After hearing Tezcatlipoca and Roy's account, the atmosphere in the divine tower grew heavy.
"So, the calamity is a [Beast] or [Evils of Humanity], and its true identity is Tiamat, the Mother of Genesis of Sumerian myth, correct?"
Quetzalcoatl pondered, familiar with the name.
Though not of the Sumerian pantheon, she was summoned to this Singularity, imbued with its knowledge. Having served as Ur's guardian goddess, she understood the Singularity and Sumerian gods well.
Through the Underworld mirror's brief exchange, Tezcatlipoca withheld nothing, save what he'd told Roy privately. He revealed his summoning as a Grand Berserker, along with details about the Singularity and Tiamat.
But more than Tiamat, Quetzalcoatl was irked by Tezcatlipoca.
"Tiamat… the Mother of Genesis of Sumerian myth. Quite the formidable figure…"
"But the thought of facing such an enemy makes my fists itch. Let me use my superb wrestling skills to have a heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul friendly exchange with this Sumerian Goddess of Beginning!!"
As a top Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl wasn't daunted by a Mother of Genesis. She was even a bit thrilled at the prospect.
Amid the group's somber gazes, she rubbed her palms excitedly.
However…
"Why were you summoned with a Grand Saint Graph? I'm stuck with a standard one. If anything, I'm more suited for Grand status!"
Pointing at Tezcatlipoca by the fire, she huffed.
His earlier explanation clarified the unease she felt when he was summoned in Ur.
On her turf, bolstered by the Sun Calendar Stone and her temple, he'd matched her blow for blow, even gaining the upper hand.
She'd wondered why he was so strong fresh from summoning.
It was his Saint Graph's scale. [Grand], his Saint Graph outclassed hers by a tier, the highest Servant scale, maximizing their innate power.
Tezcatlipoca's superior Saint Graph left her in the dust, which irked her.
Why did he get a Grand Saint Graph while she got a standard top-tier one? Did the Counter Force really know how to pick?
Compared to this chaotic, capricious, scheming guy, she, a pinnacle benevolent deity, was surely better suited for Grand status. With a Grand Saint Graph, she could unleash that ultimate move, proving invaluable in the final battle.
"Haha… there's a lot behind it, not easy to explain."
Tezcatlipoca smirked smugly. "Maybe compatibility. My abilities might suit Tiamat better. You're just a brute who solves everything with strength."
"Feeling itchy? Want to wrestle? I'm game."
"Only an idiot would wrestle you, muscle maniac. I'd rather keep my other leg intact." Tezcatlipoca declined flatly.
"But… is that really it?"
Though skeptical, Quetzalcoatl didn't dwell on it. Grand Saint Graph or not, with her Master's infinite mana, she was confident against any foe, even a Sumerian Mother of Genesis.
"So, you said Karna's still alive, right…"
Not just Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, but Arjuna, another top-tier fighter summoned by Gilgamesh, showed a flicker of emotion hearing Karna remained in the Singularity.
"Yes, in the Blood Fort Andromeda, I saw Karna, severed from my contract."
Roy nodded, his tone tinged with sorrow. "But he's been corrupted by the Demon God Pillars, turned into a villain, fully our enemy."
For Karna, the Servant who remained loyal to his mission even in his final moments, Roy felt both admiration and guilt.
"That noble Lancer… controlled?"
Quetzalcoatl's eyes betrayed sadness.
Having escaped thanks to Karna's rearguard action, she was grateful to the noble Sun's Son. Hearing he'd fallen to this fate because of her stirred grief.
"Karna… that boastful fool fell before our duel… Hmph! Useless!!"
Arjuna snorted, arms crossed, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Humbaba, a corrupted Karna, the Demon God Pillars, and the final [Beast], this is truly a mythic battle."
"Normally, I'd scout the enemy's moves before striking, but since this is your call, hesitating further would seem petty. We'll follow your plan and strike proactively."
"But when do we attack? The Underworld goddess said relocating the Underworld takes two days. Forcing Tiamat awake now could halt her unsealing, but without the Underworld's relocation, what then? Facing her directly, as you suggest, even my contingencies would falter. The biggest issue is securing those two days. How do we buy that time?"
"…"
Roy fell silent, knowing Gilgamesh's "contingency" was the Melammu Dingir, crafted at great cost from his treasury.
A long-range bombardment from Uruk's fortress, it harnessed the collective strength of Uruk's Age of Gods citizens.
With gut-wrenching resolve, Gilgamesh loaded his collection into the cannon, operated by soldiers, his ultimate trump card.
Unlike his treasury's straightforward Noble Phantasm usage (albeit hurling melee weapons like projectiles), the Melammu Dingir's essence was Phantasm Collapse, using Noble Phantasms as disposable explosives.
This wasteful method let low-grade Noble Phantasms unleash high-grade, wide-scale destructive power, evident in its "anti-army, anti-fortress" classification, lacking an anti-unit mode.
Its true might far surpassed standard treasury usage, though at the cost of depleting Babylon's vault like water, a lavish expense even for a tycoon like Gilgamesh. Yet, for Uruk and humanity's future, he loaded his treasures as ammunition.
But even such fierce bombardment couldn't harm Tiamat, the Mother of Genesis who knew no death on Mesopotamian soil.
Thus, the Underworld's relocation was critical, the plan's linchpin.
Though Gilgamesh resisted Ereshkigal moving the Underworld beneath Uruk, knowing Uruk wouldn't survive this war, he relented.
For humanity's future, such sacrifice was necessary, and he wasn't foolish enough to refuse.
But how to secure those two days…
"…"
Deep in troubled thought, Gilgamesh's gaze swept Quetzalcoatl, then Roy and Tezcatlipoca through the mirror, lingering until it landed on Ishtar. His eyes lit up, as if struck by inspiration, and he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I see, I see! This solves it! I have a plan! No wonder you contracted this useless goddess, Roy. You planned this all along, didn't you? Our minds align, perhaps a kingly connection…"
Laughing, Gilgamesh said, "Ishtar, who'd have thought you'd learn to hide a trump card!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Gilgamesh's words stunned Ishtar, who'd been pondering strategies, clearly clueless about this "trump card."
"Hmph! Playing coy, Ishtar? Victory's path is clear, yet you still hide it?"
"What? Are you crazy, Gilgamesh? There's no way to stall Tiamat…"
"No, Ishtar, don't we have you?"
Gilgamesh looked at her earnestly, making her pause, pointing at herself in confusion.
"Me?"
"Me, stop Tiamat? For real? No way…"
"Hahahaha, still playing dumb? You've learned to conceal your ace?"
Gilgamesh roared with laughter.
"Who'd have thought the most scatterbrained goddess would grow? Well done. Roy's trained you well for such a change in so little time."
"So, what are you even talking about…"
Ishtar's confusion deepened.
"…It's Gugalanna."
Seeing Gilgamesh's laughter and Ishtar's bewilderment, Roy sighed, revealing the answer, though he knew Ishtar had lost the bull.
Their first meeting stemmed from her search for Gugalanna, mistaking his Holy Grail for the bull, causing quite a fiasco.
Her current state suggested she hadn't found it.
"Eh?"
At the familiar name, Ishtar's pupils shrank, her body freezing, her gaze drifting.
"Oh, I know that one. The mightiest, largest divine beast in the Sumerian pantheon, gifted to Ishtar by the sky god Anu, Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven."
Tezcatlipoca nodded, familiar with the powerful beast.
"I've seen a massive sea monster before, but if this bull's as strong as rumored, it simplifies things."
"Right! We can use it to stall Tiamat. Two days, and we execute Roy's plan."
"Then, when Tiamat falls into the Underworld, we defeat her together."
In the Underworld, Ritsuka and Mash's eyes lit up at the name.
"Great, senpai! Even against Tiamat, we have a shot now."
"Yeah, Mash…"
"Such a solution, brilliant and feasible."
Even Dr. Roman, previously grim, smiled. Victory was in sight.
"I know it too. Not sure if it's bigger than the sea monster Tezcatlipoca and I slew, but if it drained the Tigris River, stalling Tiamat shouldn't be impossible."
"Indeed, with Gugalanna's aid, victory comes effortlessly." Arjuna smiled. "The final triumph is ours."
"Wonderful… Thank you, Lady Ishtar."
"Hahaha, exactly, Ishtar."
Gilgamesh approached Ishtar, patting her shoulder, urging amid laughter, "Summon the bull! With it, our victory's assured."
"Uh… well… Gugalanna's not that great…"
Amid the praise, Ishtar averted her gaze guiltily.
"Nonsense! You're being modest? That beast gave me no end of trouble back then. I know its strength better than you."
"Ugh…"
Ishtar panicked, shooting a pleading look at Roy, who gave a thumbs-up but shook his head helplessly.
"What's wrong, Ishtar? Normally, you'd be cackling and bragging about Gugalanna's power, which isn't even yours. What's today? Hiding something from me?"
Ishtar hung her head, confessing in despair, "…It's gone."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Hm?"
"Aaaah!!"
The room fell deathly silent.
Cheers turned to stillness.
"The bull… gone?"
"Gone. I don't know where it is. I searched all of Mesopotamia and couldn't find it."
Clutching the mirror, tears in her eyes, Ishtar pleaded to Roy, spilling the truth in desperation.
"You… you… you idiot!!"
Gilgamesh's face froze, then erupted in a deafening roar.
"Useless goddess!! You lost the vital Bull of Heaven? Why do you think I scoured Mesopotamia to recruit you?!"
…
…
Not just Gilgamesh, far in the Reverse Side of the World, Enki, half-celebrating with divine wine for the children's potential victory over the Mother of Genesis, turned grim hearing Ishtar lost Gugalanna.
The wine slipped from his fingers.
"Gone? That massive bull, gone?"
He turned to the equally stunned sky god Anu, asking urgently, "Anu, did you recall Gugalanna?"
"No! Do you think I'd take back something given to Ishtar?"
Anu was equally baffled. He'd entrusted Gugalanna to Ishtar, stressing its care.
And she lost it? Anu was at a loss, but beside him, Enki trembled with rage, his face shifting from disappointment to despair.
"Hahaha, classic Ishtar. Losing Gugalanna? Only she could pull that off."
Shamash, the sun god beside Enki, couldn't help laughing.
"Hm?"
Under Anu's stern gaze, he stifled his mirth.
"Ahem, Father,Gramps, what now? Without Gugalanna, can they defeat the Mother of Genesis?"
Shamash sat upright, asking gravely.
Anu shook his head, glancing at Enki, now rigid as stone, and sighed softly.
"I don't know… but until we find another way, we have no choice but to trust them."
___
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