On the Gallic front between two nations, the clamour of battle rose once more.
Clash, deadlock, retreat… This was a routine Imperial soldiers had long grown accustomed to, yet this time, the tides of war took an unexpected turn.
The enemy's combat prowess had suddenly intensified to an unimaginable degree!
A plague of crimson and gold spread across the land within a hundred-mile radius. The clashing of steel melded into a shrill, deafening chorus, heralding the overture of chaos.
Soldiers of the United Empire let out guttural, fragmented cries, their degraded speech transmuted entirely into fury and brute strength. Their weapons came crashing down with such force that even shield-bearing soldiers were sent flying!
No formations, no coordination—only a horde of starved beasts unleashed from their cages. Their inhuman combat style left the Imperial army disoriented, while their frenzied onslaught shattered morale. The battle had barely begun, yet the Imperial forces were already on the verge of collapse!
Amidst the chaos, a swordsman clad in the garb of a tribune—a man of portly stature—charged ahead, his blade, Yellow Death, erupting with an eerie radiance that spared neither friend nor foe. Soldiers too slow to evade were cleaved apart by its merciless edge, only to be trampled into the mud, reduced to yet more bones littering the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Caesar, his arms armoured in scales, had already begun his charge toward Boudica at the front lines.
"Leave Caesar to me and Spartacus! Fujimaru, I need you and the others to support the soldiers!"
Boudica barked her orders as the hulking gladiator beside her roared with laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! Magnificent! Here, everything exists—hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of enemies enslaved by tyranny's grasp! This is the moment to raise our song of triumph! This is no disadvantage, but an advantage! From this day forth, my battle cries shall herald nothing but victory!"
"Not there—this way! Ugh, Spartacus, you—!" Flustered, Boudica slapped at Spartacus' back like a farmer trying to rein in a raging bull.
But her efforts were as futile as striking stone. Spartacus grinned maniacally, ignoring her protests as he raised his arms high.
"HAHAHA! The Rebel Queen stands with me—proof that this is the day of victory, the hour to crush the strong!"
"Well said, meow~!" Tamamo Cat, sharing the same class as the gladiator, leapt onto Spartacus' shoulders, raising a paw in solidarity.
"Hey, hey! That's enough out of you two!" Elizabeth Báthory stomped her feet, though her anger stemmed not from their antics. "The spotlight belongs to idols alone! Manager, do something about this insolence!"
"Alright, everyone—focus! We're in the middle of a battle!" Fujimaru sighed, forcing a calm expression to pacify the unruly Servants. "Right now, defeating the enemy takes priority, doesn't it?"
Thanks to the Master's S-rank charisma, Elizabeth, Tamamo Cat, and Spartacus finally settled down, joining the fray as frontline fighters alongside the Black Saber, who was already carving through enemy ranks.
Then—a cry rang out in the distance.
An explosion roared, the afterimage of a Noble Phantasm bursting forth as Boudica, clutching her left arm, was sent flying. She crashed into the dirt, rolling aside just as Caesar's blade plunged into the spot where she had fallen!
"Boudica's in trouble!" Fujimaru's eyes snapped to the shifting battlefield. "Lady Stheno, can you assist her?"
"Afraid not, Master. While I can charm the opposite sex, 'monstrosities' are beyond my reach~" Perched regally atop a heavily guarded chair, Stheno offered a graceful smile.
"Then—" Fujimaru followed her gaze and froze.
The Caesar who once declared "Veni, Vidi, Vici" was no more. His scaled armour pulsed with each breath, rippling in patterns that would send trypophobics into panic. His once-portly frame now gleamed with a venomous, demonic sheen, devoid of any trace of humanity.
This was no longer Caesar.
Only a monster wearing human skin.
"In that case—!" Shaking off the shock, Fujimaru shouted across the battlefield, "Saber, it's up to you!"
"Understood. Then, offer me your mana—!"
The black-armored knight's whisper cut through the din of battle. Beneath her helm, golden eyes flashed coldly.
Her draconic heart ignited.
A torrent of violet-black energy surged through her veins like raging rivers. The knight crouched low—a bullet loaded into the chamber, the hammer striking the primer.
"Mana Burst—!"
A streak of violet-black shot forth, tearing through the enemy ranks like a meteor. With a swing of her blade, Saber's strike carved a perfect arc—
Detonating on impact.
No words could better describe it. The slash birthed a storm of darkness, reducing those caught in its wake to dust.
"GRRROOOOHHH—!" Yellow Death met Crocea Mors as 'Caesar' barely parried the blow. But in the next instant, the pressure of a dragon's wrath bore down. By the time he regained his footing, the black knight was already raising her holy sword, violet-black flames burning in her eyes.
Fujimaru's knees buckled—Saber had unleashed her trump card without hesitation.
"Vortigern, Hammer of the Vile King, reverse the rising sun—"
"Swallow the light, Excalibur Morgan!"
"A true name release?!" Boudica's eyes widened in shock, her pupils reflecting the eruption of violet-black radiance.
Under the inverted holy sword's might, the mad apocalyptic radiance of annihilation illuminated the battlefield. Even darkness was torn asunder, leaving only void in its wake.
Silence.
Every soul on the battlefield stood frozen, awestruck by the devastation.
"Is it… over?" Fujimaru murmured, fighting through the exhaustion of having their life force drained.
Saber said nothing. She merely raised her sword, bracing for combat once more.
From the smoldering fog left in the attack's wake—
A beast emerged.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRR—!"
The human facade shattered. The restraints of a Heroic Spirit tore apart.
Born from arrogance, the monstrous beast let loose a deafening roar. The 'Demon Spears' covering its body fired in all directions, embedding themselves into the earth before radiating outward—seeking to spread the Seven Sins to all living things.
"Wha—What is that?!"
Fujimaru's pupils contracted. Though they didn't recognize the abomination before them, the surging tide of magical energy left no doubt—this thing was catastrophic.
"So… this is your reason?" The Black Saber, too, sensed the overwhelming pressure. Gripping her sword, she whispered,
"Then I shall bear it as well."
And in the next moment—
The devouring darkness bloomed.
***
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