Without a doubt, Gorgon's body was blasted in half within the blood mist, but what was even more certain was that she had already fully recovered before the mist even dissipated.
"As expected, the Holy Grail is inside her!"
Due to the injury, the Holy Grail's radiance flickered into view for an instant, an instant Merlin captured and announced to everyone.
But what truly sustained Gorgon's recovery wasn't the Holy Grail, but the Authority of the Goddess Tiamat, whose name she had usurped.
She was a Creator, the maker of countless lives.
Sea of Life: this was the name of one of Tiamat's Authorities, sufficient to provide its wielder with endless mana and regenerative abilities equivalent to immortality.
And this Skill's rank was, of course, the unobservable EX Rank.
"This sword is the sword sworn to the King...
Shine forth, Sword of Destined Judgment!"
The blood mist dissipated, and the moment Gorgon's consciousness returned, what awaited her was Guinevere's barrage of Noble Phantasms.
This time, without her own snake hair and lasers to block, Gorgon was shattered even more completely. Merlin also pointed his staff forward, unleashing a beam cannon Grand Magecraft at the spot where the Holy Grail's light flared.
But Gorgon received support from 'Kingu' this time; his Chains of Heaven had formed a shield, blocking Merlin's beam cannon.
Seeing Kingu free, Guinevere's gaze instinctively shifted toward the King of Knights.
"Hah, I knew Lia couldn't possibly lose."
By now, Guinevere had landed. The King of Knights personally piloted Vimana, chasing after Kingu. But perhaps because Guinevere had taken too many jewels, after losing the initial advantage, Vimana's speed couldn't catch up to Kingu.
"Lia, if you can't catch him, just leave him! Let's unleash our Holy Swords together and try to completely vaporize Gorgon!"
Was it the crisis of death? Or ultimate rage?
Upon regaining her senses once more and hearing Guinevere's words, Gorgon immediately activated the second Authority granted by the name of Tiamat.
It was the EX Rank Skill, Self-Modification. This allowed Gorgon to strengthen her physical body while also combining it with the Sea of Life to remodel her Spirit Origin.
The ultimate form of this remodeling was to transform herself from a snake into a dragon, directly nullifying all attacks of Rank A++ and below.
In the original story, without Guinevere and the King of Knights leaving the city, Gorgon was strong enough to crush the Uruk forces, who were without the King of Heroes.
In the battle against Gorgon, Leonidas I burned out, Ushiwakamaru was captured after a fierce fight, and Musashibo, believing Ushiwakamaru had died, fell into self-doubt and began wandering aimlessly.
But things were different now. Guinevere and the King of Knights alone were enough to beat the already-strengthened Gorgon into helplessness, forcing her to further enhance herself and truly begin using the Holy Grail's power she had once scorned.
With just a thought from Gorgon, the Holy Grail provided her with a further all-stat boost, and Self-Modification caused her snake scales to regenerate as dragon scales.
This change in her level of existence was demonstrated when she actually blocked the released Holy Swords of both Guinevere and the King of Knights.
Her dragonized claws caught the crimson and golden beam cannons and crushed them.
This scene made Guinevere's mouth twitch, and she couldn't help but think to herself...
'The Creator God, one of the Seven Beasts... Tiamat's Authority is just too broken. The current Gorgon will probably be incredibly difficult to kill.'
Though her mind was filled with such thoughts, Guinevere's aura wouldn't falter, especially since she had just received enhancements from Merlin's Noble Phantasms and Magecraft.
Simultaneously, Guinevere activated her Class skills, Hero Creation: A++ and Queen's Aid: A+, on the King of Knights, then used her Class's Dual Noble Phantasm, [The Birds That Fly as One: Our Destined Stars Intertwined]EX, to share the enhancements with her.
Under these conditions, they unleashed their Holy Sword Releases on Gorgon together...
Their beams of light successfully vaporized Gorgon completely, only to witness her "Return" from the Void in the next instant.
It seemed that by taking on the name of Tiamat, she had also inherited the Beast's "Authority"—the concept that she lacked the concept of death.
"Guinevere, My King, we must retreat immediately! If you push her further, you might force Tiamat to manifest prematurely.
Listen to me: now is not the time to use the Dragon Heart of Albion or the Holy Sword of the Planet."
Even Tiamat's [Self-Modification] had its limits; Guinevere and the King of Knights' ultimate Noble Phantasms were not incapable of defeating her.
But the core problem remained: they had no way to impose the concept of death upon Tiamat or any other solution. Initiating the final battle now would be unwise.
If it's just Gorgon, we can still retreat for now and rely on the connection between Anna and Gorgon.
As for whether we can successfully retreat...
Guinevere recalled the original storyline: after Leonidas and Ushiwakamaru "died in battle," just as victory at the Absolute Demonic Front seemed within reach, Kingu forcibly persuaded Gorgon to withdraw, claiming the time was not yet right.
"Merlin, we'll grant you this favor. You all go first; we'll cover the rear. We'll fall back to the Absolute Demonic Front and decide our next move based on whether Gorgon pursues."
Another Dual Noble Phantasm release, another obliteration of Gorgon without a trace. The advantage of having the King of Heroes supply their Mana was that even the King of Knights could unleash her power freely.
As for Guinevere? The Dragon Heart of Albion Necklace she wore already provided her with limitless Mana.
Following her orders, Ushiwakamaru and the Knight Order, who had already drawn away the horde of Magical Beasts, retreated first. Then, Ritsuka carried Merlin, Mash struggled with the "dining table," and Fou suddenly appeared, placing Anna on Mash's shield. The six of them sprinted toward the Absolute Demonic Front as fast as they could.
As soon as they left, Gorgon was once again obliterated!
Counting carefully, Guinevere and the King of Knights had already killed her three times; after she manifested again, her pristine chest, abdomen, and face were now covered in dragon scales through [Self-Modification].
Moreover, her face now bore a faint resemblance to the divine aura of Goddess Tiamat.
"Lia, perhaps the endpoint of her Self-Modification is to use herself as nourishment, allowing Goddess Tiamat to awaken within her, just as she uses ordinary people as wombs for the birth of Magical Beasts."
In that instant, Guinevere's words echoed in the King of Knights' mind through her Spirit Origin, causing both of them to simultaneously halt their preparations for another Holy Sword Release.
She chose to break away from Kingu. Since he showed no intention of pursuing, she scooped up Guinevere and chased after Merlin and the others.
A dozen seconds later, the newly [Returned] Gorgon finally unleashed a roar of ultimate fury. Countless Magical Beasts responded, swarming toward the Absolute Demonic Front in a dense mass.
At that moment, Kingu wanted to intervene; he didn't want this valuable tool, Gorgon, to truly die here.
After all, she wasn't Tiamat herself. If she kept dying repeatedly...
"O Mother, I call upon the voice of origin! Nammu Duranki!"
As Kingu, the commander who led Goddess Tiamat's countless children in myth and legend, though he used Enkidu's body and his Noble Phantasm was also the released effect of the [Chains of Heaven], his release incantation at this moment was completely different from Enkidu's.
However, the release incantation was the only thing that differed.
Under the effect of the anti-Divinity Noble Phantasm, the [Chains of Heaven], Gorgon was already immobilized, forced to listen carefully to Kingu's persuasion after her helpless rage subsided.