Chapter 12: Kingu Above the Northern Wall!
The Tower of the Gods—a sacred temple, a place of worship for the deities, and the gathering point of royal authority.
Tap… tap… tap…
A series of footsteps echoed through the hall. Gilgamesh, who had been busy working, set down the clay tablet in his hand.
A white-haired man holding a rather peculiar magic staff stepped into the hall. A faint smile was carved across his face, one that leaned toward being unserious. Paired with his handsome features, if he lived in modern society, he would undoubtedly be a true male idol.
"King Gilgamesh, did you summon me?"
"Merlin, you've arrived."
Gilgamesh looked at the white-haired mage before him and let out a slight sigh of relief.
Merlin—one of the seven Servants summoned by Gilgamesh using the "Holy Grail of Uruk" as the medium. Caster Class.
His true identity was the Grand Magus of Britain, the guide of kings, the mentor of King Arthur—the King of Knights. In Britain, he served as a court mage, teacher, and prophet.
"I already heard from Lady Siduri earlier. A visitor from a foreign land has arrived in Uruk and even gained King Gilgamesh's trust to the point of being sent to the Northern Wall. Honestly, if I hadn't confirmed you weren't replaced, I might have seriously suspected whether you were a fake or not."
Such a casual and blatantly rude remark. This half-incubus, half-human being truly had no understanding of proper etiquette.
"Magus Merlin, that was an impolite statement."
Before Gilgamesh, seated upon his throne, could say anything, Siduri at his side had already spoken to reprimand Merlin.
"Ah, ah, my, my—Lady Siduri, that's my fault. Please forgive me."
"Magus Merlin, you should not be apologizing to me, but to the King."
"All right, all right~"
Merlin let out a small laugh, clearly not taking it to heart in the slightest.
Siduri felt dissatisfied. She was obviously displeased with Merlin's attitude and his apology that was nothing more than a formality. But this kind of thing had already happened who knew how many times.
Every single time, this man would quickly admit his mistake and apologize, yet never change in the slightest.
"Merlin, about the rumors that 'Enkidu' is still alive—are you aware of them?"
At that moment, Gilgamesh finally spoke.
"I am aware of them, King Gilgamesh."
"Then what do you think? Are the rumors true or not?"
"On that matter, I cannot be certain yet. However, I have asked quite a number of people. This 'Enkidu' has indeed appeared bearing Enkidu's face and is also capable of summoning the Chain of Heaven."
"So the face of 'Enkidu' has appeared in this world once more… is that so?"
Unconsciously, Gilgamesh recalled Akira. Akira's appearance was clearly not Enkidu's.
"However, King Gilgamesh, most people are more inclined to believe that this 'Enkidu' is a fake."
"A fake, hmm. Yet that may not necessarily be certain~~~"
The latter part of that sentence was spoken so softly that neither Merlin nor Siduri heard it.
After his friend died in the past, Gilgamesh himself had buried him within the soil of the underworld. Now, an 'Enkidu' of unknown origin had appeared. Even he did not know how he should judge it.
Of course, he understood that his friend had already departed. Yet within his heart, there still remained a faint trace of hope.
Now, he was truly alone. He deeply missed the companion who had always stayed by his side—the friend who would always listen to every word he spoke.
"Continue monitoring the matter regarding 'Enkidu,' but there is no need to focus too heavily on it."
"As you command, King Gilgamesh."
Naturally, Merlin would comply with Gilgamesh's orders.
"Oh, right. That mysterious foreign visitor is named Shin Akira. If you have time, go and interact with him. Investigate his background as well."
"I understand, King Gilgamesh."
Perhaps earlier, due to his own subjective feelings, Gilgamesh had held a very favorable impression of Akira.
However, once he calmed down, suspicion naturally began to arise. After all, the current Uruk Dynasty stood on the brink of collapse.
As if standing at the edge of a cliff—one wrong step, and everything would fall into the bottomless abyss.
Uruk was currently in exactly that kind of state.
The once-mighty Uruk Dynasty had fallen this far. Countless cities under its rule had already been destroyed, and more and more refugees continued to gather in Uruk.
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At the same time, elsewhere, Akira had arrived at the Northern Wall.
Just like yesterday, this place was still facing attacks from monsters today. However, their numbers were far fewer than before.
These monsters attacked the Northern Wall without regard for consequences, not because of any orders, but because of instinct driving them.
The meaning of their existence was to hunt prey—what they called humans.
The reason they attacked this place was simple: there was an abundance of prey here. Humans.
Moreover, across all of Mesopotamia right now, the place with the highest number of humans was none other than the City of Uruk. Every day, refugees continued to arrive in search of shelter.
"Hm? This flow of magic… This boiling sensation of magic is far stronger than when I met Gilgamesh. There's even a tendency for it to go berserk. What exactly is happening?"
Suddenly, the magic within Akira's body began to boil, surging without any clear reason.
A low vibration resonated.
Without being summoned by Akira, behind him, the Chain of Heaven emerged from rippling golden light.
"This isn't right. In that direction, there's an extremely powerful magical flow—and also a feeling of being 'of the same origin.' Could it be… Kingu?"
A power that shared the same origin as the Chain of Heaven—throughout all of Mesopotamia, there was only one.
Kingu, who had taken over Enkidu's body.
As the second generation of the Chain of Heaven, Kingu could be said to exist on an equivalent level of existence as Akira.
The difference was that one was a magpie that had seized another bird's nest, while the other was an heir who had inherited the entire legacy of the previous generation.
A thunderous sonic boom echoed across the sky.
Akira frowned slightly as the magical flow had already reached this place.
He lifted his head and looked toward the sky. There, floating in midair, was a figure that felt… familiar.
Clad in white, with long green hair flowing over the shoulders, a face that appeared to be a blend of both male and female, and a pair of violet eyes.
Kingu—and the Kingu of mythology were not the same existence.
A weapon born using the clay-doll body created by the gods—Enkidu—as its foundation. It could be considered a successor model of Enkidu.
The King of Magecraft, Solomon (Goetia), stole and used Enkidu's dead body. Then, through the power of the Holy Grail, he revived it and formed a new soul within.
The decisive difference between Enkidu and Kingu lay in their eyes.
One possessed emerald-green eyes.
The other possessed violet eyes.
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