Chapter 45: Gorgon Attacks Uruk!
"King of Uruk, the Holy Grail is in your hands, isn't it?"
"Indeed, it is with me."
As he spoke, Gilgamesh raised his hand. The Gate of Babylon rippled open, and a golden Holy Grail floated out.
This was the Great Holy Grail of Uruk, one of Gilgamesh's treasures—distinct from the Holy Grail sent to this world by the King of Magecraft, Solomon.
"Hand over that Holy Grail, and I can pull back the Demonic Beasts attacking Uruk."
"Ho? If you say it like that, then the Demonic Beast attacks on Uruk are related to you as well?"
"More or less. These Demonic Beasts were created by Mother. The purpose of their existence is to sweep across the land and hunt prey."
"Hunt prey, you say? So you mean to say my people of Uruk are prey?"
"No. To be more precise, the prey is humanity."
This statement made Gilgamesh extremely dissatisfied. As the King of humanity, hearing humans referred to as prey—did that not mean he himself was just a large-sized prey?
"Hunting humans... what exactly are you trying to do?"
However, Gilgamesh did not show anger. Instead, he continued to ask because he still had many questions.
"Because humans are the best nutrition. Raising Demonic Beasts requires nutrition."
That sentence instantly ignited Gilgamesh's fury. If the one standing there were anyone other than Kingu, Gilgamesh likely would have attacked already.
Even Siduri covered her mouth in disbelief, her face filled with rejection.
"Is this your will?"
"No. This is Mother's will. Using humans to destroy humans is the most efficient way."
"Using humans to destroy humans... Truly something a god would be capable of."
To the gods, humans were cattle, animals to be kept. The chief gods always remained in their high places, looking down at the trivial humans from above the clouds.
It was precisely that groundless arrogance that made Gilgamesh hate the gods from the depths of his soul, eventually leading to the separation of man and god.
"You ask for the Holy Grail, for what? I recall the Chaldeans and Merlin saying that you already possess a Holy Grail."
"It is not I who needs it, but Onii-chan. Onii-chan requires a massive amount of Magical Energy to restore his strength. The final piece is the Holy Grail of Uruk."
"So that's it. He's the one who needs it. However, I apologize, but I will not give this Holy Grail to you."
Giving an advantage to the enemy was something he would never do. Uruk was already in a critical state. If he gave the enemy another edge, then Uruk wouldn't even need to fight—they might as well just surrender.
Saying this, he placed the Great Holy Grail of Uruk back into his treasury. During this process, Kingu briefly considered seizing it by force, but ultimately decided against it.
"If that is the case, there is nothing left to discuss. Once Uruk is breached later, I will come myself to take that Grail."
"Hahaha! If you are capable of doing so, then the Holy Grail shall be yours as the spoils of war."
"Hmph. Wait for the moment the disaster of destruction arrives."
"I look forward to it."
Ending their final conversation, Kingu immediately took to the sky and left the Ziggurat of Uruk.
Gilgamesh, sitting on his throne, smiled. Kingu's arrival today had provided him with a wealth of useful information. For Uruk at this moment, this was good news.
The only thing he found difficult was Shin Akira. The opposing side likely possessed power equal to Enkidu in his prime.
And now he had even become Tiamat's child; this was not good news at all.
Added to that was the unknown number of shadow soldiers; with just one man, he could easily suppress the entire Northern Wall, causing countless Demonic Beasts to die without being able to advance an inch.
If the situation reversed and he came to attack Uruk, would Uruk be able to hold?
The answer was most likely negative. Facing an infinite number of soldiers, the current Uruk would not be able to survive.
Meanwhile, a massive boom echoed.
On the side of the Blood Temple, Gorgon could no longer remain still.
The fact that the Demonic Beasts were dying in massive numbers, coupled with Kingu's absence, caused her to lose what little patience she had left.
The most important factor was that she was an Avenger. Her Spirit Origin sustained her while simultaneously driving her to destroy humanity, to wipe humans out until nothing remained.
Accompanied by a massive rumbling sound, a gargantuan body emerged upon the land.
Her size was immense, like a true monster. She had the body of a giant serpent, while her upper torso remained human, with large wings growing from her back. Her long purple hair had transformed into terrifying, giant snakes.
"Humans, welcome your destruction."
The Avenger, Gorgon, began to move.
And at that very moment, Kingu was leaving Uruk toward the dense forest, because Akira was there.
By chance, she passed by without meeting Gorgon, as their destinations were in completely opposite directions.
At the Northern Wall, the Absolute Front in the War Against the Demonic Beasts, the Saviors of Chaldea and their Servants were fighting bravely. A large number of Demonic Beasts had been defeated, assisted by a certain useless mage at their side.
Of course, there was also a young goddess wearing a cloak, wielding a scythe, who continued to harvest the lives of the Demonic Beasts.
The reason Gorgon sensed the mass death of her Demonic Beasts was because of this cleanup crew. To earn Gilgamesh's recognition, upon Merlin's suggestion, they had formed a Demonic Beast hunting team.
They hunted Demonic Beasts everywhere. After all, in Uruk, military merit was the finest medal.
By guarding the Northern Wall and protecting Uruk, even though they were strangers, they would be recognized by the people of Uruk, and naturally, by Gilgamesh.
That was the plan, but they never expected that their actions would ignite Gorgon's wrath.
Because Akira had previously hunted a massive number of Demonic Beasts—even doing so for over a month—and without Kingu's leadership, the losses on the Demonic Beasts' side were enormous.
These situations piled up together. Although Gorgon's territory was currently wider and larger than in the original story, the actual number of Demonic Beasts had significantly decreased.
Especially since the human population was dwindling, it was becoming harder to hatch more Demonic Beasts.
Add to that the fact that Kingu's attitude toward her was starting to shift secretly, Gorgon could no longer stay quiet. Therefore, she chose to take action herself.
She would destroy the entire Dynasty of Uruk, seize the Holy Grail, become the sole goddess of all Uruk, and exterminate humanity.
As long as she obtained the Holy Grail, under the rules of the contract, the other two goddesses would have to become her subordinates or leave Mesopotamia.
When that time came, she would become the true Earth Goddess of Mesopotamia, replacing the old Mother Goddess Tiamat.
With such an obsession driving her, Gorgon put her plan into motion.
She began her march toward Uruk. The Demonic Beasts across Mesopotamia, under the call of 'Mother,' also flocked toward Uruk in one massive wave.
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