Chapter 286: Herrscher of Sentience, Kid!
"Seven minutes!"
Xia Yu raised her hand and used the Authority of Reason to construct a gigantic steel warship, then sent it crashing straight toward Mash's fortress wall.
She fought while timing them at the same time.
Boom!
The fortress wall collided with the warship. The latter only resisted briefly before being overwhelmed, while the radiant Camelot continued crashing down toward Xia Yu.
"Six minutes!"
With great interest, Xia Yu constructed two more warships and sent them forward again. There was no reason for it.
She was just having fun.
This time, it became extremely difficult for Mash's fortress wall to continue descending while resisting the combined pushing force of three warships.
"Command Spell!" Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly activated a Command Spell. "Mash, destroy them!"
"Yes, Senpai!"
Receiving the immense magical energy supplied by the Command Spell, Mash's Noble Phantasm surged with power once more, forcibly pressing downward against the combined force of the three warships.
"Four minutes!"
Looking at the warships that could no longer hold out, Xia Yu waved her hand again, sending three more into the fray.
This time, no matter how hard Mash tried, it was useless.
But at that moment, countless golden chains descended from the sky, gathering together to bind all the warships before beginning to tear them apart.
"This is?!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes filled with delight.
"Hmph, how useless, Chaldea," Kingu slowly descended. "The old humans are just this weak and powerless! With strength like this, you still dare shout about saving the world?"
"Oh? So you survived after all."
Xia Yu deliberately asked the obvious.
"And it looks like you're doing quite well. In Uruk, the only one capable of helping you to this extent would be Gilgamesh. Tsk, it seems he still can't let go of Enkidu after all."
"Hmph, enough nonsense!"
Kingu's expression darkened.
"You... what are you planning to do to Mother?"
"Oh? You're asking me?"
Xia Yu smiled faintly.
"Of course I'm going to take everything from her."
"You're quite confident."
Countless Golden Ripples appeared behind Kingu.
"You think there's nothing you can't accomplish?"
"I used to think that too. That alone is enough to prove that I am not perfect."
He recalled the words Gilgamesh had once spoken to him.
'Regardless of your mother or your origins, do what you truly want to do.'
'Just like This King once did, and just like him.'
But...
'Regardless of your mother or your origins, do what you truly want to do...'
I can't do that, Gil.
I don't have such a wish.
Yet, upon closer thought, that wasn't entirely true.
I want to see you.
I want to talk to you.
I want to tell you, as a friend, about all the memories and feelings that remain in my heart.
But that wish can never be fulfilled.
Because it isn't mine.
It belongs to the body called Enkidu.
My wish—
Kingu's wish—
Will never change.
How tragic.
He lowered his head and looked at Tiamat, who was bound below.
"I'm sorry, Mother."
Kingu smiled with relief.
"But this body still remembers what it must do."
That's right.
He could attack Kiana in Tiamat's name.
But what would that accomplish?
Who would he be doing it for?
It was time to face his true feelings.
"Child of Tiamat, Kingu!"
He loudly released his True Name.
"Here, I shall reveal the name of the Chains of Heaven!"
Countless golden chains surged from behind Camelot, converging into one.
"Mother's rage has already become a thing of the past. What awakens now is the Breath of the Planet!"
"[O people, let us bind the gods (Enuma Elish)!]"
Returning Enkidu's body to its original form as a divine construct weapon, transforming it into a pillar of light, injecting the Counter Force known as Alaya or Gaia, and converting that immense energy into a form recognized by the world—a wedge.
A strike that pierces and fixes its target in place.
Its power increases dramatically depending on the target's destructive actions toward the planet or humanity.
Enkidu was originally a weapon sent by the gods to make Gilgamesh "return to the side of the gods."
Gilgamesh himself had been created as the "Wedge of Heaven" to prevent the separation of gods and humans.
But because Gilgamesh rebelled against the gods, Enkidu was tasked with binding him and bringing him back to the heavens.
Yet Enkidu became Gilgamesh's friend.
The chains that could "even bind the heavens" chose, according to that friend's wish, the path of being used for humanity.
The torrent formed from those chains instantly shredded Xia Yu's warships, broke through her defenses, and firmly bound her within the ritual formation.
"The Chains of Heaven possess the property of 'God-Binding,'" Merlin said excitedly. "The greater the target's divinity, the stronger the chains become."
"Conversely, against those without divinity, they're merely durable chains."
"Kiana originally had no divinity as an outsider, so the Chains of Heaven could do nothing to her!"
"But she seized Gorgon's divinity, and she's still absorbing Tiamat's divinity—and even her identity—through this ritual!"
"So now the Chains of Heaven are especially effective against her. This is our chance, Fujimaru! Mash! Smash those Rune Pillars!"
"Yes!"
After being held back for so long, Camelot finally descended toward the ritual formation.
"Wait, something's wrong!"
At that moment, Kingu, who had gone all out and even prepared himself for death, suddenly cried out:
"It's a trap! She isn't resisting me at all!"
Kingu had intended to sacrifice his life to restrain Kiana.
The opponent was clearly a being on the same level as Mother.
Even if the Chains of Heaven shattered and he died in the process, he believed he could hold her down.
But she wasn't resisting at all.
There had to be a trap!
Yet Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash no longer had the luxury of worrying about that.
"Has it ever occurred to you—just possibly—"
At that moment, Xia Yu raised a finger and lightly flicked the chains binding her.
"—that you can bind divinity, bind divine authorities..."
"But Herrschers aren't gods."
"My powers are fundamentally different from yours!"
The next instant, a massive portal appeared before the rapidly descending Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Neither had time to react before being swallowed by it and violently thrown out at the deepest layer of the Underworld.
"Herrscher of the Void, kid."
Xia Yu smiled as she looked at the grim-faced Kingu.
"Did you really think those chains could bind me?"
"But I did stall you, didn't I?"
Suddenly, Kingu's ugly expression changed.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"What?"
Xia Yu's expression "changed slightly."
At the same moment, two rays of golden light appeared atop the Rune Pillars.
Then two mountain-sized Greatswords swept across the ritual formation.
In an instant, all twelve Rune Pillars were severed.
"Hmph, why are you people so slow and clumsy?"
Gilgamesh appeared once more in his classic appearance.
"In the end, you still have to rely on This King!"
"Servant Gilgamesh. Since it was far too noisy here, I decided to lend you a hand!"
Freed from the burden of a human body and transformed into a Heroic Spirit, Gilgamesh was now overflowing with confidence.
"King Gilgamesh?!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes lit up.
"You've finally arrived!"
Wonderful.
Another powerful ally had arrived.
"And those Rune Pillars have finally been destroyed!"
"Exactly!"
Kingu laughed heartily.
"We were only making a feint attack! A feint!"
"Well done, Gil!"
The words slipped out naturally.
Only after speaking did he realize it, causing his expression to freeze.
"Thanks to you distracting her attention as well."
Gilgamesh appeared not to notice and calmly continued:
"Everyone, prepare yourselves. Her plan has failed, so she should be losing her composure by now... Hmm? Wait, that's not right."
"Why hasn't the ritual formation disappeared?"
"You don't actually think a Herrscher's powers are that simple, do you?"
Xia Yu laughed freely.
"Guess what the four cores on my sword are."
The next instant, the twelve Rune Pillars reappeared as if they had never been destroyed.
"Herrscher of Sentience, kid!"
"Flowers reflected in water, moon trapped in illusion. The powers of consciousness and memory are truly useful, aren't they?"
"Now take a guess. Are these twelve pillars real or not?"
"And Gilgamesh, your hairstyle is really ugly."
"Hmph. The aesthetic sense of This King is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals."
Gilgamesh continued to bluff.
Now that he was no longer the diligent Caster Gilgamesh burdened by responsibilities, his true nature had resurfaced.
"What do we do? Try again?"
Kingu was dumbfounded.
He had thought their diversion tactic had worked rather well.
Who would have guessed they had been completely fooled?
"I still have one Command Spell left."
Fujimaru Ritsuka flew back up and quietly revealed her remaining resources.
"Try again? Try what?"
Gilgamesh's face darkened.
"You don't actually think this scene before you is real, do you?"
"Don't forget what she said."
"Ten minutes."
"How much time has already passed?"
Hearing that, Fujimaru Ritsuka's expression froze.
Shimatta!
She had completely forgotten!
"Sigh. There really are smart people among you."
Xia Yu waved her hand.
Behind her, the gigantic dragon-form Tiamat, who had been struggling continuously, suddenly froze.
The complex ritual formation also stopped operating.
The next moment, the surrounding scenery shattered like mirrors.
Amid countless cracking sounds, they finally saw reality.
The enormous dragon-form Tiamat had disappeared.
In her place was a blue-horned little girl being carried in Kiana's arms.
"You actually succeeded?!"
Ishtar abandoned King Hassan and flew over.
"Uh... is this Mother?"
Looking at the humanity overflowing in the child's eyes, she looked completely different from the beast filled with hatred before.
"Mhm, good child!"
Hearing herself called Mother, Tiamat's eyes lit up.
She reached out and gently patted Ishtar's head.
"Ah... uh..."
Ishtar instinctively wanted to dodge.
But seeing the anticipation in little Tiamat's eyes, she ultimately stayed still.
Still...
Calling such a tiny child Mother...
Ereshkigal also stopped fighting Quetzalcoatl and came to Xia Yu's side.
"Why has Mother become so small?!"
"Mhm, good child!"
Tiamat rewarded her with a head pat as well.
"So this is the true Goddess of Creation? Tiamat before she fell into a Beast?"
Quetzalcoatl's eyes shone brightly.
Every opponent here was so powerful.
Ah, her blood was starting to boil!
"This is troublesome."
Seeing this, Gilgamesh instinctively glanced at Kingu.
Sure enough.
The latter was wavering again.
No matter what, he acknowledged himself as Tiamat's child.
Facing the Beast driven only by destruction before, he could barely convince himself.
But this Tiamat before him, overflowing with humanity...
He was someone who called her Mother.
And now he watched as Tiamat called the descendants of the Mesopotamian pantheon—those who had once betrayed her—one good child after another.
Kingu couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
They had all committed betrayal.
Why could they...
"...Incredible. Unbelievable."
King Hassan looked at Tiamat, then at Kiana, who appeared pitch black under his Saint Graph judgment and was still classified as a Beast.
A spark flickered in his eyes.
Merlin also arrived with Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
The two sides entered a standoff.
"Now then, I have good news for everyone."
Xia Yu smiled at the tense group opposite her.
"The good news is that Tiamat is no longer a Beast."
"In other words, you no longer have to face the threat of a Beast of Regression."
"Of course, according to tradition, there should also be bad news."
"Though you probably already know it."
"I've obtained all of her power."
"Well?"
"Surprised?"
"Big Sister Kiana..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka had already given up.
"I believe you're a good person."
"Mhm."
Xia Yu nodded.
"And then?"
"Then could you maybe skip this beating...?"
"Nope."
Xia Yu shook her head.
"Either defeat me, or stop here."
"You know the rules."
"Yes, yes, yes! Rules like that are the best!"
Quetzalcoatl had long since become impatient.
"They're not good at all."
Fujimaru Ritsuka deadpanned.
"We don't even have a life-and-death grudge. Why do we absolutely have to fight?"
"Because you must prove your strength to me, Ritsuka."
Xia Yu spoke seriously.
"After leaving Babylon, you'll have to face the final boss."
"The King of Mages."
"He burned Human History and accumulated enough magical energy to reverse time itself."
"You saw that halo in the sky outside, didn't you?"
"Do you know what it is?"
With a solemn expression, Xia Yu said:
"That's his Noble Phantasm."
"[Ars Almadel Salomonis]."
Upon hearing this, Chaldea's Doctor suddenly sat up straight, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
"That halo may appear to be a ring of light."
"But in reality, it is a wheel composed of countless rays."
"Once it begins accelerating, it pours out tremendous heat."
"Enough to burn every living thing on Earth to nothing."
"You look at me now and feel that I cannot be surpassed."
"But when you face the King of Mages' Noble Phantasm, how will you respond then, Ritsuka?"
"Not everyone will go easy on you."
"He doesn't only possess that one Noble Phantasm."
"He also commands countless Demon God Pillars."
"If you keep thinking about running away, how do you plan to overcome the Grand Temple of Time?"
"This is a trial, Ritsuka."
"Only by overcoming my obstacle can you prove that you are qualified to face the final mastermind."
"Of course, since it's a trial, there will naturally be a reward."
"If you successfully earn my recognition..."
"I'll give you a gift."
"How about it?"
Not interested!
Fujimaru Ritsuka rolled her eyes.
As if she'd believe that!
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