"You think I'd be scared by a bunch of chains?"
The Herrscher of Sentience didn't even blink. The longsword in her hand instantly morphed into a chain-blade, cleaving a massive gap through the encircling chains with a single sweep. Another flourish cleared a wide-open space around her.
"A strange weapon, but it's over." Kingu's body grew increasingly radiant.
As he watched the Herrscher of Sentience nimbly dodging and weaving within the labyrinth of chains, only one thought consumed him: this threat must be eliminated.
With a violent contraction of magical energy, his entire body transformed into a colossal chain.
Following his transformation, more and more chains swarmed to envelop the Herrscher's figure. The chains, once easily severed, had now become incredibly resilient, each one requiring significant effort to break.
Kingu stole a glance at the group in the distance. Seeing they seemed completely unaware of the situation here, preoccupied with fighting the Lahmu, he finally felt a wave of relief.
"Take your arrogance with you to the underworld."
Having drained every last drop of his magical energy, Kingu didn't hesitate. The massive chain he had become slammed down instantly onto the Herrscher of Sentience.
The Chains of Heaven were fetters capable of binding gods. The higher the divinity, the more terrifying their restraining power. While they couldn't hold a Chief God, binding this Celestial was effortless.
Moreover, the Chains of Heaven, manifested from his Noble Phantasm, possessed not only the power to restrain deities but also a piercing force capable of inflicting massive damage.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, seeing the disbelief in the eyes of that arrogant face, Kingu awaited death, content.
He had no regrets. Neither the resentment from being chased down and beaten by the Phoenix Celestial earlier, nor the powerlessness of failing to protect Gorgon, remained.
It had all vanished, for he had offered his life for the mother he loved, and had slain one of the enemy's highest-tier combatants.
...
...
......
Why...?
"Why aren't I dead? Why does my consciousness remain? Why do I suddenly feel a chill down my spine? Why do I feel fear now, of all times?"
A voice both familiar and strange came from all directions. Though he was a divine puppet, Kingu felt cold sweat drenching him. Though he lacked organs like eyes, he instinctively looked around.
The entire world seemed to have ground to a halt. The Chaos Tide on the ground, the incessantly attacking Lahmu—it was as if a pause button had been hit. Not a single movement, not even a whisper of sound reached him.
What in the world happened!?
That Phoenix Celestial's divinity... didn't I just kill her!?
There's no way she could have survived an attack from the Chains of Heaven!?
"You should know the answer better than anyone, shouldn't you?"
The voice, sounding as if it whispered right by his ear, jolted Kingu from his frantic thoughts. When he regained his senses, all he could see was that everything around him had turned black, and he himself had, at some point, reverted to his original form.
"This... is?" Kingu stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
"Ahahahaha!"
A laughter that shook heaven and earth erupted behind him. He whirled around, and the sight that met his eyes made his already horrified self widen them further.
A Herrscher of Sentience, whose size rivaled even Tiamat's, was looking down at him with a mocking gaze. Judging by her posture and his current perspective... he was resting in the palm of her hand.
"A god? Divinity? Anti-Divinity special attack? All unfavorable situations stem solely from the individual's lack of power."
The Herrscher of Sentience flashed a vibrant, healthy smile. The hand holding Kingu slowly began to close.
Immense pressure brought pain that felt like it would tear his body apart. Kingu felt all the bones in his body shatter in an instant.
His proud self-regeneration showed not a single sign of activating. Right now, he was like a lamb to the slaughter, completely at her mercy.
"Damn you...! A creature like you..! How could I let a creature like you harm Mother!?"
Knowing he had no chance left to turn the tables, Kingu could only scream in despair, "The existence of the old humanity is a mistake from the very start! No matter what, you cannot defeat Mother! Mother, who will reclaim all of civilization and begin anew! She is the indispensable genesis of this world! The Primordial Mother Goddess who gives birth to all creation!"
"Well, isn't that unfortunate."
The Herrscher of Sentience was amused. Her slowly closing hand suddenly clenched tight. "What I'm best at... is overturning all creation."
—A golden light flickered around Kingu. As magical energy continued to converge wildly, his body, unable to withstand the overload, began to gradually petrify into clay. Yet, he continued absorbing mana as if there was no end in sight.
"What is he trying to do?" The group on the shore watched Kingu's actions, frowning in confusion.
"Perhaps he has some last card to play that we don't know about?" Minamoto no Yoshitsune suggested cautiously.
"Impossible," Ishtar denied her guess. "If, as Gilgamesh said, that body belongs to Enkidu, then he should possess no Authority other than the Chains of Heaven. Gathering magical energy incessantly like this can only mean he intends to release a suicidal, all-or-nothing attack in one go. But..."
Why would he do that?
As the Chains of Heaven, why forsake the Chains of Heaven to use such a self-destructive attack?
Authority transcends mere ability. Lower mysteries are greatly diminished against higher ones. No matter how powerful the destructive force of your suicide attack, it isn't an Authority. It simply cannot harm the Herrscher of Sentience, who possesses Divinity.
None of them could understand it.
"It's because his consciousness has already been extinguished," Amber said.
"Consciousness extinguished... like with Ereshkigal?" Ishtar was taken aback for a moment, then understood. "That consciousness-manipulating ability... she can use it too."
Thinking about it, it wasn't really that surprising. Ishtar nodded. "If that's the case, then it makes sense. However... although we've dealt with Kingu, we still have no solution for Tiamat."
Watching Tiamat, who had regained consciousness and was struggling to her feet, Ishtar's expression remained grim.
Amber didn't have any solutions either. If even the Herrscher of Sentience was at a loss, she was even more clueless. She could only turn to look at Ritsuka. "How is Chaldea's data collection coming along?"
"It's mostly finished, but the analysis will take more time..." Ritsuka's face was pale. "The magical energy supplied by King Gilgamesh probably can't sustain us on the front lines for much longer..."
The implication was that they should retreat for now. Rather than staying here accomplishing nothing, it would be better to return and consult with Gilgamesh, see if his Clairvoyance could reveal anything. They could also use the time for Gilgamesh to recover some magical energy and wait for Chaldea's analysis.
Hearing this, the others, having no better ideas, nodded in agreement. Quetzalcoatl called over a few Wyverns to carry everyone back.
Seeing the Herrscher of Sentience in the distance, who had just hit Tiamat with another Sword God blast, Amber sent a mental message: "Little Senti, hold off Tiamat there for now. We're heading back to discuss strategy."
"Ha?" The Herrscher of Sentience was utterly exasperated.
She had annihilated Kingu in seconds, and fighting Tiamat was nothing like she'd imagined.
This creature was just an unkillable meat mountain. Normal attacks were useless, and the Sword God blast just knocked her out cold.
She was the only one putting in any effort here, going back and forth. It was unbelievably boring, okay?
She wasn't Fu Hua; she didn't have that much patience.
But Amber didn't wait for her response, simply leaving with the others. All her pent-up energy had nowhere to go, leaving her feeling intensely frustrated.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.