The giant hand fell, simply slapping the ground.
A blast of air erupted from beneath Tiamat's palm, sweeping up the black mud under her claws and raising it into a—towering tidal wave.
Annanu and Enkidu held hands as chains shot out from Enkidu's side. This time, however, their targets were not the Demonic Beasts, but several allies whose conditions seemed off.
Zi Juan was already gravely wounded and on the verge of death, while Nanshe looked to be in extraordinary pain as well.
Annanu gritted her teeth and, together with Enkidu, pulled the three of them back, glancing at Tiamat in the process.
They had been routed once again, and that black mud—
Splash—
The black mud obscured the light emitted by Garula Ling as it crashed down toward them.
Fortunately, Annanu and Enkidu were fast enough to narrowly evade it.
But the tidal wave would not stop because of that.
The wave crashed down into the "lake" formed from black mud. Its tremendous force drove up another wave, which continued surging outward, toward where everyone stood.
Before Annanu and Enkidu could bring the others down onto the high ground, the shadow of the tidal wave behind them was already about to crash over them.
That pitch-black wave was a sight of absolute, terrifying despair.
"Mash, prepare to release—" Fujimaru Ritsuka had been waiting for Annanu and Enkidu to return. The instant they landed, he immediately shouted orders at Mash.
Mash's Noble Phantasm was the only means of keeping everyone safe beneath that terrifying tidal wave!
Mash had already begun gathering magical energy, and light was starting to bloom in her eyes—
"Wait—"
Suddenly, a voice came from above them.
Fujimaru Ritsuka instinctively looked up.
Fou, perched on his shoulder, abruptly became alert, his originally adorable expression turning into a