With the blade in his hands, locking both it and its wielder in place, Gilgamesh used his spirit to fuel an attack.
"Recreate Magic!"
The power of Infinity was called upon yet again, granting Gilgamesh the suppressing power he needed to ensure Ku and the sword would remain locked in place. He had bought himself just enough time to deal a devastating blow.
He would not waste this opportunity.
Gilgamesh yanked the sword as Ku's eyes widened in shock. Before he could properly react, Gilgamesh grabbed him by the throat squeezed with all his power. Though he was insanely strong, he could not truly strangle a god like Ku. He simply did this in an effort to keep Ku in his grip.
With fear for his life finally setting in, Ku diverted all his efforts to resisting the spiritual attack that Gilgamesh had launched. His decision to step into the void in order to land a blow had been the right one, but he had not expected Gilgamesh's next action.
Someone as knowledgeable as Gilgamesh would surely know that unstable space was not suitable for teleportation; yet he had tried to teleport anyway. The only explanation for this that Ku could think of was that Gilgamesh wanted the space around them to shatter.
He had foreseen that the crumbling of space would catch Ku off guard, and that he could then manipulate the following events to turn the battle in his favor. Ku had fallen for it- hook, line and sinker.
Now, as he desperately fought against the rampaging spiritual forces within him, he regretted his actions. There were so many alternative courses of action he could have taken, but instead he chose to resort to the one thing that had landed him in this situation.
Yet, his biggest regret, was underestimating Gilgamesh. He had told himself that as long as he could avoid spiritual attacks, he was guaranteed to win. He could not be more wrong.
"Do you feel it," Gilgamesh asked him, the veins on his arm popping as he held Ku's throat. The golden light around him pulsated and flashed, like surging lifeforce, indicating just how much of his power he was expending in order to batter Ku's spirit.
"F-feel ....what..." As Ku tried to speak, large amounts of saliva and mucus emerged from his mouth and nose. His eyes were bloodshot, and their condition only worsened as more time passed. His veins also bulged, especially in his head and neck.
"The sword is expressing its dissatisfaction with you. It agrees with me that you are not fit to wield it."
With the hand that was still holding the sword, Gilgamesh yanked it yet again. By now, Ku's body was far too weak to resist Gilgamesh's strength, and so he was forced to let go of the sword.
As the sword was taken, the red aura of Infinity around Ku's body grew even stronger. The sword had been bearing the majority of that force, and now that it was gone there was nothing standing between it and Ku.
There was very little hope for him now.
His eyes scoured the horizon, perhaps searching for some vague trace of a way out. Gilgamesh saw this as his final, desperate throes before the end of his life. After all, that was exactly what it was, but he did not understand just how desperate Ku was becoming.
As for Gilgamesh, he had taken the sword by the hilt and was examining it closely. The pommel resembled a pointed shard, and was made of some incredibly hard material. The handle itself was also made of this material, but more refined and wrapped in a fine black cloth. The blade itself was black and slightly curved, almost unnoticeably, and it caught the light in a most unusual way.
He would have to wait until he had finished dealing with Ku's soul before he properly inspected the sword, but he did not mind. He knew that this blade was special, that was all he needed to know for now.
Meanwhile, as Gilgamesh studied the sword, Ku was exercising his final chance at survival. He had been given direct access to Enki's spirit, which was how they had initially spoken. Gilgamesh had heard him announce his arrival on the planet because Enki had told him to make sure Gilgamesh could hear him. If he did not want Gilgamesh to hear, Gilgamesh would not know they were speaking.
If he did not know, then he would have no reason to pry further into Ku's mind. This was Ku's final reasoning.
"Lord Enki, I am going to die!"
"I know." In the upper atmosphere, Enki could clearly see exactly what was happening.
"What can I do? Please, help me, Lord Enki."
"Hmph! What can you do? You fell into Gilgamesh's hands because of your own stupid actions, and now he will tear away at your spirit until he can consume it. There is no hope for you."
"There is! There is! This is not a duel! A proper challenge was never extended!"
In that moment, the knowledge of Heaven's Edict ran by Enki's mind. There was a certain clause regarding the rules of gods challenging other gods over territory, specifically when a god staked a claim to another god's world.
No matter the circumstances, a battle between gods had to be agreed upon by both parties. In the vent that ownership of a world was contested, a duel would have to be fought to decide which god would win that ownership.
If either god failed to follow these rules, a strict punishment would have to be enforced according to Heaven's will. Anu's focus and attention was elsewhere, but the power and authority of his spirit was with Enki.
This meant that Enki was responsible for doling out that punishment!
When Enki realized this, he laughed at how ridiculous the whole situation seemed. Thanks to the immense fear of death that Ku felt, he had found a way to ensure his survival. When on death's door, the mind would uncover all manner of capabilities that it had never been able to uncover before.
This was the same for everyone, even gods.
"Well done, Ku. You have brought this matter back to my attention. My judgement tends to falter where Gilgamesh is concerned."
Ishtar and Nanna were confused by Enki's sudden change. All of a sudden, he had stared laughing. It was only until he explained the situation to them that they also realized the truth.
Gilgamesh commanded too much of their attention; they, too, had overlooked this fact.
Back on the planet, Gilgamesh was watching the last vestiges of Ku's life leave him. In a matter of seconds, Ku would be dead.
That was when Gilgamesh felt something that horrified him. With Ku's spirit weakened, he had started to divert a portion of his spirit into the sword in order to study it. Thanks to that, his perception was no longer fully cut off, which meant he could feel the change in the world's atmosphere.
The very instant he sensed that energy, he recognized it as the Spirit of Heaven- Anu's spirit- taking action. He immediately got on guard, and also realized that Enki was plotting something.
He knew that no one, not even Enki, would dare to break Heaven's Edict, which could only mean there was yet another loophole there were about to exploit.
It was because he assumed it was a loophole that he also overlooked the facts. He was not searching for a complete, unexploitable law, but the opposite.
As he racked his brain, Ku was being bestowed a boon by Enki. Since he was the losing party, and Gilgamesh was the one that had failed to issue a challenge, he was being granted a second chance; Enki was restoring his spirit.
Gilgamesh felt the difference. Unfortunately, he had already divided his spirit, and could not continue suppressing Ku once he was restored to full power. Fortunately, he still held the Demiurge Blade in his hand once Ku broke free.
Now, Gilgamesh had two problems to deal with, and he also realized what he had forgotten. He cursed under his breath and brandished the sword. He had already made contact with the spirit inside of it, but he had not yet had a chance to properly communicate with it.
Having no choice, he further strained his spirit in order to temporarily suppress the swords will, forcefully taking control of it. He would have to apologize for this later, but he felt like the sword would understand, given the situation.
Preparing himself for one more bout, Gilgamesh was struck by a wave of excruciating, debilitating pain and fatigue. His brain felt like it was being constricted by his skull, and his vision went dark for a few moments. He staggered, having to use the sword to keep himself standing.
With his perception, he suddenly felt his parents' worry. They were a few hundred feet away from him, which was far enough away that if Ku tried to attack them he would be able to apprehend him.
"This is what happens when you have no respect for Heaven, Gilgamesh!"
When he heard Ku say this, he at first took it as him referring to his recovery, but he knew that Enki was mobilizing the Spirit of Heaven. He once again had to divide his focus. He needed to be prepared for anything.
Ku stayed where he was, knowing better than to get close to Gilgamesh- especially now that he had the blade.
"My Lord Enki has restored me and given me a new purpose. I shall not fail him again!"
Ku's healed spirit mobilized, creating dozens of flaming orbs that hovered in the air around his body, blazing with the intensity of miniature stars. The temperature of the world rose drastically, and the last four mortals alive were forced to retreat even further.
Gilgamesh never took his spiritual eyes off them, but he knew that he had to take Ku's attack seriously.
"Have a taste of Damning Fire!"
Each and every one of those flaming orbs were launched into Gilgamesh at breakneck speed, creating numerous explosive rumbles in the environment. The shattered space that had been slowly mending itself was torn apart yet again, leaving a void space of around 200 meters.
Within that void space, without the necessary spiritual power, it would be impossible to move. Luckily, neither of them were so disadvantaged.
Gilgamesh saw almost five dozen fireballs coming toward him, each of them carrying the pressure of Ku's fully powered spirit.
It would be simple enough to eradicate Ku's spirit signature from the orbs, but Gilgamesh could not do that fast enough without drawing his entire focus. He needed to split his focus, so he had to deal with them another way.
"Tch!" Raising the sword in his hand, Gilgamesh cut into the void, creating five streaks of light in an instant. Those slashes tore apart five fireballs each, but tens more were still on the way. Gilgamesh's arm did not stop; the blade did not come to a halt.
While he was fending off the first onslaught, Ku sent even more of them. The next barrage was even faster, so Gilgamesh had to increase his speed as well.
This required even more effort, and he could once again feel a rising pain from within. His spirit was beginning to falter; he could not maintain this overexertion much longer.
Ku acted as if he knew exactly what Gilgamesh was feeling, and ceaselessly cast fireballs by the dozen. Each of them were just as powerful as the last, and each of them radiated with the intense heat of 'Damning Fire.'
To make matters worse, Gilgamesh felt the intensity of Anu's aura suddenly increase. Enki was about to make his move.
Gilgamesh's perception hovered over his parents, but as he focused too much on them he was struck by two fireballs simultaneously, staggering for just a moment.
As fate would have it, that one moment cost him dearly. His body was assaulted by each and every remaining fireball; he simply could not regain his bearings after the first two. His body may have been bolstered by his spirit, but his spirit was no longer at its full power.
Even worse than this was the fact that his spirit was beginning to show signs of fading. His constant overdrawing of his power would begin to take it's toll, weakening him for an extended period of time. Even he did not know how long he would be weakened for, but he would definitely recover once enough time passed.
Gilgamesh's body was assailed with explosions, and scorched to the flesh by the fire. He was already barely recognizable, but the final explosion tore his torso apart. The entire left side of his chest was gone. His arm and shoulder- even his heart- was burned to ash.
His spirit was the only thing keeping him alive, yet that was also beginning to falter. In such dire straits, Gilgamesh simply needed a short moment to compose himself. He gathered up what spiritual power he could still muster, and instantly his flesh was restored. It would take a lot more power to regrow what he had lost, but that was not yet necessary. As he prepared himself to rush toward Ku, Enki chose that time to act.
That was when Gilgamesh realized that Enki had merely been waiting for this exact moment...
His aim was to punish Gilgamesh, therefore Enki had mobilized the Spirit of Heaven against Logan and Angelica!