"Yoo-hoo! Gorgon's divinity just dropped below half!"
"The Blood Fort is down too. Let's see what she can do now!"
"Hmph, told you not to mess with felines!"
The Jaguar Warrior smacked down the last Uridimmu "preemie" and gloated proudly.
As the dust settled, Ishtar—taking full advantage of aerial superiority—landed beside Merlin, holding Ana in her arms. Blood trickled from Ana's lips, but the goddess of Venus exhaled in relief.
Mission accomplished.
The white-haired Incubus curled his lips into a faint smile and exchanged a nod with the two goddesses nearby.
Ana, after all, was still just a goddess larva. With her emotions running high, she hadn't noticed the frantic glances Merlin had been throwing her way while casting his illusion arts.
For this master of deception—who once managed to outfox even Kingu—tricking Gorgon again was hardly a challenge.
Earlier, just as the Goddess of Demonic Beasts had focused all her attention on the swarm of "figures," Samael, sensing the surface mana fluctuations, quickly synced up with the old trickster's plan.
The Serpent of Lies transformed into a slender shape and, under the cover of illusion, slipped into the still-healing wound on Gorgon's chest.
There, guided by his perception of divine origin, he tunneled through her flesh until he reached the divine core of the Goddess of Demonic Beasts.
Thanks to the divine blessing from Tiamat, Samael rapidly stripped away and absorbed the portion of divinity belonging to his own Mother Goddess.
But the moment Gorgon realized something was wrong and violently mutilated herself, Samael was forced to abandon the divine power that rightfully belonged to her.
Still, as he tried to escape through her body, it was pitch dark, the path slippery, and full of hazards.
Samael later complained that he nearly blacked out from being smacked between the two swaying mountains on either side.
"Bang!"
Having been stripped of her immortality and robbed of stolen divinity, the Goddess of Demonic Beasts collapsed forward, blood gushing from her chest as her massive body crashed to the ground.
At the same moment, Samael slid down the smooth curve of the goddess's abdomen to her navel, leapt to the ground, and climbed up onto Ana's shoulder.
"Good girl... good girl..."
"It's all over now. You're safe."
The tip of the ancient serpent's tail gently patted the little girl's head, soothing her shaken heart.
Ana pulled Samael into a tight hug, her face tense. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back, refusing to let them fall.
"Why did you betray this will?! Why did you stop me?!"
"Why?!"
Gorgon slammed her claws into the ground, roaring at the one who was once herself.
By now, the cracks on her body had spread beyond repair. Her divine power surged through the shattered gaps, spilling uncontrollably.
It wouldn't be long before the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, her existence no longer sustained, would completely fall apart.
"Gorgon... your revenge should've never left that forsaken island…"
"You've turned your hatred on the innocent. Aren't you now exactly what the heroes once claimed? A demon?"
Ana gently pushed away the hands trying to stop her, cradling Samael as she slowly stepped forward. She stood face-to-face with her future self and responded to the fury with quiet resolve.
A monster? I'm the monster?
With Tiamat's authority no longer clouding her mind, Gorgon's memories began to surface. Her purple-red serpent eyes widened and narrowed repeatedly as she lowered her gaze to the scaly claws at her sides.
They seemed stained with the lingering scent of blood, with the wails of the dead echoing between her fingers.
But then, the Goddess of Demonic Beasts shook her head fiercely, and her gaze turned vicious once more.
"No! I am a goddess! I always will be!"
"Humans all deserve to die!"
Ana looked at the immobilized Goddess of Demonic Beasts, pulled up her hood, and let out a soft sigh.
"Gorgon, stop resisting. Just let it go."
"This hatred—so meaningless—will vanish with you, fading like smoke in the wind."
But Gorgon, now fully consumed by madness, could no longer hear reason.
Not even if it came from her younger self.
"Impossible!"
"You'll end up just like me!"
With a hysterical shriek, madness flared in her eyes. She slashed her claws downward in fury.
"You'll become me—sooner or later!"
In that instant, Gorgon's massive form ruptured. Purple-red mana burst forth like a torrent of blood, flooding into Ana's body with blinding speed.
Immediately, the aura around the goddess larva surged, violent winds spiraling outward in all directions.
Again?
Sensing that familiar divine pressure, everyone's faces changed. They braced themselves, eyes sharpened, preparing for the worst.
But just as the force peaked, it popped like a soap bubble—gone without a trace.
"Gorgon... I'm sorry to disappoint you. We're not the same."
Ana bowed her head, her voice soft and distant.
Then the little girl turned around, her gaze gentle as it met the group behind her. In a whisper only they could hear, she murmured:
"This world… isn't like Greece."
"I like it here. I like everyone here…"
Looking into her clear, untainted eyes, the group finally relaxed. Smiles broke out, affectionate and relieved.
But the calm didn't last long.
With a thunderous blast, the dome of the Blood Fort exploded. A golden figure plummeted from the sky.
"Mother! Mother!"
Kingu, his body scarred with gashes and blade marks, cried out in desperation—but all he could sense was lingering divine energy.
Through resonance, the commander of the Beasts saw Gorgon's final moments. Fury twisted his face as he turned to the others, his expression as cold as ice.
"You've got a death wish!"
"Hang in there! Once King Gilgamesh arrives, we'll win this!"
Samael's body swelled, transforming into the lion-headed Storm Demon Ugallu. Even in battle mode, he turned to remind the others.
"Win?"
"Hahaha…"
Hovering mid-air, Kingu covered one side of his face with a hand, shoulders shaking with mocking laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Fools! You've already lost!"
"As a parting gift from our Mother, feast your eyes—on the true form of our origin god!"
Suddenly, the Beast commander dropped down, placing one hand against the ground. Ripples of power surged outward through the Holy Grail's glowing sigils, sending shockwaves through the depths of the abyss behind him.
The boiling blood pool erupted, spewing towering waves. Red and black currents surged skyward from the abyss below.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the blood tide surged in every direction, the entire Blood Fort began to collapse. Web-like fractures spread outward at terrifying speed.
The ground beneath their feet crumbled. Everyone swiftly pulled back, retreating as fast as they could.
Only when they neared the edge of the Cedar Forest did the collapsing terrain finally settle.
"Father, cast your judgment!"
"Let humanity—and the gods—meet their end!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Kingu floated above the gaping abyss, half his face still hidden, laughing wildly. The one visible eye stared into the heavens, gleaming with madness.
Father? Origin god?
In Sumerian myth, the god of freshwater—Apsu!
Was that... what they were really trying to awaken?
The group instantly recalled the strange omens and tremors of the past. Their expressions turned grim.
"Hiss!"
Before they could react, a black tendril shot up from the abyss with lightning speed, piercing straight through Kingu's chest.
"Father… you…"
The commander of the Beasts stared in shock at the immense shadow rising from below, disbelief etched across his face.
"Pff!"
The tendril snapped back, dragging with it the Holy Grail—forged from pure mana—tightly wrapped at its tip.
Kingu's broken body was tossed aside like a worn-out rag doll.
At the same time, red-black abyssal waters surged outward. A massive maw, spanning miles, opened where Kingu fell. Lined with countless razor-sharp teeth, it looked like some grotesque draconic beast.
Clearly, it was time to eat.