Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

The roaring cheers.

Made it hard for viewers to believe these were the reactions of people facing certain doom.

Though the King of Heroes had clearly foretold that Uruk would inevitably be destroyed and most of its people would perish,

At this moment, all fear and despair had been forgotten, replaced only by boundless fighting spirit.

Gilgamesh perfectly displayed his A+ rank [Charisma] in this instant.

Commanding an army or ruling a kingdom would only require B rank.

But his far surpassed that, reaching a level akin to an aura-like ability.

Countless citizens of Uruk prostrated themselves before him, their morale surging wildly.

Even the barrage of comments from viewers erupted in frenzy—

-[Uruk still stands here!!]

-[We offer our lives to our King! Even with our last breath, we shall pass on the glory of our Uruk to future generations!]

-[Holy crap! Is this really the same edgy Gil from Unlimited Blade Works?"]

-[Everyone, I think I've defected! Got instantly converted—what do I do?]

...

"He's definitely a twin, right???"

Illya stared blankly at the screen.

No matter what, she couldn't reconcile this charismatic, near-perfect Sage King with the dark, golden Gilgamesh from Unlimited Blade Works, who had sought to purge the unworthy with the black mud of the Holy Grail.

Even metamorphosis couldn't be this absurd, could it?

"It really is impossible to connect them as the same person..."

Miyu wholeheartedly agreed.

The summoned King of Heroes actually wanted to carve out her best friend's heart and use Illya to activate the Holy Grail.

With the endless [All the World's Evils] within the Holy Grail, he sought to destroy the world and kill everyone.

In previous singularities, King Arthur had turned into the terrifying Lion King, so why did the King of Heroes, with his pile of dark history, become a wise king instead?

Miyu boldly speculated, "Could it be because of Big Brother's earlier guidance? The King of Heroes who appeared in Unlimited Blade Works was the version before he met Big Brother?"

That seemed highly plausible!

Before meeting Nameless, he had been an arrogant and tyrannical ruler.

But under Nameless's "chuunibyou correction punches," he gradually took after Nameless.

Transforming from a terrifying tyrant into a wise king beloved by countless people!

"Huh, that really might be it!" Illya nodded in agreement.

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain why the two versions were so completely different!

No matter how outstanding he appeared now, that chuunibyou version of Gilgamesh who had tried to kill her and Emiya would never be forgiven by her.

Clearly, this was also why Emiya, in his Nameless guise, had always been so confrontational when he descended before the younger version of the King of Heroes.

Not stabbing him outright was already the height of restraint!

Meanwhile,

Roya was equally disbelieving: "No way! There's absolutely no way they're the same person!"

How could that previously insufferable King of Heroes possibly have turned into this?

After his continuous dark history was exposed, the gaming group she was in had been flooded with people shouting—

[If I ever stan the King of Heroes again, I'm a dog!]

Now, the group chat had completely exploded.

Everyone was utterly unable to believe their eyes.

Without hesitation, Roya sent a message: "Hold on, there's definitely more dark history coming later!"

The once-confident crowd was already on the verge of betrayal!

The video continued.

After a rousing speech, the King of Heroes began discussing tactics with Nameless and the others.

Nameless explained solemnly, "The reason Tiamat is charging straight toward Uruk is because this city symbolizes Sumerian civilization! In other words, in her eyes, humanity and the earth are one life. Destroying Uruk would mean the complete annihilation of humankind!"

"No wonder she ignored my temple! If Uruk and that idiot King of Heroes disappear, humanity is doomed!"

Ishtar nodded, finally understanding the cause and effect.

At that moment,

Dr. Roman, monitoring the situation, grew even more grave: "Tiamat is the mother of all life. That means as long as any living beings exist in the world, she cannot die!"

A horrifying truth.

The only way to truly kill her was for all life to perish.

But if everyone's already dead, what's the point of killing her?

Nameless smiled and reminded them, "Then go somewhere without living things!"

"Exactly! This king shares the same thought!"

Gilgamesh called out toward the [Boundary of the Underworld]: "Ereshkigal! Ereshkigal, are you there?"

They couldn't possibly kill everyone.

But they could go to a world without living beings—

The Underworld!

Not a single living soul existed there, perfectly meeting all the conditions.

Now, they needed the help of the Underworld's mistress.

[Boundary of the Underworld]

This was the Noble Phantasm Ereshkigal had left behind to communicate with them.

"So noisy! The name of a goddess like me isn't something mere humans can just shout casually!"

Ereshkigal suddenly appeared, looking utterly exhausted as she said, "The underworld is almost full now. I've been busy collecting and tending to souls since yesterday!"

Endless monsters had swept across the entire land.

Outside of Uruk, not a single living soul remained!

After death, all the souls madly converged into the underworld.

The number of souls in the underworld had become countless times greater than the living above ground!

Even a dignified goddess like her was starting to develop dark circles under her eyes!

"I summoned you precisely to help receive Tiamat. We have two days left!"

Gilgamesh explained briefly, "When the time comes, we will wage the decisive battle in the underworld!"

"Eh? Bringing the Mother Goddess to the underworld? Into my home?"

Ereshkigal was instantly shocked.

That was the Primordial Mother Goddess, revered as the mother of all gods and life.

"I command you to fully open the gates of the underworld in Uruk and bind Tiamat within!"

Gilgamesh said sternly, "Heh, consider this your punishment for previously joining the Three Goddess Alliance."

"Don't even think about it! Who does a mere human king think he is, ordering me around?"

Ereshkigal snorted coldly, "Do you expect me to move all of Uruk into the underworld? That's absolutely impossible!"

Let's not forget, the other party had previously died from overwork and fallen into the underworld—and it was she who sent him back!

At that moment.

Nameless beside them pleaded, "Beautiful Goddess, we truly need your help this time! To save humanity, we must defeat the Primordial Mother Goddess!"

"Hmph, fine! I'll help you one last time!"

Ereshkigal turned her head away and lightly stomped her foot, "I don't want to do something so reckless!"

This scene.

Made countless onlookers clutch their chests in frustration—

-[One last 'hundred million' times! Ereshkigal is so adorable!]

-[Damn it, I'm so jealous! Ereshkigal is absolutely the cutest wife choice—why did she just give herself to the unnamed one?]

-[She's too cute! I wonder if she'd also say 'one last time' so tsundere during **?]

-[Ereshkigal: 'One last time! One more time! Just once more! Really the last time! A man can't say no—one last time!']

-[Damn, stop! My wife just looking at me at night now makes my back ache!]

"You're just lusting after Senpai's body after all!"

Mash in Chaldea couldn't help but pout.

When the King of Heroes spoke, she refused with such righteous indignation.

Yet the moment Senpai made a single request, she agreed without hesitation.

But it didn't matter.

She was an underworld goddess who lived in the dark, damp underworld.

Mash's chances were still good!

But where exactly was Senpai?

Mash frowned slightly.

Watching the video was bringing her memories back.

As an artificial human forcibly turned into a demi-Servant, her lifespan was now only six months...

So where exactly was Senpai?

On the screen.

Ereshkigal added, "But! Gilgamesh and you—Chaldea people, do you really think opening an underworld gate covering all of Uruk is something easily done?"

"It would take ten years to accomplish!"

Her words.

Made everyone's expressions change.

Gilgamesh frowned, "Ten years... but we only have two days now!"

The Primordial Mother Goddess was heading straight for Uruk—there simply wasn't enough time.

Ereshkigal fidgeted slightly, a faint blush suddenly appearing on her face: "But you see. I used to hate Uruk and had this plan for a long time. It would've only taken three more days to complete."

"...Were you digging under Uruk with a little shovel every single day?" Mash stared at her in disbelief.

Nameless twitched his lips and reluctantly praised, "Still, well done!"

What kind of achievement was this worth celebrating?

He found it hard to imagine—how could this beautiful and adorable goddess have spent her days digging tunnels?

"Hmph, not bad at all. It makes all those days I spent cursing in the tunnels worthwhile!" Ereshkigal replied with full confidence.

"..."

The entire group fell into silence.

Mash couldn't help but mutter softly: "Truly Ishtar's sister!"

"Ahhh, stop it! My embarrassment just tripled!" Ishtar's cheeks flushed red.

The spectators watching this drama were utterly amazed—

-[The oldest home-stealing in human history! Ereshkigal almost succeeded!]

-[Holy shit, digging with a little shovel every day while cursing... the imagery is way too vivid!]

-[The King of Heroes' bitter smile is absolutely hilarious! His home was almost stolen right under him!]

-[Damn, who wouldn't worry? You might just fall into the underworld while sleeping one day!]

"Truly worthy of Ereshkigal!"

Rin couldn't help but sigh.

If it had been her sister Ishtar, she definitely wouldn't have had the patience.

Ten years!

Do you know how I spent those ten years?

Every single day I dug tunnels, cursing all the while, until I finally broke through beneath Uruk!

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

But then again.

When Rin considered how Ereshkigal had spent hundreds, even thousands of years alone in the underworld...

Having endured such endless solitude, this kind of behavior was really to be expected!

At that moment.

On the screen.

The group began discussing how to stall Tiamat to buy Ereshkigal three days of preparation time.

Dr. Roman spoke up, "According to calculations, Tiamat will reach Uruk in two days, which means we must delay her for one full day! But the Axe of Marduk has already been used. What should we do?"

The Axe of Marduk was the divine weapon the gods had used to defeat Tiamat in ancient times.

Its earlier strike had destroyed the Blood Temple, allowing the nameless ones to defeat the Beast Goddess who had gained part of Tiamat's power.

"No need to worry. This king has already devised a plan. After all, we have Ishtar with us!" Gilgamesh replied with absolute confidence.

"Eh, me?" Ishtar looked utterly bewildered.

Dr. Roman nodded, "Ah yes, with Ishtar here, there's truly no problem at all!"

Quetzalcoatl chimed in, "Indeed, that's absolutely right!"

Jaguar Man added, "Yes, we can definitely rely on Lady Ishtar!"

The gods, the King, and the doctor all looked at the goddess with admiring gazes.

Clearly, victory was already within their grasp in their eyes.

However.

Nameless beside them lowered his head with a bitter smile, as if unable to bear watching what was coming.

Seeing this.

Rin couldn't help but point at the screen, "Here it comes! The glorious moment of my past life as a goddess is about to arrive!"

The person who looked exactly like her, sharing even her voice and personality, had long been recognized by everyone as her past incarnation.

Many speculated whether Goddess Ishtar had reincarnated as an ordinary human specifically to pursue the nameless one.

Go, my past self!

This is the stage where all eyes are upon you, where even the mighty King of Heroes and the gods place their trust in you.

Now is the time to show your most brilliant moment in full glory!

Rin's face flushed with excitement.

Ishtar's previous embarrassments had reflected poorly on her too, leaving her practically without dignity at school.

Wherever she went, people would point and whisper.

It was infuriating!

She had to turn the tables and reclaim her pride!

"Don't get too excited!" Sakura cautioned.

She'd already sensed that something seemed slightly off.

Nameless's expression was clearly abnormal.

Her dear sister was celebrating too soon!

Rin proudly lifted her chin, "Hmph, this is the most glorious moment of my past life! It's absolutely worth celebrating!"

Yet.

In the video, Ishtar grew increasingly confused, "Why is everyone so excited except for my Master?"

"Hah, as if you could hide it now!" Gilgamesh snorted. "Relax, this king already worked with Nameless and Enkidu to slay it once before. I'm not particularly angry anymore. Just summon Gugalanna already."

In the past.

When the gods had presumptuously sought to judge him.

Gilgamesh, Nameless, and Enkidu had joined forces to slay the Heavenly Bull Gugalanna, defying the gods.

Later, the nameless one even sacrificed himself to unleash Ea's full power, severing the connection between gods and humanity.

Decades had passed since those events.

As a divine construct, the Heavenly Bull naturally possessed the ability to resurrect, and had easily returned to become Ishtar's pet.

Now, their plan was to use this colossal beast to hold off Tiamat for one full day.

Mash nodded. "Right. The Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna! I heard it's even bigger than a mountain, enough to hold back Tiamat!"

"Yes, I've heard of that divine beast too. It should indeed suffice!"

Quetzalcoatl also praised, "Ishtar, you're truly impressive to command such a powerful divine beast at will!"

"I-It's not that amazing... It... It can't possibly stop Tiamat!"

***

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