An hour after the Goddess Tiamat's true body emerged from the sea, Dr. Roman finished analyzing her and sent the report to everyone on-site.
Gilgamesh studied it. "I see. Not bad at all. Oh, you're rather competent, Romani Archaman...
Damn you, are you on Tiamat's side?! There isn't a single word in here about weaknesses!"
"Of course I wanted to include one or two ways to beat her! But this is the reality we're dealing with!"
Dr. Roman protested loudly. "She's a perfect being with absolutely no flaws, physically or mythologically! There's no way we can stand against her!"
They could hardly expect the Mother of Origins to possess some convenient fatal weakness.
If science could not give them an answer, then perhaps all that remained was to rely on animal instinct.
"Fuji... Ahem. Jaguar Warrior."
"What is it, Shirou~? Feel free to rely on your big sis~!"
"What do you think of Tiamat?"
"She's huge! Super huge! And I think her dragon form looks insanely cool! She really is Mother!"
As expected, Fuji-nee was no help either. What was I even thinking...?
Uruk had constructed the Fangs of Napishtim as a defensive fortification, but at best, it could delay the Goddess Tiamat for a few dozen minutes. There was no chance it could actually drive her back.
"Speaking of which, why exactly is Tiamat invincible?" Gilgamesh asked.
Shirou answered, "When Ishtar attacked Mother, I took a quick look and realized that Mother doesn't actually possess the 'concept of death.'"
"What?"
"Why didn't you mention something that important sooner?!"
"You never asked..." Shirou muttered under his breath.
When they had approached Tiamat, Shirou had projected the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
Unfortunately, not a single black mark symbolizing an "end" could be seen anywhere across Mother's mature limbs or pale skin.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception Shirou projected were not specialized for living beings, but this was the first time he had ever stared so hard he nearly went blind and still failed to see even a single line of death.
Considering that his opponent was the Mother of Life, however, perhaps that was not so strange.
Dr. Roman joined the discussion. "Ah, about that. This is only my personal theory, but...
Tiamat... No. I believe the characteristics of each Beast differ from one individual to another.
In Tiamat's case, she was born without the concept of 'death.'
No matter what happens to her, she will never reach the end of her life.
We already proved that when we temporarily destroyed Tiamat's mental form at sea."
Gilgamesh frowned. "So she dies and then regenerates? Not merely resurrection?"
"No. That isn't quite right. Rather than regeneration, it's closer to reversal."
Realization dawned on Shirou. "I see. A reversal on the level of causality?
Because the 'effect' continues to exist, the 'cause' can never truly be erased."
Dr. Roman nodded. "Exactly. Tiamat is the mother of all life that currently exists.
As long as we humans remain alive, our existence itself continuously proves hers. Therefore, she cannot be destroyed.
It sounds paradoxical, but as long as there is still 'living' life upon the Earth, Beast II (Tiamat) cannot die.
She is the daughter of the Origin and the End.
Perhaps the only way to make her subject to ordinary physical laws is to make her 'the last living being on Earth to die.'"
Mash stared at him in disbelief. "B-but then... doesn't that really mean she's impossible to defeat?! No, worse, defeating her would be meaningless!
To defeat the Goddess Tiamat, humanity would first have to... every living thing on Earth would have to die before her!"
That was exactly why Dr. Roman's report had declared the Goddess Tiamat invincible.
As long as life existed within this "world," Mother was an absolute existence that could neither die nor be destroyed.
"Wait... A 'world without life'?"
Shirou and Gilgamesh's eyes lit up at the same time.
"Ereshkigal!"
"That's it! Ere! Hey, Gilgamesh!"
"I know, I know! Stop grabbing this King by the collar!"
"???"
Ritsuka and Mash stared at them in complete confusion.
Gilgamesh snapped his fingers, and a mirror emerged from a golden ripple in the floor.
"What in the world is happening up there?!"
A woman's voice resembling that of the Goddess of Venus echoed through the Divine Tower.
Inside the mirror, a blonde girl was clutching her head and wailing.
"Waaah! Souls keep pouring into the Underworld nonstop...
Thanks to that, everything down here is in chaos on a scale we haven't seen in tens of thousands of years!
I'm so busy looking after all these souls that I'd even borrow a crocodile's tail if I could!"
The girls' eyes lit up. "Queen of the Underworld!"
"?"
Ereshkigal turned toward the mirror. "Huh...? Fujimaru? Mash? Shirou's there too? Waaaah!"
Ereshkigal hurriedly grabbed at her disheveled golden twin tails.
"J-just give me a second."
She disappeared from the mirror, then reappeared a few seconds later.
"Ahem. Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld, makes her magnificent entrance...!"
As though nothing had happened, she performed an elegant little turn, then winked at the red-haired boy.
"Ere, long time no see."
"Shirou♡... Mm, ahem! What business do you have with me, King of Uruk?"
Gilgamesh rolled his eyes. "This King did not contact you. You were the one who contacted me on your own."
The humans slaughtered by the Laḫmu had entered the Underworld as souls in enormous numbers, and Ereshkigal was currently overwhelmed trying to deal with the situation.
Gilgamesh briefly explained what was happening.
"At present, the Goddess Tiamat is heading toward Uruk.
If she is not defeated, Mesopotamia will be destroyed.
However, as long as life remains on the surface, the Goddess Tiamat cannot die."
After hearing the King of Heroes out, Ereshkigal shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that either."
"Actually, Goddess-sama, there's something I'd like to ask of you," Shirou said.
"!"
Ereshkigal answered without even thinking. "O-of course! Just tell me what you need!"
Ishtar crossed her arms. "Hey, you could at least hear what he wants before agreeing...
Tch. This is exactly why I can't stand sheltered princesses like you who don't know how dangerous the world is. You're way too easy to fool..."
"Sh-shut up! It's none of your business!" A faint blush colored the Goddess of the Underworld's cheeks.
Shirou said, "Ere, I want the Goddess Tiamat to fall into the Underworld."
"......Huh?"
Ereshkigal and Ishtar blinked in perfect synchronization, at a rate that might as well have been 400%.
"Exactly. Mistress of the Underworld, the glorious task of entertaining the Goddess Tiamat will be entrusted to you."
Gilgamesh grinned. "If Mother cannot die in a world where life exists, then we simply cast her into a world without life!
Once she enters the Underworld, Tiamat will become 'the last living being in the world,' correct? At that point, she can finally be defeated!"
"!!"
Dr. Roman and Da Vinci's eyes lit up.
"Wait, wait, wait... Hold on! You just said 'fall into,' right? Here? Into the Underworld?"
Shirou nodded seriously. "Yeah."
Ereshkigal's mouth hung open. "Uh..."
Gilgamesh raised his voice excitedly. "Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld! This King commands you in the name of the King!
Open the Gates of the Underworld throughout all of Uruk and cast the Beast of Calamity that calls itself the Goddess Tiamat into the depths of the earth!
This is your responsibility after running rampant as one of the Three Goddesses, and your only chance to atone!"
"No, impossible! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Her vehement protest came through the mirror.
"You want me to move the Underworld beneath Uruk?! How am I supposed to do something that ridiculous?!"
"So... it really is impossible..."
Shirou looked dejected. With a sigh, he rested his head on Siduri's shoulder.
"Ugh!"
Ereshkigal pursed her lips. "B-but... I guess I have no choice! If Shirou is asking me to do it!"
"You can do it?" Shirou asked happily.
"W-well... sort of." Ereshkigal shyly averted her eyes.
"But! I'll do it! I mean, I can do it! But you have to give me some time to prepare!"
"How much time is 'some time'?"
Ereshkigal turned her back to them. "Even Kutha, the city under my direct control, is already difficult enough.
For a city this large, it would normally take me ten years just to barely manage it."
Mash stared. "Ten years?"
Shirou caught the wording immediately. "Normally?"
With her back still turned to everyone, Ereshkigal began to fidget.
"Well... actually, because I hated Uruk before, I started plotting something like this a long time ago...
So I only need three days. Just three days... and I can have everything ready."
Gilgamesh fell silent.
"T-that's amazing, Ereshkigal-san!" Ritsuka and Mash exclaimed happily.
"I-is it? Then I guess all those curse rituals I secretly performed every night were worth the effort after all. Hehe."
"That's not exactly something to look bashful about," Ishtar said dryly.
Gilgamesh laughed. "Hahahaha! Well done, Ereshkigal! But this King and you are going to have a very serious talk afterward!"
After the Goddess of the Underworld departed, the strategy meeting continued.
Defeating the Goddess Tiamat had gone from impossible to merely possible.
The real problem now was finding a way to delay her advance.
Two days remained before the Goddess Tiamat reached Uruk.
Three days remained before Ereshkigal could finish preparing the gateway to the Underworld.
That meant they had to somehow buy one precious extra day.
"Leave it to me. I'll take responsibility for holding Mother back for a full day."
"Shirou-san?!"
Even after obtaining a Grand Spirit Origin, Shirou had absolutely no chance of defeating the Goddess Tiamat.
A Beast was an enemy that normally required the combined strength of seven Grand Heroic Spirits just to oppose.
Worse still, the Goddess Tiamat was accompanied by Mesopotamia's ultimate weapons of the Age of Gods. Tens of thousands, perhaps even millions, of Laḫmu surrounded Mother and protected her advance.
Shirou could indeed buy them a day against Tiamat.
But...
Gilgamesh objected.
"No. Absolutely not. Shirou, you're our trump card. You have the crucial responsibility of defeating the Beast after it falls into the Underworld.
Don't forget what you obtained your current Spirit Origin for in the first place."
"If even Shirou can't go, then what are we supposed to do? The Axe of Marduk is already damaged..."
Gilgamesh smiled confidently. "There's no need to worry.
This King has already seen the path to victory. After all, we have Ishtar on our side."
Ishtar pointed at herself in disbelief. "Huh...? Me?"
Dr. Roman suddenly realized what he meant. "Ah! Of course! If it's the Goddess Ishtar, then that could definitely work!"
"Oh~! That's right~! Ishtar should be able to handle it easily~!"
"Exactly! As expected of Ishtar-san!"
"Mm! Just as Merlin-san said!"
"As expected of Ishtar-san!"
Praise for the Goddess of Venus rang out one after another throughout the Divine Tower.
Shirou walked up behind Ishtar and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're counting on you, Ishtar."
"O-okay, if Shirou says so... Wait! No! That's not right!"
A terrible premonition suddenly made Ishtar bristle.
"W-what's going on? Why is everyone suddenly so excited?"
The King's booming laughter echoed through the hall.
"Hahahahahaha! To think you're actually pretending not to understand!
Knowing how to conceal your trump card until the perfect moment is truly infuriating... but there's no need for such infuriating tricks now.
Come on. Hurry up and summon your Gugalanna."
Gugalanna.
In Sumerian mythology, the Bull of Heaven that served the goddess Ishtar.
It was Mesopotamia's largest and most ferocious Divine Beast, as well as its ultimate and most powerful scorched-earth weapon.
It would hardly be an exaggeration to call it proof of Anu's indulgence toward his daughter. Ishtar had received the Bull of Heaven from her father.
Gugalanna once drained the Tigris River dry, bringing an eight-year drought upon the Mesopotamian world.
Although Gilgamesh and Enkidu, both at the height of their power at the time, ultimately joined forces to defeat the Divine Beast, they had only managed it through the bond between them and the power of the Chains of Heaven.
In truth, the Bull of Heaven's strength far exceeded even Uruk's mightiest duo.
"If it's Gugalanna, then holding back the Goddess Tiamat isn't impossible!"
"I heard about it from the people of Ur too! Gugalanna, servant of the goddess Ishtar, is a truly awe-inspiring Divine Beast!"
Quetzalcoatl made no attempt to hide her flattery. "And what a magnificent goddess Ishtar is!
I heard that even the gods themselves couldn't tame that Divine Beast, yet you can command it however you please, sometimes sternly, and sometimes even more sternly~!"
The corner of Ishtar's mouth twitched. "R-right... Yes, exactly.
Gugalanna is... practically like my own mount, my own legs, you know?
But aren't you all praising that thing a little too much? Gugalanna isn't really that impressive.
I mean, in the face of Mother's divine might, it wouldn't be any use at all..."
"Gugalanna! Gugalanna!"
"Ishtar! Ishtar!"
Cheers like those of a triumphal procession erupted all around her. Ishtar's face went deathly pale.
"Ugh...!"
Gilgamesh frowned slightly, finally sensing that something was wrong.
"What's the matter? You're acting strangely.
Normally, you would have burst into obnoxious laughter by now and started showing off Gugalanna as though its power were somehow your own...
Hey. Don't tell me you..."
Ishtar lowered her head as though accepting her fate.
"...Right. I don't... have Gugalanna."
"WHAT?!" The supreme deity of South America was so shocked that she blurted it out in English.
"I don't have it! I lost it! I have no idea where I lost it!"
Ishtar slumped in despair. "It should have fallen somewhere in the north, but I can't find it anywhere!
For the past six months... I even searched all of Babylon, and I couldn't find so much as a trace of Gugalanna!"
"......"
Gilgamesh finally lost his temper and erupted.
"You... you useless idiot goddess! What do you think this King brought you into our alliance for?!"
In the end, Ishtar was made to stand in punishment while holding a clay tablet inscribed with the words [I am a useless goddess].
Night fell.
The strategy meeting failed to produce a conclusion everyone could accept, so Gilgamesh declared the meeting over for the day.
Ritsuka suggested, "Let's go help at the Fangs of Napishtim."
"King Leonidas and his men are guarding that area now. There's nothing for you to do there."
Gilgamesh continued, "Your exhaustion must already be reaching its limit. It's time you got some proper rest.
Go and recover your strength. It may only be a few hours until dawn, but this will most likely be your final chance to rest in Uruk."
"Shirou-san, aren't you coming back to the embassy tonight? Ishtar-san is staying there tonight too."
As she prepared to leave the Divine Tower, Ritsuka noticed that Shirou had not followed them.
"Ah, I still have something to take care of. See you tomorrow, Ritsuka."
Gilgamesh gave Shirou a meaningful glance, then left the hall without looking back.
The Divine Tower, bustling with activity only moments earlier, suddenly became quiet.
Shirou made his way to the observation deck.
Just as he was about to take off, someone grabbed his wrist.
"Shirou-sama? Where are you planning to go?"
Siduri looked straight into the boy's eyes. "The King told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't do anything reckless...
But judging from the direction you're facing, you don't seem to be heading toward the Goddess Tiamat."
"I just... have a little business to take care of."
"A little business?" Siduri narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Shirou smiled faintly. "You could call it my final Everything Shop commission in Uruk.
As for the client..."
Shirou raised his arm and showed Siduri the chain wrapped around it.
"Kingu?"
"Another individual."
Siduri covered her mouth. "Enkidu..."
"Yeah. Enkidu asked me to do something."
The chain that had been hanging loosely suddenly began to sway, as though resonating with something.
The wedge at its tip pointed in a certain direction.
Not toward the Persian Gulf, now under the Goddess Tiamat's control, but north.
"That's the direction of the Cedar Forest... Could it be Huwawa?"
The Head Priestess's eyes widened in disbelief.
Feeling the resonance coming through the crimson divine markings, Shirou spoke.
"'Even if Gil and Kingu have both acknowledged you, I still haven't!
If you want to become my master, if you truly are the Savior of Uruk...
then go and free her soul.'
That Enkidu of yours is provoking me like this. His personality is even worse than Kingu's."
"Huh?"
Siduri suddenly found an arm wrapped around her waist, and her face flushed bright red.
"Perfect. I still need a guide... Siduri-san, I'm borrowing you for the night."
"W-wait! Shirou-sama!"
Holding Siduri in his arms, Shirou became a streak of light and shot toward the Cedar Forest.