The morning after the operation to rescue Nippur, Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others arrived at the Divine Tower early to report the situation to Gilgamesh.
The Northern Goddess's True Name was Gorgon, a goddess who wielded the authority of "Potnia Theron (Mother of All Beasts)." Her goal was to take revenge on the humans of this era.
"Thanks to Shirou-san, we managed to evacuate Nippur safely... but what he did was far too reckless. Hmph. I'll have to give him another thorough scolding when we get back tonight."
Ritsuka Fujimaru crossed her arms and spoke indignantly.
Merlin gave a wry smile. "Now that the report is finished, let's sort through what we know. Gorgon is a monster from the Age of Myths who slaughtered heroes. Whether the Holy Grail of the King of Magecraft brought her here or some other force was responsible, we don't know. In any case, the Holy Grail of the King of Magecraft allowed her to regain her former appearance and majesty."
"Who are the so-called Gorgon sisters?"
Roman explained, "They're three sisters from the Age of Myths. The eldest was Stheno, the second was Euryale, and the youngest was Medusa. They were originally goddesses of the frontier, but Medusa, the youngest, angered Athena, the great goddess of Olympus."
"Medusa was transformed into a monster, and her two older sisters, who pitied her, moved with her to the isolated 'Shapeless Island.' However, humans incited by Athena regarded all three sisters as monsters and came in droves to destroy them."
"After repelling countless heroes, Medusa eventually became a true monster and even absorbed her two beloved older sisters into her own body. That was how the 'Gorgon Monster' came into being."
"The three sisters were originally relatively weak Mother Goddesses, but after their divine essences fused into a single being, they gained tremendous primal power."
"...You mean Stheno and Euryale?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru blinked.
She had encountered the eldest and second sisters during her travels, but she had never met the more famous youngest sister, Medusa.
Mash nodded. "Yes. Their younger sister is called 'Medusa, the woman who dominates.' Although she was a goddess who repelled countless heroes, it's said that relentless persecution and prejudice drove her mad. She absorbed her two beloved older sisters into her body and transformed into a gigantic monster..."
Ana remained silent.
Gilgamesh glanced at the hooded girl before speaking.
"Hmph. To think the exiled goddess would return as a goddess of vengeance. I would like to tell her that if she is so eager to destroy something, she should go destroy the Greek World instead, but I suppose she has her own difficulties."
"What matters is how we respond from this point onward. We managed to repel her assault this time thanks to Shirou's valiant efforts, but she certainly will not let the matter rest. She will return."
"Before that happens, we must do everything possible to improve our chances of victory."
Merlin raised an eyebrow and smiled. "My King, judging by your expression, you already have a plan in mind, don't you?"
Gilgamesh nodded and began his brief explanation.
Gorgon, the Mother Goddess of Beasts.
Although she was not the true Goddess Tiamat, she was still extraordinarily powerful.
She was likely even stronger than Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven.
With her power, a single glance would be enough to destroy the walls of the Magical Beast Front. So why had she not done so?
Why had she only sent her children to attack humans while steadily building up the strength of her Magical Beast army?
Gilgamesh had not understood before, but now he knew the answer.
There was a threat even greater than humanity.
The Goddess of the Dense Forest. A Main God... no, a God King class being, Quetzalcoatl. She was likely the strongest individual currently present in Mesopotamia.
Gorgon was not the true Goddess Tiamat. If she wished to oppose the Sun Goddess, she had no choice but to continue accumulating power.
"Now that we understand that, what comes next is simple... Oh, Fujimaru has figured it out."
"That's right! We will use our enemies!"
"We may be unable to communicate with Gorgon, but the other goddesses are a different matter... In that case, why not win them over to our side?"
"Are goddesses really that easy to win over?" Mash asked.
"No. Goddesses are creatures of unparalleled self-centeredness. Once they decide upon a course of action, they will never change their minds. That is simply their nature."
"I am sure you have all experienced that firsthand over the past few days."
"Yeah, that's true..."
The girls nodded.
The corners of Gilgamesh's mouth curled upward as he declared confidently, "They may all be headstrong women who refuse to listen to reason, but this time, we possess the 'Special Attack Mystic Code for Goddesses.'"
"What's that?" Ritsuka asked curiously.
Was it something like the Golden Apple from the Age of Myths?
"Do we not have a man here who returned alive from the Underworld and captured the hearts of two Venusian Divinities at the same time?"
"Ah... Shirou-san!"
"Exactly! The man whose luck with women rivals this King's 'Golden Rule'!"
Gilgamesh slammed his hand against the armrest of his throne.
"All we need to do is send Shirou to win over the goddesses... Hmm? Speaking of which, where is Shirou?"
The King of Heroes scanned the Great Hall of the Divine Tower twice, but the red haired youth was nowhere to be seen, even though he would never normally miss a meeting like this.
Gilgamesh had felt that something was off all morning. Now he realized it was because a certain sharp tongued teenager had not been there to mock him.
Ritsuka Fujimaru said, "I saw Shirou-san leave the house. I thought he had come here early to see you, King Gilgamesh."
"Nonsense! I have not seen him either. Who was the last person to speak with Shirou?"
"I think... that was probably me?"
Mash timidly raised her hand.
"Oh, right. Come to think of it..."
Ritsuka Fujimaru tapped her chin. "When I came downstairs this morning, I saw Shirou-san and Mash acting suspiciously together in the kitchen. It looked like they were doing something in secret."
"The moment Mash saw me coming, she panicked and turned bright red."
Mash immediately protested, "W-Wait, Master!? Could you please not phrase it in a way that invites misunderstandings?"
"Nothing happened between Shirou-san and me. I was only asking him how to make a cake."
"The butter cake last night was so delicious that I wanted him to teach me. Once we return, I'd like to make one for everyone at Chaldea as thanks for always taking such good care of me."
"Mash...!"
Dr. Roman wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, deeply moved, while drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Ritsuka said, "You scared me half to death! I thought I'd been NTR'd without even realizing it!"
"Your wording is getting more outrageous by the second!!"
Ritsuka wrapped her arms around her junior and whined playfully, "But when people think of Mash, the first thing that comes to mind is N·T·R·~ I'm sorry. Please forgive me~~~"
Mash's mouth twitched. "What is with that utterly infuriating stereotype...? Senpai, please come to my room after the meeting and explain yourself properly."
"Gulp... Understood."
Gilgamesh interrupted the girls' antics. "Mash, did Shirou say anything this morning?"
Mash tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Shirou-san said that yesterday's battle with the goddess Gorgon had left him with a profound sense of helplessness..."
"'I'm still too fragile and powerless. At this rate, I won't be able to protect anything.' Ah, I imagined that part myself, because that was exactly the expression Shirou-san had at the time."
"In any case, Shirou-san told me that he had decided to undergo special training."
"Special training?"
Everyone stared in disbelief. Only Ritsuka nodded knowingly.
"I see. It's the special training arc found in shonen manga. Just as expected of Shirou-san, the walking protagonist. I should learn from his example."
"Since you're so eager, why don't you join us for Leonidas-san's special training this afternoon, Senpai?" Mash asked with a bright smile.
"S-Spare me! I absolutely refuse to undergo Spartan training!!"
Siduri joined the conversation. "Your Majesty, I actually received a request from Shirou-sama this morning. He asked for a week of leave..."
"Um, I approved it on your behalf."
"What?! Why did you not inform this King of something so important in advance? Who gave you permission to grant him leave?!"
Gilgamesh clutched his chest, feeling as though the person he trusted most had stabbed him in the back.
Siduri touched her cheek, her expression sympathetic. "Shirou-sama has not taken a single day off in the six months since he arrived in Uruk."
"Although Your Majesty may have extraordinary expectations of him, please do not forget that Shirou-san is still only sixteen years old."
"...Hmph."
The King of Heroes was left speechless.
Ana, who had remained silent until then, asked, "Did Shirou mention where he was going to train?"
Mash and Siduri both shook their heads. Neither of them had heard anything about his destination.
"Shirou-san won't be in Uruk for the next week, and we're already pressed for time..."
"In that case, we can't expect Shirou-san to win over the Goddesses."
"Senpai, you look rather pleased."
"D-Do I?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru was secretly delighted. After all, she knew perfectly well that an ordinary girl like her could never compete with the Goddesses.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Without warning, Gilgamesh burst into laughter upon his throne.
"Why is the King laughing?"
Everyone exchanged bewildered looks. The King of Heroes laughed for quite some time before finally regaining his composure.
Stroking his chin with a pleased expression, he said, "This King believes he knows where Shirou is."
...
...
Somewhere beneath Mesopotamia.
Like an insect swarm from a science fiction film, living tissue spread across the ground like a fungal carpet, emitting a dim purple glow in the darkness.
As far as the eye could see, the walls of the underground cavern were formed from flesh and membrane. Even the pulsing blood vessels were clearly visible.
This was the stronghold of the hundreds of thousands of Magical Beasts currently ravaging the Sumerian world. It could also be called the Blood Fort of their mother, the goddess Gorgon.
Unlike a traditional temple built for worship, however, the temple of the Mother Goddess of Demonic Beasts was actually a factory for producing biological weapons.
All of Gorgon's children were created from a single womb, but there was a limit to how quickly it could produce them.
The humans on the surface multiplied endlessly like vermin. There were simply far too many of them.
To exterminate all of humanity, they needed to produce more Magical Beasts of an even greater variety. That, in turn, required a larger "womb."
There was only one thing in this world larger than the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, whose body rivaled a small mountain. The land itself.
This temple had been created by transforming the land near the Leylines. Each day, it could produce Magical Beasts according to the number of humans captured.
One human body could produce roughly three Uridimmu, while creating a single Ugallu required three bodies.
They might nominally be Tiamat's children, but in the end, they were nothing more than weapons of slaughter created from detestable humans.
They were not even an army. They were merely tools meant to usher in the birth of the next generation, the new humanity.
An angry exchange echoed from the depths of the Blood Fort.
"Kingu! Why did you interfere with me back then?"
The goddess Gorgon gritted her teeth as she shouted at the "child" below her.
She called Enkidu "Kingu," the name of the god who had led the Eleven Offspring of Tiamat in the creation myth.
Gorgon lashed out with her serpentine tail. Her Monstrous Strength, which surpassed even that of the Dragonkind, effortlessly shattered the surrounding stone walls.
"If you hadn't interfered, I would have killed that human by now!"
As if that could ever have happened...
The young man called Kingu sneered inwardly.
If I hadn't interfered back then...
Hmph. You would have been the one to die, "Mother."
Weren't you the one who was so terrified of Shirou Amamiya that you fled with your tail between your legs?
You were meek and submissive in front of that man, but the moment you came home, you started taking your anger out on your child?
As a being created by nature, the youth with green hair possessed the highest level of perception, Presence Detection A+. He had also sensed the terrifying power dwelling within the "Blades of Chaos."
A dual special attack against both "Demonic" and "Divinity."
It also seemed to possess some strange advantage against his mother because of her Greek origins.
That weapon was undoubtedly the goddess Gorgon's greatest natural enemy.
Even a single strike would likely kill Gorgon, the Great Magical Beast who possessed the Holy Grail.
If that happened, every plan Kingu had worked so carefully to arrange would be ruined.
Kingu forced a smile. "Mother, you were somewhat carried away at the time."
"What did you say?"
Gorgon's eyes widened.
This was the first time her child had ever disagreed with her.
Until now, Kingu had always been obedient and compliant, carrying out her every command. Yet today, he had broken from his usual behavior and criticized her for acting too hastily.
Gorgon flew into a rage and bared her sharp, venomous fangs.
"Kingu... Do you think that because I humiliated myself in front of those humans, even you can look down on your mother now?"
"That is absolutely not what I meant, Mother."
The young man with green hair bowed his head deeply.
He would have preferred to flatter Gorgon and act submissive as usual, but this time, he could not.
No matter what it took, he had to make this clueless woman understand how dangerous Shirou Amamiya was.
"Shirou Amamiya... That human's body is extremely fragile. He could never oppose you directly, Mother. However, the weapon in his hands is unusual. You must have sensed it as well, Mother. So, if possible, I would like you to leave him to me. Rest assured. I will bring his head back to you."
"That human is my prey! You are not permitted to interfere!"
"No, Mother. Your destiny is to exact vengeance, exterminate humanity, and rule this era."
Kingu continued in a calm, measured tone. "Compared to that great mission, the life of a single human is insignificant, is it not? Besides, our true obstacle is not humanity, but the other goddesses. Once Uruk falls, the alliance will be dissolved. The second generation was created precisely to prepare for the battles that will follow its dissolution. Another one hundred thousand children are waiting to be born here, and they all require your care, Mother. Please do not devote all your attention to a single human."
"..."
Gorgon's anger subsided slightly.
Kingu was right. She should not be fixating on one individual human.
Compared to the miserable fate she had suffered in her previous life, the humiliation she had endured in Nippur was insignificant.
No. It was just the opposite.
Her hatred of humanity was the very source of her current power.
Shirou Amamiya's appearance had forced her to remember being slain by a hero, causing the flames of hatred in her heart to burn even more fiercely.
"Mother, you are no longer a Greek goddess. You are now a god of this Mesopotamian world, the incarnation of Goddess Tiamat."
Seeing Gorgon's anger begin to fade, the young man with green hair continued speaking in a way that appealed to her pride.
"Please keep the greater situation in mind. Leave the remaining trivial matters to me."
"Very well... I will leave command of the Magical Beasts to you, Kingu. I hope you live up to your words. Do not disappoint me."
After leaving those words behind, the goddess Gorgon slithered away on her serpentine tail and disappeared into the depths of the dark cavern.
As Kingu felt the rumbling beneath the earth gradually fade, the false smile vanished from his face.
"Nothing but a monster that obtained a fragment of my mother's authority through the Holy Grail..."
The handsome young man spoke through gritted teeth.
To him, the goddess Gorgon was merely a mother he pretended to acknowledge.
Kingu's true mother, the mother who had given him his soul, was another deity entirely.
She was more compassionate, gentle, noble, and magnificent than anyone else, yet her fate had been more tragic than anyone's.
Tiamat, the goddess of creation.
She was the one who had descended into the dark, freezing Underworld, breathed life into Enkidu's corpse, and given him the name "Kingu."
"I am nothing like that failure, the god Kingu, who fled in fear of the god Marduk and abandoned his mother."
The young man's expression remained unwavering.
For his mother's sake, Kingu was willing to sacrifice everything he possessed, including the life she had given him.
"But now that I think about it..."
Kingu furrowed his brow. "I thought I was imagining it, but apparently I wasn't... That human, Shirou Amamiya, seems to carry my mother's scent... the lingering fragrance of Goddess Tiamat!?"
Kingu had already caught a trace of it during the battle in the cedar forest.
At the time, however, it had been so faint that he had paid it no mind.
Yet yesterday in Nippur, the scent of Tiamat clinging to Shirou Amamiya had seemed even stronger.
What in the world was going on?
The mere thought that the detestable human carried his mother's scent made Kingu restless.
For some reason, his chest felt tight, and even breathing became difficult.
The young man's expression twisted bitterly as he bit his lip.
"Shirou Amamiya! You bastard, what exactly did you do to my precious mother...?"
...
Deep within the dense forest south of Uruk stood Eridu, a city that had existed since the Age of Myths.
A massive golden axe was embedded in the overgrown jungle like a bridge connecting heaven and earth.
Its handle alone measured more than two hundred meters. It was the very axe Marduk had used in the creation myth to sever Goddess Tiamat's neck.
Beside Marduk's Axe stood an imposing structure that looked entirely out of place in Mesopotamia.
The Sun Temple of Quetzalcoatl.
By completing the construction of this temple, the Sun Goddess had regained the full extent of her authority.
She now possessed power approaching what she had wielded during the Age of Gods, at the height of her strength. As a result, the other members of the "Three Goddess Alliance" regarded her as a grave threat.
If the Sun Goddess, a God King, ever became serious, neither the entire Sumerian civilization nor the hundreds of thousands of Magical Beasts in the north would pose any challenge to her.
Quetzalcoatl, the Goddess of the Jungle, had no interest in such matters.
Although she had covered Ur and Eridu in dense vegetation, she had never harmed their inhabitants for amusement. From beginning to end, she had remained true to her creed as a goddess.
"Hmm~ I'll give it my all again today and defeat one hundred people in combat~!"
Quetzalcoatl stood atop the temple and stretched. Her voluptuous, healthy, and flawless body gleamed beneath the sunlight.
"It's already noon. Why hasn't Jaguar Warrior brought me today's hundred living sacrifices? She isn't slacking off again, is she?"
"Those hundred sacrifices won't be coming today. No, they'll never be coming again."
A boy's voice echoed through the empty Sun Temple.
Quetzalcoatl looked toward the source in confusion and saw the boy with red hair whom she had met once before.
"Wow, Shirou-kun~ Hi~ Did you come to play with your big sister? I'm so happy! More importantly... Wow, you're pretty capable, aren't you? Just as expected from a boy I've taken a liking to♡"
Quetzalcoatl licked her lips as her gaze settled on the figure tucked beneath Shirou's arm.
Jaguar Warrior, the guardian of the dense forest and Ur, was held under the boy's arm. She had already lost consciousness and hung there limply.
Quetzalcoatl narrowed her eyes in delight. "She is still a Divine Spirit Servant, after all. There may be something wrong with her head, but her strength is beyond question... To think you defeated Jaguar Warrior without suffering a single scratch. Big sis will have to look at you in a whole new light. Hmm, my heart is starting to race~"
"..."
Shirou carefully laid Fuji-nee on the ground, then turned toward the Sun Goddess.
"So, what did you come to see your big sister for today?"
When Quetzalcoatl asked, Shirou answered with a perfectly serious expression.
"From now on, I'll take on all one hundred of your daily matches by myself."
"I see. So you intend to offer yourself to me as a sacrifice~ That's fine with me. In fact, it's exactly what I want... but are you sure about this? Let me warn you now. I won't go easy on you just because you're cute, Shirou-kun!"
"I don't care... Come at me with everything you have, Quetzalcoatl."
Shirou made a provocative gesture.
"..."
The Sun Goddess froze for a moment. Then her face twisted into a crazed grin that completely ruined her beauty.
"This is all your fault, Shirou-kun. You awakened my dormant wild side~ Very well, just as you wish. Prepare yourself~♡ I'll torment you and toy with you from head to toe, just like an innocent girl crushing an ant beneath her fingertip, until you're completely broken."
The goddess's voice carried an unparalleled mixture of divine majesty and madness, enough to make every living creature on earth tremble.
Shirou, however, showed no trace of fear. Instead, he gave her a fearless smile.
"Then you'd better be careful, Goddess-sama. South American ants must have a very painful sting."
And so, Shirou Amamiya's physical training officially began.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***