“Get down first. I can’t deal with surprises while you’re clinging to me like that, Ishtar.”
Gilgamesh wrapped an arm around Ishtar’s waist and lifted her off him.
Ishtar’s cheeks flushed red at once, and the body that had been steadily growing cold just moments ago warmed again with miraculous speed.
“W-wait! How dare you lay hands on a goddess’s body like that?!”
The feel of that strong arm around her waist instantly threw her into disarray. Her whole body went stiff, and her hands and feet no longer seemed to know what to do.
“What does that matter now? This is hardly the time to fuss over it.”
Gilgamesh set her down and only let go once she had regained her footing.
It was a habit he had carried since childhood—being gentle with those weaker than himself.
Sensing that gentleness, Ishtar felt that Gilgamesh was still the same as before. Whatever had made his words and actions rougher of late, the gentleness buried in his bones had not vanished.
That thought left Ishtar dazed.
But…
“You’re right.”
Her gaze sharpened as she surveyed the surroundings.
“This is no time for romance! Something’s very wrong here!”
“Who, exactly, is trying to romance you?”
Gilgamesh shot back as he walked over to one of the divine temples and examined it closely.
“This is Tammuz’s temple. He’s the god of plants,” Ishtar explained from beside him.
“A god of plants, hm? I suppose the style fits.”
Looking up at the towering temple before him, massive as a small mountain, Gilgamesh rapped his knuckles against its wall.
“I can’t feel even a trace of Divinity from it, and in its own way, that is rather remarkable.”
“What? Did you notice something?”
Ishtar asked at once.
“Yes. I realized it the moment I got close. This temple is still functioning.”
Gilgamesh threw a punch that burst with a shockwave, fully displaying the monstrous strength granted by his demigod bloodline.
BANG!
Even before his fist connected, Ishtar had already decided the wall was about to collapse.
It did not collapse.
“Tch.”
Seeing the wall remain completely unscathed, Gilgamesh clicked his tongue and drew back his hand.
“That settles it. There is definitely something wrong with this temple.”
Ishtar nodded in agreement.
“Why are these temples still functioning when all their Divinity has completely vanished?”
“No idea. Under normal circumstances, that would mean the god and the temple had been entirely severed from one another, but judging by this, the matter is not so simple.”
Ishtar turned to look toward the other temples.
“Let’s check somewhere else too… hm? What’s that?”
Suddenly, she pointed in one direction.
“That is…”
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes and saw something running toward them along the road beside the temple.
“A lion?”
He did not sound entirely certain.
“Probably…”
Whatever it was, it did not look friendly.
Soon, the beast’s cry reached their ears. It really had come from that “lion.”
But this lion looked rather different. And rather larger.
It had a human face.
“Grrraaaah!”
Its body, larger than a truck, hurled itself straight at the two of them. An ordinary person would have died of fright on the spot.
And yes—something that large, with a human face, lunging at you with its maw wide open was not a pleasant sight. That uncanny-valley face alone was enough to chill anyone to the bone.
When it was only a dozen meters or so away from Gilgamesh, the beast suddenly leaped, opening its bloodstained mouth to bite down on him.
“A shockwave, I can forgive.”
The one about to be eaten did not look the least bit concerned, while the person beside him was already looking at the creature as though it were dead.
“But foul breath is where I draw the line.”
Slice.
Something cut through the giant beast’s body, and the force knocked its pouncing form off course, sending it crashing into a nearby temple.
This beast, possessed of considerable intelligence and battle instinct, desperately kicked off the temple wall to regain its balance and land as quickly as possible for another attack.
Throughout it all, its eyes never left its two prey.
It saw it clearly: the unknown golden man had taken out something shaped like an umbrella and used it to shield himself and the woman.
It did not understand. Would that actually be useful in a fight?
It got its answer very soon.
Slice! Splatter!
Golden light flashed, and more than a dozen weapons either pierced through it or tore it open, draining away all its life.
Blood poured down from its body, only to be blocked by the umbrella.
So that was what it was for.
Then its body hit the ground and stopped moving.
“Next time, don’t let the enemy get that close.”
Ishtar waved a hand as she complained.
“It stank.”
“Was I not trying to avoid catching you in the crossfire? For all I knew, it might simply have wanted to come over and say hello.”
Speechless, Gilgamesh put the umbrella away—then, after a moment’s thought, simply threw it aside instead.
“And besides, I know who the enemy is now.”
He looked at the dead human-faced lion on the ground.
“The timing fits as well.”
“So… who is it?”
Ishtar asked immediately. There was no god more invested in that answer than she was.
“Most likely an invader from another world. But if I remember correctly, that person should possess Divinity. Yet their subordinates are the sort that erase Divinity?”
Gilgamesh frowned.
He had felt no Divinity whatsoever from a divine beast like this sphinx.
That was strange. Combined with the abnormalities in Ishtar’s body and in these temples, Gilgamesh felt this warranted very serious thought.
“According to Kurumi Tokisaki, that Lostbelt King truly did unite the entire planet’s power under the identity of a Divine King. So why can’t I sense any Divinity?”
“Gil.”
“Hm?”
Ishtar suddenly called out to him.
“Gil, look.”
She pointed into the distance, and Gilgamesh followed her finger.
More than a dozen sphinxes were charging toward them.
“There’s no need to fight them.”
Gilgamesh made the decision at once.
“Vimana.”
The giant heavenly vessel emerged from a golden ripple, and he and Ishtar leaped aboard.
“Let’s go up and take a look.”
“Agreed.”
Ishtar had been thinking the same thing.
“How did you come here?”
A deep, resonant voice echoed through the air. Gilgamesh saw the dozen or so sphinxes charging toward them come to a halt.
“How did you come to my domain?”
The voice asked again.
The instant Gilgamesh heard it, his eyes widened.
He could never forget that voice. Not in this life.
“So it was you. Of course it was you… Not merely your subordinates. You came in person.”
Covering his forehead, he slowly began to laugh.
“Bwaha…”
“Bwahahahahahahaha! So it’s you!”
“What are you laughing at?”
the voice demanded, and Gilgamesh finally saw the figure.
Roughly five hundred meters away from the Vimana, he sat upon a throne suspended in empty space, looking at Gilgamesh and Ishtar.
“It’s him! Goldie!”
Ishtar saw the man seated on the throne as well, and her pupils contracted.
“What did you do to the gods?!”
“What did I do?”
The man lifted his eyes, about to answer.
But he never got the chance.
A crimson storm began to coil into being. Ishtar whipped around to look at Gilgamesh.
In his hand was a “sword” spinning faster and faster, and upon that “sword” gathered the “principle” of creation.
“[ENUMA…]”
The storm condensed into a mass. Ishtar did not even have time to say anything before she shot away at top speed.
Her instincts told her one thing with perfect clarity—getting caught in that attack would be a disaster.
Staring at the figure in the distance, Gilgamesh swung Ea in one clean motion.
“[ELISH]!!”
T/N: i love how he just yea lemme unleash np right away LMAOOOOOOOOOOO
ozty
this is vimana btw
This is a fan translation of 我要往王之财宝里再加点东西 by 海绵宝宝宝宝 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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