Chapter Summaries

Samael explored Rome during the Festival of Lupercalia, hoping to find clues about his missing friends and family before meeting Romulus. He encountered Attila in a candy shop and took her sightseeing, but wondered why she had come to Rome.

• Samael left his estate and walked through Rome's crowded Lupercalia celebrations, thinking about the city's history and the six great clans.
• Samael headed toward the Pantheon to seek clues from the Gods of Olympus about his friends and family on Mount of the God of War.
• Samael found Attila hesitating over the last box of candy and bought it for her, along with several other treats.
• Attila spotted a golden Lamb Plushie outside the shop, and Samael bought it for her using money and his Claudius Clan badge.
• Samael led Attila through the festival toward the Roman Forum, then privately wondered why she was in Rome.

Samael spent the day exploring Rome with Attila, who grew drunk and then offered to repay his kindness with one request. A wolf howl drew Attila away before Samael could make his request, and he returned toward Nero's residence while darkness spread through the city.

• Samael tried to learn why Attila had come to Rome, but she evaded his questions, so he spent the day showing her around the city.
• Attila drank heavily at a tavern, and Samael carried her through the streets as she gave muddled directions to where she was staying.
• Samael bought white roses from a girl and healed her wounded hand with his blessing.
• Samael gave the roses to Attila, who said he could make one request of her in return for the day's experiences.
• A wolf howled outside the city, and Attila instantly sobered, activated her ether, and vanished into the crowd.
• Samael decided not to pursue Attila and headed back toward Nero's private residence as darkness spread through Rome.

White Ghost secretly used a fake ghost sighting to cover her movements and met with a frightened, well-prepared woman to collect a sealed scroll. With the supplies ready, White Ghost planned to wait through the night.

• A couple reported a horned ghost to a patrol, but the squad leader dismissed their story after finding no traces of magic or aether.
• After the patrol left, a woman emerged from beneath a white sheet and left an eyeball-shaped Divine Rune mark among the alley graffiti.
• White Ghost entered a secluded house, where a veiled woman screamed at the sight of her before explaining that she preferred to avoid fighting.
• The veiled woman gave White Ghost a sealed scroll and confirmed that the requested supplies had been delivered safely.
• White Ghost examined the scroll's sketches of coffins and piles of materials, then prepared to wait.

Agrippina the Younger tried to take Nero back under her control, but Boudica and the Celts drove her off after a fight. Boudica revealed that Nero would receive imperial authority the next day, and Samael and Boudica punished Nero and the First Princess for joining the brawl.

• Agrippina the Younger arrived at Nero's residence with Roman soldiers and ordered them to seize her daughter, but Boudica struck her after hearing her plans for Nero.
• The Celts defeated the Roman soldiers in a brawl, and Agrippina the Younger was knocked unconscious and carried away.
• Samael returned and heard from Boudica that Agrippina the Younger had planned to control Nero and undermine her inheritance.
• Samael considered secretly killing Agrippina the Younger, but Boudica told him that Divine Ancestor Romulus would baptize and crown Nero the next day, granting her Imperial Privilege.
• Nero and the First Princess bragged about their roles in the fight, so Samael and Boudica dragged them away to punish them.

During Nero’s coronation, Romulus bestowed the imperial crown and connected her to Rome through the Spear of Nation-Building. The ceremony was interrupted when Pharaoh Ramesses II arrived to challenge Romulus, followed by Attila and Cyrus.

• Romans gathered on Palatine Hill as priests performed the Lupercalia rites, and the Golden Horn’s blessing refreshed the crowd and brought flowers and fruit.
• Samael recognized the Golden Horn as the Cornucopia and resolved to speak privately with Romulus after the coronation.
• Romulus led Nero to the Great Altar, where the Spear of Nation-Building grew into a towering Divine Tree and linked Nero to Rome.
• Romulus crowned Nero and granted her Imperial Privilege, declaring his love for her and Rome.
• Ramesses II appeared aboard a golden vessel and challenged Romulus, prompting Samael to rush toward the Pantheon.
• Attila and Cyrus descended before the Pantheon, revealing that two other divine sovereigns had joined the attempt to disrupt the coronation.

Romulus defended Rome from Attila, Cyrus, and Ramesses II by drawing on the Pantheon’s divine power, but the battle threatened to break the city’s protective barrier. A mysterious Roman ally drew Attila away and Roman reinforcements arrived, just as two priests betrayed and killed each other.

• Romulus invoked the Pantheon’s power to shield Rome as Attila, Cyrus, and Ramesses II attacked together.
• Romulus repelled Cyrus’s sun wheel and Ramesses II’s Hot Sand Sphinxes, but each divine weapon weakened Rome’s barrier.
• A black-aura Deity-class ally struck Attila and carried Nero away to intercept her, while the four great clans’ emperors rushed to help Romulus.
• Romulus called on Rome’s people to empower the Divine Tree and threatened Cyrus and Ramesses II with its growing thorns.
• Two white-robed priests suddenly killed each other with daggers during the battle.

Hundred Faces and the Assassins' Order struck the Pantheon, extinguishing Rome's protective dome and disrupting Romulus as Cyrus attacked. Roman forces confronted the assassins, but Foggy Drunkenness Hassan concealed them while fresh attackers unleashed an Aether Torrent.

• Hundred Faces and her disguised followers slaughtered the priests in the Pantheon and killed an elder who recognized the Assassins' Order.
• The priests' deaths extinguished the crown-shaped band and Rome's dome, interrupting Romulus's power and leaving him wounded by the backlash.
• Cyrus invoked Mithra and rained Golden Swords on Romulus as four Roman Emperors led soldiers to protect him.
• Assassins attacked the Roman reinforcements with poison, shadow magic, and a heart-striking blow that grievously wounded one emperor.
• The Roman army exposed three Old Men of the Mountain, but Foggy Drunkenness Hassan covered them in mist and further attackers sent torrents of Aether Torrent at the remaining emperors.

Nitocris, Cleopatra, Arash, and Scheherazade helped Persia and Egypt ambush the Roman forces gathering beneath Palatine Hill. The Roman reinforcements were trapped in magical battles across the city, while the three emperors faced danger on the hill and the Assassins' Order began another wave of killings.

• Nitocris summoned golden mummies from enchanted scrolls, and they blocked the advancing Roman centuriae.
• Cleopatra unleashed a Golden Cobra against Roman troops at the Arch of Triumph, while Arash fired blazing arrows and Persian archers attacked from hiding.
• Scheherazade trapped the reinforcements around Palatine Hill within magical stories, separating them and forcing them into deadly encounters.
• The three emperors cut through Foggy Drunkenness Hassan's anesthetic mist but found themselves enclosed in a colorless world.
• The Assassins' Order killers began another round of killings according to their lists.

Divine Ancestor Romulus defended Rome from the invading forces but was overwhelmed by Cyrus and Ramesses II, then struck down by the Old Man of the Mountain. Outside the city, Samael sensed Romulus’s aura vanish as the Divine Tree shattered and crimson rain fell over Rome.

• Romulus used the Divine Tree and the Spear of Nation-Building to raise barriers and impale many Assassins and Meteor Archers, allowing Roman Legions to advance toward the Pantheon.
• Cyrus and Ramesses II attacked Romulus with a rain of golden swords and the Great Radiant Composite Temple, and their combined power shattered the area around the Great Altar.
• Romulus survived the assault but lost the Pantheon's support, while Palatine Hill partially collapsed and his armor and body were badly damaged.
• Romulus killed the attacking figures from Eagle's Nest, but the Old Man of the Mountain emerged from the blood mist and struck him with a deadly hidden attack.
• Samael sensed the Divine Tree shatter and Romulus's aura disappear as crimson rain fell over Rome.

Samael tried to persuade Attila to withdraw from the battle after Romulus fell, but she refused and blocked his way back to Rome. As their fight was about to begin, Samael invoked Attila’s promise to keep her word and demanded that she fulfill it.

• Samael offered Attila pastureland for the Hunnic tribes and lifelong meals if she agreed to stop fighting, but she refused.
• Samael realized Romulus had fallen in barely over ten minutes, leaving his plan to remove Attila from the battle in ruins.
• Samael charged toward Rome to protect Brunhilde, Boudica, and the others, but Attila intercepted him.
• Attila declared that Samael would have to defeat her to pass, and both prepared to fight.
• Samael lowered his Cross Spear and told Attila it was her turn to fulfill her promise.

As Rome’s Pantheon crumbled and Romulus faced death, he rallied the Romans by declaring that the whole world would become Rome. Just as Cyrus and Ramesses II moved to finish him, a Rune barrier and new attackers intervened, turning the battle against the two kings.

• Cyrus the Great and Ramesses II bombarded the Pantheon and Palatine Hill after the Divine Tree shattered, leaving Romulus gravely wounded.
• Romulus declared that after his death there would be no more Rome, but the whole world would be Rome, and the Romans answered his call by striking their chests and shouting that Rome was there.
• Cyrus and Ramesses II resumed their attack on Romulus, but Runic Inscriptions from outside the city raised a violet-red barrier that intercepted their Aether Torrent.
• An unidentified attacker struck Cyrus with Destiny: Collapse, shattered his Golden Greatsword, and sent him crashing into the Roman Forum.
• Attila stopped Ramesses II, declaring that she had orders to hold him off for half an hour, and fought him in the sky.
• Samael charged toward the injured Cyrus in the crater, aiming his flaming Cross Spear at the Persian king.

Samael fought Cyrus the Great and drove him to the brink while Arash, Scheherazade, and other allies struggled to interfere. Brunhilde and Boudica then helped clear the way, leaving Samael ready to resume his assault.

• Samael destroyed Arash’s arrows and forced him to flee as tracking runes exploded around him.
• Samael interrupted Cyrus the Great’s chant and battered him, but Cyrus used the Aries and bull powers to recover and resist.
• Samael overwhelmed Cyrus in a rapid exchange and sent him crashing through statues, until a blue fatty briefly obstructed the fight.
• Samael threw the blue fatty away and shattered the space around Scheherazade, releasing the three Roman Emperors from the Inherent Domain.
• Brunhilde and Boudica confronted Nitocris and Cleopatra while their forces intercepted the Meteor Legion and the Assassins’ Order.
• With his allies clearing the interference, Samael turned his attention back to the battle.

Samael and his allies drove Cyrus the Great and Ramesses II from Rome, but Romulus was mortally wounded and could not be saved. Before dying, Romulus entrusted his spear and Rome’s future to Nero.

• Samael trapped Cyrus the Great in Fimbulwinter, but Cyrus invoked Mithra’s power and escaped the blizzard.
• Cyrus summoned Hassan-i Sabbah, but the Old Man of the Mountain withdrew and vanished.
• Cyrus used the Book of Destiny to escape with the Persian forces, while Ramesses II fled aboard the Sun Ship with the Egyptian elites.
• Samael and Attila exchanged promises before Attila flew away; Samael then found a gold-foil-like page left by Cyrus’s escape.
• Samael discovered that Romulus’s divine core had shattered and that he could not save him.
• Romulus urged the Romans to stand tall and entrusted his spear and Rome’s future to Nero.

After Romulus sacrificed himself, his divine power awakened the Great Altar and forged a crimson sword for Nero, strengthening Rome’s morale as Samael oversaw the city’s recovery. As relief efforts strained supplies, Samael took charge of emergency decisions and arranged for Scipio Africanus to lead the Fifth Province’s defenses.

• Romulus handed the Spear of Nation-Building to Samael, then disintegrated as his divine power activated the Great Altar.
• The altar and the Twelve Olympians forged the crimson greatsword Aestusestus, Bellows of Meteoritic Iron: Primordial Flame, which Nero received.
• Romans honored their dead and began rebuilding, while the Rose Emperor gained public support through relief and aid for victims’ families.
• Samael ordered supplies transferred from three provinces and threatened officials who withheld reserves.
• Samael appointed Scipio Africanus temporary consul of the Fifth Province and told him to defend it in hopes of inheriting the Cornelius Clan’s position.

Samael managed Nero’s appointment of Scipio Africanus while responding to simultaneous threats on Rome’s borders. He judged Persia the greatest danger, but news that Persia had invaded Greece left Rome’s allies unavailable and the wider crisis far worse.

• Nero formally appointed Scipio Africanus to the Fifth Province, then eagerly ate the crystal grapes.
• Messengers reported Persian Immortals and the Meteor Legion at Rome’s eastern border, Hunnic Wolf Riders gathering, and Carthage reinforcing its defenses.
• Samael placed Rome on war readiness and summoned the three Roman Emperors to discuss countermeasures.
• Samael assessed the Huns and Egypt as likely distractions, identified Persia as Rome’s main threat, and planned to coordinate with Greece and the fleet.
• A Pantheon messenger reported that Darius I and Xerxes had invaded Greece with 250,000 troops and over a thousand warships, leaving Samael alarmed that Rome’s allies could no longer help.

With Rome threatened on three fronts, the Ancient Serpent arranged its defenses and secured Boudica’s loyalty and aid. He sent her to prepare Britain and seek help from the Land of Shadows, then declared that he would personally lead an expedition against Persia.

• The Ancient Serpent ordered priests to escort three Emperors to their provinces and assigned Mark Antony and Octavian to defend Rome’s northern and southern fronts.
• The Ancient Serpent offered Boudica the choice to leave or fight for him, and she swore that she and her people would fight for him.
• The Ancient Serpent instructed Boudica to rally the Celts, work with the Seventh Legion and Eighth Legion against the Hunnic Wolf Riders, and secure Roman citizenship and compensation for fallen Celts.
• The Ancient Serpent gave Boudica a rune-carved scale and told her to enter the Land of Shadows and ask its Queen to restrain Attila the Hun if necessary.
• After Boudica asked how he would face Persia’s expected reinforcements and elite forces, the Ancient Serpent said he would personally lead an expedition against the Persian Empire.

Samael weighed how to counter Cyrus’s Persian army without breaking the rules that kept the war from becoming a massacre, then sent Boudica to search Britain for Avalon Island and the six Fae Clans. After she left, he reflected on the fae’s dangerous, amoral nature and why their founders might matter to a major event.

• Samael concluded that directly slaughtering the Immortals could provoke the Persian Gods and escalate the war, so he planned to defeat the Persian army openly or target Cyrus beforehand.
• Samael asked Boudica to search for Avalon Island and the six Fae Clans, and told her to report any discoveries without acting rashly.
• Boudica agreed to consult records held by branches of the Druidic Order, then left for Britain on a Dragon Beast.
• After Boudica departed, Samael considered the fae’s powerful nature, their indifference to human morality, and the role their progenitors might play in a major event.

Samael forced Nero to work through a mountain of documents before visiting the Pantheon, where he found a hidden bronze box containing a longbow and a single divine-patterned arrow. He took the artifacts back to the imperial palace and ordered the priests to search the archives for clues.

• Samael stopped Nero from avoiding her paperwork with an excuse and ordered Brunhilde to watch her while she worked.
• Samael noticed Rome's people had lost their spirits after Romulus's death and found the Pantheon nearly deserted and depleted of divine power.
• Samael searched the temples of Olympus for a response and sensed a faint divine presence beneath a stone slab in Ares's temple.
• Samael opened a hidden bronze box depicting the War of the Titans and found a metal longbow and one thick arrow engraved with divine patterns.
• Samael ordered a young priest to gather relevant records from the archives within two hours and took the box back to the imperial palace.

Samael uncovered the history of Apollo’s Arrow and Artemis’s Arrow and fired the relic to announce that war had come. A disguised assassin then tried to kill him with a poisoned kiss, but Samael survived and revealed himself as Rome’s new god.

• Samael traced the relic’s history to the Trojan War and discovered why its previous use had failed.
• Samael ignited the arrow with the Sacred Flame and fired it into the night, hoping it would work.
• A purple-haired cook brought Samael food and attempted to assassinate him with a poisonous kiss.
• Samael revealed that he had survived, identified himself as Rome’s new god, and knocked the assassin unconscious with his divine pressure.

Samael questioned the captured Calamity Jane and learned about her past and the Assassins' Order. He freed her with a message for the Old Man of the Mountain and a snake scale to suppress her poison, leaving her asking whether she could hug him.

• Samael questioned Calamity Jane until her reactions revealed her background, her purpose, and information about the Assassins' Order.
• Calamity Jane explained that her poisonous body had isolated her from others and made her long for ordinary companionship.
• Samael cut Calamity Jane's restraints and asked her to tell the Old Man of the Mountain that an old friend from Uruk missed him.
• Samael gave Calamity Jane a rune-carved snake scale that could suppress her poison and advised her to conceal herself and control her weapon.
• Calamity Jane lingered at the doorway, then asked Samael if she could hug him.