Offer Up Your Heart

Standing on a street corner, quietly watching the Uruk citizens who, despite not knowing what they were about to face or their imminent destruction, could still chat and laugh on the street, Kingu uttered this sentiment.

Seeing these people who were about to die but could still laugh, she felt a sense of contempt for their ignorance. She believed that the reason they could still laugh was because they were completely unaware of their current predicament; their laughter stemmed from their ignorance and stupidity.

Similarly, she didn't understand it either.

How could a city so devoid of any sense of crisis, and so unable to even see its own future, possibly withstand the Demonic Beast attack it had previously launched?

Because of Enkidu's influence, she had never wanted to approach Uruk before. She had always assumed Uruk was a dangerous city, incredibly well-organized and heavily fortified, where everyone was practically a soldier. She never imagined seeing it with her own eyes would be like this. The entire city was practically identical to the outline Enkidu remembered, still exuding human characteristics, just as it always had...

"How foolish!"

With a sigh, Kingu prepared to leave.

"Aaa~"

Just as she passed a corner, a familiar voice suddenly reached her ears, followed by a soft touch on her back and a pair of white hands gently covering her eyes.

"Aaaaa~"

Tiamat imitated the way Merry teased Rovey and asked Kingu to guess who she was.

However, there was no need to detect her presence; the answer was revealed the moment she opened her mouth.

Similarly, Kingu didn't understand this kind of game that belonged to humans. If it were Rovey, he might have pretended to think and teased Tiamat, but she would have easily given the correct answer.

"Mother, why are you here today?"

Kingu asked, somewhat surprised.

After all, Tiamat usually spends all her time with those annoying humans and that guy's women and almost never Independent Action. So, the fact that she came to this corner by herself today and even greeted him made Kingu quite surprised.

"Aaaaaa..."

Tiamat thought for a moment, then pointed to the basket in her hand, which contained the groceries she had just received from the vendors, just like the other women in Uruk. She then made a chopping motion, pointed in the direction of the bakery, and told Kingu she was going to cook for the children.

Unfortunately, besides the bakery, there was also a temple in Uruk in that direction, and Gilgamesh happened to be there. Coupled with her chopping vegetables just now, Kingu suddenly clapped his hands and then realized what was going on.

"Oh! I understand now. You've finally grown tired of these detestable humans, so you've decided to eliminate them. Your decree is for me to assassinate the unconscious Gilgamesh! Don't worry, Mother, I'll do it right away, and I promise to chop his head to pieces!"

"Aaaa, Aaaaa!!"

Tiamat grabbed Kingu's arm and gave her a hard Kingu, teaching her a small lesson to correct her mistaken thinking.

Although Kingu is no longer hostile to humans, and his mother no longer hates them, he still feels somewhat annoyed by the actions of humans and gods, so he still wants to cause them some trouble. More importantly, he knows that his mother will definitely stop him, and what he just said was just a little playful interaction with his mother.

Aside from the experience of battling the gods shortly after her birth thousands of years ago, the only connection she has had with her mother since her resurrection is quietly listening to her cries. Although she still respects and loves her mother, Kingu also longs for more contact, communication, and even interaction with her.

She had previously thought that by cleansing the earth and allowing her mother to return and vent her anger, she would finally receive the love and companionship she had always longed for, and stay by her mother's side forever. That's why she was so stubborn and hated everything that stood in her way.

However, as Tiamat's seal was gradually broken by Goetia, and she herself used Rovey's blood and the tides of the Sea of Life as a catalyst to create her Spirit Origin, returning with her rational side, Kingu finally got her wish. She was able to communicate and play with her mother like a child. At the same time, she also realized that besides the endless anger and grief, her mother had something more important, something she longed for.

"So... Mother, are you going to cook?" Kingu asked.

"Aaaa, aaaa, aaaaa..."

Speaking of cooking, Tiamat was somewhat disappointed when she recently made a stewed fish from the Sea of Life, which gave the housekeepers who ate it too much energy and vitality, causing them to be unable to sleep for three days and three nights.

She was also banned from the kitchen by the chefs of Uruk because her stew with the flavor of the Sea of Life caused many citizens to feel unwell and restless. She can only bake bread now.

"What? You mean—the humans of Uruk don't allow you to cook anything other than bread because they think your cooking is too much trouble for them, so you're thinking that since you're not suited to cooking, you'll help everyone buy groceries, right?"

"Aaaa."

Tiamat nodded.

"Please rest assured, Mother. Those humans who rejected you, along with the chef, will all gather this afternoon in the blood pool where the Demonic Beast are raised at the Blood Shrine!"

Upon hearing that his mother had been bullied by those humans, Kingu swung his chains, immediately preparing to seek justice for his mother.

"Aaaa!!"

Tiamat retaliated with a rocket headbutt, knocking the unfilial son Kingu, to his knees, clutching his head and begging for forgiveness.

"I was wrong, Mother, please forgive me. I was just joking."

Kingu bowed his head and apologized.

"Aaaaa..."

Seeing her child admit her mistake, Tiamat patted Kingu's head and praised her for being a good child. Kingu was naturally very pleased, smiling slightly as she earnestly felt this maternal love she had never experienced before. Walking down the street with Tiamat, she helped her snatch the vegetables from middle-aged women who were clearly human. Although she didn't understand what was so delicious about these vegetables, she was very happy to be able to help her mother. Kingu, still worried that Tiamat wasn't doing well in Uruk, Jingu followed Tiamat to her bakery and volunteered to be Tiamat's taste tester.

Although she couldn't tell the difference between the dark bread her mother baked and the soil and stones she usually ate for sustenance, anything made by Tiamat, no matter what it was, was a delicacy, and she used this to encourage Tiamat.

"Well, now that everything you needed has been taken care of, I wish you a wonderful day, Mother."

Kingu was happy to have helped Tiamat and was also preparing to leave.

She thought her encounter with Tiamat was just a pleasant accident, but Tiamat gently pulled her from behind.

"What's wrong, Mother? Is there anything else I need to do?"

Kingu turned around and asked curiously.

"Aaaa, aaaa, aa..."

Tiamat also revealed her true feelings at this moment.

--Kingu, soon I will disappear completely. I hope you can do me a favor, my dear child.

"Please speak, Mother."

The smile on Kingu's face gradually disappeared, and his tone became heavy.

She should have realized it sooner. The area she was wandering in was so remote, and she even used a special ability like Presence Concealment to avoid being noticed by other humans. How could Tiamat finding her be a coincidence? She must have come looking for her on purpose. She must have followed the child's scent to find her.

Tiamat sought out Kingu to deliver her last words to her loved ones and to prepare Kingu her funeral arrangements.

"My child, as your mother, I am so sorry that I haven't been able to spend more time with you, and now we have to part again. This is my dereliction of duty."

But I want you to tell Rovey that I left him a trump card that could kill me. And I hope he can use the gift I gave him before I left to finish me off.

This era no longer needs gods. Humanity, and countless other lives, are all living happily. Seeing this, I, as a mother, can leave in peace. Or rather, someone like me, who causes so much trouble for everyone, should have left the stage long ago.

That day, Tiamat uttered the cruelest words to her with her happiest smile. Standing before her, Kingu silently clenched his fists, then lowered his head in anguish, unsure how to respond.

[Can you help me? My child...]

"--If this is your wish, Mother, I will not refuse."

--

--

"Now... do you understand?! Why things turned out this way?"

Clang! Clang!!

Deafening sounds and bursts of fire erupted continuously throughout the forest.

"If you hadn't stirred up your mother's emotions, she wouldn't have completely abandoned her rationality and appeared in this world prematurely—leaving behind this thing!!"

More chains erupted from Kingu's palms, her attack far surpassing any she had ever launched before.

However, facing the Chains of Heaven that she continuously launched, the crimson hand behind Rovey, covered with immense magical power, directly shattered them as always, breaking them into pieces in mid-air. Even the earthen weapons that formed beneath her feet were directly destroyed by Rovey's Magecraft, without causing any damage.

'This guy is still so strong! There's absolutely no way to resist him!'

Since that's the case--

"You bastard who deceived someone's feelings and caused my mother to make this choice, prepare to face the consequences!!"

Seeing that he had no way to deal with the chain attack, Kingu withdrew the chains, and then his hand transformed back into a golden longsword, which he slashed at Rovey.

"Be rational, Kingu. Your mother wouldn't want to see you do something like this, and—"

Facing Kingu's increasingly furious attacks, Rovey Wei calmly asked, "Why didn't Tiamat tell me about this herself?"

As he spoke, Rovey Projection a weapon in his hand, which steadily blocked the Kingu longsword that Kingu was slashing down, ending the chaotic battle between the Magecraft. The two then began to compete in terms of strength, but it was not Rovey who lost; instead, it was Kingu, who was using a divinely created body, who was steadily countered.

"You stupid wretch! Precisely because you understand each other, shouldn't you understand this even more?! How could Mother possibly tell you! Would you tell someone important about your own death?"

Seeing that she couldn't gain any advantage with her weapon, Kingu suddenly reached out with her other hand and grabbed Rovey's neck. However, before she could deal with Rovey's body, Rovey reacted even faster and grabbed her other arm with a backhand. Then he suddenly slapped Jin Gu's hand Kingu the weapon, causing her to drop the weapon due to the sudden pain.

Seeing her weapon slip from her hand and Rovey's attack coming, she hurriedly disregarded the weapon and aimed at Rovey's heart. At that moment, the finger sword formed by Rovey's two fingers had already reached Kingu's fair neck. With just a little force, Kingu's throat would be pierced. However, Kingu Gu's hand was firmly grasped in mid-air by Rovey's other hand.

The outcome is decided.

"... I lost."

This time, Kingu didn't argue or struggle; he simply accepted his defeat calmly and withdrew his hand, saying...

"[In the upcoming battle, please help Rovey kill me. I believe you can defeat a wicked mother like me and achieve victory.] -- This is all the message my mother asked me to convey to you."

"Um."

"Snort!"

Rovey withdrew his fingers, and Kingu, having vented his anger, sat down on the ground without any regard for his image.

After venting her frustrations, Kingu's mood calmed down considerably, and she continued.

"That concludes what your mother wanted me to convey to you."

"...I understand." Rovey nodded, then looked at Kingu and asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me privately?"

"Me...?"

Upon hearing Rovey's question, Kingu lowered his head and then took out a piece of black bread from his pocket, although its shape was somewhat different from the Rovey was carrying.

This is a sample that Kingu kept when she first tasted Tiamat. She said she wanted to take it back to eat, but she couldn't bear to part with it and carefully preserved it with magic, always carrying it with her.

For Tiamat, it might just be a simple piece of bread, but for Kingu, it was the first gift her mother had ever given her, a testament to her mother's love, and naturally, she couldn't bear to eat it.

Clutching the bread tightly to his chest, Kingu lowered his head and spoke slowly and deliberately, his expression heavy with sorrow.

"Although this was my mother's wish, and I shouldn't have gone against it, but—"

"I simply cannot accept that my mother suffered such an end. She was so great and kind; she should never have been treated like this by the world. Therefore, I want your help to find a way to save my mother!"

"..."

Upon hearing Kingu's heartfelt request, Rovey was stunned.

At that moment, Kingu raised her head. The expression on her face and the tear stains were enough to prove that she was serious. Seeing this, Rovey reached out and pulled her up from the ground, then nodded to Kingu in front of him.

"Don't worry, that's exactly why I came here."

"You bastard..."

Upon hearing Rovey's reply, Kingu glanced at his eyes in surprise, and in those eyes, she saw pure determination and hope.

This also made her recall what happened with her mother that day.

--

--

"Mother, although it may be a bit presumptuous, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

After accepting Tiamat's request to convey her last words with a heavy heart, Kingu roused himself, looked into Tiamat's eyes, and suddenly spoke.

"Aaaaa~"

Tiamat tilted her head, her face still bearing her unique serene smile.

"Are you happy in Uruk? Have you found happiness during this time?"

"..."

Tiamat didn't answer, but the genuine smile on her face, like the dawn breaking through the darkness and soothing hearts, was the best answer.

'--I have already achieved my wish.'

"I see."

Upon seeing that smile, Kingu's last doubts were finally dispelled, and she slowly lowered her head to make a final promise to her mother.

Chapter 268 Donating a Heart

In the forest surrounding Uruk, the somewhat forlorn figures of Rovey and Kingu sat neatly atop a large tree that had been knocked down by the aftershocks of their recent battle. Both were Kingu their Rovey, gesturing wildly with the branches in their hands on the ground, seemingly exchanging words.

But before that--

Here, do you want some more?

Rovey put the amulet Tiamat had given him around his neck, and at the same time took out the remaining pieces of black bread and shared them with Kingu, and they began to eat together. For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became very strange.