On the other side of the battlefield, Simon, who had taken control of the battle, had ended the lives of numerous masked assassins while simultaneously facing two Sword Kings.
"Die, you damned bastard!" One of the assassins was about to thrust his sword into Simon's body when he erupted in a devastating hidden power.
That crimson light gleamed, and the masked men screamed in fear, a look of horror shining in their eyes. They lost all thought of killing Prince Gilgamesh after seeing that they too would be slain. They hurriedly sheathed their swords and retreated at an impressive speed.
Their expression after witnessing how easily Simon had dispatched numerous Sword Saint experts was indescribable.
That was a force they simply couldn't overcome.
In fact, when they first faced Simon, they believed he was just a Sword King among the lower ranks, but his strength continued to increase as the battle progressed, while theirs diminished.
However, in the face of an entity with an unknown origin and strength that defied all logic, it was best to consider this mission a failure and retreat if they wanted to survive.
But Simon wouldn't let them escape, so with terrifying strength, he increased his speed and caught up to the two assassins, both of whom were Sword Kings, and cleaved them in half.
When the battlefield finally returned to its tranquility, there were only knights standing around the carriage, struggling to catch their breath.
They had won, a bittersweet victory as they had not been able to protect their lord, who had acted on his own, which was unacceptable. But they could do nothing more than grit their teeth in frustration.
"Stop the bleeding, prioritize your future healing, and I won't search for the prince Gilgamesh," Simon said as he waved his sword, the blood on it sliding to one side.
"Yes, sir!"
...
In a dark alley, where only dogs and cats would dare to venture on a day that seemed stained with absolute agony, several men in black ran to hide from the danger that was lurking. However, the most deplorable thing was that the deep wounds on their bodies left large stains of blood on the ground that couldn't be concealed by the mud and water.
"We're all going to die here..." said one of the masked men as he clutched his stomach, which had a long gash. Beneath his clothes, you could see his intestines spilling out from his stomach, and blood immediately stained his entire attire.
"Hold on, if we hide our presence, we might be able to escape."
Argh!
No matter where they fled, Gilgamesh found them all and took it upon himself to kill them all.
"No one will survive after today."
Following these words, Gilgamesh appeared in the alley and began to swing his sword, once, twice, every swing of his sword took a life as if he were the very reaper of death. No one could escape or resist; all they could do was beg for his forgiveness, which would never be heard.
Loneliness, sadness, desolation... All these titles and negative emotions embodied Gilgamesh, making anyone feel sad, perhaps desperate or fearful. Even now, as he killed, he didn't feel happy or satisfied; it was something he did simply to remain as he was before.
After having killed them all, Gilgamesh left that dark alley and looked up at the ceaseless rain in the sky. The cold air enveloped his body, and for the first time, he felt the agony that had surrounded him when he saw hundreds of thousands of men dead on the battlefield. This made him very angry, but as a King, he couldn't drown those feelings with anyone else.
"After this, I'll travel the world; otherwise, I fear I'll end up the same as in my previous life, and that's not the case for this new identity. After all, I have to change. But now they've made me angry..." Gilgamesh said as he sensed Finian had arrived at his home.
"Is my mind becoming sensitive?"
Gilgamesh no longer enjoyed many of the desires he once did in his past life, so once he embarks on his journey, he will discover new things that excite him.
The corpses of the assassins lay in the mud, those assassins who had seemed invincible until recently were now all dead, their bodies covered in mud and water, now little more than garbage.
Finian's house is a very modest one at the bottom of the city of Ars, standing shyly in the most forgotten corner of the town. Its wooden structure is worn by the years and weathered by the elements, the beams eroded by the passage of time and moisture.
The clay tile roof, once reddish and vibrant, now shows signs of wear and leaks. Its walls, once painted in vivid colors, have lost their luster and now appear chipped and faded.
The front door, made of deteriorated wood, hangs crooked on its worn hinges, barely fulfilling its function of keeping the outside at bay.
"Sister, I'm back!" Finian shouted as if what he had just experienced had no effect on him.
Gilgamesh looked around the windows; the frames were worn, and the shutters had fallen or were broken, allowing the natural elements to enter freely.
Inside the house, the scene is equally desolate. A rickety bed, covered by a tattered and faded blanket, occupies much of the space in one corner. On the bed, a girl under six years of age, approximately.
"I wonder where her parents are. Well, that question doesn't make sense now..." Gilgamesh entered the small house and approached the younger sister of the boy who had made an impression on him.
"Is she your sister, Aria?"
Finian opened the bag with medicines and said in a friendly tone, "Yes, she's my younger sister, Aria. It's only for her that I still fight to survive."
Aria, a delicate girl with pale skin, slowly opened her eyes and saw her brother's dirty face. "Finian... I told you the best medicine was having you by my side. Look how dirty you are."
"This feels strange," Gilgamesh muttered to himself as he moved around the room, contemplating what to do without these children seeing him as a kidnapper looking for servants. The girl had an unusual white hair color, so some strange magic-related illness must have afflicted her. Understanding that it was a magical ailment, he knew there was no medicine that a child could obtain that would help her.
"Brother! There's a handsome boy, but he's strange..." Aria assessed Gilgamesh and pointed at him with her trembling finger.
Finian was surprised and gently pushed his sister's hand away, then squinted his eyes and whispered, "I suspect he's the prince Gilgamesh, but due to the mud on his body and blood, I'm not sure. Regardless, he saved my life and offered to bring me home."
At this moment, Gilgamesh felt a mix of indignation and touched by the sibling scene he was witnessing. Just as he was about to reprimand the child, he suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right in this turn of events.
"Children, I will make you a suggestion you can't refuse. If I manage to cure your sister, you must repay me by becoming part of my retinue, so that in the future, you can be great assistants. Since you're alone, you're likely to perish in the winter, so it would be wise to accept."
He didn't know why, but that innocent child named Finian was very peculiar, and just to be sure, he would take them back with him.
"Are you telling the truth? Can you save my sister and give her good food so she can grow and not stay small like me? What should we do if we follow you now?" Finian became very excited upon hearing this proposal.
"You foolish child! Do you think I lie? Who the hell taught you something so foolish? Well, it doesn't matter; what you'll do with me in the future will be based on what you learn." Gilgamesh brought his right hand to his chin and pointed, "You could become knights, mages, scholars, librarians, or whatever you desire."
Despite the fact that this might not benefit him much in the future, he felt compelled to help these children who were alone. The way things were going, they might be sold as slaves someday. So, it was best for them to come with him; that way, he could finally return and rid himself of all the dirt on his body.