Descent into the Underworld
"Oh, you're back."
Standing atop the Ziggurat, Gilgamesh glanced at the returning group before turning his gaze downward.
"Take a good look. The full view of Uruk. This is the end of a world, only one step away from vanishing from the surface of the earth."
Ever since the Honkai Beasts retreated, the Lahmu had surged across the continent as though entering unoccupied territory, following Tiamat's Black Tide. Now, that Black Tide had already reached the walls of Uruk.
"Look! Our Mother has arrived!"
At the end of the horizon, the colossal deity, as massive as a mountain range, once again generated a Black Tide and slowly advanced toward Uruk with her enormous body.
"Mm, at this speed, there's still a little time left."
Seeing this, Gilgamesh raised a hand. A Stone Tablet emerged in a burst of Golden Light and fell into his grasp.
"Next, let Tiamat witness Uruk's final display of spirit!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash stood behind him, feeling the atmosphere of the coming decisive battle.
On the other side, the battle-ready Ishtar was discussing something with Jaguar Man and Quetzalcoatl.
"Open your eyes and watch closely!"
Gilgamesh raised the Stone Tablet in his hand. Magic circles surrounded him as beams of Golden Light lit up across the walls of all Uruk.
"Wait, this is..."
Doctor looked at the data before her.
"Even without lapis lazuli or soldiers, the Dingirs have activated?"
This guy really doesn't treat his own life as valuable at all.
He's not a Heroic Spirit right now. He's using his own Magical Energy to power such an enormous system for attack...
Well, I guess he's spending his life so recklessly because the goddess of the Underworld is on our side.
"Hmph. Who do you think I am?"
Gilgamesh snorted.
"The three hundred and sixty Dingirs installed throughout Uruk were all personally crafted by This King! Personally infused with Magical Energy and personally coordinated!"
As he spoke, the Dingirs began charging. Golden energy shells gathered at their tips.
Boom!
All three hundred and sixty Dingirs fired simultaneously.
The barrage fell upon Tiamat like rain.
"As long as I drive this body with the determination to die, I can control them all!"
"The task of holding Tiamat back shall be perfectly concluded by This King!"
Amid the endless bombardment, even Tiamat was forced to halt temporarily.
The shells could not harm her, but their overwhelming quantity was enough to annoy her.
"Ereshkigal!"
At that moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted.
"How are the preparations in the Underworld?"
"Just a little more to go. Wait a moment..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ritsuka suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body.
An instinctive sense of danger instantly enveloped her.
Looking up, she saw a purple point of light shining upon Tiamat's face.
The next moment, before she could react, that light abruptly expanded in her vision.
She couldn't possibly evade an attack moving at that speed.
At that critical moment, Gilgamesh reacted swiftly and pulled her aside.
The price was that Tiamat's sniper-like attack completely shattered his heart.
"Tch. Using sniping, huh? How annoying."
Gilgamesh covered his chest and frowned.
"I was hoping to keep this body going a little longer."
"And quite accurate too. Damn it, Tiamat's actually pretty capable."
"King Gilgamesh! I failed to protect you—"
Mash cried out in self-reproach, only to be interrupted immediately.
"Don't mind it. It's merely a fatal wound."
Gilgamesh pulled out the Stone Tablet once more.
"As long as all of you are safe. After all, you're the main force in the battle ahead."
"Move, Dingirs!"
He activated Magecraft again.
This time, he truly held a resolve to die.
The rain-like bombardment resumed, driving back even the countless Lahmu for a moment.
"Hey, you..."
Ishtar looked at Gilgamesh, whose chest now had a hole through it and who was clearly beyond saving.
Her expression was complicated.
She had originally planned to betray him in revenge for tricking her with that contract.
Yet before she could carry out her plan, he had already died first.
Hmph.
As expected of a cunning fellow.
He had probably calculated his own death long ago.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka."
Ignoring her, Gilgamesh turned toward Ritsuka.
"Even after mobilizing everything this era possesses, this is probably as far as we can go."
"You are an outsider, an anomaly of this age, an unnecessary existence."
"But precisely because you are unnecessary, you can deliver the final counterattack against this destruction that we ourselves are powerless to prevent."
"The time has come. The outcome of everything now rests in your hands!"
At that moment, news arrived from the Underworld.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka!"
Ereshkigal said between breaths.
"The phase shift connecting Uruk's underground and the Underworld is complete! All that's left is digging a hole!"
"Senpai!"
Hearing that, Mash looked excitedly at Ritsuka.
"Yeah!"
Ritsuka nodded and turned toward Ishtar.
"Ishtar! Knock Tiamat into the Underworld!"
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!"
Ishtar slapped Maanna beside her and said excitedly:
"OK! As requested, I'll mercilessly open a huge hole beneath her feet!"
"Open the gate!"
The cosmic starry sky appeared above her once more.
"Indeed."
Looking at that star-filled sky, Quetzalcoatl sighed.
"Even though we're both goddesses of Venus, we're fundamentally different."
[From the Great Heaven to the Great Earth!]
Venus appeared behind her.
Compressed.
Forged.
Condensed into the shape of an arrow.
"After this, whatever happens is out of my hands!"
"Ritsuka! Mash!"
Doctor shouted.
"Prepare for the fall!"
Before they could respond, the Noble Phantasm was already fully charged.
[An Gal Ta Kigal She]
Boom!
The gigantic blast of the Noble Phantasm pierced straight through the entire surface of Uruk.
The earth shattered.
Mountains collapsed.
Even the invincible Tiamat suddenly lost the support of her Black Mud and began plummeting toward the Underworld.
"It's finally here."
In the Underworld, Xia Yu raised her head toward the sky.
Soon, her plan would become reality.
"Ereshkigal, catch them."
"Mm-hm."
Hearing this, Ereshkigal lightly tapped the ground with her Lance.
The free-falling Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately began floating.
"Welcome to the Underworld."
Ereshkigal greeted them.
"I hereby grant all of you the right to exist and float within the Underworld. In the Underworld, you won't be treated entirely as living beings. Concentrate your Magical Energy beneath your feet and imagine the ground. Then you'll be able to fly."
Looking at their clumsy attempts, she added:
"This might require a little practice."
"We'll get used to it."
Ritsuka hurriedly replied.
"Mm. This really is a special exception, you know."
Ereshkigal tilted her head slightly.
Mash and Ritsuka exchanged a glance before speaking in unison.
"Thank you for saving us, Ereshkigal!"
"I-Is that so?"
Ereshkigal looked delighted.
As the mistress of the Underworld who rarely interacted with outsiders, she deeply longed for this kind of connection with others.
"That's good."
"Oho, so this is Mesopotamia's Underworld."
Quetzalcoatl looked around curiously.
"Mm-hmm. It's really very different from South America's."
"Oh, right. I already sent Jaguar Man back to guard the Northern Wall."
"Although Tiamat has fallen, there are still two hundred million Lahmu above. Without a sufficiently powerful Servant holding the line, they won't be able to defend the Northern Wall."
"Alright, come take a look at this."
Ereshkigal turned around.
Inside the Great Hollow of the Underworld, Tiamat was kneeling on all fours and letting out continuous cries.
Blue Magical Energy lightning constantly bound and attacked her.
Seeing this, Mash became excited.
"Goddess Tiamat... We succeeded!"
"And those beams are...?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked puzzled.
Doctor examined the data and exclaimed:
"Those are temperatures equivalent to Ishtar's Noble Phantasm continuously burning Tiamat!"
This was the advantage of fighting on home ground.
As long as Ereshkigal delivered judgment, the condemned target would continuously suffer Magical Energy attacks equivalent to Ishtar's Noble Phantasm.
Unless Tiamat escaped the Underworld, the attacks would never stop.
"This is the Underworld's defense mechanism."
Ereshkigal explained.
"It specifically deals with living beings who enter the Underworld without permission. This is a rule established by the world known as Mesopotamia. Even Goddess Tiamat is no exception."
Ritsuka and Mash exchanged another glance.
So last time, you were holding back...
You possess such an overwhelming method, yet all you did was throw rocks at us?
Ritsuka asked:
"That's a privilege unique to Ereshkigal, isn't it?"
"Hmph."
Ereshkigal puffed up slightly.
"Although I feel somewhat sorry for King Gilgamesh, I'll be the one to bring everything to an end now, as the ruler of the Underworld."
She pointed her Lance toward the struggling Tiamat.
"Bring everything to an end?"
At that moment, Xia Yu emerged from the void behind her and gently wrapped an arm around her neck.
"Ereshkigal, did you forget what I told you? You can't beat her."
"How would I know unless I try?"
Ereshkigal was clearly unconvinced.
She possessed the Authority of the Underworld, after all.
"Alright then."
Xia Yu shrugged before turning toward Ritsuka and the others.
"Yo. You all made it down here."
"I really don't like seeing you in a place like this, Big Sister."
Ritsuka glanced around before looking resentfully at Xia Yu.
It was too similar.
The surroundings resembled the Great Hollow of Fuyuki far too much.
And there was also a good big sister who might turn hostile at any moment.
Mash also raised her Great Shield warily.
The similar scenery stirred up painful memories once more.
Being tossed around in the air like a ball...
It was simply too embarrassing.
"Unlike Ritsuka, I'd actually love to see you."
Quetzalcoatl smiled brightly at Xia Yu.
"Because it means my wish is about to come true!"
Meanwhile, Ishtar curled her lips and silently questioned Xia Yu with her eyes.
When do we make our move?
Xia Yu gently shook her head.
Not yet.
"Gallu Spirits of the Underworld!"
Ignoring everyone else's interaction, Ereshkigal pointed her Lance forward.
"Spears of Corruption, rise in ranks!"
Dozens of purple light spears began forming around Tiamat.
"Bring down the judgment of our Underworld upon this intruder!"
As she swung her Lance downward, the spears descended upon Tiamat.
At that instant, Tiamat's screams echoed throughout the entire subterranean Underworld.
Seeing this, Ereshkigal proudly declared:
"Even Goddess Tiamat is merely an ordinary deity within the Underworld! Before the combined assault of myself and the Gallu Spirits, she's completely incapable of resisting!"
"Uh..."
Her confident words had barely left her mouth before Tiamat reacted.
Ereshkigal stared dumbfoundedly at Tiamat's movements.
"Incapable... of resisting..."
An overwhelming amount of Black Mud instantly gathered and completely enveloped Tiamat.
"Tiamat covered herself with the Black Tide?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed.
"The Chaos Tide is beginning to spread!"
Doctor urgently reported while looking at the data.
"This is bad! At this rate, the Underworld will be completely occupied!"
"It can even corrupt the Underworld?"
Da Vinci-chan frowned deeply.
"Wait, there's more. Goddess Tiamat's Saint Graph is regressing toward the Age of Gods. It's already reached the Jurassic Period!"
"Wait, new data!"
"The Saint Graph expansion process has stopped. Continuous restarts of the Magical Energy reactor core confirmed!"
"The damage from falling into the Underworld is also recovering!"
Doctor rapidly continued.
"The dragon-form transformation is complete! Attention—what stands there now is unquestionably a god!"
Tiamat's body slowly emerged from the Chaos Tide.
Her entire form had become completely beast-like.
"W-Wh-Wh-What happened?"
Ereshkigal immediately hugged her Lance in fear.
"What happened to the earth?"
"Big Sister Kiana!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly turned toward Xia Yu.
"It's time for you to act, right?"
"Act? No, not yet."
Xia Yu shook her head.
"Someone still hasn't arrived. We should give them a chance."
"Then we'll have to rely on you, Ereshkigal!"
Without hesitation, Ritsuka immediately turned to Leg Number Two.
"Is there any way to stop the Chaos Tide?"
"I'll try..."
Ereshkigal nervously raised her Lance.
Truthfully, she had very little combat experience.
"Although I'll think of something..."
Looking at the Chaos Tide that had almost completely occupied the Great Hollow, Ereshkigal looked on the verge of tears.
"But the scale of this corruption is simply too overwhelming."
"We have to destroy her here!"
Ritsuka shouted.
"Tiamat is currently at her weakest! If we don't eliminate her before she leaves the Underworld, we'll never—"
Before she could finish, the Chaos Tide suddenly crashed down upon everyone like a tsunami.
Yet in the next second, that terrifying sea of blood vanished completely on the spot.
In its place remained only flower petals scattered across the ground.
"What?"
"What is this?"
Ereshkigal stared wide-eyed at the flowers.
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