In the Underworld, the continent beneath Ereshkigal had shattered into fragments. The ground of Kur, which transcended mundane reality, had partially melted into magma under the intense heat of unleashed mana.
Enveloped by turbulent currents of energy, Ereshkigal's face had gone deathly pale.
Just moments ago—perhaps between the instant she injected death energy and Ophis's subsequent mana explosion—Ophis's presence had abruptly vanished.
…Dead?
Impossible…
A strange emptiness filled the goddess's heart, causing her to bite her lip unconsciously.
But at that moment, Ereshkigal's expression shifted sharply. She immediately rolled forward, sweeping her spear horizontally behind her.
Then her expression froze abruptly, forcing herself to halt mid-motion. In the next instant, several golden ripples opened, and countless Noble Phantasms radiating immense power shot forth. Had Ereshkigal continued moving, she'd have instantly become a pincushion. Despite her quick response, the weapons still neatly pierced the ground around her, locking her movements in place.
Simultaneously, spikes imbued with potent death energy surged from beneath, swiftly encircling the black-robed girl who had appeared behind Ereshkigal.
Now, Ereshkigal knelt on one knee, spear held horizontally backward, while Ophis stood behind her. The Sword of the End pressed gently against the goddess's neck, just as Ereshkigal's spear rested dangerously against Ophis's own throat.
Both frowned slightly.
Ereshkigal couldn't grasp how Ophis had suddenly appeared behind her… The earlier situation was simply too bizarre.
From her perception, Ophis had directly "entered" the Underworld, instantly manifesting behind her.
But that was impossible. Setting aside the fact Ophis was already in Kur, just the act of entering the Underworld required Ereshkigal's consent—or at least partial interference. Even if she couldn't outright prevent entry, she could disrupt or delay it significantly.
No, upon further reflection… perhaps that had been possible earlier, too.
Ereshkigal narrowed her eyes slightly.
I see. She waited this long specifically to exploit that loophole?
Similarly, Ophis felt a trace of unease.
It couldn't quite be called failure, yet neither was it success.
No barrier in existence could block the movements of an Ouroboros, and naturally, Ophis possessed the unique method of movement characteristic to her species.
The Ouroboros was inherently perfect, isolated from the world itself. For Ophis, isolating herself from the world was effortless. This ability gave rise to her intangibility and other absolute defensive measures unique to Ouroboros—such as absolute severance specialized for combat—but those were beside the point.
Her intangibility allowed her to exist outside the confines of the world itself.
Its derived movement involved separating herself entirely from the world, then re-entering it.
The Ouroboros isolated itself from the world as a whole, not just a particular region. Thus, any location within the world was only a single "step" away for an Ouroboros that dwelled "next door."
In other words, unless it involved crossing from one world into another, Ophis could reach anywhere in merely one step.
But the Underworld was different.
The barriers of Kur were actually less sturdy than the world itself, yet possessed a unique trait: Ereshkigal had nearly absolute authority over it.
Thus, Ophis's method of "stepping out" and then "re-entering" the Underworld was almost impossible to hide from Ereshkigal's senses.
Although Ereshkigal couldn't outright intercept Ophis, she could easily delay her entry or force her coordinates astray. Once the goddess grasped Ophis's method, she had countless ways to counter it.
So there'd been only one chance—Ereshkigal couldn't possibly have anticipated the first attempt, even if she reacted quickly afterward.
Yet now it seemed even that precious opportunity had failed. Ereshkigal had, as Ophis anticipated, reacted just in time to avoid blocking Ophis's entry, yet still managed to respond physically.
One dragon and one goddess stared at each other, momentarily deadlocked.
All the Noble Phantasms Ophis had summoned possessed divine-slaying power. A mere stab would severely injure Ereshkigal, if not outright kill her. But Ophis also sensed the enormous death energy within the spikes surrounding her—Ereshkigal's trump card, no doubt.
Neither dared move recklessly.
"Pfft—"
Suddenly, Ereshkigal burst into laughter.
Ophis tilted her head slightly in confusion.
"How stupid," Ereshkigal sighed. "This entire fight between us had no purpose or meaning at all."
Lowering her spear, she dispersed the surrounding spikes and raised both hands in surrender.
"It's my loss. Not only was this my home territory, but you still couldn't use your full strength, right? Since I still couldn't defeat you despite such overwhelming advantages, admitting you're stronger than me isn't a big deal."
She had lost.
The instant Ophis had seemingly "died," Ereshkigal had already reached this conclusion.
Ophis remained silent for a moment, then quietly waved her hand, dismissing her Noble Phantasms.
"But even if I lost, my goal hasn't changed. I intend to gather all the souls on the surface into the Underworld, rule over the dead, and establish my kingdom of death. For that, I need the Holy Grail."
Ereshkigal smiled softly as she spoke.
"So, how will you stop me? The answer's obvious. Go ahead—I won't resist."
Ophis opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly her expression shifted sharply.
In the next instant, a fierce storm of wind pressure erupted from her right hand.
"[ENUMA EILISH]—!!!"
A crimson storm transformed into a blade, cutting mercilessly toward Ereshkigal!
Seeing this, the corner of Ereshkigal's mouth twitched slightly.
What the hell, I was only being polite when I said you should kill me! Actually doing it isn't how this usually goes! Can't you at least say a few final words first!?
But right then, Ereshkigal suddenly felt a fatal sense of danger coming from behind!
Before she could react further, a flash of black sword-light appeared, colliding violently with the crimson storm. Another massive explosion erupted, engulfing the poor, devastated Underworld continent in turbulent energy once again.
Ophis's expression turned grim.
Her recent attack had simulated Ea's destructive wind-blade, its piercing power beyond question—as Gorgon could attest, given her lost tail. Yet that wind had abruptly exploded mid-flight, clearly intercepted by something.
She moved her index finger slightly, summoning several Noble Phantasms from golden ripples behind her.
As the turbulent energy gradually settled, the first thing Ophis saw was Ereshkigal, lying face-down unconscious on the ground. Ophis's expression worsened.
She released a small pulse of mana, scattering the remaining dust around her.
Only then did a hunched figure, cloaked entirely in black robes, slowly come into view.
Ophis tightened her grip on Ea.
If fate's power hadn't accidentally triggered just now—or rather, if fate itself hadn't directly warned her—she never would've sensed this hidden presence…
It's never that easy, huh…