Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 134 of the story! First things first, sorry for the delay. Got a bit occupied during the week. Second, hope all of you are having a great time with the collab event in the meantime. And third, who's excited for Nintendo Switch with the spiritual successor of Bloodborne as an exclusive?...Not me with those prices. The day a game hits 100$, is the day I know god has abandoned humanity.
And with that said, let's head into the chapter!
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author
"I'm going to kill you once and for all here!"
Ishtar, the divine mesopotamian goddess and one of the Three Goddess Alliance, proclaimed while threatening Gilgamesh, making and pointing a fingergun at him, having grown tired of the king of Uruk by some reason that could be traced many years back. The disdain on her face passed very well that emotion to the outside alongside her words, having invaded in a blitz and unnanounced the ziggurat's temple just to kill him.
Alas, Gilgamesh on the other hand didn't seemed afraid at all despite having a literal deity announcing his impending death at her own hands, looking at Ishtar rather with a bored face of someone that had become too used with the goddess antics. "Oh, really? Are you actually doing it or this is just another one of your weekly tantrums, you haughty goddess? What was it this time? Did the jewels in your posession couldn't pamper you enough?"
"Keep talking, you conceited king!" Ishtar lifted up her voice tone, the mana circuits in her arm glowing, not admitting any mockery to her figure. Specially the king of Uruk. "Such insults from someone that does nothing but spend entire days with his ass down in one place are low to me!"
"Hmm, I am terribly unfortunate to tell you that's simply not true." Gilgamesh replied, keeping on maintaining his calm and royal posture. "Just some few days ago, I went up to the Absolute Demonic Front to check on the line's defenses. Didn't see you there. Is it because the mere and smallest sensation of my presence made your legs trembled in fear so much that you went back to your temple in the mountains like a coward, O wimpy goddess?"
Ishtar's teeth cleench at the provocation. "That tongue of yours was really just made to spout profanity, you blonde arrogant prick! And to think I ever had a crush on you before!"
Having recovered from the falling wreckage and with the dust getting clear, the party alongside Siduri and the soldier were all able to spot the goddess near Gilgamesh, the mood between the two sounding tense and on edge.
It didn't even took two seconds for Ritsuka to recognize her. "Hey. Ain't that..."
"It's truly her! Goddess Ishtar has returned to Uruk!" Siduri exclaimed in shock and alert, looking to the soldier by her side. "Alert all the workers and soldiers in the temple! We can't let her rampage expand beyond the ziggurat for the city's safety!"
"That's the girl we met on the north of Mesopotamia!" Peko exclaimed, remembering of the chaldeans first meeting with her a few days ago.
"It is! Now it makes sense why she looked so powerful back there!" Mash said. "To think we actually encountered Ishtar of all the mesopotamian deities!"
"Sure felt like random luck!..." Nala replied, her voice proceeding to fall into silence as her head was thinking for a few seconds. "By the way, mind telling me who Ishtar is exactly in this whole thing?"
"Bah!?" A short but very clear moment of exagerated indignation flashed through Ishtar's face. For a goddess, this felt painful hearing it the first time.
"Ishtar is the deity of Uruk-..."
"Ishtar is the deity of Uruk-..."
Coincidentally on timing, both Romani and Merlin tried to answer to Nala's question, ending up speaking along each other's voice initially before coming to an awkward stop. The doctor gave a deadpan, almost irritated look to the wizard, wondering if he now wanted to do his job. Merlin in return just smirked and shrugged hus shoulders, signaling to Romani that the explanation was all his.
"Goddess Ishtar, or even Inanna, is a female deity of many things in Mesopotamia. Namely war, fertility and also love and sensuality. In every city in mesopotamian mythology, there is a deity designated to look over and bless each city that venerates to them accordingly through the existence of their own personal temples." Romani said, doing the brief background on Ishtar. "Here in Uruk, there is a secondary temple not far from the ziggurat you're in. And that temple is the Temple of Eanna, built solely dedicated to Ishtar, making her the patron deity of Uruk!" He concluded with that fundamental piece of information about the deity in front of them.
"So we are basically in her home." Ritsuka replied.
"Well, it hasn't been her home as of late." Siduri told to the master of humanity, gaining a dumb look from him.
"Huh?"
"Being called upon down here to the earthly realm from the astral one, Ishtar was originally supposed to help out King Gilgamesh protect Uruk from the advances of the Demonic Beasts as well as other forces since this city is her altar and domain on the planet." Merlin proceeded to be the one giving the exposition now. "Howbeit, upon being summoned through the ritual of the high-priestess, Ishtar instead decided to abandon Uruk and reside on another area of the region just a few days after her materialization on Mesopotamia." The mage gave a resolute stare to the goddess who was still holding Gilgamesh's life 'at gunpoint'. "Thus, we all have assumed that she betrayed civilization to become part and found the very nemesis of Mesopotamia."
"The Three Goddess Alliance? So she ended up betraying humanity?" Peko replied, a bit shocked that having been summoned to help the people of Uruk and Mesopotamia in its entirety to survive, the goddess instead decided to abandon her duties and city she was supposed to protect.
"Judging by her demeanor when we first met her, it honestly doesn't surprise me." Nala said, referring to how snobbish and full of herself Ishtar behaved with the chaldeans before.
"Goddess privileges. You would understand if you were one." Ishtar responded to Nala, dividing a piece of her attention on the rest of the party besides Gilgamesh. "Alas, you are not."
"That's the arrogance I'm talking about..." Nala murmured with a displeased face.
Ishtar then looked to the rest of them while still pointing her finger at Gilgamesh, showing that even if she wasn't gazing at the king of Uruk, she remained aware and wary of any move he might pull. "So you misfits are also here."
"Misfits?" Ritsuka gave a befuddled look at the deity.
"You heard me! Or what? Did you thought I had already forgot how you touched me?" Ishtar brought up the 'crime' Ritsuka committed on her, persisting on being on the goddess mind.
"I already told you that it was an accident!" Ritsuka exclaimed, vexed that Ishtar was still insisting on such a non-problem scenario that he could in no way had prevented it.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Ishtar responded, believing on Ritsuka doing that on purpose being a thing she would carry with her until the end of time. "Are you here to side with this arrogant or something?"
"Uhm, well..."Mash would say that they were. But that was a situation that wasn't going as expected before Ishtar arrived in the middle of it.
"So you do are." Ishtar didn't waited for the shielder to respond, already going to the assumption. "That means I'll also have to kill you now."
"Uh?! W-Why?!" Peko exclaimed, thinking that the goddess had just escalated the situation to a hundred.
"You wouldn't be here in Uruk to simply kill him, would you?" Ishtar replied. "If you are, then you definetly won't have any problem with me killing this bastard right here, right?"
"...I'm afraid we can't allow you to do that." Ritsuka responded, showing that he and his team wouldn't let Ishtar kill Gilgamesh in front of them.
"Proving exactly my point." Ishtar replied, her guess about the chaldeans being correct. "So now you're also in my kill list as well!"
Gilgamesh chuckled briefly behind her. "As narcissistic and incompetent as you are, I'm sure that list must be a long one by now."
Turning around, the goddess gave the king of Uruk a fake gleeful smile as she masked her anger with a giggle. "Ahahaha, you're so funny, Gilgamesh!" She decided to end things there, pulling the 'trigger' of her fingergun. "Die."
Siduri immediatly widened her eyes in horror. "King Gil-"
Giving no time for the others to react, Ishtar fired a projectile from the huge bow floating item near her, the attack going at light speed torwards the Gilgamesh who reacted rather calmly, eyes closed when as quick as the blow Ishtar had sent torwards him, the king of Uruk simply called forth a golden battle axe on his hand and parried the goddess blow with swiftness, much to Ishtar's frustration.
"Tsk!"
"Are we done with your tantrum, divine mongrel?" Gilgamesh opened up his eyes, staring solemnly at the goddess. For even if he was a king and not a deity, he was the legendary ruler that could almost be considered as a god, blessed and cursed by many of Mesopotamia.
"See? No panic in his face." Merlin said calmly and relaxed, knowing that attack wouldn't mean any real danger to someone like Gilgamesh.
"Amazing! King Gilgamesh was able to deflect Ishtar's attack with ease!" Mash commented.
"And he's not even an Heroic Spirit at the time this Singularity is happening." Romani added, also impressed. "But to have already deflected an attack from a goddess...There's no doubt why people here in Mesopotamia perceived him as a semi-divine and mythical king beyond the epic!"
In the next second afterwards, Ishtar was prevented to attack Gilgamesh again, not by the king himself, but by the sudden tackles and attacks from Nala and Ana, both girls forcing the goddess to back away from the king of Uruk. Ishtar hadn't even got some meters back when she once again avoided other attacks, this time from Peko and Mash, firing and throwing the light bullet and shield respectivelly, sending the goddess to land her feet on the ground, closer to the temple's exit rather than the throne where Gilgamesh was still sitting.
"Like I said before: we won't let you King Gilgamesh!" Ritsuka told to Ishtar, the chaldeans now stannding between her and the king of Uruk alongside Ana and Merlin.
Siduri hurriedly approached Gilgamesh in the meantime. "Your Highness! Are you o-"
"I am, Siduri. That attack wasn't even enough to gain a scare out of me." Gilgamesh responded, signaling with his hand for his secretary to not worry about him. "I'll be fine. Make sure to not get yourself hurt in the meantime." He told her, being an order but sounding almost caring enough to be a request.
Seeing the line of defense that had formed in front of her, Ishtar scratched her head in exasperation. "Aaah, and I had a clear shot and everything! Cursed be that Ninsun for being the reason of your half-god blood!"
"Two-thirds god blood. Get that right at least, you ignorant goddess." Gilgamesh corrected her, only adding more fuel to the fire that was Ishtar's temperament.
"One-third, two-thirds, a half. I don't give a damn! I'll see that for myself when I end up stenching the walls with your blood!" Ishtar exclaimed, preparing her bow floating object to fight.
"Hm, let's see you try then." Gilgamesh responded, resting his face on his hand, smirking. He had to admit that pissing Ishtar off, of all the gods, was amusing to him, no matter what. He then proceeded to stare down on the party, namely the chaldeans. "Also, did I demand for your protection per chance?" His gaze then stared specificaly to Ritsuka. "I thought I had labeled you useless and decreed your exit from the ziggurat, deaf mongrel."
"It ain't like that, Your Highness!" Ritsuka responded, still treating the king of Uruk with respect, as a figure of authority like him ordered. "But if Ishtar ends up killing King Gilgamesh and get her hands on the grail, Uruk and the entire Mesopotamia falls and humanity is doomed!" Ritsuka justified the stance he and the others were taking now. "And we can't allow that to happen!"
"..." Gilgamesh's eyes glinted with some interest in the master of humanity's declaration.
"So whether Your Highness as ordered or not, I apologize but we'll stay here instead!" Ritsuka concluded his response to Gilgamesh.
Genuinely surprised for a brief moment, the king of Uruk's lips curled into a smile. Anyone else of Ritsuka's kind would have walked away with no objections to his order. Many would be way too coward to even think of defying the king's request while others would have already left feeling worthless after Gilgamesh's veredict on their non-existing usefulness to him. Yet, Ritsuka Fujimaru was showing to be different so far. Even if he had already been called useless by the mythical King of Heroes, the master of humanity remained in the place and willing to defend Gilgamesh against Ishtar. Not because he wanted to impress the king or prove him wrong. But because it was what his conviction and duty genuinely told him. And that was worthy of the king's slight interest.
"Eh. Perhaps you aren't as dissapointing as I thought." Gilgamesh said, still looking down at the chaldeans while his head came with an idea. "Since you desire so much to help me Chaldea, you have my permission to do so against Ishtar!"
"So King Gilgamesh accepts fully our side's aid?" Mash turned around with an hopeful smile, looking at Gilgamesh.
"Don't jump to rushed conclusions already idiot!" Gilgamesh rebuked Mash instead of giving a clear answer. "Look ahead to your enemy instead! If I'm giving you a chance then at the very least make sure to take it and not be of waste!"
Having been scolded by the king of Uruk, the shielder immediatly did as he told. "Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
"What a way to sound like a severe king..." Peko murmured on the side, seeing how Gilgamesh's voice demanded concentration through his autorithy. Unlike the Lion King who was stern but had no emotions to her person, Gilgamesh showed to be a lot more expressive despite his serious demeanor.
"King Gilgamesh used to be worse." Siduri responded to Peko, her mind vaguely going back to the younger years of Gilgamesh as an arrogant king of no duty.
"Yet you could argue it is that very same severity that makes him govern Uruk greatly to this day." Merlin responded to the boy.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Your Highness!" Ritsuka replied to Gilgamesh, expressing his gratitude to the king of Uruk while still looking at Ishtar in front of the party.
"Don't throw gratitude that can still be in vain." Gilgamesh replied, maintaining his firm and important posture as he summoned back the stone book he had previously used to test the chaldeans and Ana. "We have yet a lousy intruder to get rid of."
"Hard way it is then." Ishtar speaked, brushing some of her hair with her hand, getting prepared to fight them all at once, her eyes showing glimmers of her divinity. "Time to teach you humans why you don't generally piss off a goddess!"
"Watch it folks! Ishtar is no joke at all!" Romani warned the party. "If she's really the mesopotamian goddess, then that large floating bow of hers must be Maanna, the Boat of Heaven! It is said to be the fastest object of travelling in the entire Mesopotamia as well as said to have interstellar teleportation! Her Noble Phantasm must be connected with it or something related!"
"It also seems to be her main weapon." Nala replied to the doctor. "Got it! We'll make sure to not let her use it overwhelmingly on us!"
"Our enemy here is Ishtar of the Three Goddess Alliance! Whatever occurs, we mustn't let her kill King Gilgamesh!" Mash exclaimed, positioning her shield for the fight. "Get ready, everyone!"
With everyone in line, the battle against Ishtar start.
Taking something out from her back, Ishtar smirked to her opponents. "How about a test on your reflexes?"
"Are those...jewels?" Peko said as he looked to the stone gems Ishtar was holding between her fingers.
"Catch it!" Ishtar immediatly hurled her gems at them, travelling at an high speed.
"Stay back at everyone!" Merlin exclaimed as he stepped forward and with a movement of his staff, created a defensive transparent barrier that blocked the goddess jewels who burst out in explosions, the party shielded by Merlin's defensive spell that still fell down.
"They're explosives!?" Ritsuka exclaimed in shock as he protected his face against the hard blowing wind.
Gilgamesh remained unfazed on his throne despiste the gusts of wind, attentive to what the goddess would pull next.
From the small curtain of smoke that had been created by those explosions, Ishtar cane out of it in a dash, her floating body travelling quickly torwards Ritsuka. "You're the first one to go!"
"!" Reacting in surprise, Ritsuka had narrowly any time to move his body to dodge as the patron goddess of Uruk prepared her leg and aimed to land a kickstrike right on the master of humanity's face.
Luckily, Mash blocked the blow in time with her shield, preventing the first strike from destroying Ritsuka's head. However, the power of Ishtar's leg was enough to make the entire shield vibrate, causing Mash's feet to slide on the ground, the shielder trying to maintain a tight grasp on her trembling weapon as the blocked blow caused her to inadvertently cause some exposure on her defense. "Ghg!"
Ishtar was about to go for a second strike when Nala attacked her in a flash, forcing the goddess to step away and fire projectiles from Maanna in retaliation. The girl for her own was extremely focused on the fight, sprinting forward while slashing the projectiles down with her pristine sword, proceeding to summon her armour. If she was going up against a goddess, then she shouldn't be holding the maximum of her abilities back.
Ishtar flew her body into the air to gain aerial advantage but Nala quickly made her lose it as she jumped high in the air, getting on the same height as the goddess. "Don't think you can be all comfortable up there!"
Watching Nala approaching, Ishtar threw another couple of jewels to explode at the girl's face. From the ground, Merlin once again intervened by putting a defensive barrier around Nala, letting it take the damage instead as the girl advanced torwards Ishtar who had other jewel in her hand.
"You really are a persistent brat, aren't you?" With the gem in her hand, Ishtar utilized its power to enhance her own speed, her body beggining to move and travel faster around the temple as she tried to get the persuing girl away from her. Not only she had to worry about Nala being on her tail, she also had to be vigilant of everyone down below.
Putting on the armour of his own, Peko went to materialize and fire a couple of stars at Ishtar in the air.
"Luminary Route!"
Shooting them, Peko got Ishtar's sight on him who dodged away from his stars and fired back projectiles at him. Helping the boy out, Merlin and Gilgamesh both also decided to release fire torwards the floating goddess, the king of Uruk opening his stone book to release the thousands of weapons from his treasury. Soon, the scenario inside the temple became one of absolute chaotic cross-fire, holes in the walls and ceillings being made as many columns were hit or collapsed upon the blows as collateral damage, with Ishtar moving ever so fast to evade the attacks that were fired at her or either reply back with her own projectiles while still having the mental notion of Nala being on the chase behind her, dodging from her slashes as well.
That many attacks coming from everywhere was already getting on the goddess nerves. She wanted to kill Gilgamesh and be done with this as quickly as possible. Thus, specifically with her eyes aiming at him, Ishtar fired a rain of projectiles from Maanna torwards the king of Uruk who remained composed on his throne. But unlike before were he had utilized his battle axe to deflect the attacks, he let that job be handled by Ana, the Rogue Servant appearing from behind as she swinged her scythe torwards the projectiles, cancelling each of them, successfuly protecting Gilgamesh.
Having been a small element of surprise, Ana's chained scythe wrapped around a nearby column, with the servant herself swinging across the temple, gaining momentum as she launched herself in the air, catching up to Ishtar in the right moment. Having the servant's scythe swinged at her, Ishtar blocked the attack with her own bow as Nala approached quickly from behind, forcing the goddess to move away. However, in doing so, Ana's scythe got closer to her body as Ishtar returned back to the ground.
Landing, the goddess had just straighten up her body as she felt a warm liquid running down from her cheek. "!" Touching the area, the goddess stared to her fingers, now stained in red. Blood was leaking from her cheek, having suffered a small cut from Ana's scythe.
"Ishtar's bleeding! We managed to land a hit on her!" Mash announced, seeing this as a sign that the battle was going on their favour.
"Nice one, Ana!" Nala told to the other girl for having landed the attack, the servant just doing a small 'hm' while lowering her head a bit, still concentrated on the battle.
"Even if it was only a scratch, it shows we can beat her!" Peko said, optimistic.
"Keep going, guys!" Ritsuka said, about to cast a support spell on the party with his Command Seals. "If we start landing more damaging attacks, we'll win this!"
"I think you aren't understanding the situation here then." Merlin told to Ritsuka, sounding more concerned.
Gilgamesh also wasn't displaying much bravado, his gaze eyeing Ishtar with caution, for he knew that the goddess they were fighting so far wasn't using all her power. "Hesitating to use your Authority to the fullest, eh? As easy to read as ever."
"What do you mean?" Ritsuka looked to Merlin, addled.
"A deity just so happened to have been injured. And normally, vainglorious deities like Ishtar see anyone else that isn't a divine being below them. So what do you think happens to Ishtar's temperament when one that she considers beneath het managed to strike her body?" Merlin said, telling to Rutsuka and the others what harming Ishtar would unlock.
And that was a realization that settled in inside the master of humanity's head instantly. "Oh yeah...She's gonna get pissed."
And that, unfortunatly for them, was an understatement.
"You...You hit me." Ishtar felt her patience running out as it was replaced by an immense anger. "How dare you?" She said in a cold and low voice, menacingly.
"Gleaming Brilliant Crown!"
Activating a skill, sudden and violent winds released from the floor beneath her feet as a powerful golden light emmanated from a magecraft circle that the goddess conjured on the ground.
"Ghgh!" Ritsuka and the rest protected their faces from the powerful air that was taking control inside the temple. A sign that Ishtar was more than livid.
"Even if this body is a vessel, it is still my body! The one of a goddess!" She exclaimed, sounding more authoritive and threatening, giving a sensation that they were about to feel the true wrath of the divine. "This act of heresy shall not go unpunished! If its king refuses to die, then the whole Uruk shall pay for the crime against its own guardian deity as well!" Proclaiming as if she was about to pass down judgement, her boat of heaven, Maanna, begun to shine as some pieces of stone from the temple were being eroded away from the strong winds.
"Holy crap! Ishtar's mana levels sky rocketed to astronomical levels!" Romani shouted in huge worry through his hologram. "You really made her lose her cool! I fear what she's about to unleash is her Noble Phantasm!"
"She's actually planning to eradicate an entire city just to kill us and King Gilgamesh?!" Peko said in bewilderment, thinking that the goddess was once again taking extreme measures and out of proportion.
"I told you!" Merlin said, protecting his face as well.
"Talk about a goddess with bad temperament!" Ritsuka replied, trying to come with a way to stop Ishtar from unleashing her Noble Phantasm that could wipe out the entire Uruk.
The winds were getting even more hostile as Mash had to put her shield in front of her to try and stop them from coming and Ana's hood was even taken off from her head, revealing her long pink hair.
"King Gilgamesh! What is Your Highness suggests for us to do to stop the goddess ire?" Siduri seeked advice from her king, hoping he had a strategy or way to stop Ishtar.
Alas, despite the huge threat and seemingly near end that his city and himself were about to face, Gilgamesh remained calm and unflustered by the situation, looking the goddess in the eyes. And in those eyes, it was explained why for such serene reaction of the king of Uruk. He knew, that no matter the threat, Ishtar just wouldn't do it.
A stare that irritated Ishtar even more when looking back at Gilgamesh. He was challenging her to try. "Hphm! You'll see if I have the courage or not!"
Preparing for what was about to come, Nala tried to position her sword. "If she's going to do it, then it's fire against fire!" She said, starting to concentrate huge amounts of mana in her blade. "My Noble Phantasm against hers!" She said, a bit hopeful that if she were to unleash her Noble Phantasm first than Ishtar's, she could prevent Uruk's destruction and their deaths.
Locking eyes on the girl, Ishtar prepared to start the beggining process of her triumph card materialization. However, her peripheral view also caught Ana who was a bit behind Nala, the goddess taking in her appearence. And it was the servant's face, that made Ishtar's eyes widden for a moment. "Uh? That's..." Ishtar thought her mind could be playing pranks, but in fact wasn't. The rogue servant's eyes, the hair, face. It all made the goddess rethink of her course of action. That servant girl's presence here in this Singularity, could change a lot of things and Ishtar knew it. Knew of her true nature and identity.
Thus, she simply gave up and lowered Maanna down, all the golden light and strong wings dissapearing in an instant as a moment of calmness returned to the temple, much to Nala and the rest of the party's confusion.
"Uh? She canceled her Noble Phantasm?" Nala raised an eyebrow as she lowered her sword, also putting an halt on hers.
"Is this a trick?" Ana said, skeptic.
"It couldn't be because Ishtar's mana runned out, could it?" Mash said, not convinced that could be that as Ishtar, without speaking a word, turned her back around to them and begun to walk torwards something in the temple.
"H-Hey! Where are you going?" Peko questioned to Ishtar, receiving no answer as they all watched her.
"..." Merlin squinted his eyes silently as he stared to Ishtar.
Heading near a destroyed column, Ishtar non-chalantly removed some wreckage out of her way and took out something cushy from it.
"Are those...pillows?" Ritsuka said wierdly, taking a focused look to the items the goddess was now holding.
"Yeah. I just came here to get some pillows for the bed chamber in my new temple in the Zagros." Ishtar revealed to them with huge calm and normality compared to when she was bursting with rage literal seconds ago. "Nothing else."
"WHAT?!"
The entire party exclaimed in huge indignation with the exceptions of Merlin and Gilgamesh. They all knew Ishtar was lying and it wasn't even a good lie.
"To get some pillows?! You think we're dumb or something to forget that you were planning to kill all of us and Uruk just a moment ago?" Nala told to Ishtar.
"Hm? I did? Must have been a word I mispoken." Ishtar told with total indifference, acting oblivious.
"Mispoken my ass!" Nala exclaimed as she picked up a stone from the ground and threw at Ishtar.
The goddess easily deflected it with a simple waver from her hand, beggining to walk torwards the exit of the temple. "Have the tantrums you like, kid. I already have to put up with that annoying king's nonsense and construction of his 'New Akkad' or something near my temple, so I'm not with much patience right now."
Gilgamesh's eyes slightly moved with curiosity to what Ishtar had just said. That could be useful information.
"So is the goddess just leaving then?" Siduri left Gilgamesh's side to walk up torwards Ishtar, kinda of confronting her. "Apologies if I might sound blasphemous in her eyes as a worshiper of her figure but shouldn't goddess Ishtar at least help us fix the damage caused inside the ziggurat's temple?"
"And? Since when would that be worthy of my time?" Ishtar responded to Siduri, not showing any sense of guilt or shame for having fought with them. "This is that stuck-up idiot's domain, isn't it? Then that's his problem, not mine."
"Don't mind if I use the stones of your old temple here in Uruk to reppair the damages then." Gilgamesh responded with some vitriol hidden in his royal voice tone. He and Ishtar's bitter relationship was beyond petty.
"Meh! Fine by me! See you tomorrow or whenever I'm feeling like it next time!" Ishtar snobbishly brushed her hair, about to fly away from the ziggurat with her Maanna. "But if the O so great King Gilgamesh ends up dying till there, make sure to keep a white flag ready to wave so that I can appear." She speaked torwards Siduri, gaining a confused reaction out of her.
"A white flag to wave?" The secretary said, not getting it.
"Anyways, gotta go now! It's almost time for my beauty sleep. Bye bye!" Giving her half-hearted farewell, the goddess rocketed away to the skies, leaving the ziggurat and the city and an angry Nala behind.
"Nnnngh! That big, rotten, stupid..."
"Disdainful goddess." Ana said near Nala's side.
"Yeah! Couldn't pick a better word to fit that jerk!" Nala replied, turning around to speak with the other girl. "Oh. Nice hair by the way, Ana."
"Thanks." Ana replied shortly before putting back on the hood. "But I prefer it this way if possible."
"What do we do now? Go after her?" Peko said, the party just standing there in the middle of the wreckage after Ishtar had left. "She said she would be back later."
"And the fun ends. A bit of an anticlimatic ending." Gilgamesh just sighed, proceeding to excercise his shoulders a bit. "Siduri, go get the tablets of the other day. There's still some topics needing to be adressed."
Without questioning, Siduri did as told. "Understood Your Highness. Be right back!"
"Huh?" Ritsuka and the chaldeans looked to the king of Uruk a bit addled.
"What are those looks for? The battle has ended and I'm grateful for your contribution." Gilgamesh looked on them with a bothered look. "Now leave the temple unless you don't mind standing hours here hearing about economics and administrative business."
Letting out a sound of relief, Merlin stretched up his arms. "Yeeah! It definetly isn't a thing I'm not very interested into. May I assume I can leave for my functions for today, Your Highness?"
"King Gilgamesh and the rest are just going to go back to your royal business as if nothing happened?" Mash said perplexed, not understanding such conformity from Gilgamesh, Merlin and Siduri.
"Yeah, like, your whole temple got almost destroyed, man!" Romani told to Gilgamesh. "Aren't you at least going to send someone after her as payback?"
"Why though?" Gilgamesh replied wit no interest, picking up a clay tablet that was resting on the arm of his throne. "That stupid goddess is always like this. It would be a waste of time?"
"Always like this?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow.
"It's almost daily to have Ishtar's 'visits' by this point." Merlin said, willing to clarify. "The goddess gets some random reason to get angry, comes here to Uruk, causes some commotion, her anger ends and then she flies back to her residence. Honestly, I'm starting to think she just feels bored in her new temple and comes down here to Uruk to kill it under new pretexts." The wizard giggled as he smiled slyly to Gilgamesh. "Does the king thinks it might be the persistence of some old feelings?"
"I'll double down your work." Gilgamesh said as he was staring at the text of the tablet stone on his hand.
"Comment retracted!" Merlin replied, seeing that Gilgamesh didn't find it funny, hoping that the king wouldn't really do that.
"So Ishtar comes here almost daily? Why doesn't King Gilgamesh fights her to end that?" Peko asked Gilgamesh. "If she's part of the Three Goddess Alliance, then she's an enemy."
"She's a nuisance." Gilgamesh responded with some tiredness. "Her 'threats' have long lost any real significance. Ignore her in the meantime. Plus, I have long left that fighting and warrior side of me behind."
"But why?" Nala asked him. "Wouldn't still having all those fighting skills be more advantageous in order to fight against the goddesses? They said you were pretty strong back then so why no longer be like that?"
"Offensive power isn't all when we are at war." Gilgamesh simply responded. "Warriors aren't the only things that wins it."
"Defensive strategy is also important." Merlin said. "While it may seem at first that if King Gilgamesh was still his warrior persona, the war against the Three Goddess Alliance would be over quickly, who then would be left to protect Uruk? What would happen if it suffered a surprise attack while His Highness was away fighting? Pride and arrogance could also get in the way of vital decision making. Thus, to be able to protect Uruk in the best way His Highness could, King Gilgamesh became a wise king and locked away all his past glories."
"So King Gilgamesh becoming a wise king was for Uruk's sake just like in the epic." Mash commented. "A fundamental piece of character development that helped His Highness realize what was essential for him."
Coming from the side entrance, Siduri came back with the clay tablets. "Here are the appointments of the daily topics of the day Your Highness requested." She said, lying them down on a small table next to Gilgamesh's throne.
"Thank you, Siduri." Gilgamesh said, lying down the tablet he was holding and going to pick up another one from the pile.
"Sooo, talking about topics, I don't want to sound too bothering but..." Scratching the back of his neck, Ritsuka looked up to Gilgamesh. "Did this fight made King Gilgamesh rethink about a certain topic?"
Taking the clay tablet away from his face, the king of Uruk, looked at him and the rest of the team, Ana included. "Your efforts in fighting are as lovable as your efforts to try and convince me otherwise about my opinion on you. However, my veredict has been given and can hardly be changed." Despite the small praise, Gilgamesh still rejected their help, much to the chaldeans dismay.
"Aah, Your Highness doesn't need to act all tough in wanting to handle this alone!" Nala tried to argue. "If King Gilgamesh accepts all of Chaldea's help, then me and my brother will be willing to join you!"
"Be it." Gilgamesh responded, going to read the first clay tablet, showing to not have any problem letting go of the opportunity of Peko and Nala being additions in his army. "This whole conflict is mesopotamian. As such, it will be the people of this era and region who shall solve it."
"Then I'm afraid our negotiations won't reach further than this." Mash said, seeing Gilgamesh going back to his work as she then turned around to speak with the rest of the team. "What do we do now then? If King Gilgamesh won't let us help him, this means we're pretty much on our own."
"Not quite. Me and Ana can still help you out, so it could be worse." Merlin said, telling the group that the two of them would still fight alongside them. "Altough it's true that having King Gilgamesh and his army to side with would make things easier in here...Oh well! At least you're guaranteed to have a home here in the city so not everything's bad." The wizard tried to sound positive with them.
But the general mood of the group wasn't that great.
"Still, we miss a chance of having a great ally in him..." Ritsuka lamented, thinking that there would be no way of getting to help Gilgamesh who refused them.
"Fou..."
"Best we could do now is to reorganize our plans in here then." Romani speaked, avaluating their current situation and the panorama of the Singularity. "Maybe there could be some servants elsewhere to the south of Uruk in control of cities that still haven't fell to the Three Goddess Alliance."
"Ooor, we could show him a little 'thing' to spike the king's interest." Merlin said cunningly as he softly jabbed Peko, remembering him of a certain 'item'.
"Hm? O-Oh! Yeah! You're right, Merlin! How could've I forgot about it for a moment?" Back to smilling, the boy went for the pocket in his pants and took out the piece of folded paper.
"The document!" Ritsuka replied, getting the idea as quickly as the rest.
"King Gilgamesh will most certainly get hugely interested by it!" Mash added.
"He might also know what it means!" Nala speaked. "If there's any better moment to show him the document, it's now!"
"And just the sight and content of the document alone could maybe convince him to get our help!" Romani also replied. "King Gilgamesh may know where you and Nala came from!"
"Fou! Fou!"
"In short: this has to work." Peko said, putting his hopes on the document in his hands. This moment could change many things if secrets were revealed. "If King Gilgamesh knows what it says. If he knows who we are, where we came from...Then...this might be it." Peko said, pensive, his heart a bit anxious. It would be fundamental for him and Nala if Gilgamesh immediatly deciphered the content of the document.
Looking at his friend, Ritsuka could tell Peko was a tad nervous. So, he put a hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy, Peko. Don't feel afraid to ask King Gilgamesh. You and Nala have deserved this moment for a long time."
"Ritsuka..." Peko looked to the smile of his friend, being encouraged by him.
"This means a whole lot for you two and we know it." Mash added, also cheering up the boy. "You deserve to know about yourselves just as I did. To get back those missing pieces."
Having heard Mash's words, Peko then felt a hand on his back as he looked to the side to see Nala.
"They're right." His sister said, smilling to Peko as well. "It is time to know the truth. You got this, brother!"
"Fou! Fou!"
Watching near them, Merlin and Ana didn't comment, aware this was a moment only meant for the team, specially to Peko and Nala.
Romani also gazed at them in silence but with a smile on his face, the hand going near his chest, awaiting for the possible reveal. And after that...many things would need to be explained. Da Vinci and the rest of the staff were also in silence, all of them on the expectation of the twins background to be unveiled.
With the encouragement given to him, Peko smiled back to his sister and friends. "Eh. Then it shall be." Pulling the document close to him, Peko closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his mind getting ready for what discovery they could be about to find out about himself and Nala. "Dad. Mom. Everyone...Today might be it." Opening his eyes, Peko was ready. "Okay. Let's do this." Turning around, Peko walked some steps forward, approaching to the throne as Gilgamesh was speaking to Siduri on Uruk's affairs. "Uhm...excuse me for the interruption, Your Highness. But before we leave the ziggurat, there's one thing I would like to talk about and present to the king. May I?"
"Depends." Gilgamesh replied, he and Siduri having put a small stop on their discussion to direct their attention to the boy, taking the clay tablet away from his face. "Will it be something worth my interest or that will make me automatically win the war?"
"Well, while I can't get an argument for the latter, the former is pretty spot on." Peko responded, proceeding to show the document paper to both of them. "Say, can King Gilgamesh read this?"
Gazing at it, Gilgamesh's eyes initially blinked in puzzlement, gesturing to Siduri to inspect it from close. The secretary attended to the request and approached Peko.
"May I?" She asked kindly and almost motherly to the boy who gave the document to her with no qualms. "Hmm, the texture of this is a bit odd." She commented once her hands touched the material, for paper wasn't a thing yet in that period of human history. But what caught more her attention, was the text written in it. "Uh? These letters..."
"What is it, Siduri?" Gilgamesh asked her, wondering what was making Siduri look surprised and interested in the document.
"My king. This...Your Highness might want to see it for himself." Siduri responded, walking torwards her king and passing the document to Gilgamesh.
The king of Uruk, for his own turn, immediatly understood why for his secretary to have reacted amazed. His eyes slightly jolted as he stared at the written text in the paper, feeling the warmness of the material. "Ah..." The letters. He gazed at each individual one as if he knew what the symbols were supposed to be. It was written in a language that didn't felt strange to him. He pondered if he was looking at some more ancient form of sumerian. Or perhaps it was akkadian? A mixture of both? A distant sister language of Mesopotamia? Whatever it was, it felt that it was meant for Gilgamesh to know what it was written in it, and yet, he was unable to fully grasp its whole meaning. "This document...How did it escaped my Clairvoyance?" Immediatly hidding his face of fascination, Gilgamesh looked to Peko. "Young child, where did you get this?"
"From a place far away from here. On a Singularity as well." Peko responded with collectedness. "We ourselves don't know what it means. But, giving the characteristic of those letters, we thought that they might be of the languages from this region. So, we assumed that King Gilgamesh might know what it says despite being written in a material that doesn't exist at this time. If anything, it would be great if Your Highness could understand what it says. It would meant a lot for us."
"And much more for you I assume." Gilgamesh told, noticing the traces of suspense in Peko's eyes.
"Yeah. Hugely. That document that King Gilgamesh's holding is not a mere ancient document. It is a clue. A big one." Peko told to the king.
"A clue?" Siduri stared at the boy near her with some confusion.
"Does Your Highness sees the insignia with the crown and pointers at the end of the document?" Peko explained as Nala stepped forward, walking torwards her brother. "It's a symbol that me and my sister have as a magical crest tattoo on our backs. Therefore, it is related to us."
"Unfortunately, we're saying this because we have no memories of our home. We are unable to remember what our previous lifes used to be like before." Nala explained, joining in the conversation since it was a matter that involved her as well. "Knowing what is written on that document however might unlock those memories. Perhaps even lead us to our actual homeland."
"..." Gilgamesh continued to let the twins speak, their situation sounding really peculiar and captivating enough to get his ears attention. Ever since they demonstrated their skills and powers in that small trail he made for the chaldeans, the the king of Uruk could see that they weren't 'average beings'.
"So, while it's true that it has nothing to do with this scenario of war against the Three Goddess Alliance, it has extreme significance for us." Peko said, beggining to speak from the bottom of his heart. "I understand if King Gilgamesh doesn't see any reason to analyze it. But after all that we've been through. To all the deaths we've escaped and obstacles we've surpassed, I think getting some answers after all of that might be rewarding. To understand where we came from. What exactly are we. Who are our parents!" Peko's fists tightened as his voice got higher, those same questions having been tormenting his head since the beggining. Nala's as well. And they were tired of having them. "So please, I beg of you, Your Highness! I know it will sound selfish of us to be requesting this but we promise to make up for it if Your Highness desires so! If King Gilgamesh can truly, truly, understand what it says, do tell us! Please!" He exclaimed, ending his request for the king, the room proceeding to fall into silence.
"..." Gilgamesh stood some good seconds without giving a response, his face with a solemn expression gazing at the two kids, but mostly Peko. He could tell that the boy's request was heartfelt and of true intention, not having any ill motivations to be lying. Peko's appeal was genuine.
On the other hand, the boy also stared to Gilgamesh in silence, his lips withdrawn as his heart pumped anxiously. He knew by now the king of Uruk wasn't the type to be very openhanded of his duties, specially if it was to accept requests of foreigners like him. Peko hoped he didn't sound like he was trying to be too demanding or taking chance of some generosity Gilgamesh could have.
Nala was also on the edge, praying inside that Gilgamesh would at least be willing to look into it. "Please..."
Ritsuka and Mash and everyone else was quiet as well, wondering what Gilgamesh's answer would be.
In his contemplative process, it was clear Gilgamesh was giving a long thought to Peko's words before staring once again to the document in his hands, seeing how authentic and extraordinaire it felt. It wasn't no falsification or fabicration. Its whole appearence was oficial. Like it was said, it was more than a simple ancient document. When analyzing its entirety, Gilgamesh finally decided to reply. "Siduri."
"Yes, Your Highness?" Siduri stared to her king.
"Send some of the workers to head down to the library of the ziggurat and retrieve all of the oldest tablet writtings of Mesopotamia stored within." Gilgamesh responded, moving the document away from his face. "We'll have to discover what the text in here says."
And with that decision, all the nervousism and anxiousness inside the temple dissapeared. Peko's heart stopped beating apprehensively as his eyes first glanced with surprise and disbilief, before slowly transforming into joy alongside a growing smile on his face. "Ah...S-So, is King Gilgamesh really-"
"Yes. I shall attend to your favour. But only this once." Gilgamesh replied with an assertive voice. "What you just gave me might be way beyond the connection to your past. This is a piece of missing history! An item that I would not mind having in my treasury! Thus, I shall try uncover its true value of what secrets are written in it."
Peko's face became even more radiant. "Tha-...My sincerest gratitude, King Gilgamesh! Honestly!"
Gilgamesh smirked softly. "Don't need to be so corteous, boy. If you want to express your happiness, do it to the fullest. You have my permission to."
"Hell yeah! You're the best, King Gilgamesh!" Nala exclaimed, overjoyed. "Thank you! Thank you so so much!" Happy, the girl went to hug her brother. "It's really happening, Peko! We're going to learn the truth about ourselves, haha!"
"Hehe, I know!" Peko chuckled as he wasn't expecting the so effusive hug of his sister. "H-Hey! At least not that tight!" He said, altough with his smile never dissapearing, the siblings joy being one in the same.
"Fou! Fou!"
From behind, Ritsuka, Mash and the rest were also smilling.
"I think this is the happiest that I've ever seen them in my life." Mash commented with a serene smile, enjoying the sight of the two children smilling and celebrating this small moment together.
Ritsuka nodded. "I would too in their shoes." He replied softly, staring to Peko and Nala. Like Mash, they meant a lot to him. But even then, a part of him was feeling reluctant, timorous with what could happen if the twins discovered about their true nature. "Will they want to leave however?" Still, the master of humanity knew this wasn't the moment to put his own personal feelings in front of Peko's and Nala's, so overall, he was happy for them.
"Ah, the joy of younglings. It makes me miss the time when I was one for a bit." Merlin said fondly to the scene.
Ana's mind felt somewhat nostalgic as well when seeing Peko and Nala being happy together. That sibling chemistry...was something that caused a sense of longing inside her. A thing she had lost a long time ago. "Siblings..."
"That smile. You're looking quite happy with this, Roman." Da Vinci said to Romani, noticing how the doctor also looked very content with the scene.
"Eh. You have no idea, Leonardo." Romani replied. "You have no idea..."
Also feeling warm and a bit cheery with the twins joy, Siduri looked to Gilgamesh. "It shall be done so, Your Highness. I'll appoint some of the employees to the library right now."
"Appreciate it." Gilgamesh said as he took his gaze back to Peko and Nala. "However, to decipher this, I will need the document to stay here with me in order to compare with the older writtings if you do not mind."
"Not at all, King Gilgamesh!" Peko responded. "Your Highness can have it and take as long as he needs."
"As long as it's decoded and translated, we don't mind Your Highness keeping it." Nala added, also not having a problem with giving the document to Gilgamesh's posession. "Buuut, by the way..." She then smiled shyly, figdeting her fingers. "Would that at least make the king reevalute his-"
"Do not abuse it." Gilgamesh cut her short, already having made his statement clear on Chaldea's aid.
"Sorry, guys. We tried." Nala cried with a defeated smile to Ritsuka and Mash.
"No stress. We'll find another way of sorting the things out here." Ritsuka told as he, Mash, Merlin and Ana approached her and Peko. "Sooner or later, I know we'll end up joining forces." The master of humanity said as he looked to Gilgamesh, believing in his own words.
The king of Uruk smiled. "That will surely take time." He then looked to Siduri. "Siduri, please escort them out our visitors from the ziggurat and drop them somewhere nice in the city. It was surely 'amusing' having your short visit to my residence. I'll make sure to warn you if I discover something about the document. Until a next time, Chaldea."
Having been ordered to leave, the chaldeans walked out of the temple and walked down the entire staircase of the ziggurat, led by Siduri that had been instructed to guide them until Uruk's main avenue. Merlin and Ana were also accompanying them.
Ritsuka sighed. "Aah, apart from getting Gilgamesh to be invested in deciphering the document, our reunion with him was kinda of a bummer."
"You tell it, master." Mash replied, also a bit dissapointed. "We may stay in Uruk as a permanent basis of operations of ours in this Singularity. But if King Gilgamesh won't accept our help, we might as well not have any real motive to stay here if not for the document."
"Hmm, what if we go to wherever Ishtar's new temple is and defeat her?" Nala proposed. "You said we were going to defeat the Three Goddess Alliance to prove Chaldea's worthiness to him, Ritsuka. So if we defeated one of them, that might could make him change on his opinion."
"Doubt it would be that simple. Our fight with her just now felt intense and it was difficult to hit her." Peko responded. "And when we did, she was ready to evaporate us all with her Noble Phantasm. We'd need to not only come up with a strategy to defeat her but also to locate her residence. It would not be impossible but certainly very hard." The boy then, looked to Ana and Merlin. "By the way, thank you for sticking with us despite of what King Gilgamesh said."
"As someone who was initially a rogue servant, I wouldn't have that much places to go or groups to belong." Ana explained. "So I guess that it was just the random of destiny that makes me stick with you. That and because I'm contracted to this sly wizard here."
"And in return, you now are part of a party! Tell me if that doesn't beat being lonely." Merlin said, stating that being with him and the chaldeans was much better for Ana.
"Still, we could have a bit more of allies in this group." Romani said, looking to Merlin. "Say, do you happen to know any more rigue servants that are scattered around Mesopotamia?"
"Unfortunately, the Heroic Spirits that I know of so far are either under King Gilgamesh's orders or working for the Three Goddess Alliance. So no, there really isn't that much more servants you can recruit to Chaldea's side." Merlin told the unlucky news. "And apart from me who's still working for Gilgamesh but also cooperating with you, I doubt the same would be the case for those other servants."
"Then this is a lost cause." Romani lamented sorrowfuly. "Our best opportunity was with Gilgamesh and now it's gone. Guess we'll have to fend for ourselves until the situation gets better or another golden chance appears."
"I don't think your opportunity with His Highness has been lost." Siduri speaked, thinking otherwise. "If anything, King Gilgamesh gained some new expectations with you after this reunion."
"What do you mean by that?" Ritsuka asked to the king's secretary as they continued to walk down the stairs of the ziggurat.
"Despite His Highness having called you useless, the fact he let you help him fight against Ishtar is prove that you might already have proved King Gilgamesh differently despite not having outright told you." Siduri explained to them. "Otherwise, King Gilgamesh wouldn't have sent me to escort you. Deep down, His Highness became aware that the rest of you can also be of essential help and not just the two children."
"Then what you're saying is that King Gilgamesh doesn't really sees us as useless?" Mash asked to the woman.
"He doesn't. King Gilgamesh simply thinks you have to do more to gain his respect. That there's a thing that's still missing in you to be worthy of lending help to King Gilgamesh, according to the very own." Siduri confirmed, revealing that while not wanting their help for the moment, it didn't mean Gilgamesh was willing to exclude any future deal or aid with Chaldea.
"So he's putting us in another sort of test? To see what else we have to make him deem us deserving enough to help him out?" Peko replied, thinking if that's what Gilgamesh intended by sending them out of the ziggurat with Siduri.
"Indeed. His Highness always wants to see if the people willing to help him can first help others out." Siduri responded in a form of a hint.
"Help others out? Who exactly?" Nala said, trying to see who Gilgamesh, and by proxy, Siduri, were referring to.
"To first help others out..." Ritsuka put a hand on his chin, trying to think.
"This whole conflict is mesopotamian. As such, it will be the people of this era and region who shall solve it."
"I get it!" Ritsuka exclaimed, remembering of that specific statement Gilgamesh made. "If we want to help King Gilgamesh, we first have to help out the people of Uruk!"
The rest of the team looked at him a bit surprise as Siduri smile grew a bit in approbation.
"That makes sense!" Romani said, also seeing the logic. "Since the greatest concern of Gilgamesh is the safety and well-being of this city, he must want his citizens to always be happy and at peace despite the times of war Mesopotamia is passing by! That way, he avoids having internal conflicts inside Uruk and keeps it united."
"So what we have to do to get his approval, is essentialy going around helping elderly pass the street, rescue cats from trees and help carrying out groceries in order to keep the people happy?" Nala said, seeing if that's what Gilgamesh wanted them to do. "That's basically community service!"
"Or at least the mesopotamian equivelent of that." Mash replied. "But it does seem that we'll have to do some chores for Uruk's people then. That seems the only way to get King Gilgamesh's opinion on us to improve."
"Testing us by wanting us to help out the population first...That does sound the sort of stuff wise kings like him would do." Peko speaked. "Gilgamesh does look like a very busy king and Uruk must have loads of daily problems that need hand in fixing. In a way, by improving the city and aiding its citizens, we're already helping King Gilgamesh out!"
"And you know what they say: The strongest city is that whose the most happiest and united." Merlin told them, glad to see that Siduri's clue was enough for the chaldeans to figure out what Gilgamesh wanted them to do.
"So, to where do we start then?" Ritsuka asked to Siduri. "Any tips?"
"Hehe, it's good to see you're already eager to start." Siduri chuckled. "But first, I need to guide you to what will be your residence here in Uruk. Also, while you've already heard my name and job already, do allow me to properly introduce myself to you this time." She speaked, the group reaching to the end of the ziggurat's staircase. "I am Siduri, King Gilgamesh's secretary and matron of Uruk's temple. Whatever is that our people needs, I shall provide alongside His Highness. An honour to meet you, chaldeans."
"Nice to meet you too, Siduri-san." Mash replied to the woman, greeting her back. "Being the matron of a temple is no easy thing, yet Siduri-san already seems she was naturally born for that duty."
"Thank you. You aren't the first one to say that." Siduri replied happy before having a question popping up in her head. "Uhmmm...could I ask you something by the way?"
"Yes. What is it?" Nala responded for the rest.
"It was about something that goddess Ishtar said before leaving the temple. 'Make sure to keep a white flag ready to wave...' What does that expression means exactly?" Siduri asked, never having heard about that before.
"Oh, that? It's usually used as a meaning of surrender or truce within a war." Nala told to the woman. "It's a way of saying 'I don't wanna fight you or consider you my enemies anymore. I give up.' That kinda of stuff."
"Hmm, so it is for that. That's an unusual way of surrendering." Siduri speaked. "Thank you for making it clear to me however." She then gestured to the main avenue ahead of them. "With that aside, shall we make our way to your new home?"
"Of course! We'd be happy to!" Mash responded.
"You're also coming with us to help the citizens of Uruk, Ana?" Peko asked to the young servant near him.
"Well, it is either that or doing nothing, so sure I guess." Ana replied in her usual tone.
"Do show us the path, Siduri!" Ritsuka told, he and the party with their hoped renovated as they walked into the lively crowds of Uruk, now aware of what they had to do in order to get the recognition they deserved from Gilgamesh. Once they'd arrive to their new base, a new goal of theirs would start within this Singularity that altough mundane, was essential for their main objective: aiding the chores of Uruk's population was now their priority.
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 134!
Comparetively smaller to the ones that have come out recently but I think it was appropriate to put the chapter's period in that moment. So not much thing happened in it honestly, just the fight with Ishtar AND Gilgamesh accepting to look onto the ancient document. Will he be able to decipher the text and what's written in it or he'll use the paper to make a blunt because overwork is killing this man? We'll see. Also, I leave my comment of appreciation to Siduri here when I say she was possibly the first great non-servant NPC introduced in the game. Like, the developers were already trying it out with some of the NPC in Camelot, but it was with Siduri that they said 'Yeah, we can make some compelling characters that don't need to automatically be servants'. So yeah, in this house, we bow and pray to Siduri.
Next chapter, you already know who's going to appear, so stay tunned for that.
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 135! Peace!
P.S:
(Staff and servants in Chaldea eating peacefully at the cafeteria)
Nala (Bursts into the room. She's wearing a red tank shirt, shorts with a black belt, red tigh high, black boots and a hanging white jacket): HEY THERE EVERYONE! CHECK OUT THIS OUTFIT I GOT FROM A NEW EVENT!
Everyone (Baffled, silent. Almost in total shock staring at Nala):...
Nala (Confused smile): E-Eeeh, why are you staring at me as if I was the protagonist of an obscure not yet released Type-Moon work that was first announced over a decade ago?
(It's actually pretty damn coincidental that the way I ended up writting Nala and her character mirrors with what would have been the actual personality of the mc from Girls' Work lmao)