At the same time.
Outside the Northern Wall of Uruk, in the city of Nippur, which had failed to be protected and was incorporated into the Demon Beast Front Line.
At the highest point in the city, Kingû lay sprawled on the ground.
Pain.
It was the only real sensation he felt at this moment.
Since last night at the Persian Gulf, after his eyes were briefly met by the Mystic Eyes of that golden-haired man, an unrelenting pain originating from his soul had continuously flooded Kingû's heart and body.
It felt like being swarmed and gnawed at by countless ants.
It felt like being sliced apart piece by piece with a sharp knife.
Clutching his chest tightly, Kingû dripped cold sweat the size of corn kernels from his forehead, gasping incessantly.
"Haa… haa… haa… Damn it…"
As the only new human of the future, Kingû had never imagined he'd fall into such an agonizing state.
He was a child born of Goddess Tiamat, an existence far superior to all humans. He was supposed to be the most perfect individual—even King Gilgamesh shouldn't have been able to match him!
Kingû had always believed that.
Yet, with just a single glance, he was reduced to this. Initially, he was only routinely checking the situation there. Destroying Naoki was just a side plan, a whim…
[Destruction, not permitted]
*SRAAK—!*
Like an old television experiencing interference, a flash of static suddenly crossed Kingû's mind. Naoki's face, with his Mystic Eyes open, flickered briefly amidst the snowy image!
It came again.
*BAM!*
Overcome with rage, Kingû swung his hand, creating a massive crack in the ground!
"Damn it, why does this keep happening? Why does that man…"
Naoki's face intermittently appeared in Kingû's mind.
Since realizing his soul was being eroded by Naoki, this situation had plagued Kingû, like an inescapable nightmare, constantly tormenting and even eroding his soul.
What exactly had that man done to him?
Besides eroding his soul, what else had that man done to him!
*BAM!*
He slammed both fists down hard, shattering the ground beneath him!
Kneeling in the crater, Kingû endured the small but profound pain relentlessly assaulting the depths of his soul. Gritting his teeth, his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
He had to find out.
He had to kill that man.
[Kill, not permitted]
The eroded part of his soul seemed to scream as such.
"Annoying!"
*CRASH!*
In his frustration, Kingû obliterated much of the surrounding buildings with a single strike! Then, as if trying to shake Naoki's image from his mind, he violently shook his head! But no matter how hard he tried, the figure he loathed and despised clung stubbornly to his thoughts!
Damn it!
"Kill him… I'll definitely kill him…"
Kingû staggered to his feet from the crater. His face was deathly pale, and he clutched his chest tightly.
"No need to waste more time with the Northern Wall now. It's time to officially let the Demon Beasts launch their assault… Conquer Uruk, kill Gilgamesh and that man. That's enough!"
The Demon Beast Front Line had been ongoing for half a year up to this point.
What the people of Uruk considered a miraculous achievement was, in Kingû's eyes, merely an appetizer.
Though the Demon Beasts had been relentlessly attacking the Northern Wall until now, their goal wasn't to destroy Uruk but to gather resources called Humans.
Through the first generation of Demon Beasts that had been born, they attacked the Northern Wall, targeted humans, took their corpses, and used them to create a stronger second generation of Demon Beasts. These second-generation Demon Beasts would then be used to break the Northern Wall and annihilate Uruk.
Thus, in reality, the Magical Beast Goddess, like the Forest Goddess and the Underworld Goddess, had never truly launched a large-scale invasion against Uruk.
According to the original plan, Kingû intended to gather more corpses to create enough second-generation Demon Beasts before destroying Uruk. But the pain from his soul forced him to advance this plan.
Even for a single second, he didn't want to endure this pain any longer—not just the physical pain but the mental anguish as well.
[Submit to that man]
Faintly, even Kingû himself couldn't believe he could have such an absurd thought!
Flying into the air while staring at Uruk from afar, Kingû clenched his fists tightly.
"Enjoy your final peace, Uruk."
"When the number of second-generation Demon Beasts is sufficient, that's when you'll be destroyed."
Before that…
Gazing at the distant lamplight, Kingû, still tormented by pain, found the light glaringly unbearable.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Night.
Demon Beast Front Line, Northern Wall.
Atop the wall.
Lying on the edge while feeling the cool night breeze, Merlin squinted slightly, as if looking into the distance or perhaps lightly dozing off.
"So, you're here."
Carrying her staff, Morgan approached Merlin's side. Also stationed at the Northern Wall, she leaned against him: "Are you peeping somewhere again with your Clairvoyance? You voyeur."
"I'm peeping at Uruk, you know." Merlin laughed. "Since we're all away from home, Rei seems to be preparing for a 'decisive battle' with Naoki until dawn. I wanted to watch a bit."
"Your sense of humor is truly awful."
"Ehm…~~~"
Merlin snorted proudly, then spread his arms: "Well, that was my original plan, but tonight it seems those two aren't in the mood to 'battle.' Unlike usual, they're lying in bed like a lovesick couple, so I peeked for a bit and didn't continue."
"In my opinion, your previous habits were the strange ones."
Morgan looked up at the sky: "So, what did you actually see? What's going to happen next on this land?"
Merlin pointed in a certain direction.
"Nippur?" Morgan recalled the situation there. "I remember that was the city where the residents couldn't be fully evacuated when the Demon Beast Front Line began. Though we tried to rescue people little by little under the cover of night afterward, it seems some were still left behind."
"Those left behind are all dead."
Merlin said emotionlessly: "The remaining people have become food for the Demon Beasts and have been used for other purposes… Get ready, Morgan. After this, it won't be just small skirmishes anymore~~~"