A Not So Evil God In Fate/Grand Order

Getting up from his kneeling position, Caligula howled while flexing his arms. "Offer me...your...soul!" When those words left his mouth, his body got enveloped in a terrifying red aura.

"How is that he can regenerate and suddenly get stronger? That's unfair!" The Emperor couldn't help but complain with a small pout.

"Welcome to the Servant world, you idiot," Jalter responded, giving her a side glance. The girl didn't have the time to answer back as her uncle once again shot toward them.

Same as before, Jeanne put herself in front to block him. However, this time things went differently. As if what was in front of him was merely a defenceless human, Caligula's punch impacted on Jeanne's flagpole so hard it sent her flying and crashing into the ground repeatedly like she were a stone thrown into a pond.

Taking advantage of his attack against the Saint, the other two girls moved their swords in a slashing motion in his direction. To avoid repeating the same situation that happened before, they decided to make their attack at a different speed.

When Caligula was about to grab his niece's wrist again, she did something unexpected. Instead of advancing a little more and slashing him, she hit the ground with her flaming sword, generating a mini-explosion and creating a cloud of dust, effectively blocking his vision.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Jalter accelerated and with her black short sword covered in equally colored flames cut toward her opponent.

Although his vision was obstructed, he managed to react on time to the Black Saint's attack purely relying on instinct. Sadly for him, that came at a price, and that price was his whole right arm.

"AAAHH!" He released a mad shout of both anger and pain. He did a roundhouse kick at Jalter, hitting her stomach and making her retreat before grabbing his flying arm with his left hand and using it with tremendous force to hit the other blonde girl who used her sword to block but was still pushed back several meters.

"Damn it, is he immortal or something?!" Jalter said while holding her stomach in pain, that kick was no laughing matter.

"No... He has a limit, and he is near it." Jeanne, who had recovered from the initial blow, was walking toward them as she spoke.

"It is time...to end this...then." The Red Emperor had trouble keeping a steady breath, no matter how much she exceeded the capabilities of an average human, he was still one at the end of the day. Fighting a Servant was sure to take its toll on her.

Suddenly, they noticed Caligula started disappearing, surprising the trio. "No...not yet...I still haven't...I STILL HAVEN'T—" Before he could finish, he faded away. However, the two Servants knew it wasn't because he was defeated but because someone had teleported him from this place.

"Is it over...?" The human girl asked no one in particular, watching many strange again, and again she didn't trust her common sense that much to form a conclusion.

"He is still not dead; he was called back to wherever he came. We will need to face him again in the future, and depending on if they have an excellent healer in their ranks, maybe he will come back with his full strength." Jeanne answered and, at the same time, told her a likely scenario that could happen.

Taking a deep breath, the young girl returned to her usual self. "If he is gone, then that means there is no one to lead the army. Victory is already in our hands. Umu! I will reward you, brave girls, who fought by my side against Caligula even more than the others!"

Jeanne was somewhat relieved she was back to the way she usually is. As for Jalter...well, she wanted to strangle her, 'Who needs your damn reward?!', but Avenger knew it would not serve their purpose.

"By the way, Alter. Why didn't you use your Noble Phantasm? You could have caused him more damage or even kill him." Jeanne's confusion was clearly reflected in her face.

"Oh, shut up, will you? I just didn't want to!" She would never tell that she just wanted to show off by defeating the enemy Servant without using her Noble Phantasm to make it look like it was too easy for her...

Jeanne felt it was a weird reason but decided not to press the matter any further less Jalter said hurtful words like the ones she did before.

When their little chat was over, they turned to the battlefield. What they saw was a one-sided battle, Vlad had taken temporary command of the Emperor's army and was doing an excellent job at leading them.

Fujimaru was resting under a dead tree while Mash stayed by his side with her shield, ready to block any surprise attacks they may receive.

Cu Chulainn and Kiyohime were simply attacking from a distance with simple spells and conjured flames, respectively.

Finally, Martha and Seth were riding Tarasque on its back and causing chaos on enemy lines. Though the Saint and the Dragon-turtle were the ones actually attacking, Seth was just lost in thought while looking at a particular direction.

"Umu! Your companions are not that bad! Also, what is with that ugly creature?! It will ruin the image of my Empire!"

"I'm done, I can't stand it anymore." Leaving those words behind, Jalter made her way to the battlefield. The Emperor was clueless of what happened while Jeanne just had a helpless look on her face.

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Once the group won the battle, they rested for an hour and then marched again to Rome. The capital wasn't too far, just another hour of walking.

The moment they entered it, they were greeted by a vast crowd that acclaimed their triumphant return. The people cheered and cheered, happy their Emperor got back safely.

"Your people sure love you." Fujimaru commented as he looked around through the majestic and bustling streets.

"You have a good eye! That's right, loving me is the same as loving Rome itself!" You could tell she was really proud when she spoke about herself or Rome.

"Now that I think about it, we never asked your name." It was Romani, the one who spoke this time, giving a slight scare to the Emperor, which she quickly hid.

"I-It's that a mage I hear? Why can't I see you?" She asked, looking left and right for any possible sightings of this unknown man.

"Uh... Y-Yeah, you could say I'm a mage." Dr. Roman didn't know how to answer, so he decided to go with the flow and just say the most reasonable explanation. After all, she seemed to know about magecraft, so it wasn't that weird.

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she decided to introduce herself. "Very well, I shall allow you to partake in the beauty that is my name. I'm the flower of Rome, truly Rome itself! I'm Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus! The Fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire!"

There were various reactions to her words. Mash and Romani looked surprised that Emperor Nero was a girl.

Fujimaru didn't have much idea about who she was; he wasn't that versed in history, after all.

Jeanne, Jalter, Kiyohime, and Cu Chulainn didn't show many reactions as they weren't that much related to Rome.

Vlad was finding this incorrect notion in history about her gender intriguing and relatable at the same time, though for different reasons.

Seth didn't have much interest in their conversation and just watched the views the city offered. Martha, however, was the most affected. Although she knew prior to this that the girl was a Roman Emperor, that still didn't reduce the strong emotions running through her. She will now have to fight on the side of the people that crucified the Savior and by the looks of it, not too long ago. This also meant that she was close to the time she was alive, kind of similar to Jeanne's situation in Orleans.

Taking a deep breath, she gripped her staff tightly to calm herself. This was not the time for this; what happened already happened; there was no point in trying to act upon it now. Besides, she knew the Savior wouldn't want her seeking revenge because he knew the events that led to his death were part of God's plan and he was okay with it, he would want her to forgive above all else. If she sought revenge now, then it would be like spitting on everything he had to endure to save them from their sins.

"You are surprised, aren't you? You don't need to hide it. Your ears must be thanking the Gods for this reward right now." She said with her arms akimbo and nose to the sky while smiling in proudness.

"..." Some of them didn't know how to respond, others were restraining themselves from hitting her, and the rest just didn't care.

With Nero praising herself every two seconds, they made their way toward a massive golden palace in the center of the city. Not before encountering some thugs that were threatening a shopkeeper who ironically Nero had taken fruits from without paying. It seemed that being an Emperor gave you privileges; however strange they may be.

To say Nero was embarrassed would be putting it lightly. Moments prior, she was prising how tremendous and perfect Rome was, and now they had this incident happening right before their eyes.

Martha took this as a divine intervention to cool her head off. She singlehandedly beat all the thugs up. The soldiers that were orderly marching some distance behind them captured the criminals and proceeded to put them into jails. At the same time, the Emperor and Chaldeans continued their path toward the palace.

The moment they entered the throne room, Nero turned around and decided now it was an as good time as any to talk about the current situation she was facing.

"First of all, I would like to thank you for fighting against my enemies in the last battle. With that out of the way, you need to know about what's happening if you are to face our opponents." This time, her arrogant attitude was nowhere to be found. Now, she spoke as an Emperor, who was currently facing a threat too significant to handle by herself.

"It all started some months back. Out of nowhere, people claiming to belong to the United Empire started appearing on my territory. At first, we treated their claims as delusions of people gone crazy."

Ashamed, she looked at the ground with remorse. "Sadly, in time, that was proven to be incorrect. Fake Emperors made themselves known to my subjects. Slowly but surely, these fake Emperors managed to divide my Empire into many territories, many deserted to them."

"To me, they are just a bunch of bandits wanting to destabilize my Rome, but to many, they are truly Emperors that promise them a better future were they followed by my people."

"Vexing enough, we don't know where their capital is located or who are these -Emperors- exactly, the only one we know for certain is Caligula, my...uncle. He has allied himself with the United Empire and was the cause of the majority of my army's losses." Pain flashed through her eyes when she spoke of Caligula.

"That's a Servant for you; normal people don't stand a chance against them. They only option is to run." Romani entered the conversation once the topic of Caligula was mentioned.

Nero nodded. "I don't know much about this Servant thing, but you are right, Mage from a distant land. I used to have a Court Mage, but he was ripped apart by my Uncle's hand without offering much resistance."

"One of these Emperors may have taken hold of the Holy Grail, and it is causing this anomaly. The question is: who?" Mash reasoned after listening to their words.

Ignoring the parts of their talk she couldn't understand, Nero continued. "Most of my forces have already been dispatched. I've been doing everything I can in my power to stop them, but far from it, they are gaining an advantage over my troops."

The young girl clenched her fists. "Please, help me in fighting the United Empire. I now that with your power, it will be possible to defeat them, I don't want my subjects to suffer any longer because of this war, again, please!"

The group could feel the sincerity in her voice. Mash and Fujimaru looked at each other before facing Nero. "We would be glad to!" They both gave a positive response before remembering that the decision didn't fall entirely on their shoulders.

"Will you help her, too, Kuro-san?" Fujimaru embarrassedly asked.

"Uh? Oh. I don't mind." He absentmindedly responded. The two girls and the boy were elated with his answer, especially Mash and Fujimaru. Having someone as strong as him was going to give them an advantage.

Nero's expression brightened. "Umu, I thank you in the name of the entire Roman Empire. Your names will be sung across the streets for your remarkable courage."

However, some of the others noticed how Seth had been distracted since a while ago. Cu Chulainn, being the one who knew him the most out of them, decided to talk with him tonight to see what exactly has been bothering him.