Unlike Ophis, who had already finished assessing the situation, Enkidu remained lost in thought, failing to react to the sudden roar.
Fortunately, Ophis had been watching her closely and immediately noticed something wrong.
In a swift motion, she stepped in front of Enkidu, condensing her mental power and energy into a shield that deflected the oncoming shockwave and the uprooted trees carried with it.
"Ah…"
Only then did Enkidu snap out of her reverie.
"Enkidu, distracted," Ophis said flatly.
"Haha…"
In truth, Enkidu's slow reaction came partly from deep contemplation—but also because an attack of that level posed no real threat.
Even if it had hit her directly, the worst result would have been mild embarrassment and a negligible injury—nothing serious.
Still, Ophis had gone out of her way to block it carefully.
As expected, she really is such a kind child…
Enkidu wanted to smile at her, but there was no time.
That thing had already appeared.
It wasn't particularly large—about the size of an especially big lion—but for Ophis, whose attacks lacked precision, that was hardly good news.
By her conservative estimate, if the creature proved both agile and resilient, defeating it would require destruction across dozens of kilometers—and 99% of that would be collateral damage.
It had the horns of a bull, the torso of a lion, eagle-like hind claws, and a serpent for a tail. Dark red light flickered ominously in its hollow eye sockets.
Perhaps it could even be called the oldest Chimera in existence.
Most striking were the seven ribbons of rainbow light coiling gracefully around its body like Suicune's ribbons—each corresponding to one of the seven colors of the spectrum.
But Ophis paid little attention to the grotesque creature. Instead, she turned to glance at Enkidu, who met her gaze with steady determination before slowly stepping toward the Divine Beast—Humbaba.
"Humbaba, you…"
"ROOOAAARRRR—!"
Enkidu had barely begun speaking when Humbaba answered with a blast of fire.
Though it was only a single fireball, Enkidu didn't dare take it head-on.
Humbaba's true power wasn't in causing natural disasters, but in her poison.
It wasn't a typical venom, but a toxin capable of corrupting nature itself. The disasters plaguing Uruk were merely symptoms of its spread.
That was Humbaba's real strength—and Enkidu's very being was one with the earth, an incarnation of nature itself.
If even a trace of that poison had mixed into the flames, a mere graze could inflict tremendous harm.
"Enkidu."
Before she could leap away, Enkidu felt someone tug lightly at the back of her clothes.
"Wait, Ophis, let me talk to her first—"
"Not talking about that."
Ophis pointed directly at the beast.
"No rationality, in her eyes."
"Eh?"
Enkidu froze, following Ophis's finger and focusing on Humbaba.
Dark crimson eyes, brimming with madness and savagery—Enkidu recognized that look.
It was the same expression she had once seen reflected back at her in the water long ago.
"Why?" she whispered, stunned.
When they used to play together, Humbaba had shown flashes of violence, but only when other creatures intruded on her territory.
At heart, Humbaba had been rational and intelligent, fond of flowers and small animals—a girl at heart, really.
Never before had Enkidu seen her friend consumed by such mindless fury.
A violent wave of energy burst forth, driving back the charging beast.
"Enkidu."
Ophis stepped forward again, half-turning toward the green-haired girl.
"Enkidu, have you made up your mind?"
This time, her eyes no longer carried their usual distant calm—they burned with determination.
Ophis was serious now.
Not all dragons possessed special combat abilities, but every dragon's blood was tuned for battle, allowing them to adapt swiftly to most fights.
Ophis was no exception. Once engaged, she absorbed and integrated combat knowledge instantly, making rapid, precise decisions to match the situation.
When she grew serious, she was no longer the confused girl who needed Enkidu's guidance—but the Infinite Dragon, Ophis.
Seeing Enkidu's conflicted expression, Ophis quietly turned back toward Humbaba.
"I'll hold off this beast for Enkidu."
She deflected another fiery blast with a psychic barrier, speaking calmly.
"So… Enkidu, think it through slowly."
Raising one hand, several magic circles formed around her, swiftly gathering mana before firing beams of brilliant violet energy toward the Divine Beast.
───BOOOOOMMM
The blasts struck the ground, erupting in violet light and dust that shrouded the field.
"ROOAAARRRR───!"
Above, huh…
Ophis tilted the still-active magic circles skyward, releasing a faster volley of slightly weaker blasts.
"ROOAAAAAARRRR───!!"
Flying upward without natural wings might have looked absurd, but in this world, sheer power could mock physics itself. Still, with Ophis's beams cutting off its escape routes, Humbaba's movement proved too slow; one beam grazed its side.
Yet…
Though it roared furiously, it seemed almost unhurt.
High resistance to energy attacks, then.
Ophis concluded this instantly.
Such an opponent was troublesome for her—dealing real damage would require focused, high-density energy strikes that were hard to aim precisely.
If she relied only on energy attacks, as she'd first planned, the result wouldn't be dozens of kilometers of destruction—but it would still devastate the surrounding environment.
Glancing back at Enkidu, Ophis drew two sharp daggers of different designs from her storage space.
By Servant standards, perhaps C-Rank Noble Phantasms.
No need to kill—stalling would be enough.
Predicting Humbaba's landing point, Ophis hurled both daggers, then immediately drew two C-Rank longswords and launched herself forward, mana surging under her feet.
At the same time, more violet beams shot forth.
But Ophis had slightly underestimated Humbaba's combat sense.
The daggers, timed to strike just before the beast landed, were casually batted aside by its lion-like foreclaws, exploding in harmless bursts—though the disruption had been Ophis's intent all along.
Even so, Humbaba's thick fur absorbed the shock with ease. Unharmed, she countered with a torrent of flame—not a simple fireball this time, but a blazing spear that pierced the air with terrifying force.
Midway through their path, the central beam collided with the flame spear, detonating in a violent explosion.
The rest of Ophis's beams scattered from the blast.
In that instant, Humbaba broke through the barrage, lunging straight for Ophis—who met her head-on.
Just before impact, Humbaba drove her foreclaws into the ground, twisting her body with the momentum. Her eagle-like hind claws slashed upward toward Ophis.
Compared to her tearing foreclaws, those gripping talons were far more dangerous.
Ophis realized this immediately and dodged instead of blocking. She sprang back, slicing through Humbaba's lashing serpent tail.
Her retreat was deliberate—to guard against the venom.
Physical wounds meant little to Ophis, but poison was another matter. It wasn't a risk she'd ignore, however slim.
After all, hadn't she once been ambushed by that thing known as "God's poison"? Curse or not, the memory lingered.
Thus, Ophis abandoned her brute-force advantage, shifting to a swift, evasive fighting style.
Humbaba spun around, slashing again with her other foreclaw.
Ophis ducked low, crossing her twin swords to counter—but her blades locked against Humbaba's bull horn.
Just as she prepared to disengage, something unexpected happened.
Humbaba suddenly thrust her horn violently, forcing Ophis back—exactly as she'd intended—but then, the rainbow-like ribbons that had seemed merely decorative flared to life, releasing countless projectiles.
They pierced Ophis's heart and shattered her skull in an instant.
Her body was riddled with weapons, leaving almost nothing recognizable.
Humbaba roared in triumph, raising her claws to shred what little remained—
But before she could, countless chains burst from the void, binding her in place.
"OPHIS!!!"
Enkidu's cry rang out—raw, furious, and filled with grief.
---
T/N: A CASTER USING FUCKING SWORDS??? no wonder you got your head blown off :sob: its okay her body is just an avatar