"OPHIS!!!"
Enkidu darted forward, catching what was left of Ophis's shattered body.
But then she realized—there was no blood. Around each wound, bright violet motes shimmered into being, slowly knitting Ophis back together.
Suddenly, Ophis's newly restored left hand shoved Enkidu aside, the motion bringing her arm up just in time to block an attack.
"!?"
Enkidu spun around in alarm—just in time to see Humbaba's serpent tail, the only part not bound by her chains, sink its fangs into Ophis's arm.
"Ophis!"
Enkidu rushed forward again, but Ophis, using her reformed right hand, pulled Enkidu behind her. She drew another sword, sliced through the serpent tail, and hurled the blade straight at Humbaba before leaping back with Enkidu in tow.
───BOOOOOOOMMM
The primed magic cannons unleashed a full saturation barrage on the immobilized beast.
"Ophis—are you okay?"
At last, Enkidu found the chance to ask, her voice tight with worry.
Everything had happened too fast. By the time she'd processed it, Ophis's body had already been riddled with holes.
It was partly her fault—her shaken heart had dulled her reaction.
Ophis glanced down at the bite mark on her hand where the skin had turned black, then shook her head.
"I'm fine."
Dragons weren't born but happened—phenomena rather than creatures. And though most were not truly natural beings, Ophis, born from the Dimensional Gap, was even less so. The toxin's effect on her was negligible.
Only the lingering numbness might slightly hinder her movements.
After a brief pause, Ophis tilted her head, then calmly drew her sword again and severed the bitten arm. Violet motes gathered at the stump, slowly regenerating it.
"Uh…"
Even Enkidu blinked at Ophis's blunt solution.
Though, to be fair, her own mud-formed body often required similar "maintenance."
"But even after being hit like that, Ophis can still recover… amazing…"
Wiping cold sweat from her brow, Enkidu spoke in awe.
"Mm. Because I am Infinity."
Reshaping her robe of pure energy, Ophis subtly touched her side—where Enkidu couldn't see.
Only that wound still refused to close completely.
───Infinitesimal, but there—a flaw in her Infinity.
And Ophis knew the reason.
A Noble Phantasm with an anti-dragon effect.
Fortunately, her opponent, while sharp in battle, lacked the intellect to grasp her true nature.
Otherwise, if every one of those weapons had carried the same dragon-slaying attribute… she wouldn't have died, but the fight would already be over.
Would it have been faster just to let herself die once and regenerate?
Careless, she scolded herself.
She had assumed her foe's powers were limited to what she'd seen—an error born of inexperience.
In truth, Ophis had never fought a battle on a genuine life-or-death premise.
Her matches with Enkidu—calling them "fights" was generous. They were more like play. Neither had ever gone all out.
But experience always had to be earned.
Fortunately, as the Ouroboros, she had far more margin for error than most beings.
"ROOOAAARRRR—!"
As expected of a creature with immense energy resistance—it had already recovered from the bombardment. But this time, instead of charging, the beast landed heavily and took several steps back.
At almost the same instant, three spears burst from the ground where Humbaba should have landed.
Enkidu's face was cast in shadow as she stepped forward, placing herself in front of Ophis.
Even the beast, stripped down to raw animal instinct, flinched at the sight of her expression.
───No. It was precisely because it had only instinct left that it sensed that primal dread.
And yet, a moment later, Enkidu's expression softened, and she sighed.
The sight of Ophis wounded had stoked a furnace of rage within her—but she forced it down.
The monster before her—Humbaba—was still her friend.
But…
Enkidu's gaze grew heavy with emotion.
She herself had once evolved from a creature of pure instinct into a being of reason. More than anyone, she understood the tragedy of losing one's mind.
And now she could see it clearly: this wasn't reason being suppressed by instinct. There was no reason left at all.
In this state, there was no bringing her back.
I don't know why this happened…
At least, let me set you free.
"Ophis, help me."
With a faint, sorrowful smile, Enkidu turned to her companion.
Ophis met that look and nodded silently.
When Enkidu faced forward again, her expression hardened to stone.
Without a single wasted motion, Humbaba suddenly lunged, dodging several chains that burst from the soil.
Enkidu raised her hand, and a wall of earth surged up behind her, condensing into countless weapons that launched forward.
As expected, Humbaba retaliated—its seven rainbow ribbons unleashed a volley of spectral weapons. The two barrages collided midair, detonating in a rapid chain of explosions.
Then, in an instant, Enkidu appeared before the beast, her hand shaped like a blade as she slashed upward. Humbaba reacted—but too late. Its right eye split open.
"ROOOAAARRRR—!"
The enraged beast roared, but Enkidu didn't stop. She lifted her leg high and brought it crashing down like a hammer.
BOOOOOM!!!
Humbaba was driven from the sky, slamming into the ground with earth-shaking force.
───[Transfiguration].
That was the name of Enkidu's skill.
It went beyond simple shapeshifting—it allowed her to freely redistribute her own stats.
She could abandon defense for offense, sacrifice durability for speed, or pour everything into a single attribute.
There were limits, bound by her maximum potential, but she could still double a chosen stat for a short time.
Just now, she had channeled everything into speed to close the distance and land a single blow—then instantly shifted it all into power for the follow-up strike.
The beast had made the same mistake as Ophis. Because Enkidu had remained passive for so long, it had underestimated her—and never imagined she could reconfigure her attributes. It paid dearly for that.
As Humbaba crashed into the ground, countless chains erupted around it, coiling tight.
"Ophis!"
Enkidu didn't even need to shout. Above them, more than twenty violet magic circles had already formed, each glowing with terrifying energy.
The moment the beast was fully restrained, Ophis unleashed everything she had stored until now.
Over twenty beams merged into a single torrent of violet destruction, crashing down to swallow Humbaba whole.
Enkidu landed beside Ophis, raising another wall of earth in front of them.
A heartbeat later, the aftershock struck—
Fierce winds tore through the clearing, scouring the forest for hundreds of meters around.