In Fuyuki Magecraft Academy.
Tamamo-no-Mae grew increasingly restless.
Earlier, when the God of War from the United States arrived and entered the [True Divine Domain] with Nameless, it had actually summoned Tiamat's descent!
That was a genuinely terrifying existence, one capable of overwhelming any Heroic Spirit.
Only the Demon God King could even qualify to face her one-on-one.
After defeating the God of War, the Pantheon of the United States projected their imposing presence, threatening Qin Shi Huang to hand over Nameless.
Unfortunately, those bullies had kicked an iron plate!
Daring to snatch someone claimed by the Evils of Humanity—wasn't that just asking for death?
Brilliant fireworks bloomed one after another in the skies above Fuyuki City, nearly completing the twelve celebratory bursts of the Spring Festival!
Well, they did complete it.
The reckless God of War, who had arrived in person, had already been torn apart by Nameless, counting as one of them.
Tamamo-no-Mae smiled at the two little girls before her. "It's alright now. There were no casualties on China's side, while the United States suffered a crushing defeat!"
Earlier, Qin Shi Huang had ordered her to protect these two little cuties.
Tsk, she had to admit—they were truly adorable, enough to make her want to raise them as her own daughters.
No wonder the Pantheon of the United States had used them as bait to lure out Nameless.
"Thank you, Headmistress!"
The two hurriedly expressed their gratitude.
Illya let out a sigh of relief. "That's good!"
She had been worried about Nameless's safety ever since he went to save them.
Fortunately, everything was finally over.
"But… is it really over…?"
Miyu, however, grew even more anxious.
The one who had intervened earlier was undoubtedly Tiamat, one of the Evils of Humanity. Would she try to take her brother away?
"Alright, you two stay here for now. I'll go check things out." Tamamo-no-Mae adopted the responsible demeanor of a headmistress.
Now that everything was settled, she needed to make her presence known to the students and show that she was protecting them.
If she ended up being seen as unreliable as that useless goddess who always dropped the ball, it would be utterly humiliating.
She first scanned the entirety of Fuyuki City, confirming that the Pantheon of the United States had completely vanished and that the presence of the Evil of Humanity had also dissipated.
Caution was paramount—now more than ever!
Without gathering all nine tails, she couldn't afford to act recklessly.
Just look at the Pantheon of the United States—they had tried to block the gates of the "newbie village" where the crippled Nameless resided, only to run straight into the final boss, Tiamat, right at the entrance!
Where was the justice in that total party wipe?
Curious, Tamamo-no-Mae contacted Merlin. "In Greek mythology, there exists the primordial deity Chaos. Could they also be an Evil of Humanity, like Tiamat?"
"That's unclear. That existence has long since vanished—perhaps it never even existed in the first place," Merlin replied with uncertainty.
Originally, in Greek mythology, Chaos had created the world and birthed the Greek gods.
However, the true Olympian gods originated from the twelve Machine Gods from outer space.
After being defeated by the Umbral Star's vanguard, they were forced to abandon their mechanical bodies and transform into the native deities of Greece.
The group from the United States had indeed found the abandoned machine bodies discarded by the Olympian gods.
Hence, they proclaimed themselves as the "Gods of the United States."
Following this line of reasoning, could it be that the primordial deity Chaos was also a powerful machine god?
For interstellar travel, an enormous energy source would undoubtedly be required.
Even the Demon King could choose to ignite human history, reversing Earth's timeline back to 4.6 billion years ago.
That mysterious machine god might very well do the same.
Merlin found it utterly perplexing—why were they all so obsessed with the meager energy humans could provide? If they had the capability, why not harness the sun as an energy source instead?
"Whatever, it's none of my business anyway."
Tamamo-no-Mae decided to stop dwelling on it.
Just to be safe, she deliberately dragged Mordred along for a stroll outside.
If any danger arose, this rebellious knight would undoubtedly charge ahead first!
Perfect!
This old fox is truly brilliant.
Now there's no chance of encountering any threats!
Mordred looked puzzled. "So, why did the Beast of Humanity attack the United States gods earlier?"
"Probably to snatch away Nameless!" Tamamo-no-Mae answered with a straight face.
"Wait, she's joining the competition too?"
Mordred instantly felt a headache coming on.
Competing with Father for Nameless was already as difficult as scaling the heavens.
Now an even stronger Beast of Humanity had entered the fray.
This was a whole new level of difficulty!
The two Servants walked down the street, weighed down by their thoughts.
As they strolled along, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly realized she had nearly bumped into someone!
Despite being a powerful nine-tailed fox, she hadn't noticed the presence of this person at all.
A woman with long blue hair and an exceedingly gentle smile!
Tamamo-no-Mae politely apologized, "My apologies, I was lost in thought and didn't see you."
For her to overlook someone like this meant the other party was no ordinary person!
The young man beside the woman smiled. "No problem."
Just then, the blue-haired woman suddenly reached out as if to pat Tamamo-no-Mae's head.
Though she appeared youthful, she radiated a maternal aura so profound that even Mordred was momentarily stunned.
However, as Tamamo-no-Mae watched that slender hand approach, she was overcome with an indescribable terror.
This seemingly delicate woman made her feel as though she were facing an endless ocean, the entire world itself—a suffocating pressure.
Unbeatable!
Undefendable!
Inescapable!
No matter how she resisted, it felt like that seemingly fragile hand could crush her instantly!
In that moment, all of Tamamo-no-Mae's fox tails, usually hidden, burst forth uncontrollably.
She took an involuntary step back and let out an utterly embarrassing sound—
"Me... meow!"
Her enormous, fluffy tails instantly drew the attention of everyone around.
All eyes turned to her in shock.
No one could have imagined the legendary nine-tailed fox would sneak out for a casual stroll like this.
Mordred, equally surprised, asked, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
The usually proud and haughty fox spirit had completely bristled, as if facing a mortal enemy.
But no matter how Mordred looked, the two before them seemed like perfectly ordinary humans.
Was this some kind of trick?
The young man in front of them asked in confusion, "Why did your tails just pop out?"
"I—I—"
Tamamo-no-Mae felt like crying.
She had been so cautious, even dragging Mordred along as a shield, and yet—
The question is, why do I run into the big boss the moment I step out?
With Tiamat's status, no Heroic Spirit would even catch her eye.
The only exception is the one who defeated her in that Singularity.
Therefore, the person standing next to the boss must be Nameless!
Which means, they deliberately brought Tiamat here to cause trouble for me.
This is really the end!
Tamamo-no-Mae cast an illusion to shield them from the gazes of the surrounding crowd.
The countless onlookers paused for a moment, then stopped staring and went back to their own business.
And then, Tamamo-no-Mae, faced with the terrifying Beast of Humanity, completely gave up on resisting.
She could only watch helplessly as that slender hand descended onto the top of her head.
Crack!
Her head was about to be crushed!
However, the expected explosion like an overripe watermelon didn't happen.
The woman's hand merely brushed lightly over her head before landing on Mordred's instead.
For some reason, Mordred felt a pang of guilt and asked, "Uh, what's wrong?"
Facing this gentle woman almost made her blurt out "Mom."
This person's maternal aura was just too strong.
In comparison, the King of Knights had absolutely no motherly vibe at all!
So weird!
No, let me look again!
This is getting even weirder, damn it!
Just as she was about to involuntarily call out "Mom," the woman withdrew her hand and calmly walked past her.
The man beside them also smiled as he bid farewell: "Have fun, you two."
"Huh? You're leaving already?"
Mordred looked reluctant, feeling like she'd missed out on something.
She turned to the fox girl still frozen in place like a wooden doll: "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Even if that woman had maternal vibes, she couldn't possibly be more alluring than you, right?
"N-nothing..."
Tamamo-no-Mae finally snapped out of it.
The rebellious knight had no idea that in those few seconds, she'd been dancing on death's doorstep!
She'd almost met Yama.
No—if that woman had crushed her, her soul would have been utterly annihilated!
Buzz~
Suddenly, Tamamo-no-Mae felt a slight movement in her tail, and her power began skyrocketing.
The five tails behind her multiplied—a sixth tail had appeared!
Her combat strength instantly increased ninefold, placing her among the top-tier Servants, on par with or even surpassing the likes of the King of Heroes and King Arthur!
"Dammit, six tails aren't enough! I need to survive until seven, maybe even eight!"
Tamamo-no-Mae took a deep breath.
Even restricted, that Beast of Humanity could easily overpower her six-tailed form.
But with six tails, she could clearly sense that her next three tails would manifest naturally.
All she had to do was lay low, and she'd keep growing stronger.
Eight tails would be her limit in the human world.
At nine tails, she'd fully transform into a Beast of Humanity of the same rank, wielding the true authority of the [Sun God].
With the power of the sun, she could sink the entire Japanese archipelago with a single tail flick!
When that time comes, I'll be invincible!
Tamamo-no-Mae swore silently: "Just you wait... Once I get all nine tails, I'll steal Nameless right in front of you!"
...
Meanwhile.
Nameless had already walked past her nonchalantly, secretly delighted.
Perfect—successfully intimidating that fox spirit should keep her in line for a while.
Who else but him could pull off "borrowing a tiger's might" in front of an actual fox spirit?
Indeed, he'd deliberately brought Tiamat over to give the fox a scare, nearly making her wet herself.
Truly, there's always a bigger fish!
Back then, this fox had wanted to kidnap him as her trophy husband, but now she was utterly cowed by Tiamat.
Still, judging by the timing, Tiamat should be leaving soon.
Nameless finally relaxed.
In just one hour, he'd first exhausted himself defeating the God of America.
Then faced the combined projections of the American pantheon.
So much had happened in such a short time—good thing he was used to overtime work.
Anyone else would've collapsed from exhaustion!
Thankfully, the mission was complete, and no more fighting was needed.
After seeing Tiamat off, he'd go home and sleep like the dead!
Tiamat looked around. "I should go now."
"Eh? Not staying longer?"
Nameless replied instinctively.
Their walk together had lasted mere minutes—nothing to his stamina.
"Humans have parted ways with gods. My existence is a disaster for them."
Tiamat shook her head.
This time, [Alaya] had made an exception, assisting her entire descent to ensure it went unnoticed.
"Perhaps... I'll team up with you someday."
Nameless carefully bid farewell to the other party.
Earlier, [Alaya] had mentioned that the mischievous child would inevitably break free from her seals, and even gain more powerful allies.
Only a Beast of Humanity like Tiamat, or a Grand Servant like King Hassan, would qualify as his teammates.
If a real battle were to break out, whether Earth could survive would be another matter entirely.
He wondered if the mischievous child would go easy on him, considering how he'd taken care of her all these years—
Nameless turned his head in shock to see the mischievous child standing not far away, watching the two of them!
Holy shit, how did you get here?
***
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