The battle ended very smoothly.
"Excellent! The ambush was a complete success!"
"Good job!"
"To think we'd take down a goddess this easily—what incredible luck!"
Voices of delight came through the communicator—from Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman.
"Fou!"
Even Fou, who had been perched on Rozen's shoulder the entire time, let out a cheerful cry and leapt down, landing right on Ishtar's face.
The goddess, whose eyes were already spinning in circles, let out a garbled "Gawu" noise under Fou's little paw.
"That should do it, right?"
Rozen controlled the Anti-Magic Barrier talismans, sending them fluttering down like falling stars to stick onto Ishtar's body, completely sealing her mana.
With that, even if the Chains of Heaven binding her loosened, it would be nearly impossible for her to fight again.
"Never thought it'd go this smoothly. That arrogant goddess is really going to regret this later, isn't she?"
Enkidu descended from midair, calmly approaching from behind Rozen while speaking.
"If she had used her Authority from the start, we wouldn't have been able to take her down so easily."
That was true.
What made divine beings so powerful was the Authority they wielded—their ability to command the natural laws, manifesting godly power reflective of their mythological selves.
It was a force far beyond magic—an embodiment of omniscience and omnipotence. In a way, it resembled Rozen's own Cleansing.
Of course, compared to Cleansing, divine Authorities still fell far short.
After all, each divine Authority could only control one law. Even if a deity possessed every Authority associated with their mythology, their omnipotence was confined to this world alone. That paled in comparison to Cleansing, which unified the power of myriad worlds—an omniscience and omnipotence on a multiversal scale.
Still, there was no denying divine Authorities were far more powerful than standard magecraft—as proven by Rhongomyniad in the Sixth Singularity.
That Ishtar was taken down so easily was due to both the ambush and her own arrogance—choosing not to invoke her Authority from the outset.
So, she had no one to blame but herself.
"So, what now?" Enkidu looked down at the fallen Ishtar and murmured, "Originally, we wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate one of the members of the Three Goddess Alliance… but things turned out quite differently. We never expected this."
"Isn't that even better?" Rozen replied without hesitation. "Capturing a goddess alive is a bigger prize than eliminating her. Bring her back to Uruk—at the very least, we can extract intel on the Three Goddess Alliance, right?"
The Chaldea side immediately chimed in.
"Indeed. At this stage, intel is the top priority."
"If we can identify the other two goddesses and their mythological identities, we'll be able to devise effective countermeasures."
"Capturing her will yield far more than simply killing her."
Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman all agreed in rapid succession.
"...You're right," Enkidu murmured, then nodded. "In that case, let's bring the goddess Ishtar back to Uruk. I'm sure Gilgamesh will be pleased."
Saying that, Enkidu turned away, as if intending to leave the credit to Rozen. He didn't make any move to touch Ishtar himself.
Rozen raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. Without any further hesitation, he bent down, reaching out to lift Ishtar.
Just then—
"Fou!"
Fou, still standing on Ishtar's face, suddenly let out a frantic cry.
"""Watch out!"""
Voices from Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman erupted simultaneously from Chaldea's communicator, as if they were witnessing something unthinkable.
And along with their cries, from behind the bending Rozen, several chains shot out like deadly spears, tearing through the air with murderous force.
There was no doubt—it was a fatal attack.
"Splurt!"
Rozen's body, still hunched forward, was pierced straight through from behind. The chains burst through his chest.
"Ah…"
Rozen's eyes widened. He slowly collapsed to the ground.
Behind him, the boy who had just turned his back maintained the pose of an extended arm, golden ripples still shimmering in the air. A cruel smile crept across his face.
"Ha… Hahahaha!"
Enkidu bared his teeth and laughed uncontrollably.
The laughter was sinister—chilling. A stark contrast to his previously calm and composed demeanor.
The God-forged weapon named Enkidu had betrayed Rozen and killed him.
However, in the very next moment, his laughter abruptly stopped.
"Bzzzt…!"
The Rozen that had been skewered by the Chains of Heaven, slowly collapsing to the earth, began to glitch and distort like a corrupted image file.
Then, he vanished completely—leaving behind only a talisman pierced by the chain, drifting down from midair.
"A substitute…!?"
Enkidu finally realized what had happened.
But by that point, a voice had already echoed from behind him.
"You finally showed your true colors, imposter!"
With those words, Rozen's figure appeared soundlessly behind Enkidu, clutching several talismans. Without hesitation, he flung them forth—they spiraled through the air, converging on Enkidu.
The power within the talismans erupted in sequence. First, the ground rumbled as pillars of earth surged upward. Then the stone pillars shattered, transforming into blades. The blades burst into surging torrents, which were absorbed by a towering divine tree. And finally, the divine tree spontaneously ignited, erupting into sky-consuming flames that roared toward Enkidu like a storm of fire.
It was a high-level spell utilizing the advanced technique of Five Phases Mutual Generation.
Rozen had executed it in an instant—Earth giving birth to Metal, Metal to Water, Water to Wood, Wood to Fire—fueling the fire with unprecedented power until it engulfed the heavens, sweeping toward Enkidu.
"Hmph!"
Enkidu didn't panic. He sneered with disdain, waving his hand. Countless chains whirled like a tornado, meeting the blazing firestorm head-on. The chains dispersed and tore through the flames, extinguishing them in one swift motion, completely nullifying the assault.
Unfortunately for him, the Five Phases spell had been a feint all along.
From within the flames, a figure flashed out like a phoenix reborn.
"Hah!"
Mash let out a determined shout as she leapt high, shield in hand, and swung it down at Enkidu without mercy.
"…!"
Enkidu's expression changed. Barefoot, he kicked off the ground, dodging with an explosive leap.
"BOOM!"
Mash landed with her full weight, shield-first, striking the earth with a massive crash that sent sand and dust geysering upward like a volcanic eruption.
But Enkidu, having evaded the strike, did not look relieved—instead, his face twisted into something darker.
Because—
"O sword of the war god, strike down my enemy."
A pale-haired girl appeared before him, emotionless, and swung a radiant tricolor blade in his direction.
That strike tore through the sky, sliced the air itself, and swept toward Enkidu's head with icy precision.
"Tch!"
Faced with that blow, Enkidu finally clicked his tongue.