Fate: Nameless Hero

When the video of Absolute Demonic Front was playing earlier—

The King of Heroes absolutely stole the spotlight, leaving countless Heroic Spirits seething with envy.

Mordred, oozing jealousy, had muttered:

"Don't get too cocky… Watch that Mother Goddess you banished to the Imaginary Number Space jump out and smack you in the face!"

Gilgamesh had brushed it off at the time, thinking it was just pettiness in her that's talking. But now?

He never imagined it would actually come true.

"Thanks a ton, Mordred. Really."

What, are you secretly clairvoyant now? Have better precognition than this king?

The moment he recognized the identity of the woman before him, a chill ran down his spine.

He was absolutely screwed.

Let's not forget—during that particular Singularity, Gilgamesh had fired Ea and personally banished Tiamat into Imaginary Number Space.

That was 4,600 years ago.

Now she's returned to the human world… and there's no way in hell she's going to let him off the hook!

Even Enkidu's "Chains of Heaven" stood quietly to the side, head lowered, not daring to make eye contact with her.

Wait a minute—Enkidu???

Gilgamesh blinked, glancing at the calm, green-haired girl standing beside him.

The leaked footage had even awakened her?

With his Clairvoyance, he could clearly see the ripples of her soul's essence—and confirmed: this wasn't Kingu from the Singularity.

Made sense, honestly.

That Singularity had already been resolved. That version of his dear friend—Kingu—had long since vanished.

For a moment, Gilgamesh felt conflicted—nervous and uneasy, but also a little happy.

The exposure video had already brought back his greatest regret: Siduri had returned. And now, he had also reunited with two of his dearest friends—Nameless and Enkidu.

It should have been a joyous occasion.

But instead?

He was about to get beaten to death by Tiamat.

Wait… something wasn't quite right.

She was holding Sanjiro gently… and hadn't ripped his skull open?

Gilgamesh stared more closely.

After ripping apart the Mechanical God, Sanjiro's body had clearly suffered severe backlash. Hideous wounds covered him from the violent surge of power.

And yet the being holding him—who had suppressed her terrifying divine aura so completely—looked nothing like the monstrous deity of before.

No horns atop her head. No dragon tail behind her back.

Just a stunningly beautiful, graceful woman, radiating quiet wisdom.

Which explained why he hadn't recognized her at first glance.

Now, this graceful, intellectual woman was gently cradling Sanjiro in her arms.

What the hell did I miss earlier? Did I skip over some "exclusive, paywalled content" or something?

Why was Tiamat—the same one who should've split his skull open with a finger—holding that bastard friend of his so tenderly?

Gilgamesh had the sinking feeling that he'd arrived far too late and missed a bunch of amazing drama.

Damn it! This king could've paid! Why didn't anyone let me watch!?

Hummm—

A mysterious energy ripple surged outward, making Sanjiro feel as if he were soaking in warm water—his entire body enveloped in a blissful, soothing heat.

The terrifying, lethal injuries he'd sustained from his earlier Berserk rampage were healing—faster than any game's recovery mechanic—under her gentle touch.

He couldn't help but sigh in amazement:

"Yep... this is the real ultimate healer!"

Tiamat, who holds the Authority of Creation itself—no one could rival her in healing power.

[Sea of Life (EX Rank)]

She is the ocean that gave birth to life.

Using Genesis True Ether energy, she could endlessly replenish his mana. What's more, anyone enveloped in her ocean waters could be granted skills like:

Self-Reconstruction

Ecological Fusion

Individual Multiplication

This was precisely how the blackened Ushiwakamaru kept reviving endlessly before.

"Those with Tiamat are precious gems. Those without her? Just weeds."

Sanjiro's understanding of this line had reached a whole new level.

Without her support—even if he managed to beat the War God—he'd be in shreds.

But with the ultimate healer on his team?

He could take on ten enemies at once!

Still, one major mystery nagged at him:

How could a Beast of Humanity even appear in the human world?

He lay in Tiamat's arms, his mind spinning with questions.

Tiamat, as the Mother of Creation, was intrinsically linked to the sea. The moment she stepped on land, she should be branded humanity's natural enemy.

Her once-blue ocean would turn into a black, corrosive tide of chaos, devouring anything it touched.

Not even gods could escape that level of corruption.

A being like that entering the human world should have triggered an immediate alert from Alaya, summoning an army of Heroic Spirits to destroy her.

So…

Alaya actually allowed this?!

"Teacher?" Shikotei frowned.

This Beast of Humanity was far too dangerous. Such an existence simply shouldn't be allowed in the world of man.

Just looking at her triggered a primal alarm in his soul—his Dragon of Human Order was roaring uncontrollably, demanding her expulsion.

And this was despite the frightening seal currently suppressing her power.

Without that seal?

Fuyuki City would already be swallowed by black tides—just like Uruk.

Sanjiro carefully pulled away from Tiamat's embrace and responded,

"I'm fine."

This Beast of Humanity was just… too protective of him. As if holding a fragile treasure in her palms. As if putting him in her mouth would melt him.

Sanjiro could hardly believe such treatment was even real.

"Good." Shikotei still frowned.

Someone like her… would absolutely want to take Sanjiro away—dragging him into the Imaginary Number Space.

And the truth was—

Even if they gathered all the Heroic Spirits, they'd still struggle to stop the unsealed Mother of Creation.

Shikotei felt a bitter realization:

He was still not strong enough.

If he were, his Teacher wouldn't need to bend and compromise, wouldn't need to "bear the burden of the milk" or "play nice" just to borrow her power!

Just as Sanjiro had once said:

All misfortunes in this world… ultimately come from one's lack of strength.

Shikotei silently mused:

"He once mentioned that future videos would involve me… I wonder—will they help me become stronger?"

But for now—He needed to figure out how to handle the Council of Gods.

The eleven projections of the divine Mechanical Gods hovered above the crowd.

The oppressive aura of wrathful deities poured down without restraint.

Behind Shikotei, a colossal dragon-shaped phantom emerged—

The Dragon of Human Order—an embodiment of the collective will of 2 billion citizens—More than enough to stand up against the gods.

The great dragon's wings unfurled behind him, shielding both Sanjiro and the mysterious woman.

Shikotei's tone was cold:

"Oh? You dare threaten me… On my land?"

"Hand over the culprit!"

The leading Mechanical God glared down coldly.

Their original plan was for the War God to test the waters first. They had provided him with weapons and emergency life-saving trump cards.

Even if surrounded by this land's Heroic Spirits, he should've held out long enough.

He'd arrived, set a trap for Nameless, and dragged him into the True God Domain.

Inside that space, a crippled Heroic Spirit should've been easy prey.

And yet—

The War God had been killed in a counterattack.

Nameless crushed him underfoot!

By the time the Council arrived, Shikotei and Gilgamesh were already present.

And that explained everything:

With three top-tier Heroic Spirits working together, they could absolutely slay gods.

The God of the Underworld narrowed his eyes at Sanjiro, now protected by Shikotei:

"The helmet on his head… It's the Cap of Invisibility of Hades!"

As the inheritor of Hades' power, he could identify it at a glance.

"So that's the hidden ace he's been relying on?" scoffed the King of the Gods.

He was unimpressed.

Just a basic divine defensive Noble Phantasm.

Hardly worth fussing over.

His eyes turned toward the blue-haired woman holding Sanjiro.

"So who is she, then?"

She was incredibly beautiful.

So divine, so pure… She was like a single tear shed by the ocean itself.

Even the King of the Gods found himself entranced at first sight(Greek...).

Her facial features and curves were impossibly perfect—She embodied humanity's most ideal vision of beauty.

Even the Goddess of Love and Beauty would question herself in her presence.

At this moment, she simply cradled Sanjiro quietly—like a warm, gentle mother overflowing with infinite grace.

The King of the Gods found himself—

Wanting to steal her away.

"She's not in the records!" the Goddess of Wisdom replied sternly.

An unexpected anomaly.

There was no record of her.

She had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

No matter how deeply she scanned or analyzed, all data said the woman was an ordinary human.

But someone who could cradle Nameless like that—Someone who could stand calm and unmoved under the crushing presence of the gods—

Could not possibly be ordinary.

This unknown factor left the Goddess of Wisdom deeply uneasy.

"But she's just… so beautiful…" the King of the Gods muttered, utterly entranced.

Looking at her felt like seeing the truth of life, goodness, and beauty.

So beautiful it hurt.

With the divine projections pouring their power downward—

Sanjiro looked up at them.

"Let me handle this."

This was his mess, after all.

He couldn't run from it.

The Council of Gods hadn't sent their true bodies—

Just projections, at great magical cost.

In other words—"manifesting divinity in front of mortals".

A typical divine flex.

Clearly, they weren't prepared for all-out war. They just wanted to pressure Shikotei into surrendering him.

Tiamat gently brushed Sanjiro's cheek. Her smile grew warmer.

Throughout mankind's long, painful history…

She had never been able to stand by his side in battle.

But this time—

She was here.

"I…"

Sanjiro opened his mouth, trying to say something more—

But a soft, white finger gently pressed against his lips, stopping the words.

Then—

She turned and walked toward the gods. Her long blue hair brushed past his face, carrying a soft and sweet scent.

He stood dazed.

He had always been the one to protect others—

Fighting, bleeding, enduring countless hardships.

He never imagined—

Someone would protect him.

"This… feels nice."

Under his gaze—

That gentle woman stepped forward.

Passing even the tense Shikotei, she walked to the very front of all Heroic Spirits. Then, he looked at her with a complicated expression, clenching his fists tightly.

As the First Emperor…

As wielder of the Dragon of Human Order…

He should never be the one hiding behind someone else.

But right now—

He couldn't stop her.

He could feel it clearly:

This gentle, watery woman—was angry.

The same anger she had felt the day the gods betrayed her.

The ocean—

When calm, it stretches silently for ten thousand miles.

When enraged—

It swallows the world with apocalyptic tsunamis.

Shikotei sighed softly.

"Teacher, I must say—you truly are a calamity."

Even Humanity's Evil had been swayed by him, treating him as the most precious being.

Thankfully, she seemed to see Sanjiro as a child to be cherished, not someone to be taken as a mate.

Given his shining, heroic nature, surely Teacher wouldn't rely on her?

A great hero like him wouldn't stoop to being breastfed, right?

The Council of Gods also eyed him strangely.

The King of Gods looked down from on high. "Who are you really? Which Heroic Spirit of human history are you?"

Even the Goddess of Wisdom had exhausted her divine clairvoyance trying to deduce it, but found no origin at all.

"Oh well, whatever. You must hand over Nameless now. Best just stand aside."

The King of Gods spoke with the false benevolence of a benevolent ruler.

Ever since getting burned by the Hunnic King, Attila, he'd become more cautious.

Without fully inheriting the divine throne's power, it was best to tread carefully. Otherwise, he'd have long since ordered an attack on Epang Palace and captured the First Emperor.

Tamamo-no-Mae, who had just arrived, looked pitifully at him.

The Creator Goddess's disguise was simply too perfect.

Even knowing her true identity, she couldn't see through the façade. In front of Humanity's Evil, her and Merry's disguises weren't even worth mentioning!

EX-rank [Self-Modification]… This was just malicious!

Earlier, Merry had taken a slap so vicious she didn't dare get close—she'd fled into the [Tower at the End].

That slap hurt like hell!

She'd nearly been slapped into a soccer ball.

Best to keep far away.

Now someone else was about to suffer worse, and Merry was more than happy to sit back and watch.

She even had a big red watermelon, digging in with a spoon while enjoying the show.

Meanwhile, the Council of Gods grew increasingly uneasy.

Despite their overwhelming divine pressure, the woman showed no fear at all—clearly not an ordinary being.

But no matter how they analyzed her, they couldn't see her true nature.

They couldn't even tell if she was a Heroic Spirit!

The Sea God couldn't stop staring. "What… is she? Why does it feel like she's more in tune with the ocean than I am?"

He was the one who held the Authority of the Oceans—how could anyone surpass him in its control?

"All I can vaguely sense… is the concept of death. Like she was struck by something," murmured the God of the Underworld, visibly confused.

As the true ruler of the afterlife—far more competent than that airheaded Ereshkigal, he had exhausted his Authority trying to probe her—

All he could glean was a faint trace of a concept tied to death.

And that mark—

Carved with terrifying killing intent—was far beyond imagination.

The King of Gods frowned even more. "Why hasn't she said a single word? Can she not speak?"

Despite the Gods discussing at length, she hadn't uttered a word.

The Goddess of Wisdom suddenly trembled. "She hasn't spoken… because she doesn't deign to speak!"

"Doesn't deign to speak???"

In all their years ruling the Earth, the Council of Gods had never met such an arrogant enemy. Even top Heroic Spirits like the First Emperor had been forced to huddle together against them.

"Perhaps… she only wishes to say—'Destroying you… is none of your concern.'"

The Goddess of Wisdom's mechanical projection shook violently.

Before anyone could react, she shouted with all her might:

"RUN!!!"

"Run? What for?" the God of Fire and Forge asked blankly.

"You fools—RUN!!"

The King of Gods suddenly realized. "Evacuate! Head for South America—NOW!!"

The once-dominant, all-powerful gods suddenly looked like panicked rabbits, fleeing in terror.

But it was too late.

The gentle, beautiful woman smiled softly, her cross-shaped pupils glowing with a violet-red light.

It was dazzling—dangerously alluring.

But none of the gods dared appreciate the beauty.

Because now, they recognized her.

Beast of Humanity—Tiamat!

A being who should never have been able to descend upon the human world.

Even if she did, it should have caused a world-ending cataclysm that the entire planet would be aware of.

Yet here she was—blocking them—

And attacking.

The violet-red light burst forth, forming a beam of pure destructive energy that swept toward the Sea God.

BOOM!

A dazzling blue explosion bloomed in the sky like a firework, illuminating Fuyuki's night.

Ocean-blue brilliance—so beautiful it defied words.

Countless citizens looked up, confused.

"It's not Lantern Festival yet—what's with the fireworks?"

"Another gas leak?!"

BOOM!

Another explosion erupted, this time flames and the sound of hammering steel—

As if a divine blacksmith was forging weapons in the fire.

BOOM!

The third explosion brought chilling, deathly white fire, an aura that filled all who witnessed it with dread—

A god of death had arrived, smiling down upon the world.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Fireworks blossomed again and again over Fuyuki City, drawing people out to watch in awe.

Komei looked up at the lights and sighed. "Looks like we won't have to go to war with the United States after all."

Each explosion was a god's divine projection being destroyed.

Their avatars had been effortlessly wiped out—this would terrify them into hiding for a long while.

He set aside the massive war plans he'd just finished drawing up—Including postwar recovery and countermeasures against the machine gods.

Now? All of it… pointless!

Those arrogant gods—

Had all been turned into glorified fireworks by an unbeatable being.

Chin Kyu, standing nearby, watched the display with shining eyes. "So beautiful…"

Komei immediately took two steps back in alarm. "What are you planning?"

"Ahem, don't misunderstand—I'm not trying to launch fireworks!"

Chin Kyu cleared his throat.

Komei backed off again.

The nearby Heroic Spirits all kept their distance.

Some even ran off entirely.

They knew this guy too well—he was probably imagining launching them as fireworks!

====

BOOM!

The tenth firework bloomed.

Even the Goddess of Wisdom's projection—first to run—had become a dazzling explosion.

"So pretty…" said Illya, gazing up in awe.

Each firework represented a machine god's annihilated projection.

"It really is beautiful," Miyu added, finally exhaling in relief.

They'd somehow managed to repel the gods' assault.

With their projections obliterated, the Council of Gods would be terrified into retreat.

Peace would return to Fuyuki.

"But… how?" Illya's ruby eyes sparkled with the fireworks' glow.

Even a projection had about half its original strength—It shouldn't have been this easy, even for the Empire's best!

"No idea…" Miyu shook her head.

After escaping, the First Emperor had placed them under Tamamo-no-Mae's protection in Academy City.

The entire area had long since been sealed—no signal, no visuals, nothing.

To the average citizen, the battle had just been… fireworks.

Only Heroic Spirits and magi knew the truth.

Miyu's worry deepened.

She remembered how Nameless had once burned himself to summon countless future selves…

And the assassination techniques he'd learned from the Grand Assassin.

Defeating the gods had to come at a great cost…

====

ZZZZZT—

BOOM!

A thunderclap split the sky as a lightning surged across Fuyuki's sky, arcing toward the southeast.

It was as if it were the Lord of Thunder, riding lightning itself from Fuyuki City to South America in an instant.

The eleventh firework never bloomed.

The terrifying pressure brought by the gods' projections completely vanished in that moment.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, staring at the beautiful blue-haired woman.

The scene was plunged into an eerie silence.

So this... was the true power of a fully unleashed Beast of Humanity?

Enkidu felt her whole body tense.

Back in the previous Singularity, she had helped restrain this woman—could that grudge possibly be held against her?

She glanced sideways at Gilgamesh.

The King of Heroes, who normally loved to laugh loudly and mock his allies with joy, now wore a polite, awkward smile as he stood quietly and calmly to the side.

Alright then... even this guy was scared!

But Enkidu had no right to mock him.

When the Mother Goddess was enraged, she was utterly terrifying.

And all of them, technically speaking, were her "children"—yet they had all once opposed her.

What utter blasphemy.

Sanjiro, standing atop the corpse of the God of War, also looked up at the blooming fireworks.

"So beautiful…"

Back in his prime, he too could have done this with ease.

But now, with his Saint Graph shattered and broken after the world's reset, even defeating a bunch of false gods had become a real struggle.

As expected—being Tiamat's child was a true blessing!

In that moment, Sanjiro suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of peace.

Could it be… he could finally relax for once?

Ding-dong~

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a message notification popped up on his phone.

Sanjiro initially thought it was another exposé video, but the message was from [Alaya].

However, it wasn't a new video—something even more special appeared on the screen.

A little girl popped up, sitting on a swing, her legs dangling as she swayed back and forth. She looked at him with a dazzling, sweet smile:

"Letting Her help you—was the surprise I prepared for you. Are you happy with it?"