"So Quetzalcoatl has finally shown her hand? After her petty skirmishes, I thought she had no intention of truly competing with me."
Enkidu shared the information he had gathered with Gorgon. Gorgon narrowed her serpentine eyes. "But where did these Heroic Spirits come from? And why is that area called the Faerie Realm? Her divine lineage has no connection to fairies, does it?"
"Mother, the Faerie Realm is utterly chaotic—geographic distortions, gender reversals, completely illogical."
Though Enkidu wasn't a servant from the Throne of Heroes, his heart was the Holy Grail itself, sent to this era by the King of Magecraft. The Holy Grail granted him knowledge akin to that of a servant, allowing him to discern the legitimacy of their existence.
"It appears a composite servant has emerged, binding these servants together. However, their shared characteristics remain unclear."
Enkidu explained in terms Gorgon could understand.
"Regardless, we must accelerate the creation of the new generation of Magical Beasts. Quetzalcoatl's servants are becoming far too numerous."
Gorgon knew her Magical Beasts posed no threat to ordinary humans, but against even third-rate Servants, they would fall in a single exchange.
"For now, halt the assault on Uruk. Melt down and reshape the remaining Magical Beasts, concentrating all resources to forge more powerful ones. Uruk will inevitably fall within three days, but the victory must be ours!"
"Understood. In three days, I will lead the reborn Magical Beasts into Uruk and claim victory before Quetzalcoatl!"
"Good child, don't bear too much pressure. I will personally take to the field and bring an end to human history!"
Gorgon had never considered the humans under Gilgamesh's leadership a real threat. Her only concern was the other two goddesses. Once the Three Goddess Alliance dissolved, the true war between the goddesses would begin.
Enkidu, his head bowed, his face shifting through a spectrum of emotions, remained lost in thought.
In an unknown, shadowy place, a ghostly blue flame flickered within a gun-shaped cage.
"What to do? What to do? What to do?!"
The golden-haired girl paced anxiously. "How could this happen? Even at full power, I can't pull everyone down in time! What's wrong with Quetzalcoatl?! We agreed to keep each other in check! No, I have to stop her! If both sides attack Uruk simultaneously, even that annoying guy won't be able to hold out!"
"If that's the case, I'll drag down the mastermind! If I trap him here, his summoned servants will vanish, and Quetzalcoatl will have no reason to attack!"
The golden-haired girl activated her Authority, focusing all her power to lock onto a target.
Two days before the final assault, Jiang You had a sudden idea and borrowed Medusa from Sakura Matou. Since he was already quite familiar with Medusa, he easily obtained her Card and maxed it out to three copies.
Now, in the ice cream parlor of the Faerie Realm (Pseudo), the two Medusas—one big, one small—were staring at each other in wide-eyed amazement.
Medusa was immensely envious of Ana, who resembled the dainty, adorable version of her sister she had always dreamed of becoming. She kept touching Ana, gently stroking her head.
"My self before the curse? That time was too fleeting. No matter how hard I try to remember, it always eludes me. It's strange, like I had a younger sister who was completely different from me."
Unlike Euryale and Stheno, Medusa treated her younger self with exceptional tenderness, as if afraid to shatter the fragile bubble of a dream.
Faced with her mature self, Ana offered little resistance, allowing Medusa to pull her into a warm, though somewhat cramped, embrace. It felt different from her sisters' hugs—warmer and more comforting.
"Once we're done here, take Little Medusa—hmm, let's call her Ana now—to live with you."
Jiang You seized the opportunity to boost his Affection points. A single sundae had already tricked Ana into revealing her Noble Phantasm card earlier, proving how easily she could be swayed when not in an adversarial state.
"If possible, your two sisters could come too. But their personalities are a real mystery to me. I mentioned it when I summoned them using the Duel with Ana, but they didn't give a straight answer. Honestly, I hate riddle-mongers!"
Of course, it wasn't a complete loss. Jiang You obtained one Card each of Euryale and Stheno. Once he secured the Gorgon Card, the only remaining Medusa Card missing from his Deck would be the Saber-class Medusa. Jiang You was in an excellent mood; completing sets always brought a sense of satisfaction. It was all about "I may not need it, but I can't be without it."
"That's exactly how my sisters are. But living with them..." Medusa hesitated, torn. She wasn't opposed to a peaceful life with her sisters, but she knew that living with them wouldn't be tranquil. At the very least, it would be quite troublesome.
Jiang You's mention reminded Ana of her previous encounter with her sisters. "Do you think my sisters would forgive me for becoming... like this?" she asked, her voice tinged with worry.
Jiang You knew Ana was referring to Gorgon. He planned to have Euryale and Stheno perform "chemotherapy" on Gorgon, requiring only a few simple words: "Don't worry. Even though they often tease you, they truly love you. Even as Gorgon, you're still Medusa to them—their little sister. Well, their love is a bit... twisted, though."
"Really?"
Though Ana considered Jiang You, an outsider, unreliable—her sisters had always been strict with her—she still craved reassurance.
Jiang You scratched his head. Kids are so complicated, he thought. "Don't worry. If these words aren't from my heart, may I burn in Hell forever..."
Before the Medusas, Jiang You suddenly vanished without a trace.
"What happened?" Ana felt an overwhelming aura of death, as if Jiang You had been dragged into the Underworld.
Jiang You's vision went black, plunging him into boundless darkness.
Hmm? Did the game crash?
He tried opening the menu but found no glitches.
Eek! Why is a living person here?!
A startled cry erupted from the darkness, followed by a flurry of commotion as blue spectral flames slowly illuminated the surroundings. A colossal white specter materialized before Jiang You, radiating a palpable aura of death that spread terror through the air.
Jiang You glanced toward the blue flames, revealing rows of bizarre, gun-shaped cages.
The ghost's identity was now self-evident. Jiang You waved at the colossal spirit and called out, "Yo, Eresh. Working hard, huh?"