AN: This is Part 2 of this week's chapter, had to split it in two because it was too big for webnovel. Go read part 1 before you read this one.
"Hm, so how do we know you aren't Zenobia pretending to-" "I FOUND STHENO!!!"
Nero's question was answered immediately when Tamamo Cat rushed to Stheno's side and glomped her.
"Oh my, Tamamo, it's so great to see you again." The goddess patted Tamamo between her ears, which elicited a purr from the girl.
"Well, I guess that answers our question. It seems like Ritsuka's gamble paid off, Stheno is now fully in control of Zenobia's body." Da Vinci said.
Now that the danger had passed, Mash had decided to speak up about one of her concerns.
"How is that possible though? Zenobia claimed you were dead. How can you be alive if you've been killed?"
Stheno smiled at Mash's question, "Ah, now that is an excellent question, my dear Wattson, and the answer is quite elementary."
Mash blinked in surprise and let out a cute 'eh?' at Stheno's unexpected pop culture reference.
Stheno smirked at the reaction, completely aware of what she was doing before she answered.
"It's because I am a goddess, and we operate under different rules. I died, yes, but I was also dormant when I got implanted into Zenobia."
She kept patting Tamamo's head, who was happily accepting her masterful earstroking.
"As for how I came back, well, that was an unintentional group effort by Zenobia and My beloved Darling~… Ah, I am talking about Ritsuka btw, just an fyi so you don't get confused."
Stheno added with a hint of smugness in her tone, which caused Mash and Jalter to frown at her.
"Since when could an ancient goddess of Greece speak in modern slang?" Romani asked and the goddess huffed.
"Excuse you, don't you know it's inappropriate to call a beautiful goddess like myself ancient?"
"Sorry. " Well at least Romani apologized.
Stheno huffed again, "Well rude idiots aside, the reason why I was able to be resurrected so to speak is from all the faith and magical energy Zenobia gathered during her campaign. My divine core had been crudely extracted by that monster Lev and it needed time to heal, but it was indirect faith so it was more difficult for my core to use."
Stheno sighed in an exaggerated manner that he's only seen in anime before,, "Man it was tough ya know? Being reduced to a pretty gem with no body or even a consciousness. If it wasn't for my Darling's voice I might never have escaped. Oh, and for the record, his command seal usage had a profound effect on me, so please do not be harsh on him for using them."
" I suppose we can make an exception, but I think we've been standing around talking for much too long already. Especially when the sandstorm Zenobia kicked up is still raging around us." Da Vinci dryly pointed out, to which Stheno just nodded.
"Right… well. I suppose that the reason that is happening cuz Zenobia is still alive and desperately fighting to regain control of this body as we speak." Stheno admitted, which caused the tension to come back.
"What do you mean by that? " Romani asked with trepidation, causing the goddess to stop petting Tamamo, much to the cat/fox girl's dismay.
"Hm, so it was temporary after all." Romulus postulated to which Stheno confirmed with a sad hum.
"To be perfectly honest, I am not 100% in control of this body… roughly, I am like… 95% in control… and dropping."
"T-that's bad!! How do we stop it!?" Mash asked in concern, which caused the goddess to giggle.
"My, to think you would care so much for me when we barely know each other. As expected of my Darling's cute little kohai. Well, if you want to know how you can stop it, there's only one true solution, and that is death."
"Of course it's death. It's always death when it comes to these complicated matters." he groused when he heard about the "solution" to Zenobia taking over again.
"Yes, I know it's hard, but fret not. Death is temporary for us gods… and besides, I want it to happen." Stheno rubbed her arm.
"I don't want to go back to that void. Even I, a goddess, have no idea if I will come back if Zenobia retakes control. So I need someone to kill me-"
"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!!" Jalter yelled as she lifted her hand excitedly in the air, which earned her a deadpan look from the people around her.
The driest of which came from Stheno herself.
"What? Are you getting cold feet? If you wanna die, lemme kill you! I've been staring at your stupid smug face looking down at me for days!! I need this!!" Jalter half begged half mockingly insulted Stheno to let her kill her.
Stheno shook her head, "Sorry but, while I am giving my consent to be killed, I do have one condition."
Jalter raised a brow, "Oh? And what would that be?"
Stheno's demure smile softened and she turned her beautiful gaze in his direction.
"My condition is… that I want Ritsuka Fujimaru to kill me."
He inhaled a sharp breath, his hands turning clammy as he realized what Stheno just asked of him.
"Absolutely not! Senpai doesn't need to stain his hands with blood!" Mash protested and she wasn't the only one, as Jalter and Martha spoke over each other to refuse the goddess's request.
"...may I ask why it has to be me?" He already had a feeling, but he needed to hear it from her.
"Why? Well it's because I'm Greek! What could be more tragic than being murdered by the man you love most?" Stheno cheerfully chirped out her rather weak reason.
That wasn't the reason why.
He narrowed his eyes and stared into the goddess's eyes. Stheno could not withstand his scrutinous gaze long and sighed.
"Good grief, it was just a prank Darling, fine I'll tell you."
Her demeanour turned somber, "You saw my life, so you know better than anyone how much I love Medusa. I loved her so much, as she was my little sister. Even when she turned into Gorgon and killed me, I couldn't come to hate her, I loved her until the very end. "
Romulus hummed,"I see, so you are like Remus, and you wish for my Rome to be your Romulus."
Stheno noticed their confusion and spelled it out, "Romulus is sort of correct, but the point I am trying to make is that someone I loved killed me in life, so it is only natural to have someone I love kill me now."
"Ah… I see. Well, I suppose that makes sense, but you cannot expect Gudao-kun to accept so eas-"
"Are you sure that's what you want, Stheno? Maybe we can find another way?" He cut off Da Vinci, much to everyone's surprise.
Stheno shook her head, "I am afraid there is no other way Darling. Sure you can order another servant to do the job, but we both know that, to you, it would be the same thing.
It pains me to make you sad my Darling, but, there will be times when you will have to make sacrifices like this. Whatever you choose, I promise I will not hold it against you."
Seeing that Stheno was not going to budge on her decision, his lips flapped as he let out an exhausted sigh.
"Fine… I'll do it." He reached into his side pocket and pulled out the knife Martha and the others made for him. For some reason, his mind was a lot calmer than he expected.
He unsheathed the blade and despite the gravity of the situation, he still found the reflective black surface beautiful.
The knife's handle welcomed his hand as he held it the way Chiyome taught him.
He took a deep breath for the hundredth time and walked to Stheno with a purpose.
The surroundings had gotten quiet, which made the crunching of dirt beneath his feet louder than normal.
He finally got close enough to Stheno that he could smell the perfume from her body. Zenobia really did like her perfumes…
"My Darling… Zenobia knows what we are doing… I can't keep holding her back forever… please…"
He clenched his shaking grip and closed his burning eyes.
He allowed some tears to run down his cheeks before he calmed his breath and opened his eyes.
He could see that Stheno was now standing stiffly upright with her trembling arms bent at a 90 degree angle. He could sense the bloodlust from those hands, they yearned to strangle the life out of him.
He bit the inside of his cheek before he sent a glare at Stheno, "You're a horrible person for making me do this, Stheno."
The goddess did not flinch from his harsh words, and only smiled, "Yes, I know."
His hand lashed out and the knife slid between Stheno's ribs and pierced her heart before it hit something hard.
Stheno gasped as the anti-spiritual properties of his knife cut through what he assumed was her divine core and split it in two.
A warm liquid gushed from her body in a rhythmic pattern, staining his hand a deep shade of red.
Ah, that was blood.
He felt a warm hand touch his face and when he looked up, he felt Stheno's soft lips press his.
Her kiss was so innocent, as she only used her lips to kiss him. It was, overall, a sweet kiss but one that quickly turned bitter as he felt the warmth leave her lips and spill onto his hand.
He noticed Stheno's body teetering and he caught her before she fell on the ground and held her dying body in his arms.
Stheno weakly smiled at him, "a goddess's first kiss is something precious, cherish it…"
Those were her last words before her hand fell limp and she exploded into motes of light.
A holy grail took her place where her body once was, but he was so distraught by what he had done that he felt no relief.
Only regret.
✦✧✦
After he killed Stheno, the sandstorm quickly subsided and the sun had once again reclaimed the sky.
Yet even though they had averted the worst, the mood remained somber.
"Is the battle finally over?" Nero asked timidly, which is a rare emotional state for Nero to emote.
"Yes, it is…" He said, his voice monotone and his mind still processing his actions.
Nero noticed his mood and awkwardly coughed.
"Umu… well, I am sorry you had to go through such an ordeal my praetor. But you did it for my Rome, so I will be forever grateful. While it is a shame that we do not have some enemy generals or royals to show off during my Triumph, we can still ride to Rome an celebrate-Woah!! What's happening to you my Praetor?!"
He looked down at himself and saw he was vanishing, just like in Orleans.
"We've obtained the Holy Grail, which means we have concluded our mission and are being called back to Chaldea, " Mash answered, her worry for him clearly visible to any who saw her.
Fou, the little ninja that he is, popped out from nowhere and let out a triumphant "Fou!!" in agreement.
"...You as well Mash? Well, I suppose that it does make sense that you will return to your times now that the anomaly has been resolved." Nero turned to look at the remaining servants and saw they were all vanishing too. But the one that really saddened her the most was Romulus.
"Progenitor…"
Romulus put a hand on Nero's shoulder, "Yes, my time has come to say farewell, but do not cry for me child of Rome. While I am not meant to exist in this era, so long as Rome exists, I shall be there alongside you."
His words moved Nero to tears, which she dried with the sleeves of her coat.
Then her ahoge dropped when she remembered something, "B-But Progenitor… our Roma is going to fall… And it is going to be my fault."
Romulus shook his head, "perhaps the country shall change administration and beliefs, and perhaps you will share the blame for that. However, do not fear for Rome, for Rome is eternal!! Rome will always welcome you with open arms, for you will always be Rome."
Romulus's body turned translucent and he stepped back to give his successor a final farewell.
Romulus spread out his arms in his signature pose.
"ROMA!!"
Nero's sadness waned and a smile appeared on her face. Then she copied the pose and exclaimed the same words.
"ROMA!!"
Romulus let out a hearty laugh that continued to echo even after he returned to the throne.
A translucent Altera and Boudica walk past Nero like she wasn't there and walked over to him and Mash.
"Well, it's been fun… but we have to go too." Boudica said.
"Thanks for deciding to help us last minute against Zenobia, I know it wasn't easy to turn on your friend like that." He consoled but Boudica waved him off.
"Don't worry about it, it was something I had to do. I couldn't stand there and watch a friend of mine walk down the same path I followed in life…."
Boudica's voice softened as she looked at the knife that was still in his hands.
"I'm sorry about Zenobia… I know she's done a lot of horrible things, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her if you meet her again."
He nodded, much to the dismay of Jalter and chat.
"Yeah, if I summon her or if I run into her again like I do with Liz, I'll be sure to have a nice, proper heart to heart."
Boudica let out a satisfied exhale at his response.
"Um, I promise we'll stop by Chaldea after this!! I really enjoyed your lessons!" Altera said, which made his reflexively want to pat her head… but then he remembered that he used that hand to stab her aunty to death.
He chose to use his other hand to pat her head.
"I'll be seeing you, Altera."
"Mhm"
His hand fell through as Altera's soft hair vanished beneath his fingers.
Tamamo Cat then crashed into his body, forcing out the air from his lungs.
"Thank you for giving me walkies, Master. Now I must head back to seek out the great and honorable Beni-Enma-sama so she can teach me how to cook some Italian cuisine!! Ah, but first I need to go buy some groceries, I heard there was a buy one get one free deal tomorrow- "
Tamamo Cat left the world the same way she entered it, by leaving everyone around her in a state of confusion.
"Cheh, well I guess there's not much left for me to do now… I'll see you later, Master." Jalter returned to Chaldea without saying another word.
Now only three remained.
"...Tell me something, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kirielight."
They both looked at Nero, who was looking exhausted from all the goodbyes she had to say in one day, "Will I still remember our campaign together? Will I still remember Charlemagne and Konstantinos?"
Mash's face fell, "... No. This era will be restored. Your memories of fighting Zenobia and her army, of fighting alongside Constantine the eleventh and us… they will be erased."
Nero held her arm and looked down at the ground, "That is a sad thing."
"Yes, it is…"Mash agreed.
There was a moment of silence between the three of them. Nero looked like she really wanted to say something, so they let her continue mulling her thoughts over without interruting her.
Finally she sighed and bowed apologetically. He guessed that the japanese bow he accidently gave her that one time stuck with her.
"I'm… sorry for the way I and my generals have been treating you Ritsuka and Mash, I know I have been ordering you around and making you do so much work and not giving you even a single reward… But I understand my Rome was just a small battle in the grand campaign you and Chaldea are waging against a great foe."
She crossed her arms and looked at them with a beaming smile, "I will tell you the same as I did with Charlemagne, Thank you for your exceptional service to Rome.
I will pray to the gods that your campaign is successful and you restore the glorious future that is Rome. For all roads eventually lead to Rome, that is what the progenitor and I believe."
Nero then got in the same pose as Romulus, and bellowed out a "ROMA!" at the top of her lungs.
Not wanting to let the poor emperor hanging after dealing with so much, they returned the pose and gave their own "ROMA" in farewell.
Nero's proud jojo stance was the last thing they saw before they left Rome behind.
[V-is4Victory!: Ta-daa!! Victini's here!!… ah fuck I missed the stream again. Dammit!! (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻ ]
Second Singularity Alluring Empire of Perfected Eternity: Septem - Ċ̸͉O̵̜͛͆S̶̬̆M̸̞͙͌̉Ǒ̷̗̋S̷͙̽͝ ̷̡̞͆D̸̪̺̐Ë̴̜̍Ṇ̴̨̍̎Ǐ̸̢͖̚Ē̶̳͚D̸͇̝̒̕.̷̟͚͋ RESOLVED.
AN: And Septem FINALLY comes to an end.
Phew, two singularities down, Five more to go. Man this was a heck of an arc to get through.
Thanks again to @Flowerman for helping me brainstorm and outline this arc, it was not easy but it was really fun and I hope you enjoyed it.
Next chapter will come out the following Sunday, on August 23th
See you then.