Those Who March to Their Death, Assemble! 1/4
In the eerie and oppressive atmosphere, Marduk looked around at the defeated and collapsed figures, and grinned maliciously.
This King of Kings possessed a smug and arrogant air. He paused for a moment, then raised his foot and slowly stepped forward.
With each step that figure took, it seemed to tread on the hearts of everyone present, crushing their suffocating, hellish power.
"Aaaaa!!!"
Tiamat, the Mother of Origin, stared at Samael, who lay motionless beside her, as the primordial power and creation were locked in a stalemate. She let out a mournful cry.
The earth cracked open, and the gray-white barrier expanded rapidly, forcing the golden light to retreat inch by inch.
"Sucker Punch!"
Marduk gripped the Fate Tablet tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, surrounded by shimmering light and mist.
"Goddesses, Heroic Spirit, and royal power have all fallen!"
"You calamity-bringing beast, you too will once again face the end of your destiny, becoming the final stepping stone for the god of war to ascend to the top!"
The hand gripping the Fate Tablet turned white, and thousands of golden torrents cascaded down from the sky, forcefully suppressing the anti-creation epoch expansion barrier.
The Mother of Origin struggled several times, but each time she was suppressed again as the golden-red light patterns on her scales and wings surged, making it difficult for her to break free of the restraints.
Marduk's eyes were ferocious and his expression was twisted.
"Nothing can change the course of my writing! Just obediently die!"
"Within this realm, glory, majesty, power, authority, and might all submit to my feet, from time immemorial to the present, and forever and ever!"
"This is destiny!"
Just as the giant golden hand extended from the axe handle, a spear grazed the King of Kings' cheek, and a wisp of golden dust drifted away in the wind.
That javelin, so weak and powerless, so insignificant and insignificant, yet it inflicted the only wound on this body.
Marduk turned his head in disbelief, staring in astonishment at the corner he had never noticed before.
"Bang! Bang bang!"
The one-armed general Tim rhythmically thumped his spear, his taut neck bulging with veins, as he roared with fury.
"My brothers and sisters, my brethren, are you all dead?"
"Uruk will live on forever!"
"Bang! Bang bang!"
"Bang! Bang bang!"
"Bang! Bang bang!"
The roar of mountains and the shouts of the sea, along with the rhythmic tapping of deep stones, came from all directions.
One after another, soldiers carrying shields and wielding javelins gathered behind General Tim.
Immediately afterwards, that instinct, which permeated their very bones and flesh, caused Magecraft, priestesses, and priests to spontaneously step forward upon hearing the summons.
Even more so, figures of all ages and backgrounds, some large, some small, some old, clutched the statues of the gods in their arms, joined hands, and solemnly strode forward.
The one-armed general clenched his fists, suppressing the instinctive trembling of his muscles, and slammed the javelin into the ground, bringing a solemn atmosphere.
"To protect humanity and usher in the Age of the Gods, the goddess bowed her head, the Heroic Spirit fought with all their might, and even our My King abandoned the favor of destiny!"
"But this is our world, this is the land of humanity!"
"Now, the battle for humanity to break free from its destiny and truly bid farewell to the gods has only just begun!"
"Now that the forces that protected us have fallen."
"This time, it's the humans' turn to stand in their way!"
With a high-pitched, hysterical roar that exploded from the fury, Tim raised his javelin with a ferocious expression.
"Those who go to their deaths, what are they doing!"
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The responses, initially tinged with a slight tremor, grew louder and louder, eventually coalescing into a powerful and stirring roar that soared into the sky.
"Form ranks! Charge!"
The one-armed general took the lead, ran ahead, and threw his spear at the high-ranking deity.
"Swish swish swish!"
In an instant, a torrent formed from the bodies of mortals surged forward, each throwing out its spear.
Marduk raised his arm, and the sharp blades that the humans had thrown with all their might only left streaks of gold dust on the top of his arm.
This insult, this provocation, enraged the King of Kings, who had placed livestock in his sight.
"Sinners! How dare you..."
When the god was enraged, he summoned wind and thunder, and the sky was filled with a ceaseless torrent of lightning.
"You're not dead, all of you, get up!"
"The witch casts a spell to seduce you!"
"Priest, apply the Dispel Ritual!"
"Magecraft's Defensive Barrier, all activated!"
Enduring the burning of her soul, Shamhat coalesced into a physical form and, utterly devoid of ladylike manners, kicked and dragged the pale-faced, headache-ridden spellcasters.
"Sinner?"
"The Gugalanna has ravaged the land! Third Storm! Seven-Day Calamity! How many of us have died! Isn't all of this your doing!"
"Has humanity been able to get to this point through hardship only because of the mercy of the gods?"
"Since human beings are born guilty, then let us raise the banner of rebellion!"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"
Shamhat's body was writhing with intense blue flames, his face contorted with hatred and his eyes filled with malice.
"Smack!"
A little girl, clutching the idol tightly in one hand, picked up small pebbles from the ground, ran angrily forward, tears welling in her eyes, and threw them at the golden deity.
"Give me back my dad! You bad thing!"
At the same time, the child's mournful cries ignited the tragic and oppressive atmosphere into a raging inferno.
What did my son do wrong?!
"My daughter is still so young!"
Compared to the gods, each and every human being was weak and insignificant, their eyes filled with bloodlust.
Looking at the empty spaces around them, they felt a sharp pain in their chests. They each threw stones, mud slabs, and fruit pits at this magnificent monument that had ravaged humanity, and followed the charging warriors.
They have husbands, children, people who have left their hometowns, and wives and daughters who have been separated...
The raging flood washed away the earth, not because of the earth's sins, but because of all the beautiful things that people cherished.
Gilgamesh Marduk charged past him, covering half his face, and looked at him mockingly, laughing wildly.
"You bastard, you shouldn't let a lion lead a flock of sheep!"
"Because I taught them to rebel!"
The King of Kings' face turned ashen. In his rage, he raised his fingers, intending to push the power of the thunderstorm, which was slightly blocked by the dispelling and suppressing spells in mid-air, to its limit.
"Ants!"
"Die! Die all of you!"
Just as lightning filled the sky, as if the mighty god of hell was about to fall, a hunched old man in a black cloak, swept along by the crowd, suddenly sprang up from the side and rushed in front of Marduk.
Like the eerie sound of a bell, echoing in all directions, the few remaining threads of fate immediately became visible.
"The Evening Bell have tolled your name; listen, fallen god, for this is the proclamation of death! — The Angel of Death!"
With a cold and stern declaration, a sharp arc of light burst forth from the old man's sleeve, deflecting the sharp edge of the thread of fate and severing the arm that manipulated lightning in one strike.
Immediately, the black short sword pierced the brow of the King of Kings, and a chilling aura of death spread out.
"Ah! Ziusudra! How dare you betray me, the king!"
Marduk's expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously raised the Fate Tablet, trying to summon divine flames to envelop himself.
"The Flame of Destiny..."
"Ah! What is that?!"
Just as he opened his mouth, a sharp pain shot through his left hand.