What circumstances would lead to a failed portrayal? The simplest answer was that he died.
One possibility was being killed during the portrayal. Another was growing old or dying from illness before completing the progress.
So what happened if he failed? Would he truly die in the literal sense?
No, that was not the case. The system would send him into the next role portrayal.
The era of the next role would change, but as for what that next role would be...
Sorry, the system had not explained it to him. It would probably only tell him when he failed, or when he succeeded.
Or perhaps he would have to judge for himself after being reborn and waking up again.
So, had his current act of poisoning the two major institutions been based on the story progression provided by the system?
No. It had been his own choice.
Even with the story progression provided by the system, deviations would still appear no matter how closely he followed it.
Why would deviations occur?
That involved the influence of various factors, such as words, actions, and behavior.
For example, the system's records might state that Gilgamesh went hunting one day and came into conflict with someone.
But that "one day" had no exact date, nor did it explain the extent of the conflict or what happened. He had to grasp the details himself, which made things rather difficult.
Perhaps the original conflict had only caused the other party to harbor resentment. But if he failed to judge how far to take things in the current conflict, the other party might develop other thoughts—perhaps even want to kill him. That was what a deviation was.
Thus, with all those deviations leading to the current situation, he had no choice but to take the risk and commit such an act.
So what kind of world was this?
Was this an ordinary world?
No, this was a world that seemingly had gods.
Did that mean he had come to the Type-Moon world? Would he become a Heroic Spirit afterward?
If this was the Type-Moon world, then weren't the so-called rewards somewhat redundant?
Suddenly, a burst of chaotic noise brought him back to his senses. Anr, the High Priest said to be able to speak with the gods, had arrived.
Standing at the doorway, the High Priest was so frightened by the horrific scene inside that he scarcely dared enter.
When he noticed the figure on the throne propping up his chin and looking at him with interest, a chill shot straight through his mind.
To Anr, the scene before him was far too bizarre.
Faced with such a tragedy, that king remained so calm. He was even smiling at him, making Anr's hair stand on end.
This inevitably gave him the thought that the king had caused this gruesome scene.
This king, who had once seemed harmless, had, despite his young age, so cunningly slaughtered nearly everyone in the two major power institutions.
"Your Majesty, wh-what happened here?"
He could not help giving him a reverent look, and his voice trembled with fear.
"Nothing much. These people were too much of a nuisance. They even said they wanted to treat me like a puppet, so I cursed them to death."
As he said this casually, he rested his chin on one hand, his elbow against the armrest of the throne.
At the same time, blue flames appeared beside him without warning, making the sight all the more eerie.
That display made cold sweat pour down Anr's back. It seemed this young king truly possessed some unimaginable power.
Cursed to death? Did he know how to use curses?
"Lord Anr, surely you do not think the same way as these people?"
As he spoke, the king slightly raised his head, revealing a cold and arrogant expression of looking down on others. An almost tangible pressure seemed to radiate from him, crushing Anr until he could barely breathe.
"No, I do not!"
He hurriedly denied it, afraid that if he hesitated even a moment, he too would be cursed to death.
"That's good~"
While he was living as Gilgamesh, in a future he knew nothing about, the gods were holding a conference.
It was a conference that would decide humanity's future: destruction or continuation.
Valhalla Conference
Slightly hurried yet steady sounds rang out—the sound of footsteps.
The owner of those footsteps was a woman who radiated a solemn aura.
Her lustrous black hair was adorned with a wing-shaped accessory. She had a striking, heroic face that needed no makeup, and her tall figure was clad in a knight-like dress.
She looked like someone who had experienced the slaughter of the battlefield, her entire body radiating an aggressive and chilling killing intent.
She looked like a Valkyrie from legend. In truth, she was a Valkyrie from legend.
She was the eldest of the thirteen Valkyrie sisters from Norse Mythology, Brunhilde.
Behind her came another set of footsteps, much more hurried—the footsteps of someone forced to jog in order to keep up with her.
The person following her was a cute girl who looked around thirteen or fourteen years old. She had short light-purple hair, large emerald-green eyes, and thin cherry-colored lips.
Her petite, adorable body wore what looked like ordinary casual clothes, except one slender leg beneath her shorts wore a black thigh-high sock, as though she wanted to emphasize how different she was.
This petite, adorable girl was also one of the Valkyries. She was the youngest sister, named Goll.
The two were heading toward the magnificent and solemn building before them: the Valhalla Council Hall.
"Sister Brunhilde..."
Clenching her little fists against her chest, Goll felt somewhat uneasy.
She felt that the Sister Brunhilde she admired most might be about to do something outrageous.
After all, the people inside the Valhalla Council Hall held statuses different from theirs. In a sense, the Valkyrie sisters were not qualified to enter.
Because that was a council of gods, while the thirteen sisters were merely demigods.
And today, the Valhalla Council Hall was holding its once-in-a-thousand-years conference, the conference that would determine humanity's future.
It seemed her sister really had come for that conference.
Goll had also heard some rumors. This time, the conference would likely truly deliver its judgment.
As a Valkyrie, and one who already had ties to humanity, it seemed her sister could not simply stand by.
Of course, Goll herself also did not want that judgment to be passed. But what could she do?
She was merely a demigod, and the youngest among the Valkyries—an Apprentice Valkyrie. Being so weak, she could do nothing.
As the Valhalla Council Hall drew nearer, she became increasingly nervous and uneasy. The people inside were all major figures.
Huh? Sister Brunhilde had entered the passageway without hesitation.
Biting her lip, Goll hurried after her.
So what was happening inside the Valhalla Council Hall at that moment?
Inside the council hall.
"Everyone, another thousand years have passed since our last conference."
An elderly voice rang out. It belonged to a gaunt old man in white robes, one who looked as if a gust of wind could knock him over.
Yet this old man was presiding over the Gods' Conference. He was the chairman of the Valhalla Council—Zeus, the Main God from Greek mythology.
"Then let us begin that conference—the conference held by gods from all over the world to decide humanity's survival!"
As he said that, his eyes, narrowed and concealed beneath thick brows, opened to reveal an extraordinarily sharp gaze.
"So, should humanity be allowed to continue for another thousand years? Or should it be given an end?"
That was the theme of this conference.
Every thousand years, the gods held such a conference and voted on whether humanity should be granted another thousand years of existence.
In other words, the reasons humanity might head toward extinction were not limited to meteor strikes, nuclear war, or alien invasions. There was also destruction from the gods.
"Then, gods, please state your opinions."
After Zeus spoke, the conference room did not immediately erupt into noise. Instead, it seemed listless and lethargic.
"Sure~~~ Let's end them."
The first to speak had an equally lazy voice. He lounged languidly, one of the three Main Gods of India—the god of destruction and creation, Shiva.
Two of his four arms lazily raised placards marked with an ×, declaring humanity's end.
"In my opinion, they have shown no intention of repenting over the past thousand years, so we should simply wipe them all out."
"As Lord Shiva said, over the past thousand years, the world has become increasingly ugly. The oceans are filled with garbage and..."
The second god to respond was a sexy goddess whose every inch exuded beautiful charm—the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite.
She likewise supported destruction, because humanity had made the world worse and worse.
The other gods responded one after another, all condemning humanity. Not a single one stepped forward to speak for humanity, and one by one, they voted for its end.
"Humanity is the scourge of this world."
"Let humanity go extinct."
"They are nothing but pests!"
"I am tired of guiding them."
"They are beyond saving. Let them be destroyed."
The gods had apparently become completely disappointed in humanity. They no longer intended to give humanity another thousand years and planned to declare humanity's end in this conference room.
"It seems a conclusion has already been reached."
Zeus, the presiding chairman, raised the Gavel of Judgment, about to pronounce humanity's end.
"Then, at this Humanity Survival Conference, all members unanimously agree to grant humanity—"
At that moment!
"Please wait!"
A voice that seemed to disagree rang out. It belonged to the goddess Brunhilde, who had hurried over.
Facing the rebukes of many gods, she stood tall without fear. She intended to stop the gods from declaring humanity's end.
She invoked the special clause under Article 62, Item 15 of the Valhalla Constitution—the one-on-one decisive battle between gods and humans. She proposed holding Gods vs. Humans Ragnarok, with thirteen gods facing thirteen humans in one-on-one duels.
If humanity achieved seven victories first, it would survive until the next Humanity Survival Conference.
Thus, with her malicious provocation, she claimed that if the gods did not dare hold it, would that not mean they were afraid of losing to humans?
The result was that the gods, naturally enraged, accepted her proposal. They intended to make her see clearly how humanity would be trampled.
Then, she was tasked with finding the thirteen humans who would participate.
"Thirteen humans?"
With the lives and deaths of humanity resting upon those thirteen people, she could not make a mistake in choosing them.
Brunhilde already had a candidate for the first one: Adam, the human born with God's blessing.
Just as Brunhilde was preparing to summon him, she passed near a group of gods from the Babylonian Pantheon and heard a secret unknown to the gods.
It was a secret that even left her stunned—someone had once successfully slain a god.
And the god who had been slain was no ordinary god!
Was the Main God of the Babylonian Pantheon Killed?
In humanity's history, had someone actually succeeded in slaying a god?
Was that even possible? It was truly difficult to imagine.
In Brunhilde's view, this was simply a fantasy, something highly unlikely.
Since it was impossible, then why had she proposed Ragnarok, a battle between gods and humans?
Before you continue