The Goddess of the Underworld and the Person of the Underworld

Ultimately, Rovi didn't hate the gods in the heavens like Gilgamesh did.

But it was a fact that he disrespected them.

As someone who had transmigrated from another world in modern times, Rovi found it difficult to believe in these so-called deities.

He only became a priest for the gods to get closer to Gilgamesh.

He accepted the Key of Heaven so that he could seize any opportunity to seek death without being suppressed by his environment. In a certain sense, it was precisely because he didn't trust the gods that Rovi accepted the Key of Heaven.

He wished they would hatch some scheme to trap him.

However, this never meant that Rovi could accept their lofty desire to dictate his future.

Mortals, their value lies in themselves.

And the self, its value lies in freedom.

In the Monster Forest west of Uruk, which was already in great turmoil due to the previous battle between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, this lush land was now filled with scenes that inspired awe and fear.

Enkidu, who had fully revealed her power, no longer appeared in the form of divine soldiers and weapons conjured from endless earth. She vanished from her spot, replaced by a silver-white chain that rose from the ground and shot towards the heavens.

Golden light blazed, and the Treasury of Babylon rippled layer by layer, covering the chain.

Gilgamesh's power, the 'Keystone of Heaven,' formed a passage connecting the heavens and the earth.

And Rovi—

He held both the Keystone of Heaven and the Lock of Heaven.

His body hung in the center, gazing upwards at the faintly visible eyes of the gods high in the sky.

From afar, it looked like a magnificent flower blooming from the ground.

The giant chain was the flower's bone.

The rippling gate was the flower's petals.

The suspended 'key' was the flower's heart.

Magnificent and breathtaking.

'What is he doing?'

'What do they want to do?'

'Paving the way with the Keystone of Heaven, using the Lock of Heaven as a guide, and the Key of Heaven as the gate...'

'They want to shake the Heavenly Realm!?'

Presumptuous!

BOOM—

The gods' curses, accompanied by lightning that tore the world apart, erupted in an instant.

They finally realized what Rovi and the others were trying to do, and with that realization came their anger.

The fury of being offended by mortals manifested.

Gods inherently appear naturally; in their rage, heaven and earth changed drastically.

But neither the lightning nor the wind and rain could stop Rovi's actions.

He extended the Lock of Heaven upwards.

"Hahahaha... a bunch of rotten fools!" From the side, on his throne, Gilgamesh laughed even more joyfully. "Useless mongrels who only know how to get angry hiding behind layers of curtains. I, this King, am here—come down and fight me!"

The Gods: "..."

This guy is so punchable, I really want to hit him... but I can't go down, what should I do?

Too bad!

Rovi glanced at the wildly laughing Golden Flash and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Indulging freely.

This is the feeling he wanted!

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM... The lightning swept more urgently, signaling the gods' increasing anger.

At this exact moment, Rovi suddenly gripped the 'Lock of Heaven' transformed from Enkidu in his hand, and then... he thrust it upwards!

BANG— The lightning was shattered like fireworks, and the wind and clouds were swept away like dust.

Rovi held it like a long spear, piercing the sky.

Stabbing towards the 'eyes' of the gods!

'Damn it, damn it, damn it—'

'How dare they, how dare this guy...'

'The last eyes we gods have in the Human World must not be destroyed!'

At this moment.

The gods were afraid.

They could no longer descend to the mortal world in their true forms. If their 'eyes' were blinded, they would be unable to even observe the mortal world, let alone interfere with it.

Not every deity could possess a vessel to descend.

Suitable vessels for deities were, after all, exceedingly rare.

Therefore, they were bound to be afraid.

The sky shook violently under the strain of the chains. Not only the Monster Forest, but the very ground beneath their feet, the sky above their heads, began to tremble!

The boundaries between the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human realms wavered under the combined might of the Key of Heaven, the Keystone of Heaven, and the Lock of Heaven!

"Let's leave for now..."

"They can't touch our Heavenly Realm itself!"

"Leave, leave—"

The gods finally made their decision. The 'eyes' of the firmament rapidly vanished, retreating.

Rovi was not surprised.

He had never intended to actually pull down the Heavenly Realm and cast the gods into the dust. At most, he aimed to make the Heavenly Realm shake for a while.

While the Keystone of Heaven, Key of Heaven, and Lock of Heaven possessed immense power, the three of them had not yet unleashed their full potential.

However, this was also a perfect opportunity to highlight Rovi's resolve and, more importantly, to enrage the gods, making them hate him!

From this moment on.

The gods would focus their primary animosity on him.

Once a Divine Attendant, He had now turned against them.

The deities would undoubtedly despise him.

Naturally, Rovi would become the one most targeted by the gods.

'With this, perhaps the fates of Enkidu and Gilgamesh can be changed?'

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the final Enkidu's body withered and died due to the curses of the gods.

Rovi hoped they would do the same to him.

'I hope the gods are up to the task—'

However, Rovi did not notice, or perhaps, he simply didn't care.

In this violent shaking, it wasn't just the Human World and the Heavenly Realm that were affected.

The Underworld was too.

The Underworld—

"There's a sound... from above? How long has it been..."

In the pitch-black, cold wilderness, endless frost permeated the air, desolate and devoid of any life. Only a few wisps of ethereal blue ghost fire floated and swayed in the air.

A shadow opened its eyes, as beautiful as rubies. Its cascading golden hair scattered around as it moved.

How long had it been since it heard a sound?

A long, long time... ever since the soil belonging to the deities had completely vanished from the mortal world.

The Goddess of the Underworld looked up.

She saw the previously impenetrable dome of the Underworld, and on the 'path' leading to the Human World, a crack had appeared, a sliver of light.

'Is this... a dream?'

Whispering in a low voice, the goddess shed tears, a sigh of relief as if seeing the daylight again after an eternity of loneliness.

This was the deepest part of the Underworld.

And above, closer to the Human World.

Someone stood tall, leaning on a sword.

"The vast heavens and earth tremble because of this, the myriad lands shake incessantly. The gods rage at your defiance of divine authority, alarmed by your reckless actions, yet they are powerless."

"Because this land no longer belongs to them."

"Because their era has long since passed."

"The gods retreat, divine authority wavers."

"The Primordial Trio—"

"Heroes who shake the divine pantheon."

"After traversing such a long age, I am still able to see you..."

"This old man, Ziusudra, is truly honored."

Ziusudra was an ancient long-lived being from Mesopotamia, a person of the Netherworld.

That is to say, he—

With a crack.

'He' pulled out the heavy sword from his post, stepping forward in the ethereal blue firelight. His heavy armor clanked and scraped as he walked towards the light, towards the Human World.