The anti-magic rose spear left a vivid crimson trail through the air, streaking forward with speed and precision toward Caster, who was still chanting in a frenzy.
Diarmuid didn't dare relax even as the spear closed to within a few dozen meters of Caster's chest—then, in the next instant, his eyes went wide.
A tiny golden starlight suddenly fell from the sky. The beam was no thicker than a thumb, yet the terrifying energy contained within it made Diarmuid instinctively feel threatened.
He didn't even have time to react. The ray struck the exact center of Gáe Dearg and, without the slightest resistance, cleaved the anti-magic spear—miraculously preserved until now—cleanly in two.
"Ohohoho—did you see that, Jeanne?! God! Even that lofty god cannot stop us this time!"
With the fatal blow thwarted, Caster threw his arms up and roared with mad laughter. At the same time, countless tentacles surged up from the sea and wrapped around him.
"Wait for me, my holy maiden! I, Gilles de Rais, shall dedicate to you a decadent banquet of death! Now—let us raise the banner of salvation once more!"
"So we didn't make it in time…"
Reaching the riverbank, Waver let out a troubled sigh—but he didn't look panicked.
The next moment, the monster capable of toppling nations emerged.
...
"He really is an irredeemable lunatic. I'd love to see what he'd think if he found out the one helping him was a goddess."
From a premium seat atop a nearby high-rise, Ishta watched with open scorn—then her expression twisted into fierce disgust.
"But seriously, what the hell is that? That thing shouldn't exist in this world. A revolting mass of filth—how can something like that be allowed to appear here…?"
Seated beside the goddess, Ophis watched the sea creature appear and frowned as well.
"Gloomy. I don't like it."
"Oh? You, of all people, are having a subjective reaction based on first impressions?"
Catching Ophis's unconscious mutter—even though the aura made her feel sick to her stomach too—Ishta's curiosity flared, and she pressed her immediately.
"No. This feeling…"
Ophis's small face tightened in puzzled thought. The way she actually looked like she was thinking—when she'd shown no concern for most things until now—stirred something strange in Ishta.
When this girl showed emotions other than that eerie smile… she was kind of cute.
As for Ophis—she might've said she "didn't like it," but she didn't truly hate the sensation. To be blunt, even including Great Red, Ophis had never really hated anything. It was just that, relative to this planet, that mana was far too alien. Any existence accustomed to this world would feel nausea and revulsion toward it.
And even more so for a goddess—who, in essence, represented the planet's natural phenomena itself.
This feeling… it might be—
In the end, Ophis shook her head.
"No. There may be a connection, but it's not…"
If it truly were one of those outsiders recorded in the archives… then the goddess had really played with fire this time.
Hearing Ophis's maddeningly vague words, Ishta's lips twitched.
"Hey. Since when did you learn to talk like that—dangling it and refusing to finish?"
"O Lord of Heaven! I will praise you with condemnation! Arrogant god—cruel god! We shall drag you down from your throne!"
Absorbed into the sea monster rising from the Fuyuki River, Caster's deranged ravings continued without pause.
As one of the only two "caught in the crossfire"—and, in her own mind, the only one—Ishta's attention snapped away from Ophis in an instant.
"That bastard's got nerve! If I'd known you were something this disgusting, do you think this goddess would've let you appear and foul my eyes?!"
Stomping with fury, the goddess jabbed a finger at the colossal sea creature.
She'd meant to gross out that future man; instead, the outsider over there didn't even look all that rattled, while she ended up being the one disgusted. The sensation made Ishta feel like she'd swallowed something awful.
Ophis, too, grew uncharacteristically serious.
Even if it wasn't one of the beings she knew, as the goddess said, it was indeed something that shouldn't exist on this planet.
Ishta saw a flicker of gold flash beside her. When she turned back, the Ophis who had been sitting there was now standing—at some point she'd risen without a sound—holding Ea, its body slowly beginning to rotate.
"You… Since when are you this proactive?"
Staring, dumbfounded, Ishta suddenly felt like tomorrow's sun might rise in the west.
Ophis might strike someone for reasons others could understand—or never understand at all—but she had never once, without her own line being crossed, shown this kind of serious, active intent to destroy something.
Wait. A line…?
"You—you don't actually think that thing is a disaster humanity can't resist, do you?"
Eyes turning strange, Ishta asked in disbelief.
"No."
Unlike the goddess, Ophis's expression was utterly solemn.
"This has nothing to do with humanity. Even if it truly were a calamity capable of destroying mankind, I would only act after that fact was realized. This is different. It is a monster whose very existence alone affects the balance."
"Huh? Sure, it's disgusting, but isn't that a bit dramatic—"
"…"
After the goddess said it, even Ophis felt she might be overreacting—she'd made the association with those foreign descendants and flinched too hard.
The creature did affect balance, yes, but that was simply its chaotic nature. Its raw power wasn't impressive in Ophis's eyes.
…Even so, she had no intention of stopping.
She'd already drawn Ea. Might as well fire it once.
With that thought, Ophis was about to pour in more mana—when a familiar holy radiance suddenly caught her attention.
Dazzling light flared by the riverbank, drawing both the goddess's and Ophis's gaze.
"That is…"
Ishta—who had never truly witnessed the holy sword's light—stared in surprise at Artoria, who held Excalibur high.
"Isn't that the little girl from before? She's grown that much already? Wait, she even changed swords? And that sword… Hold on. If I think back carefully to what happened back then, that dark-skinned girl also—"
Realizing a chilling implication, Ishta felt her head spin.
"The planet's light…"
Golden brilliance reflected in Ophis's eyes. In the end, she put Ea away and closed her eyes.
Bearing humanity's glory and faith, a monster of that level facing the holy sword of the star—there was no need to even confirm the outcome.
In the next instant, the radiance of the holy sword swallowed the abomination whole.
---
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