"I understand, thank you so much again, Gilgamesh. You can count on me for whatever you need," said Sairaorg, waving.
"The same goes for me, I'm very grateful to you," said Misla, smiling.
Gilgamesh nodded as he left, leaving the mother and son together.
Gilgamesh walked a bit until he finally exited the house.
And Achilles was nowhere to be found.
Gilgamesh's eyes trembled with rage upon realizing that his friend had fled from there.
"That idiot! When I get my hands on him!" said Gilgamesh as a faint golden aura leaked from his body.
Quickly, the King of Heroes dashed toward where he sensed Achilles' power.
---
**Some Time Earlier with Achilles**
Achilles had been running through the Underworld with his divine speed for quite a while, searching for something interesting.
But in the end, he found nothing exciting, so he prepared to return to Sairaorg Bael's house so Gilgamesh wouldn't suspect he had left.
However, since Achilles hadn't memorized the way, he ended up getting lost.
And in doing so, Achilles stumbled upon something interesting.
In one of the more remote regions of the Underworld, near the border with the Realm of the Dead governed by the Greek God of the Dead, Hades.
There, Achilles saw something astonishing: several beings dressed in dark robes adorned with ornaments, all carrying black scythes.
Though Achilles didn't know, mainly because he hadn't paid attention to Gilgamesh's explanations, they were Grim Reapers.
Grim Reapers are a kind of demigod that serve the Greek God of the Dead, Hades.
But that wasn't what surprised Achilles. What caught his attention was who stood in the middle of them: a beautiful girl with a foreign face, lovely and delicate, with red hair that seemed braided with ropes and blue eyes.
Around her arms and neck were chains binding her, and she was being dragged by the Grim Reapers.
The girl's expression of panic and terror was clear, and it spurred Achilles into action.
Even though Gilgamesh had warned him not to get into trouble, how could he call himself a hero if he did nothing in the face of what he was seeing?
With that in mind, Achilles charged forward.
In an instant, Achilles leaped from where he was and landed right in front of the Grim Reapers, who were shocked.
In a swift motion, they all drew their scythes and prepared for battle.
"Who dares to stand in our way?" shouted one of the Grim Reapers in fury.
Achilles calmly emerged from the cloud of dust generated by his landing.
"I am Achilles, the one who will bring death to you," said the demigod as he raised his spear.
"You damned human, opposing the servants of Lord Hades is a crime punishable by death!" shouted one of the Grim Reapers as he charged at Achilles.
The Reaper lunged, swinging his scythe, but before it could hit Achilles, he dodged and swung his spear, slicing the Grim Reaper in half.
"Weak," muttered Achilles before turning to the other Grim Reapers.
"D-Don't be afraid, he's just one!" shouted another Reaper as they all charged at Achilles.
The Grim Reapers immediately rushed toward Achilles, brandishing their scythes.
The scythes of the Grim Reapers are called [Death Scythes], which have the power to shorten the life of those they cut with a curse.
Achilles didn't even hesitate as he dashed with his divine speed and swung his spear with divine mastery.
The Grim Reapers didn't even have time to react as they were sliced apart at divine speed.
Achilles turned, preparing to kill the last Reaper, but before he could, three golden flashes struck the Grim Reaper, killing it, which surprised Achilles.
Looking at the Reaper's body, the Greek Hero saw that the golden lights were actually three swords.
And Achilles knew only one person who used weapons in that way…
"So this is where you were."
The voice Achilles heard made him freeze as nervous sweat dripped down his face.
Looking back, Achilles saw his master and friend walking calmly toward him, his crimson eyes glowing with power.
From Gilgamesh's expression, he was clearly not happy.
"Hey, Gilgamesh," said Achilles nervously.
"I want you to have a really good excuse for not following what I told you," said Gilgamesh seriously.
Achilles began to laugh nervously as he tried to come up with an excuse as quickly as possible.
"Y-You know," Achilles started, laughing nervously before his gaze fell on the girl he had saved.
"I was rescuing the girl who had been kidnapped," said Achilles, smiling.
Gilgamesh observed his friend for a few moments before sighing, knowing it wouldn't lead anywhere.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to the girl, who was looking at them both fearfully.
"Are you okay?" asked Gilgamesh with a gentle smile.
"Yes, thank you for saving me," she said, bowing to both of them.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes slightly. The girl in front of him definitely possessed a Sacred Gear, but why would Hades be after her?
"What's your name?" asked Achilles casually.
"My name is Meredith Ordinton," said the girl as Gilgamesh's eyes widened.
The girl standing before them was Meredith Ordinton, a magician born from a member of the British Royal Family and their commoner lover. The bearer of the Sacred Gear [Alphecca Tyrant], one of the Holy Relics and a Sacred Gear with the potential to become a future Longinus.
Meredith Ordinton was a magician who belonged to the Golden Dawn, one of the most famous mage organizations, and though not directly, she carried the blood of authorized members of England's royal family.
She was a child conceived between her father, an authorized member of the Royal Family, and her mother, who was her father's magical bodyguard. Due to her talent in magic, she was given up for adoption to a couple of magicians who raised her. She eventually joined the Golden Dawn, where she met and befriended Le Fay Pendragon, a fellow mage of the same age.
She later learned the truth about her lineage and was not recognized by the royal family, which enraged her and made her want revenge.
Using her Sacred Gear [Alphecca Tyrant], she nearly succeeded, at least according to the canon of DxD.
And the girl's Sacred Gear was extremely powerful.
[Alphecca Tyrant], also known as the "Unmatched Crown of the Abyss," is a Sacred Gear with the potential to become a Longinus.
[Alphecca Tyrant] is considered one of the Holy Relics alongside [True Longinus], [Sephiroth Graal], and [Incinerate Anthem]. It is the "holy nail" that pierced Christ on the cross.
The Iron Crown of Lombardy was a legendary relic connected to Christianity, said to contain the nails that pierced Jesus Christ. The relic reportedly disappeared and, according to Grigori, was incorporated into the Sacred Gear system, becoming a new type of Longinus.
[Alphecca Tyrant] originally manifested in a possessor who used the Longinus' ability to brainwash an entire city in a European country. When the Three Factions learned of this, they tried to negotiate with the possessor but failed to reach an agreement, as the possessor committed suicide. Later, it manifested in Meredith.
This Sacred Gear allows the bearer to attack using nails made of holy aura, capable of brainwashing a person by making them listen to a conversation for several minutes and inserting certain keywords, though it was limited to humans. At its maximum, [Alphecca Tyrant] allowed a previous owner, an unidentified instructor, to dominate an entire city.
It can also rewrite the perception and concepts of those struck by it, even affecting and manipulating Sacred Gear users and even Longinus possessors.
As a holy relic, the nails created using [Alphecca Tyrant] are also effective against dark creatures like Devils and Vampires, with most being eliminated if struck directly by them, though they can be destroyed by a powerful attack. These nails can break seals, such as those used to seal Trihexa, and drive believers to madness if they look at them.
Based on its potential to control even other Longinus users, depending on the user, [Alphecca Tyrant] could be used to dominate or destroy the world using armies of Sacred Gear users.
It was truly a terrifying Sacred Gear.
"I see. I'm Gilgamesh, and this is Achilles," said the King of Heroes, introducing himself as Achilles waved.
But before they could say anything more, Gilgamesh stopped and, along with Achilles, narrowed their eyes at a point.
"Well, unfortunately, we don't have much time, so I have a question: would you like to come with us?" asked Gilgamesh, making Meredith look surprised.
"With you?"
"Yes, I promise you'll be safe, and after that, we'll take you back home," said Gilgamesh calmly.
"Okay," said Meredith, nodding.
Gilgamesh gave a slight smile. "Alright, but now, sleep."
As soon as Gilgamesh said that, Meredith fell asleep, and Achilles caught her.
Gilgamesh and Achilles' eyes turned to a point in front of them.
Darkness gathered on the ground, solidifying into a being.
It was a tall being, wearing a completely black cloak like the deepest night, adorned with various decorations. It wore a skull mask and carried a large black scythe.
"So you noticed me, as expected of the King of Heroes," said the being, who seemed to be a Grim Reaper.
Though it sounded casual, it was clear this Grim Reaper was entirely different from the others.
The aura it emanated was so immense that Gilgamesh could tell it was on par with god-class beings.
"What do you want here, Thanatos?" said Gilgamesh seriously.
The being in front of Gilgamesh was Thanatos, the strongest Grim Reaper and one of the oldest executive-class Grim Reapers.
"So you know me. I'm pleased, King of Heroes," said Thanatos calmly.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed at the Reaper.
"What are you doing here, Reaper? Did you come to fight?" asked Gilgamesh as he prepared to summon his power.
"No, though I'd love a battle, if I fought you, I'd end up dying," said Thanatos calmly.
"Then what do you want?" asked Gilgamesh.
Thanatos' eyes, or rather, the focus of his vision, along with his head, shifted and focused on Meredith.
"Your goal is her?" asked Gilgamesh, stepping in front of her.
"My goal was to prevent her from falling into Hades' hands, who would use her power for the wrong purposes, though I also have my own uses for her," said Thanatos seriously.
Gilgamesh knew Thanatos wasn't truly an ally of Hades. In fact, he had his own faction and did everything to oppose Hades.
However, while Thanatos aimed to oppose Hades, the methods he used to do so were certainly not good.
"This girl is under my protection, Thanatos. If you or Hades want her, you'll have to go through me," said Gilgamesh as his power began to circulate through his body.
But instead of being intimidated, Thanatos let out a dark laugh.
"You think you can protect this girl? How can you do that when you can't even protect your allies?" said Thanatos, laughing.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed as his aura began to grow unstable.
"What do you mean?" shouted Gilgamesh as his aura surged even more.
Even seeing Gilgamesh's explosive aura, the Reaper let out a laugh.
"You'll find out soon enough. I'll take my leave now, as what I wanted to see has been accomplished. And I suggest you return to your friends before you have nowhere to return to," said Thanatos as he vanished into the darkness.
Gilgamesh's eyes continued to stare at Thanatos' position before he sighed.
"What a weird guy," said Achilles, not understanding.
Gilgamesh waved as he turned to Meredith, activating his [Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan] and using his [Kamui] to send the girl to a safe dimension.
"Why did you do that?" asked Achilles, confused.
"Let's go back, Achilles. What Thanatos said was strange, but I have a bad feeling," said Gilgamesh.
Seeing his master's expression, Achilles nodded.
Activating his [Spatial Domination] from the [King of the Covenant Uriel], he returned to Kuoh.
---
**Kuoh City**
Kuoh City is one of the cities located in the northern province of Japan. The city itself isn't very large, with a modest population of 300,000 people, but it was considered a beautiful and peaceful place for families to take walks due to its location surrounded by one or two mountains or to have a picnic in the nearby forest.
Or rather… it *was*.
The majestic buildings and the city surrounding them. The glory and tall structures, the strong steel, cement, and iron that stood firm. Crumbling under the heat of blazing flames that burned them all.
The landscape, vast, firm, and immovable, was no longer there. It had split apart, with cracks and craters everywhere, separating houses, buildings, and everything from one another. If someone saw Kuoh City's condition from a very high vantage point, they would see the landscape itself cracked, almost like children dipping their pinky fingers into the fragile surface of sand.
This was the sight that greeted Gilgamesh and Achilles when they arrived in Kuoh.
"What's happening?" asked Gilgamesh in pure bewilderment.
"What the hell is this?" shouted Achilles as he looked at the city in flames.
"Gilgamesh!"
The attention of the King of Heroes and Achilles turned to the voice, and behind them, Gilgamesh saw familiar black hair and violet eyes.
It was Sona, running desperately toward him.
"Sona!" shouted Gilgamesh, worried.
"Thank Lucifer you're here," said Sona, breathing heavily.
"What's happening here?" asked Gilgamesh urgently.
"I have no idea. A few minutes ago, the entire city was attacked by those beings," said Sona seriously.
Looking at the burning scene of his city, Gilgamesh saw dozens of Grim Reapers, as well as several other beings that were the same shadows he had seen before.
Beings resembling Angels, Fallen Angels, Demons, Humans, and other supernatural beings, all formed entirely of shadows with purple energy coursing through them.
And they were all heading toward Gilgamesh's house.
"Sona, how are the residents?" asked Gilgamesh quickly.
"We've already evacuated the entire city, so no need to worry," said Sona quickly.
"Excellent. Now go protect yourself. I'll take it from here," said Gilgamesh swiftly.
Sona hesitated for a few seconds but nodded. "Alright, but be careful."
Gilgamesh nodded as he saw Sona leave, and together with Achilles, they dashed toward their house.
"You're going to let all these beings run loose?" asked Achilles seriously.
"No," said Gilgamesh, extending his hand as six spheres of different colors appeared and took the form of different beings.
They were six different beings.
The first was a humanoid creature with horns made of flames.
The second was a long, large, serpent-like creature whose body was made of water.
The third was a humanoid creature resembling a sage carrying a staff, with a body made purely of lightning.
The fourth was a woman with pale blue skin and clothes of the same color, her body made purely of ice.
The fifth was a large creature with thick arms, legs, and torso, its body made of earth.
And the sixth was a fairy with a slender body and green clothes and skin, her body made of wind.
They were, respectively, Ifrit, Leviathan, Ramuh, Shiva, Titan, and Zephyr, the Avatars embodying the elements of [Zenith Tempest].
Achilles' eyes filled with surprise at what he saw.
"Kill all the Reapers and Shadows," with Gilgamesh's command, all the creatures dispersed.
"You too, Achilles," said Gilgamesh, with Achilles nodding as he joined the extermination.
Gilgamesh quickly dashed toward his house, but before he even arrived, he saw something that shocked him.
An immense Dragon with three heads and six giant wings, with very dark scales tinged with purple, was attacking.
[Partner, that's…] began Ddraig.
Gilgamesh merely nodded, as he recognized who it was.
It was Aži Dahāka, a legendary Evil Dragon, also known as the Diabolism Thousand Dragon and the Forbidden Dragon of Demonic Origin.
Aži Dahāka was a Dragon created by Angra Mainyu and fought against the army of the Zoroastrian Gods. He then fought and was defeated by the hero, Θraētaona, and was later sealed.
Increasing his speed, Gilgamesh reached his house in an instant, seeing his companions fighting and slaughtering the Reapers and Shadows while battling the Dragon.
"Gilgamesh!" Arturia's voice drew everyone's attention as they saw their leader arrive.
"What's happening?" asked Gilgamesh as he unleashed a blast of his Divine Power, annihilating dozens of Reapers.
"A few minutes ago, while we were dealing with those shadows you sent, these guys attacked," said Mordred as she swung Clarent, annihilating more Reapers.
"I see, but why haven't you killed him yet?" asked Gilgamesh seriously.
"Look closely, Young Master. We can't," said Sebas seriously.
Gilgamesh looked at Aži Dahāka and widened his eyes when he saw who the Evil Dragon was holding in its claws.
It was Valerie, unconscious.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened as his power exploded in fury, catching the Dragon's attention.
[Yo, you came, Red Dragon!] said the middle head of the Evil Dragon.
[Yahoo, Ddraig-chan!] the left head said excitedly.
[You're late!] the right head said playfully.
Though Aži Dahāka was a Dragon, each head had its own personality, always speaking differently but with the same goal.
"Let Valerie go now," said Gilgamesh seriously as his aura began to rise exponentially due to his rage.
[We can't do that. Hades asked us to take the Holy Grail, and since we can have a good fight, we're helping him,] said the middle head of Aži Dahāka.
[Yeah, take the Grail for the skeleton!] said the right head, laughing.
[Take it to Hades, we'll take it to Hades!] said the left head, laughing.
Gilgamesh's eyes trembled with increasing rage as his golden aura was replaced by an extremely violent red aura.
Even Gilgamesh's companions couldn't believe the violent and terrifying aura he was emanating.
Unconsciously, Gilgamesh's ultimate ability, [King of Wrath Satan], was activating, transforming his fury into ever-increasing power.
"So Hades is responsible," growled Gilgamesh in rage.
Seeing this, the Evil Dragon grinned maliciously.
[So we can fight? Let's have a bloody battle. I can't help but feel excited thinking about my opponent being one of the Two Heavenly Dragons!] said the middle head.
[The one who defeats the Heavenly Dragon gets a medal for being the strongest!] said the left head.
[Evil Dragons are the strongest!] announced the right head.
But Gilgamesh didn't take kindly to what the Evil Dragon said.
An intense black aura began to leak from Aži Dahāka as it prepared to fight.
But it wasn't prepared for what was coming.
Before Aži Dahāka could react, Gilgamesh was in the air, in front of the Evil Dragon with his arm raised.
His right arm was covered in a silver aura, appearing to be made of diamond—it was the [Silver Arm], one of Gilgamesh's authorities.
Instead of using a sword, Gilgamesh had turned his own arm into an invincible sword.
"I told you to let Valerie go!"
Swinging his arm against Aži Dahāka, Gilgamesh advanced as his right arm flashed silver.
Aži Dahāka managed to dodge by a hair, but the arm holding Valerie was severed.
"Sebas, Karna!" shouted Gilgamesh.
With Gilgamesh's shout, Sebas unleashed his [Destruction Magic], which consumed the severed arm of Aži Dahāka but didn't harm Valerie.
As the girl fell, Karna caught her protectively.
[This is seriously amazing! That previous attack was too powerful!] announced the middle head.
[This is really scary!] said the left head, trembling.
[What scandalous power!] shouted the right head.
The three heads of the Evil Dragon opened their mouths, creating dozens of magic circles and unleashing a barrage of various magics against Gilgamesh.
They were releasing massive amounts of flames, ice, water, lightning, storms, and darkness.
[Well, then I'll start adding my forbidden technique now!!!!] said the middle head.
[It's far from ordinary!] declared the right head.
[If you can defend against this, then show me!] said the left head, laughing.
As it declared this, the crest of the magic circles it created began to change. What emerged in all the magic circles were ancient magical letters, a forbidden language. The magic circles emitted a dangerous glow as they warped, with electric currents crackling through them. What appeared in the magic circles were: purple flames in the shape of a skull, cyclones with curses swirling around them, black lightning, a cursed Virgin Mary weeping tears of blood, a one-eyed giant that seemed to steal life just by looking at it, and various other things—forbidden-class attributes, summoning magic, curses, all the menacing magic that existed in this world had been invoked, and it was all heading toward Gilgamesh.
Seeing this, Gilgamesh charged forward fearlessly as the attacks were about to hit him, and when they touched him, they disintegrated into blue dust.
Using his [Universal Barrier] from the [King of the Covenant Uriel], Gilgamesh had defended himself effortlessly, to the shock of the Dragon.
Charging at Aži Dahāka, an immense amount of black flames, like a black sun, emerged from Gilgamesh's body and took the form of a massive Eastern Dragon of black flames.
The nature of the energy emanating from Gilgamesh was so terrifying it could only be described as tyrannical.
It was the power of the [Lord of the Blazing Sun Amaterasu], the absolute power that governs Light and Heat, the ability to exponentially increase thermal energy, in other words, a skill that vigorously boosts kinetic momentum.
Even trying to dodge was futile; at that distance, it was impossible for the Evil Dragon to evade.
The black flaming dragon advanced at a speed dozens of times faster than sound, making escape impossible, and even Aži Dahāka's defensive barriers were useless against protecting the Evil Dragon.
The black flaming dragon surged forward, consuming the lower half of the Evil Dragon, which roared in pain as its body was annihilated by the demigod before it.
Gilgamesh watched as what remained of the Evil Dragon fell to the ground, yet it was still alive.
[T-To think I'd be defeated with one attack,] grunted the middle head.
[We lost!] shouted the left head in despair.
[Monster! He's a monster!] screamed the right head in fear.
Gilgamesh landed in front of the remaining half of the Dragon's body as his right hand went to the right head and his left hand to the left head.
"Shut the hell up, you mongrels!" shouted Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh's fingers tightened, piercing the Dragon's scales and skull.
With a single squeeze, Gilgamesh crushed both of the Dragon's heads.
[Y-You monster, you think killing me will solve anything?! Hades! Angra Mainyu-sama! Rizevim and many others will come for you, you'll never have peace!] shouted the remaining head of the Dragon.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed as his hand landed on the Evil Dragon's head.
"You think I care who they are? You worm! Let them come, I'll kill them all!" shouted Gilgamesh in fury.
The black energy of the [Soul Consumption] from the [God of the Void Azathoth] manifested, completely consuming the Evil Dragon's body and ending its existence.
Gilgamesh's attention quickly turned to Karna, who was holding Valerie, and he took her from his hands.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock at what they saw as Gilgamesh held Valerie.
Even moving Valerie's body didn't respond, and Gilgamesh realized that one of the three Holy Grails of the subspecies of Valerie's [Sephiroth Graal], one of the fragments of her soul…
Was gone.
"Gilgamesh…" called Arturia as she and her friends approached.
But before they could get close, they were all sent flying back as Gilgamesh's divine power exploded.
"Gil!" shouted Enkidu as he and the others couldn't even get close.
The aura Gilgamesh was emanating made the Heroic Spirits feel as if they were being crushed by his immense power.
Not only Kuoh City but the entire country of Japan was trembling violently as all supernatural beings on the planet, even in other dimensions like Heaven and Hell, felt the overwhelming power of the King of Heroes.
"I'll destroy those sons of bitches!!"
Gilgamesh's mind, clouded by rage, exploded.
And with those enraged thoughts, he stood up.
"HADESSSSSS!"
The roar unleashed by Gilgamesh in his fury shook the Heavens and the Earth.
And there wasn't a single existence in the entire world that could restrain the boundless power of Gilgamesh in his fury.
And now, the accumulated rage of Gilgamesh had erupted, and the one responsible for it was the God of the Dead.
And for that, he would grant Hades what he deserved.
The blessing called annihilation.
The Wrath of the King of Heroes had been awakened.
And now, there was no one in the Heavens or on Earth capable of stopping what was to come.
The event that would make the entire world tremble.