Uruk was a nation ruled by humans, yet its king was a hybrid of man and god.
In the beginning, Uruk had been nothing more than a tribal settlement. But ever since this king led his people to raise great walls and build the city up, it had come to resemble a vast metropolis when viewed from afar.
At this moment, the king stood atop the towering walls, looking down on the cyan-haired young man below.
"A useless creature made by useless people—do you truly think you can defeat me? What a laughable delusion."
The small-bodied king—Gilgamesh—stared at Enkidu with arrogant disdain.
The clash between them was imminent.
This battle was both a fight of fate and the beginning of the next war.
"King Gilgamesh! King Gilgamesh! King Gilgamesh!"
The guards and citizens around them shouted his name in a frenzy.
Gilgamesh leapt straight down from the wall and landed in front of Enkidu.
"After such a long journey, you'd best rest for a bit. Don't let me defeat you in a moment, only for you to start making excuses afterward."
He shot Siduri a look, signaling her to take Enkidu inside to recover first.
Siduri had already prepared for this. She brought Enkidu a full set of clothes and plenty of fruit and food.
"I know what you're going to say. We've walked together this whole way, but please don't refuse now. This is the king's final mercy to you. After this, you two will be enemies… I can only help you this much."
Siduri pulled Enkidu into the city, leaving Gilgamesh outside the walls.
Gilgamesh stood there with his eyes closed.
The attendants, understanding at once, brought over a chair for the king to sit and rest.
About ten minutes later, Siduri returned with Enkidu.
"Your Majesty, as you ordered, everything is ready."
Siduri stepped behind Gilgamesh and stood quietly.
"Very good. So that so-called weapon is prepared—prepared to be defeated by me."
"Then begin. Let me see just how strong you truly are, if you dare provoke me."
Gilgamesh strode up to Enkidu. The two faced each other.
Enkidu entered combat mode as well. Along the road he had listened to Siduri's advice, but most of what he knew came from learning how beasts fought.
He was far taller and larger than Gilgamesh. His golden eyes resembled a predator's, fierce and violent.
This was the gaze of a beast ready to hunt. He had already marked Gilgamesh as prey.
Bang!
Enkidu struck first. In hunting, the basic rule was to subdue the prey swiftly and kill it.
That rule applied well enough to human combat too.
And as a weapon forged by the gods, Enkidu possessed the greatest advantage against divinity—he could bind and suppress it.
He was the Chain that Connects Heaven and Earth:
a doll crafted by the hands of gods, and also the earth's avatar, a unity of nature and harmony.
Gilgamesh, born of both god and man, carried dense divinity. Under Enkidu's hand, that divinity was restrained.
"Cough—cough. Not bad strength… but that's all."
Gilgamesh's tone remained arrogant even as he took Enkidu's punches.
As he spoke, Enkidu's fist smashed into his face again.
Thud.
Gilgamesh's right eye immediately bruised dark.
"Well done. You've succeeded in angering me. Say it—how would you like to kneel?"
Gilgamesh seemed to become a different person. A terrifying power erupted from him as he flung Enkidu away.
The screen went black.
When the image returned, everyone saw a shocking scene—
Gilgamesh stood upright.
Enkidu was half-kneeling beneath him.
Enkidu looked up at Gilgamesh, dragging his ruined body as he tried to stand, but he couldn't muster any strength.
Before he passed out, he heard the king's wild, arrogant laughter.
"So this is a god-made weapon. Your strength isn't weak… but that's all. You still fall short of me."
Gilgamesh instructed Siduri to take Enkidu away.
But the on-screen comments exploded.
"What just happened? It was completely one-sided—how did it suddenly flip?"
"Didn't history say they fought to a draw? How did King Gilgamesh win here? He didn't even look like he went all out."
"Relax. This is normal. The last video was already changed beyond recognition and didn't match history at all. This one's probably the same—just watch for fun."
"I don't like that. King Arthur already clarified it—the video was real, and that 'Arthur with Rhongomyniad' even showed up. I literally just came over from that press conference livestream."
"Poor little Enkidu. Damn Gilgamesh, you're awful. The tiny king is cute, but why are the things he does so cruel?"
"Still, that fist mark on Gilgamesh's face—sorry, I can't hold it in. Hahaha!"
In Uruk's royal palace…
"Your Majesty, there is a video about you. Would you like to watch it? The content is… somewhat inappropriate—well, perhaps not exactly. It does, however, promote your heroic deeds."
A minister stood before the King of Heroes, staring up at him on the throne with a fervent gaze.
"Oh? A video. I've nothing pressing to do right now. Fine—let it entertain me. I want to see just how it glorifies my heroism."
Gilgamesh found that the minister's tone was just as arrogant as his own—if not even more so.
From head to toe, he radiated the aura of a ruler who thought himself unmatched.
"Not bad. Back then, I did indeed fight my friend to a draw. The way this video presents it isn't bad either—except for one thing. That huge punch mark on my handsome face damages my image."
He had been enjoying the viewing at first, but that part dissatisfied him.
"Understood. I will immediately order the producer to cut that segment. No scene that harms Your Majesty's dignity may remain."
"All right, keep playing. The restoration is quite convincing. Even the people in the city resemble those of the time…"
Gilgamesh paid no mind to affairs of other nations, much less to the press conference Altria had held.
After all, the announcement had only just been made and hadn't spread yet, so Gilgamesh simply assumed the video was fake.