Chapter 30: Even Getting Beaten Requires Lining Up
With a single thought from Shirou, tens of thousands of Noble Phantasms shot forward, trailing blue streaks of magical energy as they rushed toward the winding snake heads.
The moment they made contact, the power of "Broken Phantasm" detonated the Noble Phantasms, creating an immensely powerful explosion. Moreover, every single Noble Phantasm Shirou projected at this moment was of at least A+ rank; in such massive quantities, they reached a level that Gorgon could not possibly withstand head-on.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!!!
The force was akin to a nuclear detonation, spawning one massive mushroom cloud after another. In the wake of this incessant bombardment, Gorgon's body suffered uncontrollable and heavy damage. Her four pairs of golden wings were destroyed by half due to the annihilation of the Noble Phantasms, and her body was covered in massive burns.
"A mere human... how could he be so powerful...!?" Gorgon's tone was filled with disbelief. She could not imagine, under any circumstances, that a human could inflict such severe injuries upon her.
"Is that all it takes to overwhelm you?" Shirou said, feeling a hint of disappointment as he drew closer to Gorgon. He hadn't even pulled out a single EX-rank Noble Phantasm yet.
"I won't allow you to approach Mother!" Enkidu rushed over, and the Chains of Heaven shot out immediately.
"You intend to stop me?" Shirou raised an eyebrow. A flash of white-gold light flickered, and as he swung the Sword of the Savior God that appeared in his hand, he sliced through the incoming chains as if they were tofu. He followed up with a kick that sent Enkidu flying. The green-haired figure disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye, like a kite with a broken string.
Having effortlessly swatted Enkidu away, Shirou walked toward Gorgon, sword in hand.
"Damn it... I cannot possibly lose to you!"
Gorgon's entirely destroyed hair began to regenerate. The snake heads dancing in mid-air opened their maws, spewing forth a powerful torrent of magical energy! Dozens of purple streams of magical energy sprayed out, destroying everything they swept across. Deep, abyss-like cracks appeared in the ground, and the clouds in the sky were parted by the sheer force of the blast.
Simultaneously, she unleashed her Mystic Eyes. While they instantly petrified the soldiers, they were completely useless against Shirou.
The purple magical torrents converged, focusing their attack on Shirou, who continued to advance. Facing this strike, Shirou did not hesitate; he swung the Sword of the Savior God
through the void ahead. In that instant, even space itself was rent asunder, and Gorgon's body was twisted and warped by the distortion caused by the sword stroke.
"This... this is impossible...!" Gorgon clutched her severed body, a look of sheer terror surfacing in her eyes as she stared at Shirou. Her divine body, which should have been impossible to sever so easily, had been cut without hesitation by such a casual strike. How could she not be terrified? Gorgon, who excelled at making humans feel fear, found a never-before-felt emotion surging in her heart—the emotion of fear itself.
Her form began to shimmer with light, and Gorgon fled without a second thought. She already knew Shirou's strength exceeded her own; continuing the struggle would only lead to her demise.
Gudako, Mash, and the others were left speechless, standing in place with their mouths agape, utterly stunned.
"So strong...!" Ishtar's eyes widened, her estimation of Shirou's strength once again shattered. "The 'Three Goddess Alliance' or whatever—they are absolutely no match for him..."
Ishtar now felt a pang of sorrow for Quetzalcoatl, the last goddess who had yet to appear. However, as she was currently incapacitated, she had no way to send a warning. Even if she were to meet the other goddess and tell her that this man was absolutely not to be trifled with, Quetzalcoatl would likely just arrogantly charge forward to test her strength against his.
.
.
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After returning to Uruk, a meeting was held regarding Gorgon. Although Gorgon had been eliminated, the location of her nest remained unidentified. During the meeting, Gudako used her communicator to link up with Roman.
"Gorgon is the monster from Greek mythology known for slaying heroes—the three sisters: the eldest Stheno, the second sister Euryale, and the youngest, Medusa," Roman's voice echoed from the communicator on Gudako's wrist. "Whether it was because of the Mage King's Holy Grail or some other reason that she drifted here, she regained her past form and majesty. Based on the form you witnessed, the 'Potnia Theron' function that allowed her to produce Demonic Beasts was likely obtained through the Holy Grail."
Da Vinci added, "I think so, too. Gorgon herself has no legend of being able to produce monsters."
Hearing this, Merlin laughed. "You are correct, Da Vinci. The tragedy of Gorgon began when the youngest, Medusa, angered the great goddess of Olympus, Athena.
Medusa was turned into a monster by the goddess. Her two sisters, heartbroken for their youngest, moved with her to the isolated 'Invisible Isle.' Humans, incited by Athena, treated the three sisters as monsters, desperate to capture and eliminate them.
Although Medusa repelled many heroes, she ultimately truly transformed into a monster, absorbing her two most beloved sisters into her body.
She lost her reason due to excessive persecution and prejudice, and thus the primordial goddess possessing the divinity of the three sisters was born: Gorgon. The reason for her abnormal hatred of humanity must be rooted in this."
After hearing Merlin out, Gilgamesh sighed. "So, the exiled goddess has returned as an Avenger."
Merlin nodded. "But she is only one of the three goddesses. However, according to Ishtar's confession, Gorgon was the leader of the 'Three Goddess Alliance'."
With Merlin's words, everyone's gaze shifted to Ishtar. The goddess, whose wrists were still tightly bound by chains, felt quite uncomfortable.
"Why are you all looking at me? I don't have a single thought of attacking Uruk anymore, and in this state, I couldn't even if I wanted to. I'm just an outsider now," Ishtar said.
After witnessing Shirou's overwhelming dominance over Gorgon, even a pig would have realized the truth: continuing to antagonize Uruk would sooner or later lead to an encounter with this man. By then, he would not grant her an outcome as simple as 'death.' Given this guy's perverse interests, anything could happen. Thinking of this, Ishtar shuddered in fear.
After everyone looked away, Merlin spoke first. "There is still one pillar of the 'Three Goddess Alliance' who has not yet appeared: Quetzalcoatl."
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