The Uruk soldiers guarding outside the Monster Forest looked at one another, moved by Rovi's words yet terrified by the rampaging horde.
There had long been signs of the monsters' unrest.
Yet even these seasoned warriors stationed beyond the forest, defending their homeland, could not understand why this outbreak had reached such an unprecedented scale.
Rovi, however, remained calm.
Because the scale of this rampage had been his doing—although monsters were more unusual than ordinary beasts, they were still beasts.
And as long as they were beasts, all manner of external stimuli could drive them mad.
The Gate of Babylon that had already opened, with its Noble Phantasms extending their sharp edges, had served precisely that purpose.
Any treasure worthy of Gilgamesh's collection might not rival a god, but the gap would not be great.
This display of power gave the monsters a stinging sense of danger, enough to produce the scene before them—
"Fall back! This is not something you can withstand!"
As the torrent surged forth and vegetation churned in its wake, Rovi walked to the other side of the wall and stopped. He glanced once more at the captain of the guards.
The young, tall warrior fell silent for a moment, knowing that they could delay no longer.
"All men—retreat inside the wall!" he ordered loudly before adding, "Priest, please be careful!"
The soldiers swiftly withdrew behind the wall.
The gates closed.
On the open ground separating the wall from the forest, only Rovi remained, standing alone against a horrifying sight like ten thousand thunderbolts racing forward.
The golden ripples around Rovi grew increasingly intense.
Every possible obstacle had been cleared away.
Rovi smiled.
He tightened his Priest's Robes and, rather than retreating, stepped forward to meet the oncoming horde.
Before countless watching eyes—
He looked even happier.
Not only because his goal was about to be achieved, but also because of what he was doing at that very moment.
Rovi had always found his Golden Finger troublesome.
But the power he could obtain only after dying—the power standing at the pinnacle of the Throne of Heroes—had always been Rovi's reliance as well.
Because of it, he did not fear death.
Because of it, he could treat many things others feared as though they were nothing.
Publicly insulting Gilgamesh or confronting Ishtar head-on—he claimed it was to get himself killed, but they were also things he genuinely wanted to do yet would not dare do under normal circumstances.
And now was no different.
He had sent all the Uruk soldiers back behind the wall, leaving himself to face countless monsters alone.
Guarding the frontier. Defending home and country.
The soldiers of Uruk were all warriors with unshakable faith.
They should not die here just like this.
They should have longer journeys ahead of them.
And besides...
"I can finally be a hero who dies gloriously!"
It was an absolute win-win.
Rovi planted his feet.
The monsters' roars followed. The world ahead had been completely swallowed by dust and smoke, within which pairs of scarlet eyes glowed with frenzied bloodlust.
He spread his arms.
That was certainly not a gesture of surrender. So many people were watching; Rovi wanted to die, but not like this.
Making a grand entrance only to be torn apart by monsters in an instant.
That would not make him a hero. That would make him a clown.
Perhaps a clown could ascend to the Throne of Heroes through some stroke of luck.
But one could never touch the throne Rovi had reserved for himself.
Otherwise, he would have killed himself long ago!
So Rovi intended to clear out a portion of them first, then follow the script—while facing the few remaining monsters, he would pretend to carelessly expose an opening.
And so, in that instant,
Glittering streams of light converged at once. Trembling Noble Phantasms built up immense momentum, their sharp edges rippling outward and tearing the air into sheets of flowing white.
"If you've got the guts, come at me, you beasts!" Rovi threw his arms wide, his black eyes reflecting an army of thousands.
Even the once-azure sky was drowned beneath the immense torrent of magical power brought by the terrifying Monster Tide, turning into a vast crimson expanse.
The soldiers within the city walls all held their breath.
Those atop the wall watched the scene as well.
They knew—
No matter the outcome, they would find it impossible to forget what they saw in this moment for the rest of their lives.
They could not forget a sight resembling the golden age of even more ancient myths.
A mighty hero repelling the monsters ravaging mankind through sheer force of presence; an ancient sage wielding a staff representing the gods and splitting the sea apart.
Before blades had even crossed—and there was no need for them to cross—
The battle had already ended.
Yes.
That group of monsters, beneath Rovi's loudly echoing declaration... stopped in their tracks, halting their aggressive advance.
Then they all turned around—
And ran.
The stirred dust swept past a fallen leaf.
Desolation filled the eye.
Rovi stood there as if frozen stiff.
Though it looked as if he had frightened those once-unrestrained monsters all by himself, making those beasts that had caused Uruk's border such trouble desperate to flee from him—
Rovi himself was utterly bewildered.
No, why are you running?
Come over here!
Were monsters really this cowardly!?
He desperately wanted to shout those questions aloud.
But Rovi soon learned why the monsters had retreated.
"This is... a song full of distress?" Rovi raised his head. With the keen perception of a priest, he caught a faint, subtle echo amid the earth-shaking roars and trampling.
A song imbued with divinity.
Yet filled with distress.
Thinking of the "meteor" he had seen earlier, Rovi suddenly understood—
"The goddess who created Enkidu... Aruru?"
Not Enkidu.
But the goddess who had made the Humanoid Weapon Enkidu from clay to bear the power of the gods had fallen into this forest?
In later legends, Enkidu had indeed first been born within a silent, ancient forest.
Although that goddess Aruru was most likely like the earlier Ishtar—
Descending in a Possession State.
But a goddess was still a goddess. Even in a Possession State, she possessed power surpassing most beings in the current world. Only Demigod Heroes such as Gilgamesh could compare to her.
Hearing the summons of her clear voice, the monsters naturally did not dare disobey.
Or perhaps...
The earlier unrest here had also been because the monsters had sensed, in some unseen way, that Aruru would descend here.
They feared the goddess of the heavens, so they had desperately charged outward, perhaps trying to escape this place.
Rovi fell into deep thought.
"I heard that when the gods tasked the goddess Aruru with creating Enkidu's form, she agonized over it because she could never create a perfect appearance..."
"You can tell from this song that the goddess is deeply troubled."
"She has begun to doubt her own 'craftsmanship'—"
"And in that state, she can easily be influenced by the outside world, causing her emotions to shift and making her irritable, volatile, and quick to anger..."
I understand.
Time to rush over there and laugh at her!
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