On a vast desolate plain, a golden light shone intensely before vanishing like a shooting star tearing through the heavens.
When the glow finally faded—
Only a man with blond hair and blood-red eyes remained standing there.
The wind blew gently through the dry grass as his white cloak (still from his Ruler form) swayed lightly.
Arthur silently observed his surroundings.
"Where exactly did I end up this time...?" he muttered.
Then he narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...This sense of déjà vu is really irritating."
He slowly raised his hand, allowing tiny, almost invisible golden particles to dance around his fingers.
His expression changed almost immediately.
"This artificial mana in the atmosphere..." Arthur said while sensing the air around him. "I'm in the Age of Gods?"
During the Age of Gods, the very laws of the world were different.
Back then, the planet still operated through Mystery instead of modern physics.
The air was saturated with True Ether, artificial mana in its purest form.
Not only did it exist in absurdly greater quantities than in modern times...
But its quality was incomparably superior as well.
"Who would've thought..." Arthur murmured with a small nostalgic smile. "That one day I would set foot here again."
His gaze slowly swept across the horizon.
"Judging from the landscape..." he concluded calmly. "I'm in Mesopotamia, or somewhere similar."
Arthur then began walking calmly, like someone with absolutely no sense of urgency.
Despite the unusual situation, he did not seem worried in the slightest.
In fact, he looked more curious than anything else.
"I'm almost certain CHALDEA wasn't the one who summoned me this time..." he analyzed out loud.
The sensation of the summoning was completely different from usual.
"Or perhaps it was, but something went wrong during the summoning..."
As he walked, Arthur suddenly stopped.
"...Hm?"
His gaze slowly shifted toward a nearby forest.
He had sensed a familiar yet strange presence.
Arthur's red eyes narrowed slightly.
Then a nostalgic glimmer crossed his gaze.
"...You're here too?" he murmured quietly.
---xXx---
Inside the nearby forest, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight cautiously walked behind an androgynous-looking young man.
He appeared to be around sixteen years old.
Long light-green hair shimmered softly beneath the sunlight, almost like illuminated strands of silk.
His delicate appearance and supernatural beauty made him seem as though he did not belong to that world.
Even so, the calm smile on his face conveyed an oddly soothing feeling.
Still, both Mash and Ritsuka were clearly confused.
After all, according to the information they possessed, Uruk was in the exact opposite direction from where they were heading.
Mash exchanged a silent glance with Ritsuka.
Ritsuka responded with a small nervous gesture.
The two were clearly considering asking about it.
However, before either of them could say anything, the young man immediately noticed their hesitation.
"You're worried about the direction?" he asked casually while continuing to walk.
His voice was extremely gentle.
But at the same time, it carried a playful tone that was difficult to describe.
"There's no need to worry." He smiled softly. "There's a river just ahead that flows directly into Uruk."
He then partially turned his face toward them.
"We can simply take a boat from the pier and head straight there."
Mash nodded politely.
"I see..."
But despite her response, she still looked suspicious, and so did Ritsuka.
After all, no matter how friendly that person seemed, the whole situation felt very strange.
At that moment, a cheerful voice suddenly emerged from the nearby forest.
"Really? That's wonderful news!"
The feminine voice carried a warm and carefree excitement.
"I had no idea there was a pier just ahead~"
In the next instant, two figures calmly emerged from between the trees.
Ritsuka immediately turned toward them.
And then blinked in surprise, because leading the two was an unbelievably beautiful woman.
No.
"Beautiful" didn't even seem sufficient to describe her.
She possessed the kind of appearance that naturally made everything around her lose importance, and even the caution Ritsuka felt seemed to vanish instantly the moment she saw that woman.
She wore an elegant white outfit adorned with bluish details while carrying a staff almost as tall as herself.
Long pale hair flowed softly down her back.
Her smile was gentle and warm.
Behind her walked a short girl wrapped in a large black cloak.
Only part of her face could be seen beneath the hood.
Merlin observed the group ahead with an amused glimmer in her eyes.
"Oh?" she said cheerfully. "What a wonderful coincidence~"
"...Who are you people?" Ritsuka asked.
Merlin placed a finger against her lips, smiling playfully.
"Hm~ That's a difficult question."
She seemed genuinely thoughtful.
"I'm simply a kind older sister taking care of an adorable little girl during her journey."
Mash fell silent.
Ritsuka blinked a few times.
"...That explained absolutely nothing."
"It did explain something," Merlin replied immediately. "It just didn't answer your question."
The black-cloaked girl behind her sighed tiredly, as if already used to this behavior.
Meanwhile, sitting atop the thick branch of a nearby tree, Arthur silently observed the five people below.
---xXx---
"Sorry for startling you~"
The pale-haired woman spoke with a warm smile as she took a small step forward.
Her tone was light and relaxed.
Like someone who genuinely did not seem worried about absolutely anything.
"But I assure you, I'm not a suspicious woman."
She theatrically placed one hand on her chest before continuing cheerfully:
"As you can see, the two of us are completely lost, and honestly, I was already beginning to accept the fact that we would probably end up becoming food for some gigantic beast from the Age of Gods."
Her smile widened further.
"So meeting kind people like you truly feels like fate~"
Behind her, Anna remained completely silent.
"You agree, right, Anna?" the woman asked brightly while turning toward her. "I told you following me was clearly the correct decision."
Anna merely snorted quietly and looked away.
Mash carefully observed the woman.
And the longer she looked, the stranger that feeling became.
She felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with her.
She was absolutely certain she had seen this person somewhere before.
But where?
While Mash desperately tried to pull that memory forward, the green-haired young man ahead of them smiled gently.
"You're lost?" he asked calmly. "In that case, would you like to join us?"
"Even if you hadn't invited us, we probably would've continued following you anyway." The woman immediately replied with an innocent smile. "We've been wandering through this forest for three days."
She said that as though being lost in the Age of Gods was merely a mildly amusing inconvenience.
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"May I know your names?"
Mash immediately straightened her posture.
"Ah! Of course!" she answered politely.
Then she quickly began introducing everyone.
"I'm Mash Kyrielight."
She pointed toward the red-haired girl beside her.
"This is my senpai, Ritsuka Fujimaru."
Ritsuka slightly raised her hand.
"Hi."
Mash then pointed toward the green-haired young man.
"And this is the famous Enkidu."
"...Enkidu?" the woman repeated slowly.
At that same instant, her expression changed slightly.
It wasn't fear, nor hostility.
It was more like someone who had just realized something inconvenient.
"Hm..." she murmured while resting the staff on her shoulder. "That's problematic."
Enkidu—or rather, the man using that appearance—maintained the same calm smile.
"Oh?" he asked gently. "And what exactly is the problem?"
The woman placed a finger against her lips thoughtfully.
"Hm~ How should I explain this..." she murmured distractedly. "This seriously makes me question my own memory."
Then she smiled once more.
"You see..." she casually began. "The Gilgamesh currently ruling Uruk should be the king who returned after searching for the Elixir of Immortality."
{"What?!"}
Romani's voice immediately exploded through CHALDEA's communicator.
The sudden outburst nearly made Ritsuka jump in surprise.
{"That makes no sense!"} Romani continued immediately.
"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked in confusion. "Why?"
Mash, on the other hand, widened her eyes slightly.
She understood instantly.
"Senpai..." Mash spoke slowly as her expression tensed. "According to the Epic of Gilgamesh..."
She looked directly at "Enkidu."
"Gilgamesh only searched for the Elixir of Immortality after Enkidu's death."
Silence fell over the group.
In the next instant, Ritsuka's vigilance immediately skyrocketed.
In truth, she had already been suspicious because of the strange direction they were taking.
But now—
"Mash, get away from him!" Ritsuka shouted immediately.
At the same time, she quickly stepped several paces away from "Enkidu."
"Hehehehehehehehehe!"
The fake Enkidu immediately burst into laughter.
He did not seem irritated or embarrassed—in fact, he appeared genuinely amused.
"So I've already been exposed?" he said excitedly.
He placed one hand against his forehead and dramatically brushed back his hair.
"But then again..." he continued smiling. "This kind of improvised acting really did have several flaws."
His expression slowly changed afterward. The smile remained, but now it looked far more twisted.
"Greetings, incompetent fools of Chaldea."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
"What a shame..." Kingu said while observing Ritsuka. "I was so close to witnessing something interesting."
His smile widened further.
"You're humanity's final hope, aren't you?"
His voice carried pure disdain.
"Even assuming all humans are failures..." he continued. "You might be the greatest failure among them."
Mash immediately positioned herself in front of Ritsuka.
"So bringing us here was a trap?" she asked angrily. "Are you really Enkidu?!"
In her heart, Enkidu definitely should not act like that.
Kingu theatrically spread his arms.
"Hahaha! Isn't it obvious?"
He placed a hand against his chest.
"If I possess Enkidu's body, abilities, and voice..." he declared with a smile. "Then I am Enkidu."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"But honestly..." he continued. "Shouldn't I be the one who's confused here?"
His eyes stared directly at Ritsuka.
"Why did you simply assume Enkidu would be humanity's ally?"
"As a weapon created by the gods..." Kingu declared. "Wouldn't it be natural for me to remain loyal to them?"
{"That's enough!"}
Romani immediately interrupted through the communicator.
His voice was now serious—very serious.
{"His magical energy is extremely close to the level of the Demon God Pillars!"} Romani quickly warned. {"We have no choice but to fight now!"}
Kingu smiled calmly.
"You're right."
He slowly raised his hand.
"There is no option besides death."
Golden chains began appearing around him.
"Allow me to end your journey right here."
Despite his casual tone, Kingu was extremely confident.
Because in his eyes, the five people before him posed absolutely no threat whatsoever.
Mash gritted her teeth as she raised her shield.
She understood perfectly that she had no real chance against that enemy.
"Exactly." Kingu commented after noticing her tension. "You stand absolutely no chance of defeating me."
Mash slightly lowered her body, preparing to charge forward at any moment.
At that moment, Merlin suddenly spoke:
"Hm... although I honestly didn't understand half of this conversation about Enkidu..."
She looked completely calm.
As though she were simply watching an interesting play.
"...It seems unlikely that Mash and Ritsuka can handle this on their own."
Then she slightly turned her smiling face.
"Anna~"
Anna let out a small sigh.
"Understood," she answered calmly. "Even if it isn't part of the contract... I'll protect them."
In the next instant, she charged forward.
WHOOSH!
Her small figure shot through the forest at absurd speed.
Mash immediately rushed forward right behind her.
The battle began instantly.
CLANG! BOOM! CRASH!!
Golden chains exploded against Mash's shield while Anna skillfully dodged through the attacks.
However, the difference in power was obvious.
Kingu was on an entirely different level.
The outcome of that battle had practically already been decided the moment it began.
Even so, Merlin showed absolutely no tension.
No concern whatsoever appeared on her face.
She simply watched everything with a small calm smile.
Then she slowly raised her gaze upward.
Directly toward the tree branch where Arthur silently observed everything.
"Would you mind helping us..." Merlin asked softly.
Her smile widened slightly.
"...mister spectator?"
---
(End of Chapter)