"Oh? Finally out, are you? Took you long enough! This king thought you'd perished in there, but…"
"What's that in his arms? What in the world has he done?!"
Atop the divine tower's throne, Gilgamesh, poised for the final battle, sensed the resurging cataclysmic creation force and Tiamat's terrifying presence. His eyes narrowed, his expression turning grave.
While commanding the clay tablet to prime all Melammu Dingirs, his crimson pupils locked onto the Persian Gulf.
As expected…
Half the sky was shrouded in black clouds, the ocean dyed inky, churning with monstrous waves. Swarms of Lahmu burst from the sea like locusts, relentless. Even the King of Heroes felt a chill at the sight…
At the world's end, painted black by clouds and tides, an ominous aura heralded the dawn of destruction.
He did it. He actually unleashed Tiamat's true form, freeing the endless calamity, the Beast itself.
But this was fine. Seven days of delay had given them time.
He'd ordered everyone in Uruk to prepare fully for this final calamity.
Since mortal Servants like Li Shuwen, Red Hare, and Leonidas couldn't impact this creation song, they were sent to Kutha to aid Siduri, holding off Lahmu to preserve Uruk's last ember of humanity.
Thanks to Roy's stalling, key fighter Quetzalcoatl awoke from her coma two days ago. But her divine essence, overtaxed by her Noble Phantasm, and severe prior injuries left her participation in the final battle uncertain.
At her insistence, Gilgamesh allowed her to join, entrusting her with his Holy Grail for support.
Though near-redundant for Quetzalcoatl's infinite mana, it wasn't entirely useless.
In this final battle, every ounce of effort, every sliver of advantage, had to be seized.
The Holy Grail Roy seized from Kingu was given to Ereshkigal by Ritsuka.
Per the plan, Ereshkigal, the underworld's mistress, would face Tiamat head-on once she fell into the underworld.
Her burden and risk were the greatest, so the Grail would anchor and divide the underworld, easing her load.
No Servant present objected to this arrangement.
Their sole focus was defeating the ultimate enemy.
Otherwise, death's shadow would loom over Mesopotamia's skies.
But…
Gilgamesh couldn't fathom why Roy, fleeing across the chaotic sea with Tezcatlipoca, was cradling a delicate girl with pale blue hair and starry eyes.
Tiamat's massive draconic form pursued them relentlessly, her devastating beams never ceasing, vaporizing countless Lahmu caught in their path.
Her dragon body's vast wings were tattered, as if cleaved by some colossal, razor-sharp weapon.
What happened in that Reality Marble over those seven days?
"…"
Gilgamesh rubbed his eyes, then looked again.
Strange. Let's check once more…
Yes, stranger still.
After repeated glances, Gilgamesh, however reluctant, had to accept that Roy was holding Tiamat, the maiden of fate in her juvenile state.
In those seven days, Roy not only forced out Tiamat's draconic Beast form but also rescued and absconded with her maiden of fate essence.
No wonder Tiamat manifested her true dragon form, her emotions unhinged. Without the maiden's restraint, her massive frame harbored only boundless resentment, hatred, and calamity. She was now a complete Beast.
Yet, without the maiden of fate in her soul and Saint Graph, she was merely Beast, one of the seven human evils, the beast of "regression."
Though Tiamat's essence as creation mother and maiden wouldn't vanish, it was severely weakened.
Her dragon form's relentless pursuit aimed to reclaim the maiden from Roy, to restore her completeness.
Realizing the battle's state, Gilgamesh's eyes lit up, his heart roaring.
"Well done, King of Ur! You've earned the highest merit!!"
"But… don't run so fast!"
While fearing for Roy and Tezcatlipoca, Gilgamesh hoped they'd slow down. Facing Tiamat in this state head-on needed some mental preparation!!
He pulled a golden microphone-like amplifier from the Gate of Babylon, his urgent voice echoing across Uruk.
"Ishtar! Chaldea! And that South American goddess! Stop dawdling, assemble now! The Mother of Genesis is here!!"
…
On the Persian Gulf's sea level, the other two were in dire straits.
Roy and Tezcatlipoca raced for their lives from the unyielding Tiamat, with no room for respite.
A colossal dragon pursued, black tides roiled beneath, lasers and swarms of Lahmu poured forth endlessly, offering no pause.
Amid the flight, the maiden of fate, Tiamat Lily, curled in Roy's arms, gazing at him with curious, puzzled starry eyes, giving him a headache.
"Little one, stay still, please. That big dragon's still chasing us."
"Aaa… a… a?"
Tiamat Lily tilted her head, radiating cuteness.
Roy wished he could activate the Third Magic to fly away with her, but casting required a moment's pause, any slowdown would let Tiamat catch and shred them, given he held her primary target.
Tezcatlipoca, beside him, was equally trapped, unable to use his smoke-escape trick.
Roy never missed Ishtar's "scooter" more.
Thankfully, Tiamat's draconic wings were shattered in the Reality Marble by Roy's angel wielding Marduk's axe, or they'd have no chance to flee.
Over those seven days, Roy spotted a potential breakthrough in the creation mother. Using his Mystic Eyes and Third Magic, he carved rifts in Tiamat's soul, amplifying the maiden's influence over the Beast. Tezcatlipoca's impermanent sun further clarified their divide, granting Tiamat emotions, making her more lifelike.
When Tiamat and the maiden's soul vulnerabilities peaked, Tezcatlipoca struck, sacrificing his [Grand Berserker] Saint Graph to sever their bond, extracting the maiden from the calamity's vortex.
That was the Tiamat Lily in Roy's arms.
Their actions split Tiamat from her Beast essence, weakening her conceptually.
Without the maiden's restraint, the Beast dominated Tiamat's body, manifesting the dragon form, a complete Beast.
But without Tiamat's full essence, her strength fell far below expectations, and then…
Tezcatlipoca wanted to curse.
Up to that point, their plan was a triumph.
They'd agreed to flee after the split, but Roy suddenly felt invincible, refusing to dissolve the Reality Marble.
The moment the maiden and Beast were severed, he commanded his giant angel, wielding Marduk's axe, to strike Tiamat's neck, intent on a decisive battle.
That was too bold.
Bolder than Marduk himself.
Even weakened, she was a legendary Beast. Did he think he could solo her?
Defeating a full Beast typically required multiple Grands. With Tezcatlipoca's Saint Graph sacrificed and the old man absent, how did Roy dare?
Despite doubts, with his Master charging in, could Tezcatlipoca, a Servant, back down?
Fleeing such a grand stage would shame him before Quetzalcoatl.
A mere Beast? He was a legendary Grand Berserker. Though his Saint Graph was gone, his pride demanded madness worthy of a Grand.
So, they fought Tiamat's dragon form in the Reality Marble for three days and nights.
The outcome?
Your mother remains your mother. Even weakened, they couldn't kill her.
After days of attrition, Roy's Reality Marble collapsed under Tiamat's rampage and the creation tide's flood, unleashing chaos and calamity onto Mesopotamia's plains.
Had they not fled with Tiamat Lily, they'd be in dire straits.
Their recklessness wasn't fruitless, though. Three days of grueling battle, at the cost of half their lives and a Grand Saint Graph, saw Marduk's axe and angel shatter Tiamat's wings, grounding her. Even in dragon form, she couldn't disrupt the underworld fall strategy.
But wingless, her speed on the black mud was no joke. Even Tezcatlipoca, with A-rank Agility, couldn't shake her.
This chase seemed endless.
After running from the Persian Gulf's far end nearly to Mesopotamia, they hadn't lost her.
This couldn't continue. Were they to lead Tiamat straight to Uruk?
They exchanged a glance, reading each other's thoughts.
Maybe… it wasn't a bad idea!!
Let's run to Uruk and start the battle!!
"Hmph, how pathetic…"
As they thought this, a voice rang behind Roy and Tezcatlipoca.
"Such disgrace. A magus and a Grand Servant, reduced to this by a fallen dragon mother?"
Splash!!
A massive figure erupted from the chaotic sea, blocking their rear.
"Aaa… aa?"
Sensing the new presence, Tiamat Lily in Roy's arms lifted her head, her starry eyes trembling, her voice tinged with regret, as if apologizing.
"Saying sorry?"
"Aaa… aa."
Tiamat Lily nodded faintly.
"Who's this?!"
The colossal figure spread golden wings, its serpentine hair baring fangs. Its black, snake-scaled body had turned pure, holy white.
Recognizing the aura, Tezcatlipoca paused. "Is that… Gorgon?"
"No, she's not Gorgon."
Roy shook his head, correcting, "She's Medusa, Ana, our ally."
"Aa… aa."
Tiamat Lily nodded in agreement.
"An ally? Not an enemy, then, perfect timing!"
Tezcatlipoca's eyes lit up.
"I arrived just in time."
Surveying the boundless chaotic sea and the draconic Beast, Gorgon grasped the situation's gravity.
Her expression hardened, a cruel smirk forming. Her purple-glowing petrifying Mystic Eyes locked onto Tiamat, her voice dripping with vengeance.
"Tiamat, I won't forget how you hijacked my body and wreaked havoc! Now, face my retribution! Feel the burning rage and hatred in my heart!! Noble Phantasm release-"
"Take the form of a giant serpent, strike down the earth's dragon! Composite divinity, critical fusion! Melt all! Enforced Seal · Pandemonium Cetus!!"
With Gorgon's Noble Phantasm unleashed, the fallen form of the three goddesses exiled to the Shapeless Isle materialized briefly as the Gorgon monster.
Surpassing her Blood Temple seal, the Enforced Seal · Pandemonium Cetus was invoked, its terrifying beam, capable of dissolving all in its gaze, gathering in her serpentine eyes.
Even a creation mother would feel its impact.
Crimson light amassed in Gorgon's eyes, blasting toward Tiamat the moment her chant concluded, unleashing energy to melt all.
"Aaaaaaaa!!!"
Facing this insignificant insect, Tiamat's dragon form roared in fury.
No longer numb to the world, she was the Beast's essence, a terrifying entity with killing intent toward all life, the incarnation of calamity.
As Pandemonium Cetus's beam neared, Tiamat opened her shark-like, serrated maw, gathering mana rivaling a holy spear's release, ready to shatter the obstacle.
But in that moment…
Tiamat Lily, in Roy's arms, grew anxious, her starry eyes shifting vibrantly.
"Aa… aa!!"
With a low, resolute cry, the black mud beneath Tiamat's dragon form stirred.
It collapsed, causing her to stumble, her head veering, missing Gorgon with her annihilating beam.
Tiamat Lily had seized part of the primordial sea with her creation mother authority!!
"This Tiamat Lily…"
Roy's expression was complex but unwavering. Seizing Gorgon's distraction, he scooped up Tiamat Lily and fled.
Swish!!
Gorgon's crimson beam pierced the black sea, striking Tiamat's dragon form.
Due to Tiamat Lily's interference, the Noble Phantasm hit squarely but didn't inflict the hoped-for damage.
"Aaaaaa!!!"
Unshackled by the maiden, Tiamat's dragon form was unrestrained. She roared, her jagged maw emitting sonic shockwaves.
Endless black mud coiled around her, repairing her body, forming a barrier-like defense that blocked Gorgon's Noble Phantasm.
It repelled the beam that could melt all.
"Against a true Beast, even this level of attack is useless…"
Seeing her strongest Noble Phantasm fail, Gorgon's eyes flashed disappointment, but her blazing pupils flared anew.
"But… I'll hold you back as long as I can!"
Glancing at Roy and Tezcatlipoca's vanished figures, Gorgon exhaled.
They'd escaped safely.
That was enough…
Now, time to fight for her life!
"Burn my Saint Graph · Enforced Seal · Pandemonium Cetus · Full Release! Die, Tiamat!!"
"Aaaaaaaaa!!!"
Blinding crimson light shot across the black sea, clashing with endless black mud.
A dark flower of red and black bloomed on the primordial ocean.
The song of creation played on,
___
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