Author's Notes:I do not own Fate/Stay Night or it associated media such Fate/Grand Order and I do not own High School DxD
Ereshkigal just sat there in the small room, watching the boy continue to slumber restlessly as he continued to toss and turn.
Truthfully she was a bit nervous when she found her friend with a hole a few inches away from his heart, but after a few weeks, it seemed like the worst of it has passed.
"If I may ask, Oh Queen of the Underworld, Why do you continue to visit my comatose apprentice?" Gilgamesh asked as if he already knew the answer to the question.
Ereshkigal turned to face the King of Uruk with a slight blush she tried her best to hide her feelings "T-That's none of your business?" she stammered out.
Gilgamesh merely raised an eyebrow at her answer and calmly replied: "Very well, but see that your feelings for him don't hinder him."
"I'm not sure what you mean?" Ereshkigal said as she began to make her exit.
"I'm sure you do." Gilgamesh retorted as he turned towards his student.
Gilgamesh grabbed a vial from his treasury and uncorked before pouring its contents down his student's mouth. "It is time we have a talk."
I slowly opened my eyes and found my king sitting on a golden chair with a determined look on his face.
"I see you have awakened from your slumber." The king stated as he waited for my reply.
"Indeed, if I may ask what has happened while I was knocked out?" I asked as I wanted to know our current situation.
"The pretender Nergal has been crushed as his allies fled the battlefield or retreated into their burrows like the worms they are. As for Anu's successor well you will be surprised but my friend Dumuzid has gratefully volunteered for the position. "Gilgamesh smirked as everything went as planned.
"I see and Ishtar's reaction to her ex being placed on the throne at your pleasure?" I questioned.
"Her break down was quite spectacular as yelled, cried, and even begged before the court as she was humiliated when Dumuzid asked for a 20-mile restraining order, effectively banishing her from the palace."
"However, as much as I enjoy her failures I would rather not watch the patron goddess of Uruk look so defeated and weak. The people of Uruk still look up to her, which means she still an asset to us as she will get stronger with the reawakening of Uruk. Even with her struggling on the battlefield, her abilities have not degraded as significantly as the other gods. I suspect that she will be at full power in a decade or two." Gilgamesh explained.
I took in the information with a bit of shock as I'm not sure what political wizardry Gilgamesh pulled to get the giant fluffy sheep to be the head honcho of the Sumerian gods, but based on what Gilgamesh said on Ishtar early or his clear distaste of her, I'm not sure how she could be of use to him.
"How do you plan on utilizing Ishtar? As it is clear, she would be sulking and complaining for who knows how long." I asked.
"Hmph, you are overlooking the fact that even if she may be scorned and my wish for her to be humbled repeatedly, she still has a surprising amount of attachment to the people who seek her comfort and aid. And her pride will always lead her back to help them in times of need." He stated as he pulled a goblet and filled it with red wine.
"I understand," I said before asking, "And how did Dumuzid gain enough support to become a king when Enlil and his sibling are still alive."
"Dumuzid is quite the warrior especially when his only real weakness is his crippling fear of Ishtar. When I sent the sheep back to the Uruk I left instructions with Siduri to allow to martial Uruks forces to ambush Nergals army besieging Enki should he desire to. When Dumuzid took command he easily routed the enemy and Enki abdicated his claim in that he said 'I fear I am more of an advisor than ruler...take the crown and leave me alone I have a wife I must bury' as for Enlil he is indisposed as of now while the rest have no interest or support." Gilgamish finished before quenching his parched throat with some fine wine.
Didn't think the sheep man had it in him.
"Hmm, I should congratulate the new king," I replied.
"You should." Gilgamesh agreed before saying "In any case, my apprentice, I would like to go over your performance during the campaign." he said as he began to take a more serious tone though contradicting his tone was a slight smile.
"The tactics you used on those mongrels at that poorly thought out ambush were superb as expected however the ruse you fell for is unacceptable." Gilgamesh finished.
"But-"
Gilgamesh's raised hand demanded silence before continuing "Yes, giving you an infantry company with shaky intelligence was not your fault however you need to take the initiative and get what you need to make the right decisions even if you must confront your superiors as is your right as my student. As such I will delay your journey a week for some remedial strategic and tactical training." Gilgamesh explained.
"I understand" I replied as I slightly grimaced at the fact he was going to work me to the bone again.
"Good and as for the duel with mongrel Cao Cao." he paused before taking out a small recording device.
"I took the time to review your duel and I praise your efforts at being economical in your moves as you rarely took risks and used dirty tricks such as the infamous pocket of sand." Gilgamesh chuckled as he remembered the look the mongrel while he was pelted by sand.
"However you lacked initiative such as when you used your gambit instead of using Shamash's gift to end the fight while he overextended himself or when you separated him from his spear you went with a more conventional attack," Gilgamesh questioned as he wanted to hear my reasoning.
"I wanted to use it as my trump card if he ever used the Longinus's balance breaker and I wanted to keep it hidden until then," I explained.
"Hmm, while perfectly rational you forget this was a fight where he had you outmatched at every turn besides your physical superiority of course. With your treasury empty and knowing what you know, you should've come to the conclusion that an extended fight will favor him, so you should have gone all out without hesitation." Gilgamesh chided, but slowly a smile crept onto his face while he did that he offered me his hand.
"Come, we have no time waste Hahaha!"
"The Campaign was a catastrophic failure since Gilgamesh interfered." Cao Cao stated spitefully as he fully blamed the interference of the so-called King of Heroes on his failure.
"Yup and now there is a literal sheep in on the throne" Georg joked as he handed Cao Cao a scroll.
As he sat on his bed, Georg began to bring Cao Cao a pile of scrolls. Cao Cao began to read each scroll diligently while Georg continued to hand one after to another to the injured leader of the Hero faction. Cao Cao read through each one of them thoroughly making sure to capture each and every detail in his mind before standing up and walking to his desk before motioning his advisor to take a seat.
"It seems my spies and your subtle manipulations of the Chinese government have created resentment in western provinces." Cao Cao stated.
"Indeed." Georg replied evenly as remembered how he subtly used magic to increase the severity of the crackdowns and with how the current government worked such incidents are hidden to the world at large.
"And now all we need is the spark." Cao Cao signaled as a beautiful Chinese girl of seventeen years of age with long flowing hair and red lips she epitomized a traditional Chinese beauty with her flowing white silk robes and the way she moved one could assume she was a dancer, but Cao Cao knew where her true talents lay.
"Who's she?" Georg asked as he carefully appraised the newcomer.
"This is Jing Ke she is my top spy in Qinghai province." Cao Cao explained to Georg while Jing Ke wrapped her arms around his waist.
Georg just stood there wondering if he should leave or not because it was really getting awkward with the girl fawning over Cao Cao.
"Tell me what you found." Cao Cao said on Mandarin as he did his best to ignore her advances while a Jing Ke gave a series of short kisses to his cheek that slowly trailed toward his ear.
She said huskily "I found just the spark you need." as she began to give Cao Cao a shoulder massage.
Cao Cao waited for her to elaborate as he played their little game where he did his best to ignore her while she tried her best to get a rise out of him.
Getting a little frustrated with his lack of response she finally replied "Zhang Jue."
Cao Cao's eyes widen for a second before turning his face to grinning women.
"I win." She giggled before sashaying out of the room.
The two stood of them awkwardly with one thinking of the implications of the news and the other vexed at what the hell happened.
This silence continued until Georg asked, "Have you...you know?"
"Slept with her?" Cao Cao finished the sentenced.
"Yes."
"No, knowing her she would somehow turn that against me, so it best to keep her close but not too close because once she becomes fixated on something she would either kill it or keep it"
"And which category do you fit into" Georg questioned as he realized the implications at what he was saying.
"Both." Cao Cao said he turned his attention back to name she gave him "Zhang Jue."
"Gremory, I need you to assume a more pitiful form." Goetia commanded the demon pillar.
With an audible screech, it complied and slowly but surely the demon pillar was transformed into a man with long flowing, bright red hair with a lean muscular frame.
"It's been a while since I used this inferior form." He spat as he waited for his king's command.
"Indeed, my friend indeed, Ill will need your help to plant the seeds for the final singularity." Goetia explained as he took a seat on his throne.
"Whatever you command my king." Gremory gave the king a sly smile as he saw it as his chance to one-up 'Lev'.
"Good, I need you to use three holy grails and plant them in different spots on the planet. The first one should go to a monkey named Freed Sellzen, the rest is up to you. I trust you know what to do."
"Of course." Gremory responded before bowing his head before Goetia and teleporting to his first destination.
Author's notes
Well, this is the end of the second arc of this story and we will now have a series of interludes that happen between this and the start of canon. I have a poll up for Yall to choose which story will get a new chapter.
Thank you for the reviews and I'll try my best to address them.
Graywolfden and Movielover8210- Thank you for your compliments
NazgulBelserion- Indeed
Rangle- There are plans for Issie and Rias
Deus - Remembering details of every weapon and ability is a bit difficult especially at the moment
king Gilgamesh- MC will indeed improve
Alter-Bot- Yup
Mister T 1- interesting