Night fell swiftly.
As the sun set and darkness swallowed the land, even the demonic beasts seemed to grow weary. Their assaults on Uruk lessened in both frequency and ferocity, no longer launching the relentless daytime attacks. The roar of beasts and the thunder of their charging hordes diminished considerably.
Even so, waves of demonic beasts continued to attack the demonic beast frontlines intermittently, forcing the soldiers there to remain on high alert, fending off attacks even after nightfall.
Judging from the soldiers' relatively spirited state, it seemed a rotation system was in place, allowing shifts between active duty and rest.
This battlefield had no pause—offering a glimpse into just how harsh the circumstances were for humanity in this Singularity.
If this were not the Age of Gods but instead the modern or even contemporary era, the results might have been entirely different.
"That front line isn't something we need to worry about for the moment. Several Servants skilled in military strategy are stationed there. One of them is even a tactical genius who's been constantly preparing for a counterattack, eyeing the domain of the Goddess of Beasts with keen intent. The demonic beasts won't be breaking through her formation so easily."
So Merlin explained on the road, easing some of Rozen and the others' worries about the state of the battlefield.
But no matter how impressive his words were, the truth remained: the current situation was not favorable for humanity.
"Including myself, King Gilgamesh summoned a total of seven Servants—the standard classes."
"Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Seven Servants responded to King Gilgamesh's summoning and arrived in this era."
"As the Caster, I was appointed court Magus and given a special assignment outside the battlefield. The remaining six were all sent to the front lines under the command of Archer, who is skilled in warfare. For the past six months, they've been locked in battle against the demonic beasts."
"But during those six months, not only have more than seventy percent of Uruk's soldiers perished—two of the Servants have also fallen."
"Berserker was lost three months ago."
"Assassin was killed a month ago by the fake Enkidu—Kingu—who saw him as a threat and personally eliminated him on the battlefield."
"As of now, including myself, only five Servants remain in Uruk. If King Gilgamesh hadn't established the demonic beast front before the enemy reached Uruk, we would never have survived this long."
That was the intelligence Merlin provided.
According to him, before initiating the Heroic Spirit Summoning, even before knowing the enemy was a group of goddesses, Gilgamesh had already seen the future.
Thus, when the cities in northern Mesopotamia were attacked by demonic beasts and various abnormalities broke out, Gilgamesh ordered the dismantling of the city of Babylon and constructed the demonic beast front. He resolved to summon seven Servants through Heroic Spirit Summoning, enabling Uruk to withstand the beast horde for half a year.
Afterward, Gilgamesh carried out sweeping reforms—transforming the city of Uruk into a formidable fortress. Within its walls, crops were cultivated, soldiers trained, buildings constructed. As emergency preparations, even a currency system was introduced, all to continue the battle against these unknown enemies.
Even if he could no longer set foot on the frontlines, with his mana depleted from summoning seven Servants and still not recovered, he continued to issue commands from behind the scenes, managing all affairs.
It could be said: without this wise king's brilliance and might, this era would have long since fallen.
"Additionally, while the south hasn't suffered as aggressive an invasion as the north, the so-called Goddess of the Forest has used her divine authority to completely turn that region into dense, impassable jungle. The mana concentration there surpasses even that of this late Age of Gods. That tropical zone has cut off Uruk's retreat entirely. All scouting teams sent into that area have vanished without a trace—it has become a complete dead zone."
So Merlin described their present predicament.
"As for the last member of the Three Goddess Alliance—the disgraceful goddess who's currently being carried by Mash while repeatedly banging her head against a tree—she comes and goes from Uruk at will. Sometimes she bombards the land without mercy, other times she storms into Gilgamesh's chambers causing chaos. She's like a natural disaster—an unpredictable storm—giving everyone a headache."
These overlapping dilemmas led the people of Uruk to believe that the city could only hold out for perhaps one more month.
In other words—
"The coming month will be the decisive one."
So Merlin informed Rozen.
"Chaldea's arrival at this critical moment is a great help. Though, I wonder—did the king foresee even this?"
If Gilgamesh had foreseen this, then his attitude was... quite curious.
After all, according to Merlin, he had come here to carry out another mission entirely. Even meeting Anna had been a coincidence. When he sensed Rozen's arrival, he immediately came—but he'd received no orders from Uruk to assist Chaldea.
And Kingu—an imposter of Enkidu—had not come to escort Rozen and the others to Uruk on the high priestess' orders, as he claimed, but rather to eliminate them.
In that case, it meant Gilgamesh had chosen to ignore Rozen's arrival entirely. His cold detachment puzzled even Merlin.
More than that, Merlin added:
"That king seems to be aware of the false Enkidu situation. The one calling himself Kingu already destroyed several cities under that name and even killed Assassin on the battlefield. Surely the king has received reports on all of this. Yet he still chooses to look the other way. I really don't know what he's thinking."
Merlin had complained as such.
Clearly, Gilgamesh's response left even him baffled.
By all logic, Enkidu had been Gilgamesh's only true friend—his one and only emotional attachment. It was Enkidu's death that transformed him from a tyrant into a wise king.
Now, someone was committing atrocities in Enkidu's name, threatening Mesopotamia and Uruk—yet Gilgamesh remained indifferent. It was beyond puzzling.
Upon hearing all this, Rozen had a growing feeling.
"Perhaps that king is actually the key to understanding everything that's going on."
Which made Rozen feel it was all the more necessary to meet Gilgamesh in person.
What he didn't yet know... was that when that meeting finally happened, Gilgamesh's reaction would be even more enigmatic.
And the root of that reaction—lay in Altera.