Bonus Chapter!
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Yet despite Kaelar's resolve, the objective reality remained unsolved.After he redirected his Oathbreaker talent to Morgan, the backlash from the Broken Geis shook even his soul...
And that wasn't the worst of it. The true catastrophe was that the forging of the Sword of Humanity was left incomplete, missing a crucial element.
Though Kaelar's body was destroyed, his soul—bound to the Savior's Insignia—remained. The Geis imposed restrictions on every facet of his being, and violating that oath had nearly shattered his soul.
Even so, Kaelar was unshaken. He never regretted his decisions.
Yes, he could have used his talent to negate the effects of the Broken Geis. But he refused to let Morgan suffer for the blood oath he'd made. That would be unjust.
He was the one who had chosen to forge the sword; he was the one steering the course of fate. How could he let Morgan pay the price?
And so, even at the cost of a horror beyond reckoning, Kaelar chose to use this final talent on her.
In doing so, he set himself ablaze, sacrificing everything, while his true self remained brilliant and undeterred, as his soul began to shatter inch by inch under the Geis's retaliation and the crucible of the forge...
Yet his eyes remained alight, his true self unmoved, as solid as the mightiest mountain.
"Rules exist to be broken. No law is absolute."
"The Geis cannot be broken… but if I pay enough of a price myself, can I perhaps amend the flaw in breaking my oath?"
With his soul and will consumed, only this final essence of his true self remained, carrying the last will of this saint.
But now, with the Sword of Humanity ninety percent complete and on the verge of failure, Kaelar resolved to sacrifice what remained of his true self.
His essence was too steadfast, too radiant, too unyielding. This indomitable will could stir the course of human history itself. Even within the cosmic forge that could melt a star's blessing, it refused to be refined into sword material.
No ordinary forge could melt Kaelar's true self, nor could the most skilled blacksmith manage it.
Only Kaelar himself could shatter his immovable essence.
Under his iron will, his true self fragmented into countless shards, flowing like a river into the sword. But his spirit was so powerful that just a fraction sufficed to pay the cost of the Broken Geis.
With the Geis backlash nullified, the Sword of Humanity was ninety-nine percent complete. All that remained was a fraction—to substitute for the Broken Geis with a new principle: "He who wields this sword must be compassionate and ready to fight for the salvation of all."
The remaining fragments of his essence continued to pour in, and with just a third more, the Sword of Humanity—meant to save humanity itself—was finally completed.
Morgan poured her last reserves of magic into the sword, igniting the concept of the forge in a fierce blaze. In that searing fire, the sword to save the world was finally born.
In forging the Sword of Humanity, the world had not yet perished, and no one else had been sacrificed.
Except for him.
Morgan, all her energy focused on the sword, had paid no attention to her appearance or posture. She knelt beside the forge, one small hand supporting her body. She had to witness this sword, the culmination of her love, her world, brought to life through her lover's sacrifice.
In the glow of the flames, she almost saw...
...he was reborn from the fire, smiling at her from within its depths.
Arthur... You must save the world. You must defeat the Beast who threatens it!——
Meanwhile, Artoria and Nero's battle had reached a fever pitch, with the ring of destruction meant to annihilate Britain now less than a thousand meters from the ground.
At its current descent, in half an hour, Britain would be erased from existence.
Nero's attacks grew increasingly frenzied. Her Primordial Flame had long since been discarded. As the fight dragged on, Nero's civility was replaced by pure, unrestrained bestial rage.
Humans evolved past their animal instincts by using tools.
Now, however, Nero had abandoned her tools, attacking Artoria with her most primal weapons in a ferocious assault.
"Weak! Pathetic! So weak!"
Nero's laughter was manic. "Is this truly the extent of your power? With this pitiful strength, how do you expect to protect your kingdom?"
"Give up and submit to my judgment, Barbarian Queen. This is humanity's destiny!"
Artoria's face was lined with fatigue. Unlike this relentless beast, she, though a goddess, could still grow tired, though her limits were far beyond mortal comprehension.
But after Nero's relentless assault, Artoria's energy had reached its peak, and she was holding on by sheer willpower.
Even so, Artoria's expression remained calm, which only infuriated the already volatile Nero further. She did not want to see Artoria serenely accept judgment; it brought to mind that 'Messiah.'
Nero was desperate to see Artoria's composure shattered, to break her pride. If not, then she herself might be the one driven to a breaking point.
But Artoria remained calm. Despite their deadly struggle, her mind was at peace, holding no attachment to Britain.
She fought with all her might to leave no regrets.
At the same time, she forced herself to quell any thoughts of Kaelar.
For Artoria, it was clear why Kaelar had yet to appear.
He would never abandon Britain or humanity to flee, yet his figure was nowhere on this battlefield.
Then it was certain...
He was searching for a way to defeat this Beast.
Nero, still pressing her attack, suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, where is that man? Where is Kaelar?"
"The one who dared to stain Rome's jewel, the one who tarnished the Empire's brightest treasure. That audacious man—where is he? He is your servant, is he not? He belongs to your barbarian kingdom, doesn't he?"
Artoria's lips tightened, remaining silent. Nero, taking this as confirmation that Kaelar had fled in fear, burst into laughter.
"So, he's run off in terror of my grandeur? A foolish brute, where could he possibly escape to?"
"The entire world is under my judgment. Even if he ran, he'd only delay his end by days, like the coward he is!"
"Silence!" Artoria's fury was now unrestrained. Summoning what little godly power she had left, she cast another Sacred Judgment. "You vile beast, drunken with lead and lunacy—you have no right to speak of him!"
"Hahaha! But isn't it the truth, Barbarian Queen?"
Nero's claws shredded the Sacred Judgment, laughing as she finally...
...finally found the Barbarian Queen's weakness.
Nero began a tirade of insults aimed at Kaelar: "That craven coward who dares provoke with words only under the Messiah's protection. The moment the Messiah fell, he fled back to his kingdom."
"How pitifully weak he is! Does my splendor inspire such fear in him?"
"Shut up! I command you, vile beast!"
Unable to suppress her longing for Kaelar and hatred for the Roman Empire any longer, Artoria's anger finally erupted, her usually composed self descending into wild fury.
With her guard down, Artoria's mistakes multiplied, and Nero, driven by her animal instincts, found and exploited each vulnerability.
Both warriors attacked with relentless speed, each landing devastating blows on the other. Artoria left Nero with numerous wounds, yet within moments, Nero's body would restore itself.
Likewise, Nero's claws tore through Artoria's defenses, but with the absolute protection of Avalon, Artoria was unfazed by the need for defense.
However, no Noble Phantasm is invincible. Avalon was the strongest defensive Noble Phantasm in the world of the moon, but it, too, had its limits.
No one knew how long they'd been clashing, but Artoria suddenly felt her divine power drain to a flicker. Although new energy quickly filled the gap, she felt an ominous foreboding.
Nero's attacks allowed no respite; each second, countless blows landed on Artoria.
During that fleeting moment of exhaustion, Avalon's scabbard, deprived of divine energy, was knocked from Artoria's body, vanishing beyond reach.
With the Holy Sword gone, the scabbard had lost its vessel. If Artoria had not embodied Avalon, the scabbard would have disappeared long ago.
And now, it seemed, it had finally followed its sword.
For reasons unknown, a fierce pain blossomed in Artoria's chest. This wound was not from the Beast, but from the knowledge that someone irreplaceable had been taken from her.
A vision came unbidden—she recalled the day Morgan had handed her Excalibur, accompanied by a prophecy.
Lose the Holy Sword, and fate's blessings shall turn. Lose the scabbard, and all is lost.
"No... no, please..."
Artoria's face broke into the expression of a frightened young girl, a look of pure panic. Nero, mistaking her fear as panic over the loss of Avalon's protection, could never have known how little Artoria truly cared about that scabbard in her heart.
Nero gave her no chance to catch her breath. Her savage, beast-like eyes flashed with sadistic glee as her claws slashed toward Artoria's face. "Face your judgment, barbarian queen!"
And then, from afar, from deep within the planet, from Avalon, from that land of dreams, a light appeared. Warm and gentle, brilliant yet never blinding...
It was a sword—a holy sword. Different from the shattered Sword of the Stars before it; this was a Sword of Humanity, radiating the light of humanity and compassion.
This sword embodied hope. The hope of victory, the hope of salvation.
But as that hope appeared, the girl who had fought, resisted, and endured Rome's oppression without surrender finally collapsed into despair.
"This... this ending... I will never accept it! I will never accept this!!"
The girl known as Artoria understood all too well what that sword meant.
The one known as King Arthur knew precisely what that hope entailed.
Unacceptable. Utterly unacceptable. She could never, ever accept this ending!
Kaelar, Kaelar, Kaelar...! Did you truly believe that this would be better than fighting alongside everyone else, leaving no regrets?
But the past could never be undone.
And the living had to bear the full weight of the departed's hopes.
Only then could they honor the sacrifices of those who had gone.
Arthur... you cannot lose. You must be victorious. With this sword, your mission is to save, to defeat this Roman Beast!
Do what you must, Artoria. This is your final lesson.
——The gentle light from the sword seemed to speak these words.
The Sword of Humanity unleashed all its restraints, bathing the Revelation Beast that judged the world in the Savior's radiance, pinning it in place.
Nero's claws were now only a step away from Artoria, but they would never reach her.
"Beast! Nero! Roman Beast!!!"
Artoria, sobbing, her face devoid of any dignity of the Lion King, of any divine aura, broke down and screamed, "I will destroy you! I will destroy everything you hold dear, your precious Roman Empire!"
"I know... I have no right to judge you; I am not the savior of the world..."
"But I will tear you and your beloved Rome apart. This is the rage of Artoria, disciple of Kaelar, a mere barbarian!"
"What I wield now is no sword of justice for saving the world; it is my pain, my bitterness, my hatred..."
"Rome, be shattered!"
At Artoria's furious proclamation, a flicker of genuine fear finally surfaced in Nero's frenzied beast-like eyes.
As the Beast who sought to end human history, at that moment, Nero feared—feared the light of humanity, feared the Sword of Humanity forged by a Savior who sacrificed everything.
Artoria knew that Nero was a Beast with no concept of death, the embodiment of the entire Roman Empire.
She could not kill Nero, nor did she wish to, for her beloved, the one she admired most, had once spoken of "universal love" and the "education of all mankind."
Though Nero, as Rome's Beast, could not be killed, Artoria, wielding the Sword of Humanity, sought to deny her existence—deny her place within humanity's history, erase her from the most brilliant chapter of human civilization.
With Kaelar's ultimate sacrifice—the shards of his true self scattered into the blade—the Arthur of this moment was invincible, surpassing even the limits of the Beast.
Clutching the Savior's last gift, Artoria was imbued with Kaelar's mindset before he forged the sword, a soul overflowing with boundless love and forgiveness for all of humanity.
Her hatred for Nero and Rome simmered down, the Sword's influence helping her regain rationality. Only someone with Artoria's unwavering will could wield this blade without succumbing to its influence.
With a gentle wave of the Sword of Humanity, Artoria dissolved Nero's Beastly Authority. The corrupted sea monsters unraveled, transforming back into their original species. The crimson seas faded, reverting to a pure blue.
As the Revelation Beast that brought judgment, corruption, disaster, and sin upon humanity, Nero was perfectly countered by Kaelar's life-forged sword.
Nero could not move, overwhelmed by the weight of human history itself rejecting her. Resisting this rejection drained all her strength, leaving her incapable of mounting a meaningful attack.
She was the entirety of Rome's gods, emperors, and citizens...
But the Roman Empire could not bear the full weight of human history.
But that was all.
Nero had no concept of death. She was not a "living" being but a calamity—a full-fledged Beast. How could one defeat an entity with no concept of mortality?
Though Artoria, bearing Kaelar's will in the sword, could feel his presence and was willing to follow his path of love for humanity...
But Rome!
Rome alone was beyond forgiveness!
Fueled by an overwhelming hatred for the Empire and a resolve to see it destroyed, Artoria raised the Sword of Compassion against Nero.
She would not kill Nero. But she would obliterate Rome.
She would erase the "Roman Empire" she held dear from humanity's history!
Artoria would no longer kill—not even Nero. This was not only due to Kaelar's teachings of compassion but also because she felt unworthy of dealing justice to what Kaelar had fought for.
Only Kaelar—her teacher, her beloved—had the right to judge the Roman Beast, to decide her fate!
But sparing Nero did not mean absolving her from punishment, from torment...
If Rome was what Nero treasured most, Artoria would erase it. She would annihilate the Empire that Nero took pride in, her beloved homeland. She would deny Rome with all the authority of Britain's king!
This intent, her desire, transmitted itself directly into Nero's mind, and Nero's face twisted in fury as she shouted, "Barbarian! You shall never destroy Rome!"
"Rome is part of human history, the pinnacle of civilization, the very cornerstone of humanity's order..."
Nero spat, "Destroying Rome is a denial of humanity itself. Even wielding that sword as a symbol of humanity, you can't destroy it! You cannot use humanity to defeat humanity!"
"No, I can..." Artoria, her face streaked with tears, spoke with conviction, abandoning her usual royal pronouns. She no longer cared about being king; she only wanted Kaelar to live. "As long as I hold this sword, I can do anything!"
"Even if it means tearing you apart, breaking you to pieces!"
Nero was immortal, yet she was Rome itself. To destroy Rome, one had to defeat Nero.
It seemed an unsolvable paradox.
The Roman Empire was the foundation of Western civilization, a cornerstone of human history, impossible to erase without rejecting humanity itself.
"Haha... how ridiculous! How utterly ridiculous!"
Though bound, Nero burst into laughter. "The Savior born to save humanity, wielding the sword forged from his sacrifice, ultimately stands against humanity."
"This is the love of humanity... the deeper the love, the greater the desire to destroy."
"Kaelar, my eternal foe—you conquered me, you conquered Rome, and for that, I respect you..."
Tears of mirth ran down her face as she continued, "But you could not escape humanity's twisted love. Though you have perished, your successor continues to oppose humanity in your name."
"Kaelar, you became an innocent god. Your ideals will be twisted, your compassion turned into cruelty and hatred... Hahaha, you defeated Rome, but you did not win, Savior Kaelar. You lost, succumbing to my Anti-Messiah in the end!"
Nero, as the foundation of the human tree—Rome—could tap into the power of human history itself.
Meanwhile, Kaelar, embodying humanity's aspirations, ideals, and the perfect archetype of selfless, nameless, and ego-less virtue, represented humanity's future.
This sword Kaelar forged was humanity's collective hope, and its wielder could channel the entirety of human culture, ideals, and heroes in a single blow.
Thus, their battle was one of humanity's past versus its future, reality clashing with ideals.
"Silence, Roman Beast! You have no right to judge Kaelar's deeds!"
Artoria, weeping, glared with uncharacteristic malice. This was not the Artoria everyone knew; her heart was filled with sorrow and fury. Only the gentle light of the Sword of Compassion held her together, keeping her from completely falling apart.
"If you think slandering Kaelar will prolong Rome's legacy, you are gravely mistaken..."
Her gaze hardened with resolve. "I, Artoria, will erase Rome."
With a single swing of the sword, Artoria invoked human history. Countless philosophers from the West and sages from the East, all who aspired to the ideal of the saint, and those influenced by their teachings...
All of these endless forces of love and compassion gathered in her Sword of Humanity.
With compassion, there is no rival.
Tyranny and terror, dictatorship and oppression, could never quench the human heart's yearning for goodness and love.
Even the greatest evil, the harshest despot who sought to dominate the world, could never truly triumph over justice.
Nero sought to destroy human history. Thus, justice would be there to stop her.
In the brilliance of human history, Nero tried to wield Rome to shake humanity's very foundations, to rival Artoria's strike.
But she could no longer manage it, for she was Rome yet not Rome in its truest sense. She was a Beast, a scourge destined to revel in humanity's destruction, tainted and fallen.
As the end approached, Nero ceased her struggle, gazing upon the brilliant, all-encompassing light of humanity's virtue. In her emerald eyes gleamed a spark of manic glee as she laughed. "I am eternal, Kaelar! Our fates are bound to humanity's endless history!"
"Are you truly gone? I don't believe it..."
"Kaelar, I'll await you in the future!"
The Revelation Beast Nero was torn apart by the power of human history. Yet she did not die, her gaze still fixed on Artoria... or rather, on the Sword of Humanity in her hands.
We will meet again.
Artoria fared no better. Kaelar and Nero, each representing facets of human history, wielded concepts that tapped into its full weight.
Artoria endured the backlash of this conflict with the help of Kaelar's will within the sword, moving through the pressure of history.
The Roman Empire had fallen. Originating from the Seven Hills, the cradle of Western civilization was gone.
Originally, after the fall of Western Rome, the Eastern Roman Empire would persist for a thousand more years. Yet with Artoria's resolve, she defied history to end it.
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T/N: Fuuuuck this is gonna be a lostbelt right? Like it totally has to be, It's differed so much already from the pan-human history now ROME ITSELF is gone from history
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
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