Afterwards, Quetzalcoatl, as promised, formed a temporary contract with Rozen, officially leaving the faction of the Three Goddess Alliance and joining humanity's side.
The addition of a being of Chief God-class was no small matter. For everyone present—including Mash—this was cause for great excitement.
Especially since Quetzalcoatl also brought good news.
"The humans in the cities swallowed by this jungle are still alive. The Uruk soldiers who entered here earlier, as well as the ones I killed at the southern gate, are also all alive, you know?"
That was the truth of it.
This tropical jungle had originally been summoned by Quetzalcoatl through her divine authority, and it had been quietly expanding ever since, invading the land.
There were several cities in the south originally, but they were all swallowed up by the jungle, and thus lost contact with the outside world.
The people of Uruk had believed the inhabitants of those cities had perished, but according to Quetzalcoatl, they were all alive and well—without a single casualty.
Even more, the Uruk soldiers Gilgamesh had dispatched as scouts, as well as the soldiers killed at the southern gate by Quetzalcoatl, were also alive.
Because, while delivering fatal blows, Quetzalcoatl had simultaneously planted instantaneous revival into their bodies, allowing them to all resurrect afterwards.
In other words, since her manifestation, Quetzalcoatl had indeed subjected humanity to many trials and threats—but she had never truly endangered a single human life.
Compared to Ereshkigal, who acted to protect humanity but was forced to kill them and collect their souls, Quetzalcoatl had gone even further in preserving life.
Now, as long as those people wished it, Quetzalcoatl could release them at any time, letting them return to Uruk.
By then, combined with the humans of Uruk and Kutha whose souls Ereshkigal had released and who were beginning to revive, Uruk's population would once again increase dramatically.
"So in the end, the only real threat to humanity is the Beast Goddess?"
Ishtar was dumbfounded by this for quite some time.
But facts were facts.
Quetzalcoatl even said:
"Actually, Gorgon is just a very pitiful child."
She sighed as she spoke.
This compassionate goddess seemed to harbor no small sentiment toward Gorgon's existence.
After all, like Gorgon, Quetzalcoatl was also a serpent deity. As the Feathered Serpent, even her surname "coatl" carried the meaning of "serpent."
Being the ruler of the winged serpentine dragons, she naturally regarded the serpent goddess Gorgon as something akin to a younger sister.
For that reason, Quetzalcoatl said:
"If Master intends to fight Gorgon, then I likely cannot fight alongside you."
This was not only because of her inexplicable feelings for Gorgon, but also because of the pact among the Three Goddesses.
So long as the pact remained, the goddesses could not fight one another.
To do so would invoke backlash from the pact—and in the worst case, result in instant death.
Thus, Quetzalcoatl did not wish to fight Gorgon.
"That so-called pact—if you want it broken, I can help."
Ryougi Shiki said casually.
With her Mystic Eye of Death Perception, so long as she could comprehend a concept, she could interfere with it.
By manifesting its "death" as lines, she could cut them, thus killing even abstract existences. Even the pact binding the goddesses was no exception.
Unfortunately, Quetzalcoatl only laughed and refused.
"I myself do not wish to fight Gorgon. Let the pact remain as it is."
Her gentle yet firm rejection left everyone staring at one another.
Rozen, too, looked at Quetzalcoatl, feeling as though she was hiding something.
However, Rozen did not force her to take part in the battle against Gorgon.
With both Quetzalcoatl and Ereshkigal having left the Three Goddess Alliance, only Gorgon remained—and she no longer posed an insurmountable threat.
So long as Quetzalcoatl ceased her invasion of Uruk, then Uruk could concentrate all of its strength against Gorgon.
At that time, with hundreds of thousands of familiars to oppose the Beast army, along with Rozen, Mash, Ryougi Shiki, Ishtar, Anna, Merlin, Nobunaga, Okita, Ushiwakamaru, and Benkei—one Master and nine Servants—there was no way they could not defeat a single Gorgon.
It could be said that the dawn of victory was already visible.
Surely, upon hearing this news, Gilgamesh would be thrilled.
"As long as we defeat Gorgon and recover the Holy Grail, this Singularity can be repaired, and proper Human Order restored."
Mash was overjoyed for a long time.
Not only Mash—even Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman were visibly elated.
The hope of restoring Human Order was right before their eyes. After more than a year of harsh struggles, the end was finally within reach. Anyone would be excited.
Only Rozen, though thinking the same, could not feel fully happy.
There were two reasons.
The first was—
"The Mage King Solomon has yet to be defeated."
The true mastermind behind the Incineration of Human Order was still at large. Even if all Singularities were repaired, the matter would not end so simply.
If humanity was to be completely saved, Rozen now knew the time had come to formally set his sights on defeating the Magus King Solomon.
The second reason was—
"I have a bad premonition…"
Rozen murmured this quietly for a long while.
Even before, with the power of his Mind's Eye, he had faintly sensed something strange about this era—like hearing the sound of water and someone weeping.
Now that he had completely released the restraints of the Mind's Eye, that feeling surged overwhelmingly strong.
Although the Incineration of Human Order had twisted the flow of history itself, turning this era into a Singularity and severing its proper alignment—making it impossible for Rozen to see too far into the past, present, or future—he could still discern certain problems within the age itself.
He felt as if he saw a black sea.
Within that black sea, a distant figure swayed—slumbering, yet quietly crying.
The problem was—Rozen could not see where this black sea was located at all.
However, he could see that something seemed to be connected to the figure within the black sea.
"What is that…?"
Rozen wished to look closer, but failed.
Because the black sea was overflowing with negative emotions, and when he tried to peer deeper, they nearly flooded into his mind—almost breaking his sanity.
Thus, Rozen dared not look further, only observing the surface from afar.
At that time, Quetzalcoatl spoke again:
"I will take care of the humans here. When the time comes, I will lead them to Uruk."
"For now, you should return."
"Go back and prepare for the coming disaster."
Dragging the battered Jaguar Man by one leg, Quetzalcoatl returned to the jungle.
Rozen and the others, meanwhile, left the jungle and returned to Uruk.
But at that moment, they still did not know—this time upon their return, they would be greeted by calamity.
Things were far from being so easily resolved.