"Leave this to me, Castorice. Don't look back—just run straight for the northern wall."
She gripped her longsword, eyes fixed warily on the Gorgon, speaking to Castorice behind her without turning her head.
"She can't kill me. I can protect myself."
Castorice shook her head gently in response to Ushiwakamaru's words.
"Now isn't the time for recklessness, Miss Castorice. I am a Servant, but you are not. If you die, it's final."
With a sweep of her blade, Ushiwakamaru severed a serpentine lock of hair.
"But if you return to the Throne of Heroes, you'll lose your memories. If even memories are lost, then that is no different from death."
Castorice shook her head again, softly.
"She possesses Divinity, and those Mystic Eyes of hers... you can't possibly defeat her alone. We'll withdraw once Merlin has gone."
Castorice knew that if she left, Ushiwakamaru would surely fall to the Gorgon.
Even if Ushiwamaru's speed could pose a serious nuisance, it was only that—a nuisance.
If the Gorgon got serious, Ushiwakamaru would be defeated in an instant.
Castorice had no desire to cross blades with Ushiwakamaru in the future—a blackened Ushiwakamaru would be far too troublesome.
Besides, on a personal level, Castorice was quite fond of her. She didn't want her story to end so abruptly.
"Miss Castorice... Very well. If that's the case, let us fight side by side! Be careful—I'll provide cover."
So saying, Ushiwakamaru charged forward, blade at the ready.
"Annoying insects."
Ushiwakamaru was incredibly fast—so fast that even the Gorgon couldn't easily finish her off. And Castorice's attacks, in turn, could deal significant damage to the Gorgon.
On the surface, it seemed Ushiwakamaru was keeping the enemy tied up with her high-speed maneuvers, but in truth, she could only manage to restrain the Gorgon's serpentine hair.
Harming the Gorgon herself was far more difficult. Castorice, however, was different. Though she had fewer openings to strike, every time she did, she left deep wounds on the Gorgon's body.
Her scythe could even scar the flesh of a god.
After all, the Divinity of this world held no power over Castorice, an outsider.
She existed truly outside its rules—none of this world's common laws had any effect on her.
That was also why Castorice was confident that if she obtained the Coreflame and became a demigod, she would gain the power to defeat Tiamat.
"I grow weary of this. Annoying insects deserve to be crushed underfoot!"
After an initially uncoordinated start, Castorice and Ushiwakamaru's teamwork grew steadily more seamless.
Fighting as they retreated, they harried the Gorgon all the way until Merlin and Ana safely reached the fortress walls. It was at that moment a look of impatience finally surfaced on the Gorgon's face.
She eyed the two of them coldly and let out a disdainful snort.
Thanks to Castorice's earlier warning, Ushiwakamaru had kept moving, never recklessly pressing the attack even when the Gorgon seemed to leave an opening.
She didn't know why Castorice had warned her so, but she obeyed nonetheless.
As a warrior, she knew how to follow orders—even if Castorice was not her true master.
Several times during the battle, Ushiwakamaru had seen chances to strike the Gorgon's eyes and deal a severe blow, but each time she held back, heeding Castorice's words to focus on evasion and survival.
It was precisely this discipline that made the Gorgon increasingly furious.
"Look out!"
In that split second, Castorice called to Ushiwakamaru, "Don't meet her gaze!"
And in that same moment, a bewitching light glowed from the Gorgon's eyes, a violet radiance shimmering within them.
But this was the moment the Gorgon had been waiting for.
Her Mystic Eyes would only petrify those who met her gaze directly, but even without eye contact, they could stun her foes for an instant.
It was a brief effect, but the Gorgon seized sharply on that momentary freeze from both Castorice and Ushiwakamaru.
In battles among divinities, a single instant could decide victory or defeat.
Now, with both Castorice and Ushiwakamaru momentarily stunned, the Gorgon could choose which of the two to attack.
She didn't hesitate—her massive tail swung viciously toward Castorice.
Compared to Ushiwakamaru, Castorice had drawn far more of the Gorgon's hatred.
If Ushiwakamaru was a bothersome yet harmless fly, then Castorice was a wild beast with sharp claws—one that could truly hurt her.
In an instant, Castorice took the heavy blow and was sent flying backward.
"Miss Castorice!"
Seeing this, Ushiwakamaru panicked and rushed toward where Castorice had landed.
A divine strike was no small matter—especially one delivered with killing intent. Even a god of the same rank would have been severely wounded by that blow, let alone Castorice.
Though Castorice was powerful, her physical resilience was nowhere near that of a deity.
Ushiwakamaru dreaded to imagine what state Castorice's body must be in after taking a god's full-power, enraged strike head-on.
But when she dug Castorice out of the rubble, she found her completely unharmed, save for a few streaks of blood at the corner of her lips and on her clothes.
"You're... unharmed? Thank goodness, truly thank goodness."
Ushiwakamaru was so relieved she nearly wept.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Castorice shook her head, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
That strike should have gravely injured her, but at the critical moment, an inexplicable surge of vitality had flooded her body.
Though she was reluctant to admit it, the touch-of-death ability she carried was indeed a blessing born of death itself.
Beyond granting death to her enemies, Castorice's power also allowed her to reject death.
That was the real reason she had been confident to stay and aid Ushiwakamaru—no matter what, she could not be killed in a single blow.
"Quite the stubborn vitality, you wretched little insect. No matter—I've had enough of playing with you."
Seeing Castorice appear before her completely unscathed, the Gorgon decided not to continue the fight. During their running battle, the group had drawn close to Uruk.
By now, the Gorgon could no longer be bothered to keep tangling with Castorice. She intended to summon the demonic beasts and destroy Uruk outright.
But just then, Enkidu appeared before her, blocking her path.
"Please wait, Mother. Aren't you being too hasty? For us, capturing Uruk is only one step. The true problem we face is not humanity, but the other goddesses, is it not? Whichever goddess conquers Uruk, our alliance will shatter."
"The second generation of demonic beasts is being prepared for the battles to come. Until the hundred thousand children waiting to be born in the Blood Fort are brought into this world, we must maintain the alliance of the three goddesses.
And besides..."
Enkidu's indifferent gaze fell upon the people below.
"...Let humanity suffer slowly. The beasts had their lands stolen by humans, their children taken, their mothers persecuted—and humanity has forgotten all of it."
Hearing Enkidu's counsel, the Gorgon nodded and agreed to the proposal.
"You should be grateful for my child's magnanimity, humans. But your fate remains unchanged—annihilation. Ten dawns from today, I will destroy Uruk. Do not forget."
With a cold laugh, the Gorgon vanished from sight.
Watching her finally depart, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Castorice wasn't surprised by this outcome. To allow the true Tiamat to break free, Enkidu would never let the Gorgon destroy Uruk at this stage. And Castorice, too, needed time—time to verify one certain thing.
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T/N: You know, even though the writing is noticeably lazier than the gacha fic, its pretty entertaining in its own way.
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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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.