The Infinite Dragon God Cannot Find Silence

"Ophis..."

Orpheus smiled softly as he looked at Ritsuka.

"Yes, I must thank you too, Master of Chaldea. Thanks to you, many things have become much easier. For example, now, the task of defeating Tiamat must be entrusted to you."

"Ugh?"

Ritsuka was slightly taken aback, then scratched her head somewhat awkwardly.

"No, actually I feel like I haven't been of any help at all in this singularity, but... since Orpheus has said so, I'll leave Tiamat to you!"

In the end, Ritsuka's face regained that familiar firmness.

Orpheus nodded.

"Is that so... Then the outcome is entrusted to you, fellow stranger like me."

"Ugh?"

Ignoring Ritsuka's somewhat puzzled expression, Orpheus looked up at the sky.

"Finally, let's completely end the fifth generation... Ishtar."

"I understand, I'll do as you say and make a huge hole right under your feet! This is the long-awaited all-out effort from this goddess, so you'd better take it! Mountain Shock, Star's Fuel (Ang alta Kigalse)!"

"king!"

Sidduri anxiously stepped forward, but Orpheus pressed his hand to his chest.

"Hidari, you will be responsible for witnessing the end of Uruk for me."

"king!"

Ignoring Siduri's cries, Orpheus used his last strength to send her away, then turned to look at the Mother Goddess of Creation, who was only a step away from him.

"Beast II is right in front of us, it's coming! King Orpheus, please step aside."

"No, there's no need."

Orpheus looked up.

A blazing golden light shone directly above the temple.

Even the King of Heroes is still a hero, isn't he? It seems heroes never have good endings after all.

In Orpheus's mind, Qi, who rarely awakened on his own initiative, sighed aloud.

The next moment, the brilliance of Venus crashed down.

"So, does this mean I've given my first blood to Ishtar?"

Suddenly, Orpheus tilted her head, but before she could even think about this trivial matter, the artillery fire engulfed her and Tiamat, then pierced the barrier between the human world and the underworld.

Chapter 118 Prayer

"Yo, welcome."

Orpheus silently looked around.

She is now standing at the top of the temple, just as she was before she died.

The difference is that the surrounding Uruk is intact, and the crowds are bustling and lively.

Tilting his head in confusion, Orpheus turned to look at the person who probably knew everything.

A young girl stood behind Orpheus, watching her with a light laugh.

The girl had a doll-like, delicate face, with long, golden hair that reached her waist and fell casually behind her. The smile that flickered in her bright silver eyes and the slyness that curled at the corner of her mouth gave her a touch of worldliness.

However, what caught Orpheus's attention the most was the robe that was exactly the same as Enkidu's and the golden stone tablet in the girl's hands that looked like a book.

"Are you... Qi?"

"Isn't this already a statement of fact? How boring! Can't you just pretend you can't guess?"

"I think that's even more boring..."

The girl shrugged, skipped and hopped to the spot in front of Orpheus where there was nothing, and stood on the air.

"Alright, let's get straight to the point, although it's strange for me to say that to you... Welcome to your own mental world~"

"The world of mental images..."

Hearing the answer that matched his guess, Orpheus looked around at the bustling city and fell silent.

"Hmm... this place was completely dark a few months ago, you know? It was so boring back then... although I slept most of the time so it didn't really matter. By the way, this outfit is your subconscious favorite, isn't it? Ah, before this, I was practically naked every day..."

He tugged at his outer robe and said with a grin.

"..."

Orpheus discovered that even when they were face to face, this guy was still quite talkative.

Besides, given your rather thin figure, which is at most similar to mine, it probably wouldn't matter if you wore absolutely nothing every day...

"Although your gaze was a bit subtle, I don't care about trivial things like body shape... Anyway, you can only do what I want. Putting that aside, aren't you curious why you ended up dying in this place?"

Orpheus tilted his head.

"Doesn't every death end up here?"

"No, no, no, you're already dead. While your consciousness isn't completely asleep, it's unlikely you'd remain fully awake, let alone come here to chat with me."

Qi waved his hand in denial.

"I'm the one who brought you in, since the deadline is almost here."

"……time limit?"

Orpheus repeated the word hesitantly, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

"You haven't noticed yet? That's normal, it just means my skills haven't declined."

What did you do?

Orpheus frowned, but was met with a bright smile from Qi.

"What did I do... You should be asking yourself that question. What did you do?"

Qi held up a finger and waved it in front of Orpheus.

"Have you never wondered about the fact that 'I am inside you, but your body doesn't react at all'?"

Orpheus paused for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes.

"It's a very simple principle—the ouroboros is a perfectly independent entity; in other words, it is an absolute and perfect 'one'."

Qi seemed to quite appreciate Orpheus's wavering appearance and explained with great pleasure.

"But can a body containing both your and my consciousness... truly be called 'one'? Can a spirit with impurities truly be called 'perfect'?"

Orpheus remained silent, but she had a pretty good idea of ​​what Qi was going to say next.

"Ouroboros are perfect. This is an obsession instilled in this race after it was created. Even if you are not consciously aware of it, your body and mind will automatically keep you in a perfect state."

"So, it will automatically eliminate one of them?"

"No no no."

Qi waved his hand again.

"How can simply excluding external factors be considered a 'perfect' approach? Maximizing profits is the most basic requirement."

"...Absorption and fusion?"

"That's right! They also offer after-sales service to refine and improve the product!"

"..."

Orpheus stared straight at Prayer.

"No, it's no use looking at me like that. That's your ability, not mine."

"Qi, was this your purpose from the beginning?"

"I guess so. Originally, I was planning to give you some guidance first, to help you not be so negative... but then Enkidu suddenly appeared and snatched the job away from you."

Orpheus paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"I cannot understand, what exactly does Qi want to do? Why would she willingly allow herself to be absorbed by me?"

If it were two equally powerful ouroboros consciousnesses, then during the fusion process, the stronger one would naturally take the lead. However, Qi was an appendage of the main consciousness, Orpheus. No matter how powerful she was, the ouroboros' instincts wouldn't recognize her, and she could only be worn down and merged in the process, eventually being swallowed by Orpheus.

Orpheus did not understand the meaning of her doing this.

With Qi's abilities, he could completely strip Orpheus of his consciousness before the absorption even began. Although Orpheus was unaware of this instinctive fusion, he was well aware that the Ouroboros' abilities would never be used by non-Ouroboros species. The scenario of the fusion turning the tables on the host was impossible.

Because ouroboros is perfect.

Perfection may not mean being the strongest, but it means having no flaws.

"Omniscient and omnipotent".

Orpheus looked at Qi in bewilderment at her sudden words.

"The most ridiculous lie and the greatest paradox in all the heavens and myriad realms is a realm that simply does not exist."

Although Qi was still smiling, a rare seriousness flashed in his eyes.

"I want to see the scenery there... even if I don't go there myself, it doesn't matter."

As he spoke, Qi shrugged, his tone returning to its usual casual manner.

"Although I was once on the verge of becoming invincible... I felt like I was invincible but I wasn't sure if I really was. But later I realized that I wasn't truly omniscient and omnipotent... After all, in the end, I was completely wiped out by your ancestor, whose head was as hard as a rock. I was left with only a sliver of my spirit that I couldn't do anything. Speaking of which, I was really magnanimous not to take my anger out on you."

"...The birth of dragons is a phenomenon; they have no ancestors."

Orpheus didn't know what to say, so he could only offer a light rebuttal.

"Whatever, all the pure-blooded dragons are manifestations of that guy's scattered power anyway, so it's not wrong to say they're your ancestors... But that's not the point. Haven't you ever suspected that the person you're destined to replace in this world is really the Hero King?"

"..."

If she wasn't the King of Heroes, then was her previous desperate attempt to protect her country from Tiamat just for fun...?

"Ah, sorry I wasn't clear. What I meant was, is it really just the King of Heroes?"