Is It Him? No, It's Him! / I Still Hate You the Most

Anu was instantly overjoyed. Ereshkigal's strength in the Underworld even surpassed his own. As long as they entered it, even Gilgamesh would not dare fight on enemy ground.

Once they had recuperated, they could reclaim everything that belonged to them.

"As long as we can reach that place... as long as we get there..."

It was not just Anu. More and more Gods, despite their grievous wounds, rushed toward the Underworld. The instant they entered it and turned around, intending to mock Gilgamesh and Fujimaru Kyoya, they saw smiles.

Cunning smiles, mocking smiles, contemptuous smiles... Smiles? Why were they smiling?

"Oh no, Ereshkigal, you bastard."

Anu reacted in time, but even so, cage after cage imprisoned the vast majority of the Gods. This sudden betrayal stunned them.

Why had the Goddess of the Underworld betrayed them?

"Anu, your mistakes went far beyond arrogance and greed. Making kind-hearted Ereshkigal the keeper of the Underworld was your greatest blunder."

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at the despairing Anu and laid the cold truth bare.

Among the Gods of Mesopotamia, Ereshkigal had always been ostracized. The reason was that she simply did not fit in.

She was an exceptionally rare God. She empathized with humanity, and she loved humanity.

"I have heard countless accounts of what the Gods have done over the years. Unfortunately, my power exists only within the Underworld. Once I leave it, I no longer possess this power. So Shadow gave me such an opportunity. Father, please return authority to humanity."

Ereshkigal, who dwelled alone in the Underworld with only ghosts for company, knew better than anyone what absurd things the Gods had done over the years.

She wanted to change things, but she lacked the strength to do so.

Now, there was finally an opportunity. Seal the Gods in the Underworld, return the land to humanity, and let humanity guide itself toward the future.

Whether that future brought prosperity or destruction, it would be humanity's own choice.

"Anu, will you preserve your dignity yourself, or shall this king do it for you?"

Gilgamesh raised Enuma Elish. If Anu dared take a single step out of the Underworld, he would definitely be in for a world of pain.

"Father, sink into the Underworld."

An iron cage descended and trapped Anu within. Ereshkigal dragged him into the Underworld to join the Gods in their resurrection match. As for when that resurrection match ended...

By then, humanity would have its own future, and she would have preserved the integrity of her divine system as much as possible. So what if she was called one of the Traitors?

Within the Underworld, she was invincible.

The gates of the Underworld closed beneath Anu's hateful gaze, leaving only Gilgamesh and Fujimaru Kyoya behind.

It was time to settle matters between the two of them.

One era could not contain two kings. What a tragedy that was.

Is It Him? No, It's Him!

Fujimaru Kyoya looked at Gilgamesh. He was already at the end of his rope, while Gilgamesh had instead reached an unprecedented peak.

If they fought, he would certainly lose, but he did not care.

If Gilgamesh could earn the recognition of that arm, it meant the Wise King of the past had returned once more.

Now that the Gods had entered the Underworld and the Wise King had returned to this world, Mesopotamia would surely enjoy a flourishing golden age under Gilgamesh's rule.

"This king was never someone others could entrust their lives to."

Gilgamesh stroked his new arm. The power within it, the will contained within it—those had been the reason they won this battle.

"Since when did King of Heroes Gilgamesh become such a nagging old woman?"

"A nag? Hehe~ stinky little brother, this king will teach you a lesson soon. Your big brother will always be your big brother."

[You attempted to provoke Gilgamesh, but Gilgamesh remained unmoved.]

Gilgamesh understood that this was still a provocation. Fujimaru Kyoya wanted to anger him and then kill him, thereby bringing all of Mesopotamia back under his rule.

A powerful nation, a wise monarch, a nation destined to be remembered by history for generations to come.

But...

"Stinky little brother, you are still not qualified to manipulate this king's fate. This king's fate will be written by this king. This king's promises will be fulfilled, and this king's retribution... will also descend."

Gilgamesh approached Fujimaru Kyoya with a solemn expression. He would write the final ending himself.

The war ended. When Gilgamesh appeared carrying the corpse of the Sacred King of the Bright Moon, the war ended without any suspense.

After this battle, Gilgamesh's strength reached an unprecedented height. He personally led his troops and swept through all of Mesopotamia in one fell swoop, subduing all who resisted and achieving the great feat of unifying the realm.

Just as everyone believed his tyranny would continue, Gilgamesh halted his previous brutal rule. He neither abolished it nor continued it. He merely stopped it and shifted his focus to selecting a suitable successor.

At such a young age, he had already begun preparing for the nation's continuation.

People were afraid, yet they also hoped.

Had the former tyrant awakened? Was the one who returned truly the Wise King from before?

Then reality shattered their fantasies.

A massive altar began to be constructed. With all the grand construction projects and extravagance, Gilgamesh seemed to still be that same tyrant. The people could not help but miss the man who had already died.

If only he could return from the Underworld and lead the people to raise the banner of rebellion once more.

The coronation ceremony began. Gilgamesh would crown himself atop the newly built altar. Having accomplished the great feat of unifying Mesopotamia, he intended to flaunt his Authority before the world.

On the day of the coronation, at the very instant Gilgamesh stepped onto the altar, a figure approached.

He was missing an arm, but everyone remembered his face. It belonged to the "dead" Sacred King of the Bright Moon.

Fujimaru Kyoya had come.

Why had a dead man returned to life?

No one knew the reason, because before they could even think about it for another second, the battle began.

Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight...

Golden radiance filled the sky. Two Moons were supported in one man's single hand. The battle darkened heaven and earth, leaving sun and moon without light.

Every clash between the two made the heavens collapse and the earth split apart. The terrifying shockwaves kept everyone from even daring to approach. In this era when all Gods had been sealed away, no one could determine the outcome of their battle.

Terror—that was what filled the people's hearts. How could the battle between two humanoid calamities not be terrifying?

Anticipation—everyone awaited the arrival of change. If the Sacred King of the Bright Moon won, could he bring them a new future?

"Boom~"

The shockwave from a single exchanged punch resounded throughout the universe, as though it had struck the hearts of all living beings.

Finally, on the third day of the great battle, just as the sun was about to rise, everything fell silent.

At that instant, everyone sensed it. Victory and defeat had been decided.

As the sun slowly rose, one person stood atop the mountain peak. Everyone looked toward him. Whose face was revealed beneath the sunlight?

Was it him? Gilgamesh!

No, it was him.

The one-armed man atop the mountain held Gilgamesh's head in his hand. Even in death, Gilgamesh's expression had not changed. He remained stern and earnest, as though he had long decided the outcome of this battle.

He was dead. Gilgamesh was dead.

"Tyrant Gilgamesh died by my hand today."

Fujimaru Kyoya raised Gilgamesh's head high and listed his crimes one by one. His voice echoed between heaven and earth, allowing as many people as possible to hear it.

"Such a tyrant deserved to be executed."

Then Fujimaru Kyoya exerted force with his hand and instantly shattered Gilgamesh's head. He was dead beyond all doubt.

The old king was dead. Was the new king about to be crowned?

The people of Uruk were ashen-faced, while the masses harbored all manner of thoughts. Amid such circumstances, Fujimaru Kyoya's words rang out.

"Now that Mesopotamia is unified, I do not wish to cause further war and make the people suffer. Therefore, I shall only execute the chief culprit this time and will not wage war against Uruk. Future kings of Uruk, remember this well: if you impose tyranny upon the people, then even if I am in the Underworld, I will revive and kill you."

After leaving those words behind, Fujimaru Kyoya vanished before everyone's eyes.

It was as though he had never come. If Gilgamesh's death had not been undeniable, everyone might have thought it was a dream.

Gilgamesh was dead. The king he had originally chosen ascended the throne, but he was not happy.

He frantically searched for news of the Sacred King of the Bright Moon. As long as such a person remained alive in the world, could his throne truly be secure?

The four words Sacred King of the Bright Moon circled through the new king's mind like a curse. As long as that man lived for even one more day, this fear would not disappear.

As long as he dared impose tyranny, the Sacred King of the Bright Moon would come to claim his life.

Bearing such fear, the king of Uruk would live in terror for the sake of his own life until he could confirm that the Sacred King of the Bright Moon was dead.

But would the Sacred King of the Bright Moon die?

A man Gilgamesh had killed had somehow returned from the dead. Could such a person truly die?

Beside a gently flowing stream in the wilderness, a magnificent bottle fell into the water. A water snake curiously watched it.

It opened the bottle, and a pill capable of granting Immortality washed into its mouth. Then it began to transform.

Its skin shed away, replaced by an entirely new body.

Who had thrown such a divine medicine here?

No one knew. Yet perhaps in the legends of later generations, someone would forcefully come up with an explanation.

I Still Hate You the Most

[You were not killed by Gilgamesh. At the same time, after learning of his plan, you were stunned. Was this truly a plan Gilgamesh could come up with?]

"Hehe~ This is the first time I have seen such a ridiculous expression on your face."

The great battle had already drawn to a close. Gilgamesh laid out his entire plan, clearly catching Fujimaru Kyoya by surprise. Since they had first met, this was the first time he had shown such an expression.

"You could have ruled for much longer."

"That is true, but then what?"

Gilgamesh smiled freely.

"This king could continue living, perhaps even use the Elixir of Immortality found earlier to live on. But if that happened, would this king not become another God?"

Gilgamesh had asked Enkidu this question long ago, and he had long possessed the answer himself.

"This king will grow old and die. Once this king grows old, perhaps this king will no longer possess such decisiveness. Humanity must also take responsibility for itself. Letting go is only a matter of time."

The two Heaven's Wedges had both defied their missions. They intended to return the right to control fate to humanity itself.

Even if later generations produced tyrants and foolish kings, that would be humanity's own choice, not one imposed upon them by the Gods.

"Even at the cost of your own life?"

"It can only be paid for with life."

Gilgamesh cast aside all arrogance. He looked solemnly at Fujimaru Kyoya. Since this little brother could place everything upon the shoulders of his big brother, then did he, as the older brother, lack the courage to trust his younger brother?

"After this, this king will 'kill' you and establish great achievements. Then, at the very pinnacle of this undertaking, this king will need you to destroy it all."

Killing the invincible Gilgamesh would be an achievement sufficient to intimidate future generations for centuries. More importantly, Gilgamesh had also found the Elixir of Immortality.

"Because of this arm, this king can feel what you carry at every moment. If it is you, obtaining eternal life may perhaps be a good thing."

That feeling of being with the people at all times could push Fujimaru Kyoya to become a qualified blade, forever hanging above the heads of tyrants in later generations.

"Not interested. You said it yourself—the choice should be left to humanity, shouldn't it?"

Fujimaru Kyoya accepted the bottle of Elixir of Immortality, then tossed it into the river. Whoever was fated to find it could have it.

[You gave up the future of eternal youth, casting aside the dream countless emperors and kings yearned for. You understood that you were merely an ordinary person who could not bear to hear cries of suffering and therefore drew his sword.]

[If possible, you did not want to become an emperor, much less a God. You merely wanted to live a happy life.]

[You acknowledged Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh acknowledged you.]

"So what should we do next?"