Chapter 95

However, there is something decisively different about its sword.

To confirm the true nature of that unease, in that instant—"time" completely stopped.

Amidst the golden radiance of tens of thousands of lightning bolts, only the colossal World Tree remained, thickly obscuring everything.

Moreover, belatedly realizing it, she found it hard to believe that Venus had actually abandoned her, the manager, and that her all-out attack had caused her no harm whatsoever.

Therefore, the Thunderbolt behind him should have formed Cross symbolizing the burden of sin.

"Goddess, and Little Calf, you should go back now."

Soon, in the form of an echo of sound, the 'moon' was born in the sky. It brushed past the sound that had reached the sky and gave birth to a 'phantom of the moon' of equal mass at an even faster speed.

In that instant, the Goddess saw the birth of the 'moon' in the golden sky, which was obscured by the World Tree.

High above, in the sealed-off uppermost part, countless illusory images of the moon shimmered.

The Goddess Ista and the Bull of Heaven already knew what that meant.

It was only by seeing this in this world of 'trials' that I realized it was the radiance of Judgment that brought despair.

With a delay of a few seconds, countless illusory moon shadows fell, like a waterfall of light, the radiance of death showering down upon them.

"What is this... This is too big a problem. How can human Ritual provide so much Od..."

Ishtar cursed bitterly and resentfully, forced to change course to follow the orbit of the approaching 'Venus' from high above.

Countless moons collided with a single Venus, resulting in a burst of starlight.

But she understood that it was only a matter of time... no, it was entirely a matter of the other party's mood. Her Authority were denied by so many Authority on the other side, and she was even rejected by Venus. She was simply beaten up for no reason.

Moreover, even with the protection of Authority, there's nothing that can be done. This Novia in front of you exudes an aura of death, enough to drag you into the Underworld the moment you make contact.

The next instant, Novia, who had merged the Spear of Albion with the Demonic Sword: True World, slowly spoke—

"Let me end you here."

Facing Novia, who was merely swinging her sword, it seemed as if they were worlds apart, as if she were joking around.

However, Ishtar's divine eyes saw it.

That tiny patch of air was filled with the concept that could cause the Goddess Ista to fall from the sky and meet her death.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it's a strike designed specifically to kill everything.

Why does he possess such a strange Holy Sword? How could this be? It didn't even exist in the Uruk era—

A surge of intense doubt rushed in before fear and Wrath could rise within her, making her want to risk everything to destroy this attack.

But it was all too late. The blow struck the Goddess's heart silently and spread rapidly throughout her body.

"You're strong, I admit that, but why isn't Venus working on you? I'm clearly the real manager..."

After a forced smile, the Goddess Ista's body began to fall. The wind, accompanied by distant thunder, blew from afar, but for Ista, whose senses were gradually becoming numb, it felt like she was in another world.

"... Fine, humans, remember your words: take care of this child and countless children like her..."

After that, silence followed.

After nodding to the Goddess's last words, Novia looked at the Bull of Heaven, who was driven mad by the Goddess's death and was extremely loyal to her, and summoned Typhon's body to devour it. As for Humbaba, he had already been destroyed by the Pale Rider and Hassan of the Phantom Valley earlier.

Thus, the first group to withdraw from this Holy Grail War was the True Berserker Group, along with Goddess and her pet Bull of Heaven, who originally sought Revenge against the King of Heroes and the Chains of Heaven.

178: Is Typhon the mother? (4k5)

On the highest floor of the building that served as the challenge, after the departure of the True Berserker Group and the Goddess Ista, endless Thunderbolt still lingered around, declaring war on all the Servant in this Holy Grail War.

Presumably, the remaining Servant already know from the power displayed by Ista and the Bull of Heaven that once they overcome the Thunderbolt, Novia, who is located within it, will engage in battle with them when both sides can unleash their Perfection power.

Novia believes that the remaining Servant will likely arrive as well, perhaps forming an alliance to challenge them.

"Wow, you're really amazing, Novia."

Having witnessed the whole thing, the blonde girl swiftly and, just like before, grabbed Novia by the waist without her consent, and said this to Novia with a bright smile, as if radiating the brightness of a flower and the glow of Fairy.

"You know, I really didn't want you to come here, because I couldn't have done anything about the kind of danger we just faced. Luckily, you're very capable." Sajyou Manaka tilted her head slightly and smiled, "But now, I'm actually a little scared."

"Fear?"

Novia was somewhat puzzled by the scope of the question.

"Because I thought you were really cool, Novia, just now. I really want to see you more. It wouldn't be impossible for the Age of Gods to make a complete comeback."

"... The return of the Age of Gods, that's not a good thing. Aika, you shouldn't think like that, it's not a good thing."

The silver-haired youth gave a genuine and sincere response.

"I don't care, if you want to convince me to give up this idea, then—" Sajyou Manaka's cheeks suddenly flushed red, and she puffed out her cheeks awkwardly, "Give me a reward, um, a reward as your Master."

Right now, Sajyou Manaka is like a teenage 'beautiful girl' who, knowing there's absolutely no danger, decides to enjoy her entire vacation to the fullest and go on dates in nice places.

In the eyes of Melusine, who had transformed into a gun, this Sajyou Manaka truly embodied that kind of emotion, and even deliberately imitated her in using this method to get Novia to agree to her request.

It's alright that Novia throws herself at him like that; after all, she's just a weakling who doesn't deserve our attention.

What really annoyed Melusine was why, when the Bull of Heaven was defeated, Novia sent Typhon's mecha instead of her real body, Albion... And why did she have other weapons besides using her?!

Although the cold wasn't enough to frighten the Strongest Dragon, it still felt warm when Novia held it. She quietly pondered how to persuade Novia to discard the sword, because—

If the "Unique Dragon" tag is no longer available, does that mean the "Unique Weapon" tag is also gone?

Damn it, I must make Novia agree to 'give me a day' later, and then I'll find an opportunity to explore the 'only' possibility.

Oh right, the tag 'only younger sister' is really good.

Speaking of which, that sword seemed to be the Primordial Sacred Sword, but it didn't seem to be, because it had some black patterns on it, as well as the conceptual ability to bring back the Age of Gods... Although Melusine believed that she was indeed the strongest, this sword, with this ability, barely caught her eye.

"Phew, thank goodness, it's just a sword, not some kind of incarnation."

Melusine finally breathed a sigh of relief, but was immediately silenced by Typhon's words, who was now in armor.

"Hmm, this sword... Is Meli coming?"

In Typhon's view, the Magus of Flowers was a creature who treated her well and was also quite trusted by Avia; otherwise, he wouldn't have let her bring him out in the first place.

"... Huh? Typhon, who is this Meli you're talking about? Is she a man or a woman?"

Upon hearing this name, Melusine had a very bad feeling. To put it another way, she felt extremely uncomfortable, as if even if she slept with Novia, this girl named Meli would still secretly do something.

"Hmm, Meli's Fairy, Nightmare... no, she should be called Succubus. This sword is in her possession." Typhon, noticing Melusine's increasingly grim expression, continued, though puzzled, "By the way, even though it's a lie, she loves to claim she's Avia's sister."

With each word Typhon uttered, Melusine felt a growing pressure; just Typhon speak made her feel that a challenger comparable to Nero was approaching.

Originally, in the Strongest Dragon's mind, Typhon was an idiot, Sajyou Manaka was an old man, Sion was... well, it's hard to describe, Nero was as shameless as her. Most importantly, even as the strongest, she had to admit that Nero's part that attracted gravity was the largest among them.

Perhaps it was Melusine's words that suddenly brought back memories for Typhon, causing her to forget her initial displeasure upon learning that Avia had someone else besides her. She then continued:

"Oh, right, and there's Altrouge Brunestud. Although she's a hybrid of Dead Apostle and True Ancestor, she looks similar to us. And there's Attila, she has brown skin... We should all mate with Avia. It's really annoying being with you, Albion."

Hearing this, forcibly suppressing her displeasure, Melusine looked at the dumbfounded Typhon and said 'calmly':

"Typhon, no matter how you look at it, you're still the same as ever, incredibly stupid! Ugh, why don't you just die of stupidity already!"

"..."

Typhon fell silent, as if Melusine's sarcasm had worked. Just when Melusine felt that Typhon was as stupid as ever.

Typhon, who had been transformed into the Novia Armor, suddenly reverted to Humanoid.

So, as Sajyou Manaka's cheeks flushed red and she awkwardly puffed out her cheeks, wanting Novia to kiss her, the red-haired girl reached past her and hugged Novia's waist. Then, her originally dazzling golden eyes and somewhat terrifying crimson eyes both showed a wronged expression.

"Aaaaaah, Avia, Albion insulted me! She bullied me again! Waaaaah, she's always trying to intimidate me with her strength!"

Typhon wailed as he pointed at Melusine had instantly returned to Humanoid.

The silver-haired dragon girl gritted her teeth in anger. She had never imagined that this fool Typhon would pull such a trick on her.

What's going on? Shouldn't only I be able to use moves like this?! How did Typhon become so smart?

"Okay, okay, it's not a big problem."

Although Typhon was very good at disguising himself, Novia was not stupid. From her observations over the past few days, she had seen that although Albion always had the upper hand in Typhon's interactions with Albion would at most say a few words Typhon is an idiot." However, given her limited vocabulary, that was the most vicious thing she could think of, or she would just keep repeating "I am the strongest."

"It's true, she insulted me--"

"She just called you an idiot, right?"

Novia helplessly stroked Typhon's long red hair.

"Yes, they're calling me an idiot, but I'm not an idiot! I am the Progenitor of All Demons in Greece, the Primordial Dragon, the Primordial Dragon, a dragon born from the Godslaying."

Typhon, growing increasingly smug, glanced at Melusine with a provocative look.

"... Heh." Melusine seemed angered by Typhon's behavior, and suddenly said expressionlessly, "I wonder what Echidna would think. By the way, what should Typhon call you... Hundred-Headed Dragon Ladon Hydra Father? Wow, you're really something, Cerberus. You truly deserve to be Typhon the Progenitor of All Demons, Nemean Lion Primordial Dragon Orthrus, the Primordial Dragon Chimera, the Sphinx born from the Godslaying Scylla."

"... No, no, no, I don't recognize any of that. Those were just accidental data transfers, erroneous data. It has nothing to do with me. I don't know them, I really don't know them, and I'm not familiar with them. It's just... that's just..."

"Okay, okay, you don't know Typhon, but I do."

Novia could only offer this consolation to Typhon, who was genuinely moved to tears by Melusine's words.

"I really wasn't close enough with Echidna to the point of touching her... I've never done anything so uninhibited in front of her, I've never spoken to her that close, and I've never smiled at her with that kind of expression... Waaaaah, it's true, I really really... Besides, Avia, you've already made a promise to me and done all that, you have to take responsibility..."

"I know, and I've said it many times. I will take responsibility."

At the same time, Novia suddenly felt a little confused, because it felt like a long time since any Servant had come here since the Goddess Ista.

In his view, aside from a few Servant who might not be able to overcome the Thunderbolt, Servant like Gilgamesh and Alcides should be able to.

But Novia soon noticed something: Gilgamesh's presence had vanished.

The time was the moment Novia summoned the Primordial Sacred Sword.

In that foreign land that has accompanied human history, yet is completely unrelated to it— Avalon.

In that desolate, uninhabited land, on the riverbank of the Island at the World's End.

The buildings, formed from thick rocks rising from the ground, have no Ceiling, making them seem like towers without roofs.

The vertical walls stretch endlessly, within which resides the Magecraft flower that the inhabitants have waited for for many years—a paradise cage divided into sections, covering an area of approximately five square meters.

From the very center of the stone tower, through the only window, Meli gazed at the flower, and from it came a gentle spring breeze, a paradise filled with the fragrance of flowers, a breeze that seemed to melt even the frozen sea.

She shouldn't have been imprisoned, because in the White-Haired Goddess Fairy's mind, Avalon represented 'the ideal Future in the hearts of mankind'.

Therefore, they will not seal off Avalon, where they reside, but rather designate it as an end point open to humanity.

The magic wand waved by the Magus of Flowers will always shine brightly at the far end of time; that light is the very 'hope' that drives people to run around.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it." Meli sighed. "Who told Vivian to be so stingy? All I did was make her unable to wield the Primordial Sacred Sword, so I had to recreate the Mimic Holy Sword. The effects are pretty much the same anyway, and the main problem isn't even with me."

The lake Fairy is the shimmering light of water, like a kaleidoscope with countless facets. One of her facets, as Vivian, is extremely displeased with Meli's actions. Therefore, this is the truth Bounded Field, and its purpose seems to be to prevent her from leaving the tower for the rest of her life.

The White-Haired Girl knew it was a trap but still stepped into it because she felt that as long as she was from the same era, she could see the whole world no matter where she was.

So she thought, well, let's just leave it at that. Anyway, I don't like dreaming about anyone other than that person.

Although the girl was originally a being detached from the world, she was now truly excluded completely.

Like a forgotten dream, she will never be called upon again, nor will she die. Even if Meli is regarded as a hero, she will not be relied upon as Heroic Spirit, since she is not dead yet, and even the end of death has passed.

The absolute condition for summoning Heroic Spirit, whether in the past or the Future, is that only those who accept death become the foundation of humanity. As for the Protection, although they are also souls residing on thrones, they are summoned by people's despair.

Therefore, she can't go anywhere now, but that's not entirely a bad thing.

For example, when he later gave some pointers to the white-feathered girl named Bradamante who served under Carl the Great, he was just as happy as he was when he guided the King of Knights Artoria in the past... So, this is quite an interesting way of life.

It is precisely because of her human perspective, her human Flesh, and the things that flow in her blood that the girl with the Nightmare bloodline acquired such values.

In recent years, perhaps it was a sudden whim, perhaps a desire to have some fun, or perhaps for some other reason.

In short, this is what Meli said to the White Demon Hound:

"Get lost, Three-Eyed Cat! I can't afford to feed you anymore. You're practically as fat as a pig. Go back to your real owner. Oh, and I suggest you lose some weight before you go back, or your owner might stew you..."

Meli stood up in her excitement, while the White Demon Hound at her feet ran around in a panic.

"Ahem, don't get excited. What I mean is, I'm fine here. You're free to go and experience truly beautiful things."

Then he threw the White Demon Hound out of the tower.

"Oh dear, that wretched Vivian! It's clearly your fault for mismanaging things, why are you blaming me for taking the Holy Sword? Besides, I got it back, didn't I? Sometimes you should think about whether you're not trying hard enough. After all these years, why can't you still lift the Holy Sword?"