Lev: Gasp, the King's Presence! (Continued)

After that, the refugees were never attacked by Demonic Beast again. Any Demonic Beast that tried to approach the mountain was burned to ashes by the crimson lightning.

Although they had never heard of a Storm Goddess in Mesopotamia, and the only god who controlled the wind was Enlil, this was clearly not the one they were talking about, the Storm Goddess was still a genuine goddess who had protected everyone, so the surviving refugees offered their most sincere faith and blessings.

What Ishtar?

What is the point of worshipping a goddess who always reaps everyone's wealth and never answers prayers at her own doorstep?

We're not familiar with each other, really not familiar.

They are now all followers of the Storm Goddess.

In their eyes, the majestic and beautiful Storm Goddess was clearly more suited to the role of the mistress of the heavens than Ishtar.

At the same time--

"Um, Your Majesty... is this kind of force acceptable?"

On Mount Ebih, in that magnificent golden temple.

The blonde oni girl was fawningly Black Lancer Artoria, who was sitting on the throne, looking at the number of refugees with a melancholy expression, and at the location of Uruk.

"Hmm, it's alright, you can go now..."

Black Lancer Artoria waved his hand impatiently, dismissing the idle Ibaraki-dōji beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll go right now."

Hearing that he was no longer needed, Ibaraki-dōji hurriedly nodded, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Honestly, she never imagined she would feel so inferior.

Even the King of Heroes who summoned her to fight ignored her and ran away halfway through.

She would never work for humans. As a ghost, one should be free and unrestrained. What kind of ghost is a ghost if it is bound by constraints?

She did have that thought when she encountered Black Lancer Artoria.

Just as she escaped Uruk, she randomly found a mountain that looked good in the wilderness, and there happened to be a magnificent temple on the mountain, which was undoubtedly the most suitable place for her to stay.

However, just as he was about to begin his carefree adventure, a new magical power appeared, so the curious Ibaraki-dōji decided to investigate it.

Perhaps the temple's master has returned, and she just happened to go out to take a look.

Moreover, she wasn't entirely without a sense of crisis, but as the leader of the demons of Mount Ooe, how could she be easily afraid?

Of course I'll try getting beaten up!

Or, for Ibaraki-dōji, if he really can't win, he can just run away!

Even when Minamoto no Raikō was fighting the Mount Ooe, he was able to survive.

Ibaraki-dōji refused to believe that anyone could subdue her in an instant!

With such confidence, the ghost swaggered out arrogantly.

The next moment, she was subdued by Black Lancer Artoria's Storm Holy Lance, which had teleported her there, and she was completely powerless to resist.

At first, she didn't realize what was going on and still looked unconvinced, thinking that she had performed poorly, so she frantically Black Lancer Artoria, demanding a rematch.

Then, when she saw Black Lancer Artoria easily shatter hundreds of Demonic Beasts with a single, jet-black Holy Lance, Ibaraki-dōji suddenly realized that she had spoken a little too loudly.

Although the proud Oni race would never submit to others, then again...

She submitted to a god! To the strong!! The demon race also acknowledges the strong!! This guy is stronger than Shuten-Doji, so he definitely deserves to be their leader!!

So she became Black Lancer Artoria's henchman, fawning over him and looking for an opportunity to regain her freedom.

Black Lancer Artoria didn't comment on this, after all, it was this guy who rushed up and made the first move.

The reason she didn't kill Ibaraki-dōji was because she felt it was normal to be attacked after trespassing on someone else's property. Now that she had occupied someone else's mountain to house refugees, it wouldn't be right to kill the owner.

And so, they both came to believe that the other was the master of Mount Ebih, and the misunderstanding continued indefinitely.

Originally, Black Lancer Artoria had no intention of taking over this mountain. For her, finding her lost companions was more important than becoming a mountain king or some kind of boss.

However, upon seeing the refugees who had been chased by Demonic Beast and fled in a sorry state, she felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility and could not bear to ignore human deaths. So she decided to take over the place as her temporary base and raise the Tower of Ending to protect these people.

This tower, which was used to select and destroy humanity in the Sixth Singularity, has somehow become a tower that protects humanity here. Its fate is truly unpredictable.

However, while the Tower of Ending can protect these humans from harm, it cannot provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. She does not possess the Holy Grail and cannot create things out of thin air.

And the temple beneath her feet annoyed her even more.

In this vast space, there is nothing but gold and gems, and not a single living necessities. It is completely useless. The refugees are now eating only the remaining pieces of Demonic Beast meat that were broken up back then.

The people of the Age of Gods are physically robust and can eat Demonic Beast without any problem, but this can't go on forever. So, we need to consider leading these people to Uruk...

"This is really troublesome, but it's the only way... After these people have rested for a while, I'll take them to Uruk."

Black Lancer Artoria covered his forehead and sighed silently. Now that things had come to this, the search for Rovey could only be considered again in Uruk.

I believe that if he were here, he would definitely make the same choice as me.

Just as Black Lancer Artoria had made up his mind, Ibaraki-dōji, who had just slipped away, suddenly ran back. "Reporting to Your Majesty, a black-haired madman is shouting and yelling in front of the mountain! And he's even bullying those refugees halfway up the mountain!!"

"Are they enemies?"

"Of course! They're definitely coming to attack the fortress!"

"I see."

Black Lancer Artoria picked up the Holy Lance and said, "I'll go take a look."

"Go, go," Ibaraki-dōji urged.

Watching his leader, Black Lancer Artoria, leave, Ibaraki-dōji couldn't help but smile.

Then she carefully took out a Gilgamesh cup from her pocket and began to play with it gently.

She found this cup in this palace.

Sensing its immense magical power, tell her that it is undoubtedly a good thing! It should be the omnipotent wish-granting machine from the Servant's memories— the Holy Grail.

Although it's unclear why the white-haired woman didn't look for it after returning—perhaps she was too busy with the refugees to remember—it now belongs to her.

With this, she'll definitely be able to get her revenge.

"You want to be my boss? Bah! I'm going to get my revenge!"

Having confirmed that Black Lancer Artoria had left, Ibaraki-dōji raised the Holy Grail without hesitation, then used its magical power, excitedly proclaiming, "Holy Grail! Quickly transform me into the most powerful demon in the world!!"

As she made her wish, the golden Holy Grail in her hand began to shake violently.

"Ohhhhhh!!"

"I can't hear you, I can't hear you, I can't hear you."

"Aaaa, Aaaaa! Aaaaaa?"

On the shore, after Rovey helped Tiamat adjust the data and stability of this avatar, the scene before him soon appeared.

"... I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know."

Tiamat, unlike her usual self, asked Rovey something with a serious and stern expression, while Rowe, looking impatient, kept making excuses that he didn't know.

"Aaaa!"

Finally, Rovey's perfunctory attitude angered the other party. Tiamat muttered, then reached out and held Rovey's face, followed by a rocket headbutt.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—! Your forehead is really hard! I know I was wrong, is that alright?"

Rovey clutched his forehead and hurriedly called for a stop. Although Tiamat's loving rocket headbutt was not malicious, her base stats were too high. Even with the reduced Monstrous Strength level from the Beast II, it was no joke. It hurt much more than the Lion King's Holy Lance attack, especially since he couldn't defend against it. After experiencing this kind of maternal love, he quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Aaaa? Aaaaaa? Aaaaaa..."

Tiamat touched his forehead with some pity before asking those questions again.

Did I ultimately get eliminated by the children?

Are the children better off without me?

What exactly is going on with the Demonic Beast outside, and the Kingu that are harming humans?

These are the answers Tiamat wants to know, and also the answers Rovey doesn't want to answer.

Tiamat, placed in the FGO route, was unable to communicate with Kingu from beginning to end, and was also unable to know what was happening outside. When she woke up, she was already in the Beast II state, that is, in the [Return] state. She could only seal herself with her willpower and could not do more. However, this time...

His arrival and the blood prematurely awakened Tiamat from her slumber, allowing her to witness firsthand what was happening outside.

She saw Kingu, her most loyal and good child, killing humans, and the devastation on this land that had been peaceful before she fell asleep—all of which Tiamat found unacceptable.

That's why she told Kingu her thoughts, asking him to stop killing humans. You are all mother's children, family, and brothers, so you must never kill each other.

She also asked Kingu to help humanity, but Kingu did not give an answer, which made Tiamat very worried.

When Tiamat faced Rovey, after satisfying her curiosity and alleviating her loneliness, she turned her gaze to those humans who fought and struggled to survive. The answer Tiamat most wanted to know was still...

[Have you ever been successfully defeated by your children?]

"..."

Rovey was well aware of the answer, but he didn't want to reply.

After all, even he had personally killed Tiamat in the game.

Moreover, at that time, he was just sitting on the other side of the screen, completely unconcerned about Tiamat's feelings. He just thought, "She may be pitiful, but what does it have to do with me?" With this thought, he quickly progressed through the levels, and after everything was over, he also had a feeling that it was finally over. What a pain. It took so long to get these Saint Quartz.

Therefore, Rovey knew very well that Tiamat was destined to be destroyed regardless of his presence or absence; it was an ending that had been predetermined long ago.

"..."

Rovey remained silent, continuing to place his palm on Tiamat's chest, trying to further adjust the medium's state, even considering creating a Spirit Origin for her to completely separate the beast and human states.

But, but, but this—

"... Still not working?"

Feeling his power enter Tiamat's body with a thud as if it had vanished into thin air, Rovey slowly frowned.

He tried everything – the Primordial Runes, the power of angels, the power of the Golden System Magecraft, even the spells inscribed in some cult texts, the Necronomicon, and the fragments of the Xuanjun Qizhang Mijing Scripture – but nothing worked.

It's too ancient, too powerful, and its size is enormous.

Tiamat is the most ancient deity, possessing the highest level of mystery on this planet. Lower-level mysteries will yield to higher-level mysteries, and those that come after her are completely ineffective.

Unless it is a being whose size and mystery are greater than Tiamat's, there might be a way to use it. Otherwise, even if the infinite division method is used, it is impossible to divide Tiamat's mystery to form Spirit Origin.

Her beastly side is pulling at Tiamat's rational side, and any attempt to separate them will be countered by the "Nega-Genesis" power of the beastly side, leaving Rovey unable to think of a good solution.

Unless they are separated by special means.

For example: The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?

This method might work, but it's definitely not Shiki Ryougi that someone like Shiki Tohno could separate. The Root Shiki could be tried, Balor from Celtic Mythology might also have a chance, but where would he find the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception in this place?

It's difficult, absolutely difficult.

If the Evils of Humanity is not dealt with, even if Aiwass were to arrive, he would be unable to resolve the problem.

'It can kill, but it cannot save.'

"Aaaaa——"

As Rovey hesitated in silence, a gentle touch came from behind Rovey once more. Tiamat's soft body embraced him from behind, her voice melodious and ethereal, seemingly comforting him, conveying: 'It's okay.'

"Is it okay...? It's not okay at all. This ending is not good at all. After knowing your feelings, how can I accept this story with a clear conscience..."

Tiamat looked at the enormous Tiamat body above the ocean, which sealed within it was the Tiamat Beast aspect of herself, her most primal impulse to "return," now bound by Tiamat's self-sealing to buy time for humanity. It was also proof that she had always loved humanity.

"In that case, let me try to do this part—"

A crimson third hand extended out from the direction of Rovey's right arm once again. This time, the flames burning within it were more than three times stronger than before. Rovey's gaze, along with the withered third hand, focused on Tiamat's massive body, selecting it as the target of his attack.

If this part could be smashed directly, if the Evils of Humanity could be eliminated here, if I could fix Tiamat behind me in the medium while dealing with the Evils of Humanity, perhaps everything would be possible.

Nega-Genesis?

If human methods fail, then let's shatter it with pure divine power!

"Aaa——!!"

However, Tiamat sensed Rovey's thoughts and quickly embraced him, stopping him from using the miracles of the Christianity, the power of the godlike beings, to forcibly shatter the Evils of Humanity body, because doing so would be futile.

She knew her own body better than anyone else. Forcing an attack like this would only injure Rovey and could also cause the sealed beastly nature to riot, which would harm even more children.