"I'm not the same as you."
Standing in an open clearing, Kingu murmured to herself.
Within nearly a hundred meters around her, countless weapons jutted up from the earth. Black sludge smeared the ground in every direction, revealing the true nature of what had fought her here.
And all around them, many grotesque creatures still lingered—yet none dared advance. Instead, they stared at the green-haired girl in fear.
"Why… Kingu… still… able… to move? Clearly… core… already taken…"
Kingu's mouth twitched, as if she meant to smile, but the agony tearing through her body made even that simple motion impossible.
"You're a weapon. Everything you are—feelings included—is offered only to your creator. Compared to that, I'm far more unfit than you."
Giving up on forcing an expression, Kingu continued speaking softly to herself.
"But I'm different. I betrayed my creator and chose another master. That was my own decision. From a weapon's perspective, it's outright treason."
"Hisss… Don't be afraid! She's alone—badly hurt—weak! Kill!"
Spurred on by one of their number, the monsters hesitantly began to inch forward.
"Even so, I've never once regretted it or wavered," Kingu said, still showing no tension at the monsters closing in despite how close she was to being unable to move. "Once you've chosen someone, giving them everything—handing over all that you are—isn't that a wonderful thing?"
"I believed in her. I gave her everything I had, feelings included. And she's never betrayed that trust. Even now—when she could have let go and walked away—she's still honoring the promise between us."
A monster sprang, launching itself straight at Kingu.
In the next instant, violet bombardment rained down from the sky and swallowed everything.
"Then what about you, Kingu?"
Only a gentle voice remained, echoing here.
...
"Is it finally over…?"
A girl with two great horns, long pale-blue hair, and dreamy, star-bright eyes let out a faint, mournful cry—then slowly sank into the black sea.
Watching that, Ritsuka exhaled in relief. Yet for some reason, a thin sadness rippled through her chest.
Following Kingu's hint, what she'd found here was a monster throwing the Holy Grail into a sea that had turned pitch-black—and that girl, as though bound in place—
The Mother Goddess, Tiamat.
And then they defeated her.
"Saint Graph has shattered. Tiamat's reaction is confirmed gone. Once the sea returns to normal and we recover the Holy Grail, the mission is complete."
In the communicator, Dr. Romani's voice sounded heavy. He'd finally repaired the sensor system, but with the blatant Ouroboros spell still spread over Uruk's skies, he could only restrict the scan range to the surrounding area—and there wasn't even a trace of joy in his tone despite the victory.
"…She didn't resist at all," Mash murmured. "She accepted our attacks—like she was handing her life to us."
"If those monsters hadn't brought the Holy Grail here… maybe she would've just stayed quietly in this sea," Ritsuka said.
"Even if that were true, the result would be the same." Quetzal shook her head. "That divinity, simply by existing, poses an infinite threat to humanity. Whatever the cause or hidden circumstances, defeating her was necessary."
At that moment, the entire world began to shudder violently.
"What is it, Doctor?" Ritsuka asked, panic rising as Mash helped her steady her footing.
"I knew it—of course it wouldn't be that easy… Confirming Saint Graph reconstruction—wait, the scale of existence is expanding, this… How can something like this exist in the world? This isn't a living creature anymore, this is—"
"The sea level is rising! It's already flooding the shoreline! And it's continuing to erode deliberately—its target is Uruk!"
Before Romani could finish, Da Vinci cut in, voice hard and urgent.
"Get on the winged dinosaur!"
Quetzal summoned her mount and waved them on, and by a hair's breadth they escaped the surging black tide.
From the earlier readings, that black tide could overwrite any living thing it touched using Tiamat's own power—a chaotic tide made manifest by divine Authority.
In short, touching it would mean nothing good. The most likely outcome was becoming a monster like the ones they'd fought.
And then—
"Aaaaaaa——"
A voice rose, almost like singing, and filled the world.
A colossal silhouette suddenly emerged from the black sea.
It was, broadly speaking, the girl who'd just sunk beneath the surface—except her palette had shifted from bright blue to a dark, blood-red, and she'd been magnified hundreds of times over.
"I see—so the Tiamat we just fought was only the 'mind body,' and this is the true form?! Everyone, withdraw immediately!"
Romani's frantic voice crackled through the communicator.
"That is a genuine monster—an ambulatory, living factory. Inside it is enough magical energy to support interstellar travel, along with an immense store of life-seeds…"
A mix of awe and dread bled into his murmured words.
"An Ark of the gods—something humanity shouldn't reach for another few hundred years… Is this truly Tiamat's real body? Quetzal, on your side—"
"Impossible. I'll say it plainly so you don't cling to false hope," Quetzal snapped. "With a body that size, I can't even use the wrestling techniques I'm best at. And even my true Authority and Noble Phantasm—no, even if you add Ishtar's power, even if you throw in every method Mesopotamia possesses—none of it would so much as scratch this Tiamat. Not even a little!"
"…I see."
Romani fell silent for a beat, then raised his voice and issued orders.
"Retreat immediately. Return to Uruk and rendezvous with King Ophis. We're out of options on our own. For now, gather every bit of fighting strength we can and reassess!"
Ritsuka's expression tightened. She nodded solemnly.
"Understood!"
"After seeing power like that, your heart still doesn't bend?" Quetzal said, smiling faintly as she piloted the winged dinosaur from behind Ritsuka.
"Wait—she's moving! With that mass and that enormous body?!"
Romani's voice spiked again.
"Aaaaaa——"
Tiamat sang once more, stepping forward slowly, and at the same time—
"Second wave of oceanic erosion! At this rate, it'll slam straight into Uruk!"
Even Da Vinci sounded shaken now.
"Damn it…"
Ritsuka clenched her teeth.
Even if she dumped three Command Spells into Mash and forced a Noble Phantasm release, she could barely protect herself—stopping an entire sea was impossible!
"Wait… this—this can't be!"
Romani's shocked cries burst from the communicator again—how many times now, no one knew.
The black sea surged onto the land, lunging straight for Uruk.
But what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.
Without the slightest warning, a violet tide rose up in front of the chaotic flood—and without a word, it crashed head-on into the chaos.
---
T/N: LETS FUCKING GO OPHISSSSSSSSSS also i dont remember when did Kingu get her core taken... can someone remind me? ITS GENUINELY been MONTHS since i translated