Chapter 1299: Goetia's Killing Spree!
Half an hour later.
Eiji picked up the sleeping Gudako and others from the living room and carried them to their respective rooms.
Although Arcueid was still conscious, she had also lost too much blood and her strength had greatly diminished. She had fallen to the third row in the participant list and wouldn't be able to recover for the time being, so Eiji sent her back to her room as well.
Soon, only Morgan, Melusine, Souji, and a few others who remained conscious were left in the spacious living room.
"You're awake?"
Merlin and Scáthach walked in side by side from outside.
They hadn't donated blood and had been patrolling outside the whole time, as it would have been troublesome if someone tried to cause trouble while everyone was donating blood.
"How do your injuries feel?"
"My body has completely recovered."
Eiji clenched his fist, then twitched the corner of his mouth.
"The troublesome part is my soul. The damage to my soul feels less than 50% healed."
"Really?"
Merlin looked at him incredulously.
"You sucked so much blood, even nearly draining the Princess of Earth dry, and you only recovered half?"
For a True Ancestor, any injury can be healed by sucking blood.
Although soul injuries are more difficult, sucking blood is also beneficial to the soul.
"Probably because I'm too strong now?"
Eiji looked utterly innocent.
His power had surged after killing two and a half Beasts, and his soul strength naturally followed suit. Complete recovery was undoubtedly exceptionally difficult.
"By the way, what's the current time? How long was I unconscious?"
Thinking of more critical matters, he quickly asked the group.
"It's the next day. You were unconscious for a full day."
Scáthach answered his question.
"After we brought your soul back yesterday, your body recovered quickly—less than an hour—but you wouldn't wake up, so they took turns donating blood."
Combined with the soul-nurturing magic circle set up by Merlin and the others, it took a full day for Eiji to finally recover enough to wake up!
Even so, half of the damage to his soul remained unhealed.
To fully recover, he'd probably need to consume another Arcueid.
"Only the second day? That's still good!"
The frown on Eiji's brow visibly relaxed.
The injuries he sustained this time were severe—arguably the worst he'd suffered since his debut!
The battle with Goetia had truly wrecked him. He thought he might not wake up until the UO ended, or that he might be killed by Goetia while still unconscious!
If it was only the second day, that was much better than expected!
Decision made: from now on, he'd call her Goetia!
"Merlin, how many computer spaces can still be found in Kinojo City right now?"
Eiji pondered for a moment, then looked toward Merlin.
"The nourishment in those computer spaces should help me recover, right?"
According to Kishinami, the nourishment in the computer spaces was specifically prepared for injured participants like them. With enough consumption, they could replenish their power—perhaps it could even aid in healing soul injuries?
"Yes, seventy-eight in total."
Merlin nodded calmly.
Before Eiji could rejoice, he changed his tone.
"Unfortunately, the nutrients inside are completely gone, already snatched up long ago."
Yesterday, after sending Eiji's soul back, Merlin had thought about the nutrients in the cyberspaces—they would surely help Eiji recover—so he proactively went out to search for them.
However, every cyberspace he checked was completely empty.
The nutrients inside had long been devoured by others.
"There are too many participants in Kinojo City. These cyberspaces were discovered right from the start. There should still be plenty of usable cyberspaces on Earth outside, but unfortunately, we can't go out now."
Merlin could only shrug, indicating this path was a dead end.
There were still over ten thousand cyberspaces on Earth, scattered across the world. If Eiji could find just a few dozen and consume the nutrients inside, he should recover quickly.
But doing so would violate the rules, leading to immediate disqualification from the competition.
"In that case, the only option is to go out and find some enemies, absorbing their blood to recover!"
Eiji furrowed his brows fiercely.
This was troublesome.
It wasn't an issue of moral principles—the kindest duo from Chaldea had already been sent to rest. Everyone here was decisive in killing and wouldn't hesitate over such matters.
"But the problem is, will Goetia give me that opportunity?"
Eiji irritably rubbed his head.
Once he showed himself outside, Goetia would undoubtedly come to hunt him down!
He knew full well that Goetia now regarded him as the number one enemy. She would never miss a chance to kill him and would never allow him any opportunity to recover from his injuries.
"By the way, how is Goetia's injury situation?"
Eiji quickly asked the others.
"About that..."
Scáthach let out a long sigh.
"He seems completely uninjured. From yesterday to today, in just one day, he's killed countless nature gods—even Surtr and Gomorrah fell to him. How strong he is now is truly unimaginable!"
She laid out the entire situation about the Alliance of Gods to Eiji.
Over the past day, the Alliance of Gods had launched multiple assaults against Goetia!
Yet each time, they were utterly decimated!
Especially the latter two.
Surtr, the Fire Giant of Norse mythology, instigator of Ragnarök, wielded a flaming sword with four million degrees of heat capable of reducing Earth to ashes in a single day!
Gomorrah, like Sodom, was also a Beast VI.
Even these two were brutally defeated by Goetia in direct combat!
Simply put.
Goetia was on a rampage!
Eiji's heart sank—this was exactly what he had feared most.
"Goetia possesses the Holy Grail and has completed materialization of the soul. Not only is he absolutely immortal, but he can rapidly recover from any injury, no matter how severe. Plus, his strength is on par with mine..."
This slaughter spree was entirely expected!
"What a headache, what a headache!"
Eiji could easily imagine it.
The moment he showed his face, Goetia would immediately come after him!
The only reason Goetia hadn't appeared yet was likely because he was being held back by the Alliance of Gods—after all, they included powerhouses like Tiamat. Once he dealt with the Alliance, he would undoubtedly come hunting Eiji without delay!
Eiji fully believed Goetia could annihilate the Alliance of Gods!
In other words, not only was hunting other participants unfeasible, but the countdown to Goetia's attack had already begun!
Even if he were to return to his peak condition, could he truly defeat Goetia?
The pressure was overwhelming!
"Let's take stock of our combat strength."
Merlin sat down, his tone heavy with gravity.
"Miss Arcueid is severely wounded and can hardly be expected to fight. The others should recover after some rest. Among the third-tier candidates, we have Morgan and myself. The second tier includes Scáthach and Melusine. The first tier only has Eiji, whose strength is greatly diminished due to his soul injury."
And the enemy?
Goetia had grown significantly stronger through continuous hunting.
In control of the Greater Grail, possessing the Ten Rings, absolutely immortal, with an extremely fast recovery rate.
"How can we win?"
Merlin scanned the room, his gaze ultimately settling on Eiji.
After a long silence, Morgan, Melusine, and Scáthach also turned their eyes to Eiji.
In this situation, they couldn't think of any way to turn the tables.
If there was any single possibility for them to reverse their defeat into victory, they could only pin their hopes on Eiji alone!
"...If we want to win, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on this."
After pondering for a long time, Eiji reluctantly revealed his final card.
It was a sword.
A sword with only an outline.