To Become a King and a Magician 731-735

Title: Perfect Victory!

【This shouldn’t be happening】

*BAM!*

A strike and pain like a sledgehammer slammed into the side of her face.

【This shouldn’t be happening】

*DUAR!*

A bolt of lightning like a spear fiercely shattered the scales on the serpent’s body.

【This shouldn’t be happening】

*SWISH!*

A sharp blade of wind sliced and sheared off the serpent’s hair.

【This shouldn’t be happening】

Under attacks from all directions by Naoki, the Gorgon, who had just moments ago seemed so ferocious, now retracted all her serpent hair, folded her wings, and shielded her body.

This shouldn’t be happening.

She was the Goddess of Magical Beasts, Tiamat, Mother of all living creatures wielding the Authority of the Primordial Womb of a Hundred Beasts!

How could she be unilaterally suppressed like this by a weak, origin-unknown creature?

Bites from her serpent hair, consecutive magic cannon blasts, or the petrification rays unleashed through her Mystic Eyes... all attacks failed to yield results. She hadn’t even touched Naoki once, let alone landed a hit!

*BAM!*

A full-force strike from Naoki landed on the surface of the Gorgon’s wings. The intense vibrations and impact forced her wings to slightly open, and her body was inevitably pushed back a considerable distance.

Seizing the gap as her wings parted, Naoki accelerated, broke through, and arrived right in front of the Gorgon—

“STAY...... AWAY FROM ME—!”

Seeing Naoki so close, the Gorgon’s eyes suddenly emitted a blinding light that swept across the entire surroundings.

*ZHINGGGG!*

In an instant, the area swept by the light froze, petrifying into stone at an astonishing speed!

Naoki, standing directly in front of the Gorgon, naturally began to petrify on his body surface under the light’s influence. But the moment petrification appeared on his skin, he stepped into a Spatial Light Gate that materialized from nowhere. He reappeared behind the Gorgon, beyond the reach of her Mystic Eyes, and forcibly shattered the petrification curse with his own magical power!

And right after that—

*DHUAR!*

A lightning spear suddenly struck the Gorgon’s back. The bolt incinerated most of her pale back in an instant!

In the last few minutes, this situation had repeated countless times.

Naoki unilaterally suppressed the Gorgon, while she seized tiny opportunities for counterattacks. Yet every counterattack failed, only to be met with painful strikes from Naoki.

If anyone else were here, Naoki would have beaten them to ashes. Incredibly, though, Naoki’s attacks seemed ineffective. Despite her pitiful appearance, the Gorgon hadn’t sustained much substantial damage.

No, the damage clearly struck her, but—

*BUZZ!*

A golden light appeared on the wounded areas. The damage Naoki had just inflicted was instantly healed by that light.

It was the light of the Holy Grail.

The reason the Gorgon hadn’t been killed by Naoki yet was the Holy Grail given to her by Kingu.

The Gorgon already possessed immense immortality; with the Holy Grail, it was dramatically enhanced.

(She might even resurrect if killed.)

Her immortality was that potent. In fact, Naoki had slit her throat more than once before and inflicted numerous fatal wounds, but all were without exception healed by the Holy Grail’s power.

To defeat the current Gorgon, the options were to first seize the Holy Grail from her body, or—

“I guess it’s about time the effect kicks in, right? Turns out it’s far harder to erode a goddess’s soul.”

As Naoki muttered to himself, the Gorgon’s body suddenly stiffened like it was electrocuted. Indescribable pain erupted from within without warning, causing her to unconsciously clutch her chest tightly!

(This feeling... what... )

“Soul erosion.”

Naoki approached the Gorgon and explained with a smile, “Do you think only you have Mystic Eyes? My Mystic Eyes have been working on you since our battle began. Lucky your body is this big.”

After all, since meeting Kingu, Naoki no longer carried the Mystic Eyes Killer. Naturally, his own Mystic Eyes kept operating.

However, compared to Kingu’s fragile, infant-like soul, the Gorgon’s soul was extraordinarily strong. Only now had he achieved thirty percent erosion, making her feel real pain.

(After all, she is a goddess.)

Hearing Naoki’s explanation, the Gorgon’s face darkened as she clutched her chest. Her countless serpent hairs rampaged again, transforming into giant pythons lunging at Naoki!

*SHUA!*

Flames ignited from nowhere. Crimson fire reduced all the serpent hair to ash in an instant.

Naoki laughed, “Soul erosion is nearing forty percent. In about twelve minutes, your soul will be fully eroded by me and become mine.”

While the Holy Grail’s power granted her immortality, soul erosion couldn’t be healed. As long as he dragged it out, the Gorgon was doomed to lose. Once her soul was eroded by Naoki, she’d become his puppet, just like Kingu.

“In your dreams!”

The Gorgon roared in fury.

“I, Tiamat, become yours? Wishful thinking!”

All her serpent hairs danced wildly in unison. Vast magical power gathered into countless magic cannons, firing from the serpents’ mouths and sweeping every direction. Everything around shattered, crumbled, and exploded under the barrage, turning into scorched earth.

“I am the Goddess of Magical Beasts, Tiamat! The goddess who will utterly destroy Human History and humanity!”

“Along with this era and the future, become ashes!”

The Gorgon’s roar shook heaven and earth.

Like a rampaging, out-of-control war machine, the entire petrified Cedar Forest turned into a sea of fire under the innumerable magic cannon bombardments.

Yet no matter how the Gorgon ravaged the land, destroyed her surroundings, or annihilated everything, Naoki persisted like an indelible stain, firmly occupying part of her vision, staring at her body with his sky-blue Mystic Eyes.

“AAAAA..... AAAAAAAAAAA—!!”

Her eyes filled with pure rage, the Gorgon unleashed a roar, and the most intense light ever flashed in her eyes.

She poured all her power into her Mystic Eyes, transforming the petrification light into a beam cannon and unleashing it point-blank right in front of Naoki’s face!

And at the same moment—

“True Name, Release. Smite the wicked goddess! Excalibur!”

Unnoticed until then, Naoki gripped the Star Holy Sword with both hands, shouting and unleashing its True Name!

Even without releasing any seals, the brilliant starlight beam surged into a torrent in an instant, meeting the incoming Mystic Eyes light!

*BOOMMMMM—!*

A deafening roar echoed across heaven and earth once more. Gold and blood-red, two beams of light split the world in two!

Then, after a brief pause—

-BOOM!*

The Star Breath directly obliterated the Mystic Eyes light completely! The Gorgon, at such close range, was instantly swallowed by the Holy Sword’s radiance!

(I... I... to think—)

Under the light’s onslaught, the Gorgon’s body—continuously annihilated by the starlight—didn’t even finish her thought. Her consciousness rapidly sank, and her massive form exploded into countless specks of light!

Reaching out to catch the Holy Grail emerging from the Gorgon’s body, Naoki sighed slightly, “Though I could have waited twelve minutes, sorry, I’m in a hurry. Dragging things out isn’t my style.”

“Perish, you pathetic goddess.”

Gorgon.

Completely Annihilated!

-

Title: Is This the Classic Long Jump Arc Cliché?

The light released by the Holy Sword of the Stars was visible to almost everyone currently in this Singularity.

Standing on the Northern Wall, gazing far toward that brilliant light, Merry and Merlin almost simultaneously smiled, while Morgan gave a slight sneer.

For these three individuals closely tied to King Arthur and the Holy Sword, that light brought back too many memories of the past. Though it was a distant past from thousands of years ago, the three occasionally still recalled it.

Morgan due to the hatred she had now released, Merlin because of the regrets in his heart, and Merry out of pure nostalgic pleasure.

However, regardless of their individual reasons, at least all three were glad to see that distant light.

“A very easy victory.”

“With his abilities, this is the expected outcome. The troublesome part was only these Demon Beasts.”

Morgan said while looking down at the horde of Demon Beasts that had begun to lose control after Gorgon’s death. Without the Goddess of Magical Beasts, this leaderless horde would be easier to handle. At least, the end of total extermination was now in sight.

“Then, what about the others? Are they ready?”

“Hm, of course.”

Merlin nodded.

Gorgon was dead. The impact of this death must have reached Tiamat, who was currently sleeping beneath the Persian Gulf. If so, her awakening was only a matter of time, and there was no need to maintain the Dream Prison any longer.

If they kept it up, the Incubus would be directly crushed to death by the enemy side.

Therefore—

*BUZZ!*

Pink petal-like light ignited on the two of them. Their divided minds, consciousness, and Mana, which had extended to the Persian Gulf, suddenly retracted into their bodies like an ebbing tide. Right at that moment—

“Ugh.....”

“Mmm......”

As they fully withdrew their power, Merry and Merlin groaned softly in unison. Their bodies trembled violently, and they hurriedly supported themselves with their staffs to avoid falling. A few strands of blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.

Morgan frowned: “Not in time?”

“No..... a bit too late.....” Merry wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. “It should be said that only the long pants were touched, but even so, it made me feel like I was nearly dead.”

Exactly as Naoki had said, the backlash from the Mother Creator—even if just the waking anger upon initial awareness—was not something the two of them could withstand. Moreover, this was the result shared between Merry and Merlin. If it had fully struck one person, they might have been severely injured on the spot.

Sustaining only minor wounds plus slightly disordered consciousness was already the best outcome.

*WHOOSH!*

Right at that moment, accompanied by a flash of lightning, Naoki suddenly appeared in front of the three of them, holding the Holy Grail in his hand. After glancing at Merry, he sighed in relief: “Seems like you’re okay.”

“Oh, did you rush back at full speed because you were worried about me?”

“Yes.” Naoki nodded honestly. “Though I thought you probably had a backup plan to avoid dying, if possible, I still didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Mmhm~~~”

Merry hummed softly. Whether showing off or not, she slightly puffed out her chest with a very proud expression. This made Morgan’s eyebrows twitch violently—if there weren’t so many people here, she would have immediately smashed that trash Incubus with her staff. What was there to be proud of with such a frail, lowly physique?

After confirming Merry was fine, Naoki placed the Holy Grail on the ground: “I’ll leave it here. Let Mash and Fujimaru pick it up later. And now, you two hurry back to Uruk and discuss the counterattack with Gilgamesh.”

“Then what about you?” Morgan asked. “Don’t tell me, you’re planning to show off alone again like I think?”

“No, I’ll just do what only I can—before I return, everything here is entrusted to you all.”

After giving these instructions, Naoki once again turned into a stream of light and shot into the sky, speeding at full throttle toward the Persian Gulf. Though less than two minutes had passed since he annihilated Gorgon, he could already feel it.

The world’s scream coming from the Persian Gulf.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

“Was that the Department Chief just now?”

At the same time, not far away at the staircase leading down from the Northern Wall, Ritsuka and the others, slightly disheveled, emerged one after another. Due to the major battle with the Demon Beasts, everyone was more or less injured, supporting each other and barely able to stand steadily.

Looking toward the direction Naoki had flown earlier, Ritsuka asked in confusion: “Merry-Sensei, that was the Department Chief, right? He’s heading to... Wait, what’s this on the ground?!”

Ritsuka rubbed her eyes several times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, then hurriedly bent down and picked up the Holy Grail from the ground: “The Holy Grail!? Why is it here?!”

“Of course, it was brought back by your beloved Department Chief, Master.” Merry explained with a smile. “This is the seventh Holy Grail owned by Gorgon, personally sent by the King of Magecraft. Since Gorgon was defeated and annihilated by Naoki, this Holy Grail naturally becomes our spoils of war. Remember to keep it safe.”

Without needing Merry to say it, Mash had already taken the Holy Grail from Ritsuka’s hands and carefully stored it inside her shield. After this, she just needed to bring it back to Chaldea via Rayshift.

【With this, aside from the destroyed Holy Grails, we’ve recovered all the rest.】

Roman in Chaldea let out a slight sigh of relief.

All seven Holy Grails had been destroyed or recovered. The seven actual Singularities had ended, and this long journey of Human Order Incineration had reached its conclusion—thoughts like that arose in the minds of almost everyone in Chaldea.

Including Ritsuka and Mash.

The tense expression on her face suddenly relaxed, and Ritsuka leaned on Mash: “Huff~~~~ With this, it’s over, right?”

“Yes, Senpai. The Holy Grail has been recovered, and the enemies have been defeated. All our battles in this Singularity are finished. You’ve worked hard, Senpai.”

“That’s wrong, Mash.”

Merry shook her head, denying Ritsuka and Mash’s claim that everything was over.

“The battle isn’t finished. On the contrary, the real battle has only just begun. Everything we’ve experienced so far has merely been the appetizer.”

“Eh?”

Ritsuka and Mash were stunned.

Not over? Just begun?

“Sensei, you mean.......”

“Think carefully. Even though you’ve recovered the Holy Grails and defeated the greatest enemy, this Singularity should immediately begin to collapse, but why hasn’t there been any change at all until now? —A similar situation, I think you’ve experienced it in the Sixth Singularity, right?”

Enemies defeated, but the Singularity doesn’t disappear.

This wasn’t the first time it had happened. Not long ago in the Sixth Singularity, even though Vortigern was defeated, due to his surviving descendants, the Singularity failed to vanish immediately.

“This Singularity is the same situation. The battle isn’t over yet.”

-

Title: There’s Always Someone Who Has to Do What Needs to Be Done

Several minutes later, Uruk, Ziggurat.

With the help of Merlin and Merry, who had fully recovered their strength, the group that had been stationed at the Northern Wall quickly returned here.

In the Throne Room, Gilgamesh looked at the people who had returned.

“You’ve come back. This King indeed expected it was time for your arrival.”

His gaze swept over everyone, but he didn’t see the figure he anticipated. Gilgamesh frowned: “The Holy Sword bearer is absent. Has he set off?”

“Yes, because it’s something only he can do. If he doesn’t go, no one else can.” Merry said, “And what we must do, while Naoki buys time for us, is to prepare for the counterattack.”

“Wait a moment, King Gilgamesh!”

Suddenly, Ushiwakamaru interrupted their conversation with a face full of confusion: “The counterattack you two are talking about... what exactly is it? The Magical Beast Goddess has been defeated. The remaining Three Goddess Alliance, I remember Natsukawa-dono has already taken care of them. We shouldn’t have any enemies left.”

“You haven’t told them yet, Incubus?”

“No need to explain twice. Especially since we’ll definitely return to Uruk anyway, just explain it here.”

Merry said this, then turned around and cleared her throat.

“Ehem~~~ First of all, I want to thank everyone for your hard work. Over the past six months, both the Servants summoned by King Gilgamesh to fight the Magical Beast Goddess invasion and the reinforcements that came later, our battles up to now have concluded. The Magical Beast Goddess has been annihilated, and the Three Goddess Alliance disbanded. Now is the time to cheer and celebrate our victory.”

“But unfortunately, our battle isn’t over, and has only just begun—the true Magical Beast Goddess has awakened.”

The true one?

Amid everyone’s confused expressions, Merry continued his explanation: “It all started half a year ago. Along with the Human Order Incineration, seven Singularities appeared, and in each Singularity, entities emerged that sought to destroy humanity.”

“The same happened in this Mesopotamia, and compared to the previous six Singularities, the entity that appeared here far surpasses the power of all previous enemies.”

An enemy far stronger than all the foes they had faced before.

Ritsuka swallowed hard: “Could it be..... stronger than the Demon God Pillars?”

“The Demon God Pillars are not even comparable to it, Fujimaru.” Merlin shook his head.

“Originally, only seven Grand Class Servants could face it. The Beast that devours Humanity.”

“The Source of Life, the Primordial Mother, one of the Seven Evils of Man, the Creator Mother of the Mesopotamian world, the Mother of all life.”

“—Tiamat.”

That was the name of the enemy they would face once more.

Mash frowned: “B-but wasn’t Goddess Tiamat already defeated by Big Brother? Just now, the Magical Beast Goddess was confirmed to be annihilated.”

“That was just a fake.” Gilgamesh sneered. “Synchronization, replication, transplantation, imitation... perhaps through one of these methods, that divine snake obtained power similar to Tiamat. If it were the real Tiamat, let alone half a year, Uruk wouldn’t have lasted even a day.”

This was even in the situation where Gilgamesh had voluntarily sealed Ea and used his full power to protect Uruk.

(A fake......)

Hinako realized some issues: “From the tone of your words, plus the attitude and actions of these two Incubi, don’t tell me the current situation was something you all anticipated?”

“After all, there are three Clairvoyance owners here.” Merlin smiled. “Me and the other me came here beforehand precisely to confront Tiamat. We trapped her in the Dream Prison, delaying her awakening as long as possible, but now it’s reached its limit. We can’t trap her anymore.”

“The next thing we can do is face her head-on and defeat her—no other way to end this Singularity.”

Ritsuka bit her lip: “Even after recovering the Holy Grail that caused the Singularity’s birth, it didn’t work?”

“Tiamat herself is a more terrifying and Singular existence than the Holy Grail. Moreover, in terms of the sequence of events, it wasn’t the Holy Grail that formed the Singularity, but because the Holy Grail allowed Tiamat to return to the material world that this place became a Singularity.”

The reason the Singularity wouldn’t disappear even after recovering the Holy Grail was this—the true root cause of the Singularity had only now emerged.

【Tut tut tut!】

At that moment, the communication device on Ritsuka’s wrist suddenly rang. Roman’s anxious voice came from it.

【Fujimaru, Mash, Akuta, emergency situation! We’re observing unknown origin Mana reactions in the Persian Gulf! The Mana intensity of each entity surpasses the Demon Beasts you faced before, and the total number exceeds one hundred million! And the number is still increasing!】

“One hundred million?!”

The absurd number made Ritsuka unable to hold back from shouting.

Just one hundred thousand Demon Beasts had already pushed them to their limits. One hundred million... a thousand times more enemies!

“This number......”

It was utterly impossible to hold back. No matter how strong someone was, it was impossible to withstand one hundred million Demon Beasts. Moreover, in the short time they were shocked, these one hundred million Demon Beasts must have already grown to an even more absurd number!

【Around one hundred thousand of them have already landed, and twenty thousand are heading toward Uruk. Though their speeds vary, the fastest will arrive at Uruk in a few hours!】

“Damn...... Nobunaga!” Ritsuka turned to Nobunaga. “You can fly, right? Can I ask you to go ahead and annihilate as many Demon Beasts as possible? We’ll follow as quickly as we can! Ushiwakamaru’s agility level is also very high, please accompany Nobunaga!”

Twenty thousand Demon Beasts, though not as many as the previous one hundred thousand, was still an extraordinary number. Moreover, Ritsuka knew that the reason they could hold off one hundred thousand was purely due to the support of Dingir and Naoki’s lightning storm. They themselves might have only taken down around ten thousand.

Additionally, Ritsuka could see that everyone was now extremely fatigued. The prolonged battles had caused varying degrees of mental and physical exhaustion.

However, even so, they couldn’t just stand here and wait for death!

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then I’ll head out first too!”

Nobunaga and Ushiwakamaru immediately prepared to leave the Ziggurat. But right before the two set off, Roman’s voice sounded again.

【No, wait..... wait a moment, the twenty thousand Demon Beasts heading to Uruk are confirmed annihilated in an instant?!】

“What?”

【There’s a fast-moving Mana reaction heading toward the Persian Gulf! It’s Natsukawa!】

The Department Chief?!

Ritsuka unconsciously looked at Merry: “Sensei...... did the Department Chief fly off earlier because.......”

“Yes, he went to buy time.” Merry nodded. “We have a way to defeat Goddess Tiamat, but that method requires time, at least two days starting from now—and that time, Naoki will give it to us.”

“This is too reckless!!”

Not holding back her voice at all, Ritsuka couldn’t help but exclaim: “No matter how strong the Department Chief is, to buy two days alone, that’s—“

“Not alone.”

Hinako interrupted Ritsuka’s words: “Fujimaru, didn’t you notice? Among the people who were at the Northern Wall earlier, one or two are missing.”

“Eh?”

After being reminded by Hinako, Ritsuka finally noticed the discrepancy in the number of people in the Ziggurat.

(Kingu and Rei-senpai are gone!)

“That’s how it is.” Merry patted Ritsuka’s head. “Calm down, Ritsuka. Hope is always in our hands. While Naoki and the others struggle with all their might to buy time for us, we must also complete the preparations to fight Goddess Tiamat.”

“This is our task.”

“I understand.”

After taking a deep breath, Ritsuka nodded firmly: “Then, what should we do?”

-

Title: The Holy Sword Bearer Begins Saving the World

Persian Gulf.

Some time ago when Naoki arrived, this place was still a beautiful gulf. But now, the gulf had been overtaken by a vast black sea.

From the depths of the Indian Ocean, as if a seal had been broken, black seawater continuously flowed from its depths, assimilating and replacing the surrounding seas, gradually raising the water level of the entire ocean.

The observation post that was once located on the cliffs near the Persian Gulf was now completely submerged by the black seawater.

And within this sea, one by one, alien creatures with strange forms continued to crawl out.

They had spear-like pointed legs, elongated bodies, and at the head position, no eyes or senses, only a wide mouth extending a long tongue filled with white teeth, appearing quite unsettling.

Lahmu.

Though not an official name, they could be called by this name. They were the children of Goddess Tiamat, created using sand and mud from the Age of Gods through the Authority of the Mother Womb of a Hundred Beasts.

Since the black sea erupted and spread in the Persian Gulf, Lahmu began emerging from the sea. After landing, they spread in all directions across the Mesopotamian mainland.

Although Gorgon had only been defeated a few minutes ago, and only ten minutes had passed, the number of Lahmu in these ten minutes was already so vast that it nearly filled much of the Mesopotamian mainland.

“...”

Above the shore of the Persian Gulf, Naoki silently hovered in the air, looking down at the continuously emerging Lahmu. He did not attempt to annihilate them all.

It would never be possible to wipe them out completely. All he could do was exterminate all Lahmu heading toward Uruk. The rest, he had no power or energy to waste on them.

The world’s scream that he had felt on the way here grew even stronger after arriving at the Persian Gulf.

【Please defeat that Beast】

【Please annihilate that Evil】

In the depths of his consciousness, he vaguely sensed the world conveying such thoughts to him.

Their opponent was Goddess Tiamat.

As the Primordial Mother discarded after creation, Tiamat was the sea, as well as the land used to produce life. After the earth’s environment stabilized and the ecosystem formed, she was deemed unnecessary and exiled.

Therefore, what is called the Creator Goddess is merely a false name. Her body is the Great Catastrophe abandoned by humanity and rejected by Human History, one of the Seven Evils of Man, the Beast with the principle of Regression—Beast II.

Undoubtedly, she is the Evil that destroys the world, the Evil that destroys humanity, seeking to annihilate current humans, replace the entire earth’s ecosystem, and return to being the Mother of All Things—Evil.

*BUZZ!*

Particles of light gathered in Naoki’s hand. The Holy Sword of the Stars appeared there, emitting a unique light under the gloomy sky and in front of the endless black sea.

The Holy Sword of the Stars is the Holy Sword that saves the world, the Holy Sword capable of defeating all evils.

And the Bearer of the Holy Sword of the Stars is also destined to be the Savior who saves the world.

“It’s time for me to fulfill my duty.”

Gripping the Holy Sword, Naoki stared into the depths of the black sea before him. He knew the true enemy he must face was there.

Right at that moment—

“wftckydrgojpsukbdrgovkhxdrgovkhx!”

“vbgany! Vbgany! Kakwgkwgkwgkwgkwgkwgkwg!”

“wwefcbgavckcpdonefcbtelbrhrhjgikgipcekhq”

Extremely chaotic and utterly irregular screams came from all directions, sounding like children babbling incoherently, voices that were completely incomprehensible.

Hearing these sounds, one would only feel disgust and physiological discomfort.

These were the cries of Lahmu.

Unbeknownst to him, countless Lahmu had surrounded Naoki. Though they had no expressions, no eyes, making it impossible to know what they were thinking, for Naoki, it didn’t matter.

Anyway, they all had to be eliminated.

Wind began to gather around Naoki.

Earlier on the way here, Naoki had annihilated twenty thousand Lahmu in an instant. A number like that was essentially nothing.

But at that time—

“Stay away from my Naoki!”

Accompanied by an angry roar, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, a meteor-like impact instantly slamming the countless Lahmu back into the Sea of Life! The entire shoreline immediately formed a massive crater!

And in the crater, Arcueid leaped out from the depths in a few movements, smiling at Naoki.

“I came to help you, Naoki! Seems like I arrived just in time!”

“You really came at the perfect time.”

Before descending to the Underworld, before returning, Naoki had asked Arcueid if she wanted to return to the surface with him. At that time, Arcueid replied that she wouldn’t return for a while. She planned to stay in the Underworld to accompany Ereshkigal, but if it came to facing Goddess Tiamat, she would definitely come to fight alongside Naoki.

Now was the time for her to fulfill her promise to Naoki.

Just like Naoki, Arcueid, as a True Ancestor, now fully felt the world’s scream, as well as the extremely unpleasant individual Mana deep in the Persian Gulf.

“That must be the enemy we have to defeat? It seems difficult to face.”

This might be the first time Arcueid was so serious in battle. It was also the first time she felt that even with her full power, she might not be able to defeat it.

“Don’t think about defeating it, Arcueid.” Naoki said, “The conditions to defeat it haven’t been met yet. We came here not to defeat it, but to hold it back. With two days, all preparations can be completed.”

Marble Phantasm.

This ability that both possessed was the key to holding Tiamat back from advancing toward Uruk. But before that—

“These interfering Lahmu must be eliminated.”

The Lahmu that had all been thrown back by Arcueid’s sky descent attack had, in the span of one or two sentences, already surrounded them again, forming a dark encirclement inside and out. Their sharp limbs continuously vibrated, as if measuring from where to start slicing the two.

But at that moment, countless chains suddenly flew from behind Naoki and Arcueid, instantly piercing and binding the innumerable Lahmu. And then a red dragon shadow streaked through the air.

“AAAAArrrrrr—!!”

Accompanied by a resounding dragon roar, a lightning storm immediately erupted from its mouth, creating a vast empty area among the Lahmu horde, clearly scorched and burned!

“Seems like we caught up.”

Kingu, with a gentle face, landed beside Naoki.

“You’re not injured, Master?”

“Shouldn’t that be my line?”

Rei, who landed riding the red dragon, wearing red armor, holding a large Oodachi (great Japanese sword), and having the appearance of a female demon goddess, expressed slight dissatisfaction, then looked at her master: “It took some effort to catch up to Master. Next time, please fly a bit slower.”

Seeing these two who suddenly appeared, Naoki was slightly surprised: “Rei, Kingu, why did you come?”

“Because I thought you might need the power of the Heaven’s Feel Chains.”

“There’s no way I’d let Master act recklessly alone, right?”

The two gave different answers, then rushed toward the horde of Lahmu in front, continuously repelling the endlessly produced Lahmu with chains and wings of light.

(Master, leave these Lahmu to me and Kingu. You and the True Ancestor Princess go straight to face the Beast—Remember, never touch this sea, Prince).

In his mind, through the connection with Rei, her intent was conveyed to Naoki. After nodding to the two, Naoki gripped Arcueid’s hand: “Let’s go, Arcueid. We’ll stop Tiamat.”

“Yes!”

-

Title: Resistance of the Fairy and True Ancestor

To hold back Tiamat, two things must be done.

First, stopping the expansion of the black sea beneath her feet, known as the Chaos Tide.

At the current rate of expansion, it would only take half a day to reach Uruk, and Uruk would soon be swept away. Previously, Gilgamesh had managed to hold it back using the Nabishtin Fang, but the current Uruk no longer had that barrier in the south.

In any case, compared to the original situation, Tiamat’s manifestation had occurred more than half a month earlier. There wasn’t enough time to fully construct the Nabishtin Fang.

In addition to protecting Uruk, halting the expansion of the Sea of Life would also delay Tiamat’s movement.

“I see it.”

Naoki and Arcueid flew together over the sea. On the sea surface below them, a figure immediately caught their eyes.

It was a woman.

With an extremely alluring figure, she wore thin clothing made of dragon-like scales, covering only a few vital areas. Her skin was as white as pearl, radiating purity and maternity.

Her hair extended as long as the sea, reaching her ankles, appearing very thick yet without a single tangle.

On the head of this beautiful woman were a pair of large horns resembling those of a dragon or fierce beast, and her eyes shone deeply, reflecting a starry sea.

“That... is Tiamat?”

Arcueid was slightly puzzled seeing the Goddess in the midst of the sea. On the way here, when seeing the Lahmu, she had imagined Tiamat as a ferocious evil Goddess.

However, the reality was not like that; in fact, the opposite.

Arcueid, who had never had any particular opinion about her own appearance, now felt slightly inferior.

“This isn’t Tiamat in her entirety; this is only her Head Body.”

Naoki explained.

“Head Body?”

“Yes, if it must be explained, it’s equivalent to a single strand of hair on the head of the real Tiamat. The true Goddess Tiamat is far larger than this.”

“Not the main body, so this is the easiest time to confront her?”

Naoki nodded: “Correct. Look at her hands and feet; they’re bound and can’t move freely. Now is the last time we can act without interference, so we must seize this moment to complete the most important task—Arcueid, use Marble Phantasm with me to manifest a mountain, blocking this sea.”

“A mountain?!”

The overly extravagant request from Naoki’s mouth startled Arcueid: “Naoki, are you serious? Even for us, manifesting a city with full power is already the limit; it’s impossible to manifest a mountain?”

After all, to unleash full power meant Arcueid would have to use the strength she employed to suppress her blood-sucking urges. What would happen afterward wasn’t a joke. If not careful, it could lead to a situation where both Arcueid and Tiamat attacked Naoki.

“No need to manifest a complete mountain. And though I said mountain, what’s important is something that can seal the gap from the Persian Gulf to the mainland. A barrier, a mountain, a structure... anything will do!”

“Ugh....... then it’s no problem!”

“Then, I’ll take the left side, you take the right. Use all the power you can muster right now to halt this sea’s expansion.”

Saying this, Naoki closed his eyes, concentrating fully on Imaginary Manifestation for the first time. With two people, each only needed to cover half. However, even so, this would be the largest Imaginary Manifestation he had ever performed.

*CRACK!*

In a distant plain, without any warning, the ground suddenly split into a massive crack, and within that crack—

An ice wall emitting bone-chilling cold air rose from the earth. It stretched like an iceberg all the way to the distant mountains!

On the other side, as Naoki had said, in the section not covered by the iceberg, like a mirror image of the iceberg, another nearly identical ice wall emerged from underground. The two icebergs merged, instantly forming an ice mountain barrier longer than the Defense Line, forcibly isolating the world on both sides of the iceberg!

“Hah... hah...... Huff~~~~”

Quickly taking several breaths to regulate his breathing, Naoki looked at Arcueid: “Are you okay, Arcueid?”

“Mmm...... A bit tired, but it’ll recover soon.”

Even as Fairies possessing the highest-spec Imaginary Manifestation, manifesting this iceberg had drained a great deal of their power at once. Especially for Arcueid, who could originally only use thirty percent of her power, and now she had expended all thirty percent in one breath.

If not for the fact that both were now facing a Human Evil and receiving support from the Planet, this attack alone could have left them temporarily incapacitated.

However, with this, the expansion of the Sea of Life was temporarily no longer a concern. At least until this iceberg was swept away, the Sea of Life absolutely couldn’t invade Uruk, and its size would be limited to the side of the iceberg facing the Persian Gulf.

This also meant that as long as the iceberg existed, Tiamat couldn’t step over it. After all, unlike the human-sized Head Body, Tiamat’s main body was too massive. Her two legs couldn’t support her body to stand and walk; she could only move through the Sea of Life.

The existence of the iceberg was equivalent to temporarily restricting Tiamat’s range of movement.

(Her movement is restricted. The next step is to reduce the pressure on Uruk as much as possible. And the best solution for that is......)

“Aaaaaaaaaaa~~~~~”

Right as Naoki pondered the next step, Tiamat in the Sea of Life suddenly opened her lips and sang a strange song.

*BOOM!*

The song seemed to transform into sound waves, triggering a storm and causing terrifying vibrations in the atmosphere. The sea waves surged layer by layer, and in an instant, the shockwave from the song shook toward Naoki and Arcueid!

“Ngh—!”

“Uh......”

As if assaulted by a category ten typhoon, Naoki immediately lost control of the wind around him, and together with Arcueid, they were completely flung away!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa————!!”

Tiamat’s singing didn’t stop. The continuously echoing singing voice triggered sound waves and sea waves repeatedly, continuously shaking the entire space around them.

In a flash, the entire sea seemed struck by a storm, becoming violently turbulent!

“Ngh....... Arcueid!”

After being flung a hundred meters away and finally stabilizing his body, Naoki immediately flew back to Arcueid’s side and embraced her—unlike him, Arcueid couldn’t fly, nor control the wind to make herself fly.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay, just flung away. But...... this isn’t good, Naoki.”

Just the singing voice alone could cause such terrifying physical impact. If the opponent were truly free to attack them, Arcueid felt she would have to unleash seventy percent of the power she used to suppress her blood-sucking urges.

Otherwise, she would be completely useless, and they wouldn’t have a chance to win.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”

Tiamat’s singing sounded again, a powerful blast and storm assaulting the two once more. Naoki hurriedly erected a shield in front of him, but even so, the two were still flung uncontrollably dozens of meters.

And right as the blast stopped—

*BAM!*

As if their hearts were hammered by a sledgehammer, Mana so vast it momentarily stopped Naoki’s breathing suddenly erupted from Tiamat’s body, pressing down on him and Arcueid.

Both their faces immediately paled.

(This Mana intensity—)

Previously in the Tokyo Singularity, Naoki had seized a Holy Grail Bomb whose power was enough to reduce the entire Imperial Capital to ashes. And now, the Mana intensity emanating from Tiamat was nearly equivalent to that Holy Grail Bomb!

If this Mana were released, it would all be over! Blocking it would be meaningless; Tiamat could destroy the entire Uruk from this distance!

“Stop her—Arcueid!”

“Oh! Naoki!”

Naoki and Arcueid’s hands reached toward the sky simultaneously. The sky, which had become extremely gloomy due to Tiamat’s manifestation, was at this moment suddenly pierced by blazing red light!

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

The atmosphere let out a scream.

Space let out a cry.

Accompanied by the manifestation and fall of two deep red celestial bodies in the blood-red sky, as if the entire world would shatter, an immense pressure descended on every individual under the sky. The waves caused by Tiamat’s singing were forcibly suppressed under this pressure!

Marble Phantasm!

Moon Fall – Double Moon!

“ “Fall————!! “ “

In the angry roar of Naoki and Arcueid, two Crimson Moons from the blood-red sky, like divine punishment降臨 from heaven upon the Beast, fell toward Tiamat bearing blazing flames!

And after a moment—

*BOOOOOMM!*

A blast comparable to world destruction swept across the entire Sea of Life!