"Ishtar, this was merely a temporary measure. Once the Heaven's Wedge is complete, it doesn't matter who you want as your lover. Just endure it for now."
Mesopotamia's supreme god, Anu, consoled his daughter like this. Even though Ishtar had spoken rudely, he did not rebuke her.
But now, it was not just their family. Every god on Earth did not wish to see the Divine Era Decline.
The Heaven's Wedge was a necessary existence.
"But if you send me over again, wouldn't that be sending a sheep into a tiger's den?"
Ishtar recalled Fujimaru Kyoya's ability to silently appear behind others. By the time she noticed him, the back of her head was practically about to explode.
An ordinary person would definitely have died from that, right?
"Rest assured. When we realized Gilgamesh would be difficult to control, we prepared a method to restrain him while creating the spare. As long as his Divinity does not surpass Gilgamesh's, he can be controlled."
Even humans would not fall into the same pit twice, much less gods.
Gilgamesh possessed exceptionally high A+ Rank Divinity. To distinguish them, the Gods had deliberately weakened the Divinity of the second "Heaven's Wedge" during his creation.
Barring any accidents, they would absolutely be able to control Fujimaru Kyoya.
"Ereshkigal seems to have quite a talent for teaching. Shadow, who was originally inferior to Gilgamesh in every regard, can actually contend with him evenly. Ishtar, your goal this time is to control Shadow, then punish that arrogant Gilgamesh."
Control Fujimaru Kyoya, destroy Gilgamesh, and complete the Heaven's Wedge. That was Anu's plan—a situation where a god emerged completely victorious.
"If there was such a thing, why didn't you give it to me sooner?"
Ishtar immediately revealed a vicious smile. Once she controlled Fujimaru Kyoya, she would absolutely make him lick her feet and repay all the humiliation of the past few days in one go.
But Ishtar did not know an old human saying.
If something was not supposed to have any accidents, then it was probably about to have one.
I'm Going to Play This Hope Video.jpg
[You saw Ishtar again. That disgusting arrogance had returned to her face, but you did not care about that. You were depressed because you had not found the Bull of Heaven.]
Bull, where was my huge Bull?
Fujimaru Kyoya felt nothing about Ishtar's return. All he wanted was Ishtar's Bull.
Without her Bull, Ishtar was like a group of eunuchs visiting a brothel to Fujimaru Kyoya—utter nonsense.
"Where is the Bull of Heaven?"
The moment Fujimaru Kyoya thought of the countless wastelands still awaiting the Bull of Heaven's cultivation, he instantly lost all interest in Ishtar. He did not even care why she had returned.
"Shadow, I have obtained the spell to control you from my father. If you kneel and lick my feet now, I may still grant you a little dignity."
Ishtar noticed that Fujimaru Kyoya still did not take her seriously.
But it did not matter. In her eyes, Fujimaru Kyoya was already fish on the chopping block. There was no need to rush cooking him.
"Then get lost. Without your Bull, you are completely useless to me."
"You bastard! In your eyes, am I good for nothing except the Bull?"
Ishtar could not accept that, as a Goddess, her charm was inferior to a Bull.
Could all you Bull fanatics just die already?
Gem after gem floated around Ishtar. She was about to give this insolent mortal a punishment he would never forget.
[You watched those floating gems. A force seemed to be trying to seep into your body and seize control of it.] [The Divinity within you began to resist. Ishtar's scheme to control you failed.] [You pretended to be in great pain. Ishtar smugly believed her spell had worked.] [You activated "First Before First" while Ishtar was off guard.] [Holding a stick, you arrived behind Ishtar. The back of Ishtar's head exploded.]
"I'm going to sneak attack you."
Fujimaru Kyoya looked at Ishtar lying on the ground. Though hitting a woman was indeed not something a real man should do, there were exceptions to everything.
For a woman like Ishtar, there were only two possible futures: having her skull split by a stronger opponent, or submitting to someone else's might.
"Throw her into my room."
"Yes."
The nearby soldiers were completely dumbfounded. How had these two gone from fighting to ending up in bed?
Forget it. They did not dare ask.
[You looked at the Goddess lying on the bed. An inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over you, as though you had done this before.]
This system was actually slandering my innocence?
Fujimaru Kyoya had not expected the system to slander him so openly. He immediately felt the world's malice. A righteous man like him was actually being subjected to such defamation.
But now was not the time to care about such trivial matters.
"Thump~"
"Hand over the Bull of Heaven."
Fujimaru Kyoya placed an hourglass by the bedside. Clearly, this was the time he had given Ishtar to think.
"Pretending to sleep? Sleeping counts toward the time too."
"You really are a dog."
Left with no choice, Ishtar got up. Fujimaru Kyoya had arrived at exactly the right time. If he had been even a little later, she would have escaped.
Damn it, why was this guy so strong in close combat?
Having suffered enough losses in melee combat, Ishtar decided that she would work hard to become a melee mage in the future. At the very least, she could not be knocked down by one swing of a stick. At the very least... two swings, perhaps.
"Don't even think about making Gugalanna work for you for free. It is a weapon of war created by the Gods, not something meant to serve mortals."
"You won't give it to me? Ishtar, do you remember leaving the Underworld with your bare ass exposed?"
"What are you trying to do?"
Ishtar immediately had a bad feeling. Back then, she had confidently gone to the Underworld in full divine gear to trouble Ereshkigal. In the end, this brat had set her up and made her leave all her divine artifacts on the way. Then Ereshkigal, at full strength, had stripped her completely naked.
That had been one of the greatest humiliations of her life. How could she possibly forget it?
"Back then, Ereshkigal kept footage of your defeat as a memento. If you don't hand over the Bull, I'll let all of Mesopotamia watch this Hope Video."
[Your shameless tactics had clearly broken through Ishtar's bottom line. Although she pretended to remain calm, you knew the Bull of Heaven was already yours.]
Just as the system said, Ishtar panicked.
If anyone saw that, other than destroying the world, she could only kill herself on the spot.
"Impossible. If you had it, then last time..."
"Who cares whether I have it or not? You can't afford to gamble, can you?"
"Waaah~~ Fine, you win."
Evil people would eventually meet someone even worse. Ishtar had always been arrogant and tyrannical, but after walking by the river so often, she had finally fallen into the water.
"Gugalanna, save me!"
Ishtar's cry for help entered the Bull of Heaven's mind. Believing its master was in trouble, it charged straight toward the City of Ur without a second thought. Then... it found Ishtar waving a white flag and Fujimaru Kyoya wearing a wicked grin.
"Bull, it's time to get back to work."
At the words "get back to work," even the Bull of Heaven, the strongest weapon forged by the Gods, could not help but feel its legs go weak.
Clearly, a terrifying existence like a "capitalist" had arrived far too early for this Age of Gods.
Resentment. The Bull of Heaven's eyes were filled with resentment.
Your subjects are preparing to fight to the death, so why has Your Majesty surrendered first?
Don't panic. Father will surely realize I have not returned for a long time and come rescue us with reinforcements. Then we can slowly deal with them.
One goddess and one bull understood each other perfectly. All they could do now was wait for Anu to come rescue them.
Fujimaru Kyoya did not care in the slightest about their whispered conversation, just as a capitalist would never take an employee's words to heart.
In this Age of Gods without streetlights, Fujimaru Kyoya was invincible.
"Ishtar... How dare you treat my daughter like this?"
Anu looked down from the sky. Seeing his daughter Ishtar being forced to use the Bull of Heaven to serve those mortals, he rested briefly before seeing Fujimaru Kyoya approach with a wooden stick tucked at his waist.
"I have never even hit my own daughter."
Anu did not know why Fujimaru Kyoya could raise his Divinity to such a level in so short a time, but the other man's Divinity had now even surpassed Gilgamesh's. The previous method of control was completely useless against someone like that.
"Gilgamesh was like this, and now this spare is the same... Fine. Once you two dogs tear each other apart and both suffer, I'll deal with you together."
Anu looked at Gilgamesh's army still lingering nearby and understood that the Heaven's Wedge Brothers would have to fight another battle. Gilgamesh's Clairvoyance had been "sealed" by his own tyranny, so he could no longer detect the gods' movements.
"Sigh~ Let Ishtar suffer a little longer first."
After leaving those words behind, Anu stopped caring about Ishtar. Once he had gathered enough men, he would destroy both Heaven's Wedges and create an obedient king instead.
You Have Two, I Have One Stick
[Under the Bull of Heaven's cultivation, your nation gradually began to prosper. This was clearly not an outcome Gilgamesh wished to see, and war erupted once more.] [You left Ishtar to defend the city and warned her that if the city suffered any damage, you would play the "Hope Video" throughout Mesopotamia. Ishtar immediately offered her loyalty.] [To prevent your battle with Gilgamesh from harming innocents, you deliberately lured him far away. Gilgamesh saw through your intentions but did not stop you.]
"Truly disappointing, King. In the end, have you still chosen to walk with the gods?"
The Bull of Heaven's enormous body could naturally not escape Gilgamesh's notice. Using the gods' power was merely a symbol of the weak.
"As long as the gods are obedient, what is wrong with giving them appropriate compensation?"
"Obedient?"
Gilgamesh froze. Even someone as arrogant as him had only planned to turn away from the gods and lead Uruk with his own strength. Yet this man before him wanted the gods to obey?
This truly was...
"Ha ha ha~~ How hilarious. My abs... What an interesting way of putting it."
[Listening to Gilgamesh's laughter, you could sense his approval. You could also sense his murderous intent, because you understood that this world did not need two kings.] [The battle between you and Gilgamesh was earth-shaking. Before long, both of you were bleeding from multiple wounds, thoroughly battered.] [Your battle continued from day into night. The armies that had been attacking the city had already stopped to rest, yet your battle had still not ended.] [Just as your battle was nearing its conclusion, the Gods descended.]
"Gilgamesh, Shadow, after committing such grave crimes, will you not surrender?"
Anu had brought enough lackeys. After fighting a fierce battle, the two men had only one thing to say to such kill-stealers.
"Get lost."
A bright moon fell from the sky, while countless golden streaks of light shot upward from the ground. Both attacks targeted the same person.
"Impudent."
Anu was, after all, the Chief God of Mesopotamia. Though that title carried somewhat less weight than it should, there was no reason for him to need to dodge two mortals who had already exhausted themselves.
"Gilgamesh, you rejected your mission and carried out tyranny to satisfy your selfish desires. Shadow, you disrespect the gods and refuse to replace Gilgamesh as the new Heaven's Wedge. You have both betrayed the expectations the Gods placed upon you."
Anu blocked the pair's combined attack. Its power was even weaker than he had expected. This was truly an unexpectedly tremendous success.
Soon, he would destroy these two and use their corpses to create a more perfect Heaven's Wedge.
"Die."
A torrent of Mana swept toward the two of them. A tremendous roar rang out. It had definitely struck them, but Anu also knew that one attack could not possibly kill them. Next...
Then the back of his head exploded.
"I'm going to sneak attack you."
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