You had to know that people in Sumer during this era held the gods in great reverence.
Yet now, looking around, most people no longer held any reverence for the gods at all.
How had they been brainwashed into becoming like this?
"Sister Brunhilde, how is King Gilgamesh going to defeat the Bull of Heaven?"
Although the Bull of Heaven before them did not seem to be at full strength and had been restricted to some extent, presumably out of concern that it would cause too great an impact and alert gods from other pantheons.
Even so, it was not something people of this era could kill.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Just keep watching and we'll find out."
Brunhilde was also quite curious about how Gilgamesh would accomplish it.
Then, after Gilgamesh said something to several royal guards, they ran back to the Divine Temple.
It seemed Gilgamesh had already instructed these people to prepare something beforehand, and they were now going over to make the final preparations.
As for what he had ordered them to prepare, Brunhilde did not know either. After all, she and Goll had not watched from the moment the goddess appeared until now without missing a second; they had skipped through time.
It was like watching a movie while dragging the progress bar forward, so they occasionally missed parts of the plot.
Hm? He was actually having the residents near the Divine Temple evacuate? Nearly half the city had been evacuated.
A large gate beneath the enormous pyramid-like Divine Temple also opened. It led to a sturdy storage room that could sometimes serve as a shelter.
Was he planning to have the residents take refuge there?
Of course not. If that were the case, he would not have moved the residents away from the Divine Temple.
Then was he planning to lure the Bull of Heaven inside and lock it up?
Even if its walls were thicker than city walls, they would not hold for long before being smashed through.
So, just how much force would it take to seriously injure, or even kill, the Bull of Heaven?
If they could blow this pyramid-sized Divine Temple into ruins, that should be enough to kill the Bull of Heaven in its current state.
Hm?
Wait, could it be—?!
Seeing something, Brunhilde revealed a somewhat incredulous expression!
Did this guy understand that?
Dust Explosion, Cook It!
After destroying the farmland, it had finally charged toward the city.
It truly was troublesome. Even a full-powered punch from him, strong enough to punch through a city wall, could only hurt it.
Using weapons alongside that did not help much either. They could barely cut through that thick hide, but it quickly healed itself.
And weapons from this era were only of that quality. Under his strength, they would be ruined after a single use.
But since he could injure the Bull of Heaven to this extent, his preparation should be enough to kill this beast that had brought drought upon the land.
As for the strength he had just mentioned, enough to punch through those thick city walls?
That would probably require the firepower of a modern tank cannon, yet could a human achieve such a thing?
Normally, it should have been impossible.
This was another benefit granted by his Imitation System. The higher his completion rate, the more his physical abilities would be enhanced.
Calling it enhancement might not have been entirely accurate. It was more like further unlocking his body's potential.
"Come on, stupid cow!"
At that moment, he sat upon the throne atop the temple tower, taunting the Bull of Heaven that had been enraged by him and pursued him here.
"Huff—!"
Steam blasted from its nostrils, while its front hooves scraped against the floor. It was gathering strength for a charge.
The next second, accompanied by the heavy, dull sound of the floor shattering beneath its hooves, the Bull of Heaven charged at him with force that seemed capable of shaking mountains.
Every time it stomped on the ground, the stone slabs cracked outward in radial patterns.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them had been cut in half.
At that moment, he curled his lips into a smile and pressed down on one of the throne's armrests, which sank like a mechanism.
At that instant, the floor where the Bull of Heaven was about to step suddenly collapsed, and it fell straight down into the very bottom of the pyramid-like Divine Temple.
As the Bull of Heaven roared furiously during its fall, a terrifying energy rapidly began to swell within the temple.
If one looked closely into the collapsed opening toward the ground below, one could see terrifying flames surging upward, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Boom—!"
A deafening crash, comparable to thunder—no, louder than thunder—resounded throughout all of Uruk.
Under that tremendous sound, countless people felt as if their heads had been struck by a club, leaving them dizzy. Then they stared dumbfoundedly at the massive Divine Temple.
That was the King's palace, yet it had just suffered an earth-shaking explosion. Huge flames shot upward, staining all of Uruk red.
Countless fragments of stone scattered in every direction, but because the King had issued strange orders in advance, the surrounding area had already been evacuated, so there were almost no casualties.
So, what was that?
Not understanding what had happened, the people of Uruk thought it was Divine Punishment sent down by the gods and became somewhat panicked.
"S-Sister Brunhilde, wh-what happened?"
Goll, whose soul had nearly flown out of her body from the massive explosion, let out a panicked cry after confirming that she was unharmed.
At this moment, she was no longer inside the Divine Temple. She had been moved near the city wall, where she stared in shock at the explosion.
"Dust Explosion. Looks like you didn't study properly."
"Dust Explosion?"
Goll seemed to have heard the term before, but she had never carefully looked into its principles.
"I didn't expect him to actually make use of it."
Brunhilde could not help but speak in admiration.
The door that had opened at the very bottom was actually for ventilation, allowing air to circulate inside.
And there was not just one such door. There were several other vents as well, giving the originally enclosed interior space enough air.
Then, powdered wheat flour had been scattered throughout the interior space. Finally, when the Bull of Heaven had been lured inside, each vent had been sealed shut again.
Afterward, once the Bull of Heaven fell inside, the high temperature it emitted ignited the powder mixed into the air.
Its rapid combustion caused temperature and pressure to rise sharply, resulting in this earth-shaking explosion.
As the roaring gradually weakened, a figure slowly emerged from the billowing smoke and dust. It was King Gilgamesh. It seemed even such a massive explosion had left him seriously injured.
He must have prepared for the blast; otherwise, he would likely have been blown to death as well.
Suddenly, something began pushing up the collapsed pile of stones behind him.
As the rubble was forced apart, a terribly miserable monster emerged, its entire body pierced by countless metal fragments.
It glared at King Gilgamesh with blood-red eyes, then ran toward him unnaturally, intending to use its one remaining unbroken horn to pierce his body.
Yet faced with this situation, King Gilgamesh did not even turn around for a glance, nor did he seem to intend to dodge.
Was it because he was too badly injured to move?
Not at all. It was because he had heard from the Bull of Heaven's footsteps that it was making a final, desperate struggle.
The closer it got to him, the slower it became, and its open eyes gradually began to close.
When it was one meter behind him, it collapsed completely.
At that moment, the people of Uruk who had been worried about him froze briefly before erupting into overwhelming cheers.
This was the strength of their King!
"Set up a great cauldron for this King."
The King made this declaration, and everyone began cheering loudly.
Thus, the Bull of Heaven was cooked for ten days and ten nights.
On that day, a god who had sensed that something was wrong descended.
The night sky, once filled with dazzling stars, became a starless night.
Dark clouds rolled in, towering tornadoes descended to the earth, and thunder that seemed to proclaim the end of the world rumbled through the heavens.
"The Sky God of the Babylonian Pantheon—Anu!"
Gazing at the roaring sky, Valkyrie Brunhilde murmured to herself.
"Sky God Lord Anu... He's a Main God. Should we hide?"
Goll shrank anxiously behind her sister. Ordinary gods might not notice them, but a Main God was another matter.
"There's no need!"
Her gaze shifted toward the figure seated upon the throne. He did not show the slightest fear.
He curled his lips into a smile. That smile sent a chill down Brunhilde's spine.
His ruby eyes, like a malevolent star that could illuminate the night sky, opened, and his gaze contained killing intent so palpable it seemed to possess substance.
He wanted to kill a god!!!
At that moment, Brunhilde was both excited and nervous.
She would personally witness a human slay a Main God!
Main God Anu Attacks
Anu was a god who symbolized the sky and one of the Main Gods in Babylonian mythology.
He had always remained on the highest level of the Heavenly Realm and rarely descended to the lower world.
Sitting quietly upon his divine throne within his Divine Temple, he slowly opened his eyes. An unusual light flickered within his pupils, as though countless bolts of lightning had gathered inside them.
Today marked the tenth day since Ishtar borrowed Gugalanna. Why had she not returned it yet?
Of course, Anu knew why Ishtar had borrowed it. She had been insulted by humans on the ground and wanted to send it down to punish them.
Though what the other party had said was true, what right did mere humans have to look down upon gods?
Thus, he had lent Ishtar the Bull of Heaven to descend and punish that arrogant human, so that he would understand the majesty of the gods.
Of course, it was also time to restrain Ishtar's promiscuous behavior somewhat.
She had better not cause too much trouble in the lower world and trespass into the territory of another pantheon, bringing ridicule upon their pantheon.
He would summon the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna, back.
Thus, Anu sent a command to the Bull of Heaven.
Hm? What was going on? He could not contact the Bull of Heaven?
This inability to contact it did not mean the Bull of Heaven was ignoring his command. Rather, his command could not reach it at all, as though the Bull of Heaven was outside the communication range.
He frowned. Had it really entered the territory of another divine system? That would be troublesome.
With a wave of his hand, an image appeared before him. He would first see how things were going in the area where the Bull of Heaven had descended to punish the humans.
As the image gradually became clearer, he saw a city that was exceptionally magnificent by human standards: the City of Uruk.
Hm? The Divine Temple had collapsed?
And on a massive Altar that seemed to have been cleared out for sacrificial use, a great cauldron had been set up, cooking something inside.
On a throne beside the cauldron sat a figure who looked extremely arrogant. That seemed to be the human King of Uruk.
What was he gnawing on? Was he eating beef?
Beef?
There seemed to be a bull inside the boiling cauldron.
Before you continue