"King, you have returned."
At the entrance of the palace's main hall, Ophis slowly landed from the air, and the priestess girl who had been waiting, along with a group of people important to Uruk but not important to this book, knelt down to her.
Ophis nodded and was about to walk directly into the hall.
"King…"
Seeing Ophis's gaze move over, the priestess girl swallowed.
She originally wanted to ask if she should handle some official business... now she felt she would probably just be ignored...
"Um… the other side might still…"
"No."
"Huh?"
No longer paying attention to this priestess who wasn't very important to her, Ophis walked straight back into the hall.
For Ophis, she still accepted the identity of 'king'.
As king, neglecting state affairs can be explained as willfulness, but if she lets her people be invaded by outsiders, that is true dereliction of duty.
So, she chose to act.
Although at first, due to a directional error, she circled around a few times before finding the enemy army.
Just treat it as sightseeing.
Occasional actual combat… can also be considered training in energy control…
But to avoid future trouble, Ophis still asked the last few surviving soldiers for the precise location of the other city-state, as well as the location of its leader's residence…
Then fired a shot over there.
Also practiced precise long-range strike capability.
Although the target was the palace, with Ophis unable to precisely control her power now, it was inevitable that innocent people would be affected.
Perhaps in other situations, this wouldn't matter much—how can war not hurt ordinary people?
However, the identity Ophis replaced is not just the king of Uruk.
She is also the 'wedge' sent down from heaven to earth to restrain humanity and prevent the connection between the gods above and the beings below from becoming distant.
Such an existence, yet ignores humanity, even wantonly takes innocent lives, does things her own way, and hasn't contacted the gods for a long time.
Undoubtedly, this deviated from the path set by the gods and triggered the wrath of the gods.
So, the lock to restrain the king was created.
It was clay kneaded by the hands of the gods.
At the same time, it was a monster without a soul and without any reason.
Vast earth and sky, and the huge city standing in the distance.
This is the scene it saw at the moment of its birth.
For someone seeing it for the first time, it should be quite a shocking and memorable sight, right?
Unfortunately, at this time, it did not possess the rationality to appreciate this beautiful scene.
It had no soul.
Such as it was, it could only follow its wild instincts, running among the wilderness and forests like many beasts.
It could feel that in the direction of that distant city-state, there was something, or some existence, calling to it.
It could feel that that existence needed it.
But now, it could not respond.
Just then, a woman appeared before it.
Perhaps she was sent by the great being that created it, or perhaps she just happened to pass by.
At this time, it could not judge.
Either way is fine.
Seeing an intelligent life form for the first time, it began to imitate her.
Gradually, it learned wisdom and reason, and came to understand the truth of heaven and earth by itself.
A soul was born within its flesh.
She knew the identity of that woman—she was the messenger sent by the gods so she could be complete.
She imitated the appearance of the divine priestess and shaped her own body.
She knew shame, and put on clothes.
"Enkidu."
Here is a literal, word-for-word translation of the provided Chinese text into English, aiming for maximal fidelity to the original syntax and phrasing, even at the expense of natural English flow:
For the first time since being born, it… no, should say she, she murmured out with her own mouth the name she was given.
Enkidu gazed into the distance at that still unshakably standing city-state.
Her mission, her duty, she was quite clear about.
To deliver the gods' punishment to the king who does not uphold the responsibility of the "wedge."
This is the meaning of her existence, the reason she was created as a weapon, as a "lock."
…Originally, it should have been like this, no mistake.
But, Enkidu listened to the calls that still ceaselessly came from within the city.
Such a call was not someone calling someone, but a pull coming from the soul itself.
Enkidu could clearly feel the other's existence.
King of Uruk… Ophis.
Likewise for the first time, she felt the emotion called "curiosity."
She wanted to investigate, just why did this pull exist, and what kind of existence was this Ophis who did not obey the gods' command?
With such thoughts, she rushed toward that city-state called Uruk at a speed like a meteor.
Born from the hands of the gods, she possessed the most excellent abilities and skills; relying on these, she easily entered the great hall without alerting anyone else, arriving behind the king whose back faced the gate.
Different from others, the king had already noticed her presence long ago, but seemed not at all surprised by her arrival, only turning around calmly as still water.
At the first instant of seeing the king's face, Enkidu was not attracted by that delicate face comparable to her own, but instead fixed her gaze on those pair of silver-gray eyes.
Clear—but without spirit.
───This person, perhaps is even purer than myself who was just born?
Such a thought arose in Enkidu's heart.
All along, with no one to guide, only ever reaching out toward an unattainable goal, immersed in her own world…
A lonely existence.
Why is she so lonely?
Enkidu could more or less guess.
What kind of life Ophis was, Enkidu could not judge, but she did know that the answer definitely would not be human or god.
Has divinity, but not quite a real god; as for human nature, not even a bit can be seen.
In this world ruled and composed by humans and gods, surviving as an existence that is neither human nor god.
Moreover, hidden within those eyes, even she herself denies the goal.
Already an existence far from the crowd, yet chasing after something even further away.
At her side, there was not a single person.
Certainly, no living being could understand this girl.
If that's the case…
Enkidu slightly lowered her body.
This is a preparatory stance many beasts make before hunting or fighting.
"You, want to kill me?"
Seeing Enkidu like this, Ophis tilted her head.
That was a cold and lonely voice.
───She, of course, was very clear.
Seeing Enkidu still maintaining the posture, as if tacitly agreeing to her question, Ophis shook her head.
"Cannot understand. But, you, have no way to kill me."
───This person, perhaps is difficult for me to reach.
But…
Just like how this lonely girl wants to chase after a goal even she thinks impossible, she also wants to try reaching out and chasing…
With such feelings, Enkidu launched an attack at Ophis.
Quite clear that the other's attacks had no effect on herself, originally in this situation, with Ophis's personality she would probably just ignore the other, right?
But, even she herself did not know why, she could not remain indifferent to this existence.
Just in this great hall, even Ophis would not use her magic cannon to crush with overwhelming force.
Rarely moving her own body, Ophis struggled to recall the many martial skills in her knowledge, clumsily swinging her hands to block Enkidu's attacks.
Unlike Enkidu's current holy and beautiful appearance, her fighting style was just like a beast's.
Even so, those were still techniques passed down from the gods, definitely not unskilled in close combat… Actually, it could be said that besides bursting out energy, Ophis almost never fought, so she could barely cope.
Constantly suppressed, even Ophis felt a bit irritated, so she took out two long swords from the treasury, wanting to use the advantage of weapons to turn the tide.
Facts proved, the gap in close combat strength between the two could not be bridged just by changing from swinging fists to swinging two swords.
Although the fight was one-sided with Ophis being suppressed, in reality Enkidu also could not inflict any wounds on Ophis.
───That's not quite right either, wounds were indeed made, but not a drop of blood was spilled; instead, the wounds themselves disappeared and healed within seconds.
And during the fight, Ophis kept integrating the knowledge in her mind, then relying on her dragonkind's far superior physical qualities to barely improve the situation.
But Enkidu clearly did not intend to let Ophis off so easily.
She turned into earth, then transformed into countless sharp swords, spears, sturdy shields, and fierce beasts, launching a fierce assault at Ophis.
Facing such storm-like attacks, Ophis could only throw out the treasures she had collected over the years to respond.
A battle lasted for several days.
Finally, Enkidu exhausted almost all her earth, even the clothes symbolizing the awakening of wisdom and shame used to cover her body were lost, lying on the ground.
Such a state must be very miserable, right?
Enkidu smiled bitterly like this.
Ophis, holding her last sword, used energy to repair her clothes, walked to Enkidu's side and looked down at her.
For the infinite Ophis, these days' physical exhaustion was meaningless; for her, there were other issues more worth noting.
"Why?"
She asked this.
Was she asking why attack her? No, the other would not care about such things.
Then, was she asking why she herself fought so hard?
Enkidu thought.
"Ah… I don't know either…"
Maintaining a gentle smile, Enkidu responded gently, as if not caring at all about her miserable state.
"But… seeing you like this, somehow… feels a bit heartache… always thinking, if I could stay by your side, it would be good… like this…"
Ophis's eyes shimmered, and in the end did not swing down the sword, just turned and walked a few steps, then sat down.
Although the process and roles changed a lot, in the end, the fate of "king" and "lock" still intersected.
And this encounter completely changed the course of Ophis's future.
On this day, the people of Uruk rejoiced.
Their king, who had long ignored worldly affairs, finally appeared before them again, and the order that had gradually collapsed due to the king's inaction began to be rebuilt.
Many people's anxious hearts were finally put at ease.
"This is fine, right?"
Putting aside the slate with written data, Ophis sat down again.
Why is technology in this era so advanced… yet there's no paper…
"What, if you want to make it, you can, little Ophis?"
"Troublesome…"
Ophis sighed silently in her heart.
Last time, she herself didn't know why, neither killed this green-haired woman nor drove her out of the city-state, but kept her here.
As a result, this person tried to drag her to handle official business all day long.
Toward this person, Ophis could never ignore her, and after much pestering still did some things.
…If the other had shown a slightly worse attitude, maybe Ophis could have convinced herself to kick her out.
Unfortunately, this person, like her hair, had an extremely broad mind, no matter how ignored, never showed any impatience or irritation.
Fine… actually, doing these things isn't such a waste of time…
In the end, Ophis convinced herself like this.
After all, relying on the knowledge in her mind, governing a town of less than a hundred thousand… some trivial matters were not a problem.
Glancing at this beautiful girl in appearance but actually genderless Enkidu, Ophis shook her head.
Ophis was not really stupid; she just would not think about information she deemed unimportant.
After thinking about it, why she cared so much about this person, she could more or less guess.
In the original line of fate, Enkidu was the close friend of the hero king Gilgamesh; now the fate was completely disrupted, but the bond that should have existed still remained.
And the fate that should now cover Ophis was originally Gilgamesh's.
───That is to say, it is a deep friendship that could cross even fate, originally meant to exist between Enkidu and Gilgamesh.
However, it was stolen by Ophis.
In this situation, with an apology for Enkidu already existing in her heart, Ophis naturally had complicated feelings toward her, at least found it hard to refuse her in such small matters.
Regarding all kinds of knowledge and information, Ophis could analyze them methodically, but for matters involving emotion and feelings, she completely did not understand.
"Fate, huh…"
Ophis's eyes began to grow vacant again, murmuring softly.
"Hey, little Ophis, let's go out and have a look!?"
With hands behind her back, Enkidu smiled at Ophis, then reached out a hand in invitation.
Fine, let's try… to get along well?
Putting her hand in Enkidu's, Ophis thought so.
────────────────────────────────
"Oh king~ you really are cute~~"
"King… want to have a taste…"
"King… here is…"
"King… look here…"
Walking along the way, Ophis was called out to by many people.
Although mostly expressionless, Ophis's personality was originally very mild, so when not serious she did not emit that "no idlers allowed" aura, and combined with her cute girl appearance, charmed many Uruk aunties.
As for her previous indifference to worldly affairs, actually not many blamed her.
After all, in their eyes, the king was still young, not knowing how to handle things was normal, and when facing crisis, she did step up, right?
And now, the other girl following the king must be the one guiding the king, right?
In this way, she is also a worthy sage.
And also...
Although more mature than Wang, still very beautiful!!!
After a period of chickens flying and dogs jumping (chaotic struggle), Enkidu still managed to barely pull Orphis out from the crowd.
"Haha… truly amazing indeed."
Even being surrounded and attacked by the crowd like that, Enkidu still smiled gently.
Seeing such a gentle smile, for some reason, Orphis always had a very familiar feeling from deep within her soul…
It seemed as though long, long ago… someone had also smiled at her like that…
Very reassuring, very warm, very peaceful.
Just like the place she was born in…
Maybe even more so…
"How is it?"
At this moment, Enkidu's question suddenly rang in her ears, interrupting Orphis.
"Everyone's very happy, right?"
"Mm, seems like they're very happy."
Orphis nodded in reply.
"Enkidu, why ask that?"
"Little Orphis, don't you want to protect such smiles and peace?"
"…I… don't understand."
What Enkidu received, was Orphis's response like this.
"Haha, true, it's not that easy."
Orphis fell silent.
To her, the scene just now, the whole city-state, were far too lively and noisy.
Originally, for her who loved tranquility, this was practically poison.
But…
In her heart, there was a kind of feeling — "this isn't bad either."
Outside is chaotic, but the heart is peaceful.
She truly didn't understand.
Since it's like this...
In this time when she is still far from touching the Great Red, perhaps observing a bit more isn't so bad?
And also… aside from those seemingly joyful scenes…
"Enkidu."
"Mm?"
"That is?"
Orphis asked while pointing to a corner, where several people sat cross-legged with heads lowered.
The stark contrast between the darkness of the corner and the nearby sunlight was extremely sharp.
From memory, she roughly knew what kind of people they were, but still wanted to confirm.
"Ah… they exist too…"
Enkidu scratched her head. With the knowledge of a divine priestess she once had, she was much clearer about this era than the completely clueless Orphis.
"People who lost everything due to certain reasons, can only hide in the shadows, begging to survive…"
"Is that so…"
Even in this town that seems so joyful, there are people like this?
"If little Orphis puts in more effort, such people will definitely become fewer."
Looking at Orphis's thoughtful expression, Enkidu smiled as she spoke.
Orphis didn't respond. To her, humans were still mostly irrelevant.
It's just, she always felt the existence of these people made this city-state — which she found quite decent — lose some of its color.
Shaking her head and no longer thinking further, Orphis turned her steps toward the palace.
"Eh? Just going home like that?"
Enkidu seemed to still be enjoying herself, pouting as she asked Orphis.
"Mm, nothing more worth seeing."
"Is that so? Any thoughts?"
Hearing that question, Orphis's steps paused slightly, then resumed.
"Maybe… a bit happy."
"Eh?"
"Seeing them happy, I also… felt a little happy."
Seeing your smile made me even happier.
That sentence, Orphis did not say aloud.
Watching Orphis's departing figure, Enkidu smiled softly and quickly followed after her.
"Then, let's come out together again next time?"
"…We'll see."
Under the setting sun, the shadows of the two grew longer and longer… until they finally overlapped.
Enkidu undoubtedly loved humans.
Though compared to humans, she loved the rest of nature's creations more, it didn't negate the fact that she did love humanity.
Under Enkidu's influence, Orphis also tried to observe this race — which Enkidu described as "interesting" — from a closer perspective.
To Orphis, human hearts were far too unpredictable. The idea confirmed in one second could be discarded the next. Not as steadfast as dragons or gods.
This could be attributed to differences in lifespan — after all, for long-lived beings, if thoughts shifted too fast, they might go insane one day.
But aside from that, the human race also nearly encompassed the traits of all other races.
Some people were more lustful than succubi, some more pure than angels.
Some were greedier than dragons, some regarded wealth as filth.
Some had willpower firmer than the proud gods, some could be broken easily.
Some possessed terrifying talents and aptitudes beyond the reach of higher races, while others could only remain ordinary despite all effort.
Some had goodness beyond holiness.
Some had evil beyond demons.
Orphis also thought of the world she was originally born in.
According to her memories, after countless ages, whether demon or angel, all new blood came from humans. Even the divine tools crafted by gods… among them were even "God-Slaying Tools" capable of destroying gods — only those with human blood were qualified to wield them.
She remembered Cao Cao — that human who tried to challenge gods and demons with only human strength.
In a worldline that might've happened, even the archduke of the fallen angels was defeated after his weakness was found.
He even managed to sever her infinity through scheming, stealing her power — even though back then Cao Cao was someone she could crush with a finger.
Though annoying and a bit chuuni, his will was undeniably impressive.
And what he wanted to prove… was "humanity."
Humans, huh…
───All in all, it is a race with endless possibilities, yet also one with great potential for self-destruction — this was the conclusion Orphis ultimately came to.
"That's why guiding them, developing their potential, ensuring they don't destroy themselves — that is the duty of a king."
To Orphis's evaluation, Enkidu responded with a light laugh.
Humans are quite an interesting race… On that, Orphis wholeheartedly agreed.
Observing the various states of human hearts, witnessing their brilliance and ugliness — not a bad pastime.
However… "a king's duty," huh?
Orphis walked to the end of the great hall, beside the throne she had never sat on — the highest seat in the human realm, made of the best materials.
All along, unless something troublesome occurred, Orphis usually kept only a small portion of her surface consciousness on the outside. Most of her focus remained within, practicing control.
This was the reason she often appeared dazed and lost in thought — and it also revealed how little she cared for worldly matters.
But, if just with that bit of surface awareness…
Looking at Enkidu's smile, Orphis's eyes flickered slightly.
Then let's add a bit more consciousness… be a little more serious…
Just for that smile — that reassuring, peaceful smile that felt like being back in her "Silence."
With that thought, Orphis sat on the throne for the first time.
And Enkidu, smiled even more brightly.
────────────────────────────────
From the day that decision was made, Orphis began studying the inner knowledge more earnestly. She responded to Enkidu more, and was even often dragged into hand-to-hand combat.
Very proper hand-to-hand combat.
Though Orphis quickly discovered that applying small amounts of energy in battle not only improved her fighting ability but also greatly helped her grasp over the energy she lacked control of.
Thus, what started as Enkidu occasionally pulling Orphis into fights to vent her buried wildness, became Orphis tugging on her robe every so often — and when Enkidu looked down, she'd meet those silver-gray eyes at a 45-degree upward angle that was always undeniably adorable.
Of course, the word "fight" from Orphis's mouth was anything but cute.
Still, it gave Enkidu an opportunity.
Like guiding a child, Enkidu would only agree to accompany her for "battle" after Orphis finished some official tasks.
Though, truthfully, Enkidu hoped that one day she could proudly use the word "play."
At worst… even "play ♀" would do?
And the city-state of Uruk, under the interactions between Orphis and Enkidu, thrived alongside their deepening bond.
Enkidu was basically clueless when it came to governance — thankfully, the countless knowledge Orphis inherited from "It" included that field.
Though she couldn't create a perfectly era-fitting new order, optimizing the current system was within her ability.
Orphis also continued to study this era's magic. She had basically gathered all magic available to humans, though few were truly helpful to someone with dragonkind memories.
Fortunately, Enkidu had inherited much magic knowledge from the gods.
Those were magics from the Age of Gods — powerful enough to rival the "laws" of later eras.
From a dragonkind's perspective, Orphis had no particular talent in magic aside from brute-force spells like magic cannons. But she felt that absorbing more magical knowledge could be useful for her future.
Notably, Orphis's energy wasn't "mana" but a pure, property-less "energy" — but it could be converted into any type of energy she had come into contact with. This matched her nature of "infinity."
Her ability to bestow power through the "serpent" was based on this — otherwise, the receivers might've exploded immediately.
That said, she couldn't immediately convert into overly specialized energies. For example, destructive-essence mana like Baal's would require time to analyze before mimicking.
Generally, converting her energy into mana had a delay… but that was unavoidable — since magic required mana to activate.
Unless Orphis's skill reached a point where she could rewrite the spell structures to run purely on her energy — only then could she escape this drawback completely.
Of course, Orphis didn't neglect collecting treasures. Up to now, all human-accessible technology of this era had basically been gathered into her collection.
───So in this era where even ancient airships similar to fighter jets exist, why is there not even a single sheet of paper…
Orphis looked at the pile of documents and magical texts stacked like a small mountain, silently complaining in her heart.
Though she wasn't unfamiliar with papermaking techniques… she couldn't determine whether the materials and technology of this era could match up…
In the days that followed, Orphis's surface consciousness spent time being accompanied by Enkidu in handling government affairs, researching this era's magic together, practicing martial arts together, collecting artifacts together, and spending time playing together in a cycle.
With the cooperation of both Enkidu and Orphi, the smiles on the people of Uruk's faces increased, while the shadows Orphis had once seen were becoming fewer and fewer.
However, what no one noticed was that a greater shadow was drawing ever closer to them.
"O King, the famine has persisted for some time. Please issue a decision."
A rare expression of slight distress appeared on Orphis's face as she rubbed her brow.
Dealing with famines and such… she wasn't some Eastern dragon god who could summon wind and call the sun…
"…Understood. You may withdraw first."
After the priest left, Enkidu walked up. The gentle smile that usually adorned her face had vanished, replaced by grave seriousness.
"Nature is angry."
"I will form a barrier from my magical power, spreading it outwards—blocking storms, suppressing the rain, evaporating floods, minimizing all disaster."
Orphis, her face expressionless, said as she looked at the continuing calamity—then turned her gaze to Enkidu.
"…Is this… alright?"
"Eh?"
"Enkidu, you like nature, don't you?"
For months now, natural disasters had come one after another—violent winds, torrential rain, floods.
To the people of Uruk, this was undeniably a devastating blow.
Even if Orphis had used her boundless magical power in the most brute-force way possible to shield them from direct harm, the prolonged abnormal weather still dealt heavy blows to agriculture.
But, these were retaliations bred from the damage humans had inflicted on nature.
This could be called a war between humanity and nature. Whether humans could overcome nature in the near future would depend on how they responded this time.
Orphis could feel the source of the disaster.
If she could reach that place, there might be a way to resolve this.
At the very least, she could understand the cause.
However, the only thing that concerned her… was the girl-like being by her side.
She—Enkidu, though she loved humanity, loved nature even more.
"…Yes, that's true…"
Enkidu smiled bitterly.
Orphis could merely sense the location of the calamity's source—but Enkidu knew exactly who caused it.
Looking toward the cedar forest where she was born, a tinge of sorrow appeared in Enkidu's eyes.
"…Why did you do this, my friend…"
"Enkidu?"
Orphis's voice called out to her.
"Ah…"
"Enkidu, you've been absent-minded all day."
Orphis lowered her head in thought, then looked back at Enkidu.
"Are you… troubled?"
"...That…"
"If it's too difficult, I can just leave it alone."
To Orphis, Enkidu's smiling face was more important than the entirety of Uruk.
"…That won't do, little Orphis."
But Enkidu put on her gentle smile again and shook her head in refusal.
"Little Orphis, remember, you are the king. You cannot abandon the duties of a king."
"…I see. If that's what you wish, Enkidu…"
Enkidu gave a bitter smile.
She felt that though Orphis had changed, she was now relying on her far too much.
…That wasn't a good thing.
Still, now wasn't the time to resolve that issue.
"Anyway, shall we go take a look first?"
Brushing aside her thoughts, Enkidu said to Orphis.
"Mm."
Orphis nodded with an expressionless face.
Accompanied by the sound of crunching branches underfoot, two figures—one tall, one short—walked slowly among towering tree trunks.
It had been about three days since they left Uruk.
The journey was long—an ordinary person might have taken several months to travel this far.
Though neither of them was particularly impatient, if they walked the entire distance slowly, Uruk—bereft of Orphis's protective power—might suffer immeasurably, so at Enkidu's insistence, they traveled at full speed.
By now, they had arrived in the forest where Humbaba lived.
Along the way, Enkidu was the complete opposite of her usual cheerful self—her expression was serious, and she remained silent. As for Orphis, her personality naturally didn't lend itself to initiating conversation.
Still… she preferred the smiling Enkidu.
She could vaguely recall from myth that Gilgamesh and Enkidu had once joined forces to defeat the magical beast Humbaba—which symbolized humanity's conquest of nature.
No—humans could not truly conquer nature—at least not for thousands of years. That event was less about defeating nature and more about overcoming the gods that symbolized nature in that era.
It marked the beginning of humanity's break from divine shackles—its first step toward self-determined future.
But whether defeating nature or casting off the gods, they were both things Enkidu—by nature—would not happily accept.
Enkidu was the child of nature, a creation of the gods, a 'lock' connecting gods and men.
Logically, she had no reason to help humans, nor to defeat nature or the gods.
If anything, her only reason was her feelings for Orphis.
Ironically, Orphis was the complete opposite.
As one of the Dragonkind, Orphis had no emotional reason to help humans. Even if she now found humans interesting, it was merely that—interest.
Much like how humans feel fascination for animals—those truly interested in animals either had dissected countless creatures, or were on the path to doing so.
Of course, Orphis wasn't so bored as to go dissecting humans.
Still, dragons weren't particularly friendly even toward their own kind—let alone outsiders.
Even so, as king of humanity, Orphis was, in principle, required to resolve this crisis for them.
Both had half a reason to act—and half a reason not to.
But, aside from her desire to launch hundreds of magic blasts at the Crimson King at any time, Orphis still had an extremely passive will—so her decision was simple: she would follow whatever Enkidu decided.
As Orphis thought, Enkidu too was thinking.
───The magical beast Humbaba—Enkidu was quite familiar with this being.
In the days before she had fully acquired rationality—during her period of learning—aside from the priestesses the gods had sent, who possessed pure reason and knowledge, the one she spent the most time with was Humbaba.
They used to run through the wilds together, eat together, sleep together.
When her reason had surpassed her wildness, Enkidu planted her favorite flower in the place where they used to stay, and asked Humbaba to care for them before she left.
Enkidu had a habit of unilaterally declaring others to be her friends. To this day, her closest friend was undoubtedly Orphis—but her first friend had been Humbaba.
Which clearly demonstrated the ancient truth: childhood friends are no match for fated ones.
What Enkidu didn't understand was—why did Humbaba bring disaster?
It was true she loved nature more than humans, but what she loved more specifically was the concept of the earth. In her eyes, unleashing sky-born calamities to punish earth-bound creatures was a self-destructive act—humans suffered, but so did animals and plants.
"ROAR───!"
But before she could sort out her thoughts, a roar like a flood came from afar.
Accompanying it were powerful shockwaves and waves of trees being swept away.
Unlike Orphis, who had already pieced things together, Enkidu was still immersed in thought and didn't react to the roar right away.
Fortunately, Orphis, whose attention was largely on Enkidu, immediately noticed her odd behavior.
In a flash, she moved in front of Enkidu, condensing her spiritual power and energy into a shield that deflected both the impact and the flying trees.
"Ah…"
Only then did Enkidu snap out of it.
"Enkidu… you're absent-minded again."
"Haha…"
To be honest, part of her slow reaction was deep thought—but also because such attacks held little meaning.
Even if she were hit, it would at most make her look a bit disheveled—she'd hardly be injured. So there wasn't much sense of danger.
Even so, Orphis had seriously blocked the attack.
…She really is such a kind child.
Enkidu wanted to smile at her—but it seemed there wasn't time for that.
'It' had already appeared.
It wasn't a massive body—about the size of a large lion. But for Orphis, who lacked precision in her attacks, that was nothing to be happy about.
By her conservative estimate, if this creature was agile and durable, defeating it might cost the destruction of everything within several dozen kilometers.
Of which 99% of the area would be collateral damage.
It had the horns of a bison, the body of a lion, the talons of a vulture on its hind legs, and the tail of a serpent. From the hollows of its eyes, a dark red light glowed.
Perhaps this creature could be called the oldest chimera.
What stood out the most were the seven ribbon-like rainbow auras coiled around its body, fluttering like the streamers of Suicune.
As if by convention, they matched the seven colors of the rainbow.
Orphis did not focus on the bizarre creature. Instead, she turned to look at Enkidu, who now showed a resolute gaze and slowly stepped forward toward the magical beast—Humbaba.
"Little Fin… you…"
"ROAR───!"
Before she could finish, Humbaba responded with a fireball.
It was only a fireball, but Enkidu dared not take it head-on.
Humbaba's true power lay not in causing natural disasters—but in her poison.
Not poison in the usual sense, but a toxin that could corrode nature itself—deadly to nature.
Even the disasters that plagued Uruk were manifestations of her poison spreading.
That was the essence of her power.
And yet, the essence of Enkidu was the embodiment of the earth within nature.
If by any chance that kind of poison was mixed into this flame, then even just touching it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for Enkidu.
"Enkidu."
Before Enkidu, who hadn't yet jumped back, could make another move, she felt her clothes behind her being tugged a few times.
"Wait, little Ophis, let me talk to her first───"
"That's not what I meant."
Ophis pointed at that natural monster.
"In her eyes, there is no reason."
"Eh?"
Enkidu froze, looking in the direction of Ophis's finger toward Humbaba.
The dark red eyes were filled with savagery and wildness───Enkidu recognized that kind of gaze.
It was the same gaze she once had herself, the one reflected in the spring waters.
"Why?"
Enkidu muttered in disbelief.
When playing with her, although Humbaba would occasionally show that savage temperament, it was only when other aggressive creatures intruded into her territory.
By nature, Humbaba was still a rational and intelligent being.
She liked beautiful flowers and cute little animals, one could even say she had quite the girlish heart.
───And yet, being dominated by such rampant beastliness, Enkidu had never seen her like this before.
Violent energy waves swept through, blasting away the magical beast that tried to pounce.
"Enkidu."
Ophis once again stood in front of Enkidu, half turning to look at the green-haired girl.
"Enkidu, have you made up your mind?"
At this moment, the scatter in Ophis's eyes was gone, replaced by a powerful brilliance.
She had gotten serious.
Not every dragonkin necessarily possessed combat-capable powers, but within every individual flowed the blood of battle, allowing them to rapidly adapt to most fights.
Ophis was the same. Once encountering battle, she could quickly absorb and integrate combat-related knowledge and make advantageous decisions and responses based on the situation.
In battle, when serious, she was no longer the confused girl needing Enkidu's guidance, but the Infinite Dragon, Ophis.
Seeing the wavering in Enkidu's expression, Ophis silently turned back.
"I'll block this magical beast for Enkidu."
Blocking the incoming flames with a psychic barrier, Ophis spoke.
"So, Enkidu, think it through slowly."
Raising one hand, with her words, several magic circles unfurled, and after gathering mana, formed bright violet light cannons, which fired around the magical beast.
───Rumble rumble rumble.
The magic cannons landed on the ground, kicking up blinding purple flashes and clouds of dust.
"Roar───"
The sky…
Ophis tilted the not-yet-dissipated magic circles upward and fired a slightly weaker but faster volley toward the sky.
"Roa──────r"
Though it might look foolish to escape into the sky without flight capability, that wasn't the case in this world.
As long as they had enough strength, the creatures of this world could display unimaginable aerial maneuvering, performing actions that would send Newton fainting back into his coffin. However, facing the dispersed, surrounding barrage of magic cannons, the beast's agility was still lacking, getting slightly grazed.
However…
Even though it let out an angry roar, in truth, there was almost no damage?
───It seems it has quite high energy resistance.
Ophis made that judgment.
Such an opponent was also quite disadvantageous for her, as it would require highly focused attacks to deal real damage using energy-based methods.
That made aiming difficult.
If she wanted to defeat the opponent using only her most adept energy attacks, then just as she had judged earlier… perhaps not dozens of kilometers, but it would still cause an enormous disaster to the surrounding "nature."
Glancing back at Enkidu, Ophis pulled out two short blades from her space. Though different in design, they both radiated sharpness.
───If measured by the Noble Phantasm ranking system, both would likely be of C-rank?
No need to kill, as long as she could stall.
Having already predicted the beast's landing spot, Ophis threw the two short blades there, then retrieved two more C-rank longswords from her space, focused mana into her feet, and dashed forward.
Accompanied by another focused blast of bright violet cannon fire.
But Ophis slightly underestimated the enemy's combat abilities.
The short blades, perfectly timed to strike just before the beast landed, were swatted away by its lion-like foreclaws, triggering small explosions───but these disruptions were Ophis's true aim.
The beast ignored the blasts, its fur providing enough defense to emerge unscathed, and it responded to the incoming cannons with a powerful burst of flame.
───Not just a greeting fireball like before, but a spear of flame with both impact and penetration.
Mid-air, one central magic cannon met the flame spear and exploded.
Though many cannons remained, the encirclement had already been broken.
As both attacks exploded, Humbaba stepped forward, charging through the gaps to clash with the approaching Ophis.
Before they met, Humbaba had already stabbed her foreclaws into the ground, spinning with inertia to strike with vulture-like hind claws.
───Compared to the front claws meant for tearing, the hind claws' gripping force posed a greater threat.
Ophis reacted, choosing not to clash head-on, but dodging two steps back and slicing away the venomous snake that was Humbaba's tail.
She retreated for one reason: to be absolutely sure she could defend against that snake's attack.
To Ophis, physical moves meant little, but that obviously venomous strike might work───even if the chances were slim, it wasn't something she could ignore.
After all, in the knowledge stored within her, she had once been tricked by something called "God's Poison."
Though in essence, that had been a curse.
Thus, unlike her usual overwhelming energy assaults from afar, in close combat, Ophis abandoned the dragonkin's strength advantage and preferred nimble skirmishing.
At this moment, Humbaba had spun back around, and another foreclaw followed, sweeping toward Ophis.
Nimbly ducking to evade it, Ophis slashed in a cross with her dual swords───but it was blocked by one of the beast's horns.
Just then, at Ophis's original location, the still-active magic circles had charged again.
Ophis intended to pull back, but something unexpected occurred.
Humbaba suddenly rammed her with its horn, sending her flying───which actually aligned with Ophis's plan.
However, at that instant, from the multicolored bands once thought decorative, countless weapons suddenly shot out, piercing through her heart and then blasting her head apart.
The following weapons riddled her body with holes.
A fierce glint flashed in Humbaba's eyes as she raised her claws to finish Ophis off completely.
Just then, countless chains appeared from thin air, binding Humbaba.
"Ophis!!!"
Came Enkidu's voice, filled with alarm and rage.
"Ophis!!!"
Enkidu ran to Ophis's side in panic, catching her collapsing body.
But she soon realized that Ophis hadn't bled at all, and bright violet particles were forming around her wounds, slowly mending them.
Suddenly, Ophis's newly regenerated left hand pushed Enkidu to the right, and her hand happened to move up to shield her eyes.
"!?"
Enkidu turned in surprise, just in time to see the snake tail that had escaped her chains biting into Ophis's arm.
"Ophis!"
Enkidu rushed forward again, but Ophis pulled her behind with her barely regenerated right hand, then drew a sword to slash away the snake and threw it toward Humbaba, before grabbing Enkidu and leaping back.
───Rumble rumble rumble.
A prepared volley of magic cannonfire rained down on the now-immobile Humbaba.
"Ophis, are you okay?!"
Enkidu finally got the chance to ask anxiously.
Everything had happened so quickly—by the time she reacted, Ophis had already been riddled like a sieve.
This was also due to Enkidu's own inner hesitation...
Looking at the bite mark on her hand starting to darken, Ophis shook her head.
"I'm fine."
Though dragonkin aren't born but rather "occur" as phenomena—and aside from a few exceptions, most are not part of nature—Ophis, born in a dimensional rift, was certainly not nature's creation. The poison had negligible effect on her.
It was just that the numbness would slightly impact this fight…
Tilting her head thoughtfully, Ophis then drew another sword with her right hand and chopped off her left arm, letting the severed limb regenerate amid the gathering purple particles.
"Ugh…"
Even Enkidu was a bit stunned by how boldly Ophis handled it.
───Though her own body was made of clay and she often did similar things herself.
"Still, to recover even after being hit like that… Ophis, you're amazing…"
Wiping cold sweat, Enkidu said with lingering fear.
"Mm. Because I am infinite."
Restructuring her energy-formed robe again, Ophis touched her side discreetly while Enkidu wasn't looking.
Only the wound there hadn't fully healed yet.
───Though barely noticeable, her infinity had been damaged.
Ophis knew the reason very clearly.
───A Noble Phantasm with enhanced effects against dragons.
Luckily, despite the enemy's unexpectedly sharp battle sense, it lacked the intellect to identify Ophis's true nature.
Otherwise, if all those weapons had been anti-dragon types… though she wouldn't die, this fight would've been over for her.
At that point, maybe dying and reviving once would've been faster?
What a careless mistake… Ophis thought, a bit annoyed.
With so little intel, she had assumed the opponent only had the powers it had shown.
After all, Ophis had never experienced battle under the premise of life and death.
Her sparring with Enkidu… one could say it was more like playing around. Probably, neither she nor Enkidu had ever truly fought seriously?
But these kinds of things… always require experience in the end…
It was just that this time, the magical beast pouncing toward the two of them was forcibly brought to the ground, then retreated backward.
Almost at the same time, three long spears thrust out from the ground's soil, replacing the spot Humbaba should have reached at that moment.
Enkidu, with a gloomy expression, took a few steps forward and stood in front of Ophis.
Seeing Enkidu like this, even the magical beast Humbaba, which had completely lost all but its beastly instincts, involuntarily shrank back a little in fear.
—No, was it precisely because there were only instincts left that it could perceive that trembling from the depths of instinct?
However, in the next moment, Enkidu's expression softened, and she let out a sigh.
The one who injured Ophis had indeed ignited her fury, but she still barely managed to suppress that burning flame.
The magical beast before her—was also her friend...
But...
Enkidu looked at Humbaba, her expression quite complicated.
She had once undergone the transition from pure wildness to possessing rationality. Having experienced that, she understood the sorrow of losing reason better than anyone.
She could see clearly—this was not merely 'wildness' suppressing 'reason', but a complete and total loss of rational thought.
In such a state, awakening the other was no longer possible.
Though she didn't know why this had happened...
At the very least, let me help you find release...
"Ophis, help me."
Wearing that gentle smile again, Enkidu turned to speak to Ophis.
Looking at Enkidu's sorrowful smile, Ophis silently nodded.
Turning her head back, Enkidu's expression had already become solemn.
Without her making any visible movement, Humbaba suddenly leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding several chains that had suddenly shot up from the soil.
Enkidu raised her hand, and a wall of earth rose behind her, from which countless weapons formed and launched.
As expected, the magical beast Humbaba retaliated with the weapons fired from the seven beams of light, and both sides' armaments collided midair, sparking waves of explosions.
Then, almost in an instant, Enkidu appeared before the beast midair. Her hand turned into a blade and slashed upward. Although the beast reacted in time, it was still struck in its right eye.
"Roar—!"
The enraged magical beast howled, but it could not stop Enkidu's movement. She had already raised her leg high and stomped down fiercely toward the beast.
Boom!!!
Humbaba was directly slammed from midair into the ground.
—Shapeshift. That was the name of Enkidu's skill.
It was not just the ability to freely change forms, but also the ability to freely redistribute her physical capabilities.
Abandoning offense to enhance defense, giving up endurance to increase speed, or concentrating all attributes into one aspect—these were all possible.
Of course, such shifts were still limited by her inherent stat ceiling, but even so, one particular trait could experience a temporary doubling effect.
Just now, Enkidu had first focused her stats into speed to reach the beast and launch her initial strike, then immediately shifted speed into power for the second attack.
The magical beast had made the same mistake as Ophis—because Enkidu had always remained passive, it underestimated her strength and didn't expect her to have the ability to redistribute her stats. As a result, it paid a heavy price.
At the same time the beast crashed down, countless chains shot up from the ground and bound Humbaba tightly.
"Ophis!"
Even without Enkidu's call, over twenty purple magic circles had already been constructed above Ophis, each gathering terrifying energy.
Confirming that the beast was restrained, Ophis unleashed all the energy she had gathered thus far.
Over twenty purple magic cannons formed a torrent of violet that rained down from above, directly engulfing the bound Humbaba.
Enkidu also landed beside Ophis, and erected another earthen wall in front of the two of them.
In the next moment, the residual energy blast swallowed their position.
Violent shockwaves scattered, sweeping through several hundred meters of forest nearby.
Several minutes later, the dust and smoke finally cleared.
Ophis wiped away the mud that had splattered onto her face and turned to look at Enkidu.
"Ha... haha..."
What answered her was an awkward smile.
Absorbing the mud on her own body into herself, and then removing the mud from Ophis as well, Enkidu looked toward the spot where Humbaba had been.
"That should have settled it, right?"
Her voice held a hint of sorrow, but more of relief.
Perhaps, to her, being released from the control of wild instinct and returning to nature was the best ending for a friend?
But... when binding her with chains, Enkidu had felt something that should not have existed on Humbaba—a divine presence...
"No—it's not over yet!"
Though her thoughts were in chaos, Enkidu's keen perception of auras quickly picked up on it—a life force that, while on the verge of fading, still remained.
"Rrgh..."
A low growl came from the dust at the center of the explosion, and the magical beast slowly stepped out of the haze.
Even with high resistance to energy, under Ophis's long-prepared magical bombardment, Humbaba was in miserable shape. Her entire beast hide was scorched and melted, and the venomous serpent tail that had grown from her back now drooped lifelessly, seemingly unusable for now.
Even so, the beast still lowered its body and growled at the two.
—Extremely weak. Her current posture was nothing but a bluff. Enkidu could clearly sense that.
Ophis, who had remained silent all this time, looked to Enkidu, seemingly waiting for her decision.
"Finish it... Now, if Ophis acts, just one blow should suffice."
Biting her lip, Enkidu finally said this.
To grant her release—that was a resolve she had made long ago.
But even so, could she bring herself to strike again at her already battered old friend?
Ophis nodded. She then constructed five magic circles behind her, aimed at the five directions around the beast to seal off any escape.
The opponent likely couldn't move anymore, but for safety's sake, Ophis aimed to end it in one strike.
She gathered fatal energy and fired—all within three seconds.
Seeing the magic cannon approaching fast, Humbaba, at first, seemed to relax her body, as if giving up... but then seemed to realize something.
From who knows where, she drew a final strength—and leapt.
Blocking herself in front of the farthest of the five beams.
Now that her energy-resistant pelt had been completely burned away, she was directly engulfed by the violet torrent and turned to ash.
Unlike before, Ophis's magical cannon this time flew in a straight line parallel to the ground. The remaining four missed beams shot into the depths of the forest, leaving behind four massive gashes.
Enkidu stood in place with her head lowered. Ophis, expressionless, walked toward where Humbaba had been.
Humbaba had vanished, but the seven beams of light that once covered her still lingered. As Ophis approached, they suddenly condensed and finally formed into a complex object that looked like a mix between a short sword and a key, slowly falling into her hands.
"What is this?"
It was only now that Enkidu snapped out of her daze.
Ophis shook her head, then slowly walked toward the direction the last magic beam had nearly struck.
Enkidu scratched her head and was about to follow, but Ophis suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Although I don't fully understand, after studying magic, sometimes my intuition becomes quite sharp."
"Eh?"
Enkidu stopped in her tracks.
"So... ahead of here, Enkidu, it's best if you don't keep going."
After saying that, Ophis turned back and continued walking toward the forest.
"I know that too..."
Enkidu smiled wryly.
"But, some things still need to be faced..."
Saying this, she followed.
The two of them continued walking on foot. After crossing nearly a kilometer of chaotic land torn by the explosion, they walked several more kilometers.
At the end of the path lay a flower garden—clearly different from the rest of the forest—filled with countless blue and white blossoms over a vast area.
Within the flower field was a clearly planned path. There were traces of life until recently, and combined with how well-maintained the flowers looked, it was obvious someone had cared for this place all along.
If it were Enkidu, she could tell that some of these flowers shouldn't be able to survive here—something had definitely been twisted in this place—just for these flowers.
Ophis didn't stop to admire it, walking straight onto the paved path.
She stopped only at the entrance of a cave.
Placed casually on a bed of grass beside the cave—as though afraid others wouldn't notice them—were two intertwined flower crowns.
The flowers on the crowns still radiated vibrant life—were they freshly made, or preserved by some method? Ophis couldn't tell.
She simply stared at the two crowns in silence.
After her, Enkidu arrived as well.
Unlike Ophis, Enkidu froze when she first saw the flower field, standing alone in place deep in thought until she finally followed.
By now, her eyes were filled with exhaustion—not the kind that came from a body that could keep moving so long as the earth's power remained, but a soul overburdened by shock.
Staggering to the crowns, Enkidu fell to her knees and gently picked one up.
"Haha..."
Enkidu suddenly laughed.
"How strange... why are there two crowns?"
She turned to Ophis, wearing that ever-gentle smile.
Ophis stayed silent.
That smile which usually brought calm and comfort—paired with tears streaming down her face—only brought heartache.
Why smile like that, even when this sad?
Was it for her?
But such a smile... she'd rather not see...
Ophis clenched her hands.
—Thud!
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground drew Enkidu's attention.
Ophis had pulled out a large stone tablet from who-knows-where, set it on the ground, then channeled magic to her fingertip and began engraving.
Eventually, in the language of Uruk, several large characters were etched onto it.
—"Grave of Humbaba"
"Enkidu, come here."
Ophis waved toward her.
Enkidu stared blankly at everything, then suddenly chuckled softly.
...How adorably awkward.
One crown was placed on the stone tablet, and the other—upon Enkidu's head.