"Since this is a Shadow Duel, losing means you have to fulfill the condition, right?"
Sometimes, all a person needs is an excuse. Did Euryale truly not understand her younger sister's heart?
"But... I have no reason to lose to my naive self."
Gorgon remained defiant, glaring at her younger self. "We're the same being, yet I chose to forgive humanity. Isn't that betrayal?"
"So, are you going to kill our Sisters again?"
Stheno looked on the verge of tears. "My sister, believes revenge is more important than her Sisters."
Euryale joined in, feigning sobs as she embraced Stheno. "Such a cruel sister, Medusa! Go ahead and strike us down. Abandon your Sisters and pursue your revenge. Ana, end your turn now. Let this Medusa kill us!"
Ana obediently ended her turn, not even bothering to set up her Backrow. Since they shared a similar Deck (with slight variations in card composition), Gorgon knew her elder Sisters had no resistance. An attack would guarantee her victory in the Duel.
"I... I didn't mean it that way," Gorgon stammered.
Only then did Gorgon realize that to defeat Ana, she had no choice but to destroy her elder Sisters. This was a blatant, naked scheme. But to kill her Sisters again while fully conscious... that would be ten, no, nine times more horrifying than her own death. The outcome had been predetermined from the start. As long as Gorgon refused to strike her Sisters, she had no chance of winning the Duel.
"I... I understand. I've lost..."
The colossal Queen of the Demonic Beasts wore a look of profound grievance. Simultaneously, the Magical Beasts still battling the Heroic Spirits and soldiers let out a skyward roar, then retreated step by step, initiating their withdrawal.
Though these Second-Generation Demonic Beasts posed little threat to servants, they were still an overwhelming burden for ordinary soldiers. The beasts' retreat left the soldiers breathing a collective sigh of relief. After all, Jiang You's attacks were humanoid, and the main battlefield was dominated by servants, while this battle demanded every soldier fight for their life, with even a moment's carelessness meaning death.
Fortunately, thanks to Quetzalcoatl's Authority, the ordinary people didn't need to worry about this.
Hearing the cheers of the ordinary people, Kingu knew Gorgon had conceded. His face instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot. His usually serene expression, once as calm as Enkidu's, now twisted with such wounded pride that even Gilgamesh frowned. "Don't make that face using the face of this King's best friend! It's making me want to kill you!"
With the enemy's will to fight completely broken, Ana directed her two Sisters to launch two consecutive direct attacks, successfully reducing Gorgon's Life Points to zero.
"So that's how they resolved it?"
Though the anticipated Duel between Big Medusa and Little Medusa never materialized, witnessing their "deep sisterly bond" had certainly been worth the price of admission.
"So that's how it works! It's just a pay-to-win system for the next time? What's the point of trying hard at all? If I'd known, I would have gone somewhere else to play!"
"You can summon key related characters and reuse them for the next time?"
Jiang You wondered if his presence was making things too easy for Merlin. He decided he needed to give the wizard something more to do.
"Hmm, eating so quickly?"
In truth, Merlin had secretly stashed away some of Jiang You's pastries. He lacked the ability to freely move between timelines, relying solely on his immortality and Clairvoyance to appear in various places. As a result, he had swiped quite a few of Jiang You's possessions, including modern gadgets from the Faerie Realm.
With Gorgon's defeat, Ana had claimed victory. Now, Gorgon was bound to obey her commands—the effects of the Shadow Game far surpassing the power of a Command Spell. Ana could even order Gorgon to commit suicide here without consequence.
Jiang You had also acquired Stheno and Euryale's Cards, adding two more servants to his summonable roster. Now, to complete his Medusa collection—excluding the two guaranteed Medusas, big and little—only the yet-to-be-summoned Saber-class Medusa remained. Jiang You mused that if he kept playing this way, he'd eventually become a walking Throne of Heroes. He wondered if collecting all the related servants would unlock some kind of achievement.
"I only made a promise to my Sisters, but I haven't lost to you!"
Ana had defeated Gorgon through an unconventional method, leaving the latter feeling unconvinced. Moreover, she still resented Ana for siding with humans.
"You can't be naive enough to think humans will ever accept you! I promised my Sisters I wouldn't harm humans again, but that doesn't mean I'll ever accept you!"
Ana opened her mouth to retort, but Jiang You stepped forward first, pulling Stheno and Euryale out of the way.
"Now you have the right to command the Goddesses, right?"
Stheno didn't immediately look at Gorgon; her gaze fixed on Jiang You instead.
"You're such a greedy fellow. Even if we're grateful to you, don't ask for too much, okay? Otherwise, I might just start crying."
The combat capabilities of these two were woefully inadequate. At best, they could bewitch servants with weak magic resistance or fight alongside special individuals like skilled Magi, but they couldn't sway the tide of battle. Jiang You couldn't imagine what "excessive demands" he might make, so he readily agreed.
"I won't act against your wishes."
"Being too agreeable actually makes you seem a bit suspicious."
Stheno narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Jiang You with a thoughtful gaze. She knew humans were driven by self-interest; those who coveted them sought nothing more than beauty and fame. So what did Jiang You truly want? As sisters who had vanished from history, reuniting was already a miracle. She reasoned that indulging Jiang You's wishes slightly wouldn't be a problem.
Euryale, aware of Stheno's thoughts, glared at Jiang You before extending her hand. "Give me that thing."
"Are you sure about this?" Jiang You asked, yet he produced a massive collar.
"She really won't get angry?"
"If it were you, she would," Euryale whispered. "But with us, she'll actually be delighted. She's just... awkward. We need to give her a reason. If you still want her help, shut up."
Euryale climbed onto Gorgon's shoulder and struggled to lift the massive collar to her. Gorgon quickly took the collar to prevent Euryale from falling.
Given her stats as a Servant, Euryale's E rank was indeed quite low, but not so low that she should struggle even to lift such an object. Jiang You couldn't help but think that Gorgon would be bullied to death by her sisters for the rest of her existence.