Unlike Roman, who was nearly losing his mind back at Chaldea, Roy and Fujimaru Ritsuka began walking side by side with Kingu across the plains of Mesopotamia.
As they walked, the group chatted casually. Kingu, ever the schemer, slipped in subtle, fabricated bits of misinformation, occasionally weaving tales of a made-up past to gain the trust of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Roy.
Listening to stories about Gilgamesh and Enkidu—albeit told through the mouth of a parasite—Roy couldn't help but feel a deep sense of irony.
During this stretch of the journey, Roy refrained from using any magical means to relay information to Ritsuka. Instead, while Kingu led the way ahead, he discreetly reached out and lightly traced a few lines on Fujimaru Ritsuka's back, subtly passing along additional hints.
"That tickles…"
Ritsuka wasn't the type of dim-witted Master one might assume. As someone who had made it this far as humanity's savior, she had her own unique strengths.
Noticing Roy's little gesture, she didn't make a fuss. She simply nodded slightly, accepting the intel while continuing her nonchalant conversation with Kingu.
"Mr. Enkidu, are you a Servant?" Roy asked at one point.
"A Servant? No, I'm not." Kingu replied, shaking his head as he led the way. "My body is different from a normal human's—it was forged by the gods, making me a unique existence. But I'm not built on the Saint Graph of a Heroic Spirit."
"My purpose, bestowed upon me by the mother goddess, was to act as a wedge binding humans and gods together, a chain connecting the divine and mortal. But the age of the gods has long since passed. Now, I'll carry out a new mission—to stand alongside humanity as a guardian of the world, protecting them as they step toward a distant future."
Kingu turned his head, gazing at Fujimaru Ritsuka and Roy—the latter of whom remained wary of him—with a righteous air.
"But right now, the alliance of the three goddesses and the emergence of magical beasts have halted humanity's progress. So, Last Master of Chaldea, savior of this world tasked with restoring the foundation of human order—would you allow me to fight alongside you?"
Roy felt a wave of disgust at Kingu's feigned sincerity.
This creature, using Enkidu's body, had unleashed magical beasts across Mesopotamia, causing untold carnage. And now, wearing Enkidu's face and speaking with his voice, he dared to say such things? It was…
Utterly revolting.
Though in the final moments of the seventh singurality, Kingu eventually saw the error of his ways, turning back to aid Chaldea and Gilgamesh by briefly restraining Tiamat, contributing to the ultimate victory, Roy saw it as mere atonement. And even then, compared to the slaughter he'd caused, such redemption barely scratched the surface.
After all, without his meddling, Tiamat would never have had the chance to rise again.
If Roy had any confidence in taking him down here and now, he'd have struck already instead of waiting for the perfect moment. But for the sake of caution, he had no choice but to keep playing along with this farce.
Roy glanced down at Fujimaru Ritsuka, who seemed hesitant, and gave her a slight nod.
"Fine, we'll trust you for now."
"Y-Yes! Mr. Enkidu, I look forward to working with you." Fujimaru Ritsuka replied, a touch nervous as she agreed to his request.
"The honor is mine, Master of Chaldea." Kingu said warmly. "To fight alongside you is a privilege."
"No, really, the honor's mine, Mr. Enkidu. Oh, and my name's Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"Fujimaru Ritsuka? That's a lovely name. I'll remember it." Kingu said with a gentle nod before turning to Roy. "And you are?"
"Servant Avenger, the Count of Monte Cristo. Compared to the famed Enkidu of legend, I'm just a nobody." Roy answered coolly.
Though Kingu, existing in this timeline, had never heard the name, he didn't buy Roy's "nobody" act for a second.
The explosion of flames and the terrifying magical energy he'd sensed earlier—even from a distance—told him otherwise. A Servant capable of unleashing that kind of power couldn't possibly be insignificant, no matter how well they hid it. Kingu wouldn't let his guard down.
So, he shifted tactics, probing Fujimaru Ritsuka for more information about Chaldea with subtle flattery.
"I must say, I never imagined the last Master of humanity—who's crossed six Singularities and overcome countless trials—would be such a young woman." He mused. "Not that it's a criticism, mind you—just curiosity. How did the two of you end up in this beast-infested plain?"
Before Ritsuka could respond, Roy stepped in to answer for her.
"We were supposed to Rayshift directly into Uruk to meet Gilgamesh, but a massive bounded field around the city rejected us, dropping me and my Master here instead."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have had to come all this way to fetch us, Mr. Enkidu. We'd have met in Uruk."
"I see… That's unfortunate." Kingu replied, his expression odd but masked with a tone of regret. "Still, it's lucky I found you in time. It could've gotten much messier otherwise."
Roman, watching from Chaldea's screens, and Fujimaru Ritsuka beside Roy were stunned by his words.
How did he know Chaldea's Rayshift into Uruk had been deflected by the city's unique bounded field?
To Roman and Ritsuka, Roy's identity grew even more mysterious and unsettling.
"I—" Ritsuka began, but Roy quickly pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head to silence her before she said too much.
Taking over, he picked up Kingu's thread of conversation, steering it toward the current state of Mesopotamia.
He spoke of the three goddesses' alliance wreaking havoc on the land, plunging it into unprecedented chaos—magical beasts, Servants, and all manner of strange beings now roamed the continent.
The two foxes—one older, one younger—continued their verbal sparring, each calculating and scheming beneath their friendly façades.
Behind them, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Roman at Chaldea listened intently, hoping to glean some intel from their exchange.
The identities of these two were too murky, too dangerous. Chaldea couldn't risk taking a side or revealing that Mash had gone missing—not when it might put her in jeopardy.
The best course would be to slip away from these two threats and rendezvous with Mash immediately.
But that was easier said than done. Even if Ritsuka could escape from a god-forged weapon and a being who was both Master and Servant, how could her fragile human body survive this beast-ridden Mesopotamian plain alone?
Fleeing would only trade one danger for a worse fate.
For now, Fujimaru Ritsuka had no choice but to stick with Roy and Kingu—a fact both she and Dr. Roman understood all too well.
So she held back, refraining from any reckless moves.
After walking for a while, Kingu, still leading the way, suddenly stopped.
He guided them up a steep cliff, then pointed downward for them to look.
Below stood a towering, majestic black wall, stretching endlessly like a marvel of human engineering.
But more shocking than this wonder was the bloody scene unfolding beneath it.
"Rather than explain it in words, I thought it better to let you see the true state of Mesopotamia with your own eyes." Kingu said gravely. "This is Uruk's miracle of humanity—the Beast Front: Babylonia."
Roman, watching the dense cluster of red dots multiplying on Chaldea's screens, could hardly believe it.
Each dot represented a magical beast's life signature. With numbers like these, there had to be tens of thousands of them!
Fujimaru Ritsuka, too, stared in stunned silence at the surging tide of beasts below.
Countless monstrous creatures slammed relentlessly against the great wall of stone and human resolve, where death and sacrifice played out every moment.
"This is the Beast Front: Babylonia." Kingu explained, gesturing to the people atop the wall. "A fortress forged from the flesh and will of surviving humans, tirelessly holding back the ferocious assault of these creatures."
"The willpower and determination of humanity are incredible. Even in such dire straits, they summon terrifying resolve—growing stronger the more they fight."
"But can a wall like this really hold against an assault of this scale?" Ritsuka asked, curiosity tinged with doubt.
"…"
"This front has stood firm for half a year already." Kingu replied. "So stubbornly, in fact, that even I've started to grow tired of it…"
"Huh? Mr. Enkidu, what did you just say?" Ritsuka's eyes widened.
Realizing his slip, Kingu quickly shook his head. "Nothing, just a passing thought. Seeing lives lost every moment on this battleline… even I can't help but feel uneasy."
"Oh, I see…"
"Enough of these grim topics, Master of Chaldea." Kingu said with a smile, deftly redirecting the conversation as Ritsuka's suspicion flickered. "Next, I'll take you to Uruk."
Roy nodded slightly, not objecting to the suggestion.
Yes, let's move quickly. I've got a little surprise waiting ahead.
Kingu picked up the pace.
"Mm."
With a small nod of approval, Roy followed steadily behind with Fujimaru Ritsuka, signaling Kingu to keep leading.
Kingu, of course, didn't refuse. He forged ahead, plotting to lure these fools from Chaldea to the temple where he could deal with them slowly.
But in the split second he turned away, the fake smile vanished from Roy's face, replaced by a glint of something brilliant in his eyes.
A strange, unsettling grin crept across his features, sending a shiver down Ritsuka's spine.
Yet, unbeknownst to her, the same smile had faded from Kingu's face as he led the way.
Perfect. Just a little closer, and I'll send you to your rest…
The old fox and the young fox shared the same unspoken thought.
This time, neither said a word.
___
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