Absolute demonic front of blades

by davido747

After foreseeing the terrible calamity humanity was facing, King Gilgamesh summoned several servants to assist his people in the demonic front. But this time, he ended up summoning a certain nameless hero. Now, the King of Heroes and the King of Fakers will have to put aside their differences to defeat the Gods and save humanity.

8. Chapter 7: The beginning and the end

We meet again, people! Yeah, the wait became quite long for a chapter that isn't even that long, at least for my distorted standards. Well, the gist of it is that I finally finished my end-of-degree project and I had to prepare the exposition. But that went well and I officially ended my career, so now I don't have any obligations after working hours. That and Lostbelt 6's finale.

At any rate, you aren't here to hear about my life, so let's get the ball rolling. To be honest, this chapter is more like an interlude before the ending, so there were copious amounts of dialogue rather than action, another reason why it took me so long. Coming up with dialogues when there are so many people in the scene without making it feel like most of them are standing there like the moai emoji is quite hard.

Without further ado, let the chapter begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate Franchise.

---

"SEEEI!" The katana of the Shinsengumi's third unit captain pierced the skull of an Ugallu with brutality unusual to her.

The samurai landed softly as the corpse collapsed, her slender body keeping the tension for a moment until her senses no longer detected signs of hostilities in the area. She took another moment to adjust her breathing, her hands moving in autopilot to swing her katana, getting the blood off the blade, and sheathing it.

"Everything's clear on this side!"

"The same on this side!"

"Same here!"

"This is meowver!"

Her voice was followed by the replies of her other two comrades, who quickly reunited with the remaining soldiers at the gate and the downed Goddess. The number of enemies suddenly started to decline, either by the weaker beasts literally collapsing like a puppet with their strings severed, or suddenly losing their will to fight and even fleeing in some cases.

That could only mean one thing. However, ever since that tremor that shook the entire world, they couldn't help but feel a bad omen. Their bodies remained tense, and their instincts kept ringing alarms in their heads.

"Alright everyone, this is it! The enemy is retreating and falling apart, a sign of Chaldea's victory! You can finally rest!"

Ushiwakamaru's proclamation wasn't followed by a victory chorus, but rather a collective sigh as all the soldiers collapsed on their butts. Meanwhile, the servants approached the Goddess still mending her wounds.

"How are you doing, Kuku? We need your free spirit to liven up the victory party!"

The Serpent Goddess threw a glare at the Jaguar Warrior before retorting reluctantly. "If it wasn't because all my rage is focused on that foul wizard, I would be teaching you from scratch how to make a proper plancha."

"Quetzalcoatl-sama, do you have an idea of what was that tremor some minutes ago?"

The Goddess's attitude took a one-eighty before answering Okita's question. "That, I'm afraid, is Mother, my dear. This is muy malo. Uruk- no, the entire world is in grave danger."

The two swordsmen widened their eyes upon hearing those brutally honest words. "But hasn't Chaldea defeated Gorgon already? Why-"

"The one you are referring to as 'Mother'… is the real Tiamat, right?" The red knight interrupted them, gaining even more surprised stares. But much to their horror, the Goddess nodded in confirmation.

"That is correct, yes. When did you realize the truth about Gorgon?"

"Goldie and Merlin had been always aware of it, but in my case, the former showed her to me during a visit to the observatory post at the Persian Gulf. All the reports he constantly received about the water level and composition were a way to keep her in check. But if she's awakening… something must have gone horribly wrong."

As if those ominous words weren't enough, seeing the nameless hero's slightly pale expression was enough to make even Jaguar Warrior feel the tension.

"We need to return to Uruk at once! I'll tell the soldiers to hold the front here-"

"Wait, Ushiwakamaru-dono! Shouldn't we wait for the Chaldeans?"

"That won't be necessary. I'm purretty sure that's them."

Just as the Lancer pseudo-servant said, a group of people was making a mad rush towards them all the way from the forest line. No, calling it a mad dash would do it no justice given the massive dust cloud they were raising. But before they could greet them, a group of blurs crashed right into the red knight.

"Archer, what do we do now!? The world is about to end!"

"Darling, what in the world is a Beast!?"

"Goshujin-sama, tell us you have something to defeat an Evil of Humanity!"

"Fou!"

"Woah, woah, woah there! One at a time!" His weak plea was lost in the turmoil of overlapping voices, but fortunately, someone came to his help.

"ENOUGH!" The voice filled with authority of the King of Knights was followed by the sounds produced by her steel-clad fist bonking their heads. "There is no time for panic. And that goes for you too, Cath Palug."

The female master, the Bride, the Caster, and the cute fluffy animal repressed their pained voices while clutching their heads in pain. And that moment of silence allowed the servants that stayed at the wall to observe closely the group.

"Where's… where are Ana, Merlin, and Ishtar?"

Arturia let out a small sigh before putting on her trademark stoic expression. "Ishtar headed for Uruk on her own. Ana perished after taking down Gorgon and Merlin was crushed in the dreamworld by the one who caused the tremor. He told us to ask you about Tiamat before disappearing."

Her objective report didn't do wonders for the atmosphere, but the red knight adopted the same expression as hers as he registered those bombshells.

"Damn… he must have miscalculated quite hard… I'll tell you on the way. First…" He turned to look at the Mesoamerican Goddess. "Quetzalcoatl, can we borrow your winged serpents?"

"I was about to suggest that, yes!" She forced herself up in front of Ritsuka, but given her looks, it was inevitable for him to get worried.

"Wait! What happened to you, Quetzalcoatl? Are you okay?"

"Let's just say it's a pity I can no longer give that incorrigible Merlin a good earful. I'll be okay as long as I don't need to fight Kingu again."

Just as she soothed the master's concerns as best as she could, she finished calling upon her divine beasts, and all of them jumped on their backs immediately. Well, almost all of them.

"Wait, why is there no room for me, Kuku!?" A certain Jaguar Warrior had to travel clinging to the claws of one of the Quetzalcoatlus.

She was unfortunately ignored in favor of returning to the important topic, with Mash shouting the question at the top of her lungs to get it through the raging winds.

"So, what is an Evil of Humanity, Archer-san!"

"The full explanation is something that could take us hours and I don't have all the details either! To give you a really abridged version, for the time being, they are an extra class of servants that only manifests calamities that prey upon humanity."

"Wait, what!? Another extra class aside from Ruler and Avenger!? How does that work!?" Somehow, Da Vinci managed to get her voice loud enough through the siblings' intercoms.

"No, this one manifests on its own without a master." Golden eyes then looked straight at steel-like eyes. "Don't you have other Counter Guardians on your roster? They should be aware of this."

"I don't know what kind of Counter Guardian you are, but neither I nor the nameless Assassin have ever faced something like that." EMIYA retorted with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"The short version is that we are screwed, aren't we?" The red knight couldn't deny Alter's rough conclusion.

"Eyes up! Uruk's already within eyesight!"

The surprise of crossing the distance between the Northern Wall and Uruk in less than a minute was completely overshadowed by the sight of Uruk. Romani's warning didn't prepare the Chaldeans for such hell. Several columns of smoke were raising from between the buildings, and the sounds of pained screams and carnage managed to make their way to them.

But above all…

"What in the hell are those things!?" The nameless hero shouted in complete confusion after using his enhanced vision to see the culprit.

"Those things aren't even from this world…" And EMIYA joined him. Just as he said, the creatures singlehandedly destroying the property and slaughtering the citizens and guards could only be described as bizarre.

Dark brown, spider-like bodies that moved with incredible agility using four main limbs with tips as sharps as spears, and strangely shaped heads with big, vertically aligned mouths. Nothing of their anatomy made sense from an evolutionary standpoint. But it seemed they were quite optimized for combat if the way they could shrug off the spears and swords of Uruk soldiers while easily dismantling them was anything to go by. And that was with an external factor intervening.

"Geez, what's the deal with those things!? Why are they so sturdy!? And why do they just keep coming regardless of how many a kill!?"

The voice of the Mistress of Heaven was heard among the reverberating sounds of her Heavenly Bow firing arrow after arrow.

"Ishtar!" Quetzalcoatl's voice managed to get her attention, albeit it gave her a micro-heart attack.

"Bwah!? Oh, it's you guys. You got here faster than I expected, but I won't complain."

"That would be me, yes! I'm a better big sis by a half~"

Ishtar for once didn't retort at such an obvious provocation, a sign of how serious she was taking the situation. "Whatever. Just hurry! There's some much I can do without destroying the city! Get down there and kill as many as you can to push them back! And Archer, take out that sword of yours right off the bat! I don't mind having to focus on pumping you up with magical energy!"

"I am the bone of my sword." Nothing more had to be said as the red knight descended upon Uruk with his golden sword like a shooting star.

"Hey, aerial attacks are my thing!"

"Souji-dono, let's lead the evacuation while Archer-dono and Quetzalcoatl go on the offensive!"

"On it!"

"Wait for me!"

Quetzalcoatl followed him closely, as well as the two samurai who flew on the same winged serpent and the Jaguar Warrior who clung to it. For the people of Uruk, they fell like stars of hope, but from the invaders' perspective, the attack came as suddenly as a natural disaster.

All the creatures that had been where the golden sword landed were completely evaporated in the same way as the demonic beasts birthed by Gorgon. But… the same couldn't be said of those that were more than ten meters away. Their incongruous bodies were struck with nasty burns, but those things immediately stood up and kept rushing toward the citizens like nothing.

"…!" He wasn't the only one surprised. The sounds of blades slicing flesh came just after, but Okita and Ushiwakamaru's faces were twisted in surprise when their katana had trouble slicing through those bodies.

Not just that. They were able to tank some hits from Quetzalcoatl, and they had Jaguar Warrior acting carefully rather than running around the battlefield in a frenzy.

"Damn, Ishtar wasn't joking around." Ushiwakamaru immediately reacted and turned to look at the few soldiers behind them. "Leave the fight to us and focus on evacuating!"

"Yes, Lady Ushiwakamary!"

The five servants decided to go all out, or else they would be quickly swallowed by the swarm.

"qkde! kedto! aftde#! Efo43 !" It took them long enough to actually start ignoring the servants tearing them apart and focusing on them instead of the regular humans. Their screeching barely resembled human speech. It sounded like vocals and consonants thrown random, like a soup letter.

"Master, I know this sight is gross regardless of your experience, but we need you two to get a hold of yourselves and give us orders!" Meanwhile, their kohai's voice finally managed to get the two siblings to force the shock aside.

"Mash, Jeanne, Tamamo, we look over the evacuation! Those things seem hellbent on attacking civilians!"

"EMIYA, stay here and join Ishtar in the support fire party! The rest with me! We'll concentrate all the manpower in one point and leave Quetz the flanks!"

The Chaldean team mobilized like lightning. Any of the creatures that made it past the frontline in a suicidal charge was met with walls of still, holy light, and ice. They were incredibly strong though. Despite their small frame, they wielded a power superior to that of a mighty Ugallu, pushing back even Mash's shield, and their skin toughed out the holy light and curses fairly well despite the former's apparent effectiveness.

"Arrows" joined Ishtar's blasts, puncturing the enemies with surgical precision. But he quickly arrived at the conclusion that the concept of "weak spots" didn't seem to apply to their bodies. Those things only stopped when their heads were destroyed. Even with big chunks of their bodies blown away by Arturia and Nero's swings or having their insides incinerated by Alter's flames, they would still charge on.

It was a nightmarish battle. The only reason they could hold their ground was because those things weren't even putting their mind to it. Their bodies moved purely on instinct and with terrifying precision when it came to dismembering a human body, and their minds seemed to work more like a hivemind rather than proper individuals.

"At this rate… Archer, Nero-chan, EMIYA, who wants to use their noble phantasm!?" Ai shouted after pondering, those three names already hinting at what she was thinking.

A full-on assault to deploy a reality marble at the center of the enemy group to wipe out as many as they could while the rearguard took care of the disoriented stragglers.

One exchange of stares between the red knight and the red archer was enough for them to decide.

"I am the bone of my sword."

The knight charged his sword for a wide swing, while the archer started chanting from the safety of the heavens. Picking up on the maneuver, Arturia unleashed her invisible air in the form of a raging cyclone that suctioned a big deal of the enemy creatures to one point, and the others started to fire at leisure.

"Steel is my body, and fire is-"

But the red archer suddenly stopped. Something changed on the battlefield without any kind of warning. The seemingly unstoppable wave of nightmarish creatures stopped in their tracks without apparent reason.

"Kifxeg t! fffffffahjeñr!"

"&aabqpxug/ tqegae$ga!"

"htackñt#! Ttttttaznrtn!"

After "communicating" amongst them with their weird screeches, those creatures unceremoniously turned around and left as if this didn't have anything to do with them. Which left everyone completely perplexed and blinking like owls.

"That just happened?"

---

"Don't make me repeat myself! All the survivors are to be evacuated to the Northern Wall! We'll use Nippur as a temporary refuge. And there's no need to recruit soldiers from the refugees. Only those who were born to be warriors need to stay in Uruk. At last, the day of destruction is upon us. We have two more days at most! That fool of Merlin actually hastened the destruction I foresaw by a full day! But you don't have to die with Uruk. You have until the afternoon to bid farewell to friends and familiars in case you leave for the north."

Despite the city having become a desolate wasteland after the invaders left, the throne room was definitely bustling when the Chaldeans and Uruk's servants arrived. The speech Gilgamesh was giving to his soldiers and attendants, however, was everything but hopeful.

Seeing the gloomy and devastated expression on the soldiers' faces was something they didn't want to see after their defeat against Gorgon, and it put the icing on the cake after an entire walkthrough bloodied streets.

"Hey Goldie, cut the pessimistic speech for a moment. It's impossible to put up a fight with that mindset." The nameless hero interrupted the Golden King bluntly, but he barely batted an eye at those words and greeted them with an unexpected, good mood.

"So you all finally got here, huh? Looks like you succeeded in defeating Gorgon. You seem to be quite tired though. If you want to rest, I will not object."

"No, King Gilgamesh. Please, continue."

"We don't need to rest. We need answers!"

The two masters answered with completely opposite tones much to the King's amusement.

"Very well. Ritsuka, Ai, and commander Ushiwakamaru, give me your reports."

They tried to sum it up as best as they could despite all the adrenaline still running through their systems, but it still took a quarter of an hour to disclose everything.

"I see. So Merlin's dead. A fitting end if you ask me. But that thing you mentioned… "Evils of Humanity". Is that definitely what the half-blood said?" The tone of the King changed abruptly after mentioning that part. Now it seemed he was taking it completely seriously.

"That is what he said. He also said it was King Solomon who summoned one of them to this land." Mash made a pause to gather the courage to ask him directly. "If I may ask… what is exactly an Evil of Humanity?"

Gilgamesh then looked at the nameless hero with annoyance. "You didn't tell them, Faker?"

And he shot back a blank stare. "Just the obvious stuff. There was a massive invasion taking place, y'know?"

"I guess I have to do everything myself. But then again, you aren't the appropriate person to explain it in that vessel. Where do I begin? As the name suggests, they are humanity's stigmas. A series of disasters that will cause humanity's collapse. The more mankind advances, the stronger they become. Like a cancer eating at society from within."

"But… how is that any different from any villainous monster like the Gorgon we just defeated?" Ritsuka voiced the obvious question after hearing the two descriptions from Gilgamesh and Archer.

"On the contrary. Gorgon was solely driven by animosity towards humanity. The Evils of Humanity though, are evils that humanity destroys."

"That… doesn't explain anything, King Gilgamesh!" Da Vinci was the only one who brought herself to call out the absurdity of that statement.

"Goldie, did you leave your brain in the underworld or something?"

The King shed his smile for a moment to throw a stinky stare at the Mistress of Heaven. "I'm not the one to explain it in depth either."

"Darling, can't you elaborate further?"

"Alright… to make it simple, the Evils of Humanity stem from a simple concept. 'As long as humanity possesses intelligence, they will always harbor evil thoughts'. In other words, a direct consequence of all the sins humanity has committed during their progress and their self-destructive tendency. Therefore, their servant class is Beast. As for why they are servants and seven at that, that's because they are the darkness to the light that is the seven Grand Servants."

"Wow! Now that's too much information at once! Give me a second to record it!"

"What is even a Grand Servant for that matter?" Ushiwakamaru's question made the group realize that not everyone there attended the lesson on that subject a certain bad-mouthed author gave during the fourth singularity.

"To summarize the information we have, it is the original summoning system of The World to summon heroic spirits. Compared to regular servants used to fight wars, those are servants used to fight against the entire world. We only have the conditions for a heroic spirit to be chosen as the Grand Caster though."

"The lesson in magecraft is good and all, but what does that have to do with Mother?"

"Think with that pebble of a brain you have for once, Goddess. We're saying Tiamat was manifested in this era as a Beast. Although it seems it hasn't completely awakened yet. I assume you have no readings on her as of yet, Chaldeans."

"No. Despite her obvious location at the Persian Gulf, since it is where all those creatures came from, we haven't detected such a wicked Spirit Origin. By the way, do you know what those things are, King Gilgamesh?"

"I have no idea!" The King proclaimed shamelessly as he clenched his fist. "Every single specimen we managed to capture just melted away. Thus, I'll turn to you instead, Romani Archaman!"

Despite the out of the blue mention, the doctor reluctantly spoke through the intercom. "Sheesh, I barely finished the analysis with all the limitations that entail not being there myself. I'll skip right to the conclusion given the haste. They are made from what could be called the base of the Mesopotamian World. Sand and soil from the Age of Gods. The Mud of Gods. They are an entirely new species that didn't come from our genealogical tree. They seem to be asexual in terms of reproduction, and their body structure suggests they are actually in a larval state. Meaning they have room to change and grow. And their magical energy values seem to come from magical circuits from the Age of Gods. All in all, you could think of them as mass-produced Enkidus. If I were to choose a name, it would be Lahmu."

His lecture caused some of them to swallow loudly, but the King didn't miss a beat. "Heh, Tiamat's first child, which also means 'mud'. I see we're on the same page, Romani. That's how we shall refer to them from now on. Sidu- I mean, captain! Inform everyone of the name Lahmu. It will make communication easier."

The man in question nodded and immediately moved to spread the King's words. But, at that moment, a little detail they had missed due to the frantic situation finally registered in their minds.

"Goldie, where's Siduri?"

"What's this, bratty Goddess? Did you decide to be concerned about a human now of all times? Forget about Siduri. We need to start dealing with the Lahmu! They've spread through all of Mesopotamia and started slaughtering the humans in all cities. Not just that. They seem to be also kidnapping them. Our reports say they are being taken to Eridu. It seems that they formed a nest there in your absence, Quetzalcoatl."

His indirect answer prevented Ishtar from pressing further, but the scowl didn't leave her face. Her fellow Goddess of Venus didn't seem to be fazed by that information though.

"Veo. I'll have to file a complaint later. Did Ur get taken, too?"

"That seems to be the case. But that shouldn't concern us. Instead, we must focus on the blackened sea. If Tiamat awakens, this is over… no, it is already over, isn't it? But it's fine. Everyone here already accepted it."

"And that's it? You are going to throw the towel here and let the world collapse?"

"King Gilgamesh, you won't even consider that we can make a difference?"

Arturia and Jeanne asked with hints of annoyance in their voices, and that extended to every other person in the room. But once again, the King paid it no mind.

"If you really want to avoid the collapse of Uruk, and with it, this singularity and Human Story, including your Chaldea, then take up your arms and go to that blackened sea to fight Tiamat."

"We'll do that, of course! But… at least tell us what happened to Siduri."

Ritsuka's words were the only thing that managed to give the Golden King a pause. It wasn't that the boy was fighting to keep his trembling legs in the King's presence like usual and speaking with the formal tone of a lawyer. No, his words now had a real weight behind them.

"She attempted to protect some citizens from the Lahmu and got captured. That's all."

"I… see…"

"Yeah, we see!" Ai's hand rested on her brother's shoulders before giving him a knowing smile and addressing the King with a resolute look. "And that's why we'll go to save her, and all the other people that's been abducted! Even if this nitwit wants to keep acting tough!"

Her unilateral declaration struck the place like thunder, but after the initial surprise, everyone seconded her.

"Yes, Ai-senpai! We have to pay back her hospitality!"

"You heard it, Goldie!? That's what I like to hear from the master I contracted!"

And surprisingly…

"Well said, fools! Then I order you to investigate Eridu! I cannot leave this place, so have Jaguar Warrior be your guide and messenger! Ushiwakamaru, Souji, Faker, accompany them, too! You have one day! Finish things quickly and return to me!"

"Wait, really? Just like that?" Ai's face morphed into astonishment.

"Isn't it obvious, mongrel? I said from the very beginning that Uruk has no place for outsiders like you lot. If you can't be used, then so be it. Besides, I was already planning to send a team to investigate Eridu."

"Huh? But then what about all those orders you gave us?"

"Kings give orders. It's only natural. Now hurry! I leave it up to you how to handle my kidnapped citizens. Go to Eridu and find out what the Lahmu are up to! It may help us defeat Tiamat, somehow!"

Gilgamesh practically shooed out of the throne room, and once outside, the group stopped for a moment for a quick strategic meeting.

"You heard the King, Ritsuka-dono. Since you and your sister are in charge of this operation, what do you propose?"

Met with Ushiwakamaru's question, the black-haired boy looked at the Mesoamerican Goddess. "Quetzalcoatl, can we borrow your winged serpents once more?"

"Sí, my dear!" She answered with a big smile. "But I recommend landing at the edge of the jungle and walking from there on. We'll need the element of surprise given how outnumbered we are. Don't worry, with my and the cat's guidance, it won't take too long."

"I'm no cat. I'm a Jaguar!"

"Da Vinci-san, should we wait for more supplies before departing?"

"No, you didn't spend any vitality ampules or apples, and I think everyone over there has still lots of fight in them."

"Let's be on our way then, everyone."

---

The entire travel to the jungle in the south was made in dead silence under a sky covered in dark clothes. The land itself really looked as if the day of judgment had come.

By the time they made it to Ur it was already night, which played to their advantage. Just like the demonic beasts created by Gorgon, the Lahmu seemed to be less active during the night. However, just as there were no Lahmu in sight, the same could be said about the citizens.

Now, it really looked like a ghost town, and the blood splattered all over the place only made it worse. The sight inside the houses in particular was a hard pill to swallow even for the servants.

"It seems no one in Ur survived. Most of them were killed inside their home." Quetzalcoatl surmised the result of their search to no avail with a neutral expression, causing the blood of the masters and their kohai to run cold.

"Hmm… This isn't how beasts kill at all. They've been ripped apart, but nothing is missing. There is no reason behind it. No hunger, anger, or over territory. To put it in human terms, they were killed for sport."

"That's really insightful from you, Jaguar Warrior-san. But why would they do that? The people of Ur clearly didn't put up any resistance…"

"That's right. The Lahmu don't even have a digestive system. There is no reason for them to kill other creatures as they have everything they need to survive within their bodies."

"Most likely, those things were treating it like a game. Just like their attack on Uruk. They are even worse than the oni-"

The Tengu girl was interrupted when Ishtar suddenly raised her hand. "We'll discuss that later. There seems to be Lahmu still here."

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!" As if on cue, just as those words left the Goddess's lips, bloody screams filled the silent city.

Their bodies moved on their own before their minds could even process the situation. They all turned a corner as one, only to be met by a horrible sight.

It seemed that there were still people in the city, three survivors to be precise. Or that was just seconds ago, before a group of four Lahmu started dismembering them while emitting their strange scritches that now resembled laughs.

"The Wandering Tales of Shana-oh: Usumidori!"

"Mumyo Sandanzuki!"

Before any of the monsters could react, one of them was already pierced by the techniques of the two eastern swordsmen. And even before the sliced body hit the floor, the club of a certain Jaguar Warrior crushed it back into regular mud.

The second Lahmu got its "neck" looked between Quetzalcoatl's legs before getting flung around to death, and the other two were pulverized by a combination of curses, twisted swords, and arrows of light.

"Hold on, we'll heal you!"

"Archer-kun, your sword can heal them, right!?"

The two masters rushed at what was left of the humans in an attempt of helping them. However, things turned out to be even worse as they activated the healing spells of their mystic codes.

"Watch out, master!"

"Get away from them!"

Mash and Jeanne acted quickly and pulled the two teenagers away in the nick of time. Familiar spear-like arms thrust to pierce their hearts, missing by the skin of their teeth and even ripping through their clothes.

"…!"

The masters' faces twisted in horror in front of such a nightmarish sight. The barely recognizable corpses had suddenly morphed into Lahmu and attacked with the same playfulness as the others.

"e4f ! ahahahahaha!"

The first one of them to fully transform hurled itself at the masters without a shred of doubt or fear, but a blackened sword pierced through its mouth and set its body aflame from the inside out.

"Gross…" Alter grimaced as she watched the former human melt into mud. There was nothing there to pray for.

"Hnn!" Seeing that, Arturia and Nero made quick work of the other two Lahmu before they completed their transformation. Their death by the golden light and flames were quick and painless.

"So this is what they have in store for the kidnapped people…" The red knight said in a grim tone as he analyzed the scene. "The mud that gives those things shape can corrupt humans in mere seconds."

"At that rate, it will be a miracle if there's actually someone alive at Eridu." EMIYA's words reminded them of the most likely outcome, but it was the Mistress of Heaven who immediately put it aside again.

"Don't be so pessimistic, guardian! We are going straight at Eridu and saving whoever is still hanging in there."

"Well, you heard the chica. Follow me then."

The notion of resting didn't even cross their minds before restarting their walk through the dense jungle. The overgrown flora was still a problem if they didn't want to announce their presence, but the atmosphere changed so much since the last time that they even forgot about the heat.

After a really long walk, the daytime changed again when they set foot in the city. The sun was rising from the horizon, but its light didn't make the sights in the city any less hellish.

Everyone, Lahmu and humans, were congregated at the central square, where an ancient monolith stood. Just like in a Roman coliseum, the Lahmu sat on the sidelines, enjoying a sick show consisting of their hostages being forced to fight to death for the smallest glimmer of hope.

"I did it… I did it! You're going to spare me, right!?" The winner of the twisted fight spoke in a miserable tone to the public, his face twisted in madness fueled by desperation.

But the only thing he got in return was a group of Lahmu mercilessly mutilating him. Once again, those things seemed to be laughing in pleasure, in a disturbingly similar way to humans.

Their original plan was to watch and wait for an opportunity to strike. But having such a sight in front of them, some of them didn't even try to reign over their emotions. To be precise, a certain Goddess from Mesopotamia started to unleash her divinity without control, her red eyes turning pure golden.

"Screw discretion! I was conserving my divinity back in Uruk, but I'm not holding back anything! Ai, back me up!"

Ishtar didn't even wait for an answer. She commanded her heavenly boat to bring her right above the plaza before unceremoniously pumping her magical energy into it. For the first time, her attack truly felt like the act of a God imposing retribution. Her arrows of light rained from the heavens and pierced the oblivious Lahmu like shooting stars that decimated their bodies.

"I've reached my boiling point, too! Now I'm so mad I'm gonna use the most dangerous moves of Lucha Libre!"

"Wait for me, Kuku! This Jaguar has a lot to teach these things!"

"Ritsuka-dono, y Ai-dono, we'll leave the hostages to your team!" The Mesoamerican Goddesses and the two eastern swordsmen didn't hesitate to join the fray despite Ishtar's bombardment.

"Jeanne, rush to place with most hostages and deploy your noble phantasm!"

"Everyone else, formation Berserker!"

The two masters shouted in tandem their orders, and the servants immediately got down to work. Not that the instructions were complex. That command basically meant: "Go nuts and cause a ruckus to throw off the enemy". And some of them took it to another level despite not being the Berserkers meant to perform it.

"Let's go, Darling! It's time to get our show going!"

"Lead the way then!"

The Bride Saber and the red knight entered the battlefield with their double thrust movement, but this time, the latter used his golden sword. Fire and light intertwined to form a massive spearhead that crashed into a group of Lahmu. Those that were directly hit were pulverized, and the ones that were only hit by the heat were nearly incapacitated with considerable parts of their bodies burnt.

Of course, after such a show, most of the Lahmu around immediately focused their hostility on them. But they did not stop there. The couple started gracefully maneuvering around the monsters swarming them. Their swords were swung in perfect synchronization, and even their breathing was one.

Their dance was truly a spectacle to behold for humans, much to a certain shrine maiden's chagrin, and even some of the Lahmu approached them out of morbid fascination rather than hostility or cruelty. That was the plan, allowing the holy maiden and the "little sister" reluctantly escorting her to reach their destination easily.

"Luminosite Eternelle!" The blessing of her banner protected the hostages from the Lahmu that tried to attack there during the turmoil. Now that its true name was released, the Lahmu were bouncing off the barrier with confused yelps, with the mud forming their bodies falling apart and making them easy targets to Alter's flaming spikes.

That, added to the storm of curses, the silver knight that entered the battlefield like a raging storm, and rains of twisted arrows, resulted in all the Lahmu that had been in the plaza being decimated in minutes. However, with all the ruckus, more Lahmu kept coming from all parts of the town to join the fray to "have fun".

The two masters and their Shielder had to regroup with Jeanne so as to net get encircled, and even so, they were firing Gandr curses non-stop to help Mash contain them.

"Geez, they just keep coming! And it doesn't seem like they will get bored in the near future!"

"We need to get the civilians out of here and then make a run for it! We won't last burning through our energies at this rate!"

That was easier said than done though. Jeanne's noble phantasm required her to stand still holding her flag, so she couldn't just escort them out. And given how their priorities were completely messed up, with half of the Lahmu insisting on attacking the civilians, creating a distraction was going to be a challenge.

"Watch out, master!" Mash's scream caused the blue-eyed boy to feel a chill running down his spine.

He quickly spun to see a Lahmu that somehow managed to sneak on them with its frontal arms raised, but his kohai quickly put her shield between them.

However, no sound of steel being hit was heard. Even the Demi-servant looked confused as she lowered the shield to peer above it. "Huh?" The Lahmu was still in the same start, swinging its arms from side to side.

"What is it doing…"

"Who cares!"

Without waiting for an answer, Alter fired a burst of flames at it. The mysterious Lahmu didn't make any attempt of dodging and was directly struck and knocked back.

But, despite the serious burns, it stood up and resumed its strange movements without a care in the world.

"Is that thing mocking me?" Alter growled, a vein popping on her temple as she readied her black spikes to turn the Lahmu into a pincushion,

However… "Forget that Lahmu! Focus on protecting the hostages!" Ishtar's voice came from above, confusing them.

Not that there was time to think about it. The fierce battle was suddenly interrupted by a massive tremor that shook the entire arena. Something crashed into it like a spear, and the next moment, weapons of all kinds emerged from the ground, impaling any living being in the vicinity.

"…!" It was a close call for the servants, with some of them getting some lacerations. But oddly enough, despite the figure standing at the epicenter of the attack, most of the blades were actually aimed at the Lahmu.

"So you came to finish our brawl, Kingu!?" The Mesoamerican Goddess immediately stepped out to confront the fake Enkidu, but they ignored her completely.

Instead, they grabbed by the "neck" one of the Lahmu that didn't melt after being skewered and spoke with a really annoyed tone.

"What are you doing!? Yes, I'm asking you! Why are you doing something so pointless as gathering old humans here!? And you call yourselves sons of the Primordial Mother, Tiamat!? It's okay to attack Uruk, but these humans who don't intend to defend themselves would have been killed by Mother anyway! I will not tolerate such pointless behavior from the new humans!"

The Lahmu that survived around him rose up and looked at him, but not a single noise was uttered. The entire place was filled with a dreadful silence, but Kingu took it as the Lahmu conceding.

"Hmph, if you understand, then back off. You are no match for so many servants yet. You may be no better than trash, but you are still Mother's children, my brethren."

"Huh? What are you saying, Kingu?" The red knight as he walked beside Quetzalcoatl. "You aren't Tiamat's son or a "new human". You're just someone borrowing Enkidu's deceased body. A henchman she created in a rush to free her from Merlin's dream."

"What did you just say, Faker?" The impostor spoke in a chilling tone, their magical energy sparking up. "And what if you're right? Even if Mother didn't birth me directly, she still gave me life. And I don't know or care about this body. I don't share any of its memories. It's alright if I'm just a puppet to serve Mother. Any other notion is- guh!?"

His speech ended suddenly when a gush of blood replaced the air coming out of his throat. The "head" of the Lahmu they had been holding popped from behind them, emitting the same sinister laugh. The red knight was already on the move to rush at them, but Quetzalcoatl blocked the path with her arm.

She was right. While Kingu monologed, the Lahmu they left alive congregated around them. Rushing in without a plan would be a suicide.

"You… why…" Kingu managed to get out those words as they turned their head around. Their head was incapable of wrapping around the fact that they'd been backstabbed by their fellow brethren.

"Kihihihi! Killing. So. Fun! Mother. Told. Us. To. Go. And. Learn. To. Become. Human. To. Act. Like. Human. And. This. Is. The. Result. Killing is so fun!"

""FUN! FUN! FUN!""

"Th-those things are actually talking!?"

"Ah, I think I saw something like this in a famous movie!"

Even the servants were perturbed by this development. Rather than otherworldly monsters, they now sounded like innocent children who turned diabolical due to a bad influence.

"And. You. Are. Boring. Kingu." After saying that, the Lahmu retracted its claw from Kingu's back, leaving the shocked impostor to fall like a puppet with its strings cut. However, everyone's attention was drawn to the object in the Lahmu's claw.

No, calling it an object wouldn't be entirely correct. It looked more like a hyper-condensed mass of magical energy.

"Wait, this signal… that's the Holy Grail we thought to be in Gorgon's possession!"

Mash's words immediately triggered a reaction from everyone. All the servants immediately rushed at that Lahmu, but all the other Lahmu in the vicinity immediately formed a literal wall of flesh, or mood in this case.

With them now focusing on defense, their weapons, and attacks couldn't tear them apart that easily. Even Quetzalcoatl couldn't just body them.

"I'll. Be. Taking. This. To. Mother." The Lahmu inserted the Holy Grail into their own body, and much to their horror, its structure evolved. It was now bulkier, and a set of wings sprung from its back.

"Oh shit!" The orange-haired master's pupils contracted after realizing its intention. "Ishtar! Emiya! Don't let that thing leave to the gulf!"

"Leave it to me! You clean the small fries!"

The Bow of Heaven fired a massive barrage of arrows at the evolved Lahmu, but it showed an unbelievable ability to maneuver through the air despite having attained those wings mere seconds ago. Only a few arrows struck true, but with a Holy Grail acting as its magical core, the Lahmu healed its wounds in an instant.

"Tsk. Are you trying to outspeed me!? Bring it on- Huh!? What the-"

The Goddess suddenly found herself unable to take off behind the evolved Lahmu. Several of its comrades were now clinging to her Heavenly Boat and legs in an attempt to drag her down, and they were succeeding.

"Hrunting!" Fortunately, she wasn't the only one appointed to the task. EMIYA fired the demonic bullet that hunted its prey like a heat-tracking missile at match speeds.

But, despite not being able to prevent the red archer from firing, a group of Lahmu was fast enough to jump in front of the "arrow" in the nick of time. It pierced through six of them, but it finally got stuck in the chest of the seventh one and exploded, taking the rest of them with it.

"Damn it, that disregard for their lives is really annoying!"

"Coatl! I leave it to you!"

"Sí! Ritsuka, Ai, pick some servants and get on! Archer, come too! Jaguar, you stay here to help!"

"Roguar, gotcha!"

"Ai, I'll go! Mash, Nero, Emiya, with me! The rest stay here to clean up and secure the civilians!"

"Yes, brother! Give them hell!"

"Okita-dono! I'll go with them; you stay here for coordination!"

"Understood!"

With Ushiwakamaru jumping on the big, winged serpent Quetzalcoatl summoned, the assault team was quickly assembled and departed immediately and the ones staying regrouped. Without having to worry about a single target, they started to systematically desolate the remaining Lahmu.

Not that they were putting up much of a fight. It seemed that now their objective was solely buying time, with no intention of winning the battle.

"Wait, where's Kingu!? They shouldn't have been able to go far with their heart in tatters, in both senses!"

"It's no use, Ai-dono! They desperately escaped to the jungle, with a group of Lahmu hot on their heels!"

The master deflated for a second. Maybe after that reality check they could have worked together. She looked in the direction Okita pointed and saw the obvious trail of blood, but she also saw something… curious.

"That's… the weird Lahmu from before." She was able to deduce that because, even though it was following Kingu's trace, it still turned around to wave at her. And now, the sounds it made were understandable.

"Enkidu! Enkidu! Must. protect. Enkidu!"

"Ah…" At that moment, it finally downed on her that Lahmu's identity. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

The only thing they could do for her was to make sure the city she so much loved wouldn't fall.

---

"What the hell is that thing made off!? It has more steel in its body than mud, but it refuses to go down!"

"Shut up and keep shooting!"

Both archers kept firing "arrow" after "arrow" at the evolved Lahmu with accuracy despite the high speed they were going at. There was no time to charge a broken phantasm, but they were running out of options.

"I don't want to add pressure, but the gulf is already in sight! Tiamat is in the middle of the sea. If that Lahmu makes it to her and transfers the Grail…"

"Don't worry, Romani! Archer and Emiya did well! Quetzalcoatlus, it's finally in our strike zone! This is our last push. Blast that Lahmu with a plancha at max speed!"

Without any warning, they all had to cling to the winged serpent with everything they had so as to not get blown away. The divine beast used its authority over the wind to propel itself toward the Lahmu.

If you asked some of them, it looked more like a kamikaze attack than a plancha. But it achieved its purpose and successfully rammed the escaping Lahmu, forcing it to crash on the beach.

"You did it, Quetzalcoatl! I knew we could rely on you, unlike Ishtar!"

"Jeez, now's not the time to act all charming, Ritsuka. We still have to rip out the Grail from that Lahmu's chest."

"Huh!? Watch out! I can't make heads or tails of this spirit origin reading, but-"

"What the!?"

Romani couldn't finish his sentence as something impacted the winged serpent. No, more like it pierced through its divine core with precision, taking it down in an instant.

"Master!"

"Disperse!"

The Shielder caught her masters, and all the servants broke their fall as they could. The soft sand helped to mitigate any serious damage, but now the problem was something different.

"Hitachibou…" Ushiwakamaru whispered that name, disbelief blending in her voice.

She was the only one who knew that man on a personal level. The warrior who, despite his cowardly nature, chose to sacrifice himself for the sake of Uruk. Whether he was inspired by everyone else's courage or decided to atone for his past decisions, he was never that impressive of a servant. Or at least compared to the real Musashibou Benkei.

But now, that dead man was standing between them and the Holy Grail. His skin now had color as if it had been rotten for days, with red veins popping on some parts. The classical "Benkei stance" was always a symbol of resilience, but now, he exuded an ominous aura that didn't fit a monk like him at all. Even Quetzalcoatl was having her reservations to attack despite not having the shock of seeing someone who shouldn't be there.

"How ironic, Yoshitsune-sama. To think I would finally be able to reenact your famous first encounter with Benkei here of all places. Unfortunately, I won't demand your weapons, but your lives."

"An Alter?" Ritsuka thought out loud. It wouldn't be the first time a servant and their twisted counterpart had been present in the same Singularity. But he could tell it was something more complicated.

"Hitachibou! I don't know how you are still alive, but why are you getting in our way!?" But before the Chaldeans could theorize, Ushiwakamaru asked directly.

"I am sorry, Yoshitsune-sama, but I'm afraid I no longer serve you. The Holy Grail will be delivered to Mother, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"What did you say?"

"That's not the Benkei you know, Ushiwakamaru!" Romani's voice came from Ritsuka's intercom, stopping her for a moment. "His appearance and Saint Graph might be the same, but this is the same principle for the humans turned into Lahmu! Don't hesitate to attack!"

CLANG!

The tengu girl didn't need to be told twice. She had been already unsheathing her katana, and the distance between the two was closed in an instant with a single step. Her blade clashed against Benkei's naginata like a lightning strike and continued its assault viciously.

The fight didn't last more than seconds. Ushiwakamaru was determined to decimate the dead man as quickly as possible, and attack with more fervor than any of her fights ever since she was summoned in this Singularity. In the end, her blade slipped through Benkei's guard and cleanly sliced his neck, sending his head flying away.

"Rest in peace, Hitachibou. I won't let that horrific monster desecrate your corpse." She spoke solemnly as she got the blood off her katana with a swing. "Let's take out the La-"

"Watch out-"

"No, the only one who will die here is you."

Her eyes widened and her heart stopped for a second when she caught the glint of a familiar naginata being swung at her.

It was impossible. She could still see the dissolving corpse in front of her… so how is it that "Benkei" was once again attacking her?

In the nick of time, an "arrow" struck the blade coming for her neck, deflecting it just enough so it only grazed her skin. And in complete synchronization, another twisted blade pierced the forehead of the second "Benkei".

But such a miracle couldn't be repeated. She swung her katana to deflect another naginata and a tachi, but a third blade ended up stabbing her abdomen.

"Gah!" A pained cry escaped her lips, her guard dropping by the smallest of fractions.

"Haaaaaah!" But help came on her way in the form of a flying kick demolishing the skull of the "Benkei" trying to finish her off. In the same maneuver, the Goddess obsessed with Lucha Libre locked the neck of another "Benkei".

The third one met his end when a silver sword wrapped in flames sliced him from the collarbone to the opposite side of his waist.

The Goddess and the Bride Saber stood in front of her, with their guards still up as the others caught up. The Shielder immediately joined the vanguard, while the two archers readied their bows and the master rushed at the downed servant to heal her.

"Ritsuka-dono, just leave me and pursue the Lahmu!" Ushiwakamaru tried to reject him, but he refused.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ushiwaka! I can't just leave you to die here. Besides, even if we did that…"

The sight ahead of them was chill-inducing. Despite having killed "Benkei" five times already, more of them were coming from the blackened sea to cover the Lahmu's escape. It was like a literal wave.

"Doctor… what is happening here?"

"I'm not sure. He's somehow multiplying. Some come from the sea, while others emerge from the body parts of the ones you kill. Benkei's Spirit Origin signature seems to be linked to the sea."

"In that case-"

"-take this!"

The red knight and the white Saber swung their swords in unison without even thinking about it, releasing a spiraling blast of light and flames that whipped out all the Benkei clones in front of them.

By that point, the Lahmu carrying the Grail was just a dot in the sky. Even if they took it down, the Grail would still fall into the blackened sea, Tiamat's realm. But at least, they had taken out a big threat… or so they thought.

"It is useless, Archer-dono. Even if your sword purifies those cells, it can't cut my ties to Mother. Only something like that band of light in the heavens that can take the entire magical energy of an era could pull it off." Much to their horror, more Benkeis emerged from the sea with uncharacteristic smug grins.

"Tsk. I saw that coming but it was worth the try. Cutting through the authority of a primordial Goddess is a bit of a tall order for this Saint Graph."

"Quetzalcoatl, you won't happen to have a noble phantasm that matches that description?"

The Goddess giggled at EMIYA's question. "Who knows? But for now, we should retreat and regroup."

"Wait…" A weak voice interrupted them. Ushiwakamaru forced herself up despite Ritsuka and Mash's worried complaints. "Hitachibou! How did you fall so low so as to throw away even your cowardice!?"

"Heh, on the contrary, Yoshitsune-sama. I've never felt better. So free… Ever since I was stripped of my moral codes and vows to Buddha, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. This is the true paradise every Bodhisattva seeks."

The Tengu girl gritted so hard everyone could hear it. But there was nothing they could do. More so seeing all the brown dots emerging from the sea on the horizon.

"So it has begun, huh? Well, I shall join my brothers in their assault on Uruk then. I'll see you soon."

With that said, the Benkei clones retreated back to the sea, leaving the shore in complete silence until Ritsuka spoke up.

"I guess we should go back to Uruk to tell King Gilgamesh the bad news and prepare…"

"No, we might still have one last chance before going into defense." The red knight stroke that notion down with a firm voice. "We're going to the watchtower. Goldie had some gadgets prepared there. Romani, tell the other group to go there two."

"On it. We'll have to trust the King's foresight."

---

"About time you got there, Chaldeans!" A familiar voice suddenly startled everyone after finally arriving at the watchtower. There an image of the Golden King was being projected in a really similar way to Chaldea's technology.

"Huh? Did King Gilgamesh rip off Chaldea?"

Mash's cute reaction caused him. "What? I thought I might as well improve our communication systems by taking some inspiration from yours. You can praise my prowess as a magus later. Now Hurry, tell me what happened! The Lahmu are coming this way again, so I had the dingirs turned around to defend the city. We can hold them off by an hour at most."

"Tiamat got the Grail. We're boned." Archer's… blunt way of putting caused the faces of the other team go beyond pale, and Gilgamesh froze for a second.

"What the hell, Faker!? What in the world have you been doing!? And what happened to Eridu!?"

"We managed to evacuate some of the citizens to Eridu's basement and cleared the Lahmu, but…" Okita tried to calm the King with the good news on their part, but Quetzalcoatl took over before she could finish.

"Listen, Kingu had the Holy Grail we all thought Gorgon possessed. It was basically the method Tiamat used to revive Enkidu's corpse. But the Lahmu suddenly ditched them, stole the Grail, threw it into the center of the Persian Gulf, and here we are now! If you want to blame someone, blame me! That settles it, right? Then let's leave it behind forever! So, do you have a plan!? I'm open to any ideas now!"

Her hysterical monologue only made the atmosphere more tense. The carefree Onee-san had been slowly losing her cool ever since Merlin tricked her, but now it was all quickly crumbling.

"I see. That was… succinct, Quetzalcoatl. Now, I'll tell you what I think. First! We got the results from the water analysis. The black seawater is indeed Tiamat's authority itself. It infects those who touch it, and Tiamat's Authority is copied into their cells, turning them into her slaves. The only ones unaffected by it are the Lahmu since they were born from it, but even servants will be quickly absorbed by it."

"So that's what happened to Benkei…"

"Huh? What do you mean, Onii-chan?"

"You'll see…"

"Well, that's no wonder. Mother- I mean, Tiamat's Authority is all about self-modification and multiplication. But her most powerful one is "Animo Geas", or cell manipulation."

"There you have it. A darkening mud. An annoyance if you ask me." Gilgamesh, for once, didn't throw any jab at the Mistress of Heaven. "Whatever. Second! After the water's quality comes its level, and here's the real problem. I think the timing matches the moment the Grail was delivered, but the thing is, the water level has been raising by the minute for a while now! By my estimations, the watchtower will be swallowed in three hours and the black sea will overflow into the land. I don't have to tell you why that's going to be worse than even the mythical floods."

"Wow, really!? If that happens, forget about just Uruk! Human History will collapse as well without even needing Solomon's incineration ritual!"

"Doc, tell us you have some kind of plan! Anything will do!"

"I do… but… this is…."

"It doesn't matter, Romani Archaman! Just spill it! We'll hear at the very least."

"Okay, fine! Given that we are so desperate, I'll just get it out of my chest! I just observed a Spirit Origin signal at the center of the Persian Gulf. It's a Holy Grail with an ultra-ultra-ultra-class Magical Reactor Core with more than seven times the magical energy of the Grail. There's no doubt. That's the primordial Demonic Beast that birthed the world of Mesopotamia! If this primordial sea is Tiamat's authority, then our only option is to take her down."

"Well, yes! Defeating her might stop the flood, but can we even do that? She's on a completely different level than any identity you've fought up until now."

The two masters swallowed loudly. "We have no choice. It's now or never."

"We'll have to throw everything we have at her..."

"Hmph. You two sound like a pair of corpses. But I guess it's natural given your lack of rest. You have no time for second guesses though. More so when you'll have to go to the black sea to support your servants."

"Wait, shouldn't they stay here? It's not just the enemies. If they touch the mud…"

"What are you saying, Kirielight? If you want to have the least of chances, separating from your master is not an option. The efficiency in which magical energy travels through your bonds will decrease inversely to the distance it has to travel."

"You two will have to come even if we have to tie you to Quetzalcoatl's serpents." Ishtar's remark caused them to finally break into a cold sweat.

"But what about the servants? The ranged ones have no problem, but our Sabers can't fight while staying atop a winged serpent. Maybe Arturia with her blessing of lake…"

"That shouldn't be a problem, nya! Any experience servant should be able to repel the mud beneath their feet by releasing their magical energy." Jaguar Warrior suddenly popped up from behind the King, only to be pushed away shortly after.

"What she said. Kirielight, do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"I guess? If you tell me the gist of it…"

"Heh, there's no time for that. Instead, I left some water-repelling talismans there. Feel free to take as many as you want."

"Hey, talismans are my thing, you know? Are you sure you aren't more useful as a mage than a warrior?" A certain fox maiden glared at the King after losing her opportunity to gift one of those to her Goshujis-sama.

"Unlike my foolish, young self, I'm ready for any situation! Now, go and bring me Tiamat's head, Ritsuka, Ai!"

Without much time for a plan, they immediately took off toward the center of the Persian Gulf. It was during those excruciatingly long minutes before the battle that they started talking about a strategy.

"Our only truly hard-hitting noble phantasms are Excalibur and Archer's sword. If push comes to shove, we can make Emiya project an image of Excalibur with a command spell…"

"Wait, we might have more options." Ai turned to look at the two Goddesses of War leading the charge. "Ishtar, Quetz, you still haven't told us about your noble phantasms! Can you at least tell us its category!?"

While the Mesoamerican Goddess kept it to herself, the Mistress of Heaven showed the orange-haired master a cocky smile. "Don't worry, my contractor! Once Tiamat is within range, just provide me magical energy and I'll show you something awesome!"

"Coming from that woman, I should start preparing myself to project the divine construct…"

"Hehe, if she fails, you can always rely on my last trump card, master."

"You aren't one to talk, Child Emperor. But don't worry. With three tails released, my noble phantasm can easily support everyone here."

"A combination of Gilgamesh's talismans and my banner's light should be able to protect everyone from the mud in case they can't afford to spend magical energy on it."

"Time for talk is over guys! I detect Lahmu signals coming out of the blackened sea!"

Just as Romani warned them, Lahmu started to emerge from the mud in the same way a plant would bloom, albeit much more repulsive. They didn't attack the group immediately, though. In fact, the newborn Lahmu were stumbling around in a seemingly disoriented state.

"I see. So they are born with dull senses before developing a personality like the ones back at Eridu… just to become a part of the colony again after fully growing up." Ishtar spoke her thoughts out loud, her expression harboring the slightest of pity.

"The hell did they mean about new humanity? Those are just soulless pawns. That Tiamat gal has a horrible taste even for fellow villain."

"Very well, it's time for us to play our part girls!" Not even a second after saying that, Quetzalcoatl threw herself at the newborn Lahmu.

"Archer-dono, make sure to wipe her out for good!"

"I can only say I'll try. Don't exaggerate down there. That goes especially for you, Ushiwakamaru."

"Heh, if a simple stab wound was enough to stop me, Japan might as well have been ruled by the Taira clan. But don't worry, Ritsuka-dono and Tamamo-no-mae-sama patched me up splendidly."

The two swordsmen bid their goodbyes to the red knight as the winged serpents descended to fly near the water. There was no sound as they jumped and landed on the blackened sea. Not only were they applying Jaguar Warrior's advice, but their light steps could already allow them to run through the water.

Their preemptive attack caused the newborn Lahmu to go into disarray. Their premature minds that could only carry out simple commands were overwhelmed and decided to just try to get read of the aggressors before anything else.

That only applied to the first batch though. Once they traveled a considerable distance, the popping Lahmu had no one to target other than them, so the second round of guards had to be deployed.

"It's our turn then, Lil' Sis!"

"What a pain…"

"I'll leave my blessings with you, Darling! Good luck!"

The two "sisters" and the Bride Saber jumped to deal with the Lahmu and even some demonic beasts that spawned along. EMIYA also joined them with his bow, but the field of holy light that Jeanne deployed was already accomplishing the goal of breaking their formation.

"Abnormal Spirit Origin detected! It's here! Two hundred meters to contact!"

There was it. The words they had been expected while readying their weapons. There was no need for looking for her, as it seemed she was already receiving them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" An inhuman, sweet voice came from ahead, forcing the masters to cover their ears.

"What's this!?"

"A song!?"

"No, enemy spotted on the ocean surface, but…"

Mash fell in silence as her fellow servants looked at the figure amidst the blackened sea. She looked like a voluptuous female, around her 30s if she were human. Her body was almost naked, with only her legs, arms, and shoulders covered by bluish robes, and blue marks surrounding her womb.

Her pristine face possessed a captivating beauty, but not in the same alluring sense as a Goddess of love. Her pale blue hair overflowed behind her, her ears ended in tips, and her pink eyes had star-shaped pupils… but the most eye-catching trait would definitely be the massive pair of horns protruding from the sides of her head.

That was Tiamat, no sense in double-checking. That unique presence they never felt could only be that of an Evil of Humanity. And she was there, waiting for them with her hands clasped together, and her rosy lips parted to let out that song.

"That's Tiamat… so beautiful… and melancholic. I don't see her being the mother of demonic beasts."

"I never saw Mother in person, but that's definitely her. Those big horns symbolize the land, and her eyes reflect the stars of the inner sea of the planet. Her womb was the soil of life itself, then it was cast aside after fulfilling its purpose of creation. Myth said she was killed, but in reality, she was casted aside by her children to reverse side of the world."

"And now that Solomon fellow pulled her to this side of the world… I'd ask if we could just push her back to the place she came, but if that were possible, I guess Merlin would have done it."

"But aren't her arms and legs… bound?" EMIYA observed with a raised eyebrow, and he was right. Tiamat was standing completely still due to some chains wrapped around her body.

"I see now. That's why she needs the Grail." Tamamo suddenly spoke up in a solemn tone as she threw a set of talismans around them. They formed a boundary around them, projecting the images of Tori and drawing the mana in the atmosphere towards her divine mirror. She was already deploying her noble phantasm.

"Multitudinous evils swarm about this world… My blessed sacred mirror shall purify them all! I will serve with all I have!"

She made a pause just before summoning its true name to speak again. "This is our only chance. She might look fine, but she's actually still struggling to awake. Now, behold the Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu!"

There was no need for more words as the magical energy of her noble phantasm was siphoned into all the nearby servants. Arturia's Sacred Sword was revealed in a burst of wind at the same time the red knight called upon his nameless sword.

"By my Command Seal, I order you, Emiya, to reproduce the greatest of Holy Swords!"

The red Archer looked at the King of Knights for a moment, and after receiving a nod, he immediately began pouring the magical energy from the Command Seal into Excalibur's blueprint.

""I am the bone of my sword.""

"By my Command Seal, Ishtar, show Tiamat the true power of the Mistress of Heaven!"

"Well said, Ai! In that case, let's go, Maana! Gate open!"

The Goddess floating above them poured the magical energy into her Heavenly Bow, but instead of charging an arrow, she threw her spear into the sky. Much to their surprise, its blade pierced through the fabric of space, opening a massive "gate" leading to… space? No, it was towards another planet, an orange-colored one.

"What the- Are the instruments working fine!? Is that really Venus!? Wait, that actually makes sense… She's recreating her feat of destroying Mt. Ebih!"

Romani did the honors of explaining it, albeit unintentionally. But the surprises didn't end there, as a miniature copy of the planet was recreated on Ishtar's hand… and then she proceeded to nock it into her bow, forcing it to take the shape of a massive arrow of energy.

"Fufu! Think of this as an honor, my temporary master, Archer! This is my full throttle!"

"My God! Archers firing swords, you can get used to it! But a freaking planet!?"

"There's no time to be surprised, master! Enemy incoming!"

Mash's warning snapped them out of it. Tiamat might not be able to attack, but the Lahmu spawning around her sure could.

"Mash, use your noble phantasm to stop them!"

"Right! Manifest yourself, Lord Camelot!" The white walls of the famous castle were deployed in time to stop all the Lahmu hurling themselves at them, even burning their bodies.

But this was a risk. That was the fourth noble phantasm of the greatest rank they were releasing at the same time and thank goodness Archer wasn't contracted to them. Combined with all the accumulated fatigue, the masters were starting to really look like a couple of ghosts.

And to make things worse…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Another deafening shout came from the Mother who birthed the world, accompanied by a massive spike of magical energy.

"Oh shut! She's releasing the equivalent of a hydrogen bomb in terms of magical energy! If she fires whatever she's readying, the blast will reach even Uruk!"

"Kuh! Everyone, fire!"

Just as Ritsuka gave his command, all the attacks were ready. A blinding light came from the three golden swords and Ishtar's Heavenly bow, turning the cloudy sky into a bright morning before the attacks were even releasing.

They all took a mere instant to take aim, and then…

""EXCALIBUR!""

"AN GAL TA KIGAL SÈ!"

The combined beams of light and the planetary arrow erased anything on their path, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye. From her perspective, it must have looked like a massive shooting star raining from the heavens. A judgment not that far from the one of the Gods that casted her aside.

And when the attacks finally collided with Tiamat, the masters lost their vision momentarily. No, the world turned white due to all the light filling the place. Opening one's eyes would get them immediately burned. And to top it all, they felt how their eardrums were torn apart even with the protections of their mystic codes.

Despite happening in the middle of the sea, the entire world around them was shaken. A massive hole appeared in the blackened sea due to all the water being evaporated or blown away, and massive waterfalls of corrupted water formed to fill it.

But one thing was sure. None of them could see Tiamat's figure where she stood a moment ago.

"We did it? That was… easier than I expected."

As if Mash's words tempted fate, a sound of blood splattering came from behind them, causing their hearts to tighten.

""MASTER!""

Mash and Tamamo immediately tended to the two teenagers who crumbled in a coughing fit. Even with Caster's noble phantasm supporting them, firing two times the strongest illusion, even though one was an inferior copy, and Ishtar's mountain range-shredding arrow was too much for their few low-level magic circuits.

"No good! Not only their internal organs are damaged, but I can also spot marks of necrosis around their magical circuits!"

"Where're the ampules- here!"

The Shielder servant took out a set of tactical needles from their pockets and injected their contents into their bloodstream without a doubt. Their breath calmed, but it didn't fix their ghostly paleness.

"Emiya, Avalon!"

"Trace, on!" EMIYA immediately projected Excalibur's scabbard, the ever-distant utopia, and Arturia powered it. Its holy light quickly healed their damaged bodies, but they had long since lost consciousness.

"Phew, good job everyone. I didn't take into account Ishtar's power, but Ritsuka and Ai's condition is stabilized. A good rest should get them in top condition soon. But aside from that, I can confirm it! Tiamat's Spirit Origin collapsed under your combined attack! Now, you just have to wait for the ocean to go back to its normal state and retrieve the Grail."

Hearing the good news, got everyone releasing sighs of relief and relaxing their muscles. In the distance, they could see the rest of their comrades coming to regroup, and Ishtar descended to start bragging about her "awesome, super noble phantasm".

"You know… She might have been an enemy of humanity… but I didn't feel any real hostility from her. In fact, I think she was the one who put on those restraints."

"You're thinking too much about it Mash. You should only worry about delighting in our victory."

"We should at least wait to get back to Uruk, Ishtar."

Mash's comment was lost after Arturia and Ishtar started bickering about moderation. But amidst the atmosphere of triumph and joy, one person remained silent. In fact, he didn't move a muscle ever since he swung his golden sword.

"Huh? What's the matter, Goshujin-sama?"

"I know we couldn't steal the show, Darling, but-"

The Bride Saber and the Fox Caster approached him but froze as well the moment they could get a good look at his expression.

Of all the emotions, sheer horror wasn't something they could ever expect to see in that man's face. His pupils were completely sharpened, his hawk-like eyes having been brought to their utmost limit to look through the muddy water, and whatever he saw, it was enough to freeze him of all people.

"No way…" Some words escaped his lips before he finally snapped out of it. He turned around with a hysterical expression and started shouting. "Shit! Quetzalcoatl, get us out of here, NOW!"

If that wasn't enough to confuse everyone, Romani and Da Vinci's trembling voices added to it. "Impossible… The Spirit Origin is… reconstructing itself? No, not just that. It's transforming into a mega-structure… Can there be such a creature?"

"Archer is right! The water levels are raising at an absurd speed! It's already submerging the watching post, and it's deliberately heading to Uruk!"

"You have to be kidding! We just blew her away, didn't we?"

"We screwed up royally! That wasn't Tiamat's main body! It was her brain! And the real thing is about to emerge!"

They barely had time to retreat before the corrupted water burst forth to reveal a nightmarish sight.

A woman- no, a creature that looked just like the Tiamat they blew away, but now she could tower over even the highest skyscrapers humans built in the future. Aside from the horns coming from her head, which were now glowing with an ominous red, she had now another pair coming us of her back, almost like a pair of wings.

Her starry eyes shone red as well, and her mouth opened once again to sing. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

It was almost unbearable even for the Goddesses. The power of her voice caused visible ripples in the air and forced the corrupted mood to advance once again like a massive tidal wave.

"Truly a monster… A mobile creature factory. She has enough magical energy to travel between the stars, and ample life origins stored in her body. That is Tiamat's true form. Humanity needs a few more centuries to be able to face this divine ark."

"She's not even looking at us… She's looking straight at Uruk. We are being spared for now, but what should we do!? Quetzalcoatl! Tell me you've actually been keeping an ace up your sleeve!"

"Nooooooope! Absolutely no! We can't win against her! I mean, the difference in size is mind-blowing! How am I supposed to use a joint lock on her!?"

"Can't you think of something other than Lucha Libre, you birdbrain!" Alter ended up snapping at the Goddesses, although it was more her way of letting out her growing anxiety.

"Quetzalcoatl-sama, as the greatest deity of another land, can't you just grow up like her!?"

"Don't ask for the impossible, Ushiwakamaru! The law of mass conservation still applies to Gods, you know? Only deities that exist from the Era of Genesis can do that! Not even aliens can take her down now!"

"Really!? You still haven't used your full authority, have you? I admit Tiamat might even be more powerful than my original self, Amaterasu, but…"

"It's no use. It would be cruel to get your hopes up, so I'll be blunt. There's nothing in Mesopotamia than can so much scratch her."

"Darling, let's use our secret ace then! Maybe-"

"No, that won't work either. Damn it! If she's already fully developed as a Beast, how come the Counter Force hasn't already summoned a Grand Servant!?"

Archer's hand tightened around the hilt of his golden sword. Benkei had been right, they need a weapon that can fight against the entire world to defeat Tiamat, and neither his nor Arturia's swords qualified. No matter how much they evolved Arturia's Saint Graph, the Excalibur manifested temporarily by the Throne of Heroes would never be able to exert the same power as the original Sacred Sword that was forged to protect the planet against invaders. And his case was even worse due to his mistaken vessel.

A Grand Servant was truly their only option, but if none has been summoned yet, they could only assume they were entirely on their own.

"Let's go back to Uruk. There's no sense in hopelessly throwing ourselves at that thing." Arturia spoke up to instill some sense into the group before they fell into mass hysteria.

---

"…ka! …i!"

"…ter!"

"…pai!"

"Wa… up …dy …actor!"

"…u …ou Fou!"

When Ai's consciousness finally returned, she started hearing hazy voices around her and also felt something wet on her cheek.

"Tsk. It's no use. I know they need to rest, but time is of the essence now more than ever!"

That loud, familiar was pretty much enough to wake her up for good, but on top of that, she felt a really cold liquid being poured right on her face.

*Cough cough cough!* "I'm awake! I am awake! Was that really necessary!?"

The only answer she got was another splash of water to her side, followed by the coughing fit of her brother. The culprit was a staff coming out of a golden ripple.

"Finally!" The Golden King spoke up, cutting anyone else from expressing their relief. "To make things quick, tell me what was the last thing you saw before fainting, mongrels."

The two masters had no choice but to search through their jumbled-up memories to answer that question- no, that command. And they too were curious as to what happened.

"The last thing I saw… was Tiamat being hit by four noble phantasms…"

"Me too… Did we win?"

"Far from it. You just destroyed the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and now the real thing is heading this way riding a tidal wave of mud. We managed to stop the mud temporarily with the Fangs of Napishtim, but Tiamat will inevitably cross the distance."

The faces of the masters turned so white that they almost fainted again. Even after throwing at her literally everything they've got, it was useless…

"B-but… Archer, even you couldn't? Your sword was able to one-shot a Demon God Pillar…"

The red knight shook his head softly. "That was the still alive me, so his sword was at its real peak. Besides, comparing Tiamat to one of those things is like comparing the entire body to a single finger."

"If that were possible, we would have sent the Faker to take care of her from the very beginning. Now, if you have energies to panic, then we shall begin the debriefing. First, the soldiers' report."

"Yes, my king!" One of the few soldiers in the room spoke up without wasting a second. "Currently, there are only 306 citizens left in Uruk. Of those, 212 are warriors and the rest are civilians. The latter was against evacuating, but after the King spoke, they finally agreed. And speaking about those who already evacuated, after the Lahmu attack, only 157 survived, with 38 of them being warriors. Altogether, there are only five hundred humans alive in Mesopotamia."

If the atmosphere had been already gloomy, that report pretty much caused the morale to hit rock bottom.

"Huh!? That can't be right. What about the people we evacuated in Ur or the other cities?"

"If the Lahmu protecting Tiamat didn't kill them, the blackened mud swallowed them." The King's words crushed Mash's last thread of hope. "The first dynasty of Uruk is over. Even if we managed to defeat Tiamat without losing anyone else, the civilization in Mesopotamia would crumble eventually due to the lack of numbers. But fret not, as long as there are traces of this civilization, others in the future will follow our steps."

Those last words hardly took their attention away from the literal admission of their defeat.

"So… we failed you in the end, Gilgamesh-sama…"

"I just summoned you on a whim. This was bound to happen. But don't throw the towel that fast, Ushiwakamaru. We still have to hear the report of one man. Romani! You've had half a day to analyze Tiamat. What is your conclusion?"

"Of course, I already sent a report to that terminal of yours with Tiamat's specs and abilities. Ritsuka, Ai, you should check it later, too. I included footage to let you get a better idea."

"Heh, good work. Let me see then… uhum… hum… hum…" The way the King's face morphed the further he read would have been quite amusing, had he not been getting annoyed. "What is the meaning of this, Romani!? Are you on Tiamat's side!? I don't see a single weakness or strategy here!"

"Believe me, I wanted to write one at least! But that's how it is! She's literally a perfect organism!" It wasn't just that the doctor's voice was hysterical, but he was literally crying from the feeling of powerlessness.

Even Gilgamesh's expression softened. "If you put it like that… Good work anyway. You can return to your post. Now, Jaguar Warrior! I want your opinion next!"

That got some raised eyebrows. Of all the people in the room, he asked the comical relief for an opinion?

"She was huge, gigantic, and pawsitively awesome!" And as expected, her answer was completely useless.

"I don't want your useless opinion as a human! I want you to use your animal instincts for once!"

"O-oh! Very well. At her speed, I would say she will reach the coast in half a day, and I'm guessing it will take her one more day to get here."

"Damn, that's fast! We can only intercept her…"

"Umm… On another note, why does she seem to be targeting Uruk, Gilgamesh-sama? She even ignored us back at the sea." Okita raised an interesting question. That could even be interpreted as "Why does she even want to destroy humanity?"

"Because I and this city are the symbols of Sumerian civilization. Why do you think I keep saying you outsiders have anything to do with this?"

"What he said." Quetzalcoatl decided to elaborate further. "She's driven by her primordial instincts. From her point of view, the land and its lifeforms are the same. If you wish to protect human history, what you have to protect is the city rather than the inhabitants."

"But no attacks will work… Romani, why do you say she's invincible to even the Sacred Sword forged in the inner sea of the planet to defeat threats to the planet?"

"That's just a theory, but after rewatching the footage of the moment you guys destroyed her brain over a dozen times, it's the only conclusion I could reach. Her unique trait as a Beast, I believe, is to never experience death."

"But, if she just resurrected, wouldn't we have a shot with something like Harpe?"

"It's not that easy, Ai. It's not resurrection, but rather, retrogression. This might sound absurd, but stay we me. Tiamat is the mother of all life on the planet. The very fact that we're alive proves her existence. Her dying while we are still alive would create a paradox, and hence, she is unable to die. That's the nature of Beast II. She's the beginning and the end."

"But… that means… all life on the planet would have to die out for a chance of defeating her. There is no point…"

"Yeah… that's why I had no choice but to say that she's, for all intends and purposes, invincible. Not even a miracle that represents humanity's will to move forward like Archer's sword was able to get through it."

"Wait…" Archer spoke up, his eyes widening as if he just got an idea. "My sword might be a horrible match-up against her, but, isn't there a land where no life is allowed?"

Gilgamesh's red eyes widened as well before snapping his fingers, causing a mirror to emerge from his treasury. "ERESHKIGAL! Ereshkigal, are you there!"

"Hey! Be more respectful when you're calling the mistress of the underworld! Do you have any idea how many souls I've had to take care of since yesterday!?" The image of a certain blonde Goddess appeared in the mirror with an annoyed frown before retorting to the King.

"Hey there, Ereshkigal. I know this is sudden, but we need your help." Archer interrupted her rambling, but just him entering her field of view was enough to freeze her.

"Huh? Archer? But you look so young?"

"It has something to do with the Saint Graph ascension, but yes, it's me."

Having heard that, the Goddess suddenly stepped out of sight, leaving the King and the Faker blinking owlishly in complete synchronization.

"Darling, I know I'm quite open regarding concubines, but don't you think this is too much?"

"What do you mean by that?" His honest answer got several facepalms and sighs.

"Ehem!" But before anyone could comment on it, the Goddess made her reentrance while covering herself with her cape. "Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld, is here in all her splendor! What business do you have with me, King of Uruk?"

A wicked grin showed on the King's face. As long as the Faker was there, the Goddess will behave and won't refuse his requests.

"Well, I'll get to the point then. Tiamat is heading for Uruk and will get here in two days roughly. Mistress of Kur, your task will be to send her to your domain! The only place where she will be the only living creature!"

While everyone in the room widened their eyes upon finally hearing an actually feasible plan, the Goddess in question started to pale as her brain processed those words.

"HUH!? Have you ever heard yourself!? That's completely impossible! I can't summon Mother here! Wait, you said sending her down… No, that's even more absurd! Opening a gate under Kutha, the city that revers me as its patron Goddess, had been already an endearing task. Opening one below Uruk will take me around ten years!"

"TEN YEARS!? That's too much! And here I thought you could be more useful than your sister!"

"Hey!"

"Is it really impossible to shorten it? I mean, you have been sending your Gallu spirits over here for months."

Her reaction to Archer's shot in the dark was the written definition of being caught red-handed. "Well, since I hate Uruk, I might have been preparing it beforehand. It would actually take me… let's say… three days. Yes! You will have your gate to death in three days!"

Instead of excited reactions, her embarrassed revelation was met with blank stares.

"You and Ishtar are really one of a kind…"

"Please, don't compare me to her too, Archer."

"Buahahahaha! That's brilliant, Ereshkigal! You and I need to talk later."

"Our chances went from zero to one, yes, but what are we going to do about the one-day difference? We still lack a reliable way to do so much as stall her." And just like that, Quetzalcoatl threw all hope right out the window.

"I'll be completely busy with the preparations, so you'll have to figure that out on your own." Ereshkigal immediately threw the ball away, but fortunately, the King didn't lose his confidence.

"Don't worry about that, foreign Goddess. I have thought about that, too. Ishtar, it is finally your time to shine!"

"Eh?" The Mistress of Heaven started to blush after being thrown into the spotlight suddenly. "Wh-what do you mean, Goldie?"

"Heh, don't try to be all humble now of all times. This is, indeed, the only reason I even bothered recruiting you."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot! Ishtar's true ultimate weapon!"

"Yeah, our fights with Quetzalcoatl almost made me forget. The Bull of Heaven, right?"

"Yes, Senpai! Gugalanna, the divine bull that was granted to Ishtar after King Gilgamesh rejected her. Such creature should be more than up to the task."

When the masters and their kohai realized what Goldie meant, Ishtar's face froze, an unhealthy blush starting to take over it. And it just kept snowballing from there.

"The Greatest Divine Beast of Mesopotamia. Something easily on the level of Japan's great disasters. That should be able to stop even Tiamat in her tracks."

"I've also heard of the great Gugalanna that almost flooded all Mesopotamia back in Ur, yes! They also talked about you Ishtar, just a little."

"Yeah… He's quite powerful…" The Goddess kept shying away rather than bragging about her greatest familiar and noble phantasm.

"If you ask me, that sounds like that hideous 666 Beast those Christians went around prophesizing during my reign, but never showed up for Darling and me to beat it up. But I guess we don't have a choice."

"Maybe you're hesitating to unleash that calamity upon your land, Lady Ishtar?"

"Heh." Alter snorted at her "Big Sis'" guess. "This land is pretty much dead anyway. Throwing another disaster won't make a difference. In fact, it will be a spectacle to behold. Like the flood God sent in the Old Testament."

"Actually…" Ishtar started fidgeting, drops of sweat sliding down her forehead. "Gugalanna is strong… but I think you guys are overestimating him a little."

"Gugalanna! Gugalanna!"

"Fou! Fou! Fou!"

Her meeker attempt of controlling the situation was destroyed by Jaguar Warrior and Fou's cheers.

"Surely you jest, Ishtar-sama. Something in the same leagues as our Yamata-no-Orochi must be really strong! My shishou made sure to tell me about those monsters!"

"I see. Ishtar, you are reluctant to send one of your subjects to a certain death, aren't you? I can understand that feeling, even if the subject in question is a beast rather than a knight."

"I have to agree. Being left out of the battlefield while you know your friends are risking their life is the worst."

The two Sabers with identical faces suddenly found an equal standpoint and found themselves nodding in complete convincement.

On the other hand, a couple of red knights were throwing suspicious looks at the Goddess. And those were the ones that weighed more on her.

"Ishtar… you…"

"Alright fine! I'll admit it! I don't have Gugalanna! I lost him somewhere!"

Her outburst left the room in dead silence and dropped the temperature several degrees. Even Jaguar Man and Fou stopped their dancing as if someone just smashed the freeze button.

"I knew it…" EMIYA spoke while caressing his forehead. "That "awesome thing" you were looking for when you crashed into me was Gugalanna, wasn't it?"

"I thought it was in the North, but I wasn't able to find it anywhere in all-"

She was interrupted when the King suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. "You useless Goddess! How in the world can you miss a bull the size of a mountain!? You had one damn job! Now we're back to having no plan!"

"Damn it. All our tacticians at Chaldea wanted to agree to that plan, but without Gugalanna, you have no feasible way to stall her. You could go and try to fight her… but if you end up getting swallowed by the mud, it will make things even worse."

Amongst the group, a certain red knight brought a hand to his chin and made a face as if he was pondering about something. The grim expression he sported was immediately read by the Bride Saber beside him.

"Oh no, you don't! I know what you're thinking, Darling, and you can't!"

He sighed now that his backup plan was discovered. "It's just a last resort. Trapping her in my reality marble might make her the only thing alive, but her mud will quickly corrode it. I could only buy five minutes at best burning through everything I have."

"Figures. Even if a reality marble is a concept alien to the world, ours still come from a human mind, so her authority will still work."

"Tch. There is no meaning in wreaking our heads." The Golden King ended the conversation as he climbed back to his throne. "This strategic meeting ends here. Go back to your quarters and rest until tomorrow. Make sure you recover your energy."

"Really? Isn't this the final judgment?"

"It's already getting dark anyway. Think about it as getting through this night to be able to fight tomorrow, Fujimaru Ai. Rest, but don't stop thinking. We aren't just giving up."

With that said, everyone went on their separate ways to rest these last hours before their last battle, in more ways than one.

Albeit of Ishtar. She was made to keep standing in the throne room while holding a clay table with a written message that went: "Worst Goddess".

---

And that's it for now. The stage is now set for the grand finale, at least for this singularity. And I think this chapter makes it clear that King of Fakers can't just defeat Tiamat. They are just too incompatible. His Alter counterpart is the one that has an actual chance. So, prepare yourselves, because this fight is going to be quite crude. There is no power of friendship in this story.

Aside from that, I really don't have much to say. As always, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this chapter, and I hope I entertained you. Remember that, while the next chapter of this story will be the end of this Singularity, to avoid having to create another story on this site just for one chapter, I'll publish the conclusion of the Solomon Singularity as a special chapter in this story, and then I'll finally get to the Losbelts. Now that the official story is reaching its conclusion, even though there are still a lot of things in the air, it will be relatively easier to not screw up something.

But aside from that, I'll get to work with the next chapter of "Reenacting a Legend", which I'm as eager to write as you guys are to read it.

With all that said, I bid you farewell for now. Hasta la vista.