IBHJ Chapter 931

Enkidu couldn't move from her position. As an existence created to counter Gilgamesh, she understood this fact rationally and comprehended the gravity of the situation.

Shirou nodded, took a step, and leaped past Tiamat, sprinting towards the throne behind her.

"Don't you dare!" Tiamat shouted in alarm. She had seen through his plan. She could accept defeat, but not such a dishonorable loss.

However, as soon as Tiamat moved, Enkidu tightened the Chains of Heaven. The chains scraped against her hands, producing a nasty grinding noise. Once shiny silver, the chains were now stained with Enkidu's blood from how hard she was trying to stop Tiamat. Every muscle in her body was shaking, her face twisted in pain. When Tiamat tried to move, a huge blast of power rocked the whole place, almost knocking her off her feet. But Enkidu didn't budge, holding on tight like a bull of heaven.

"Ugh—!"

Tiamat was restrained. She had made a grave error: underestimating Shirou's abilities and his importance in this fight.

There was a chasm between humans and gods, but Shirou's long journey, filled with deadly adventures and encounters, had forged him into something more. He had bridged that gap. Now, even the Goddess of Beginning was restrained because of him. Thanks to Shirou's Rune of Wisdom, Enkidu was able to bind Tiamat with the Chains of Heaven. But unfortunately, even the Chains of Heaven couldn't restrain the complexities of human nature.

As Shirou sprinted past Tiamat towards her throne, the more single-minded adventurers continued their furious assault. But those with more cunning minds began to harbor ulterior motives. Many subtly toned down their attacks, their feet shuffling slowly towards the throne.

What Shirou and Enkidu had figured out, others had as well. While they didn't understand the situation as thoroughly due to the lack of information, one thing was clear: there was a powerful item in this dungeon, and Shirou was bypassing Tiamat to get it.

In this world, equipment and items were everything. Their importance was no less than the significance of capital in the real world.

In reality, people would do anything for money. In this world, adventurers would do anything for items and equipment.

Most importantly, what did it matter if one person went missing? Even with one less adventurer, their attacks, enhanced by the Rune of Wisdom, could still suppress Tiamat.

Unfortunately, there wasn't just one clever person in the group, and this idea wasn't unique to one adventurer.

Several people slacked off, causing a significant decrease in the intensity of their attacks.

Tiamat felt the previously painful assaults become noticeably weaker. She clenched her fists and, summoning all her strength, shattered the chains with an explosive, thunderous boom, sending fragments flying in all directions.

"How is this possible...!?"

Everyone stared at the freed Tiamat in shock.

Tiamat glanced at the crowd, turned, and prepared to chase after Shirou. But the broken chains quickly gathered, forming a large circle to bind her again.

"The same trick won't work twice, child," Tiamat said. With a graceful leap, she evaded the encircling chains.

This is bad! Enkidu's heart sank. Once Tiamat escaped the encirclement, the Chains of Heaven could no longer hold her. Shirou, who was already behind the throne, would be in danger!

But then—

"Boom!"

A massive pillar of magical energy descended from the sky, striking Tiamat on the head. Caught off guard, she was knocked back into the circle of chains.

"You mongrels, if you dare to move again, I'll kill you first!"

A cold voice rang out. Everyone turned to see Gilgamesh, enveloped in six orbs of magical energy, streaking towards them like a comet.

"Gil!" Enkidu shouted joyfully.

"I shook off that woman. Keep Tiamat restrained, Enkidu. And listen up, adventurers. After this battle, I will reward you handsomely. But if anyone slacks off again, Morrigan, you have my permission to kill them on the spot! Vermin should be exterminated before they start to stink!"

His chilling words sent a shiver through the gloomy battlefield. There was no doubt Gilgamesh meant business. With that, he zipped past Tiamat, heading deeper into the dungeon.

"Damn it. I'm not your subject, why should I listen to you?" Morrigan muttered through gritted teeth. But to resolve this situation, she had to temporarily comply with Gilgamesh's orders.

The adventurers gulped, their eyes darting between Gilgamesh's retreating figure and Morrigan's watchful gaze. The promise of rewards outweighed their selfish ambitions, and they reluctantly focused on suppressing Tiamat.

Tiamat: "..."

Even Tiamat, in this predicament, couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety. She glanced desperately beyond the crowd, hoping for Ishtar to come to her aid.

But there was nothing.

Only the cold wind, the black mud beneath her, the Chains of Heaven binding her, and the relentless attacks of the adventurers.

Ishtar, what are you doing?

...

"So this is how this place is designed," Shirou mused.

Beyond Tiamat, he found himself in a labyrinth of tangled roots and winding passages. Both he and Enkidu had been mistaken. This wasn't the dungeon's end, but the interior of the Heaven's Corpse. However, relying on the Rune of Wisdom and the instincts from Artoria's records, he managed to locate the hidden passage to the divine fragments. Not only that, he also found the path to the core of the Heaven's Corpse.

If he could obtain the fragments and destroy the core, it wouldn't kill the Heaven's Corpse, but it would cause it to physically collapse. With this plan in mind, he was about to enter the passage when a shout came from behind him.

"That thing is mine, Fujimaru Shirou!"

Intense heat washed over him as he quickly dodged to the side. A beam of light whizzed past, shattering the nearby stone wall.

He turned to see Gilgamesh rapidly approaching.

Was I seen through? He raised an eyebrow. It was possible. Since he had used the Rune of Wisdom, Gilgamesh must have seen the runes on the Chains of Heaven. And after the god-king Odin, the only ones who could wield the Rune of Wisdom, besides Shirou, were Skadi, the only goddess in the Scandinavian Connection Point.

"Gil..." he frowned.

"That thing is mine!" Gilgamesh shouted.

Shirou, armed with the Rune of Wisdom and the black mud, was a valuable asset to any player. Logically, Gilgamesh should have cooperated with him. Yet, he stubbornly insisted on claiming all the divine fragments for himself.

But Shirou understood the reason behind Gilgamesh's actions.

It all boiled down to the entry barrier.

Like a business, having money, technology, and customers doesn't automatically make it a company. The entry barrier to become a company is a license. Without it, no matter how much money one has, they're still just an individual.

Similarly, the entry barrier to the Holy Land was level 9. Without reaching that level, one couldn't enter the Holy Land, and Shirou didn't have enough time to rush to level 9. Therefore, even if it meant turning against Shirou, Gilgamesh absolutely had to seize the God Brain and the other divine fragments.

"That won't do. The divine fragments are mine." Shirou said seriously.

The God Brain and the divine fragments were crucial to completing the main quest, which in turn was the key to returning to Chaldea with Mordred. This was non-negotiable.

Although Gilgamesh seemed to be working towards the main quest for some reason, could Shirou simply hand over everything to him? From a purely logical standpoint, giving Gilgamesh the God Brain and the fragments, and trusting him to complete this main quest, would be the optimal choice. But the best choice wasn't always the most beneficial one.

Giving up the God Brain and the fragments meant losing initiative!

And losing initiative meant that no matter what happened, any accidents or outcomes, he would be forced to passively accept the result.

Just like in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and just like being dragged into endless conflicts spanning millions of years... Shirou, having experienced so much, knew all too well the consequences of losing control.

If Mordred wasn't in this Connection Point, Shirou might have been willing to relinquish control and choose the seemingly best option of giving everything to Gilgamesh. But with Mordred here, he absolutely could not give up the initiative.

Was this selfish? Foolish? Perhaps, but it was the only choice he could make.

Shirou took a deep breath and said, "It seems we'll have to fight."