Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

"In that case, you'll be the last person I see before leaving Rome. Hopefully, Nero won't cause you any trouble later, Ciao~~~"

After saying this, Tsurugi promptly disappeared without a trace.

He left no keepsakes; I don't know if I should call it carefree, but rather heartless.

St. Peter, left alone in the cramped confessional, suddenly clasped his hands together and whispered a prayer.

Lord, your prophecies about me may still come true.

Those who disregard fate and act arbitrarily without considering it will also become part of fate.

But at this moment, I still sincerely pray to you that all living beings may truly attain a beautiful world.

He couldn't tell which of the absurd worlds, born from one person's two ideas, was better.

All believers can do is place their hopes on others.

"Amen." He crossed his hand over the cross on his chest and bowed his head in prayer.

259

The city was burning fiercely in flames.

Surrounded by forests and built on a plain, the city is named after Paris, the irresponsible Trojan prince from whom Rome originated, and is also the capital of the Roman province of Gaul.

Paris

The future capital of France, a renowned fashion capital, a city of thieves, and a romantic city 60% corrupted.

However, these are all things of the future; in fact, it should be said that there is no future here.

The raging crimson flames spread to every corner of the city.

The people in the city were wailing and fleeing in all directions like headless flies, but not a single person chose to escape from the city.

It's not that I don't want to, but I can't.

"Where are the Roman reinforcements? Why haven't we heard anything yet?!"

Inside the lavish governor's palace, the Gallic governor Julius Vindex gripped the shoulders of his personal guard tightly and demanded an explanation.

This provincial governor, who should have launched a rebellion in Gaul five years later due to dissatisfaction with Emperor Nero's rule and tax policies, declared himself emperor, and ushered in the famous "Year of the Four Emperors," was now in a sorry state.

Looking back to when the news came a month ago, how disdainful and high-spirited Windex was.

When faced with Roman soldiers who had fled from the British provinces, Vindex berated them as a disgrace to the empire, saying that despite their rigorous training and superior equipment, they had been defeated by a bunch of barbarians!

He chose to hang the officers of these fleeing soldiers, even as they pleaded and explained that their surrender was forced and that they faced a terrible enemy.

But Windex scoffed at all of this. He didn't believe such a thing could happen. Would the gods descend and protect those barbarians?

The noble and great Roman Empire deserved to rule the whole world; everywhere else except Rome was a place rejected by the gods!

This kind of arrogance existed in the hearts of almost every Roman nobleman, even though Vindex was actually from a noble family in the province of Gaul and did not have much Roman blood in him, he still thought so.

So he dispatched his elite legions to launch a sea expedition against Britain.

He was convinced that his meticulously trained legion would not disappoint him—could a well-trained Roman legion, armed with shields and spears and clad in armor, possibly lose to a bunch of barbarians wielding clubs?

More than a month has passed, and there has been no news of the troops he dispatched.

If at first he could still explain it away as a storm at sea, after receiving the harsh orders from the Roman emperor, Windex could no longer sit still.

He mustered his troops and prepared a fleet to cross the Channel to attack Britain—even though he looked down on the young, devilish emperor, the emperor's orders and the reality of mutual dependence made it impossible for him to remain calm!

But just as his army assembled at the port, preparing to set sail...

A foul-smelling wind suddenly swept down, followed by the monster from the nightmare.

The Scarlet Queen, the Blood God's Whip, the monster that these fleeing soldiers spoke of, the one who forged her throne from the heads of tens of thousands of Romans, has descended.

She was far larger and more terrifying than the soldiers described.

A colossal creature, fifty meters tall, with blood-red wings, sharp claws, armor, red eyes, and countless heads that almost covered its body!

She almost instantly crushed the legion assembled by Vindex, slaughtering, destroying, and trampling them.

Her crimson blood collected countless Roman skulls, while crimson fire burned throughout the city.

No one could escape, because she was outside the city.

Realizing there would be no more reinforcements, Windex stared palely at the scene outside the Governor's Palace window: the owner of the blood-red flames that were gradually burning and devouring all the living people in Paris, the enormous figure standing outside the city.

She seemed to grow even larger, as the massacre unfolded and the skulls of tens of thousands of Romans piled up, her already enormous body seemed to rise another ten meters.

Was this the kind of Britain that Claudius conquered? Was this the kind of enemy that Caesar faced? How did they manage to do it?

Windex was destined never to know the answer to this question. The Gallic governor, slumped in his seat, now understood that he had no way out.

The Crimson Queen stood silently outside the city, her greatsword, stained with blood, indifferently watching the city gradually engulfed by blood flames, and the Gauls who had turned to ashes along with the Romans.

"Come out with me! I need to talk to her!" Windex roared painfully, his eyes red.

"This is Rome's fault, the empire's misjudgment. The Romans, not the Gauls, should bear all the blame!"

259 >>

"This is Rome's fault, the empire's misjudgment. The Romans, not the Gauls, should bear all the blame!"

When he reached the final moment of life and death, he seemed to finally remember his Gaulish origins and the many fellow countrymen in the city who shared his roots but whom he had treated as slaves and inferiors.

The Gallic governor was helped onto his horse by his attendants, and then galloped away, passing through burning cities and people who sought his help.

Vindex noticed that those who cursed and questioned him were Romans, whom he considered his own people. Those who pleaded with him and were full of hope for him were his Gallic compatriots.

But at this moment, no amount of emotion mattered. Windyx sped out of the city, and the Scarlet Queen standing at the city gate noticed him.

Standing at her feet, Windex felt more directly the colossal size of the giant and the terrifying, bloodthirsty aura that soared to the sky, enough to suppress all his thoughts.

"Queen of Britain, you may avenge your hatred of Rome, but the Gauls here are innocent!" Vindex pleaded, trembling.

"Please have mercy! We will leave Rome and fight alongside you!"

That enormous, scarlet figure seemed to be thinking, or perhaps reminiscing, after a breathtaking pause.

"Rome must die!!!"

The Crimson Queen issued a chilling declaration, and in the next instant, she spread her wings, from which countless crimson chains of pain shot forth.

Then, under Windex's bloodshot gaze, he was bound by countless chains, which tore his body and skin apart, and lifted up in endless pain.

Then, he witnessed a bloody and brutal massacre.

Those targeted by Boudica's declaration as Roman subjects, whether true Romans or Gauls, all suffered extremely cruel torture and slaughter.

Slave owner, slave, merchant, apprentice, nobleman, outcast

Everything that carried human civilization from top to bottom perished in blood.

Just as this disaster was coming to an end, a ray of divine light appeared outside the city.

"That's enough, you pest!!!"

A powerful shout rang out, followed by a handsome man wielding a sword descending amidst the radiance.

"Rome stands here, and I am Augustus..."

Whether it was due to the massacre of the Romans or the summoning of humanity itself, this follower of a Roman emperor, just about to utter a powerful entrance announcement, was interrupted by a frenzied roar.

"Roman Emperor! I will kill you a thousand times over, and that won't be enough!!!"

Having witnessed the Roman emperor, Boudica, driven to utter madness, was instantly covered in blood-red armor, and a blood-red, ferocious greatsword materialized in his hand, which he slammed down with a mad roar!

boom!!!

Whether the attack struck and defeated the Servant is another matter, but the city behind it, and all of Paris, collapsed under the deadly sword aura raging from the tip of that sword.

Countless scarlet spikes emerged from the ground, piercing through the people in the city, tearing their bodies apart, and draining every drop of blood from them amidst their cries of agony.

"This sword? You are Queen Boudica of Britain, how could you have fallen to such a state..."

The Roman emperor Giuseppe Castiglione, who had narrowly escaped death, looked at the blood-red, ferocious greatsword—no, it should be said that he saw through its essence and saw the form hidden beneath its ferocious appearance.

The Sword of Victory, which cannot be sworn to, is not the Holy Sword of the Stars, nor can it guarantee victory for its master. It is an imperfect sword of wish, but it is still blessed by the goddess, embodying Boudica's protection and love for Britain.

Like Boudica herself, he wields his weapon for a loving woman. Even during their brief time together in Chaldea, he glimpses a compassionate woman who faces hardship and hatred with equanimity.

But now, what exists here is completely different, even the exact opposite.

Neither sword nor man is compassion. All that remains is a mad dog that relentlessly pursues Rome, a beast eager to tear the throats of every Roman emperor and torment them in agony.

As if it were a hatred and denial of the entire Roman civilization, Boudica abandoned his shield and tainted his sword. With the malign intelligence of hatred for Rome, and even for civilization itself, he condensed this scarlet form. Such an incarnation can no longer be called a heroic spirit.

But—such power is far beyond Boudica's capabilities! While she may have the qualifications, she lacks the ability and skill to coalesce into a concept of hatred for Rome! And the power that corrupts her spiritual foundation is also...

Before the Roman emperor could finish his thought process, he was met with Boudica's frenzied attack!

Fighting on home soil, and in a time that suits his era, he, as a Servant, could undoubtedly perform at his best. However, when the enemy's power had already transcended the realm of Heroic Spirits, these advantages became meaningless.

259>>>>

Three minutes and thirty-three seconds later, the Roman emperor, who had fought with all his might but could not defeat the enemy, finally died in resentment and was banished to the Throne of Heroes.

In burning Paris, amidst the barren ruins of flames, the Crimson Queen retreated from her wounded and bloodstained body.

"Ha, ah, ah..."

She gasped for breath, her body curled up amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood. Her pristine white clothes were already soaked and blackened with blood. She raised her beautiful face and stared blankly at the burning Paris. Then, she looked behind her.

There was only a dark, empty forest there.

She no longer has any followers.

After driving out the Roman invaders, the other British tribes had no reason to continue fighting alongside their queen. Boudica, too, did not want her people to join her.

"Am I really going to keep killing like this forever...?"

Boudica gazed at the greyish-white sky, murmuring somewhat blankly.

There are no answers, no responses, because some things, once started, are destined to never stop.

The power that Tsurugi bestowed upon her was not merely to give her a new form, but to infuse her spiritual foundation with hatred for Rome. Therefore, even though she had driven away the invaders, this hatred for Rome would not be extinguished.

Because this is no longer just her personal hatred, but the hatred of the whole world towards Rome!

The countries they invaded, the past they slaughtered, the cities they colonized, the civilians they plundered and enslaved.

Rome committed countless atrocities in its pursuit of human 'civilization,' but this was simply part of the law of the jungle. Now, this hatred has merely found a master.