Within the dim gathering place of the dead—the Underworld.
"Ahhhhhhh! Damn it all!"
A beautiful young girl was holding a strange golden spear, waving it repeatedly above her head as if trying to patch the hole that had been pierced through the Underworld.
Her flowing hair shimmered like molten gold, and the crimson cape behind her swayed with every movement, making her look like a red angel wandering through the realm of the dead.
Yet the delicate face beneath that brilliant appearance was filled entirely with anger. Her cheeks were puffed up like two stuffed buns.
"Which bastard stabbed a hole in the Underworld in the first place?!"
Despite the endless grumbling spilling from her lips, her hands never stopped moving. She continued diligently repairing the damage to the Underworld.
Her name was Ereshkigal—the ruler of the Underworld in Sumerian mythology, the goddess who governed death and wandering souls.
Yet even as a goddess forever accompanied by death, she had always longed for one thing: to see bright, beautiful flowers bloom within this land of endless darkness.
Ironically, the most beautiful flower in the entire Underworld already existed here.
She simply had no idea.
However, the reason for her current anger was not the hole itself.
It was the consequences that hole might bring.
If even a single wandering soul escaped from the Underworld and reached the world above, the trouble it would cause would be unimaginable.
"If I find out who did this, I absolutely will not forgive you!!!"
Her furious shout echoed throughout the silent Underworld.
Nearby, the gathered Gallu spirits huddled together and trembled. This was the first time they had ever seen their mistress so enraged.
Meanwhile, the true culprit responsible for all of this had spent the past few days traveling leisurely, using the free time to read through messages in the chat group, gradually learning the situation of the various factions involved.
As for the Tablet of Destiny?
Of course it had not been found.
In fact, he had never seriously intended to search for it in the first place.
However, just as they were about to reach the fortress city of Uruk, a series of explosions suddenly echoed from a forest on the other side of the road.
"Well now, it seems some lost travelers have run into trouble."
Merlin spoke in his usual carefree tone, sounding utterly unconcerned about the distant battle—though that assumption would only hold if his eyes were not staring so intently toward the forest.
Unfortunately for him, those words had absolutely no effect on the Tarnished.
"Oh really? That has nothing to do with me. Let's go."
With that, he prepared to continue toward Uruk.
He was no longer the overly kind fool who used to meddle in every little problem.
And after spending several days together, he had come to understand this man named Merlin quite thoroughly.
He might not know the magician's exact strength, but when it came to manipulating people, Merlin was absolutely a master.
The journey to Uruk should have taken only three days.
Yet under Merlin's endless excuses and detours, the trip had stretched into nearly a full week—as if the man were deliberately stalling while waiting for something.
"My, my, don't be so cold. King Gilgamesh is in great need of capable people right now. What if the travelers over there could prove useful?"
"Oh? If that's the case, why don't you go rescue them yourself, great Court Magus? Surely a few magical beasts aren't beyond you."
The Tarnished stopped walking and turned to look at Merlin, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.
"Or could it be that all these detours over the past few days were actually for their sake, Merlin?"
"Yes, that's correct. If the little Master hadn't stopped me earlier, I probably would've beaten you up already."
A gentle, mature voice spoke beside them, delivering the most terrifying threat imaginable in the softest tone.
"Oh dear, have I been found out? Ahahaha!"
Even after his intentions were exposed, Merlin showed not the slightest embarrassment. Instead, he scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
Watching him act like that, the Tarnished suddenly felt the urge to blast him with a Scarlet Rot Breath.
Did this man really think everyone else was stupid?
Over the past two days alone, they had passed near the Babylonia Demonic Beast Front at least twice, practically wandering across half the Mesopotamian plains.
If someone still failed to notice something suspicious after that, they would truly deserve to be called an idiot.
"So… would you be willing to lend a hand, Lord Tarnished?"
This time Merlin dropped the joking attitude entirely. His eyes were unexpectedly serious.
"…Very well. Since Merlin himself is asking, I suppose we can go take a look."
After some careful consideration, the Tarnished ultimately decided to follow Merlin toward the forest.
He might not be the overly kind fool he once was.
But he was still the same trouble-loving bastard.
And besides…
Watching a good fight unfold was one of his favorite pastimes.
Meanwhile.
Leaping across the tops of towering cedar trees, the hooded girl Anna desperately dodged attacks coming from the ground below.
The attacker was a handsome green-haired youth.
His pale violet eyes tracked Anna's movements perfectly, and his relentless assault never once slowed.
"It's useless. No matter how you run, escape is impossible!"
Pillars of earth erupted from the ground.
Golden magical projectiles rained through the air.
Anna's retreat routes were continuously sealed off.
Explosion after explosion echoed through the forest.
The green-haired boy had once been known as Enkidu, the closest friend of Gilgamesh.
But now his name was Kingu—the supreme magical beast standing at the pinnacle of all phantasmal creatures in Sumerian myth.
This was not because Enkidu had betrayed anyone.
Rather, after Enkidu's death, the King of Magecraft, Goetia, had stolen his corpse and revived it using the power of the Holy Grail, creating a new existence.
A child of Tiamat.
Possessing the Chains of Heaven and inheriting all of Enkidu's abilities, Kingu could be considered a second-generation ultimate humanoid weapon.
"Hah!"
Charging forward with her shield raised, Mash Kyrielight rushed directly toward Kingu.
—Slash!
The massive shield swung like a wall crashing forward, but Kingu simply leaned back and avoided the strike.
"Got you!"
At that same moment, a childish voice rang out.
Anna descended from above, her curved blade slicing cleanly toward Kingu's head in a swift and decisive attack.
"You still don't understand… do you?"
His mocking whisper had barely fallen when the surrounding earth suddenly surged upward.
The soil erupted like a violent tide.
"Ah—!"
"Mash!"
Seeing Mash defeated so quickly, Ritsuka Fujimaru rushed forward as the Master and barely managed to catch her.
Then she raised her head and glared fiercely at Kingu.
Of course, glaring was about the only thing she could do.
As a Master, she had little ability to fight directly.
She wasn't some absurdly powerful prodigy capable of tearing Servants apart with her bare hands.
Poor Anna, meanwhile, was blasted away alone with no one there to catch her.
Yet even after sending them flying, Kingu showed no intention of stopping.
He had planned from the start to eliminate them here.
Raising one hand, countless magical light bullets filled the sky.
They descended in a relentless carpet bombardment.
Explosions thundered again and again, and within moments thick smoke swallowed the entire battlefield.
"Hmph. Such trivial—"
Clink!
Just as Kingu began to smile arrogantly in midair, a chain suddenly shot out from the smoke and tightly bound his body.
As the saying goes, pride rarely lasts more than three seconds.
Before Kingu could finish enjoying his victory, he slammed straight into the ground.
Seeing the smoke billowing in the distance, the three people who had just been attacked finally let out relieved sighs.
This time…
That guy shouldn't be getting back up again, right?
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