Next to the city of Uruk, on the Hill of Heaven.
Ophis slowly ascended to the mountain's summit, holding a gleaming golden sphere in her hand.
"Are you here?"
With his usual gentle smile, Enkidu's holy figure appeared before Ophis.
Noticing the bloody hole in Enkidu's heart, Ophis tilted her head, then smiled and tossed the golden sphere to him.
"It's really embarrassing."
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, the previous owner's operational awareness and vigilance weren't good enough."
Enkidu caught the golden sphere and shrugged.
"Fortunately, my essence is that of a Servant. As long as I can receive magic power from you, I can function even without the Core… although it does hurt."
As he spoke, Enkidu took a few steps forward and gave Ophis a playful tap on the head.
"Hmm?"
"You're pushing yourself too hard. And what happened before? Even though the body is the same, the operator is different. Just smash it to pieces. What's the point of holding back? To me, you are countless times more important than this troublesome body, okay?"
"Hmm…"
Ophis puffed out her lips. She had indeed been a bit unsure when she first fought Kingu, wondering if she should really attack him. She had considered whether to resist Enkidu's fate and fight against the predetermined course.
As a result, she nearly fell and was nearly killed by Kingu's full-strength Noble Phantasm.
It was then that she received a message from Enkidu through Kingu's body.
───'Follow your heart and act'
So, Ophis decided to resist fate with all her strength and confront the Mother Goddess of Creation.
"Pfft…Hmm."
Frustrated by Enkidu's finger poking her and avoiding her attempt to bite, Ophis pouted in dissatisfaction—though she only acted this way in front of Enkidu, right?
By the way, a dragon's first hundred years are considered its infancy, and since Ophis is just over a hundred years old, she can barely be considered a child.
Noticing the pain on Enkidu's face from his earlier actions, Ophis reluctantly stopped pursuing the matter.
"If Enkidu hadn't been summoned directly and was hiding in that imposter's body, I wouldn't have made that mistake… But since Enkidu has said so, then from now on, I'll rely on Enkidu to help me achieve my goal, okay?"
Ophis responded with a holy smile, placing the golden sphere into the hole in her chest. With a burst of golden light, Enkidu's body was restored to its full form.
"That's a force majeure situation. The world won't allow two identical beings to exist in the same time and space. If the timelines were different, there would be room for manipulation, but we are both essentially 'Enkidu in his prime before his death.' I'm fortunate I wasn't directly assimilated… This is probably due to the significant differences in thought and personality between myself and the other operator."
Ophis then half-knelt solemnly.
"As for the assistance you mentioned… that's only natural, Master. Your seventh Servant, Lancer Enkidu, has been activated by your call. I recognize only you as my Master, now and in the future. Please use me freely and without hesitation!"
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"Please enjoy your meal, King."
Standing next to Ophis, Siduri respectfully offered tea.
Her king had been sitting here for almost two days.
While Ophis could sit for more than two months in the past, Siduri sensed that Ophis now seemed unwilling but unable to move.
Not understanding the situation, she could only serve her king with unwavering dedication.
Ophis nodded and accepted the tea.
Calculating the time, it was almost time for Tiamat to break the seal.
Two days ago, Ophis used the Ouroboros's unparalleled spatial ability to seal Tiamat into the cracks of time and space. The essence of this move was to remove the opponent from this world along with herself. This required Ophis to endure Tiamat's sniper attack and suffer injuries.
This ability was only half-completed six months ago to deal with Tiamat and was not yet fully mastered.
As a result, the seal was extremely incomplete. To suppress the Infinity that was about to spiral out of control, Ophis had to randomly expel Tiamat from the world and then immediately return to this time and space to retrieve the damaged Infinity.
Afterward, Ophis was severely injured and could no longer continue the seal, so she was forced to rely on the underworld to repel Tiamat.
Whether due to the evil nature of humanity or the nature of the creator god—or a mix of both—Tiamat seemed to have the characteristic of never dying as long as humans are alive. In other words, only the underworld, where there are no living beings, can restrain her… Of course, the outside world might work, but unfortunately, Ophis had no spare energy.
[I can help you suppress your injuries, but I won't have the energy to resist the mastermind behind the scenes. You'd better be extra cautious.]
Ophis nodded and then looked at Siduri.
"What about the statistics of the survivors?"
Siduri shuddered and lowered her head.
"Your troops, originally a cavalry of 200, now have only 53 remaining. They are guarding the north wall. Although they wish to return and fight alongside Uruk, they have been prevented from doing so."
"There are 79 people left from the first troop that returned to defend the city, plus the 202 who arrived later, totaling 281 people. These are your elite troops, stationed in Uruk."
"The city guards originally had 500 men, but now only 106 remain, stationed at the north wall."
"The ordinary troops were nearly wiped out in the final battle with the monsters. Only 272 remain, also stationed at the north wall."
"Finally, there are eight temple guards remaining, which is the status of all the troops."
"And the civilians?"
"…The monsters, which the king eventually named 'Lahamu,' seemed to have a keen interest in human life. They roamed Uruk, harassing the evacuated civilians and causing significant casualties."
"So, how many are left?"
Ophis pinched her brows in concern.
"The final survivors… are 693."
"This number is no longer enough to sustain a civilization."
Siduri lowered her head even further.
"Are you saddened, Siduri?"
"this..."
"This is not something to mourn."
Boom!!!
As Ophis took a sip of tea and was about to continue speaking, she suddenly felt a violent tremor.
"King, the goddess Tiamat has appeared!"
Ophis spat out all the tea from her mouth.