After that, Shirou and Ana pulled out every trick they had and barely managed to delay the Goddess Tiamat for several hours.
By the time they returned to Uruk, the Chaos Tide had already reached the city walls. Fortunately, the last of the city's residents had already completed their evacuation.
The only ones still holding their ground inside the city were the Heroic Spirits summoned by Gilgamesh.
"My Lord!"
"Brother!"
Tomoe Gozen and Ushiwakamaru rushed forward to support the staggering Shirou.
They had only just withdrawn from the Fangs of Napishtim themselves.
"Well done, Shirou... Even this King didn't expect you to accomplish so much.
Ana, you've worked hard as well. For now, use this to recover some strength."
As he spoke, King Gilgamesh produced two bottles of potion from the golden ripples behind him and tossed them over.
"Wait... Are you Ana-san?" Leonidas stared up dumbfounded at the enormous Serpent Goddess.
"You Greeks can hold your reunion once this is all over. We don't have time for that now."
Gilgamesh turned his gaze toward the Persian Gulf.
Thanks to the efforts of the goddesses and Shirou, everything had gone remarkably smoothly so far.
But from this point onward, they might need a little luck.
The passage to the Underworld that Ereshkigal was preparing was centered beneath Uruk's Divine Tower. In other words, if they wanted to make the Goddess Tiamat fall into the Underworld, they first had to lure her directly in front of the tower.
Shirou looked down toward the earth. "Ere? How are the preparations for the Underworld coming?"
"Just... just give me a little more time!!"
The Laḫmu had already invaded the city. They had expected to slaughter everyone inside, only to find not a single living person.
After rampaging through the empty streets in frustration, they began surging toward the Divine Tower, the only place where they could still sense life.
"All right, you should have rested long enough... Get into the city and intercept the Laḫmu. Leave the Divine Tower to Shirou and this King."
Gilgamesh sent the others away to fight the Laḫmu, leaving only Shirou with him on the Divine Tower's observation deck.
"Ishtar, get into the sky! Fly all the way up to the dome of the heavens and wait directly beneath the sun beyond those clouds! This King will give you the signal later!"
Ishtar nodded. "...Got it. Shirou, I'm leaving this guy to you.
He's only human, but his confidence is completely out of control. Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything reckless."
"Leave it to me," Shirou answered firmly.
"Thanks. With you here, I can relax. All right, see you later!"
Ishtar blew Shirou a kiss, then turned and flew away.
"Shirou, come and look... at Uruk in its entirety."
The King of Heroes folded his arms and spoke without expression.
"This is the end of a world, only one step away from disappearing from the face of the Earth."
Shirou walked to his side and slowly looked over the city of the Age of Gods where he had spent the past half-year.
Finally, his gaze settled on the distant horizon.
"She's here. The Mother we've been waiting for."
At the boundary between the pitch-black sky and earth, an enormous shadow emerged from the thick mist.
Her right horn, the symbol of her supreme Authority, had been destroyed, yet that did nothing to diminish Mother's majesty or overwhelming presence.
She was the Beast foretold in the final chapter of the Sacred Text, the monster that would come from beyond the end of the sea.
"AAaaaaaaaaaa—"
Bathed in Mother's fury, Gilgamesh produced a clay tablet.
"Very well. Now let this King show Tiamat the last stubborn resistance of Uruk."
Shirou smiled. "You've been itching to do this for a while, haven't you?"
"Shut up! Just open your eyes and watch carefully, brat!"
Gilgamesh poured Mana into the tablet.
At the same moment, the ballistae installed along Uruk's walls, the Dingir, Seals of Divine Authority, raised their Mana-charged barrels in perfect unison.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Don't underestimate this King!"
Hundreds of ballistae unleashed their light projectiles at once, and Gilgamesh burst into triumphant laughter.
"The three hundred and sixty Dingir installed along the city gates were all built by this King, filled with this King's Mana, and placed under this King's command!
If I drive this body with the resolve to die, controlling them all at once like this is perfectly possible!"
The projectiles streaked across the apocalyptic sky like a meteor shower before crashing into Tiamat's enormous body.
They could not inflict any meaningful damage, but the relentless impacts still drew furious roars from her and slowed her advance considerably.
"This King will personally finish the task of holding back the Goddess Tiamat!"
Cold sweat poured down the King of Heroes' face as he spoke with obvious excitement, glancing toward Shirou from the corner of his eye.
The corner of Shirou's mouth twitched.
This guy...
He's definitely trying to compete with me.
Still, he had been cooped up in an office for nearly a year. He was probably desperate to finally cut loose.
"!!"
A chill suddenly ran down Shirou's spine.
It was less an instinct and more a kind of premonition born from his Divinity.
In the distance, the Goddess Tiamat slowly raised her head.
Light erupted from her cross-shaped, star-like eyes.
Almost simultaneously, Shirou rushed in front of Gilgamesh.
"!!"
A colossal explosion shook heaven and earth, sending smoke and dust billowing into the sky.
When the smoke cleared, Gilgamesh saw Shirou standing in front of him with his back turned.
The Goddess of Creation's lethal beam had been stopped by a shield Shirou projected.
But because the attack had come so suddenly, the Projection had been incomplete.
Although it successfully blocked Tiamat's strike, Shirou's right arm had been almost completely destroyed.
Then, in the very next moment, the ruined arm began to regenerate.
Fresh shoots sprouted from the charred flesh.
Not metaphorically.
Actual branches and leaves were growing from his arm.
"Hey... Shirou, you..."
Gilgamesh stared in shock at the sight before him.
He had already realized that Shirou was drifting away from humanity, but witnessing it with his own eyes was still unsettling.
As though watching sped-up footage, Shirou completed his regeneration within moments, and his arm returned to normal.
"Kingu saved my life before. I guess that repays the favor."
Shirou looked down and flexed his newly restored arm.
His voice was cold and calm, as though the flesh that had just burned away had belonged to someone else.
"What's wrong, Gil? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"......Tch!"
Gilgamesh clenched his teeth and turned his head away.
He resumed controlling the Dingir and continued bombarding the Goddess Tiamat.
Of course...
I should have realized it sooner...
Power always comes with risk and sacrifice.
Especially power "borrowed from someone else."
In other words, every time Shirou used those Divinities and Authorities, he was gradually losing the emotions that made him human.
If he continued exchanging humanity for Divinity, then eventually Shirou himself would become nothing more than a device that existed solely to destroy evil.
But Gilgamesh could do nothing to stop it.
This was Shirou's own choice.
From the moment he chose to shoulder everyone's sacrifices and the will of the goddesses, he had already understood where that path would lead.
A report from Dr. Roman came through.
"T-Tiamat has entered Uruk! Three minutes until she reaches the Divine Tower!"
"And a massive number of Laḫmu have been released! Before Tiamat reaches you, an enormous swarm is coming first...!"
"There are more than eight thousand of them! King Gilgamesh, get inside the Divine Tower! There's nothing we can do anymore!"
Tiamat had already entered Uruk and was advancing toward the Divine Tower exactly as planned.
Meanwhile, nearly ten thousand Laḫmu had gathered inside the city.
Ana and the others were fighting with everything they had, but against such overwhelming numbers, there was only so much they could do.
And the situation was even worse than that.
As the Laḫmu evolved, they had learned tactics.
Unable to approach the observation deck through the Dingir barrage, they began throwing themselves against the Divine Tower itself in groups numbering in the thousands.
"This is bad. At this rate, the Divine Tower will collapse..."
Waiting in the sky, Ishtar narrowed her eyes and prepared to descend to support the tower.
Before she could...
She saw Shirou leave the observation deck and slowly rise into the sky, his body radiating golden light.
"!!"
The sounds of chains and tearing air echoed across the skies of Uruk.
Centered around Shirou as he stood in the heavens, countless chains, swords, spears, and blades erupted outward, instantly piercing hundreds of Laḫmu.
The monsters born from the black mud did not even have time to scream before they were pierced and torn apart.
The chains danced through the air as though alive, weaving an enormous net of death.
Within seconds, the densely packed swarm filling the sky had been wiped away.
The surviving Laḫmu immediately reacted.
"Kingu... It's Kingu!? Why are you still alive!? Why are you still moving!?"
"Sorry, you've got the wrong person."
A spear launched by Shirou pierced straight through the screaming Laḫmu.
The Laḫmu identified other beings through Mana rather than appearance, so it was only natural that they mistook Shirou for Kingu.
"Kingu! You obsolete relic! Die! Die!"
The Laḫmu immediately abandoned their assault on the Divine Tower and began converging on Shirou.
That was exactly what he wanted.
An enormous golden bow appeared in Shirou's left hand.
Unlike the carbon-fiber bow he normally favored, this one was much larger and far more ornate.
Its alternating gold and crimson design immediately brought to mind the world-rending sword of a certain King of Heroes.
There was no mistake.
This was the weapon Shirou had reforged from Kingu's remains.
It could be called the Heavenly Bow of the Law God.
Shirou assumed a stance that looked casual, yet carried an unmistakable solemnity.
Unlike usual, he did not Project a sword to use as an arrow.
Instead, he simply drew back the deep crimson bowstring with nothing nocked upon it.
This bow, forged from fragments of Enkidu and Kingu's soul, had no need for arrows.
Or rather, the projectile loaded into the Bow of the Law God was the power of the land itself, the strength of the planet, the Counter Force.
The Leylines beneath the entire Mesopotamian plain began to boil, their energy rapidly converging beneath Shirou's feet.
The breath of the planet.
Surging True Ether took shape upon the taut bowstring.
A dazzling arrow of light.
Shirou aimed toward the pitch-black Laḫmu.
No.
At the Goddess Tiamat concealed behind them.
"Mother, Kingu asked me to give you a message...
He wanted me to tell you that you chose the wrong vessel, the wrong child."
Shirou spoke quietly.
Then he released the bowstring.
"The Mother Goddess's wrath belongs to the past. What awakens now is the Breath of the Stars.
O Son of God, reach the heavens with this. Enuma Elish!!!!!"
The seemingly tiny arrow instantly tore through the wall of mud formed by thousands of Laḫmu and disappeared into the skin of the Goddess Tiamat's chest.
The next moment, countless chains erupted from above her head and beneath her feet.
The golden chains transformed into countless spears of light, carrying enough power to bind even gods as they poured down over the Goddess of Creation like a waterfall.
"AAAaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!"
The Chaos Tide beneath Tiamat's feet churned violently.
Every chain wrapped around her with perfect precision, binding the Goddess of Creation in place.
No matter how fiercely she struggled, the chains refused to move.
Instead, they tightened further.
The Heavenly Bow in Shirou's hands dissolved into light and vanished completely into the wind.
"...Hmph."
From the observation deck, Gilgamesh watched Tiamat roar in pain and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"It must be frustrating, Goddess Tiamat.
You are only a single step from the Divine Tower, yet that one step has become impossibly heavy.
The restraint will last only a moment, but to you, I imagine it feels like an unbearable eternity.
Farewell, Orphan of the Heavens. Your performance here is no less magnificent than it was in the past.
The Chains of Heaven have finally...
reached the point where they can restrain even the power of the Goddess of Creation."
"Aaaaaa! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Tiamat unleashed a deafening roar.
Under the force of her raw strength, the chains began to snap.
"King Gilgamesh, can you hear me!? This is Ereshkigal in the Underworld!"
Ereshkigal's voice rang through the communication channel.
"The phase shift between the ground beneath Uruk and the Underworld is complete! All you have to do now is make a hole!"
"That settles it. Did you hear that, Ishtar?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Of course. I've been ready for ages. What, did you think I spent this whole hour doing nothing?"
Ishtar's crimson eyes took on a golden hue.
Although she had not reached Shirou's level, she too had achieved the most basic form of Recurrence of the Age of Gods and regained power close to her prime.
Ishtar summoned Maanna and began gathering Mana within herself.
"All right! Enough of this boring waiting around! Forget everything else. Let's blow it all away, lingering attachments included!"
"Time to evacuate, Gil."
Having completed his final task of delaying Tiamat, Shirou landed beside Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh did not move.
He continued staring at the Goddess Tiamat.
"Hmph... A farewell to the gods.
This King really did get carried away and say something unbelievably foolish.
But now that I've said it, I can hardly remain behind either...
You noticed from the very beginning, didn't you?"
Shirou said nothing.
Gilgamesh's expression relaxed.
"Uruk will indeed be destroyed. But if both the Goddess Tiamat and this King, the foundation of this Singularity, disappear, then the outcome can be interpreted differently.
At most, what vanishes is the reign of Uruk's Fifth King.
The age of Uruk's Sixth King, which follows immediately afterward, will still exist.
The Goddess Tiamat is not the only one who must be defeated.
This King, too, is an existence the future no longer requires.
The only matter that remained uncertain was the manner of my death. Suicide is hardly befitting of a king.
I had already resolved myself to face death earlier, only for an interfering fool like you to save me.
But now...you won't stop me again, will you?"
Gilgamesh smiled.
Shirou remained silent.
In a strange way, that silence was helpful.
Gilgamesh thought that the Shirou of the past would have saved him without hesitation, whether he wanted it or not.
But the red-haired boy who was steadily leaving the realm of humanity and descending into the depths of Divinity could now understand and accept Gilgamesh's resolve.
"How ironic."
Gilgamesh looked deeply at Shirou and gave a bitter smile.
"This King spent his entire life rejecting the divine blood within him, and yet in the end...
A king and a god are fundamentally the same thing.
A king is something that transcends humanity.
Like a god, he stands above mankind.
That is why he is solitary.
That is why he is arrogant.
And perhaps that is exactly why...
fate cannot be changed so easily.
But Shirou, if it's you, then perhaps...
I leave them to you."
"......Understood."
Shirou stepped forward and caught Ritsuka and Mash around the waist as they ran toward them.
"Huh? Shirou-san? We came to get King Gilgamesh..."
Without explaining, Shirou carried them away from the observation deck.
"Wait! Shirou-san! Where are we going?! King Gilgamesh hasn't... The King still hasn't evacuated!"
Gilgamesh silently watched as Ritsuka and Mash were forcibly carried away.
"Travelers from a distant land, accept this belated gratitude from this King...
I leave the rest to you."
Then the King of Uruk proudly turned to face the approaching Goddess Tiamat.
"Come!
This King is the final decoy!
Make sure you step directly on me without missing by so much as an inch, Goddess Tiamat!
Because this is your grave...
No.
This is the entrance to the hell that leads to your grave!"
BOOM—!!!!
Under the impact of the Goddess of Creation, King Gilgamesh's voice vanished together with the Divine Tower.
Holding Ritsuka and Mash, Shirou flew clear of the collapsing tower at the very last instant.
At the same time, Ishtar unleashed her attack.
A beam formed from a conceptual planet struck the foundations of the Divine Tower, destroying the earth itself along with the passage to the Underworld beneath it.
"AAAAaaaa—!"
Exactly as planned, Tiamat fell into the Underworld.
After countless sacrifices, the battle to subjugate Beast II finally entered its final chapter.