The Roman Empire had won. All that were left of the soldiers were just scattered packs, unable to even organize and could only march straight ahead. The officers had either all died or ran off, leaving them easy pickings. It was a simple matter for even the formerly vastly outnumbered Roman soldiers to simply move in and clean up. Thus, the enemy forces were eradicated with minimal casualties.
After that came stripping them for supplies. They had great amounts of weaponry, shields, and armor. Even the ruined gear could be melted down and reused. They only had scant amounts of food and medicine, which was to be expected. These things didn’t seem to need sustenance and healing them wasn’t a large concern.
And as for the one who made sure this victory didn’t get blindsided by Leonidas…
Ren sat on the cot in his tent. His head had been bandaged up to prevent more blood from getting into his eyes and help the thankfully shallow wound heal. He was shirtless, with poultices applied by the Roman medics on his wounds. They still stung but they weren’t what was bothering him. What hurt more than anything were his overworked circuits, like a throbbing in his very bones, and his strained muscles from running everywhere like a madman.
Standing in front of him with crossed arms was Ritsuka Fujimaru, her normally sunny expression stormy. Joan was standing nearby, looking more irritated than she usually was. Mash was also there, looking like a cross between exasperated and disappointed. The communicator was active, showing Roman who was frowning in consternation and, of course, Morgana, whose large eyes looked about ready to pop out of his skull.
The Phantom Thief rubbed the back of his neck. “Would it make it better if I told you guys I had a plan?” he offered with a rueful grin.
Ritsu scowled. “And what plan, oh dear hero of mine,” she growled. “Involved going up against over two hundred soldiers AND a Servant by yourself!?”
“ And you’re not even in the Metaverse, Joker! ” Morgana added. “ You were doing it as a regular person! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! You could’ve gotten seriously hurt or-or died from exhaustion from using all the personas! Couldn’t you have just waited?!?”
Ren chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I mean,” he stammered as he tried to craft his excuses. “I knew Leonidas wasn’t just gonna push right past me. If it was an entire force, he’d just do his usual thing. I thought by just me being there, he’d stop long enough for me to talk to him. It would buy us a bit more time so you guys could finish up-“
“If that’s all you did then we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place,” Joan growled, glaring down at Ren. The intensity of her glare actually made Ren shrink back a bit. He knew she still hadn’t forgiven him for all he had done earlier, which honestly surprised him that she was still concerned for his welfare. “Instead, you charged in like some sort of bull and fought a full battalion of soldiers – and nearly killed yourself from the effort of doing so. It was insanely reckless of you, especially when you’re supposed to be the lynchpin of all our forces here.”
The Phantom Thief gulped. “I mean, that’s probably a small exaggeration,” he meekly defended himself. “I wasn’t nearly killed. I barely even got hurt. Just really tired and-“
“ No, you were in near-critical condition, Ren, ” Roman responded flatly. “ I’ve been monitoring your readings the whole time you were fighting. If you bothered turning your communicator on I’d be screaming at you to get out of there the whole time but no. You just kept fighting.”
“Speaking of which,” Ritsu added, turning a gentler gaze to the doctor. “No luck on finding a leyline for summoning or anything?”
The doctor sighed. “ No ,” he admitted. “ Any decent leylines are a good distance away from you guys. I don’t think we can hack the power supplies to send in another Servant either, even ones who wouldn’t take up a lot of energy like Marie. Sorry about that, Ritsu. ”
Ritsu just shrugged. “Eh, it’s about what I expected, or you or Da Vinci would’ve already done it anyway,” she easily accepted. “Thanks anyway, for trying though.” Then she turned back to glaring at Ren, who winced at the renewed attention. “And you couldn’t have waited just five minutes for Roman to check on something like this?” she snapped. “Or at least one of the Servants to free up?”
Ren sighed in exasperation. “I didn’t know if we could wait that long,” he shot back. While he’ll fully agree he had been reckless, he wasn’t about to take all of this lying down. “They were moving quickly, and with Leonidas at the head, they could’ve been on us at any time. If they DID reach us or even had gotten close to us, it would’ve been a problem on our side. I moved in to make sure they didn’t get any closer. Yeah, it became a fight in the end, but it was kind of inevitable.”
The redhead spluttered as she tried to come up with a counterargument before finally letting off a groan of sheer frustration, grabbing her hair. Mash sighed as she walked up, kneeling to inspect Ren’s body. “How are you feeling, Ren-senpai?” she asked gently as she checked on his wound dressings.
He blinked at the shielder’s question, then chuckled quietly. “They don’t hurt all that much, to be honest,” he replied. “It’s more just the strain overall from using my circuits and muscles so much. I’ll definitely be out of commission for a bit so I won’t be running off anytime soon.”
Mash nodded, relieved. “That’s good to hear,” she murmured. She looked up into Ren’s eyes. “Why did you not want me with you, senpai?” she asked, almost plaintively. “It is my duty to protect you, yet you told me to stay behind. Did you believe I was a burden to you?”
The Phantom Thief blinked in surprise before furiously shaking his head. “No, definitely not,” he adamantly responded. “I have my personas to fight with, but Ritsu doesn’t have them. And honestly, in a pitched battle like what it just was, she needed the protection far more.” He reached over to gently grasp Mash’s shoulder. “I trust, and still do,” he murmured, smiling in reassurance.
The shielder blinked in surprise, then she reached up to gently grab Ren’s hand. “Then… I have a request, Ren-senpai,” she murmured. She looked back up at him, her eyes steely in determination. “When you fight Leonidas, please allow me to stand by you!”
Ren’s mouth dropped slightly in surprise. Honestly, he had been about to ask Joan or perhaps borrow Lu Bu for the fight, given how skilled and powerful the Spartan king was. However, seeing the blazing determination in Mash’s eyes, his protests died within his throat. He had seen that determination before in each and every one of his friends as they awakened their personas, and as they stood by him when they faced down Shido, Yaldabaoth, or Maruki.
It wasn’t in his plans, but he couldn’t say no to her. Not with that level of determination. “Heh, alright,” he agreed. “It’ll just be like that time with Caster Cu. Wow, that feels like forever ago, doesn’t it?”
The lilac-haired girl blinked and thought about it. “It was approximately a month or so ago,” she supplied. “Much has happened since then, with the Orleans singularity and all the different Servants. I think… I think I’ve grown stronger from it all, senpai. But I’m not sure.”
The Phantom Thief smirked. “Well, then, it’ll be the perfect test for us, won’t it?” he pointed out. “I’ll be counting on you, Mash.” The shielder smiled brightly and nodded once more.
Then he suddenly remembered and turned back to the others. “Er, s-sorry about that,” he apologized sheepishly. “But uh… all’s well that ends well, I guess?”
Ritsu massaged the bridge of her nose. “I swear if you weren’t in such a crappy state I’d suplex you right now,” she growled.
Ren blinked. “You’d what now?” he asked incredulously.
The girl shot an irritated look at Ren. “You heard me,” she replied flatly. “I’ll let the emperor know that you’re gonna be fine after some rest.” She marched forward and pointed, her finger almost touching the very tip of his nose. “And you ARE going to rest,” she added. “Or I’ll suplex you anyway. Capiche?”
He nodded fervently. “Capiche,” he agreed.
With a nod of satisfaction, Ritsu stomped out of the tent. Roman just sighed. “ What she said ,” he added tiredly. “ And when you come back, we really need to talk to you about not scaring everyone to death. ”
“ We all know that’s not gonna do anything, doctor,” Morgana commented despondently.
Ren raised his free hand up in surrender. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to not do anything stupid or reckless,” he swore. “And if I have to, I’ll run it by you guys first before dashing off. Will that work?”
“ Which means if you think it’s necessary, you’ll do it anyway no matter what we say, right? ” Morgana asked accusingly.
“Um…“
“ Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Roman interjected, exhausted. “ Ren, you’re forbidden from leaving the tent unless it’s an emergency. I’ll leave it to Mash to decide if it counts as an emergency. Get some rest however you can.”
“Roger that,” Ren agreed. Honestly, the restriction wasn’t necessary – he was too tired and sore to set foot outside anyway. As for Leonidas, he had refused to come in as it was technically still an enemy encampment, so Nero took it upon herself to erect a tent outside so they might dine and converse properly, ruler to ruler. No doubt she was also taking the time to glean what information she could about the United Roman Empire. Though judging by her expression when she had shown up, Ren knew he was going to get an earful from her as well.
Speaking of which, he noticed Joan was still standing there. “Er, I’m guessing you got more you wanna shout at me?” he asked ruefully. Mash blinked in surprise and moved slightly closer to Ren, keeping in front of him a bit just in case as she looked over at the Lancer curiously.
Joan glared at him, frowning. “I don’t understand you,” she growled. “First you decide to screw with my head when killing me would be easier, then you take on an entire battalion and a Servant by yourself, and God only knows what else you’ve done at this point. If I didn’t know better, I swear you’re trying to find the stupidest ways to commit suicide.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Even if you explained a thousand times over, I’m not sure I could understand,” she said. “For now, like everyone said, you’re the key to making sure we actually succeed on this entire mission. Just don’t do anything else for now – or at least don’t screw with anyone else. Just me is already more than enough here.” With that, she stalked off, leaving just Ren and Mash in the tent.
The shielder looked back at Ren with wide eyes. “What was that about, senpai?” she asked with trepidation.
Ren ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Joan’s mad at me for the whole change of heart deal,” he explained. “Can’t say I blame her – even with my friends we were wondering if it’s the right thing to do. What it does though is that it gets rid of distortions in one’s cognitions – it’s more of a fresh start than anything. What we did in her Palace got rid of… whatever Gilles de Rais did and made her her own person.”
He smiled remorsefully. “I didn’t do a great job of explaining myself, though,” he admitted. “And now she thinks I screwed with her head which, technically, isn’t wrong. I doubt she’d listen to me right now, so I decided to let her cool off a bit before I try again.”
Mash blinked in surprise. “Would you like me to speak with her, senpai?” she asked eagerly. “I can try to convince her to give you a second chance to explain. She’ll definitely understand!”
The Phantom Thief laughed. “I think everyone’s annoyed by the stunt I just pulled right now,” he pointed out. “Probably better to wait for everyone else to calm down first. Thanks though, Mash.” Then he had an idea. “Since I’m stuck here, did you want to see more pictures of my home?”
The girl blinked in surprise, then nodded eagerly. “Yes, please, senpai!” she said. She quickly sat beside Ren on the cot and the both of them browsed pictures of Ren’s time in Tokyo.
The moon shone impassively over the resting Roman army.
----------
Loki was many things – a trickster god, evil, mischievous, a troublemaker, a problem-solver. They delighted in causing chaos and confusion, either to move things forward or to entertain themselves. Since the day he had broken out of his shackles and brought about the end of a world, he had seized hold of his destiny and life, intent to live it however the hell he wanted, consequences be damned and attachments even more so.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
And yet, being confused themselves? That was a new one entirely.
The Avenger sat on a ledge above the pass, glowering at the tent set up some distance away from the main encampment. The rain had long since stopped at least, though the rock was still soaked. Within were Nero and her officers talking and feasting (or whatever their food supplies allowed anyway) with Leonidas. They had considered interfering with the meeting with their usual aplomb and cause some mayhem, but they found themselves reluctant to.
Even more so when they saw Leonidas. This was the king who Ren had faced down and by all rights should have killed him… yet he didn’t. Instead, he let the Phantom Thief be, agreed to an honorable match, and was now happily supplying them with information about their enemy.
They were worried when Ren had raced off by himself to confront the king and his army. They were relieved when he was safe and sound. They were grateful that Leonidas was honorable enough to spare Ren so that he might recover. But why? Why were they this concerned?
Loki’s hands clenched. They knew the types – reckless idiots weren’t exactly new to them. After all, Thor had been much the same way and they gleefully laughed whenever he was in over his head or did something stupid. Their Master had been more of a heroic sort than the punch-drunk idiot that hammer-head was, but what he did was still well within his expectations. So why was he surprised? Why had he been so worried? This made no sense.
“I trust you aren’t about to cause any trouble, Avenger?”
Loki didn’t even bother glancing behind them as they waved off the accusation. “Am I not allowed to sit around in peace without being accused of some malicious plot or plan?” they grumbled.
Tamamo raised an eyebrow, an ear twitching in annoyance. “And can you fault me for my caution?” she asked rhetorically. “You are a trickster god, are you not? You may fight alongside us, but you yourself have stated that you do so because it is entertaining to you – no more and certainly no less.”
“Point,” Loki acquiesced easily. They weren’t in the mood to argue or joke about the matter. If anything, their mood was quite sour for some unknown reason. Besides, she wasn’t exactly wrong either. “Now are we done here, Caster?”
The miko frowned at the dismissal, but her normally fiery temper was mitigated by curiosity. “You showed a surprising degree of concern for our Master during his excursion,” she pointed out. “Which is surprising – I had thought you’d have found the situation amusing and would want to witness it for yourself.”
Loki sighed in frustration. “Short-term entertainment may be amusing and all,” they grumbled. “But not at the risk of long-term amusement! Frankly, our Masters have so much potential for entertainment overall. It’d be like an epic cut short because some hack of a writer decided to kill off the protagonist early for the shock value! Of course I would be frustrated!”
Another twitch of her ears as the Caster’s frown deepened slightly. “Is that all?” she probed.
The Avenger final turned, their auburn eyes narrowing at her. “What the hell do you mean by that?” they growled.
“If it was merely entertainment you sought, there are myriad of other ways to seek it,” Tamamo pointed out. “Even if our Master suffered a most untimely end, I do not believe one of your caliber would be that overly concerned about him. At least, not to such a degree.” She tilted her head slightly as she observed the Avenger stiffen a bit at her analysis. “Or am I perhaps mistaken?”
The trickster god scowled. “Oh, look who’s so omniscient that she thinks she can just dissect me like a frog on a table,” they mockingly snarled. “My business is my goddamn own and not for nosy foxes like you. If you have all this time to take me apart like this, why don’t you do something productive like set up some ways to channel more prana into Ren and help him with recovery, or do some scouting? Otherwise, you can just piss off.”
With that, Loki stood up and stalked off, vanishing right before they reached the end of the ledge once more, leaving a nonplussed Tamamo. She had certainly never seen Loki lose their temper to such a degree before. And something about their diction felt… off to her. She wasn’t precisely sure what, though. In the meantime, she took up watch over the camp and the little tent right outside to make sure nothing was happening. With a wave of her hand, several talismans shot out and took their places as sentries.
Her tail swished as she considered the day’s events. Their Master had charged in like a madman against enemy forces that by all accounts he should’ve had no chance against, as prodigious as his powers were. While she had a few choice words for him, the others had greater precedence. She could wait until her own anger simmered down a bit. And besides, though reckless, it was still a noble thing he did overall, and it secured them a very unlikely victory.
Taking the Avenger’s suggestion, she sent one more talisman to Ren’s tent to help draw more mana to the area and allow him to recover faster. A Master who can use magecraft that summons divine beings, monsters, and Servants. A demi-Servant housing an unknown heroic spirit. A trickster god pseudo-Servant that nobody could make heads or tails of. And far more besides. It was more certainly a rather motley crew she was working with. All she could do was help see things through.
Then she sneezed, irritated at the cold wetness of her poor, normally luxuriously furry tail. A cup of hot tea certainly wouldn’t go amiss though.
----------
Ren had expected a trip to the Velvet Room trip that night when he went to bed. He knew quite well that Olga and Lavenza would have words for his recklessness today. The former would also have been expecting a report about the personas she tuned so she could take notes and improve them as necessary. She definitely was the studious type. She and Makoto would’ve probably ended up best friends.
So it was a surprise when instead, he was back in the Thieves’ Den. There hadn’t been any new changes to the place – so far as he could see, the only change had been the walls changing to Chaldea’s design. Otherwise, the place was the same as always, with gentle music playing and the serene, soothing atmosphere. That being said, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the exhibits glitching a bit.
Curious, he walked around to the steps and approached the exhibit. It was a proud display of Morgana as a bus. He regularly changed the exhibits here as he wished and enjoyed listening to his cognitions chat about them overall. However, this was certainly new. As he stepped closer, the exhibit blurred and shifted, and it became now a still of Mash mid-charge, wielding her enormous shield with a war cry on her lips.
He blinked. That was surprising. He honestly thought he’d see her in the Den as a cognition first rather than an exhibit, but he was happy to see her here nevertheless. With as much eagerness and respect she showed, he hoped he was doing right by her.
‘ She treadeth on her path, contractor. As it should be. ’
Ren glanced over to see a towering figure floating beside him. Grey-skinned with three pairs of demonic wings, loosely wrapped in a white fabric. His blond hair was framed by two jutting from his forehead as his powerful red eyes impassively observed the exhibit. An aura of dark strength emanated from the being, yet it was one Ren was familiar enough with all things considered.
Enough that the Wild Card merely shrugged as he looked back at the exhibit. “I didn’t expect you to take an interest in her, Lucifer,” he commented casually. “I’m guessing there’s something special about her?”
The persona’s stern face was unchanging and unmoving as he spoke. ‘ She hath stood at the beginning of a new path, ’ he explained. ‘And she walketh forward. She is not bound by anything save what she chooses to be bound to and thus exercises her freedom as she wishes. Her path intrigues me, and thou shall be her shepherd.’
Ren frowned slightly. “I gathered you’re a big proponent of freedom,” he noted. “But I’m not shepherding towards anything. She’s doing what she believes is right, no more or less than that. Honestly, she’s pretty awesome because of it. She’s already come a long way.”
Lucifer turned more towards Ren. Though his face still didn’t move, a hint of amusement crept into his voice. ‘ As I have stated, contractor, ’ he pointed out.
The Phantom Thief sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, yeah,” he replied, waving off the Morning Star’s amusement. “Anyway, while you’re here, you want a cup of coffee?”
The fallen angel was quiet for a moment. ‘ Dost thou still have those red bean buns? ’ he inquired.
Ren chuckled as he already started stepping down towards the LeBlanc exhibit. “Honestly,” he commented. “No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t get over the fact you have that big a sweet tooth. I wonder if that’s Hifumi’s influence.”
‘ The Star may have been an influence, ’ Lucifer admitted as he floated after him. ‘ But if I am the originator of sin, then I see no reason not to indulge in a touch of gluttony in turn. ’
“I’m not sure if Beelzebub would be happy to hear that,” Ren noted with a grin as he stepped behind the counter.
‘ Thou believeth he ever is? ’ Lucifer asked skeptically. Both of them paused for a moment, then broke out laughing.
A few moments later, the both of them had a cup of coffee set out in front of them while the fallen angel happily snacked on a red bean bun. It was honestly a sight to see but Ren had gotten used to it – this was hardly the first time the Morning Star asked for sweets while he was here. He simply sipped at his coffee, enjoying the mellow, earthy tones in turn. “So, seems like you’re not exactly popular with Servants,” Ren commented as he took another sip.
Lucifer popped the bun into his mouth before answering. ‘ It is to be expected, ’ he replied. ‘ To many, I indeed bring nothing but torment and evil, as mistaken as they may be.’
Ren blinked. “Mistaken?” he echoed.
‘ Verily ,’ the Morning Star said. ‘ Many would believeth that order is the way things must be and sacrifice much for it. To disrupt that, to be bound by such constructs is to be proper and safe. There is no other way of living, for to disrupt it would cause great discomfort at minimum, perhaps a disaster at worst. Thou art familiar with this, art thou not?’
The Phantom Thief said nothing as he took another sip of the coffee. Even now, he could still feel the pain of being stomped on the head in the interrogation room as he could barely even think.
With a small nod, the persona continued. ‘ Thus, I simply offer alternative solutions for their problems,’ he said. ‘ Thou might consider them unusual, perhaps even cruel or evil. But they are merely solutions. Whether or not they are chosen lies at the feet of those who choose.’
Ren glanced up at the fallen angel. “Spoken like a true devil,” he commented wryly.
Lucifer chuckled as he finished off another bun. ‘ Thou may thinketh as thou wishes, ’ he replied.
There was a small moment as they both sipped their coffees in silence. ‘ Thou art limiting thy self, ’ Lucifer commented.
That caught Ren’s attention as he blinked and looked up. “Sorry?” he asked in confusion.
The fallen angel didn’t look over at Ren. ‘ Thou art surrounded by beings vastly greater in stature than thine own, ’ he explained. ‘ With their powers, they can reach and grasp for freedoms and choices far beyond most mortal ken. Even if they choose to be bound to their obligations, that is their choice – no more, no less .’
Ren frowned. “What, you mean Servants like Artoria and Marie?” he asked for clarification. “I understand what you’re saying but that’s kinda dangerous overall.”
‘ No amount of power is not without risks, contractor, ’ Lucifer admonished. ‘ But the power to seize hold of the future is the greatest one of all. Two of whom thou should knoweth of – Elizabeth Bathory and the incarnated Servant, Joan .’
That left Ren blinking. “Those two?”
Lucifer nodded. ‘ The power gained from pushing forward from the past is a heavy burden, but a worthy one, ’ he said. ’ The Star learned and knew of this, and through her, I was awakened to you. Yet thou dost not leverage this ability from others. No – thou hath grown weakened. ’
The shocked Phantom Thief watched as the persona drew himself up. ‘ Shed thy bounds, contractor, ’ he rumbled. ‘ Else thou shalt continue to grow weaker – and ruin shall come for thou at last. ’
With that, the persona vanished, darkness fell, and Ren knew no more.
-----------
The day started off far better than before. The sun was peeking through the thinning clouds above, shining into the mountain pass. The entire area was still soaked with rain, the transparent fluid of the false soldiers, and the blood of the few casualties that had suffered from the battle. Nero’s soldiers were currently in the midst of disassembling the camp while trying to organize their supplies and spoils – the former to go with and the vast amount of the latter to be sent back to Mediolanum for processing.
Nero looked over the reports. The force that had been organized to relieve Ren had stayed behind to see if there was anything particular they could gain, but it supplies, gear, or further information – and in all regards, it had proven surprisingly fruitless. They had carried no supplies as it would’ve been a simple trip to take the side pass and ambush them from behind. The gear had been rendered surprisingly useless – either melted into slag or frozen and shattered to pieces. Compared to the main army, there was surprisingly little they could forage. As for information…
Well, dead men couldn’t exactly talk – either from Ren’s skills or Leonidas’s dismissal of them, either figurative or very literal.
However, now there was a far more complicated matter: Their opposition. Leonidas had been very forthcoming with any and all information when they spoke the other night over their paltry feast. The one behind everything was a particular foreign magician named Lev. It didn’t sound like anyone she was familiar with. She would need to speak to the Chaldeans and see if they knew anything about such a figure. It was good to at least have a name to whoever was conducting this farce.
But speaking of farce…
When Leonidas dropped the statement that one of their enemies was the very progenitor of Rome himself – Romulus – she had been inches away from immediately executing him herself for speaking such heresy. However, the Spartan king had been forthright and honest with them and would have had no reason to lie. And given that the Spartan king himself as well as her predecessor Julius Caesar were also here…
Denial and anger had given way to cold, empty realization. She had ordered immediately that every single officer, from legate on down, to not even breathe a word about what had been discussed in the tent that night. However, even with that done, she could already sense the discontentment and unease that rippled through them. She had no doubt they had their own weighty opinions on the matter.
And frankly, how could she blame them? It was one thing to stand up to Leonidas or Julius Caesar, but the holy progenitor of Rome and the Empire itself? Despite standing strong in her office through this storm, even she was having her doubts now. The Chaldeans had emphasized that her Empire was the correct one in proper human history, which she had used to bolster her wavering resolve, but now…
Her head throbbed as she sat down at the table, holding her temples. A literal headache to a figurative one. There would be no doubt this information would leak sooner or later. She had to at the very least figure out some way to rally and bolster her troops so they wouldn’t desert en masse – or worse, rebel against her. The Empire would not survive either if they came to pass – and frankly, neither would she, as divided as she was.
She sighed as she took another bite of cheese before sipping the watered-down wine, hoping to quell her headache even slightly. What could she do? What should she do?
“Imperator.”
Nero glanced up to see a soldier at the front of the tent, saluting. “King Leonidas has taken to the field,” he reported. “The Chaldeans will be there shortly to engage him.”
The emperor nodded. “Thank you,” she acknowledged. “I will be there momentarily.” The soldier saluted once more and left. With a heavy sigh, she stood up, then held her head up high before striding out of the tent. Leonidas, Caesar, and Romulus may stand against her here.
But in the end, she was the emperor.