Outside of Uruk, the black sea that had once engulfed the entire land was now being continuously scorched by black flames, burned away bit by bit until nothing remained.
The black flames writhed like serpents of fire, climbing up Tiamat's colossal body, forcing anguished howls from her as both she and the black sea were relentlessly consumed.
The immovable flames of Fudou Myoo, carrying the property of destruction, were truly the most terrifying fire. Even a Beast of Original Sin, even the Mother Goddess of Creation herself, could not avoid being wounded before these world-scorching demonic flames.
Tiamat's Saint Graph was being steadily weakened, and this time, there would be no repairing it.
And yet, compared to Altera, who directly burned her Saint Graph to unleash her Noble Phantasm, the damage Rozen could inflict upon Tiamat was still quite limited.
Even stripped of the black mud that had once repaired her, Tiamat's Saint Graph decreased at an agonizingly slow pace—retaining over ninety percent integrity even now.
Rozen desperately searched for a weakness on Tiamat's body, but as mentioned before, her Saint Graph was abnormally stable, completely without flaw. Without destructive properties, until every human on the surface was annihilated, it was all but impossible to harm her.
Thus far, even with all his strength, Rozen had only managed to reduce her Saint Graph by around ten percent.
"In that case… then let's see who collapses first."
Clenching his teeth, Rozen cast aside all hesitation. He drove the boundless demonic flames forward to devour Tiamat's draconic body, searing her Saint Graph, while simultaneously darting around her form, wielding the holy sword, carving wound after wound into her flesh.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa————!!!"
Driven into fury, Tiamat's thunderous roars shook the heavens. She swung her claws, scattering waves of oncoming black flame, while conjuring fresh Laḫmu from the remnants of black mud to chase down and kill Rozen.
"Do not harm Mother!"
"Mere human!"
"Die!"
"Gyihihihihihihi!"
The Laḫmu's laughter remained just as shrill and grating as before.
But this time, Rozen noticed something different.
The Laḫmu that Tiamat birthed now radiated a wholly different presence—the unmistakable aura of divinity, genuine and pure.
In other words, every single one of these Laḫmu were divine-class beasts.
And their number was precisely eleven.
"Tiamat's Eleven Beasts…"
In an instant, Rozen understood.
These Laḫmu were Tiamat's mightiest children—beings shaped upon the concept of the eleven beasts she once birthed in myth, recreated as the strongest divine weapons.
Each one, no doubt, was a match for Kingu himself.
In answer, Rozen's eyes sharpened. He soared around Tiamat, the High-Grade Mana rising around him transmuting into crimson mist.
"Help me hold them back!"
From the blood-mist, maidens emerged one after another.
Each bore hair that shimmered with rainbow hues, features delicate like dolls, and eyes blazing with crimson fire.
They were the matrices of the Fourth Primogenitor—the Kaleid Blood.
Eleven of them appeared in total, from No. 1 through No. 11, matching the Laḫmu in number exactly.
"Then let us be your opponents."
Declared No. 6, clad in a kimono.
"Sorry, but we can't allow you to lay a hand on our master."
December spoke with a lilting smile.
The eleven Kaleid Blood each summoned forth their Beast Vassals, surging to meet the eleven Laḫmu in battle.
The only one not to emerge was Avrora.
"I could fight too!"
She pouted stubbornly within Rozen's body.
But Rozen knew all too well—given her nature, asking this girl to stand alone against such foes was too much.
Still, he had a role for her.
"Avrora, you're with Hokuto. Bind Tiamat!"
As his words fell, the blood mist around him split apart, and a majestic divine dragon materialized upon the battlefield.
"ROOOOOOOOOOAR!!"
Hokuto reappeared, bellowing in excitement.
Atop its head sat Avrora, mounted as rider.
"I–I'm going!"
Her voice trembled with fear, yet she still urged Hokuto forward to charge Tiamat.
Vampire and dragon struck as one—one summoning her Beast Vassal to unleash a blizzard, the other opening its jaws to exhale an icy breath. Their combined assault froze the air itself, plunging the temperature around Tiamat to the absolute limit.
Meanwhile, Rozen pressed the attack, wielding the infernal flames to scorch Tiamat even as he swung Galatine, rending her body with blade after blade.
He poured everything he had into the fight, heedless of cost, determined to wear down Tiamat's Saint Graph.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa————!!!"
Tiamat's deafening roars echoed ceaselessly, but to no avail.
For Rozen, Tiamat was a terrifying, troublesome foe—but to Tiamat, was Rozen not the same?
At the very least, even now, she had failed to land any decisive blow against him. Her Saint Graph alone continued to diminish, leaving her firmly at a disadvantage.
Of course, Tiamat was enraged and shaken, but not yet afraid.
After all, Rozen could not truly annihilate her.
Even with all his might, he had only managed to reduce her Saint Graph to eighty-four percent.
Before that, Uruk would certainly fall, and humanity's history would be erased.
Perhaps sensing this truth himself, Rozen grew increasingly anxious.
If this battle dragged on, it was humanity—not Tiamat—who would pay the price.
But Rozen's final trump card had yet to be played.
"You haven't forgotten about me, have you, Beast of Original Sin?"
The voice cut through the battlefield as a white-haired maiden appeared high in the sky.
"BOOM!"
Her Saint Graph ignited, transmuting into a torrent of mana.
"Altera!"
Rozen snapped his head toward her in shock.
And what he saw was her smile.
A smile she had never once shown before.
"Don't worry, Master. I've already made up my mind."
Even as her Saint Graph burned away, Altera spoke with clarity.
"All this time, I thought that once my true identity was revealed, this dream would end."
"But I was wrong. Completely wrong."
"Now I understand. To you, it doesn't matter who I once was. Right now, I am only your familiar, your Servant."
"And if that's so, then as your familiar, as your Servant… let me risk everything, and bring you victory."
Indeed, Altera had spoken truth before.
As Rozen's familiar, immortal and unending, her truest path to battle was to fight without fear of death.
When Rozen stopped her before, it wasn't because her logic was wrong. It was because, at that time, Altera's resolve was nothing more than despair.
What he cared about was not her actions, but her heart.
Just like with Mash. Even though she was his familiar and could not truly die, would Rozen ever abandon her if she were in danger?
Of course not.
But if his familiars fought with unshakable resolve, if they embraced death not out of despair but out of faith—to protect him, to grant him victory—that was an entirely different matter.
Was that not why he allowed his Beast Vassals to stake their lives against Tiamat so Altera could unleash her Noble Phantasm?
Thus, Rozen would accept their deaths born of conviction—but never a death born of resignation.
And now, Altera's resolve was wholly changed.
In this moment, she wished for nothing more than Rozen's victory over the enemy before them.
"I am Altera, the sword that belongs to you alone."
"Mars—grant my Master victory."
Altera raised her Sword of the War God high, summoning vortices of magic circles to churn across the heavens.
"Teardrop Photon Ray!"
Once again, pillars of laser light rained down from the skies.
"————"
The world was swallowed in white once more.