Episode 230: The Oldest King - Gilgamesh · Is Gone?

『 "Despite so many terrible things happening, what we ought to do has never actually changed."

"No matter who it is, as long as they are willing to put in the effort to pick up the materials around them and rebuild the broken side of this city, this is something everyone can do and is the most important thing."

"Even if it’s just completing one single task, we should persist to the end in doing what we can do as humans!"

At this moment, the citizens were finally heartened. Their spirits were stirred like parched earth receiving sweet rain, and they spoke up one after another:

"That’s right, this is what we used to do ourselves. We’ve been doing it silently all along, without interruption."

"This isn’t just a job; it’s an honor. It is the pride of this place, the glory of all of us."

"I’ll help. No matter how difficult it is, we can get through it together."

"I’ll help too. There is strength in numbers. As long as we think as one and pull in the same direction, there is no task we cannot complete."

In this moment, more and more people slowly recovered from their initial panic. The fire of hope was rekindled in their eyes, and one by one, they joined the repair and construction of the walls.

A young warrior looked at the senior beside him, who had been silent for a long time, and spoke slowly with an admiring and determined gaze:

"Senior... look, no matter how great the difficulties we face, we can persevere."

Another soldier immediately chimed in with his own thoughts:

"Yeah, even if General Leonidas is gone, his spirit continues to inspire us. We must overcome the fear in our hearts, stand up, and keep fighting. And we, as the guardians of this city, cannot afford to be disheartened because of this."

In order to find a path to oppose the Three Goddess Alliance, Gilgamesh, after long and deliberate consideration, finally decided to take action, starting with Ishtar.

But the purpose of this trip was not as simple as eliminating the goddess; he hoped to use certain means to win her over to Uruk’s side, making her an indispensable part of this ancient city’s strength.

Although Ishtar possessed fearsome power, even one as powerful as her could not escape the endless desire for gold.

On the contrary, her behavior in this regard could even be described as obsessive.

And Gilgamesh happened to hold the key to satisfying such a craving—to him, gold was never scarce.

Thus, the plan quietly began.

After Gilgamesh taught Fujimaru Ritsuka the method of how to skillfully use this precious resource without reservation, the latter set out on a journey into the unknown, full of confidence.

Through a series of carefully designed and "charming" performances, Ishtar finally failed to resist the immense temptation hidden behind those glittering items.

Ultimately, after an internal struggle, she chose to temporarily set aside past grudges and stand on Uruk’s side, entering into a contract with Fujimaru Ritsuka to become a Servant serving a short term under his command.

This turning point meant that Uruk, already formidable, had now gained another powerful asset, and its overall combat power leapt to an unprecedented height.

Furthermore, almost everyone familiar with the battlefield’s layout understood one fact: as a frontline breakthrough weapon, Ishtar also held an extremely powerful secret weapon.

The Bull of Heaven—Gugalanna.

But for some reason, whenever this was mentioned, Ishtar would always avoid the question and quickly run away. 』

『 .....』

〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜

[ Miyuki Shirogane (Love Is War): "The Bull of Heaven from mythology..." ]

[ Miyuki Shirogane (Love Is War): "If such a thing really exists, what would it look like?" ]

[ Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece): "A cow... in the sky?" ]

[ Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto): "What a weird thing." ]

[ Saitama (One Punch Man): "I don’t get it + 1, but a cow that can be in the sky should be pretty strong, right?" ]

[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Does it taste good?" ]

[ Lumine (Genshin Impact): "This is clearly a weapon, how could it be food?" ]

[ Keqing (Genshin Impact): "A cow? Such a thing doesn’t seem to exist in our world." ]

[ Fujimaru Ritsuka (Type-Moon): "Stop!" ]

[ Fujimaru Ritsuka (Type-Moon): "Let’s end the cow topic and keep watching what happens next." ]

[ .....]

『 With Ishtar’s matter settled, just after returning to Uruk to report to Gilgamesh, they were assigned another task.

This task was to find the legendary divine artifact that once slit the goddess Tiamat’s throat.

The Great Axe of Marduk. In Gilgamesh’s view, this axe was the greatest trump card against Gorgon.

To find this axe, the group began preparing for a journey to Eridu. This journey meant an inevitable confrontation with the Goddess of the Jungle.

Under Ishtar’s disclosure, the group finally realized that the Jaguar Man they encountered before was merely her subordinate; the truly fearsome one was another of the Three Goddesses—Quetzalcoatl. This deity had long occupied an area to the south of Uruk.

The mysterious and powerful Quetzalcoatl, also known as the South American Wind. She is the Conqueror King of the Mayans, the Sun God of the Toltecs, and a kind and benevolent deity.

After many difficult battles, and through Fujimaru Ritsuka’s unwavering determination, they finally won the affection and support of this Venus goddess, who possessed a gentle, big-sister-like presence.

As the struggle concluded, the axe was successfully reclaimed, and everything seemed to be moving in a brighter direction.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that due to the influence of this event, the "Big Sister" Quetzalcoatl, who originally belonged to the enemy camp, announced her withdrawal from the Three Goddess Alliance and chose to join the Uruk alliance instead.

Therefore, having successively gained the blessing of two goddesses’ powers, Uruk’s overall strength was significantly enhanced, injecting new hope and momentum into the upcoming final battle against Gorgon.

However, while everyone was immersed in the joy of victory, they did not notice that a crisis was still lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity. Especially shortly after Fujimaru Ritsuka returned to Uruk, he received a piece of news that shocked everyone.

Their King, that great ruler who had always led them forward and given everyone confidence and courage, had actually... fallen. 』

『 .....』

〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜

[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "What’s going on? How did he just disappear all of a sudden?" ]

[ Chika Fujiwara (Love Is War): "He was fine just a moment ago, how is he just gone now?" ]

[ Kiryu Sento (Kamen Rider): "At the most critical moment of the battle, their supreme ruler just vanishes like that." ]

[ Kiryu Sento (Kamen Rider): "This is indeed not good news." ]

[ Fujimaru Ritsuka (Type-Moon): "What should I do? I don’t know how to command this kind of thing." ]

[ Mash Kyrielight (Type-Moon): "It’s a bit strange. How did that King just... disappear so suddenly?" ]

[ Woz (Kamen Rider): "This is the price for modifying history." ]

[ Geiz (Kamen Rider): "....." ]

[ .....]

『 "Nani?" After the group returned to the palace, Siduri’s eyes were filled with tears. She gently touched her chest, her voice carrying sadness and helplessness as she spoke slowly:

"The King... due to working day and night for many consecutive days, when I returned to the palace again, he was already sitting peacefully on the throne, having fallen into an eternal sleep."

"Eh?" Merlin stared at Siduri in disbelief, his eyes full of doubt and unease.

"You’re not joking, are you? How is that possible! It’s simply unimaginable!"

Merlin put his hand to his forehead; his face filled with unconcealed shock. He recalled the various past events he had shared with the King and found it harder and harder to accept such a fact.

"It was precisely to foresee and rewrite the tragedy of the future that he chose to walk the path of magecraft. He hoped to use this power to avoid his fate of dying on the battlefield, ultimately deciding to stay within the palace to strategize and issue commands to lead the entire nation."

As his words fell, Merlin’s voice gradually grew louder, his eyes firm and burning as he looked straight at Siduri, pressing one hand tightly over his heart.

"He personally gave me his guarantee. How could that incredibly powerful King Gilgamesh leave this world so easily? I cannot believe all this, no matter what."

Siduri sighed softly. Although she covered part of her face with her hand to try to hide her emotional turmoil, tears still overflowed from between her fingers.

Even she herself could not fully accept this sudden blow, yet reality is often crueler and more heartless than imagination.

"That’s right, you’re absolutely correct!" Dr. Roman from Chaldea couldn’t help but speak up in agreement, adding with a face full of surprise: "In any case, the idea of working until collapsing and dying sounds a bit too ridiculous, doesn’t it? Although I’ve heard of—and even personally felt—health problems caused by long-term high-intensity labor."

After a short pause, he continued sharing his view: "Moreover, given his physique, if he really were to end his life due to overwork, he probably would have lingered at death’s door countless times before this."

"That is true indeed..."

As the story unfolded, in order to investigate what hidden secret led to King Gilgamesh’s accidental death, the group resolutely decided to embark on an adventure to the Underworld together with Ishtar.

At the same time, Fujimaru Ritsuka and his party also learned a piece of extremely shocking news—

It turned out that the legendary deity actually did not belong to the Three Goddess Alliance...

This fellow... could it be that he crossed over from another world specifically to be funny and cute?

After a round of intense discussion and weighing the pros and cons, Ishtar, Fujimaru Ritsuka, and Mash finally set off together on this unknown and dangerous journey. 』

『 .....』

〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜

[ Yuri Nakamura (Angel Beats): "The world after death?" ]

[ Yuri Nakamura (Angel Beats): "Could it be a world like ours?" ]

[ Hu Tao (Genshin Impact): "An underworld that goes to another world?" ]

[ Hu Tao (Genshin Impact): "Are there any colleagues in that world?" ]

[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "It’s so strange. Why did that King suddenly disappear at the end?" ]

[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "Although in normal history, that place was still destroyed later, there doesn’t seem to be any record stating that he suddenly vanished." ]

[ Eriri Spencer Sawamura (Saekano): "Hey, what are you trying to say?" ]

[ Utaha Kasumigaoka (Saekano): "Nothing, just keep watching." ]

[ Eriri Spencer Sawamura (Saekano): "????" ]

[ Kato Megumi (Saekano): "....." ]

[ .....]

『 However, the question of how to enter the Underworld was indeed a thorny problem.

"Ishtar-san, do you know?" Mash looked at Ishtar with pure innocence; as a goddess, she should know the answer.

"Hahahaha, kukuku." Ishtar let out bursts of laughter, as if mocking these mortals for their confusion and bewilderment toward the unknown.

"Of course... and it’ll be very fast." The goddess suddenly floated up from the ground, a sly smile on her face as her gaze darted among the group. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Could it be..." Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to have an inkling of something, but he was still not quite sure.

"Mash, I’ll leave it to you to cover for us." Hearing these words, Mash did not hesitate and summoned the shield in her hand almost at the same time.

"Maanna bow-port, loading Tide Convergence shells."

With those words, the Heavenly Boat in Ishtar’s hand was enveloped in blue light, gradually converging into a giant bow-like object.

"Power set to one-third of the Lapis Lazuli energy standard. Now, let us witness a miracle together—Shatter, Gates of the Underworld!"

At this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally fully understood Ishtar’s true intention: there was no so-called "good method" at all; she simply planned to break in by force!

The goddess raised both hands high in the air, assuming a posture ready to fire, and declared loudly: "Grant this realm the power of light and hope!"

Seeing this scene, both Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka appeared very surprised; meanwhile, Ishtar, standing opposite them, laughed even more triumphantly.

"Come on, charge!"

"BOOM—!"

A deafening roar echoed through the sky.

Then came a violent vibration, followed by a massive wave of light blasting directly toward the ground. Instantly, the whole world became turbulent, with huge clouds of dust and rubble flying everywhere.

Everything happened so quickly and violently that Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka were both stunned for a moment, their hearts filled with nothing but shock.

As expected... this girl really chose the brute-force way to get in... 』

『 .....』

〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜

[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "Um, rushing in directly like that... that’s probably not good, right?" ]

[ Dan Heng (Honkai: Star Rail): "Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing you would have done before?" ]

[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "No, it is not!" ]

[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "This beautiful girl would never do such a thing." ]

[ Stelle (Honkai: Star Rail): "Hahahaha." ]

[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "ST-EL-LE!!!" ]

[ .....]

『 After the dust settled, under the attack of the light wave, the originally flat ground had been blasted into a giant hole.

Looking down, the hole was bottomless, pitch black inside.

Just as the two were still hesitating whether to jump down, Ishtar was seen diving down from the heights at extreme speed.

"He-yah!" Under Ishtar’s powerful push, the two fell into the large hole one after another.

"Aaaaaah!"

In that moment, their screams echoed throughout the dark cavern, reaching every corner.

"THUD—!"

With a deafening impact, the two slammed onto the ground of the Underworld.

"Master... are you okay...?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka slowly climbed up from the ground, his face full of pain.

"I guess so..." Fujimaru Ritsuka’s voice trembled slightly; he seemed to have sustained some injuries.

And on top of him lay an unscathed, radiant Ishtar.

"Yoo-hoo! Success!" Ishtar pumped her fists, her face full of the joy of victory as she leaped up excitedly.

"Ishtar... why are you always so violent...?" At this moment, even the usually good-tempered Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn’t help but complain.

"What’s wrong with it... Anyway, we successfully entered the Underworld." Ishtar said coquettishly, a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

Looking at this goddess who was simply outrageous, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a massive headache, but was helpless.

Only after the group had adjusted their state slightly did they begin to notice their surroundings.

This was indeed the Underworld, a place where there was no reaction to divinity.

Countless ghostly lights flickered in this silent space; these lights were actually human souls, all imprisoned in various cages with no way to escape.

There was only one path leading to Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld. To find her, the group decided to keep moving forward.

Ahead on this road were seven gates of vastly different styles. It was said that these seven gates each possessed unique functions and trials.

Once the traveler successfully passed through these seven portals, they would arrive at the location of Ereshkigal’s mysterious and solemn palace.

If everything went normally without any errors, Ereshkigal, the legendary goddess, should be waiting there for the visitors’ arrival at this very moment. 』

『 .....』