Rome, 60 AD
Ritsuka POV
"Take a good look and be struck with awe! This is my city, a glorious regime that even young girls extol!"
Nero looked proud of herself as she pointed her open palm at the dark, empty marketplace in front of them.
[ACinnamonRola: As a young girl, and I can confirm that I extol this city so hard.]
[Dragon's-Iris: I don't think that's how you use the word "extol" but I agree. ]
[Who's going to tell her? ]
[Bugsy_Buzz: If Kriketunes were native to earth, they would have had a field day in this city. ]
[It's late, so of course not a lot of people are outside, especially with an invading army was literally just near their homes. ]
[I can't see shit!! Someone teach Mash the move Flash so we can see better! ]
[Electrical*★Streamer_Iono(MOD): No need to drag Mash into this. Nero's shining butt is enough to illuminate the way! ]
"It's very dark, but I can still see the impressive marble buildings." Mash tried to be positive, but no amount of positivity could change the reality of what he was seeing, or rather, not seeing.
He could spot many yellow candlelights scattered in front of him, but if not for the intense light of the full moon, it would have been pitch black.
"Apologies for the gloomy reception, my dear guests. Normally, my citizens would be filling the streets to gaze at my splendor after a successful battle, but the day has come to an end, and many are taking a well-deserved rest. But worry not! That will change once I inform the people of the good news!"
Nero's heels clacked forward, and everyone followed her. He took extra care to watch where he stepped to avoid the occasional cobblestone that poked out of the street higher than normal.
As they moved past the marketplace and through the streets, his ears picked up on wooden panels and doors creaking open ahead of them. Several heads peeked out of their homes as they walked by.
The wary looks of the citizens eased as they saw Nero walking confidently ahead of her large army.
Then his eyes drifted down, and he nearly choked as he saw Chat's camera floating a bit too close behind Nero's butt, giving everyone in chat a full, up-close view of the exposed butt cleavage.
He glanced at Mash, and sure enough, she was giving the camera a stare of disapproval.
It was a stare that she would only reserve for the worst of scum, which was sometimes was levelled at Romani.
He took a moment to read his chatbox and grimaced when he saw everyone spam the "Window to Venus" emote.
[ :WindowToVenus Emote: ] x 452
[:UMU Emote:] x 362
[MashuMellows: GudakoBot, please stop recording Nero's butt. It's rude and I don't think Emperor Nero would like it when she finds out about it. ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: I agree with Mash, stop staring!! ]
[GudakoBot: I am not in control of the camera. The only butts I deal with are the butt monkeys in chat. ]
[Hey! ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): @MashuMellows Nero will actually be okay with it when she finds out.
That woman is rather shameless and proud of her own body. In fact, that is the whole reason why she wears such a tacky dress in the first place. ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: Even so, it's inappropriate to stare at a lady's butt in public! ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Oh Hilda-chan, if you have nice assets, why not show them off? That's why you wear those mini shorts all the time too, no? ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: That's not true!! I wear short shorts because they are comfy and easy to wear!! Not because I want people to stare at my butt!! ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Uh huh, whatever you say, Hilda-chan~ :HildaShorts Emote: ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: 〣 ( ºΔº ) 〣 ]
Seeing that his input couldn't help the situation, he decided to ignore chat and just took the time to come up with an apology for later.
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived in front of a large open space with a beautifully designed marble building at its center. The closer they approached, he noticed an elevated stone platform.
Nero walked up to the platform and stood proudly before the slowly growing crowd.
She cleared her throat, then opened her mouth and began to speak her decree. Contrary to her size, the sound at which she spoke was loud enough that it slammed into his eardrums like a siren.
"Good people of Rome! Your emperor and her allies have successfully repelled the barbarians from sullying our capital!! You may go to bed with comfort knowing you will be safe!"
The small crowd, once glum, now cheered after hearing her speech. Mash notes how good Nero is at cheering people up.
[Gotta say, Nero is a strange gal but she's very charismatic. ]
[Yeah, she's not tyrannical or evil at all. She's just a munchkin with tons of confidence that is loved by her people. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: For now at least. ]
Nero stepped off the platform and rejoined them.
"Now come, let us go into my palace. While we may have a grain shortage, I still have enough luxury to hold a small feast in your honor and for the gods that brought you to our side. Once we have feasted, we can begin discussing what we will do moving forward."
✦✧✦
After the feast had concluded, Ritsuka and the others moved to Nero's palace and gave her the same rundown they gave Zenobia.
Unlike with Zenobia, they left no room for ambiguity when explaining who they were and made sure to explain their mission as clearly as possible.
They did not mince any words and confessed that they were originally going to visit Rome but were redirected by a foreign sun goddess to help Tamamo Cat.
The moment they mentioned their involvement with Zenobia, the room grew eerily quiet.
"Um, is something wrong?" His question elicited a scoff from the court mage.
"Aside from the fact that you confessed to having worked for an enemy of Rome, no. Nothing is wrong." Simon said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
He pursed his lips and looked down at the floor.
"Well, I guess It's nice to receive a solid confirmation for it at least. Zenobia truly is the enemy of Rome." Romani said with a sigh, which earned the man a bewildered stare from Charlemagne.
"Did you guys seriously never stop to think that she would be against us? Zenobia is a warrior queen who was famous for rebelling against Rome. It should have been obvious!"
In hindsight, it was actually foolish of any of them to not see Zenobia as one of the bad guys, but he believed in the good in people. She was someone who genuinely wanted to help them in their journey, and to deny her aid or to antagonize her based on what she did in the past was something that he would not do.
Siegfried, the ever stoic swordsman, decided to speak up in our defense, "I apologize if I sound rude, but the same could be said about you. Didn't Nero cast out and persecute the people of your faith?"
Charlemagne seemed to be expecting that argument and responded without hesitation, "Well, I can see where you're coming from, but it's different because we did it out of self-interest. Actually, there was another Christian servant that used to be here, and like me, he decided to help out Nero despite her reputation.
You see, if Rome falls now, many of the nations that succeeded, aka The Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, would not have formed. Thus it is in our best interest to help defend our progenitors despite how antagonistic they are against us."
"Hm, I see. Be that as it may, we are also no strangers to seeing servants or saints being conscripted and forced into slaughtering innocents against their will. So previous alliances and histories are not always a reliable factor of which side servants will ally themselves with during these kinds of world ending crises."
His eyes briefly went to Martha, a gesture that Charlemagne picked up on.
The man's eyes widened as he seemed to have understood what Siegfried meant by "Saint" and was now looking at Martha with sympathetic but also reverent look in his eyes.
Martha, meanwhile, rubbed her arm and looked away from the man in shame.
"I'd suggest you please stop with the pointless chatter and allow Ritsuka to finish his tale. I wish to know everything there is to know about that barbarian goddess without constant interruptions," Nero demanded, her patience running thin.
Both men apologized, and he took the time to clear his throat and continued to tell Nero everything.
The woman herself seemed to be absorbing every word he said with an intense focus, even as the story dragged on, she never interrupted him.
That was, until he mentioned the fact that a Greek goddess had manifested on a nearby island and had been kidnapped by Lev. Something inside her head clicked, and she expressed her displeasure as a grimace.
"It would seem I know where your missing goddess went, and it leads back to that Zenobia woman." Nero then turned towards Elizabeth, who was holding onto her spear with an iron grip that made her veins bulge.
"That monster, he did something to Stheno, didn't he?" Elizabeth asked, but it was a rhetorical question. It was obvious that Lev had kidnapped her with the intention to harm her from the very start.
Tamamo Cat, seeing how upset Elizabeth was became, patted her back with her fluffy, oversized paw.
"I'm afraid so. Honestly, that explains why she had divinity and a charm skill at all. Not to mention the insane amount of power that she displayed against Alexander, " Romani took a long sip of his coffee before he continued.
"It was a great call that we didn't have Ritsuka and Mash confront Zenobia right away. Weak goddess or not, a servant enhanced with divinity would have frankly been too strong for both of them to take on by themselves.
Not only were they isolated in a desert with no backup due to our communications being down, but they were also under the effects of a rather powerful charm spell. One that allowed Zenobia to take control of anyone that surrendered to her or became a part of her army.
We were fortunate that Zenobia had grown so fond of Ritsuka and Mash that she let them keep their autonomy. Everyone else we came across that were under her charm were fiercely devoted to her as a goddess. A low key escape was the only option available. "
[Heart0f6old: Romani is right. We got lucky that Gudao's rizz came in the clutch. Zenobia could have easily turned Mash and Gudao(and all of us) into puppets. Too bad for Gudao that rizz of his will come back to bite him in the butt when the reunion with Zenobia happens. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: Lotta talk about butts today. Well, not that it can be helped given that we're now involved in a war between two beauties with nice butts. ]
[Junior_Researcher: Charm based mind control is a lot scarier than I initially gave it credit for. It makes me wonder if a red flute would have any effect on the charmed victims. Or if a charm skill would affect a pokemon with the Oblivious ability. ]
[MagnetKing: Unfortunately, we might never know unless the stream starts allowing those kinds of items to be included in the care packages. It's very possible nothing will happen though, given how our worlds work in completely different power systems. ]
"Hm, I understand the situation much more clearly now. Very well, you may continue your report."
He nodded and continued where he left off, meeting Tamamo Cat, encountering the Egyptian blockade, and finally, the moment they arrived at Rome.
Nero, once again, looked pensive at the slew of information he had just dumped on her lap. However, she didn't look overwhelmed or lost at all. She looked serious, and he could see the cold calculation in her eyes as she met his eyes.
He instinctively shrunk under her judging gaze, and internally, he was already preparing himself for the worst scenarios to happen.
He expected Nero to reprimand or scorn him and Mash, as their actions almost led to Rome falling by helping an enemy of Rome.
But to his and Mash's confusion, that did not happen.
Instead Nero gained a smile on her face, "Umu, I have decided. Risuka Fujimaru, Mash Kyrielight, as the fifth emperor of Rome, I shall allow you to fight by my side to undo your misdeeds. Revel in my ultimate show of mercy!"
"B-But we helped the enemy fight against you." He tried to argue, but Nero didn't want to hear it.
"It doesn't matter if you were once my enemy.
I am merciful, so past mistakes can be forgiven."
She crossed one of her legs over the other, "Simon's report mentioned that when Zenobia arrived on the battlefield, she apologized to her ally for arriving late."
She pointed a finger at him and Mash, "that means that you two were inadvertently helping Rome by delaying her arrival."
Her declaration caught him flat-footed. If what Nero says is true, then that means that their time spent with Zenobia wasn't wasted.
However, Nero wasn't done and proceeded to list another way they had helped Rome.
"Not only that! But your actions also speak louder than your words. By choosing to cripple and not destroy those Egyptian ships blocking our trade and transport, you have ensured Rome the ability to repair and repurpose those ships for our cause. "
[MsRoxanne: She's got a point. By repurposing those ships, they can easily gain the ability to retake the sea much faster than if they rebuilt the ships by hand.]
[I want to feel bad for those Egyptians, since they are also likely being controlled by Zenobia.
At the same time though, from what I gathered from Gudao's previous streams, it's rightfully deserved karma given how they enslave people too. ]
[MsRoxanne: Do recall that slavery, while a barbaric practice, is an integral and staple component of ancient civilizations even in our own world. Very few empires could afford not having slaves to do tough manual labor jobs. ]
[Just_N: I still find it baffling that people draw the line at enslaving people but not pokemon. Smh. ]
[Oh joy, it's Just_N, spewing that Plasma Propaganda again. (-_-) ]
"And while the death of Alexander the great and his general would have been a massive boon to our army, based on your descriptions and our historical records, he likely would not have accepted being ruled by someone else, much less a woman."
Nero did not give him or Mash any time to retort, so all they could do was just listen to her in resignation.
Despite the fact that Nero seemed to be the kind of person who would get ahead of herself and only focus on her own voice, she actually noticed their hesitant silence and tried her best to reassure them with a kind, warm smile.
"I do not blame you or see you as traitors, for you have always intended to come to my Rome. It would be sacrilegious of me to punish you for following the whim of the gods, for they had pulled you away for a purpose.
The purpose that has revealed itself before us is thus: If not for you meeting Zenobia, that woman would have not been delayed and would have arrived much earlier to destroy our northern wall. If she had done so, Rome's defence would have been more difficult and you would have likely perished alongside us."
She closed her eyes in contemplation, "with all this evidence presented before me, it brings me no doubt in my heart for the reward I am about to bestow on you."
She opened her eyes and pointed a finger at him, "for your valiant sabotage and intelligence gathering for the sake of my country and for saving Rome by bringing reinforcements, I hereby pronounce you as one of my generals, my Praetor, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Umu!"
[Wooo!! New title!! ]
[What is a Praetor? ]
[Bunny_Aachan: Ooh!! I know this one!! Its a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army or an elected magistrate. Master falls under the first official capacity as Nero made him into one of her generals. ]
[CasCu: Huh, I'm surprised you knew that, being who you are. ]
[Bunny_Aachan: Yeah, I'm surprised too, I didn't think my old lessons on the ancients would have surfaced at this moment. It must be fate!! ]
He wanted to protest, but Nero shot him a disapproving look, which shut him up.
"Thank you for your mercy, Emperor Nero. I will gladly serve you and Rome to the best of my abilities."
"You can count on us, Emperor Nero!" Mash added, which made the petite blonde nod in agreement.
"Now that the pointless drama has been concluded, it is time for us to begin planning a counterattack!" Nero declared, and the assembled soldiers and servants let out noises of approval.
✦✧✦
Anti-Rome Headquarters, Hispania, 60 AD, Septem Singularity
Zenobia POV
She tapped one of her nails on her throne's armrest with impatience. The sound echoed in the empty throne room.
Her eyes drifted toward a woman standing nearby.
Cleopatra, or Cleo, wore a long white linen dress and had many golden accessories around her arms, wrists, and head.
She, like many Egyptian women, also wore a heavy amount of makeup that just made her bewitching beauty even more striking. But the most striking part about her was her long, dark teal hair that reached down to her ankles.
The more she reflected on Cleopatra's appearance, the more she felt that the claims that she was indeed her descendant were true, as they shared many similarities.
She deeply admired her and did the best she could to help meet her needs. Unfortunately, she had failed her when she couldn't secure Alexander the Great as an ally.
Thankfully, Cleo was very understanding and even confessed that it was okay if they failed. To her surprise, Cleo confessed that she didn't care for "harsh men" like Alexander the Great and was only excited to meet him because she wanted to introduce the man to her husband.
'Ceasar's been in a sad mood since that day, so I thought he would cheer up if he met one of his biggest idols.'
After what Lev put that man through, she couldn't blame him.
When Lev first summoned Julius Ceasar, she initially assumed he would be just like any other Roman emperor and would attempt to rebel or speak ill of her and her cause.
Which he initially did at first; however, after Lev touched his forehead, his attitude changed from a proud Roman into a depressed man.
Based on what Lev said that day, he had forced Ceasar to relive his betrayal hundreds of times over until he broke his will.
Cleo tried her best to cheer him up in any way she could, but her love alone was not enough to ease the trauma that Lev inflicted on him.
She tried to ease Cleo of her worries, but words alone were not enough no matter how heartfelt they were. Which was why she confronted Lev about it.
Unfortunately, that thing had no remorse for his actions and sternly reminded her that he was the one with the grail and abruptly ended their conversation.
Back then, she didn't have enough confidence in herself to push back. Nor the power to demand answers from him.
But now that was different. She had integrated much more with Stheno's divine core, and she could feel the power coursing through her. She felt amazing, and she felt like she had the power to finally demand more answers from him.
That is, if he were here.
"Any news on Lev, Cleo?"
Cleo's ever-present smile turned into a frown at the mention of Lev and just shook her head, "no, I'm just as unaware as you are, Zenobia. But knowing him, he's probably having too much fun taunting that Roman emperor that he lost track of time."
Cleo rolled her eyes at the thought of Lev and his petty torture of Romulus. While she agreed that Romulus needed to be shown the error of his descendants' ways, the way Lev has gone about it was rather distasteful in her opinion.
Still, it was not strange or out of character for Lev not to answer her calls when he was taunting that man, but this is the first time he's been away for so long.
She had a lot of questions for him.
Questions that involved the safety of her home and the future.
If only he just showed himself.
The doors slammed open, startling her and Cleopatra.
To her surprise, Boudica was the one who showed up. Her footsteps were heavy as she marched toward her.
Behind her, the small Altera followed, looking adorable as she always did. Except she was much more nervous than she had last seen her.
The fact that Boudica and Altera had these kinds of expressions made her own heart feel uneasy.
Boudica stopped in front of her throne and said nothing, only stared at her with a conflicted expression on her face. Like she was holding onto a secret that she was struggling to decide whether to reveal or not.
"We lost."
She blinked at Boudica's statement. Unsure if she misheard what she said, she asked Boudica to clarify what she said.
Boudica sighed at her response, but rather than repeat herself she instead chose to recount what happened during their siege of Rome.
They had managed to conquer most of Italy, just as they planned, and quickly marched towards the capital city. Everything had gone according to plan, but Boudica's mood shifted when she recalled the next bit of information.
"We were close to defeating Rome. Caligula was only a few moments away from killing Nero, but a third party intervened before he could deal the finishing blow."
She furrowed her brows, "a third party? Who were they?"
Boudica pursed her lips, but the hesitance was gone. Her intense stare filled with sympathy as she revealed the identity of the interlopers.
"It was Chaldea."
As soon as those words left her mouth, her mind went blank.
"What?"
"They brought a lot of servants with them, one of whom commanded a dragon and the other was the legendary dragon slayer Siegfried."
"Siegfried?" Who was that?
Seeing the confusion on her face, Boudica just sighed, "look, forget Siegfried and the dragon, the point is, the two mages you helped were the ones who drove us off from Rome."
No, this can't be, she warned them not to head to Rome. They promised her!
Cleopatra seemed to have noticed her inner turmoil and asked the question she wanted to ask before she had a chance to.
"Are you sure it was them? You haven't even met them, so how could you be sure it was this Chaldea?"
"Well, the truth is, I have met them before… or rather, I have a vague recollection of what they looked like from a corrupted version of me that met them earlier. The memories are terribly muddy, but I do recall seeing the girl, Mash, after I saw her on the battlefield."
Boudica continued her report, and the more she spoke, the more her heart sank as she realized that she spoke the truth.
The very people she had saved and befriended, the ones who were eager to prove themselves to her. They had betrayed her and stood in her way.
"Oh? So they finally showed themselves, didn't they? Took them long enough."
Everyone turned their gazes where the sound came from, and they were met with the figure of the monster wearing human skin standing nonchalantly nearby.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Lev," Cleopatra said dryly, to which Lev just hummed.
"Apologies, I was preoccupied with something that required my attention," Lev said, as if he actually did anything productive aside from summoning servants, giving orders, and tormenting people who slighted him.
"Nevermind that, Lev. What do you mean when you said: 'they finally showed themselves'?" She narrowed her eyes at the man, but Lev didn't find her gesture threatening.
"I meant what I said, I was expecting Chaldea to show up sooner or later. I just wasn't expecting them to arrive so late."
Her eyes shot open in surprise, "you know them?"
"Unfortunately, I do. I was a part of their organization for a few years, up until I blew it up and chucked their teenage director into a black hole," the man recounted with the nostalgia of an old man remembering 'the good old days.'
Her mind went back to the conversation she had with Mash and Ritsuka. About how they were betrayed by someone who they thought was an ally. Who blew up their facility and killed their Director.
She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes at Lev.
"I see. So if what they said is true, then that means that the incineration of humanity is real. And that you are one of the people responsible for it."
The phrase, "incineration of humanity," echoed in the room. Cleopatra narrowed her eyes, while Boudica's face turned pallid, and a haunted look came across her features.
Altera, meanwhile, noticed her mother's state and tried to comfort her while also sending a death glare at Lev.
Lev, meanwhile, just looked amused, "oh? You know about that? I don't believe I bothered to explain my king's master plan to you now did I? Who told you?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but Lev interrupted her, "don't answer that, I already know. I saw you taking your sweet time playing tour guide with Chaldea."
She grunted in discomfort at Lev's admission.
"Oh, don't be so surprised. Nothing that happens in this singularity goes unnoticed by me." His smirk sharpened.
"In fact, I was quite surprised that you actually grew close to them. Sampling the local snacks, sharing those intimate moments with the Last Master of Humanity, all while none the wiser that he was the one who would stand against you."
She felt her chest tighten at the reminder.
Ritsuka…
"Why? Why are you doing this?" She let out a trace of her divinity, something that didn't elicit any panic from the man as he merely raised a brow.
"Why? Well, to put it in your own words, it was humanity's own foolishness and incompetence that led them to where they are now. They lost the grace of my king, and now their future is set in stone."
His words were not loud, but they held a finality to them that allowed no rebuttal. They held a weight of inevitable certainty that even she found hard to argue back against, despite how much she heavily disagreed with them.
She clenched her fists harder, "my people… will they also be affected by this anomaly that you have created?"
Lev gained a cruel smile on his face, "Oh you poor thing, you still don't get it, do you, Zenobia? You're the anomaly that Chaldea is looking for."
Just when things couldn't get any worse than she thought they would, Lev decided to drop this massive reveal onto her lap with the casualness of a person discussing the weather.
"...what?"
"Heh, you really had no idea did you? The whole reason you are here, why I made you who you are… It is all because my King wanted to disrupt history at this specific moment in time, by destroying Rome."
Destroying Rome… will destroy humanity? No, that can't be true. If she lets Rome survive, then her home…
His smirk grew wider, "Quite the conundrum you have there Zenobia."
He stuck out one of his arms, as if his open palm was presenting her with an option, "on the one hand, Rome survives and humanity is saved but Palmyra dies."
He stuck out his other arm, "and on the other, you let Rome fall and save Palmyra but the blood of billions falls on your hands."
He tilts his head, "now that you know the truth, are you still sure you want to keep fighting to destroy and replace Rome with Palmyra?"
She gritted her teeth at the monster, "I reject both of those outcomes."
Lev raised a brow.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes, "I will find a way to destroy Rome and keep my Palmyra safe while defying you and your king so that humanity in the future will not have to face incineration. There is always a path, and I refuse to believe your lies anymore."
Lev let out an amused chuckle, "you wish to destroy Rome while also keeping Humanity intact? Hah! That is quite a stubbornly human wish from you."
Suddenly, his chuckles abruptly stopped and before Zenobia could do anything else, the man reached out towards her.
Her body froze in place, and she felt herself fall.
"Gah!!" Lev was clasping the shackle on her neck with enough force to deform the metal into a tighter fit. An action that made it harder for her to breathe.
"Zenobia!! Let her go-" Cleo's words caught in her throat as Lev unleashed a heavy, malignant energy around him.
"Kneel."
Three sets of knees fell on the stone floor as Lev's will overpowered their bodies.
She grabbed onto Lev's arm and tried to pry his hand off but it was no use. Lev was too strong.
The monster turned his gaze back at her.
"You've grown bold, Zenobia. It seems that the leniency I gave you and your allies' after seeing your success has given you a false sense of superiority. I suppose it makes sense given which goddess I implanted into you. Nevertheless, allow me to correct that misconception of yours."
She felt the gold tighten around her throat as Lev increased the pressure, "I made you. Without me ripping out the divine core from that bratty goddess, you would be nothing. And make no mistake, even if you were a vessel for an actual Olympian god, you would still be an ant compared to the might of my king."
Her eyes widened when she saw Lev's eyes turn red, his iris turning into an inhuman diamond shape.
Lev continued to glare at Zenobia as she squirmed under his grasp until finally, he let her go.
The gold was still deformed around her throat, so she still could not breathe properly.
In a panic, she unleashed her noble phantasm and broke the golden cuff around her throat. However, that was a momentary transformation, as she quickly reverted back into her chained form.
Ignoring her hacks and coughs, Lev continued to talk down to her.
"I'll forgive you this time, Zenobia, but only because I am in a good mood. However, seeing as how you defied me, I cannot allow you to confront Chaldea as you are. You are to remain here while your allies fight against the Last Master of Chaldea and his servants."
He can't do this! She needs to be the one to confront Ritsuka and Mash. She needs to convince them to her side again.
Lev noticed her expression and harshly stomped her hope into mush.
"My decision is final. You only have yourself to blame, Zenobia. If you hadn't spent all that extra time being a lovesick child with the enemy, we would have already conquered Rome, and Nero's severed head would already be on display for all to see."
"But!'" Her objection was cut short by another glare from Lev.
"Perhaps I have not made myself clear? Continue to disobey me, and I will have you join Romulus in his tower. I will chain you to the walls and force you to watch as I slowly torture and kill every single man, woman, and child in Palmyra and reduce your city and empire to dust."
She glared at the monster who dared to look at a goddess like her as if she were some lesser being.
"Have we come to an understanding?"
She bit her lip in anger, then she looked at the floor in resignation, "understood. I'll do as you say."
Lev scoffed, "good."
The momster turned around and walked away, but just before he stepped out of the room, he looked back at Zenobia.
"By the way, I eagerly look forward to seeing you try and fail to struggle against the inevitable. Until we meet again, Goddess Zenobia."
________________________________________________________
AN: Well, I'm back. had a lot of stuff going on last week and I needed a break to recover. I was afraid I was gonna be late posting this due to mother's day but thankfully, the celebrations ended early this year.
Anyways, thanks so much for your support and for being so patient with me.
Happy Mother's day to the mothers reading this, and I'll see you all next week.