Fate Grand Order: Broadcasting Master Love — Chapter 84

Chapter 84: The Divine Ancestor Romulus

“Why?” Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned. He looked at the King of Knights standing before him—so close he could reach out and touch her armor, yet feeling worlds apart. “Can’t we talk properly now? Isn’t this the beginning of mutual understanding?”

Lancer Artoria slowly shook her head. Her long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, casting shadows that concealed the complex emotions flickering in her emerald eyes. “There is no why,” she replied quietly. “I am not the King Arthur you know. Because I have held this Holy Lance for so long, my very existence has undergone a fundamental transformation. I am no longer human, nor am I a dependent of the Earth. I am a Heroic Spirit belonging to Heaven.”

She tilted her head up, gazing into the empty void as if searching for an unreachable horizon. Her tone flattened into absolute indifference. “From the perspective of you humans, my viewpoint has become what you would call a divine existence.”

She paused, the silence stretching heavy between them. “So… I can no longer comprehend what warmth is, or what it means to be comforting. The concept of good in my eyes and the concept of good in yours must be entirely different.”

Her armored hand slowly curled into a fist, the knuckles turning white beneath the gauntlet. A faint, self-deprecating edge crept into her voice. “I have become incredibly arrogant, cold, and ruthless. You witnessed the battle just now, did you not? For things that cannot be forgiven, this Holy Lance will deliver absolute punishment. For existences I deem precious, I will use any means necessary to forcibly seize them and keep them.”

She straightened her posture, the imposing aura of the Lion King returning. “I believe my current mindset is the best and most ideal state. I am deeply convinced of this.” Her voice held no hesitation, only a deeply isolated resolve. “If you wish to call this tyranny, then it is indeed tyranny. I have long since accepted this version of myself.”

Her gaze drifted back to Ritsuka. A trace of pleading bled through her absolute resolution. “Therefore… if your warm, harmonious daily life were placed in front of me, I would inevitably trample upon it. That is the outcome the person I once was would detest the most.”

She lowered her eyes, her voice dropping to a feather-light sigh. “Even if I can no longer understand her feelings, I refuse to make such a foolish mistake.”

Ritsuka absorbed the heavy weight of her confession. Then, a sudden realization washed over his face, and he blurted out a completely off-topic remark. “So it wasn’t His Majesty the King all along… but Her Majesty the Queen.”

Lancer Artoria froze. She clearly hadn’t anticipated such a curveball after her dramatic speech. A heavy beat of silence passed. Then, a vivid blush rapidly crept up her pale cheeks, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.

She snapped her head away in a fluster, her usual regal composure shattering into pieces. “Ah? N-no! I mean, although I am indeed a female king, and perhaps I could technically be called a Queen… I just feel like it doesn’t sound very pleasant! It feels like… you hit a sore spot, causing an unwarranted waver in my heart!”

Before Ritsuka could press his advantage, a deep, ancient voice abruptly cut through the air. It carried the overwhelming majesty of a deity looking down upon the mortal realm. The owner remained hidden within the shifting light and shadows of the broadcast, revealing only the frayed edge of a crimson cloak. Yet, the ambient magical energy in the area began to tremble violently.

“A divine perspective, I see. This is indeed the affliction of one who possesses absolute power.”

The voice held no ripples of emotion, stating its words like an eternal, unbreakable law. “Gods do not save people. Gods do not forgive people. Gods are the law, they are the nation, they are the world itself. If human sentiment is mixed into that divinity, irreparable flaws will inevitably appear.”

The imposing silhouette within the shadows raised an arm clad in heavy metal vambraces, the movement radiating the unique, crushing authority of Rome’s Divine Ancestor.

The magical energy surrounding Lancer Artoria violently surged. The spiral tip of the Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad, ignited with a blinding, razor-sharp azure light. She swept her gaze across the surrounding shadows, her voice ringing out with stern command. “An unknown interloper has breached the perimeter! Who are you, you skulking rat? Show your true face!”

“O existence who transformed into a Heavenly Heroic Spirit at the very end of your protection, fear not. Fear not.” Accompanied by a long, resonant echo, a towering figure slowly stepped out from the glowing halo cast by the light screen.

He wore a heavy metal helmet adorned with crimson spikes. The harsh brim obscured the upper half of his face, leaving only a pair of piercing red pupils that locked onto them like a hunting falcon. His armor, a masterful blend of cyan and gold, clung tightly to his massive, bulging muscles. A crimson cloak billowed wildly behind him like a raging inferno. He was surrounded by a majestic, suffocating aura that felt heavy enough to crush the entire earth.

“My name is Romulus. And like you, I am one whose life was recorded upon the altar of the gods.” He placed a massive hand over his armored chest, the gesture solemn and absolute, as if declaring the eternal glory of Rome itself.

The moment he announced his true name, the massive light screen floating in mid-air flared with blinding intensity. Lines of elegant golden text began to scroll across the surface, broadcasting the exclusive lore of this newly arrived Heroic Spirit to all who watched.

[Romulus — The founding hero appearing in the ancient Roman foundation myth. The child of the War God Mars and the beautiful princess Rhea Silvia. Legend dictates he was accompanied by a divine wolf and raised within a wilderness cave. He personally unified the numerous scattered city-states surrounding the Mediterranean, laying the unshakable foundation for the eternal glory of the Roman Empire. He is indisputably the founding king, the supreme existence revered by all later generations as the Crimson Divine Ancestor.]

Somewhere within a grand palace on a certain floor of the SE.RA.PH in the Fate/Extra world, Nero Claudius suddenly shot up from her throne. Her extravagant red robes swept across the table, knocking over a golden goblet. Fine wine splashed across the floor like a string of shattered crystal beads. Her signature emerald-green eyes widened to their absolute limits, her voice trembling with sheer disbelief.

“That… That noble presence is… Without a doubt, he is Rome itself! The Divine Ancestor has actually appeared on the light screen too?!”

The glowing text on the broadcast did not pause for the Emperor of Roses’ shock. It continued to scroll, revealing the deeper secrets of the Divine Ancestor to the multiverse.

[The Roma. Because he was born a superhuman transcending the mundane, he always maintains a calm, unhurried demeanor. The very essence of his existence is Rome itself, reigning supreme over the world. He affectionately refers to all emperors among Heroic Spirits with whom he shares deep bonds—such as Nero, Caesar, and Caligula—as ‘My Children.’ With a spirit vast enough to embrace all things, he deeply loves every descendant who flows with Roman blood.]

[Possesses the Skill: Imperial Privilege EX. This is his innate, personal skill, allowing him to acquire any ability he should not naturally possess in an extremely short period. Within the Divine Ancestor’s domain, he is the absolute symbol of omnipotence. The types of skills he can acquire are virtually endless. However, because the skill rank already surpasses A, each activation brings a considerable, crushing burden to his physical vessel.]