Fate: Nameless Hero

Damn it—did the brat's clairvoyance completely unlock?

Sanjiro was instantly shocked.

He had just finished talking with [Alaya], who said they'd find him a partner like Tiamat to face the coming final battle.

Never in a million years did he expect the brat to actually catch him together with Tiamat.

This was practically Mars crashing into Earth.

Could it be she had broken her seal on purpose just to come mess with him?

Snow was falling thick as goose feathers.

The world was a boundless white, holy and beautiful.

A little loli in a silver-white down jacket tilted her head slightly to glance at the two, then rubbed her slightly reddened hands together as she walked over.

She looked as pure and cute as a little angel—textbook "trick you into wanting a daughter" material.

Sanjiro breathed a small sigh of relief.

Clearly, this was just a coincidence.

Kirina had probably been drawn outside by the 'fireworks' earlier, not specifically to find him.

If she didn't realize, then it was simple—these two most terrifying Beasts of Humanity wouldn't end up fighting.

All he had to do was act like nothing was wrong and casually walk past her.

However—

When Kirina reached them, she stopped.

Sanjiro's heart immediately started pounding wildly.

Even with top-tier healing support, he was still in a half-crippled state.

To truly recover his combat strength, he'd need to wait until at least after the next video—maybe even Shikotei's one even.

If these two powerful women started fighting now, he definitely couldn't stop it.

Damn you, Alaya—is this part of your plan too?

Sanjiro felt a deep headache coming on.

That scheming bastard was no doubt sitting back with popcorn, watching the show.

While he was still anxious—

Kirina tilted her head up curiously at the blue-haired woman beside him. "Why do you feel so familiar? Have we met somewhere before?"

No kidding she feels familiar—earlier you wanted her to be your mom!

Sanjiro instinctively stepped in front of Tiamat, smiling.

"Girl, you must be mistaken."

"Hmm… maybe I did get it wrong."

Kirina nodded in puzzlement.

Still… there was something odd about this woman.

A special aura… one she could only call—

The aura of the same kind?

Strange.

The woman was clearly much older than her.

And not just in years—those massive pile of flesh she carried were far bigger than hers.

Standing together, they'd definitely be mistaken for mother and daughter. So why did she feel this bizarre sense of kinship?

"Don't go wandering around alone at night—stick with your family," Sanjiro said warmly, radiating big-brother vibes.

Now he was completely at ease, his smile genuinely relaxed.

It seemed the crisis was over. He could go home and sleep in peace.

But just then—

The always-quiet Tiamat suddenly cupped his cheeks in both hands.

And under Kirina's frozen gaze—

She softly kissed him.

The world seemed to stop.

The snow's gentle descent was suddenly deafeningly loud, like flower petals swirling down in slow motion.

Before the brat who had once incinerated human history, nearly wiped humanity out, and might one day destroy Earth—

Another Beast of Humanity of equal rank was now openly enjoying the man she valued most.

Without the slightest hint of restraint.

"You two…"

Kirina stared blankly, the smile on her face frozen solid.

Snow piled on her, unnoticed.

She didn't know either of them(Due to the disguise)—so normally, she should be covering her eyes, peeking through her fingers in shy curiosity.

Instead, she felt… furious.

An intense urge to wedge herself between them, to strike at the gentle blue-haired woman before her.

Her whole being was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, brimming with frenzied restlessness.

Why was she feeling like this?

"Mm… is this the end?"

Sanjiro staggered back a step—he could already sense the terrifying, suppressed energy boiling inside the brat.

And the "crack-crack" of Heaven's Chain–level seals snapping apart one by one.

Right now—

The sweet, angelic little girl before him was like a nuclear bomb seconds from detonation, capable of sinking the entire Japanese Archipelago in an instant.

Sanjiro couldn't help a helpless sigh in his heart.

Tiamat… you can do whatever you want when no one's around, but why did you have to deliberately provoke her?

Sanjiro's mouth twitched slightly as he put on a shy act.

"Sorry, it's just… we haven't seen each other in a long time, so I might've been a bit too enthusiastic. I didn't scare you, did I?"

"N-no…"

Kirina took a step back.

If she stayed standing in front of them any longer, she wasn't sure what kind of impulsive thing she might do.

"If that's the case, then we'll be leaving." Sanjiro waved farewell.

They had to go.

If they lingered here any longer, Tiamat's terrifying aura as a Beast of Humanity would almost certainly send the girl into a rampage.

Even Fou, who was also one of humanity's evils, was only harmless because he was still in a childlike form.

Tiamat smiled warmly, reaching out to gently straighten Kirina's hat.

"You really are adorable."

"…Thanks for the compliment."

Kirina instinctively took another half-step back.

Even though the woman's smile was warm, even motherly, an overwhelming disgust welled up inside her.

For the first time in her life, she hated someone without knowing why.

Crack—

She almost thought she could hear chains snapping one by one inside her body. Her whole form suddenly felt lighter, brimming with strength and vitality.

It was a strange, indescribable sensation.

As if she were linked to the very earth beneath her feet.

As if she had become one with the world itself.

As if… she was the entire planet!

Every breath and every movement felt like they could make the world itself stir, whether in turmoil or in calm.

Sanjiro felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up instantly.

Crap—he knew this was pushing her too far!

He had to fix this.

Ignoring the odd looks from those around them, he quickly grabbed Tiamat and hurried her into a nearby grove.

There was an immense rejection force radiating from her as well—

Not just the suppression from humanity's collective consciousness, but also from the very earth itself.

It was as if the planet was actively trying to repel her existence.

"…Don't forget me."

Tiamat reached out, wanting to touch his cheek.

But against this overwhelming force of rejection, even such a simple action was impossible.

Buzz—

Her form suddenly dissolved into countless glowing fragments, scattering into nothingness.

"She really… couldn't stand the loneliness anymore, huh?"

Sanjiro shook his head.

Then his body began to emit a faint light as well—his white hair instantly turning black, his form shifting from Nameless back to the plain, ordinary otaku Sanjiro.

This was bad—really bad!

He hurried out of the grove, calling toward the girl still standing there quietly.

"Kirina! What are you doing here?"

"Eh?"

Kirina turned to look at him.

Her eyes seemed to hold countless images, the entire world spinning within them—brilliant as a galaxy.

The brat who had always seemed unreliable now carried an air of steadiness, like the earth beneath their feet.

Sanjiro walked over, pulled her into his arms, and said,

"Let's go home."

Buzz—

In that instant, the vast and oppressive aura around her vanished completely.

She looked up at him in confusion. "What… happened to me just now?"

"…You probably just went stupid for a moment."

Sanjiro brushed the snow off her shoulders and sighed calmly.

"Don't go out alone at night. If you really want to, take me with you."

"Tch, I'm the publicly recognized genius beauty—you're the stupid one!"

Kirina pouted, finally snapping out of the strange trance she had been in.

"Fine, fine. You're the smartest." Sanjiro humored her.

Then, suddenly, the girl wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressing herself against him like she wanted to melt into him.

In a small, doubtful voice, she murmured, "I just… suddenly felt really strange."

"You caught a cold? I told you to wear thicker clothes! Come on, let's go home."

Sanjiro bent down so their foreheads touched.

Then he took her small hands into his own and began walking.

"…Mm."

Kirina nodded, following him obediently.

Their fingers intertwined naturally.

Earlier, she had felt an emptiness in her chest, as if she were about to lose something incredibly important.

"Let's go."

Sanjiro felt a weight lift from his heart.

When faced with Tiamat's overwhelming presence earlier, the girl must have been fighting a mental battle—

One side was a girl known as Kirina. The other was a terrifying monster.

Thankfully, the final barrier hadn't been crossed, and the monster remained sealed.

A blessing in misfortune.

…

Meanwhile, at the earlier battle site—

The massive War God mech had already been taken away.

With Shikotei's command, the Empire's research and manufacturing, were hoping to mass-produce it like cabbage on an assembly line.

Even if they couldn't replicate the real War God, it could still give them a huge leap forward in magi-mechanical puppet technology.

Shikotei watched the countless busy workers, his gaze turning toward the distance with a frown.

There, two unimaginably powerful presences were locked in a furious standoff.

With the will of two billion people, the Dragon of Human Order within him made it clear—

Both of those beings were under the restraints of [Alaya].

"…Teacher, this is truly difficult."

Shikotei sighed quietly.

If the Tiamat that appeared earlier had been her true body, she alone could have ended human history.

But the other presence… seemed to have merged with the entire planet itself.

That was even more terrifying.

After all, if the Earth itself decided to stir even slightly, it could trigger tsunamis and earthquakes. If that being decided to jump around for fun, humanity would be wiped out instantly.

Shikotei didn't know what heavy price Sanjiro had paid to suppress both entities, but it must have been enormous.

Surely he hadn't been gravely wounded?

Fortunately, a later conversation confirmed that Sanjiro was not as badly injured as feared.

That eased the his mind—slightly.

But it wasn't enough.

Before such a Beast of Humanity, he finally felt powerless.

Even as the First Emperor, he couldn't fight against them.

If only he could grow stronger…

He lifted his gaze toward the Heavenly Court defense system in the sky.

Such a small defensive system could never stand against a Beast of Humanity or invaders from the stars.

If they could construct a Great Wall in space, or build terrifying orbital cannons, perhaps then he would have the qualifications to fight alongside his Teacher.

But with the world and the Empire's current scientific ability, it was impossible.

Komei came over and sighed. "My apologies, Your Majesty. With our current capability, fully analyzing it would take at least three years."

"That long…"

Shikotei felt helpless.

Three years from now, the chance would be gone.

Sanjiro had already said that on the other side of the globe, the Council of Gods had passed a war proposal against his empire and him personally.

Their massive war machine was already mobilizing—

And some terrifying existence would join in, specifically to counteract the deterrence of Tiamat.

War was inevitable. How could they wait three years?

Shikotei frowned deeply.

"I wonder when the video about me will be released."

When the Sacred Round Table Domain and Absolute Demonic Front videos had been released, King Arthur and the King of Heroes had both experienced massive power boosts.

If his video came out, his own strength would skyrocket.

Unfortunately, the next announced video was related to Greek mythology.

And knowing Sanjiro's attitude toward gods, he would definitely try to drive them away and end the Age of Gods.

Once the video was out, the real Greek gods would probably descend into the world to aid those false gods.

At that time, both him and his teacher would face their greatest disaster yet.

Shikotei spoke solemnly.

"Komei—make ready for war."

"Your Majesty speaks true."

Komei nodded in full agreement.

In Greek myth, the twelve Olympian were arrogant and lawless, tormenting humanity without restraint.

As a guardian of human order, Nameless would stop at nothing to drive them out, ensuring humanity's safety.

The false mechanical gods were not yet true rulers of the world—otherwise, they would have unified it long ago.

When the true Olympian gods merged with them, the empire he built and his teacher would be completely finished.

Komei had already gone into overdrive, working overtime to draft every possible countermeasure, listing countless contingency plans for the disasters to come.

First order of business — compile the strategic plan for dealing with the Greek gods!

…

The next few days passed rather peacefully.

Since before the New Year, Sanjiro had been swamped with work, but now he could finally relax a little—

Yeah right!

Sanjiro stared helplessly at the man in front of him.

"So, Fishmonger, why are you here freeloading too?"

Seriously…

Lately, the place had been overrun by freeloaders.

One after another, they'd show up empty-handed, as if they owned the place.

"It's my day off, so I figured I'd drop by and see my buddy," Cú Chulainn replied without shame.

When it comes to mooching a meal, there's just one key—

A thick skin!

If your skin's not thick enough, you can't make it in this game.

Having sold fish in Fuyuki City for ten years, his shamelessness had already been honed to the point that not even Scáthach's spear could pierce it.

…Wait, why did it feel like there was a crimson spear aimed right above his head?

Shivering, Cú quietly sat off to the side, ready to enjoy a good meal in peace.

After all, this friend of his might be a normal human, but his cooking was nothing short of divine. Otherwise, how could the Child of Light from Celtic myth lower himself to freeload here?

"Make sure you wash the dishes after— …actually, forget it. Just eat less," Sanjiro sighed, rubbing his forehead.

This guy was useless at cleaning up, so he'd have to do it himself anyway.

Aside from Cú Chulainn, there was also a certain blonde ahoge girl quietly sitting nearby. The dignified King of Britain, Artoria Pendragon, had also become a regular here.

Kirina kept glaring at her.

Not without reason — this girl ate way too much.

Small body, bottomless stomach.

A true "big eater" in every sense.

Artoria ignored her, lazily sprawled on the table with a blissful expression.

Only here could she feel completely at ease.

No worrying about Britain's future.

No ruling an entire kingdom.

No carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She just had to be a quiet little foodie.

Once everyone was full, Sanjiro brought out oranges, watermelon, sunflower seeds, and other snacks.

The group huddled around the kotatsu, munching away while watching videos.

Ten days later—

The long-awaited video teased earlier by Alaya finally dropped:

[The Gods of Olympus.]

Exactly what countless people had guessed — a video all about the Greek gods.

The Greek pantheon had enormous global popularity.

After all, the United States' "Council of Gods" claimed to be the heirs of Olympus.

Each of them boasted power like that of true deities, spawning countless movies, games, and anime adaptations, making them world-famous.

"Olympus' true roots lies in America?" Kirina asked curiously.

"Fake," Artoria replied calmly.

"Uh, and how do you know that?"

Kirina stared at the ahoge swaying above her head, tempted to yank it out.

This freeloader came here every time and ate more than both her and Sanjiro combined — truly infuriating!

"Just a guess."

Artoria didn't even bother to look at her.

"Hmph, you'd better be ready to eat your words later!"

Kirina pouted, turning her attention to the video.

She looked forward to seeing it prove Artoria wrong.

Once the video started, the comment feed instantly exploded—

GoatedBalls-[Here we go! You said weekly updates — why did you make us wait so long this time?]

MoonlitGachaVictim-[Damn it, Alaya, are you turning into the authors I follow — slacking more and more?]

ConstipatedProcrastinator-[Greek gods… I bet a bag of spicy sticks that Nameless will fight them all and end the Greek Age of Gods!]

BobUchiha-[So what's the connection between these gods and the council of gods again?]

RonaldDuck-[The council of gods are the heirs of Olympus — looks like they're about to rise big time!]

…

Under everyone's watch, the video's prologue began.

The atmosphere was oppressive and eerie to the extreme.

Blood, suffocating darkness, piles of white bones everywhere.

Even wandering spirits drifted among the ruins.

"I get it! Zeus and his siblings overthrew their father Cronus and imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus!" Kirina suddenly exclaimed, recognizing the scene.

Then—

A familiar figure appeared in the sunless depths of the underworld: the Demon King from the earlier side-story.

Kirina eyed the golden twin-tails on their head suspiciously.

"Ugh, why does this creep also have golden twin-tails?"

"Because it's cute," Sanjiro replied matter-of-factly.

"Hmph, I'm cute with twin-tails — on them, it's just ugly!"

An ugly thing trying to copy her hairstyle — no wonder they lost to Nameless!

The Demon King faced the enormous imprisoned Titans.

"You… desire power?"

"A greenhorn like you dares to propose an alliance with us? How arrogant!"

The Titans glared coldly at them.

"And yet… here you are, sealed away."

The Demon King twisted the knife without mercy.

In their hand appeared a golden Holy Grail.

"Drink, Cronus — this is your Titan fate. You will all be kings again, and reclaim your freedom!"

"But Tell me, Goetia — what is the price?" the Titan leader demanded.

"You may unleash your rage to your heart's content… and destroy the world."

The Demon King's smile grew more twisted.

Even surrounded by darkness and vengeful spirits, they were far more terrifying than anything else present.

Behind them flared countless burning visions — the human history they had set ablaze.

Even the Titans were stunned.

The former King of the Gods reached out and took the Grail.

"Very well!"

Once a ruler, he had been defeated by foreign invaders and condemned to eternal imprisonment.

Unforgivable.

He would devour the world in wrath and take revenge on all life.

Then—

To everyone's horror, once empowered by the Grail, his body began to swell with power.

He reached over, grabbed a fellow Titan, and tore them apart in midair — before eating them piece by piece.

With every bite, his form swelled further and his aura grew ever stronger.

On screen, it became a scene of utter carnage.

Viewers were stunned:

DaoistYoungMaster-[Holy crap, he's eating his own kind!]

SergeantSaunders[This guy's the former King of the Gods — with the Grail and after devouring other Titans, how strong will he become?]

AlmightyMiddleFinger-[No way… is the Demon King trying to create something on the level of a Beast of Humanity?!]

Blorbo-[No wonder the preview called it the Gods' Calamity!]

BabySlaneesh-[Heh, let the gods slaughter each other — then Nameless can end the Greek Age of Gods in one stroke!]

…

In America—

At the Council of Gods—

The members smiled knowingly.

"Just as we predicted — the Twelve Olympians will clash with the Titans a second time!"

Olympus had defeated the Titans once before. By all logic, even with the Demon King meddling, they shouldn't lose outright.

But this time, they had abandoned their mechanical bodies and vanished without a trace.

In the Council's projections, this meant both sides would fight to the death, only for Nameless to swoop in and banish them both.

That explained why the gods had vanished.

It looked like victory was within reach.

Once the video finished, they could seize Olympus' power for themselves and ascend as the true gods.

Then, crushing the First Emperor and Nameless would be child's play.

They would storm the Palace, capture that proud Emperor, and force him to kneel before them.

As the council members relaxed with smug satisfaction—

The Speaker, King of Gods, stared at Kronos, who was voraciously devouring his own kin, and sank into deep thought.

If a Titan could devour the power of other gods…

Then, as a Machine God himself, could he not also devour all the powers of the other Machine Gods?

Or perhaps combine the Machine God powers together, forging the ultimate, truly invincible God King?

On the video—

The prologue ended, and as usual, the narration appeared on screen, accompanied by Mash's pleasant voice—

[This is the true age of gods.]

[The flames of divine war are on the verge of igniting, soon to engulf the entire world.]

[Humanity now welcome the arrival of a great hero.]

[The Nameless Heroic Spirit, as a Master, will spread the flames of hope to all.]

"Sure enough, it's the end-of-divine-era period—doesn't differ much from my time," Gilgamesh said casually, lounging on a spacious sofa and swirling the wine in his glass.

Back during the Singularity Absolute Demonic Front, it was his bastardly friend who had aided him in ending the Age of Gods and banishing the Primordial Mother Goddess into the Imaginary Number Space.

Only when that Singularity was resolved could humanity be reborn.

"My dear friend… I truly owe you far, far too much. How on earth should I repay you?"

Gilgamesh's gaze lingered on the screen.

After the narration ended, the scene shifted to Chaldea's rooms.

And there appeared the familiar figure of his dear friend.

From the corrections made to his younger, chūnibyō self, to severing the link between man and god, to fighting side by side in the Singularities…

That person had helped him again and again, to the point where he honestly had no idea how to return the favor.

"…Forget it. Once this video ends, I'll go tell him we'll just write off the two hundred and twenty million he owes me."

Naturally, that kind of money meant nothing to him.

With the Gate of Babylon, his wealth was unmatched.

On screen—

Dr. Roman was finishing the final adjustments, pinpointing the exact location for the Rayshift.

He couldn't help but sigh.

"This is truly the mythic age. Honestly, just getting there will be even harder than Uruk!"

"It's fine. We've got dear Nameless here, after all."

Da Vinci tilted her head in curiosity.

"Nameless, earlier when King of Heroes had you use the gems from his Gate of Babylon to bribe Ishtar, why didn't you ask for more?"

"Da Vinci-chan, don't you understand how to make money?" Nameless asked with a sly smile.

"Uh, I'm a merchant—how could I not know?" Da Vinci looked faintly exasperated.

As a world-renowned swindler, to be told she didn't know business was an insult!

"Since Goldy assigned me to use wealth to win over that useless goddess, naturally I had to create a pretext, grease the wheels, and carve out thirty percent for myself!" Nameless continued.

"Uh… only thirty? Isn't that a bit low?" Da Vinci frowned slightly.

"No, no—seventy percent belongs to the King of Heroes. Getting thirty at all still depends on his generosity!"

Nameless waved it off with a grin.

"Earlier, I only actually gave Ishtar ten percent. According to the contract, the remaining twenty is mine!"

"Scary—you really are perfect merchant material!" Da Vinci gave him a big thumbs-up.

Nameless returned the salute.

"Right back at you—making money's nothing to be ashamed of!"

On screen, the two of them were grinning like foxes that had just raided the henhouse.

Watching this, Gilgamesh gently set down his wine glass, his crimson eyes fixed on the screen.

"My dear friend… how should I thank you?"