That was an indescribable sensation for Alaric. Even though a vast ocean and the entirety of Mesopotamia separated the two, Alaric still felt a connection the moment Tiamat awakened.
Even Merlin, who was struck by the enormous impact of the Cradle's destruction, sensed the awakening of Tiamat almost simultaneously.
This was Alaric's destiny at this moment—
The Creator Goddess, Mother of Life, holder of the Second Principle [Return], the [Beast II] of [Humanity's Evils], Tiamat, had fully awakened!
The divine powers of the goddess were truly beginning to revive at this moment. The Cradle constructed by Merlin did not even last a single second before it was shattered.
A pitch-black chaotic tide surged from the abyssal depths to the ocean surface, instantly occupying the source of life and spreading toward the land!
In that brief instant, Alaric seemed to notice the gaze of the goddess, and his heart began to pound violently.
A surging coldness and thrilling excitement simultaneously welled up in Alaric's chest, two completely conflicting emotions intertwining and taking form.
From deep within the dragon's heart, an astonishing surge of magic and bloodlust erupted. The part of Alaric that the Lion King once called inhuman began to rise to the surface, gradually consuming his rationality.
Rationality was no longer the only standard of judgment. For Alaric at this moment, following the rhythm of his heart was the only thing that mattered.
Sizzle!
Scarlet lightning once again coiled around his body, illuminating Merlin's severely injured eyes.
"...…"
Almost instinctively, Merlin drew a sharp breath.
At this moment, Tiamat's unsealing seemed far less important than the more dangerous development unfolding before his eyes.
Even Merlin could not have foreseen that Tiamat's awakening would cause such a tremendous transformation in Alaric.
The scarlet lightning of magical energy surrounding Alaric was the clearest symbol of the awakening of the Red Dragon of Britain within him. It was proof of his qualification as an entirely new and unrecorded entity—the Dragon of Rebirth.
Thud!
Unable to maintain his posture, Merlin collapsed to his knees, his body beginning to emit a faint glow of dissipating magical energy.
Witnessing this sudden turn of events, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash Kyrielight, and the newly arrived Ishtar were all stunned. Meanwhile, not far away, Kingu displayed a look of delight.
Now that his mother had successfully awakened, both Chaldea and Alaric were no longer threats—merely echoes of a bygone era.
Kingu had no intention of fighting them now. All he wanted was to enjoy the despair that would soon be etched on their faces.
However, at this moment, it seemed that everyone tacitly ignored Kingu. Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, and the others surrounded the fading Merlin, at a complete loss for what to do.
Merlin, however, said little. He merely stared at Alaric before him and summoned the last of his strength:
"Brother Alaric! At least continue to walk forward in the form of a human!"
"Merlin, you don't seem to have much faith in me…"
Hearing this, Alaric's lips curled into a faint smile. "But that doesn't matter, does it—?"
Boom!
Without any further communication with Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, and completely ignoring Kingu as well, Alaric, piloting the Heavenly Vessel, transformed into scarlet lightning. Like the final dragon soaring toward the edge of the world, he crossed the Mesopotamian land in an instant.
Alaric's sudden departure from the battlefield shattered everyone's thoughts. It was only Merlin's final shout that brought Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others back to their senses.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, return to Uruk at once and inform King Gilgamesh that the Sea of Life, the Mother of Origins, and Beast, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, has awakened!"
In his final moments, Merlin cast his gaze toward the horizon. The departing dragon never looked back, advancing ceaselessly toward an unknown future. As Merlin relayed the information about the awakening of one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, Roman and the others at Chaldea also observed changes in the sea.
["There's an unidentified magical reaction occurring in the Persian Gulf. Each one surpasses the magical beasts known as Ugallu, and their total number exceeds one hundred million. The count is still rising, and one hundred thousand units have already reached land. Although they're moving at different speeds, about twenty thousand of them are heading toward Uruk!"]
Da Vinci's expression grew somber as she stared at the screen displaying the magical units, which advanced like a relentless tide toward Uruk.
"One hundred million... So what is Sir Alaric—?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka, hearing this, immediately turned to look in the direction of Alaric's departure—past the Northern Wall and Uruk, toward the Persian Gulf!
Even so, Fujimaru Ritsuka could not understand what Alaric intended to do. He had even disregarded Merlin's final warning.
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at the now-vanished Kingu and quickly addressed Ishtar:
"Lady Ishtar, please head to Uruk ahead of us. We'll follow shortly!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka wanted Ishtar to take them along, but doing so would undoubtedly slow her down. It was better to let Ishtar reach Uruk as quickly as possible.
"Alright, let Quetzalcoatl bring you along afterward!"
Understanding the severity of the situation, Ishtar wasted no time, leaping into the sky and flying toward Uruk.
As Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash rushed toward the Northern Wall.
...
The scarlet lightning streaking through the heavens shot straight past the Northern Wall, completely ignoring even Quetzalcoatl below.
"This little boy—"
Standing on the city wall, Quetzalcoatl's expression grew grim as she murmured while watching Alaric's departure: "It seems he's been misled by that shadowy mirror."
Ignoring Quetzalcoatl's presence, the scarlet lightning streaked across the endless sky until it reached the city of Uruk.
Before Uruk, Alaric saw—
An endless tide of black rose into the heavens, falling upon cities everywhere.
With his current eyesight, Alaric could easily discern the true nature of that black tide. They were grotesque creatures that evoked an instinctive sense of discomfort and revulsion—beings entirely opposed to humanity.
What struck Alaric most was the magical power these creatures possessed. Far surpassing that of Age of Gods humans, they even exceeded the magical beasts Ugallu created by Gorgon, rivaling dragonkind!
Their strength was not the most alarming aspect. What shocked Alaric even more was their sheer number—tens of thousands, forming a black tide that threatened to engulf entire cities!
As for the source of these creatures, Alaric discerned it at a glance.
It was none other than Tiamat's authority: The Womb of a Hundred Beasts, the power to create life.
The beings created through this authority naturally had a name—Lahmu.
"So the first step is to attack Uruk, huh—"
The scarlet lightning did not pause. In an instant, it rose above Uruk. The red lightning, like a heavenly radiance, obeyed Alaric's will and descended in judgment!
[Holy Judgment—Multiple Activation]
[Thunderous Light of the Heavens]
BOOM!
The scarlet lightning targeted all the Lahmu attacking Uruk, intertwining across the city like a sea of thunder. Its overwhelming power shook the heavens!