Unnatural Death

Just as Rovey was about to ask further questions, a series of sounds of "clanging soldiers!" and panic suddenly rang out from the palace below.

The group found it strange, so they immediately went down to check. They found Siduri sitting on the palace steps, crying her heart out, while Anna stood by, at a loss.

"What's wrong, Siduri?"

Rovey immediately stepped forward to inquire.

"Rovey... Rovey! The King, the King, he has just suddenly passed away! Waaaaaah—!!!"

Siduri said with a sob in her voice and a sorrowful expression.

Upon hearing this, Merry and Black Lancer Artoria looked stunned.

Gilgamesh...

Dead?!

Meanwhile, Rovey's thoughts were still on the "Fairy Transformation" that Merry had just mentioned.

At the same time, he sighed as if he had expected it.

"—He really died at the worst possible time."

Chapter 248 Unnatural Death

Inside the royal palace in Uruk.

They were just discussing the details of "Fairy Transformation" that Merry had mentioned on the rooftop. Then, a moment later, they were all drawn down by a commotion coming from the palace below.

When they entered the now incredibly noisy palace in Uruk, especially after more and more people saw Gilgamesh's remains, the scene around the palace became increasingly chaotic.

At this moment, in the Ishtar Temple, which served as the royal palace of Uruk and the temporary political center, the priests and officials who were originally on duty had all gathered around. Looking at their faces, one could see that they were all filled with sorrow, but even so, their eyes shone with determination and courage.

They both looked up at the highest throne.

At this very moment, on that majestic throne sat a familiar Blond Man. Even though he had lost consciousness, his back remained straight, and his posture was solemn and upright. Just sitting there gave people a sense of solemn majesty, but he was no longer as lively as before, and instead had his eyes tightly closed.

Gilgamesh, the greatest king of Uruk, sits there now, fast asleep.

Siduri then led Rovey and the others into the temple.

She, who had been hiding in a corner outside the temple and weeping bitterly because of Gilgamesh's death, returned here now with a completely calm face instead of a weeping one.

It was as if the vulnerability she had shown earlier was just an illusion; Siduri at this moment was completely different from before.

"High Priest..."

"Lord Siduri..."

"High Priestess Siduri..."

Upon seeing Siduri enter, the palace officials who had been weeping beneath Gilgamesh made way for her, clearing a path through the crowd so that Siduri could walk directly to Gilgamesh.

"Yes, you've all worked hard."

After comforting the weeping people, Siduri led Rovey and the others to the king. She then raised her trembling finger and pointed to the figure on the throne, saying, "Your Majesty, he passed away right here."

"..."

Looking at Gilgamesh on the throne, Rovey Wei's expression became somewhat complicated. Although this guy was usually very annoying and irritating, and always liked to argue with him, now that he was really dead, he was no longer foul-mouthed, which made Luo Wei feel a little uncomfortable.

However, compared to Siduri and the Ministry of Internal Affairs' heartbroken expressions, he could only sigh a little. After all, he knew Gilgamesh had gone, and he could bring him back to life if he went there himself.

Just after bringing Rovey and the others to Gilgamesh's body, Siduri glanced at the officials of the Imperial Household Department kneeling on the ground, weeping and reluctant to leave, and said in a sorrowful tone, "What are you all still doing here? The King entrusted so many important tasks to you, why aren't you hurrying to complete them, instead of gathering here? Do you want the King to die with regrets?!"

"But... Lady Siduri, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he has already..."

An official, filled with sorrow, gritted his teeth and tried to speak, but halfway through his sentence, he was too overwhelmed with grief to utter a single word.

For Uruk, Gilgamesh is undoubtedly a pillar of support, and an important pillar of support for the Sumerian.

It is because of his existence that Uruk has been able to survive until now. However, he, who is so important, has left us, and in such a difficult situation!

When such a thing happened before their eyes, everyone felt as if the sky had fallen, unable to control their emotions, and mostly confused and at a loss.

How can they survive without a king?

Without Gilgamesh, how can they possibly contend with the Beast Goddess?

They all looked at Siduri with sorrow, seeking answers from her.

"Everyone..."

However, Siduri merely glanced at them, then sighed sadly before calmly saying, "The King has entrusted the work to you. You are now the cornerstone of Uruk. Rather than wasting time here, completing your tasks is undoubtedly more important. I believe the King certainly doesn't want to see you stop working because of him, causing Uruk to grind to a halt. I think you won't disappoint the King, right?"

"Lord Siduri..."

The stewards and priests looked at Siduri in surprise, but at the same time calmed down.

They all knew very well that, in all of Uruk, besides Enkidu, the only person with the best relationship with the King was the High Priestess Siduri. They had all witnessed Siduri's heart-wrenching grief when Enkidu died. Yet, despite witnessing the King's death once again, she remained so calm, seemingly without a trace of sorrow. This was definitely not cold-heartedness, but rather her own unique kind of grief...

Be strong.

"Yes, Lady Siduri, we understand."

Upon hearing Siduri's words, the officials in charge of internal affairs knelt down one after another, and the priests did not linger any longer. All they could do was lower their heads, grit their teeth, wipe away their tears, and walk out of the temple in a line to do what they had to do.

Although I am filled with immense sorrow at this moment, Lady Siduri is right.

Now is not the time for grief, nor is there time for them to stay here to weep, mourn, or hold a funeral for the king.

They carried a mission on their shoulders, the high hopes placed upon them by the king, and the very survival of Uruk. What they had to do was to move forward with all their might and continue to keep the city running in the king's place.

A few more minutes passed.

After her subordinates and the housekeepers left, Siduri, who had been calm and pretending to be strong, collapsed to the ground. Looking at the dead Gilgamesh in front of her, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

Her so-called strength was nothing more than a performance she deliberately put on for her subordinates.

At this moment, her sorrow surpassed that of anyone in Uruk, and there was no one in this world who was truly strong enough to overcome sorrow. So-called strong people were nothing more than those who wept silently in the darkness, and Siduri was such a person.

With Gilgamesh dead, Uruk is leaderless, leaving only her as the high priestess to oversee the situation. If the officials were to see her in a state of disarray, it would inevitably cause panic among them. Therefore, she must not shed tears in front of the officials and must maintain a calm demeanor. But... how could she bear it?

The pillars of Uruk have collapsed, and she is powerless to do anything about it, only able to weep here.

Now that things have come to this, Siduri doesn't know what she should do.

"Lord Enkidu, Gilgamesh, please tell me, what should I do?"

Siduri grasped Gilgamesh's already cold hand and choked back painful sobs.

"No, don't rush to mourn or bury him. This is not a normal death."

Just as Siduri was weeping bitterly, Rovey, who was checking on Gilgamesh's condition, suddenly spoke up.

"Not...a normal death?" Siduri looked at Rovey with astonishment.

"Indeed, this is not a normal death." Besides Merry, who had been sent out by Rovey to find something, Black Lancer Artoria, who had just finished examining Gilgamesh's body, also spoke up at this moment, "If it were a normal death, then the body's functions would inevitably be severely damaged or naturally weakened. These correspond to death on the battlefield and natural birth, aging and death, respectively, and Gilgamesh does not belong to either of these two situations."

After saying that, she examined Gilgamesh's body again with her divine eyes, becoming more and more certain of her conclusion. She continued, "Although Gilgamesh's body is dead, his life force is still very strong. His bodily functions and organs are only gradually slowing down, rather than failing directly, which seems very strange."

"My test results were the same."

Upon hearing Black Lancer Artoria's conclusion, Rovey nodded in agreement. He had reached the same conclusion and knew exactly what had happened.

Rovey Wei said, "Gilgamesh's heart is still beating, but so faintly that it is imperceptible. His blood circulation is still going on, but his soul has gone somewhere."

"This, this means... the king, him."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light reappeared in Siduri's eyes.

"There's still hope. I'll give it a try."

Rovey gave her an affirmative answer, then cut her own arm, instantly filling the room with the aroma of wine. Rovey brought the blood from her arm to Gilgamesh's lips and helped him drink it.

Although his soul and consciousness were gone, Gilgamesh's bodily functions were still intact. When blood was poured into his mouth, the pale complexion on his face did regain some color. Seeing this, Siduri clenched her fists excitedly, her eyes filled with hope. She looked forward to the scene of Gilgamesh opening his eyes again.

But that's not enough...

His blood is for treating external injuries, but it's useless for the missing soul. It only makes his body stronger so that he can withstand his next move.

Then, Rovey slapped his forehead and chanted a spell to summon his soul, trying to pull Gilgamesh back before his soul completely fell into the Underworld.

Unfortunately, the Underworld of Mesopotamia was too close to Uruk. In such a short time, Gilgamesh's soul had already entered the Underworld, and the incantation he recited was ineffective. He had to go there in person.

"... That's impossible, how could they walk so fast?"

Rovey Wei was initially puzzled; how could it be possible to enter the Underworld in just over an hour?

The Underworld is too close; could it be near Uruk?

But upon closer reflection, he remembered that Ereshkigal seemed to have indeed moved the Underworld to a location not far from Uruk, and even if given a few more days, it could completely relocate and become Uruk's neighbor. In that case, Gilgamesh to reach the Underworld in an hour was not so difficult to understand.

"Anyway... let's go. After all, her Holy Grail needs to be retrieved, and Nitocris needs to be brought back. Besides, since we've already met once, it shouldn't be too difficult to communicate."

Rovey muttered a few words to himself, then withdrew his hand.

Upon seeing this, Siduri immediately stepped forward and asked, "Lord Rovey, King Gilgamesh, he..."

Rovey shook his head and replied, "His soul has gone to the Underworld. I can't bring it back now. I'll have to think of another way."

"The Underworld?"

Upon hearing this word, Black Lancer Artoria immediately understood and looked at Rovey.

"So, a god with the power of 'death' just visited Uruk and took Gilgamesh's soul—speaking of which, have there been any unnatural deaths like this in Uruk before? For example, cases like Gilgamesh's, where people lost their souls and consciousness but still retained their physiological functions," she asked Siduri.

Yes, yes.

Upon hearing their questions, Siduri nodded quickly and said hastily, "This has happened several times before, and it's happening in other cities as well. I reported this to the King before you set off, and he ordered their bodies to be preserved in a secret underground chamber in Uruk, and sent people to feed them water and food. He will figure out a solution later."

"If that's the case, then we can be certain that the god of death has visited Uruk."

Black Lancer Artoria, then said with a troubled expression, "But... who could it be? Is it the Beast Goddess? But the Beast Goddess shouldn't be associated with death, right...? If she could curse Gilgamesh like that, Uruk would have collapsed long ago, not waiting until now. Could it be that there are other gods of the underworld in this Singularity that we don't know about?"

"Siduri, do you know?" she asked, "That any gods of the Underworld have been summoned within the Three Goddess Alliance?"

"No, I've never heard the King mention the existence of a god of the underworld in the Three Goddess Alliance. The Three Goddess Alliance consists of Lady Ishtar, the forest goddess of Ur, and the Beast Goddess Gorgon. There shouldn't be a god of the underworld among them..."

Siduri pondered deeply, but could not find the answer.

However, at this moment, Rovey provided an answer, saying, "The Three Goddess Alliance does not include Ishtar; she is merely a goddess to fill a spot. The third seat belongs to someone else."

"Um?"

Black Lancer Artoria and Siduri both looked over.

"Not Lady Ishtar?!"

"You mean this situation was caused by the third deity in the Three Goddess Alliance?"

"Ishtar is indeed not a member of the Three Goddess Alliance, and she wasn't responsible for this incident." Rovey nodded, then said, "Because that one is very well hidden, she went unnoticed. Or rather, she wouldn't need to hide to be forgotten by the world, because she is one of the oldest beings on this land, existing even before the founding of Uruk —that concept of 'death.' It's just that because she cannot walk on the ground, Gilgamesh overlooked it. Now she has taken action, perhaps sensing Tiamat's current changes, or perhaps it's her own intention, so she has recently begun collecting human souls. I believe you are very familiar with this being— Siduri."

"I think I understand..."

Siduri nodded. After all, Rovey had made his point so clear, how could she, as the High Priestess of Uruk, still be completely ignorant?

Death, which has existed since ancient times and since the founding of Uruk, is unable to walk on the earth. There is only one such being in Mesopotamia: the sister of Lady Ishtar, the great being who once defeated Ishtar and left the gods helpless, residing in the Underworld.

But the thought of that terrifying being made Siduri even more anxious.

After all, she was a follower of Ishtar, so the image of the Lord of the Underworld that she heard from Ishtar was vastly different from the one in reality. The thought of Gilgamesh's soul falling into that person's hands made her break out in a cold sweat.

"Ereshkigal? The native Mesopotamia goddess of the underworld, right? The mistress of the Underworld who is the opposite of Ishtar."

Black Lancer Artoria had lived with those refugees for a long time, had obviously heard of this name.

"Yes, only she could do such a thing. But since it is [death], the soul it has taken must still exist in the Underworld of this land. So all we need to do is go to the Underworld and take back Gilgamesh's soul."

The biggest difference between the world of the Age of Age of Gods and the modern primate world is the existence of the "Heaven" and the "Underworld" recorded in mythological illustrations. In modern times, these two worlds do not exist. The underground world where the Underworld originally existed is just ordinary land where resources such as oil and gold might be found.

The dome of the sky is the "celestial realm" where the gods reside, while the extreme realm of the earth is the abode of Hades and the god of death, the origin of the cycle of human souls. The world itself is a large canvas, with the human realm in the very center, the divine realm above, and the Underworld below.

If Gilgamesh's soul can be brought out and reinfused into his body before his physical functions completely deteriorate to the point of death, thus completing the resurrection, then he can be resurrected.

"So, we're going to the Underworld next?" Black Lancer Artoria asked.

"This is the only way, and even if Ereshkigal doesn't intervene, I'm still going."

Rovey nodded, then looked at Siduri and asked, "Siduri, do you know where the Underworld of this land is?"

Although you know the general city, the Underworld has entrances and barriers. Digging randomly will only touch the barriers. To successfully enter, you need a more precise location.

However, upon hearing this question, Siduri, whom Rovey Wei had assumed would have a clear answer, shook her head, a look of worry on her face, and replied, "I'm sorry, I really don't know..."