"So, was the goddess Tiamat the one who used Enkidu's body to create you?" After a brief moment of thought, Alaric smiled as he concluded. "Enkidu's appearance was modeled after that of the sacred prostitute. However, if the goddess Tiamat created a new human, there'd be no need to replicate the same appearance.
Therefore, there's only one conclusion: the goddess of life, Tiamat, used Enkidu's corpse—or more precisely, the divine clay—to create you, Kingu.
In other words, you and Enkidu are like two flowers of the same kind but with entirely different natures. You possess all of Enkidu's capabilities, which rival those of Gilgamesh, but your essence is the complete opposite.
This is the truth of you, the new human, Kingu, isn't it?"
Enkidu's appearance holds no special meaning; it was simply a form he adopted out of respect for the sacred prostitute who granted him knowledge. If Tiamat created a new human, there'd be no connection at all to the sacred prostitute—they're like parallel lines that never intersect.
If Enkidu's body was used as the base material to create the new human, not only would the result possess unparalleled strength equivalent to Gilgamesh's, but they would also tirelessly strive for their liberation.
Even Alaric couldn't help but marvel at Tiamat's ingenuity.
'But how did she manage it?'
If Tiamat had been freely active, Alaric wouldn't have been surprised. But for Tiamat, who was in slumber, to still utilize her divine authority to create life—that was perplexing.
The only mystery that Alaric couldn't solve was the method behind Kingu's creation.
"You know quite a lot, don't you? It seems you're someone well-versed in the details of Enkidu's body. But it's completely useless!"
After listening to Alaric's deductions, Kingu placed his hand on his chest, his cold expression showing a faint smile. "Enkidu is a thing of the past. This body's true name now is Kingu—Tiamat's son, Kingu.
Your knowledge of Enkidu is utterly meaningless to me!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Looking at Kingu's prideful declaration, Alaric continued to stroke his chin, maintaining a casual demeanor.
But in reality—
'Hurry! Hurry up!'
Behind his calm exterior, Alaric was fully utilizing his aura-concealing abilities, suppressing his magical energy fluctuations, and attempting to summon the distant Heavenly Vessel from the northern wall to his location.
Alaric didn't care to understand the nuances of personality differences between Kingu and Enkidu. All he needed to know was that Kingu's combat strength was equal to Enkidu's and that Kingu fought to save Tiamat. These two points alone were enough to make one thing clear: a fight was unavoidable.
And all of Alaric's subtle actions were entirely noticed by Kingu. To Kingu, the magically suppressed Alaric was like a blazing fire in the middle of the night—impossible to miss.
"You're making quite a fuss. Trying to call for reinforcements? It's useless. Even if you summon that Gilgamesh, you won't be able to defeat me as I am now!"
Kingu said coldly. "The difference in power between us is beyond your imagination."
'He's not attacking outright but instead emphasizing the gap between us... Kingu must be trying to uncover something.'
Quietly observing Kingu, Alaric suddenly realized the key detail he had overlooked.
The reason Kingu was able to lure him here was directly tied to his connection with Tiamat. All of Alaric's actions were based on that connection.
If Kingu was certain that Alaric would be drawn to Tiamat's aura, then he must have some relevant information.
This meant Kingu had sensed the same aura from Alaric. Only by detecting such a connection could Kingu set a trap to draw Alaric in.
That aura was the faint residue from the time when Alaric had once mentally connected with Tiamat. It was nearly imperceptible.
But as Tiamat's child, Kingu could still sense his mother's presence on Alaric.
How could Kingu tolerate this?
Realizing this, Alaric suddenly felt like he was in an absurd situation—like being confronted by a child after casually chatting with their married parent.
'Huh?'
With this strange thought in mind, Alaric looked at Kingu, momentarily speechless and unsure of what to say.
'Honestly, I've got nothing going on with your mother. We didn't even get to talk much!'
Alaric couldn't tell whether saying such a thing out loud would make Kingu want to kill him. But if the situation were reversed, Alaric might've punched first and asked questions later.
At that moment, Kingu, frustrated by Alaric's lack of reaction, became even more irritated by the subtle changes in his expression. He coldly demanded:
"If you're aware of the gap between us, then confess the truth about your connection with my mother. If you comply, I might spare your life.
Hurry up and explain—why does my mother's scent linger on you?"
Hearing Kingu finally voice the question, Alaric lowered his hand and gave a faint smile. "How should I put this? Your mother and I don't have much of a connection—it's just a fleeting encounter by chance.
Do you believe me if I say that?"
Alaric glanced at Kingu with an expression that was difficult to suppress, barely holding back a laugh.
Even Alaric himself found such an excuse unconvincing, let alone Kingu, Tiamat's son.
As expected, after hearing the explanation, Kingu scoffed. "It seems I'll have to make you suffer before you're willing to speak the truth.
No matter whom you summon today, nothing will change your fate!"
Before Kingu even finished speaking, waves of magical energy emerged from his body, forming a golden ripple in the air. From within the ripple, prismatic constructs slowly extended, locking onto Alaric.
The scene before Alaric was strangely familiar—it was exactly like the sight of Gilgamesh summoning treasures from the Gate of Babylon. Now, in the middle of the cedar forest, a similar spectacle unfolded.
Seeing this, Alaric's expression grew serious. Even though he had prepared for this, witnessing Kingu's attack method firsthand stirred a mix of awe and wariness.
Kingu's former self, Enkidu, was a clay craft of the gods capable of transforming into anything. The body was as versatile as divine weaponry, able to adapt to any situation.
This meant that every attack from Kingu was equivalent to Gilgamesh firing Noble Phantasms from his treasury.
Moreover, both Kingu and Enkidu's bodies shared the unique property of being the Chains of Heaven, which specialized in restraining divine beings. The Chains of Heaven grew stronger in proportion to the target's divinity.
For someone without divinity, however, they were merely sturdy chains.
For instance, someone like Alaric—a mere mortal.
'An extraordinary ability, no doubt. But I will not lose!'
With his resolve set, Alaric raised his hand under Kingu's watchful gaze. The Holy Lance Rhongomyniad materialized in his palm.
Alaric spoke with a faint smile: "Kingu, did you know?
Enkidu was created as the Chains of Heaven to bind Gilgamesh. A genuine divine construct.
But the lance I'm holding is the anchor of the planetary, the tower that stands at the edge of the world. By rank, they are equivalent!"
As Alaric's words unfolded, his body began to radiate a dark aurora.
Unlike Kingu, who embodied the earth, Alaric appeared as something alien—an outsider from the distant stars.
"You... what are you?"
For the first time, Kingu sensed the ominous and alien nature of Alaric's presence. The aura was so repulsive that Kingu's body instinctively heightened its combat performance as if it must destroy this intruder at all costs.
[Threat detected.]
Although the sense of danger was clear, Kingu didn't unleash his full power. Instead, he maintained his current output level.
Alaric, unaware of Kingu's exact thoughts, simply noticed the growing intensity of Kingu's magical energy. His lips curled into a smile.
The greater Kingu's output, the more it proved that Alaric was a threat worth taking seriously.
"Looks like I'll need to teach you a lesson!"
Like Alaric, Kingu also smiled, though his was a faint, disdainful smirk. "I'll make you spill everything you know, whether you want to or not."
Anything involving Tiamat was something Kingu couldn't remain indifferent to.
Without further words, both Alaric and Kingu charged forward simultaneously!
Bang!
With a dull sound, dozens of fine silver chains shot forward like streams of light, heading straight for Alaric.
Their speed was astonishing, and in an instant, they surrounded him!
[Holy Judgment—Reloading.]
Before that, the fully loaded Holy Lance burst forth with an astonishing brilliance.
Thin beams of light, resembling a meteor shower, shot out from the spiraling spearhead, instantly scattering the deadly silver chains!
But this very act caused Alaric to lose the initiative.
Those chains were nothing more than an appetizer—the main course had just arrived.
At this moment, the distance between Kingu and Alaric was no more than an arm's length. As Kingu's arm glowed with magical light, it swung down toward Alaric like a blade capable of cutting through anything!
Kingu himself was the most formidable weapon—the embodiment of the Chains of Heaven!
"Too late—"
In that instant, Kingu's speed was so astonishingly fast that, even for Alaric, he could only keep pace but couldn't use his speed advantage to regain control of the battle.
Realizing this, Alaric had no choice but to abandon his offense and switch to defense.
Alaric pulled back the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad with one hand, ignoring the spearhead's advantage, and swung it like a staff at Kingu!
Clang!!
With the crisp sound of impact, the ground beneath Alaric suddenly sank. The arm holding the spear bulged with veins, and an immense surge of magical energy filled his body, fueling the struggle against Kingu's overwhelming strength!
The titanic force coming from Kingu gave Alaric the illusion of facing Gawain himself!
"Ara, are you already struggling to withstand this? How weak can you be?"
Seeing Alaric barely managing to hold off a single strike, Kingu smirked. "If this is all you've got, how disappointing."
At this moment, Alaric finally understood the source of Kingu's extraordinary power, something beyond normal comprehension.
If Kingu shared the same abilities as Enkidu, his skills would also be identical.
[Transformation: A]
A unique ability that reallocates stats from a fixed total based on the situation—Enkidu's defining feature.
The higher the rank, the greater the total value.
In other words, Kingu, whose body was identical to Enkidu's, could similarly redistribute his stats freely!
"How absurdly versatile!"
Alaric was awestruck by the sheer outrageousness of this skill. It was no wonder Enkidu, one of the oldest heroes, could stand as equals with Gilgamesh, the king who built the unreasonable golden city.
Before Alaric could counterattack, familiar silver chains shot out from the void around him, aiming for his limbs and the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad in his hand.
The intent was clear—to completely bind him!
[Thunder Flash]
Crack!
Almost simultaneously, driven by high-output magical energy, Alaric transformed into a streak of light, weaving through the chains with godlike speed and darting away from the battlefield!
"Trying to run? Not a chance!"
Kingu let out a cold laugh. As his words fell, the cedar forest began to change.
The ground rose, forming chasms in front of Alaric to block his path. Some sections of the rising earth even twisted like serpents, lunging toward him!
"So this is the Clay of the Gods!"
Seeing this bizarre phenomenon, Alaric's expression turned serious.
The mud used to create Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven, was known as the Clay of the Gods, imbued with the highest level of mystery. This was why Enkidu could be called the embodiment of the earth itself.
Not only could it draw magical energy from the earth for movement and support, but with the blessing of this divine clay, it could shapeshift and manipulate the ground to attack!
But this alone wasn't enough to stop Alaric!
Alaric's charge didn't falter. As his Holy Lance unleashed another burst of dark brilliance, it pierced straight through the barriers blocking his path!
Whoosh!
The familiar sound of breaking air rang out again. The approaching silver chains and Kingu's figure triggered Alaric's instincts, warning him of danger.
[Double Flash]
Even before the momentum of his first Thunder Flash had dissipated, Alaric unleashed another burst of dark light, propelling him to twist mid-air and face Kingu, as well as the incoming silver chains!
This time, however, Alaric ignored the chains entirely. His gaze locked firmly onto the approaching Kingu.
In the next moment, an unexpected scene unfolded.
Under the effect of Double Flash, Alaric abandoned his earlier strategy of keeping his distance from Kingu and, staring down the chains, thrust his spear directly at Kingu!
Kingu, too, did not attempt to evade. His long arm, like a spear itself, collided head-on with the spiraling spearhead of Rhongomyniad!
"You want to compete with me?!"
Clang!
The cold sound of metal clashing exploded. This time, however, Kingu's figure was forced to retreat!
In less than a few seconds, the roles of offense and defense had reversed!
"He's weakened—he's shifted his stats to speed!"
Noticing that Kingu's physical strength had dramatically diminished and was now far inferior to his own, Alaric realized that Kingu had allocated most of his stats to agility to catch up.
Now, in terms of raw power, Alaric had the upper hand!
"I can't let him adjust again!"
With his sharp battle instincts, Alaric immediately formulated the optimal strategy.
Although he didn't know how long it took Kingu to reallocate his stats, if Alaric maintained high-speed movement and combat, he could force Kingu to remain in this speed-focused mode, keeping the advantage of strength in his own hands!
Before Alaric could press the attack, the incoming silver chains shattered the air, producing deafening cracks as they hurtled toward him.
Meanwhile, Kingu, who had been pushed back by Alaric's spear, stopped pursuing. He stood still, unmoving.
Magical energy rippled beneath him, forming golden, gate-like patterns on the ground. From these patterns, a variety of bizarrely shaped weapons—swords, spears, staves—slowly emerged!
The overwhelming magical energy surged like a tidal wave, engulfing Alaric!
As the weapons materialized beneath Kingu, Alaric's mind immediately recognized the name of the skill—
[Age of Babylon]
By harnessing the power of the earth, this ability summoned hundreds of swords, spears, chains, and other weapons to launch at the enemy—a skill akin to Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon], and one of immense power.