Uruk's Northern Wall

Fwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Stop, stop already, you fools!

There's no way I could record a story like that for posterity! So, first you swatted her out of the sky, and then you tied her up!?

And then, after you released her out of sheer pity, she helped you escape, and fled home?

Ishtar's actually entertaining this time! I think I'll have to give her a speck of credit now!

Hm, true. It's unlike me to waste my time being amused over some goddess.

You've done a fine job this time. I'm sure it was a good lesson for Ishtar too.

Of course she is. She will always be an enemy of mankind. Even if by some fraction of a chance she changed,

her existence itself sends the world into chaos. That's just the nature of her divinity.

She's the seed of conflict. She incites war, inspires greed, and torments mankind.

She's a hopeless idiot, but she's not evil at her core. That's why she is such a nuisance.

If she were just completely evil from head to toe, I would have no qualms about destroying her.

？！

Ah, well. Next job, Fujimaru. Do you know of Nippur?

The city beyond Uruk's Northern Wall, yes? Beyond the Demonic Front...?

I heard its fortifications rival even Uruk's.

That's right. They've been surviving by locking themselves inside their walls while under siege by Demonic Beasts.

Those beasts have a set attack cycle. They're not exactly demons immune to hunger and exhaustion.

We've been evacuating the citizens of Nippur little by little in between their attacks. However, their supplies have finally run out.

They cannot hold out any longer. Therefore, we must evacuate any remaining survivors immediately.

So this is going to be a large-scale rescue mission. But, um...

What do you mean by the beasts having an attack cycle?

In that respect, they're no different from humans. I mean that they don't fight all day and all night.

Take an Ušumgallu, for example. It could take as many as ten soldiers to bring one down...

However, it doesn't have much in the way of stamina. According to legend, it could run thousands of miles in a day. But, if you study it, that seems unlikely.

An Ušumgallu can only maintain its maximum speed for about a minute. After that, it slows down and must feed.

Ah, you're talking about burning calories. There's also muscle fiber and blood vessel endurance.

It's the same with cheetahs. The fastest animal on Earth, they can get up to speeds of eighty kilometers per hour in a space of about two seconds.

But it turns out that kind of high performance can be dangerous. Maintaining that speed for more than about ten seconds could burn up their brains.

That's why cheetahs always chase their prey for under ten seconds, and burn incredible amounts of calories doing it.

If it can take down its prey, the cheetah wins. But if the prey can evade the cheetah for more than ten seconds, the prey wins.

Not bad, you catch on quick. Precisely, a Demonic Beast is not that much different than any other creature.

On the other hand, a Mušḫuššu doesn't have much combat power, but it has incredible endurance. It can be active for a whole day without feeding.

So you see, Demonic Beasts all have special traits. Usually they never fight alongside each other.

However, there's probably someone commanding them all. The commander brings them together and they come to attack once every seven days.

It may not be on the dot, but we estimate the timing, and send our strongest against them.

That was all thanks to Tomoe's work too. ...Hmph. She may have been mixed-blood, but she was a fine warrior.

Yes, her defeating Girtablilu was big. If she hadn't been there, the front would've collapsed long ago.

So this time it's our job to play that role, am I right?

Right. The other day, Ushiwakamaru and Benkei fought against the Demonic Beasts' attack.

There will be no attacks for another six days. During this pause, lead the people of Nippur to the Northern Wall!

If you manage this, I shall take back what I said about you being unnecessary!

As the protector of the Foundation of Humanity, you may become my proxy!

？！

...

Wait, Siduri. You're crying? Why?

Oh?! N-no, that is not true.

As Fujimaru's caretaker, I just was reminiscing about all the struggles we've endured up until now.

It means you guys are finally at the starting point. Well, it actually went rather quickly, considering how things usually go with the king.

Anyway, what are you going to do with the Tablet of Destinies? I thought deciphering it was also an important task?

No, I won't read it.

Fujimaru is the one who obtained it. Fujimaru should read it.

？！

You do not need to. Just lay your hands on its surface and say this:

"Ur na-nam, ur na-nam. Dur-an-ki, gir-edin." It means "There was a city, there was a city... The meeting place of heaven and earth, ■■ empty fields."

？！

That king's evil deeds... That king's cruelty...

That demon who stood by and smiled as the world's tragedies unfolded before him...

I cannot let this stand. I cannot forgive him.

So, I leave this in hopehope that these words will be passed on.

In every age, in every land, the history of mankind has been one of tragedy.

Those who kill their children. Those killed by their children. Those who know no affection. Those who abandon all affection.

Those who grieve at betrayal. Those who live for betrayal. Those who know no family. Those who abandon their families.

Those who lose wealth. Those who die for wealth. Those who know no love. Those who scorn all love.

Those who desire success. Those who loathe success. Those who defend religion. Those who despise religion.

They love their kin, detest outsiders, gain wisdom, spread ignorance, hold grudges, misunderstand, love discrimination, praise persecution, and pity compassion.

What hideous, pitiable creatures they are. However, when they are mere commoners, they may be forgiven.

Humans are imperfect. They endure their pain and loss, and live with their contradictions.

But what of an almighty king? A king with the power and means to set matters right? Then it's a different matter entirely.

He had eyes to see into the past and the future, to see all the world's struggles and sorrows.

And he stood by. He laughed.

Ignorance might have excused him, but even enlightened, he only laughed.

"Even knowing this, you feel nothing!? You would do nothing to stop it all!?"

In answer, the king said only this:

"Not particularly."

...This man, this king, can never be forgiven. So say we all.

Here we inscribe our rage. Here, future generations may read of our fury, and follow in our footsteps.

Construct a temple. Build a band of light.

You will need every resource to destroy him. You will need all of time to forget his indifference.

...Find the path to the Final Singularity. That is where the throne of the King of Mages resides.

The name of that plane is Solomon. The end of the very end. The altar of spinning time. The hope at the very beginning

Master!? Are you all right? You look pale!?

？！

I see from the look on your face that you haven't received a definite answer. However, that fate is now sealed.

This clay tablet is the inscription of what I unknowingly "saw" when I returned from the Abyss.

It's one of the few clues to finding the self-proclaimed King of Magesthe man who incinerated humanity.

Eventually, there will be a time when you will come to understand what you had a glimpse of just now.

Until then, keep it in the back of your mind. Eventually, you will be forced to face it.

Wow! Look at this, Senpai!

It's every bit as bustling as Uruk! It's a fortress, but there are lots of people besides soldiers working!

Of course there are. They've kept up defenses of this scale for six months. You'd need a city to maintain something like this.

Oh, but be careful. The walls repel the Demonic Beasts, but...

Alert! Alert! Breach at G-17! All nearby citizens, evacuate! Lion squad, roll out!

Guuuuruuaaaaaaaaaaaa!

As you can see, Demonic Beasts with strong legs will run up the walls on their own!

Don't worry, there's no need to hold back, Fujimaru. Weren't you bored on the way here?

Let's start off strong by showing these guys what we can do!

Okay, there was nothing for me to do! Everyone, welcome to the Northern Wall!

I've been waiting for you as well. I helped a little in secret, but I'll beg your pardon for that.

Whew. I finally caught up to you. Lord Ushiwakamaru, please stop jumping off the walls.

If you dive into a horde of Demonic Beasts on your own, even you may find yourself in a bit of trouble.

Oh, Lord Fujimaru. Glad to see you arrived safely.

Mash, Merlin, and Ana are all here too. Yes, with this group, tomorrow's operation should go off without a hitch!

Yes, finally. I've been looking forward to this.

It's our first co-op mission with the strangers from beyond our time who live at the embassy. Naturally, I am excited.

？！

Let's all head inside for now. There's a lot to talk about, but I'll brief you on the situation first.

This is the Dingir artillery platform, the core of our anti-Demonic Beast defenses along the fortress walls.

It has the same name as the clay tablet King Gilgamesh owns.

Is this another of his treasures?

Yes. King Gilgamesh owns many weapons of great power.

This is a large ballista that allows us to manually launch them. There's a lapis lazuli embedded in the base.

When the soldiers shatter it with a hammer, the stored magical energy is released, and fires the treasure at the target.

An Uruk-styleor maybe I should say a King Gilgamesh-styleballista.

The normal King of Heroes would never allow his soldiers to use his treasures as disposables.

That's right. They're very valuable, so he'd only use them against powerful masses of foes.

It can't be aimed very accurately, so it's mostly used to scare the enemy. We're lucky if it hits anything.

Dingir means "deified." In Sumer, anything can be elevated to godhood by great deeds.

A god recognized not by other gods, but by man. In other words, a faith by humanity, for humanity.

The king naming these tools Dingirs shows his intention to have Uruk protected only by humans.

Oh, I didn't know that... I see. A victory won solely by human hands.

It's true that it's wrong to beg the gods for help when you're in danger. The only god who will answer to that plea is the god of death.

That's right. The gods only help out the winning side. If a side looks at all like they're going to lose, they won't even come near.

So what's the plan to liberate the city of Nippur? What does Fujimaru have to do?

...Well, it's difficult to say this, but the situation has changed a little.

Every night, we've lead the people of Nippur to the Northern Wall under the cover of darkness...

But last night the movements of the Demonic Beast horde changed. They're now patrolling the outskirts of Nippur.

A new commander has most likely appeared to replace Girtablilu.

Girtablilu... The Demonic Beast commander who was defeated before we arrived, right?

Does that mean they're aware of our plan?

We should assume so.

That makes opening the Nippur gate dangerous on its own. But the people of Nippur are already starting to starve.

We can't delay the rescue mission any longer. So we're going with a diversionary tactic.

Lord Ushiwakamaru and Lord Benkei's unit will head towards Nippur from the east.

Naturally, the Demonic Beasts will attack them.

When they do, Lord Fujimaru, Lady Mash, Lord Merlin, and Lady Ana will enter Nippur from the west.

Open the gate and then lead the survivors to our Northern Wall.

I don't know about getting picked for this, but given the circumstances, I suppose it makes sense.

No need to worry. Fighting on flat ground is what Benkei and I do best.

Besides, we're not allowed into Nippur anyway. King Gilgamesh said so himself.

"I forbid you to enter Nippur. No matter what. These are the king's orders. Do not disobey."

He was very insistent.

He doesn't want you to go into Nippur? Do the people there not like you?

I'm confused as well. I've never been to Nippur.

Sometimes the king says strange things, you know. I'm sure this is one of his bad jokes.

...

？！

We'll go tomorrow, when the sun is a seventh of the way up in the sky. Do as you like until then.

...Um, do you have a map of Nippur?

Well, I have been carrying this notebook as a substitute for recording the temples I had visited.

Fwahaha. Would you like to read it, Lady Ana? After all, I have quite the list of achievements as an instructor.

No thank you. I'll get one from the soldiers.

...Go get your own. I only got one to kill time.

...No thank you. Fujimaru, please rest.

？！

Hmm. Everybody's getting some sleep before tomorrow's fight. Morale's good, and we have enough combat strength, but...

Something doesn't seem right. And my intuition is never wrong at times like this.

Somebody might be saying goodbye tomorrow. One, no, maybe two.

If our people start dying off now, it will complicate matters in the future. I'd like to avoid that, but

... (Smack)

Oww. It's rude to smack people for no reason, Cath Palug.

What? If I have time to walk, I should sleep? None of the women here at the Northern Wall are my type?

How rude. I'm working, whether I look like it or not. See? (Knock, knock, knock)

See? These flowers I just planted here? They'll take root in the wall, and should reinforce it a bit. I'm a helper.

Foou. Foufo, fooon-kyuu.

"Oh? Not bad, for a loser like you, Merlin." Is that what you said?

You've gained a nasty mouth since the last time I saw you.

Then what was the point in me letting you out of that tower?

Fou. Fofofo, fou.

Hmm. You have a nasty mouth, but you've gotten clever. That makes you even harder to deal with!

Hmm? Is that you, Ana? What are you doing at this corner of the wall?

...Nothing. I'm just getting some night air.

Hmm. You certainly don't look convincing with that furrowed brow.

But it's a smart idea not to head into the Cedar Forest alone. There's no way to clear that temple right now.

Now do you believe what I told you about the fastest way to improve the situation being one step at a time?

...I don't believe you at all. The reason I'm still here is...

...Is it too late to tell them what's going on? Maybe if I do, they'll at least...

Oh, are you sure? I think that might freak out even Fujimaru.

...You think so? But even so...

It's not good. Not good at all.

Your distrust of humans is starting to waver, and your hopes for them are coming back.

Emotions are, in general, things to be discarded. But if you're able to reclaim them, it'd be a waste to not cherish them.

You're keeping your distance from humans not because you don't like them, but because they scare you.

You're afraid they'll find out who you really are. You're afraid they'll hate you.

That's an emotion hard to come by. You could call it the conscience of the divine being you truly are.

That conscienceor its lackis the greatest difference between you and her. To toss it aside would be a waste, Ana.

...So you're telling me to keep quiet and hide it?

Yes. That's the smartest thing to do. What's wrong with a non-human hiding her inhumanity?

I mean, I say that, but I'm no different. To tell the truth, I don't have a heart like a human.

Because I have no emotions, I feed off of people's dreams, and harvest the "subtleties of the heart" from them.

The only reason I can keep on being a nice bro-next-door is because I'm expending the emotions I've gathered up to this point as fuel.

It's difficult for beings such as us to think and live like humans.

The fake Enkidu was correct. Fairies, gods, and creatures of that sort are inhuman.

But there's no rule that what's inhuman must necessarily be an enemy of mankind, right?

You're allowed to side with them because it's fun. Whether they love you, or if you can love them, is a different matter.

...Do you love mankind, Merlin?

Of course not. I'm inhuman. A half-breed sired by an incubus. I've done all kinds of awful things in the name of helping human society.

I love the patterns mankind weaves. I've never really liked individual humans themselves.

...And trying to justify it all to myself only tore me apart. It's what resulted in me locking myself in my tower. But that's a different story.

Who cares if you hide who you are until the end? It's not going to hurt anyone.

Fujimaru won't care that you hid something. Doesn't care now, right?

Fujimaru is happier being with you now than he would be if he found out your secrets.

...Yes. And that annoys me.

...It's humiliating. Having you tell me this, Merlin, is the biggest shame of my life. In the end, I will kill you.

Humph. I'll take that as a compliment.

Even if you did reveal your True Name, it would only tell them who the enemy is. It wouldn't help them fight it.

Your existence would be the vital point the Goddess of Demonic Beasts didn't expect.

If there's a time to for you to throw away everything, it's going to be only in a single instant. Watch for that instant as you fight.

...Of course, amid all this foreshadowing, it's worth mentioning that I don't want that kind of ending at all! 'Cuz that would be boring!

Sad partings aren't my style. I prefer to deceive and disparage the enemy, and emerge as the victor unharmed!

That's the most beautiful pattern humans can create. Why don't we take a lesson from it, Ana?

...Disgusting. You only say what's most convenient for you.

...But I guess I don't mind putting in some effort to make that outcome a reality.