A side story about Tiamat, the Primordial Mother Goddess?
Souma was momentarily stunned.
At the end of Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, Alaya had mentioned releasing a related side story in three days.
Yet here it was, arriving in just two.
He looked up at the window, as if sensing a pair of eyes constantly watching him.
Are you the one watching me, Alaya?
Just had a chat with the brat about who'd make a better mom.
Roya ruled out all her favorite Heroic Spirits.
Those spirits were only fit to be idols to worship, utterly unsuited to take care of her.
Then she dropped a name that crushed all the others—
The Beast of Humanity, Tiamat!
The brat listed a whole series of Tiamat's virtues, making it seem like there was no other choice.
The problem was—
The brat and Tiamat were on the same level, if not even higher.
Even with Nameless in his ultimate mythic form and Alaya working together, they couldn't truly erase her—they could only retire with this walking nuke in tow.
If Tiamat really were chosen, how would the family hierarchy even work?
Probably just have to call each other whatever.
Not even three minutes after saying this, Alaya dropped a related side story.
You're absolutely doing this on purpose!
Souma suddenly felt an extraordinary sense of danger.
Oh no!
If it were any other Heroic Spirit, they'd owe him favors—even if they came knocking, they wouldn't be a threat.
But Tiamat was different.
Back in the Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia Singularity, he'd promised her that after the final battle, he'd go to the imaginary world to keep her company.
After his promise, Tiamat gave him all her remaining power—to revive Ereshkigal and make up for regrets.
And to nourish the entire world.
Nameless successfully repaired the collapsing Singularity, returning it to human history.
But then he stood Tiamat up!
He ghosted a Beast of Humanity!
Ghosting—one of humanity's three great laws.
But this was a Beast of Humanity.
Back then, Tiamat had been betrayed by gods and humans alike. Even after sealing away 90% of herself with Self-Seal, she nearly wiped out humanity.
Souma sighed softly. "Alaya, I really think you're trying to stir up something big here."
In his current state—his Spirit Origin shattered, his body crippled—how could he possibly oppose a Beast of Humanity?
"It really is unbelievable. We just talked about Tiamat, and now Alaya's already updated ahead of time!"
Roya couldn't help but glance out the window. "Is she really watching us?"
"…"
Souma suddenly wondered if she was about to break free from her seal.
Otherwise, why was her Clairvoyance getting more and more accurate?
"Whatever. I'm not a Heroic Spirit, and definitely not a boss—hardly worth Alaya's surveillance."
Roya shook her head, her golden twin-tails bouncing in a way that made you want to grab them.
She walked straight to the living room and turned on the massive LCD TV.
If you're going to watch Alaya's exposé videos, you might as well go full cinema mode for maximum enjoyment.
After all, the quality was unbeatable, every detail crystal clear.
When the video started, the opening text appeared—
[Absolute Demonic Front Side Story—The Primordial Mother Goddess]
[This side story follows the perspective of the Primordial Mother Goddess Tiamat, revealing events unseen by the Nameless Heroic Spirit!]
"Damn, might as well start from the dawn of creation!"
Roya muttered offhandedly.
This was the so-called Primordial Mother Goddess. If the story was truly told from her perspective, it'd easily surpass the combined runtime of all previous videos by an absurd margin.
Then—
When she clicked play, she was stunned to find the entire world plunged into primordial chaos.
It really seemed to be the birth of the world itself!
Souma, suppressing his unease, replied in shock, "She really did start from the dawn of creation!"
How long was this going to take?
Luckily.
This scene flashed by, quickly arriving at the time when gods and humans were born one after another.
Tiamat created powerful deities and numerous lifeforms across Mesopotamia.
The grand creation myth unfolded before everyone—
-[Damn, they're really starting from the creation of the world! Gotta say, Tiamom is OP!]
-[It's time for my favorite side story! In the last one, the Lion King revealed the mastermind's identity—wonder what'll be exposed this time?]
-[Is Tiamat going to descend too? If she does, we're screwed instantly!]
-[Relax, if Tiamom really descends, she'll only go after Nameless, the one who stood her up!]
...
Countless people immediately opened the video to watch the mysterious and formidable content related to the Evils of Humanity.
In the video,
As the primordial mother goddess, Tiamat watched tenderly as countless lifeforms flourished.
However,
As the gods grew increasingly powerful, they eventually turned against her.
A terrifying divine war erupted.
In her fury, the mother goddess gave birth to eleven monstrous beasts to battle the gods.
These beasts were created by consuming her essence, making them infinitely stronger than the ones Nameless and the others had encountered.
The conflict shattered heaven and earth, nearly destroying the world.
In the end, Tiamat chose to relent, and the god Marduk beheaded her with his great axe.
Her indestructible soul was exiled to the imaginary number space by the gods.
Her remaining body was split in two, forming the heavens and earth of Mesopotamia.
Chaldea.
Da Vinci nodded. "A fairly standard creation myth, similar to China's Pangu separating heaven and earth."
"Indeed, mythologies across different cultures often share similarities," Dr. Roman agreed.
This wasn't particularly strange.
Every civilization's mythology worshipped the sun, featured great floods, and so on—a testament to the unified imagination of humanity.
Only the methods of coping differed, reflecting the inherent distinctions among peoples.
The video continued.
Before Tiamat, exiled in the imaginary number space, a figure quietly appeared.
This figure had long golden hair that extended outward on both sides.
Their body was extraordinarily robust and towering.
Embedded in their chest was an enormous purple-red eye, occupying most of their torso.
Each of their hands bore ten rings.
An aura of boundless malevolence surrounded them—just looking at them evoked visions of countless demonic gods converging into a terrifying collective entity.
Above their head, [Alaya] helpfully displayed a name—
[Beast I: Goetia]
The barrage of comments exploded—
-[Holy shit, this is the Demon God King? Why does his hair look like golden twin-tails?]
-[Hey, hey, why is Tiamom so beautiful while you're so ugly? Disgrace to the Evils of Humanity!]
-[You only showed the name—show us the HP bar if you dare!]
-[This guy actually sought out Tiamom directly—can the Evils of Humanity team up?]
-[Even Tiamom is being used as a pawn by him! So, did he become Gaia or not?]
Dr. Roman, who had been relaxed moments ago, paled slightly upon seeing the figure.
Instinctively, he shoved his ring-bearing hand into his pocket.
So, the day had finally come!
The Demon God King, who sought to incinerate human history and annihilate mankind, had revealed himself to all with overwhelming might.
"Demon God King Goetia!" Mash stared intently at the figure.
It was this terrifying BOSS that drove the senior to fight bloody battles time and again.
She stared at the ring on the other's hand, suddenly feeling a faint sense of familiarity.
Mash glanced at the doctor beside her.
After watching Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, she suddenly recalled a dream.
In the dream, Romani Archaman, the doctor, had shown a completely different demeanor.
With chilling coldness, he said, "Mash, just as humanity has no future, neither do you. Death awaits you."
She asked in confusion, "Why would the doctor say something we already know?"
As a homunculus, Mash's life was deteriorating at an unprecedented rate, and she would soon meet her end.
This much she understood all too well.
The figure continued, "Since death is inevitable either way, and all life grows only to be disappointed, humanity truly has no meaning. Then, by maintaining all things in a singular existence, we can achieve true eternity!"
She jolted awake amidst his roaring laughter.
Though he bore Roman's exact appearance, the words painted such a cruel picture.
To claim human existence was meaningless, that life was born only to die.
Everything about it was utterly unacceptable to her.
As Mash observed the doctor watching the video beside her, she couldn't shake the feeling of layers upon layers of mystery shrouding him.
Servants cannot dream.
If one dreams, it means another Servant or divine being has intervened!
Take Merlin the Magus of Flowers, for instance—the dream-weaving child of an incubus, most adept at pulling others into dreams.
So what could that dream possibly signify?
As she pondered this...
On the screen.
The Demon God King gazed upon the Primordial Mother Goddess before him: "O betrayed womb of creation, I understand your fury and hatred!"
With a casual wave of his hand, countless scenes began flashing across the screen.
It was the moment when the Primordial Mother Goddess had been betrayed by the gods, beheaded by Marduk's great axe, and exiled to the imaginary number space.
Her body was even used as soil to nurture life.
Despite having birthed both gods and mortals, she was cast aside as a mere obstacle—the greatest hindrance of all.
Hum~
A golden Holy Grail appeared in the hands of the Demon God King, who gently placed it before her.
"Now, I grant you the coordinates for your return. Come back! Take your vengeance freely! Destroy human history! Slaughter every god and human who betrayed you!"
Human Order had already begun to collapse, giving rise to numerous Singularities.
This allowed the exiled Tiamat to finally have a chance to return from the imaginary number space to the world of the living.
She reached out and took the Holy Grail, murmuring softly: "Aaaaa (I need a pair of eyes)."
The sound, originally incomprehensible to humans, was thoughtfully translated by Alaya, allowing the audience to understand.
"Everything has been prepared for you."
Mysterious light shimmered around the Demon God King.
A phantom river formed, flowing endlessly into the void.
An image emerged—
It was the scene from the end of the Oldest King video, where Nameless sacrificed himself to unleash Ea, severing the connection between gods and humans with a single strike.
And Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven, was the very concept of that divine-human bond.
Executed by the gods, they sought to reclaim the concept and choose a new vessel.
Yet, Enkidu willingly offered themselves in sacrifice, allowing Nameless to completely sever the tie between gods and humans.
The divine weapon, forged from clay, ultimately returned to the earth, scattering like dust across the land.
The King of Heroes could only watch helplessly as his two dearest friends departed forever, returning alone to Uruk in solitude.
Hum~
After everyone had left, an unfathomable power stirred.
The scattered clay began to gather on its own, reforming into the shape of Enkidu.
In an instant, they vanished, arriving in the imaginary number space.
Yet, they were already dead—their soul long taken, leaving behind only a fragmented origin.
The Primordial Mother Goddess placed the Holy Grail upon their chest, making it their heart.
She breathed softly upon the clay figure.
Thump~ Thump~ Thump~
The divine weapon's heart began to beat once more, and their eyes opened.
Emerald-green irises turned violet.
"Aaaaaa (From now on, you shall be called Kingu. Carry my eyes and walk among humanity)~"
Thus spoke the Primordial Mother Goddess.
Though she had not harbored deep hatred despite her betrayal, in this moment, she was suddenly overwhelmed by boundless rage, loathing, and sorrow.
Countless audience comments flooded in—
-[The Demon God King is the mastermind behind it all! This is all your fault, turning gentle Tiamat into a Beast of Humanity!]
-[Poor Kingu, reduced to a mere replacement for Enkidu—a complete tool.]
-[I guess Enkidu's corpse was chosen to create Kingu because of their connection to Nameless.]
-[That seems likely. Nameless bears the duty of protecting humanity—choosing Kingu was definitely malicious!]
***
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