"Thinking about it now… it really was stupid. I gave everything for Mother, only to get stabbed in the back by Mother's own child. Even the one thing I anchored my life to was taken from me. And in the end, the one calling the shots was you—some nobody who just showed up out of nowhere. Ahh… a complete, total failure."
"Can't be helped. In the end, you were a newborn—blank paper. So? Did that make you hate your mother?"
"How could I? Mother gave me life. I could never betray her. Just like you said—I'm not the same as you. I'm not that ungrateful."
"Ungrateful, huh… can't argue with that. But you have to admit—she really is captivating. Isn't she?"
"Maybe. But that kind of smile… she never showed it to me. Not once."
"Pfft… I wouldn't be able to smile at someone who'd blown half my body off, either. Whatever. I just wanted to make sure of one thing… I'm going after your mother next, you know?"
"…So that's it. You're afraid I'll cause trouble when it matters?"
"Better to cut the risks as much as possible. So? What's your answer?"
"...I'm tired. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Thanks. And… sorry, too. Even after I gathered up everything that was mine—my own will—the influence I left in you can't be erased. If it weren't for that, maybe you wouldn't have chosen this."
"Who knows. All I can say is… Mother picked the wrong vessel."
"Yeah. Gods, your mother… in the end, they all chose wrong."
...
The shattering of the Golden Sword of Assured Victory was only natural.
Unlike the Sword of Promised Victory—Excalibur—the Sword in the Stone, Caliburn, was ultimately man-made. More than a weapon, it was closer to a ceremonial blade—something never meant to withstand power on that scale.
More than that, the Sword in the Stone carried a legend of breaking at the end. And that inheritance meant that this sword—this fantasy given form—would be even more fragile.
Just like Medea: after blazing with its most dazzling radiance, it was destined to collapse.
Even so, even with the Golden Sword of Assured Victory pushing their odds to the absolute limit, now was still not the time to relax.
Tiamat was still regenerating at high speed.
"Eresh?"
Ophis asked softly.
"Two hours," Ereshkigal's voice came through the Underworld Mirror, strained with urgency. "Can you hold out on your end?"
"Two hours…"
Ophis touched her chin, then took a few steps forward again.
Altera was down on one knee, gasping—she wouldn't be combat-capable for a while.
Lily had temporarily drained her mana. Even if she had weapons besides the holy sword, she couldn't bring them out right now.
Mash might be able to hold for a bit… but not for long.
So even the three remaining Servants couldn't do it…
Then she would.
Ophis was indeed grievously wounded—eroded by Tiamat's power. But that was all. Until her body completely fell, that erosion would do nothing but inflict agony.
Her Infinity had been destroyed. But with tighter, more concentrated calculations—and the reinforcement of the Mythological Mystic Code—it wasn't impossible to make up the gap.
Forcing her power would accelerate the erosion. It was fine. Dying once was all it meant.
Red divine crests surfaced across her black robe again, giving off a faint glow. Ophis snapped her fingers.
Countless chains woven from violet mana shot out from all across Uruk, winding around Tiamat before she could fully restore herself. Layer after layer wrapped her up, until she was a massive ball of chains.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa——!"
Not long after, the chained sphere began to tremble, and Tiamat's cry rang out from within.
Ophis didn't care. She lifted her hand and gave a slight squeeze.
Mana surged together, condensing above her into three spheres that swelled larger and larger, until each reached roughly fifteen meters across.
Then, with a clench, she compressed them down to the size of tennis balls and fused them into a triangular formation. At the points of contact, ripples flickered like lightning.
A semi-permanent turret—assembled through a specific ordering of energy and Ophis's own concept of Infinity. In her current state, she could only barely create one.
It was too unstable to serve as an energy source, but in raw power…
"Aaaaaaaaaa——!"
Tiamat's cry rose again. The mana chains shattered in an instant, and Tiamat—fully restored—strode out with heavy steps.
Biu——
Almost at the same time, a bolt of violet lightning carved through the air, and a huge chunk of Tiamat's right shoulder was sheared away.
"So strong…!" Ritsuka stared at the three spheres that had just fired, stunned.
Piercing power. Speed on the level of lightning. Slower than Tiamat's beam, but still a superb sniping weapon.
Unfortunately, attacks like that did little to slow Tiamat down.
In barely half a second, the wound fully regenerated. Her stride never hesitated for even an instant.
"Guess I'll have to pay a bit more," Ophis exhaled, exactly as she'd expected.
Golden ripples spread over Uruk. Tens of thousands of weapons bared their feral edges.
"Then…"
Ophis raised her hand, about to bring it down—and at that moment…
Pshk——
The golden ripples vanished.
Everyone froze.
Ophis blinked, then lowered her gaze.
Two lances.
One punched through the wound in her chest Tiamat had damaged before—straight through her heart. The other struck her breastbone, carving a fresh wound.
And then, violently invasive energy poured in like a flood.
When she still had Infinity, damage on this level meant nothing to Ophis. Even without Infinity, if she were uninjured, she could have responded. But here and now—already grievously wounded—this blow was the last straw.
Ophis turned her head with effort.
Two temple guards stood there, expressionless, holding the finishing thrust. The others stared, gaping, for a heartbeat—
Then everyone snapped back to themselves. The six other temple guards closest to them moved first, raising their lances to strike the two traitors, only to be blasted away the next second by a violent explosion.
At the top of the temple, two towering pillars—bodies studded with eyes—stood like colossal obelisks holding up the sky.
"Demon God Pillars?!" Ritsuka shouted.
Ophis narrowed her eyes.
She was certain: those two Demon God Pillars had not existed in this timeline.
Earlier, she'd taken the chance to ask Ritsuka about the previous Singularities. The one behind all this didn't seem to have a history of intervening in person.
Looks like that had changed.
Was it because she—an utterly unknown existence—had gone beyond their control…?
She should've seen it coming, ever since Inori lifted the veil hiding this age…
"Uuu——"
The Demon God Pillars, even more disgusting than Lahmu, emitted a warped sound. Countless tentacles surged toward Ophis.
Too bad. That thing didn't understand her well enough…
Normally, even getting stabbed wouldn't provoke much anger from Ophis. But this cheap, underhanded trick—on top of her Infinity being broken, on top of being speared through like this—
It reminded her—unfortunately—of a certain someone with the surname Cao. Someone who would screw her over in the future.
All of it together… made her a little angry.
If you want to play, then I'll play with you.
Ophis curled her lips and simply gave up suppressing the foreign energy rampaging inside her.
Then berserk mana erupted into a purple gale.
Everyone felt their chests tighten. Within a hundred meters, buildings and ground alike cracked under the crushing pressure.
The Demon God Pillars' tentacles were blown apart outright.
In the next instant, a streak of violet light flashed through—and a gaping hole opened along the side of one Demon God Pillar. The three-sphere turret had reappeared behind it, making it clear what had fired.
After that came a torrent of purple energy that swept across, blasting the Demon God Pillar into two halves.
Ophis's preparations were already complete. She closed her hand lightly.
In a blink, Ophis and the Demon God Pillar vanished together—only to reappear in front of Tiamat.
Ophis drifted slowly away, positioning herself between the still-regenerating Demon God Pillar and the advancing Tiamat. Then she turned and faced the three threats head-on.
"You thought that much preparation would kill me for good? Seems I was underestimated—just a little. Yes, I do have to die once, but that's nothing to me. Still, your behavior makes me unhappy. Very unhappy."
After addressing the Demon God Pillars—or whatever stood behind them—Ophis looked to Tiamat.
The Mother Goddess of Creation. She looked like a monster brought to ruin the world, but anyone who knew even a little myth understood the truth: Tiamat was the victim.
In this world, she had even been cast out by the world for the simple reason of "no longer being needed."
Of course, part of it was because her power was too great—great enough to reset an entire ecosystem with ease. But that didn't change her position as the wronged party.
Put simply: she was an implicit threat, so she was eliminated.
"Even if you've done nothing wrong, I have my own stance. So… slow your steps."
Ophis hadn't planned on going all-out.
Up until now, she'd still held back a little. The earlier she died, the more unknown variables it would introduce; she wanted to hold on as long as possible. That meant devoting more power and focus to suppressing her injuries.
But now—since someone had forced her hand—there was no help for it.
Golden ripples lit Uruk once more.
So then, next—
"With my resolve, I stain the earth!"
---
T/N: OPHIS :SOB: