98. Tiamat Falls into the Underworld!
Kevin's figure plummeted like a kite with a broken string.
Just then!
The sound of chains echoed from the air! But just as the tip of the chains was inches from Kevin—
*Whoosh!*
Kevin vanished instantly, having arrived in Uruk in a flash via the chat group's teleportation function.
Inside Uruk, in a room temporarily housing the wounded.
A portal appeared, and Kevin stumbled out, his legs giving way as he was about to collapse. But a pair of arms steadily supported him.
"Thank you for your hard work," the Tarnished helped Kevin to the bed, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Leave the rest to us!"
Kevin lay on his back on the soft bed, struggling even to lift a finger, managing only a faint smile.
"I've burned myself out until the very last moment. If you lose, you'll have to come back with your heads."
The Tarnished chuckled and retorted, "You wouldn't be happy if you actually came back with your heads."
"Alright, rest easy. I'm off."
The Tarnished turned and instantly appeared on the city wall via the chat group's teleportation function.
"How's Kevin?" Lemuen asked, looking at the Tarnished.
"He's fine, at least he can still joke around," the Tarnished shrugged.
The Tarnished's gaze then turned to the distance. Tiamat's sky-covering figure began to move, and a new wave of black torrents was sweeping in with devastating force. A smirk played on the lips of the Tarnished.
"It's time for my turn to perform."
He first turned to King Gilgamesh, who stood proudly to the side, and nodded slightly.
"Your Majesty, the defense and offense on this side are entirely yours."
"Hmph!" Gilgamesh snorted coldly, his crimson eyes sweeping over him.
"My Uruk, I will protect it myself! Why should you, a rude fool, need to remind me?"
"Heh, I was being nosy."
The Tarnished didn't seem to care and immediately stretched out his hand, his palm holding the Holy Grail, which contained a vast source of magical power!
"Then, I'll take this as a gift from you."
"Of course!" Gilgamesh waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"What I bestow upon you is yours. Take it!"
"Very well!"
The Tarnished said no more, took a deep breath, and his gaze instantly became incredibly focused. His left hand steadily held the Holy Grail, while his right hand gripped his staff tightly.
The Tarnished slowly closed his eyes.
*Whoosh!*
The air around him suddenly thickened! An invisible storm of magical energy began to gather wildly! Beneath his feet, an enormous magic circle suddenly lit up, slowly rotating, each rotation drawing magic from the Great Source and the Holy Grail! The Holy Grail erupted with unprecedented brilliance in his left palm!
Terrifying waves of magical energy, like tangible tides, surged forth from the Tarnished, each stronger than the last, causing the robes around him to flutter wildly! The purity and vastness of this power even made the air groan under its weight.
"…" Ishtar felt she should be surprised, but sorry, she had already been surprised many times. What kind of freaks were the people in that group?
One wielded a holy sword, one played with the sun, one played with water, and now there was one who played with magic.
Supported by the immense magical energy, the Tarnished's body slowly detached from the city wall, hovering in mid-air. The Holy Grail's light blazed ever brighter, almost engulfing him. A massive surge of magical energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, surged wildly into his body, guided by his staff, invoking the power of the distant stars!
It's still not enough!
But... don't forget they are Servants!
"In the name of the Command Seals—" Fujimaru Ritsuka's clear and resolute voice echoed across the city walls! She raised her right hand high, the crimson Command Seal symbol on the back of her hand burning like a flame!
"—For us, seize victory!"
"—Again, in the name of the Command Seals! Let the goddess of creation witness our will!"
The two commands exploded like thunder! With Fujimaru Ritsuka's unwavering action, the two Command Seals on the back of her hand vanished instantly! Transforming into invisible magical energy, they precisely flowed into the body of the Tarnished in mid-air!
BOOM—!!!
Like throwing an incendiary bomb into a powder keg about to explode! The magical energy emanating from the Tarnished surged several times over in an instant!
Simultaneously! In the sky, Tiamat's colossal form had arrived before the city of Uruk—directly above the Underworld entrance recently opened by Ereshkigal and Luo Tianyi!
The time had come!
"Now!" The Tarnished's tightly closed eyes snapped open! He pointed his wand at the Goddess of Creation hovering above the Underworld entrance!
"Goddess of Creation!!! Let me show you the mighty power bestowed upon us by the gods from the depths of our world's starry sky!!!"
"Star Magic—Roar of the Stars!!!"
A massive magic circle instantly materialized in the sky above Tiamat's head!
As if sensing a terrifying power that threatened her very existence, Tiamat, who had been advancing silently, raised her massive head for the first time! Her lifeless eyes seemed to pierce through space, seeing the source of destruction taking shape! As if by instinct, she reacted the same way she had when facing Kevin the Sun—only this time, it was even more astonishing!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Seven layers in total! A massive magical barrier instantly appeared above her head!
However—
"Get down!!!"
The Tarnished's raised staff, like the guillotine's blade, slammed down with all its might and unwavering resolve!
Night truly descended at this moment!
Not brought by darkness, but by endless light, swallowing all other colors!
A torrent of light, indescribably magnificent and terrifying, erupted from the core of the suspended magic circle! It tore through space, roaring and crashing down with the force of falling stars!
Swoosh—!!!
The first barrier, like snowflakes thrown into a furnace, instantly vaporized! The second layer! The third layer! The fourth layer! ...The seventh layer! Those seven layers of defensive barriers, enough to instill despair in any Servant or even god, couldn't even last a second before this spear of starlight that pierced the heavens and earth! They shattered layer by layer like fragile glass!
Without the slightest pause! Without the slightest deviation! The pillar of light, summoned by the Holy Grail, Command Seals, and the power of the stars drawn by the Tarnished's magic, slammed fiercely into Tiamat's massive body!
A deafening roar sounded—!!!
An unimaginable explosion swept across the heavens and earth! The entirety of Mesopotamia trembled! Tiamat roared, her enormous body pinned down by the spear of starlight, and violently slammed into the earth with an irresistible force!
The earth was easily torn apart! A massive crater instantly formed, extending wildly into the depths of the earth's crust! Wherever the pillar of light passed, rock and soil were instantly vaporized and pierced!
In just a few seconds! The terrifying pillar of light, carrying the image of the Goddess of Creation, pierced the earth's surface and nailed it deep underground—towards the realm prepared for the dead, the Underworld!
The light faded, and above the city walls, the Tarnished, like a rocket running out of fuel, instantly lost its magical radiance. His body went limp, and he plummeted straight down.
"Thump!"
The expected fall did not occur. A strong, powerful arm caught him in time, gently supporting his nearly exhausted body.
Gilgamesh, now standing beside him, his crimson eyes gleaming with undisguised admiration and excitement, exclaimed, "Well done! Magician! This is truly—a monumental achievement!"
The Tarnished, supported by Gilgamesh, still trembled slightly from his depleted magic power, but a weary yet incredibly proud smile forced a across his pale face.
"Needless to say… this was… my… strongest attack…"
"Well done, young man!" Quetzalcoatl gave the Tarnished a thumbs-up, then immediately leaped onto her mount.
The others were ready.
This was the final battle!
Everyone jumped onto the back of Quetzalcoatl's mount.
The pterosaur spread its wings.
The next second, it carried everyone towards the void.
...
Ereshkigal's eyes were fixed on the figure below, mercilessly incinerated by the laws of the underworld—Tiamat.
The Tarnished's earth-shattering blow not only forced her into this realm of the dead but also left unprecedented wounds on her body. This was undoubtedly Tiamat's weakest moment since her appearance.
This was a golden opportunity! Ereshkigal showed no mercy; her icy voice was like the underworld itself proclaiming judgment:
"O Garura spirit of the underworld, nimble spear of corruption!"
"Unleash the punishment of the underworld upon the invaders!"
Her spear swung down fiercely! In an instant, countless lightning spears formed from crimson death lightning pierced through Tiamat's massive, wounded body! The hiss of lightning mingled with the sound of flesh tearing.
"Aaaaa—!!!"
Tiamat let out a agonizing roar that shook the entire Underworld. Her massive body convulsed violently in agony as she struggled.
But Ereshkigal poured all her magic power into the lightning spear! The torrent of magic caused the already enormous spear to expand even further, pinning Tiamat firmly to the cold, scorched earth of the Underworld. Chains of lightning coiled around it, giving her no chance to escape.
Just then, within Tiamat's body, the black mud—the sea of life symbolizing the return of life to its primordial chaos—suddenly burst forth from all parts of her body! Thick, filthy black waves surged forth, instantly engulfing and devouring Tiamat's figure, forming a rapidly writhing, expanding, gigantic black mud cocoon.
The surface of the cocoon rippled violently, and from within came the sickening sounds of bones reforming and flesh proliferating—she was using the black mud to undergo a rapid self-remodeling and regeneration!
"Damn it!"
Ereshkigal's heart sank.
At this critical moment!
"Roar—!!!"
A majestic dragon's roar resounded across the dome of the Underworld! Immediately afterward, a colossal water dragon, like a punitive spear descending from the heavens, slammed into the rapidly changing black mud cocoon!
BOOM—!!!
The water dragon forcefully tore apart the black mud enveloping Tiamat! The newly formed mud cocoon instantly disintegrated, revealing Tiamat's mangled body, which had not yet completed its remodeling!
The forced interruption of her regeneration caused her to let out an even more furious and painful howl.
Dan Heng's figure silently appeared above the Underworld, surrounded by flowing clear water.
The people who had arrived in the Underworld saw the injured figure below…
"It worked!" This thought flashed through their minds!
"Everyone, hold nothing back!" Fujimaru Ritsuka, one of the two living beings granted the right to exist in the underworld, loudly reminded the others.
"Ha, that's right! Hold nothing back!" A hearty laugh echoed in response.
Quetzalcoatl slammed her hands together! A surge of divine energy erupted from her body without restraint! Her pterodactyl mount let out a high-pitched roar.
The entire Underworld seemed to have been ignited by a fiercely burning star!
Quetzalcoatl's voice, like an ancient oracle, resounded throughout the battlefield:
"The past exists here!"
"The present still exists!"
"The future will also be here!"
"Winds, come forth!"
"Thunder, descend!"
"When Venus shines—"
"The sun still shines there! Illuminating the world!"
She raised her hand, holding firmly the object ablaze—the Sunstone!
The light it emitted was so intense that even Ereshkigal's crimson lightning was suppressed; the very space of the Underworld distorted and trembled under its pure heat and light energy!
Quetzalcoatl leaped from the pterosaur's back, transforming into a falling meteor, and launched a desperate dive towards Tiamat's mangled body, exposed by the water dragon's impact and pierced by lightning spears!
"The Sunstone!!!"
A devastating torrent, carrying terrifying heat, slammed precisely into Tiamat's most vulnerable, exposed wound!
BOOM—!!!
The deafening explosion marked the beginning of the catastrophe; the underworld instantly transformed into a boundless, boiling sea of fire!
"Aaaaaaaaa—!!!"
Tiamat's soul-piercing roar of pain exploded in the sea of fire. However, in the Chaldea command room, Roman's exclamation rang out:
"Impossible! This Spirit Origin reaction...no change! Vital signs...the core damage is indeed carbonized, but...her total spiritual energy...unchanged! Even...it's still increasing?!"
Quetzalcoatl frowned, seeing that her Noble Phantasm attack had little effect. The black mud below suddenly churned, and she immediately jumped back into her mount.
Just then, Tiamat roared.
"Roar—!!!"
With this roar, the churning black mud surged upwards! Twelve figures of different shapes struggled out of the viscous black mud!
The first eleven figures to appear were the children created by Tiamat! They simultaneously let out a soul-shaking roar, transforming their existence into the strongest barrier against their mother goddess. The appearance of the last figure sent a chill down the spines of everyone on Chaldea's side.
Kingu hovered above the black mud, a chillingly mocking smile playing on his lips, his gaze precisely locked onto Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
"Didn't expect that, did you? We meet again."
....