After what felt like tumbling across the ground several times, Lin Qi and Nero finally emerged from the blinding white expanse.
Staggering to their feet, their vision revealed a vast emptiness.
The buildings that once densely populated the area ahead had been utterly obliterated, leaving behind only scorched earth that looked as if the very topsoil had been scraped away layer after layer.
"General Spartacus's power is rather terrifying, isn't it!"
As a Servant not particularly renowned for destructive capability, Nero couldn't help but marvel at the scene before her.
Spartacus had likely retained a shred of reason, concentrating the vast majority of his output directly ahead of him.
Thus, Lin Qi and Nero, who were behind him, avoided the brunt of the attack.
It was fortunate he'd had that sliver of sanity left; otherwise, with that level of destructive power, even with a Noble Phantasm's protection, Lin Qi and Nero would have been forced to bid an early farewell to this world.
Before the two could fully recover from the shock of Spartacus's terrifying self-destruction attack, a patch of black "earth" ahead suddenly twitched, putting them both on high alert once more.
Nero and Lin Qi stared intently at the spot where the movement had occurred.
Then, a human-shaped piece of black charcoal wobbled unsteadily as it rose from the ground, which was the same color as itself.
On its chest, a mass of golden light flickered intermittently.
"You've managed to trick me again... To think a mere Heroic Spirit could unleash such destructive force..." Lev lifted his head, a sinister grin on his soot-blackened face.
If not for the Holy Grail, he would have likely been sent back to the Grand Temple of Time on the spot just now.
However, this Holy Grail, forged by Goetia, wasn't omnipotent. Having taken that horrific attack point-blank, even with the Grail's protection, he had basically lost all combat capability.
He had been forcibly brought down to the same level as the currently half-dead Lin Qi and Nero.
"What kind of monster are you?! To still be alive after such a terrifying attack!"
Nero was shocked. Her [Laus Saint Claudius] was merely a battle continuation effect. If she had taken a direct beam attack to the face, she would have turned to ash; there would have been no chance of survival.
"Heh, did you think we are the same as you humans?" Lev sneered.
As a Demon God Pillar, aside from possessing immense magical energy, their robust physical bodies were not to be underestimated either.
After all, larger creatures tended to be more durable.
While other Heroic Spirits might perish instantly from a single piercing wound, they could withstand a dozen or even several dozen attacks of equivalent power!
Er, of course, there was also the possibility that their large size meant they would take the full brunt of AoE damage...
Which was why he had quickly witted in the emergency, reverting to his human form to significantly reduce the potential excessive damage his larger form would have sustained.
How Lev managed to hold on, Lin Qi didn't know.
But Lin Qi did know that if they gave him another chance to summon something, they would be truly finished!
"Finish him off, quickly! Don't give him another chance to pull any tricks!" Having learned his lesson this time, Lin Qi immediately roared.
But with his own stamina nearly depleted, he was powerless to act himself and could only rely on Nero to take action.
Nero also recalled the intelligence Lin Qi had shared before the battle. Knowing the potential consequences, she didn't hesitate in the slightest. Sprinting at full speed, she raised Aestus Estus and swung it straight at Lev's head.
"Hahaha, too late!" Although somewhat embarrassing, Lev, who had more or less prepared a contingency plan for failure, had long since prepared the summoning ritual.
All he needed to do was pour magical energy into it.
A Heroic Spirit Summoning circle unfolded at his feet, glowing with dazzling radiance as magical energy flooded into it.
"Therefore, appear!"
"The great hero of destruction, Altera!"
Lev spread his arms wide, a mocking smile on his face as he looked at Nero, now just a step away from him.
Too slow, Roman Emperor.
Even if you cut me down now, this Heroic Spirit Summoning will not cease!
A gale surged, and a blinding white light flashed.
An enraged Nero was mere moments from bringing her sword down on Lev's head, the blade of Aestus Estus now only centimeters away.
Nero's movement suddenly halted.
Every hair on her body stood on end as she sensed immense danger.
Like a certain blonde vampire testing Jotaro, Nero performed a small, cat-like leap backward, landing next to Lin Qi.
She stared grimly at the figure behind Lev, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.
Looking at the dark-skinned, white-haired girl who had appeared behind Lev, Lin Qi rarely cursed aloud:
"Damn it... He still managed to summon her after all..." His voice unconsciously dropped to a whisper. His heart, which had steadied somewhat, began to pound violently once more.
In their current state, his and Nero's, how were they supposed to fight a fully-powered Altera? Would Lu Bu come running to save the day?
Altera, also known as Attila the Hun, was the ancient King of the Huns, a terrifying existence who once swept across the European continent, also called the Scourge of God.
Here in the Nasuverse, she had even more outrageous settings and identities...
Savoring the sight of the two, looking as if they faced a great enemy, their faces covered in cold sweat, Lev grinned and laughed maniacally.
"Ahahahaha! This is the expression I wanted to see! This look of having victory right before your eyes, yet—"
A rainbow-colored sword light flashed.
Lev's voice ceased abruptly, the smile on his face instantly freezing.
'Huh?'
A sliver of confusion crossed his mind, but before he could figure out what had happened, Lev's consciousness plunged into darkness.
Denied even the opportunity for last words, he was cleaved in two by Altera's sword.
He fell to the ground between the two parties, now two lumps of meat scarcely different from rotten flesh.
I don't even know what you're being so arrogant about!
Although Nero wanted to mock him vehemently, now was clearly not an appropriate time.
The danger posed by the enemy before them was evidently far greater than this now-useless lump of meat. They currently had no leeway to mock anyone else.
Under the helpless gazes of the two, the golden Holy Grail separated from Lev's body and fell into Altera's hand.
In the blink of an eye, it merged into her body.
Facing the hostility from Nero and Lin Qi, Altera had no intention of making small talk.
She simply pointed her rainbow-colored Photon Sword forward.
Although she had no intention of obeying Lev's commands, destroying civilizations was her inherent purpose. All enemies who stood in her way had only one fate: annihilation.
Therefore—
"[Photon Ray]!"
Without any preamble, Altera immediately activated her Noble Phantasm right from the start.
Bolstered by the Holy Grail, this Noble Phantasm had reached the level of an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm!
The rainbow radiance was right before their eyes; the magical energy contained within it could be clearly felt even without looking.
In a situation where there was no escape, what could Lin Qi and Nero do?
They could only huddle together once more behind the holy flag.
Their vision was occupied by rainbow colors, and sound vanished from their ears.
In the span of less than half an hour, the two had lost count of how many Noble Phantasms they had already endured.
Their exhausted bodies could no longer hold back the assault. The two were sent flying backward by the rainbow-colored deluge of magical energy. The gold-red light enveloping them was long since not as dazzling as it had been at the start.
Almost immediately after being sent flying, it was already covered in cracks.
Knowing the consequences of trying to tough it out, Lin Qi gritted his teeth, shoved the flag into Nero's hands, and, in that critical moment, pushed her away with all his might.
He himself activated 'Dodge', phasing his body.
This was the best method Lin Qi could think of.
As for what came after... he could only rely on luck.
Everything happened very quickly, in about a second after Altera's Noble Phantasm was activated and hit them.
Rather than a product of Lin Qi's careful deliberation, it was more like an instinctive reaction.
The flag, fulfilling its master's will, its emanating light protecting the bewildered Nero within, began to move her out of the rainbow-colored torrent of light that was the [Photon Ray].
But [Photon Ray] was an Anti-Fortress beam-type Noble Phantasm; not only was it powerful, its area of effect was also immense.
Just like this, how could they possibly escape?
Just as the flag's defense seemed on the verge of shattering completely before they could escape, a spirited voice suddenly rang out from the distance.
"[Chariot of Boudica]!"
A shield wreathed in golden light arced across the sky, slipping into the rainbow torrent of light at a precise angle.
It positioned itself squarely in front of Nero!
The rainbow torrent of light was momentarily parted, allowing Nero to safely escape the attack range of [Photon Ray].
"Thud!"
"Crash!"
Carried by the force of the impact, Nero first collided with a rooftop, then, blocked by a wall, fell to the ground.
Being slammed around like this was certainly unpleasant for Nero, but there were more important matters demanding her attention now.
Scrambling to her feet in a panic, Nero shouted loudly into the surroundings:
"Maestro!"
Nero's voice echoed through the empty, ruins-like streets.
No one responded.
Only the flag in her hand still fluttered in the wind.
"It cannot be... Impossible, impossible! My Maestro would not die so easily!" Contemplating the possible outcomes, Nero selectively ignored the most severe possibility, muttering to herself.
"He promised to stay by my side—"
As she spoke, Nero was about to search every possible location for any trace of Lin Qi.
"Nero! What are you trying to do?" A voice came from above and to Nero's right.
Nero, in her surprise, even momentarily overlooked the difference in the voice and looked up eagerly.
Red hair, two immense assets, holding a longsword.
It was an acquaintance, but not Lin Qi.
Nero recognized the newcomer at a glance.
"...Boudica?"
The newcomer was indeed Boudica, one of Nero's historical rivals, and the one who had just used her Noble Phantasm to help Nero block the attack from [Photon Ray].
"Why are you here?"
Boudica jumped down from the rooftop, picked up her own shield that had fallen to the ground, and only then answered:
"Don't misunderstand. I merely heard that a little Master had come here, so I came to lend him a hand."
Seeing Nero, who was always so concerned with her appearance, now standing before her with disheveled hair and covered in dust, Boudica could roughly guess how intense the battle had been. She hesitated for a moment.
"I didn't expect you to be beaten this badly... Speaking of which, where is the little Master? Didn't he come here with you?"
As she spoke, Boudica looked around in confusion.
From what she knew, Lin Qi should have been by Nero's side.
"...Just now, it was my Maestro who pushed me away in that critical moment, shoved his own Noble Phantasm into my hand, and with your Noble Phantasm, that I can stand here unharmed... But where my Maestro himself is, I know not..." Nero fell silent for two seconds, her hand holding the flag tightening unconsciously.
"Huh? He gave his Noble Phantasm to you? Doesn't that mean he was completely exposed to that terrifying attack just now?" Boudica's shocked voice rose several octaves.
Taking an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm head-on? Was there any way to survive that?
"No, my Maestro should still have a chance of survival. He possesses an ability that allows him to ignore any attack. Even against the attack just now, he should have been able to survive..." With Boudica's arrival, Nero had also calmed down somewhat.
But the problem was, where had Lin Qi been swept away to?
Eager to find Lin Qi immediately, Nero, without another word, was about to go search every possible place for any sign of him.
"Hey! You're not thinking of going to look for the little Master, are you?" Boudica hurriedly grabbed Nero, her expression serious.
"Think clearly about what's most important right now! I didn't see the little Master's figure even from a distance just now. If you go searching for him now like looking for a needle in a haystack, how much time will you waste by the time you find him?"
"And over there—" Boudica pointed in the direction she had seen Altera heading.
"That one is already heading towards the Roman capital. With her destructive power, I'm afraid it won't take long for her to wipe the Roman capital off the map— Now tell me, what is it you truly must do?!"
Listening to Boudica's words, Nero felt somewhat dazed.
'...If the Roman capital is completely destroyed, it would likely cause the Roman Empire to end directly with my generation...'
Then there would be no need to save Humanity, because it would have ended prematurely.
"I understand— Intercept Altera! We absolutely cannot allow her to approach the Roman capital!" Nero took a deep breath, gripping the two weapons in her hands tightly.
"It's just… you can also see my current state, so Boudica, can I ask you to go with me to intercept Altera?" Nero's gaze towards Boudica held a hint of pleading.
Stiffening, Boudica turned her head away awkwardly, unable to look Nero in the eye.
"What else do you think I came here for?"
You didn't need to ask like that! I would have helped you anyway!
...