You don't hit a smiling face. Gilgamesh was being so polite that a normal person would have been too embarrassed to attack him.
Fortunately, Ishtar was not a normal person.
"Father-God! This man defied the command of your most beloved daughter—that is, the command of a god—and still dares to appear before you! This is no ordinary rebellion; he must be dealt with severely!"
The goddess of Venus clung to Su Mo, trying to get him to eliminate the golden pretty boy. As the "Wedge of Heaven" connecting humans and gods, Gilgamesh had, in a sense, indeed departed from the camp of the gods.
"...O Master of Heaven, in the face of your wisdom, I have nothing to say."
Compared to the spoiled, willful Ishtar who relied on being favored, Gilgamesh was clearly much more aware of his own position. In the presence of the Master of Heaven, he had no intention of defending himself. After all, it was a fact that he had left the camp of the gods to stand on the side of humanity. Although he didn't know Su Mo's opinion on the matter, he believed that as the father of the gods, he wouldn't simply listen to Ishtar's one-sided story.
And sure enough—
"The separation of humans and gods is a necessary stage in the development of human history. No one needs to bear the blame for it."
Although Su Mo had mastered mythology, he himself did not belong to the camp of the gods, so he naturally wouldn't mete out punishment.
"More importantly, what is your reason for answering the Holy Grail's call?" Su Mo inquired.
"As the first king, I possess the Gate of Babylon, which contains the prototypes of all human wisdom. All the treasures of the world are my posses—ahem, all the treasures of the world are the creation of you, the Master of Heaven, but I have the right to use the parts created by humanity."
The King of Heroes had been about to proudly declare his ownership of all treasures. That kind of talk was fine in front of the King of Conquerors or the King of Knights; he had the confidence to scorn them as mere thieves. But he didn't have the guts to say that in front of the king of the gods, the Master of Heaven, who had created everything.
Just as his divine name implied, never mind the prototypes of human wisdom; the entire world was his property. This so-called "king" of his at most possessed partial usage rights. The ownership of all things in the world, including his own life, belonged to the creator god.
"Pfft!"
Ishtar let out a malicious laugh from the side, clearly having noticed Gilgamesh's correction.
"Aren't you usually so proud? Go on, keep it up in front of the Father-God!" she mocked mercilessly.
Gilgamesh treated her words as if they were the wind, continuing to explain patiently.
"I answered the Holy Grail's call this time originally just to retrieve some treasures from my treasury and to see the development of modern human society. I never expected to encounter you!"
At this point, he paused, his gaze toward Su Mo growing somewhat fervent.
Noticing this gaze, Su Mo spoke. "You have a request?"
"Your insight is profound, Great God!"
Gilgamesh immediately dropped to one knee, his attitude incomparably respectful. As a king, he didn't need to show such etiquette even when meeting a god. To bow so low to another meant he had a request, and clearly, it was something he couldn't achieve on his own.
"I have failed the expectations of the pantheon and do not dare to ask for the favor of the Master of Heaven as the goddess Ishtar does, nor do I dare to hope for a gift from the father of the gods..."
"However, in the future I have seen, the mother of the gods seems to be displeased with this world, and even Uruk itself will be destroyed because of it. Could I ask you, Great God, to use your divine power to persuade the mother of the gods to return home?"
In a very tactful tone, Gilgamesh stated his request.
To put it simply, the mother of the gods was going berserk and was about to destroy the world. Only Su Mo, the father of the gods, had the power to stop her, so he was asking for help.
"The mother of the gods... Tiamat?"
Hearing this, Su Mo was slightly taken aback.
Wasn't this the plot of a Singularity?
So, this golden pretty boy was the King of Heroes who had experienced the Absolute Demonic Front?
No, he seemed to be the normal version of Gilgamesh, but had received information from his other timeline self, which was why he had come to make this request.
"What? The Mother-Goddess is going to destroy Uruk? Why didn't anyone tell me!"
Hearing this news, Ishtar was also shocked. She was the guardian deity of Uruk. Tiamat destroying Uruk was equivalent to a mother confiscating all the toys in her child's room. This was something she really couldn't fight against.
"..."
Gilgamesh shot a speechless glance at the useless goddess.
What's the use of telling you? You lost the Bull of Heaven; how are you supposed to fight the Mother-Goddess?
Then, his burning gaze returned to Su Mo.
The Holy Grail was just a tool to him. A gift from the father of the gods was far more precious than the Holy Grail.
Under his gaze, Su Mo pondered for a second, then nodded.
"Since it's related to Tiamat, Ruan Mei should be interested. I'll go and deal with it when I have time."
Although he had already mastered the Genesis Chord, Tiamat's power itself clearly had value. The Lahmu she created, though disgusting, were a classic example of imaginary creatures and were worthy of study.
As for the coordinates of the Absolute Demonic Front incident... Su Mo glanced at Ishtar beside him.
"You descended directly from the heavens. Your true body is still in the Age of Gods Uruk and has not yet experienced Tiamat's invasion... After the Holy Grail War ends, you will return to the Age of Gods. I will grant you a new divine protection and transfer you to the Tiamat invasion timeline. At that time, you can summon me through the divine protection."
Although the current Su Mo didn't have the power to change timelines, only adjust them, this shouldn't be a problem after the Holy Grail War.
"If it's the Father-God's command, of course there's no problem. But... who is Ruan Mei?"
Ishtar, who also loved Uruk, would naturally not refuse this command, but she keenly sensed the presence of another woman.
"My strongest subordinate at present. Perhaps you'll get to meet her next time."
Su Mo paid no mind to Ishtar's thoughts, simply offering a brief explanation.
Seeing Su Mo agree to his request, Gilgamesh offered his thanks respectfully.
As expected of the sky god who ordered the construction of the Ark during the Great Flood and saved humanity. Even though humanity has turned away from mythology, he still has not abandoned them.
His goal achieved, Gilgamesh proactively asked, "Master of Heaven, for what amusement have you descended this time? Although the mortal world is no longer my garden, I can still offer you tribute."
One doesn't bite the hand that feeds. Having received Su Mo's promise, he felt he should show some of his service spirit. It wasn't sucking up; humanity offering sacrifices to please the gods was the most ancient of covenants.
Seeing his eager attitude, Ishtar curled her lip in disdain.
Behind him, Tohsaka Tokiomi, who was kneeling fearfully at the bottom of the stairs, was even more dumbfounded. He could understand it, of course; the being before them was the king of the gods. But to see the one he had been sucking up to for so long turn around and suck up to someone else, it was impossible for his heart not to be in turmoil.
Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Su Mo said bluntly, "The Holy Grail War."
"The Holy Grail War?"
Gilgamesh was slightly taken aback, not understanding why a magical ritual of this level would attract the attention of an existence like Su Mo. His clairvoyance, Sha Naqba Imuru, immediately activated, and only then did he understand what was behind the Holy Grail War.
"I see. If your goal is victory in the Holy Grail War, please allow me to act as your vanguard and clear the way."
Having no interest in the Holy Grail himself, he immediately switched sides.
"Of course, if I am interfering with your amusement, I can also withdraw from the Holy Grail War now and await your arrival in Uruk."
"Withdrawing" meant committing suicide.
For Gilgamesh, who had already achieved his goal, this wouldn't be much of a loss. There was no shame in losing to the king of the gods.
Gilgamesh said this with a flourish, but his Master, Tohsaka Tokiomi, his eyes wide. He had finally summoned this top-tier Servant, and he was saying he was going to commit suicide and withdraw from the competition?
Unbelievable! How are we supposed to play now?!
The key was, the opponent was the king of the gods. Even if he didn't commit suicide, it seemed there was no way to fight.
It was a complete dead end.
The only glimmer of hope was his own daughter. For some reason, it seemed Rin had a good relationship with the king of the gods. Even if they lost, the consequences probably wouldn't be too severe... right?
"Since you're going to withdraw anyway, there's no rush," Su Mo said, seeing how cooperative Gilgamesh was. He didn't push him to commit suicide just yet.
"It's just a bit of recreation, anyway. It won't take too long. Just follow behind me and let's meet the other Servants!"
"Yes!"
Gilgamesh naturally had no objections.
Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't dare to have any objections either.
And so, the Saber, Archer, and Rider camps instantly formed an alliance on the spot.
"Your Majesty, the Divine King, to be honest with you, Assassin is a member of our side. Please allow me to summon him to your command."
Under the pressure from his daughter, Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't dare to play any more games of political intrigue and confessed his well-prepared conspiracy. He and the Church's Kotomine Kirei had already made an agreement to form a secret alliance. It was originally for the element of surprise, but in front of the Divine King, all conspiracies were meaningless. There was naturally no need to hide it.
Seeing her father finally escape a death flag, Rin breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After receiving Su Mo's permission, just as Tokiomi sent the summons to Kirei, he sensed the challenging aura of other Servants.
Intending to end the Holy Grail War in one go, Su Mo didn't hesitate, leading the group directly to the port by the Mion River bridge.
There, two Heroic Spirits were engaged in battle. One was shrouded in an ominous black mist, the other clad in golden armor, looking as dazzling and divine as Gilgamesh.
The moment he saw the two Servants...
Gilgamesh's eyes lit up, a look of eagerness on his face.
Artoria's expression was complicated, but she took a firm step forward.
However, before either of them could request to fight, Guinevere, who was following behind, suddenly spoke up.
"Master, Uncle strongly requests to fight. He hopes you will grant his wish!"
The girl, who looked to be eleven or twelve, gracefully curtsied.
"I have the same request."