Chapter 528

But that is Tiamat, the Goddess of Creation, without a doubt.

The womb, discarded after creation, serves as the soil for nurturing life.

Although mythology says she was killed by the gods, the truth is slightly different.

She was abandoned—by the entire world (her children) she had given birth to.

Ritsuka noticed that Goddess Tiamat, standing on the sea, was bound hand and foot like a mummy.

"Yes, Goddess Tiamat is unable to move freely... Now is the opportunity!"

The group quickly descended.

"Aaaaaaa, aaaaaaa!"

"!!"

The pterosaur began to lurch in flight, and the girls riding on it felt as if their hearts were being squeezed.

"My body... I can't move...!?"

"Oh no! A massive magical reaction is occurring inside Goddess Tiamat! Its power surpasses that of a hydrogen bomb!"

The voice of Da Vinci reached my ears.

"If it were released as a cannonball, it could blast Uruk away from there!"

"No... it's too dangerous to get any closer! Leave this to me!"

Ishtar stopped the group that still intended to continue descending.

With her black hair flowing freely, Venus, the goddess of Venus, exuded a confident expression.

She glanced at the red-haired boy behind her.

You'd better watch my performance carefully, Shirou ~?

Ishtar gracefully raised her jade-like arm.

"Open the gate!"

With the release of Authority, the sky, now under the goddess's control, opened up like a zipper, creating a rift hundreds of meters long.

What emerged from that crack was a dazzling starry sky, completely different from the dark, cloud-covered sky above.

A massive, golden celestial body slowly descended.

That was the Noble Phantasm the goddess Ishtar possessed when she was summoned as an archer.

In Sumer mythology, Ishtar's most "destructive" and "cruel" act was...

The legendary Noble Phantasm that ravaged Mount Ebih, a sacred peak revered even by the King of Gods, and wiped out the entire mountain, was created with just the phrase "I just didn't like it."

Mesopotamian Mythology states:

Ishtar stormed into the Mount Ebih, increasing his divine power with each step he took. In the end, he even grabbed the summit of the mountain range and thrust his spear into the heart of the earth's veins, causing the Mount Ebih to collapse completely.

Ishtar used her authority as the goddess of Venus to take possession of the conceptual celestial body.

At this moment, the concept of Venus transformed into a bullet from the goddess, which was then loaded into the magazine of the Sky Ark Maanna and launched.

Ishtar raised her right arm, her slender fingertips aiming at the singing Goddess Tiamat—

"Crush it! An Gal Ta Kigal She (an gal ta kigal she)!!"

That was the heat that connected the sky and the sea.

A Noble Phantasm fired from the bow of the Sky Ark Ship pierced directly through the dark ocean, and needless to say, it also engulfed the body of Goddess Tiamat.

"Amazing! It's a success...! Confirmation that Tiamat's spirit base in the sea has collapsed!"

Romani Archman checked the various indicators on the instruments. "The Mana Furnace has stopped too! Ishtar's attack defeated Goddess Tiamat along with the mud!"

"We... won?"

"Hmm. Now all we have to do is wait for the seawater to return to normal and retrieve the Holy Grail, and the mission will be complete!"

"Very good..."

Exhausted, Ishtar breathed a sigh of relief.

Maanna's physical form was deactivated, Shirou quickly stepped forward to hug her.

Mother... was she just defeated like that?

Amidst the surrounding celebrations, the boy couldn't help but frown.

He simply couldn't be so optimistic, and used his fingers to block the lips of the goddess in his arms that were about to steal a kiss.

"Ishtar..."

"Ugh... Wh-what?! I just wanted a kiss on the cheek, what's wrong with that?! I tried so hard just now!"

"Hold on tight, we're getting ready to run away."

"Huh?"

The next instant, ripples suddenly appeared on the sea directly in front of them.

"Earthquake!?"

"It's not an earthquake, it's Spacetime Quake."

Shirou's premonition was confirmed, and he immediately shouted to the girls behind him who were chatting about what to eat for dinner.

"The real Goddess Tiamat is coming! What we just defeated was only her mind!"

That was the last vestige of self-restraint left by my mother; now those shackles have been broken.

Driven by the instinct for revenge, the beastii, Tiamat is coming!

"!!!"

Ritsuka and Quetzalcoatl moved away from their original positions without hesitation, both of them taking Shirou's trust for granted.

As soon as they left that airspace, the calm, dark sea was suddenly filled with huge waves.

Waves easily exceeding 100 meters are a phenomenon that would be impossible to exist in Earth's environment.

As the waves receded, everyone saw—the shadow of the evil dragon standing on the sea.

"Confirmed Spirit Origin reconstruction..."

No, it's a transformation from diffusion to a megastructure, which involves an increase in scale...

Impossible! How could such a creature exist? It's not even a living being anymore. This is... this is...

"A mobile biological factory, with magical power sufficient for intergalactic travel measured in hundreds of thousands of years."

Then, the vast amount of original genetic information stored within its body... that was the Tree of Life System that gave birth to Earth's civilization.

Shirou calmly stated, "In science fiction movies, after Earth's resources are exhausted, all of humanity uses its wisdom and unity to build an interstellar mothership..."

The ark of hope carrying the seeds of human civilization—that is the true face of Tiamat, the Mother of Origin.

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!!"

The song of the Goddess of Creation was like a roar that tore the heavens and earth apart, summoning a tsunami.

"The ocean observation post... was swallowed up in an instant..."

Mash stared in disbelief. "The waves haven't stopped; they're continuing to erode Uruk..."

"That's right, it was intentional! She intends to continue down this path and devour Uruk!"

"Ah, Tiamat is moving... She can actually move!? With that weight, that enormous body!?"

"Gurgle..."

Ishtar looked distressed. "To be honest, although we're saved, what are we going to do next!?"

"We have no choice but to retreat now."

Quetzalcoatl gazed at the dragon body of the Goddess of Creation and spoke.

"Quetzal! You, as the supreme god of South America, even with your Noble Phantasm Coatl, cannot defeat Tiamat?" Dr. Roman asked.

"..."

Quetzal Coatl shook his head.

"Yes, it's cruel to give you expectations, so I have to make this clear."

Even with Ishtar's Authority, even using any means currently available in Mesopotamia, it would be impossible to harm the Goddess Tiamat in the slightest.

"... Really? Thank you, I understand now."

Romani Archaman and Shirou exchanged a glance, then Romani Archaman, in his capacity as the Chaldea commander, spoke:

"Fujimaru, I understand you're unwilling, but let's retreat here!"

Return to Uruk immediately and reunite with King Gilgamesh! Since we are helpless on our own, we must gather our forces!

So, the group headed towards Uruk along with the black tide.

Inside the Tower of Uruk, soldiers are reporting the latest developments to Gilgamesh.

"The Black Mud has engulfed the City of Kisur and is spreading towards Umma and Uruk!"

It was like black flames; the walls of City of Umma couldn't stop it at all! What should we do...?

Gilgamesh rose from his throne. "That's enough reporting... Siduri, prepare to set sail!"

"Yes!"

The high priest arrived at the watchtower and fired the signal flare in his hand.

Several kilometers away, the pitch-black primordial tide engulfed everything around it, surging straight toward City of Uruk.

That momentum was simply unstoppable.

Even City of Uruk, which has repeatedly repelled hordes of Magical Beast, is so insignificant in the face of natural disasters.

However--

When the waves raged near Uruk, countless enormous beast teeth suddenly emerged from the plains.

The neat and dense array of animal teeth acted like a dam, blocking and diverting the raging tide.

"The Nabistine's Fang"

The final defensive fortifications that King Gilgamesh secretly built during these six months.

In the distant past, Mesopotamia was once destroyed by a great flood.

Having foreseen the impending natural disaster, the king naturally considered the need to address that possibility.

Originally, I was just gambling, but I never expected that this "weapon against the great flood" would actually come in handy.

City of Uruk managed to survive, temporarily escaping destruction.

That said, the impact of the Black Mud still caused massive damage to the fortifications.

Although Gilgamesh had ordered craftsmen and soldiers to begin repairs as quickly as possible, it would likely be difficult to withstand the next wave of damage.

Moreover, Tiamat herself will arrive in Uruk in about ten hours.

As the Wise King Gilgamesh rubbed his nose and sat back on his throne, Shirou and his party arrived at the Divine Tower.

Welcome back, everyone.

Siduri took over the situation from the exhausted Gilgamesh.

When Ritsuka and the others heard the news that Kingu had died protecting Siduri and Shirou, they all showed expressions of utter shock.

"So, Mr. Shirou, what do you look like now...?"

Shirou glanced at the chains and divine runes wrapped around his body and nodded solemnly.

Da Vinci analyzed. "It inherited the divine power of Enkidu, the strongest weapon in Mesopotamian Mythology..."

Shirou now can be called "Mythical Mythical Attire: Shirou Amamiya"... Hmm, how interesting!!

It might sound trivial, but the fusion of humans and Divine Construct Weapon... is that even possible?