Drip! Drip!!
The viscous blood dripped into the deep pool, producing a sticky sound.
In the Blood Fort Andromeda, the terrifying roars of countless demon beasts echoed intermittently.
The increasingly dark cavern, the churning blood pool beneath, and the countless writhing monsters, it was called the domain of a goddess, but in truth, it was a demonic lair.
A horrific breeding ground that birthed countless demon beasts, sweeping across Mesopotamia.
At this moment, the mistress of this temple, the Mother of Demon Beasts, Gorgon, was pierced through her body by several slender chains, suspended directly above the blood pool. Multiple wounds inflicted by the Demon God Pillars caused blood to continuously seep from her body.
Her consciousness was manipulated, her body deliberately cut with numerous wounds, and her blood, transformed into nourishment for the temple, dripped endlessly into the pool below.
As time passed, increasingly fearsome demon beasts emerged from the blood pool, twisting as they crawled out.
Roar!!!
Countless deafening roars reverberated through the Blood Fort Andromeda.
These newly born demon beasts from the pool were stronger and far more ferocious than their predecessors, surpassing the capabilities of Gorgon's original Blood Fort Andromeda.
Under the enhancements of numerous Demon God Pillars, the Blood Fort Andromeda had been transformed into a factory, a terrifying biological processing plant that continuously produced new demon beasts.
Under the refinements of Beelzebub, Vassago, Barbatos, and others, the rate and quality of the demon beasts produced by the Blood Fort Andromeda had significantly improved.
However, relying solely on the numerical advantage of these lesser demon beasts was far from enough to breach Uruk's Absolute Demonic Front.
To ensure these beasts could break through Uruk's defenses, several Demon God Pillars with unique authorities poured their life-bearing blood into the Holy Grail bestowed by Goetia, then used magecraft to infuse it into Gorgon's body.
This granted their characteristics, producing enhanced demon beasts capable of breaking Uruk's defenses.
Forneus endowed the beasts with the ability to swim freely in water.
Beelzebub granted them the power to spread disease and plague.
Phenex bestowed upon them the ability to soar through the skies and exceptional regenerative capabilities.
Samigina gave them the power to infiltrate dreams and shatter wills.
Through the efforts of these Demon God Pillars, a steady stream of bizarrely shaped demon beasts with terrifying powers was produced and deployed to the front lines.
This caused the previously manageable Demonic Front to fall into an unprecedented crisis due to the addition of these Demon God Pillars' kin.
Faced with the abnormal abilities displayed by these beasts, the soldiers defending Uruk's Demonic Front were caught off guard.
The front lines, steadfast until now, faced immense threats in an instant.
If not for the protection of exceptional Servants like Arjuna and Leonidas, the entire Demonic Front might have collapsed.
In Uruk, Gilgamesh was troubled by these sudden strange demon beasts, strategizing with the summoned Servants while pondering what changes had occurred in the Seventh Singularity.
…
Deep within the Blood Fort Andromeda, in a vast and dark space, all the Demon God Pillars remaining in the Seventh Singularity were gathered.
Unlike the chaotic production of demon beasts outside the palace, the inner sanctum was far more profound and silent.
Within the palace, Barbatos stood atop a high platform, taking the form of a middle-aged man, his expression unusually grave.
"Are you saying that Agares, Seere, and Berith, sent to Kutha to monitor Ereshkigal, have all lost their life signatures?"
Looking at the twenty-four remaining Demon God Pillar kin below, his tone carried a hint of anger.
Like him, the faces of all the Demon God Pillars, taking human forms below, were also filled with rage.
As the auras of the twenty-four Demon God Pillars fluctuated, a heavy, suffocating oppressive atmosphere filled the inner sanctum.
They had started with thirty-six pillars.
Five were lost due to Gorgon's treacherous betrayal, and four more were voluntarily sacrificed to create stronger demon beasts. Now, three more had suddenly lost their life signatures.
In such a short time, they had lost a third of their kin.
This was something Barbatos hadn't anticipated.
Gorgon's backstabbing was his oversight, and the voluntary sacrifices for beast production could be set aside, but what was the deal with the sudden disappearance of three kin?
"Did the Underworld Goddess Ereshkigal take action against them?!" Barbatos asked Morax, who had just returned from investigating, in a low voice.
In this Seventh Singularity, there weren't many existences capable of killing three Demon God Pillars without allowing them to escape.
However, Ereshkigal was indeed one of them. In the Underworld, she gained unimaginable enhancements.
In mythology, even Enki, one of the four great gods, and the God-King Anu had to show sufficient respect and caution toward Ereshkigal in the Underworld.
If she had acted, killing three Demon God Pillars wouldn't be impossible.
But…
"Before they set out, didn't I warn them to scout only around Kutha's perimeter? Did they intrude into Ereshkigal's domain?" Barbatos questioned.
"No, their life signatures disappeared at Kutha's outskirts. I'm certain Agares and the others didn't set foot in the Underworld." Morax replied.
"Then what happened? Could Ereshkigal possess the power to instantly kill three Demon God Pillars outside the Underworld? If not her, who did it?!"
Receiving such an answer from Morax, Barbatos grew increasingly agitated.
"I don't know… but it might not have been Ereshkigal…"
"Why are you so certain?"
"Because after the incident, I immediately took several others to investigate." Morax answered slowly. "I didn't detect any Underworld aura in the area where they died. There wasn't even a trace of combat. I only found their severed bodies around Kutha."
…
The scene fell into dead silence.
"If we infer from the results, they were likely killed before they could react, without even a chance to use their true Demon God Pillar forms."
"You're saying they were instantly killed by some entity, correct?"
Not just Barbatos, but all the Demon God Pillars present showed expressions of disbelief at Morax's conclusion.
As the seventy-two Demon God Pillars under King Solomon's command, they knew the strength of their three kin well.
In single combat, they might be outmatched by top-tier Divine Spirits like Karna or Arjuna, but they were far from ordinary.
Normal Servants would find it extremely difficult to face even one of them; only multiple Servants working together could hope to defeat them.
Yet now, three pillars were instantly killed by some unknown entity without any resistance or trace of struggle.
Such an absurd outcome, how could the Demon God Pillars not feel horrified?
They immediately protested, "That's impossible!!"
"Instantly killing three Demon God Pillars? Even Divine Spirits couldn't do that!"
"What's going on? Who did this?!"
"Could it be that Grand Servant, Tezcatlipoca, pulling the strings?!"
Some Demon God Pillars immediately pointed to the strongest known force in the Seventh Singularity, the Grand Servant.
"No, it wasn't him."
"I've been tracking the Grand Servant's movements. He hasn't hidden his presence. When the three Demon God Pillars died, he was racing across the Mesopotamian plain. So, the culprit shouldn't be him."
"Then Ishtar… no, that's impossible. That goddess, descended through possession, doesn't have such power."
That meant…
After continuous speculation, Barbatos voiced the most likely answer.
Looking at Morax, he said, "Are you saying the Seventh Singularity is far more complex than we thought? That there's an entity hidden in this timeline capable of instantly killing three Demon God Pillars?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
This answer plunged the entire inner sanctum into silence.
Learning that the already perilous Seventh Singularity harbored such an unknown and powerful enemy was far from good news for the Demon God Pillars.
"What should we do now? Should we stop monitoring the goddesses and gather our kin together?"
A Demon God Pillar raised the question.
Realizing that such an entity lurked in the Singularity, their previous complacency was no longer tenable.
"While sticking together is indeed an option, it won't do…" Another Demon God Pillar countered.
"Then what should we do?"
"What to do? Don't be impatient, my kin. The choice is actually quite simple." Morax's voice rang out again as the Demon God Pillars wavered.
Seeing this wise and experienced kin speak again, Barbatos's furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
"Speak, Morax. We all know your exceptional wisdom. Let us hear your opinion." Barbatos said.
As his words fell, all the Demon God Pillars looked at Morax below, and a low hum echoed through the palace.
"Very well." Morax nodded slightly and spoke, "My kin, the answer is simple."
"We cannot truly die. Even being sent to this Singularity by the King was merely to delay Chaldea."
"So, we need not concern ourselves with so-called sacrifices or killing Chaldea's Master. We only need to cause them enough trouble."
"Our fallen kin will not truly perish; they will be revived in the King's temple, aiding in the completion of that grand plan. So, we need not feel anger or sorrow. Whether we live or die, we are fulfilling our duties, are we not?"
Compared to the other Demon God Pillars, enraged by their kin's silent deaths, Morax's perspective was far clearer.
As a Demon God Pillar governing wisdom, it always maintained a clear mind to make sound judgments and choose the most appropriate path.
"There's no need to care about sacrifices. Our task is to keep throwing more pieces onto the battlefield, applying greater pressure to the Demonic Front and Uruk, disrupting their growing advantage as much as possible."
"Our deaths serve the greater plan, but their deaths mean depletion, increasing the likelihood of their failure."
"So, my proposal is to proceed as usual: continue monitoring all the goddesses, do everything we can to prevent Chaldea from gaining their aid. Only Barbatos needs to remain to oversee the Blood Fort Andromeda's operations, while the rest of us throw ourselves into the battlefield, inflicting maximum damage on Uruk and diverting their attention. When we've sacrificed enough, and Chaldea and Uruk believe victory is near, Barbatos, staying in the temple, will awaken the true protagonist of this Seventh Singularity, Tiamat. She will deliver the final blow to Chaldea and Uruk!!"
"What do you think of this plan?"
As his words concluded, Morax slowly ascended the palace steps, standing shoulder to shoulder with Barbatos. He turned to the Demon God Pillars below and calmly said, "If there are no better suggestions, let's vote to decide whether to adopt my plan."
"Feasible."
"Seconded."
"No objections."
…
The twenty-two Demon God Pillars below exchanged glances and collectively voiced their approval of Morax's proposal.
"And…" Seeing no objections, Morax grinned, spreading his palm to project a shimmering orb like a water mirror.
As magecraft activated, the mirror displayed a scene near Ur's rainforest.
"This is Quetzalcoatl's territory, so I didn't dare venture there myself. However, I set up numerous subtle detection traps around the rainforest to monitor Ur's movements."
With a wave of Morax's hand, the mirror immediately showed Karna driving a chariot at high speed.
"This is… Karna? And a centaur pulling the chariot? What is this?"
Karna's familiar figure instantly drew the attention of many Demon God Pillars.
"The answer is simple. This is the intelligence my magecraft has gathered." Morax explained.
"Based on the results, that chariot-pulling centaur should also be a Servant. I don't know its True Name, but analysis suggests it's one of the Servants summoned by Gilgamesh. This means…"
"Ur has allied with Uruk, and Quetzalcoatl has betrayed the Three Goddess Alliance!!"
Hearing Morax's words, the Demon God Pillars immediately arrived at the most likely conclusion.
"Exactly. As expected, it's now confirmed that Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent Goddess, has sided with Uruk and humanity." Morax nodded, offering his hypothesized answer.
"I was already suspicious of her deliberately gathering human warriors. She claimed it was for sacrifices and gladiatorial combat, but such a flimsy excuse couldn't fool me. So, I paid extra attention to Ur."
"This situation confirms my suspicions. Quetzalcoatl is indeed a traitor. Her so-called human sacrifices were likely to protect them."
"And Uruk's arrival this time is probably to transfer the warriors Quetzalcoatl gathered to Uruk, filling the manpower shortage on the Demonic Front."
"I see… I see. As expected, these goddesses are no simple foes." The Demon God Pillars realized, understanding Quetzalcoatl and Gilgamesh's intentions.
"So, what's next? Should we send demon beasts to surround Ur? Without Gorgon's Three Goddess Alliance to restrain her, Quetzalcoatl, a powerful Divine Spirit, won't be easy to deal with." A Demon God Pillar asked.
Morax shook his head slightly. "…No, we don't need to attack directly. We just need to blockade."
"Blockade?"
"Yes. With Gilgamesh's exceptional wisdom, he must know that leaving those humans in Ur is tantamount to death, so he'll do everything to transfer them to Uruk."
"Karna and Uruk's Servants' appearance proves this. Since they're coming to us, why should we risk entering Quetzalcoatl's territory? We only need to prepare appropriate measures at the right locations."
Morax raised his hand, and with a gentle wave, the water mirror expanded, displaying the entire rainforest area around Ur.
"If it's just Servants, we can't intercept them. But with Ur's ordinary humans, it becomes much simpler…"
"No matter how strong Quetzalcoatl and Karna are, they're still just individuals. Alone, they're hard to deal with, but with burdens, they're no longer invincible. We just need to use those burdens against them."
"You mean…"
The Demon God Pillars' eyes widened at Morax's words.
"Exactly. To prevent Ur's people from reinforcing Uruk, we must act. My target isn't just these mortals but the Servants who pose the greatest obstacle to our final plan."
"Set an appropriate trap, use the humans as bait to lure them in, and then strike together to injure or kill them."
"And that fool we revived not long ago, doesn't this operation provide the perfect use for them?"
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