『...I'm sorry, Air.』
The power you gave me, the preciousness you gave me... I didn't want to use it for cleaning up disgusting mud like this.
Ah... I want to take a bath with Air... I want her to wash away this clinging fatigue and this dark, suffocating mood.
[Hi... Hii!]
...Hm? Oh right, there were eleven of them. Enkidu took five, I took five.
What a chore. Let's just finish this.
"Is this the last one? How disappointing. I've run out of whetstones."
Are you serious, Enkidu? You really enjoy tormenting these things? Truly?
『Finish it quickly so we can go back. It's a drag.』
"Hehe, is that so? Then, 'let's share it.'"
...Enkidu seems to be having fun, so I'll play along.
We grip the torso. We'll rend it while keeping its pain receptors intact.
[!!!]
『I've got the legs. Enkidu, you take the top.』
"Understood."
We pull, splitting it vertically. Slowly. Methodically.
It has its pain receptors, so it must hurt. But that's the point. I'm making it hurt.
I suppose dying in agony isn't the worst thing once in a while. Even Nightingale said pain is a part of biological activity.
[IT HURTS! IT HURTS!! STOP, HELP, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!]
『Cover its mouth, Enkidu.』
"No, no, this is the best part. Pure catharsis."
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH——!!!]
...I really don't understand him.
『...And, we're done.』
We rip it completely in half... ending its life in a crescendo of agony.
...That's all of them, I think. Goodbye, Lahmu.
『If you're going to regret anything, regret the karma of your previous life. It's called poetic justice. ...Hmph, how nauseating.』
To think anyone could find this fun... Truly, they are a hopeless, inferior species.
"Haha, that was great! Bullying the weak is a nice change of pace!"
...Hey, could you stop using your boomerang for "substitute defense"?
"This should stop the Lahmu from being born, right? Then I suppose I'll go support Gil. What about you, Fou-kun?"
What about me, huh? There's Rikka-chan and the cow, everyone in town, and in the Underworld...
—...That's right. Air said she was going to space. Let's try something a bit stylish.
『I have something I want to do. Go on ahead.』
I tell Enkidu as much and take off into the sky, leaving a rainbow trail in my wake.
"Some kind of prank?"
『I want to use this power for something more noble. It would be a waste to let it end with just taking out the trash.』
"I see. Then I'll leave this to you."
I nod to the waving Enkidu and fly.
I confirm the rainbow trail is visible and soar.
『This power is better used for something other than fighting. —I want you to watch, Air. And you too, Tiamat.』
Fou flies. High, higher than anything else.
Higher than the clouds. Higher than the world itself.
To the very boundary between Earth and Space, where nothing can obstruct the view—
『Allow me to convey human gratitude to you, in my own way.』
He wonders what kind of reaction he'll get... and Fou smiles to himself.
...I hope they're happy. This is... my own way, as one who has become the Love of Humanity—
[⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛!!]
With a hideous roar, Beast "if" pounces on Beast II.
A barrage of pancration strikes, Genji-style slashes, and tail whips—Beast "if" dives into the fray, pummeling the target.
[Aaaaaa, Aaaaaa･･･——!]
Beast "if" fluidly parries a fist thrown with the strength of a titan—
[AaaaaaAAAAAAAA･･･——!!]
Then, she wraps her tail around the neck and locks the arms, completely restraining Tiamat!
"Nice, Rikka! Gugalanna! Give it everything you've got!"
『BUMOOOOHHHH!!』
With Tiamat pinned, Gugalanna's storms and hooves rain down a merciless assault.
"Nice! It's working, it's working!"
Ishtar frantically rattles the "Venus Remote." It's a makeshift Golden Item used to command the Bull of Heaven at will.
(I was worried because we didn't have time to train him, but it looks like we're fine!)
The receiver is on Gugalanna's collar. By sending signals, she can control him. This is the peak of the Venusian Goddess's piloting skills—or so she thought.
Ishtar had forgotten one thing. A fatal flaw inherent to the girl who served as her vessel.
[AAAAAaaaaaAAAA!!]
Beast II breaks free from the restraint with sheer brute force and swings at Beast "if."
[!!]
"Oh no! Gugalanna, protect Rikka!"
Ishtar gets swept up in the heat of the moment, tilting the remote with all her might.
Responding to the command, Gugalanna lunges into the trajectory to intercept the fist.
"Nice! Rikka, get back into position!"
Snap.
The sound of something breaking echoes through the air.
(Huh? What was that sound...?)
She looks down at the remote in her hand—at the exact same moment Tiamat's body begins to undergo a horrific mutation—and at the exact same moment Gugalanna's eyes glow a feral red.
『—BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!』
[—!?]
Gugalanna turns... and charges straight at Beast "if."
"Hey! Wait! What are you doing, Gugalanna?! That's the wrong target—Aaaah?! The controller is broken——!!!?"
-------------------------------
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