IBHJ Chapter 928

With a resounding boom, Tiamat erupted with a terrifying display of divine will. Immense magical energy blazed around her like a raging inferno, generating a fierce wind pressure that sliced through space, stripping away the clinging mud from her body and blowing it away like scattered leaves.

As the smoke cleared, her elegant figure was revealed once more, unblemished and radiating an aura of power.

"You actually wanted to control me with that power..." Tiamat glanced at the scattered mud fragments, then tilted her head, a look of confusion clouding her normally calm face. "When you inherited the legacy, did no one tell you? Although I was one of the seven Evils of Humanity, that kind of thing is useless against me."

The corrosion of the Dark Vortex was useless against Tiamat? What was going on? he gritted his teeth, the feeling of uncertainty gnawing at him. But her words hinted at a connection between his vortex, the dark vortex, and Tiamat herself. It all pointed to Waver's theory: a possible prehistoric civilization that had achieved space travel before its demise.

After a pause, she looked at him thoughtfully. "But it's understandable. You don't even know how to use the legacy, so she probably didn't tell you about this trivial matter. However, you've made me recall some unpleasant things. You're really not cute, child. So, die."

Tiamat extended her palm, and the planets orbiting her glowed with a menacing light, firing nine simultaneous beams towards him. Each beam was a concentrated blast of pure energy, capable of obliterating anything in its path.

He quickly gathered the scattered fragments of Evil Blossom, forming a thick black shield that pulsed with an ominous energy. The beams slammed into the shield, causing it to crack and splinter under the immense pressure. With a series of deafening cracks, the shield shattered and disappeared, its fragments dissipating into the air. However, it had successfully fulfilled its purpose, blocking Tiamat's attack and protecting him from harm.

"...Your shield is quite hard, child," Tiamat said with a hint of displeasure.

If it wasn't, he thought wryly, I wouldn't be standing here.

But this confirmed that Evil Blossom had no effect on Tiamat. Its core was the unparalleled corrosive power of the dark vortex, capable of corrupting Noble Phantasms, Heroic Spirits, even gods. Yet, it couldn't affect Tiamat.

"Attack!" Enkidu's battle cry echoed through the battlefield as the adventurers, seizing the opportunity Shirou had bought them, launched another desperate assault on Tiamat. A symphony of clashing steel and shimmering spells filled the air as they threw everything they had at Tiamat.

-21

-334

-194

Damage numbers flashed above Tiamat's head, a testament to the adventurers' hard efforts. But the numbers were pitifully small, barely scratching the surface of her immense health bar.

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Tiamat commanded the nine planets orbiting around her, transforming them into weapons of destruction, and unleashed a torrent of energy beams that raked across the battlefield. The ground trembled, explosions roared, and a blinding light engulfed everything. When the dust settled, the adventurers lay scattered, battered and broken, their health bars dangerously close to zero.

"This won't work!"

"It's completely hopeless..."

"Our attacks can't break through her defense, and her attacks can wipe us out in an instant... We can't win!"

Despair washed over the group. When victory seems impossible, anyone would lose hope. And Tiamat was the embodiment of that despair. Free from her Beast form and manifesting as the Goddess of Beginning, she possessed both intellect and terrifying power. Though vulnerable to the attacks of adventurers and players due to her boss health bar imposed by the game rules, the minuscule damage they inflicted compared to her massive health pool was disheartening. And her AOE attacks were capable of wiping them all out.

Shirou's gaze was fixed on Tiamat's nine planets. He knew defeating her meant destroying those planets first. But how? Even Evil Blossom had no effect. Damn it, he thought, if I were using my own body and record right now, maybe I could try using the [God Slayer] enhanced skills and Noble Phantasm, combined with the Chains of Heaven, to see if we could seal Tiamat. But now, it's impossible.

At that moment, Tiamat's gaze fell on him. "Although your level is the lowest, compared to those children, you who inherited their legacy are the most dangerous."

A flicker of killing intent appeared in her eyes, and the nine planets surrounding her began to gather terrifying magical energy. They vibrated, preparing to launch another attack, not a random AOE this time, but one focused entirely on Shirou.

His heart sank, and he braced himself, preparing to use the black mud for defense. But suddenly, the unexpected happened. The nine planets, having fully charged, started moving chaotically. Then, to everyone's astonishment, they fired... at Tiamat herself.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions rocked the area, and Tiamat's health bar dropped by more than half.

"What... what's going on?"

"The boss's attack... hit herself?"

The adventurers were dumbfounded. They had never witnessed anything like this before.

Shirou found the situation equally baffling. What was happening?

Tiamat seemed just as bewildered by the attack. She turned her head slightly, her gaze falling on his mud, confusion clouding her face. "Impossible... it shouldn't be able to interfere with me... but why? It hurts, my head hurts so much...!"

She clutched her head, her serene face contorted in pain. The nine planets orbiting her spun chaotically, firing attacks at random. Many of them struck her, inflicting significant damage.

-111,734

-272,341

Her health bar instantly dropped significantly.

He looked at Tiamat, then down at his Evil Blossom. Could it be that her claim of immunity to [Evil]'s corrosion was false? Was the mud's malice disrupting her mind, causing her to attack herself?

"You're really reliable, aren't you?" he murmured with a sigh.

The mud splattered on the ground extended an arm, giving him a thumbs-up.

"My... my head hurts...!" Tiamat clutched her head as a purple swirl-like pattern appeared above her.

— Confusion debuff!

"It's unbelievable that even the Goddess of the Beginning can be confused...!" Enkidu exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the disoriented Tiamat.

While they were aware of the mud's "buggy" nature, they never imagined it could be this potent! Tiamat's boss stats should have made her immune to all debuffs, yet the mud had forcibly inflicted confusion on her!

Could it be that the Noble Phantasm of Eternal King could even erode the authority of the Goddess of Beginning?

"Everyone, don't space out, attack while we have the chance!" Shirou shouted, drawing his two Holy Swords and charging at Tiamat. With a thunderous boom, the adventurers finally broke free from Tiamat's mental domination and joined the attack.

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The damage barely reached a thousand.

"Damn! What kind of defense is this!"

Tiamat's defense was far too high for them. But that was to be expected. In this digitized world, she was set as a Level 9 hidden map boss. Only a full team of max-level players from top guilds could realistically defeat her.

And the party facing off against Tiamat right now was just a ragtag bunch of low-level adventurers with random skills. Most of them had no business even trying to dent Tiamat's defenses. Even Shirou was only a threat because of the mud's influence over Tiamat.

"You children are really not cute!" With one hand clutching her head, Tiamat lashed out with her other hand. The nine planets orbiting her glowed faintly, then unleashed concentrated blasts of magical energy. The ground exploded as the blasts slammed into it.

Morrigan, the group's top support, hastily shielded the quickest adventurers. The rest either scrambled to dodge or braced themselves as best they could. In the chaos, six of the blasts went wildly off-course, striking Tiamat herself.

Damage numbers flashed in the air:

-94172,

-117321,

-146431.

Tiamat cried out, staggering from the impact of her own attacks. Her immense power, meant to crush her enemies, had become a liability!