The Bull of Heaven Attacks

He was neither shocked, flustered, nor excited because she was a goddess. He remained completely unmoved.

His reaction made Ishtar pause slightly. Did he not believe her?

It was fine. She only needed to make him believe.

The next second, as her body began to glow, crops such as barley, wheat, and lentils sprouted all around them.

They had grown from stone slabs without any soil. It was practically a miracle.

"Now this should prove that I am Ishtar, the goddess of nature and harvest, right~?"

"So? Ishtar, goddess of nature and harvest, what business do you have with me?"

His attitude was exactly the same as before, without the slightest change. He was simply speaking to her as though she were an ordinary person.

A trace of gloom passed over Ishtar's face.

She was a god. Though the human before her was a king among humans, he was ultimately still only human. Yet he dared treat her with such an attitude.

Although she was angry, she liked him even more.

"It is very simple. I have fallen for you, King of Uruk, so become my companion. You will also break free from the limits of humans, that short-lived race, and become a demigod with a long life."

No human could possibly remain unmoved when a goddess confessed her love. After all, she was a genuine goddess.

Moreover, becoming her companion would allow him to ascend in a single step and become a demigod, no longer needing to fear the end of his life after a hundred years.

So after hearing that, the King of Uruk before her actually seemed a little tempted. He straightened up and looked at her with an intrigued gaze.

An intrigued gaze?

"I seem to have heard that you maintain physical relationships with certain gods. I have also heard that certain humans received invitations from you in the past?"

"You need not worry about that, King of Uruk. Right now, my heart belongs to you."

So that was what he minded. Men were all like that, so a few sweet words would be enough.

Thus, Ishtar swayed her seductive body closer and exhaled a fragrant breath.

"Oh? So you really have slept around with so many men? Then my apologies, but I do not like riding public buses~"

She had expected him to be utterly entranced, yet he spoke words that turned her face livid.

Though she did not know what a public bus meant, she could sense the intense insult in it.

Then she saw the King of Uruk give her a disdainful look before pushing her away with one hand and shaking it, as though something filthy had gotten on it.

At that moment, Ishtar's face twisted, veins throbbing on her forehead.

"Pfft—!"

Someone could not hold back a laugh and immediately covered her mouth.

The one who had laughed was the youngest of the Valkyries—Goll.

What the King of Uruk said was far too cutting. He actually said he did not like riding public buses?

That was way too funny.

Wait, was that not a modern joke? It had already existed in the age of Sumer?

Eek!!!

The King of Uruk suddenly cast a sharp gaze in her direction.

No, no way, he sensed them again?

Goll was so frightened that she hid behind Sister Brunhilde.

They were still displaced in time and space, so ordinary gods should not have been able to notice them.

"I do not know what a public bus means, Ur—no, human Gilgamesh!"

Goddess Ishtar twisted her terrifying face, seemingly wanting him to explain exactly what that word meant.

She no longer called him King of Uruk, instead gritting her teeth as she addressed him directly by name. It was clear that she was furious enough to explode.

"You do not understand? Then I shall magnanimously explain it to you. A public bus is a convenient vehicle for travel. As long as one pays a small fee, anyone can ride it. Therefore, I do not like sharing public buses. I have my own custom-made Vimana, which is cleaner and more comfortable. If you wish to experience a public bus, I can find a driver to take you for a ride and let you properly admire the beauty of the City of Uruk."

Even Goll bit her little hand after hearing that, worrying for the King of Uruk.

Look at Goddess Ishtar. Her beautiful face had twisted into something so hideous that she resembled a siren.

Those strangely twitching clawed hands also looked as though they were about to rush over and tear him apart.

"Hehehe... Hahahaha! Very good, very good, Gilgamesh!!!"

In the end, she seemed to scream until she tore her throat apart, making Goll's body tremble.

"This is bad, Sister Brunhilde. King Gilgamesh is going to be killed now."

"No, she will not kill him directly just yet."

Gods generally would not kill humans with their own hands. That would make them seem too unable to keep their composure, and the other gods would laugh at them.

Therefore, gods would use other methods to punish humans before looking down upon their suffering from on high.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Brunhilde also saw something eager to strike in the dangerous gleam flashing through Gilgamesh's eyes.

Was he planning to slay a god?

Where did his confidence come from?

"Just wait. I will make you regret what you did today!"

After leaving behind that threat, Goddess Ishtar departed.

As the man on the throne watched her disappearing figure, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. The progress had suddenly reached 95%.

Still, if they had fought just now and he had truly managed to kill Ishtar, would it have risen even higher—to 99%?

Then next, she would send the Bull of Heaven to deal with him, right?

The Bull of Heaven Descends

In an agricultural district outside the City of Uruk.

The irrigation facilities here were remarkably well developed, and the fertile soil meant that the crops produced were more than enough to sustain Uruk.

Thus, under the rule of the great King of Uruk, there would be no such thing as famine.

Suddenly, one of the workers tending the crops looked up at the sun in the sky, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.

"Why is it getting hotter and hotter today?"

Moreover, something was wrong with this heat. It was not coming down from the sun in the sky, but sweeping in from the south along the ground.

Looking southward, he saw that the air in his field of vision seemed to be twisting.

When he narrowed his eyes and looked carefully at the crops over there, something seemed wrong. Their colors were deepening, and they were withering?

His pupils contracted as he immediately saw smoke rising from certain areas, followed by flames.

W-What was going on?!

The next second, a scorching heat wave slammed into him, nearly causing him to pass out from the heat.

The crops around him were also withering under this terrifying heat wave.

Then, an unfamiliar object came charging into his view.

"A cow?"

It looked like a cow, a cow larger than any he had ever seen.

And as the cow drew closer, the temperature around them rose even further.

Not only that, but the earth itself seemed to tremble with every step it took.

After confirming it several times, he understood that the cow was the cause of this abnormal temperature.

It was not as if there were no soldiers trying to stop it, but they were no match for that cow.

Before they could even get close, their entire bodies were already drenched in sweat. They could not hold out for long before passing out from the heat.

Thus, atop the temple tower of Uruk.

As though he had sensed something, someone walked to the entrance.

His gaze turned toward the far-off area beyond the city walls, where he saw thick smoke billowing upward.

It seemed the drought-bringing Bull of Heaven had truly been unleashed.

"What is happening? Is an enemy attacking?"

"That seems to be the agricultural district?"

"Fire? What are the soldiers guarding that place doing?"

The elders, who were about to continue speaking, fell silent one after another when he raised a hand to signal them to calm down.

He descended from the temple, boarded the chariot that had already been prepared, and headed toward the southern gate where thick smoke was billowing.

He did not even need to reach the city gate before soldiers rushing in reported what had happened.

"C-Could that be the legendary Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna? The divine beast beside the Sky God Anu?"

"Did Ishtar ask the Sky God Anu to deliver Divine Punishment?"

"It will bring drought to the land."

After climbing the city wall and seeing the savage creature outside wantonly destroying the crops and bringing drought to the land, many people began trembling. Some even prepared to kneel.

"It is the punishment of Goddess Ishtar. Quickly kneel and beg—"

Beg for what?

A cold flash swept past, and his head flew into the air before falling to the ground and rolling away.

"Anyone who kneels will share his fate."

Those narrowed crimson eyes were like an ominous star illuminating the night. The elders and nobles under his gaze all showed fear and straightened their bent knees.

"Answer me. Who made Uruk so prosperous and powerful over these past few years?"

Spreading his arms, he, as king, made a declaration to the gathered soldiers.

Every gaze focused on him.

"It was... it was the king."

"It was the King of Uruk!"

"It was King Gilgamesh!"

Gradually, a tidal roar surged forth as countless soldiers shouted the name of King Gilgamesh.

"That is right. It was me. And I did not receive any so-called Revelation from the gods, divine... Therefore, everything was brought to you by me, a human, not by these so-called gods. And the one now wantonly destroying the home we built with our own hands was sent by the gods."

His words silenced the soldiers. Some began to tremble, gradually overcome by anger.

"Do you know why the gods are doing this? It is because that goddess—no, that lustful goddess Ishtar—ridiculously wanted me to become her slave. Naturally, I rejected that bitch."

The soldiers stirred once more. This time, it was not a stir of panic, but one of anger for most of them.

"...Do you understand now? If they truly were benevolent gods, would they need us to offer them sacrifices?... Have you truly ever seen the gods give us anything?... Gods that demand our dignity, our freedom, our everything before granting us protection—can those things truly be called gods? Tell me, are they gods?"

"No, they are not!"

"They are not!"

"They are not!"

"Then what are they? Tell me!"

"They are evil gods! They are demons!"

In an instant, countless soldiers and residents, even the elders and nobles, were swept up by the atmosphere and roared in fury.

That furious cry, as though it could shake the very air, seemed to frighten the Bull of Heaven that was wreaking havoc.

"Demons, dem—ugh!"

Goll, who had also been swept up in the mood, hurriedly covered her little mouth.

T-Too terrifying. Was this the aura Gilgamesh possessed as a king? Even she could not help being affected by it.