FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Ever since the appearance of Marduk's Axe, Tiamat has sensed an extremely hostile aura emanating from the giant axe, and immediately summoned a large number of Balrahim.

"It's useless. As long as something carries the aura of Tiamat, nothing can stop Marduk's Axe."

Quetzal had barely finished speaking when he noticed that the Balrahim didn't meet Marduk's axe head-on, but instead attacked Ereshkigal en masse.

"I've really underestimated you for daring to attack the mistress of the underworld in the underworld."

Despite her efforts to suppress Tiamat, Ereshkigal still managed to spare some energy to apply ten times the gravity to the Balrahim, pinning them firmly to the ground and rendering them immobile.

But it was through this harassment that Tiamat achieved her goal.

"Hmph. Instead of thinking about fighting back or defending, you're running away? Even the Mother Goddess of Creation can be so pathetic, huh? Hahahaha."

"My lord, now is not the time for mockery. Tiamat is really going to run away."

As Tiamat unleashed a magic cannon, widening the tunnel Ereshkigal had dug from beneath Kusa City all the way to Uruk, preparing to use it to evade Marduk's axe, Xia Yan had absolutely no desire to hear Gilgamesh's "hahahahaha."

"What's the rush? Our help is here."

Just as Gilgamesh was speaking, Tiamat, who was trying to escape along the black mud, froze. The black mud that should have been her path was replaced by a sea of ​​flowers made up of countless petals.

Hello, I'm here.

Meili fell through the large hole in the ground and came to Xia Yan's side.

Morgan, who was standing nearby, immediately prepared to attack, but was stopped by Xia Yan.

"Merry, weren't you imprisoned in Avalon?"

Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh, who was standing nearby, burst into laughter again.

"Hahaha, Merlin, you've actually been imprisoned in Avalon. Hahahaha."

Ignoring the king's mockery, Meryl spread her hands and said, "Actually, even now, my main body is still imprisoned in Avalon. What's here now is just an avatar of mine. After all, Avalon is my territory. Even if Morgan can imprison me, there's still a way he can find a loophole."

"It seems that the sealing power of over a hundred spells is still not enough. When I get back this time, I will increase it tenfold."

Upon hearing Morgan's words, Mary immediately lost her composure.

"Xia Yan, please, please don't let Morgan do this."

As she spoke, Meili grabbed Xia Yan's hands and held them in her own.

Xia Yan immediately withdrew his hand, glanced at Morgan who had already raised his hand to release the black gun, and said to Meryl, "Meryl, don't provoke Morgan anymore, unless you really want to die."

"All right."

Meili deliberately distanced herself from Xia Yan to avoid the black gun attack, but her little tongue-sticking-out gesture revealed that her previous actions were intentional.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Just as the group was talking, Marduk's axe struck Tiamat, slashing a deep, bone-revealing wound into her side abdomen. Even the Mother Goddess of Creation couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.

"Tsk. You dodged a fatal spot, huh?"

However, Quetzalcoatl, who had intended to deliver a stylish finishing blow, was far from satisfied.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Tiamat let out an angry roar, and the wound healed rapidly, but the concept of death had already been bestowed upon it, and now the conditions on both sides were finally equal.

When a person is killed, they die; even gods are no exception.

Something's not right.

Not only Quetzalcoatl, but also Morgan, Gilgamesh, and Merry all wore very solemn expressions.

Xia Yan looked down and saw that the black mud had once again adhered to Tiamat's body, completely enveloping it.

This scene seemed familiar. Xia Yan remembered that the last time Tiamat did this, she transformed from human form into beast form. This was a method she used to make her spirit origin scale closer to that of the Age of Gods by using the principle of "return".

But Tiamat was already in her complete form at this point, so why was she able to "return"?

No, Xia Yan then realized that he had made a cognitive error.

In the original work, Tiamat's stagnation in this form was not because she could no longer "return," but because there was not enough time left for her to "return" further. Therefore, this form, which she previously thought was Tiamat's complete form, was actually far from reaching its true complete form.

We must find a way to interrupt her "return"!

"Quetzalcoatl, attack again with Marduk's Axe!"

"I'm sorry, Xia Yan, the attack from just now cannot be replicated."

Quetzal replied somewhat awkwardly.

Why?

"Because I never thought I would swing it again, I used all my strength. My arm is still a little sore, and Marduk's Axe seems to have been damaged after hitting Tiamat."

Xia Yan covered his face, then turned to Morgan: "Morgan, launch the attack immediately!"

"No. Tiamat's spirit origin level is constantly increasing, and my current magical power is not enough to kill her in one blow."

"What if I add my final Command Seal?" Xia Yan pressed.

"That's not enough either."

"What if I use my Noble Phantasm as well?" Quetzalcoatl interjected.

"If Tiamat were in her previous form, that would be enough, but it's not enough now. Besides, Tiamat's Spirit Origin is increasing faster than my mana accumulation. Every second that passes, the gap between us widens by one point."

Xia Yan was truly at his wit's end.

They can't be killed by fighting, and they can't wait any longer. Are they just supposed to wait here to die?

"At this point, there's only one way."

Morgan seemed to have made up his mind.

"No!"

Xia Yan sternly stopped him.

He guessed Morgan's idea: to launch an attack by burning his spirit foundation. With Morgan's spirit foundation, the power of this attack would definitely be enough to solve the current problem, but Xia Yan would never accept a future without Morgan.

As Xia Yan had thought, Morgan's only solution was to sacrifice himself to ensure Xia Yan's survival. Although he was reluctant, he believed that with Xia Yan's charisma, more and more followers would gather around him in the future, so he didn't need to worry too much about his safety.

"There is no other way. At the speed of Tiamat's 'return,' it won't be long before even if I burn my Spirit Origin, I won't be able to inflict fatal damage on her. Xia Yan, as an excellent Master, sometimes you have to be decisive, especially when making the decision to sacrifice."

"Morgan, I never expected you to be so selfish. I've never considered myself a good Master, and besides being your Master, I'm also your husband. What kind of decent husband would sacrifice his wife to save his own life? Are you trying to torment me by making me live with guilt for the rest of my life?"

Morgan was taken aback by Xia Yan's sharp rebuttal and momentarily lost his assertive stance, unsure of what to say.

"Even death is better than losing you."

Just as Xia Yan grasped Morgan's hand, ready to face death, a mocking female voice came from above.

"Heh, human, I never thought you'd be helpless at times."

Xia Yan looked up and saw a red-haired girl slowly descending from the sky.

"You are Typhon!"