Chapter 18:
The first fire broke out during a routine training session.
One moment, FC Roma was drilling corner kicks under the afternoon sun. The next, the wooden goalposts erupted in emerald flames, sending players diving for cover as the eerie green fire licked at the pitch without consuming it.
The system's analysis was frantic:
[Anomaly Detected:
- Flame Composition: Greek fire base + unknown catalyst
- Origin: Not Nero's doing (for once)
- Threat Level: Oracle's warning manifesting?]
Lucius stomped out the last flickering tendrils with his cloak as Nikias stared at his slightly singed sandals.
"First the oracle bursts into flames, now this," the Greek muttered. "I miss when football was just about breaking legs."
The emperor's summons arrived via screaming heralds:
"All teams report to the Colosseum at dawn! Glory awaits!"
The "glory," it turned out, was a monstrosity even the system couldn't anticipate.
The arena floor had been transformed into a hybrid battlefield—half football pitch, half gladiator trap. Spiked pits lined the wings. Rotating blades emerged randomly from the sand. And at center circle, a chained lion yawned.
Nero, perched atop a model siege tower, beamed. "Combat Football!"
His new rules were etched onto a bronze plaque:
1. Goals must be scored through flaming hoops
2. Defenders may use blunted swords
3. Any player who falls into a pit is "disqualified" (eaten)
The Vestal acolyte's grip on Lucius's arm was vise-like. "We need to stop this."
The system agreed:
[Projected Outcomes:
- Player mortality rate: 67%
- Spectator enjoyment: 98%
- Nero's continued support: 0% if refused]
Lucius stepped forward. "Divine One! What if we… test this with volunteers first?"
Nero's eyes narrowed.
No true footballer would touch this abomination.
So Lucius recruited:
- Retired gladiators (too battle-crazed to care)
- Germanic mercenaries (paid triple rates)
- One very confused bear (from the Temple of Diana)
The exhibition match was a horror show:
- A German scored first by drop-kicking the ball through a hoop while on fire
- The bear, misunderstanding the rules, mauled a rotating blade mechanism
- Nero ordered a mid-game "rule adjustment" that involved releasing scorpions
The system's live updates grew increasingly unhinged:
[Minute 30:
- Surviving players: 11/24
- Scorpion-related penalties: 3
- Bear morale: Surprisingly high]
By halftime, the Vestal acolyte had seen enough. She whispered to Lucius: "Invoke Jupiter's Wrath."
As the second half began, the acolyte and six sisters formed a circle at midfield. Their chant—ancient words in a tongue even the system couldn't translate—made the air hum.
Then the sky split.
A bolt of lightning struck the emperor's siege tower, sending Nero tumbling into a safety net. The scorpions exploded. The surviving players froze.
The high Vestal's voice boomed: "Jupiter condemns this sacrilege!"
A beat of silence. Then—
Nero applauded. "Now it's entertainment!"
The system's verdict was grim:
[Outcome:
- Combat Football League: Approved (with "minor" safety tweaks)
- Vestal political capital: Depleted
- New Problem:
- Someone else is tampering with Greek fire
- And it's not Nero]
Marcus's brother found Lucius that night in a Subura alley, his face wrapped in rags.
"Decimus didn't poison the grain," he rasped. "It was her."
He dropped a charred token at Lucius's feet—a clay disc stamped with the mark of the Pax Football League.
The system identified it instantly:
[Organization:
- "Pax" = Elite patrician betting syndicate
- Leader: Unknown
- Motive: Control football for profit
Tactics:
- Sabotage
- Oracle manipulation
- Greek fire enhancements]
Lucius's blood ran cold. "Who's 'her'?"
The slave's whisper was barely audible:
"The woman who owns the lions."
Her name was Domitia Calvina, and she was everything Lucius feared.
A patrician widow with a passion for exotic beasts, she'd quietly purchased controlling stakes in:
- 3 team franchises (including the Hansa Mercenaries)
- 5 stadiums
- Every Greek fire alchemist in Campania
The system pieced it together:
[Domitia's Plan:
1. Make football lethal (increases betting odds)
2. Frame Decimus for sabotage (remove rival)
3. Control Nero through "gifts" of mutated beasts
Endgame: Own the sport entirely]
Worse—she'd bred the lions used in Nero's matches.
And her new litter was almost grown.
Lucius convened his allies in the catacombs beneath the Campum Ludus:
- Vestals (for divine legitimacy)
- Freed slaves (for underground intelligence)
- Germanic defectors (for muscle)
- The bear (for moral support)
The plan was threefold:
1. Vestals would "rediscover" an ancient text banning beast-breeding for sport.
2. Julia Antonia would bankrupt Domitia's betting rings by fixing matches.
3. Lucius would bait her into revealing herself—using Nero as unwitting bait.
The system calculated their odds:
[Success Probability:
- Phase 1: 75%
- Phase 2: 60%
- Phase 3: 30% (Nero factor)
Critical Warning: Domitia's lions are flammable]
The stage was set at the next "Combat Football" match.
Nero, still obsessed with his deadly new sport, had ordered a special "night match" with glowing Greek fire hoops.
Lucius made sure:
- The Vestals positioned themselves near Domitia's private box
- The Germanic mercenaries "defected" back to her side
- The bear wore a hidden vest of fireproof asbestos (courtesy of the alchemist)
Then—he lit the fuse.
As the match began, Lucius "accidentally" revealed a fake scroll to Nero—a "secret" decree that Domitia planned to replace *Combat Football* with her own "Beast Ball" league.
The emperor's tantrum was spectacular.
"MY SPORT! MY FIRE!"
Domitia, realizing the trap, signaled her handlers.
The gates burst open.
Six adolescent lions, their manes coated in Greek fire accelerant, charged onto the pitch.
What followed was neither football nor combat—it was survival.
- The Vestals' chants redirected the lions toward Domitia's own box.
- The Germanic mercenaries turned on her guards.
- The bear, blessedly fireproof, hugged a lion into submission.
Domitia screamed as her own beasts cornered her. "You'll burn with me!"
The system's countdown flashed:
[Greek Fire Ignition:
- Lions' manes: 100% combustible
- Domitia's fate: Sealed
Recommended Action: RUN]
Lucius grabbed Nikias and vaulted into the stands as the first lion exploded.
By dawn, the Colosseum's eastern gate was a smoldering ruin.
Domitia's body was never found.
Nero, convinced he'd orchestrated the "purification by fire," composed an anthem about it.
The system's summary was solemn:
[Outcome:
- Domitia's network: Crushed
- Combat Football League: Suspended (temporarily)
- New Threat:
- Greek fire formula is loose
- The bear now thinks it's a lion
- Nero wants "fireproof players"]
As Lucius surveyed the damage, the Vestal acolyte joined him.
"The oracle's prophecy," she murmured. "The dream dies in fire." She nodded to where children were already kicking a ball through the ashes. "But not today."