The rumbling that shook the heavens and earth continued for a long time.
Under the direct assault of two Crimson Moons, Tiamat's Head Body on the sea's surface had absolutely no time or chance to move before it was instantly swallowed by the deep crimson moonlight.
Most of the seawater evaporated from the heat carried by the Crimson Moon's surface. The massive crater that formed even caused the surrounding seawater to flow back in, creating a gigantic whirlpool.
Observing the scene below from the air, Arcueid let out a slight sigh of relief: "With this... she's defeated?"
"Generally, when you say something like that, she's definitely not defeated yet." Naoki gave a wry smile. "If she could be beaten that easily, I'd be laughing in my sleep. Like I said, that was just the Head Body. Tiamat's true main body hasn't appeared yet."
"Ugh..."
Arcueid frowned.
As Naoki's words faded, from within the churning whirlpool, a black shadow slowly rose and floated up from the ocean depths.
"AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!"
Tiamat's singing voice, heard earlier, echoed through the skies once more.
The whirlpool, which had been swirling downward, stopped rotating. Then, as if pushed from below, it flowed upward toward the sky in the opposite direction. Once it reached the point where it could no longer continue, it burst explosively, revealing the Black Shadow that had propelled it.
In an instant, though he had known beforehand, upon truly witnessing the manifested existence before his eyes, Naoki's heart couldn't help but tremble, and he let out a bitter laugh.
(This is really like a joke...)
What floated up from the deep sea was a colossal figure towering into the sky.
"AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!"
The shrill singing voice, filled with cruelty and hatred, roared like a bellow from the giant's maw.
Clouds, atmosphere, and ocean waves... everything was hurled aside by this roar, fully exposing the enormous size of its body to all eyes.
Both Naoki and Arcueid, who were very close, as well as Kingu and Rei on the shore, and even perhaps Uruk in the distant haze, could vaguely make out the silhouette of this gigantic existence.
This was the true Tiamat.
No longer the human-sized Head Body from before, but Tiamat's main body—the true Mother Creator!
Its colossal size surpassed that of giants, standing at least several hundred meters tall. Its body structure was no longer the slender form of the young girl from earlier, but had become savage and malevolent, as if mutated into a monster. A pair of massive horns seemed capable of piercing the heavens.
Its pair of beautiful star-like eyes had also changed to blood-red, devoid of any emotion as before.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!"
No longer a singing voice, this time what echoed across the heavens and earth was a true beastly roar and howl.
One of Humanity's Evils, Beast II, had finally fully manifested for the first time.
"This is... the true Tiamat..."
For the first time in her life, Arcueid adopted an extremely serious demeanor.
No analysis was needed. Just by sensing it, she knew the giant before her was not on the same level as her at all. Though she was the Princess of True Ancestors, the Planet's terminal, and a supernatural being capable of Imaginary Manifestation, in terms of scale of existence, she was nowhere comparable to Tiamat.
(No... I am comparable. I must be comparable.)
The Planet would grant a Fairy the appropriate power to suppress enemies in battle. This was a privilege for Fairies when facing foes they couldn't normally defeat.
The stage where Arcueid currently stood was undoubtedly Earth. The Planet's support continued to function, but seventy percent of the power she obtained from the Planet was used to suppress her bloodlust urges.
If she released it, she could indeed surpass Tiamat and suppress her in battle, but afterward, could her rampaging self truly recover? There was no Ryougi Shiki in this Singularity to help her kill her bloodlust.
And just as Arcueid hesitated—
"Arcueid!"
Naoki's startled shout suddenly snapped her awareness back to reality. Seeing the black sea wave nearly touching her feet below, Arcueid hurriedly stepped on the wind beneath her and leaped high to Naoki's higher position.
"Sorry, Naoki, I was a bit..."
"It's fine as long as you're okay." Naoki grasped her hand. "Remember, Arcueid, that ocean absolutely cannot be touched. It will immediately alter our bodies at the cellular level, turning us into the same kind of existence as the Lahmu down there."
"!"
A sense of relief from escaping danger suddenly welled up in Arcueid's heart. If Naoki hadn't reminded her, part of her might have already been modified by now?
After calming herself, Arcueid gazed at the gigantic Tiamat before her: "What do we do now? Naoki, we have to hold her back, right? But with a size like this... should we hit her with Moon Fall again?"
If they did, it might cause some impact—Arcueid wasn't sure.
Naoki shook his head: "No, that would just waste our strength. Attack with our full power at the sea beneath her feet—her body is so massive that structurally, it can't stand on its own power. This ocean is what's supporting her forward movement."
As long as the Sea of Life could be destroyed, Tiamat's advance would halt, and time would be gained.
However, once the Sea of Life was eliminated, Tiamat certainly wouldn't stay idle, and swarms of Lahmu would undoubtedly come to interfere.
"I will keep destroying the Sea of Life beneath her feet."
Naoki gripped the Holy Star Sword.
"While I work to buy time, I entrust the task of protecting me to you, Arcueid. Whether it's the Lahmu or Tiamat's attacks, I definitely won't have the chance to deal with them. I beg you."
If Arcueid weren't here, Naoki would have planned to entrust this to Rei. The pressure on Uruk might be a bit greater, but as long as Tiamat could be held back, it would be a victory.
And now, he decided to entrust it to Arcueid, whom he trusted more.
[I beg you.]
This was the first time Arcueid heard Naoki plead with her so earnestly.
"—I understand. I will definitely protect you completely, Naoki!"
Without hesitation, determination shone in Arcueid's eyes.