Some Time Later.
Gilgamesh quickly returned to his house while carrying Valerie and Arthur on two beds made of shadows and had stored Caliburn in the [Gate of Babylon] to return to Arthur later.
But first, he tracked it and stored a copy of it in the [Unlimited Weapons Works] for when he needed to use it, and also because he didn't have it.
Gilgamesh quickly arrived home and violently opened the door, drawing everyone's attention.
Everyone widened their eyes upon seeing Gilgamesh carrying Arthur and Valerie.
"Onii-sama!" shouted Le Fay as she ran toward her brother, her eyes widening upon seeing him unconscious.
"Enkidu, prepare two beds now," said Gilgamesh to Enkidu, who nodded.
Gilgamesh, along with everyone, quickly went to a room, and Gilgamesh placed each of them on one of the beds.
"What happened?" asked Enkidu, speaking for everyone who was curious.
"We were attacked by Walburga," said Gilgamesh, causing everyone to widen their eyes in surprise.
"Explain," said Arturia seriously.
Gilgamesh sighed before beginning to tell everyone about his and Valerie's encounter with Walburga and Arthur, as well as the battles, the Longinus that entered Valerie, and the leader who attacked.
Everyone was very surprised by this.
"How is Valerie?" asked Gilgamesh.
"She's fine, a good night's sleep will be enough," said Sebas seriously.
Gilgamesh sighed before turning his gaze to Arthur.
"Very well, I'll treat Arthur now," said Gilgamesh, causing everyone to widen their eyes.
"Why, Gilgamesh-sama?" asked Le Fay, worried about her brother.
"It seems the spell that man placed on Arthur also had a self-destruct effect," said Gilgamesh, making everyone widen their eyes.
"Self-destruct?" said Le Fay, frightened.
"It seems the man placed this effect to kill Arthur if he betrayed him," said Gilgamesh, causing everyone to widen their eyes.
"Can you do something?" asked Le Fay with hope.
"Don't worry," said Gilgamesh, extending his hand toward Arthur.
Dozens of magic circles appeared around Arthur's body, one of them with greater power in Gilgamesh's hand, and tens of thousands of extremely complex formulas and equations emerged from the magic circles, covering Arthur in a green aura.
Le Fay widened her eyes upon seeing so many magic circles with such complex equations and formulas, far more complex than any forbidden magic she had ever seen.
Le Fay couldn't help but feel admiration for Gilgamesh's talent in manipulating so many formulas at once.
Gilgamesh was known in the magical world as the Golden Mage, a prodigious and genius mage who mastered the most difficult magics and was capable of solving the most diverse formulas on his own.
A mage who mastered such a vast array of spells from the most varied types, from Norse to Hindu magics, dominating so many different magics that he was widely known as one of the most skilled mages in existence.
Arthur began to writhe on the ground, and a kind of gaseous black aura enveloped his body.
"… That must be it, the thing inside Onii-sama is being dissolved."
"It seems so."
Tiamat murmured, while Le Fay clasped her hands.
"Gilgamesh-sama… we did it. We managed to save Onii-sama. Thank you, Gilgamesh-sama. If it weren't for your ingenuity, I might not have reached a conclusion on my own… and thanks to your friends, I was also able to prevent Onii-sama from hurting others."
Le Fay couldn't hide her smile.
Gilgamesh smiled too.
She saw Arthur collapse on the ground, groaning as he looked around. Seeing his normal eyes once again, Le Fay was moved, approaching the young man more and more. Her soft voice called out,
"Onii-sama…?" Arthur's eyes immediately turned to hers.
"Le Fay… what's happening? All I remember is… that man, him putting something in me… and it's foggy. I feel like… we've been fighting… my body is sore… What's going on here?"
Le Fay shook her head as she ran toward Arthur, hugging him around the neck while shedding a few tears. Arthur seemed confused but hugged her back, with Le Fay crying on his chest.
"It's okay, Onii-sama… everything will be fine now…"
"Is it…? I don't understand what happened… but you saved me, didn't you?"
"Not just me, but Gilgamesh-sama and his friends too. Without them, I never thought I'd be able to save you."
"Oh, you finally met him? Was it as great as you thought it would be? Since you've been following his career, I suppose it makes sense you'd ask him for help. Well, you did the right thing, Le Fay."
Le Fay blushed, thinking about Gilgamesh and how he accepted her without hesitation, didn't blame Arthur for anything, and was willing to help her without question. It was very embarrassing for her to think about, but with Arthur looking at her, she felt even more embarrassed than before.
Arthur turned his gaze to Gilgamesh and recognized him.
"Thank you so much for saving me," said Arthur sincerely.
"Don't worry, now you should rest so your body can recover," said Gilgamesh to Arthur, who nodded.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to his group and signaled for everyone to leave and let Le Fay and her brother be alone.
Everyone left the room, and Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Karna, Enkidu, Fenrir, and Mordred.
"I want you to search the entire city to see if you can find anything about the attack," said Gilgamesh seriously.
Everyone quickly nodded and left.
Gilgamesh would find that man even if it was the last thing he did.
The Next Day.
A day had passed since the encounter with the leader and his battle against Arthur.
Valerie had woken up after a few hours of sleep, and they talked about the Longinus. After some training, Gilgamesh and his group realized that Valerie was able to access the power of the [Incinerate Anthem], though not near Walburga's level, she could generate some purple flames.
Karna was tasked with helping Valerie use her Longinus since both were flame users, as was Gilgamesh, who would also assist her.
Gilgamesh helped Valerie mainly due to the pressure that two Longinus exert on their user's body, so he was assisting her with that.
Arthur had also woken up the next day with his sister Le Fay, and Gilgamesh helped with his recovery. They were currently at Gilgamesh's house to finish recovering.
The search by Karna, Fenrir, Enkidu, and Mordred yielded no results, so they returned home. Gilgamesh assigned Karna to continue protecting Valerie.
Gilgamesh was currently walking down a quiet street after going out to buy some things but couldn't help but be surprised by what he saw.
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and was confused when he saw a one-meter-tall being covered in golden fur, with a wrinkled face and black skin, carrying a staff-like weapon, smoking a pipe, wearing sunglasses, and placing prayer beads on its forehead. It was waiting patiently in front of him, with a green Labrador Retriever standing beside it.
Gilgamesh's eyes twitched at the ridiculous display and poor disguise.
But above all, Gilgamesh was surprised by who the being was, though he wasn't certain.
"Umm… Is there something I can help you with?" Gilgamesh asked, acting slightly confused as the old man took a puff from his pipe.
"Yes, actually, I'd like you to come with me. You see, my employer would like to have a discussion with you, so you can come willingly, or I'll have to bring you back by force," the old man said in a calm tone as Gilgamesh looked at him seriously.
"Sorry, but I'll have to decline your offer, so we can do this the easy way and both go our separate ways. Do I have to beat you to make my point?" Gilgamesh said, crossing his arms over his chest. He had no issue beating an old man.
The green Labrador Retriever turned to the old man.
"I told you this would happen. But did you listen to me? I knew we had to take the direct approach; we could've just knocked him out with poison," the dog said in an annoyed tone.
Gilgamesh looked at the dog for a second before sensing something draconic coming from it.
"Now I recognize that you're a dragon, aren't you?" Gilgamesh said as Yu-Long looked at him with an impressed expression.
"Yes, I am. I'm honestly surprised you could deduce that. I told you, Jiji, coming here was a mistake. I can practically smell the essence of Tiamat and Ddraig on him. If she shows up, we're in trouble," Yu-Long warned his partner as Sun Wukong didn't back down.
"Yu-Long, you doubt my power. I'm more than capable of defeating some snot-nosed kid," the still poorly disguised Sun Wukong said.
"Spending all that time with Indra has made you more arrogant than you used to be, Sun Wukong," the disguised dragon grumbled.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened slightly before returning to a composed or indifferent look when he truly realized who it was.
"So you're the Victorious Buddha in Combat? Then that must be…" Gilgamesh was interrupted by Yu-Long.
"That's right, I am Yu-Long, one of the Five Dragon Kings, the Mischievous Dragon, also known as the Jade Dragon!" Yu-Long announced proudly, puffing out his chest.
A green light manifested in Gilgamesh's left hand.
[It's been a long time, Yu-Long,] said Ddraig to the Dragon King.
Yu-Long looked a bit surprised.
"Hey, Ddraig, it's been a while. I hope you don't mind us taking your wielder," said Yu-Long, smiling.
Ddraig laughed from within his Longinus.
[You can try, but you won't succeed,] said Ddraig nonchalantly.
Yu-Long simply ignored Ddraig's remark.
"Why are you disguised as a green dog? You know that's a dead giveaway, right?" Gilgamesh said impassively as the Jade Dragon blushed in embarrassment.
"Anyway, yes, we know who you are, and you're coming with us."
Sun Wukong said, pointing his staff at Gilgamesh.
"Extend," Wukong commanded as his staff extended and struck Gilgamesh's stomach, pushing him back before he landed gracefully on the ground, to the surprise of the Dragon King and the Buddha.
Gilgamesh simply landed and darted toward a nearby forest to avoid collateral damage from a battle.
Gilgamesh landed in a large clearing, turning around when he saw a large magic circle appear in front of him as the Buddha and Dragon duo emerged.
Sun Wukong slammed his staff into the ground, forming a barrier around the forest.
"There are only two ways for you to leave this barrier. Either I defeat you, or you defeat me," Sun Wukong declared as a thin layer of golden aura surrounded him, while the Labrador Retriever transformed into a green Jade Oriental Dragon.
Gilgamesh quickly assumed a serious expression as his divine aura emerged from his body, gaining a very powerful golden aura.
Yu-Long quickly inflated his lungs and unleashed a massive wave of green flames toward Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh swiftly raised his hand and used his elemental manipulation granted by his Longinus [Zenith Tempest], unleashing an immense wave of water against the flames.
The water manipulation and the powerful flames of the Jade Dragon caused a massive wall of steam to form. Gilgamesh quickly advanced toward Sun Wukong, who created dozens of golden orbs made of youjutsu and senjutsu and fired them at Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh swiftly deflected each orb with his hands, sending them flying across the forest, causing large explosions.
Gilgamesh quickly moved away and created dozens of storm clouds in the sky.
"Kirin!" shouted Gilgamesh, summoning the lightning dragon.
A massive beast made entirely of lightning flew from the sky, passing through the barrier and striking Sun Wukong and Yu-Long.
Sun Wukong and Yu-Long looked at the massive lightning beast heading straight for them. Sun Wukong seemed slightly surprised by the attack, while Yu-Long gritted his teeth, preparing for the impact. Sun Wukong raised his staff.
"Ohhwah!" Sun Wukong unleashed the powerful Touki, physically repelling the lightning attack.
This made Gilgamesh look on in surprise.
"What? He was able to stop that? That should've been impossible to repel. Maybe dodge or evade, but completely repel? That was enough to destroy a mountain," Gilgamesh thought, somewhat surprised.
"What's the matter, kid, why the look of surprise?"
Gilgamesh looked at the smiling, victorious Buddha.
"There was enough power in that technique to destroy a mountain, and you were able to deflect it like it was nothing? You're much stronger than you let on, Sun Wukong," Gilgamesh said in a calm tone about his surprise.
Wukong chuckled a bit.
"Seriously? You thought a mountain-destroying attack would be enough to defeat me? That's absurd," Sun Wukong smirked at Gilgamesh. "You have no idea how powerful I am. I'm as powerful as the gods themselves, capable of facing mid to low-tier God-class beings. Maybe I should show you why I'm so feared." Sun Wukong announced, snapping his fingers as a stream of golden chi orbs appeared around the former Monkey King.
Sun Wukong quickly summoned his Ruyi Jingu Bang staff and charged at Gilgamesh, releasing waves of his Touki and divine aura as Gilgamesh dodged.
Sun Wukong launched his chi orbs at Gilgamesh, who began to evade them. Gilgamesh dodged another attack from Sun Wukong's staff and summoned a sword to parry Sun Wukong's blows.
Gilgamesh and Sun Wukong continued exchanging blows, their attacks sending shockwaves every time they clashed.
Gilgamesh weaved in and out of Sun Wukong's flurry of attacks, while Sun Wukong kept swinging out of the way of Gilgamesh's blade strikes.
"Extend!" Gilgamesh dodged Sun Wukong's staff.
"Double!" The staff began to whip around like a serpent.
Gilgamesh retreated from the advancing staff, gaining some distance between himself and Sun Wukong's snake-like staff. Extending his hand, Gilgamesh shouted.
"Gravity Well!" Sun Wukong was suddenly crushed to the ground as an immense amount of force pressed him against the earth. The staff stopped inches from hitting Gilgamesh in the face as he began to retreat.
Gilgamesh had used a magic circle that replicated [Gravity Magic] against Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong looked at Gilgamesh.
"You sneaky little bastard," he groaned as Gilgamesh smiled, only to quickly dodge an attack from behind. Yu-Long tried to catch Gilgamesh in his jaws, though this allowed Sun Wukong to escape Gilgamesh's gravitational trap.
"Damn! I almost got him," Yu-Long grumbled.
Gilgamesh retreated as he saw the two join forces.
Gilgamesh admitted that Sun Wukong was far more troublesome than Artemis and Ares, perhaps not in terms of power but in terms of skills, he was far superior to the two Greek gods.
Sun Wukong had enough skill to train Vali and Issei to the point where they could fight gods and easily dodge their attacks, which would have killed him if they landed.
Gilgamesh quickly decided to end this so he could return home.
Gilgamesh was swiftly enveloped in a divine golden aura as he activated the [Authority of Verethragna].
Sun Wukong widened his eyes as he felt Gilgamesh's power transform into a divine Authority.
"Impossible," said Sun Wukong, visibly perplexed.
Gilgamesh's eyes gleamed with power as he recited the chant of one of his Authorities.
"Let your spine be crushed; let your bones be broken, your tendons torn, your hair ripped from your skull; let your blood, spilled upon the earth, be churned into a bloody froth. I shall become the one who buries fangs in the sinner's flesh, so that the Lord's will may be followed: you shall be purged!" recited Gilgamesh as he activated the Authority of the [Boar].
The space behind Gilgamesh split as a rift between the real world and the imaginary world emerged, and from it came a massive fifty-meter-long Boar, which he launched at the stunned Yu-Long.
The Jade Dragon King couldn't even think as the massive Boar charged at him. The dragon unleashed gigantic waves of flames.
But it didn't stop it. The Boar was relentless and fully willing to take some bruises, broken bones, and burns as long as it could destroy its target.
The Boar charged, thrusting its fangs to pierce the dragon, who managed to dodge but was dragged dozens of meters away.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Sun Wukong, who was still stunned.
"Now it's just the two of us," said Gilgamesh to Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong readied his staff and all his divine power, knowing he couldn't take the man before him lightly, not after seeing a divine Authority in the possession of a demigod.
Gilgamesh swiftly extended his hand forward and activated another of his [Authorities].
Gilgamesh began to speak, and the words of the spell began to flow from his lips.
"Heed the power of my words, let justice reveal itself, under the strength and eloquence of this incantation, for strength is always victorious, for strength is the answer to all things!" he chanted as a large golden sword manifested in his outstretched hands while the ground beneath him began to turn a reddish-gold and spread with each word he uttered.
It was the Golden Sword, one of the Ten Incarnations of Verethragna, the cursed sword that allows its user to violate the divinity of a god.
The moment Sun Wukong saw the sword, he felt the deepest terror within his being, as if his divine part was afraid of the sword, and that frightened the Monkey King.
"Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a stone who acquired supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against Heaven, he was imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha. Before that happened, he had already fought the Demon King Bull, who manipulated him into rebelling against Heaven, killing his friends," Gilgamesh began to recite as the golden sword seemed to glow brighter with each word uttered by Gilgamesh.
At first, Sun Wukong was surprised that Gilgamesh began reciting his life story, but then the surprise turned to fear.
Each time Gilgamesh spoke a word about his story, the power of the golden sword seemed to grow stronger, and then Sun Wukong understood what was happening.
With each word uttered by Gilgamesh, the sword's power was increasing.
And it was true; the Authority of the [Warrior] wielding the golden sword could only be summoned if the user knew their divine enemy.
This Authority represents the legend of Verethragna as a war god who subdued foreign divinities.
It summons a golden sword that negates the divinity and power of any Authorities they possess. However, knowledge of the target god is required to use it.
To forge the sword, knowledge of the opposing god is necessary, and Gilgamesh knew a lot about Sun Wukong.
When Gilgamesh gained the Authority of the Persian God of Victory, he acquired knowledge of most possible gods to use when necessary.
And that was happening now—Gilgamesh was forging the golden sword to cut the divinity of the Monkey King.
Seeing the danger, Sun Wukong quickly charged at Gilgamesh, swinging his Ruyi Jingu Bang staff at him, but Gilgamesh, with a single swing, repelled it, sending Sun Wukong flying back.
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