A Not So Evil God In Fate/Grand Order

It was supposed to be a 4k chapter but inkstone decided to fuxk me up. Still, 3.4k isn't bad, right? You have Apex and After to thank for that.

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It's been nearly twenty minutes since Martha summoned Tarasque. Her choice was the correct one as the scales turned in their favor, and now they were the ones who had the advantage.

The three girls were mounting Tarasque's back. Martha concentrated on commanding the Dragon-Turtle, Jeanne, in defending when Caesar jumped at them to attack one of them, and Nero, now that she discovered she could send sword slashes through the air, was in charge of attacking the chubby man.

Still, Caesar was no pushover. Although he couldn't get to them, he attacked Tarasque on his right leg in the same place over and over again, causing it to have trouble moving.

They knew they had to end this quickly. Otherwise, the advantage the three girls just got would be lost. Martha locked eyes with Jeanne, and they both nodded.

When Caesar jumped again to land a hit on one of them, Jeanne also jumped from Tarasque's back and clashed mid-air with him in front of the dragon's head. "Tarasque, your flames!" Martha commanded his mount, and taking this as a signal, Jeanne used Caesar's belly as support before jumping back to its back just in time for a sea of flames to hit the location where she had been previously.

The Emperor of the United Empire, seeing the incoming flames, used his sword as a shield and covered his face with his free arm.

When the dragon's breath hit him, Caesar came crashing down to the ground, leaving a deep trail wherever his body landed.

"Is it over?" Nero asked, looking at the smoke covered area where his movements had stopped.

The other two girls didn't answer; they just stared attentively at his location with unblinking eyes, not wanting to be caught by surprise.

Although neither Martha nor Jeanne replied to her question, Nero got her answer just by looking ahead to the same place the other two were.

The two Saints felt it clearly, and Nero did too, albeit to a certain extent. They sensed how Caesar's Magical Energy was raising little by little.

"I must congratulate you; congratulations are in order. I didn't think you would force me to take this seriously, and for that, I will congratulate every one of you." His voice, while maintaining the same laid-back tone, now sounded a bit more severe.

When the smoke from Tarasque's attack finally vanished, Caesar revealed himself to them with some burns on his military coat, showing the skin underneath it, and with his left arm covered in stone, its thickness at least doubled from the normal one.

"Hm...being in the frontlines sure doesn't suit me. I would rather command my soldiers, but I guess I don't have many options left." With slow steps, he walked forward.

"However, I must say you certainly earned the right to know my name. Very well, I shall tell you the name of the Emperor you think as nothing more than a fake. My name is Caesar. In other words, Gaius Julius Caesar!" He proclaimed with proudness as he extended his arms to the sides to magnify his words.

Nero trembled a little, hearing that name. "H-How?! Caesar? You are supposed to be dead!" If it was a joke, it wasn't funny.

"Why are you so surprised? You already met your uncle Caligula, me being 'alive' shouldn't be that shocking. Of course, if your shock comes from the fact that you are in front of me, then I would understand." For an Emperor, the little girl didn't know how to face reality for much absurd it may be.

"So all of you raised from the dead just to destroy the very thing you built with your own hands? As the Emperor of the current Rome, I can't-no, I won't allow that!" As if to respond to her feelings, her sword burned even brighter.

"Haha...you can say it like that. However, it's not like we want to destroy Rome; we just think a new one is necessary." Caesar released a light laugh. Although he didn't want to fight against the people he once ruled, orders were orders, especially coming from that person.

He then turned toward Seth. "How about you? I don't sense any kind of belonging to her Rome. The fact you are not fighting me proves that. So, why don't you join us? I'm sure we can give you whatever your heart d.e.s.i.r.es, even if you want the title of Emperor, you can obtain it."

Nero and Jeanne looked at Seth with worry, fearing he would accept Caesar's offer. 'Thanks for the trust.' The Egyptian rolled his eyes, seeing their reactions from the corner of his sight. At least Martha showed no response and just kept looking at the Emperor, already knowing the answer he was going to give.

"I refuse. Indeed, my compromise doesn't lie with Nero. However, that same compromise puts me in the side of Humanity's survival. Besides, the only thing I d.e.s.i.r.e isn't something that can be fulfilled by anyone, nor anything, that includes the Holy Grail." His answer made Jeanne and Nero sigh in relief while Caesar merely shook his head in disappointment, not that he expected a favorable response anyway.

"A shame, indeed a shame. I guess there is no meaning in talking anymore, then." With nothing more to say, he disappeared from his position. This time, however, instead of attacking one of the girls, he decided to choose a different opponent. Reappearing in front of Tarasque, he punched the dragon's face with his stone arm, making it recoil back.

The dragon released a roar of pain, but with a shake of its head, it regained its focus. "Are you alright, Tarasque?" Martha asked the dragon under her.

It slowly nodded its head to reassure her. Besides, Martha always hit Tarasque when she used her Noble Phantasm. At this point, beatings were an everyday thing for the dragon.

"He is getting stronger again, how is that fair?!" Nero couldn't help but complain, seeing how Caesar was getting more difficult to beat with each passing second.

"It doesn't matter. Our objective remains the same; we need to beat that man as soon as possible." Martha said with seriousness. Looking at how things were going, they needed to think about a plan to counter Caesar's strong points.

However, there was no way he was going to let them have enough time to defeat him. Once again, he dashed at them. This time he didn't attack Tarasque but decided to attack the girls instead.

The one who received his blow this time was Nero. After parrying, she didn't return to the dragon's back, though, preferring to stay on the ground so she could fight better.

"Oh? You are not going to return to the little safety that strange-looking dragon provided you?" He asked in amus.e.m.e.nt at the girl who had her sword pointed at him.

"If we are going to defeat you, then we must take risks! And as the Emperor, I'm the one who should be in the front protecting my subordinates!" She declared proudly.

'We aren't your subordinates, though...' Both Saints shared the same thought in their minds but didn't comment on it.

"Then, show me how you are going to protect them, Emperor Nero." Leaving behind those words, he made a diagonal slash at her, which she parried successfully again. However, that wasn't the end of it. Caesar started repeatedly slashing with each strike faster than the one before.

Nero at first still retained her composure, but that quickly changed as Ceasar's hits got stronger. While she had a look of concentration, the man in front of her still maintained his laid-back attitude, demonstrating this wasn't a challenge for him.

Like that, they exchanged hundreds of blows, with the majority of them being Nero defending and Caesar attacking. That was until Jeanne came to her aid.

As their coordination couldn't be said to be the best, The Maid of Orleans decided to attack from behind him as not to hinder each other when attacking.

With her help, Nero's burden lightened, albeit slightly. Now Caesar was using his stone arm to block Jeanne's attacks coming from his back. Still, considering its proportions, she was having trouble getting past it.

"What happened? Weren't you going to protect them? if this continues, you are going to lose your life before accomplishing anything." Caesar jokingly said as he continued his assault on Nero and his defense on Jeanne.

"Shut up! Don't take an Emperor lightly!" Nero angrily shouted the moment she heard his words, and in a burst of speed after successfully blocking one swing of his sword, she did a quick and precise thrust at his heart.

Caesar was surprised by her actions. She was practically making a suicidal attack, after all. If he wanted, he could dodge to the side and make her sword hit a nonvital part, effectively preventing any significant damage and then strike her down. However, considering the flames were not normal, he was sure that the thrust would create a momentary distraction, something Jeanne could take advantage of and cause him some harm that could render him incapable of fighting anymore.

Although he couldn't leave this unscratched, he could still choose the best option he had available that guaranteed him getting out of this situation with the fewer injuries possible.

Pulling back his sword that had been warded off by Nero as fast as possible, he hit the underside of Aestus Estus, deviating its trajectory. Instead of an attack to the heart, it ended up being a slash to the left shoulder.

Thinking this was an opportunity, Jeanne tried to pierce him with the pointed tip of her flagpole. However, Caesar was alert, and with a quick reaction, he grabbed her weapon with his hand made out of stone.

The Saint was surprised by this, but before she could think anything further, he hurled her at Nero, who hadn't recovered from her failed attack earlier.

"Ugh!" Jeanne crashed into Nero, making both girls fly backward, impacting onto the ground on several occasions.

"I will admit it, that was a brave decision, albeit a risky one. Very well, I will respond to your bravery in kind. It's about time I end this once and for all." Caesar said as he stabbed his sword into the ground.

The two girls recovered their footing just in time to sense another spike in his Magical Energy. 'Not good, by the looks of it, he is planning to use his Noble Phantasm.' Jeanne thought with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"Nero, stand behind me." The Saint said while getting up and putting her flag in front of her. The Emperor, who was at her side, also got up with difficulty and put herself behind Jeanne.

Caesar flashed a smirk seeing this. 'It seems she has reversed the roles.' Taking a deep breath, he started to chant.

« "I came!" Some characters started appearing behind his back as he chanted; it was a weird sight to look at.

"I saw!" He extended his finger forward as a different character appeared this time.

"All that's left now is to conquer!" »

Finishing those words, he dashed at the two girls. However, Jeanne was not going to take his attack without doing anything.

« "Defend my brethren, my banner!" She lightly touched her flag with her forehead before extending it upward.

"God is here with me..." » Before Caesar managed to get to their position, a yellow barrier started enveloping the two girls.

『Luminosité Eternelle!』『Crocea Mors!』Both shouted at the same time. The moment the barrier was complete, the man came brandishing his sword down on it.

Even faster than when he was attacking Nero, his sword kept hitting the barrier time and time again. Jeanne also felt that his attacks were getting more powerful with each consecutive hit.

For now, she was holding on. However, if this continued, they were going to lose to Caesar's barrage of strikes. Jeanne's flag slowly tearing was proof of that.

"Gh...!" She gritted her teeth in an attempt to increase her willpower not to let the barrier collapse.

"How's that? I wonder if your barrier will be able to hold on much longer?" Caesar smirked as he kept attacking the barrier.

'Not yet...just a little more...' Jeanne said to herself as she endured his consecutive hits.

'To rely on something like luck to increase the power and count, that's certainly an interesting weapon.' Seth thought while looking at Caesar.

'However...'

'Luck can only get you so far.'

Just when Jeanne couldn't hold on for much longer, just when the barrier showed signs of breaking, just then, Caesar's luck ran out.

Suddenly, as if time had frozen, the barrage of attacks stopped. To make matters worse for the chubby man, someone who he had stopped paying attention to, made her presence known again.

Reacting quickly, Nero grabbed Jeanne, who was still tired from defending against Caesar's attack and jumped to the side.

« "The son of Leviathan, now protecting people."

"Become a meteor!"

『Tarasque!!!』»

Caesar looked ahead to see a giant ball spinning in his direction. It was so fast that he didn't have time to block, much less dodge.

His eyes widened as he saw the incoming Tarasque; it didn't even take a second for it to hit him. "Ngh!" Caesar's cry of pain was silenced when the dragon's shell hit his body.

As if his resistance was meaningless, The Emperor flew backward. He only stopped when he had traversed hundreds of meters, leaving behind an uneven terrain from when he impacted the ground several times like a rock thrown into a pond.

As he had discarded his plackart, Caesar received the impact with his whole body without any protection. He felt as if his organs were all crushed.

With the little strength he had left, he groggily tried to get up using his left arm as support. However, it was not over for him. The moment he managed to stand, a sword pierced him.

Nero, with a speed that was inhumanly possible, had thrust her Aestus Estus deep into Caesar's heart. Still, he didn't even flinch nor uttered a scream. He just had a smile on his face, a smile like that of a father seeing her daughter grow up into a fine woman.

"You did a good job... You truly made Rome proud..." He tried to hold the blood in his mouth as not to interrupt his speech. Nevertheless, it was challenging to speak, having a sword in your heart.

"Caesarion..." As his life was fading away, he remembered the son he couldn't acknowledge during his lifetime, his biggest regret. Those words, however, made him look at Seth. "Please...for...give her...she...she did...nothing...wrong." He was already fading, and he couldn't speak clearly anymore.

"I beg...you, Ph—" Before completing his sentence, Seth snapped his fingers. The flames from Nero's sword suddenly burned with more force than before and wholly incinerated him.

"...Was it necessary?" Jeanne asked, feeling it was somewhat inappropriate.

"I'm the one who decides that," Seth replied as he turned around to look at the wall of fire he had created previously. With a wave of his hand, it started disappearing to reveal a battle that was almost over. With Caesar's death and his army at the border of collapse, Gaul was already theirs.

Mash and Fujimaru, who were near the wall of fire, were the first to notice its disappearance. Looking around and not finding signals of the Emperor, they both assumed he had been defeated.

Approaching them, the young man was the first to ask, seeking confirmation. "Have you defeated the enemy Servant?"

Taking a deep breath to calm her turbulent emotions, Nero smiled at him. "Yeah. It's our victory, and now there is one Emperor less. This will surely weaken their forces and affect their morale."

Soon, more people started noticing the changes. When the remaining soldiers from the United Empire looked behind and didn't see their Emperor among the enemy group, they instantly felt as if a bomb had exploded in their hearts.

"Dammit. Your majesty!" One commander couldn't help but curse in frustration. However, he knew this was a lost battle. At least he would honor his Emperor, who didn't want them to die meaninglessly, and retreat to keep the lives of the remaining soldiers. "All remaining forces, heed my order and retreat! Don't you dare to lose your lives!"

Sharing the same feelings as their commander, the soldiers retreated without offering not even one complaint. They hoped the enemy army didn't chase them.

Seeing the fleeing army and their Emperor successfully killing theirs, the soldiers from the Roman Empire cheered and praised Nero like there was no tomorrow.

"So it's finally over..." Mash released a sigh of relief. Although they didn't fight the enemy Servant, they still got their load of fights in there.

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It was a long battle, so they decided not to chase the enemy army. They had gotten back Gaul, and that was the important thing.

The group decided to rest for a day before departing. Boudica and Spartacus stayed back as they needed someone to defend in case the United Empire wanted to take Gaul back. A significant part of the army also stayed back.

They were now on their way back to Rome, using the same formation as before. The interesting thing was, along the way, they heard from different merchants the rumor of an Ancient God in the Mediterranean Sea.

They were surprised, to say the least, especially Mash and Dr. Roman, as they were more knowledgable about Divine Spirits. Fujimaru didn't know a thing, so Mash offered to explain.

Meanwhile, Cu Chulainn was thinking, 'They already found out...Considering the little girl's personality, she would want to go as soon as possible.'

As if reading his mind, Nero spoke. "There is no option, then! I'm quite interested in this rumor, I don't know if this rumor is true, but if it is, I can't let the United Empire get a hold of that Ancient God. I'm sure if we have one in our ranks, the possibilities of us winning will go up!"

'If only you knew...' Caster had the urge to laugh hearing her words.

"If that's the case, then some of us will have to stay in Rome to protect it. I'm sure that with the loss of an Emperor, they would want to send an attack at the capital, and a Servant will probably be included there." Mash suggested.

"You don't have to worry about it. I'm sure that guy will stay. There will be no better person to defend it than him." There was no way Seth was going to that place, of that he was sure.

"If you are talking about that gloomy guy, then I can't help but worry! He sat there doing nothing while we fought against that Emperor!" Nero took advantage of the fact that he was at the far back on the formation and couldn't hear her complain about him.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to blabber. You just have to concentrate on finding that supposed God; he will defend the city properly. You have my word." Cu Chulainn stopped Nero before she could say anything further. He had the sensation that Seth was listening to every word she was saying so he was trying to save her head from being crushed again.

Having conversations like that, they arrived at the coast where a ship belonging to the Roman Empire was waiting for them.

As Cu Chulainn had said previously, Seth decided to stay and defend the capital. He took the soldiers with him while some of them remained with the others to help sail the ship.

"We are finally here! The vast sea never ceases to amaze me. Now, are you prepared to marvel at my amazing sailing skills?" As soon as Nero's words left her mouth, every Servant present plus Fujimaru felt a bad foreboding run through their whole body.

"U-Um...Martha has a good Riding Skill. Wouldn't it be better if she was the one to sail?" It was not like she didn't trust her, it was just that after that dark event. Mash didn't want to take risks.

"What are you saying? I'm prised as one of the best sailors in the world, trust me!" No one believed her words, no one...