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90% Leo Carter: The Accidental Time Traveler of Ancient Rome / Chapter 36: The Wrath of Caesar

章 36: The Wrath of Caesar

The Senate Hall was bursting at the seams with almost unbearable tension as Caesar took centre stage, standing tall like some lion surveying his kingdom. The senators, seated in a wide semicircle, shifted uneasily in their chairs. Their faces betrayed a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Already, word had spread through Rome's streets that Caesar would call the Senate not for any discussion but for reckoning.

Leo stood by Antony's side, his heart pounding inside his chest. Events of the previous day echoed in his mind: their frantic race to Caesar's villa, the confrontation, and Caesar's realization that they had conspired against him. Today, the table was going to turn.

The conspirators all sat in place, their faces all set at non commital lines, though flickers of anxiety danced there as in fireflies in dark wood. Cassius sat motionless, his jaw locked and hard, as if he braced against the coming storm. But Brutus seemed relaxed and casual, until Leo noticed the minute tremble that crept up his arm on his chair.

Caesar raised his hand, and the room became silent. The murmur of voices, the shuffle of feet, everything ceased. It was as though the very air held its breath.

Senators of Rome, began Caesar, speaking in a low tone but with the rumble of thunder as his voice shook the very halls. "I summoned you here not to debate nor deliberate but to confront great treachery sown within this very holy institution."

Leo's eyes flitted over at Cassius, whose expression hardened.

"A treachery" Caesar continued, "that dares to challenge not only me but the very foundation of Rome. A treachery so vile, so cowardly, that it sought to strike at me from the shadows, with daggers drawn and oaths broken."

With ripples of whispers that resound across the room, those whisperers continue questioning with lowered voices among fellow senators.

"I have given this Senate my loyalty, my life, and my victories" Caesar said, his voice now rising. "And yet, there are men among you-men who would repay my service with betrayal!"

His eyes swept across the room, lingering on each conspirator. Cassius's lips hardened into a thin line, while Brutus dropped his glance to the floor.

"I shall not mention names," Caesar continued, his voice cutting through the murmurs. "For those who have betrayed me know who they are. And let it be known—there will be no mercy for those who dare to defy me. Rome's enemies, whether they stand on foreign soil or within these walls, will be crushed beneath her heel."

Cassius stood up brusquely, scraping his chair against the marble floor. "Do you think to accuse us all, Caesar? Are we not your senators, loyal to the welfare of Rome?"

Caesar turned to him with eyes aflame with passion. "Loyalty?" he spat. "You tell me about loyalty, Cassius, plotting against my head? Prithee, think not myself a fool.".

The room was silent. And an accusation hung there like a blade poised to strike.

Cassius's composure parted for a moment before he settled into it again. "No proof, Caesar. These allegations are hollow."

Caesar advances, forward. "No proof? Your whispers have reached mine ears. Your treason is written in every look, every word you've spoken in the dark. You plot against me with others who sit in this selfsame chamber.".

The senators shifted uncomfortably, some moving away from Cassius.

"From this day forward," thundered Caesar, his voice a roar, "let it be known that those who oppose me oppose Rome. And those who oppose Rome will have to bear her anger."

Two of Caesar's guards stepped forward, their hands resting over the hilts of their swords.

Cassius, Brutus, Decimus, and all such; with look so piercing as his eyes, still on the following terms: "Enemies you are to Rome. To justice you shall go; there shall you dwell; no man shall tackle you with love."

Brutus stood, his voice shaking but unshaking. "If you do that, Caesar, you send us to death without trial, without so much as an argument. "Tis no more justice, I swear 'tis tyranny."

"Tyranny? Caesar spat. You talk of tyranny and would stab me in the back while talking of virtue. Do not lecture me for justice, Brutus: for all the wounds it could inflict, treachery cuts deeper."

It had now come to breaking point the tension that hung over in that room. Guards advanced by holding swords. Conspirators stood on their behalf.

"Grasp them," Caesar ordered, his voice colder than steel.

But before the guards could have even taken a step, Cassius raised his hand. "Wait! If you have a problem with us, then stand up and present it, Caesar. You might be Rome's ruler, but you cannot be a god.".

"Then come," Caesar said, his voice a challenge. "Let Rome see who dares to defy her." Then chaos ruled the Senate with senators' voices clashing to issue a rain of accusations and protests into the air.

Overpowered but unconquerable, conspirators were unyielding, staring at Caesar.

Leo stood there, speechless in his head. He had seen Caesar turn things around. The conspirators were not going to fall quietly into that good night. The Ides of March storm was broken, and Rome was never going to be the same again.


章 37: Faced with Adversities

The grand Senate chamber descended into chaos. Caesar stood tall and imposing at its center, his crimson cloak swaying as the rising tension thickened the air. The conspirators, now fully exposed, made no further effort to hide their treachery. Cassius's hand moved to the hilt of his blade, his eyes blazing with defiance.

"Do you think we fear you, Caesar?" Cassius snarled, his voice cutting through the mounting din. "You may call yourself Rome, but Rome belongs to its people, not to a man who would make himself king."

The chamber echoed with gasps and murmurs as the other senators began to grasp the gravity of what was unfolding.

"King?" Caesar's laugh was harsh and resonant, his voice filling the room. "You speak of tyranny, yet here you stand with daggers in your hands, ready to spill the blood of the Republic's leader. Is this your justice, Cassius?"

With one moment of hesitation, Cassius drew his sword. The metallic ring of steel broke through the din like a warning bell. One after another, the conspirators pulled forth their arms from under their robes and cast their eyes toward Caesar: Decimus, Trebonius, and the rest.

The Senate erupted into confusion and terror. Senators who had no involvement in the affair sprang to their feet, shouting objections, while others made for the doors. Guards stationed at the entrance charged forward, their own swords bared, but Cassius held his blade up above his head, his voice carrying above the bedlam.

"Stand down, soldiers of Rome! This is not your fight!"

The guards hesitated, their loyalty wavering under the weight of the scene before them.

Leo's heart pounded as he stood at the edge of the unfolding drama, his hand instinctively gripping the rune-etched blade at his side. Beside him, Antony's jaw tightened, his hand resting on his gladius but not yet drawn.

"Antony," Leo whispered urgently. "We have to act. If we don't, this will turn into a massacre."

Antony's eyes didn't leave Caesar, who remained steadfast and unwavering in the face of the blades pointed at him. "Not yet," Antony murmured. "Caesar knows what he's doing."

"Knows what he's doing?" Leo hissed, incredulous. "He's surrounded by armed men ready to kill him!"

As if to echo Leo's fears, Brutus stepped forward, his blade still sheathed but his expression filled with conflict.

"Cassius, this is not the way," Brutus said, his voice low but firm. "There is still time to—"

"There is no time!" Cassius roared, cutting Brutus off. "Caesar will not stop until he has crushed every voice of dissent. If we do not strike now, we will all be slaves to his ambition."

Caesar's gaze shifted to Brutus, his expression softening for the briefest of moments. "Brutus," he said, his voice heavy with a mix of disappointment and challenge. "Is this where you stand? With them? Against me?"

Brutus's hand hovered over the hilt of his blade, his hesitation as palpable as the tension in the room.

Before Brutus could respond, the doors to the Senate burst open, and a stream of people spilled into the corridors outside. Word of the confrontation had already reached the streets, and the commotion drew a growing crowd of citizens and soldiers.

"Conspiracy!" one senator shouted as he fled the chamber, his voice echoing down the marble halls. "The conspirators have turned their blades on Caesar!"

The cry spread like wildfire. Outside, citizens gathered in confusion and horror, slowly realizing that Rome itself teetered on the very edge of chaos.

Cassius seized the moment, pointing his blade at Caesar with a triumphant sneer. "You see, Caesar? The people will rise against you! Even now, they flee from your tyranny. You will not leave this chamber alive!

But Caesar did not flinch. His eyes burned with such intensity that even the armed conspirators hesitated. He advanced, his voice piercing through the tumult like a blade.

"You dare call yourselves saviors of Rome?" Caesar thundered. "You are nothing but cowards, cloaked in the guise of righteousness. Strike if you have the courage, but know this—your blades may end my life, but they will not end my legacy. Rome will remember who stood for her and who sought to destroy her."

The conspirators surged forward, their weapons raised, but Caesar stood firm, his unyielding presence like an immovable mountain.

"Now!" Antony barked, drawing his gladius and stepping between Caesar and the advancing men.

Leo's instincts kicked in, and he drew his rune blade, its glowing edge humming with power. As the conspirators lunged, Leo moved to intercept them, his blade clashing against theirs with a force that sent sparks flying.

"Stay back!" Leo shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

Cassius sneered as he parried Leo's strike, his movements swift and calculated. "You're no Roman, boy. You don't belong in this fight."

"Maybe not," Leo shot back, gritting his teeth as their blades locked. "But I'm not letting you kill him."

The chamber filled with combat and confusion, blades flashing and clanging as guards and loyalists boiled to Caesar's defense. The conspirators fought fiercely, driven on by desperation, even as the tide began to turn against them.

Meanwhile, outside, the crowd became restless, and their shouts and cries filled the air as Rome began to brace itself for the storm that had erupted within the walls of the Senate.

For every strike, Leo parried, every blow, Antony deflected, the weight of the moment bore down harder upon them. Now this was no longer a fight for Caesar's life—it was a fight for the future of Rome.


クリエイターの想い
Conspirator Conspirator

Sorry for the late post this time, I was working on something else.

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