Chapter Summaries

Annanu used his connection with Enkidu to bring Ereshkigal to Uruk, planning to give her a chance to see the surface. He left Ishtar fleeing through the city as he chased her, intending to send her to the Underworld.

• Annanu explained that Kurgarru and Galatur needed to be completed before the battle with Tiamat, and Ishtar arrived in Uruk soon after.
• Annanu switched places with Enkidu, leaving Gilgamesh to meet Ishtar in the front hall.
• In the Underworld, Annanu asked Ereshkigal about her connection to Ishtar and learned it could activate when Ishtar fell asleep.
• Annanu switched back to Uruk, pulled out a golden key, and announced he would send Ishtar to the Underworld.
• Ishtar fled from Annanu, who chased her while Gilgamesh, Lawrence, and Nanshe watched in confusion.

Annanu caught Ishtar and used the Key of Heaven to let Ereshkigal briefly escape the Underworld and see the world aboveground. Ereshkigal thanked and embraced Annanu, while Nanshe arrived and witnessed them together.

• Nanshe left Gilgamesh and Lawrence to follow Annanu and Ishtar, while Gilgamesh went to rest and Lawrence returned to her unfinished work.
• Annanu used Enkidu and the Chains of Heaven to stop Ishtar’s flight, then struck her unconscious with the Key of Heaven.
• Ishtar’s hair turned golden, and Ereshkigal awoke in her body after briefly escaping the Underworld’s restraints.
• Annanu showed Ereshkigal the moonlit lake, and she cried as she saw the surface world for the first time.
• Ereshkigal thanked Annanu and threw herself into his arms as Nanshe arrived and dropped her fishing rod.

Annanu tried to introduce Nanshe as Ereshkigal’s guide on the surface, but Nanshe and Ereshkigal both became possessive and clung to his arms. He transformed into a woman to avoid their rivalry, but the goddesses grabbed him again, leaving him screaming.

• Nanshe arrived at the lake and found Ereshkigal crying in Annanu’s arms.
• Annanu introduced Nanshe to Ereshkigal and clarified that she had come to guide Ereshkigal around the surface.
• Nanshe and Ereshkigal each hugged one of Annanu’s arms and tightened their grip while pretending not to understand his complaint.
• Annanu transformed into a woman, declaring that this would make their outing a harmonious girls’ gathering.
• Nanshe and Ereshkigal grabbed Annanu’s hands again, and his scream echoed throughout Mesopotamia.

After Annanu recovered from an unexplained collapse, Lawrence asked him to help improve her imitation of Uruk’s Divine Authority Seal, but he passed the task to Enkidu. Back in the Underworld, Annanu reassured Ereshkigal while making clear that he would not return her or Nanshe’s romantic feelings.

• Lawrence showed Gilgamesh her crude imitation Divine Authority Seal, which used gems as ammunition but consumed enormous amounts of mana.
• After Annanu woke, Lawrence asked him to review her Mystic Code, and he switched places with Enkidu so Enkidu could advise her.
• In the Underworld, Ereshkigal greeted Annanu, who apologized for the previous day’s mishap.
• Annanu reflected that he cared for Ereshkigal and Nanshe as friends but would not love either of them romantically.
• Annanu sincerely told Ereshkigal that he wanted her to see more of the world, and she agreed while asking him not to be too rough with Ishtar.

Fujimaru Ritsuka’s party encountered at least a hundred Ugal in the silent forest and prepared to fight. Meanwhile, Merlin noticed that Lemoni’s memories of a man named Ruslan did not match the legends Anna and Stheno knew, and pulled Lemoni aside to investigate.

• Liao Ye warned the group that the forest’s atmosphere had changed, and Ushiwakamaru suspected the other creatures were dead.
• Roman detected at least a hundred Ugal nearby, so Fujimaru Ritsuka rearranged the party into a fan formation and ordered everyone to attack.
• Merlin struggled to keep up with Lemoni, who explained that Jemia could grow to around twelve meters and described the unusual people aboard his ship.
• Lemoni insisted that Ruslan was the fifth person aboard the ship, but Anna said their legends named only four people.
• Merlin recognized Ruslan as Anno’s former butler, sensed something was wrong, and asked Lemoni to speak with him privately.

Merlin and Lemoni discovered that the name Ruslan could only be heard by them, though the men they described seemed completely different. Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka’s group battled a growing horde of Ugals until Roman located the original Ugal to the west.

• Merlin and Lemoni compared their memories of Ruslan and concluded they had known different men despite the shared name and strange similarities.
• Merlin said he would investigate the mystery and agreed to discuss it with Lemoni after they returned to Uruk.
• Liao Ye and Zi Juan fought Ugals while recalling their former king, and Ushiwakamaru urged Musashibō Benkei back into battle.
• Mash and Mordred fought alongside Fujimaru Ritsuka, but the growing Ugal horde threatened to overwhelm them.
• Roman detected the original Ugal’s magical signature west of the group, and Ritsuka told Mordred to release her Noble Phantasm.

Mordred’s Noble Phantasm disrupted the Ugal horde, creating an opening for Fujimaru Ritsuka’s allies to attack the original Ugal. Liao Ye exposed and wounded it, and Ushiwakamaru’s Noble Phantasm split it in two.

• Mordred unleashed her roar, blasting Ugals away and disrupting their control of the wind.
• Fujimaru Ritsuka ordered the Servants to strike the original Ugal while it was exposed.
• Ushiwakamaru used Eight-Boat Leap at Dan-no-Ura to attack as Mash, Zi Juan, Benkei, and Liao Ye cleared her path.
• The original Ugal summoned more Ugals from black mud, but Liao Ye charged in with his Noble Phantasm and cleared them away while wounding its head.
• Ushiwakamaru’s eight simultaneous slashes cut the original Ugal in two.

Merlin led Anna, Lemoni, and Stheno toward Eridu and described the city’s history. When Stheno asked Lemoni his age, she learned he had died at sixteen and realized he had never understood her romantic interest; embarrassed, she climbed down from his shoulder as the group continued on.

• Merlin explained that Eridu was founded by Enki and had once been the most powerful city in Mesopotamia before Ishtar stole Enki’s divine decrees.
• Merlin teased Stheno about her interest in Lemoni, and she asked Lemoni how old he had been when he died.
• Lemoni said he had died at sixteen while defending a town from the rampaging Basamizo, and recalled that Oushen later avenged him by destroying one of Poseidon’s Divine Cores.
• Stheno realized Lemoni’s reactions had come from genuine cluelessness rather than playing hard to get, blushed with embarrassment, and got down from his shoulder.

Annanu and Ereshkigal saw black mud spreading across the calm Persian Gulf, signaling that Tiamat would soon awaken. Meanwhile, Quetzalcoatl sheltered Euryale in Eridu as Lemoni's group searched a forest for a first-generation Demonic Beast.

• Annanu and Ereshkigal observed Tiamat's gaze beneath the black mud and decided to leave before drawing her attention.
• Quetzalcoatl asked the uneasy Euryale what was wrong while offering her fruit in Eridu.
• Euryale told Quetzalcoatl she thought she had sensed Stheno and her little sister nearby.
• Lemoni drew his Golden Spear after Merlin sensed a first-generation Demonic Beast in the forest.
• Lemoni warned Stheno and Anna to stay alert as the group continued onward.

After defeating Ugal, Liao Ye and the others discussed the black mud and hurried back toward Uruk, while Ishtar woke in the Underworld and learned Enkidu was there with her. Ishtar asked Enkidu to help her get out, and he promised to speak up for her.

• Fujimaru Ritsuka fell asleep on Jujube Steed as the group traveled toward Uruk after their successful fight with Ugal.
• Mash praised the team, and Zi Juan, Ushiwakamaru, and Liao Ye discussed how the black mud could repair, strengthen, and multiply Demonic Beasts.
• Liao Ye and Zi Juan wanted to attack Bashmu quickly, but the group still lacked information about the locations of some Demonic Beasts.
• Ishtar woke in the Underworld, realized Annanu had likely knocked her out, and complained to Enkidu about his repeated sneak attacks.
• Enkidu promised to speak to the others for Ishtar, who then asked how she could escape the Underworld.

Ishtar learned that Ereshkigal had been knocking her unconscious, while Nanshe and Lawrence faced a speaking Lahmu attacking Uruk. The Lahmu claimed that Tiamat no longer regarded humanity as her beloved children and that the gods would be hated and abandoned by her.

• Ishtar answered Ereshkigal from within their souls, and Ereshkigal stopped Annanu from beating her.
• Ereshkigal explained how Ishtar could guide her soul to switch back into their shared body.
• Nanshe and Lawrence confronted the first Lahmu as it attacked Uruk alongside a horde of Demonic Beasts.
• The Lahmu ignored Lawrence and asked Nanshe whether she would oppose Tiamat again.
• The Lahmu told Nanshe that Tiamat no longer considered them human and that her children were fated to be hated and abandoned.

Lawrence and Nanshe fought Lahmu, whose speed and taunts kept them from landing a decisive blow. Just as they struggled to find a way to defeat it, Ishtar and Enkidu arrived, giving Lawrence an opening to urge Nanshe to use her Noble Phantasm.

• Lawrence supported Nanshe with her magical abilities as Nanshe fought Lahmu, but Lahmu evaded her attacks with ease.
• Lahmu taunted Nanshe and spoke of Mother's plan to destroy the world and establish a new order.
• Lahmu charged at Lawrence, then evaded Nanshe's attempt to strike it while Lawrence recovered from its unsettling presence.
• Ishtar and Enkidu attacked Lahmu from the sky, but it dodged their projectiles and chains.
• Lawrence urged Nanshe to release her Noble Phantasm while Lahmu was occupied.

Nanshe unleashed her Noble Phantasm and appeared to kill Lahmu, but the creature emerged unharmed from black mud and warned that everyone would ultimately be destroyed. Lawrence and the others prepared to report the encounter and continue defending Uruk.

• Nanshe used her Noble Phantasm, The Flowing Waves, the Rise of Springwater, to engulf Lahmu in a devastating torrent.
• After the water receded, Nanshe and Lawrence saw Lahmu's motionless corpse and believed it had been killed.
• Lahmu's body melted into black mud, and a fresh Lahmu emerged without a wound, revealing that the apparent corpse had been a mimic.
• Lahmu mocked the group, threatened that they would ultimately be destroyed, and fled beyond their range.
• Lawrence planned to return to Uruk or head to the Demonic Beast Front, while Enkidu and Ishtar offered to help and Nanshe went to rest.

Gilgamesh challenged Lawrence to consider what she meant to Fujimaru Ritsuka, warning her not to treat her own sacrifice as something to weigh against the mission. Lawrence reflected on losing Harley and wondered how Ritsuka would feel if she returned to the Throne of Heroes, before an explosion interrupted Nanshe’s questions.

• Gilgamesh dismissed the threat on the clay tablet and told Lawrence he would kill it himself.
• Lawrence explained that she had weighed the risks of the battle, including her own death, while Gilgamesh questioned what the journey had changed in her.
• Gilgamesh told Lawrence not to weigh her sacrifice and asked whether she understood how important she was to Fujimaru Ritsuka.
• After Gilgamesh left, Lawrence recalled losing Harley and wondered whether she had become important to Ritsuka.
• A blast interrupted Nanshe as she asked Lawrence about Annanu and Enkidu, and Lawrence and Nanshe saw Gilgamesh’s Divine Authority Seals bombard the Demonic Beasts.

After defending the Demonic Beast Front, Lawrence asked Fujimaru Ritsuka what role she played in his life. His answer left Lawrence confronting how painful her eventual departure would be for him.

• Gilgamesh fired several blasts from the Divine Authority Seal to deter the Demonic Beasts, while Lawrence said the front had handled the attack and her task was complete.
• Lawrence took Fujimaru Ritsuka upstairs and asked whether anyone had been lost during the mission to subjugate Ugal; Ritsuka assured her everyone was safe.
• Lawrence asked what role she played in Ritsuka’s life, and he said he saw her as something like a mother.
• Lawrence comforted Ritsuka and sent him to rest, then went outside and grieved over the pain her eventual departure could cause him.

Lawrence wondered whether Fujimaru Ritsuka could return to ordinary life after the battle and resolved to stay by his side for as long as possible. In Uruk, Gilgamesh gathered the remaining allies to discuss the threat of Lahmu and how to counter the strange black mud.

• Lawrence reflected on Ritsuka’s longing for his old life and questioned whether he could adjust to normal society after the war.
• Lawrence decided to do her best to survive and remain beside Ritsuka for as long as she could.
• Gilgamesh showed the gathering Abzu bound beneath the Underworld and warned that Lahmu posed a major threat before the coming battle against the Beasts.
• Nanshe explained that Lahmu had survived her Noble Phantasm by hiding in the black mud, and Zi Juan noted that the substance had also appeared with other Demonic Beasts.
• Gilgamesh ordered Nanshe to investigate how to eliminate the black mud during the effort to subjugate Lahmu, and she accepted.

Gilgamesh asked Ishtar to lend Uruk Gugalanna for the coming battle, but she admitted that the Bull of Heaven had gone missing. After scolding her and making her hold a clay tablet as punishment, Gilgamesh looked over Uruk with Enkidu and Siduri and considered how to defend the city without Gugalanna.

• Gilgamesh asked Ishtar to lend him Gugalanna to fight the Demonic Beasts and hold back Tiamat.
• Ishtar confessed that she could not find Gugalanna after being summoned, and Fujimaru Ritsuka, Adekate, and Nanshe slipped away as Gilgamesh grew furious.
• Gilgamesh shouted at Ishtar for losing the Bull of Heaven, while Annanu wrote “I Am a Useless Goddess” on a clay tablet and Gilgamesh made Ishtar hold it in the corner.
• Gilgamesh left the palace and stood with Enkidu and Siduri overlooking Uruk as he considered a new plan without Gugalanna.
• Enkidu assured Gilgamesh that he and the others would always remain by his side.

Gilgamesh accepted that Uruk was fated to be destroyed and decided to make its fall serve a purpose by drawing Tiamat into the Underworld beneath the city. He revealed that many citizens had already been evacuated and urged Siduri to remember Uruk and remain proud of it until the end.

• Gilgamesh told Annanu, Enkidu, and Siduri that Uruk's destruction was inevitable despite his preparations.
• Gilgamesh explained that he had told Uruk's people of the disaster half a year earlier, but they had chosen to stay and trust him.
• Gilgamesh proposed having Ereshkigal draw Tiamat into the Underworld through Uruk, unaware at first that the Underworld was already beneath the city.
• Enkidu explained that Ereshkigal had moved the Underworld beneath Uruk while using the Flower of Annanu to keep Annanu alive.
• Gilgamesh revealed that he had sent some citizens, mainly women and children, north to survive Uruk's destruction.
• Gilgamesh asked Siduri to look upon Uruk, remember it, and be proud of it until the final moment.

A week after Lahmu’s invasion, Annanu struggled to keep Abzu suppressed while Enkidu sensed danger approaching Uruk. Meanwhile, Lemoni, Merlin, Stheno, and Anna continued toward Eridu to find Euryale after spending a week hunting Demonic Beasts, and Stheno worried that time was running out for her.

• Annanu warned Enkidu that he could suppress Abzu for only about another week, while Enkidu sensed the wind changing around Uruk and spotted dark clouds gathering.
• Lemoni, Merlin, Stheno, and Anna finished killing the Demonic Beast Mushmahhu after spending a week diverting from their route to hunt two Demonic Beasts.
• Lemoni urged the group to resume their journey to Eridu, and Anna reminded him of the city’s name.
• Anna reflected that Lemoni resisted Stheno’s attempts to charm him, while Stheno remained determined to win him over.
• Stheno sighed over the group’s delay and worried that the time left for her was running out.

Euryale stayed in Eridu with Quetzalcoatl while her sisters hunted a magical beast with two powerful Servants. Outside the city, Lemoni fought Jaguar Man after she accused him of stealing her prey, and their battle continued with neither gaining a clear advantage.

• Euryale learned from Quetzalcoatl that Stheno and their younger sister were hunting a magical beast with two powerful Servants.
• Lemoni's group encountered Jaguar Man, who challenged him after he admitted killing the bull and snake she had been hunting.
• Lemoni accepted Jaguar Man's challenge and clashed with her using the Golden Spear while Stheno, Anna, and Merlin watched.
• Merlin judged that Jaguar Man was no match for Lemoni, though the fight remained a stalemate as it continued.