"There was once a city, there was once a city. The place where heaven and earth connect, Gil—an empty plain."
After a moment of hesitation, Shiomi repeated the words Gilgamesh had prompted him with.
The plain-looking clay tablet suddenly burst forth with an invisible force, pulling Shiomi's consciousness inside.
When he came to, Shiomi found himself standing in a sea of corpses and blood.
What unfolded before him was the most tragic scene imaginable—countless human tragedies laid bare.
Those who killed, those who were killed.
The ignorant, the forsaken.
The hateful, the mocking.
Resentment, misunderstanding, discrimination, persecution, pity—cruelty was everywhere in the human world.
He silently watched it all. Even though the sheer brutality was nearly unbearable, Shiomi refused to avert his gaze.
This too was part of humanity. As one of them, he had no right to look away.
"Humans are not omnipotent. Everyone must swallow their bitterness, living through contradictions, barely holding on."
A chaotic yet strangely familiar voice echoed.
"But the omnipotent king is different. He has the power and means to fix everything. With Clairvoyance that sees through past and future, he understands every tragedy and sorrow in this world—yet he does nothing. A king who only laughs."
"If he were ignorant, it might be forgivable. But he knows everything, and still just watches. I raised a cry of protest! 'Don't you want to correct this tragedy?! You know all of this—don't you feel anything?!'"
"No, no. I feel nothing," the king replied.
"This man is unforgivable. That's what we all believed."
"You asked for this not for yourselves, not even for the destruction of the king you hate, but only that your anger be heard. I grant your request."
"I bestow upon you wisdom and strength. None shall be like you—not even your king."
"...We shall devote all our time, expend all our resources. That is who we are—"
Shiomi snapped back to reality.
He was still standing in the palace of the Divine Tower, the throne and those around it just as they had been. Yet sweat was soaking through his back.
"Unfortunately, this tablet doesn't contain anything about the Three Goddesses." Shiomi handed it over to Siduri. "I've memorized everything, so there's no reason for me to keep it."
"What did you see?" Hakuno asked.
The others looked on with curiosity.
"Just the motives of the King of Magecraft. His anger and sorrow are valid, but that doesn't justify destroying the world. He bares his fangs at the peace of today for the sake of a better future. Even with intelligence far beyond that of any human, he still acts so recklessly… It only made me more certain that he must be stopped."
Shiomi shrugged.
"That's all I have to report. If there's nothing else, I'll head back to the side hall to rest."
He turned to leave with Morgan.
"Shiomi, about that other matter I asked you to look into—" Hakuno called out behind him.
"It's gone," Shiomi replied with a small shake of his head.
"I see…" Hakuno sighed, casting a worried glance toward Gilgamesh.
"What a pointless errand."
Gilgamesh didn't seem angry. He just said it flatly.
After leaving the palace and returning to the sleeping quarters...
Shiomi headed to the bath, where the maids had already prepared steaming water with scattered flower petals. As he sank into the water up to his shoulders, the fatigue of the past few days instantly melted away.
"What did you see?" Morgan sat beside him, holding a towel against her chest.
"Didn't I already say?" Shiomi smiled helplessly.
Morgan gave him a sly look. "You're drenched in sweat just from seeing the King of Magecraft's motive for the Incineration of Humanity?"
"…There really is no hiding anything from you." Shiomi lowered his gaze. "But I'm sorry. I can't talk about it right now."
"Why not?"
"Because the King of Magecraft doesn't know. He has no way of seeing it. Even now, he's likely convinced that his grand design is destined to succeed. And to him, I'm just an obstacle that needs to be removed." Shiomi absentmindedly scooped up some water and poured it over himself. "Maybe that's exactly what he should be afraid of."
"Then I won't ask." Morgan dropped the subject without hesitation.
"You're being so quick to give up, it's making me feel guilty. You're never this easygoing about anything else," Shiomi said, leaning against Morgan's smooth, fragrant shoulder.
Morgan lowered her eyelids. "If there's something you want to say, I'm here to listen."
"Whatever the case, that King of Magecraft is a fake. No doubt about it," Shiomi said.
"Widely known—well, no, a truth only the two of us know," Morgan replied, clearly pleased, resting her chin in her hand.
Shiomi flicked a flower petal from her collarbone back into the bath. "Then let's keep it that way. I've got a pretty good idea of who the King of Magecraft might be, and I understand what's behind the Incineration of Humanity now."
"Don't worry. My husband will definitely stop the Incineration. I'm the best proof that you can do it," Morgan said, interlocking her fingers with his under the water.
"…I almost forgot about that." Shiomi chuckled.
"Then forget it for now. There's still a lot ahead. Take a proper break first," Morgan said as she gave him a light push.
He paused, straightened up, and was about to ask what was wrong.
But Morgan pulled him forward, burying his face in her soft, supple chest. The scent of flowers mingled with her usual cool fragrance, and Shiomi felt the tension melt from his body.
"You've been pushing yourself so hard, and now you're letting me rest…"
"It's your time to rest now," Morgan said, her tone firm. "Besides, I haven't really had it that rough lately."
"Really…" Shiomi muttered, worried she might be forcing herself.
But Morgan was always honest with him—never one for appearances—so he knew she meant it.
"Of course, this is also a little reward for what you said in front of the final gate of the Underworld," she murmured, running her fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. "Since the goddess of the Underworld came along for the return trip, there were some things we couldn't exactly do."
Shiomi laughed. "I thought you'd be mad at that kind of evasive answer."
"It's just the truth. Nothing to get mad about," Morgan said plainly. "Besides, Scáthach and Artoria aren't around right now. It's the perfect time."
"…I can already hear their footsteps," Shiomi said with a muffled laugh.
"We'll deal with it when they get here."
Then, she let him sink even deeper into her embrace.