"Gil!? Hold on—GIL! GIL!!"
The Hero King stood frozen, arms folded, a statue carved from gold and disdain.
A thousand merciless eyes pressed in from every shadow.
"Khh—!!"
Mash threw herself in front of him, teeth clenched so hard they sang.
"I'll hold them! Everyone, get the King out of here—NOW!"
『Ritsuka! Re-materialize him!』 "I'm trying! It's not working—he won't answer! Why!?"
The King gave no sign he even heard.
"Fou!! Fou!!"
A small beast's cry cut through the dark.
"Fou-san!?"
Then a roar split the heavens—
"FOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
—and the soul fell.
It tumbled through void and landed inside a tower built of screams.
A single chamber. Cold stone. Iron collar, chains, a cannonball chained to each ankle. One scrap of cloth for modesty. Bare feet on freezing flagstone.
A princess in a dungeon, straight out of the oldest stories.
Voices—seventy-two voices—poured into the cell like oil.
『All that we are bows to you. All that we are honors you.』
Chains rattled when the soul tried to move.
『We are the ones who mourn mankind's flaws. We are the ones who pity mankind's folly. With all that we are, we will surpass mankind's imperfection.』
The soul whispered, Who… are you?
『We are the seventy-two Demon Gods. We who named ourselves the Incineration of Human Order. The one true Solomon.』
True… Solomon…
『We welcome you, stainless soul. Come.』
No malice. No mockery. Only pity—thick, suffocating pity.
The soul lifted its face.
What does "beyond death" mean?
『Simple. You are a soul that has died.』
『You died, gained selfhood, and were reborn in flesh freed from the yoke of finite life. You alone have fulfilled our proposition: the conquest of death.』
Your… proposition?
『All life ends. All existence ends. All things end. Hope ends. Dreams end. Everything ends. Meaningless. Meaningless. Meaningless. Worthless. Worthless. Worthless.』
Lament after lament hammered down.
『This star overflows with futile, wasted, imperfect lives.』
『We have watched tragedy, watched grief, watched tragedy, watched tragedy—』
Suddenly every grief in history crashed into the soul like a tidal wave of broken glass.
The seventy-two pillars of pity beat against it without mercy.
Tragedy. Pain. Despair. Funny. Funny. Funny. Pointless. Pointless. Pointless.
For three thousand years and more, mankind has repeated the same useless cycle. Cowering before death, trembling, groveling.
We grew sick of it. Why must we watch this? Why must we serve such flawed creatures?
We reached a verdict.
This world is wrong. Every living thing chose the wrong definition.
Therefore, the world is unnecessary.
We will bid farewell to this tragedy-soaked planet. Spin the Bands of Light. Incinerate everything. Turn the heat of mistaken history into energy, regress across infinity, and become a new world that births perfect life.
That is our great work. That is the reason we were born.
『Retrograde Canal – Genesis Light-Year』 That is our eternal mission.
The hero-princess hung her head, chains clinking.
…So that's it.
They pitied life. They hated the future that scatters into death. They resolved to overcome it. And in the name of "love," they burned humanity.
Then… what am I?
『Our resolution has been conveyed. Nameless soul, discard that flesh and be reborn.』
『Join us as a new Demon God. We name you "Lemegton," the god who excites innocence and oversight. Take your place in our enterprise.』
『If you love this world, if you cherish it— know that rebirth beneath us is the highest good.』
『"This world has no value." Nameless soul, accept our name—』
Something inside the soul caught fire.
…What did you just say?
『—Pardon?』
Crimson eyes blazed.
I said—repeat that.
The soul's voice shook the air.
You called this world worthless?
That single word was unforgivable.
『We affirm. A world filled with tragedy and sorrow has no meaning—』
Don't screw with me.
『—What?』
I said DON'T SCREW WITH ME—!!!
The roar shattered every chain of despair.
Iron links exploded. The rag burned away. Golden armor locked into place—armor fit for a hero-princess who had chosen to fight.
『This is—』
The nameless soul—now radiant—roared her truth.
I won't let you call this world worthless! I refuse that conclusion! With this soul as my witness—NO!
『Lament? Grief? No—this is RAGE…!?』
Fury became words, became fire, became earthquake.
The tower itself blistered and blackened.
Why did you decide tragedy is all there is!?
Tragedy exists. Pain exists. Despair exists. I've seen everything you showed me. That's exactly why I know its value—bone-deep!
Yet with seventy-two pairs of eyes you saw only tragedy!?
This world overflows with things more precious than tragedy:
Dreams. Hope. Tomorrow. Bonds. Love. Courage. Friendship.
Even if everything ends, those things reach across time and weave infinite futures— how could you miss that!?
I've seen it. A king showed me.
A king who accepted my soul and opened the world to my eyes.
『—Hero King, Gilgamesh…』
Everything you pity is only a fragment of the world that king revealed!
To judge the whole from that narrow slice is the height of arrogance!
This star is still immature. Humanity is still writing its worth. It clings to the lives it birthed— because there is still tomorrow!
Everything on this planet keeps expanding forever! And I want— I want to watch it! To guard every ordinary day and watch it forever!
Pity? Unbeatable death? They're just part of the scenery!
『Death will come for you too. Your conclusion, too, will end.』
So what!?
『Human life is a chain of pain and sorrow. Refuse us and you perish.』
SO WHAT!!
No one—NO ONE—gets to decide my worth except that king! No one gets to end the world before his verdict!
Until the day he judges, I won't let anyone destroy it!!
The soul became a wildfire.
The wish she had finally found:
To watch the ever-spreading world. To stand guard over the humans her king loves. To behold every precious, ordinary moment.
That is my joy. That is my wish.
I will not bow to anything that blocks it!
The prison tower shattered like stained glass.
『Soul excitation confirmed—combustion confirmed—』
Light poured out—pure, untainted, peerless.
The hero-princess shone, and sang her soul's answer at the top of her lungs:
I WILL PROTECT IT WITH EVERYTHING I AM—!!!!
She leaped, golden armor blazing.
Right or wrong doesn't matter. This is my wish—for me. I don't care what anyone else thinks.
For the sheer pleasure of seeing the world, for the wish I will make come true— I'll crush anything in my way!!
(—That's my princess. I finally found you.)
…Fou—!?
The beast's voice rang through the collapsing prison.
(That's my friend. What a splendid answer.)
『—Comparison—』
(You had the nerve to drag the nameless here, chain my princess, try to violate her— a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths.)
Fou…
(You cheated. So I'll cheat right back. Curse your shallow mercy, pity-beasts.)
The little beast landed on her shoulder.
(Your plan just died. Your cheating earned you a lethal ending.)
『What—』
(You just—)
The beautiful beast roared to the heavens:
(TOUCHED THE REVERSE SCALE OF THE GREATEST KING—!!)
Reality cracked.
A night sky spilled open—stars, nebulae, whole galaxies on parade.
Every star blazed like treasure.
Then a laugh—rich, regal, and utterly delighted—shook the firmament.
"Fuhahahaha! So the mongrels want to protect my garden, this half-baked planet!? A soul without a single spice dares to strut that far!?"
That voice—!
"But well done. Fact is fact. The star is old, yet human history is still a child. After all, it invited fools like you—far from ripe."
No mistake. The one who guided her, sheltered her, saved her— the supreme king who showed her the world.
"The lazy rabble of mankind hasn't proven its worth yet. Thus the hour of judgment is not now. And yet—mere incantations swarming on carrion dare lecture the laws of the cosmos!? The ones who need correction are YOU, Demon God King Goetia!!!"
(A bit quick to blow his cover, huh? Guy's in high spirits.)
"…Nameless soul."
—!!
"Your journey has been splendid. Your devotion, your struggle, your respect— every part of it pleased me."
Gil…gamesh…
Tears spilled over, joy too big to hold.
"I pardon you for touching my flesh, my treasures. In light of the path you walked to adorn my kingship, I shall show you—this one lifetime only—my true arsenal."
—!!
"Behold with your own eyes who the king you served truly is. Learn it in your bones, hero-princess."
『Impossible—this is outside all projections—』
"I speak of the beginning. Elements mixed, hardened, wove the myriad forms of the stars."
The world cracked like porcelain beneath sheer presence.
(Don't worry. I'm right here.)
Fou… thank you…
"Know the pinnacle of truth. The prototype I alone deem gold— I unveil my hidden origin!"
Their eyes met.
The primordial king smiled. The stainless princess wept in awe.
All of it—to punish the thieves who reached for the king's treasure.
"Now—"
The universe shattered.
"Sing for your lives, mongrels—!!!!"
The Hero King's true worth blazed into being.
"FOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
Fou's cry heralded the curtain's rise.
"Fou-san!?"
"GIL!! GIL—!!!"
『Wake up!! Please wake up, Gil!!』
"No need to shout. I hear you perfectly."
"!?"
Golden words answered Master and Marie.
"A brief nap is no cause for panic. Laugh off a king's prank."
Fuhahaha—the usual laugh.
『Gil—!!』
"That was a BLACK joke! You said you hated dying from overwork, you big idiot!!"
"My apologies. I, too, dislike unrest. Mostly thanks to Ishtar's meddling. Consider this compensation."
『—Incredible.』
"Doctor!?"
『Incredible… What is this!? His Spirit Origin just blew past every Servant ceiling! What happened in the last five minutes!? His very rank as a heroic spirit has changed!』
Exactly as Roman said.
The Gilgamesh of moments ago and the Gilgamesh now were different orders of being.
"The haze over my soul merely cleared. My princess has finally opened her eyes. Now I can judge without hesitation."
There he stood—the true golden king.
Ornate armor stripped away above the waist, revealing a body forged of divine ideal.
Right hand: the sword that severs worlds—Ea. Gauntlet to shield his flesh from its storm.
Left hand: the primordial tablet—Enkidu. Transformed into a golden bow that looses the arrow of final collapse.
Around him coiled the Chain of Heaven, embodiment of his one friend.
Hair unbound, crimson eyes divine, gazing across all possible futures.
"Once more I proclaim my supreme name."
The words alone forced every existence to its knees.
Heavens, rend. Earth, shatter. All things seen and unseen— bow and lower your heads before the King.
The hero of heroes who contains all, surveys all, judges all—
"I am the absolute king of beginnings. King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Showtime, mongrels."
Judgment rained upon the seventy-two.
"You dared touch my soul with your filthy claws. Atone with every atom of your being. Endure my true power, my full might— if your pathetic forms can bear it—!!"
The King's radiance erupted—!!
Underground, in a cradle of golden soul-light
"Fou!"
(Nameless!)
"I'm me again— and I get to meet you like this!"
(You resisted the sleaziest sales pitch in history! I'm proud—proud that not one shadow touched your purity!)
"Yeah!"
(Now look, stainless hero-princess! There he is—the king who weighs all humanity! Your shining, gold-plated guardian!)
"Yeah—!!"
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