BOOM!!—
Under absolutely overwhelming firepower.
RUMBLE!!
Gorgon did not hold out for long. After several furious roars, like a mountain collapsing before one's eyes, she crashed heavily to the ground.
Crash!!—
Even the earth trembled, triggering an earthquake near Uruk.
"I... how could I be defeated by such an attack?"
"I am Tiamat, the Goddess of Origin!!!"
She lay prone on the ground, barely propping herself up. Her shrill voice echoed across the sky, her expression growing increasingly deranged.
If not for the Holy Grail's restorative power and the goddess' immortality, she would have been reduced to ashes in the first volley of concentrated fire.
Even so, she could not withstand the entire Heroic Spirit squad unleashing Noble Phantasms in succession. She could feel her life force draining rapidly.
She stared fixedly at the group of Heroic Spirits before her, unable to comprehend where so many had come from.
"Ah, this thing really can take a beating."
Gudako piloted Strelizia, stretching her shoulders.
"Hit too hard and we might actually kill her. Hit too lightly and she just heals herself again."
"Tsk tsk, capturing the Demonic Beast Goddess is truly a technical job."
"But judging from this, our strength seems just right? She should be about done for? Prepare to capture."
"!!!"
"What did you say?!"
Gorgon grew even more frenzied. She straightened her upper body as the serpents formed from her hair spat energy beams wildly in all directions.
Smoke and dust filled the battlefield.
"I am... I am Tiamat!! The Goddess of Origin!!!"
"You... you all die!!!"
BOOM!!!—
"Hey, did borrowing Tiamat's authority fry your brain? You even forgot your own name? Think carefully—who are you?"
Gudako scratched her head.
She had noticed that from beginning to end, Gorgon had been deliberately avoiding her true identity—even when facing her two sisters.
"That's not it."
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out from the crowd.
"A monster of the Shapeless Isle. A slayer of heroes."
"That is who you are, Gorgon."
Anna stepped forward from the distance, holding a scythe formed from interlocking chains, accompanied by Euryale and Stheno.
"You are merely a counterfeit who became a goddess through the Holy Grail's power. Gorgon, you cannot even see your own appearance. You are nothing but a monster."
She removed her hood. Violet magical energy burst forth around her.
Her eyes transformed into glowing violet Mystic Eyes—identical to Gorgon's.
"You... you are!!!"
Gorgon froze, then seemed to receive an overwhelming shock.
She writhed violently.
"Stop!! Don't come any closer!!! Stay back!!!!"
For the first time, she felt an inexplicable fear.
She twisted on the ground, desperately trying to block the girl walking toward her—or to get away from her.
But she was already gravely wounded. The scattered attacks she launched were effortlessly deflected by Stheno and Euryale.
BOOM!!—
Her massive body could no longer hold up and collapsed heavily.
She lay on the ground, watching helplessly as Anna drew nearer and nearer.
Their Mystic Eyes locked together.
It was said that a single glance from Medusa would turn one to stone, yet the girl before her remained completely unharmed.
From those eyes came the exact same power.
"You are... you are..."
Gorgon's head alone was nearly the size of an ordinary person. Before her, Anna and the others were mere specks—yet they showed no fear.
Hiss—
The serpents on her body lunged suddenly at them.
A flash of blade light.
Anna cleanly severed them all.
"Have you remembered who you are?"
"Gorgon?"
Stheno and Euryale gently touched her, channeling another familiar energy into her body.
"You're not cute at all, but you're still our favorite little sister."
"Your current appearance is far too ugly, don't you think?"
Euryale tenderly brushed her cheek. To the other Heroic Spirits, Gorgon was the terrifying Demonic Beast Goddess—the serpent-haired monster of Greek myth.
But in her and Stheno's eyes, she was still their sister, just like Anna.
"You! ..."
"No, I am..."
Gorgon struggled twice, first in hysterical madness, frantically denying both herself and the others.
Then her expression turned vacant and confused.
Countless fragments flashed through her mind, memories intertwining chaotically.
"Come with us. We can live together in another world."
Stheno said softly.
"I... I..."
Gorgon's voice grew weaker and weaker.
After enduring a full round of saturated Noble Phantasm bombardment, her body was collapsing before her mind.
And the scythe in Anna's hand filled her with an inexplicable dread.
"I am... I... ahhh—"
She tried to rise violently again, only to have her two sisters tap her lightly on the forehead.
Whoosh—
A wave of violet energy spread outward, and Gorgon immediately fell to the ground.
"Master, lend us a hand."
Euryale waved toward the sky.
The starship descended slowly, deploying a squad of Angeloids to retrieve the three Gorgon sisters together.
"We need to separate her authority from Tiamat's. Mm... she's too severely injured. She also needs magical energy replenishment. We'll leave it to you, Master."
"As for the rest, just leave it to us."
Stheno patted her chest confidently.
"That's easy."
Setsuna extended his hand and pressed it against Gorgon's body, channeling magical energy into her.
With Stheno and Euryale present, dealing with Gorgon was simple enough.
Bzzzz—
"Oh?!"
In Chaldea, Roman finally let out a sigh of relief.
"So from the looks of it, the Demonic Beast Goddess is dealt with?"
"Uh... although this is a bit different from what I expected—Mr. Setsuna, Gorgon isn't easy to get along with. She's very dangerous."
Roman kindly offered a reminder.
"Relax. Commander can tame even Outer Gods. A mere Demonic Beast Goddess is nothing."
Gudako was completely unconcerned.
"Though she really is huge. Commander, are you planning to drive a big truck in the future?"
"???"
Euryale and Stheno nearly choked.
"So then, the Three Goddess Alliance has been completely subdued, and the Great Holy Grail of Uruk has been recovered..."
Roman took a sip of coffee.
"The Seventh Singularity is perfectly resolved as well..."
"Wait?! Why hasn't the Singularity disappeared?!"
Beep—Beep—
On Chaldea's monitoring interface, alarms suddenly flooded the screen.
"Spacetime fractures are occurring throughout all of Mesopotamia!!"
"Doctor, Doctor, come look at this!!!"
Da Vinci shouted urgently.
"An unknown magical energy reaction has been detected in the Persian Gulf. Each individual's magical energy exceeds that of an ordinary Demonic Beast. The number is..."
"Over one hundred million—and still rapidly multiplying."
In the deep ocean far from land, black mud surged up from the seabed. In an instant, the entire Persian Gulf was completely polluted, transforming into a black-red sea.
Countless monsters were born from the mud, crawling onto land and rushing toward Uruk and other human cities.
"Urgh—"
At the same time, as if sensing something, Merlin suddenly dropped to his knees and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"So... that's how it is?"
"The authority Gorgon possessed—Mother of Beasts—was synchronized with her, wasn't it?"
He instantly understood and turned to stare at Kingu.
He had once sealed Tiamat within a dream. Gorgon's consciousness had been synchronized with Tiamat's. After being struck down, she had transmitted the shock of death—awakening one of the Seven Evils of Humanity slumbering in the deep—Beast of Regression.
Tiamat.
"Hehehe..."
Floating in midair, Kingu's expression turned mocking as he looked at Merlin with a half-smile.
"Yes, exactly so, you cunning incubus."
"I was still wondering how to awaken Mother from her slumber. By defeating Gorgon, you allowed Mother—who was synchronized with her—to feel the shock of death."
"Go on, witness the true form of our Mother. Gaze well upon the embodiment of your humanity's original sin!!"
Just as he was in the midst of his manic taunting—
"Ahem—"
Setsuna cleared his throat.
"Hold on. Your plan is perfect, but there's a small bug: for Tiamat to fully awaken and restore her power, she needs a Holy Grail."
"?"
Kingu froze.
How strange. Why did this man seem to understand more than he did?
He had indeed been thinking about how to seize the Holy Grail from Setsuna.
Wait—aside from himself, someone else wanted to summon Tiamat?! What was this man thinking?!
Setsuna smiled.
He gestured for everyone to board the ship.
"It's fine. Come on. Let's go feed her one."
...
Inside the starship's cabin.
Gorgon was placed in a chamber near the bridge.
Her enormous body filled the space completely. Fortunately, the Titan-class vessel was large enough to accommodate the Demonic Beast Goddess.
"Medusa..."
Euryale and Stheno gently stroked Gorgon's face.
Having suffered heavy damage not long ago, Gorgon's body was covered in horrific wounds. A crimson spear had pierced through her chest, and her life force continued to drain from it without end.
"She relied on the Holy Grail and Tiamat's authority to become the Demonic Beast Goddess. To turn her back into your original sister, we need to retrieve both of those things."
Setsuna grasped the spear and pulled it free, then pressed his hand against Gorgon's body.
Whoosh—
Energy flowed into her. Her wounds began healing at a visible speed.
At the same time, within Gorgon's body, he sensed another magical core—a furnace of power. It was the Holy Grail that the King of Magecraft had cast into this Singularity.
Humm—
Drawn by his energy, a golden Holy Grail slowly emerged from within Gorgon's body.
"Oh..."
The accompanying Heroic Spirits stared blankly at the Grail before them. Every one of them could feel the nearly inexhaustible magical energy contained within it.
It was with this that the Demonic Beast Goddess had summoned countless Demonic Beasts and gained an immortality akin to that of a true goddess.
"Heh. We'll need it again in a moment."
Setsuna examined the Grail briefly before storing it away.
"Ugh..."
He poured even more magical energy into Gorgon, rapidly restoring her body.
"Euryale, Stheno, Anna—Gorgon will be in your care for now."
Setsuna glanced at the three purple-haired girls beside him.
"When she wakes up, explain the situation to her. Mm... I'm not sure whether she still retains memories from when she was the Demonic Beast Goddess. She previously believed herself to be Tiamat."
"Help her settle down. Don't let her run around causing trouble for humans every day."
"Of course. Elder sisters looking after their younger sister is only natural."
Euryale and Stheno agreed without hesitation.
"Me too?"
Anna suddenly realized she had somehow become part of the Starsea Empire—and was now expected to take care of her future self. It felt strange.
"You don't want to? We can all live together in the Starsea Empire forever, you know?"
Euryale pinched Anna's cheek lightly.
"Ah..."
Faced with her two sisters' gentle persuasion, Anna surrendered immediately.
"Then, Master, we'll leave it to you."
"Good."
After settling the Gorgon sisters,
Setsuna took control of the starship and flew toward the open sea.
"Tiamat is currently in a partially awakened state. For her to fully regain herself, she still needs a magical core—a Holy Grail."
"Come on. Let's go feed Mama Tiamat a Holy Grail."
"???"
In Chaldea, Doctor Roman and the golden king were horrified.
"Foreigner, I thank you for protecting Uruk from the Demonic Beast Goddess—but do you hear what you are saying?!"
"Tiamat is one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, the Mesopotamian creator goddess, the Beast who holds the Principle of Regression."
"She is the primordial sea that birthed all life. Even I—no, even the South American goddess, the Venus goddess, and all of Mesopotamia combined would not stand a chance against her."
"Tiamat has not fully awakened yet. We should seize this opportunity to eliminate her. And you want to feed her a Holy Grail?!"
Looking down from the sky, countless purple-black creatures were crawling ashore from the sea.
They moved on all fours, with enormous maws and jagged teeth sprouting from their heads.
They emitted chilling cackles as they flooded past the coastline, launching assaults upon human cities.
"Those are Lahmu—Tiamat's children. Any living being tainted by the black mud will be eroded by Tiamat's authority and turned into her subordinate."
Ishtar shuddered.
According to the starship's statistics, over one hundred thousand Lahmu had already landed along the coast.
In the deep sea and open ocean, the number reached into the billions—densely packed across the entire ocean. A single glance at the scanning interface was enough to make one's skin crawl.
If they reached land in full force, the fall of Uruk—and of human civilization itself—would occur in an instant.
And this was merely the passive leakage of power from a not-yet-fully-awakened Tiamat. If she were to gain the magical energy of a Holy Grail, it was impossible to imagine what kind of monster would be born.
"Relax. I have a way to handle it."
Setsuna spoke casually.
"Only a fully awakened Mama Tiamat is worth negotiating with. As she is now, she's just a Beast acting on instinct."
"Gasp... Isn't it said that only a Grand can oppose a Beast?"
Gudako poked her head forward curiously.
"If I solo Mama Tiamat, does that mean I could become a Grand someday? Grand Caster? No, that sounds lame. Grand Gundam Pilot sounds way cooler."
"?"
Roman felt vaguely targeted.
Thump—
Setsuna knocked her lightly on the head.
"This isn't something you can handle. Watch carefully and learn."
...
Whoosh—
The starship advanced toward the depths of the Persian Gulf.
Along the way, thousands of Angeloids were deployed.
"Ikaros, Astraea—eliminate all Lahmu that have landed. Ensure the safety of Uruk and all human cities."
Setsuna issued the command.
"Understood, Master."
The pink-haired angel raised her greatbow, leading countless battle angels soaring across the sky.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!—
High-energy beams wove into a multicolored web across the heavens, disintegrating the newly landed Lahmu into particles.
Corrosive missiles howled forth one after another, annihilating entire Lahmu clusters.
The Angeloids' weaponry was perfectly suited for atmospheric combat—flexible in scale, from anti-unit to anti-army, anti-city, even anti-nation.
The Lahmu, capable only of close combat, had no means of resistance and were swiftly exterminated in a one-sided slaughter.
"Ah..."
The fleeing civilians looked up at the angels soaring through the sky, as though witnessing true divinity.
Even the Wise King stood stunned.
"These are... angels? Servants? ...No, that's not it. I cannot sense any Spirit Origins from them."
"Foreigner, you still had this hidden? Is this your trump card?"
He watched the angels mercilessly slaughtering Lahmu and could not help but praise them.
"..."
"Angeloids are our standard combat units, thank you very much."
Gudako sighed. The natives really lacked exposure. Ten out of ten locals who saw Angeloids would be shocked.
Whoosh—
The starship pressed onward.
The deeper it went into the ocean, the more severe the pollution became.
The once-azure sea had turned entirely into black mud, faint crimson light refracting from within.
Combined with the heavy storm clouds overhead, the atmosphere felt suffocating.
"Tch... If Master weren't here, I'd never come to a place like this."
Ishtar shook her head. The starship was far safer than her Heavenly Boat—there was no risk of being swallowed by the black mud.
"One hundred sixteen kilometers ahead!!! Spirit Origin reaction detected!!!"
Chaldea's communication suddenly cut in.
"Confirmed—Divine Spirit level... no, beyond Divine Spirit level! That is the origin beast who birthed Mesopotamia—Tiamat!!!"
Below the starship, atall goddess with long pale aqua hair stood upon the black mud covering the sea.
Two curved, goat-like horns rose from her head. Her long hair trailed across the ocean's surface. Her figure was nearly perfect.
Her beauty was divine, carrying an untouchable sacredness.
"That is... the Mother of Mesopotamia..."
From her, every Heroic Spirit sensed immeasurable magical energy.
Tiamat opened her crimson-violet eyes and looked up at the approaching starship.
Her lips parted slightly.
An ethereal, operatic chant echoed across the entire sea.
"Aa—Aaaaa—!"
—
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