"Who is the Goddess of the Underworld? And who is the Venus Goddess?"
Inside a courtyard room beside the royal palace of Uruk Royal City, sunlight outside the window illuminated the faint dust lingering on the panes, specks of light flickering like fire. Enkidu, seated beside Rovi, looked at him. "Rovi, did you hide something from us—did you go fight gods?"
The Divine Construct Golem in the form of a young girl spoke in a clear voice that echoed through the room. She raised it slightly as she looked at Rovi, her delicate face puffed up with displeasure.
Though, really...
Why could a Divine Construct Golem speak so righteously about fighting gods...? Rovi was left speechless.
Of course, he also knew that although Enkidu was called a Divine Construct Golem, the first person she had met was not that god-worshipping Saint Maiden, but Rovi. As a result, she had no feelings toward the gods at all. To her, gods had originally been no more than passersby on the street.
Rovi had already declared war on them.
So to Enkidu, the gods were merely enemies as well.
Simple and straightforward. That was the way Enkidu, still inexperienced in the world, thought.
"It was nothing. I just went to meet... a new friend," Rovi replied after carefully considering his tone.
There was nothing much to hide.
After all, Little En had been practically "raised" by him. Their relationship was more like that of siblings.
Enkidu was merely concerned for his safety.
There was nothing else to it.
Unfortunately, Gilgamesh immediately exposed him after hearing Rovi's words. "Hm hahaha... a new friend? You certainly have quite the relationship with this new friend!"
"You were close enough to press your mouths together!" Though he could only infer the past from the "future," Gilgamesh could still vaguely make out the blurred figures of two people standing close together.
"Is a king nothing more than a thief who likes to peep?" A vein throbbed faintly on Rovi's forehead.
"Peeping? Hmph, I am the master of all creation. This world is merely my garden!" Gilgamesh was utterly unconcerned. "Must I seek anyone's permission to inspect my own garden?"
Unfortunately for him again... one sentence from Rovi left Gilgamesh choked speechless.
"Is that why you indiscriminately declared that you would take the first night of every man and woman in all of Uruk?"
That had truly happened.
At the time, Gilgamesh had just come of age. He had changed from a child who deeply admired the gods into a rebellious youth after realizing that the gods regarded him as nothing more than a pawn.
To express that rebellion, Gilgamesh had rapidly "fallen" from a wise king into a tyrant.
His first measure had been to proclaim this so-called "right of the first night."
But in truth, he had failed to carry it out before it was stopped.
Because Gilgamesh had quickly realized a problem... Uruk in this world was a nation with a magnificent city-state, countless surrounding towns, villages, and settlements, and hundreds of thousands—perhaps even millions—of citizens. The ratio of men to women was roughly even, and even counting only young people, there were still hundreds of thousands.
Never mind that he was a demigod of flesh and blood.
Even iron kidneys could not withstand that!
So, within two days, Gilgamesh had abolished the so-called "right of the first night."
That matter had also been buried by him as a piece of embarrassing history.
And now, Rovi had dug it back up—
"Mongrel!" He finally could not hold back his anger.
"Who are you calling a mongrel?"
"I'm calling you a mongrel!"
"Alright then, Mr. Mongrel, hello!" Watching Gilgamesh instantly suffer another setback, Rovi had to admit... old tricks won hearts for a reason!
"Hm hahaha—" Rovi laughed aloud.
This mongrel... he even dared imitate my laughter?
Gilgamesh widened his eyes.
For some reason, Little En, who had gone from questioning to watching from the sidelines, looked at Rovi, then at Gilgamesh, and tilted her head.
A trace of contemplation appeared on her delicate face.
The atmosphere was completely different from life in the forest before.
It was a little noisy.
But perhaps... this was nice too?
The slight dissatisfaction she had felt toward Gilgamesh before also faded away.
Little En smiled softly. Her slender, petite figure swayed slightly as she leaned a little against Rovi.
Sunlight filled the space beyond the window.
The weather was lovely today.
'That day, the king argued with the sage.'
'The Divine Construct Golem quietly listened to the music of wind and people.'
'The original three formally came to know one another beneath the rising sun in full bloom.'
'Yet the crisis followed soon after.'
'"Epic of Gilgamesh"'
Bang!
"What was that sound?"
A loud crash from outside the door made the two people bickering inside fall silent at once and look toward the doorway.
Enkidu abruptly sat upright as well, her long green hair lifting soundlessly.
They saw the source of the noise outside the door: a figure that had fallen from the sky swiftly rose to her feet.
Her pale, bare arms glowed with a dizzying sheen beneath the sunlight. Yet she wore a red coat that concealed most of her graceful body, its hem extending directly below her thighs. It made her appear far more dignified and conservative, closer to the style of the Underworld Goddess's attire than before. It seemed she believed this would make her more attractive to Rovi.
"Ishtar?"
Rovi and Gilgamesh both froze at the same time. Enkidu's gaze also turned slightly cold as she grew wary.
The person who had appeared was undoubtedly Ishtar, the Venus Goddess who had separated from Rovi not long ago.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Ignoring the reactions of the three inside, Ishtar swiftly adjusted her posture after getting up. She walked to the door, crossed her arms over her chest, stood outside with the sunlight at her back, and declared loudly, "Hm hm hm, Gilgamesh, Rovi, and you, Divine Construct Golem!"
"In the name of Ishtar, Mistress of Heaven, I declare war upon you!"
"My true body in the heavens has requested that Anu send forth the strongest divine beast, the Bull of Heaven, and the strongest demonic beast, Humbaba, to punish you sinners who defy the gods!"
"Fear, and tremble!"
"This is only a warning, a declaration of war, absolutely not a reminder!"
"Don't misunderstand!"
Alright... so it was a reminder.
Rovi understood.
The Mistress of Heaven, infected by humanity, had come to warn them.
Though her method was a little awkward.
But that suited her personality.
After all, this portion of the Venus Goddess who had descended by possessing a body had already acquired the traits of "Rin Tohsaka" after being infected by humanity... If the gods truly brought down such a massive disaster, this "Ishtar Rin" probably would not be able to rest easy either.
Humans and gods were completely different.
At the same time.
The heavens.
A dimension higher than the human world, a space that existed on a parallel line with the present world.
Within the halls where the gods dwelled, beneath radiant light.
The gods gathered here to deliberate together.
"I believe everyone has already heard Goddess Ishtar's proposal!" Seated in the place of honor within the hall, Anu, the king of gods, wore a crown and held the divine staff governing the heavens. His hawk-like eyes swept over the gods seated upon their respective Divine Seats. "Since she is willing to hand over the Bull of Heaven under her control, then—"
"I, Anu, hereby declare:
We shall deliver the gravest punishment upon those who defy the gods!
I shall release both the strongest divine beast, the Bull of Heaven, and the strongest demonic beast, Humbaba."
"Gugalanna, the 'Bull of Heaven,' is the incarnation of a storm's vortex and the symbol of drought. He shall trample every inch of land and destroy every place!"
"Humbaba of the 'Cedar Forest' is the resentment of countless dead souls lying silent beneath the earth, the incarnation of death. He shall bring an eternal end of slumber to the living upon the land!"
As Anu, king of the gods, chanted his proclamation, two rays of light—one black, one white—were cast from the heavens into the present world at the same time.
They descended from east and west respectively, closing in on Uruk from both sides.
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