Ophis Wants Silence [129]

Ea is not truly an instrument that split heaven and earth.

Leaving aside whether the world was ever “split” at all—and leaving aside whether, if it was, the cause was Lord Pangu’s axe or God’s own divine decree—even within Babylonian myth, heaven and earth were born when Marduk tore Tiamat’s body in two. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the god Ea, nor with this weapon.

Ea is a god of creation—yet what he creates is not the world, but humanity and civilization.

Just as Ophis had thought back then, “The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth” separates gods and humans, and what it opens is humanity’s future.

Calling Gilgamesh the oldest king is, without question, wrong. Leaving other civilizations aside, even before him, there had already been several kings.

But to call him humanity’s oldest king is not incorrect.

Even with divine blood in his veins, he was the first king to separate humans from gods, to rule humankind by human law.

That is all “The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth” ever meant.

And whether it “opens” heaven and earth or “opens” civilization, Ea is a Noble Phantasm that carries the very concept of “splitting.” Even setting raw power aside, its status is extraordinarily high. A Noble Phantasm like that needs a brief span of time to traverse between two spaces—it can’t be fired as casually as Ophis’s other Noble Phantasms, on a whim.

Pulling it out in front of an opponent would only give them time to raise their guard, so Ophis simply used Sha Naqba Imuru to “smuggle” it out first—then, when she needed it, she could take it in hand and smear it across someone’s face.

Just like now.

A crimson storm surged straight into the sky, as if it meant to tear space itself apart.

Straight into the sky.

Under Lancer’s horrified, panicked stare, Ophis twisted Ea at the last instant and angled it upward.

“[ENUMA ELISH].”

Wind pressure exploded outward. The ground within dozens of meters was ripped open, rubble and stone flung in every direction, and Saber—who had only just managed to stand—was blown away again.

But Saber had already been blasted back a fair distance earlier, so this time her impact was the lightest.

Rider had also pulled back once the fighting began, and he took no real damage.

The other three were not so lucky.

Lancer took the brunt of it, flung away by the crimson storm—and two lumps of shadow, who had leapt in from behind at some unknown point to try a sneak attack, were likewise blown back, then slammed hard into the ground.

“Damn it—LANCER, BY MY COMAND SPELL, I ORDER YOU TO WITHDRAW TO MY SIDE!”

Seeing things turn ugly, Lancer’s Master didn’t have the luxury of continuing his sniping match with his student. He used a Command Spell to recall Lancer—who, spared a direct hit, had barely clung to life—and quickly retreated from the area.

The storm of rupture slowly died away. Ophis lowered Ea in her right hand, then turned to face the two attackers.

One was a black-armored figure, its body wreathed in murky black smoke.

The other was someone Ophis had met before—the great hero, Heracles.

Both were Servants with hides as hard as turtle shell. The mere aftershock of Ea hadn’t injured them so badly that they couldn’t keep fighting.

Seeing Heracles, Ophis frowned.

Having two Berserkers was nothing worth caring about—but Heracles was different. He was a friend who had helped her before.

Yet seeing Heracles’s blood-red eyes locked onto her, and Lily—who had just raised her sword against her—Ophis let out a quiet sigh in her heart.

Everyone here had drawn their weapons with resolve. In a war like this, clinging to old ties… was disrespectful, wasn’t it.

In that case—

Berserkers were, in the end, tragic beings. Their reason was devoured by madness, and a hero’s pride was ground into nothing. So she would free the big man in front of her from his madness first.

Particles of light wrapped around Ophis. Ea began to spin once more.

“Arrrrrrrrr!!!”

At that moment, the black armor had only just hauled itself upright. As if it had learned nothing from a moment ago, it yanked up a completely innocent streetlamp, snapped off a section, and brought it down on Ophis with full force.

Ophis didn’t even glance its way. She casually swung Ea, and a strand of crimson wind blasted the black armor away again.

Then Ophis stamped the ground. Her Strength and Agility—already boosted to Rank A—burst forth, and she shot straight toward Heracles.

“ROAR!!”

Heracles did not yield. He swung up his massive axe and smashed down—so hard the ground heaved and warped beneath the blow, stones exploding outward.

But something was wrong.

The upheaving earth, the gigantic axe—even Heracles himself—offered Ophis no resistance, no hindrance. She slipped past him and was suddenly behind him, then stamped down again to stop—turning as she thrust Ea toward Heracles.

“[ENUMA ELISH]!”

The storm that tore all things swept out once more, engulfing the utterly defenseless Heracles in an instant—and grinding him to nothing.

Twelve lives.

All erased.

…

“Mmh…”

In a concealed spot not far away, Ritsuka frowned.

“Our Berserker has been taken out.”

El-Melloi sighed beside her.

He’d thought that with Heracles’s ability, he could burn through a few lives, probe out some of the enemy’s methods, then withdraw safely. He hadn’t expected him to be deleted in a single blow.

The thing he feared most had still happened.

This King of Heroes not only possessed power no weaker than the one he knew—and bizarre methods that were impossible to read—she also lacked that pointless pride that refused to get serious against “trash.”

Still, he quickly steadied himself. Meaningless wavering did nothing for the battle at hand.

“Now you understand, don’t you? You can’t deal with Tohsaka Tokiomi’s Servant on your own. Instead of throwing yourself away for nothing, why not cooperate with us?”

El-Melloi looked toward the man standing near them, his face hidden beneath a hood.

“Cooperate…? Don’t make me laugh… I’ve already lost my Servant…”

The hooded man—Kariya Matou—seemed to be in considerable pain, his words broken by ragged breathing.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

Looking at him, Ritsuka’s mouth twitched.

“You don’t need to worry about the Servant issue. We have far more Servants than you can imagine. All you have to do is give us your decision.”

“Ugh. This conversation really sounds like some behind-the-scenes villain.”

Ritsuka couldn’t help tossing in another jab.

“I… understand. As long as you can give me… a chance to defeat Tohsaka Tokiomi and his Servant…”

“Then our alliance is formed.”

El-Melloi flicked ash from his cigar, a smile rising—everything just as planned.

“This is the trump card best suited to counter the King of Heroes…”

—

T/N: EMIYA? im sorry… if its you im so sorry…

This is a fan translation of 无限龙神找不回寂静 by 呆毛神 rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!