A Not So Evil God In Fate/Grand Order

Seth was lying on the ground, staring at the sky. His remaining arm twisted in such a way that gave goosebumps just by looking at it.

The earth around him was a sea of white sand, a sign of "nothingness." More than destroyed, it looked purged.

Out of nowhere, the Skeleton manifested itself. However, upon seeing Seth's new form, it released a strange sound that somehow came as one of disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

It quickly went beside him and touched his c.h.e.s.t. Immediately, he returned to his previous appearance with black hair and markings. The Egyptian God sighed in resignation. Even if he could move, doing something about it was impossible. It wasn't a curse for nothing.

Having done its job, the flames that looked like eyes on his face lit up, as if proud of his work. "Go away. You already did your job." Yet, Seth didn't seem to share its 'happiness.'

The Skeleton tilted its head, not understanding why it should return. Still, orders were orders, and it would comply. But first, it needed to do something about his wounds.

Looking around, it noticed Altera stabbed against a big rock, fading away little by little. It extended its skeletal hands toward her, but Seth stopped it. "What part of 'go away' you don't understand?"

It didn't seem happy, not helping him. Even so, like a 'good parent' understanding that his kids needed some space, it decided to stay away, like he said, and vanished soon after.

"You have...some troubles." Saber said with some difficulty. She had seen her fair share of weird things, but that was something else.

"You can't imagine." Seth would shake his head if he could.

Looking at the distant Rome, and then to his fallen body, she gave him the brightest smile she had done up until now. "Thank you...It doesn't feel bad, to not destroy." She disappeared after giving him her thanks.

The black-haired man couldn't see her final moments given that she was behind him, and he couldn't move. However, he could feel the joy in her words. "No. I'm the one who should thank you."

Slowly, he closed his eyes; his heart was going quiet by the second. It was time now, time to have a well-deserved rest.

...

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a barren world with his God form. Heavy rain and purple lightning was the first thing he noticed. Strangely enough, some sun rays got through the dark clouds.

Sitting down on the grayish-black sand beneath his feet, he decided to enjoy the view. "Like what you see?" A figure asked behind him.

"Yes, it's calming." He replied.

"Do you not find it sad?" The figure tilted their head, confused by his reply. This world was dark no matter where you looked, finding it calming was pretty weird.

"Should I? I have seen it so many times already, and yet, it's still beautiful." Without turning back, he commented, even as the sun rays were decreasing in number little by little.

"I thought someone like you would find it gloomy, though." The unknown individual quietly sat beside Seth as they watched the same thing he did.

"Haha...not at all. I kind of like places like this. You could say they are my favorite." The Egyptian God released a short laugh at her words.

"Really? You are a weird God." The figure said to Seth with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in their voice.

"I was under the impression we all were weird." He smiled, not at all offended by how the person described him.

"I can not deny that." They laughed lightly before sighing. "Do you regret it? No, was it worth it?" They had similar circ.u.mstances, but they each chose a different path.

"Depends on my mood. Sometimes I think it was my best decision, and sometimes my worst mistake." He yawned as if what he did was not something that completely changed his life.

"Your courage was admirable, nevertheless." They truly felt that. It was also...enviable.

"It feels strange to get a compliment from someone I don't know, to be honest." He said while turning to the person beside him.

"Oh, pardon my manners." They felt a bit embarrassed for forgetting something so important, at least to them. They didn't get to talk with many people so you couldn't blame them!

"Here." They extended their hand, which Seth took, and then let go a second after. The figure quickly took their hand away and rubbed it like trying to get some dirt off of them, making his eyebrows twitch.

"No wonder I didn't recognize you. You are different from what I imagined." They certainly didn't look like how other Gods depicted them.

"W-What's that supposed to mean? I could say the same of you!" For some reason, they felt offended by his words.

"Why are you acting like a teenage boy? You are thousands of years old." Seth rolled his eyes, not understanding their behavior at all.

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark presence surrounded the area, threatening to crush him with all its might. Luckily for him, he was here as a God and not as a mortal. Otherwise, he would have died already.

Raising his hand in mock surrender, he spoke. "Alright, alright. Don't get so upset. We are old to be playing like this." His words seemed to calm the figure, albeit barely.

"Hmph. I did not come here to argue with you; I just wanted to meet someone in a situation similar to mine." The figure said, returning to their usual tone.

"Indeed. I have to admit that we are comparable to a scary level." The Evil God nodded, agreeing with her words.

"Except I did not sleep with my sister or my nephew." If they didn't have an image to keep, they would have made a victory pose by now.

Seth practically choked on his saliva. "You damn shut-in! That never happened, and you know it perfectly well!" He was talking about the nephew part, because yes, he did bang his sister, informally speaking.

"Who is a shut-in?!" The figure wanted to argue but noticed there was only one sun ray left, so, without another option, they forgot about the matter.

"Anyway, you should go now. I do not want you to stay here any more than necessary." They folded their arms with a dissatisfied voice.

"Chasing me out already? What happened with the 'When are you going to summon me?' from last time? You sounded pretty sad about me not doing that." Seth even imitated their voice to embarrass them more, which he successfully did.

"Sh-Shut up! That was before I knew I could talk to you here!" They pointed their finger at him to try and emphasize their point. "And another thing! Are you an idiot?! Why would you burn your life just to win?!"

After laughing for a bit at their antics, he spoke with seriousness for the first time in their talk. "I kind of admire you for doing your job until the end. That's why I will tell you this, don't follow my example, little boy. It won't end well for you. Also, I guess I got carried away. I will be more careful in the future, goodbye."

Seth left this dark world in a flash of light after saying that, leaving the figure alone. "I know that..." They said, with a voice filled with resignation.

However, they soon realized something crucial. "I'm not a little boy! I'm a proper—" Before they could continue, a hand patted their head.

The mysterious figure looked up only to see the Skeleton trying to comfort them. That, however, only worked to make them more depressed. 'Why is this happening to me...' They wanted to cry so badly right now.

Eventually, the Skeleton disappeared, leaving them alone in that world, although not for long, as they soon vanished too. When everyone was gone, the world finally stopped raining, and the clouds dispersed, revealing a clear sky.

...

On the outside world, Seth was struck by lightning from a small dark cloud that had quickly formed, making his heartbeat more consistent.

After coughing a bit, he finally woke up. However, as he still couldn't move, he stayed lying down. He only got up when he had recovered enough energy to use his regeneration.

He first healed his stomach wound and then his broken arm, leaving the missing one to regrow over time. Moving to the place where Altera had disappeared, he picked the Holy Grail.

"This tiny cup brings so much trouble. It's quite impressive." He proceeded to absorb the little energy the Holy Grail had remaining, before breaking it into pieces.

As soon as he did that, the Singularity began to fall apart. 'So it's time. Romani won't be able to take me as I'm far, that only leaves doing it myself.'

Seth extended his hand upward, a dark portal appeared above, quickly swallowing him. Crossing space and time, he promptly arrived in the Command Room, the body that was in the coffin disappearing.

―――――――――――――――――――

After Chaldea's group defeated Romulus, they got informed by Jalter that Seth was going to fight a Servant on his own and that they should return to Rome.

Fujimaru and Mash wanted to protest, but they were stopped by Cu, who saw Avenger's grin and knew things wouldn't end well if they continued to press on.

With nothing more to do, they returned to a camp they had set up some kilometers away from the capital, where they met up with the remaining Servants.

"What are you doing here, Master? Were you successful in your endeavor?" Martha asked. They didn't look defeated, but not ecstatic either, hence her confusion.

"Yeah... We didn't get the Holy Grail, though." Fujimaru scratched the back of his head with a wry expression. Still, he didn't consider it something pointless, except for Jeanne's death. That was a heavy blow.

Martha assumed Seth was fighting the final opponent of this Singularity and that Jeanne went to help him. She didn't, for a moment, consider her dying.

"I see...well then, get some rest. You should be exhausted." The Saint offered with a smile, something which they gladly agreed to.

Nero, who had been silent all this time, called Boudica to talk alone. "Boudica, you...are one of those Servants, right?" It had been in her mind all this time, and even though she didn't want to accept she was dead, many things pointed to that possibility.

"..." The Queen of Victory was silent for a second, thinking about how to respond. However, she decided to come clean in the end.

"Yes, I'm a Servant. My time as someone from this era had long ended." It wasn't something that had to stay hidden at this point. Even more so, considering that the time for them to return to the Throne was near.

"Was it because...?" Nero wanted to ask the reason for her death, fearing she might have something to do with it. A thing she wouldn't forgive herself for if that were the case.

Shaking her head, she responded. "You don't have to worry about it. Although my death was unfortunate, it isn't something you should feel responsible for, so smile like you always do. I'm sure your smile will make the lives of your people shine brightly."

She hated Nero, that was a fact that won't go away no matter how much time passed. She hated so much that she wondered if that hate got engraved in her Spirit Core the moment she became a Servant. That said, killing her now would just doom the whole world. And besides, she wasn't the Nero that she hated, at least not yet.

"..." It was Nero's time to turn silent, tons of emotions running through her heart. She may not look that way, but she was very sharp. She understood the meaning behind her words, which only left one thing to do.

"This will probably mean nothing to you, but...sorry, and, thank you. Like the most beautiful of flowers that never withers, I will continue to shine and bask the world in my glory, so that people can be happy and never have to suffer ever again." It may seem like an empty promise, but it was the most honest thing she could say to her.

Her words brought a smile to Boudica's face. 'Yes, just like that. That's the Nero you should be, not the other one.' It was difficult, but she eventually came to terms that nothing good would come from blaming the little girl in front of her.

Rider patted her head like a mother would do her child. "That's enough for me. Now, go and rest, you must be tired too." The little girl nodded with a smile of relief and went to her tent to sleep. She felt it was necessary after all that happened.

Watching Nero's figure getting smaller and smaller, Boudica looked at the sky with an expression of sadness. 'Prasutagus...am I doing the right thing? Am I making fun of our daughters' sacrifice with this...?' She wondered as a small tear fell from her eye.

...

Hours passed, and they finally got a good rest. Fujimaru told Martha about Jeanne's death. The Rider Servant was saddened to hear the news, and her mood took a turn for the worse. Still, instead of doing nothing but feel remorse for not being able to be there to help, she decided to pray for her fellow Saint.

Vlad had a chat with his Master, telling him not to feel bad about the Saint's death. In war, death is inevitable. She was also not his Servant, so he needn't be concerned with such things.

Berserker's words gave him something to think about, maybe—no, they certainly underestimated the threat 'the final boss' posed.

He promised himself to improve, so the events don't repeat themselves. It wasn't like he felt the 'blame' rested wholly on him, but he did think things might have been different had he been more knowledgable about how to face a Servant that was many times stronger than their own.

He didn't know how Seth was going to take it, either. Fujimaru didn't blame him for what happened to Jeanne. How could he? The Egyptian God already told them he was going to face an enemy more powerful than the one they were going to. Complaining to him would be nothing short of hypocrisy.

While he was in the middle of his thinking, he noticed the Singularity was falling apart. 'So, he did it?' The young Japanese released a sigh. It was time they had some happy news.

Mash quickly came in with Romani's figure in the form of a hologram. "Senpai, we did it! We can finally return now."

"I'm going to send you back before the Singularity disappears, are you prepared?" Dr. Roman asked the two. However, there was an important question that Fujimaru needed to make. "But what about Kuro-san? He isn't with us right now."

"Sadly, I can't do anything about him as his coordinates are unknown. Still, you don't need to worry. I'm sure he will find his way here with no problems!" Romani reassured him with a cheerful voice.

At that moment, Nero came running as fast as she could. "You...are you guys leaving already?" She asked with a tone that conveyed her sadness for parting with them.

"Yes...everything will disappear soon, even your memories of us." Mash informed her with an equally sad tone. Similar to Jeanne in Orleans, they had created memories with Nero in their stay here. However, Jeanne at least remembered them as she was a Servant, but her being a normal human...everything would just be forgotten.

"I see... In the end, I never managed to reward you for your help." Even if she mentioned not being able to reward them, she knew the memories they made was a more valuable treasure.

Seeing Nero like this, Fujimaru decided to speak after a deep breath. "Don't worry, Nero. We will meet again. I'm sure of it. At that time, let's fight and make more memories together." He finished his words with a smile, which worked to uplift her mood.

"Umu! Just you wait, I will make sure to—" She couldn't finish her words as Fujimaru and Mash disappeared, together with the other Servants that were near their location, leaving her alone.

"...to make you listen to my music once again." Her smile was still there, but her eyes showed a different picture. A picture only she alone could understand in this fading world.