High in the sky, an endless song filled with sorrow echoed throughout Snowfield City.
Not only here, but at this very mont, in every corner of the North Arican continent, the beautiful yet chillingly hair-raising lant of creation could faintly be heard, like deep-sea sirens.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, who had arrived late after overcoming nurous difficulties, looked up at the apocalyptic despairing scene unfolding before them and were at a loss for words for a while.
The coordinated assault by the six Grand Servants boasting humanity's highest defensive power had been effortlessly neutralized by Tiamat... Moreover, the earth-shaking radiance of their Noble Phantasms had not even managed to slightly expand the Sea of Life.
Given the current situation where even the laws governing the Earth had been forcibly rewritten, was there truly any other path?
At that mont, the entire world was enveloped in deathly silence, with only the terrifying sight of the Sea of Life spreading outward filling their eyes.
"Tch... Because she is the origin of life on this planet, the concept of death doesn't exist for her? As long as life exists on Earth, she will never perish."
Tezcatlipoca erged from the smoke of the battlefield, cigar clenched in his teeth, his eyes filled with lancholy.
"That idiot Alaya has pushed such an outrageous calamity onto —one that cannot be defeated by physical ans? Does they think I'm so wish-granting machine?!"
Romulus, standing beside him, stared fixedly at the Mother Goddess of Creation who seed unstoppable.
He looked down at the spear of light between his arms. It had been severely corroded by the Sea of Life and was beginning to crack. Then he fell silent.
Taigong Wang also looked up at the sky. A faint sense of powerlessness and bitterness seed to dwell deep within his usually smiling eyes.
"I see... By losing her beloved, she completely lost her sanity, broke free from all restraints, and unleashed the strongest form from the peak of the Age of Gods?"
He sighed and quietly put away the God-Striking Whip.
"In a situation like this, it seems aningless for a sage like who manipulates formations and immortal arts to be here."
"That's why I've been saying from the beginning that the suppression force is nothing more than a broken system full of holes and errors."
Solomon cast a cold gaze at the gathered heroes' spirits.
Eventually, his gaze beca fixed on the massive object before him and the Sea of Life spreading with terrifying montum from its center across the entire North Arican continent.
At this mont, the King of Magecraft was caught in an unprecedented internal conflict.
The grand sche of incinerating Human Order was premised on the concept of Human Order still existing on this planet.
If Tiamat completely reset the surface ecosystem of this land, the vast fuel he had accumulated over three thousand years would be directly thwarted.
Therefore, he had to stop Tiamat here no matter what.
However...
Now that this fragile, hollow shell had beco the Solomon, it was clear that stopping Tiamat was absolutely impossible.
But if he discarded his disguise and descended as the Beast I to fight the Beast II... wouldn't the blazing plan that had slept for three thousand years be completely exposed to the entire world ahead of schedule?!
In the end, the Beast I stopping the Beast II from destroying humanity… what kind of black humor was this?
For an instant, the man was trapped in intense internal conflict.
The surroundings suddenly fell into incredible silence.
"Hmph... Are you already planning to give up and close your eyes to wait for death after experiencing such a setback? The Heroic Spirits of the human world remain as fragile and pathetic as ever."
Amid the suffocating atmosphere, a female voice filled with extre arrogance and coldness suddenly echoed from above.
Almost simultaneously with that voice ringing out, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash instinctively turned around—only to be shocked to realize that a girl had been quietly standing in the air above them without them noticing.
Her silver hair, flowing like a waterfall, hung naturally down. Imasurable magical energy emanated from her perfect body.
The silver-haired girl stood with arms crossed, letting the night wind buffet her, looking down at the heroes present with ruby-like eyes.
"If you give up the fight so easily, the world you cherish will be rcilessly reduced to nothing by this raging Mother."
Upon seeing the figure who seed familiar yet sohow unfamiliar, Romani Archaman suddenly seed to realize sothing extrely important and spoke in an urgent tone over Chaldea's spiritual communication channel.
"Now I understand. That extrely unique magical wavelength is... She is the Goddess of Venus, Ishtar, who has forcibly descended using a Homunculus body!!"
"Ritsuka, Mash! Listen carefully! The fact that Ishtar has descended onto this battlefield as a god ans that Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld who governs life and death and is one with her, must also exist deep underground in this snowfield city!"
Romani Archaman was incredibly excited. "This is precisely the final chance left by the Counter Force. You must imdiately go to the leyline nexus point underground in the city center and find the gate to the Underworld... If you can et that goddess, perhaps... there might still be a way to retrieve Matou Yuu's soul!"
Ishtar…?
Go to the Underworld and save Matou Yuu?!
Upon hearing Romani Archaman's words, a light of hope appeared in the dull eyes of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
At that mont, the silver-haired goddess full of majesty slowly raised her head and gazed solemnly at the heavy aura emanating from the massive figure before her.
"Tiamat, Goddess of Creation... Hmm? Quite a troubleso goddess."
"But if there is soone in this world who can temporarily slow her movents, even for a mont... It seems like it can only be you—"
A faint smile appeared on Ishtar's lips as she suddenly raised her right hand high into the sky.
"Now it's your turn to shine!"
BOOM!
The mont she finished speaking, the previously bottomless sky was suddenly torn apart by a terrifying force.
With a roar, a massive storm on a catastrophic scale suddenly ford within the clouds.
Beneath countless gazes, a gigantic hoof woven from lightning and hurricanes descended from the heavens with a thunderous sound!
It was the strongest divine beast from the Age of Gods and the only existence capable of temporarily halting the expansion of the Sea of Life.
The Bull of Heaven!
The grand Heroic Spirits, who had been disheartened until now upon witnessing the super divine beast that descended between heaven and earth and powerfully blocked the black mud with its storm, once again had astonishing fighting spirit dwelling in their eyes.
"Hah! Well said!"
Super Orion firmly gripped his massive bow. "Even a little girl hasn't given up, so for us n bearing the title of Grand rank to back down first—what kind of face would we have to call ourselves Servants?!"
"Yeah... That's certainly true. Even if we know it's an insurmountable predicant, we must draw our swords for humanity's future..."
Artoria took a deep breath and slowly gripped the Star Sword once again, emitting golden light.
"After all, that's the reason we were summoned by the Counter Force."
Amid the earth-shaking roar of the Bull of Heaven, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash exchanged heavy glances. Without hesitation, they imdiately turned on their heels and sprinted toward the underground leyline coordinates Romani Archaman had just inford them of.
No matter what... We must find a way to bring Matou Yuu back!
…
…According to the fundantal principles of the magical world, the souls of modern people usually rapidly dissipate after death and return to their original place.
However, exceptions always exist.
For example, the Holy Grail War in Snowfield City had absurdly summoned Gilgash, the oldest King of Heroes, and triggered a chain reaction of fate that drew Enkidu and the Goddess of Venus Ishtar into the modern world.
Under normal circumstances, no matter where Ishtar might be, the arrival of Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld, was unavoidable.
After all, these two goddesses were essentially two sides of the sa coin.
When Ishtar, symbolizing Heaven and Life, exceptionally descends to maintain the absolute balance of the world's laws, the goddesses of Underworld and Death, who are her polar opposites, will naturally descend secretly alongside her.
However, whether it was the arrogant Ishtar or... Ereshkigal, who had lived underground all this ti, they probably never imagined that they would co to participate in a modern Holy Grail War and, by the way, settle the grudges from the Age of Gods.
As a result of Faldeus and his politician group's ticulous planning, the Holy Grail War had transford into the Absolute Demonic Beast Frontline: Modern Pro Max.
Furthermore...
This tiline's Ishtar possessed the"Bull of Heaven.
At this very mont, deep underground in Snowfield City.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash were frantically running through underground passages, searching for the entrance to the Underworld based on information recently provided by Chaldea.
"Hehehe…"
At that mont, a chilling, eerie laughter suddenly echoed from the darkness ahead.
Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly turned around and felt terror at the sight of a writhing Laḫmu with a horrifying smile, moving in a way that defied biological laws, about to attack her.
"Senpai, watch out!"
Mash's pupils rapidly contracted as she imdiately raised her cross-shaped shield and stood in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka.
BANG!
Before the Laḫmu could attack the shield, a deep red bullet flew out from the depths of the dark tunnel!
The bullet struck the Laḫmu's sturdy shell with extre precision. With a loud "clang," the heavily injured Laḫmu let out a cry of pain, staggered back several steps, and retreated.
It suspiciously stared into the depths of the tunnel, then let out a sharp cry and hurriedly disappeared into a dark rift, fleeing.
The two, who had barely escaped death, instinctively turned their faces. Upon seeing the person there, their tense faces instantly brightened with surprise. "Emiya-san?!"
EMIYA Alter slowly erged from the shadows.
He set down the two black handguns he had been holding and looked up from a crack in the ground, glancing at the massive, imposing creature floating high in the sky.
"I don't know what happened, but judging from the situation, sothing must have happened to Yuu."
Until just recently, Emiya Alter had been acting as a decoy for the group on the outskirts of the Snowfield Reservation.
However, not long after, a trendous explosion had occurred underground.
Then Tiamat's true form had fully manifested... Without needing to deeply investigate the details, Emiya Alter could roughly guess the truth.
"The U.S. military... Was Faldeus the mastermind?"
The man's eyes were abnormally cold. The fingers gripping his gun handles tightened slightly. "My greatest mistake was not killing that rat hiding in the shadows imdiately."
He regained so composure and turned toward the two Chaldea mbers, speaking in his usual calm and capable tone. "Where are you two planning to go now? This area is infested with derivatives of the black mud. I'll guide you there."
"We're heading to—"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to explain.
At that mont, a clear, cold, yet deeply majestic voice suddenly echoed beneath everyone's feet.
"How long do you plan to keep talking on my ceiling? Save all the unnecessary nonsense for after everything has settled!"
BOOM—!
The next instant, the ground beneath their feet collapsed without warning, and a bottomless pitch-black hole instantly appeared.
The three, suddenly losing their balance, scread as they plumted headfirst as if falling into the abyss.
However, instead of the expected pain of violently slamming into a hard floor, it felt as if they had passed through a soft wall of water and landed on extrely soft sandy ground.
When Fujimaru Ritsuka opened her eyes in a hazy consciousness, what t her gaze was no longer the ruins of a modern city's sewer, but the mysterious blue flas of the Underworld floating in the air like countless stars.
"We're here..."
Mash instinctively raised her shield to protect Ritsuka, her purple eyes cautiously scanning the surroundings as she whispered, "It seems this is the so-called Underworld from mythology."
"But logically speaking, the Age of Gods should have ended long ago. There shouldn't be an Underworld of this scale on this modern planet…"
"Hey… You've got good eyesight. The intruders seem to possess considerable knowledge."
At that mont, a divine, majestic, clear and cold voice suddenly ca from ahead.
The two instinctively raised their faces. Emiya Alter, who had drawn his two guns, was also secretly observing the woman before him.
A girl with dazzling golden hair, clad in a black robe and carrying a red-and-black spear, sat with legs crossed, supporting her snow-white chin with one hand, looking down at the uninvited guests with a gaze that was both condescending and full of majesty.
"Hmm... Even though this land has already beco a breeding ground for the torrent of life, there are still ignorant creatures who dare to set foot in this goddess's kingdom of death?"
Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld, slightly raised her chin to display the absolute majesty of the ruler of the Underworld to the fullest.
"Masters of Chaldea. The fact that you've arrived here ans all options on the surface have been exhausted, correct? But unfortunately, the ironclad laws of the Underworld cannot be broken. This is a place ant only for the dead, not for the living—"
"Lady Ereshkigal! Please! Help us... This is all for humanity's sake!" Fujimaru Ritsuka cried out before even finishing the formal greeting.
The mont she heard that title, the golden-haired goddess seated on the throne froze for an instant. Her originally cold expression suddenly beca unnatural.
"Wait, what are you suddenly shouting about... I am the Goddess of the Underworld, you know…"
Her white cheeks instantly turned red, and even her usually unapproachable and majestic voice instantly lost its composure.
"Cough, cough! Really... I can't do anything with you people…"
She averted her eyes in guilt and hurriedly coughed twice. A lovely blush still remained on her beautiful face.
Eventually, Eresh raised her teary ruby eyes and secretly looked at the two. Maintaining her composure, she asked, "If you're going to rely on that much... Tell , what kind of wish do you want this goddess to grant?"
"As expected of the Goddess of the Underworld—extrely reliable at the critical mont!" Fujimaru Ritsuka imdiately praised her.
"Yes, yes, that's wonderful! This generosity and majesty are on a completely different level from those goddesses who aren't reliable at critical monts!" Mash understood and imdiately chid in sincerely from the side.
Imdiately after, Fujimaru Ritsuka added with a solemn expression, "In that case, please return Matou Yuu's soul to his body."
"Hehehe... No, I'm not as good as you all say... No, don't think you can please this goddess with just nice words—"
Ereshkigal, pleased by the praise, covered her face and giggled, but suddenly seed to belatedly realize sothing. She blinked her clear eyes. "Eh, wait a minute... Matou Yuu's... soul?"
Beneath Ereshkigal's clear yet confused gaze, Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded matter-of-factly. "Since he died in the snowfield city, all the souls of the dead should have fallen into your Underworld, right? If we can bring Matou Yuu back... We'll surely find a way to calm that Mother's rage!"
"Now, everything is in your hands!"
After finishing, the orange-haired girl bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle with utmost sincerity.
However, upon witnessing the girl's sincere attitude, Ereshkigal on the throne could not agree with her usual arrogant deanor.
She awkwardly averted her gaze, fiddled with her golden hair with pale fingertips, and with a slightly restless expression, gently twirled it and tossed it onto her chest.
"Um... Actually... Regarding this matter... I..."
Emiya Alter, standing nearby, imdiately sensed sothing was wrong upon seeing her hesitant, stuttering deanor.
He frowned slightly. "What's wrong? With the power of the Queen of the Underworld, is there so secret too shaful to speak of?"
Mash and Ritsuka also felt sothing was off and looked at the golden-haired goddess with eyes mixing hope and anxiety.
Beneath the sharp gazes of the three, Ereshkigal finally seed to succumb to the pressure. As if completely giving up, she suddenly tightly closed her eyes and shouted, "Fine, fine, I'll tell you!"
"Actually... Not long after descending to the present world, I did my best to search for Matou Yuu's soul! But... It disappeared! He's not even in the Underworld!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart leaped. She collapsed... He consciously asked, "What do you an by disappeared?"
Emiya Alter stared fixedly at the Goddess of the Underworld and spoke in a low, deep voice. "Explain clearly. Has he not fallen into the Underworld yet, or has he been stained by the black mud?"
Beneath the three's almost despairing gazes, Ereshkigal let out a long sigh.
"He neither fell into the Underworld nor beca corrupted... Rather, he conceptually vanished. To be honest, when I first arrived here, I could still sense fragnts of his soul."
"But now, Matou Yuu's soul has... completely disappeared from this world."
…
…Located inside the underground command center.
Just monts ago, accompanying the crustal movent of the North Arican continent, the entire North Arican Plate had been struck by an unprecedented terrifying earthquake.
The satellite surveillance equipnt originally deployed in Snowfield City and its surrounding areas had completely ceased functioning at that instant.
Thanks to the military's ergency repairs just a few minutes ago, the backup equipnt here had barely managed to restore so footage.
However, the scene displayed on the main screen gave Faldeus an unprecedented sense of absurdity and disbelief.
Because at this mont, Tiamat was actually being obstructed by so special existence, and even the Sea of Life had temporarily stopped spreading.
In addition to the six Grand Servants desperately resisting, there was one more massive existence that could not be defined as a living being stopping Tiamat.
To be precise, it was the eye of an ultra-massive typhoon, covering a vast area of hundreds of thousands of square kiloters, accompanied by violent thunderstorms.
To the naked eye, it looked like a teorological disaster.
However, this calamity filled with thunder and hurricanes was now madly devouring each other's power from the boiling sea of life.
"I don't know what that is at all, but at least... we're temporarily saved?"
Faldeus wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Only then did he feel his body slightly relax. The cold sweat on his back had already soaked his clothes through.
No matter how ticulously planned or strategically devised, beneath such absolute power, it all seed utterly ridiculous.
…
…"Were they really able to stop the expansion of the Sea of Life?"
Taigong Wang, watching the Bull of Heaven fiercely battling Tiamat's Sea of Life at the front lines of the battlefield, couldn't help but be genuinely surprised.
In reality, due to the imnse mass of Tiamat's Saint Graph, her actual movent speed was incredibly slow.
What was truly fatal was the Sea of Life constantly surging at her feet.
The spread of the black mud was an extrely terrifying exponential division phenonon. If there were no obstacles, this black mud could potentially completely cover most of the Earth's surface in just a few days.
"Hmm, surprised by this little event, Rider? Don't underestimate the mythical beast of sopotamian mythology."
Ishtar proudly raised her head slightly. "With the mass of the Bull of Heaven and the sacred storm it brings, it should be able to halt the advance of the Sea of Life for at least three days."
As she finished speaking, the gaze of the Heavenly Goddess beca even more solemn.
"However, it would be best to co up with so kind of plan during this ti. If we cannot find a true way to break this stalemate within three days... The mont the Bull of Heaven's magical energy runs out, this planet will return to its original state."
After all, the Goddess of Creation before us does not experience death in the physical sense.
As the Mother of Life on Earth, Tiamat's power was already bound to the laws and principles of this planet.
As long as the Earth did not explode, even if the Grand Servants blew her to pieces with Noble Phantasms ten thousand tis, she could instantly recover.
This was a problem that could not be solved by simply exchanging firepower.
"Can we find a way to break this stalemate within three days…?"
Taigong Wang raised his head, staring at a certain point beneath Snowfield City, and quietly muttered, "Perhaps the only way to turn the situation around is for that young man who can shake the Mother's emotions to return?"
At this point, the immortal man paused briefly, regret appearing in his eyes. "But just now, I sensed... that only the opportunity has been completely shattered."
Upon hearing this, Ishtar, even while in midair, slightly stopped moving. The arrogance and confidence on her face instantly vanished.
She instinctively turned her head to look at Taigong Wang and strongly blinked, panic seeping into her voice without her realizing it. "Wait, you an... Matou Yuu's soul didn't even have the chance to report to the Underworld and has truly completely died?!"
"At least from my observations, it seems Matou Yuu's soul's causality has indeed completely disappeared from this world."
Taigong Wang helplessly shook his head.
Solomon, standing nearby, frowned and stared at a point in the void, remaining silent.
Suddenly, an ominous premonition began to sprout in his heart.
He suddenly seed to realize sothing terrifying and forcefully raised his head, shouting, "This is bad! Quickly seal off this area! Don't let Tiamat perceive the outside world!"
However, it was already too late.
Buzz!
When Matou Yuu's soul completely vanished, the Bull of Heaven that had been fiercely battling the Sea of Life suddenly stopped moving for an instant.
Not because its power had run out, but because it sensed a terrifying force descending upon it, the massive divine beast's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"AAAAAAAAA——!!!"
The next instant, Tiamat, standing high in the sky, stopped her sorrowful chanting.
Then, a violent, heartbreaking cry that seed capable of shattering Human Order echoed throughout the surroundings.
BOOM!
And then, the true apocalypse arrived.
The Sea of Life, which had originally covered the Earth's surface, suddenly soared high into the sky, transforming into a deep purple barrier.
Within this barrier, all the heroes' spirits were assaulted by a suffocating sensation as their Saint Graphs were stripped away.
The entire North Arican continental plate seed to sink in an instant!
The violent shaking caused everyone present to lose their balance. Artoria suddenly raised her head and looked up at the terrifying sight that defied logical explanation.
The shimring light surrounding the Star Sword seed to weaken under this oppressive force, and she unconsciously muttered, "That is… what?"
Super Orion, standing nearby, firmly gripped his massive bow and unconsciously said, "...Reality Marble? You're joking, right? Sothing on this scale capable of even concealing natural laws—how on earth could it exist..."
"No… That is by no ans a Reality Marble!"
Solomon's face was as black as dripping water. He groaned, "She really is trying to destroy humanity!"
That was the power of the Return Beast, the power to overturn existing evolutionary theory and forcibly bring new life to the world.
—[Nega-Genesis]
Accompanying Solomon's roar, the Sea of Life, which had only been boiling on the surface, instantly transford into a Category 12 tsunami, swallowing everything on the ground with overwhelming force.
The Bull of Heaven, which had originally been blocking the Sea of Life, let out a sorrowful cry the instant its massive divine body, woven from endless lightning and storms, touched the anti-creation power.
And the ultimate divine beast shattered into pieces in midair.
Seeing this, Taigong Wang suddenly raised his head and shouted toward the sky. "Goddess of Heaven, didn't you confidently say just now that the Bull of Heaven's mass could hold out for at least three days? Why didn't it even last ten minutes…?"
"Stop arguing! Whose fault do you think this is?"
High in the sky, Ishtar gritted her teeth and desperately squeezed out magecraft to increase her altitude and avoid the tsunami.
"If Snowfield City's leyline weren't so weak, and if you humans hadn't done sothing foolish enough to drive the Mother to the brink of madness... The Bull of Heaven could have easily held her back for three days! But now—"
Before Ishtar finished speaking, a purplish-black tsunami reaching tens of thousands of ters in height struck her, swallowing the Goddess of Venus's scream into the darkness.
Now that the Bull of Heaven could no longer obstruct the expansion of the Sea of Life, nothing could stop it anymore.
It swallowed Nevada, crossed the Grand Canyon, and subrged the bustling West Coast... In less than thirty minutes, the entire North Arican continent was completely covered by the return power of the Sea of Life.
However, the rampaging Sea of Life did not stop there. It quietly continued flowing southward…
…
…"Even with six Grand Servants and the legendary Bull of Heaven, they couldn't stop Tiamat's advance…?"
Standing before the ruins of a building, Francesca looked up at the sky. Her delicate face, which usually wore a bright smile, was now expressionless.
It was no wonder...
Just monts ago, she had witnessed with her own eyes the jet-black swamp symbolizing the Sea of Life rcilessly reducing the golden pillars of light representing humanity's highest defense chanism to nothing through unreasonable, absolute violence.
Grand Servants…
They were already the strongest defense chanism humanity could reasonably prepare.
If even Grand Servants could do nothing…
Francesca stared at the massive, sacred Mother Goddess, in whom sanctity and ferocity had perfectly fused. Her face was gloomy, unlike usual.
"No matter how much I want to enjoy myself, it's really hard to laugh in a situation like this…"
If rlin hadn't been exaggerating on purpose earlier…
The Sea of Life would have completely covered the entire planet in a very short ti.
In the end, the planet's existing ecosystem would be completely overwritten, forcibly reverting to the Age of Gods.
However, if it were rely a matter of losing Human Order, she still seed to have a slight chance of resisting and surviving.
Francesca's immortality fundantally relied on maintaining physical continuity by constantly transferring her soul between the countless clones she created.
Even if Tiamat completely erased human history and replaced humans with ugly Laḫmu, the most she could do was discard her identity as a human magus and barely survive in the gaps of the Age of Gods... Still, she could do that.
"At this rate, it won't be long before it's our turn to play."
François beside her also tilted his head back. His tone appeared as elegant and calm as usual, but in reality, he had forgotten to breathe.
No matter how confident he was in his own illusions, or even if he considered himself a master of illusions capable of seeing through people's hearts.
However...
Even rlin, standing at the pinnacle of illusion magecraft, was powerless before that black mud... His level of illusion would probably not even qualify as a low-level trick before the Mother Goddess of Creation.
Am I going to fight Tiamat? Really?
"rlin, is there really no other alternative?"
Francesca asked with a faint hope. "You're the court mage capable of manipulating even King Arthur's fate, right? There's no way you don't have at least one secret cheating thod left, right?!"
rlin helplessly shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "As I said before, there is only one way to break the current stalemate with Tiamat."
He discarded his previous indifference and stared at the two, emphasizing each word. "Matou Yuu… must return no matter what."
"But his soul has completely vanished from this world."
After finishing, rlin unconsciously looked toward the direction of the Underworld. His beautiful eyes were particularly deep, filled with powerlessness.
"I initially thought that if the Goddess of the Underworld who governs life and death descended, she would surely protect his soul. But... It seems this ti, humanity has truly reached its end."
At this mont, a faint confusion seeped into rlin's voice.
"But in the end... It's strange that that goddess descended."
Not only Alaya, symbolizing humanity's will, but even Gaia, symbolizing the planet's will, was secretly supporting with magical power... For these two Counter Force to join hands simultaneously was an extrely rare occurrence.
According to the underlying principles of the magical world, there were two major Counter Force.
First, Alaya, ford by the collective will of the desire to survive existing in the subconscious of all humanity. Its purpose was to protect humanity from extinction.
Second, the concept of Gaia, which represented the planet's own survival instinct.
As long as there was no threat to the planet's existence, Gaia didn't care about human lives at all.
Rather, Gaia would be glad if humans, who constantly destroyed nature, went extinct quickly. There was no reason to break the rules to help Alaya…
Francesca's eyes wavered slightly. Touching her lips with her fingertips, she hesitantly asked, "In other words... Tiamat's Sea of Life is already threatening the planet itself?"
Before she finished speaking, rlin imdiately rejected her. "Absolutely impossible."
Tiamat's threat was directed exclusively at Human Order. What she desired was only to erase existing human history, return Earth's ecosystem to the Age of Gods, and replace humans with Laḫmu.
For Gaia, this was a completely unrelated matter.
Otherwise, the Star Sword in Artoria's hand should not have possessed only this level of power at this mont.
Thinking this, rlin unconsciously looked in the direction where Artoria was.
The Star Sword was the ultimate defensive weapon Gaia had forged in the planet's deep sea to counter extraterrestrial predators attempting to destroy the Earth.
Only when the enemy was judged to be an external threat destroying the planet would the thirteen restraints of the Holy Sword be completely released, unleashing true planet-scale destructive light.
However, the Holy Sword had not yet been fully released from its restraints.
This was sufficient evidence that, in Gaia's judgnt system, Tiamat was still regarded as an internal product of the Earth rather than an external enemy.
But this didn't make sense at all…
If Tiamat wasn't an external enemy, why was Gaia behaving so anxiously?
Could it be that... even the planet's will did not wish for the Earth to return to its original sacred era?
This must not happen…
Logically speaking, eradicating humans who pollute the environnt and returning to the Mother Goddess's embrace should be an extrely joyous event for Gaia.
"Wait a minute…"
rlin's thoughts beca chaotic. His gaze suddenly beca fixed on the black mud spreading violently across the land.
The Sea of Life was spreading.
North Arican continent… Beyond that lay the Central Arican isthmus… And beyond that…
"South Arica?!!!"
It was as if lightning had exploded inside his brain, scorching rlin.
The usually composed white-haired monk's face instantly turned deathly pale. With a trembling voice, he muttered, "Ah, this is truly a catastrophe!"
"What do you an?" Francesca asked hesitantly, as if she had not yet grasped the gravity of the situation.
rlin took a deep breath. "In South Arica, sothing extrely dangerous is sleeping. If the Sea of Life touches that domain and awakens it…"
He looked at the two and spoke in a low voice. "Then, it won't just be a matter of humanity's extinction."
….
…From inside the underground command center, only the continuously ringing alarm could be heard.
Ring ring…!
The red telephone on the table, symbolizing the highest level of military and political secrets in the United States, suddenly rang loudly.
The mont Faldeus expressionlessly picked up the receiver, hysterical curses from what sounded like high-ranking military personnel poured out from the other end.
"Faldeus, what the hell is that monster you unleashed in Snowfield City?! Open your eyes and see what kind of foolish thing you've done!"
"For the sake of your damn Holy Grail plan, I gave you full permission from Congress and even provided strategic nuclear missile support under pressure. What you keep saying is that the threat is still contained within Snowfield City?!"
The man on the other end of the line was clearly quite red-faced.
"You have one more hour! If you can't deal with that monster… There's no need for a court-martial. Prepare your will!"
Beep beep beep…
Before Faldeus could begin explaining, the call was suddenly cut off.
Faldeus silently put down the receiver.
The man simply stared at the restored backup screen, at the Mother Goddess of Creation covering the North Arican continent with the Sea of Life... An unprecedented sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.
Even the intercontinental ballistic missile network that had pushed modern human technology to its pinnacle, the Grand Servants who were humanity's highest defense chanism in history, and even the Bull of Heaven—none of them could intercept Tiamat?
The Holy Grail War in Snowfield City had originally been a national-level plan devised by the U.S. military high command to secure absolute dominance in the magical world.
But today, the proudest civilization had been easily shattered before this ancient Goddess of Creation's violence and forcibly returned to its original state.
What irony.
Given the current situation… It was only a matter of ti before this planet was completely covered by the Sea of Life.
"Sir! Sothing terrible has happened!"
At that mont, a subordinate in charge of monitoring crustal data suddenly raised his head, tore off his headset, and spoke with an indescribable terror in his voice.
Faldeus frowned. "What is it this ti?"
The subordinate desperately pointed at the hologram-projected map coordinates. "The border defense has completely collapsed! That black mud has crossed the southern border of the United States and is spreading with terrifying montum toward the southern plateau!"
Faldeus instinctively clenched his fist.
Just ten minutes ago, who could have imagined that he had been calmly strategizing how to control the Holy Grail War?
But now, not only the Holy Grail but humanity itself faced an unprecedented crisis.
The cause of this world-ending crisis was… simply that he had assassinated Matou Yuu at the Snowfield Reservation?
How ridiculous!
Rumble!
At that mont, without any warning, the entire North Arican continental crust suddenly experienced an unprecedented violent tremor.
The violent shaking caused Faldeus and everyone in the command center to lose their balance, nearly falling to the ground.
The incandescent lights in the command room flickered repeatedly before rapidly extinguishing with sparks from a short circuit.
The room went pitch black, and chaos erupted instantly.
"What the hell happened?! Did the black mud cause the crust to collapse?!"
"The main power grid has been completely cut off due to ground collapse… Hurry! Imdiately activate the underground ergency nuclear power plant!"
Buzz!
Amid the flurry of instructions, lighting was finally restored.
"Eh… What… is this…?!"
Suddenly, a voice from the crowd echoed through the monitor.
Faldeus, enduring dizziness, stood up from the ground, frowned, and looked up at the satellite map before him, brushing off the dust on his body.
Then, this usually shrewd and quick-witted intelligence chief completely froze on the spot.
On the screen, the Sea of Life symbolizing Tiamat's anti-creation power had crossed xico and was quietly flowing into South Arican soil like a black torrent that had broken through a dam.
And almost the instant the black mud touched that land—
A milky white light slowly illuminated the Sea of Life.
Faldeus watched this scene with an expression mixing shock and anxiety.
Snap.
A bead of cold sweat quietly dripped from his forehead to the floor.
Even through the screen, he seed to vaguely sense it.
Deep in South Arica…
Sothing was about to awaken?!
…
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