At first, Ishtar was happy to enter this war. She could feel the aura of those "two ingrates."
With them participating, she could finally take revenge, and due to the curse she cast on the day she was defeated by those two, the World Cup granted her a special reward—a Divine Core.
At this moment, Ishtar was a Pseudo-Servant, which allowed her to manifest more Noble Phantasms.
As a Goddess, she held the advantage over all Masters. Her Servant was extremely powerful, and she herself possessed the Authority of Heaven. However, her joy didn't last long when she sensed the aura of many dangerous Servants.
Most notably, the Creator Goddess, Tiamat.
Even at her peak, Ishtar could not defeat Tiamat, the Mother of the Gods.
The only saving grace was that her Mother had manifested as a Servant, which gave Ishtar, who also had a Servant, some room to maneuver.
But the surprises didn't end there.
Tiamat's aura wasn't the strongest in this war. There was another presence that forced Ishtar to grow serious.
If Tiamat, as the Creator Goddess, was heavily restricted, then that monster was her nemesis.
As a Goddess, the most dangerous thing for her was having her Authority stolen. That monster had stolen many Authorities and continued to grow stronger. If she faced it directly, Ishtar doubted she would have any advantage.
Her Authority as the Goddess of Heaven wasn't strong enough to destroy the monster. Even with the Bull of Heaven, the monster possessed the Angel of Extinction (Metatron), Michael, and who knew how many other tricks. All of them belonged to "Heaven." When it came to whose Authority was stronger or weaker, Ishtar wasn't about to risk her head.
Michael was unquestionably a major threat to the Bull of Heaven. Even Humbaba wouldn't be safe against Michael. This sealing angel had even restrained the Sword of Rupture, Ea. That alone placed severe restrictions on the Gods.
Because of this, Ishtar had kept a low profile until now, but she was beginning to waver.
If the monster managed to break the shackles binding it, then this world would return to Eden. All Gods would be hunted by the monster, and this singularity would transform into a Lostbelt.
An aberration in history—or perhaps something even worse. With the World Cup, it could affect other worlds as well. If it wasn't stopped, all Parallel Worlds would cease to exist, leaving only a single "history"—the history of Adam and Eve.
"Tsk!"
Ishtar bit her nails.
What should she do? Stay on the sidelines and wait to be hunted, or send Humbaba and gamble?
It was then that a meteor pierced the sky, heading straight for the Crystal Tower.
"You've got to be kidding! Is that a meteor?! Caster, what did you do this time?!"
Given her Servants' track record, Rin now suspected that every major incident was caused by them. Seeing the massive meteor falling from the sky, she didn't hesitate to accuse her Servants.
[Not every disaster is our doing, you know?]
(Even though this one was caused by us, we didn't do it.)
Of course, those words were spoken only in Nia Honjou's heart. She had no intention of taking responsibility for this.
"Then explain what's going on!"
[Well, honestly, it's not much. Our hubby just got tired of waiting.]
"Got tired of waiting?!"
Rin deeply regretted ever discovering that book. If not for that, such disobedient Servants would never have been summoned.
"Aaaaaaaah… (My child, do you wish to come to this world?)"
While Rin argued with Nia Honjou, Tiamat narrowed her eyes and murmured in sorrow.
As the Mother of Life, she loved all living beings born from her womb, and because of that, she was conflicted.
The Monster wanted to free itself from its chains, and in doing so, it would wipe out all life on the planet. But "Adam" was her child, and the children of his children were as well. They were all her family. Doing nothing would harm her beloved children, yet acting would mean opposing her firstborn.
What should she do?
It was a good question…
"Caster, do you know what's going on?"
Since Ruler had asked for help, Illyasviel von Einzbern had grown even more wary of Rin.
To be honest, joining a major powerhouse was beneficial and could save a lot of effort. But in the end, in this war, Rin was also her enemy. Facing a major boss alone was a terrible idea.
That was why the powerful often died first—because the weak feared them and banded together to bring them down.
And now, with a meteor approaching, Illya clenched her fist nervously.
"My firstborn… he wants to see his mother…"
Tiamat lowered her head in sorrow. Having spent millennia alone in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, she had always longed for someone to share that loneliness with. Now her firstborn had sensed her aura and wished to see her…
More precisely, her Authority as a Goddess.
To Tiamat, her identity as a Goddess meant little. She would gladly give it to her firstborn. But the Monster wouldn't be satisfied with that alone. It would also desire her power and her life, just as it had done with the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
"What? What do you mean he wants to see you? What are you talking about, Caster?"
"…"
Tiamat didn't respond. Luviagelita Edelfelt, who had her back turned to her, frowned. It wasn't that she wanted to eavesdrop, but Tiamat's voice wasn't exactly quiet.
There were many things she didn't understand, and the fact that Est and Yoshino were so calm only heightened her vigilance.
"Hyaaa~ We found them. Rider is in sight."
In front of Yoshinon, a prehistoric dinosaur-like creature flew through the air with two people riding atop it.
"Master~ it looks like someone's on our tail~"
Quetzalcoatl smiled and turned her head, where a giant rabbit was chasing after them.
As a Goddess, she believed the Monster was coming for her Authority, or so she thought. That was why she smiled.
This was a challenge to humanity's firstborn…
"So that's it. Rin, you've come as well…"
Kirei Kotomine didn't look particularly surprised. Since Rin had shown interest in the Fifth Holy Grail War, and he himself had been summoned into this World War, it made sense that Rin could be as well.
But that wasn't the problem…
"Can you beat them, Rider?"
"Hehe, I'm glad my Master thinks so highly of me~ I'd love to try, you know? Fighting is a lot of fun. But unfortunately, I can't—not when there's a Creator Goddess and a Monster involved…"
The alliance of Rin, Luviagelita, and Illyasviel was enough to frighten anyone in this World War.
It could be said that in this war, the Blue Team was the strongest.
They had a Mother Goddess, a King of Assassins, a Godslayer Queen, a King of Heroes, a Mesoamerican Goddess, and a Monster of Genesis.
Although the Green camp was also powerful with a crowned Caster, with Yuki in the Blue Team, that advantage disappeared.
That was why, when three of the strongest joined forces, there was no way the other Masters wouldn't tremble.
"I see…"
Kirei didn't ask further. He knew there was no way Quetzalcoatl could face the thing that detonated bombs in the atmosphere.
"Can we escape?"
"Hmm~ good question. I don't know. That little bunny is just as fast as my dear one. They're both mounts of the Gods, so we'll have to find out~"
"…"
Simply put, Quetzalcoatl had no advantage over her opponent—or so it seemed. Even so, she wasn't afraid. On the contrary, she clenched her knuckles and smiled happily.
And Kirei understood.
"If that's the case, I'll leave it to you, Rider…"
"Ah~ I knew it. My Master really is the best…"
RAWRRRR!!
With its master's permission, Quetzalcoatlus roared and began manipulating its mana. Lightning and wind formed around it, lashing out in every direction…
ROAR!
In response, Yoshinon roared as well, and a freezing gale countered the thunder.
"Hey! What's your problem?! Why are you attacking us for no reason?! We didn't do anything!"
Poorly secured atop the giant rabbit, Rin nearly fell from Yoshinon's back due to its reckless action. If not for Est grabbing her by the collar, she would have already been in free fall.
"Hmph. Looks like she has no intention of joining us. Was she tempted by Ruler?"
"Seems that way…"
Illya crossed her arms and scoffed, with Luviagelita nodding in agreement.
They already had experience with Archer, so it wouldn't be surprising if Rider betrayed the team as well—not to mention Ruler's enticing reward.
"No, I don't think that's true. It might just be a misunderstanding…"
Even if she didn't want to admit it, Kirei was still her legal guardian, so Rin didn't want to fight him.
RAWRRRR!
Unfortunately for Rin, what followed was a violent wind.
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