The correct answer was eight, but since Fanatic and Morning Glory were unusable, the effective number was six. If Eresh hadn't been so quick to help Jiang You fill his Graveyard, he wouldn't have been able to gather so many servants there so easily.
"It's useless! All these Hassan servants are in the Graveyard, under my control. No matter what effects they have, they can't activate!"
Eresh had sealed the Graveyard from the start, assuming the Hassan servants had some effect within it—like jumping back into the Deck for Fusion Summons or something.
"All I need is for them to be out of the Deck. My turn! Draw!"
Jiang You didn't need to activate Fate's Draw; his key cards had been in his hand from the beginning. Even if they had been sent to the Graveyard, Hundred Faces' Archivist of Hidden Knowledge could retrieve them.
"Are you ready?"
Eresh glanced again at her two servants on the field, both among the absolute elite. Jiang You's trump card was also on her field. Why was he so confident he could win?
"I activate To Sound the Funeral Bell, banishing all six Hassans from the Graveyard and Special Summoning Old Man of the Mountain from my Deck!"
Jiang You directly summoned his second Grand Servant.
A sword slash tore through the Underworld, spectral blue flames ignited along the rift in space. From the cleaved void emerged a pitch-black servant wielding a Great Sword, come to herald death!
Old Man of the Mountain - Attack Power: 4000.
"So that's it... If you possess Hassan Sabbah, it's only natural you'd also have the First Hassan..." Eresh stared at King Hassan, her breath catching in her throat. His authority over death surpassed even her own. Like hell it does! Do Servants like this just appear whenever they please?!
"I never imagined we'd meet through such a Spirit Origin, First Old Man of the Mountain."
As fellow Grand Servants, Romulus and King Hassan rarely had the chance to meet. The two top-tier employees of the Throne of Heroes now stood face to face, and Romulus refused to let this chance slip by. "In this state, we can both unleash our full power. Let us clash with Rome!"
"First King of Rome, it is an honor to meet you."
King Hassan was actually a rather courteous person. As long as the title "Old Man of the Mountain" wasn't involved, one could only say that each successor was worse than the last.
"However, given the current circumstances, our victory or defeat is meaningless. We have ample time to settle this score in the distant future. For now, we have more pressing matters."
"You're right. I was too hasty."
Romulus nodded, crossing his arms, and fell silent alongside King Hassan.
"...Who exactly are you?"
The question came from Ishtar. Anyone would be bewildered to see someone simultaneously summon two Grand Servants. Eresh nodded in agreement; forging bonds with two Grand Servants was something no ordinary servant could accomplish.
"Just a Duelist passing by!"
This question was destined to remain unanswered.
"Then it's time to end this! I enter the Battle Phase!"
"Let's end this duel with a battle between Grand Servants! Old Man of the Mountain, attack Romulus!"
Jiang You pointed forward, targeting the Grand Lancer. "Proclaim the end, Azrael!"
"Forgive me, First King of Rome!"
King Hassan stepped forward, the spectral flames of death paving a path invisible to the naked eye.
In the blink of an eye, King Hassan stood before Romulus, bringing down a strike imbued with the concept of death. "Listen well," he intoned. "The evening bell tolls for your name. Shall the Reaper's Feather claim your head? Death Angel!"
"Romulus's defense is also 4000!"
Eresh felt a sense of foreboding, but she trusted Romulus's stats.
"Therefore, this attack will yield no result!"
Romulus assumed a defensive stance, perfectly capable of withstanding the blow. King Hassan and he were evenly matched in raw destructive power, and a simple clash of strength could drag on for an eternity. However, King Hassan's true strength lay not in attack, but in declaring death.
"Is that so?"
Romulus wouldn't have fallen so easily in a normal battle, but here, the rules of the Duel prevailed. No one could escape unscathed from King Hassan's blade.
"The Old Man of the Mountain's effect! Servants battling this card are banished, and the opponent's Main Battler takes direct damage equal to the banished monster's Defense Points! Romulus's Defense Points were exactly 4000!"
"So you still outmaneuvered me in the end?"
Romulus accepted his defeat, slowly dissolving into Prana and vanishing into the air.
"You will take a total of 4000 points of damage!"
As Romulus disappeared, the damage calculation commenced. Neither Duelist's Life Points had changed in the previous turns, but King Hassan's strike instantly drained all of Eresh's Life Points.
Eresh LP 4000 → LP 0!
"Waaahhhh—!"
A 4000-point blow was no trivial matter. Eresh was hurled into the cliff face, leaving a perfect human-shaped crater embedded in the rock.
"..."
Ishtar's expression shifted as she began to fade back to her original realm, her face contorting under Jiang You's unwavering gaze.
"...What? What's wrong?"
"I won, but I didn't get your Card."
Although Jiang You didn't find Ishtar particularly useful, he recognized her potential synergy with Eresh and deemed her worth collecting.
"Since you won't give it up willingly, I'll just have to take it myself. So, please wait a moment—I'll be coming for you soon."
"Ha ha ha, let's skip all that. This Goddess has already pardoned your insolence. There's no need for a formal audience now, is there?"
Ishtar's eyes darted away. She now understood that Jiang You's strength—or rather, the forces backing him—was beyond her ability to handle. Yet she had just boasted to him with such arrogance. "Anyway, have fun in the Underworld! I have urgent matters to attend to. I'll be leaving now."
With that, Ishtar accelerated her vanishing act and fled in disarray.
Jiang You chuckled. How could Ishtar possibly escape? Uruk was critically short on combat power for the impending final battle. Chaldea would undoubtedly seek her aid, ensuring their paths would cross again soon.
Next, Jiang You pried Eresh out of the rock wall.
Tears streamed down Eresh's face; she seemed unable to accept her defeat.
"As a goddess, being defeated even in my own Underworld... I can't face anyone now."
"Take it easy," Jiang You reassured her. "You'll be getting another beating from Tiamat soon. She has no concept of death, so your Authority will be completely useless. Well, first comes one, then comes two. Just get used to it."
Eresh sobbed even harder.