The heavens split and the earth was torn asunder.
The aftermath shook the entire world.
Gilgamesh of the heavens. Enkidu of the earth.
Countless weapons from legend—their archetypes bombarded the land.
Weapons, each one worthy of being recorded in the annals of history, rained down like a shower of arrows.
Even witnessing the bombardment of treasures, where a mere graze meant a fatal wound, Enkidu did not retreat.
As long as the earth existed, Enkidu's power was infinite.
He placed his hands on the ground and began the transformation.
If a thousand treasures poured down, he would intercept them with a thousand arrows.
The weapons, imbued with the power of the earth itself, shattered to pieces upon colliding with the treasures.
A perfect cancellation of equal powers. Gilgamesh did not stop, continuing to unleash her treasures.
If he was going to use the land to intercept the treasures, then she would erase that very land from the world.
An arrogant onslaught beyond imagination. Gilgamesh was a mighty one capable of making it a reality.
Thus, Enkidu too had no choice but to change his thinking.
No matter how many times he intercepted, Gilgamesh took no damage.
Then, there was nothing for it but to strike directly.
Enkidu instantly leaped high into the sky.
He was now at eye level with Gilgamesh, who was aboard Vimana.
Gilgamesh smiled fiercely and swept her hair back.
"Your head is high."
In that instant, a flash of light shot towards Enkidu's neck.
In Gilgamesh's hand was a god-slaying sword.
Enkidu had already coiled his body to evade the attack.
"Your hands are rather slow, aren't they?"
At the light provocation, Gilgamesh once again unleashed her treasures.
Enkidu, suspended in mid-air. An omnidirectional attack flew towards him.
Nowhere to stand, absolutely inescapable.
"Die, mongrel."
But Enkidu did not die.
He caught the incoming treasures with his hands, turned his body, and shot them back in a certain direction.
Standing there was none other than Gilgamesh.
"You're putting on quite an interesting circus act!"
He snatched all the weapons pouring down from every direction and threw them back.
Gilgamesh, who had intercepted them by firing more treasures, soon plummeted to the ground.
Gilgamesh quickly figured out why she had fallen.
"Did you bring dirt with you? Such a crude trick...!"
"There's more."
The mud binding Gilgamesh's feet changed its form once again.
A sharp spearhead. It aimed for Gilgamesh's legs.
"This is revenge for that person."
"Hmph! Do you think I would fall for such a childish prank?!"
She scoffed and parried the spearhead.
Enkidu was not optimistic that Gilgamesh would be defeated so easily.
As they fell to the ground, the two continued to trade blows.
Enkidu, who transformed his form. Gilgamesh, who unleashed a near-infinite number of treasures.
Their fierce battle continued even after they landed on the ground.
Gilgamesh, now clad in armor, took out a scythe.
An attack that had proven effective against Marduk.
It breaks the opponent's guard and aims for the heart.
"Such an attack is meaningless to me."
Enkidu, made of clay, has no vital points.
"Hmph. Do you think I don't know what you are?"
But in the end, he is clay. The moment he loses all the clay that makes him up, Enkidu will die.
That was why Gilgamesh took out a giant, drill-shaped weapon.
She hooked the scythe on his arm and pulled.
With the drill in her other hand, she pulverized Enkidu's head.
Drrrrrk.
With a gruesome sound, not just Enkidu's head but his entire upper body was blown away.
"Kuh...!"
But Enkidu did not go down without a fight.
The earth was Enkidu's domain. He instantly bound Gilgamesh's legs and lifted a mountain.
"Eiii! This crude...!"
A massive mountain came crashing down on her head.
Gilgamesh raised her arms, but she was swept away by the power of nature.
A huge cloud of dust shot up 10 meters high. Due to the thick smoke, Enkidu could not see clearly ahead.
Was this the end? No. Enkidu did not let his guard down.
"You won't die just like this."
"Of course."
Covered in dirt and dust, Gilgamesh soared high into the sky.
Her expression was murderous.
"Toy of the gods. Let's see just how far you can go."
"As you wish."
A life-or-death battle where a moment's carelessness could be fatal.
Yet, the two of them were smiling.
Even if they poured out their full strength, they would not die.
How far could they go?
Clashing, exchanging blows, the two found it more and more enjoyable.
I want to kill him.
I want to pour out everything I have and return this one to clay!
"Here I come, Gilgamesh."
"Come! I, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, shall be your opponent!"
Their two forms clashed.
I don't know what it is.
But something terrible has happened.
Has it been about a month since Enkidu disappeared?
The world began to convulse.
"This is driving me crazy."
Somewhere, a battle on the level of destroying and remaking the world is taking place.
The only ones capable of such a thing are Gilgamesh or Enkidu.
The two of them are fighting.
The very thing I wanted to prevent has happened.
I want to go and stop them right now... but I can't.
"This goddamn forest. What is this now?"
A barrier of unknown origin was blocking my path.
No matter what method I tried, I couldn't dispel the barrier.
I can't tear my way through it either.
I kept trying to break through, but I came to a realization.
This barrier was made solely to stop me.
"Shit."
A curse escaped my lips.
Not only was this barrier stopping me, but it was also slowly draining my strength.
My eyes grew heavy, and my mind became hazy.
Is this a hallucination? But I don't know how it got through.
I thought my mental resistance had grown to some extent, so how on earth?
"I can't even transform into a beast. Goddammit..."
Leaning halfway against the barrier, I slumped to the ground.
It was all I could do to hold onto my consciousness.
My eyes are closing.
Am I dying?
Just as my spirit was about to break, someone appeared before me.
I thought it was one of the damned gods, but it wasn't.
To be precise, it was a god.
"Ereshkigal..."
"Hello, Marduk. How have you... well, it seems you haven't been doing well."
I couldn't even look up at her face.
Right now, all I could see was the lower part of her arm.
And she was holding some kind of tree branch.
What is that? Why is Ereshkigal holding a withered branch?
No. That's not important right now.
"...Help me. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are fighting outside. I have to go stop them."
"I'm sorry. I can't do that."
I guess I'm really not in my right mind.
I'm hearing the opposite of what Ereshkigal is saying.
"What? I think I misheard you, can you say that again?"
"Marduk. You cannot go help Enkidu."
Her words sounded as if she was the one who would stop me.
"What do you mean by that, Ereshkigal? Enkidu is in danger."
"Yes. I know."
It became more and more incomprehensible.
What on earth is Ereshkigal talking about?
"Enkidu's original purpose is to kill Gilgamesh. Of course it's dangerous."
"We have to stop them. We can't let either Enkidu or Gilgamesh die."
"That's just what you think. We don't think so."
"We? Who is 'we'?"
Ereshkigal pointed to the sky.
"The gods. The gods want not only Gilgamesh but also Enkidu to die."
"Why?"
"It's because of you."
Ereshkigal crouched down to meet my eyes.
Her expression was terribly emotionless.
This wasn't the her I knew.
"You turned Gilgamesh into a tyrant and destroyed all cities except Uruk. The gods worshiped by those cities all hate you."
"After all this time? Then why did you let me live in the sacred grounds for over a year? It's strange."
"Because we were planning to kill you with great care."
Kill me?
"We are grateful that you raised Enkidu. However, Enkidu has also been tainted by you."
"By me? What did I do? You were in the Underworld, you couldn't have seen."
"No. Ishtar is handling the duties of the Underworld right now. I've been preparing in the forest all this time."
What preparations?
I wanted to ask, but the words wouldn't come out properly.
It felt as if my vocal cords had completely seized up.
"I created a barrier that weakens you. I've been maintaining it and continuously strengthening it."
Ereshkigal was clearly telling the truth.
Am I going to die now?
As if reading my mind, she told me my fate.
"The sun god, Shamash, truly hates you. But he holds your power in high regard, so he devised a method that benefits everyone."
Ereshkigal plunged the withered branch she was holding into my heart.
"You will become the guardian of the forest and live a new life. Of course, your consciousness will be gone..."
"■■■———."
Instead of human words, the sound of a beast came out.
"I'm sorry. For deceiving you all this time. But it's alright. Your soul will stay with me in the Underworld forever."
Ereshkigal kissed me.
I couldn't feel any sensation.
I felt the entity called 'me' floating away.
"Your soul was extracted nicely. That's a relief. If you had resisted, I would have had to use rougher methods. Yes. A real relief."
I could see my body.
The branch dug deep into my body.
It gradually swelled in form, and soon I had become a beast in the shape of a giant mass.
"I have manifested the unique power you possess. You'll probably be stronger than Enkidu. Though your duty is merely that of a gatekeeper."
Ereshkigal sent the beast that was once me far away.
Then, holding 'me', she opened the gate to the Underworld.
"We'll be together forever now. Even after the Age of Gods ends, we will be together for eternity."
We headed into the endless underground.
I remembered Gilgamesh's curse.
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