[FMMISM] Chapter 79: Beast VI vs King of Heroes (II)

At this moment, Ea in Gilgamesh's hand began to spin at high speed.

Its eerie movement was akin to the shifting of the earth's crust, just as its name suggested—the sword that split the world apart.

Whoosh!

Gilgamesh raised his arm high over his head, accompanied by the roaring sounds of an ethereal hurricane.

Ea kept accelerating, drawing out more and more magical energy.

'Beast… Maybe you think of yourself as an invincible existence. But can your crowns truly affect my Ea with similar properties?!'

For the first time encountering an opponent on par with, or even surpassing Ea, Gilgamesh's chest filled with enthusiasm.

"Go ahead and try to destroy my Ea!" Gilgamesh roared proudly. "Hmph, this is the kind of opponent worthy of you!"

Everyone who watched stared in awe at the galaxy-like void above the tip of Gilgamesh's sword.

At this moment, the air twisted and scattered, and the laws of physics were on the verge of collapse.

What kind of Noble Phantasm could achieve such a feat?

Obviously, the answer was an EX-rank Anti-World Noble Phantasm.

Before the crumbling world, the spectators immediately understood the scale of the King of Heroes' Noble Phantasm.

Finally, last but not least, who was the boy capable of making the arrogant King of Heroes go all out?

Clearly, the spectators were puzzled.

Currently, the heroes and mages forgot to breathe and blink, silently waiting for the battle's outcome.

Rumble—

As the sky and earth were torn apart, Ea, tightly gripped by Gilgamesh, was aimed at the boy, creating a terrifying crimson vortex, ready to be unleashed.

"Watch closely, Evil of Humanity! This is the star of creation that split heaven and earth!"

"Enuma Elish—!"

However, just as the world was about to be shattered by the supreme sword, Ragna suddenly stepped forward and appeared in front of Gilgamesh.

He attacked Gilgamesh, targeting not the body but the arm holding Ea.

Pu-chi!

With a flash of golden light, Gilgamesh's arm, along with the roaring Ea, was sent flying.

In an instant, the air fell silent as if time had stopped.

Thud

Gilgamesh's arm, along with Ea, fell lightly to the ground, spilling blood everywhere.

In the next second, the torn sky and earth, and the myriad phenomena in the Einzbern Castle, stabilized.

"?!"

Gilgamesh's full-force attack was forcibly ended before it could be unleashed, leaving everyone feeling both relieved and disappointed.

Severing Gilgamesh's arm that held Ea was undoubtedly due to Ragna's agility and cleverness. However, what puzzled them was how the already unleashed Noble Phantasm had been stopped.

Since the true name of the Noble Phantasm had already been invoked, its release should not have been interrupted even if the arm was cut off.

In search of answers, everyone looked at the dagger in Ragna's hand, the one that had severed the King of Heroes' arm.

Aside from its beautiful golden color, what they saw was just an unremarkable dagger.

"Hmm, it's undoubtedly a good sword, but its user is unfortunately a bit weak."

Ragna remarked calmly as he wiped the blood off the golden dagger.

"Train for another ten years and then come challenge me, King of Heroes."

"Bastard..."

Gilgamesh stared in disbelief at the boy who had effortlessly neutralized his most powerful attack.

He truly felt a tremendous sense of humiliation from Ragna's actions.

It was both humiliating and helpless.

It wasn't that he felt humiliated because a Beast had harmed his body, but rather, if he had been defeated by the Beast's power, he would have faced the outcome with a detached smile, accepting it as a natural thing.

Being aloof did not mean being foolish.

It was precisely because he was the most supreme king that he understood more than anyone that there were things in this world that were simply unavoidable.

For example, his only friend, whose life was taken by the gods.

For example, the herb of immortality, which was lost after enduring countless hardships.

For example, humanity's ultimate inability to defeat Beasts.

Gilgamesh could accept these things.

What humiliated him was that the Beast did not choose to fight him with his own power but instead used a mere dagger that wasn't even considered a Noble Phantasm.

After all, the plain-looking golden dagger that severed his arm was familiar to him, since the prototype of this dagger was actually stored in the Gate of Babylon.

It was none other than Morgan's dagger, called 'Erosion'.

Furthermore, it couldn't be called a Noble Phantasm but was merely a Mystic Code. Its only effect was to cut through flesh and also to penetrate the gaps between flesh, mind, and soul.

Just now, Ragna had used Erosion to penetrate Gilgamesh's Saint Graph, severing his connection with Ea.

In gaming terms, he had forcibly unbound Ea, which was equipped by an account named Gilgamesh.

After all, Ea was a Divine Construct symbolizing both the beginning and the end, and it could be wielded only by Gilgamesh.

Yet, Ragna had turned this to his advantage.

By severing Ea's connection with Gilgamesh, he forcibly halted the release of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm, 'Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth'.

Precisely because of this, the fact that Ragna did not use his Beast's power in a great battle filled Gilgamesh with immense humiliation.

However, where did Gilgamesh's sense of helplessness come from?

Obviously, it was from Ragna's remark from earlier.

"Hmm, it's undoubtedly a good sword, but its user is unfortunately a bit weak."

In fact, his remark, which seemed full of mockery, was actually advice, evident by how he defeated Gilgamesh's strongest Noble Phantasm with nothing more than a dagger.

Although his arm had been severed, Gilgamesh remained unmoved, standing there with an unchanging expression.

Nevertheless, the majestic aura from before was gone.

"Gilgamesh, I'll hold onto this for you for now. Just temporarily, okay?"

As Ragna walked past the defeated Gilgamesh, he spoke with the same casual tone a parent might use when promising to keep a child's New Year's money safe until later.

Ignoring everyone around him, Ragna picked up the fallen Ea from the ground and examined it closely.

'Indeed, it was the pinnacle of all Noble Phantasm, the Sword of Rupture, Ea! Awesome!'

While maintaining his composed demeanor on the outside, Ragna silently cheered with excitement in his heart.

Ea’s overwhelming sense of weight, conveyed through his palm, was nothing short of astonishing. Moreover, its cold, golden hilt felt as though it contained the core of a planet, radiating intense heat.

After a while, Ragna turned and aimed Ea at Gilgamesh's head, his face serious.

"King of Heroes, you asked Iskandar the same thing at the banquet, didn't you? You said you wouldn't mind sharing your own Holy Grail with him if he joined your side."

"Now it's my turn to ask you."

“If you join my side, I’ll return Ea to you. On top of that, I can even give you the Holy Grail... What do you say?”

Upon hearing this, Gilgamesh snorted.

"Hmph, foolish question... Don't make me laugh, clown."

Gilgamesh's sweat-drenched mouth curled into a smirk as he glared at Ragna's hand gripping Ea.

"You heard my declaration earlier, didn't you? Any mongrel who dares touch my treasures shall pay with their life."

He paid no mind to his severed arm and coldly opened the Gate of Babylon.

Soon, countless weapons appeared from the golden ripples, all pointed menacingly at Ragna.

Seeing this, the spectators in the courtyard held their breath.

They understood the immense gap in strength between Gilgamesh and Ragna. Yet, despite the clear gap, Gilgamesh was still making a move tantamount to suicide.

Arrogant and reckless, some might think, but most people, deep down, felt a tinge of respect for him. Even when pushed to the brink and stripped of his pride, the King of Heroes remained a hero, never beneath anyone.

"…I understand."

Ragna nodded quickly as if he had already known the answer from the beginning.

In truth, if Gilgamesh had truly submitted to him, Ragna would have killed him without a second thought. Conversely, since Gilgamesh chose to remain proud until the end, Ragna would grant him a fitting and grand defeat.

With murderous intent, Ragna raised Ea, shaking the space around him.

"Be prepared to drown beneath the primordial waves, King of Heroes."