Chapter 227: Sealing.
[God Seal Tournament, also known as the Master GO League Tournament.]
[You have won the first round, defeating numerous Trainers.]
[Traditionally, the next round should have been the match between you and your childhood friend—Caren, followed by a rotating-style final battle against the current Champion and the Elite Four.]
[Only by winning all three rounds can you qualify to become new Champion.]
[That's roughly how it is...]
[However, the strange aspects surrounding this tournament still haven't been explained properly. After all, why is this tournament nicknamed the "God Seal Tournament"...?]
"This is where it ends. This time, let this king declare your victory!"
When everything had settled, Hero King Gilgamesh — also the organizer of this tournament — stood at the highest point of the arena, having watched from beginning to end.
He swung his hand boldly, announcing the winners of the round.
"Mochizuki Eikou, Caren Hortensia, you two have successfully advanced to the next round!"
"Hoo..."
Eikou let out a sigh of relief, immediately feeling his body far more exhausted than before.
Amid the cheers of the audience, he lifted his head to look at the Hero King wearing a sparkling golden kimono at the highest position.
"Um, Hero King?"
He opened his mouth to ask: "May I ask when the next match begins?"
"Not Hero King, right now I am the Young Master of Babiloni-ya!"
Gilgamesh corrected him seriously.
"Young Master of Babiloni-ya? What is that, are you running a general store?!"
"The specifics are something this king does not wish to explain. If you're interested, you can go ask those mongrels who participated in the Waxing Moon Ritual. Not long ago they even linked up with Chaldea, did they not?"
"Waxing Moon Ritual is something barely anyone knows. Who would understand that? Didn't you participate in all sorts of famous Holy Grail Wars? Forget Fuyuki, at least talk about the American Holy Grail War or the Moon Holy Grail War or something. Don't raise everyone's comprehension threshold like that!"
"The conversation between you two has already raised the comprehension threshold quite a lot..."
Beside them, El-Melloi II couldn't help commenting.
"In short,"
Hero King Gilgamesh brushed past that topic and answered.
"The next round will take place this afternoon. Do not be late, mongrel."
"Hmph~ hmph~ hmph~..."
Before his voice fully faded, a woman's cheerful laughter echoed from the tunnel of the arena.
Within that laughter seemed to be a sharpness that made one's heart tighten. Just hearing it made others shudder, as if a cold poisonous snake had wrapped itself around the back of their neck.
Eikou and the Servants instantly tensed up, entering battle stance simultaneously. Even Gilgamesh seated above slightly furrowed his brows.
"Tch, waking up this quickly..."
Gilgamesh muttered.
"Master, please be careful..."
Artoria warned with a grave expression.
"That is the presence of a God!"
"In that long, pitch-black tunnel, a serpent-shaped woman with a massive body slowly stepped out.
"That is..."
A pair of dark-red eyes, with vertical pupils like a snake's, reflected within Eikou's gaze.
The noisy uproar of the audience suddenly died down, becoming a deathly silence. Everyone's eyes were drawn toward the serpent woman who had just appeared.
Her pale blue long hair fluttered, her soft purple skin, her seductive and bewitching face carrying an arrogant aura that no one dared to touch. She was born with the presence of a God standing above all beings.
Just by looking at the elongated serpentine lower body dragging across the ground and the horns on her head, it was clear how dangerous she was.
"...Oni race?"
Eikou carefully observed the strange woman before him, his whole body tensed.
"Fragile, pitiful little lives, gathering like ants… truly amusing to behold."
The serpent woman's red eyes gazed down at them from above. "——How about using you all as sacrifices, then?"
"Master!"
Artoria and Medusa were shocked, immediately rushing forward to shield Eikou.
Eikou also didn't hesitate, instantly raising his wrist. The two remaining Command Spells emitted a red glow—he absolutely didn't dare underestimate the being before them.
"——Just kidding~☆!"
Unexpectedly, the serpent woman suddenly bloomed into a bright smile.
"Haha, did I scare you?"
"What the hell is this…?"
"Haha, little brother, that frightened expression of yours was perfect—just like a pigeon that just took a Magnum to the face."
The suffocating divine pressure instantly dissipated. Only then could Eikou force a sound out of his throat: "Who exactly are you?"
(Note: Seriously? Did the author forget that Ibuki is the MC's "dream girl"? How could he not recognize her??)
"One of the divided spirits of Yamata no Orochi, one of the three great monsters of Japan — God Ibuki-Douji."
Gilgamesh, standing above, coldly declared.
"Hmph… escaped the seal again. Only bringing more trouble to this king. Can't you just obediently continue sleeping?"
Right after that, the Hero King's body transformed into golden light, and in an instant he teleported down onto the arena floor, right beside Eikou's group.
"Can you explain, Hero King? Why is there a God appearing inside the arena? She doesn't seem like a Pseudo-Servant using a human vessel, but a genuine Divine Servant?"
Eikou quickly asked, his mind filled with question marks.
"That is correct. She is a true God. And also the main figure of this tournament."
Gilgamesh replied. "This king organized this tournament to seal her."
"To seal a God?"
Eikou was stunned hearing that.
Does that mean he has to fight Ibuki-Douji next? Why is a 'Pokémon' tournament summoning opponents of this ridiculous tier? And why is a God even summonable?!
[It takes you quite a long while before you manage to fully piece everything together.]
[To summarize it simply…]
[Caren accidentally got lost in the Singularity and became a part of this place, immediately 'taking care' of Dr. Kotomine here.]
[Caren is heavy-handed, but her father is no less extreme. Before his death, Kotomine Kirei — whether to sustain himself, to take revenge on his daughter, or purely out of a desire for destruction — exploited the rules of the Singularity and used illegal methods to forcibly summon the God-class Ibuki-Douji, causing the Human Order Foundation Value of this Singularity to jump to an emergency level.]
[If Caren and Kotomine Kirei hadn't appeared in the same place, things would never have escalated this far.]
[And this tournament is actually a sealing ritual organized to suppress Ibuki-Douji.]
[In other words, this is a God-hunting competition!]
...