Takumi's combat skills were relatively weak. Before transmigrating, Takumi was just an ordinary student who had rarely been in a fight.
He had only been in Chaldea for a few months. Even with a combat simulation room, Takumi's progress in understanding swordsmanship, spearmanship, and the like was quite slow.
Didn't you see that when Takumi fought using Siegfried's power, he mainly relied on the Noble Phantasm and his own superior stats to crush the enemy?
If he were to fight Heroic Spirits who were better at close-quarters combat, Takumi would undoubtedly fall into the disadvantageous category.
Unable to open up the distance to use Rune Magecraft, Takumi could only defend blindly against Caligula's relentless pursuit, forced to use his special ability from time to time.
It should be known that Takumi's special ability consumed a lot of energy. He could exchange a few moves with anyone, but what he feared most was a battle of attrition.
However, the opponent's condition wasn't much better right now either...
Takumi, who found it difficult to even use [Disengage], could only drag his slightly exhausted body and groggy head, struggling to hold on under Caligula's attacks.
If no one came to help, Takumi could only pray that the opponent would fall before he did.
"Ho! My reinforcement! I have come to help you!"
Nero arrived and slashed at Caligula, finally freeing Takumi from the anxious battle.
"My... My adorable niece... Nerooooo—"
Caligula's offensive paused as he shouted the same words for the nth time.
Nero was somewhat immune to his words and ignored him directly.
Then, while keeping an eye on the opponent's movements, she started chatting with Takumi.
"You are extremely brave, relieving my urgent need as soon as you appeared. It's just that your combat techniques are a bit unsightly. If you have time, you need to hone them more!"
Nero commented on Takumi's battle just now.
Although Caligula's mind wasn't clear, his body hadn't lost much of its ingrained combat memory. He actually seized upon the weakness of Takumi's close-combat skills, giving Takumi no chance to open up distance.
This forced Takumi to use his ability repeatedly.
"...That requires having time first. Besides, I probably don't have the talent for it."
Takumi shook his head, which was a bit dizzy from using his ability multiple times in succession, and responded helplessly to Nero.
"No talent? Umu... That is indeed a fatal flaw."
Nero was a bit distressed and looked Takumi up and down.
"Speaking of which, you should be a magus, right? Your attire looks somewhat similar to those magi."
Really? You can even tell from my standard Chaldea uniform?
To this, Nero could only say that in her impression, magi all dressed strangely anyway.
"It's not wrong to say that..."
Takumi didn't delve into it.
If knowing only basic Magecraft like Runes and Reinforcement, while being a complete mess in formal Magecraft knowledge, could count as being a magus.
"Then there's no problem! You support properly from the rear, and leave the front to me. You just need to enjoy my heroic figure to your heart's content!"
Nero said confidently.
This cheap uncle was already heavily injured. She couldn't beat him before, could she still not beat him now?
Nero really didn't believe in such bad luck!
Caligula's hands itched unbearably. Roaring Nero's name constantly, he pounced on Nero like a hungry wolf.
Seeing this, Nero hurriedly swung her sword to parry.
Here, the gap between Takumi and Nero was visible. Even though Nero's Strength seemed inferior to Takumi's, with her outstanding combat techniques and force-deflecting skills, she wasn't as wretched as Takumi, even if it was hard for her to fight back.
However, Takumi knew his role. Since he was back in his comfort zone, not using Rune Magecraft properly would be a waste of such good conditions.
Drawing runes in the air, in just a few seconds, the light of reinforcement accurately attached to Nero.
"This is... Umu! You have some skill! Once we resolve this mess and return to Rome, I will appoint you as the Chief Court Magus!"
Feeling her strength suddenly increase significantly, Nero's confidence doubled, and she decided to give Takumi an official title.
"Uh, let's forget about it..."
With my level, it's better not to lower the average standard of Court Magi.
"Do not be humble. If I say you have the ability, you have it!"
Classic tactic: Warrior holds the front, Mage provides remote support and buffs from the back. Although cliché, it was indeed effective.
After a few rounds, Caligula, who was already at a disadvantage, developed the intention to retreat and prepared to enter Spirit Form to escape.
"This guy wants to run! Stop him for me, quickly!"
Keenly sensing her cheap uncle's intention, Nero instantly became anxious. disregarding everything else, she rushed up to stop him.
Causing me such big trouble and still wanting to run? Not even if you're my uncle!*
Unfortunately, although Nero was reinforced, she was ultimately a living human and didn't know how to counter Spirit Form.
She could only watch helplessly as Caligula's figure gradually faded.
However, Takumi had been guarding against this escape move all along. The Magecraft he had been holding onto was finally released at the right moment.
Suppress!
Sudden increased gravity attached to Caligula, interrupting his Spirit Form process.
His figure reappeared on the battlefield.
Although the effect and duration weren't particularly good, this slight pause was enough for Nero to take action.
"Hah! Fall down for me!"
Nero's eyes lit up. She closed in, and her strange sword blade slashed heavily from Caligula's left shoulder to his right abdomen, leaving a bloody sword mark.
Throughout the battle, Caligula had suffered countless injuries, especially the initial penetrating wound and now Nero's merciless slash.
He could only kneel weakly on one knee.
"Now, no matter how energetic Uncle is, he can't run away anymore, right?"
Seeing Caligula lose his combat ability, Nero nodded in satisfaction.
"My Court Magus! Quickly get a sturdy rope and tie up this uncle who crawled out of the ground for me! I need to ask them properly where they came from!"
Nero still felt it wasn't safe enough and quite egoistically commanded Takumi beside her.
There were too many things to retort; Takumi didn't know where to start for a moment.
"...My Emperor, is your thinking a bit too jumpy? Where am I supposed to find you a rope right now?"
He had to pick a more realistic point.
"Hmm... That's true! It seems I struck too hard. Even if we tie him up, how long Uncle can last is an unknown..."
Thinking about it, Nero actually became distressed.
"..."
If this weren't a battlefield, Takumi really wanted to roast her properly.
"Hm? What is this inexplicable light?"
Nero, who was thinking about ignoring this side and rushing to save her army, suddenly noticed a strange light emerging from her uncle's body.
It was a light resembling cold moonlight.
"It's a Noble Phantasm!" Takumi, who knew a bit about Caligula's Noble Phantasm, shrank his pupils upon seeing this, sensing something bad.
Without a word, he grabbed Nero and ran into the distance at full speed.
"Ahhhhh—!"
Caligula stood in place, letting out an unconscious roar from his mouth. The light on his chest grew brighter and brighter.
After accumulating to a critical point, it erupted suddenly.
[Flucticulus Diana (Devour My Soul, Moonlight)]!
A bewitching full moon suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield.
Takumi roughly knew the effect of Caligula's Noble Phantasm, so after running to Nero's side of the battle group, he stopped hurriedly.
Without time to explain much, Takumi unfurled the flag with the golden iris pattern and activated the Noble Phantasm immediately after.
Faint golden light spilled behind him, enveloping Nero and her soldiers, inevitably including some enemy soldiers in the protection as well.
Soldiers on both sides were a bit bloodshot-eyed from killing, but seeing this fantastical scene, they couldn't help but be stunned.
Then they saw a truly terrifying scene.
The soldiers outside the golden light went crazy. Their eyes were bloodshot as they attacked the people around them indiscriminately, regardless of friend or foe.
Chopping off a person's head, they showed no intention of stopping, frantically waving their weapons to hit the already motionless corpse.
This soldier suddenly stopped moving, not because he regained consciousness, but because his heart was pierced by another crazy soldier.
No one cared about their own injuries, as if they had no sense of pain. They hacked at anyone they saw, every cut fatal. There wasn't a single intact corpse on the ground.
Later on, teeth and claws even became weapons. All the soldiers tore and bit at each other like unconscious beasts.
Bloody, terrifying.
Within the range of Takumi's Noble Phantasm, the unaffected soldiers, even though they had experienced many battles, were all full of fear and trembling all over when encountering this scene resembling a hell on earth.
Quite a few soldiers had already vomited, unconsciously dropping their weapons.
Takumi wasn't much better at this moment. He had vastly underestimated the effect of Caligula's Noble Phantasm on a battlefield. This scene impacted his mind constantly, disgusting him to the point of wanting to vomit.
Takumi's mind was wavering.
But coincidentally, his Noble Phantasm depended on his mental state. Even though it had the effect of resisting mental interference, facing the dual impact of Caligula's Noble Phantasm and his own inner fluctuations...
It began to teeter at this moment, the covered area gradually shrinking.
Realizing the state of the golden light protecting them was wrong, the soldiers panicked instantly. Even those from different factions followed their hearts and huddled together for warmth, edging toward the center of the light.
Takumi's face was pale. The light emitted from the flag became dimmer. Some moonlight even penetrated Takumi's defense line, shining on some soldiers.
This caused the mental state of some soldiers inside the golden light to show abnormalities as well.
Takumi could only grit his teeth and persist, forcefully suppressing the urge to vomit.
A small, white hand suddenly climbed onto this Noble Phantasm that originally belonged to Jeanne.
"My uncle really doesn't give me peace of mind. To actually give me another big problem..."
The petite red figure muttered to herself, holding the Holy Flag together with Takumi.
Judging from the expression glimpsed from the corner of his eye, Nero's face wasn't much better either.
"Fortunately, I have capable people under my command—Umu, I've decided! From now on, you will be my Personal Sword-Bearing Guard! With your agility, you will surely ensure my imperial body remains safe and sound in future battles!"
"...By the way, Your Majesty, do we really have this position here?"
"Wordy! If I say there is, there is!"
"Let's overcome the immediate difficulty first before discussing anything else. You have done well enough; now watch me take over the relay!"
Nero, who had long noticed Takumi's declining condition, said this.
Under Nero's extreme self-consciousness, a streak of red light actually spread up along the flagstaff, covering the entire flag in the blink of an eye.
[Imperial Privilege]!
Although not in a Heroic Spirit body, Nero still used this Inherent Skill that she could only use after becoming a Heroic Spirit.
Like a shot of adrenaline, the light emitting from the flag changed to golden-red. The teetering situation finally stopped, becoming incredibly stable.