Chapter 117 – A Warning from Chaldea

Chapter 117 – A Warning from Chaldea

"Oh, everyone! Today, we march on Rome!!!"

"We're about to challenge the mighty Roman Empire! But there's no need to fear, for I am the King of Conquerors, and my army is the strongest!!!"

"This pride is the crystallization of the will of all my subjects, past and future!!!"

"Now, the time for expedition has come!!!"

"Oooohhhhhhh————————!!!"

"Oooohhhhhhh! Oooohhhhhhh! Oooohhhhhhh————————!!!"

…

Early in the morning, Ethan was awakened by Iskandar's shouting.

"Senpai, you're awake."

Mash came over, her face full of excitement as she said:

"The King of Conquerors is giving a speech before we set out, just listening to it really gets the blood boiling! Don't you want to come hear it too, Senpai?"

"I'm… fine without it…"

Ethan rubbed his forehead, waving his hand in refusal.

Ever since arriving here, he hadn't had a single decent sleep, and now he was woken up loudly again this morning—his head was killing him.

"Hey! After the battle between Father and Caster, didn't Father fight someone called the 'King of Heroes' or something?! So what happened, Father definitely won, right?!"

Mordred was clinging onto Waver, persistently pestering the poor man.

Ah, ah…

Could it be that Mordred just wanted to hear about the Fourth Holy Grail War, so she kept sticking to Waver?

"…Ah, Master, you came at the right time. It's almost time for us to depart, right?"

"And you, Waver-san…?! Your face is pale as a sheet?!"

Mash looked at Waver in shock.

Cough cough "It's nothing, just talking about old times with Mordred."

Waver, with dark circles under his eyes, walked toward the area where the troops were gathering.

"Let's go. Rider is waiting for us over there. Mordred, let's talk more later."

"Huh? It's morning already…? Oh well, I'll go ahead, you guys hurry up."

Mordred ran off into the distance.

Unlike the ever-energetic Mordred, Waver's condition was much worse.

It seemed that Pseudo-Servants were more susceptible to physical fatigue than ordinary Servants.

"Waver-san, are you really okay? I saw you staggering just now."

Waver wiped the corner of his mouth, though there wasn't a trace of blood.

"I'm fine. Back when I was at the Clock Tower, it was often like this…"

"Eh! Often?!"

Mash was so shocked she couldn't find the words.

"Good morning, everyone."

Reines approached gracefully from the side, her mercury maid also nodded lightly at Ethan and Mash.

"Ohya, isn't this Onii-sama? Why do you look so terrible?"

Reines approached Waver with great interest.

"…isn't it because you were fanning the flames yesterday?!"

"You can't blame me for that. You're always so tight-lipped about the details of that Holy Grail War."

"Forget it… it's time to gather, let's go."

Knowing he couldn't win a war of words with his little sister, Waver said no more.

Sigh, poor Uncle Waver.

Getting outplayed by his own sister again.

…

After that, everyone moved to the rally point, where Iskandar was standing with his arms crossed. When he saw Ethan and the others approaching, he gave a hearty smile.

"Oh! You're here, right on time. Let us march to war together…"

As his gaze passed over Waver's face, a look of doubt suddenly appeared.

"Hey boy, what's with that face? Don't tell me you got into a fight last night?"

"…If only it had just been a fight."

Waver frowned and answered bluntly.

"But looking at the state you're in, it's not looking good at all. Want to ride my Bucephalus with me?"

"No need."

"Seriously, you're clearly no longer that little shorty from back then, so why do you still talk like a kid?"

Iskandar let out a helpless sigh.

"Fine then, I'll take it that you're okay."

After that, Iskandar looked around at everyone.

"Everyone, we are about to head to the city of Rome to rescue the legitimate Roman Emperor of this era. The upcoming battle will surely be more brutal than before, so I ask you all to be fully prepared."

With that, he drew the Sword of the Kupriotes from his waist and swung it powerfully forward!

"Haa——————!!!"

The sky suddenly turned dark, and then a bolt of lightning split across it!!!

"BOOOOOM————————!!!"

Once the flash of lightning disappeared, a chariot drawn by two divine bulls emerged right after.

"Oh! This must be the chariot dedicated to Zeus—'Gordius Wheel'!!!"

A projection of Dr. Romani suddenly appeared from Mash's wristband.

"I didn't expect to witness this type of Noble Phantasm from Iskandar! What a rare sight."

"This little guy, where did he come from? Don't tell me he's like that other kid from back then, still in his growth phase?"

Iskandar looked toward Dr. Romani's projection with a puzzled expression as he spoke.

"Gr-growth phase!? I can't believe I got called a 'little guy' by Iskandar—someone who was historically known as a shorty… this is too heartbreaking…"

Dr. Romani once again collapsed on his desk from the emotional damage.

"Doctor, next time, please give us a heads-up before connecting."

Mash voiced her displeasure at Dr. Romani.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that I have something important to tell you all."

"Something important?"

"You're about to head into Rome to rescue Nero Claudius, right?"

"According to the plan, yes."

Mash immediately responded to Dr. Romani's question.

"Actually, we've been monitoring the situation inside Rome. Since yesterday, there have been strange magical energy fluctuations appearing. Though they lasted only for brief moments, the strength of those magical responses exceeded even the ones we detected from the Demon God Pillars before."

"You mean, aside from Professor Lev, there might be other extremely powerful Servants in Rome?"

Ethan questioned immediately.

"I'm sorry… I'm not entirely sure myself. I just wanted to warn you in advance."

"Hahaha, even if there were thousands of troops ahead, all we can do now is charge forward, right?"

Iskandar laughed as he spoke, his voice full of confidence.

"You're right. Worrying now won't help. But we'll keep monitoring the situation inside Rome, and if anything changes, we'll inform you immediately."

"Umu, leave the scouting to you then, kid."

"I'm not a kid! This is just a projection!!!"

Dr. Romani's words left Ethan slightly uneasy.

From what he knew, currently inside Rome were Lev, the Divine Ancestor Romulus, and Nero, who was imprisoned awaiting execution.

Then what else could be there that was even stronger than the Demon God Pillar that was Lev?