On May 5, AD 26, nineteen years and fifty-three days had passed since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The record left for future generations on this day is the sudden total solar eclipse, which plunged all living things on the entire European continent into three minutes of long darkness.
In ancient times, the occurrence of a total solar eclipse would make many civilizations feel terrified and each had its own explanation. Some said it was a celestial dog eating the sun, while others said it was a python swallowing the sun. But at the same time, it was also a symbol of the gods' anger.
"You... No, it's impossible... How is this possible... What's the magic of Solomon's remains in the First Temple? I... I am the Messiah..."
As expected, Dora was frightened by the sudden total solar eclipse, and even retreated from the action of crushing Novia's neck. He took a few steps back in panic, pointing at Novia with an angry look on his face.
"It is you who brought the darkness and corrupted mankind! Yes, it is absolutely true, you are Azazel!"
Novia did not respond, but continued to hold the "gun" and got ready. He had already wiped off the blood that had just been stained. Even so, blood still flowed from the corners of his mouth and his lungs felt like they were on fire.
But he was indeed confused, because there had never been any record of a total solar eclipse in the year 50 AD before he traveled through time. It seemed that the last time was on the day of Jesus' crucifixion. But it didn't matter. The current problem was how to defeat Dora on the opposite side.
The magic support and the magic power of the Roman legion's magicians have run out of steam and are close to their limits, making victory unlikely.
But this new thing did happen because of me, so no matter what, I can't leave it to others to solve just because I can't do it. I still have to shoulder the necessary responsibilities. Moreover, Dora seems to have cut off the source of magic power that he absorbed from the body of Magic King Solomon.
Therefore, it is very clear what to do next. Anyway, so much has been done. Although the original goal has not been achieved, it is enough.
"Dragon of Albion, use the last of my magic power and release it completely."
A faint light appeared on the top of an unknown mountain not far away.
That must be some kind of flame, Novia thought.
Then, the calm voice sounded again.
"It's finally out."
After the voice of the Dragon of Albion sounded in his heart, the silver-haired boy noticed where he was.
This is a place that is nowhere, a world that is nowhere.
The young man blinked, staring at the strongest dragon with extremely deep eyes.
"I don't know why, but the texture covering the planet's surface has been lifted up."
"Hmph, you are lucky. Therefore, I, the strongest, come out to help a weakling like you."
The planets will change the laws of physics according to the life on the surface. The era that was full of mystery and magic in the past came to an end as humans became the greatest force and gradually declined.
After the end of the Age of Gods, the planet became independent from nature, and the human world, which covered the planet as its appearance and surface, and the "fairyland" that existed on the back of the world separated by a thin layer of skin, were all "Textures".
The cognition of the intelligent life forms that control the hegemony of this planet, in other words, is the laws of physics. The Texture established by these laws of physics is the human world. However, the Texture that wraps the planet is like a thin layer of skin that will peel off with a slight touch, or a tablecloth that can be blown away by a gust of wind.
In order to maintain the Texture and prevent it from falling off, several "Mist Anchors" fix the Texture and tie it to the planet.
Just now, Texture was uncovered by someone, and the Dragon of Albion quickly realized this, paying the price of a damaged soul to come here, because it could not stand that its strongest self could not destroy the weak disgusting thing again and again, and it did not want this human to die like this. After all, no matter how weak he was, he was still the contractor that the strongest self reluctantly acknowledged, and it should be in its own hands if he had to die.
But of course it couldn't say these out loud.
"...Thank you, Dragon of Albion."
At the same time, a force emerged from the chest, an abnormal heat that gave people the illusion that their internal organs were burning.
"Forget about the nonsense. Let's make it quick. Texture is about to be nailed down again. I have to go back before that happens. While this arrogant guy is still so panicked and scared." The soul of the strongest dragon said, "I just need to destroy his existence and his world in one go."
In an instant, terrifying magic power gushed out of Novia's whole body. Under the illumination of the magical airflow that fell on the ground, the young man's swaying silver hair suddenly seemed to glow like a golden torch, and his eyes showed a hint of blood red.
"This is Albion, the strongest dragon on the planet. Now is the time to reveal it!"
Stretching his 'gun' beyond the limit, while feeling the magic power filling his body, Novia wove words, and the blue and red particles gathered around him created a new high in magic power that could only be described as dense.
"I am the Messiah! I am the King of Israel! I am the king who will establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth! There is no way I can lose, you lowly creature, the devil. As the Messiah, I must—"
This was a roar that shook Jerusalem. A black shadow of the same color as Dora's body rose up at the same time, moving like a living creature, and the sound resounded as if all the listeners were cursed.
"The two of us will kill you right now."
The strongest dragon created this at the cost of damaging its soul, with roaring thunder and fire, and surging magic power, all released in one go.
This was comparable to a full-strength attack from a great god from the Age of Gods, engulfing the 'Antichrist King', tearing everything apart, and causing the Collapse. Mystical strength and endurance were meaningless in the face of this attack, and the torn space was already a physical phenomenon.
Like the end of a giant aging star, it not only swallowed up the surrounding air, but also swallowed up a part of the earth. The nothingness continued to expand, like waking up from a dream, and soon everything returned to its original state.
All the Jews who provided strength to Doro bar Kochba with their lives and all areas in the holy city of Jerusalem except the First Temple were instantly reduced to ashes, and the holy city disappeared.
No one can describe this moment.
All in just a moment.
Then, the Spear of Albion drew an arc of light and cut it in two.
The miracle that has befallen this place will completely crush the Antichrist King who claims to be the Messiah.
Of its wreckage, only a few points of light in the ether and a texture that had been uncovered by someone for three minutes were fixed again and tied to the planet again.
044: Prisoner of Rome
The destruction of Jerusalem declared the complete victory of the Roman army in suppressing the entire Jewish province.
According to statistics from Roman magicians who accompanied the army, during the entire operation, combined with the actions of the Jewish rebels themselves, almost all the Jews in the entire Jewish province were killed, all gathering places were razed to the ground, and 800,000 Jews died of starvation and disease in Jerusalem.
It can be said that every inch of land in the current Jewish province is stained with countless blood, but from now on it will no longer be called the Jewish province.
Upon learning of Novaya's great victory, the Roman Empire decided to ban the existence of Jewish civilization and renamed the Jewish province as the Syrian-Palestinian province. In other provinces, those who still believed in the Jewish communities in Alexandria, Galilee, Caesarea, Golan, etc. would be put to death, and the scrolls and various scriptures of Judaism must be burned and not hidden.
The Jewish temple that had not yet been destroyed had to be destroyed first and then rebuilt as a Christian temple. The spread of Christianity, which had been slow in the provinces controlled by the Senate, also spread uncontrollably.
The reason why the Roman Empire's orders, or the orders that were not issued, were carried out to the end was related to the three-minute darkness that enveloped the earth on the day when the Roman army led by Novia fought a decisive battle with the Jews in Jerusalem. In addition, many magicians felt the mystery around them rise sharply during those three minutes, as if the long-lost Age of Gods had reappeared.
People spread the word across the empire.
"The king of antichrists will be eclipsed before the angel of the Lord and will surely be destroyed."
Once again, the miracles of Christianity were performed on the earth. When faced with interests and lives, most people in the Roman Empire could still distinguish between the more important and the less important.
And Novia, who had successfully destroyed Jerusalem, was now walking towards the top of Golgotha outside Jerusalem, the mountain where Jesus was crucified.
He arranged for everyone in Rome to burn the dead bodies to prevent the spread of plague. However, probably because the 27th Zukobek was ordered by Novia not to let any dead apostles enter the Jewish province where rivers of blood were flowing, there were no groups of dead apostles.
This was his first time here, but it was reasonable for him to come, not only because Novia was the undisputed leader of Christianity at the time, but also because of the total solar eclipse that had occurred before.
Novia thought that no matter how much he rewrote history, he would never be able to affect the changes in the natural landscape. Moreover, he learned from the Dragon of Albion that the Texture covering the surface of the planet was opened and closed again after three minutes...
He believed that the only person with such ability in the Type-Moon world, and the one who was like this because of him, was a pigeon or a pigeon prince.
After a while, Novia reached the top of the mountain and saw with his own eyes that the cross on which Jesus was crucified was still standing there, covered with rust, as if it had never changed.
The silver-haired boy wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what to say for a while. Finally, he placed the cane that Martha gave him on the cross and said:
"Sister Martha said that you gave it to her. Although it has been given to me now, I still think it is better to return it to its original owner. But it also helped me a lot. Thank you.
When I return, I will rebuild the Jerusalem that I destroyed, and you will also build a better church here, so that it won’t be exposed to the wind and rain. This will also make Paul, John, and Martha happier when they come to see you…”
Then, feeling that there was no need to continue, Novia was about to turn around and leave, but as if he remembered something, he stared at the sky above the cross for a while and continued:
"By the way, your father, Yahweh, Jehovah, Lord, whatever you call him, I remember He made a covenant with Abraham, right? But now, the Jews and Judaism have been completely wiped out by me, and only your religion, the Savior Jesus, remains.
Anyway, what I mean is, if you can hear me, I hope you can tell Him that if He feels unhappy about this and wants to take action, He can just find me, because all this is only related to me, and the others are just being used by me, that's it...
So, farewell, my Son Jesus, whom I have never met before."
After leaving the top of Golgotha, Novia went to the First Temple, which survived the destruction of Jerusalem. This was also the place he deliberately did not affect. After all, the body of Solomon the Magician King was contained inside, and there was no need to destroy it along with it.
The moment he entered the temple, Novia saw a brilliant hill as big as the treasury. This must be the treasure that Doro had plundered in the Jewish province during this period. Although Novia had burned all these things when he suppressed the rebellion in the Jewish province, it was also to avoid traps.
Now that everything is settled, these can naturally be used. In addition to handing part of it over to the Roman treasury, some can be used to build some infrastructure, such as roads. The magic materials can be used to let some magicians help people in areas with poor harvests with their planting. As for normal gold and silver treasures, they can also be exchanged for food with some wealthy people... In short, this is roughly the decision made by Novia at the moment.
After passing the treasury, Novia saw the Magic King Solomon sitting on the throne. At first glance, he looked no different from a living person, but except for his face, the rest of his body was covered with dark green corpse spots, and it seemed that his body would melt if touched.
It stands to reason that using human corpses as a source of magic, even if the brain is contaminated by the distorted magic, it is not surprising that the person goes crazy. However, Dora continues to manipulate the crazy black magic, which naturally confuses Novia.
But when he completely destroyed Dora, an unknown group of twisted magic power that fell from his body made him suddenly realize.
Could this thing be the Goetia that is sealed inside the corpse and is in the process of being born?
At this moment, Novia is holding this ball of magic power. Although he can't think of a solution at the moment, if he finds some magicians to trade with, he might get unexpected gains. This will cause the human evil that burns away human reason in later generations - the beast of mercy, Goetia.
However, this was denied by Novia. The Human Burning was just the beast's extreme way to prevent the earth from becoming a blank slate and the extreme human protection of the old director of Chaldea, which caused an extremely horrible outcome, worse than the destruction of the planet.
But in the second part, if it was just to oppose the old director's plan, Goetia didn't have to hide it. She could have directly joined Chaldea and explained everything she knew, and then worked together to defeat the old director's conspiracy...
If it was simply to avoid a blank slate, or to end the suffering of all beings on earth, then why did Goetia initially emphasize "creating a planet without the concept of death"?
As a time traveler, Novia can only guess that if there is a third part of FGO before he travels through time, then it is likely that the real purpose of the burning of people by Goetia was to prevent the mastermind behind this, but by mistake, he prevented the old director of Chaldea, the currently known mastermind...
therefore--
Novia put the unknown twisted magic aggregate in his hand back into Solomon's body and reburied it to ensure that it would not be discovered again.
"Remember, you owe me your life."
045: Roman Triumph
The evil wind blew through the streets of Rome, the forests in the suburbs and the nearby ports. Although the wind was very strong, the Romans who had been waiting early did not make any sound. In their eyes, the whistling wind was like the sound of nature, and the sea and sky were blessing the earth with the grace of the sun.
Because today, a triumphal ceremony will be held.
A triumphal ceremony is a ceremony held when a general with supreme command authority marches into the city of Rome after returning from a victorious battle. Winning a triumphal ceremony is the highest reward for Roman military merit, and the general also enjoys the title of "Triumphant". According to legend, the first triumphant Roman was Romulus.
This ceremony was a earth-shaking event in the Roman military and political life, a grand festival of national jubilation. All the senators and government officials would go out of the city to welcome the event, and tens of thousands of citizens would line the streets to welcome it. The streets would be deserted and the scene would be spectacular. The celebration could last for one day or several days.
Theoretically, victory in a civil war would not receive a triumphal ceremony. At the same time, the identity of the enemy was also one of the conditions. Successfully suppressing a rebellion would not receive a triumphal ceremony either. It would require a foreigner. However, due to the mass killings and miracles of the Jews in the Syrian and Palestinian provinces, the emperor and the Senate banned the existence of Jewish civilization. Therefore, they could also be regarded as a foreigner outside the Roman Empire.
It was noon, the time when the sun was at its brightest.
Outside the walls of Rome, in the Forum of Mars, Novia stood in a richly decorated chariot drawn by four white horses, wearing a purple triumphal robe glittering with gold, holding an ivory scepter decorated with a golden eagle in one hand and a laurel branch in the other.
This was a symbol of Roman victory.
In addition, a bell and a whip should be hung in front of the car, because the Romans used bells to clear the way when escorting criminals. The reason for doing this was to remind the triumphant that fate is unpredictable. Although they may be rich and glorious today, they may receive the most severe punishment in the future. However, this item was removed after consultation between Emperor Claudius and the Senate.
According to traditional customs, the victors would put bright red rouge on their faces, and Novia was no exception.
"Teacher, please don't move."
"There's no need to apply it to the ears as well."
Novia lowered his head and his eyes met with the blonde girl who was standing on tiptoe.
Nero blinked his emerald eyes, showing an expression that said, "This is what I have to do." He said:
"I'm going to stand next to you in a moment, holding a golden laurel wreath on your head. Hmm, from my perspective as an artist, if you and I stand together, I will have my left ear and you will have your right ear. This will make it look more symmetrical. And I managed to get this position with great difficulty, so I must create an unparalleled effect."
According to tradition, the person who dragged the golden laurel wreath over the victor's head during a triumphal procession had to be a slave.
Nevertheless, the Roman soldiers who participated in the war, contrary to their usual practice, voluntarily stood beside Novia at the triumphal ceremony, probably because they had heartfelt respect for Novia, who brought victory and was protected by a god.
Therefore, standing next to the triumphal procession is of great significance, and I believe that this tradition will change from now on.
Among the many contestants, Nero, who swept the southern part of the Syrian Palestinian province and was the undisputed next emperor of the empire, and after all, Novia was his teacher, with the blessing of various identities, it was no surprise that Nero successfully won this identity among many soldiers.
"Well, then you better be gentle when you scold me later."
Novia replied with a smile.
Because the person beside him holds the golden laurel to indicate that the triumphant glory has reached its peak, and also to constantly whisper in the triumphant ear to remind him that he is just a mortal.
"I don't want that." Nero shook his head gently, then lowered his eyes, as if enduring something. "There is no one who can insult you, teacher. You are very powerful, teacher. I say it again, you are really powerful!"
"In that case, just say whatever you want to say."
After that, the two continued to engage in some meaningless conversation until the triumphal procession began.
Novia's chariot was moving in the midst of a team of attendants, and in front of him was a strict guard carrying the symbol of "supreme power". The symbol consisted of a battle axe inserted in a bunch of cinnamon branches, which was a symbol of Rome and power.
Behind him were the Roman soldiers selected according to their military merits. They were also wearing red and decorated with ribbons and riding tall horses.
In addition, there is the team carrying the spoils. According to statistics from the magicians accompanying the army, it will take a week just to transport the property in the First Temple. In other words, the triumphal ceremony will last for a week, and this does not include propaganda materials such as paintings of war scenes that show off military exploits.
The biggest difference from the traditional triumphal ceremony is that there is no group of conquered prisoners. The former Roman commanders believed that if there were no senior generals or heads of state from the enemy among the prisoners, it would not be enough to add color to the ceremony and please the Romans.
