The real Tiamat wasn't this creature—Ophis had understood that clearly a long time ago.
After all, Tiamat's position was that of a primordial creation deity. If she existed here at all, it could only be that monster still slumbering beneath the depths.
As for the identity of this rampaging goddess in front of her, Ophis had no interest whatsoever.
If not for the fact she was the critical trigger point, Ophis would've exterminated her ages ago.
...
On the battlefield, Altera spun and leaped, continuously carving deep wounds across the serpent-woman's body. Though the serpent-woman desperately countered with her hair-snakes, her immense size severely restricted her agility.
…Indeed, being such a giant, she had intimidation and destructive power aplenty, but once her most threatening ability—those Mystic Eyes—lost effectiveness, her sluggishness turned her into nothing more than a massive meat-shield.
High attack, high defense, low agility: the classic Boss archetype.
The serpent-woman's petrification Mystic Eyes weren't an instant-kill attack; even total petrification could be reversed if she wished. Unfortunately for her, Medea's Noble Phantasm fully restored anyone as long as they weren't instantly killed. Even if the serpent-woman tried petrifying someone before attacking, Jeanne would immediately appear to block it.
The same went for the serpent-woman's second-most dangerous ability, her poison—both Jeanne and Medea could neutralize it without trouble.
Simply put, unless she managed to swallow someone whole in one bite, the serpent-woman could neither lose nor win against these four.
It wasn't that she was weak. In truth, being able to hold her ground against three Servants powered by Ophis—each vastly stronger and possessing practically unlimited stamina compared to ordinary Servants—already demonstrated her strength.
But the matchup was utterly disadvantageous for her.
Her Mystic Eyes could practically kill with a glare alone—true Mystic Eyes of the Age of Gods—but unfortunately, the opposing side perfectly countered her, having both a powerful debuff-remover and a near-immortal shield.
Honestly, instead of glaring, she'd be better off grabbing two huge swords and going for melee combat; she'd pose far more of a threat.
Sadly, the serpent-woman still couldn't let go of her pride. She could only awkwardly twist her enormous body, desperately resisting Altera and Arjuna's storm-like offensive, stubbornly relying on her Mystic Eyes to freeze them—though these attempts continuously failed.
Although the attacks poured upon her were relentless, Arjuna's shots were more akin to harassment: minor injuries quickly healed. While Altera's attacks healed far slower, given the serpent-woman's enormous body, they amounted to mere scratches. Altogether, she'd barely suffered any substantial damage.
If anything, the only significant effect was her fury rapidly surging, driving her to even wilder attacks.
Altera continuously darted around the serpent-woman, occasionally climbing up her body, embedding her sword and running along it, leaving large gashes. She appeared graceful and dominant, but was actually skating on thin ice.
The serpent-woman's Mystic Eyes weren't entirely ineffective against Altera. On the contrary, a single successful lock-on would immobilize Altera completely—one follow-up attack and she'd be dead. Thus, Altera's evasive movements, Arjuna's covering fire, and Medea's precise timing were all critical.
Luckily, Altera's relentless harassment caused the serpent-woman to use her Mystic Eyes with extreme caution.
After all, most Mystic Eyes—including the serpent-woman's—were not selective, capable of petrifying even their owner if carelessly reflected.
The stalemate continued, neither side achieving a decisive advantage.
"Um… Are we really not going to help them?" Ritsuka frowned, anxiously observing the battle through simple farsight magic.
Ophis shook her head. "It's pointless."
Other than Altera, none could meaningfully harm the serpent-woman.
In fact, even Ophis herself had no idea why Altera's attacks were effective at all.
Ana beside her tightened her grip on her weapon, clearly intending to join the battle. Ophis glanced at her briefly, intrigued.
"…"
Then, noticing something, Ophis raised an eyebrow slightly.
She'd had little interest in this black-robed girl who'd remained nearly invisible until now—but looking closely…
Though Ophis still didn't know the true identity of the giant enemy, this girl appeared somehow connected to her.
Noting Ana's complicated gaze directed at the monster, Ophis quietly looked away.
She must have her own burdens. But Ophis had neither reason nor capacity to interfere.
"Just as I thought… Aside from whatever method that King Altera is using, every wound inflicted by others heals almost instantly!"
Romani, sounding exasperated, continued analyzing rapidly through the communicator.
"Hmm… Could it be the Holy Grail's power?"
"Huh?" Merlin's casual remark instantly grabbed everyone's attention.
"But isn't the Holy Grail…" Ritsuka stared in confusion at the staff in Ophis's hand.
"Oh, did I never mention it? King Ophis's Holy Grail originally belonged to this era. Actually, the one sent by the King of Mages never even surfaced."
"You never mentioned that!"
Faced with Merlin, whose shamelessness rivaled the wall beneath their feet, Ritsuka could only sigh helplessly.
"Teacher… I know saying this is pointless, but next time, please inform us earlier…" Lily sighed softly, voicing her frustration.
"Ugh… Still so strict, Artoria. Have you already begun heading toward becoming that kind of emotionally oblivious person…?"
"Teacher, please take this seriously!"
Just as the teacher and student started bickering, Mash's eyes suddenly widened.
"Wait—that's… This is bad!"
Her urgent shout instantly redirected everyone's attention to the battlefield.
Apparently fed up with this drawn-out fight, the serpent-woman released an unimaginable burst of magical power, forcibly blowing Altera away.
───However, this actually disadvantaged the serpent-woman. Until now, Altera's constant close-range harassment had deprived her of the chance to gather strength. Now, with distance established, Altera could finally release her Noble Phantasm.
Yet, likewise, the serpent-woman was also momentarily free.
Her sudden explosion caught Medea and Altera completely off-guard, knocking them back. Even Jeanne, though partially prepared, couldn't immediately respond.
Using this opening, the serpent-woman's massive body rapidly surged forward, speeding toward the city wall with shocking velocity.
Atop the wall, Arjuna gritted his teeth, frantically channeling magical power into his arrow, hoping to slow the serpent-woman—but suddenly, he locked eyes with a blood-red gaze glittering with prismatic light.
A fatal sense of crisis surged up instantly. Without hesitation, Arjuna leaped backward off the wall.
Half of his body had already turned to stone.
"Arjuna-san…!" Jeanne watched helplessly, unable to spare aid as she rushed to defend.
"Leave Arjuna-san to me—please hold on for now!"
Floating in midair, Medea quickly recovered from being blown back. She'd always stayed airborne, so the impact wasn't severe. However, direct combat wasn't her forte, making it impossible for her to resist the serpent-woman. Seeing Arjuna severely wounded, she immediately flew towards him.
"Did she lose all reason…?"
Altera regained her stance, shaking her head as she observed the serpent-woman's back. She then aimed the Sword of the War God forward, slightly crouching in preparation.
"NOT TO DESTROY LIFE, BUT ONLY CIVILIZATION..."
But suddenly, Jeanne's eyes widened in horror as she stopped abruptly and turned toward Altera.
"Watch out!!"
At that very moment, the Crest's instincts also warned Altera of imminent danger, but it was already too late.
Simultaneously, countless chains erupted from beneath the ground, accompanied by volleys of golden light—all flying straight toward Altera!
By now, the serpent-woman had reached within mere dozens of meters of the city wall. Abruptly stopping her upper body, she swung her enormous tail violently, aiming to shatter the wall with overwhelming force!
---
T/N: hmmm yeah i think the chants for nps don't have to be exact 1:1 with the wiki, i feel like it changes depending on the situation and stuff... anyway as long as the true name is released i guess the words before doesn't matter LMAOOO also uhhh i forgot if i did japanese honorifics for this or not, oh well ritsuka is here so honorifics is fine
bonus chaps
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and so on
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