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(Fate) Chapter 253: The Bull of Heaven
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 17:55:07 +0000 UTCA deep, resonant voice echoed across the vast expanse of the land.
The deafening thunder that filled the sky was nothing more than its mighty roar.
Undeterred and fearless, Pegasus soared through the tempest, straight towards the heart of the raging storm, where lightning danced with fury.
It charged forward; even though it knew that the creature that awaited was a beast unleashed by the gods, a manifestation of their devastating power.
It carried Promise, and it would see it through.
And there, concealed within the depths of darkness and thunder, it beheld the true form of its adversary.
The bull of heaven, Gugalanna, stood revealed in its full glory.
Blinding bolts of lightning crackled around its colossal frame, as if forging a golden armor that encased its entire being.
Its immense body seemed to bridge the heavens and the earth, its head lost amidst the clouds while its hooves pulverized the ground below.
Each step it took sent tremors through the air, unleashing a force that rivaled the impact of a falling meteor.
Promise's emerald eyes gazed upon the awe-inspiring sight of Gugalanna, the celestial bull.
And in that instant, the mighty bull, too, noticed the small figure that dared to approach it.
It saw the unwavering gaze of those clear, emerald eyes, and the pristine white garment that adorned its challenger.
Enraged by the audacity of this insignificant being who dared to meet its gaze, the bull let loose a thunderous bellow...
Well..this guy didn't know anything about the trial or Promise.
The task bestowed upon it by the goddess Ishtar was simple: to unleash its earth-shattering hooves and obliterate the city below.
To bring ruin and devastation upon this land!
"So, the stage is set for their encounter," A voice chuckled from atop a towering skyscraper in the city of Yuukihara.
Perched on the edge of the rooftop, Ishtar, a goddess who had taken the form of an artificial human girl, swung her slender legs playfully, a wide grin spreading across her face.
"Oh, I have been eagerly anticipating this moment," she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement. "Now, present to me your offerings, my dear, favored child of the gods!"
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Promise, on the other hand, gazed at the Bull of Heaven, not caring about its rage, but observing it with a thoughtful expression.
"This is the Bull of Heaven... No wonder Gilgamesh had high hopes for it in that situation, thinking that it could hold back the primordial goddess of creation for a while."
He said with a bit of emotion, it wasn't like he had never seen a beast that was abandoned by the gods and brought disaster.
The boar Artemis abandoned, and the hundred-eyed giant that Hera made to guard Io, were actually all the same.
But they, indeed, all had a certain gap with the Bull of Heaven in front of him.
"Well... anyway, this thunder is really too noisy."
As he spoke, his originally clear emerald eyes turned golden in an instant, and in the eyes of the Bull of Heaven, which couldn't understand at all, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the thunder in the sky.
"Stop it, it's so late, what the night really needs is peace."
As he spoke, he crushed the thunder in his hand, and the symphony and roar of thunder, which seemed like the end of the world, stopped.
"Let the wind stop too, I've heard a lot of people complaining all the way here."
He said again as a sword appeared in his hand.
And the moment the sword appeared, the Bull of Heaven, staring at it, felt as if it was staring into the underworld at this moment, smelling the smell of death... But, it was clearly an immortal beast!
This was the Sword of Judgement, in his hand, it could even judge the gods.
Ringing the death knell for those so-called immortal gods!
However, he did not slash the sword at the Bull of Heaven, but threw it down and cut off the hurricane of the night.
Thus, the harbinger of the coming of the end of the world ceased.
"Speaking of which, it's almost dawn... This won't do."
He shook his head slightly and looked up at the night sky shrouded in dark clouds.
"O ancient and great primordial goddess, I pray to you here."
As he spoke, a silver moon bow appeared in his hand.
Then he was seen notching an arrow and shooting it into the night sky.
With just one arrow, the dark clouds dispersed, and the night sky revealed its true face, and then he continued, "Please let the night be long tonight, let the stars dot the world, and please protect the child who admires you, let the night conceal everything for him."
The night heard his plea, and at that moment the Bull of Heaven saw the phantom of an ancient black night carriage running in the sky, the pressure from the goddess riding on the carriage made it feel as if it was facing Ishtar's father.
Incidentally, the reason why Ishtar was loved by the gods and accompanied by the Bull of Heaven was because of her father, Anu.
Anu was the king of the gods in the mythology in which Ishtar was located, a position equivalent to Zeus, the king of the gods in ancient Greek mythology.
So the sun was once again 'asked back' by the night, delaying its rise.
And at the same time, the night also covered the traces of the Bull of Heaven and him, so that ordinary people could not see and know what was happening here.
"Well, that's it then."
Clapping his hands, Promise calmed everything down in just a few words and looked at the Bull of Heaven again as the golden eyes that shone with divinity returned to a clear emerald green.
"Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, let's talk first, okay? First of all... let's draw a nice picture!"
Because after I draw it, you will be my cow.
If I call you in the future and you don't answer, I'll write you down in my little book, so that even if we're separated by several parallel worlds, I'll find you and beat you up.
The Bull of Heaven didn’t react immediately; instead, it simply stared fixedly at Promise.
Just when Promise thought it was full of backbone and would outright reject him, and the Pegasus was already preparing to gallop over and hit it twice, they suddenly heard the Heavenly Bull let out a soft "moo" and blinked twice.
And the expression on it's face after blinking was not the calamity-like ferocity from moments ago, but one of a newfound innocence.
No.
It even seemed... a little docile.
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"..So this is what you really are, Bull of Heaven?!”
Witnessing this scene with her own very eyes, even Ishtar, who was currently inhabiting an artificial body and had diluted her humanity, looked stunned for a moment.
But she quickly recovered.
After all, she realized that the Bull of Heaven must have sensed traces of Ishtar's previous contact lingering on Promise, which caused the change in its attitude.
"Still, isn’t this going a bit too far... it must’ve been scared, after all."
Ishtar was speechless, especially when she found that she actually saw a hint of flattery in the expression of the Bull of Heaven, the feeling of speechlessness became even stronger.
Just as she was feeling flabbergasted, she saw Promise retrieve a pure white feathered paintbrush from the night sky and stars.
Sitting atop the winged Pegasus, the boy, then began sketching the form of the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna, using the night as his canvas.
During this time, the Bull of Heaven even deliberately changed his standing posture, revealing a pose that it thought was very 'cool', making Ishtar, who was watching, not sure whether to laugh or get angry for a moment.
I brought you here to bring calamity to this land, to serve as that child’s trial, not to play games with him! ...But I suppose this is amusing in its own way.
Perhaps it was because this was fundamentally a transaction, or maybe it was due to Promise's innate "goddess killer" charisma. Either way, Ishtar didn’t react excessively to what could be interpreted as a challenge to her authority.
Instead, she viewed it as a rare source of amusement as a slight smile graced her lips while she looked at the scene.
But soon, as if sensing something, she tilted her head, glanced into the distance, and let out a small "huh.
After thinking for a moment, her lips curved upward as she leaped down from the tall building.
Meanwhile, the painting did not last for too long.
During this time, the Amazon Queen with her War God’s Band, Jason, and Rin Tohsaka and her companions finally arrived, one by one.
They left the city and entered the vast desert region of the southern continent, where they encountered the Bull of Heaven and Promise, who were shrouded by the powers of the Night Goddess.
Although they were hidden by the power of the Goddess of Night, they had probably been discovered long ago, so, out of consideration, the benevolent goddess left a passage for them to enter.
Thus, the group now stood at the foot of the Bull of Heaven, gazing up at the towering embodiment of tempestuous skies.
Naturally, they also spotted Promise, soaring amidst the night on his Pegasus.
The scene resembled something out of an epic mural, overwhelming the senses of Rin Tohsaka, Shirou Emiya, and the others.
Even though they had anticipated the sight and believed they were mentally prepared, at this moment, they were still struck speechless and awestruck, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Until...
Until Gilgamesh, seated on the radiant ship known as Vimana, accompanied by his Master, Tiné, arrived before the group.
"Gil, you’ve come," Enkidu, standing beside his Master Silver Wolf, greeted him with a gentle smile.
“Hmph, this king merely came because he couldn’t trust anyone else to handle the situation properly!”
Crossing his arms and slightly tilting his head up, Gilgamesh surveyed the scene before him and spoke with his usual arrogance apparent,
"If he fails this trial and pays the price for his arrogance and conceit, then this king will personally take matters into his own hands!”
Enkidu simply smiled without responding to Gilgamesh’s words.
After all, the fact that he refrained from calling Promise a "mongrel" was already quite restrained.
As Gilgamesh was speaking, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and turned his head to look at Tohsaka Rin, who had come to her senses and was looking at him with a face full of disdain, and Emiya Shirou who was equally speechless.
"What is that look? Have you two seen this king before?"
'Not only have I seen you, I've even chopped off your hand.'
Emiya Shirou muttered quietly in his heart.
Rin let out a long sigh, covered her forehead with one hand, and muttered, "It really is you. Why is it that you’re everywhere...?"
Before she could finish her sentence, someone beside her suddenly shot forward, breaking the sound barrier as they charged at Gilgamesh with incredible speed.
It was Heracles/Hercules.
(Well the Greece arc is over so, I'll probably use Hercules)
The towering hero swung his weapon with tremendous force, aiming directly at Gilgamesh.
The clash of metal resounded as a golden divine shield materialized in front of Gilgamesh, blocking Hercules' sudden, powerful strike.
Gilgamesh turned his head slightly to regard the enormous figure of Hercules, whose entire being radiated a terrifying divine aura.
“Mongrel, what do you think you’re doing?” He asked coldly.
Hercules didn’t reply, his sharp eyes simply locked on Gilgamesh with unrelenting intensity.
At this moment, Jason stepped forward and, emboldened by Hercules’ presence, arrogantly shouted at Gilgamesh, "You’re the mongrel here! Who are you to insult our friend like that, you random interloper?!"
It was clear that Hercules had attacked because Gilgamesh had called Promise arrogant and conceited.
Gilgamesh gave Jason a brief, dismissive glance and chose not to respond, turning his attention back to Hercules.
As if he had discerned something, his lips curled into a feral grin, one that spoke of encountering a worthy prey.
Behind him, golden ripples began to shimmer in the air as the treasures of the Gate of Babylon started to materialize.
Hercules, seeing this, grew even more resolute, his stance tightening in anticipation.
Anyone with a keen eye could see that a battle was about to erupt.
"Enough.”
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