North of the Absolute Demonic Front, the road to where Gorgon was entrenched.
Unfortunately, shortly after Ritsuka and her group set out, they found themselves surrounded. They were besieged until Ushiwakamaru arrived with her cavalry unit.
"Leave it to us!"
"We will clear the way for the heroes!"
"We have fought and suffered, saving our lives for this very moment!"
"Please, Captain Ushiwakamaru! Ms. Fujimaru!"
Endless hordes of Magical Beasts filled the horizon, throwing their own lives away to block the subjugation squad's advance. Perhaps this was because "Kingu," who controlled the horde at this moment, knew that if Anna from the subjugation squad appeared before Gorgon, Gorgon would surely die.
And now, in fact, there was still more than half a month left before the time his true Mother would appear.
It was Guinevere and the King of Knights, they had greatly accelerated Chaldea's progress in conquering this Singularity.
"Mother, please..."
"Kingu, are you telling me to flee?"
In the depths beneath the ruined City of Nippur, in the center of the sprawling Snake Den, the colossal Gorgon coiled like a serpent, with only her upper body emerging from the water.
Her gaze was cold, showing no affection for Kingu. She still remembered it was Kingu who used a Noble Phantasm to stop her, forcibly dragging her back into this Spawning Pool.
"Mother, you..."
"Kingu, why do you insist on calling me Mother?"
After dying several times, seeing Anna with her own eyes, and being betrayed by Kingu, Gorgon's mind, however muddled, could finally figure a few things out. For instance, she was not Tiamat at all; she was merely being used.
As Gorgon, she hated the gods, hated humans, and hated her unfair fate. But the problem was, the humans and gods she hated were those of Greece. What did that have to do with the humans and gods of this place?
She was an Avenger, not a Berserker.
And the clarity of her consciousness brought a clear awareness of her own future. She had already seen herself being killed by Anna, and she accepted this seemingly decent future.
Her hatred also included herself, having grown into this form.
Therefore, she obediently continued to coil and wait, without the need for Kingu to keep binding her with the Chains of Heaven.
And if she was like this, what about Kingu?
As a new will personally created by the Demon God King from Enkidu's corpse, Kingu had always considered himself the child of the Goddess Tiamat, even though he had never even seen Tiamat and only served Gorgon, who merely borrowed her name.
More than half a year ago, at the moment of his birth, his mind was filled with nothing but the desire to flatten Uruk and welcome his true Mother's Return.
But as the world moved forward, he began to access memories that belonged to Enkidu himself, feeling the love he had for all things in nature.
Of course, Enkidu's friendship with the King of Heroes also constantly tormented his mind and body.
Because of this, when the King of Heroes went alone to the seaside one day, and he successfully stood before the King of Heroes...
Kingu had come to kill him, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
And it was probably also the influence of Enkidu's memories; when he commanded the Magical Beasts to sweep through villages and towns, he deliberately spared the children and even pointed them toward the clear path to Uruk.
The Magical Beasts killed people, while he saved and released them. This small act of kindness was undoubtedly insignificant compared to the evil intent, but the people he saved and released did not know that, let alone the fact that he wore Enkidu's face.
Therefore, the King of Heroes also hesitated before him, and many people in Uruk still believed that Enkidu had also escaped from Ereshkigal-chan's hands... and returned in triumph.
"But I am not Enkidu. I am Kingu, the child of the Goddess Tiamat."
"But does your Goddess Tiamat truly care about you, her child? You are preparing the nourishment for the second generation of Magical Beasts, but you should also be counted among the first generation of Magical Beasts that can serve as nourishment."
"Shut up!"
"Heh, this is exactly how it should be. Your mother sickens me!"
Her massive serpentine body writhed as she rose, only for a golden chain to pierce her chest, instantaneously snatching the Holy Grail of the Demon God King from within.
To Kingu, since Gorgon had already accepted her fate to die, there was no longer any need to allow her to use the Holy Grail.
As the Grail entered his body and he felt its overwhelming power, he watched the hole in Gorgon's chest slowly close and couldn't help but frown. The name of Tiamat, which Gorgon was allowed to borrow, was still in effect.
"Avenger, what will you do next? Will you just wait here for death?"
"No, of course I will see if my childhood self truly has the power and resolve to kill me!"
Gorgon would not retreat, and while Kingu could use the [ Chains of Heaven ] to restrain her, he could not command her.
In other words, since Gorgon had decided to stay and face death, Kingu's task would change to waiting at the edge of the ocean, where he would deliver the Holy Grail of the Demon God King to the Goddess Tiamat at the first opportunity.
Arriving earlier than expected, the Goddess Tiamat would likely be somewhat underdeveloped.
As for clearing Uruk for the Goddess Tiamat in advance... After seeing Guinevere and the King of Knights pinning down Gorgon to kill her, he understood that he no longer had the power to accomplish such a feat.
"Avenger, then for the sake of having spent more than half a year together, I wish you fulfill your desires."
Knowing this was their final meeting, the green-haired, barefoot beauty spoke gently, without the falsehood of calling Gorgon "Mother," nor the harshness she usually hid beneath a fierce exterior.
He departed, his god-created body soaring into the sky, refusing to waste any more time in Gorgon's territory.
Raid Ritsuka and her group? With the Holy Grail of the Demon God King in his possession, he knew he would be no match for Merlin and Ishtar fighting together. He had no intention of delivering himself to them.
And since there was still time before the Goddess Tiamat's descent, he planned to go back and check on Uruk.
"Gil, are you doing this on purpose? Why would you trust a fake like me?"
Using the eyes of the Magical Beasts, Kingu had long since detected the whereabouts of the King of Heroes, the King of Knights, and Guinevere. He knew all three were at the observation point on the land deepest into the southern sea.
He knew that Uruk was now empty, effectively undefended against him.
A moment later, just as the cavalry finished clearing the way for Ritsuka and her group, and Gorgon reappeared upon the ruins of the City of Nippur, Kingu had already appeared in the skies above Uruk. Upon arrival, he saw Quetzalcoatl fighting ordinary soldiers, yet holding back.
Since Quetzalcoatl was here, the Jaguar Man in her charge was naturally here as well, and he was currently enjoying the sacrificial offerings of Uruk.
"Heh, I knew it, how could Gilgamesh possibly leave his defenses down against me."
In the sky, though not far from the ground, as he hovered, first Quetzalcoatl and the Jaguar Man, then more and more people saw his presence, and they began calling out his name one after another.
"It's Enkidu! Enkidu has returned!"
"I told you so, Lord Enkidu is perfect, how could he possibly die!"
"Grandpa, I told you we weren't lying, it was Brother Enkidu who saved us..."
Countless cacophonies erupted within the City of Uruk, as countless good wishes struck Kingu's newborn heart.
As Siduri and the others emerged from the Royal Palace, as Siduri smiled and bowed to him, Kingu's thoughts stalled, and he fled in panic.
He did not know why he had to flee, nor did he know why he had chosen to return to Uruk at this critical moment because of a sliver of "longing" in his heart.
Not far from the coast, in an unknown place, Kingu screamed at the sky with all his might, not even knowing what he was venting.