Gorgon's mood at the moment could hardly be described as good.
In fact, she was furious.
To accelerate the production of one hundred thousand Demon Beasts, even with the Holy Grail, she had expended a tremendous amount of her power. According to the original plan, she was supposed to enter a slumber and only awaken after Kingû reported that Uruk had been destroyed by the Demon Beasts.
By then, the energy consumed for producing the Demon Beasts would have recovered, and she would have fully absorbed the Holy Grail.
But now—
"You?"
The snake-haired goddess glared at Naoki floating in the air before her.
"The sinner who destroyed my temple and wiped out my Demon Beasts—is that you? Insect."
Due to Naoki's earlier attack, the Blood Temple had been completely obliterated. The Demon Beast production facility within it had also collapsed entirely, causing countless Demon Beasts to die before they could even be born.
For Gorgon, this was tantamount to the destruction of her home and family.
How could she not be enraged now?
Facing her sharp question, Naoki merely smiled and nodded: "Yes, that's me."
"——————!"
The moment those words fell, Gorgon's eyes suddenly glowed. Naoki instantly felt his entire body stiffen, as if his blood had stopped flowing, hindering his movements.
Mystic Eyes of Petrification!
Gorgon's jewel-rank Mystic Eyes, capable of mercilessly petrifying anything. Even with high-level Anti-Magic, it couldn't be fully resisted. If caught off guard, even Naoki would be affected by the petrification.
In the Age of the Greek Gods, filled with heroes, these Mystic Eyes had buried countless heroes.
Seeing Naoki immobilized in the air, Gorgon sneered with disdain: "How pathetic. This is the price for disrespecting a goddess and daring to defy me, Tiamat—carry your ignorance and regret in your heart, and die, human."
As she spoke, the giant snakes formed from her purple hair raised their heads one by one, glaring at Naoki in the sky and opening their mouths. Immense Mana gathered in their mouths, forming beams of Mana that shot out one after another from her snake-hair!
Judging by the intensity of the Mana alone, each beam was equivalent to a single Noble Phantasm attack. Combined, their power approached that of an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
If hit by this attack, even Naoki would be severely injured.
The assumption being that the attack could actually hit.
*ZIIING-BOOM—!*
The Mana cannon beams swept across the sky. Accompanied by a rumbling vibration in the atmosphere, the cloud layer above was forcibly split by the attack!
However…
"There's one thing you got wrong."
Naoki's voice, which Gorgon assumed had been annihilated, suddenly sounded near her ear.
"I haven't been human for a long time."
*BAM!*
As Naoki's voice fell, Gorgon's cheek was struck hard by a flying kick. The impact, like being hit with a sledgehammer, sent Gorgon's massive body crashing into the nearby forest! It caused a powerful tremor and kicked up a cloud of dust!
In an instant, thick smoke nearly engulfed Gorgon's body.
Floating in the air with lightning crackling beneath his feet, Naoki looked down at Gorgon: "Your prejudice against humans has nothing to do with me. Ten years ago, I might have argued with you, but not now. I stopped being human ten years ago. It's not my place to dispute whether humans are insulted or belittled."
"Ugh…!"
Rising from the ground, Gorgon glared at Naoki with eyes full of rage: "How dare you…"
"Dare what?"
In an instant, Naoki, who had been hundreds of meters away, appeared right in front of Gorgon. Their Mystic Eyes locked. Just as Gorgon reacted, Naoki delivered another kick to her forehead!
*BAM!*
Amid a loud crash, Gorgon was sent flying again by Naoki's kick. Her entire upper body flipped backward and crashed to the ground!
When a giant fights, their immense attack and defense power can make even the shockwaves difficult for smaller opponents to handle. But conversely, if the smaller side has speed the giant can't react to, the roles reverse.
The larger side becomes a sitting target.
As is the case now.
*BAM!*
Descending from above, Naoki landed a punch on Gorgon's chest!
Even without a rebounding sensation, the impact of the punch pierced through Gorgon's body, creating a massive crater in the ground below and slamming Gorgon hard into it!
"Ugh… Damn it!!"
Being struck hard by Naoki three times in a row was already a great humiliation. Gorgon, as the Magical Beast Goddess, was powerless before a mere ant…
"Don't get cocky, insect!"
*ANG—!*
Around Gorgon, the giant snakes formed from her hair, as if alive, swam wildly while letting out dragon-like roars. Immense Mana gathered in their mouths, transforming into beams of light fired relentlessly at Naoki!
The power of these shots was even stronger than before. If unleashed on the Northern Wall and Uruk, even without the Demon Beast army, the Northern Wall would melt and collapse instantly.
Using such firepower against a single small opponent was like shooting a mosquito with a cannon.
But once again, if it couldn't hit, no amount of power mattered.
"Too slow."
Naoki, whose body had nearly turned into lightning, swiftly darted through the randomly sweeping cannon beams like a meteor shower.
Seeing Naoki continuously dodging, Gorgon instinctively tried to track him with her eyes, but let alone follow him, she couldn't even catch his shadow!
"Damned insect…"
Gorgon's rage became uncontrollable. The snakes woven from her hair grew frenzied, transforming into giant serpents chasing after Naoki as he evaded.
The scene looked like countless dragons and snakes intertwining, surrounding him from all directions. An ordinary person would despair just looking at it.
The hair-snakes and cannon beams formed an almost impenetrable net. Escaping was nearly impossible, and hiding within it was just as hard. With their sheer numbers, a single misstep while dodging one attack could lead to being hit by another.
But Naoki could do it.
(Everything is under my control.)
With his Fairy-like Pseudo-Future Vision, Naoki could fully predict attacks coming a few seconds ahead and prepare all responses in advance!
"Running around like that—"
Gorgon gritted her teeth in frustration, and her thick, hill-like serpent tail suddenly swept around!
Since she couldn't catch him, she'd force him out with an indiscriminate long-range attack!
"Where are you attacking?"
However, Naoki's voice came from above Gorgon's head—somehow, after circling through her visual blind spot, Naoki had escaped the prison of countless hair-snakes and arrived above her unprotected head!
Lightning gathered into a bow and arrow in his hand, aiming a Thunder Arrow at Gorgon's head, the bowstring drawn to its limit.
"Fall."
*SWOOSH!*
The thunder arrow shot from the bowstring instantly transformed into a Thunder Pillar descending from the sky!
Gorgon, below, had no time or chance to dodge. Her massive serpentine body was completely engulfed by the lightning!
*BOOM!*
The sound of thunder echoed through heaven and earth.