"Hey, hey, what is that?!"
Before she could even process the fact that a certain someone had suddenly followed Lancer tradition by committing suicide and then just as suddenly reviving, Ling was struck with horror.
The reason was simple. The scene before them was far too terrifying.
Colossal waves hundreds of meters high rose one after another from the Sea of Life, layer upon layer, each one containing the terrifying power to submerge the land and destroy cities.
Barring an extra-dimensional catastrophe like an asteroid impact, the most terrifying disaster in the world was surely a tsunami.
Traveling at speeds of 700 to 800 kilometers per hour, it could cross an entire ocean in just a few hours.
Every few minutes, waves dozens or even hundreds of meters high would slam into the shore, destroying everything in their path. It was an out-and-out cataclysm.
And now, surging from the abyss, was a disaster named Tsunami.
The black tide rose madly, unleashing waves over a hundred meters high that crashed against the land, like a pack of greedy wolves tearing at helpless lambs.
The primordial mother goddess, who was the "Sea of Life" itself, rode atop the colossal waves, surrounded by her newborn children, and ascended upwards.
In just a few minutes, the abyss that even gods dared not enter had been completely transformed into her own territory.
One could only imagine that if this primordial mother goddess were allowed to continue displaying her authority, she would soon use the abyss as a springboard to swallow the underworld, then continue climbing upwards to engulf everything in the world of the living.
Her very existence is a calamity.
This was the Beast of Regression. This was the primordial mother goddess, Tiamat.
"That's pretty scary," the boy, who was in a sense the master of the underworld, remarked as he watched the dense swarm of demonic beasts climbing up from Purgatory.
"If all these demonic beasts make it to the surface, they could probably steamroll this entire era."
He knew very well that the demonic beasts climbing below, known as Lahmu, were absolutely endless.
Beast II is the very ocean that gives birth to life. By circulating the True Aether of Earth's genesis, this sea can provide an infinite supply of magical energy.
And the Lahmu are the monsters born from this infinitely circulating sea.
When they are killed, they disintegrate and rejoin the cycle of magical energy.
Therefore, they are truly endless.
"Hey, hey, hey! If it's this dangerous, then do something!!"
Staring at the apocalyptic scenery, Ling's eyes glazed over. She quickly shoved the guy who had claimed he had a way to deal with Tiamat.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? That you could seal her authority!"
"No need to rush."
The boy, well aware that the Grand Assassin who called himself "Ziusudra" was lurking in the underworld, calmly converted his Herrscher core into its Sentience mode.
He wasn't actually afraid of the Old Man of the Mountain.
The Old Man of the Mountain—Hassan-i-Sabbah—was strong, but his combat power was only at the level of a chief god. Excluding his Grand-class status, he was at a level where he could fight Tiamat's eleven children.
Li Zihan could do the same, and more efficiently, more quickly, and more perfectly.
Whether it was the ideal fluid—the strongest blade in physics—the power of the Herrscher of Death that forces matter into chaotic disassembly, or the Divine Grace Barrier which could directly suppress energy activity and was practically an anti-Servant field, his killing power was at the MAX level.
If it came down to a direct confrontation, he was confident he could obliterate not just one, but all seven Grand Servants at once.
But the Old Man of the Mountain was, after all, a Grand.
The concept of a Grand Servant cashing in their title for a one-time miracle was known to all Type-Moon fans.
When the Old Man of the Mountain slammed his title down, Tiamat, who was originally immortal, was granted the concept of "death." When the Grand Archer, Orion, threw away his Grand title, he gave his arrow the property of "effective range: infinite," allowing him to shoot down the Moon Goddess who had become an orbital cannon.
Who the hell knew what kind of effect would be triggered if that old man suddenly decided to take a swing at him.
As a 'boss' who planned to sacrifice the two Counter Forces, introduce the Honkai, and kick off FGO Part 3, Li Zihan had to consider the possibility that the Grand Assassin might throw his ultimate gambit at someone as obviously restless as himself.
Therefore, it was best to stand next to the entity that looked far more dangerous, the one the Grand Servants were supposed to subjugate in the first place.
"Mother, I have come to receive you."
As if he had prepared for this all along, the boy—who had already had the system teleport everyone he had marked to the Honkai world—knelt and bowed to the mother of all things, who was, theoretically, devoid of reason.
Simulation: Fenghuang Down Overdrive.
Black and red feathers fell from the sky, drifting down towards the abyss.
More accurately, they drifted towards the goddess who was surrounded by countless demonic beasts, the goddess who had sealed herself off and lost her sanity because she was despised by her children.
"Please awaken, become the Mother of All Things once more, and accept the adoration of your children."
Like a fervent child calling for his mother, the boy who should have come to subjugate Tiamat was instead cheering for her.
"Thou art indeed the one who unleashes calamity."
A hoarse voice echoed from the shadows.
Without warning, an eerie, cold flame appeared behind him. A giant sword-shaped shadow transformed into the scythe of the God of Death.
The Grand Assassin, who had been hiding in the underworld all this time, finally revealed himself.
He would, right here, cut down the one who had unleashed the calamity.
But the blow never landed.
The reason was simple.
In the next instant, a blood-red light silently streaked across the sky.
As if pulled by a pair of invisible, giant hands, the very earth was peeled apart and scattered on both sides, with the light as its center.
It was pure magical energy, released with an aura of absolute destruction.
Faced with such a terrifying attack, even the Grand Assassin had to retreat from its edge.
Like a shadow vanishing, the heavily armored Grand Assassin, who had swung his blade at the boy, disappeared just before the red light erupted.
The next moment—
Like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, the red light streaked for several thousand meters, cutting through the abyss and tearing the underworld asunder, cracking it wide open.
For the first time, light shone down upon the cold and lonely underworld. Now, even from within its depths, one could see the not-so-beautiful sky above.
"BOOOOOOM————!!!!"
Only when everything had settled did a colossal roar finally shake the heavens.
Stiff, unpracticed words came from the mouth of the creator goddess, who found meaning only in giving birth, nurturing, and giving love.
She raised her head, gazing indifferently at the Angel of Death.
Her eyes carried a chill that could freeze time and space.
"What... were you going to do... to my child?"