[World-level Quest: Assist Uruk in slaying Tiamat. Reward: Crowned Spirit Core]
Lan Ze fell silent for a long time.
"Are you kidding me?" His voice was frighteningly calm.
"Host, the system does not joke," a cold, emotionless mechanical voice rang out.
[Quest requirements: Join forces with King Gilgamesh, the three goddesses, and Chaldea's Master to slay Tiamat and protect Humanity's Order after the Crowned Assassin delivers a crowned strike. Reward: Crowned Spirit Core]
The interface popped up again, as if urging him on.
Lan Ze's fists clenched tightly of their own accord, and he gritted his teeth. "Go to hell."
"Host, the system has no mother," the emotionless mechanical voice replied.
"Didn't you promise to seal her Spirit Core away tomorrow?" he suddenly whispered.
"That can only be done under the condition of her own free will. The current Beast will not submit to a Spirit Core seal."
After the system's mechanical voice faded, another box popped up in front of Lan Ze's eyes.
[Quest requirements: Join forces with King Gilgamesh, the three goddesses, and Chaldea's Master to slay Tiamat and protect Humanity's Order after the Crowned Assassin delivers a crowned strike. Reward: Crowned Spirit Core]
Lan Ze did not move, but that box popped up endlessly like a death warrant. The system even automatically generated a magic barrier around him, cutting off all sounds and the sensation of the earthquake.
[Quest requirements: Join forces with King Gilgamesh, the three goddesses, and Chaldea's Master to resolve Tiamat and protect Humanity's Order after the Crowned Assassin delivers a crowned strike. Reward: Crowned Spirit Core]
"Abandon the quest," Lan Ze whispered.
"The quest rank is world-level. If you abandon the quest, your luck will drop to E within a year, and your magic power will be completely cleared upon leaving the game. Please consider carefully, Host."
Lan Ze raised his head and gazed at the vaguely visible gigantic figure outside the city gates. The moment before, he had still been in a daze, but now his eyes were surprisingly calm. He only softly said, "Abandon the quest."
"Host, my suggestion is to follow the script. The quest rewards are abundant, and the reward of a Crowned Spirit Core is not something that appears every time—"
"I just said—"
Lan Ze punched and shattered the magic barrier, suddenly lifting his eyelids. An unquenchable fire seemed to burn within those golden pupils.
"Abandon the quest."
At this very moment, inside the city of Uruk, residents walked out of their houses one after another, looking up at the Beast outside the city that was even larger than the city walls.
That massive physique spread outward accompanied by a destructive aura. Sparks akin to blacksmithing fluttered all around, and Tiamat's scarlet pupils had already lost their former gentleness. With every step she took, the entire earth trembled along with her.
A massive surge suddenly rolled upward... No, that was not a surge, but the Sea of Life, Tiamat's authority. Any life that fell into the Sea of Life would undergo unconditional life modification and become "Children of Beast II".
To be precise, they were not Tiamat's children, but Children of Beast II.
Those swallowed by the Sea of Life would all be corrupted, obeying Tiamat's will to destroy this land.
Yet at that moment, that massive Sea of Life appeared out of thin air, gathering together like the black mud in the Holy Grail, covering Tiamat's surroundings and forming layer upon layer of protective shields.
Ripple-like pitch-black waves surged on the surfaces of those shields, dancing and leaping jubilantly around Tiamat as if cheering for this awakened "mother".
"...The Sea of Life." Merlin looked at the pitch-black waves with a grave expression, turned his head, and shouted, "Everyone, retreat as far as possible! Do not touch that black mud!"
"!@＃￥%...＆"
Just as Merlin's voice fell, a sound that gave everyone goosebumps suddenly rang in their ears.
They raised their heads and discovered extremely disgusting creatures appearing before the city gates. Those were Lahmu, and some of had even crawled up onto the city gates. Just taking a first glance at their bizarre shapes made one's heart skip a beat.
Swish.
The sound of a massive wave rolled in from high above, and the people raised their heads to look. The Sea of Life was already slowly spreading, the pitch-black waves obscuring the sun and even the golden wheel of light.
Tiamat's terrifying power, which blotted out the sky, was gradually manifesting at this moment. The battle with Gorgon was truly just the tip of the iceberg, and even the current Tiamat had not yet used her full strength.
Yet this world-extinction-class power alone was already despair-inducing.
If Tiamat had not maintained a shred of rationality at the end, and if she had not distanced herself as far as possible from Uruk, the entire city might have already been annihilated by now.
"Hey! What's happening up there? Hey~!"
At that moment, a crisp and pleasant shout suddenly came from a mirror in Siduri's hand. Several people cast their gazes toward the mirror, only to see Ereshkigal currently situated within the Underworld. She was gazing at everyone with a blank expression, anxiety written across her face.
"What happened?"
"Goddess Tiamat... has awakened." Siduri's simple sentence plunged Ereshkigal into a brief daze.
After a long while, Ereshkigal murmured, "How could this be...?"
"Where is Lan Ze? Where is Lan Ze?!" she suddenly raised her head and asked.
"Why don't I see him?"
"Senior is right here—" Just as Mashu reached this point, she suddenly and astonishingly discovered that Lan Ze, who had been right beside them just moments ago, had already vanished without a trace.
"He's outside the city gates," Merlin suddenly said in a low voice.
The gazes of several people turned toward outside the city gates at almost the exact same time. The Lahmu were cheering and clamoring not far outside the city, eagerly trying to pounce into the city, yet they stopped just before reaching the gates.
All the Lahmu stared at Lan Ze without moving a muscle, and slowly, even the cheering fell completely silent.
With the Blessing of the Creation Mother Goddess, Lan Ze carried a dense aura of Tiamat upon his body. In the eyes of these Lahmu, Lan Ze was not a human, but one of Tiamat's children, and even an intimately close relative.
In the eyes of these creatures, Lan Ze was second only to Tiamat. Now that this person was standing before the city gates, they did not dare to approach at all.
"What on earth is he trying to do...?" Siduri looked up at the young man before the city gates, her eyes filled with shock.
Even the High Priestess who had remained by Gilgamesh's side for many years found this scene hard to believe. None of these Lahmu possessed strength inferior to a Servant's, yet right now, all of them did not dare to draw near lightly because of a single person. They stood motionless outside the city gates as though they had turned into sculptures.
Rumble!
At that very moment, the Sea of Life surrounding Tiamat suddenly formed a massive tsunami, sweeping over in an overwhelming deluge.
"Lan Ze, come back quickly!" Ishtar screamed. She rode Ma'anna, but could only watch helplessly from outside the Sea of Life.
Even as the Goddess of Heaven, it was impossible for her to approach the Sea of Life casually.
Yet as that pitch-black mud swept toward Lan Ze in an overwhelming torrent, Lan Ze still stood independently before the city gates. He merely grasped Excalibur and stepped forward.
The next instant, golden points of light quietly diffused all around, being frantically drained of their magic power by this Star Sacred Sword. Afterward, the holy sword radiated a brilliant radiance that seemed capable of dispelling the darkness.
This holy sword was not unsealed, but when that single sword stroke fell, it forcefully cleaved apart the surging pitch-black waves.
When all was said and done, what made the Sea of Life most terrifying was not its own offensive power, but the fact that it assimilated people into Tiamat's children.
However, when the Sea of Life swallowed Lan Ze, the holy sword in his hand sliced open the pitch-black waves the very next instant. Even though black mud splattered onto his body, he was not assimilated at all, as if the Sea of Life were completely ineffective against him.
"The Sea of Life didn't affect him...?" Merlin murmured, his eyes filled with disbelief as he stared at Lan Ze.
Then, watching Lan Ze walk toward Tiamat, he finally understood what on earth this fellow wanted to do, and muttered in shock, "He's going to Tiamat's side?"
"We have to stop him—" Just as Merlin's voice fell, Ishtar's calm voice came through.
"Let him go."
Merlin raised an eyebrow inadvertently. "This is gambling with Humanity's Order. Once he is assimilated by Goddess Tiamat, those Lahmu at the gates will instantly swarm into the city, and by then..."
Although he did not continue, everyone clearly understood the implication of Merlin's words.
Since these Lahmu feared Lan Ze, he should be left to stall them. During this time, they could open the gates of the Underworld, lure Tiamat into the Underworld, and then send her back to the Imaginary Number World.
However, Ishtar's tone remained casual. "So what does the aftermath have to do with me?"
This arrogant and overbearing goddess snorted. "I never appeared to save Humanity's Order in the first place. On one side is Humanity's Order, and on the other is my mother and my Divine Messenger..."
She cast a faint glance at Merlin. "Which side to help is not something you need to teach me."
Ereshkigal in the mirror raised her shimmering eyes to look at Ishtar, then let out a small sob once more.
To think this fellow would have such a dashing side... she sighed inwardly in self-derision.
Merlin scratched his head in some distress and instinctively looked toward Gilgamesh.
"King..."
The power of decision now rested in Gilgamesh's hands. If he decided to stop Lan Ze, he would drag him back with all his might regardless of whether Lan Ze was willing or not.
At this very moment, Gilgamesh was quietly gazing at Tiamat's massive form, and then his line of sight fell upon the youth holding a sword as he walked alone toward Tiamat.
After a brief silence, he slowly closed his eyes.
Without a doubt, this decision would influence the direction of the future, and this power of decision now lay in Gilgamesh's hands. If he failed, it would become a lifelong humiliation for him.
Merlin's suggestion was the optimal plan: bring Lan Ze back, buy time, liberate the Underworld, and send Tiamat back to the Imaginary Number World as much as possible.
However—
The so-called optimal plan was actually proceeding according to the King of Magecraft's scheme.
Right from the start, he had been peeking at all of this from the shadows. The sudden attack, the sudden disappearance—it was as if everything had been determined by a high-and-mighty god.
And what Gilgamesh loathed and resented the most were those high-and-mighty gods.
Whether it was the gods of Uruk in the past, or that bastard currently masquerading as a god.
Amidst the gazes of everyone converging upon him, Gilgamesh slowly opened his scarlet pupils. His voice was unusually calm, yet it possessed a heart-stirring magic power.
He merely said—
"Assist Lan Ze with all your might to break through the Sea of Life."
Before you continue