The eerie full moon finally faded, and Lin Qi and Nero released their Noble Phantasms.
As the golden-red barrier dissipated, the battlefield's true state was revealed at last.
Bodies covered the ground—some still twitching mindlessly—while blood soaked the soil, staining it a deep, grotesque red. A thin haze of blood hung in the air, clinging to the battlefield like a curse.
Just looking at it was enough to understand the madness that had taken place moments earlier.
"What... what was that...?"
The soldiers who still retained their sanity stared blankly at the crimson wasteland before them. Their weapons slipped from numb fingers.
Their will to fight had completely shattered.
Nero released her grip on the flag, not even noticing how close she and Lin Qi had been standing a moment ago. Hands on her hips, she looked toward where Caligula had been.
From afar, a cloud of golden particles floated lazily where the sinister moon had vanished. Caligula's body was nowhere to be found.
Nero frowned and sighed.
"He unleashes some ridiculous attack out of nowhere and then disappears? My Roman Empire grows stranger by the day..."
Not being a Heroic Spirit herself, she found the current situation harder and harder to comprehend.
"He's retreated. Unless someone summons him again, your uncle shouldn't be showing up anymore."
Lin Qi glanced at the flag he held and made a casual comment.
"Oh? You are quite informed, my loyal guard!"
Nero's eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
Having someone who could explain all this insanity was exactly what she needed right now.
But Lin Qi seemed lost in thought, staring at the flag with a puzzled expression.
Noticing that, Nero followed his gaze—and saw that the flag had changed.
Her eyes gleamed knowingly.
"Fufufu. No need to look so confused—that is the result of my whimsy!"
"Since you are now my personal guard, and you carry a flag, it is only proper that it bears my emblem!"
"If you go waving a banner that has nothing to do with me on the battlefield, would that not make it seem like my army is divided?"
Her reasoning was... surprisingly sound.
Indeed, in that brief moment earlier, Nero had used Imperial Privilege to casually alter Jeanne d'Arc's banner that Lin Qi had inherited.
Thankfully, the change wasn't excessive—she had simply added a pattern of vivid red roses over the original golden fleurs-de-lis.
Now the two designs intertwined—not clashing, but enhancing the flag's beauty, making it even more striking.
"Well? Doesn't it look far grander now? Keep in mind, my artistic sense is awe-inspiring even to the gods!"
Nero stood proudly, hands planted on her hips.
"I mean... it does look better, I guess..."
Lin Qi resignedly rolled the flag up again.
He had played the game, watched the anime—he knew how eccentric Nero could be. He just didn't expect her to be even more unpredictable in person.
Still, the flag wasn't damaged—in fact it looked nicer now—so he decided not to make an issue out of it.
"By the way—where exactly did you come from? As far as I know, Rome has no talent like you."
Nero tilted her head in curiosity.
"So you do know I'm an unknown outsider. And yet you casually bestowed two official titles on me anyway."
Lin Qi stared at her helplessly.
"What does that matter? I could tell at a glance you were destined to become a loyal retainer of mine!"
Nero slapped him heartily on the shoulder.
"Besides, I've already given you ranks—so by definition, you are now under my banner!"
"...I wish I had your mental resilience, Your Majesty..."
Lin Qi muttered weakly—but didn't deny it.
After all, he was here to help Nero. And not just casually—he was prepared to risk his life to protect her.
"Enough idle chatter! Tell me what you know—that is what truly matters!"
Nero held out a hand to halt the small talk and looked at him with expectation.
Lin Qi didn't hesitate—he knew Nero was a key ally he had to win over. So he briefly organized his thoughts, then revealed his origin and part of the information he possessed.
—The Crimson King—
"I see, I see. So you're here from the future to aid me. Truly unbelievable... and yet enlightening."
Nero nodded repeatedly, the puzzle pieces in her head finally falling into place thanks to Lin Qi's explanation.
Lin Qi blinked. She didn't look nearly as shocked as he expected.
"Your Majesty doesn't seem very surprised?"
"How could I not be surprised? But Rome has long since fallen into chaos—I'm growing harder to shock."
"Right now, within my Roman Empire: to the west is my ancestor Caesar leading Roman forces; I just fought my uncle; to the north is Boudica, blessed with frightening power—and recently there are rumors of a god appearing in the Mediterranean..."
She ticked them off on her fingers one by one.
"Honestly, at this point, even if all the emperors of Rome crawled out of their graves—or even our divine progenitor appeared before me—I wouldn't be surprised! ...He wouldn't actually show up, would he?"
Her confidence faltered noticeably at the last part.
Anyone else was manageable—but the founder of Rome himself? Nero had no idea how she would deal with that.
Lin Qi, fully aware of the actual story, stayed silent.
He couldn't exactly say "Well... you're not wrong."
"Hmph! No use dwelling on unlikely horrors!"
Nero shook her head fiercely, banishing the thought.
A breeze blew across the field, stirring the lingering stench of blood. Many soldiers gagged.
"This is no place for conversation. Come—return with me to the capital of Rome."
Nero's expression hardened.
"Soldiers! Whether you serve under my banner already, or stood as enemies moments ago—hear my decree!"
The soldiers looked up at once, drawn to her commanding voice.
Nero nodded, satisfied.
"You all witnessed the carnage just now. Future battles may be even more brutal. So I grant you this chance—any soldier who wishes to withdraw may leave now!"
The soldiers glanced at one another, stunned.
She was... letting them choose?
Could they really just walk away?
Seeing Nero's sincere and unwavering expression, many of the former enemy soldiers began exchanging hesitant looks.
Then—
"Tch! Just a little bloodshed and you're trembling already? If you can't handle that, go home and cry to your mom!"
The same soldier Nero had promised promotion to earlier barked loudly, scolding everyone at once.
The enemy soldiers were dumbfounded—a little bloodshed?!
But Nero's soldiers were fired up instantly.
"Damn right! Don't forget how His Majesty protected us—run away now and you'll never be worthy of calling yourselves soldiers!"
"Does no one notice that the young guy standing next to His Majesty looks even younger than us—and he hasn't flinched once?"
"I swear, if anyone tries to run, I'll cut him into eighteen pieces myself!"
"For the Emperor—offer your hearts!"
"Offer our hearts!" × many voices
In moments, the army had whipped itself into a frenzy—all without Nero needing to say more than three sentences.
Truly, Nero's troops had... a certain energy.
The enemy soldiers exchanged glances.
Maybe... maybe they should just go along with it?
"Mmm! Very well then—we march for Rome!"
Nero swept her arm forward.
"Uh—do we march too?"
One enemy soldier raised a shaky hand.
"Of course! His Majesty has graciously accepted you into her army—from now on, we're family!"
One of Nero's men slung an arm around the poor guy and smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes—while cracking his knuckles.
"Right? Family."
The soldier wisely nodded.
Lin Qi stood there silently, watching it all unfold.
Somehow... he felt completely out of sync with their rhythm.
"Hey! My guard! Why are you standing there daydreaming? Quickly—keep up!"
Nero called out, waving him over.
Lin Qi could only smile helplessly.
But... this wasn't so bad.
Drawing a few runes, he summoned flames across the field, burning the corpses and erasing the madness-stained battlefield behind them.
Then he hurried to rejoin the marching army.
"A fine fire! I was just wondering what to do with all these bodies—not enough hands to bury them, and leaving them would be improper..."
"Could it be that your thoughts and mine are perfectly aligned?"
"In truth, I just didn't want some magus coming along and turning corpses into trouble..."
...