"Please spare my uncle... at least not before my eyes."
The girl's soft voice was like a whisper in a dream, scattered amidst the gauzy moonlight.
A tender warmth pressed against his back—as if the emperor, no less radiant than Venus herself, had leaned into him.
But Sakatsuki did not turn around.
He wasn't angry that Nero had shielded Caligula's escape. Anyone would be stunned to see their uncle, a former emperor of Rome, being hunted down like this, wouldn't they?
He didn't know how Nero had escaped the tent, but the fact that she hadn't questioned him in shock, nor recklessly ordered the soldiers to stop their assault—only intervening at the last moment to halt Sakatsuki's arrow—was, for someone of her temperament, remarkably restrained.
Sakatsuki had never been worried about the enemy.
"Now do you understand why I didn't want you to come out?" Sighing, the white-haired youth lowered his bow. "Do you need comforting, Your Majesty?"
"Umu."
Nero's ahoge drooped. Had Sakatsuki turned around then, he would have seen her emerald eyes dimmer than the distant starlight.
No—perhaps it was precisely because he didn't turn that she could indulge her emotions so freely.
"...I'm sorry."
"Your first reaction is to apologize?" Sakatsuki chuckled wryly. "You have nothing to feel guilty for, Your Majesty. If anything, it was my miscalculation not to let you know the truth sooner."
"No. No matter what, I still stopped you from killing... an enemy." Nero's voice was muffled against his back, resonating faintly with his chest. "I know that even if my uncle were resurrected, Rome can only have one emperor. Many may love this land, but there can only ever be one Augustus."
"But when I remember how he used to hold me as a child, that loving smile of his... I couldn't help it. I just couldn't..."
A beloved relative, returned from the dead—what could be more joyous?
And yet, her uncle, dead for nearly twenty years, had reunited with his niece not as family, but as a rebel—a butcher who had slaughtered those Nero had sworn to protect.
For Nero, who had assumed the rebel "emperors" were mere imposters, how crushing must this revelation have been?
"This is only human, Your Majesty. There's no need for guilt." Rarely so gentle, the youth turned to console her. "If it were me, I'd have done the same. But more importantly—aren't you curious? Why has your uncle returned from the dead? And how has he gained such extraordinary power?"
Hearing Sakatsuki broach the subject, Nero hesitated before cautiously asking:
"You... are the same as him, aren't you?"
Even if she had only witnessed the battle's end, Nero could tell that Sakatsuki and her resurrected uncle operated on a level far beyond even the most elite soldiers.
This was no longer the realm of the superhuman—it was the domain of Heroes from the Age of Gods.
Not to mention how abruptly both had appeared: one descending like a prince on a white steed, the other clawing his way back from death itself. By all accounts, both defied the bounds of reality.
Beneath the morning star, the youth's crimson cloak fluttered, the faint light outlining his tall, straight-backed figure.
Nero gazed at Sakatsuki's calm, composed features and finally voiced the question that had brought her here:
"You—where do you come from? And what manner of existence are you?"
And the youth, smiling, gave his answer:
"My true nature is that of a Servant—a traveler from beyond time, summoned here by Your Majesty's wish, your will."
There was no need for concealment. Once Chaldea's personnel arrived, his identity would inevitably come to light.
More importantly, he had no desire to deceive Nero now.
"Then let us renew our original oath, my Master."
Planting his sword like the solemnest terracotta warrior, the white-haired youth proclaimed under the dawn's light as if delivering divine revelation:
"Servant · Avenger, answering your summons, I have come."
"My fate is yours to command. My sword is yours to wield."
As the wide-eyed Nero covered her lips with her hands, the youth pressed a hand to his chest and bowed his head—hiding the secretive smile that played on his lips.
There was one line he left unspoken:
'Try to tame me, oh emperor who deems herself the supreme masterpiece.'
Otherwise, the flames of vengeance might just scorch you.
And behind Nero, her shadow swayed smugly, like a criminal lingering at the scene of a perfect crime.
Even Sakatsuki, distracted by Nero, failed to notice—
In the instant Caligula was engulfed by the crimson light of a Command Spell's teleportation, a lurking "worm" had morphed into a shadow and burrowed into the Berserker's fractured Spirit Origin.
"GGRRAAAAHHH—!!"
For a fleeting moment, the Berserker's roar was laced with terror. But his maddened cries remained incomprehensible, their nuance lost to all.
Just what kind of variable would this dispatched messenger bring?
The Beast that had detached from Sakatsuki and now dwelled within Nero's shadow snickered maliciously, eagerly awaiting its counterpart's reply.
***
The next morning—no, it was still the same day, really.
The army marched out.
The repaired camp would now serve as a supply depot for Rome's forces, while Sakatsuki led his reorganized troops—barely restored to four thousand men—back to headquarters, along with a substantial reserve of blood-qi.
As for his Master, Nero, she had excused herself early, citing a headache.
...Though from the way her face had suddenly paled as if realizing impending doom, Sakatsuki suspected the emperor had remembered her looming deadline and rushed back to tackle the mountain of paperwork before the Senate came for her head.
And he, too, had to return.
"Deputy."
"Here."
"I will be departing. The legion is entrusted to you for the coming days. Dispatch scouts—not just to sweep the enemy remnants around Pisa, but across the Mediterranean, into their heartlands."
"You—you mean—!"
"Indeed. There's no reason to endure blows without retaliation." Astride his tall steed, Sakatsuki gazed at the clear horizon.
Yet his eyes reflected endless war.
"The world is vast, and I intend to claim my share."
That legendary general had entrusted Sakatsuki with his Spirit Origin for a reason.
Before that "reason" arrived, Sakatsuki would establish himself as an undisputed power in this world.
With these five thousand light cavalry, now unconditionally loyal to him alone—
It would suffice.
"Little Ming."
[Acknowledged. Initiating transfer.]
[Transfer in progress...]
[Successfully returned to original worldline. Re-enter the Singularity within seven days!]
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹