Ophis thrust her left hand forward. Two violet pillars of light slanted down from the horizon, sweeping sideways toward Tiamat.
Her right hand didn't pause either. Pushing through the backlash, Ophis released a crimson wind that could cut through anything.
Guided by her control, it slashed toward Tiamat.
Without even checking the result, Ophis brought her hands sharply together in front of her chest, then opened them slightly—aimed directly at Tiamat.
In the next instant, everyone from Chaldea sensed it.
An immense chunk of space—containing both Ophis and Tiamat—no longer belonged to this world.
"This is…? King Ophis's and Tiamat's readings are weakening—what's happening?"
Three slicing attacks collided with Tiamat. Even the Mother Goddess of Creation couldn't move forward for a moment.
But as Ophis advanced to the next step, she sensed something had changed.
If Tiamat had seemed unfocused before, now she was—
Completely serious.
Had she sensed it…?
Perhaps "exile" had genuinely crossed a line for her.
Unease flickered within Ophis, but the arrow was already loose. She gritted her teeth and pressed on.
"Aaaaaaaaa——"
Tiamat's presence erupted violently. The pillars of light and wind-blades shattered effortlessly. Simultaneously, a red beam shot from her forehead, aiming straight for Ophis!
Ophis reacted—but she couldn't phase now. Dodging an attack at the speed of light was impossible.
Without doubt: as a creator-class deity, Tiamat's strike could genuinely harm Ophis. Yet Ophis had confidence. So long as her Infinity existed, no damage could surpass her endurance.
With that calculation, Ophis held steady—and let the blood-red beam pierce her heart.
"Mm…"
Agony erupted instantly, pain shredding through her mind and soul. Ophis's body shuddered, yet she continued.
Then, again, light gathered at Tiamat's brow.
Another…? Ophis frowned and braced herself.
The damage was still tolerable, but if she could anticipate and avoid the ray, it would obviously be better.
Yet—something was wrong.
Tiamat was no longer looking at her.
Her gaze was fixed on Uruk.
That meant her target was—
"Damn it!"
For nearly the first time in living memory, Ophis's face paled.
But she had no chance to stop it. The thick beam fired.
In a blink, it pierced through the Dragon-Serpent above Uruk—striking dead-center at the Ouroboros spell at its core!
"Aaang——!"
The Dragon-Serpent wailed mournfully and dispersed. Simultaneously, the Ouroboros spell trembled ominously.
"…"
Ophis's expression returned to blank calm. Without a word, she snapped her slightly opened hands together again—aimed at Tiamat.
The next moment, the space she'd isolated turned utterly insubstantial.
"Aaaaaaaa——"
Tiamat's singing voice now carried urgency. She suddenly surged forward, jaws wide, lunging to bite down on Ophis!
Ophis didn't move. She watched those rows of fangs close in… closer…
Then they slammed shut.
Almost simultaneously, the world returned to normal.
Chaldea stared at the battlefield, tense.
"Huh—what? Tiamat's reaction just vanished?"
Seconds later, Dr. Romani's voice crackled through.
Only then did they notice: the distortion was gone, yet Tiamat herself appeared unreal—like a phantom.
"So King Ophis really exiled Tiamat's true body outside the world?" Quetzal said, stroking her chin as she watched Tiamat float motionlessly.
Then Ophis slowly drifted out from Tiamat's closed mouth.
"Ophis?"
Ritsuka caught it—something was off. Her face remained expressionless, yet she seemed strangely tense.
Her eyes appeared even emptier than usual.
Then Ophis vanished.
Before Ritsuka and the others could understand, Romani's alarmed voice burst through sharply.
"The energy above Uruk—something's wrong!"
"Huh?"
Above Uruk, the Ouroboros spell twisted violently—then began fracturing—and in the next second, magical energy erupted on a scale surpassing everything from the battle combined!
Just half a second before the overwhelming surge struck Uruk, Ophis appeared at the eruption's exact center. The raging energy froze—then reversed, flowing backward into Ophis's body.
"H-Hey—what the hell is this…?" Ishtar frowned, worry creasing her brow as she watched the vanished barrier and Uruk's scattered spell formulae.
Energy continued erupting endlessly—only to be devoured by Ophis—until nearly twenty minutes later, it finally subsided.
...
"So, the current situation: Tiamat has been temporarily sealed by King Ophis within the Dimensional Gap, and what remains here is merely an informational afterimage?"
Everyone had returned to the temple. Through the communicator, Dr. Romani summarized based on Ophis's fragmented explanations.
"Because Uruk is the center of Mesopotamia, the target of Tiamat—the Beast of Evil of Humanity—should remain Uruk. We estimate that in two days, Tiamat will break free from the seal. After that, it should take her over a day to reach Uruk."
"Yes. Before then, I'll move the Underworld beneath Uruk. As long as we knock Tiamat into my domain, we'll create enough opportunities to defeat her!"
In the mirror beside Ophis, Ereshkigal lifted her chin proudly.
"Then let's properly rest during these three days," Romani said.
Only after everyone had left did suppressed pain finally surface on Ophis's face.
She'd been careless.
Tiamat had attacked her Infinity itself.
Normally, it wouldn't have been so easy—but to protect Uruk, Ophis had projected the concept of Infinity outward, allowing Tiamat to directly strike.
With Infinity damaged, the backlash against Ophis was severe.
In fact, without that damage, she might've genuinely pushed Tiamat completely beyond the world.
Worse—the energy Tiamat had driven into her at the start was now corroding her body.
That beam had been a costly attack, likely drawing from Tiamat's core power. Even with massive energy suppressing it, Ophis couldn't purge the foreign magical contamination.
So the Mother Goddess truly did have a consciousness…
Enduring the pain hammering relentlessly at her consciousness, Ophis drew a slow breath.
Just three more days…
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T/N: NOOOOOOOOOO OPHIS