"King Gilgamesh, what do you mean by this?"
Alaric was confused—completely confused.
Everyone had fought with all their might until now. Victory was within reach, and the conclusion that Gilgamesh had been anticipating was finally arriving.
All of Uruk was engaged in battle, so why was Gilgamesh intending to—end his own life at this moment?
"Hmph, a true farewell to the gods, huh? I was impulsive to say such foolish words."
Putting away the clay tablet, Gilgamesh visibly relaxed. At this moment, on the summit of Uruk's Ziggurat, where only he and Alaric remained awake, Gilgamesh could finally speak his true thoughts.
"But if I am to truly part ways with the gods, then I cannot remain either, Alaric."
Hearing this, Alaric was momentarily stunned.
To sever ties with the gods meant to bid farewell to the Age of Gods and fully enter the Age of Humanity.
The oldest Hero-King, Gilgamesh, had initiated the farewell, yet he was a half-god, born as the Keystone of Heaven, destined to connect gods and humans.
His very existence was inherently tied to the Age of Gods.
"Alaric, having experienced the Sixth Singularity, you clearly understand the power of the Human Order to rationally correct history. Uruk is indeed fated to perish.
But if both the goddess Tiamat and I, the cornerstone of this Singularity, disappear, the outcome can take on a different interpretation."
Gilgamesh's expression was relaxed as he smiled.
"If I die, at most, it will be the end of the reign of Uruk's Fifth King. However, the era of the Sixth King of Uruk will continue, won't it?"
"It is not only Tiamat who must be defeated—I, too, am an existence unnecessary for the future."
Gilgamesh gazed at the bound Tiamat and said,
"The only uncertainty is the manner of my death. A king should never die by his hand—that is not how a king should fall."
"Besides, if I do not die now, I will be of no use in battle either—"
Gilgamesh looked at his own hands with some helplessness. His depleted magical energy was barely enough to sustain a Servant, and his remaining life force could not even be converted into mana.
At this moment, describing Gilgamesh as a flickering, dying flame would not be an exaggeration.
Dying once more? Gilgamesh was sure Ishtar would laugh at him for that.
"Then let me—"
Without hesitation, Alaric spoke in a deep voice:
"Let me be the one to kill—the oldest Hero-King, Gilgamesh."
Gilgamesh's will had never wavered, and Alaric would not deny it.
This was not a task that should fall to him.
The fact that Gilgamesh himself was the cornerstone of this Singularity had been surprising to Alaric, but he quickly came to understand it.
Both in emotion and in logic, it had to be him.
"Hahahahahaha! Excellent!"
Seemingly pleased with Alaric's response, Gilgamesh burst into laughter.
"Then let you, the wandering knight, personally bring about the farewell to the Age of Gods!"
Gilgamesh's death was only the beginning. The tides of time would continue to roll forward until the one who bore the will of heaven, the one who received the Ten Commandments, the so-called omniscient and omnipotent King of Magic—Solomon—also perished.
With his death, the Age of Gods would come to an end.
But without a doubt—
Gilgamesh was the beginning of it all. As the Keystone of Heaven, the bridge between gods and men, he marked the initiation of the farewell to the divine.
And Alaric—the one who actively set this era's tide in motion—would go down in history, even if the Human Order would ultimately correct events, leaving his great deeds unknown to all.
Yet they would be an indelible legacy.
"By the way, how should we handle your corpse, King Gilgamesh?"
With the intent to provide the best service, Alaric asked,
"Should I dump your body in the wilderness, bury you in an unmarked grave, or perhaps build you a pyramid?"
Hearing this, Gilgamesh, who had been filled with fervor, twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Alaric could be incredibly serious when necessary, yet he could just as easily become irreverent.
"Since I will fall to the Underworld anyway, does it matter where I die? Dirt is dirt, no matter where it is."
Gilgamesh shook his head, unconcerned about the disposal of his body.
"What are you two doing?!!"
Sensing something amiss, the Mistress of the Sky, Ishtar, swiftly descended from the heavens.
"What are you thinking, you idiot goldy?!"
She had overheard much of Gilgamesh and Alaric's conversation, which only left her more confused.
Was he truly so willing to die?
If he simply continued to live, he could ensure Uruk's legacy.
"Ishtar!! I, as king, command you with absolute authority—witness this moment!"
Seeing the slight shock on Ishtar's face, Gilgamesh laughed loudly.
"Bear witness to this, Mistress of the Sky, Ishtar! As a goddess, you shall be the one to witness this regicide!"
"You…!"
Having known Gilgamesh for years, Ishtar was momentarily stunned. Soon, she revealed an amused expression and glanced at Alaric.
"Heh… if this is the game you two want to play, then this goddess shall play along!"
Seeing Ishtar's agreement, a smirk rose on Gilgamesh's lips. Then, he turned his gaze toward the supreme god standing tall in the center of Uruk.
"Oh, Primordial Goddess, Mother of Beasts, Tiamat! Take this opportunity to witness the birth of this great feat as well!"
Bound by the Chains of Heaven, burning with the power of self-sacrifice, the primordial goddess did not move. Yet those dazzling star-like eyes remained fixed upon one figure.
The son of man had already perished, leaving behind only the seventy billion targets of her vengeance—and—
The newly born human.
Man, the half-god king, and the divine.
The three had gathered together, under the witness of the Mistress of the Sky, Ishtar, and the Primordial Goddess, Tiamat.
Step.
Clear, crisp footsteps echoed.
The Wandering Knight raised the Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad—the spear lost at the end of history.
It would now bring about the absolute death of humanity's oldest Hero-King.
The distance between them was but a few meters—within three steps lay an entirely new world.
Squelch.
The cold holy lance tore through flesh, shattered ribs, and pierced the heart!
Scorching blood, both divine and mortal, sprayed into the air, slowly dripping from the holy lance that had run through its target.
The half-god, the Keystone of Heaven, the Fifth King of Uruk, the oldest Hero-King—
All these titles belonged to the golden ruler.
Having lived a life of grandeur—born a natural king, ruling as a tyrant in his youth, seeking immortality only to return, and finally understanding his purpose as a wise king—
At this moment, his life had reached its end.
As he gazed into those pale golden dragon-like eyes, the golden king's regal aura did not fade. Instead, he laughed boldly.
"Hahahahahaha! Let us reunite in the Underworld, Alaric!"
That would happen in a few hours.
...
...
...
But when Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight awoke from unconsciousness, they saw—
The golden king, pierced through the chest, completely and utterly dead.
And beside his lifeless body, standing unmoving for a long time, was a certain knight.
The blood-stained Rhongomyniad had completed the regicide.
And in the year 2655 B.C., under the witness of Uruk's city god, the Mistress of the Sky, Ishtar, the knight slew the golden king.
After sending off the unconscious Siduri to prevent her from falling into the underworld, Alaric stood alone beside Gilgamesh's corpse, remaining silent.
It was only when Fujimaru and Mash woke from the unconscious state that they saw the remains of the once-great king.
Judging from Alaric's position and actions, the culprit had already been identified.
"Sir… Alaric?"
Fujimaru murmured, seemingly unable to comprehend the scene before her, eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
She couldn't understand why Alaric would kill Gilgamesh.
Not only Fujimaru, but Mash as well noticed the disappearance of Siduri and the death of Gilgamesh.
Before they lost consciousness, both were still alive and well, yet now, one was dead, and the other had vanished.
This was difficult for Mashu to accept.
Alaric remained silent, not even sparing a glance at Fujimaru and Mash, his gaze still fixed on the fallen king.
The act of regicide, personally severing the link between man and god—the Keystone of Heaven—would allow the tides of this era to continue moving forward.
This was an achievement worthy of being recorded in history, perhaps even elevated to the status of a Noble Phantasm.
What does it mean for a deed to be sublimated?
It is when an individual accomplishes great feats in their lifetime, and through the passage of time and endless retellings, their deeds become legend—thus achieving sublimation.
The wandering knight had, for the first time, accomplished a feat of his own.
This was an achievement that belonged solely to him, unknown to others, destined not to be spread or sung.
A fleeting, meteor-like achievement.
Alaric's actions would not be recorded, a lonely feat that would not be passed down by others.
Even though the goddess of the sky, Ishtar, and the primordial god, Tiamat, bore witness to it, they would do nothing more than witness—no further impact would arise from it.
But Alaric didn't care about that.
What truly concerned him was—
"Will Gilgamesh drop any gold coins when he dies?"
Alaric scrutinized Gilgamesh's corpse for over an hour.
Even after all the remaining citizens of Uruk had completely evacuated, he still couldn't find anything of value on the king's body.
The Gate of Babylon, known as the treasury of all humanity's wealth, remained inaccessible to him.
When he asked Ishtar about it, she merely replied:
"You don't have Gil's King's Key, so it's impossible. That key is the only way to open the Gate of Babylon, and you need the proper permissions to access it.
Hmph, right now, only I have that authority!"
The image of Ishtar's smug expression flashed through Alaric's mind, and he had no choice but to abandon his hopes of looting gold coins.
Seeing that Fujimaru and Mash had awakened, Alaric didn't pay them much mind.
At this moment, the only thing that could hold his attention—aside from collecting gold coins—was news of a certain goddess in the underworld.
"Ereshkigal, what's the status?"
Even though Gilgamesh had died, communication with the underworld had not been severed; real-time contact was still maintained.
While Tiamat remained bound, Alaric and Ishtar closely monitored the progress of the Underworld's phased transfer.
As long as they could complete the process before Tiamat broke free from Enkidu's Chains, they would be able to force her down into the Underworld!
["Underworld transfer complete! You can act now!"]
Exhausted from her efforts, a sweat-drenched Ereshkigal shouted:
["Be careful!"]
"Leave it to us!"
Upon receiving Ereshkigal's response, Alaric immediately looked up at the sky.
The goddess high above had also noticed his movements.
No further words were needed—Ishtar unleashed her full divinity, opening the Celestial Gate above Uruk!
She hurled her divine spear high into the air, seizing control of Venus's concept, and transforming it into an arrow.
Majestic divine energy wrapped around the projectile, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
"This is my full power—!
An Gal Ta Kigal She!"
The arrow descended from the heavens, covering the entirety of Uruk.
Its absolute destructive force was capable of reducing even Mount Ebih to dust!
Before the Primordial Goddess could break free from Enkidu's Chains, the land itself had already shattered!
Facing the impending devastation, Alaric turned to Fujimaru and Mash, saying:
"Prepare yourselves—!"
BOOOOM!
Before he could finish speaking, the blinding explosion and shockwave engulfed him, Fujimaru, and Mash.
As the collapsing Uruk fell into the Underworld, they too plummeted downward.
Yet—
At the very last moment, a lone figure surged upward, defying gravity, escaping the falling Uruk.
Instead of falling into the Underworld with Fujimaru and Mash, Alaric remained on the surface!
At the instant Ishtar released her Noble Phantasm, Alaric sensed a certain someone's mana signature!
BOOM!
The Last Dragon streaked across the sky.
Ishtar, watching in confusion, witnessed it perform an incredible sharp-angle drift.
"Are you trying to challenge me to a race?!"
As if provoked, Ishtar gritted her teeth and rushed towards the Underworld, suppressing her urge to compete with Alaric.
Even though she didn't understand why Alaric had suddenly left, she knew how to prioritize.
Even if her mother fell into the Underworld, she wouldn't consider it a true victory unless Tiamat was destroyed!
...
Meanwhile, deep in the Underworld—
A golden king, who had been waiting for quite some time, looked at Fujimaru and Mash and smiled.
"I've been waiting far too long!"
"King Gilgamesh?!"
"But… weren't you dead?!"
Fujimaru and Mash exclaimed in shock.
The Gilgamesh pierced through the chest by Alaric had undoubtedly perished—
But the one standing before them now…
"Fools! This is the Underworld. The rules are a little more flexible, allowing me some freedom to move as I please."
Now appearing in his youthful form, Gilgamesh exuded a different kind of majesty.
His golden armor gleamed, emanating an undeniable kingly presence.
Yet, when facing Fujimaru and Mash, he was no different from before.
With all loose ends tied up, Gilgamesh finally unlocked the Gate of Babylon, allowing the sealed Noble Phantasms to awaken once more!
"Where is Alaric?"
Not seeing Alaric, Gilgamesh's gaze instead landed on his corpse, which had fallen alongside the ruins of Uruk.
His brow twitched.
As Gilgamesh spoke, Fujimaru and Mash finally realized Alaric's disappearance.
Before they could explain, Gilgamesh turned his attention to the Primordial Goddess, Tiamat, who was now engulfed in the crimson lightning of the Underworld.
The moment she fell into the Underworld, Ereshkigal unleashed her full power, launching an all-out attack!
Each bolt of terrifying lightning rivaled Ishtar's Noble Phantasm in destructive power, capable of annihilating Uruk itself!