Chapter 82. The Goddess Who Stepped Out From the Center of a Nuclear Explosion, Fuyuki City Trembles!
People once thought Gorgon might be stronger than Medusa, perhaps even twice as powerful...
But no one could have expected this.
It was a fundamental transformation... exaggerated to an absurd degree!
Under the trembling gaze of the entire world, the cameras kept zooming in.
Allowing everyone to directly feel... the terrifying pressure emanating from Gorgon!
["Rumble rumble rumble...!!"]
[Like a volcanic eruption, endless black mud surged out from the underground leyline.]
[In just a moment, a misty fog enveloped the entire city of Fuyuki, and at the center of the city stood—a true deity from ancient Greek mythology!]
[But it was the Goddess of Vengeance!]
[She stood upon the earth, yet her head bowed from the sky itself, a mass of wild beast eyes, dim and murky like a lake, embedded in the heavens.]
[Coldly gazing down upon the ground.]
[Her hair and tail were snakes, two pairs of snow-white wings spread from her back, like clouds descending from the sky, her long purple hair cascading down her back, like countless waterfalls reversing and shooting straight up into the sky.]
[Nothing could more clearly display divine authority than this overwhelmingly gigantic body.]
[Her immense body was so heavy that the ground itself groaned in agony, unable to bear it.]
[Even the slightest movement from her caused the entire city to tremble violently, and if she used just a bit of strength, she could pierce through the earth's crust.]
[The tall buildings painstakingly built and proudly admired by mankind were, in her eyes, no different than children's toys.]
[Even a single strand of her snake hair was as massive as a skyscraper.]
[Standing tall in that place, she was the most direct embodiment of myth!]
[Clouds surged, bolts of lightning from kilometers away rained down continuously, yet that colossal mythical body felt absolutely nothing.]
[The goddess of vengeance from ancient times raised her face to the sky and let out a mad scream—]
["Humanity————!"]
[Heaven and earth changed color, the air was explosively compressed, a raging storm swept the land clean.]
[Accompanied by cries, screams of pain, and terrified shrieks of people, the aftershock in an instant devastated dozens of miles, with casualties and injuries exceeding a hundred thousand in the blink of an eye.]
"This is....."
"....a god?"
In Tokyo, Nurarihyon—the self-proclaimed supreme yokai lord of the human world—trembled.
This kind of overwhelming majesty, this invincible horror that could not be rivaled, was too despairing to behold.
...
"Rider, becoming like this... it must be painful for you too..."
In Tokyo, Nagong Wenya—a little girl who came to this world from the Black Rift Phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean—sighed with eyes full of pity and sympathy, then blew her vertical flute.
The girl carried the power of purification, and with a glance, she could see the humanity within Medusa, silently crying in anguish.
Longing for salvation.
If she were in that world, then surely there would still be hope to change Gorgon.
...
The entire world fell silent, and even across another dimension, all instinctively widened their eyes in fear.
The so-called "Evil Spirit God" that had once appeared in the Pacific Ocean likely wasn't even the size of a single snake head swinging behind Gorgon. Countless snake heads, each as large as a skyscraper, were howling—this terrifying sight was enough to make tens of billions of people on Earth feel their skin crawl.
Very soon.
The status sheet of the 'Goddess of Monsters' Gorgon was revealed!
[Alignment: Chaotic・Evil]
[Strength: A++]
[Endurance: A++]
[Agility: B]
[Mana: B]
[Luck: D]
[Noble Phantasm: A]
"Hiss~ If Medusa had this kind of power, even Excalibur wouldn't stand a chance."
All over the world, countless people whispered to themselves.
This status sheet, even Berserker after being enhanced by the Purge King couldn't compare. Strength reaching A++ Rank meant every strike was equal to a powerful Noble Phantasm, and the matching Endurance A++ rank only further emphasized her stamina.
Even if she fought powerful enemies continuously for a whole month, she would definitely still have energy to spare!
The Holy Grail War was truly full of unpredictable variables.
Clearly, the Caster faction had four Servants before, securing victory in their grasp.
But Enoshima Junko couldn't stand the boredom and forcefully summoned this terrifying 'Goddess of Vengeance'.
...
["Still want to keep fighting?"]
[Inside the church, Raku Sou calmly withdrew his hand, "Medea."]
["Master of Archer, just how much do you know…"]
[The purple-cloaked witch clenched her fists tightly, frowning as she stared out at that colossal creature, feeling utterly cornered.]
['Goddess of Monsters'...]
[No—]
[What she needed to pay attention to wasn't that, but the fact that what he said came true.]
[There was an invisible hand manipulating the Holy Grail War, silently watching everyone's every move, from Servants to Masters. She herself was nothing but a puppet on stage, completely unaware.]
[Utterly terrifying.]
[If the owner of that hand suddenly got bored and decided to ambush her...]
[Medea furrowed her brows tightly and reflexively bit her upper lip.]
[Perhaps, she needed to temporarily negotiate with Archer's Master.]
...
[Outside the church.]
["What's wrong, Archer?"]
[Cu Chulainn lowered his spear, glancing in surprise at the white-haired female Servant who stood frozen.]
["Wasn't this part of your plan?"]
["..."]
[Servant Yukino was silent for a moment, then quickly recovered and flashed her usual lazy smile: "Ma~, who could've known~."]
[But…]
[Only she knew just how shaken she was inside. In her Holy Grail War, nothing like this ever happened—not even the ancient King of Heroes had such overwhelming presence. This was divine suppression—power from a higher-dimensional existence!]
[Under normal conditions, divine beings could not be summoned as Servants.]
[Fuck! Why didn't anyone tell me this Holy Grail War script got rewritten?!]
...
[Soon after, the Japanese Parliament was informed of the situation in Fuyuki City.]
[They were filled with confusion.]
[What, you mages just love pulling crazy stunts like this?!]
[But upon seeing the monstrous being wreaking havoc onscreen, they all became furious and immediately ordered their elite military forces to destroy it!]
...
"A familiar scene, isn't it?"
Kirigaya Kazuto muttered softly, recalling the white-bone beast that once rampaged through Chiba City.
But the difference was—while that white-bone beast was large, it was still classified as a regular Servant-tier threat by the big shots. Meanwhile, Gorgon's stats were real, her power far beyond that—she'd reached Divine Rank.
Please… don't send the military to die in vain…
"So what if it's Gorgon? If it were me, I'd just knee-slide her and boom—game over..."
Not far away, Satou Kazuma pouted mockingly.
"Sasuga Kazuma-sama, sugoi."
Natsuki Subaru remarked sarcastically, rubbing his forehead.
Indeed, the daily joy remained watching this guy Kazuma find ever more artistic ways to kill himself.
If life could just go on like this, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
...
[A security perimeter was established in the center of Fuyuki City, with the military sealing off every level tightly.]
[In the skies, dozens of supersonic fighter jets roared in patrol. On the ground, countless tanks and armored vehicles loaded with ammunition waited for the order to fire.]
[Officers trembled as they looked upon the massive figure wreaking havoc ahead.]
[Yet they gritted their teeth and gave the order.]
[Soon, tens of thousands of artillery barrels erupted in unison. Countless armor-piercing rounds, white phosphorus bombs, and intercontinental missiles rained down.]
[All of it rained directly on Gorgon, carpet-bombing her position. Thick smoke and fog blanketed the entire battlefield.]
[All the modern weapons were Japan's most cutting-edge, highest-caliber arsenal.]
[With no experience in dealing with mythological creatures of this size, they had no idea whether burning or penetration damage would be more effective, so they guessed—and used everything that could possibly hurt her.]
[The air trembled, flames engulfed the skies.]
[Thunderous blasts echoed through the heavens—instantly incinerating tens of billions of dollars.]
["BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"]
[The thick smoke made it impossible to see what had happened; the officers were tense.]
["Did we get her?"]
[A jet pilot murmured—but the next moment, a surging shockwave roared out, followed by a furious screech that tore even the clouds apart.]
[The Goddess of Monsters emerged without even a single snake hair harmed. Behind her, countless snake heads began charging energy—unleashing apocalyptic beams in her wrath!]
[Blood-red beams of light, like a grand crimson flood, tore through the heavens and swept away all obstacles in their path.]
[Under the horrified gaze of countless people, accompanied by each deafening "BOOM" as aircraft exploded, the entire Japanese air force worth hundreds of billions of USD was annihilated in an instant, the supersonic squadrons wiped out completely.]
[Next, countless towering snake heads descended in a frenzy, violently devastating the ground.]
[Every structure in sight collapsed with thunderous crashes, crushed mercilessly, thick black smoke billowing up.]
[Several kilometers around were leveled; all tanks and armored vehicles exploded in the blink of an eye.]
...
["They were all wiped out... how can this be…"]
[In the Japanese Parliament, Prime Minister Kishida trembled violently, pupils shrinking in terror.]
[Around him, other bigwigs also showed expressions of fear.]
...
"Eh, in this parallel world, Abe was also shot dead by Yamagami?"
Seeing that the Prime Minister wasn't Abe, Kasumigaoka Utaha was slightly stunned.
Could this be what's called a 'worldline divergence'?
Right after, her eyes lit up with a sudden idea.
In her new novel, why not just directly exalt Yamagami Tetsuya into a Servant, descending as an Assassin—absolutely would be insanely appealing!
...
[After numerous deliberations, the Japanese Parliament decided: launch a nuclear weapon at Fuyuki City.]
[However, before launching, the military must first lure the monster to the coast for interception; otherwise, if all of Fuyuki City gets flattened by a nuclear explosion causing millions of casualties, no one would be able to bear that responsibility.]
[Though Japan has no nuclear weapons, 'Big Daddy' does!]
[Eventually, a fighter jet carrying a B41 thermonuclear bomb took off heading toward Fuyuki City.]
[Not long after, in the coastal area of Fuyuki City—]
[Countless waves crashed against the shoreline, furiously pounding the beautiful rock formations.]
[The creature with a snake body, feather wings, and dragon tail roared in extreme rage, lowering her gaze at the bothersome insects below—if she didn't teach them a lesson, they'd never learn their place.]
[In an instant.]
[Behind Gorgon, countless giant snake heads howled furiously and fired deep crimson energy beams.]
[The ocean surface seemed like it was about to be torn apart, monstrous waves hundreds of meters high rose!]
[With earth-shaking explosions, each aircraft carrier was struck and sunk—so expensive it made people breathless.]
[From a distant land, Colonel Yamamoto calmly spoke into the radio.]
["Target has reached designated position, authorization to drop B41 thermonuclear bomb!"]
["0356, copy that!"]
[A tense voice transmitted from the other end of the fighter.]
[Soon after, the F2 fighter jet sliced through the air like a flash of light, soaring toward Gorgon!]
[Carrying the hopes of the entire Parliament, under the expectant eyes of countless people...]
[Piercing through layer upon layer of firepower from the snake heads, it dashed above Gorgon…]
[The pilot clenched his fist, nervously pressed the bomb release button.]
["Whoosh!"]
[A massive white warhead was released from the plane's undercarriage.]
[It was America's most powerful nuclear weapon—the B41 thermonuclear bomb, with a blast yield of 25 million tons of TNT, said to have been retired; its power was 2000 times that of the "Little Boy" dropped on Hiroshima, enough to carve a crater several kilometers wide, flatten dozens of kilometers of land without issue!]
[Facing the bomb now only a few hundred meters away.]
[Gorgon lifted her head, coldly unleashing a blinding deep crimson energy beam from her snake heads!]
["BOOM BOOM BOOM…!!"]
[In a mere instant—]
[A massive, majestic mushroom cloud rose, terrifying flames as if vaporizing the entire shoreline, rock formations spanning kilometers shattered and vanished in an instant, faint roars of fury from the Goddess of Monsters could be heard as she resisted the nuclear explosion!]
[Hundreds of millions of degrees in heat erupted instantly, incinerating all matter!!]
[At this moment, Fuyuki City was leveled by nuclear force!!]
[Dead, right…?]
[Countless big shots watching this scene held their breath, sweating nervously.]
[This is the most destructive weapon ever developed by mankind—it brought about a long peace after World War II, and with sufficient numbers, could scour the surface of the Earth.]
[Because of it, the two superpowers USA and USSR only dared to fight a cold war, never daring to provoke direct conflict again.]
[Goddamn it, if even this couldn't kill her…]
[Then there's no choice but to go to the Clock Tower and invite a Grand Ancestor to seal her using 'Magic'.]
["GRRAAOOO!!"]
[The furious roar echoed as, under the trembling gazes of Japan's top brass, Gorgon stepped out from the center of the nuclear explosion, withstanding the hundreds of millions of degrees of heat without so much as a scratch—only a few of the snake heads behind her were slightly singed.]
[She slowly moved toward the shore, her ferocious eyes fully expressing Gorgon's current mood.]
[And then…]
["BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"]
[Countless snake heads shrieked and fired at full power, rampaging across the entirety of Fuyuki City!]
[She was determined to turn this once-prosperous city into ruins in the shortest time possible.]
...
All across the world.
Nations.
Peoples.
Countless civilians, scholars, tycoons, and military leaders were struck speechless, panicked, and in utter disbelief.
"Filho da puta!"
"Shibal!"
"Kuso!"
"Oh my God!"
"A deity? Is this truly a god?!"
...
United States.
Pentagon.
Even President Trump was stunned, while the assistant next to him stood slack-jawed in shock.
That a Servant could dodge a nuclear explosion—understandable. After all, their nerve reflexes and explosive physical speed had reached the limit, and human supersonic jets were jokes to them.
Or, even standing at the edge, a few hundred meters from the epicenter, bracing and taking the hit—that might still be plausible.
But...
Goddammit, in the very heart of a nuclear explosion, at temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius—many times hotter than the core of the Sun, enough to vaporize and obliterate all matter...
And you didn't even lose a strand of hair?!
No—just a few strands were singed?!
That's absurd!
"Gods cannot be defeated..."
After a long while, Trump exhaled deeply, his eyes filled with confusion.
He truly had no idea how to defeat such an enemy if it descended upon mankind.
...
South America.
A remote and ancient tribe suddenly lit a massive bonfire.
"Quetzalcoatl!"
"Quetzalcoatl!"
Many tribal members gazed with feverish eyes.
Even the shamans and priests of the tribe shouted with excitement, offering their most devout faith.
They had mistaken Gorgon for another god—a deity well-known in Mesoamerican civilization, often portrayed as a feathered snake.
The two deities looked too alike, and appearing before them through the Celestial Curtain felt like witnessing divine intervention.
This left the tribe stunned, believing they had truly witnessed a miracle!
...
[Inside the collapsed Holy Church.]
[Medea fell silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, then calmly proposed:]
["Master of Archer, let's form an alliance this time—first, we must find the one manipulating everything from the shadows… no, we must eliminate that monster first, resolve the crisis at hand, and discuss ownership of the Holy Grail afterward."]
["That's why I'm here too. Gorgon and whoever is behind her are threats to all of us."]
[Raku Sou responded nonchalantly, his gaze casually drifting to Saber, who was bound nearby.]
[He had had the chance to stop Medea from seizing Saber, but sensed a force beyond the seven Servants watching them. This made him suspicious, prompting him to reinvestigate the previous Holy Grail War—and he indeed discovered many irregularities.]
[To force the hidden manipulator to make a move, he chose not to fight to the death to protect Saber.]
[Sure enough…]
[When the scales began to tip, the one behind the scenes could no longer remain idle.]
[At that moment, Raku Sou seemed to recall something, and he slightly raised an eyebrow.]
["Now that I think about it—where's Assassin?"]
["...Wasn't he messing up with you?" Medea was momentarily surprised.]
["Huh?!"]
[Raku Sou's expression tightened.]
[Assassin's presence had vanished.]
[Though classified as an Assassin-class Servant, Kojirou resembled a Saber more.]
[Most of the time, he didn't even bother concealing his presence.]
[For Assassin to vanish now—it could only mean one thing...]