Ophis's movements paused slightly as she directed her magic cannon bombardment, her expression darkening.
The contingency in Uruk had activated…
Not much time left, huh.
Though she'd left an infinite source of power in Uruk, even Ophis herself couldn't fully control it. Expecting Siduri to handle it perfectly was simply impossible, even with the Holy Grail's assistance.
This distraction lasted barely an instant, quickly suppressed. Yet Ereshkigal was still a goddess who had lived for countless years—even if not a seasoned warrior, this fleeting opening was more than enough!
Deathly energy cleaved through the briefly weakened barrage, and Ereshkigal charged forward. With the Underworld's ambient energy mostly scattered by Ophis's relentless bombardment, close combat was Ereshkigal's only remaining option.
The goddess's limitless energy stemmed from Kur's endlessly cycling power. In terms of instant output, she was no match for Ophis, who could tap energy infinitely!
Yet, Ophis's own condition wasn't much better. Her figure had begun to blur faintly, growing semi-transparent—a sign that her mana replenishment couldn't keep pace with consumption!
Right now, she was not truly infinite.
Ereshkigal had noticed Ophis's dwindling mana reserves. But as a proud goddess, she refused to lurk underground passively, waiting for Ophis's strength to fail. Instead, she aggressively pressed forward, despite being at a disadvantage.
Ophis shifted slightly, narrowly avoiding Ereshkigal's downward strike. The goddess's lips curled into a smile; her attack smoothly transitioned as the strangely shaped spear twisted like a serpent, lunging toward Ophis's heart.
Even though Kur's energy had been momentarily suppressed, the spear in Ereshkigal's hand was the core of her Authority over the Underworld, the very crystallization of Kur's essence. The deathly power it contained vastly exceeded the brief exposure from their earlier "intimate" encounter!
Clang—!
At this critical instant, a purple light flashed, forcibly blocking Ereshkigal's seemingly inevitable strike.
Ereshkigal quickly focused her gaze. A flawless crystal-like purple sphere now floated between them, beautiful yet seemingly unremarkable.
But the goddess of the Underworld didn't dare underestimate it—this sphere had been compressed by Ophis under her watch, condensing enough energy to raze half of Uruk. She had absolutely no intention of personally testing its effects.
Just then, the spear's tip picked up a faint ripple of energy. Subtle as it was, it hadn't escaped Ereshkigal's senses.
Her heart raced in alarm; instinctively, Ereshkigal tilted her head aside.
A thin beam erupted from the mana sphere, slicing past Ereshkigal's ear, neatly severing several strands of golden hair.
That sphere can still attack!?
Ereshkigal frowned in irritation, yet her offensive didn't slow. Twisting her spear deftly, she sought an opening around the sphere to stab Ophis directly.
But Ophis controlled the sphere with remarkable flexibility, expanding and contracting to intercept the goddess's attacks. It occasionally fired precise beams, further complicating Ereshkigal's efforts.
After repelling another barrage of countless magic cannons with a wave of death energy, Ereshkigal stared intently at Ophis.
She could clearly sense the magic cannons' density and power significantly reduced from earlier. The blurriness of Ophis's body was also steadily intensifying.
"It seems victory is ultimately mine," Ereshkigal confidently declared, tempting fate with a smug smile.
Likely due to dwindling mana, Ophis's responses began to slow. The sphere's defenses also faltered, occasionally forcing Ophis herself to step in and deflect Ereshkigal's strikes directly.
Though Ophis's close-combat skills might be considered excellent among humans, compared to a goddess who'd lived countless millennia, human standards were still too naïve.
At this moment, Ophis noticed something unsettling about Ereshkigal's smile.
It strangely reminded her of a "little devil."
Before Ophis could grasp the meaning behind that uneasy feeling, her movements abruptly halted, her expression momentarily flashing with pain.
Death energy had exploded inside her body!
When did it...?
Ophis furrowed her brow.
As for moments when energy might've invaded her body…
She had been extremely careful since the battle began. That left only the possibility of infiltration while passing through the gates under cover, or perhaps during her brief pauses afterward to restore mana?
Whether rapidly extracting or rapidly replenishing power, both processes involved tremendous amounts of mana circulating internally. In such circumstances, it was plausible for a small amount of deathly energy to slip through unnoticed.
This explained why no powerful forces had attacked when her mana had been emptied earlier.
Normally, concealed death energy would barely maintain its hidden state, incapable of affecting her. But now, with Ophis's mana dangerously thin, even a tiny death explosion could freeze her momentarily!
Yet it was already too late for such realizations. Within this brief pause, Ereshkigal's spear pierced cleanly through Ophis's chest.
The magic cannons ceased firing, the raging death energy quieted—everything became still.
"I've won," Ereshkigal declared proudly, gently caressing Ophis's expressionless face.
"Waiting for you to exhaust your mana completely would've been a viable option, but personally defeating you is far more satisfying. After all, I am a perfectionist."
Ereshkigal felt immense satisfaction. Back when Ophis had repeatedly pinned her down and humiliated her, even hanging her with the Chains of Heaven for some bondage play—finally, she could exact her revenge.
Although an injury like this meant little to Ophis, Ereshkigal could pour massive amounts of deathly energy into her body through the spear. Now their positions mirrored an ordinary human holding a gun to another's head.
As Ereshkigal fantasized gleefully about the various ways she could exact vengeance, she failed to notice the subtle twitching of Ophis's index finger.
The next instant, the previously stationary mana sphere nearby erupted with blinding brilliance.
"Wait, are you insane!?"
Ereshkigal panicked. She instantly realized Ophis intended to detonate the sphere's enormous energy. But an energy burst of that magnitude made no distinction between friend and foe—while she herself would likely survive as a goddess of the Underworld, Ophis's current body would certainly be obliterated.
Gritting her teeth, Ereshkigal frantically infused deathly energy into her spear, attempting to subdue Ophis. But she suddenly felt something amiss.
However, the goddess had no time to ponder it. In the next moment, violent energy erupted from Kur's center, swallowing everything within sight.