I’m Fighting Tiamat… For Real?

The words the woman had spoken upon descending were a declaration of victory, one filled with absolute confidence in her own strength.

And indeed, she had every reason to be confident.

The goddess of beauty, fertility, and war in Mesopotamian myth…

—Ishtar.

Even back in the Age of Gods, in the city of Uruk, the divine authorities she possessed were enough to make other gods wary.

Even if her opponent was the White Dragon, Ishtar had full confidence that she could drive out the rat that had slipped into the estate.

…It would also count as repayment for the treasures King Mark had offered.

Ishtar reached into one of the chests of jewels, grabbed a handful of gold and gems, and her face lit up with delight.

Upon seeing the goddess willing to act, King Mark was also filled with joy. He said, "Then I leave everything in your hands, Goddess."

"However… if the intruder is hiding somewhere in the estate, how do you plan to find him?"

Ishtar flashed a smile, her charm radiating.

"You underestimate my senses, King Mark."

"The reason you can't sense his presence now is only because he's using some special authority to mask it. But I don't believe he can maintain that kind of concealment forever."

"Don't worry… Once he lifts his concealment, even if he's already left the estate, I'll still catch this big rat instantly."

"Now step back, King Mark… unless you want to be caught in the crossfire."

King Mark froze for a moment, watching as Ishtar slowly closed her eyes in the center of the hall.

At the same time, an overwhelming and indescribable magical power began to radiate from her.

That divine aura, one that made people instinctively want to kneel and worship, instantly blanketed the entire estate.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Just by sensing this divine presence, King Mark couldn't help but feel a surge of alarm, his heartbeat quickening out of his control.

Though he had long known that "gods" possessed power far beyond human comprehension, Ishtar's display still exceeded his expectations.

After a brief moment of astonishment, a look of frenzied anticipation soon appeared on King Mark's face.

The "rat" that sneaked into the estate…

He still wasn't sure if it was Alvin, but running into this goddess now, well, bad luck for whoever it was.

Thinking about it, King Mark quickly left the hall and made his way toward his private chambers.

Just as he reached a long corridor, he ran into a red-haired knight walking toward him.

King Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Tristan? What are you doing here?"

"I sensed something strange coming from the hall just now, so I was on my way to check it out," Tristan replied, his gaze narrowing as he looked toward the direction behind King Mark, toward the hall and quickly furrowed his brows.

When Ishtar's sensory field had swept across the entire estate, Tristan had naturally noticed it.

'As I suspected… Uncle must've done something again', Tristan thought to himself.

"This doesn't concern you, Tristan," King Mark said in a low voice.

"I've already arranged for someone to deal with it. All you need to do is watch silently."

"Dismissed."

Tristan silently looked toward the direction of the hall again, then looked at King Mark's firm stance.

Left with no choice, he quietly turned and walked away.

When he returned to his own quarters, a blonde woman immediately walked up to him, holding a cup of freshly brewed tea.

"What's wrong? You look so serious," Isolde asked softly.

"It's nothing. Just ran into something troublesome," Tristan replied as he took the warm tea.

He didn't drink it, instead, he sat in silence, frowning and thinking about what had just occurred.

Very quickly, as if something had just occurred to him, Tristan's expression shifted slightly.

"This is bad… I have to go find him!"

"What do you mean?" Isolde looked puzzled.

Tristan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as his tone dropped.

"Alvin might be in danger."

In the twilight of the Age of Gods that Britain now existed in, true gods were no longer supposed to exist.

After all, the mana in the world had become too thin to sustain a divine being.

However… if his senses were correct, that overwhelming detection wave just now, sweeping across the entire estate, was nearly divine in magnitude.

He didn't know why a "god" would appear in the estate, but based on everything that had just happened, it was obvious someone had sensed an intruder in King Mark's manor.

He had to warn Alvin—immediately.

…

"Achoo!"

Alvin suddenly let out an earth-shattering sneeze and muttered, "...Why do I have this strange feeling of danger?"

As a mythical creature, the White Dragon was already far from ordinary, and most of the time, its ominous instincts turned out to be accurate.

Could danger really be approaching him?

That shouldn't be the case… Unless… Morgan or Lily already noticed his presence here, and were now on their way?

"What's wrong? You look kind of distracted."

Tiamat Lily, nestled in Alvin's arms, looked up at him with a delicate, sleepy face.

She had just taken a nap in the boy's embrace.

Alvin was holding her in a princess carry with hands under her soft, pale thighs.

To be honest, he had never really carried anyone like this before, so the whole thing felt a little awkward.

Tiamat clung to Alvin's neck like a koala, as if trying to bury her entire petite body into his chest… The intimacy of the position allowed Alvin to clearly catch a faint, soothing scent from her.

Her light-blue hair swayed gently with the breeze, and a stray lock brushed against his arm now and then, tickling him subtly, sending a shiver up his spine.

Before Alvin could answer, Tiamat suddenly spoke softly, as if sensing something, "Your friend is approaching."

My friend?

Was she talking about Tristan…? Alvin's eyes flickered slightly.

"Can you remove this barrier for now?"

Tiamat nodded silently and slipped out of Alvin's arms.

Then she gently raised a finger and made a light swipe through the air.

The domain formed by the tide of chaos dispersed quietly, like the ebb of the sea, vanishing without a sound.

Just then, Tristan hurried in from the garden's entrance.

"What's going on? You look like you're in a rush."

Seeing Tristan's tense expression, Alvin couldn't help but ask with some confusion.

Tristan walked up quickly, his voice low and grim:

"Alvin, you need to leave this place. Immediately."

A flicker of confusion passed through Alvin's eyes, he still hadn't pieced together what had happened.

Buzz!

Suddenly, a ringing sound echoed in his ears.

At that very moment, a colossal surge of magic transformed into a tangible force and locked directly onto Alvin.

His body tensed slightly, he felt as though a pair of divine, commanding eyes were staring at him from behind.

This… is a god?

The thought flashed quickly through his mind.

Only a divine being could possibly make a White Dragon feel threatened.

But how could there be a god inside King Mark's estate?

"Go—quickly, while you still can!"

Tristan's voice pulled Alvin back to reality.

"It's too late."

Alvin shook his head lightly.

"The opponent has already locked onto me… and even if I could leave, she can't."

He gestured toward Tiamat beside him.

If Alvin really wanted to escape, he could activate his special authority, [Watchman EX], to vanish completely from perception.

But Tiamat didn't possess any ability to completely hide her presence.

Tristan lowered his head, thinking for a moment, then declared:

"I'll go stall her for you!"

As he spoke, he turned, ready to dash out of the garden.

"No need, Tristan."

Just then, Alvin reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If I'm not mistaken… this must be King Mark's doing, right? Do you really want to go against your uncle now?"

The words hit a sore spot as Tristan froze mid-step, his expression wavering with hesitation.

"But you…"

"I'll be fine. But if possible, I do have something I'd like your help with,"

Alvin continued.

"What do you want me to do?" Tristan asked.

"It's simple."

Alvin looked up at him with a smile.

"Bring me more snacks… and remove all the concealment barriers in the garden."

Tristan was clearly stunned.

The enemy was practically knocking at the door… and Alvin wanted snacks?

Was he planning to treat the enemy to Isolde's baking?

"Alvin, this isn't the time for jokes…"

"I'm not joking," Alvin replied with a grin. "Isolde's pastries are pretty good, and I think she didn't get to eat her fill just now."

Tristan glanced unconsciously at the woman beside Alvin… or more accurately, the little girl.

In the end, he nodded slightly and sighed.

"I understand… Take care of yourself."

Tristan quickly left, and not long after, someone brought over a new tray of snacks.

Alvin took a small sip of black tea and glanced down at Tiamat, who was still seated in his lap.

She seemed completely unaware of the approaching danger or perhaps she simply didn't care.

At this moment, Tiamat's full attention was locked onto the tray of desserts on the table.

Her eyes sparkled, and it seemed like even the stars reflected in her pupils were shining.

But she didn't move just yet. Instead, she turned her head and looked at the boy behind her.

"Eat. These are all for you,"

Alvin nodded.

After getting confirmation, the blue-haired girl reached out and grabbed a piece of bread from the table, then placed a slice of lamb into it and wrapped it up.

"Aah~"

She opened her small mouth and took a big bite, then, after a moment of thought, generously offered the other half to Alvin.

"Want some? It has meat in it."

Alvin felt genuinely touched.

For a naturally food-loving girl, sharing food with someone else meant she already saw him as very close, like one of her own.

What surprised Tiamat was that this time, Alvin didn't refuse.

He ate the remaining half in one bite.

Tiamat blinked, dazed, staring blankly at him.

Wait—you actually ate it?

The treachery of the human heart was on full display in that moment.

She had thought Alvin would reject her again like earlier… She never expected him to just eat it without hesitation.

From then on, Tiamat didn't ask if he wanted any more.

Instead, she hugged a small roasted lamb shank to herself and started nibbling away in small bites.

In the garden, at some point, a ripple of magical energy spread softly.

Divine power—was approaching!

But Alvin seemed unaware.

He held his teacup with both hands, basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun, leisurely sipping his tea.

Tiamat popped the final piece of lamb into her mouth.

Her bright eyes sparkled as she looked toward the fruit platter on the table, pointing at one of the fruits.

After eating lamb, her mouth was full of a heavy aftertaste, naturally, fruit would help refresh the palate.

Tiamat sure knows how to enjoy herself… Alvin said, "Do you want grapes?"

Seeing her give a gentle nod, he reached out toward the fruit tray.

But just then—a figure shot in from beyond the garden!

She moved so quickly that afterimages were left trailing in the air behind her.

At the very moment Alvin's hand reached for a grape, a delicate white foot came down and stepped on the back of his hand.

Then, with one kick, his hand was knocked away and the grape rolled off the table and onto the ground.

Tiamat blinked, stunned, and slowly raised her head to look at the uninvited guest before her.

Her once-bright red eyes instantly dimmed.

At the same time, Alvin quickly moved to protect Tiamat, shielding her in his arms.

Upon seeing the woman before him clearly, his expression instantly tensed.

Ishtar stood atop the table, her twin black ponytails shimmering with a divine glow under the sunlight, like a goddess descending from the heavens.

She looked down on Alvin with arrogance, the corners of her mouth curling up smugly.

"You knew I had already locked onto you, yet you didn't even bother to hide..."

"Judging by the situation, you must be Britain's White Dragon."

Ishtar lifted her delicate foot again with regal pride and said:

"From that dumb look on your face, don't tell me you've been stunned by my beauty?

Fine, I'll give you a chance. If you lick this foot clean right now, I might consider letting you and your little companion go."

At that moment, Alvin was indeed frozen.

He had considered the possibility that King Mark might have summoned a god.

He had even speculated which deity it might be…

But he had never expected the high noble to have summoned Ishtar, the beloved Venus goddess of Mesopotamian mythology.

Seeing Alvin's oddly complicated expression, Ishtar frowned slightly.

What's up with this guy? Could he be so scared that he's gone mute?

She scanned Alvin's expression and soon noticed his visible tension, and how his gaze repeatedly dropped toward the girl in his arms.

"Oh?"

As if realizing something, a pleased grin curved at Ishtar's lips.

"So that's your lover, huh… No wonder you're acting so nervous."

"Let go. I want to see what she looks like."

Her tone was commanding.

Alvin hesitated, then replied, "Sorry… but she doesn't like being stared at by strangers—"

"Do you think I'm asking you right now?"

Ishtar wouldn't let up.

She reached out and pried Alvin's arms apart, revealing the blue-haired loli in his embrace.

She looked her over with curious interest.

Her face was bare of any makeup, long blue hair flowing freely, her petite frame exuding a natural cuteness and calm.

But those normally bright red eyes had grown dim.

She stared silently at Ishtar.

"A lo**, huh… You've got some unique taste."

Ishtar smirked as she reached out to pat the girl's head before her hand froze mid-motion.

Wait a minute...

"Why… does this magic feel so familiar…?"

Ishtar stared at Tiamat with a mixture of shock and confusion.

The latter looked back at her.

Then slowly, an indescribably terrifying aura began to seep from Tiamat's body.

The primordial magic from the dawn of creation surged forth in an instant, washing over the surroundings like a tidal wave.

Ishtar's heart skipped a beat, no, it pounded, as though something deep within her had been triggered as a tremendous wave exploded in her chest.

The smile on her face slowly froze.

"...Mother?"

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