The destruction of Jerusalem marked the complete and utter victory of the Roman army's suppression of the Judean province.
According to statistics compiled by the Roman magi who accompanied the expedition, counting both the Roman offensive and the Judean rebels' own actions, nearly the entire Jewish population of the province had been slaughtered. Their settlements razed to the ground.
Over 800,000 Jews starved or succumbed to disease within the walls of Jerusalem alone.
It could be said that every inch of the Judean province now flowed with immeasurable blood.
But from this day forth, it would no longer be called Judea.
Following news of Novia's overwhelming victory, the Roman Empire wasted no time in issuing a decree:
The eradication of Jewish civilization.
The province formerly known as Judea was to be renamed Syria Palaestina.
In other provinces—Alexandria, Galilee, Caesarea, Golan—any remaining Jewish communities or believers were to be executed without exception.
Jewish scrolls and scriptures were to be burned.
Possession of such was strictly forbidden.
As for the remaining Jewish temples—those not yet destroyed—
They were to be demolished, then rebuilt as Christian sanctuaries.
Even in the provinces where the Senate had been deliberately slowing the spread of Christianity, the faith now advanced with unstoppable momentum.
That the Empire's orders—spoken or unspoken—were so thoroughly carried out was largely due to what had transpired on the day Novia led the Roman legions against Jerusalem.
For on that day, the earth was plunged into three minutes of utter darkness.
Countless magi attested to a surge of mystery during that time—
As though the lost age of the gods had momentarily returned.
Rumors swept across the Empire's vast lands:
"The Antichrist King… before the Lord's messenger… has been vanquished, his light extinguished."
Once again, the miracles of Christianity manifested upon the earth.
And when weighed against personal profit and survival, the vast majority within the Roman Empire knew well where their priorities lay.
Meanwhile, Novia—the one who had successfully reduced Jerusalem to ashes—
Was climbing the hill outside the ruined city: Golgotha, the Mount of the Crucifixion.
The Romans under his command were busy incinerating the countless corpses,
Lest a plague take root in the blood-soaked province.
And thanks to Novia's explicit orders to the Twenty-Seventh Ancestor, Kaubeck, not a single Dead Apostle had been allowed to set foot in Judea.
Thus, the scene was spared the grotesque infestation of the undead.
This was Novia's first time here.
But sentiment aside, it was a place he was duty-bound to visit.
Not only because, on the surface, he was now the undisputed leader of Christianity,
But also… because of the solar eclipse.
No matter how drastically he altered history,
A natural phenomenon like that was beyond his ability to tamper with.
Moreover, from what Albion's Dragon had revealed—
The Texture enveloping the planet had been peeled away for three minutes…
Then restored.
In the Type-Moon world, only a select few possessed that level of authority.
Given the circumstances—and his own presence here—
Novia could only suspect one of two culprits: The Pigeon, or Pigeon Prince.
After a while, Novia reached the summit.
Before him stood the very cross upon which Jesus had been crucified.
Weathered with rust, it appeared untouched by time—unchanging.
The silver-haired youth opened his mouth to speak,
But for a moment… the words escaped him.
Finally, he removed the staff entrusted to him by Martha,
Resting it gently against the cross.
"Sister Martha said… this was a gift from you to her.
Though she's since given it to me… I think it's only proper it returns to its original owner.
It's helped me out more than once, so… thanks."
"When I return… I'll rebuild Jerusalem—the one I destroyed.
And I'll see to it that a proper church is erected here.
One that won't be battered by wind and rain.
It'll cheer up Paul, John, Martha… when they come to visit you."
Satisfied, Novia turned to leave—
But then, as if recalling something,
He lingered, staring up at the sky above the cross.
He continued:
"Oh, right. Your Father… Yahweh, Jehovah, the Lord—whatever name He prefers.
I recall… He made a covenant with Abraham, didn't He?
Well… the Jews, and their faith—are gone.
I've wiped them from the earth.
Only your followers—your Church—remain."
"If You can hear me… pass along a message for me, would you?
If He's displeased—if He intends to strike back—
Tell Him to come after me alone.
I'm solely responsible.
The others… were just tools I used to get here.
That's all."
"So… farewell, Jesus Christ, Son of God—
Whom I've never met."
Leaving the summit of Golgotha,
Novia made his way toward the First Temple,
The sole structure spared during Jerusalem's destruction—
Deliberately so.
After all, within those sacred halls… lay the remains of Solomon, King of Mages.
There was no reason to reduce that to rubble as well.
The moment he stepped inside,
A brilliant mountain of treasure gleamed before his eyes—
The spoils of Doros's plundering rampage across Judea.
Previously, during the province's pacification,
Novia had ordered all such riches incinerated,
Primarily to avoid potential traps.
But now, with the crisis averted—
These spoils could finally be put to use.
A portion would be handed over to the Roman treasury.
The rest… Novia had already made plans for:
Rebuilding infrastructure—roads, for example.
Distributing magical materials to aid magi in improving harvests in struggling regions.
Trading gold and silver for food from wealthy merchants…
That was the general outline of Novia's intentions.
Only after circling the treasure trove did Novia lay eyes on him—
Solomon, the King of Mages, seated upon his throne.
At first glance, he appeared alive—indistinguishable from the living.
But beyond his face, his body was mottled with greenish corpse stains.
A mere touch… and his form would surely crumble to dust.
Under normal circumstances,
Using a human corpse as a magical power source would have long since driven the remains mad,
Especially with how Doros manipulated that grotesque black magic.
Naturally, Novia had been puzzled.
But after eliminating Doros,
A twisted, unidentified mass of magical energy had fallen from the man's body—
And realization dawned.
That thing…
Sealed within the corpse—
Still gestating—
Could it be Goetia, the nascent Beast of Humanity, yet to fully awaken?
Even now, Novia held that mass of writhing magical energy.
Though he lacked the means to destroy it…
Perhaps it could be bartered with the right magi.
In time, this being would become the Beast of Humanity,
Goetia,
The very one who would ignite the Human Incineration phenomenon.
But Novia dismissed the thought.
Human Incineration had only been Goetia's desperate countermeasure—
An extreme attempt to halt the planet's impending blank slate,
And to derail Chaldea's equally extreme Human Order Preservation program.
Yet, in Part 2 of the story…
If Goetia's sole goal was opposing that plan,
Why all the secrecy?
Why not simply ally with Chaldea from the start?
Why not lay everything bare and confront the Old Director together?
If his true motive was simply preventing the blank slate,
Or alleviating human suffering,
Then why… at the beginning…
Had Goetia proclaimed his intention to "forge a world devoid of death"?
As a transmigrator, Novia could only speculate:
If, before his arrival, FGO Part 3 was ever announced,
It would likely reveal the truth:
That Goetia's original Human Incineration was meant to preempt some future mastermind—
A misstep that inadvertently thwarted the Old Director,
The only known hidden threat thus far…
Thus—
Novia returned the mass of twisted magical energy to Solomon's corpse,
Resealing it,
And carefully reinterring the remains to ensure they remained undisturbed.
"Remember—
You owe me your life."