How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

Well... while she was indeed very grateful to the leopard-woman who saved her, but...

Why would a rifleman like her throw her gun aside and face the Rahmu and his men with her bare hands?

"No, no reaction resembling Tiamat has been detected yet! Also, Fujimaru, the one next to you is also a god!"

"Ha! The Eye of the Leopard!"

Seeing the leopard-man using all sorts of strange moves, seemingly oblivious to the long spear resembling a club stuck to the side, Fujimaru Ritsuka covered her face, unable to bear the sight.

Is she really a god?

Just then, countless golden magic bullets suddenly fell from the sky, but unfortunately they had little effect on Rahmu.

"We've come to reinforce you! Fujimaru!"

Ishtar descended from the sky, not surprised that her magic bullets had not achieved much success.

If Tiamat's creations could be so easily destroyed by a few magic bullets, she would be surprised.

Fortunately, a gust of wind descended from the sky after her, clearing a path through the Rahmu swarm with devastating force.

"Stardust Dragon!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked up at the white dragon in the sky and exclaimed in surprise, receiving a roar in response from the Stardust Dragon that heard her voice.

Roar--!

……

In the Persian Gulf.

Just as Rahmu was scurrying across the land like a swarm of cockroaches, above the ocean that had given birth to them, a scantily clad female figure was silently suspended on the surface of the sea.

Beneath her toes lay the boundary between the dark red Sea of ​​Life and the ordinary ocean, and as she moved, the Sea of ​​Life was constantly encroaching upon the azure ocean.

Her hands were bound around her neck, and her legs could not be separated due to the restraints. A pair of large horns curved down from the sides and hung down to the back of her head, and her light blue hair fell all the way to her feet.

This is one of the seven evils of humanity, the Beast II, who possesses the principle of "Return".

Tiamat.

Chapter 106 Preparation

With the addition of Stardust Dragon, Ishtar, and the almost forgotten leopard man, the pressure on Fujimaru Ritsuka and his group in guarding the south gate of Uruk was greatly relieved.

Almost every second, Rahmu were reduced to wisps of black smoke and destroyed by their attacks. By using the Royal Seal to consume as much magic power as possible for wide-range attacks, they barely managed to prevent the Rahmu from entering the city.

Unfortunately, there were simply too many Rahmu, like countless waves crashing against the reef of Uruk. Even as pieces broke apart, it didn't stop waves from continuing to crash over.

It's fair to say that if this drags on, even with Stardust Dragon and Ishtar present, the South Gate will eventually be breached.

The leopard-woman... Like Ishtar, she herself, as a deity, was dominated by the personality of the person she possessed, making her appear exceptionally eccentric and completely lacking the demeanor of a god.

This guy is like someone who jumped out of some comedy comic. He fought from beginning to end without showing any signs of exhaustion or depletion of stamina or magic. In fact, he was full of energy as if he hadn't consumed any energy at all.

Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't sure if she could keep going against this group of Rahmu indefinitely...

Leopard Man: "I could fight you all day long, meow!"

Fortunately, those Rahmu, who were so numerous they looked like stray dogs on the roadside... no, they should be called cockroaches, suddenly retreated for some reason during the fight.

As if they had received some kind of command, they left Uruk in perfect unison.

The bewildered crowd watched the black wave come and go, with Fujimaru Ritsuka still in the pose of launching the magic bullet, barely able to react.

"In the end what happened……"

“I don’t know, senpai.” Mashu shook her head, equally puzzled. “But we can confirm that the enemy lifeforms… the Rahmu are retreating!”

Logically speaking, the only person who could command these Rahmu is Tiamat, their mother. Could it be that Tiamat gave them the order to retreat?

Still unable to figure it out, Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her head. She and the others cleaned up the mess at the South Gate, then left Stardust Dragon and Ishtar behind and took Mash to the Tower of Gods to tell Gilgamesh about the information they had found at Chaldea.

In any case, we must at least report Rahmu's name first, so that when others carve the clay tablets, they won't have to refer to Rahmu as an "unknown life form," and they can carve several fewer words!

……

"So that's how it is, Tiamat's child, Rahmu..."

Inside the Divine Tower, Gilgamesh, who was distributing various resources and mobilizing troops to repair and strengthen the defenses of Uruk's south gate, put down the clay tablet he was holding as Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash entered.

After learning the information Chaldea had gathered from Fujimaru Ritsuka, Gilgamesh did not hesitate and immediately turned to Siduri, who was serving him, and gave her an order:

"Siduri, immediately relay this message to all departments: from now on, that creature will be called Rahmu!"

"Yes, King."

Upon receiving the order, Siduri did not delay and turned to run out of the tower.

Assuming there are no other citizens in need of rescue, Urukne's manpower is not abundant, but it is certainly not lacking either, and she has a considerable number of people she needs to notify.

Yuwatari entered the tower and brushed past Siduri, who was running out, just as Gilgamesh was explaining the current situation to Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"You Du? What brings you here? Is everything alright in Jingu?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Yutari, who had just walked in, with some surprise and asked.

When she saw Ishtar and Stardust Dragon appear together at the South Gate, she roughly guessed that Yudo had replaced Ishtar in guarding Kingu.

As a result, Ishtar is still at the South Gate, and even Yudu has come to the Divine Tower. Doesn't that mean there's no one to guard Jingu?

Won't he run away?

"It's alright, Ishtar went back, and Kingu is currently being held down by the Crimson Dragon and contemplating life, so he doesn't have any time to escape."

Yuuto shook his head to dispel Fujimaru Ritsuka's concerns, and then gestured for them to continue.

Gilgamesh had already finished reading the clay tablets piled up beside him. He glanced at Yudo, who was walking in from outside the tower, gave him a barely perceptible nod, and then continued what he had just said.

"I have ordered Leonidas to remain at the North Wall to guard the people traveling there, while Ushiwakamaru and Musashibo Benkei will arrive in Uruk tonight."

"As for the goddess in South America... if nothing unexpected happens, it shouldn't take long for Quetzalcoatl to retrieve Marduk's axe. Given the speed of her two pterosaurs, even with the axe, she should be back in Uruk by tomorrow at the latest..."

As for the plans afterward...

Because Rahmu's body is made of divine mud, ordinary attacks cannot break through its defenses except for a few people like Youdu.

If they were to take the initiative and launch an attack on Tiamat, then once they mobilized their entire forces, Uruk would be absolutely unable to withstand the Rahmu's attack.

Therefore, if they don't want to engage in a mutually destructive battle with Tiamat, their battle plan against Tiamat must be as fast, accurate, and ruthless as possible!

The goal is to severely injure or even kill Tiamat in a short period of time, without knowing how effective Marduk's hand axe is against her or what her weaknesses are...

It's very difficult, and you could even call it wishful thinking.

A being of the level of a creator god is not so easy to kill.

Gilgamesh suspected that Marduk's axe could only make a small cut on Tiamat at most, but even so, they could not give up easily given their current lack of means to harm Tiamat.

"So, in the end, we still have to take a gamble..."

Gilgamesh frowned, unwilling to let go of this perfect opportunity before Tiamat fully awakened.

Since they still don't know the specifics of how to defeat Tiamat, perhaps their only hope is that Yuwatari's Noble Phantasm will also work on Tiamat...

Besides that... we could probably pin our hopes on that greedy, foolish goddess's Noble Phantasm?

You Du naturally expressed his support.

Having backup plans and insurance is like having a three-color health insurance policy; you can never have too many.

In this way, if things don't go well for him, Gilgamesh and his men won't just sit there waiting to die; they'll still have a fighting chance.

Chapter 107 The Battle Against Tiamat Begins!

That evening, just before dawn, Ushiwakamaru and Musashibo Benkei arrived in Uruk from the north wall and took over the defense of the south gate.

The following morning, Quetzalcoatl arrived over Uruk with Marduk's hand axe, which was being held by ropes from two pterosaurs on either side of him.

However, due to the enormous size of the hand axe, it could not be placed inside the city. It had to be temporarily placed outside the city, and the two pterosaurs would have to work hard to retrieve it when needed.

During this time, Ereshkigal also took over Ishtar's account at night. When she opened her eyes, she saw Kingu being pinned under the claws of the Crimson Dragon without resisting. He just quietly watched her, seemingly deep in thought.

To be honest, even she, the goddess of the underworld who wasn't afraid of ghosts, was startled for a moment and almost used Ma Anna to give him a big blowjob...

Fortunately, Yudo, who came to find Ereshkigal at night, discovered and stopped her in time. Otherwise, the two people and the Crimson Dragon might be fine, but the house would most likely be lost.

Yudu wasn't looking for her for anything else; he was simply curious about how far she had gotten in digging the tunnel and whether she had reached the bottom of Uruk yet.

If he gets to Uruk, he could consider guiding Tiamat down into the underworld first, and then playing cards with her.

Unfortunately, unlike in the original series, Yuuto resolved the Three Goddess Alliance too early.

In just a few days, Ereshkigal's tunnel project had only just begun, and there was still a long way to go to reach Uruk. It would take several months to dig it out.

So Yudo's idea of ​​taking Tiamat to the underworld to play cards has fallen through.

Although Ereshkigal wanted to offer them some help, unless they carried Tiamat to Kusa City and made her fall into the underworld, she would likely only be able to watch from the sidelines.

They were the kind of viewers who couldn't watch in real time and had to wait until Yuto and the others finished fighting before they could learn the whole story from them.

Tragic. Ereshkigal. Tragic.

Although it was a pity that Ereshkigal couldn't be used, after gathering all the remaining forces, Yudo and his group began their campaign against Tiamat.

However, before that, they must first determine Tiamat's exact location.

Yuwatari rode his D-Wheel. As a potential main force against Tiamat, he didn't bring Fujimaru Ritsuka with him this time as usual.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash rode together on the back of a pterosaur, with Marduk's hand axe hanging from the pterosaur carrying Quetzalcoatl.

Finally, with the addition of Ishtar riding on Maana, this became their final choice for the expedition against Tiamat.

The rest remained in Uruk, joining Gilgamesh, who was preparing to personally lead the attack, to defend against today's invasion from Rakhmu.

As for Jin Gu...

At this crucial juncture, which could be said to determine the entire history of Uruk, no one cared whether he would escape. In any case, even without the Holy Grail within him, what Yudo and the others were about to do would cause Tiamat to fully awaken.

Yuto simply left him to Gilgamesh to handle the verbal persuasion.

It would be best if it succeeded, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't.

……

The Persian Gulf.

Looking down from above, beneath layers of dark clouds flashing with lightning, the azure surface of the Persian Gulf was mostly covered in dark red.

If you lower the flight altitude slightly, you can see the newly born Rahmu emerging from the sea, one by one walking ashore.

However, what attracts Youdu's attention more now than these are the female figures floating at the boundary between the dark red and azure sea.

Compared to the vast expanse of dark red and azure, that figure did indeed appear rather small. But even though that figure was so small that if You Du flew any higher, he might not be able to see it, none of them dared to underestimate him.

"That's Tiamat?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka also looked at the figure on the sea, but then paused for a moment.

"The enemy's presence has been confirmed! But... is that really the mother of the monsters?" Mashu hesitated, mainly because the figure was so different from the image of the mother of monsters she had imagined.

Mashu's imagined Tiamat: terrifying, enormous, ferocious, beast-like rather than human...

In reality, Tiamat: without those curved horns, she looks like an ordinary human woman, only her clothing is a bit daring...

"Without a doubt, that is the creator goddess, Tiamat."

Ishtar, standing nearby, confirmed Tiamat's identity. As the flight altitude decreased, Fujimaru Ritsuka also noticed some details that she had missed earlier.

"Her hands and feet were cuffed?"

Ishtar: "That's right, she can't move freely, and she's not even fully awake yet. If we want to defeat her, we can't let this excellent opportunity slip by!"

After everyone descended to a certain height, Ishtar raised her hand to stop them.

Getting too close to Tiamat is dangerous, so it's best to keep a certain distance and use your full strength to finish the fight before Tiamat wakes up!

The final resort, the crossing, was arranged for later; the first to act were the combination of Quetzalcoatl and Ishtar.

"Fujimaru, I'm counting on you for support!"

"Ah! I beg you! Ishtar! Give the order with a Command Spell—"

Having received the signal to begin the plan, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately used the Command Seals on the back of her hand to infuse Ishtar with a large amount of magical power.

Quetzalcoatl had untied the ropes binding the two pterosaurs, then leaped down, grabbed Marduk's hand axe in mid-air, and after spinning a few times in the air, hurled it at Tiamat.

"Drink!"