"If so, we can buy ourselves a little more time."
Annanu let out a sigh of relief and lowered his hand.
From the very beginning, his goal had not been to inflict sufficient damage on Tiamat—that was unrealistic. Annanu's goal was simply to delay Tiamat's advance toward Uruk.
Tiamat was still sprawled on the ground. She could not get back up immediately; only once the black mud had gathered beneath her feet again would Tiamat be able to stand.
Annanu descended to the ground, turned around, and smiled as he waved to Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others.
"You... you're really ruthless..." Two drops of cold sweat hung over Ishtar's head as she silently wiped them away.
"What are you so scared of?" Annanu flew back and landed on the ground. With his back to the fallen Tiamat, he looked at Ishtar speechlessly. "It's not like I can deal with you right now."
The black mud beneath Tiamat surged forth like a mighty tide. She was not far from getting back on her feet.
"Wh-Who said I was scared? I..." Ishtar continued to put on a brave front.
"Stop talking and get moving." Annanu rolled his eyes and took to the air.
He turned back to look at Tiamat, who was getting up.
"My Noble Phantasm can be unleashed repeatedly, but it's meaningless against Tiamat. Using it twice at crucial moments will be enough. If I use it too often, I might provoke Tiamat instead."
"And..."
Annanu sighed.
"I can't guarantee that the Mother Goddess only has the ability to move because of the black mud."
"If I keep knocking her down and make her realize that she can no longer approach Uruk by relying on the black mud, who knows whether she might develop some other means of movement?"
Annanu