After Ishtar left, Ophis sat in thought.
This time, the Ishtar brought here by the spirit had not only shrunk in size, but her personality seemed to have changed a bit, and... it appeared her intelligence had dropped a little too.
Could this be due to the influence of the host?
Though the information she just blurted out wasn't very clear, it gave Ophis a direction.
In addition to Ishtar, there are two other gods involved on the opposing side... This aligns with the information that Gilgamesh gave at the beginning.
Moreover, the essence seems to be related to "snakes."
Although what Ishtar revealed was only a small part, it was crucial.
Snakes...
This should be good news for Ophis. As the highest-ranking Ouroboros among dragons and snakes, she could somewhat suppress beings like the Snake Goddesses.
And now that she knew the enemy's connection to 'snakes,' she could tailor her future plans accordingly.
Even without knowing their true identities, simply understanding this concept could be advantageous.
However, the real enemies she had to contend with weren't just the two Snake Goddesses.
Ophis sighed.
Although that foolish goddess might slip up on such a crucial issue, she wasn't stupid enough to reveal the most vital information...
Perhaps it was because the level of the gods' status resisted fate's detection. Even though Ophis had glimpsed the future before... anything directly involving the fate of the gods yielded only small fragments of information. This was why Ophis couldn't be completely certain if it was really Ishtar at first.
Regardless...
Including herself, 'snakes' are wary of 'steel.' This is an unchanging rule.
Since ancient times, dragons and snakes have often been humanity's enemies, and heroes have been granted divine treasures and steel weapons to slay them.
But slaying monsters requires not just unparalleled martial skill or strength but also wisdom, which ruled out frenzied warriors like Hercules.
By the way, luck is also crucial—perhaps the most important factor. It's often heroes with steel swords who slay dragons, rarely those with spears.
Ophis went through the list of every person she had encountered in Uruk but didn't find anyone strong enough, with the necessary qualifications, to defeat a dragon or snake.
Wait...
Ophis realized she had fallen into a mental trap.
The real crisis was always the existence of the 'Creator God' hidden behind the scenes, not the three gods in front of them.
Though the final destruction she glimpsed was unclear, it was almost certain it would be caused by the Creator God.
For some reason, the news about Ishtar made her start focusing on how to deal with those 'snakes'... But if it were only those three gods, Ophis could handle it alone.
What she needed to consider wasn't just how to deal with the three minor gods, but how to respond to that greater crisis.
What a hassle...
Ophis rarely felt anxious.
If only it were easier to peer into fate.
As this thought crossed her mind, countless fragmented scenes appeared in her mind's eye.
"…"
Ophis discovered that she could actually use that strange power to a certain extent, as long as she concentrated on simulating the wavelength she felt when she first came into contact with it.
After a moment of silence, Ophis once again sorted through the fragments of the future she had glimpsed, trying to align the countless possible outcomes to achieve the best result.
Then, following her intuition, Ophis attempted to calculate the future trends based on the fate she had just detected.
She realized she couldn't defeat the three gods in front of her too quickly. Like a big boss appearing after a smaller one, once these three gods were defeated, there was a high chance that the being behind them would be summoned.
At that point, Uruk would be doomed...
However, if the monsters were allowed to attack endlessly, Uruk would eventually run out of all its resources and lives.
No matter which route she took or what kind of deductions she made, the fate of Uruk always seemed to end at the same point in time—without a minute or a second's difference.
The solution...
If enough forces could be united... maybe... it would be possible...
Ophis's mind worked rapidly.
However, no matter how many times she deduced it, she couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.
No... if there were a way to create an opportunity, Ophis might think of it... but there weren't enough people to implement it.
She had many excellent people under her command, and some of the servants were even strong enough to fight with goddesses or defeat gods with limited power (Altira:???), but... they all seemed to lack certain qualities.
There was no way to meet her expectations.
This is truly a... hopeless situation.
Even though she couldn't find a future where she could break through, Ophis still didn't give up and continued to deduce.
It might not be correct to call it persistence or will—it was just an attempt.
Originally, it was simply because Enkidu had told Ophis that she should care for the ones she loved, so Ophis followed Enkidu's idea and protected humans from disasters, in line with Enkidu's philosophy of loving humanity... However, this was just a job that Ophis was supposed to do, and it was a job that was bound to fail. If she succeeded by some miracle, that would be great, but if she failed, it would be completely normal.
The original Ophis never imposed anything on this tragic outcome; she just carried out her duties like a machine.
But now, seeing the people of Uruk—including the soldiers on the front lines facing danger and the ordinary citizens—persisting and refusing to give up the fight... this was something Ophis couldn't quite understand.
Perhaps she wanted to understand their thoughts through this method, or maybe she didn't want to be outdone by the humans. In any case, Ophis began to take the challenge seriously.
Could Uruk really only perish at that predestined moment?
Whether it was half a month, ten days, a day, or even just an hour or a minute.
Ophis wanted to see if she could resist the tide of fate.