The Black Tide

Then, Rovey opened his palm and manipulated it again. The golden beam of light seemed to come alive, surging again. Finally, under his control, it turned and, like a dazzling whip, swept across the surrounding Demonic Beast from the side, killing them all.

The light receded, and the field of vision opened up considerably. Just as Rovey was about to continue his attack, an explosion also erupted from the Blood Shrine behind him.

Looking back, Rovey saw two enormous female figures appear in the dome of the Blood Shrine, which had been cleaved open by the divine axe.

Both of them had human bodies and snake bodies, with wings on their backs.

Their wings flapped behind them, creating a hurricane-like force that lifted their massive bodies, and they began to fight in the air.

They were Anna and Gorgon.

"..."

Rovey withdrew his gaze and continued slaughtering the Demonic Beast.

--

In the sky.

Gorgon glared angrily at Anna, hissing as his countless snake-like hairs lunged at Anna. Anna, not to be outdone, unleashed her own purple hair, which transformed into countless snake-like strands and lashed out at him.

In the instant of the clash, countless venomous snakes, tearing at each other, formed a purple sea of snakes. They attacked each other, and the terrifying force of their bites and their destructive power caused a large number of snake carcasses to fall every second.

Neither of them could do anything about the other.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Gorgon immediately used the Mystic Eyes of Petrification, and Anna also used the Mystic Eyes of Petrification to resist, and their energies canceled each other out again.

Gorgon threw another punch, and this time, because of their similar size, Anna knocked her down with a single blow.

The two punched each other with a "thud!" Then their wings unfurled, and they were locked in a stalemate in mid-air once again, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Upon witnessing this, Gorgon roared in fury.

"Hateful!!"

The ant she thought she could easily devour had such tricks up its sleeve, transforming into the same form and possessing the same power, making it impossible for her to break through its defenses. This enraged Gorgon even more, who was already insane.

Seeing Anna in her white serpent form surprised Rovey, as Anna had hidden it so well. Neither he, Merry, nor Merlin had discovered this trump card until now. Although he remembered that Anna had indeed used the white serpent form to fight Tiamat in the original story, Rovey thought that was after she synchronized with Gorgon. He didn't expect that she could transform into it on her own.

But this also illustrates one thing --

Anna's relationship with the Gorgon is far more complex than one might imagine; it's not simply a matter of childhood and future. Their mutual interference leads Anna to become Gorgon as well, and she willingly and openly accepts this.

However, this incident only fueled Gorgon's anger.

That guy, even though he was also Gorgon, and even though the other guy accepted his memories when he was influenced by her, he stood on the side of humans, playing with them and helping them.

This is a complete and utter betrayal! It is a betrayal of God, a betrayal of yourself, and a betrayal of your sisters!

Unforgivable.

This is the only thing that absolutely cannot be forgiven!!

Gorgon roared in fury, her eyes shining even brighter, and more and more purple beams of light swept towards Anna like a storm, but Anna responded with the same attack as always.

In an instant, thousands of purple lights burst forth in the sky. The battle between the two could be described as a clash between gods. The roaring sparks and explosions painted a breathtaking picture of the battle in the sky.

"You can't beat me, we're the same person."

Anna said to her calmly.

"Foolish! I will never acknowledge you as a traitor! I am blessed by Tiamat, Anna!"

Gorgon roared again and then continued his fierce attack.

She demanded, "Why? Why? You are Medusa, you are Gorgon, why did you spare those humans?! You should understand my pain, my tragedy, you should join me in revenge!!"

"No... that's not right, because I don't want to run away anymore."

Anna answered softly.

"What?!"

Gorgon's expression hardened.

"You used hatred to escape the fact that you killed your sisters, while I wanted to face that fact. So you forgot the beautiful past, and you forgot your own name. We are not Gorgon, our name is... Medusa."

Anna withstood Gorgon's increasingly ferocious attacks and continued, "Do you understand? The reason I appeared is to remind you of this, and more importantly, to awaken you from your vengeance. I am your Counter Force, and you are Counter Force. Today, I will reclaim the name Medusa, Gorgon..."

"You're just running away, you just want to forget this pain! I don't accept it, I will never acknowledge you! If you want to let go, then die! I have nothing left but revenge!"

Gorgon continued his frenzied attack and then began to hurl insults.

But this time Anna didn't answer; she simply continued to withstand the opponent's attacks.

She was never good with words.

She preferred to convey her will to Gorgon through her actions rather than words.

Now, it's all over.

"Take this, Gorgon, this is my final Noble Phantasm."

"Burning Spirit Origin, Noble Phantasm Released - Forced Sealing, Pandemonium."

Anna smiled, raised her hand, and delivered her final blow to Gorgon, preparing to convey everything she wanted to say with this last move.

Upon seeing Anna's starting stance, Gorgon's previously tyrannical expression froze, and his eyes filled with terror.

"What... what exactly do you want to do?!"

Before Gorgon could finish speaking, a purple torrent arrived in an instant, engulfing her entire body.

Chapter 280 Black Tide

Chaldea.

Staring at the various instruments and Chaldea's environment, almost completely destroyed by Goetia, the employees who had just escaped danger were stunned. They pointed at the bombed-out control room and asked, "Gang, what exactly is Gang?"

No, I don't know.

The surrounding staff shook their heads, then said with a solemn expression, "But we survived, and that was the culprit Humanity Incineration."

Goetia unleashed a beam of light, attacking all of Chaldea's instruments and equipment in an almost indiscriminate manner, intending to completely obliterate this Human Order Restoration organization, which was known as the command center.

Rameses II, who was in the midst of the summoning circle at the time, naturally knew what it was. In the Sixth Singularity, he had been severely punished by Goetia. So he did not hesitate to activate his Grand Temple to block it. With a thought, a pyramid appeared outside Chaldea, covering the interior and taking all the staff inside for protection.

The events unfolded in the blink of an eye, Rameses II's decisive action served as a wake-up call to the other Heroic Spirit of Chaldea.

Romulus, Orion, King Arthur, Cú Chulainn, and other top-tier Servant also attacked Goetia simultaneously. After their attacks were neutralized by Goetia's counter-summoning, they all solemnly remarked, "As expected of the fully-fledged Beast."

They then immediately used their Noble Phantasm to notify all the Heroic Spirit in Chaldea.

When the Heroic Spirit who had been silently praying for Ritsuka learned that Goetia, the mastermind behind everything, had actually come to Chaldea, they were all stunned, and then their expressions became extremely serious.

After the Jerusalem Singularity was conquered, Ritsuka Fujimaru told Chaldea what she had seen— Rovey's modified version of Solomon and Goetia. Although Roman looked quite distressed at the time, the matter was accepted by most of the Heroic Spirit in Chaldea.

They realized that if they wanted to avert the catastrophe of the Humanity Incineration, they needed to not only repair the Singularity but also find a way to defeat Goetia.

And now, Goetia has actually entered Chaldea.

This situation is not only shocking, but its urgency is also chilling.

Rameses II immediately led the other Servant to deal with Goetia on the spot, and gave the order, "All humans, withdraw! The rest of the Servant, destroy him!"

Among the Heroic Spirit present were many renowned kings, who would naturally be angered by such orders. However, in such an urgent situation, these kings did not lose their temper or show any sense of chivalry; instead, they simply surrounded Goetia.

Powerful Heroic Spirit like Romulus hastily unleashed their Noble Phantasm, but they were all blocked by Goetia's anti-summoning ability. In the face of Goetia's anti-summoning ability, any attack from Heroic Spirit would be blocked and nullified.

At that time, Goetia didn't linger with them. He unleashed a barrage of Light Wheel, along with numerous auxiliary Magecraft, nearly pulverizing Chaldea before leaving. The Heroic Spirit, who were ready to fight him to the death, were completely bewildered.

Weber, known as the strategist of Chaldea and who usually serves as Ritsuka Fujimaru's mentor, noticed the problem and frowned in thought.

"What's wrong, Weber?"

"The young King of Conquerors asked."

"I just feel... something's fishy."

Weber addressed the King of Conquerors.

The other Heroic Spirit also looked at him and asked, "Is there something amiss with the strategist? Are you puzzled by Goetia's arrival here? As a Beast, he has the power to Independent Manifestation, so it's perfectly normal for him to come here."

"No, I care more about his purpose than why he was able to come."

"Purpose?"

Rameses II frowned.

Weber nodded. "What exactly is Goetia's purpose in leaving the Singularity through Independent Manifestation and coming to Chaldea via Ritsuka's summoning portal?"

"Ha, is that even a question? They're definitely planning to come and wipe out Chaldea in one fell swoop. He's the mastermind behind the Humanity Incineration, and we're the Restorers. It's perfectly normal for us to be hostile and antagonistic."

Cú Chulainn replied directly, "He's definitely here to eliminate us."

"It makes sense, but it's not correct."

Weber shook his head and continued, "Our current Master is in the Seventh Singularity. If he really wanted to destroy us and stop the Human Order Restoration, it would be much easier for him to storm Uruk and kill Ritsuka. And, although it's rude of me, after the appearance of another Master from another world—or rather, my senior brother—the existence of Ritsuka and Chaldea is no longer irreplaceable. After all, having lost his uniqueness, he can carry out the Human Order Restoration on his own."

During the Sixth Singularity, after hearing that Ritsuka Rovey summoned Weber from this world, Lovi asked Ritsuka to give him his regards and also instructed her to tell her how talented Ritsuka was and how Weber was a master of overtime, suggesting that she make him work overtime more often. This immediately made a deep impression on Rovey Weber.

He still had some insights into this senior from another world.

"Goetia naturally values his senior brother more, and from his appearance to his attack, he clearly had a chance to kill most people in one move, but he deliberately avoided attacking humans and gave Rameses II the opportunity to protect the others. So I find it strange, it's like, it's like..."

As Weber spoke, his eyes widened slightly, and the cigarette in his hand trembled and fell to the ground.

Not only him, but the other Heroic Spirit who were more strategically astute or good at reasoning also realized what was happening.

Holmes, in particular, after Rameses II released everyone, concluded immediately. "He's stalling! Or rather, clearing the area; Goetia doesn't want Chaldea involved."

"..."

Upon hearing this conclusion, even Dr. Roman and the others who had just been released were stunned, especially Dr. Roman, whose expression was extremely strange.

They didn't believe that Goetia would show mercy for no reason; his actions were naturally for a specific purpose, and that purpose itself was...

Just as the atmosphere became quiet, the Heroic Spirit of the technology team emerged one by one.

Especially Da Vinci, who conveyed an extremely ominous conclusion and message: "Although I know the atmosphere is somewhat heavy, most of Chaldea's functions have been forced to stop. Although we can still hold on with the remaining Holy Grail and not be completely worn down, I want to convey a message—"

"The cryo-hibernation pods located Chaldea have all been shut down. Although doctors like Nightingale and Sanson are working to save them, preventing their deaths, the remaining Master are in grave danger, and there has been a very strange research discovery."

"What?"

These are turbulent times, and Dr. Roman, who was already distressed by the attack on the Goetia command, looked even more peculiar after hearing Da Vinci's report.

In response, Da Vinci continued, "The condition of the Master in A-Team seems to be somewhat unexpected. Their bodies appear to have been repaired by an incomprehensible force, and the physical abilities of some of Master are so outrageous that they seem inhuman. I suspect that Goetia has some connection with them, so I suggest that we capture and control them first."

Roman pondered Da Vinci's suggestion, but did not hesitate in the slightest.

They directly approved Da Vinci's plan, sending Karna, Arjuna, Cú Chulainn, Siegfried —these top Servant— to imprison their hibernation pods to prevent A-Team from causing any trouble.

Roman didn't want to suspect anyone else, but Chaldea couldn't afford the risks now; all risks had to be nipped in the bud.

After the awakening of these few in A-Team, the most obedient and reliable Servant will be placed under their separate supervision. Holmes will then conduct private interrogations on them and check for any influence from Goetia. Only after confirming that there is nothing wrong will they be released.

Although doing so shows a lack of trust in A-Team, it doesn't matter. Dr. Roman never trusted A-Team in the first place, or rather, most Magus. As the former Magic King, doesn't he know the true nature of Magus? More than 90% of them can't be considered human.

After the problems in A-Team were resolved, it was time for emergency repairs. Chaldea had been largely destroyed by Goetia, and Roman had lost contact with Ritsuka. Without a doubt, Roman could guess how anxious Mash and Ritsuka were.

He immediately summoned Edison, Helena, and Tesla Da Vinci, the scientific side Heroic Spirit, to work together to repair the damage. As for him, while the group of Heroic Spirit felt uncomfortable and tense, he quietly took out his tablet computer, then skillfully opened True Magic Merry's live stream and sent a video request to Merry.

The Heroic Spirit who witnessed this scene initially wanted to angrily denounce Dr. Roman's absurdity—how could he still be indulging in virtual idols at a time like this? However, when they saw that Merlin and Merry were answering the call, and Uruk was on the other end of the video call, they all silently shut their mouths.

"???"

At a time when even a group of experts and scientists felt helpless, Dr. Roman demonstrated what it means to be truly capable through his actions.

--Even a shut-in can save the world.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the video, Ritsuka and Mash's familiar faces suddenly appeared.

At this moment, Uruk had just recovered, and Ritsuka, who had gone there specifically to help, was surprised to see Merlin establish contact with Dr. Roman.

But without any hesitation, she directly asked Roman what had happened, her tone filled with worry.

Roman didn't hide anything from Ritsuka's questions and told her everything, which made Mash and Ritsuka even more worried.

After all, Chaldea had just faced Goetia head-on.

However, Roman wasn't too upset about it.

Although Chaldea was bombed by Goetia after being bombed by Lev, this time there were zero casualties. Goetia's deliberate restraint made him feel relieved, realizing that Rovey was right, that Goetia could be saved, and that he was changing.

This brought Roman some comfort.