68: Chapter 68 Jin Gu and... Backstab

A purple radiance, like the first glimmer of dawn cutting through the long night, erupted above the Shrine of Blood.

That massive scythe, named the "Slayer of the Undying," carried the girl's resolute will as it sliced through the Monster Mother Goddess's impenetrable scales without obstruction, sinking deep into her massive body.

"Aaaaaah——!!!"

Gorgon let out a scream of extreme agony.

The sound was filled with endless rage and unwillingness, yet in the final lingering note, it revealed a sense of relief.

The mountain-sized Gorgon, under the causal strike of the god-slaying weapon, saw her body begin to crumble inch by inch, turning into golden specks of light scattering across the sky.

In the center of that radiance, petite Anna turned her head back, taking one last deep look at the players and Mash in the distance.

Her small face, which always carried a hint of melancholy and timidity, now blossomed with an exceptionally brilliant, cloudless smile.

"It was truly wonderful to have met you all."

Accompanying this soft whisper, the purple-haired girl's body became completely transparent, and together with that massive Monster Mother Goddess, she turned into light and dissipated into the gale of Mesopotamia.

[System Notification: Monster Mother Goddess Gorgon, HP reduced to zero.]

On the tactical sand table, the glaring red alert finally extinguished, replaced by golden characters symbolizing victory—[CLEAR]!

"Wuwuwu... Anna... my Anna..."

In the livestream, A-Dai was crying her eyes out inside her VR headset.

She collapsed powerlessly into her chair, staring at the direction where Anna had vanished, unable to recover for a long time.

The entire official FGO forum and major livestream channels were now drowned in the tears and emotions of countless players:

"It's too sad! She was clearly so afraid of becoming a monster, yet to protect us, she chose to perish together with that ugly future!"

"Anna, rest in peace! I'll buy you the sweetest butter cake in Uruk every single day from now on!"

"It's over... After fighting for so long, so many people died, even Gilgamesh worked himself to death—this damnable Seventh Singularity is finally cleared!"

"Brothers, type 'Flowers for the Finale' on the screen! Although Old Thief Gu is a dog, this final plot performance is absolutely god-tier!"

All the players let out a long sigh of relief, their nerves, tightened for months, completely relaxing at this moment.

They were even beginning to look forward to the saint quartz rewards and the ending animation after clearing the level.

However, just as players across the entire network were immersed in emotions intertwined with sorrow and victory...

"Hahaha... What a touching tragedy. It's a pity, as a side show before the extinction of the Old Humanity, it was a bit boring."

A crisp, mocking voice suddenly came from above the ruins of the shrine.

A-Dai lifted her head abruptly, and in mid-air, she saw the green-haired youth who bore the exact same appearance as "Enkidu" and called himself "Kingu," holding a Holy Grail that emitted a dazzling golden light in one hand, looking down at them from above.

"Kingu?! Why is he here? And that Holy Grail in his hand..."

"Idiots, you don't really think that by defeating a mere Gorgon, you could save the world, right?"

Kingu laughed wantonly, his eyes filled with fanaticism and pity, "Gorgon was nothing more than a shield used to buy time and awaken Mother!"

"Now, the true 'Mother Goddess of Creation' has awakened, and I, as the commander of the New Humanity, will lead my kin to completely sweep away you pieces of trash from the old era!"

Accompanied by Kingu's wild laughter, the ground around the shrine suddenly split open, and black mud gushed out like a fountain.

A group of monsters with bizarre appearances crawled out from the black mud.

They had long, human-like limbs, but their torsos were twisted like insects; they had no eyes, only a bloody mouth that stretched to their ears.

Looking at these nauseating monsters, A-Dai felt a wave of nausea, while Kingu in mid-air spread his arms, like a king welcoming a new life:

"Come! My kin! New Humanity 'Lahmu,' go and tear these Old Humans to shreds—"

"Puchi——!"

A hair-raising sound of tearing flesh abruptly interrupted Kingu's fanatical declaration.

In the disbelieving gaze of players across the network, a Lahmu that leaped from the black mud, its blade-like claws, pierced through Kingu's chest from behind without warning!

"You... what are you doing? I am... Mother's child..."

Kingu looked in disbelief at the bloody claws protruding from his chest, blood gushing wildly from the corners of his mouth.

"Heeheehee... Hahaha... Old model... trash... not needed..."

That group of New Humanity monsters called Lahmu actually emitted a hair-raising, weird mocking sound imitating human language.

The next second, a dozen Lahmu, like hyenas smelling blood, instantly tackled Kingu to the ground!

They mercilessly tore at the body of this "New Humanity Commander," and amidst a nauseating sound of chewing and bone-cracking, they forcefully cut open Kingu's chest cavity with their sharp claws, and alive, gouged out that golden Holy Grail!

"No... that was given to me by Mother..."

The disemboweled Kingu fell into a pool of blood like a ragdoll, desperately reaching out with his blood-covered hand, only to watch helplessly as the Lahmu held the Holy Grail, emitting nauseating cheers.

Dead silence.

The entire livestream, all players across the network, felt a horror a hundred times deeper than facing the Monster Mother Goddess at this moment!

"Damn... what kind of god-tier plot twist is this?!"

"The minions he summoned himself just gutted and tore the boss apart?!"

"These monsters have no reason at all! They don't even spare their own leader, this is too twisted!"

Just as everyone was chilled to the bone by this extremely cruel and bizarre scene, a distorted roar from Dr. Roman came over the Chaldea communication channel:

"No! Wait! The magical energy reaction hasn't disappeared! Not only has it not disappeared, but it's surging exponentially at an illogical speed!"

"The coordinates are in... the Persian Gulf?! Something... some incomprehensible behemoth has awakened in the Persian Gulf!"

The doctor's voice trembled violently with extreme fear, and following his warning, the entire VR world's screen suddenly shook violently.

"Rumble——!"

The earth shook, and the clouds in the sky, which were originally just blood-red, now rapidly turned black like ink, as if the entire world had been pulled into an eternal night without light.

"Aaaaaah——"

"Aaaaaah—— Aaaah——"

A song, ethereal, sorrowful, as if a mother who had lost her child was sobbing in a low voice, yet making one feel a shudder from the depths of the soul, suddenly drifted over from the end of the distant horizon.