Babylon (5): The arrival of the storm.

I'll be quick, as it's already 2:20 AM, and I need to sleep since I have an early commitment tomorrow...

Well, the battle on my (P)(A)(T) has already ended. In fact, that's where I'm three chapters ahead in Hunter and Devas' story. If you want to support me, just go there; if not, I still appreciate you reading!

Well, good night and happy reading!

(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori

[...]---[...]

POV: Siduri.

"Pleasure to see you, Miss Siduri," Doll made a polite greeting. "What brings you here?" Her voice maintained a courteous tone but carried curiosity. "Another inspection?"

"I'm afraid so, it's almost a daily routine since that day," I replied as I approached.

Since the incident a month ago involving the Goddess Inanna, I had been conducting almost daily inspections throughout the kingdom at the command of His Majesty Gilgamesh, searching for any incidents or anomalies.

It was tiring, but to maintain the kingdom's security, it was the least I could do.

"I understand. Come, may I serve you something to drink, Miss?" Doll offered with a slight smile. "Rest a bit before continuing."

I smiled, letting little of my fatigue show on my face, but I didn't decline the offer.

The King had mentioned that this part of the kingdom, where Miss Doll and the Hunter stayed, was an area where security was practically guaranteed, but still, I was ordered to come and inspect to leave no doubts.

If I didn't accompany the King since his childhood, I might have mistaken this statement for him suspecting the two, Doll and Hunter, but I knew that wasn't the case.

No, the King had become more relaxed thanks to them; they, like His Majesty Enkidu, had done well for the King.

The real reason he, knowing this part of the kingdom was safe, still ordered me to come here was for me to take a break. Every time I came, Miss Doll offered me something to drink and rest.

The King could be stern, but he was fair.

"And how is your little apprentice?" I asked as I took a sip of the drink Miss Doll had called tea.

A beverage served in the lands where she and the Hunter came from. It wasn't bad; if I were to express an opinion, it was soothing.

"Nanaya is doing well," Doll said, looking away, where, if I strained my vision, I could see the child and the Hunter training.

"The Good Hunter said he would like to see how much she has progressed, so he took charge of today's training." Her voice was cheerful, and she had a faint smile on her face. "Although the Good Hunter said he wouldn't want apprentices, he is still kind enough to teach Nanaya some things."

"Hmm..." I hummed as I watched the pair train.

The King had said that the Hunter was someone deserving of respect, something I had only heard before when the King spoke about His Majesty Enkidu.

Just because of that, I knew the Hunter was someone out of the ordinary. After hearing from His Majesty Enkidu what had happened that day when Lady Inanna came, the way the Hunter had acted...

This man who called himself a simple hunter was anything but simple.

I spent a few minutes with Doll as we both watched the Hunter correct Nanaya's posture and train with a stern but somehow still gentle voice.

When it was about time for me to get up and continue the inspection throughout the kingdom, I felt everything tremble.

It wasn't just the surroundings; it was as if the entire kingdom was shaking, as if everything, the skies, the earth, the world, was trembling.

Then, an immense magical energy fell upon the whole of Uruk, causing me to kneel, my body yielding under the pressure, my being certain that I was going to die.

The energy was greater than the energy I had felt emanating from Lady Inanna before His Majesty Enkidu protected me. It was somehow larger than the magical energy of King Gilgamesh, something I didn't think was possible.

The King's magical energy was immense, covering practically the whole of Uruk. This energy that seemed to come from the skies was even larger and denser, fierce, wild, it seemed to cover everything like an immense storm.

It must have lasted just a little over a second, maybe less, before Miss Doll gently placed her hand on my shoulder, creating a kind of shield to cover me, lifting the pressure I felt on my body, allowing me to breathe again.

It may have lasted a minuscule amount of time, but still, it felt like hours, and during all that time, I felt like I was stranded in a tumultuous sea and was about to die at any moment.

"W-What was... what is this?" I asked with a hoarse voice, breathless. What had been that energy?

"A divine beast."

The one who answered me was not Miss Doll, but the Hunter, who walked calmly in our direction, unaffected by the energy; neither he nor Miss Doll seemed affected.

Nanaya, who was beside him, also seemed unharmed, a faint energy protecting her, an illusory energy, as if it were something I had imagined.

Something out of a dream.

This whole part of the kingdom seemed to have been covered with this energy, protecting everyone from the impending calamity.

Then, before I could ask anything else, I heard the King's voice resonate throughout Uruk.

He sounded angry.

"HOW DARE YOU, BEAST!"

Along with the King's voice, his magical energy seemed to cover the entire Uruk, overlaying the magical energy of the divine beast, relieving the pressure from the entire city.

Still, I noticed at a glance that not even the King's energy seemed to penetrate the illusory barrier that covered the camp.

In fact, it didn't seem to affect it at all.

"It seems the goddess has finally made her move," Hunter's voice remained unchanged.

"Doll,"

he continued. "Take care of things here; I'll be back."

Before Doll could even respond, the Hunter had disappeared from where he was, as if he had never existed.

"Of course, O Good Hunter," Doll replied to the air, but somehow I knew the Hunter had heard her voice, the energy surrounding this part of the city reacting as if responding to her.

"He... Where did he go?" I asked, even somehow knowing the answer.

Doll smiled, her voice as calm as the Hunter's.

"The Good Hunter went to do what he does best..."

Her voice contained a certainty that I couldn't doubt her next words.

"Hunt."

 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

POV: Third person.

"I should have expected something like this from her. Spoiled creature, of course she would have unleashed her slave upon us." The king's voice was furious, almost a growl, as the words left his mouth.

The two, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, were on the walls of Uruk, looking at the horizon where a mountain was moving, no...

... Where something larger than the size of any mountain was moving.

It was as if the sky itself walked towards the city, a beast that just with its presence seemed to bring the end of the world.

The largest in both size and power among the Sumerian divine beasts.

Gugalanna - the Bull of Heaven.

"We need to repel it before it gets close to the city." Enkidu's voice was serious; for the first time in years, the gods' creation was prepared to give it their all.

And yet, Enkidu was not sure if it would be enough. He didn't know if, even with him and Gilgamesh working together, both giving their all, it would be enough to stop the celestial bull.

Gugalanna was not just a divine beast; he was a natural disaster that somehow gained life.

Mortals compared him to a mountain, something diminutive for his size and power.

The strongest Sumerian divine beast was something more than just a mountain.

His body alone was something that exceeded a hundred kilometers, eclipsing any mountain. Furthermore, his body was surrounded by a cumulonimbus with a diameter of over 500 kilometers.

Any common person looking in the direction of the bull, if they had the courage, of course, wouldn't know where the bull ended and the storm began.

Suddenly, appearing as if he had always been there, the Hunter appeared between the two, the King and the clay doll.

"It's quite a sight." The Hunter's voice seemed slightly impressed.

Even having lived what he lived, killed the beings he killed, Gugalanna was still a being worthy of respect.

Especially in his complete manifestation.

Neither Gilgamesh nor Enkidu turned around upon hearing the Hunter's voice, both having detected him long ago, especially since the Hunter didn't bother to hide his presence.

"Unfortunately, I won't have the pleasure of helping you hunt such a beast..." The Hunter's voice seemed almost sad.

Before any of the other two could ask the reason or open their mouths, they turned in the direction to which the Hunter was already looking, the extreme opposite direction where the bull had appeared.

Where a familiar divine aura had appeared.

Compared to Gugalanna's aura, the aura that had appeared was tiny, but still oozed divinity, a higher-level divinity.

"Inanna." Ishtar.

Enkidu's voice was heavy.

Gilgamesh didn't even bother to speak, just grunted in disgust upon detecting the goddess.

As desperate as the current situation might seem, the king was still calm, composed.

He still maintained his arrogance and pride.

"Gilgamesh, I'll delay Gugalanna while you deal with Inanna." It was the plan that the gods' creation had thought of.

Using the chains of the heavens, even if for a few moments, Enkidu would be able to delay Gugalanna.

A time that would be enough for Gilgamesh to quickly drive Ishtar back to the realm of the gods, if the king fought seriously and gave his all from the beginning.

Gilgamesh didn't need to kill Ishtar, just expel her quickly to deal with the celestial bull.

"No need." The Hunter's voice sounded before the king could respond. "I'll take care of the goddess." It wasn't an offer; it was what the hunter was going to do.

The Hunter had said before that if the goddess returned, he would repeat his actions, actions he had taken in Yharnam.

Ishtar wouldn't be the first god to be arrogant in front of a simple hunter.

A small being blessed by Flora, that's what they said.

Great Ones.

Everyone was wrong, just like Ishtar.

Gilgamesh snorted at the Hunter's words and turned towards the divine beast walking on the horizon.

"Handle your business, then. I won't stop you." Those were the only words the king said before manifesting his golden armor around his body and ascending on Vimana: Throne of the Heaven-soaring King.

Gilgamesh was not holding back. Not here.

With a thought, the king's treasure key appeared in Gilgamesh's hand.

Bab-ilu: Key of the King's Law.

Both Enkidu and the Hunter watched as the space around the king's hand shattered into millions of pieces, in a red pattern like a maze.

Both the aura of Gugalanna and Ishtar retreated upon feeling the power of the non-sword that had appeared in the king's hand.

Ea: Sword of Rupture.

Ea was perhaps the most powerful weapon the Hunter had seen, something he knew could kill the puppet he was currently inhabiting.

The Hunter looked at the weapon for another moment, his eyes shining with a slight respect for the weapon before turning away, showing no further reaction.

Enkidu jumped on Vimana beside the King, but before the three separated, heading to their respective battlefields, the creation of the gods spoke.

"Be careful, Inanna may be a whimsical goddess, but she still holds great power." His voice contained a certain concern.

The Hunter halted his steps for a moment before raising his hand, indicating that he had heard the warning.

Not accepting or rejecting the warning, after all, as friendly as it might be, it was still unnecessary.

With no more words to be said, Vimana disappeared into the sky, heading towards Gugalanna.

The Hunter looked at the beast one last time before starting to walk towards where Ishtar's aura was strongest.

He didn't run or hurry; he just walked normally because a hunter wouldn't need to rush, not when the prey was standing there waiting.

Minutes later, arriving where the goddess was waiting for him, the Hunter saw the appearance of the goddess for the first time in a month.

The goddess had very different attire from what she wore before.

Where she used to wear thin fabrics that showed her curves, her body, revealing her modesty, she now wore a complete golden armor that fully protected her body.

It was similar to the armor the king wore, as if it were something created afterward, based on the armor that existed in the king's treasury.

The goddess seemed offended and irritated by the Hunter's delay in coming to her, but still did not react, just stood there waiting.

This was not the goddess from before, the one who exuded an aura of lust, seduction, and fertility.

No, the Hunter instantly realized.

What was in front of the Hunter was not just that; it was the goddess of war, the goddess of discord.

It was Ishtar, The Mistress of Heaven.

"I see that, just like the monstrosity you hide, you also lack manners." The goddess said in a low tone, her voice echoing to the hunter through mundane means, carried by the divinity of the goddess.

Not just any divinity, but her divinity of love, of lust.

An attack, a spell, focused on enchanting the Hunter, entwining his mind and making him a slave to the goddess.

Ishtar wasn't joking; after all, in both love and war, for the goddess, everything was valid.

Ishtar used both; she was both.

The Hunter didn't even bother to defend himself; he wouldn't be affected, not even if he stopped protecting himself, he knew that.

The goddess's voice might have enchanted the Hunter, perhaps, many and many years ago when he was still human, arriving at the hunt.

But he had seen horrors too much for that, done horrors too much, become a...

Ishtar growled upon seeing that the hunter hadn't even changed his expression upon hearing her voice laden with her divinity.

"A monster who may not even understand what beauty and love are." Were the thoughts of the goddess.

Interestingly, perhaps they were correct.

Maybe...

"Before that, I will ask, even though it is not necessary, and you do not deserve it." The Hunter's voice was polite, and just like the goddess's voice, it seemed to echo from afar.

The goddess did not answer, but also did not move, waiting for the Hunter's question.

"Would you like to leave?" It was a foolish question, the Hunter knew that.

None of the beasts that seemed to have the slightest hint of sanity in their gaze, to which he made this question, accepted salvation.

Just like the beasts, the goddess responded with an attack.

Just like the beasts, she would be slaughtered.

[...]---[...]

As my author's notes have been in the last chapters, I'll be quick:

Gugalanna appeared, and he's quite big, in addition to him, Ishtar also made her presence felt, prepared, since after all, the offense she received, was greater for her.

In the next chapter, the battle on two fronts, one against the bull, the other against the goddess.

One will be a battle, the other won't.

Having said that, good night and happy reading!

P.S.: Leaving Babylon, chronologically, who do you think Hunter and the Doll will encounter? Comment below, try to guess.