"Boom!"
Thunder rolled through the sky as dark clouds blanketed the heavens. Standing outside the Divine Tower at the royal palace, Head Priestess Siduri heard approaching footsteps. She quickly masked the deep worry in her eyes and straightened up to face the oncoming visitors.
"The assembly of the Fangs of Napishtim needs to move faster. Go hurry the armory!"
"The Magus at the Astrology Tower has already calculated the wheat harvest period, right?"
"It's been raining a lot lately—make the most of any clear days and get people organized to harvest as quickly as possible! If there aren't enough hands, pull some from the Sacrificial Grounds. With the magical beast attacks slowing down, they've got time to spare!"
"And the repairs on the Babylonian defense line and the breach at the southern gate—are they nearly finished?"
"Good! Once the king's rest is over, I'll see to it you all receive commendations."
"But be cautious—wet clay is unstable. Carved runes might distort and become ineffective."
"So make sure quality control is strict!"
"Also, bring over twenty sheep and seven cows from the Sacrificial Grounds. Everyone deserves a good meal."
"Hard labor like this can't be done without meat."
"Now then, next…"
Three straight hours of nonstop work dragged on until nearly noon before the stream of messengers with clay tablets finally began to thin out.
Siduri barely managed to catch her breath as she glanced down at the half-filled basket of remaining tablets, her temples throbbing faintly.
She'd assisted with tablet reports before, but never had she been solely responsible for managing all affairs.
It wasn't until she experienced it firsthand that she realized just how draining it was. And this was just one morning—she already felt mentally and physically worn out. Her vision swam with black spots, her ears ringing faintly.
Back when she watched Uruk operate in perfect order, everything had seemed so efficient and methodical.
Now that she sat in the seat of power herself, Siduri finally understood the kind of life the king had endured to maintain that harmony.
Even Gilgamesh, with his divine blood and divine body, must have been pushed to the brink—no wonder that even the mighty King of Heroes had succumbed to a mere plague.
Weighed down by conflicting emotions, the Head Priestess cast an anxious glance toward the tightly sealed palace gates, then picked up another clay tablet and resumed reading, following Gilgamesh's notes as she worked through the reports.
The king's sudden collapse had come without warning.
Caught completely unprepared, Siduri had no choice but to temporarily assume the mantle of royal authority, performing her duties under the pretense that King Gilgamesh was simply overworked and needed a few days of rest.
Still, some matters recorded on the tablets were beyond her expertise—or simply too difficult to decide on her own.
Now, three entire baskets of unresolved cases had piled up in the hall.
At this rate, if she delayed even three more days, unanswered issues would multiply, and soon Uruk itself could fall into disarray.
If a full-scale magical beast attack occurred during that chaos, the consequences would be devastating.
"Blood soaking the streets, corpses strewn everywhere. Beasts nesting in alleyways, raising their young. Human infants starving in their mothers' arms... no smoke, no firelight left in the city…"
She shuddered, recalling the tablets sent by sentries reporting the fall of cities like Babylon.
Frustrated, Siduri looked up at the steady drizzle falling from the sky, her expression growing darker.
They were supposed to return by afternoon—but with this bout of heavy rain, she had no idea if they'd make it back on time.
Just as she was wondering how she'd maintain order if no one showed up, six black silhouettes tore through the leaden storm clouds and plunged toward the royal palace, landing before the Divine Tower's grand hall.
Dragons—strange Dragonkind creatures!
Uruk soldiers guarding the royal court instantly went on alert, faces tightening as they rushed forward with spears and shields.
"Stand down! They're allies!"
"Samael, acting as the king's envoy, has conquered Kukulkan, one of the Three Goddesses!"
Siduri dashed out of the corridor, hurrying across the square to stop the soldiers treating the newcomers like enemies.
At the same time, the Head Priestess cleverly used the chance to spread word of Samael's astonishing achievement through the ranks—boosting morale and steadying the hearts of the wavering troops.
"It's Samael! We drank together once!"
"Samael's amazing! He even saved my life during the battle at the northern wall!"
"He conquered three goddesses? That's unreal!"
"If we count Ana and that Jaguar Warrior lady, we've got four goddesses protecting Uruk now!"
"There's no way we'll lose this war!"
A wave of astonished, fiery, and admiring voices rippled through the ranks as countless eyes turned toward the one leading this string of legendary feats. The murmurs buzzed with excitement.
Thanks to the presence of four goddesses, the tense and heavy atmosphere that had gripped the troops gradually began to ease into something lighter and more spirited.
Samael nodded patiently at the many familiar faces, then turned to Siduri with a small smile.
"Head Priestess, may the heavens bless Uruk. Everything went smoothly. Please take me to report in."
Siduri immediately understood what he was doing. She gave a slight nod, raised her hand in a calm beckoning gesture, and led the group inside the Divine Tower of the royal palace.
As soon as the doors closed, the emotional rollercoaster of the day caught up with her. The Head Priestess wavered and nearly collapsed.
Thankfully, Ana was quick to react, supporting Siduri to a seat on the nearby steps and offering her some warm water.
Siduri took the cup, pulled out a vial of magical stimulant from her robes, downed it in one go, and only after a long moment did the color finally return to her cheeks.
"How's King Gilgamesh?"
The great sage—usually the type to sit in a corner and quietly observe—was now filled with an uncharacteristic anxiety. He was the first to step forward and ask.
Having steadied herself, Siduri rose with Ana's help and led everyone deeper into the palace.
As they opened the door to the inner chamber, the sharp aroma of medicinal herbs rushed out to meet them. Layers of nested magical formations covered the floor, almost dizzying to behold.
At the center, on a raised bed, the King of Heroes lay as if asleep, one hand tightly clutching a clay tablet. His brow was still furrowed, as though his mind lingered on unfinished state affairs.
No signs of life remained. His soul was gone.
Any last hope that had lingered in their hearts was instantly extinguished.
"We've tried everything—even performed a secret Great Offering to the goddess of the underworld—but nothing has worked. We can't wake the king."
Leaning against the doorframe, Siduri's expression turned bitter. Even with the magical stimulant in her system, her face was pale with fatigue.
"How many people in Uruk have shown similar symptoms?"
"Including the king, seven. Their bodies are being strictly secured, just like the victims previously discovered in Kutha. The information has been fully sealed off."
Samael got the confirmation he needed and let out a faint sigh, some of the tension in his chest easing.
At least the situation hadn't spiraled out of control yet.
Based on what he'd experienced in the underworld—and the lingering trace of death energy clinging to Gilgamesh—Samael strongly suspected this was connected to Ereshkigal's excavation project.
Maybe his involvement in building the Spear Cage had freed up that burrow-crazed goddess to focus more on her... home invasion hobby.
With the barrier between the underworld and the surface growing weaker, death energy had likely begun to seep through—targeting those whose bodies or spirits were already weakened.
Gilgamesh, constantly overworked and under pressure, ended up as one of the first to fall. Especially considering that the massive tunnel Ereshkigal had dug might be directly under the Divine Tower.
So... is this kinda my fault?
The corners of the ancient serpent's mouth twitched as a bizarre thought crept into his head.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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