Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

How could he just... leave like that?

The confusion and hesitation in Yu Tohsaka's eyes disappeared, replaced by a firmness that seemed to indicate she had made up her mind.

On the computer screen, as if sensing his resolve, the line "[Please confirm final outcome: Y / N?]" began to flash. Immediately afterwards, a new line of warning red text appeared:

[Warning: Refusing to return to reality and choosing to return to the singularity may result in a deeper causal bond between your existence and that singularity, with an unpredictable future and a high likelihood of being regarded as an "enemy of humanity."]

Your choice might...

Before the warning text could be fully displayed, Tohsaka Yu had already moved the mouse to the option on the screen that represented "N" (No) without hesitation and pressed it hard!

"I'm not doing this for the sake of human reason."

He looked at the screen, which was beginning to distort and emit a blinding light because of his choice, and said softly, "I just want to see her one more time."

The next second, an even stronger sense of spacetime distortion than when he entered the singularity suddenly struck, and the light instantly engulfed his entire field of vision!

This time, he made the choice to return to that war-torn land of Uruk!

Volume 1: Chapter 36 Jin Gu's Choice

Uruk.

Gilgamesh's declaration, like a stirring war song, echoed across the despairing battlefield, briefly suppressing Tiamat's sorrowful roar and forcibly igniting the almost extinguished fighting spirit in the hearts of the remaining defenders.

With the Hero King personally participating in the battle, Uruk's defenses miraculously did not collapse immediately.

Gilgamesh drew Ea—the Noble Phantasm that symbolized the creation of the world and the division of the stars!

The sword began to spin, emitting a deep and terrifying roar.

"Enuma Elish!!"

With the release of her true name, a crimson torrent that could cleave the heavens and the earth burst forth from the sword Ea, carrying enough power to tear the world apart, and slammed into Tiamat's massive body!

boom--! ! !

A terrifying energy collision occurred! Although this earth-shattering blow failed to truly cripple Tiamat, the violent energy impact did indeed halt her advance towards Uruk!

It only slowed down slightly...

But that's enough!

King Gilgamesh's personal intervention and inspiring words acted like a powerful stimulant, instilling strength in everyone's hearts!

"Oh oh oh oh—! For the King! For Uruk!"

The surviving soldiers' fighting spirit was rekindled, and they raised their weapons once more!

"The king is right! We... can still fight!" Leonidas roared, charging towards Rakhmu once more!

"We must never... fail the king's expectations!" Ushiwakamaru's figure transformed into a streak of light once more!

Mashu and Fujimaru Ritsuka exchanged a glance and saw the renewed determination in each other's eyes!

"Matthew!"

"Yes, senior!"

However, even with the morale rekindled and even with the Hero King personally intervening to temporarily halt Tiamat's advance, the overwhelming power gap remained.

Tiamat's anger did not subside; the chaotic black mud continued to spread, and the newly born Rahmu surged in like a tide... They were still struggling to hold on, consuming enormous amounts of energy every second, and the defensive line remained shaky.

at this time--

"Hmph! Honestly, when it really matters, it's still up to me, the goddess, to step in! That Gilgamesh, he does say something decent once in a while!"

A voice as dazzling as Venus, full of arrogance and vitality, accompanied by magnificent divine power fluctuations, suddenly descended from the sky!

The goddess Ishtar, riding her celestial steed Anna, made a magnificent appearance above the battlefield.

【A Star's Fuel That Shakes the Mountains (An Gal Ta Kigal She)!!!】

A massive beam of energy descended like divine punishment, instantly clearing out a large area of ​​Rahmu!

"Oh dear, it seems I wasn't late after all! Or rather, I arrived just in time?"

Immediately afterwards, another voice, as warm and cheerful as the sun, rang out!

Kukulkan, the feathered serpent goddess, charged into the battlefield like a burning meteor. She directly rammed her body into the giant Rahmu, each punch and kick containing terrifying power, breaking the twisted monsters' bones and tendons!

Everyone turned to look, initially in astonishment, but then their eyes quickly lit up with ecstatic joy.

Ishtar and Kukulkan!

……

On a secluded cliff on the outskirts of Uruk.

A figure in a white robe stood silently on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the distant city where the sounds of battle and turmoil could still be felt even in the darkness of night.

The indifference and confidence of the past were gone from Jingu's face; in their place was a deep sense of confusion and... bewilderment.

Ever since that day at the temple of Ishtar, when he saw the spirit of his "mother" Tiamat and heard her words, he has been in a state of unprecedented confusion.

He was created for the return of "Mother," and was given power to eliminate those humans who had betrayed Mother and were ungrateful.

His purpose should have been crystal clear—to obey his mother's will and clear all obstacles for her revival.

But... the mother said that she did not expect violence, and she even showed an unprecedented, almost "favoritism" towards the human named Tohsaka Yu.

That boy... what's so special about him? Why did his mother show herself for him? Why is the way his mother looks at him completely different from the way he looks at him?

He couldn't understand, and as a perfect "weapon," he shouldn't have such an unnecessary emotion as "jealousy," but he couldn't suppress feeling...unwilling.

He is the most perfect creation of Mother, isn't he? He is the one who understands Mother's pain the most and longs for her return the most, isn't he?

Why... does Mother seem to care more about that human she's only spent a few days with?

"What is the purpose of my 'existence'?"

Jin Gu muttered to himself, his eyes filled with an unprecedented emptiness.

If the mother does not wish to destroy humanity, if the boy already has a place in her heart... then what is the meaning of his existence?

Continue carrying out the order to destroy? Or... go against your own "programming" and try to understand your mother's true thoughts?

Like a precision machine that has lost its program, Jingu, who exists as a perfect weapon, begins to question his own "existence" for the first time.

Just as he was trapped in this endless confusion and self-doubt—

boom--! ! !

An indescribable, terrifying, and vast aura, beyond his comprehension, suddenly erupted from the direction of the battlefield outside Uruk City, like a chaotic storm!

That aura was so familiar, so... that it made his very soul tremble!

"……Mother?!"

Jin Gu suddenly raised his head, his eyes widening instantly as he stared incredulously in the direction from which the aura was coming!

It's my mother's aura! And... it's countless times stronger than in her previous spirit form!

This...this is Mother's true form?! She broke the seal?!

ecstasy!

An indescribable ecstasy instantly swept over Jin Gu's entire body!

Mother has finally returned! She will finally reign supreme over this world in her full glory! Those foolish humans, those gods who betrayed her, will all be reduced to nothingness by her power! His mission, finally…

however--

This ecstasy lasted for less than a second.

Because immediately afterward, Jin Gu clearly and distinctly sensed an emotion within that vast and boundless power—

It was neither the majesty of a ruler ruling the world, nor the indifference of someone cleaning away filth.

Rather, it was a kind of... endless, heartbreaking sorrow, like an abyss, and a raging, irrational fury that could ignite the entire world!

Is Mother... in pain?

why? !

Shouldn't she return as a victor? Why is she in so much pain right now?

The ecstasy on Jingu's face froze instantly, replaced by a deeper confusion and a feeling he himself was unaware of, called "worry".

He suddenly recalled the look in his mother's eyes when she looked at Tohsaka Yuuji at the Ishtar Temple—a look that was both confused and tender, yet also tinged with a hint of caution. He also recalled the sentence she had written in her notebook: "He is the first human being who has made me feel...not so lonely."

Is it...

A terrible thought struck Jingu like lightning.

Could it be that something happened to that boy?!

Yes... that must be it, otherwise Mother would never have erupted in such an out-of-control, painful rage!

Jingu's heart clenched suddenly, and a completely unfamiliar emotion surged up.

He was always jealous of that boy, jealous that he received special treatment from his mother.

But at this moment, when he realized that the boy might really have met with misfortune, and this ignited the devastating grief and anger in his mother's heart, what remained in his heart... was not pleasure.

Mother...she didn't want it to be like this, did she?

She was just too lonely, she just... wanted to be loved.

That boy was the only one who made her see this possibility.

Now, that possibility... has been nipped in the bud.

Jin Gu slowly clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.

He remained confused, still unsure of the ultimate meaning of his existence.

but--

Looking at the sky in the distance, shrouded in chaotic black mud and an aura of destruction, and feeling his mother's mournful cries and roars like those of a wounded beast, Jingu had already made his decision.

Perhaps he couldn't fully understand his mother's feelings.

Perhaps, he still hates those humans who have abandoned their mothers.

But he couldn't stand by and watch his mother be driven to utter destruction by suffering.

That wasn't the "return" he had hoped for.

Jin Gu took a deep breath, and the confusion in his eyes that belonged to "weapons" slowly faded away, replaced by a complex determination he had never felt before, a determination to "protect" something.

Without further hesitation, his figure transformed into a golden streak of light, resolutely heading towards the center of the battlefield shrouded in chaos and despair!

……

Uruk.

Accompanied by two distinct yet equally powerful divine voices, the sky and earth simultaneously burst forth with dazzling light!

Kukulkan and Ishtar... why would they come to help?!

The Chaldea members and Merlin were stunned, completely unexpected that these two goddesses would lend a helping hand at this most critical moment.

Although the reason is unknown, with the addition of these two top deities, the pressure on the battlefield was suddenly relieved. Ishtar's celestial ships unleashed their full firepower, continuously bombarding the dense areas of Lahm; Kukulkan, like the most valiant warrior, rampaged across the ground, relieving a great deal of the pressure on the front lines.

For a moment, the battlefield seemed to have truly stabilized, and the dawn of hope seemed to have truly arrived.

However… Merlin stood on the city wall, watching the incredibly fierce battle before him, but his brow remained furrowed in the slightest.

He knew better than anyone that neither Ishtar nor Kukulkan were nearly enough to defeat the fully enraged Beast II, who had revealed its true form.

Their attacks were a drop in the ocean compared to Tiamat's enormous body.

What they are doing now is "delaying"... using their divine power and their treasures to wear down Tiamat's anger and buy that tiny bit of time...

For what?

Is it for that vague hope that Tohsaka Yu might still "exist"?

Merlin looked at Tiamat in the sky, which still exuded endless sorrow and an aura of destruction, and a bitter feeling rose in his heart.

The longer this drags on, the more severely Tiamat will erode the present world, and the greater the possibility of the collapse of human order...

Just when even Merlin was beginning to feel anxious—

Without warning.