Seeing Tiamat less than a quarter of a day away and the lower half of Uruk submerged in black mud, Ophis's face darkened.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know. When I came to my senses... the goddess Tiamat suddenly appeared!" the guard beside her reported in a panic.
"King, what on earth is happening?" Siduri asked urgently.
Ophis remained silent. It wasn't that she didn't understand what was happening; it was just too shocking to fully grasp.
The Ouroboros has extraordinarily strong spatial abilities. Traveling through voids and free dimensions is instinctual for it. Only entities related to concepts like space could rival Ouroboros in this area. However, mastery in such abilities is not exclusive to Ouroboros alone.
"Have you figured out how to locate the coordinates?"
A bitter expression crossed Ophis's face.
To escape the world, locate the coordinates, and then re-enter the world is her most adept method of moving. Although she managed to remove Tiamat from this space, she could only place her in the crack of space. The crack itself couldn't withstand Tiamat's power. After about two days, Tiamat would return to this dimension.
The coordinates left by this process should have been consistent. Where one exits, one should return. However, Ophis never anticipated that Tiamat's obsession with destroying Uruk would lead her to find a way to choose her landing point.
Fortunately, there was still some deviation in Tiamat's coordinate positioning, which reduced the distance by three-quarters. There were still about six hours left.
"Ophis!"
The Chaldean personnel, servants excluding Enkidu and Merlin who had died, and two goddesses all rushed to the top of the temple.
"What about Dingier's condition?"
"Yes, there are three hundred and sixty in total, all set up according to the king's instructions."
Ophis nodded and addressed everyone.
"Now is not the time for explanations. The attack of Lahamu will be handled by the ordinary soldiers. Your responsibility is to slow Tiamat down for eighteen hours. Do you have any questions?"
"Leave it to us!" Ritsuka declared with determination.
She didn't ask Ophis why she wasn't handling it herself.
If the previous battle in the bay were to be transplanted here... Uruk would have exploded outright, right?
"I really can't do anything with you..."
This was, of course, Ishtar.
"Cough cough cough…"
After everyone dispersed, Ophis coughed uncomfortably several times, looked at Tiamat in the distance, and shook her head.
Although she wanted to intervene herself, her body could no longer endure…
Those who wished to leave had already been evacuated, and all necessary preparations had been made. Now, she could only watch as Tiamat approached step by step.
During this time, scorching flames from the sun rained down, and countless giant snakes emerged from the ground.
The continuous attacks slowed Tiamat's advance and damaged her wings, preventing her from flying.
Yet, the Mother Goddess of Creation never ceased her march.
Finally, Tiamat breached the southern wall of Uruk.
Unfortunately, Tiamat showed no intention of retreating and continued advancing toward the Great Temple.
"Sorry, that's the limit."
Ritsuka, looking exhausted, spoke while standing behind Ophis.
Now, besides the Chaldean forces and their servants, only eight temple guards, three troop captains, and one general captain remained alive.
These twelve were strong enough to compete with or surpass second-rate servants.
"Hercules was swallowed by the black mud because he charged too far. Arjuna sacrificed himself to cover the rear. Even Quetzalcoatl fell, and her life or death is unknown... And Anna..."
Ophis glanced back and noticed that the young girl in a black robe, who had been silently following Ritsuka, had vanished. Did she only now realize it?
The young Gorgon and her adult self had perished together, merging to launch a final suicidal attack on Tiamat…
Quetzalcoatl, after fighting Tiamat to the end, had fallen from the sky.
As someone who could see fate, Ophis quickly understood the situation.
She also refrained from questioning why Azhu, an archer, was in charge of the rear guard.
Sorry, if you know how to play Stella, I can provide a more elaborate explanation after a lengthy dialogue.
"Ellie?"
"We're on our way… We'll arrive in three hours, so hold on until then..."
...If you continue to be late, I'm afraid you won't last even half a day and will need to be sent home.
Ophis sighed inwardly, watching the Lahamu break through the defense line and Tiamat's imposing advance. She took a few steps forward with difficulty but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Leave it to us from now on, Master."
Medea said with a reassuring smile.
"Before this, we didn't do much. Mr. Hercules and Mr. Arjuna had already sacrificed their lives..."
Joan of Arc added with a hint of helplessness.
Although skilled in defense, she had no means to counter such overwhelming suppression.
Altera nodded, gripping the Sword of the God of War tightly.
"King, let us fight too."
The four dragon-blooded warriors also stood up with resolute expressions.
Ophis was silent for a moment before nodding.
"I leave it to you."
───────────────────────────────
"The life I was summoned to this time is truly more exciting than I expected."
Medea flew through the sky, gazing at the Lahamu engulfing the entire battle line, and smiled softly.
For Medea, the concepts of protecting human rights and saving mankind were distant. After all, she was just a princess who knew little of the world.
But it was precisely because of this…
"Since you are an innocent princess, it is natural to yearn for a happy ending that only exists in fantasy."
It was the same back then. She accepted the call on impulse. Although the Master didn't pay much attention to her, she had silently contributed her strength.
Perhaps her power was relatively weak compared to other Servants, but…
"Even if I can't see what lies ahead, I'll keep moving forward. Even if I have no one to rely on, I'll keep trying..."
The staff given to her by the goddess Hecate glowed softly as Medea held it high.
"It's too sad that I can't even rest in peace. But I can't help it. I'm an innocent princess who can only accept a happy ending."
"Even the power of a recovery-type Servant cannot be underestimated."
"Let all tragedies return to their origins."
"Pain Breaker!"
Silvery-white stardust burst from the staff, enveloping the entire Uruk.