A bird cloaked in crimson flames, like the meteor that once annihilated the dinosaur civilization, plummeted from the extraterrestrial void, hurtling toward Tiamat below.
Sensing the searing heat capable of melting everything and the rapidly approaching crimson comet, the Goddess of Beginning, who had dismissed all before her, finally showed a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
A mournful song filled with endless pain and sorrow echoed across the ocean.
As if responding to their mother's fear and agony, countless Lahmu, long lurking in the depths of the pitch-black sea, raised their heads. They burst from the surface, swarming into the sky like a hive of bees, then rushed toward Quetzalcoatl's crimson comet like moths to a flame.
Witnessing this, Roy and Tezcatlipoca, observing from the sea's surface, made no move to intervene. They stood silently, watching the scene unfold.
They knew full well that the scarlet meteor, born from Quetzalcoatl burning her divinity and sacrificing all attachments, was unstoppable by these vile creatures. This power, capable of destroying a civilization and shattering the underworld, was beyond any force's ability to halt.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The sound of black flesh burning in the flames filled their ears.
As expected, mere filthy monsters couldn't touch this blazing fire of life, born from the sun.
In an instant, the Lahmu attempting to stop Quetzalcoatl were set ablaze by their proximity to the sun. Amid their anguished wails, they turned to ash upon the ocean.
The mighty goddess, who had given everything to ignite her life's flame, now shone like a sun suspended in the sky. Controlling flames of destruction and annihilation, she crashed into the great horns atop Tiamat's head.
The terrifying wave of fire was utterly unstoppable.
"It's… truly dazzling and brilliant. She's just a fool, yet she burns herself to release such radiant light. This world really is unfair…"
Snapping the necks of Lahmu lunging at him, Tezcatlipoca used his magical energy to destroy their cells, preventing them from regenerating in the ocean below.
Sitting atop a mountain of Lahmu corpses, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Perhaps that's why this fool captivates me, why I keep getting entangled with her…"
"Hm. Throughout history, countless gods have reached for the stars, but only one has shattered them."
Roy nodded, his gaze burning. "Quetzalcoatl is truly worthy of the title of the pinnacle of benevolent gods."
"!!!"
They watched as Quetzalcoatl, at the cost of her divinity, transformed into blazing flames, becoming a massive meteor falling from the sky, crashing into Tiamat standing in the primordial ocean.
Boom!!!
All that met the eye was red, the erupting flames. The ears heard the earth's lament, and the unleashed heat was a force capable of annihilating surface life.
In an instant, Quetzalcoatl, now a comet, drove Tiamat's towering form into the black mud. The searing comet's terrifying momentum forced Tiamat to struggle to lift her head, her knees half-buckling under the strain.
Yet even so, facing a comet capable of eradicating any species, Tiamat did not fully yield. Despite the immense pressure, she stubbornly held her ground.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
The ancient, melodious Song of Creation resounded from her mouth once more.
The chaotic Sea of Life beneath her churned, surging upward, attempting to engulf the crimson comet in the primordial ocean that birthed infinite life.
The apocalyptic strike ended, leaving Tiamat's head and body heavily damaged. Her pristine form was scorched black by the terrifying heat, and the once-beautiful, maternal face of the Goddess of Beginning was shattered by the comet's impact.
Yet, under the protection of the Sea of Life, her towering form did not fully collapse, and the massive horn on her head, though damaged, was not completely destroyed.
Even an attack of this magnitude could only injure her, not cripple her?
In the brief stalemate, Quetzalcoatl accepted the grim reality that even her ultimate, all-in strike hadn't fully destroyed Tiamat's horn.
What a pity…
But…
"No helping it then~"
"Guess I'll have to try harder. Who says an ultimate finisher can only happen once?!"
"Tiamat, brace yourself for the second act!! Our overtime round is about to begin~"
Looking at Tiamat's half-ruined face below, Quetzalcoatl flashed a smile. Gritting her teeth, she forced her battered body to move, stomping forward with force.
Then…
Boom!!
Another deafening roar.
Flames of terrifying heat erupted, crimson lotus flames blooming across the pitch-black ocean.
Crack!!
This time, shattered completely.
"Aaaaaaaaa~!!"
With the Goddess of Beginning's wail, a faint spark replaced Quetzalcoatl, who had fallen from her comet form into the black mud, about to be consumed by the endless ocean.
"Tezcatlipoca, catch Quetzalcoatl. It's our turn now."
Though the result didn't fully meet expectations, destroying Tiamat's body and rendering her immobile, it was enough for Roy and his allies. Since Quetzalcoatl had given her all, it was time for them to take over.
"Got it. Don't worry, I won't let that fool die. Her life's as tenacious as a cockroach."
"And besides, we now know how to deal with this one, don't we?"
"Naturally. After Quetzalcoatl's effort, if a Magician and a Grand Servant, don't step up, it'd be a bit embarrassing."
In the gap as the comet faded, Tezcatlipoca and Roy, who had been on the battlefield's edge, sprang into action.
Though Quetzalcoatl was critically injured from unleashing a second ultimate Noble Phantasm, Tiamat was far from unscathed.
Her body, scorched black by flames, and her massive horns, now shattered, made her once-beautiful, maternal face of the Goddess of Beginning grotesque and terrifying, like broken porcelain.
The vortex of calamity within Tiamat's body grew volatile and frenzied under Quetzalcoatl's all-out strike, as if it might burst from her constrained form and engulf everything.
Critical damage.
Undeniably critical damage.
Tiamat was now heavily wounded, no longer the invincible force she once was.
Though as a Goddess of Beginning she couldn't die on this earth or sea, she could still be injured.
And now, thanks to Quetzalcoatl's selfless strike, Tiamat was at her weakest. Roy's next steps were clear.
"Here we go, Tiamat. Round two between us begins."
Roy raised his hands, ready to face Tiamat in a final showdown on this ocean.
"Calm down a bit. The Mother of Genesis won't go down so easily. She's just biding her time, the true calamity within her hasn't emerged yet!!"
"You'll die if you act so recklessly."
As Roy prepared to form a magical seal, Gilgamesh's voice rang in his ear.
It was the mirror Ereshkigal had given him, through which Gilgamesh was communicating unilaterally, using one taken from Ishtar.
While repairing the Melammu Dingir, he had been closely monitoring the battlefield.
Tiamat's immense power, Roy's trio's all-out effort, and Quetzalcoatl's sacrificial comet transformation, he had seen it all.
So, when Roy prepared to act recklessly, Gilgamesh intervened to prevent a potentially fatal mistake.
Roy wasn't surprised.
He knew Tiamat's current state, that of the Goddess of Beginning, wasn't her full power.
The hidden calamity, her true Beast II draconic form, was their greatest foe.
Her current frenzied state suggested that ultimate power was barely contained, and Gilgamesh feared they'd face her dragon form and lose their lives.
"Have you seen my future?" Roy asked.
"I can't see it. I can't see anything, not you, not Tiamat, nothing."
"But I can still see Uruk's future. Its destruction is certain, and Tiamat's dragon form is inevitable. Our only chance is your underworld plan. Don't throw your life away fighting her here."
"Her wings are broken by Quetzalcoatl's strike, and her soul is disrupted by you. She can't reach Uruk easily now. Hold the line, and we have a chance to win. You don't need to risk your life! Understand?!"
Clearly worried Roy would charge Tiamat recklessly, Gilgamesh revealed his true concerns.
"Sometimes retreating isn't cowardice, it's for the final victory."
"Really? The fearless King of Heroes, worried about my life? You're not the same King I first met."
Roy didn't answer directly, his gaze fixed on Tiamat, the Goddess of Beginning's murmurs growing clearer in his ears.
"Please… stop me… I beg you…"
"My child… please stop this maddened self…"
The voice's pleas grew weaker.
"I understand, Tiamat. Don't worry, I'll try to save you."
Roy's lips curved into a smile.
"Saving you is key to defeating Beast II, isn't it? The calamity is the calamity, the Mother of Genesis is the Mother of Genesis, they're not the same. That's the answer to truly defeating you."
"Sorry, King Gil, I'm being willful again. You have a safer plan, but I have my own. I've grasped the key to defeating her. Now it's just a matter of execution."
"And thanks for the trouble. Meeting the grown version of you has been quite a fate."
"I won't die. I absolutely won't die."
He stood before Tiamat, resolute.
"My life's too precious, and there are important people waiting for me. I won't lose it easily. And changing the future? That's my specialty."
No proof, but Roy's tone was unshakably certain. His hands, his will, could overturn even predetermined futures.
He'd altered countless pasts and futures, turning tragedies around.
Reckless, willful, that was Zelretch's assessment, the essence hidden in his soul.
"Is that so?"
Gilgamesh responded with a hint of amusement, unsurprised by Roy's choice.
"You lot love being reckless. If you're set, then go all out!!"
"Changing the future, defying causality with a bold gamble, it's rare. King of Ur, you've shown me many miracles. Show me another, Foreigner!!"
Gilgamesh's voice carried clear delight, choosing to join Roy's reckless endeavor.
Waiting for the end to come passively wasn't his style.
He was Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, who struck first.
If he weren't needed to man Uruk's cannon, he'd have already charged out to battle the world's destroyers.
"Master, you ready?"
Placing the critically injured Quetzalcoatl on her pterosaur, Tezcatlipoca stepped through the mist to Roy's side.
Gone was his usual flippancy. Enveloped in black smoke, his eyes burned with battle lust.
This was the true Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Underworld, the Wind of Impermanence.
Only at this level could he be Quetzalcoatl's true rival.
Exchanging a glance and a nod with Roy, they wordlessly aligned.
If they were committed, there was no need to hold back.
[Grand Saint Graph · Released]
Tezcatlipoca's aura surged, reaching a terrifying peak in an instant.
The breath of the underworld, the evening breeze of impermanence, and a fierce battle intent radiated from him. Still clad in his South American style, he gripped his spear, a thrilled grin spreading across his face.
Thus, the Aztec god of duality and impermanence, the First Sun's ruler, Tezcatlipoca, joined the fray.
"I wasn't planning to go this hard, but since that fool Quetzalcoatl went this far, as a Grand Servant, I can't let her outshine me, or she'd mock me forever."
"So, let's show a bit of my true power."
Brandishing his bone spear, a black sun, distinct from Quetzalcoatl's, loomed above him.
The aura of the underworld, of death, of duality and impermanence, shone forth, enveloping Tiamat's form.
"Now our deathmatch begins, Mesopotamian goddess. Are you ready for the power from beyond Xibalba?"
"Know this: you no longer face just a Grand Berserker. You face the mightiest Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca!!"
The black sun eclipsed the day, its light of duality and impermanence bathing Tiamat.
The black radiance of impermanence made her tremble, intensifying the pain in her soul's depths.
"Aaaaaaaaa!!!"
Agonized screams, surging tides, the clash of life and death.
Amid the conflict of opposing forces, Tiamat, no, the Evils of Humanity Beast, plunged into deeper torment.
The soul rift Roy had torn widened under the pull of impermanence, her pain growing unbearable.
Exactly. Their plan targeted Tiamat's soul, separating the love and kindness of the Goddess of Beginning from the chaos and madness of the Beast, weakening her essence to set the stage for victory.
If King Hassan's Grand Assassin Saint Graph was meant to grant Tiamat the concept of death, creating a chance for Chaldea and humanity to kill her…
Then Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of duality and impermanence, bore the Grand Berserker role to split her power, laying the groundwork to defeat this half-unsealed Mother of Genesis.
"Aaaaaaa!!!"
In the throes of life-and-death agony, Tiamat let out a tortured howl.
Ignoring her injuries and the suppression by the Goddess of Beginning, she raised her head in a final effort, unleashing her Goddess of Beginning authority toward Tezcatlipoca.
Countless crimson beams shot from her fractured body, tearing the coastline, slicing toward Tezcatlipoca and his black sun, while behind her, a hundred-meter black ocean rose to engulf everything.
"Master!"
Despite the world-ending attack, Tezcatlipoca didn't retreat a step.
Gripping his bone spear, he maintained the black sun's envelopment of Tiamat, applying the force of impermanence.
Alone, he couldn't defeat such a monster.
But he wasn't alone, they fought together.
True warriors learned to coordinate.
In the split second before the black ocean and crimson beams descended, the world seemed to pause, losing color and light, the surroundings visibly darkening.
Then, a bucket of white paint splashed across the blackened world. A blinding white light emerged in their vision.
The white light stretched behind Tezcatlipoca, enveloping both him and Tiamat, forming a mental landscape.
"Heaven Hymn!!"
The black world shattered in an instant, and a foreign realm was carved out in the light, severing reality.
"I'm Roy, a half-baked magician thrown into this mess for some special reason."
In a pure white world, a figure stood atop a tower, his ice-blue eyes gazing confidently at the colossal beast below.
The black sun and white world intertwined, fully enclosing Tiamat, preventing her escape.
He spread his arms and declared, "Welcome to my world, Tiamat."
___
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