Indigo Plateau, Indigo Pokemon League Headquarters, Pokemon world
Lance POV
"Báthory Erzsébet!!!"
He nearly fell off his chair when he realized that Elizabeth was about to fully unleash her noble phantasm.
He frantically reached for the remote, which he had accidently left on a farther side of his desk than he intended.
His shaking hands nearly dropped the remote on the floor but he managed to steady his hands and lowered the volume when Liz began to sing out lyrics of a song from Gudao's world. He was unable to lower the volume fast enough, and his ears were assaulted by sound.
He closed his eyes and his hands went to cover his ears, expecting the worst but to his surprise, he didn't feel the discomfort of hearing an offtune voice, but rather the pleasant voice of a young idol.
Huh, so this is what his dragon types hear when she sings.
[ILiekQTThings: Oh wow! Elizabeth actually sounds nice! ]
[Liz? Singing beautifully? Impossible! ]
[LemmeSeeUrManager: I think I remember hearing this song on the stream once. Back when Gudao still did his outdoor streams pre-incineration. It's really catchy, though. ]
[Blood_Countess: My younger self will sound horrible if she sings for herself, but because she is singing for others, her voice naturally sounds pleasant.]
[ILiekQTThings: Ah, I see. That is actually pretty sweet. She must have cared a lot for Stheno if it managed to make her horrible singing sound so beautiful. ]
[Junior_Researcher: I don't know why Liz chose to dedicate this song to Stheno tho? If anything, it should be dedicated to Gudao, given how Zenobia is a beautiful girl asking him to commit suicide by being with him. His physical body is still in the present, so if he chose her, he would have died. ]
[LOL, Whatever, I don't care if it makes sense or not. I just like seeing Zenobia squirm. ]
And squirm Zenobia did, because she was clutching her ears and screaming profanities and curses, but the sounds of her pain were drowned out due to the sheer volume of Liz's noble phantasm.
Unfortunately for Zenobia tinnitus wasn't the only thing she had to worry about.
A clawed hand from her right slapped Zenobia away like a bug. Astolfo's chain sword held the woman tight as the momentum swung her towards the waiting claw of Tarasque.
The meaty twack and Zenobia's grunt of pain was more clearly audible since Liz's impromptu concert came to an end.
The chain sword clinked as Zenobia swung back where she came from.
This time, Biscione threw out a punch, and Zenobia could only cry out in pain as she was constantly getting smacked back and forth between the two dragons without being able to properly defend herself.
This scene reminded him of watching kids on a playground playing tetherball, but with a living person serving as the ball.
He grabbed his mug of coffee and took a sip, the cracking sound of Zenobia's nose after getting the butt of Martha's staff when she got tagged in proving to be of little concern to him.
He let out a sigh of contentment and he almost chuckled at the absurdity of this "fight" before he stopped himself.
When had he become so callous about seeing someone get brutalized like this? Even when he was dealing with the likes of Team Rocket, he was never this nonchalant about grisly sights, nor did he find them amusing.
It was just business, business he had to take care of.
It seems like he had been desensitized by all the cruelty that Gudao's world has shown. Though in his defence, It's hard to pity a woman that is so deadset on murdering so many innocents, that made it easy to feel this way.
Zenobia had finally gotten sick of being treated as a ragdoll and manifested a spear in her hand. Using the momentum of the dragon slap, she thrust her spear at Martha's face.
The Saint tilted her head, and winced when Zenobia's spear cut into her cheek pretty deep.
He frowned at that, a small bit of worry for Saint Martha tugging at his heart but that worry returned to relief when Zenobia got pulled away and lifted into the air.
Then, to his horror, the chain came loose. A twinge of panic rose to his chest at the idea of Zenobia being free again, free to kill everyone in the vicinity with her explosive airstrikes.
Thankfully, Zenobia was too slow to react to her temporary freedom. Astolfo hummed as he twirled his sword and made the waves of jagged, sharp chains curl around Zenobia's body.
With a sharp yank from the pink saber, the chains tightened, this time fully encasing the woman in a cocoon of sharp, metal chains.
The woman fell from the sky like a rock, kicking up a plume of dust where she landed.
She took the time to look down, and saw that her binds had gotten worse.
Zenobia, for the first time since she has shown up on screen, looked like she was having a panic attack.
She struggled in her chains like an out of control Hydreigon, but it was futile, she had been restrained and there was nothing she could do to stop everyone from taking their pound of flesh from her.
"So the mighty goddess Zenobia has finally fallen from grace. Humph, it was about time."
"Ah!" He jumped in his seat and reached for his dragonite's pokeball but stopped himself when he saw it was just Agatha.
He gave the woman a deadpan glare, "How long have you been standing there?"
"Oh, I've been here since that stuck up queen started to get her exposed ass handed to her."
"Would it have killed you to knock before you entered my office unannounced?"
Agatha waved his perfectly logical question off, "Don't be such a brat. You are old enough to know a champion is supposed to be on his toes at all times. You never know when you will have someone sneak up behind you."
'The "Someone" in this scenario being old hags like you.'
Is what he wanted to say, but he has decorum and chose not to say his thoughts aloud. Instead he asked her why she was here and what it was that she wanted to speak about.
She tapped her cane on the ground and her shadow elongated. A comfortable looking mahogany chair rose from the depths of darkness and was dropped off behind the old woman. The shadow, which he suspected was her ace Gengy the gengar, retreated back into Agatha's shadow.
The old woman let out an exhausted sigh as she sat down on the creaky old chair.
"It can wait for a moment, I haven't seen one of these events live before, so it's a novel experience for me."
Was it so hard for her to just have someone turn on her computer for her and open twitch's website?
Agatha noticed his deadpan expression and scoffed, "Please, unlike you, I actually don't really care much for learning about all this newfangled technology. That is why I have apprentices keep tabs on the stream and have them compile interesting clips into a video that they think would pique my interest."
He had a strong feeling Karen was one of those apprentices Agatha uses to keep tabs on the stream. Karen is just as invested in Gudao's journey as a lot of the stronger trainers in the world, so really it only makes sense that she would do that for the old bag.
"N-No, I refuse to let these chains bind me!! NEVER AGAIN!!!" Zenobia cried out in desperation as she manifested a squadron of wraiths.
Agatha noticed the ghosts manifest into reality and her eyes gained a sparkle of excitement.
"Oh? How interesting. So that's what they are like in the flesh. They truly are a weaker existence than those heroic spirits, but they are still rather powerful ghosts."
Agatha mused as she stared intently at the ghosts of nameless heroes made to do the bidding of Zenobia. Unfortunately for the former elite four, she did not get a chance to see much as those wraiths were all skewered by Lord_Impaler's stakes.
Zenobia could only stare at her impaled wraiths, completely unable to do anything about their fate.
"Sorry, but that is impossible for you." Astolfo spoke up, which caused the goddess to turn her heated gaze on the pink bunny boy.
"You're wrong. So long as I believe hard enough, eventually I will overpower your chains and I will kill you for committing such a grave sin against a goddess, you debased mortal."
Wait, she can hear him? He would have thought she would have gone deaf from taking Liz's noble phantasm point blank.
Astolfo looked equally as surprised as him, and whistled, "Man, you can still hear me? You are one tough cookie Zenobia. For a second there, I thought my exposition was gonna fall on deaf ears."
"My ears are ringing constantly, unfortunately it's not loud enough to drown out the lame pun that just came out of your mouth." Zenobia retorted, unamused by Astolfo's humor, but the man seemed to not mind as he nonchalantly picked his ear with his pinky finger.
[Boo!! Get off the stage!! ]
[Nugget_Digger: Ugh, I can't believe I am agreeing with the hoe, but she is right. What a lame pun. ]
[Hotheaded_Quiz_Master: Hah! Don't listen to the haters @ Bunny_Aachan, that was a good one!! ]
[Alolan_Form-Oak: It was perfectly timed too. Truly, Astolfo has a promising pun career ahead of him. ]
"Anyway back to your threat, definitely not gonna happen. Wanna know why?" He brandished the hilt of his sword to show to Zenobia.
"This noble phantasm's True Name is Vulcano Caligorante, or Fortuitous Netting. And get this, it was created by none other than Hephaestus, the greek god of the forge himself!! He designed and used it so he could capture his wife Aphrodite and Ares while they were in the middle of committing adultery.~"
Upon hearing the origin of the sword, Zenobia's eyes shot up in horror.
Astolfo just chuckled evilly, "That's right. If even two major gods of Greece could not break free from this net, what makes you think an exhibitionist with a stolen divine core of a minor goddess is going to fare any better?"
[Ms.Roxanne: In our terms, he means his noble phantasm is supereffective against Zenobia. ]
[Heart0f6old: Wow, so bindings are super effective against Zenobia huh? Kinky. ]
[CasCu: Not exactly, she is conceptually weak to the net because she is divine, not because of her legend. So in truth, having Stheno's divine core is biting her in the ass now. ]
And there it was, days of planning had finally bore fruit. It was rather frustrating Chaldea had wasted an entire day trying to see how they could lure Zenobia into unlimited blade works.
Then Astolfo just strolls up and asks: "why don't we just use my god capturing blade?"
True, It was Gudao's fault for overlooking that he had an asset like that in his arsenal, but Astolfo is equally at fault for never bothering to attend any war room meetings up until they he was forced to while the group was hiding out in caves.
"H-How did you even obtain such a priceless artifact?!" Zenobia's panic became even less restrained, as he could hear her trepidation with every syllable she spoke.
Astolfo meanwhile didn't seem to care about Zenobia's state and just stuck his chest out in pride, "I took it as a trophy after I defeated the giant Caligorante. I scared him with my horn and he got caught up in his own net. It was hilarious."
[MalasadaMayhem: Astolfo, Bro, CONTEXT!! ]
[Nah, it's funnier that way. The giant was scared by how huge Astolfo's horn was and tripped into his own trap LMAO.]
This statement makes him wonder if it could do the same to legendaries, but he shelves that thought deep in his mind. The last time someone tried to use a chain to bind gods, it plunged Sinnoh into a near apocalyptic event.
"Heh, if it was me from only a year ago, I would have dismissed such a claim, but seeing as how the purple girl is struggling to free herself, now I'll just give the pink boy the benefit of the doubt." Agatha chuckled, which just sent a chill running down his spine.
He can never get used to that woman's laugh, even after all these years.
But she was right. If Zenobia was to be believed, any normal chain would have disintegrated or broken before they could bind her. The fact that these didn't lead credence to Astolfo's words.
Zenobia's jaw muscles clenched as she bit the upper part of her chin past her lower lip. She was visibly frustrated with the situation, but she had no way to free herself.
"I see, then I guess I have no choice then,"
The goddess gently floated into the air and quickly manifested two halos behind her back.
One of the halos looked like it was an ancient construct of light that had been shattered into multiple pieces but kept its circular shape. It was connected to a significantly larger halo made of what looked like a hemp rope.
"I am going to put all my focus into killing you." She glared at Astolfo, who once again showed no concern for Zenobia's threats.
The circles spun in opposite directions, but the tendrils connecting the halos did not interfere with the spin. It created a rather breathtaking lightshow.
A lightshow of death.
Before the spinning halos could spew out their attacks, Zenobia's attack was interrupted by a kick to the head, courtesy of Saint Martha.
The goddess cursed as her halos abruptly vanished and her face met the solid ground.
Zenobia spit out a glob of blood and glared at Martha but it turned to surprise.
"You healed my ears?"
"Yes I did, because I want you to hear me loud and clear when I reprimand you."
Martha grabs Zenobia by her chains and lifts her up to make eye contact.
"You are a pagan heretic, a false idol who wishes for people to worship her. By all accounts, you are my enemy." Martha's face softens.
"Even so, I cannot help but feel pity for you. It is truly sad to see a person fall prey to their own revenge and ambitions. You might view your crusade against Rome as righteous, but it is folly. Your actions will hurt many more people than Rome ever did."
Zenobia laughed in Martha's face, "How funny that you of all people are speaking of unjust crusades, when I know for a fact your people will launch endless religious wars on my lands for a millenia after your death. Religious wars that will eventually escalate and lead to pigs erasing the history of my home!!"
Martha looked ashamed of that, "I am aware, and I do not condone such tragedies. I condemn them."
"Yet even when you say that, your opinion loses meaning when it is simply text on some scripture. If you were actually there to voice your concerns and show your miracles, none would continue to go to war for petty reasons!"
Martha gripped Zenobia's bindings even harder than before, "It is not the place for the dead to decide how the living shall live."
Zenobia chuckled, "And that is the main reason why the state of the world is in such an unfortunate position. Without a guiding hand to keep them in line, mortals will continue to make the same mistakes as their predecessors.
As an unaging goddess, I would be the one to help humanity reach heights that far surpasses whatever Rome could have possibly achieved."
Martha did not seem convinced, "A goddess you claim yourself to be, but in truth you are weak and alone. Even the other pagan gods disagree with your intentions.
Are you aware that the sun goddess of Japan physically interfered with Master Ritsuka's rayshift and had him land in Palmyra rather than the island where Tamamo, the one who prayed to her for aid, was?
She deliberately undermined you from the start by having you grow close to him because she knew your meddling would hurt humanity!!"
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Press X to doubt. Amaterasu does not give a shit about humanity, not even her own followers, Gudao-senpai ending up in Palmyra was a happy accident at best and a naughty coincidence at worst. ]
[Man, why are gods such a bunch of assholes? ]
[CasCu: Not all gods are, but it's mostly a pride thing. ]
Zenobia grits her teeth, and for a moment, a flash of what looked like doubt crossed in her eyes. The hesitance quickly vanished and Zenobia retaliated by having a group of wraiths manifest around her, but Martha did not have anything to fear, as they were impaled like the rest.
"Guhah!!" Zenobia wheezed as Martha kneed her in the gut, then drops her to the ground.
Martha stares down at Zenobia with a face bereft of amusement. "I am furious that you tempted my master with your lewd body and I hate that you used your underhanded charm skill to worm your way into his heart…. but even with these grievances of mine, I forgive you Zenobia."
Zenobia looked at Martha, befuddled. Martha just sighed, "I know how it sounds, and all I can say is that it is in my nature to forgive, teach others to seek forgiveness, and to forgive others. However, while I can preach forgiveness to everyone, it is still up to others to listen to my advice, and I am afraid the others in my group will not be as forgiving as me."
Martha walked away, a move which only infuriated Zenobia. She was predictably angered by this and tried to lunge at the saint, but a large, scaly hand crushed her body before she could.
"That was for my wing!!"
Biscione then transformed back into her voluptuous secretary self, much to Zenobia's surprise.
That surprise turned back to anger as Biscione smacked Zenobia's leg hard enough that it actually caused the goddess to shout in pain.
"It hurts doesn't it?!! You think slaying dragons is fun and glorious? Here's something the fairytales don't tell you, not everyone who fights a dragon becomes a dragon slayer!!"
[Dragon's-Iris: YEAH!! YOU TELL HER BISCIONE!! BREAK HER LEGS!! ]
[DRaigHan: I do not condone violence, except in this case because it was totally deserved!! Hit her again Biscione!! ]
[CaptainDrakeE4: I condone violence, especially when it's done against someone who has it coming!! Kick her in the cunt!! ]
[Kick her:Zenobia Butt Emote: !! ] x32
A surge of pride swelled within his chest at hearing those words. It was nice seeing a dragon fight back against would-be dragonslayers for once, or rather, a failed dragon slayer.
This whole singularity has been a wonderful PR fix for dragons. Honestly, it was getting kind of tiring having to see his favorite type get bashed online and in the media. -
The dull crack of Zenobia's legbone did not bother him, nor did the sound of Zenobia's screams, for they were the sounds of justice being delivered.
Before Biscione could break the rest of her bones, Zenobia rolled away, but she did so at a cost. The sharp chains, or net, dug into her skin and sliced it open. Blood stained the dirt, clumping up around her wounds and leaving a trail of red leading towards her body.
The mighty goddess Zenobia, once flying high and haughty in the sky, was now covered in bloodied mud and dust as she tried to escape her punishment.
A ping from TTS caught everyone's attention and he was not surprised at the identity of the speaker who redeemed the message.
[Burning_Jealousy donated 100 bits]
["How pitiful, the so-called goddess is now rolling around the dirt like some rabid bitch. How uncouth. Such a filthy hag like you does not deserve the love of my Anchin.
So do us and The World all a favor and kill yourself. "]
[Damn! Kiyohime went full internet troll! Lol! ]
Zenobia turned to face the camera and he had to suppress the small blush rising from his chest. Even as messy as she looked, he had actually managed to get lost in her eyes for a moment there.
That charm skill is dangerous.
He pointedly ignored the side eye that Agatha gave him and focused on the screen.
"Cheh, I do not know who this is, but I can feel the jealousy oozing from your lips. You call me a hag because you envy my mature beauty. You claim that I don't deserve Ritsuka, but you only say that because you felt threatened by the fact he couldn't keep his eyes from gawking at my body the entire time we were together!!" Zenobia sneered and he had to stop his mind from thinking of the way that woman swayed her hips as she walked.
Thankfully the next ping took his mind off the memory.
[Nugget_Digger donated 100 bits. ]
["Oh please, don't flatter yourself. Having a guy gawk at your body is not a difficult feat. Even an average looking woman can wear your ridiculous outfit in public and still have the lustful gazes of men aimed at them. You're not special. "]
Zenobia's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment, "S-Shut up!! I actually have a reason why I wear-."
The queen was cut off again as a familiar chatter voiced her opinion.
[PerfectlySaneHex donated 100 bits]
["Yeah, we know. Palmyra this, Palmyra that, and Rome humiliated me! blah blah blah.
No one cares.
You literally asked Gudao to let his family die, asked him to abandon billions just so he can have your loose, used up cunt and a kingdom made of sand. Fuck you. "]
Oh boy, here we go again.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose at the sheer stupidity of the chatters taunting Gudao's enemies again. It did not go so well last time against Gilles de Rais, and while it did work against Jalter, there wasn't enough data to conclude their heckling would help.
Whoever was listening to his thoughts seemed amused by them and decided to prove him wrong. And they did so by having Zenobia's armored white dress start flickering like a dying lightbulb the moment he opened his eyes to watch the screen again.
Huh, it's actually working?
"H-How dare you make such an accusation against me, you foul-mouthed miscreant!! I love Ritsuka. I would have done everything in my power to ensure his family and everyone in the future would survive the incineration!!"
And again, Zenobia refuses to understand why her logic doesn't make sense when looking at the bigger picture. Her entire singularity only came to be due the plans of Lev's master, so there is no way that she would be able to keep her promise to Gudao while also trying to keep her country alive.
[Za-WARUDO donated 100 bits. ]
["ALTERING TIME IS NOT AS EASY AS YOU MAKE IT SOUND TO BE, GODLING.
SHOULD YOU SUCCEED IN YOUR PLAN TO CHANGE HISTORY WITHOUT ROME, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT YOUR TIMELINE WILL LEAVE HUMANITY WORSE OFF THAN IN THE NORMAL TIMELINE. "]
"How can you possibly guarantee such a thing is true?! What could you possibly know about changing history?!" Zenobia's questions did not go unanswered when another ping from Za_WARUDO arrived perfectly timed at the moment she finished speaking.
["I KNOW A LOT MORE THAN YOU, CHILD. I AM NOT A NATIVE TO YOUR WORLD, BUT TIME IS MY DOMAIN. EVEN FROM AFAR, I CAN SEE THAT YOUR WORLD ACTIVELY REJECTS CHANGES TO TIME THAT DO NOT BENEFIT HUMANITY. KEEPING YOUR PALMYRA ALIVE AND TAKING ROME'S PLACE WILL LEAVE HUMANITY'S SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY LAGGING BEHIND THE HUMANITY OF THE CANONICAL YEAR OF 2015.
SO EVEN IF YOU MANAGE TO STOP THE INCINERATION, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP THE WORLD FROM HAVING YOUR PALMYRA DESTROYED. "]
Zenobia's face contorted into an expression he could only describe as constipation. It looked like she was trying to reign in something inside herself.
At the same time, her fancy white armor started to fray into particles of light at a much more accelerated rate than before.
He didn't pay that much mind, as he was more focused on the TTS messages left behind by Za_WARUDO. Under normal circumstances, any normal person would read these message and think the commenter is just lying so that they can say things to weaken Zenobia's resolve.
But this wasn't a normal circumstance.
The leagues around the world do keep track of who the most active commenters in Gudao's chat are, and have a portfolio for each.
Most of them are easy to track and locate, but a handful of them were noted to be impossible to find. These commenters had their own special folder, and Za_WARUDO is one of those commenters.
There were a lot of hints sprinkled throughout the stream, and while it's still possible these commenters are all part of some elaborate prank, it's still very possible that this is evidence of something that he and his fellow champions have been theorizing over private message apps for the past month.
That legendary pokemon are observing the stream and are interacting with chat.
If Za_WARUDO is a legendary commenter that claimed time as his dominion, then there are two legends who could boast of such a thing.
And considering the fact that this commenter has a very hostile relationship with another suspected legendary commenter in chat, the likelihood of Za_WARUDO being Celebi is null.
Which leaves only one candidate left.
Ugh, another problem to add to the pile of ever growing worries. A problem he will deal with later.
"You don't know that!! You're wrong!" Zenobia cried out but Astolfo interceded before she could continue ranting.
"Ah, that Za Warudo guy is right. You really do not want to mess with time travel, it won't end well for you."
"L-Lies!"
Astolfo tilts his head, "Is this the first time you got summoned from the Throne, or are you stupid or something? This is something that you, as a Heroic Spirit, should know about. Especially more so given how you are a goddess and all. You should have a better grasp of the truth than if you had been a normal summon."
"..."
Astolfo looked at her in shock, "No way, is this actually your first summons from the throne?!"
"Yes it is, so what of it?! How does that have anything to do with what's happening now?!"
"Man, that explains a lot. You're basically a newbie who still hasn't gotten used to the ropes of being a heroic spirit yet. Which is weird given how you're over a thousand years old," Astolfo said much to the irritation of the queen.
Wait, wasn't Jalter also a brand new heroic spirit as well?
Speaking of the devil, and she shall appear while pointing and laughing at the target of her mockery.
"Oh wow, over one thousand years across multiple timelines and this is the first time you were summoned? What a loser!!"
[Burning_Jealousy donated 100 bits]
["A loser indeed. To think a baby heroic spirit that is less than a year old would have more summons than a dirty hag. How pathetic.
Anchin, please give the order for my shadow servant self to burn this eyesore before she fully undresses herself."]
Kiyohime's words were correct as Zenobia's clothing had now reverted into rags, and her anger and hatred had turned to fear as she realized that she had effectively been neutralized as a threat.
She turned to Gudao, and was staring at him in trepidation. She pursed her trembling lips, and to his shock, she started to plead, "P-Please don't kill me… I-I don't want to die, I'm sorry for deceiving you, just please don't kill me."
"Oh my, she's groveling, whatever happened to that confident goddess who was raining death from the sky? Have some dignity and die with pride, woman!!"
Agatha was right, this was truly a sad sight. A woman who held overwhelming power over an entire continent now reduced to a mere pauper begging for mercy from the very man she tried to kill.
Yet, much to his frustration, it seemed to be working on The Last Master of Chaldea. Gudao's conflicted expression made him fear he was going to spare her.
"Cheh, that boy better not spare her because of the old flame they shared. Legends above I've seen this tragedy happen so many times it's gotten cliched." Agatha groused and he hummed in agreement. Zenobia had done too much damage already and needed to be put down before she caused more damage.
Thankfully, his concerns were proven wrong when Gudao solemnly shook his head.
"Sorry, but it is not my place to decide your fate Zenobia. There is one person here who holds an absolute right to punish you," He turned to Nero and gave her a nod, an action which caused the Emperor to smile brightly in approval.
Agatha scoffed, "Humph, that boy is still too soft, but at least he didn't do something stupid,"
Nero meanwhile strutted towards the defeated servant like an Oricorio.
"Umu! I see you have learned your lesson, My Praetor. That it is the will of your emperor that decides the fate of our adversaries."
Nero looked down at the terrified Zenobia with a smug grin,"I told you, didn't I?"
Nero bent over and grabbed a fistful of Zenobia's purple hair and pulled. Zenobia whined like a wounded animal as the petite blonde held the goddess by her hair.
"I am going to drag you by your hair back to Rome kicking and screaming, then I will parade you around in the nude so everyone can see you for the fraud you are, then I will braid your pretty hair and strangle you to death in honor of Jupiter."
"N-No please, don't-" Zenobia's pleas of mercy fell on deaf ears as Nero slammed the Queen's face on the ground.
Nero's cold eyes bore down on the queen as she continued to speak, "Oh, and I almost forgot! After this whole singularity thing is resolved, I am going to make an example of your precious Palmyra. It will be so horrific, so brutal and bloody that no mother will even dare THINK of naming their child by your name for centuries to come.
Once I have broken them, I will rebuild the city from its shambles and rename it to Konstantinos, in honor or my most beloved general. That is my will as emperor!"
Oookay, that might be a bit too much. Wait, if she does that, doesn't that mean the Third Century Crisis won't happen? Won't that negatively interfere with history?
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Not like she can follow through with that threat, she's definitely getting a mind wipe once the singularity is resolved.]
Ah nevermind then.
"No, leave my Palmyra alone!! Do what you want with me but don't-"
Nero turned away from the sobbing mess on the ground that was Zenobia and looked at Gudao.
"Now that the Heretic goddess has been subdued, it's about time we finish off Cleopatra and my wayward predecessor Caesar. After that, we shall seek and capture the mastermind of this puppet grovelling at my feet."
Nero emphasized her point by kicking Zenobia's face, silencing her cries into muffled sobs. Gudao and Mash winced at the brutal display, but Nero ignored them and puffed out her chest in pride.
"Once that is done, we can begin preparations for my glorious triumph!!"
A scream cut through the noise and the camera showed Cleopatra, pinned down by Tamamo Cat like she was a rattata.
The pharaoh had seen better days, as she was covered head to toe in wounds. Everything from claw and bite marks, to first and second degree burns, and she even had a nasty black eye that had swollen shut from the inflammation.
"Cleo!! No!! You foul cat!! Let her go!!" Caesar cried out for his lover and tried to run to his lover to save her, but this distraction proved to be the end of him.
To Agatha's utter surprise, Jing Ke manifested from the ether and stabbed Caesar in the back.
It would seem like Agatha's reliance on reports had some blind spots. Well, not that he could blame Karen, even though she is still busy and can't watch every stream.
Like the one where they had Simon send Jing Ke over and remain hidden so she could assassinate Zenobia should their final battle with her go wrong, but Zenobia had been subdued so there was no need.
Caesar was shocked at the intervention and tried to retaliate, but Jing Ke continued to stab the man over and over and over in multiple spots all across his body.
Caesar fell on his stomach, blood oozing from his wounds as the multiple stab wounds had been too much for his body to handle.
"Ah, I see… so history repeats itself… how tragic…" He looked at Cleopatra one last time and allowed himself to shed tears.
"I pray we meet again Cleo, my love, but I do not think the gods will permit such a reunion after the sins we have committed."
A sandal stepped between him and Cleo, looking up Caesar saw Jing Ke crouch down, giving him an unobstructed view up her robes.
Caesar chuckled, "Well… I guess it's not so bad to die at the hands of such a beautiful woman."
The assassin nodded, unbothered by his peeping up her skirt, "It is a sentiment many men hold before a knife is plunged into their hearts. I will not look down on you for it."
Jing Ke pointed her knife at Caesar, who looked like he had accepted his fate, "Now return to the throne among your fellow emperors."
Jing Ke stabbed Caesar in the eye, cutting his gelatinous sphere in two and piercing his brain.
The man slumped on the ground and started to vanish in motes of light.
He winced at hearing Cleopatra's wails of heartbreak at seeing her lover's death. Even though they were enemies, it was hard for him to reign in his emotions when hearing the pain of loss in a woman's voice.
Even Agatha was not immune to the tragedy. While she was just better at hiding her emotions from showing on her face, her body language was much harder to control. She had crossed her arms in a self soothing way the moment Cleopatra called out to her dead love.
There was a story there, one that he had no intentions of bringing up, so he minded his own business and kept watching.
"Pathetic."
The discomfort in his body vanished, replaced by a cold dread that crawled up his spine.
He frowned as the infamous Lev finally showed himself, looming over Cleopatra and Tamamo Cat.
Tamamo's body twitched and she threw herself back and landed on all four of her feet, her back raised like a frightened Meowth while hissing at a threat.
Cleopatra turned her tearful gaze to Lev and the moment they did, her tears evaporated from the scathing glare she was sending him, "You fucking bastard, of coarse you choose to show up now of all ti-"
Cleopatra's throat clenched, causing her to choke on her own words.
Then, her body flailed as she rose to the air. It looked like she was being held by the throat by an invisible psychic force.
Lev sneered at the gagging servant, "I've lost patience for that shrill voice of yours. Die."
A twitch of the finger and Cleopatra's neck snapped, silencing her forever.
He had to push the bile back down when he saw the grotesque sight of Cleopatra's limp body dangling midair.
He heard Agatha's breath hitch at the sight as well. Even the ghosts inside her shadow were shuddering in anxiety by the man's presence.
"No wonder Sabrina's mind broke when she tried to probe that monster's head. That stupid girl was too arrogant and prideful of her psychic abilities that she disregarded the massive amounts of dark and ghostly energies coming off from that thing." The old woman hissed as she glared at the screen.
He clenched his jaw at the reminder of THAT incident.
Everyone knows that Sabrina had been hurt by Lev months ago, but none knew just how bad it had been. When she tried to read his mind, her psyche was literally rippled to shreds. If not for some unknown intervention, she would have died.
She was better now, but her alakazam told him she lost her ability to use most if not all her psychic abilities. So she was, for all intents and purposes, a normal person now, and this monster was the culprit responsible for her condition.
"Dark I understand, but ghostly?"
Agatha shook her head and pointed her staff at the screen, "Ghosts of the dead don't care for distance or transmission. They can reach you very easily even through a television screen if they want. It's even easier in this case because the stream is a direct window to that world."
Agatha clenched her walking cane so tight, her hands paled from the loss of circulation, "And I can feel the suffering of thousands upon thousands souls oozing from that THING."
He gulped, when her words sunk in. This is going to be even worse than he imagined.
He looked back at the screen, and he shivered when the man's eyes bore into the bound form of Zenobia.
"What a disappointment you are Zenobia. After all the time, energy and resources I poured into you, THIS is how you repay me? Begging and pleading for your life like some swine squealing at the butcher to not kill them?"
Zenobia's lips trembled and she looked down in shame, Lev merely scoffed and turned his gaze to the group.
"Well well, I must congratulate you, Chaldea, you actually managed to completely flip the board and defeated Zenobia and her army with relative ease."
His eyes fell on Mash who looked at the man with a sad expression, then he looked at Gudao and scanned all the servants before him, "I see you have all gotten much stronger since the last time we last met in Fuyuki and have obtained so many allies to your side. So it's only logical you would be able to defeat that useless goddess."
His eyes lingered on Jalter, and a vein on his temple pulsed at seeing the woman in front of him.
Jalter noticed his anger, smirked at him then proceeded to flip him off. His frown deepened in disgust at the action, but he chose not to comment and turned his attention back to the group as a whole.
"Unfortunately for you lot, this is the end of the road. It doesn't matter if they are a demi-servant, servant, or a goddess. None of you shall ever surpass the power of a holy grail."
Lev then reached into his pocket and fished out a golden chalice. No matter how many times he saw it, he was always in awe of how beautiful it was. Shame it was in the hands of one of the worst people he had even come to know.
"So you had the holy grail all this time, didn't you Lev?"Romani asked, his voice dropping to a less friendly tone than usual.
Lev's smile returned when he heard the familiar voice of Romani, "Well of course I did, why would I entrust such a precious artifact to such a pretentious, incompetent child like Zenobia?"
Upon hearing his insult, Zenobia flinched, but no one was paying much attention to her, now that her boss had arrived.
"How ironic that the betrayer cannot even trust his own subordinates. It must be tough, huh professor Lev? " Romani said in a sarcastic tone.
Lev rolled his eyes, "You don't know the half of it. I was planning to give the Grail to a fitting fool, then sit back and enjoy the fireworks, but everyone kept raining on my parade.
First it was Romulus defying me at every turn, then it was Zenobia and her merry band of idiots having incompatible wishes with my King's grand vision."
Lev shook his head, "A task only made more annoying due to the fact that Stheno's core only made keeping Zenobia in line even more difficult. I could not alter her mind to do my bidding due to her skill, so I had to become her court magician and… ugh, advise her."
Lev sneered at the very thought of being helpful. Which isn't surprising given who he is.
"Honestly, there are times I wanted to strangle her because of how working with her reminded me of my time working for that bitch Olga Marie-"
At the mention of Olga, Gudao snapped at Lev, "Shut up!! Don't say her name so casually you bastard!!"
Lev tilted his head, "Oh, look who finally learned to talk back. It's been a while, boy. I see you are still attached to that insufferable Director of yours after all this time. And for the record, no, you can't make me stop talking about her. I have every right to air grievances about a former boss."
"You were more than a subordinate to Director Olga, she loved you and you spat in her face and you killed her!! And today we are going to avenge her death! "
Lev yawns, "How boring, I didn't show myself to hear all of you yap about a whiny child, I came here to-"
[PsychicMoostache(MOD) redeemed Sand Attack.]
[Poll results:
Sand attack: 100%
Chat used Sand Attack.]
A spray of sand hit Lev square in the face, an action which caught him completely off guard as he flinched from the sudden attack.
[PsychicMoostache(MOD): That was for hurting my Sabrina you treacherous worm. ]
[Short_Shorts_QUEEN: YEAH WE FUCKING GOT HIM!! FUCK YOU LEV!! ]
[FUCK YOU LEV.] x 3711
[It's not enough!! Olga still needs to be avenged!! He needs to suffer!! ]
The stream of sand eventually fizzled out, leaving behind an irritated Lev Lainur.
Whatever levity the top hat man had shattered as he turned towards the camera's direction.
He gasped as a wave of pure malice hit him squarely in the chest. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead as he saw Lev take off his mask of humanity.
His mouth was now filled with razor sharp teeth and his eyes had transformed into complex inhuman red eyes surrounded by a black sclera.
Lev narrowed his eyes at the camera, "So, the mysterious interloper from back then finally reveals themselves. I was expecting you to show up.
Who could have guessed that the mysterious force I sensed stalking the halls of Chaldea back then was actually a benefactor of humanity?"
His heart started to pound in his chest, he wanted to turn off the tv, but he felt pinned to his seat.
"So you can see them." Gudao said, with a bit of trepidation in his voice.
Lev just laughed, "Heheheh, no I can't see them. I can sense their presence well enough, especially after they attacked me with that pitiful attack of theirs."
Lev stopped laughing, and put his hands behind his back, and subsequently, his features returned to normal.
"I'll admit, when I and many of my brethren heard of an angel descending from the sky and breaking through Fafnir's anti magic defences, we were concerned that these interlopers were going to cause an issue for our king's plans. Luckily for you welps, our king is wise, and he didn't even consider your paltry trick worth his notice. I didn't understand his reasoning at first, " His smile widened.
"But now I see why our worries were unfounded. If throwing sand, kicking, and screaming out petty insults like a primitive chimp is the best it can do, then it was merely a waste of time to waste so much time being worried about you."
Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A rush of heavy air rushed from his screen and smacked him in the face.
He could see Agatha gasp in horror as the monster before them took off his mask once again
"Not that it matters, because you are going to die alongside the people you are so desperate to help!!"
Seeing the imminent battle approaching, the servants around Gudao began to get into battle ready positions, an action which only made Lev laugh.
"Hah! Do you lot seriously think you can fight me just because you outnumber me?!! How laughable!! I am no servant, they, and by extension you, are all insignificant and worthless compared to our King!
Allow me to show you his favor!!"
The ground shook as Lev's magical energy skyrocketed. Dust blew in all directions, and he winced as the wave of magically dense air slammed into him.
Thankfully, the sand did not cross through his screen, but that hardly made the feeling any less pleasant.
A brilliant explosion of light briefly shone on screen, and it dissipated.
He let out a gasp as he saw the true form of Lev.
Lev no longer bothered to hide in a humanoid vessel, instead he had transformed into a massive pillar of flesh that protruded from the ground. It was like some ugly, messed up digglet had burrowed out of his worst nightmares and grew to the height of a skyscraper.
Its bulk was so massive that the camera could not show the whole of Lev's body from up close. Instead, the camera zoomed out to show Lev's entire body.
The monster that emerged from Lev was a pillar of flesh that was covered in dozens, upin dozens of eyes, all of them staring in multiple directions.
[Yo!! What the fuck is that?!! ꉂ૮(°□°'˶)ა ]
[Dragon's-Iris: So many eyes… (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ ) ]
[Oh, hello trypophobia my old friend. ]
[PsychicMoostache(MOD): I knew he was a monster… but I never expected Lev would be this horrid. ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: I can't believe it!! Poor Olga was in love with THAT?!! ]
Agatha covered her mouth, her old body reacting like it wanted to vomit. It became clear why she felt that way, as the screen zoomed in on the creature's skin and it nearly made him want to do the same.
Thousands upon thousands of people, all of them were clumped up together and many of them were in various states of agony.
He could see men, women, and children in that crowd, and it looked like they covered every inch of that massive pillar of flesh.
Wha-what the fuck is this thing?!!
[Hool4hHoops: Ugh, gross, it's even more grotesque than I imagined. ]
[Za-WARUDO: HM, SO THE MONSTER FINALLY SHOWS HIS COLORS. ]
[HeavenlyDivinePearl: JUST LOOKING AT ITS GENERAL VICINITY MAKES ME WANT TO EMPTY MY BOWELS. ]
[Eon_Red: AAAAHH, SCARY DIGGLET!! ]
[There are people inside that thing!! PEOPLE!! AND THEY ARE ALL CRYING OUT IN PAIN!!! ]
[This is gonna haunt me in my dreams tonight. Fuck this, I am out. Good luck Gudao, I hope you survive this. ]
"What a horrid abomination!! How can such a grotesque creature exist in this world?!!" Nero yelled at the monstrosity that is Lev, who merely laughed.
"That's right!! Recoil from my horrid form!! I hope you enjoy every moment because it will be THE LAST THING ANY OF YOU SEE!!!"
"So you were speaking the truth back in Fuyuki Lev. "
"Indeed, but now that I have shown my true self, it's only appropriate that I reintroduce myself. I am Lev Lainur "Flauros!" One of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods who brought the incineration of mankind!! Now prepare to join your beloved Olga in oblivion!"
Lev's eyes began to jumble around in all directions, and it began to chant something.
"Time for the intelligence bureau to come to order. We expose the past and collapse the future. Incineration Ritual: Flauros."
The camera jumped back to Gudao, just in time to see a massive plume of black magical energy rush towards them.
Mash and Jalter had noticed the impending death and simultaneously slammed their shield and flag, and called out the true names of their noble phantasm.
"Lord Chaldeas!!!" "La Grondement du Haine."
The cloud of magical smoke slammed into the two noble phantasms at the same time, which caused the two girls to grunt in exertion as they protected both Gudao and Nero.
The attack had happened so quick, that some servants didn't manage to make it to the safety of Mash's shield or Jalter's flag in time.
When the magical cloud dropped, Biscione, Jing Ke, and Elizabeth were all laying motionless on the ground and were vanishing into motes of light. Charlemagne and Tamamo Cat were the only ones left who had been caught in the blast.
Charlie was more roughed up than Tamamo, as he had used his body to protect the cat-foxgirl.
Four servants down in one attack, three dead and one heavily injured. How can they possibly fight against this thing?!!
"25% death rate. Parameters unacceptable. Recharging."
________________________________________________________________
AN: Hey guys, I was getting a bit tired of just showing Gudao's POV, so, I did a little something different this chapter and wrote the entire singularity chapter through a pokemon world character's pov.
Honestly? This was more fun to write, and now I regret I didn't do this more often in previous chapters. It's a treasure trove of character development for pokemon characters without interfering with the main story.
Gonna continue using these kind of chapters more often, especially during moments when I can't make many meaningful changes to the plot of FGO.
Thank again to @Flowerman for helping me with Nasu lore and for listening to my ideas when brainstorming this arc.
Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a like and I welcome you to leave some constructive feedback if you wish.
See you next week.