Chapter 225: Artemis on the Moon
Nero Claudius was no longer merely the Emperor of Rome.
At this point, she was the Emperor of Europa itself.
Rome's borders had already pushed past the Ural Mountains, stretching from the European continent into North Asia and West Asia. In sheer scale, it surpassed any nation that had come before.
If one excluded that uniquely special Divine Land, then in a practical sense, Nero could be called the King of the World.
She stood at the highest apex of human order in this era, occupying a pivotal position no one else could replace.
She was the sole Emperor.
That was why she could reverse erode the Moon Cell through the power of human order, and why she could force even the Moon Cell to experience crisis.
Human order exists in every world.
The Moon Cell, despite being able to record the Solar System of a single universe, does not exist in every universe.
When all of it is measured together, the totality of human order stands higher than the Moon Cell.
A unique King of the World naturally stood above one percent of the Moon Cell's Authority.
And now, with a single kiss, Nero shared that glorious status with Rowe.
No.
In Nero's view, that position, that Authority, had always belonged to both of them.
This was Roman law.
Communal property of husband and wife.
"Hmph."
A soft press. A wet entanglement. A brief separation.
Nero held Rowe close and offered him a charming, heated smile.
"Adjutant, you truly do not refuse, do you?"
"You brat."
"I am not a brat, Adjutant."
Nero arched her chest slightly. The curve of her hips beneath the red gown pushed forward with deliberate emphasis.
Indeed.
She was not a brat.
Rowe exhaled.
Refuse?
How could he refuse?
Guiding Nero into becoming an emperor had always been for this. For the Authority of human order, for the gradual encroachment upon the Moon Cell that would follow.
Nero's smile brightened, almost incandescent.
"Then I guessed correctly."
Even as she clung to him, her gaze slid downward.
Boudica's face remained severe.
Baobhan Sith hid her face with her sleeve, blushing hard while insisting she was not shy. She waved her hand repeatedly, patting the rear plating of Barghest's massive Machina God armor until Barghest let out a helpless sound.
Einzbern watched while turning pages.
She tucked a strand of silver white hair behind her ear. Her ruby eyes narrowed, and a smile appeared that did not reach her gaze.
"Oh dear," she murmured. "Another troublesome opponent."
The Third Magician sat alone in the now empty camp, vacant after the army had ascended. Legs crossed on a large rock, she wore a faint smile, but her eyes had cooled.
Nero's downward glance was a provocation.
A clear one.
Einzbern allowed her gaze to chill for a breath, then chose rationality.
She would accelerate the process of connecting her current self, the self that had completed the Third Magic, with her divine aspect.
She would achieve her ultimate goal.
Ouroboros.
Einzbern, or rather Athena, had always been rational.
Even with emotion, she remained rational.
She knew Rowe needed Nero's help.
She also knew that without enough strength, they could not truly stand together for eternity.
For eternal love, she needed to be sensible.
"This time," Einzbern said softly, eyes half closed, deliberately looking away, "I concede."
The hand turning the book, however, did so with visible force.
Reason yielded.
Emotion seethed.
Rowe would be hers eventually.
Soon.
Very soon.
"The ultimate victor will be me."
Nero tilted her head, smiling as if amused.
"Then I shall wait and see, Miss Goddess."
Their exchange was silent, contained entirely in eyes and intent.
Then Nero turned back toward Rowe, clearly about to press close again.
Bang.
What greeted her was a flick to the forehead.
As always, Nero yelped.
She was about to protest when Rowe, without ceremony, wrapped an arm around the slender waist beneath her red dress. His palm slid through fabric and warmth, rubbing once, then twisting slightly as he turned.
His other hand swung.
His fist collided with a sharp incoming claw.
A cry of pain wavered through the air.
Brunestud, who had attacked in that instant, recoiled with a pained sound.
"How dare you ignore me, mere human."
She retreated immediately, expression icy, pride bruised.
Nero glanced sideways at Brunestud with a sharp little sound.
"Hmph."
"Still refusing to give up?" Nero sounded honestly puzzled.
But Brunestud could not give up.
"I must obtain freedom."
From the beginning, she had come for one purpose.
To break free from the Moon Cell.
If she could not be free, she would rather die.
She lunged again.
And was defeated again.
Without the Moon Cell's Authority, Brunestud could not possibly match Rowe.
Her identity as the Moon's agent, the Moon's Ultimate One, was not enough to contend with a triune existence.
Even if both were Primordial.
Even if both possessed power capable of affecting the planet and spreading across its surface.
Rowe's triple modes meant that even a one on one battle resembled one against three.
And Brunestud was already injured.
The moment her Moon Cell Authority was stripped away, backlash struck her Spirit Origin. Her power surged, then plummeted, like being thrown down after reaching a great height.
Damage was inevitable.
Yet she still did not stop.
"Kill you. Kill you."
Rowe released Nero.
Nero landed with perfect composure, though her feet stepped on nothing but illusory moonlight.
"Go, my Adjutant."
Nero smiled, bright and confident.
"I know what you want to do."
"And I will always wait for you."
What did Rowe want?
To use the Authority Nero had now shared with him, the Authority that had already bitten into the Moon Cell, to invade it.
To invade that massive quantum computer that once repelled the main body of a Star Hunter and recorded the Solar System's information.
He had never said it aloud, but Nero had sensed it from the beginning.
His intentions toward her were never simple.
So what.
Nero Claudius liked him, and she was certain she could make him fall for her.
That was enough.
Brunestud retreated again and again, trying to find space to strike.
Then she stopped.
Because the Moon hanging high shone upon Rowe.
Endless brilliance.
Endless radiance.
A pathway.
A passage.
A permission that did not feel like permission.
It felt like conquest.
"Access permission request sent. Accepted successfully."
"Instruction analysis failed."
"Invasion detected. Counterattack initiating."
"Counterattack nullified."
"Disorder. Disorder."
"Access permission opened."
"Channel unfolded."
The Moon Cell, already eroded by human order, ignored the invasion.
The descending light became a direct corridor to the lunar surface.
To the far side of the Moon, where the Moon Cell resided.
A stairway beyond the heavens.
"My Adjutant, I await your triumph."
Nero lifted her skirt slightly, smiling with bright shamelessness.
"When you return, I will surely let you witness."
"My singing, which rivals my perfect dancing."
Rowe's eye twitched.
Old god gibberish?
Please, not now.
But looking at Nero, he still could not help smiling.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "Next time I tap your head, I will be gentler."
Nero's smile vanished so fast it looked like a magic trick.
Rowe ruffled her hair anyway, then looked down.
Boudica lowered her head.
Barghest shed the massive Machina God shell and, together with Baobhan Sith, knelt.
Einzbern exhaled, calm again, as if forcing herself into patience.
"I waited so long already. Waiting a little longer will not kill me."
Countless Roman soldiers bowed.
Tens of thousands of warriors bent their knees.
Human glory still shone, overlapping like a river of stars across the night sky.
Within Rome's territory, nine lights lit up simultaneously.
The other nine fairies, besides Barghest and Baobhan Sith.
Above, the aurora dragon circled, then shrank.
Melusine split off a shadow and wrapped it around Rowe's wrist.
Her voice was low, steady.
"You promised me you would accompany me eternally."
"So my shadow will always be with you."
Rowe smiled and touched the image of the silver haired girl in armor that appeared before him.
"Good."
No refusal.
No need for refusal.
"Moon Cell Authority. Five percent."
Five times the maximum Authority Brunestud had been able to obtain.
This was what Rowe held now.
And what he intended to seize next.
A voice brushed his mind, subtle as wind, ancient as instinct.
"Acting against that monster on the Moon. A terrifying human."
Rowe's grin widened.
"If I cannot do this, how could I bear the crown of Earth's Ultimate One?"
"You are not within Earth's scope," the voice replied, wary. "You are trying to become the Ultimate One of the Sea of Stars."
"And is that forbidden?"
"It is too ostentatious. It would make this world I manage a target for countless selves, countless Counter Forces."
Rowe's eyes gleamed.
"Would that not be even better?"
A pause.
Then, softer.
"Too dangerous."
Rowe pushed.
"Are you not tempted?"
Another pause, longer.
"Tempted."
Rowe laughed.
"Then why all this nonsense."
In his consciousness, Gaia manifested directly.
An exquisite silver haired girl in a blue gown, ribbons interwoven like a ritual.
She was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Help me."
"All right."
The Counter Force exists for continuation.
For stability.
But stability does not mean refusing all risk.
It means the price must be worth it.
And here, the price was enormous.
To become the root shared by all Earths across countless worlds.
To become the sole origin.
To occupy genesis itself.
In that case, the planet would be almost eternal.
Human order would shine eternally.
"I will also help you."
Another voice echoed inside him.
A smaller girl with long black hair.
Alaya.
She had appeared too.
Rowe smiled as the light from the Moon Cell stabilized further.
At this moment, Earth and Moon resonated.
Gaia gathered immense power across the planet's surface, converging it above this land.
The sky.
The atmosphere.
Glowed like day.
That radiance opened the passage fully, forcing the atmosphere aside so the descending corridor could remain unobstructed.
And the light in countless hearts below was Alaya's work.
She allowed Rowe's shadow to enter human hearts.
She allowed his mark to be etched permanently into human order.
She stabilized his status as King of the World in this moment.
So that after he ascended, he would still have a way home.
One moving forward.
One returning.
Yet at the final moment before departure, Rowe's gaze turned south, toward the familiar land that belonged to origin.
"Mesopotamia," he murmured. "I can only visit next time."
Below, Roman soldiers remained kneeling.
Thousands looked up.
Over West Asia, an aurora lingered in the sky like a stairway to heaven.
The long night finally ended.
True dawn broke through.
Just before the passage fully carried Rowe away, Brunestud's expression twisted into something complex.
Because the shackles were gone.
The Crimson Moon was free.
"Releasing my freedom with five percent of the Authority."
Brunestud cast a final glance at the people below.
She no longer had a reason to oppose them.
She rose and departed.
Free.
And yet, at this moment, she also yearned to return to the Moon Cell.
Not only to reclaim her power.
But to understand.
What was Rowe thinking.
Why had he let her go.
On a mountain, Saint Martha in white robes with purple hair smiled faintly.
She pulled a notebook from the folds of her chest and began to write.
"The Son of God ascends to heaven, and the shadow of the spirit hovers in the hearts of the People."
"He is self existent and eternal, the King of Heaven, and from now on, he will forever reside at the source of the spirit."
"Guiding the destiny of the People."
The Gospel.
Later, another record would appear.
A colder one.
"Regarding the Great Expedition at the beginning of the Common Era, the endpoint of the historical record lies in West Asia, at the edge of a vast plain."
"The final experiences are saturated with Mystery. The dead revived, a blood moon descended, the night sky fell."
"But what is more noteworthy is that the commander Rowe vanished only a few hundred km from Mesopotamia, the place where the term Rowe first appeared."
"Some claim he was a descendant of that lineage, others claim a master disciple transmission."
"Some, more absurd, speculate that the two Rowes separated by thousands of years were the same person."
"But whatever the truth, it is not difficult to imagine."
"For the commander, it might truly have been a grand journey home."
The Great Expedition that Opened the World.
Inside a passage woven from endless colorful lines, Rowe stood motionless.
He did not move, yet his position shifted.
He was detaching from Earth.
Approaching the Moon.
"I thought you would kill her," Gaia's voice asked, faintly curious.
"Crimson Moon?"
Rowe's face remained calm. He had the leisure to speak.
"Killing her gives me no benefit."
"Setting her free is more useful."
Gaia tilted her head.
"Explain."
Rowe grinned.
"If a satellite Ultimate One fully integrates into the ground, is that not an enhancement for both you and me?"
"Earth Moon system. If it succeeds, Earth and Moon will no longer be a system."
"They will be a whole."
"The Moon will also be our territory."
"It is mine, not yours," Gaia said automatically, though she was clearly moved. "You are merely an agent of will."
"Yes, yes," Rowe replied, waving it off. "The result is the same."
"Besides, even if she is free, she is severely wounded. She will not recover for at least a hundred years."
"And even after she recovers, her first priority will not be me."
"It will be reclaiming her position as the Moon Cell's Ultimate One."
"If she cannot reclaim it, she will not dare be my enemy."
"You calculated it so clearly."
This time, it was Alaya.
Rowe glanced toward the small girl manifested in his will.
"No wonder someone calls you the Origin of Wisdom."
"Someone?"
Alaya nodded gently.
"Strictly speaking, you could be considered my father."
"My initial awakening was in Greece, manifested through the selves of countless people you awakened."
Rowe's expression twitched.
"Skip the father part."
"I am human. If you call me father, I become my own father."
Alaya tilted her head, confused in a quiet way.
"It is different."
"Counter Forces are the manifestation of inherent nature, but consciousness detaches from those constraints."
"Humans are humans, and we are us."
"If I had to describe it, we are a kind of Guardian at the highest order."
"Enough philosophy," Rowe said. "Who was that one you mentioned?"
"It is," Alaya began, and her voice suddenly fractured. "Enkidu. Lord."
Rowe froze.
He tried to ask more, but the figures of the Counter Forces began to blur.
"We are detaching from Earth," Gaia said, standing. "Once we leave, we cannot interfere."
"It seems we can only go this far," Alaya said softly. "I wish you a smooth journey."
Both Counter Forces lifted their skirts and curtsied in his consciousness.
Rowe was stunned for a breath, then smiled.
He still had questions.
Enkidu's whereabouts.
The state of people he knew on Earth.
But he did not need to ask.
They were safe.
That was enough.
Appropriate care.
Appropriate love.
They would meet again sooner or later.
That day would not be far.
"Goodbye for now, humanity."
"Goodbye for now, Earth."
Gaia and Alaya vanished completely.
The passage opened by the Moon Cell reached its end.
The rainbow light thinned until it vanished.
Rowe's feet touched cold, silvery soil.
A moment of clarity.
Before him stretched desolation.
Craters, ridges, scattered silver gray dust.
The true landscape of the full moon he had stared at countless times, magnified until it became real.
He looked up.
Beyond the Moon, unshielded by atmosphere, the starry sky was vast and deep.
Endless stars.
And far away, the blazing corona.
The Sun.
"To some extent," Rowe murmured, rubbing his chin, "this is a complete change of scenery."
With the Atlantis Machina God body, he did not need air.
He simply found it interesting.
Inside atmosphere and outside atmosphere felt like different universes.
Lightness.
Freedom.
A faint joy beyond constraint.
That was the nature of Atlantis.
Machina gods were made to traverse the cosmos.
"This is still the near side," Rowe said, eyes narrowing as he oriented himself. "The Moon Cell is on the far side."
A massive crystal, dozens of km across, buried deep beneath the surface.
Rowe lifted his foot to begin walking.
Then stopped.
A red beam landed on him.
A single point, like a sniper's sight.
"Life form detected on Moon Cell."
"Starship functional signal detected."
"Matches startup characteristics."
"Artemis sniper type interstellar battleship. Confirming personality activation."
A silver white, beautiful starship shaped like a human appeared in Rowe's view.
The red dot followed, blooming within it.
It transformed into a fair, graceful figure.
Artemis.
The Greek goddess.
Appearing on the Moon at this very moment.
.....
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