"Rewards and punishments. Insults and praises... To me, it's all the same ink on paper."
"I didn't have a name since my father didn't give me one, but now I call myself Delia. That name resonated within me and made me feel extremely grateful to the world."
Delia looked at her body, which had practically evolved and gained highly defined muscles. She glanced at her sister Alba, who was still immobile in the blood ritual while regaining the mobility of her body.
Both Delia and Alba had received a reward from fate, if one could call it that, in this encounter with that mysterious and unfathomable human man. His scent was enchanting, his gaze penetrating, and a serenity on his face that made Delia feel like she should serve him for the rest of her life.
Eris had told them that they would now live with them. They didn't ask anything about their past, and it seemed that it was not something that mattered to them because they never questioned it. Delia clenched her fists; she could now feel her strength, and according to their principles, Gilgamesh, who is the strongest in the pack, should be the one she served.
"I wonder when he will choose me..." Delia, who had a misconception of her situation, looked at her body in a mirror and smiled; she was hungry right now, so she needed to be fed.
...
Demon Continent, over a hundred kilometers from the ancient cemetery.
Rudeus stood on a mountain with a lifeless figure behind him. This was one of his great creations through magic. A puppet might sound unreal, but he had been investigating more and more to advance in the creation of inanimate servants to have increasingly better skills in this magic and eventually have a formidable armor.
"How much time has passed?" Rudeus hadn't initially trusted someone like Hirogami, but things had led him to a point where he couldn't turn back.
Gilgamesh had threatened his family, and he probably always distrusted him for some reason he didn't know. He didn't blame him, but listening to all those rumors about him, the idea of killing him became more and more present in his mind.
Killing someone as powerful as Gilgamesh was a very bad joke. How to kill someone who is possibly more powerful than a God in this rule? It wasn't absurd to imagine that he would be crushed with his entire family if he faced Gilgamesh directly at this moment, but he believed deep in his heart that if he was careful, he could do it.
In the story he knew of Gilgamesh, he had lost, even with powerful weapons, he lost to weak humans, so he was confident that he could defeat someone as arrogant as his target. If he continued training in secret, he might find a way, and, of course, he wouldn't directly risk exposing his intentions.
He had heard from Hitogami that Gilgamesh couldn't know that he had spoken with him and decided to mark him as an enemy. If he had the protection of a God, Gilgamesh should have problems facing him.
Besides, he wasn't completely sure if he could eliminate him with complete safety.
During his stay in this place, in addition to training, he had improved a lot in his magic to the point where he was extremely strong. He had received certain aids from the Human God, but it was never something surprising.
As he had been repeatedly warned, he should not leave the continent because of the dangers lurking in the outside world. Tensions between humans and demonic races had been intense for generations, and clashes were frequent. But for some other reasons, he learned that there were much more dangerous things happening in different places where he definitely shouldn't step unless he sought death.
He found several allies, like a man the Human God had told him to trust, Riujerd was his name, he had taken care of helping him in many of the difficulties he had in this continent, and thus, he was able to find a way to move forward at least in the first year surviving in this place.
However, he had no plans other than to prepare himself, and after having enough strength, meet with his family to know that they were well. If Gilgamesh is behind his problems, it's because he did nothing to avoid it, so if for some reason they were hurt, they unleashed their fury against those involved.
Just as he was about to leave this continent, he encountered a group of adventurers called Counter Arrow. They had come to the Demon Continent because they wanted to seek some opportunities in what was happening near the ancient cemetery.
In that group, he met Sarah, she showed some disgust toward his last name, but he didn't have to take it too much into account since he didn't quite understand women. But after many adventures together, they both opened up more, and that hatred seemed to be forgotten.
Since they were the last groups to be sent, they would be in charge of receiving and sending resources to the Green Oak City several kilometers away. Before that, he and Sarah had some discussions about approaching that place, which Rudeus told them they would die if they approached that place…
That night, by the time everyone returned to their respective places to sleep, something kept Rudeus from sleeping. He opened his eyes and began to chat with Ruijerd, who was still keeping watch even while asleep.
"Why did you decide to say something like that to Sarah?" Ruijerd opened his half-closed eyes and looked at Rudeus.
"Because, no matter how much time passes, everyone dies when facing destinies that are far superior to their strength."
Rudeus was focused on his own demons. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing, and he also didn't understand how someone like Gilgamesh could be in this world. He wanted to ask and know more about it, but he doubted if he would answer all his questions. He wouldn't do it if he thought about it.
"Hnnn..." While pondering all this, Ruijerd, without making any gesture, closed his eyes and said the following.
"Well, I guess that's how things are..."
What does he mean by that? Rudeus didn't understand, but in the end, he didn't dwell too much on his response. However, for some reason, he had a bad premonition that led him to do so.
...
Early the next morning.
"This is the last ship destined for the Green Oak City, so board quickly as you won't be able to catch the main events that are about to happen!"
As they boarded the magical ship, everyone was impressed by its great capacity, both for carrying resources and mobilizing people.
"How much have you heard about Prince Gilgamesh?" A priest from the Holy Church of Millis waved his staff and shouted to everyone boarding the ship.
"Why do you preach against the fourth prince?" Sara couldn't understand the hatred towards the fourth prince of the Asura Kingdom, who was the only one in royalty who made the effort to send thousands of requests to find the citizens of Fittoa who were teleported.
"I have no idea..." Rudeus didn't respond to this because he didn't care.
"Let's not get involved..."
However, just at that moment, two figures in black cloaks passed by Rudeus's group, and one muttered, "Kill him, cut off his head, and throw his body off the ship."
"Yes, sir!"
"Wait!" Sara wanted to stop them, but at the last moment, the figures moved at a terrifying speed, and with a single swing of their swords, that priest died brutally.
"What are you doing?!"
The man walked forward and exuded a powerful battle aura as he said, "My name is Roj, a lion with the title of Sword Emperor. If you have any issues, you can step forward, and we'll gladly address your concerns."
"He's strong, let's not get involved..." Ruijerd backed off from this as he could sense that he was no match for the other party.