Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"Huh?" Quetzal couldn't help but be surprised.

Quetzal, who took over Eridu and built a temple here, certainly knew the origin of the giant axe inserted next to the temple.

The huge axe, which far exceeds the scale of contemporary human buildings, undoubtedly declares its identity as the main god's treasure.

Only Quetzalcoatl, who is also the main god, can lift and throw such a huge weapon. It is impossible to wield it freely like his own Maquawit, or to release its true name as a treasure.

After the surprise, there was shock and tension.

She enjoys fighting on the battlefield and will do her best to defeat her opponents, but she does not expect her opponents to do such self-destructive actions.

That is the treasure of the king of gods. Even if Shiomi, who has touched the power of the Mother Goddess with his mortal body, cannot use such a treasure.

That is sheer self-destruction.

"Stop! That axe is different from Odin's spear. It's not a treasure that you can control!" Quetzal shouted to stop her while confronting Altria.

However, Xijian seemed not to hear it. He squatted down and touched the hand axe of the king of gods with his hand.

The human body standing on the axe is as small as a mantis standing on a human hand.

He knew very well that this axe was different from Gungnir, which was entrusted to him by Odin specifically for the sake of mankind.

Perhaps it was because he inherited the original Rune, or perhaps there were other reasons.

But since they are all treasures of the King of Gods, regardless of whether they are allowed or not, the basic principles will not be too different.

Folly, brutality...or something else.

Shiomi is well aware of the price of doing so, but this is a step that must be taken not only to defeat the Sun Goddess in front of him, but also for the enemies who have not yet appeared, or those who have appeared but cannot be reached.

This was also a step he started thinking about after he learned about the existence of the Axe of Marduk.

Therefore, even if it will be seen as an act of usurpation, one must make the choice.

"An, Enki, Marduk... the kings of the gods of Mesopotamia, your eyes watch the planets in the darkness, and your power shapes the blood and flesh of mankind. I will use your power in a human body to open up a way forward!"

Reciting these words slowly is not a prayer, but a notification.

Shiomi does not have faith in God, only the most basic respect.

So when he tried to control the Axe of Marduk and hold that power in his hands, a burden that seemed to tear his body, mind and soul apart suddenly swept over him.

This is the symbol of power and authority of Marduk, the king of gods. Whoever tries to get involved or master it will feel the same horror as the original hell when the planet was born.

The azure sky suddenly darkened, and lightning and thunder rolled in the dark clouds. One of the lightning bolts rushed straight to the earth and hit the Axe of Marduk.

Shiomi, who was concentrating all her attention on the treasure in front of her, had no time to respond.

Moreover, this is not an ordinary thunderbolt, but a punishment imposed on the gods who broke the shackles, enough to deprive them of their divinity and power.

But what would happen if it was not a god but a human who endured such a lightning strike?

Shiomi fell from the back of the axe to the middle of the Sun Pyramid.

"Master?!" Artoria cried out in surprise.

Morgan couldn't even make a sound. She stretched out her hand towards Xijian, but she was of no help.

This is his choice, and it is also the price he needs to pay.

"It's too late to save it... Strength beyond one's own limits will only lead to destruction. This is true for humans, and even more so for gods—"

In her consternation, Quetzalcoatl announced what she was sure would be the outcome.

Mistakes within mistakes are not what human beings should do.

Then the battle ended tragically.

It should be so.

The Axe of Marduk began to shake, without any object touching it, as if a hand in the void had grasped the long handle of the axe.

Shiomi walked out from the platform in the middle of the pyramid. He was no longer the same as he was a moment ago. Blood was flowing, his eyes were dim, and his body was on the verge of collapse.

Only his will was left to drive him forward.

Another bolt of lightning fell, but this time it missed. Before that, he jumped up, or rather... floated up, hovering right in front of the Pyramid of the Sun.

As he moved, the Axe of Marduk flew above the temple square.

"—!"

The scene was beyond her cognition, and Quetzalcoatl turned from astonishment to ecstasy. She pushed Altria away and slammed the ground hard. The shock wave pushed the two of them more than ten meters away.

"Whether it's the Axe of Marduk or something else, if you can use it, use it! Powerful human!"

The unstoppable magical power from Quetzal surged and spread to the surrounding land.

The Noble Phantasm is released.

“‘The blazing flames can burn even the gods’!”

Legend has it that when Quetzalcoatl left the Aztecs, he burned down his palace in order not to hand over his wealth to Tezcatlipoca.

The original intention was to surround the area with flames to prevent the opponent from releasing the True Name of the Noble Phantasm.

However, due to Quetzal's own personality, this treasure also has other forms, such as being used as absolute force to fight off a falling axe.

"『■■■■■■』."

Shiomi's lips moved, and he uttered his true name, which no one could hear, and the axe of Marduk fell.

Thunder and lightning flashed as the two civilizations' main gods' treasures met here. The blazing magic power melted the earth and the rocks that built the temple.

Only the "Sun Calendar Stone" still stands on the top of the temple, witnessing the impact that changed the color of the sky and the earth.

When the conflict ended, Marduk's axe was embedded in the temple square, leaving a huge circular pit dozens of meters deep and dozens of meters wide around it.

Quetzalcoatl was lying on the slope on one side of the pit. His body, which had never been seriously injured, was now stained with blood.

"You are quite capable. You can even control the power of Marduk's Axe... although you seem to have reached your limit."

Quetzal smiled brightly but helplessly.

After all, it was an incomplete power. If Marduk had taken action himself, he would probably have disappeared.

She had indeed lost, at least she couldn't continue fighting for a short time.

The other party showed such power that even if it was out of selfish motives, Quetzal would give up the "Three Goddesses Alliance".

Shiomi did not answer Quetzal's words. He lowered his eyes, seemed to smile, and then fell from the sky like a kite with a broken string.

Then, he completely lost consciousness and was caught by Morgan and Altria.

Chapter 50: The Dream of Origin Part 2

The endless deep sea.

A gentle and sad voice echoed in it.

It was like a song, or perhaps, it was just words that even humans could not understand, words that did not belong to human vocabulary.

The original language.

Are we here again? Shiomi thought to herself.

He tried to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the sea water pouring into his throat, so he had to close his mouth again.

But gradually, Shiomi began to understand what this ocean meant.

...This is original sin, this is the original sin of mankind.

There are many kinds of sin.

Cheating others, hurting others, envying others, taking lives.

These are all evils that only humans will bear, and these are all poisons that will only affect humans.

And yet—this is the oldest evil of all.

"Original Sin II".

Left ■ and abandoned the evil of paradise.

Life was born from the sea, the primordial sea Namu, the goddess of origin Namu.

To humans, the goddess is the ocean. The sound of the waves will become a call, recording all sins in detail.

Looking back, I can't forget it.

This sound is mankind's original sin, and its name is mankind's salvation.

His consciousness gradually began to become confused. The light in the deep sea, still out of reach, seemed to attract Shiomi's will. He instinctively wanted to get closer, but couldn't.

"Whose child are you...?"

Familiar words sounded, as if I had heard them somewhere before.

"...My, child... No... Not... My——"

Affirmation and negation, acceptance and rejection.

The answer to the antinomy.

"Since... humans are all your children, then——"

Then, Shiomi subconsciously gave his answer, but before he could finish his words, which were swallowed by the deep sea, the light disappeared completely and he was swept away by the invisible ocean current.

Sinking and rising.

Finally stay away.

……

"—?!"

The view shifted, and before him was the dome of the side hall of the Uruk ziggurat.

One of the chambers at Uruk where he was entertained.

My body felt heavier than lead, my fingers couldn't move, and even standing up seemed as if I was restrained by gravity and couldn't move.

He saw that someone was holding one of his hands, and he tilted his head slightly, and his fingers finally moved as he wished.

The man holding the hand looked up.

"Morgan..."

Her name flowed between her lips and teeth and turned into sound.

Xijian had seen many expressions on Morgan's face, including joy, sadness, indifference, and teasing, but this was the first time he saw her look so helpless.

Even a traveler walking alone in the endless wilderness, with no direction or end, and no way to rest, cannot compare to this.

The tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but they were still like a piece of wrinkled silk that could not be smoothed out.

The light in his eyes changed from hopelessness to hope.

The joyful smile returns to the earth like a spring breeze, spreading out little by little, but bringing with it some chilly spring rain.

Those were her tears, sliding down her cheeks that were pressed against the back of her hand.

"……sorry……"

"Finally awake." Morgan said reassuring words, but his hands were clenched tighter, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.

The reason why Shiomi apologized was because he realized how bad his situation was.

Strength that exceeds one's own limits will only lead to destruction.

He knew this truth very well, but still behaved so irrationally.

The hand axe of the God King Marduk tried to grasp the power of that treasure - it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a divine weapon - and use it to defeat the opponent in front of him.

If it were someone else, another magician, the power would probably have dissipated the moment they used it because they couldn't bear it.

He was extremely lucky to be alive.

"How long...have I slept?" Xijian asked.

"Ten days. A full ten days." Morgan's voice was slightly choked.

Chaldea's instruments have even determined that Shiomi's body can no longer be maintained and will disappear sooner or later.

"Really?" Xi Jian didn't know what to say.