Extremely brutal, arrogant, and bloodthirsty!
These were the first words that appeared in the mind of the elderly elf named Cirdan, who raised his hand to stop the other elves who were about to take action to kill Gilgamesh.
"I apologize for my misbehavior; it's been a long time since I've had a conversation with someone who isn't my disciple." Cirdan dismounted and walked toward Gilgamesh. After getting close enough to have a pleasant conversation, he said, "My name is Cirdan. I am an ancient elder of the Moon Elf clan in the Silver Forest. I am here to take the portal to the Blue Forest for its future protection."
Roxy immediately informed Gilgamesh, "I've heard that the Moon Elves have disappeared for hundreds of years. Many claim to have seen them, but not everyone is sure about these reports and view them more as legends."
Upon hearing that, Gilgamesh nodded in acknowledgment of the information while pondering the reason. Still, he decided that it was irrelevant to him and said, "If you take this portal, you will cause the destruction of an entire continent before the most powerful beings in this world act to contain the threat. For some reason, this portal to the dark world has been maintained, and it will continue to be that way."
"How do you know about that?" Cirdan lost his composure upon hearing these claims that shouldn't be known beyond his elf clan and the last humans in this place.
"Don't tell me..."
Gilgamesh shook his head upon understanding what Cirdan was referring to, walked toward the portal, and said, "There aren't many things in that world that can challenge me, so I will rule this place while repopulating this area with a portion of my army. That should keep the hearts of the Moon Elves at ease, isn't that enough?"
Cirdan shook his head and said stubbornly, "I'm afraid that won't be possible. A rule has been established that only the Moon Elves would protect this place alongside the humans who received the blessing of the ancient tree. I still don't understand your insistence, but you should leave this task to us."
"Then why don't you live here and pledge your loyalty to the Asura Kingdom, which will be ruled by my fiancé in the future?" Eris looked coldly at the old man who seemed to know who was before him.
"My name is Gilgamesh. I can see that your race's righteousness in keeping the door sealed is so great that I fully respect your sacrifices over the years. That being said, your reward will be that from now on, I will take it upon myself to completely destroy all dark existence on the other side when this door is opened. What do you say about that?"
Gilgamesh's words this time didn't need to be contradictory, so when he looked beyond the lives of these people, his eyes settled on a very beautiful woman. But beyond that, it was her relationship with someone very important to him. So upon noticing this, he approached.
"May I know your name?"
The elven woman tightened her grip on her sword and said in a cold tone, "My name is Sarah. Do you have something to say?"
Gilgamesh pretended not to remember and said, "You bear a certain resemblance to Elaine. Do you still remember your sister?"
"What did you say?!" Sarah yelled, suddenly losing her composure. She immediately drew a dagger from her belt and attempted to stab Gilgamesh, but his armor was so strong that the dagger's blade was completely shattered.
"Sarah, stop right now!" Cirdan roared, furious about the attack that could lead to a battle between the two sides.
"You damn bitch, I'm going to cut your throat!" Eris immediately vanished from her position and, in an instant, struck Sarah's stomach, sending her flying dozens of meters before she could stop herself.
Eris, with her crimson hair fluttering, was about to draw her sword when Gilgamesh's hand held her waist, and he said, "Calm down, my little fiancée. Her anger seems to be justified, although I don't quite understand it. Isn't Elaine your sister? You should love her, unless..."
Eris seemed to understand something, so she stopped, furrowing her brow while glaring at these arrogant elves, and said, "If she doesn't give us a satisfactory answer, I'll personally kill her."
Gilgamesh nodded and said, "If that's the case, I won't stop you."
"Do you think we'll stand idly by?!" The Moon Elves, defying all authority from Cirdan, unsheathed their swords, causing Roxy to grip her sword with her right hand and aim her shining staff of magic at the Moon Elves.
Gilgamesh was anything but nervous. His women were terribly temperamental, and right now, they were ready to kill if things didn't calm down. Seeing this, he felt inexplicably pleased.
But knowing that it was unnecessary for these elves to die, he said, "Tell us, Sarah. What's going on?"
Sarah spat blood as she held her ribs, which had been crushed by a kick from a teenager no older than eighteen. She said, "My sister died years ago. The moonflower that represented her life faded long ago, so you don't have the right to name her so easily in my presence."
"Years ago... would that be it?" Gilgamesh recalled that years ago, he released the seal on Elaine's body, and this might have triggered this special effect. Normally, curses are lifted when the one who bears them dies.
"You're mistaken. Elaine is fine, and we might end up engaged in the future. She would be my last wife if she wishes, of course... Years ago, I removed a curse from her body that had kept her sealed for a hundred years. Can you imagine that?" Gilgamesh asked Sarah, who, after realizing he wasn't lying, started to cry slightly.
"She told me that she had left her clan to travel the world; that was her dream. But for unknown reasons, she ended up in a temple where she stayed for over a hundred years. I suppose she didn't want to return because she wanted to suffer in silence."
Sarah was the only one who knew the reason why Elaine had left her clan, so after hearing the story from the man in front of her, she began to cry uncontrollably, and all she could say was, "Thank you for saving her, and forgive me for attacking you..."
Cirdan, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, said, "What are you doing?! Sheathe your swords. Have you forgotten who Prince Gilgamesh is? Many elf tribes consider him a noble human, someone who has already liberated thousands of elves from the hands of slavers and returned them to the forests without asking for anything in return."
When everyone who had been furious about Gilgamesh's attack on one of their own lowered their weapons, feeling regret for taking a hostile stance.
"Well, I guess we were too aggressive as well..." Gilgamesh walked over to the elf who was in agony.
"I'm sorry... I must say I never thought you were Gilgamesh. The rumors say you're just a child, but now you look like an adult," said the elf who was receiving healing from a young elven mage.
Gilgamesh smiled and said, "I suppose I'm very famous. Seeing the sincerity in your eyes, I'll heal you."
This decision was not impulsive; he knew very well where the elves' hatred toward humans was directed, and it was due to slavery, kidnapping, and the destruction that many humans caused in elven tribes. For them, humans were all the same, and Gilgamesh was fine with accepting that, so he wasn't too harsh.
The world needs a serious change to move forward because if slavery continues in this world divided by races, what will happen later is a war.
Perhaps in his world, slavery was necessary, but here, it's an evil that's unnecessary because this world is composed of races, species, and customs. Humans are not the only ones living here, so whether it's eradicating all races and leaving only humans, nothing will be achieved other than abolishing slavery to make further progress in the future.