Immortal Scythe: Harpe is a divine sword from Greek mythology used by Perseus to kill the Gorgon Medusa and one of the many weapons within Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon]. It is described as a sacred sword that slays monsters, with a special scythe-like shape, having the cutting edge on the inner side of the blade, though it is not a remarkable sword in itself. Its true strength lies in its trait of refracting longevity, a divine ability that nullifies the "eternal" attribute of immortals and inflicts wounds that cannot be healed by any method other than natural recovery laws. It is one of the five Noble Phantasms given to Perseus, the greatest number of legendary artifacts given to a single person in Greek history, for his mission to slay Medusa. It was given by Hermes and returned to him once the task was completed.
"What a pity." Gilgamesh looked at his own left hand. "I thought you'd actually be a challenge. I thought the one who held the power of a mystical bird would be a bit stronger. But this fight hasn't been fun for me at all."
The crowd watched with bated breath. Riser screamed and struggled, trying to activate any aspect of his demonic power, but nothing happened. Little did he know that Gilgamesh had temporarily sealed his power with magical runes when he touched him.
"I didn't know what I was expecting, though. After all," Gilgamesh grinned savagely, "what is a phoenix compared to a dragon?"
Slowly and deliberately, a crimson gauntlet manifested on his left arm. As if a dam had burst, an unbearable pressure was released on the battlefield. Ravel closed her eyes in an attempt to resist the onslaught, but nothing she could do could alleviate the pressure. But, worried about her brother, Ravel forced her eyes open again. At that point, the rhythmic beating that accompanied the battle had stopped completely.
Then Ravel realized there was a barrier between Gilgamesh and the crowd, a barrier beyond the dimensional barrier of the [Rating Game]. Many of them, especially the weaker ones, reacted like Ravel, but she failed to consider that the barrier Grayfia was holding was actively suppressing the vast majority of… whatever it was emanating from Gilgamesh's body. Even Sirzechs seemed surprised by the brute force onslaught. Within the barrier, her brother felt the true strength of Gilgamesh's aura.
Then, Gilgamesh sealed the fight with a single word: "[Boost]"
Instantly, Grayfia's barrier shattered. Any lesser demon instantly fell to their knees, flattened by the relentless force. Gilgamesh made no further effort to hide his aura, letting all the suppressed energy flow freely from his body like a shockwave, nearly sending Ravel and the other demons flying from their seats. However, Riser remained rooted in place as if chained there, and Gilgamesh turned his now glowing red gaze to the devil.
Gilgamesh approached Riser, while Ravel stayed back, protected by a barrier Grayfia had created for her after Gilgamesh's surge of power.
Riser only stared in shock.
"Who are you?" Riser asked fearfully.
Gilgamesh gave a massive smile.
"Pay attention, bird, because I'll only say this once."
"My name is Gilgamesh! The King of Uruk, the proud son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun. And the most prominent King among kings. I am the slayer of Humbaba, the Terrible, the monstrous giant feared by the gods. I was the one who killed the Bull of Heaven when the petulant goddess Ishtar sent it upon my people for rejecting her advances. I am the current Sekiryuutei, host of Ddraig, the Dragon feared by the Gods. I am the first human worthy of being known as a legend, the first of all Heroes, and no one who comes after me could ever overshadow my glory."
Gilgamesh declared with all pride and power, making everyone, even unconsciously, feel small and awestruck.
"So tell me, little bird, what are you before me?" Gilgamesh asked sarcastically. "You are a worm, and like all worms, you should stay looking at the ground as you die."
The entire space around Gilgamesh dissolved into golden ripples, from which dozens of weapons emerged.
Swords, daggers, spears, halberds, arrows, axes, and the most diverse weapons appeared with great beauty and grandeur.
All of them were sacred weapons or capable of killing immortals.
Everyone, especially Riser, was filled with dread when they felt the power of the weapons.
Sirzechs tried to end the battle, but the [Rating Game] system wasn't working due to the power Gilgamesh had unleashed, which had affected the dimension.
In an instant, all of Gilgamesh's weapons shot toward Riser, who closed his eyes, awaiting his death.
"STOP!"
A shout interrupted, causing the weapons to stop in midair, as someone stood in front of Riser, just centimeters from the weapons.
Ravel Phenex stood protectively in front of Riser, tears streaming from her eyes.
"P-please don't kill him," Ravel said fearfully.
"You don't fear me, Phenex?" Gilgamesh asked as the weapons began to radiate more power.
The girl trembled but held her ground.
"If it's for my brother," the girl said fearfully, feeling the power of the weapons.
Gilgamesh gave a gentle smile, and all the weapons dissolved into golden dust, to Ravel's surprise.
Gilgamesh approached and placed his hand on Ravel's head, making her blush.
"Very brave, Ravel Phenex. Many wouldn't stand against my treasures. Be proud," Gilgamesh said in a tone that surprised the girl.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Riser, who was still on the ground.
"Learn this from today, worm: you're only alive because of your sister," Gilgamesh said as he turned and prepared to leave.
Ravel followed Gilgamesh, wanting to speak with him, only for something to catch both their attention.
Riser stood up and poured all the magical power he had into creating flames that reached the sky.
"Even if I die, I'll kill you!" Riser shouted as he prepared all his remaining power.
The power was so great it would hit both Gilgamesh and Ravel, but it seemed Riser wasn't thinking clearly and was letting his rage guide him.
Before deciding to show one of his techniques, after all, Sirzechs wanted him to demonstrate unshakable power, Gilgamesh acted.
Riser raised his magical power to its maximum, causing his fiery wings to emerge from his back. Dozens of fireballs were created in the air with heat that made the atmosphere itself overheat, spears of fire formed around him, and the very ground was melting as Riser's power reached its peak.
Riser had completely lost his reasoning, letting rage blind him and attacking everything. He diverted all his power focused on regeneration and now focused it entirely on his attack power.
Gilgamesh looked slightly impressed before turning to Ravel, who was cowering.
"Don't stand in front of me, Ravel, or you might get hurt," Gilgamesh said to the girl, who nodded.
Gilgamesh stepped forward and looked at Riser before beginning.
In an instant, the mark of his [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] appeared on his arm, though no one could see it due to his clothes covering it.
Gilgamesh let out his breath, which came out as vapor due to the sudden drop in temperature.
"Mana Zone…" Gilgamesh whispered as he used his technique to gain control of all the magical power within the [Rating Game] barrier.
The power of his Longinus [Zenith Tempest] surged as Gilgamesh drew on all the power he could access, except for his Balance Breaker.
Only one phrase was heard before the world froze.
"Absolute Zero"
**With Sirzechs and the Spectators**
All the spectators were watching anxiously to see what technique Gilgamesh would use after his sudden surge of power.
But the moment Gilgamesh was about to use his power, a wave of snow and ice swept over everything, preventing them from seeing through the [Rating Game] cameras.
Ajuka quickly moved to his system, trying to see if he could fix the issue so they could see or know what had happened.
But a cracking sound caught everyone's attention. Looking toward the source of the noise, they saw ice beginning to form on the hall's structures.
Before they could take any action, the entire hall shook, causing almost everyone to be thrown about.
Sirzechs, along with Serafall and Ajuka, quickly moved to where the guests were and saw that ice was forming around the hall. They swiftly used their demonic power to create a barrier to protect them.
"Lord Lucifer, look at this," a random demon said as he approached.
He opened a portal, showing an image of the Underworld.
A large part of the Underworld was experiencing strange weather events.
The Underworld was vast, the size of Earth without seas, but everything within a radius the size of a country like Japan was immersed in major climatic disasters.
Hurricanes struck the land, unprecedented snowfall, and severe hailstorms.
"Weather manipulation? Who could be doing this?" Sona, always quick to understand, said as she approached along with Rias.
"That's the same magical power as Gilgamesh's," Ajuka concluded, making everyone widen their eyes.
"Impossible for a single person on this scale. Even a Satan couldn't manipulate the weather over such a vast range, not to mention being able to break through the [Rating Game] barrier and affect a large part of the Underworld. This has to be a multi-stage ritual," Sirzechs concluded.
"Normally, you'd be right, but there is a spell that can do this," Enkidu said as he approached them.
"I've never heard of a spell that could alter the weather like this," Ajuka said, curious.
"It's called Absolute Zero," Enkidu said to everyone.
"How does it work?" Serafall asked, curious.
"Absolute Zero is the manipulation of thermal energy at the highest levels. All heat is negated. A center of absolute zero that even stops the flow of time. An absolute protection of time. All unauthorized movement by Gil is forbidden. Ice magic is greatly enhanced, where even a novice-level spell has the power of a master-level one. Master-level spells are practically one-shot god-killers," Enkidu explained while turning his attention to the screen connecting to the battle.
"An army-killing technique," Serafall said, surprised.
Everyone turned their attention to the screen and couldn't help but widen their eyes at what they saw.
When the wave of snow passed and it was possible to see what had happened, the entire battlefield was immersed in a vast amount of ice, with no part of it untouched by ice and snow. Even the air was freezing, and the strength of the ice was surpassing the [Rating Game] barrier.
Everyone was utterly shocked, especially Grayfia and Serafall.
Both were masters in the use of ice magic, so much so that in the past, their battle for the position of "Leviathan" had frozen a large part of the Underworld.
Serafall even thought that Gilgamesh's power was like her technique [Celsius Cross Trigger], which turned the land into a frozen wonderland.
But she quickly discarded that idea; this was far more than just freezing.
Serafall could sense an overwhelming amount of magical power concentrated in every piece of ice created by Gilgamesh.
Then Serafall understood the true power of this magic. It was far more than simply creating a world of ice. To be able to freeze an entire city instantly and still be strong enough to break through the [Rating Game] barriers and affect a large part of the Underworld with climatic disasters was a feat that all ice magic users sought their entire lives. Even Serafall had tried to achieve this but failed. It was ice beyond ice.
It was a magic that recreated a frozen world with the power of absolute zero.
Absolute Zero is the full potential of an ice-based magician; it is said to be "ice beyond ice" and the fruit of the labor that every ice-based magician strives for, enabled through the zenith of cold manipulation achieved by understanding the "essence of ice." Absolute Zero itself is recognized as the lower limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale, a state where the enthalpy and entropy of a cooled ideal gas reach their minimum value.
Even Serafall, with all her immense demonic power and extreme talent, couldn't achieve this. None of her spells could reach this level, capable of freezing any enemy? Yes, but not of achieving absolute zero.
In the case of every ice-based magician, a feat like lowering the temperature to induce any form of ice-derived magic might seem like a simple operation, but to completely circumvent the Laws of Thermodynamics to induce Absolute Zero was impossible for supernatural beings—or so Serafall thought.
The closest thing to it was the Longinus [Absolute Demise], said to be capable of achieving absolute zero, but no one had ever managed to do so.
So, to see someone perform this technique right in front of her was beyond impressive—it was like seeing a dream come true.
It was so…
"Beautiful…" Serafall whispered as she saw the ice paradise created by Gilgamesh.
**With Gilgamesh**
Inside the battlefield, everything was completely immersed in ice. Every tree, every body of water, every tiny piece of land was frozen to the point where not even sound could be heard. Even the atmosphere was frozen to the point of breaking through the barrier created by the [Rating Game].
The only things not frozen were Gilgamesh, who had cast this technique, and Riser and Ravel Phenex, though they were only free because Gilgamesh allowed it.
Sirzechs had asked for unshakable power, and so Gilgamesh decided to show it to him, and it was also a good way to test his technique.
Absolute Zero.
The name itself clearly states what the technique is.
Something far beyond freezing, a world that reaches absolute zero with powerful climatic events where Gilgamesh can negate everything, even space-time.
A technique created by Gilgamesh based on the Balance Breaker of the Longinus [Absolute Demise]: Assoluto Argento Mondo, which has the ability to create a powerful snowstorm capable of engulfing an entire country.
It was also based on Serafall's signature technique, [Celsius Cross Trigger].
A technique created by Gilgamesh by mixing his [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] with his Longinus [Zenith Tempest] and Mana Zone.
It was something far beyond freezing everything around. After all, Gilgamesh could easily freeze entire countries. It was a world created from Absolute Zero.
Naturally, it's impossible to achieve Absolute Zero. His Longinus [Zenith Tempest] is said to be capable of reaching this level, but Gilgamesh hasn't mastered it to that extent.
The [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] is also capable of reaching this level, but only in Devil Force.
His Absolute Zero is a technique that combines others.
First, he uses his [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] to use Glaciate.
Glaciate is a powerful supplementary passive ability of [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] and perhaps its greatest asset—effectively, it allows the user of [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] to turn anything they come into contact with into ice and then use that ice in any way they deem fit, as long as the chosen object can be transformed into ice. Glaciate can be turned on and off at the user's will, making it slightly better than most elemental conversion affinity abilities.
By inducing Glaciate, as [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] constantly generates tiny amounts of semi-solid ice with every breath, when the user comes into contact with anything that can be transformed into ice, the object's temperature is immediately reduced to its freezing point, effectively causing a sheen of ice to slide over its existence, from which the user can modify it as they see fit. Not only solids can be frozen, but Glaciate can freeze the very air.
This freezing effect can extend for several kilometers, and anything the resulting ice comes into contact with is also subjected to the Glaciate effect itself.
Using Glaciate, Gilgamesh places everything in a frozen paradise. After that, Gilgamesh uses his Mana Zone to gain control of all the magical power within the technique's range. Then, he manipulates all the magical power in his reach to create climatic disasters, which Gilgamesh manipulates with his Longinus [Zenith Tempest], as well as controlling every source of heat. This is something beyond freezing, as he manipulates every piece of ice in his range.
Using all this, Gilgamesh achieves Absolute Zero.
In reality, although theoretically impossible to achieve naturally, the dream of reaching absolute zero can become reality through the application of fighting spirit or Enchantment in conjunction with ice-derived magics, allowing the user's willpower to break the limits of temperatures that ice generated by a supernatural force can reach, bringing this miraculous power to the mortal plane. Once the user's ice reaches absolute zero, at such extreme temperatures, events that don't normally occur in nature begin to happen, such as atomic-level ruptures, as everything frozen by absolute zero shatters with the slightest breeze flowing toward it, and superconductivity. It's well known that, under the effects of absolute zero, the world is enveloped in silence as all material things stop moving, all placed in absolute stillness.
Additionally, Gilgamesh can use an ability called Hishoku or Ice Erosion, with the ice he manifests inducing the breakdown of anything it comes into contact with in a manner not unlike Crash, a power that gives the user the ability to break everything they come into contact with into countless pieces through the pressurization of magical energies.
This, with some help from Gilgamesh's magical energies, causes anything his ice-based attacks come into contact with to lose its atomic structure's flexibility, resulting in the target shattering where it stands, granting each of Gilgamesh's strikes a certain transcendent priority, exhibiting the ability to transcend the normal area of effect of short-range combat attacks, as his [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] cannot collide, block, cancel, or be canceled by other attacks, even other priority-oriented attacks of a similar nature.
When Absolute Zero is invoked, it results in completely unblockable strikes that are certain death in the first place, with the only way to escape their one-hit-kill properties being to evade.
This was Gilgamesh's Absolute Zero, a world of ice where he could kill gods.
A technique that could be called all-powerful.
Though such power had several weaknesses and limitations.
The first was that Gilgamesh couldn't maintain it for long, as even for him, it was difficult to control all this power and its range.
However, beings in the Top 10 would be able to fight Gilgamesh in this world, as their power could neutralize some of the technique's effects. The only ones Gilgamesh knew he couldn't defeat with this technique alone were Great Red, Ophis, Trihexa, Shiva, Indra, and Celestial Dragon-class beings.
Aside from those beings, no one could defeat Gilgamesh in this world, a world where Gilgamesh could defeat entire armies.
This was Absolute Zero.
Gilgamesh walked across the battlefield toward Riser without making a sound, his breath coming out as mist due to his [Ice Devil Slayer Magic] allowing him to survive the effects of absolute zero.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes as he saw his technique destroying the [Rating Game] barrier. He knew this could happen and needed to end this quickly.
Gilgamesh looked at Riser, who was still releasing his magical power and flames, only because Gilgamesh allowed it. Gilgamesh could simply freeze him.
Though Riser was afraid of the unleashed power, he was angrier.
How could a human have more power than him? Unacceptable!
Something in Riser seemed to snap, and he began attacking with a ferocious shout. He rained attacks on Gilgamesh from above as if it were judgment day. Massive waves of fire were conjured like hot air. Dozens of fire spears were launched simultaneously, and fireballs hot enough to melt stone flew through the sky.
Gilgamesh simply looked at the flames, which stopped in midair.
A zone-less energy sphere appeared, seemingly protecting Gilgamesh. The flames hanging in the air seemed to have stopped, as space-time itself forbade further movement.
In a single instant, all the magical power unleashed by Riser was frozen in the air.
They were all encased in blocks of ice while suspended in the air. A single glance from Gilgamesh was enough to make them shatter.
Gilgamesh began approaching Riser, and the ice grew stronger with every step.
Riser stopped when he could no longer gather his power, and an unbearable pain surged through his body, growing stronger with each of Gilgamesh's steps.
Gilgamesh's very presence was freezing Riser with every step.
Slowly, every particle of water in Riser's body began to freeze. His blood vessels started freezing as his blood froze within his own body, his organs, tissues, and muscles began entering cryogenesis.
"How?! I can feel you're a human! How do you have this power?!" Riser shouted in rage.
"You devils and your aversion to humanity," Gilgamesh commented with amusement. "Tell me, what's so great about you demons?"
Riser tried to summon his power to finish Gilgamesh, but nothing worked. Riser widened his eyes as he felt every muscle and part of his body freeze even more.
"No answer? Then I'll tell you! You're no different from any human. You have some fancy abilities, but deep down, you're no different."
Gilgamesh stood in front of Riser, who was widening his eyes as he felt his body crystallize. Gilgamesh raised his right hand, which emitted mist due to the low temperature.
"You, Riser Phenex, are no better than a cowardly human! You tyrannize those weaker than you, but look at you when faced with someone you can't defeat."
Gilgamesh placed his hand near Riser's face, who was visibly afraid.
"That's why I'll make sure you never do this again," Gilgamesh said as he touched his hand to Riser's head.
At that moment, a massive amount of ice surged, trapping Riser in a giant block of ice.
"Onii-sama!" Ravel shouted as she approached.
Gilgamesh sighed as he deactivated his Absolute Zero ability, causing the land to return to normal and the climatic disasters to stop, though Riser remained trapped in a block of ice.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Ravel.
"Don't worry, he's just frozen. He'll survive," Gilgamesh said, though he concealed the fact that some damage would be permanent.
Ravel nodded at him.
"I think that's enough, right, Sirzechs?" Gilgamesh said loudly.
Sirzechs quickly agreed as they managed to get the [Rating Game] system working again.
[Riser Phenex has retired. The winner is Gilgamesh]
Grayfia's voice declared.
A screen appeared in front of Gilgamesh.
[Quest Completed]
[Title: A Roasted Chicken]
[Description: Defeat Riser Phenex]
[Reward: 5,000 Exp, 100,000 Gold, Tori Tori no Mi: Phoenix Model, Sunshine Magic, Snatch Magic]
[You gained 5,000 Exp]
[You gained 100,000 Gold]
[You gained "Tori Tori no Mi: Phoenix Model"]
[You gained "Sunshine Magic"]
[You gained "Snatch Magic"]
[You leveled up]
[Congratulations, Gilgamesh, you have reached Level 100].
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