Chaldea quickly came to a decision.
Sneak in, sabotage, then confront head-on—all in one smooth sequence.
"Hmm… infiltrating now should actually be easier," Ophis interjected abruptly after their discussion.
"Wait, could it be… because of that earlier…?"
Having traversed numerous Singularities, Ritsuka immediately understood.
"Mm." Ophis nodded.
"I've already said hello."
"Wait…by 'hello,' you mean that ridiculously huge beam just now!?"
Ignoring the twitching expressions of Chaldea's members—and Ishtar, who seemed to recall something uncomfortable—Ophis continued:
"The attack didn't directly hit the city, but its aftershock already reached the outskirts of Ur. With their domain damaged to this extent, even with divinity at Quetz's level, it'll take some time to repair. Right now, bypassing the damaged sections should let you slip directly into the enemy's territory."
Honestly, hitting the city directly would've been even better. With luck, it might've destroyed the symbolic artifact outright… However, Ophis hadn't confirmed if all civilians in Ur and Enridu had actually perished yet. Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't unleash an indiscriminate attack.
In fact, the area she'd attacked earlier was precisely within her sensory range. Initially, she'd aimed at Quetzalcoatl, who had been returning, hoping to inflict some damage—but seemingly failed.
At this distance, precise sniping by sensing alone was nearly impossible. A widespread bombardment inevitably diluted its power.
Regardless, even without significant damage, she'd at least succeeded in causing some disruption.
"Oh my, then that's even better. With King Ophis's greeting, things will be much safer for us."
Merlin clapped his hands lightly, drawing everyone's attention with his usual faint smile.
Yet this time, his eyes held no trace of humor.
"But there's still a problem…" Suddenly, Ophis stiffened slightly.
"Seems King Ophis noticed already."
Ignoring Merlin's remark, Ophis furrowed her brows deeply.
Such a grim expression was unprecedented for her.
The last time she'd worn this solemnity was when facing Great Red—though at that time, you couldn't expect much expressiveness from a serpent's face.
"Did something happen?" Ritsuka tilted her head in confusion, while Lily beside her looked grave.
Though not blessed with explicit visions like a revelation, Lily sensed an immense shadow rapidly approaching.
"Urgent report from the Northern Wall! Emergency at the Northern Wall!"
From outside the temple, a soldier's urgent voice quickly approached.
Although the Northern Wall stood some distance away, Ophis had established communication-type Noble Phantasms there. By consuming some mana, instant transmission of reports was possible.
A soldier dashed into the temple, clutching a transparent sphere tightly in his hands.
Ophis sighed. The temple was especially lively today…
"King Ophis, Tiamat… The goddess Tiamat suddenly appeared! The Northern Wall—it's about to fall!"
"…"
Silent for half a second, Ophis judged she wouldn't get much useful intel from this clearly panicked soldier and turned toward Chaldea.
"You proceed as planned. I will handle the Northern Wall myself."
With that, Ophis turned sharply to leave.
"Wait!" But Ritsuka suddenly grasped her sleeve.
"Let us come with you."
Meeting Ritsuka's firm gaze, Ophis frowned again.
"Compared to Quetzalcoatl, who's ultimately just causing gradual damage, isn't this threat at the Northern Wall far greater? If the Wall falls, isn't that practically the end of Uruk?"
"…"
Ophis remained silent.
"It's not that we doubt you, King Ophis. It's just that, in this situation, every bit of strength helps, right?"
Seeing Ophis narrow her eyes slightly, Ritsuka quickly clarified.
"Fine, you may as well see clearly for yourselves…"
After brief consideration, Ophis let out a quiet laugh and nodded.
"This isn't like Quetzal's earlier minor scuffle, whose power didn't even leak enough for me to sense… You'll witness the true power of a goddess, once she gets serious."
...
At Uruk's Northern Wall stood an enormous "monster."
The monster's upper body was that of a stunningly beautiful, mature woman—provided you ignored her ten-meter height—while her lower half was a serpentine form stretching over a hundred meters.
Right now, the serpent-woman's mood was foul—very foul.
Although the prolonged stalemate had partly been a game toying with her prey, it also bought time for other preparations.
But she'd grown unbearably impatient for vengeance.
Her patience had finally worn thin, and today she'd personally decided to smash through the supposedly impregnable Northern Wall.
Yet something utterly unthinkable had occurred…
These mere insects—mere ants—had actually stopped her, the Mother of Beasts herself, Goddess Tiamat!
"This is the end. Even if you're a goddess, I won't let you take one step further."
Holding her holy banner firmly before her, Jeanne declared resolutely.
At her side stood Altera, sword drawn and ready.
"Lowly insects… die!"
The serpent-woman glared directly at Jeanne, who grit her teeth as her body felt slightly heavier, but otherwise remained unaffected.
Altera beside her, however, wasn't as fortunate—parts of her body had already turned to stone.
Almost simultaneously, a silver-white magic circle unfolded beneath them, instantly restoring both to normal.
Tiamat's face darkened as she turned her gaze skyward toward a figure hovering in midair, draped in a translucent pale-purple robe.
"Is that a Noble Phantasm's power…? Healing damage, removing abnormal states, or perhaps…"
Her opponents gave no room for speculation. A tri-colored sword beam flashed suddenly, catching Tiamat off-guard and carving a massive gash into her abdomen.
"Damn… How dare you…!"
Now Tiamat was truly enraged.
This minor wound meant nothing to her—it would heal in moments—but the fact that they'd dared injure her was intolerable.
She could accept injuries if they were part of her playful torment, allowing prey faint hope before plunging them into despair. But now, wounded in genuine battle? How could she tolerate such humiliation?
Without realizing it herself, Tiamat had begun treating these opponents seriously, rather than merely as playthings.
With a furious growl, Tiamat's purple hair abruptly transformed into countless giant snakes, lunging fiercely toward Altera, who was still airborne after her attack!
---
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