They all had their tasks and duties, and in such a dangerous environment, it was best to complete them as diligently and quickly as possible.
In other words, the situation couldn’t be any more ideal for espionage.
On the rooftops above, Ren followed quietly. His eyes were red as his Third Eye engaged. The brainwashed soldier was highlighted in blue as he walked toward his quarry while other soldiers glowed yellow, making him easy to track. The buildings were densely packed together, allowing him to easily hop from roof to roof without any trouble. Worst case scenario, he could use Cerberus’s agility. So far, it hadn’t proved necessary.
In the meantime, he turned on the communicator and contacted Chaldea. Roman’s exhausted face appeared once more. “Hey Roman,” he murmured with a casual tone he didn’t feel as he kept his eyes on the soldier.
“ Let me guess, it’s not resolved yet,” Roman groaned.
Despite everything, Ren couldn’t help but grin. “No, not yet,” he admitted as he hopped to another rooftop. “There’s probably someone behind this whole thing so I’m currently working towards uncovering it. Does a ‘centurion Cato’ ring any bells?”
Roman blinked in surprise, then turned to another monitor as he typed out the name as dug through the archives of the time period. Frowning, he shook his head. “ Nothing is coming up for a ‘Centurion Cato’ ,” he murmured. “ I’m guessing he was just one of the many officers of the Roman army at this time. ”
“Yeah, didn’t think so,” he grumbled as he walked along the rooftop, easily tracking the soldier still. “I can’t provide a full status report – kinda busy at the moment – but out of curiosity, have you figured out why that poison didn’t work on me?”
The doctor blinked, then frowned. “ Da Vinci is looking into that,” he replied. “ We’re not sure if it’s some quirk of the rayshift system or something else at play. We’ll let you know as soon as we can what we find out.”
“Same to you,” Ren replied before noticing the soldier about to turn a corner away from him. “Gotta run,” he hurriedly stated. “Catch you in a bit.” Roman, used to this at this point, nodded with a sigh before ending their communication. This will be quite a thing to report to everyone once he was finished here. Roman would probably keep Ritsu and Morgana apprised of the situation, though he couldn’t imagine they would be happy about it.
He could only chuckle to himself. They’ll probably stick to him like glue after all this.
In the meantime, he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the grappling hook he received from Da Vinci back in Orleans. He didn’t have an opportunity to really use it ever since he got it, but that was about to change. Aiming carefully, the hook darted out and latched onto a small tower on the opposite side of the street.
Giving it a quick tug to make sure it was secure, he hit the button to start reeling it in and jumped. Using the momentum from the reeling, he easily swung to the other side before disengaging the hook, rewinding itself back into the holder. With long time experience and practice, he landed easily on another rooftop, rolling forward on his shoulder to lessen the impact of the landing.
Ren had to smile as he admired the hook Da Vinci provided. It might not have been field tested but there was no doubt about the quality and efficacy of the device. For a second, he felt like he was back in the Metaverse again. He could even feel the phantom sensation of his coat and mask. Then his mind quickly caught up and he quickly turned to see the soldier a bit further ahead of him. Discarding the thoughts for now, he went back to following, once more hopping from rooftop to rooftop.
As they got closer to the wall, Ren took off the jacket of his Master’s uniform and tied it around his waist, leaving only the black t-shirt as he stuck to the shadows. The white jacket would reflect too much light, and he wasn’t about to risk some sentry looking up and seeing him prowling. Their focus may be primarily on the outside, but them looking down from the wall was far more likely than a soldier looking up from the street. No, it was better not to chance it.
“Master, what are you doing?”
The worried hiss in Ren’s mind startled him. “ Hey Joan ,” he greeted back. “ Loki told you what’s been happening?”
“About you getting poisoned and nearly gutted? Yes,” she growled, sounding none too pleased. “What I want to know now is why you’re skulking around the rooftops of the city like some kind of thief! What the hell are you up to?!”
“ Oh, you can see me?” he asked in mild curiosity. Poking his head out, he saw most of the soldiers weren’t paying attention – and Joan, sitting at the battlements, staring directly at him. “ Huh, so you can,” he murmured. “ I’m following a lead right now. I want to get to the bottom of this. If this whole thing doesn’t get resolved, chances are good we’re gonna lose everything.”
Ren listened as Joan grumbled through their link yet not disagreeing with his argument. “ Anything you need me to do, Master?” she asked.
“ For now, no,” he replied. “ Just pretend you know nothing and go about as you normally do. Also, if you have to grab food, be sure to grab it from a communal source. Don’t trust anyone that brings you anything.” The image of the soldier’s body, his glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling as Ren tried to staunch the bleeding, staining his hands, flashed before his mind before he shook his head to clear the image. Not now. He had to focus.
“That goes without saying,” Joan scoffed. “ Just don’t do anything stupid.”
“ No promises,” Ren replied before cutting the communication off. The soldier was approaching what appeared to be a large, two-storied building. That must be where the officers were currently set up. The building was a large compound, with a large rectangular open courtyard in the middle. From there, he could see soldiers hurrying to and fro, with officers either heading out or coming back. It seemed like an ideal place for an officer’s quarters – and more importantly, it was open enough for him to track the soldier.
The brainwashed soldier silently marched past everyone. Ren had given him specific orders to not act in any fashion that might give him away. He wasn’t sure how much that particular order would hold but so far, no one gave the soldier even a glance as he ascended the stairs within the courtyard to the second level.
Now came a new challenge: How was he to get down without attracting attention? Just in case, he switched to Clotho in his mind. Her ability to make everyone in the vicinity forget would come in handy if he was detected. In the meantime, he shot the grappling hook directly underneath him into the roof and quietly checked the surroundings underneath. Once he made sure it was clear, he swung down, using the roof as a fulcrum to propel himself onto the walkway before disengaging the hook.
Following the soldier, he quietly stayed low and to the shadows. So far, no one looked up or otherwise noticed him. The sun had long since set over the horizon, leaving only long shadows illuminated by torches. It certainly brought to mind the times he prowled through the various Palaces in the past, where hiding was… a thing that existed. As long as he and his friends were ‘hiding’, they would be undetected by shadows, even if by all counts they should’ve been spotted.
That brought back memories of Kamoshida’s Palace as him, Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann were pressed against a wall in full view of a shadow. They didn’t even dare breathe as it approached within inches of them, yet it simply walked past them on its patrol route without even so much as slowing down. They had to duck into a safe room right after to catch their breath and discuss the situation. It was yet another odd aspect of the Metaverse they eventually learned to accept.
The irregular hiding became a recurring theme whenever they recruited a new Thief. Yusuke surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly) had been the calmest about it, accepting it as simply how things worked. Makoto, on the other hand, was partially panicking and partially ready to pummel the shadow to dust if it so much as twitched in their direction. It was amusing, though he had to restrain her from jumping the gun.
Going down a hallway, it wasn’t long before they reached a door. The brainwashed soldier raised a fist and knocked. Ren waited breathlessly, checking behind him to make sure there weren’t any other soldiers or officers sneaking up on them. They waited for a moment for an answer. And…
Nothing.
The soldier pounded on the door again. They waited. And again, there was no response. “Open the door,” Ren whispered. The soldier complied. The Phantom Thief peered inside as it opened… and found it empty. He frowned. It seemed the centurion was out at the moment. “If anyone tries to come in, distract them loudly,” Ren ordered the brainwashed soldier. “Otherwise, hang around outside.” With that, he slipped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
He quickly looked around the room, his Third Eye still activated. A small wreath of oak twigs hanging on the wall glowed blue. Given what the soldier had told him, this was indeed Cato’s room. The bedroom was austere – a rack and stand for holding weapons and armor, a desk piled with stationery, a surprisingly neat bed. There was a window that opened into an alleyway. Good, at least he had a method of escape.
Looking back around the room, he turned his attention to the table filled with stationery. A few of the papers began glowing blue in his vision. Narrowing his eyes, he walked over and plucked out the pieces of paper. As he deactivated his Third Eye, the papers stopped glowing as his surroundings brightened back up, allowing him to read them properly. As expected, they were missives, both to be sent out and to be received. There were ones from and to Waver: Information and questions, exchanged back and forth. Interesting. It was clear Cato was at least one of the traitors.
Then he glanced back at the other missives: Orders for his assassination, as suggested by Waver in another letter. As he quickly scanned it, his eyes fell to the signature on the bottom – and widened. So that was who ordered everything here. He needed to get this to Nero-
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Before Ren could react, the door burst open and a Roman officer stood there, the brainwashed soldier right behind him. “You-!” he snarled.
“Clotho!” Ren barked.
The persona appeared and with a wave of her spindle, both Cato and the soldier blinked as their memories were impacted. Before they could properly get their bearings, Clotho vanished as Ren switched to another persona. “Succubus!” Once more, the demonic persona burst into being. Pointing her finger, both men collapsed in a heap, snoring. Later, the two would be found by fellow officers and soldiers and lectured for drinking on the job as well as dereliction of duty.
All while a cool breeze gently blew from the open window in the centurion’s room.
----------------------------------------
Joan stomped through the streets of Massilia. Any and every soldier that she came across took one look at her thunderous expression and immediately knew to move away. Absolutely no one wanted to deal with the Lancer when she was pissed off, the soldiers most especially who had already bore witness to her inhuman strength and stamina. As grateful as they were for her help, they knew not to provoke her.
The entire day had been a trainwreck, to put it mildly. There was the beginning of the siege where she couldn’t do anything but be a glorified relief or runner for the Roman army – directly engaging them hadn’t been an option, especially with Lu Bu pinned down – then there was the sheer amount of restocking and recovering that needed to be done once the attack slackened. And now, as a crap cherry on a shit sundae, the Roman army tried to assassinate her Master.
She scowled as she mentally corrected herself. No, not the Roman army. Certain officers and soldiers who were headed by someone . As much as she wished to just lash out, she needed to get the facts straight. She already had done plenty of wildly flailing about in Orleans, and she wasn’t keen on repeating that mistake.
And now, once more, her Master was being reckless. Seeing him hop from rooftop to rooftop was one thing, but now there was his new plan, which left her growling in frustration. Honestly, she should be used to this by now but he always found new ways to top himself. All she could really do was follow along and made sure he didn’t get himself into too much trouble. Was he this reckless because he didn’t trust them to deal with the repercussions or because he did trust them to have his back?
At this point, she wasn’t sure which irritated her more.
Reaching the governor’s office, the two soldiers standing guard at the door saluted her as she stomped past them. Yet even in her frustration, she was aware of her surroundings: both soldiers looked concerned and not because of her anger. She wasn’t surprised – most likely they had seen quite a few officers march past them and could see the writing on the wall.
Marching up to the governor’s living quarters, she took a deep breath, then opened it – and had to hold back the sudden surge of rage and panic that arose within.
The emperor was sitting on a chair, her face grim as she considered the person in front of her. Lining all sides of the pristine room were Roman officers of all ranks, surreptitiously murmuring to each other. All of them bore different expressions – some of shock and concern, some of smug assurance, some of fear, some of outrage. The atmosphere of the room was tense, threatening to erupt at any second at a word from Nero.
At the center of it all was Ren, forced into a kneeling position, his hands tied around his back, with an officer right behind him holding a gladius near his neck.
“ There has to be a better plan than this, ” Joan could only deadpan as she stared at the entire scenario while restraining herself as much as she could.
Her Master’s sheepish chuckle echoed in her mind. “ There probably is,” he admitted. “ But it’s the best one I could come up with under the short timeframe. Don’t worry, this should work out. And even if it doesn’t, I have you here, right?”
Joan had to breathe through her nose to settle herself. “ You are incredibly annoying, Ren Amamiya,” she growled. Another sheepish chuckle was her only answer.
“Do not interfere with the tribunal until after the emperor has rendered her judgement,” one of the officers barked at Joan. “Lest you wish for the centurion’s blood to be spilled by your own actions!”
The Lancer had to force herself not to roll her eyes. Frankly, they all underestimated her Master – she doubted he actually needed help here. But regardless, she stayed her hand and stepped aside as she heard footsteps behind her. Legate Asisculus walked in, blinking in surprise at the sight. “What has happened, Imperator?” he demanded with a scowl.
Nero glanced up at the legate and frowned. “It appears centurion Amamiya had been engaging in subversive activities with our enemies,” she explained, drumming her fingers on a stack of documents sitting beside her on a small table. “We are holding a tribunal to decide his fate.”
The legate blinked in surprise, then frowned. “I must say I haven’t expected this,” he commented as he moved to stand beside Nero. “Has there been any particular evidence or admission of guilt?”
“That is a good question,” Nero agreed. “Amamiya?”
Ren said nothing, listening as the door behind him closed and was barred. Then he smirked. “Don’t think it’s exactly proper to call self-defense ‘subversive activities’,” he replied easily. “I’m just a centurion and a Thief – I think subversive activities are more an officer’s thing, wouldn’t you agree?”
The emperor nodded sagely. “A compelling argument,” she replied. She snapped her fingers – and suddenly, two officers standing nearby stepped forward, drew their blades, and placed them on Asisculus’s neck and behind his back. Ren meanwhile stood up as the sword on him was withdrawn, the loose ropes dropping from his wrists.
Immediately, the room burst into chaos as everyone began shouting, drawing their weapons and hurling accusations at once another. Above it all, Ren called out, “Cerberus!” The white lion burst into being with a mighty roar. Everyone silenced themselves in fear as the guardian of the Underworld stared balefully down at them all, daring them to challenge his authority.
“Wh-what’s the meaning of this, Imperator?!” Asisculus spluttered as he was forced to kneel in front of Nero as Ren took his spot beside the emperor.
“I believe that is my line of inquiry, legate,” Nero replied coldly. She took the bundle of papers on the table and tossed it down in front of him – reports and communications with Waver Velvet, as well as signed and sealed orders for Ren’s assassination as well as plans coordinating with fellow officers to have the emperor capitulate. The more the legate read, the more his face paled until he resembled little more than a ghost.
“Now, let us begin the tribunal."