The group arrived in Eridu, now occupied by the Laḫmu, aboard Quetzalcoatl's pterosaur.
Everything had gone according to plan so far, with one exception.
"We really flew so high and so fast! For a moment, I thought I was going to fall off, hehe... Ah, thank you, Shirou-san. There we go."
Shirou lifted Siduri down from the pterosaur's back. When her feet touched the ground again, her legs were trembling slightly.
"...Why did Siduri-san come with us too?" Ritsuka Fujimaru asked, utterly speechless.
Just as the group was leaving the Divine Tower, Siduri had suddenly announced that she wanted to accompany them to Eridu.
As Head Priestess, she possessed no combat ability whatsoever, so Ritsuka had rejected the idea without a second thought.
However...
"Take her with you."
That was what the man seated upon the throne had said.
"Wait! King Gilgamesh!" Mash exclaimed. "This is far too reckless! Siduri-san only just escaped danger... How can you send her straight back into it? Staying by your side should be the safest place for her right now!"
"Exactly, Gilgamesh! What the hell are you thinking!? Has everything become so hopeless that you've given up and lost your mind!?" Even the merciless Crimson Demon (Ishtar) (Goddess) couldn't help protesting.
Ritsuka said, "Siduri-san, I understand how you feel."
"So many citizens were taken away while you alone were rescued. I'm sure that doesn't sit well with you, but now more than ever, you need to hold yourself back..."
"That isn't it."
Siduri shook her head. "That isn't why I want to accompany all of you."
"Then why...?"
"Well, if Siduri-san wants to come, we might as well let her."
Ritsuka frowned and turned around. "Even you're saying that, Shirou-san?"
Siduri replied gratefully, "Thank you, Shirou-sama... I promise I won't cause any trouble for any of you."
And so, with the approval of the two people whose opinions carried the most weight, Gilgamesh and Shirou, Siduri joined them on their journey to the enemy stronghold.
According to Chaldea's instruments, more than six hundred humans had been gathered in the plaza at the center of the city.
The number of Laḫmu reactions exceeded three hundred.
Compared to their overall numbers, that was very few. But with the Laḫmu's weaknesses still unknown, it was still a hopeless disparity in combat strength, especially since the enemy also held hostages.
"Everyone, I understand how you feel, but please proceed with extreme caution!"
"Even so, we don't have time to waste! If they've gathered everyone together, the worst-case scenario could happen at any moment!"
"Calm down, Mash. No one said we weren't going to fight."
"We'll move quickly and figure out what's happening as soon as possible. We need to secure the best position before we make our move."
The group slipped into the streets surrounding Eridu's central plaza.
What they saw there was horrifying.
Inside a ring formed by the Laḫmu, the humans were killing one another.
They had been divided into two opposing groups, ten people in total, and forced to keep attacking each other.
Before long, the ten people inside the circle had been reduced to just one.
"Huff... huff... Ah...!"
A man covered in wounds lay sprawled on the ground.
"I did it... I did it... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... everyone! Ugh... But I did it! I really did it...!"
He raised his head toward the Laḫmu. "This is enough, right!? If only one person is left, you'll let me go, right!?"
The answer was a pitch-black, razor-sharp tentacle that pierced straight through his chest.
"Kikikikikikiki! Kikikiki!"
The Laḫmu laughed in delight.
"Aaaaaaaaaah... Why!? I killed everyone just like you wanted! Why...? You demons!"
And then, still cursing them, the man transformed into the very demon he had called them.
"...This is horrible."
Siduri covered her mouth and let out a despairing sigh.
"Master... please give the order."
Mash felt as though something deep inside her mind had snapped from rage.
There was no longer any room for hesitation. Ritsuka Fujimaru was just about to speak.
"Wait."
A hand came down on the girl's shoulder.
"Shirou-san? This isn't the time to stand around and watch, is it?"
Ritsuka glared at him. "If we don't hurry, they're going to make the next group start killing each other..."
"What are you doing?"
A voice rang out from the direction of the plaza.
It sounded strangely familiar.
Everyone turned toward it.
"Why have you gathered the Old Humans here? What exactly are you doing!?"
A figure hovered in midair, long emerald-green hair swaying in the wind.
"Answer me! Why are you doing something so pointless!? Is this really how the children of Goddess Tiamat, the Mother of Origins, are supposed to behave!?"
"You can attack Uruk. You can kill your enemies. But why indulge in this meaningless, vile game?"
"I hate to admit it, but Mother... she must have made a mistake just after waking up."
"You are defective products, inferior even to Gorgon's Magical Beasts...!"
"Kikikikikikikiki!"
The Laḫmu looked up at Kingu as he berated them.
Then one of them walked into the crowd, dragged out a human, and killed them on the spot.
"!!!"
As Kingu's face twisted further with rage, the black creatures burst into collective laughter.
"Stop this at once!"
Unable to tolerate any more, Kingu attacked the Laḫmu.
Chains and weapons rose from the ground and pierced through several of them.
"Is this... infighting?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru blinked in confusion.
Shirou patted her on the shoulder. "Let's move too... We'll use this chance to free the hostages."
"Siduri, stay here. Make sure the enemy doesn't notice you."
With that, Shirou charged out.
The others immediately followed.
...
...
With Shirou and the others joining the fray, what had begun as an internal conflict within Tiamat's forces turned into full-scale chaos.
The Laḫmu formation was broken apart, allowing the prisoners to escape under cover toward the dense forest.
"The Laḫmu are beginning to withdraw from Eridu! Don't pursue them! Focus on evacuating as many people as possible!"
Shirou was about to lead several survivors toward the forest when a number of spears suddenly struck the ground at his feet.
"Still taking advantage of the chaos whenever you can, I see, human... No, Shirou Amamiya."
Kingu stared at the red-haired boy.
Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Kingu... How about you turn a blind eye for now? Whatever you want to say, we can talk after I get these people out of the city."
"No."
Kingu answered coldly. "The moment I let my guard down, you'll escape. You cunning human... Do you really think I'll fall for your tricks again?"
Shirou looked exasperated. "You know, you're the one who runs away every time..."
Kingu narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Shirou had Ana take over escorting the civilians while he turned to face the green-haired youth radiating murderous intent.
It seemed Kingu intended to settle everything between them here and now.
"Hey. Why did you help the humans?"
Shirou's question earned him a dismissive look from Kingu.
"You Old Humans betrayed Mother, so you must pay the appropriate price."
"Mother has already made her decision. We New Humans will replace you, so Mother herself should be the one to pass judgment upon you."
"Kingu, you're mistaken."
Shirou continued, "You aren't Goddess Tiamat's child."
"Maybe Goddess Tiamat really did create you with her own hands, but she didn't give birth to you."
"You once said this body was created based on Enkidu, but that was wrong."
"Your body is Enkidu's corpse."
"Goddess Tiamat breathed life into the remains that had been preserved in the Underworld. That is what you are, Kingu."
The surprise in Kingu's eyes lasted only an instant before disappearing.
"How boring. Even if that's true, what difference does it make?"
"Even if Mother didn't give birth to me, she still gave me life. I am Mother's son."
"That reason for existing is enough for me. Other purposes, other meanings, pointless sentimentality... none of that is necessary."
"A puppet that acts solely for Goddess Tiamat. That is what I am."
"Kingu is a puppet created for that purpose alone."
As he spoke, the surrounding land began to tremble.
It was the resonance of the ancient planet.
"There's no point hiding it anymore. I'll admit it..."
"I envy you, Shirou Amamiya."
Kingu spoke calmly, his face expressionless.
"Even now, I can still sense Mother's nostalgic presence clinging to you..."
"That warmth that awakened me from my cold slumber..."
The green-haired youth descended from the air.
Once his feet touched the ground, he spread his arms wide.
That simple motion caused the Mana stored within every Leyline for hundreds of kilometers around them to gather beneath his feet and pour into his body.
A weapon of the gods.
The embodiment of the earth.
The clay doll known as Enkidu was Gaia's, the Counter Force's, representative in this era.
And now, Kingu also possessed one of Solomon's seven Holy Grails, the seven Grails upon which the fate of human history depended.
To fight him was to make an enemy of the entire planet and the entire era.
"Shirou Amamiya, you are a human who cannot be allowed to remain in this world. Your very existence causes Mother to hesitate and lose her way."
"So even if Mother comes to hate me, even if she despises me... I will kill you."
"Sorry, but I still have reasons I can't die yet."
Shirou raised one hand.
Behind him, the ghostly blue light of a lake appeared.
"Lake of the Holy Sword (Vivian Pool Dozmary)."
The last time Shirou had used this Magecraft was eight years ago, during his battle with Gilgamesh.
Vivian, the Lake Nymph of legend, was said to have bestowed the Holy Sword upon the king and later reclaimed it.
By using that lake on the island of Britannia as a Catalyst, this Grand Magecraft created and dispersed vast numbers of pseudo-Holy Swords.
Compared to Unlimited Blade Works, this Magecraft had the advantage of requiring far less Mana to maintain.
After all, Shirou was not projecting hundreds or thousands of individual swords.
He was projecting the lake itself, the lake that had given birth to the Holy Sword of the Planet.
A single projection allowed him to sustain continuous firepower for an extended period, making it the ideal choice against an enemy like Kingu, whose supply of Mana was practically inexhaustible.
Countless mass-produced Holy Swords shot out from behind Shirou.
At the same time, Shirou seized one of them and charged straight at Kingu.
Eridu's plaza was flooded with golden light.
Chains and weapons poured from golden ripples, colliding with the pseudo-Holy Swords and exploding on impact.
In truth, the two had reached a tacit understanding.
Neither intended to use a wide-area Noble Phantasm, a Light Cannon, until every civilian had escaped from Eridu.
With Shirou and Enkidu's firepower, a direct clash between their Noble Phantasms could easily vaporize everything around them.
This was Shirou and Kingu's third battle.
By now, each was thoroughly familiar with the other's attack patterns.
Using the pseudo-Holy Swords to cover his advance, Shirou rushed in and forced Kingu into close combat.
Kingu had no formal martial arts training.
However, his very body was the greatest weapon of the Age of Gods.
Even when dragged into close-quarters combat, he showed no sign of being at a disadvantage.
Excluding Noble Phantasms and martial skill, Enkidu's six Status Parameters were the highest among all Heroic Spirits recorded in the Throne of Heroes.
They surpassed even Karna, the Son of the Sun God, and the great hero Heracles under Mad Enhancement.
Those overwhelming parameters were precisely why the Clay Golem could stand as an equal to the oldest King of Heroes.
Originally, Kingu had regarded combat technique, a discipline that only the Old Humans bothered obsessing over, with utter contempt.
But now, even he was forced to analyze Shirou's attacks.
Shirou's skill was so refined that even someone possessing the strongest body had to respond properly.
Their dizzying exchange of attacks continued for dozens of minutes.
The Mana winds generated by their clashes swept constantly through the ancient streets.
"...Tch!"
Kingu realized that the wounds on his body were steadily increasing.
They were nothing more than insignificant surface wounds, each healing itself soon after being inflicted.
That had been part of his strategy from the beginning.
As the embodiment of the earth, he possessed virtually limitless Mana. No matter how strong Shirou was, he was still only human.
All Kingu had to do was drag him into a prolonged battle.
That was what Kingu believed, and that was exactly how he fought.
And yet...
Why?
Why is it becoming harder and harder to defend against his attacks?
Why isn't he showing even the slightest sign of fatigue?
Shirou Amamiya's attacks are only getting fiercer, while I... I have the support of the planet, yet I'm the one being forced back!
"..."
Kingu devoted more of his power to perception.
And then he sensed it.
The truth behind Shirou's seemingly inexhaustible vitality, the reason he only grew stronger the longer he fought.
"Blessing of the Goddess of Creation EX."
"..."
Kingu felt as if he had suddenly been suffocated, followed by a wave of vertigo.
He had Gaia's support.
He had the Holy Grail's support.
Yet the one thing he had never received...
Was Mother's support.
And Shirou, who was nothing more than a human, possessed the very thing Kingu desired most.
Why...
Why...
Why...!!!
The rumbling earth turned into a roar.
As if trying to drown out every thought tormenting him, Kingu drew more and more Mana from the land.
"You betrayed Mother, so why are you the one who still has her favor...!!"
As though he had abandoned all restraint, Kingu swung his right arm, pouring most of his power into the blow.
A hand strike sharper than any Holy Sword or Demonic Sword drove straight toward Shirou's chest.
But by committing so much power to that single attack, Kingu drastically weakened his overall defenses.
Shirou did not let the opening pass.
The red-haired boy twisted his body and took Kingu's hand strike head-on with his left shoulder.
At the same time, ignoring his own injury, he stepped forward.
The pseudo-Holy Sword in his hand dispersed.
In its place appeared a beloved sword he had not wielded in a long time, the pitch-black Excalibur.
It really has been a while.
The last person who forced me to use her was Gilgamesh, wasn't it?
With that thought, Shirou swiftly brought down the Reversed Holy Sword.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Just as Shirou had anticipated, he successfully caught Kingu in his moment of vulnerability.
Even then, Kingu managed to avoid the most devastating part of the attack, but Shirou's full-power slash still carved across his body from the shoulder downward.
"Shattered Reverse Scale: Excalibur Overload!"
"Guh...!?!?"
This was a sword technique Shirou had obtained, or stolen, through projecting Arondight.
Its technical precision could not compare to the original wielder, Lancelot, but Shirou could still reproduce at least ninety percent of its effect.
The principle was simple.
It condensed Holy Sword-level Mana into a single strike. Instead of releasing that power as a massive torrent of energy, it discharged everything at the exact moment the blade cut through its target.
It was a Noble Phantasm rooted heavily in swordsmanship.
An enormous amount of Mana erupted from the severed wound, its blue radiance resembling the waters of a lake.
That strike of Lake Light shattered the defense Kingu had taken such pride in.
Blood sprayed from the green-haired youth's body as he fell backward.
Shirou quietly watched him collapse.
Without a doubt, this was the first serious injury Kingu had ever suffered.
Perhaps because of that, he looked utterly lost. He struggled to rise, only to fall again and again.
His wounds were not actually severe enough to keep him from standing.
With the combined support of Gaia and the Holy Grail, Kingu was almost impossible to kill or destroy unless he was obliterated outright by a Light Cannon.
Perhaps this was simply a childlike reaction to shock.
The crushing sense of defeat had broken something inside him, robbing him of the courage to stand again.
"...It's over. I'd call it a draw."
Shirou glanced at the bloody hole torn through his shoulder and spoke as casually as ever.
"A draw...? Don't joke with me! Are you pitying me!?"
Kingu glared furiously up at the boy standing over him, his teeth clenched.
"No... impossible... How could I lose to a human like you...?"
"I'm supposed to be the strongest weapon of this era... I am!"
"I have to do this for Mother... I'm carrying Mother's expectations!"
"...Shirou-sama, let me treat your wound."
At that moment, Siduri came running over.
Shirou frowned. "Didn't I tell you to stay hidden? Never mind... Please, Siduri-san."
Although she was an ordinary human, Gilgamesh had given her a Mystic Code for healing.
Siduri skillfully bandaged Shirou's wound, then turned toward Kingu.
"...!"
Kingu scrambled backward on all fours as though he had seen something terrifying.
"Please stop moving around, Enkidu... Let me treat your injuries."
"Huh!? What are you talking about!?"
Kingu's eyes widened.
"I'm Kingu! The eldest son of Goddess Tiamat! I'm not the Enkidu you knew!"
"...You just saved humans from being killed by the Laḫmu. Enkidu would have done the same thing."
Siduri spoke with complete seriousness as she approached Kingu one step at a time.
"I told you not to come any closer!"
Kingu shoved Siduri away, and her expression immediately darkened.
It was the kind of expression that could make even Gilgamesh and Ishtar's hearts sink.
Siduri spoke coldly.
"Shirou-sama, please help me restrain this disobedient Enkidu."
"Ah, yes."
Shirou obediently nodded.
A miserable scream echoed across the plaza.
"Wait! Both of you, stop! Let me go! I refuse to let you treat me!!"
***
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