A light as dazzling as the sun erupted from Quetzalcoatl's fist, instantly boiling the black seawater and melting the seabed into molten lava.
The Bahl Lahmu that hadn't been pulled into the Duel Space also suffered the Noble Phantasm's effects. Even the aftershocks scorched most of their hides, causing them to plunge into the molten lava.
As befitting creatures meticulously crafted by Tiamat, these special individuals still possessed the strength to rise and continue fighting even after enduring such a powerful Noble Phantasm. But that was the extent of their resilience. Jiang You's servants remained largely unscathed, and as their assault resumed, two of the more severely wounded Lahmu met their demise on the spot.
"With so much combat power at our disposal, this feels almost too easy," Jiang You mused.
The Lahmu, which had once swept across all of Mesopotamia, had been halted right at the coastline. Jiang You had initially prepared to fight a retreating battle, but it seemed Medea and Merlin's defensive formations would be rendered useless. Though a few thousand stragglers had slipped through toward the formations, Ur's city defenses were so formidable that even reaching the outer walls would be a testament to their extraordinary tenacity.
"With this many Servants and the advance preparations, this outcome isn't surprising," Quetzalcoatl remarked, surveying the battlefield. Seeing that there was no further need for her, she approached Jiang You.
"But the ultimate outcome still hinges on your duel with Tiamat. If you lose, it'll be our turn to have a real, bloody showdown."
Having unleashed her Noble Phantasm, Quetzalcoatl radiated an unbearable heat. Jiang You wanted to step back to distance himself, but the Duel Space had already been activated, forcing him to endure the searing heat.
"Oh, right, where's Tiamat? Did your Noble Phantasm fail to activate?"
It was only then that Quetzalcoatl realized she couldn't find Tiamat anywhere. After her Noble Phantasm erupted into a blinding solar flare, her vision had been temporarily obscured, but with Tiamat's colossal size, even if she had moved, she shouldn't have been able to evade her sight.
"Did Tiamat escape?"
Jiang You: LP 4000
Tiamat: LP 4000
"Impossible."
Jiang You glanced at his Life Points indicator—it never lied. He jutted his chin toward the figure before him and retorted, "Tiamat? Isn't she right here?"
"Huh? This...?"
Facing Jiang You was a silver-haired girl with an indifferent expression, her face conveying utter bewilderment (?? ?). If not for the pair of massive, butterfly-wing-shaped horns framing her face, Quetzalcoatl would never have recognized her as Tiamat.
"Isn't she even smaller than when she Self-Sealed herself?"
"This body possesses greater intellect, allowing me to assume this form... Your Noble Phantasm is remarkably powerful."
Jiang You's Noble Phantasm could forcibly grant intelligence, as demonstrated during his Duel with Berserker Lancelot. Even Magical Beasts could play cards. "But why are you trying to stop me? My children are suffering, and I need to save them."
"Save them? Aren't you destroying the Human Order, annihilating it?" Quetzalcoatl couldn't understand. Nothing about this seemed like saving humanity. "Do you hate humans?"
"I quite adore humans. The more useless they are, the more endearing they become... Humans are so utterly useless, I love them beyond measure."
Tiamat was merely stating her perspective. One couldn't expect a Creator Goddess, a Beast, to think like a normal human. While humanity boasted many powerful individuals, the masses constituted nearly the entire population. Tiamat wasn't entirely wrong.
"Humans... my children are crying. I can't bear to see them suffer any longer. I want them to return to my Primordial Sea... One day, they will tread this land again."
Jiang You imagined the scene: the new "humanity" of the Lahmu successfully establishing their civilization, and then the original humans crawling out of the Primordial Sea, ready to sweep across the world.
It's... incredibly abstract.
"Tiamat, but humans are fundamentally creatures of the present. If I'm not mistaken, your Primordial Sea stores the DNA of living beings. I've discovered that the Lahmu weren't created from nothing; they were reshaped from other organisms."
Siduri is the perfect example. Tiamat's pantheon is clearly based on some form of advanced biotechnology. "Human civilization is the result of generations of accumulated knowledge. For humans, the flesh is fleeting, but civilization endures. Our ancestors passed down their discoveries and experiences through generations, allowing us to evolve from crude hunter-gatherers to beings capable of reaching for the stars. For us, if we can't preserve and transmit this legacy—if we can't tell the stories of our predecessors to future generations—we might as well be extinct."
Jiang You pressed his hand against his chest, over his heart, and shouted to Tiamat, "That's why humanity must fight here! Even against you, Mother, we will not retreat! Let me prove it—that humans have the strength to overcome this trial!"
"Tiamat... Mother?"
Tiamat's expression shifted slightly, and she tilted her head. "Tiamat Mommy... I like that. But everything here is my child... except for you. You will never be."
"Huh?"
Jiang You thought he had built up the atmosphere perfectly, ready to launch into the final battle. But Tiamat's words threw him completely off balance. He couldn't understand why maternal servants like Minamoto no Raikou and Tiamat treated him with such disdain. Even though he was a Player, he was still human, wasn't he? Tiamat could accept Beast Nero, so why couldn't she accept him?
"Wow, rejected."
Quetzalcoatl, as a foreign god, had no particular connection to Tiamat. But Jiang You's rejection amused her greatly.
"Did you do something truly abominable?"
"Because of Kingu and the Lahmu?" Jiang You could only think of that reason. "I guess I was the mastermind behind it all..."
"That's not the reason. The Lahmu are indeed my children... though it might sound biased, I do favor humans somewhat more."
In truth, the Lahmu were creatures of pure aggression, created by Tiamat primarily for combat purposes and to respond to crises. Otherwise, she wouldn't have uttered words like, "One day, they will tread upon this land again."
"But... Oh, right, what's your name?"
"Jiang You."
This was the downside of having no renown—having to introduce oneself mid-battle.
"You..."
Tiamat was about to speak when a towering, black figure materialized on the battlefield. The remaining struggling Bahl Lahmu were instantly cleaved in two.
The First Old Man of the Mountain had entered the fray!