Fate: No One Plays the Villain Like I Do

"Teacher, talking is fine, but could you not throw in personal attacks..."

The ancient snake turned his head and looked resentfully at Shamhat, who was floating nearby.

Besides, this was just the beginning.

He had only peeled back the first layer of this mille-feuille.

The third reason for tossing out that bag of gems, of course, had to do with the blue dragon Bašmu.

The tale Samael had told the Great Goddess about his escape was actually seventy percent true and thirty percent fabricated—there were traces if one knew where to look.

But the real main character was Centurion Tareel, locked away in his Spear Cage in the Underworld.

And yet the story ended with the elite squad—tasked with investigating the source of the beast calamity at the Blood Temple and relaying information to other fortress cities—being wiped out while fleeing. They had attracted the attention of the blue dragon Bašmu and a massive wave of magical beasts guarding the Cedar Forest.

Take someone's money, solve their problems.

On one hand, his past life's education had instilled in the ancient snake a deep respect for heroic soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives.

That was why he felt uneasy spending the gems that martyr had scavenged from the temple—and doing so might even bring hidden dangers.

So instead, he figured it'd be better to pass them on to Ishtar, let her go stir up trouble with Bašmu. That way, it'd also repay the clever duo who'd looked after him in the Underworld.

On the other hand, his Authority of the Beast still hadn't reached its full potential. He needed more materials to evolve and awaken the Spirit Origin of the [Eleven Offspring].

Simply put, he was eyeing Bašmu's body—he wanted to devour that massive beast. But lacking the strength to hunt it himself, he had no choice but to spend money to hire Ishtar as his muscle.

Never mind all the myths and heroic epics where dragons always get slain.

Dragon bloodlines are infamous for drawing aggro and being the strongest kind of debuff magnets!

But in the true Age of Gods, named dragons were genuinely apex divine beasts.

Unless you were some fated child or a buff-stacked monster of a hero, picking a fight with a dragon was basically suicide.

So if Ishtar had a change of heart and really went to slay the dragon, then handed over Bašmu's corpse as proof—

He could casually snag some precious dragon blood and see a huge power boost.

And if that great goddess didn't keep her word, well... that just meant it was time to peel back the fourth layer of the mille-feuille.

According to the timeline, as the great calamity escalated in the future, Uruk would teeter on the brink.

Ishtar would end up getting conned by King Gilgamesh into becoming his hired muscle for a mere thirty percent cut of ore from the treasury.

Even though that was basically a worthless promise assuming the Hero King was immortal, if he could just get a seat at the negotiation table, there was plenty of room to maneuver.

When they met again, all the things Ishtar had greedily snatched would come spilling back out—multiplied several times over.

Heh. Making a deal with this ancient snake and still thinking you'll come out ahead? Ever heard of a devil's bargain?

Samael's lips curled into a small smile, quite pleased with the name that had come to him in a flash of inspiration.

"Hey, what are you grinning about? That smile is disgusting..."

Under the flickering firelight, Shamhat hugged her arms tightly. An uneasy chill crept up her spine—as if she could faintly see the silhouette of a giant serpent slithering through the dark.

"Nothing. Just thinking about my next move."

Snapped out of his thoughts by this troublesome woman, the ancient snake rolled his eyes and responded offhandedly.

Their relationship was strictly cooperative. There was no reason for him to share all his secrets with Shamhat.

After all, this sacred prostitute belonged to Uruk and had deep ties with Gilgamesh.

Samael was currently planning how to siphon off thirty percent of the Hero King's treasury under the guise of negotiation. No way he'd be dumb enough to spill the truth.

Shamhat didn't suspect a thing and promptly offered her suggestion.

"Well, isn't it obvious? We should go to Uruk and rendezvous with the king!"

"If anyone can save Mesopotamia now, that Hero King is probably the last hope left."

Samael raised a hand and stroked his chin without commenting.

After all, in the end, not even Gilgamesh had been able to prevent Uruk's destruction. He gave everything he had just to preserve the ember of Sumerian civilization.

But for now, if they wanted to dismantle the Three Goddess Alliance and create the conditions for the return of the Mother Goddess Tiamat, then he would have to side with Uruk. He needed to quietly gain favor by supporting Tiamom—who was suppressing her instincts in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers to protect humanity—and build up goodwill and influence.

Still, before heading toward the Absolute Demonic Front, gathering intel was essential to ensure his plans could unfold smoothly.

Tch. He still had too few cards to play. Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, exhausting and dangerous.

If only he had the power to bulldoze through everything...

The ancient snake tapped his temple and muttered helplessly.

Just as Samael was deep in thought, his beast instincts kicked in—his neck hairs bristled, and his snake eyes contracted into tiny slits.

"Watch out! Something's coming!"

Shamhat, equally alert, gave a warning before decisively dissolving into mist and slipping into the Ghost Cage.

"Roar!"

At nearly the same moment, a mass of golden flames tinged with reddish-brown surged out from the darkness behind them, lunging straight at them.

Samael narrowed his eyes, dodged the strike by a hair's breadth, lowered his stance, and channeled silvery-white light down his elbow—slamming it hard into the belly of the charging beast.

Boom!

The Magical Beast, drawn to the light source, flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into a dirt mound and kicking up clouds of dust.

Mad Lion Uridimmu? Sorry, but I know your anatomy inside and out!

The ancient snake coldly smirked as he watched the golden-brown feline in the crater struggle a few times before its breath weakened—its spine snapped.

So some stray Magical Beasts had managed to flank Babylon's defenses and enter deep into enemy territory. Things weren't looking good for Uruk.

Samael immediately sensed the bigger picture and frowned at the uncertain path ahead.

Well, one step at a time.

May as well absorb this ready-made material to enhance the Magical Beast Spirit Origin within his Authority of the Beast.

The ancient snake gazed at the half-paralyzed, snarling Mad Lion, and began approaching with dark intent.

But just a few steps in, the wind howled—and dozens of crimson "lights" suddenly lit up in the surrounding darkness.

Samael's breath hitched. His face froze.

Damn it! Lions are pack hunters, and Uridimmu still kept that instinct!

What, are all the Uruk soldiers on the Babylonian front blind? Magical Beasts breached the barrier and were roaming the interior in packs?!

He scanned the area—at least a dozen Mad Lions were already fanning out around him. His expression darkened, cursing inwardly.

Woooooo!

With the roar of wind splitting the air, more than ten Mad Lions bared their fangs and charged straight at Samael, who stood alone by the campfire.

No choice now! Trapped with no way out, Samael gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash every bit of his Authority of the Beast. His skin began to squirm and shift as the flesh underneath twisted.

"Get down!"

Just then, a sharp, youthful voice rang out across the wasteland. The ancient snake, ready to fight to the death, instinctively crouched low and covered his head.

At the same time, chains slithered out across the plain like serpents, binding every charging Magical Beast in place.

Then—slicing through the air—came a flash of violet-red light. Foul-smelling blood erupted in gouts as one beast after another was cleanly beheaded.

Amid the misty blood, a small, hooded figure stepped toward the firelight, her presence both eerie and mesmerizing.