See You Again, Ritsuka

"Goetia has already dealt with the matter of the Eleven Children, but traces of the Demon God can still be found in the south and north of Uruk. You should know very well who is behind this, right?"

Rovey asked Kingu without any hesitation.

"That's right, it's Gorgon. She's responsible for everything related to Demonic Beast in Mesopotamia. Originally, out of consideration for our past relationship, I rescued her from Quetzalcoatl and hoped she would obey my mother's will and stop persecuting humans. However, for some unknown reason, Gorgon went Mad Enhancement, and this Mad Enhancement was transmitted to my mother's consciousness through the connection, and it is constantly eroding my mother's will."

Upon hearing Rovey's question, Kingu readily told him everything he knew.

"As expected... is dealing with the Gorgon still the most pressing issue?"

"No, it's about helping her find relief. Although I'm very unwilling, she's truly beyond communication and goes against her mother's will. This is all I can do, to give her a release."

Kingu lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "However, don't be too happy this time. Originally, because Gorgon was the key to establishing a connection with Mother, Mother would return the moment Gorgon was destroyed. But now Mother has moved to a deeper place, and the unsealing of her self-seal has reached such a terrifying [80%] that she won't come out. Instead, she will prepare another familiar offensive the moment Gorgon dies, and then wave after wave, until she completely destroys humanity before returning."

"Are you talking about... the Eleven Children?"

"Yes, it's them."

Kingu nodded, then his tone became somewhat melancholy.

"Those guys can no longer be called my brothers. They are just puppets filled with malice and rage, and they are messengers of the Beast. They will wipe everything out for the sake of the Beast Face. Therefore, I advise you to prepare in advance. Last night's round of divine war against the Sumerian civilization was just a charade. The real natural disaster is coming soon. You must find a way to bring Mother from the Imaginary Space to reality, otherwise the beast tide will not stop."

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. But before that, you have to live well with the heart I made for you. Then we'll go together to welcome Tiamat's return."

"Do you even need to tell me?"

Kingu turned his head away, and Rovey smiled.

Thus, throughout Babylonia, all the leaders of the opposing forces in the Absolute Demonic Front Singularity, including Kingu, except for the Gorgon who still harbor thoughts Tiamat destroying humanity, have become traitors. How gratifying!

However, now is not the time to be happy.

Or rather --

The real battle has only just begun.

Chapter 269 Reunion with Ritsuka

The main gate of Uruk.

After a full day of cleanup, the once chaotic battlefield has been almost completely cleared.

The bodies of the fallen soldiers were all buried, and the bloodstains on the city walls were cleaned up with water. Apart from the remaining pits and cracks, the main gate showed no signs of major damage.

If there is any difference, it is simply that there are more people stationed here, and several more watchtowers have been added outside the city gate and on the city wall compared to before. Dozens of brand-new King's Cannon are also pointed at the distance from the city gate, which obviously adds a layer of defense compared to before.

Standing on the city wall was a familiar figure, and upon seeing Rovey return, the person happily jumped down from the high wall.

"You're back. Anyway, you did a really good job last night... Rovey, you almost single-handedly stopped the first wave of disaster caused by Tiamat. I thought the casualties would be at least seven times higher than last night."

"It's just barely acceptable. I only did what I was supposed to do, and there's nothing to brag about or be proud of."

"Haha, you're really modest. Such a terrifying achievement is enough to inspire admiration. I'm completely ashamed of myself."

Back in Uruk, Rovey encountered Ushiwakamaru, who was in charge of guarding the city gate. After exchanging greetings, Rovey left.

We've only walked a short distance.

"Rovey Lowe, you're back."

"Excuse me... have you seen Enkidu or Lady Tiamat?"

Upon seeing Rovey return, Siduri, who was directing the city's residents to begin their evacuation, smiled and immediately asked him about Kingu and Tiamat.

"Don't worry, they're all fine. I'll bring them back as soon as possible."

"Well then, I wish you good luck in your military campaigns."

After greeting everyone, Siduri smiled and nodded, then hurriedly left.

"Ah! You're finally back! Do you know what I've been through?!"

"Oh, so it's Ishtar, the drunken, speeding, and exhibitionist goddess. What happened? Ereshkigal let you out? I thought she'd keep you locked up for a while and wouldn't set you free until the very end."

"Ugh! How dare you bring this up! Do you even know what I went through under that gloomy goddess?!"

"What's up?"

Rovey asked doubtfully, "It's just that I used your account to let you sleep a few more days, right? It shouldn't be a big deal to you, right?"

"It's nothing? You speak of it so casually..."

Ishtar said in a somewhat frantic tone, "Do you know what it's like to go to the Underworld with you, close your eyes and lose consciousness, and then open them a second time to watch your body being controlled by someone else to fight Demonic Beast?!"

While angrily speaking, Ishtar grabbed Rovey by the collar, pulled his head up, and suddenly leaned close, saying, "You bastard, you betrayed me! You asked me to lead the way, but then you forgot about me. This is a sin against the gods!"

"So what do you want to do?"

"What to do...?"

Ishtar narrowed her eyes, then held up a white finger and gestured for Rovey to have some money. Rovey understood immediately and said she would conjure up a room full of gold for me later, which satisfied Ishtar.

Then, when gold was mentioned, Ishtar realized what had happened and hurriedly asked Rovey what had happened to the room full of gold and treasures in the underground warehouse, which had turned into a pile of random stones. Rovey immediately started making up a story, saying that because of Demonic Beast attack, fearing that the city would be breached and my precious wealth would be destroyed, Gilgamesh had collected them all, and that I could just ask King Gilgamesh for them later.

He absolutely cannot let Ishtar know that those useless stones are her treasure, otherwise this useless goddess will become even more terrifying than Gorgon.

After listening to Rovey's words, Ishtar smiled again, patted Rovey on the shoulder, praised him for doing a good job and being very thoughtful, and then happily flew away.

Rovey had just returned to Uruk when he ran into three acquaintances. Rovey continued toward the place he had arranged to meet Merry, but on the way, he saw a petite and familiar figure.

A petite figure, wearing a purplish-black hood, was carefully helping an elderly person carry flowers, and her true identity was obvious at a glance.

"Anna ..."

Rovey called out the name of the figure.

"Ooh!"

Anna, upon hearing Rovey's voice, trembled slightly and instinctively let out a cute sound. She then lowered her head and quickened her pace until she finished helping the old lady carry the flowers. Only then did she turn around and look at Rovey with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"Um, well, actually I just now..."

"Hmm, I know—[I don't mean to help you humans, I'm just bored anyway, so I'm looking for something to do. Don't flatter me!] Is that right?"

With a smile, Rovey finished Anna's sentence, leaving her with the rest of what she hadn't had time to say. This made the proud little girl blush even more, and she gritted her teeth, looking at Rovey with a mixture of shame and indignation.

"Idiot, you fool... Since you already knew, why did you say it to tease me? You're becoming more and more like Merlin, it's so annoying..."

"Haha, sorry, sorry, Anna is just too cute."

Rovey smiled, then couldn't help but reach out and pat her little head.

"Fool..."

Anna pulled her hood down to cover her face, muttered something under her breath, and then turned and left. Compared to her initial vehement denial, she has changed a lot now.

Seeing this, Rovey couldn't help but think.

--

"You're back in just half a day? That's surprisingly fast."

"It's nothing special, really. It wasn't a big deal to begin with."

"This isn't a big deal? Well, thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite normal, isn't it? After all, given your relationship with Tiamat, even if you did it, it wouldn't be hard to understand."

"Then... could you come and help me? I need your help right now."

Merry: "No problem, I'll do whatever you ask me to do. It was decided a long time ago."

Merlin: "Uh, is it really okay to agree so readily? Shouldn't we think about this kind of thing?"

"Merlin, I thought we would be friends!"

"Yes, but you have repeatedly hurt our pure friendship!"

"So the negotiations broke down? I see, that's really disheartening."

The small room was so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats. Merlin and Rovey stood at opposite ends of the room, gazing at each other.

The atmosphere between the two was tense, as if they were about to start fighting at any moment.

Just then, the third person standing in the room, Merry...

He sighed heavily, picked up his staff, smiled, and tapped Merlin on the head, who was still trying to act out his role. Then he said helplessly:

"You two stop making a scene. Why do you have to create such a sense of ceremony? Can't you just talk normally?"

"Oh dear, I thought the atmosphere was pretty good."

This one sentence immediately broke the facade of the two dramatic individuals in the room, and the original atmosphere vanished. The two began to talk like normal people.

"Anyway, although there were some unexpected events, everything is still moving in a positive direction, isn't it? In the end, didn't you manage to win over both the mother and Kingu at the same time? Mother and daughter, huh? Hmm, I have a feeling you're doing something shady."

"???"

Rovey was completely bewildered. He looked at Merlin and felt an urge to kill him. "Your idea is dangerous, isn't it?"

"Haha, compared to my danger, I still think you are in greater danger right now. After all, Kingu is currently using Enkidu's body, so he has almost special attributes for Gilgamesh. Since we will be cooperating later, she will definitely come to the Uruk Palace, and then the atmosphere will be lively."

The thought of Kingu meeting Gilgamesh made Merlin want to laugh.

"What are you laughing at!"

In response, Rovey casually grabbed a cushion from a chair and slapped it directly onto Merlin's face.

"However, you're right. The relationship between Kingu and Gilgamesh cannot be ignored, and keeping it a secret forever isn't a good solution. We need to find time to help them deal with the matter concerning Enkidu."

Although he was somewhat annoyed by Merlin's unserious manner, Rovey knew very well that he was right.

Hiding it and dragging it out isn't a solution. Gilgamesh values Enkidu far too much; Enkidu is to him as important as his own life.

Gilgamesh had previously gotten angry with him about the issue of Kingu. However, because he changed the subject, and because Gilgamesh couldn't accept his close friend's current state, they didn't discuss it further, only...

Keeping it hidden and dragging it out will only create rifts within the team, so Rovey plans to arrange a time for them to meet and have their own words to say to each other.

He believed that Kingu would not do anything irrational in order to save Tiamat, and that Gilgamesh would definitely prioritize the greater good. However, if Gilgamesh was truly determined to take action, he would not stop Gilgamesh, but would instead make them settle their scores later.

I hope everything goes well.

After listening to Rovey's idea, Merlin smiled and nodded. He liked Rovey's leadership skills, which allowed him to consider everyone's needs and balance the needs of each member of the team. After learning about his arrangements, Merlin also gave his approval.

"So--"

After confirming the matter between the two, Merlin and Rovey exchanged a glance, and then began to act in a manner that was neither as serious as before, nor as farcical.

"Let's continue. Talk about the abilities of the amulet Tiamat left you, and information about her. This is very important to us."

After Merry examined the amulet made of Tiamat scales, Merlin took it and began to scrutinize it with a serious expression.

I can't see through it.

I can't see through it at all.

Although this amulet looked ordinary, it contained an ability he couldn't decipher. According to Rovey, its ability was simple; in short—

This could counteract Tiamat's Nega-Genesis, truly giving humanity the opportunity to harm her.

This ability is quite effective.

After all, just as Goetia can ignore all attacks from Servant, Tiamat can also ignore all attacks launched by humans, so the importance of this item is self-evident, and it can even be said that it could be the key to defeating Tiamat.

Similarly, Rovey thought in the same way.

After talking with Kingu, the first people Rovey thought of were Merlin and Merry, the two who could give him the most help and advice. He couldn't control Tiamat, who was 80% unsealed, by himself alone; he needed more helpers. Only in this way could he have a chance to weaken Tiamat's own status and then find a way to separate its beastly nature from its human nature, creating a suitable Spirit Origin.

"You're aware that Tiamat has shrunk due to self-sealing, right?"

"Ah, of course I know. After all, one of our jobs was to monitor Tiamat. Before, we were both very careful, working year-round without rest, casting our Magecraft into the Imaginary Number Space to suppress it, to prevent the Mother of Creation from accidentally waking up and wiping us out. Later, your job ended, but the monitoring mission continued, so we know just as much about Tiamat's changes as you do."

Merlin spoke to Rovey with a hint of complaint.

"Yes, the changes in the Imaginary Number Space and the origins of so many Demonic Beast yesterday have also been investigated. They were all caused by the breaking of the seal on Tiamat."

Merry frowned and nodded.

It seems that period of her life wasn't a pleasant experience either.

"So, you two are already preparing for something big? Tiamat's awakening is inevitable, so I roughly understand what you're planning. Because Tiamat's self-restraint level has decreased, you're planning to mobilize the entire Singularity's fighting force to deal with this unexpected event, right?"

"That's right, this was decided long ago."

Despite his seemingly lazy and unreliable appearance, Merlin is still a Grand Rank Magus. He is not a machine, nor is he made of wood; he naturally has his own thoughts.

"Even if you have the power to reverse the Nega-Genesis, and even the chance to trace back to the source and seal Tiamat back into the Imaginary Numbers World, would you still take such a dangerous action to keep her slumbering amulet?"

"That's right, this time it's not about sealing her or not, it's about pulling her completely out of the abyss! Saving her!"