The Chain of Heaven
"Who are you...?" Upon hearing the human voice, Siduri looked at him, who was covered in blood and whose face was already mangled, and asked, "Are you a soldier from Uruk?"
"Yes, I am a soldier from Uruk. I've come to rescue you."
Without wasting any words, he looked at the cage in front of him, swung his spear at the lock, and pried it open with the tip. Then, he used both hands to force the lock open, his veins bulging, and finally, he unleashed unimaginable strength to pry the lock open. However, he lost several fingers in the process, but compared to the unharmed Siduri in front of him, it was nothing.
He was somewhat relieved that these monsters had been focused on tormenting him, because it was because of this that he had the opportunity to rescue High Priestess Siduri.
"Thank you for your help, but please don't move. I will heal you now."
Upon emerging from the cage, Siduri's first thought wasn't to escape, but to heal the battered and seemingly unconscious soldier before her. However, he immediately waved her away, refusing her offer.
She said, "Don't waste your time on me, High Priestess Siduri. Time is limited. Those guys will find us soon. While they are still in a low state of intelligence, I will release more of my companions to hold them off. Please run back to Uruk quickly!"
"But..."
"There are no 'buts'!"
Hearing the distorted sound behind them, the soldier grabbed Siduri's hand without a word and ran towards the exit. Along the way, he used all his strength to open several cells and release more of his comrades. After seeing that High Priestess Siduri was safe and sound, they regained their spirits. Everyone, who had been distraught, immediately found their goal: to get Siduri out.
"@@!&&&--#&￥!!!"
The monster's voice grew closer, and many soldiers volunteered to pick up stones and sticks to fight it off, leaving only the first soldier to hold Siduri's hand and continue leading her to safety.
Finally, in a corner near the window, he crouched down so that Siduri could step on him and leave the roof. He would then risk his life to buy time. Soon, ear-piercing screams echoed behind them.
"No! I am the high priest, how can I abandon you and run away?!"
Siduri, who had been dragged along the run, found it hard to accept the plan.
"It is precisely because you are the High Priest that you need to escape! King Gilgamesh needs you, and everyone in Uruk needs you. You cannot be harmed under any circumstances! For me, for everyone, as long as you can get out alive, we will die without regrets. So—please live on for us!"
"..."
They ran together to the end of the cell; just past the top window would lead them to the forest outside.
"Excuse me."
Seeing Siduri hesitate, the soldier in front of her picked Siduri up and prepared to throw her out. Before Siduri could even make a sound, her body was already thrown onto the roof. At the same time, the monsters outside had killed their companions and were closing in on them.
After sending Siduri away, he suddenly turned around, gripped his weapon tightly, and let out his last battle cry.
"Come on! You damned monsters! Let me show you the spirit of the men of Uruk!!"
"&&￥#&#￥!!!"
Provoked, the Lahmu let out a strange cry and swarmed towards their target. Soon, all that remained was the ear-piercing sound of flesh being torn apart and bones being broken.
By this time, Siduri on the roof had long since disappeared.
Crying, she jumped into the nearby forest and began her desperate escape.
This city was not unfamiliar to her, because before the disaster, as the high priestess, she had traveled to many city-states, so she knew the way through the forest, and the exit was right ahead.
No matter how painful it is, no matter how reluctant she is, she must escape now, not only for herself, but also to avoid letting down the fallen soldiers...
She couldn't be willful, she couldn't hesitate; she had to do everything she could to escape.
Click--!
As she entered the forest, she stepped on a branch and made a sound.
In the forest, the keen-sensed Lahmu immediately noticed her presence and scrambled toward her. Siduri was drenched in cold sweat, but dared not turn back; she could only continue running forward, disregarding her exhaustion.
At that moment, she had only one belief.
Go back alive.
Then tell King Gilgamesh where these monsters gather, their habits, and their weaknesses...
Finally, after her strenuous run and hard work, the exit of the forest was almost in sight; perhaps once she reached that point, she could...
Brake--!!
The moment she touched the light, Siduri's right leg was pierced through, and she lost consciousness instantly, her body falling heavily to the ground.
She desperately turned her head, only to see a twisted monster licking the blood from its claws, then letting out a mocking sound at her.
These guys weren't unable to catch me; they just found it amusing and wanted to see their prey's despair. That's why they hadn't made a move until now, when I thought I could escape, and then they struck to extinguish that hope.
"Waaah..."
Siduri continued her arduous crawl, advancing even with her legs pierced, simply because—
She was the high priestess of Uruk, and many people were waiting for her to return. She couldn't betray the soldiers' sacrifice; she had to relay the situation back...
Siduri dragged her body with difficulty, blood flowing from her legs leaving a trail on the ground. She was only a few meters away from the forest exit, but to her, those few meters felt like an insurmountable chasm.
"￥￥#&#&￥#!!!"
Lahmu watched as Siduri, who was about to lose her strength and faint from blood loss, let out a harsh laugh, then swung her claws to send Siduri on her way.
The next moment--
A head flew into the air, and more Lahmu who arrived later screamed as a result.
--
"..."
Death did not come, nor did pain.
Siduri looked back and saw that the head flying into the air belonged to Lahmu. Lahmu, behind her, was completely unaware of what had just happened.
"￥#@#&@##@&!!"
The newly arrived Lahmu thought it was Siduri's doing and raised their claws to tear Siduri to pieces. But in the blink of an eye, a "whoosh!" sound came from the depths of the dense forest, and dozens of golden chains pierced through the heads of several Lahmu with perfect accuracy, stringing them together and flinging them away to an unknown distance.
"Finally found this place. Those two annoying guys really know how to cause trouble, but..."
"How disheveled you are, High Priest, it's nice to see you again."
A cold yet familiar voice came from the ground, Siduri, who was lying on the ground, couldn't help but look up.
A green-clad figure in a white robe hovered silently in the sky, overlooking everything that was happening below. Along her arm, more golden chains poured down, sweeping towards the monster below like a storm.
At this moment, past memories uncontrollably surfaced in Siduri's mind.
"Lord Enkidu..."
Chapter 286 Titled "The Chains of Heaven"
The Arabian Sea long ago.
A massive, overwhelming mass of Lahmu emerged from the dark depths of the ocean, their twisted bodies and sheer numbers forming a dark cloud that enveloped half of the Mesopotamia sky.
The once pristine ocean, which held special significance in Mesopotamia culture, transformed into a breeding ground for monsters.
Even Merlin and Rovey, who had just arrived and found Gilgamesh, were surprisingly shocked by the scene.
For Merlin, he had thought that Gorgon's ability to give birth to tens of thousands of Demonic Beasts with Tiamat's blessing was already impressive enough. But when he saw Tiamat give birth to hundreds of millions of Lahmu, whose power and number completely overwhelmed any Demonic Beast, he finally understood what the true Mother of Demonic Beast was.
Even Gilgamesh had to admit that if Gorgon had possessed even half the terror Tiamat was displaying, Uruk probably wouldn't have survived this long. As for Rovey, he knew that Tiamat's abilities had indeed been greatly enhanced due to the widening of the rift. The original Lahmu would never have been able to produce hundreds of millions of them in just a few hours. While he had anticipated an increase, he hadn't expected so many.
The only thing that gives him some comfort now is the Goetia on the other side of the coastline, who are wreaking havoc and annihilating thousands of Lahmu, citing Lahmu's obstruction and offense as the reason.
At this moment, he was like a pillar supporting the sky, single-handedly piercing the dark ocean and limiting the scale of Lahmu's invasion. Without him, Mesopotamia would already be overrun with these monsters.
Seeing this scene, Gilgamesh and Kingu were both puzzled and bewildered. They couldn't believe that the culprit Humanity Incineration reformed and was now using his power to protect it instead of destroying Human Order. Gilgamesh was seeing.
Merlin then gazed intently at Goetia's side. He realized that Goetia truly had no ulterior motives; he was genuinely and diligently eliminating Lahmu, as if deliberately demonstrating something. He then glanced at Romani on the screen, then at Rovey, nodded, and asked with interest.
What do you think?
Roman: "..."
Roman's feelings at this moment were extremely complex, but he also felt somewhat gratified.
His complexity stemmed from his child's efforts to impress others and his inability to recognize him. His relief came from the fact that this child, who had admitted his mistake, actually pulled Goetia back from that situation, turning him into a righteous figure, and demonstrating a significantly better upbringing than his own.
In short, no matter how you look at it, his inner thoughts are quite complicated.
When Goetia realized that the person he wanted to see had arrived, he immediately put on an even more energetic performance. What was originally just a simple beam of light became even more impressive after he noticed Rovey's arrival. To increase his performance score, he even launched himself into the air at high speed, followed by a meteor shower that rained down on everything in the ocean, including the Lahmu in the ocean, effectively lowering the sea level.
Seeing how capable he was, Rovey gave him a thumbs-up to express his gratitude.
Regardless, Goetia really helped a lot.
He had just been hesitating about how to control these Lahmu and prevent them from storming the town, but now, Goetia had single-handedly held back both the Lahmu on the sea and in the ocean. This meant that the few of them could watch the show from the sidelines, and not a single Lahmu had time to bother with them. In this way, Goetia not only successfully protected the safety of humanity but also created the best possible environment for their plan to be implemented.
Similarly, when Lahmu landed on the wasteland using the corpses of Demonic Beast, Gilgamesh, who had set up a great barrier in Uruk, clearly sensed something. His face turned ugly, especially when he recalled a prophecy, the one about Siduri. His expression became noticeably unsettled, and he lowered his head and cursed angrily.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings, they can't even protect one person."
He then wanted to leave to go back and save people, but he didn't. Instead, he watched as Rovey continued to arrange multiple Holy Grail into a ritual array, preparing to summon Tiamat's true form from the Imaginary Numbers World and begin the final battle.
For them, Tiamat is currently in a special state. Her powers can influence the world, but her true form has not appeared. This means that they cannot harm or affect Tiamat. If they want to carry out their plan, the first thing they need to do is to make their abilities work on Tiamat, which, in layman's terms, means making Tiamat reveal her health bar.
The Holy Grail, the ritual array, and Ea are the keys to breaking the prison of the gods, so Gilgamesh cannot leave, but...
Gilgamesh could hardly remain calm whenever he thought about Siduri's fate.
Of course, Rovey, who had been making the arrangements, noticed Gilgamesh's change in attitude and asked him why. Gilgamesh didn't hide anything and told Rovey directly about the attack on Uruk and the disappearance of Siduri, explaining that he was saddened by it.
Upon hearing of Siduri's disappearance, Rovey was somewhat surprised. After all, he had instructed Ishtar and Scáthach to take good care of Siduri; how could she possibly be missing? There were two goddesses in the city now; there shouldn't be any problems. Although he thought this way, considering the surge in the number of Lahmu and the significant changes in the world, he immediately accepted the fact. He exchanged a glance with Gilgamesh, then both looked at Kingu beside them, demanding that she handle the matter.
Being targeted and stared at, Kingu was taken aback. Just as she was about to blurt out, "I would never save a mere human," many memories that did not belong to her suddenly surfaced in her mind—a blurry reflection of a woman.
At this, she felt a pang of pain in her heart, and Siduri's figure became increasingly clear before her eyes.
"Damn it... it's Enkidu again."
Kingu covered her head, green light flickering in her pupils. She knew exactly what was happening; it was Enkidu's memories influencing her again.
Although she wanted to suppress this pressure and continue preparing for her mother's arrival, the next moment, Tiamat's words to her came to mind again.
"Aaaa~"
Tiamat often spent her free time with children and Kingu, chatting with them about strange and unusual topics, and that day was no exception.
"A helper? What kind of helper do you mean? I will give you everything. I will do anything you ask of me, as long as you need me. Please rest assured, Mother, I will always support you."
Upon hearing his mother suddenly mention that she needed him as a helper, Kingu immediately agreed without hesitation.
However, Tiamat simply shook her head at Kingu's words of unwavering loyalty.
"Aaaa... aaa."
"Preparing for what's to come? And what exactly did you mean by saying, 'Even after I'm gone, I hope you can be his helper'?"
Tiamat didn't answer Kingu directly; she simply patted Kingu head gently and then gave him her usual innocent smile.
Seeing that smile, Tiamat didn't say anything, but Kingu already guessed a lot. At that moment, she lowered her head and agreed to her mother's request; she would become a helper to humanity.
"Hmm..."
Recalling the important matter, Kingu nodded slightly, then glanced at Rovey, silently swallowed the words he had just spoken, and got up to rescue Siduri and the other humans.
Whether it was due to physical memory or a promise to her mother, she could no longer stay here. So, her figure instantly left the spot, transforming into a golden ray of light and flying into the distance.
Seeing her leave, Rovey nodded slightly. He was very satisfied with the changes in Kingu. On the other side Gilgamesh had originally planned to use Tiamat to threaten Kingu into rescuing people, secretly snorted when he saw her leave so decisively. After all, her frankness made him seem a bit petty. However, no matter the method, as long as he could get things done, that was enough.
All he could do now was pray that Siduri could escape her fate and be safe and sound.
And indeed, that is the case.
A chance encounter on the street, a small expression of gratitude—the seed of kindness sown has now borne fruit called reward.
--
In the forest.
"You are... Enkidu n't you? Although you were wearing a mask before, I knew it must be you... Although you've changed a little, many things about you remain the same."
Lahmu in the forest was swept away by Kingu. Siduri, who was lying on the ground, raised her head and looked at the familiar green figure. Seeing the golden chains as always, she seemed to forget her pain and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
For her, being able to see Enkidu again at the end of her life was the greatest fortune.
At this moment, Kingu was no longer the pure Kingu. After merging with Enkidu's body and then with her memories, Kingu had already become a fusion of Enkidu and her original self while living in Uruk. She could be said to be both Kingu and Enkidu, so Siduri's description was indeed correct.
"Tsk, this little injury is enough to leave you on the verge of death. Fragile humans are such a nuisance."
She looked at the heavily injured Siduri, flew down from the sky, landed beside her, and then reached out and tore off a piece of her white robe to use as a bandage to stop the bleeding from her wound.
"I am truly sorry that you witnessed such an embarrassing moment of mine."
Siduri looked at the fragments stained with her own blood, a hint of apology on her face. Her vision was already becoming blurry due to exhaustion and blood loss.
"While I don't expect someone as fragile as you to heal yourself quickly, you're a high priest, so you must know healing Magecraft, right? Or have you been so frightened that you've forgotten the incantation?"