FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Typhon, weren't you planning to leave?"

Xia Yan was puzzled.

"That's right, but before I leave, I don't want to owe you a favor, so I came around again to check on you. Although your opponent is the creator goddess Tiamat, you are still my Master who defeated me. If I lost to her, wouldn't I lose face?"

Xia Yan smiled and didn't dwell on the matter any further.

"Since you've come all this way, you must have a way to solve the problem, right?"

"Of course. Watch carefully."

Typhon flew to Tiamat's head and said to her, "Tiamat, the creator goddess who governs the principle of 'return,' why do you yearn to return?"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

As if sensing that someone was trying to understand her, Tiamat gave her own answer.

"Betrayed and abandoned, so you want to return to the beginning of chaos and start all over again? In other words, 'returning' is your wish?"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Tiamat was happy that someone understood her. Although this being belonged to an external mythological system, anyone who understood their mother was a good child.

"Good boy?"

Typhon's lips curled up, revealing a sneer that only a truly wicked child would make.

"I've never been a good child, after all, I am the 'Fruit of Impermanence,' an existence that negates wishes. Tiamat, the Mother Goddess of Creation, you just said that 'returning' is your wish; therefore, I hereby declare: Tiamat, your wish will not be fulfilled!"

When Typhon made his declaration, the "Anti-Wish Machine" function was activated. Tiamat, who was already close to returning to the next stage, began to tremble all over. The size of her spirit origin began to shrink, and even the black mud covering her body was rapidly fading away.

Everything seems to have returned to the state where Tiamat began trying to "return" from her beast form.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Realizing she had been tricked and deceived, Tiamat cried out in despair once more.

"I'm sorry, Tiamat, although I sympathize with your situation, as a mother, you must understand that children will eventually grow up. A mother who clings to her child is just a devil satisfying her own desire for control."

After Xia Yan loudly expressed his opinion on Tiamat, he activated the final Command Spell.

"In the name of the Command Spell, Morgan, defeat Tiamat!"

The red light symbolizing the Command Seals surged into Morgan's body, and a giant sword blade, forty meters long, immediately condensed at the tip of Morgan's cross wand.

"Quetzalcoatl, use all the remaining power you have!"

"Okay."

Quetzal leaped high into the air, then accelerated down, kicking the end of the cross wand with a heavy thud.

The greatsword formed from Morgan's cross wand shot out instantly, piercing Tiamat's heart like a meteor.

At the same time, Gilgamesh had also drawn Ea and launched a final attack on Juntiamat's head.

"Noble Phantasm! Star of Divergence!"

A powerful surge of magic pierced Tiamat's head.

Even Tiamat, the creator goddess, could no longer sustain her spiritual foundation after her head and heart were destroyed simultaneously, resulting in an explosion.

"Mom, did I really do something wrong?"

In the instant before the explosion, Xia Yan seemed to hear Tiamat's voice, but he had no time to respond.

"Be careful!"

Ereshkigal, who had been suppressing Tiamat with all her might, used her last remaining magic power to cast an absolute defensive barrier for Xia Yan and the others, a barrier that could only be cast within the Underworld.

boom!

With the explosion that sent the entire Uruk ruins plunging into the underworld, Tiamat's spirit origin reaction finally disappeared completely.

As the smoke cleared and Tiamat disappeared from sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"We finally won."

As expected of Tiamat, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, even knowing the plot, defeating her almost exhausted all of Xia Yan's methods.

"It seems the problem here has been resolved."

Typhon slowly began to rise, and the Typhon body was now waiting above the cave entrance.

"Thank you, Typhon."

Although they were enemies before, Xia Yan and his team would not have been able to turn the tide if Typhon hadn't appeared at the last moment.

"Don't get me wrong, I just didn't want to owe you a favor. Now we're even. If we meet again, we might even become enemies."

"Oh? You're already imagining what our next meeting will be like?"

Typhon's arrogant behavior drew criticism from Gilgamesh.

"No way! Don't talk nonsense!"

Typhon was somewhat embarrassed and angry, and then flew away faster without looking back.

After seeing Typhon off, Xia Yan also checked on the condition of another contributor—Ailee.

As the mistress of the underworld, and fighting on her home turf, Ereshkigal still managed to exhaust almost all her magic power, demonstrating just how difficult it was to suppress Tiamat earlier.

"Are you alright?"

Xia Yan squatted down in front of Ai Lei, who was exhausted and sitting with her toes pointing inward against a wall.

"I'm fine, I just used up a lot of magic power and feel a bit weak."

Xia Yan nodded, then turned to Gilgamesh and said, "Your Majesty, could you please take Ereshkigal and Quetzalcoatl back to the North Wall to rest?"

"Hmph, what do you take me for?" Gilgamesh said unhappily.

"Your Majesty, you misunderstand. What I mean is that you are the only one here who still has the ability to fly and can take them back."

"So how do you plan to get to the temple in the southwestern mountains? By running on foot?"

Although Gilgamesh's tone was somewhat stiff, he was showing concern for Xia Yan.

"There's no other way. Morgan's magic is also running out; he can't fly at all."

Xia Yan replied helplessly.

"Take it."

Unexpectedly, Gilgamesh handed the magic carpet over to Xia Yan.

"Just so you know, this is a loan; you must return it to me after this is over!"

"And what about you, Wang?" Xia Yan asked in return.

Gilgamesh smiled dismissively, and instead of answering, he responded with his actions.

He carried Quetzalcoatl on one shoulder and Ereshkigal on the other, and amidst Ereshkigal's shy cries of "Put me down!", he leaped down the steep cliff face to the ground.

He truly deserves to be called the oldest hero king of mankind.

Xia Yan silently praised in his heart, and without further delay, he and Morgan boarded the magic carpet and flew southwest.

"Xia Yan, I'll go with you."

Ishtar, who had been helplessly watching Tiamat fall into the underworld, flew to Xia Yan's side.

Seeing Xia Yan's surprised expression, Ishtar said irritably, "Hey, do you think I'm greedy, stingy, and unreliable when it matters?"

Isn't that right?

Xia Yan muttered to himself.

"I was going to praise you a bit because you defeated Tiamat."

Ishtar was clearly annoyed.

Xia Yan wasn't actually unable to understand Ishtar. Although she had always kept her distance from Xia Yan and the others, she always stepped forward whenever Uruk was in danger, and this time was no exception.

If Durga were to actually destroy this world, Ishtar would probably feel like she had failed in her duty.

This is probably why Gilgamesh felt comfortable taking Quetzalcoatl and Ereshkigal back to the North Wall instead of accompanying Xia Yan to fight Durga.