Multiverse: Ragnarok's Beginning - The Hero King's Path

The moment she was targeted, Brunhilde instinctively assumed a defensive stance—a reflexive response from her body's crisis sense.

"Hey hey, why so tense? If anyone should be tense, it's this King."

The summoned King Gilgamesh spoke in a casual, chatty tone.

He appeared utterly harmless, yet Brunhilde felt the murderous intent he released grow heavier instead.

"Suddenly appearing out of nowhere like this, this King was quite startled."

Quite startled? She couldn't see it at all.

"What? Checking if this King carries anything dangerous? Acting like you're afraid this King might suddenly strike you down."

Saying this with an amused expression, Gilgamesh took a step back and sat down on the office chair nearby, leaning back leisurely, crossing his legs.

Was this carefree, defenseless display a sign of overconfidence in himself?

"Apologies, but I truly am afraid the King of Uruk might do just that."

"So you're treating this King like a murderer?"

Gilgamesh let out another teasing remark, watching with interest this woman who spoke bluntly yet carried an air of toughness.

From her words and demeanor, she seemed like a battle-hardened heroine, a Valkyrie of the battlefield.

A Valkyrie?

A god? Interesting.

He had been in the middle of entering his next role when he was abruptly summoned here—a bit of a shock, indeed.

At the same time.

'Next roleplay paused. Continue loading?'

The system gave this prompt, meaning if he agreed, it would pull him out of here immediately.

So he didn't confirm right away, instead observing the situation.

This summoning probably wasn't hostile; otherwise, he'd likely receive special treatment.

He'd probably be treated as a dangerous element and subdued on the spot.

Of course, the woman across from him clearly saw him as a threat too, though he sensed no hostility.

Oh, and there was a little loli at the door who, when he glanced at her, got so scared she started sucking her thumb.

His gaze returned to the woman before him.

"You're a god? I felt something watching me earlier—it was you two, wasn't it?"

As he spoke, his crimson eyes seemed to glint with a dangerous light, making Brunhilde, under his stare, break out in a cold sweat.

That gaze was overwhelmingly oppressive. Though he was human, it felt to her like facing the sharp, piercing stares of the renowned Main Gods.

"Apologies, King of Uruk. We didn't mean to spy on you, but we had no choice. Right now, all of humanity faces an unprecedented doomsday crisis, and we hope to gain your assistance."

"Oh?"

This piqued Gilgamesh's interest. All of humanity facing doomsday? Needing his help?

"So? You still haven't answered this King's question."

"Forgive my rudeness. I am Brunhilde, the eldest sister of the Norse Valkyries."

Placing one hand over her chest and leaning slightly forward, Brunhilde performed an introductory bow.

"Norse Valkyries?"

How interesting. How did figures from Norse mythology end up seeking him out?

"And what is this crisis humanity faces? One that even you gods can't handle?"

"Quite the opposite—the gods can handle it, because this crisis for humanity originates from—the gods themselves!"

As she spoke, the Valkyrie's face darkened, and a glint of hostility toward the gods flickered in her eyes.

So the crisis came from the gods, and knowing he had slain gods, they came to him?

Wanting him to keep slaying gods?

For a long time, every thousand years, the gods have held a meeting in the Valhalla Council chamber to decide humanity's survival, voting on whether to grant humanity another thousand years of existence... At this point in humanity's seven-million-year history, on the day XX/XX/20XX, the council reached a unanimous decision—to grant humanity Ragnarok.

Brunhilde explained the situation while watching the King's expression.

His reaction was utterly flat, as if he were listening to a mundane story that had nothing to do with him.

Then, after yawning, he said something that left Brunhilde stunned.

"To be honest, this King would also vote to destroy humanity."

Chapter 016: He Wants to Convene a [Gods' Survival Conference]?

For ages, they had guided humanity, letting them build the world into something more beautiful.

Yet human history was nothing but endless fighting and killing, especially in modern times, with the mad frenzy of the World War.

It was precisely because of war that human civilization and technology advanced at breakneck speed, developing more devastating weapons—especially doomsday weapons capable of destroying human civilization itself.

Then, in the past hundred years of the modern era, humanity's development has also caused severe damage to the world's ecology.

Overfishing of marine life has filled the seas with massive amounts of trash and oil slicks, turning the once-clear oceans murky and foul, destroying the marine ecosystem.

On land, forests have been razed, resources exploited without restraint, lush mountains transformed into ugly rocky hills, driving terrestrial animals to lose their habitats and go extinct.

In a sense, humans living on this planet Earth have become the greatest cancer cells for all other creatures sharing this world.

So, after countless years of guiding humanity, this was the result they got—if it were him, he'd think humans were beyond saving too.

It's like raising a child, giving him everything, pouring all your love into him, making him the finest pillar of society.

Too bad, in the end, that child still went down the wrong path, refused to change despite repeated lessons, and all that's left is utter disappointment.

Causing trouble every day, eventually becoming a tumor on society, giving you high blood pressure, until you just want to scrap him and start over.

Thus, if Bai Yue were a member of the Valhalla Council, he'd also vote for humanity's end.

And his answer left this Valkyrie, Brunhilde, utterly stunned—she thought he'd side with humanity, yet he chose to stand with the gods?

After a brief silence.

"King of Uruk, do you agree with the gods' choice for humanity's end?"

Brunhilde looked at the man before her with disbelief.

Gilgamesh, who clearly despised the gods, actually agreeing with their decision? Standing with them?

This was something she never expected.

Involuntarily, Brunhilde let out a bitter laugh.

The man before her had always been hard to read, so maybe giving such an answer wasn't strange after all.

"Right, human history is a history of war—they never learn—but—"

But what?

As he said this, Brunhilde felt the atmosphere in the air shift sharply, the pressure radiating from King Gilgamesh growing more intense.

It was as if even the air couldn't withstand his presence, trembling under its weight.

"But only humans can end humanity themselves. The gods? What are they? What right do they have to decide humanity's end? Just because of their long-standing guidance and care? Hah."

At that moment, King Gilgamesh laughed—a mocking laugh, a contemptuous laugh—and it stirred a flicker of hope in Brunhilde.

"Did they truly guide out of kindness to lead humanity toward a better future? Or was it just a game of house they got bored of?"

Maybe some gods truly loved the humans on earth, but from what he'd seen of so-called gods, with that attitude, most of them were exactly as he said—just playing house.

Come to think of it, this was interesting. Originally, Gilgamesh's card was thawed to 99.9%, but now it showed as fully unlocked?

That meant the time-space he was in now was the future?

For the Valkyrie Brunhilde before him, he was a figure from dead history, summoned to this time to save humanity from crisis.

So, if he didn't proceed with the next role-play and just stayed in this time-space, he could freely use Gilgamesh's abilities.

But that came with a problem—he could only use this character, because without moving to the next one, no second card would be born.

If he did take on the next role but wasn't summoned again, he'd have to wait until the modern millennium to thaw the card.

On the other hand, if he kept role-playing, there should be another version of himself in this time-space, right?

What would happen if the two of them met? He had a feeling something bad would occur.

Hmm? As he casually flipped through a book on the table, a line on one page made him freeze.

'You're wondering what would happen if you met another version of yourself, aren't you? Let me tell you—we might be forcibly fused into one person. Then the problem arises: if you're fused into me and left in the modern era, I won't carry out certain historical actions, the Gilgamesh story won't be uncovered, and other cards won't be activated. So right now, you wouldn't see an activated card.'

The words vanished as if they'd never been there, like it was all his imagination.

It seemed that version of him in this future time-space had left this message by some unknown means.

He closed the book and looked up at the Valkyrie before him.

"So, how do you plan to stop the gods? What do you want from this King?"

Surely she didn't think he could take on all the gods alone? So what was the purpose of summoning him?

Then the Valkyrie's face turned serious, and her lips parted.

"I hope the King of Uruk will participate in Ragnarok."

Ragnarok?

As the Valkyrie explained, a intrigued expression crept onto his face.

To keep the gods from casually wiping out humanity, this Valkyrie had deliberately provoked them.

She invoked a special clause from Article 62, Section 15 of the Valhalla Constitution—one-on-one battles between gods and humans—and proposed a "Gods vs. Humans Ragnarok," a final struggle where 13 gods would face 13 humans in single combat.

If humanity won 7 matches, they would survive until the next Humanity Survival Conference.

"Now that's interesting. Humanity wins and gets to survive until the next Humanity Survival Conference—what great mercy. Maybe this King thinks there should be a Gods' Survival Conference too."

That was arrogance to the extreme, and Brunhilde gave him a meaningful look.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

It could be said that she was kicked open, sending Goll, who was by the door, tumbling across the floor in a rather disheveled mess.

A swaggering figure stepped inside.

PS: Drop some flowers and votes for support.

With the door violently kicked open, a swaggering figure came into Brunhilde's view.

It was a male dressed in flashy, hip-hop style, looking like a delinquent, with a pair of wings on his back.

This person was an old acquaintance to Brunhilde—a piece of trash who often came to harass the Valkyries.

"Incubus."

Brunhilde let out a low voice.

The Incubus she spoke of was this guy's name, his true identity being an Incubus/Succubus, a piece of trash.

"Honestly, the gods are all a bunch of cruel, cold, and stubborn bastards. Why would you put yourself in such a desperate situation for humans?"

The Incubus who entered flicked his hair in a showy gesture, putting on an air of deep concern for Brunhilde.

After saying this, he shifted his gaze to another figure, looking down on him with a contemptuous stare.

"I think I just heard something about a 'council on the gods' survival.' Really, Brunhilde, what trash did you pick?"

He spat out these sharp words with a pitying demeanor, making Brunhilde clench her fists, itching to punch Incubus in the face.

Her gaze also turned to King Gilgamesh. He looked very calm, as if he hadn't heard Incubus's insults, a faint smile still on his face.

Wasn't he angry? It seemed like he really wasn't angry, treating Incubus like a jumping jack, not worth paying much attention to.

This reaction made Incubus frown.