Feint
"Then, let us part ways here," Merlin looked at the frowning Gilgamesh in front of him. "King Gilgamesh."
"As long as Gorgon is defeated and the Holy Grail of King of Magic is retrieved, this era will not collapse, and the task you assigned to me will come to an end."
"What are you being sarcastic about?" Gilgamesh glanced at him upon hearing this. "If simply defeating Gorgon could save the world, why would I have summoned you guys in the first place!"
It was precisely because it wasn't that simple that he had fallen into a dilemma.
"Just a joke," Merlin said with a smile. "But, has King Gilgamesh figured out her true purpose?"
"...Hmph, my Clairvoyance cannot observe any trace of her at all," Gilgamesh's expression grew even sourer upon hearing this. "But her purpose can only be one of a few things. What else could a person like her be targeting in the entire Uruk?"
"And what about you? You've been monitoring her Dreamscape all this time; have you discovered anything?"
"It's just as you thought, King Gilgamesh," Merlin sighed. "I now feel that she is probably going to stand with Tiamat."
"You didn't see the picture of motherly love and filial piety between them in the Dreamscape. I have a very good reason to suspect they already communicated while in the Imaginary Number Space. Without a doubt, she is here for the Mother Goddess of Creation."
"So helping us defeat Gorgon was just to stimulate Tiamat to wake up?" Gilgamesh frowned upon hearing this. "Impossible. If she really wanted to do that, she could have just killed you directly."
"The Mother Goddess is the mother of all living beings in Mesopotamia," Merlin sighed upon hearing this. "Even though she was given the status of a Beast, she has never thought of killing her own children."
"All of her rationality is used to maintain her Self-Seal, precisely to suppress her instinct as a Beast and stop her from returning to the Living World. Originally, as the Beast of Regression, she was the Beast least likely to manifest in the Present World, but the intervention of the King of Mages changed all of that."
"Right now, the Self-Seal is still in effect. The good news is that we don't have to face a complete Beast; the bad news is that we have to face a completely irrational Mother Goddess of Creation who thinks of nothing but destruction."
"And Kiana's arrival is absolutely inseparable from Tiamat," Merlin frowned. "It's just that her true purpose is unknown... Alas, if she simply wanted to help Tiamat's rationality, she could have just spoken to us openly..."
"Hiding it like this," Gilgamesh shook his head, "means she definitely has another purpose."
In truth, Xia Yu was also very helpless. If she dared to tell them that she wanted to usurp Tiamat's Divine Authority... Gilgamesh and Merlin wouldn't help her at all... Only a goddess like Ereshkigal would stand on her side.
Because Ereshkigal had her own selfish desires and thoughts.
Meanwhile, the others all had the survival of the Humanity Order as their primary goal. If she really told them, the Humanity Order would probably be the first to object, and she was planning to reap a massive harvest of benefits from It.
"We can only take it one step at a time," Merlin sighed as he spoke up to here. "Let's hope Chief God Quetzalcoatl puts on a good show."
"Hmph, that's all we can do. Go prepare for tomorrow's battle," Gilgamesh nodded. "Take care of yourself, Magus of Flowers."
Hearing this, Merlin bowed with his hand over his chest. "If your legend can be passed down to future generations, then let us meet again in the distant future."
After saying that, he turned and left.
In the city, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash took Ana to bid farewell to the people they had come to know during this period.
Meanwhile, Xia Yu returned to Ishtar's Temple. Standing at the top of the Temple, she looked down upon the entire Mesopotamian Plain.
"Hey, you..." Ishtar looked at her with a complex expression. "I can't figure out what you're trying to do anymore."
"It's fine, Ishtar," Xia Yu said softly. "If in the end, you feel my actions are inappropriate, you are entirely free to stand on Ritsuka's side. I won't blame you."
"Hey, is Ereshkigal really that important to you?" Ishtar became even more displeased upon hearing this. She turned her back directly and said pettishly, "You can do so much for her, but when it comes to me, you just let me choose whatever I want?"
"Because you have everything," Xia Yu naturally hugged her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder. "You have a father who loves you, gods who indulge you, and countless Divine Authorities... You are the freest goddess in Mesopotamia."
"But Ereshkigal, she has nothing, and no one can even favor her."
"...Hmph," Ishtar turned her face away upon hearing this. "Fine, for the sake of her pitiful situation, I won't compete with her."
"As for you, tell me, what exactly do you want to do?"
"...Let's talk about Gilgamesh's contract instead," Xia Yu pulled out the contract Gilgamesh had given Ishtar upon hearing this. "Look at it against the sun. Is there a line of small print beneath his signature?"
"Hmm?" Hearing Gilgamesh mentioned, Ishtar's attention was successfully drawn over.
'This contract will become void if not redeemed within half a month of the signee's death.'
"What does he mean by this?" Ishtar froze entirely.
"Didn't I tell you before?" Xia Yu said with a grin. "Gilgamesh definitely won't honor the debt. He already died once yesterday."
"And will you be able to collect the debt within half a month? After he died and was resurrected, he didn't become a Heroic Spirit, so that treasury encompassing all the treasures of later generations doesn't even exist yet."
"Once the battle of Uruk is over, he will become a Heroic Spirit after his death, and you can't exactly go to the Throne of Heroes to collect the debt from him. The only chance would be to meet in a Holy Grail War, but by then, who knows how much time would have passed..."
"Great, he really is trying to trick me!" Ishtar was about to grind her teeth to dust. "This king is so shameless!"
"Actually, I have a way to make him fulfill it," Xia Yu spoke up. "I've been putting pressure on him during this time. Rest assured, for the sake of Uruk, he will absolutely utilize every piece of combat power he can get his hands on."
"I will make it so the final battle takes place in Ereshkigal's Underworld. At that time, he will definitely find a way to seek death, and then manifest using his much more powerful Heroic Spirit form. When that time comes, you'll have a place to collect your debt."
Hearing this, Ishtar turned her head to look at her face and said faintly, "So, if I want to collect my debt, I must cooperate with your plan, right?"
"A win-win situation, isn't it?"
"...Kiana."
"I'm here."
"Will you destroy this world?"
"Of course not, I'm a good person."
"Can I trust you?"
"Of course, we're friends, aren't we?"
"I always feel like you're bewitching me."
"I'm not, I will definitely bring about an ending that satisfies everyone!"
"Merlin, you must be tired, right?"
On the carriage heading toward the Northern Wall, Fujimaru Ritsuka pulled back the curtain and spoke to Merlin, who was driving the carriage. "Let's swap places. Go get some sleep."
"Hahaha, you want to ask if I can't sleep, right," Merlin laughed.
"That's right, speaking of which, I haven't explained this to you yet."
"It's not just this one thing," Ritsuka climbed over the partition and sat down next to Merlin. "Ultimately, I don't really know much about Merlin."
"Telling stories about oneself is a very troublesome matter," Merlin said with a smile. "If it were anyone else, I would mostly use lies and silence to smooth things over."
"Well, consider it a way to pass the time on the road. So, you can ask me one question, and this time I will answer you sincerely."
"Then..." Thinking up to here, Ritsuka hesitated for two seconds before asking, "Why do you serve King Gilgamesh?"
"This," Merlin explained, "is because King Gilgamesh and I are very similar."
"Both he and I don't possess much emotion toward humans themselves. He is a fair judge who evaluates humanity. Although he protects humans, he does not show special care for individuals."
"On the other hand, I am merely a bystander with no intention of mixing with humans. Whether it's humanity as a whole or individuals, it ultimately has nothing to do with me."
Hearing this, Ritsuka continued to ask, "But I feel like both of you love humans very much?"
"Hmm, that's the second question," Merlin stroked his chin upon hearing this, a sly look in his eyes. "How about this? If you answer a question for me in a moment, I'll tell you, deal?"
Hearing this, Ritsuka blinked. "Of course!"
She could probably guess what question Merlin would ask.
"I don't deny your words," Merlin continued. "Both he and I love humans very much. To have no attachment to humans, yet still love humans—don't you think that's very contradictory?"
"This is what's called a difference in perspective. King Gilgamesh feels that the things humans create are very valuable. On the other hand, I am very interested in your ending."
"To witness that moment, I will continue to live. In other words, neither of us are human. I am a half-blood of a Incubus and a human. Although I learn from humans, in reality, I still don't understand human emotions."
"A Incubus is ultimately just someone's dream, but even a being like me can possess joy. Only I can possess my own purpose... which is, of course, the happy ending where all you humans live happily ever after."
"I want to see the dream dreamed by the very last human when humanity welcomes its final doom. Humans are very foolish and full of flaws, but the history you depict is incredibly beautiful. No matter what the final ending is, it is a valuable thing worthy of remaining in this universe."
"So feel free to use me, child of humanity. My purpose is for your long story, for that single page of history that will eventually be completed. Even if I am smashed to pieces, I will complete this job."
"Now it's your turn, Ritsuka."
"Merlin wants to ask about Sister Kiana, right?" Ritsuka spoke up.
"That's right," Merlin sighed. "You guys don't seem to feel any threat from her at all... No, it should be said that you are already trying to find ways to deal with her, but you aren't active about it at all. It's almost like you know your lives aren't in danger."
"Are you guys really that confident?"
"Sister Kiana is not a bad person," Ritsuka smiled as she said this. "Perhaps you feel she has another purpose, and I certainly don't deny that, but I am certain that she will not destroy humanity."
"I see... Ah, we've arrived," Merlin looked at the Northern Wall ahead and said. "Let's go find a place to rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle."
"How brave," Xia Yu flew in the sky, looking at the Uruk soldiers below wearing simple armor, holding spears and shields as they stood behind the Heroic Spirits, facing monsters several times their size without shrinking back.
Although they were people of the Age of Gods and their physical fitness was better than modern humans, they were still fragile compared to the Demonic Beasts, yet they still rushed forward fearlessly.
"Aaaah!" Jaguar Man flattened a Demonic Beast with her long spear, and then four or five more Demonic Beasts pounced at the same time.
"Could it be that we, the ones doing the feint, are actually working the hardest?"
"It's more than just this level," Quetzalcoatl effortlessly tore a Demonic Beast to shreds with the obsidian sword in her hand, and then looked at the distant sky.
"The real target has arrived."
Kingu descended from the sky carrying boundless rage, slamming directly toward Quetzalcoatl.
"I wondered who this was, turns out it's Quetzalcoatl!"
He said through gritted teeth.
Originally, he had wanted to use the Three Goddess Alliance to stand against that monster of a woman, but this Quetzalcoatl had talked a good game at the beginning and even went to attack Uruk.
Just when he was still worrying about her, fearing she wouldn't be able to break free, the very next day he saw the scene of them walking arm-in-arm into Uruk with that Chaldea group.
At that moment, Kingu's world collapsed.
Then he went to contact Ereshkigal. The effect was good, and she agreed as well, with people constantly dying in Uruk... but what was the use? She couldn't come up to the surface...
Seeing Quetzalcoatl within the military formation now, he immediately saw red.
"So the Three Goddess Alliance is basically dissolved, right?"
He always felt that although Ereshkigal said all the right things, she definitely had careful calculations in her heart.
"Do you even need to ask?" The bright big sister swung her obsidian sword, directly repelling Kingu.
The latter stabilized his stance, and then reached out, sending dozens of golden chains charging toward her.
Enkidu: Chains of Heaven was super useful for its anti-divinity specialization. The current Quetzalcoatl was merely a Heroic Spirit aspect of the feathered serpent god, so although she was a Chief God, they still had more or less some effect on her.
But the bright and cheerful big sister's strength was no joke either. Moving left and right, she actually darted through the gaps of the chains like a swimming fish, and then raising the obsidian sword in her hand in the sky, she delivered a heavy blow toward Kingu!
Kingu hastily took flight to dodge, but after the dust cleared, his pupils instantly contracted because he saw that only an obsidian sword was stabbed into the shattered earth over there.
"A feint?" He hurriedly tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
The bright and cheerful big sister had already arrived above his head. With a spin, she clamped his head with her lethal leg scissor lock, then spun several times to build up force, and slammed him fiercely toward the ground.
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