Goddess Descending from the Heavens

The Uruk soldiers stationed outside the Monster Forest exchanged glances, moved by Rovi's words yet horrified by the riot.

The beast riot had shown signs long before.

But even these battle-hardened warriors, who guarded the border and protected the kingdom, could not fathom why this outbreak had reached such an unprecedented scale.

Rovi, however, remained calm.

Because the scale of this riot was his own doing—though magical beasts were more special than ordinary animals, they were still beasts.

And any beast could be driven mad by various external stimuli.

The 'Gate of Babylon' he had already opened, with its gleaming Noble Phantasms protruding, served exactly this purpose.

Treasures worthy of Gilgamesh's collection, even if they could not rival gods, were not far off in power.

The display of such force, stinging the beasts with a sense of mortal danger, was enough to produce the scene before them—

"Fall back! This scale is beyond what you can withstand!"

Facing the surging tide of beasts, with grass and trees churning, Rovi walked to the other side of the wall and stood firm, glancing once more at the guard captain.

The young, towering warrior fell silent for a moment, knowing there was no more time to delay.

"Everyone—retreat behind the wall!" he ordered loudly, then added, "Priest, please be careful!"

The soldiers quickly withdrew behind the wall.

The gates closed.

In the open space between the wall and the forest, only Rovi remained standing, alone, facing the terrifying spectacle of a thousand thundering beasts.

Around Rovi, golden ripples rippled ever more intensely.

All possible obstacles had been cleared.

Rovi smiled.

He tightened his Priest's Robes and, instead of retreating, advanced to meet the onslaught.

Under the gaze of countless eyes—

He grew even more delighted.

Not only because his goal was about to be achieved, but also because of what he was doing at this very moment.

Rovi had always found his 'Golden Finger' troublesome.

But the power at the top of the Throne of Heroes, which required dying once to obtain, had always been his reliance.

Because of it, he feared not death.

Because of it, he could treat what many feared as nothing.

Cursing Gilgamesh to his face, or clashing head-on with Ishtar—while it was all to get himself killed, it was also what he truly wanted to do, but normally dared not.

And now, it was the same.

Sending all the Uruk soldiers back behind the wall, leaving himself alone to face thousands of beasts.

Guarding the border, protecting the kingdom.

The soldiers of Uruk were warriors with unwavering faith.

They did not deserve to die here.

They should have longer journeys in life.

And besides...

"I can finally be a hero who dies a glorious death!"

This was an absolute win-win.

Rovi stopped in his tracks.

The roars of the beasts followed, the world ahead already swallowed by dust and smoke, within which pairs of bloodshot eyes gleamed with maddened crimson.

He spread his arms wide.

This was, of course, not a gesture of surrender. With so many watching, Rovi wanted to die, but not like this.

A grand entrance, only to be torn apart by beasts in an instant.

That wasn't a hero. That was a clown.

A clown might, by some twist of fate, ascend to the Throne of Heroes.

But he could never touch the throne Rovi had left for himself.

Otherwise, he would have killed himself long ago!

So Rovi planned to clear a path first, then follow the script—while facing the few remaining beasts, he would pretend to slip up by accident.

And in that instant, Shimmering streams of light converged in a flash, trembling Noble Phantasms gathered immense kinetic energy, their edges rippling, tearing the air into strips of flowing white.

"If you've got the guts, then come at me, you beasts!" Rovi's arms were wide open, his dark pupils reflecting the charging horde.

The originally azure sky was flooded by the vast torrent of magical power brought by the terrifying Monster Tide, transforming into a sprawling crimson scene.

The soldiers within the city walls held their breath.

Those on the walls also watched this scene unfold.

They knew, No matter the outcome, they would find it difficult to forget what they witnessed in this moment for the rest of their lives.

Unable to forget this scene, like something from a more ancient, golden age of myth.

A powerful hero repelling the monsters rampaging through the world with sheer momentum, an ancient sage wielding a divine scepter to tear the sea asunder.

There was no clash of arms yet, nor was one needed.

The battle was already over.

Yes.

That horde of monsters, under Rovi's resounding proclamation... stopped in their tracks, halting their fierce advance forward.

Then, one after another, they turned their heads—

And fled.

The rising dust brushed past a single fallen leaf.

A scene of utter desolation.

Rovi stood frozen, as if turned to stone.

Although it looked as though he alone had instilled fear in these once-unbridled monsters, making these beasts that had caused great trouble on Uruk's borders desperately want to get away from him, Rovi himself was actually bewildered.

Wait, why are you running?

Come here!

Are monsters all this cowardly!?

He wanted to shout this accusation loudly.

But soon, Rovi understood why the monsters had retreated.

"This is... a song filled with anguish?" Rovi looked up, relying on his keen perception as a priest, and amidst the heaven-rending roars and trampling, he caught a faint, lingering echo.

A song carrying divinity.

Yet filled with anguish.

Connecting it to the 'shooting star' he had seen earlier, Rovi suddenly understood—

"The goddess who created Enkidu... Aruru?"

Not Enkidu.

But the goddess who used clay to create the Humanoid Weapon 'Enkidu', which carried the power of the gods—was she here, in this forest?

In later legends, Enkidu's original birth was indeed in a silent, ancient forest.

Although that Goddess Aruru was likely in the same state as Ishtar before her.

Descending in a Possession State.

But a goddess is still a goddess; even in a Possession State, she possesses a scale surpassing most beings in the present world, comparable only to Demigod Heroes like Gilgamesh.

The monsters, hearing the clear sound of her summoning, dared not disobey.

Or perhaps...

The commotion here before was also because the monsters, in their instincts, sensed that Aruru would descend here.

They feared the Goddess of the heavens, so they desperately charged outward, trying to escape this place—that was also a possibility.

Rovi fell into deep thought.

"I heard that when the gods tasked Goddess Aruru with creating Enkidu's form, she was tormented by her inability to craft a perfect shape, pondering endlessly..."

"From this song, one can see that the Goddess is deeply troubled."

"She has begun to waver in her own 'craft'—"

"And in this state, she is easily influenced by the outside world, causing her emotions to change, becoming manic, irritable..."

Got it.

I'll rush over there right now to mock her!