"I'm out of this fight, Castorice. May fortune favor your blade."
Ushiwakamaru stood on the ground, gazing up at her with helpless eyes.
This battle was simply on another level. Besides Ishtar, only Quetzalcoatl was backing up the front lines. No one else could participate—someone of Ushiwakamaru's strength would be wiped out by the mere aftershocks.
"I'll return."
Castorice gave a nod. Fortunately, with the Holy Grail's support, these waters wouldn't fade even if she left Uruk. As long as Ereshkigal kept watch over them, things would hold.
Then, Castorice boarded the wyvern summoned by Quetzalcoatl and headed out over the sea.
That was where Tiamat waited.
Soon, they laid eyes on the primordial goddess capable of annihilating human history.
No one would have guessed that this stunning, even somewhat adorable, girl was the very Tiamat of myth, the mother who created the world.
The draconic horns extending from her head symbolized her noble origin.
Now, her limbs were bound, leaving her to drift upon the sea, emitting deep, resonant murmurs.
Yet even these unconscious sounds stirred terrifying waves across the ocean.
For the first time, the group truly felt the horrifying power of a Beast.
"To avoid further complications, it's your show, Ishtar."
Castorice looked toward Ishtar and spoke.
"No problem, let's finish this in one go!"
Ishtar grinned confidently, lightly brushing her lips as she stepped before Castorice.
"I absorbed a massive amount of magical energy just yesterday and was itching for a place to let it loose. Now's the perfect chance!"
She laughed with assurance, poised elegantly in the air, and with a wave of her hand, tore a massive rift across the sky.
Within it, the dazzling array of cosmic stars unfolded before Castorice's eyes.
A great veil blotted out the heavens; the power of this Noble Phantasm far exceeded what Castorice had imagined.
Then, golden light began to gleam within the curtain. An enormous golden planet slowly manifested within Castorice's sight—its mere projection already blotted out the sky.
One couldn't help but wonder what would happen if such a colossal star were to crash upon the earth.
"This is my full power. Sorry, mother!"
Ishtar watched the scene with a smile, then waved her hand again.
The projection of Venus compressed behind her, finally transforming into a blinding golden radiance hovering before Maanna.
"Shatter! An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè!"
A massive energy blade shot forth from Ishtar's hands, like Venus plummeting from the heavens. The immense power swallowed Tiamat's form in an instant.
Then, it plunged into the sea.
The colossal force churned the waters, sending waves hundreds of feet high.
Tiamat's figure had already vanished from sight.
A single strike had obliterated one of her bodies.
Yet after this blow, no joy showed on Ishtar's face.
Because it meant Castorice would now have to venture into danger.
"I really wish that could have ended it for good, honestly... The rest of the path is yours to walk now. You must be careful."
Ishtar smoothed her wind-tousled hair, then approached Castorice, giving a light kiss on her cheek. "A blessing from a goddess. You will return safely."
"Thank you. I will."
Castorice nodded.
Under the tremendous force of Ishtar's attack, the boundary between the imaginary number space and the real world had thinned just slightly. Seizing this slim opening, Castorice leaped directly into the void.
Ishtar and Quetzalcoatl remained behind, waiting for her return.
In an instant, darkness enveloped her, and Castorice arrived in the imaginary number realm.
As expected, this space held no life, no substance—even the concepts of time and space seemed blurred and indistinct.
Those gods were truly ruthless... banishing their own mother to a place like this...
Castorice murmured inwardly, then began her search through this world.
Fortunately, Tiamat's presence here was as glaringly obvious as the sun in the night sky.
In just a moment, Castorice found where Tiamat rested.
Then, her eyes widened.
There, Tiamat lay curled in the emptiness, resting quietly.
But what caught Castorice's attention most was what the goddess held in her embrace.
An egg. An egg radiating an aura of death.
And Tiamat was continuously channeling life force into it, hoping to revive it. At last, Castorice understood the origin of that inexplicable life energy that had appeared within her.
When she had first descended upon the land of Mesopotamia, this other half of herself—the dead dragon's egg—had arrived here in the imaginary space.
Back then, Tiamat was the only being here. Endless solitude had driven her to madness, until she found the dead dragon's egg.
Perhaps it was her nature, or perhaps she saw it as her own child, but Tiamat cradled the egg and began pouring her energy into it, hoping for the day it would hatch.
But an entity representing death could never truly become alive.
All that unclaimed life force gradually dissipated—but Tiamat wouldn't see it that way.
She'd only think the child hadn't revived because there wasn't enough life force! So she'd pour in more! It wasn't like she, as a mother, was short on the stuff.
Perhaps this, too, was a form of doting love.
Normally, Castorice remained unaffected, and that energy wouldn't transfer through their unique bond. But whenever Castorice was injured, that life force would automatically flow into her.
That was why Castorice had recovered from near-fatal wounds in an instant before.
In a way, if not for Tiamat, Castorice would have suffered much more.
After all, if she'd been seriously wounded by Gorgon back then, the recovery would have taken a long time.
But fate could be bitterly cruel. This 'mother' who had shown her such grace was also the very calamity set on destroying the world. Castorice had no choice but to find a way to end her...
"I'm sorry, Mother. If I could... I would never oppose you. But... I too have duties I must fulfill."
Castorice gazed at Tiamat before her, whose expression was so serene.
Then, she lightly touched the dead dragon's egg. In an instant, it began to dissolve, until finally, it transformed into a single ember.
That was the Coreflame of the Death Titan.
All she had to do now was accept this ember, and she would ascend to demigodhood.
And in the very moment the dead dragon's egg vanished, Tiamat's true form slowly began to open her eyes.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.