Enuma Elish

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

While Scathach and Cu Chulainn deflected weapon after weapon, Gilgamesh stood opposite them with his arms crossed and wearing a disdainful sneer on his face. However, as his offensive continued, it became clearer and clearer that simply launching a volley of his treasured weapons at the two devils in front of him would not be enough to defeat them.

"It would seem that you mongrels may be able to entertain me for a short while, at least." Gilgamesh said as he brought his rapid-fire attacks to a stop.

"You know, I don't' like the way you're talking to us." Cu Chulainn muttered in annoyance. "Why don't I teach you the proper way to talk to someone?"

Immediately after he spoke, Cu Chulainn shot forward with his spear pulled back, ready to thrust it forward.

Before Cu Chulainn could get into striking range, a new portal opened next to Gilgamesh. From it, the reincarnation of the King of Heroes pulled out a spear of his own. Using the spear, he retrieved from the Gate of Babylon, the treasure vault of the original Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, he defended against the incoming thrust.

To Cu Chulainn's surprise, however, the spear in Gilgamesh's hand was almost an exact replica of his spear, Gáe Bolg.

"How do you have that spear?" Cu Chulainn asked in an incredulous tone.

"You truly are a fool." Gilgamesh replied in disdain. "All the world's treasures belong to me by right. So, it would stand to reason that the original Cu Chulainn's Gáe Bolg would be in my treasury."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gilgamesh immediately used his own spear to fling Cu Chulainn's away. Then, he pierced the blade of the original Gáe Bolg toward Cu Chulainn's, now, undefended chest.

*Clang!*

Fortunately for Cu Chulainn, he was not fighting alone. An instant before Gilgamesh skewered his heart, a third similar-looking spear entered the mix, deflecting Gilgamesh's spear upward.

"Tch!" Gilgamesh clicked his tongue as he was forced to leap backward when Scathach swung her second spear to decapitate him. "You mongrels are beginning to annoy me."

Ignoring Gilgamesh's annoyed grumbling, Scathach turned toward Cu Chulainn, who was still a bit shaken up after seeing his spiritual origin's spear in the hand of an enemy. Then she...

*Smack!*

… back handed him across the face with enough force to knock him off his feet.

While Gilgamesh was preparing to attack again, he found himself coming to a stop with an amused expression on his face when he saw Scathach slap her disciple. Meanwhile, Cu Chulainn was pulled from his state of shock after receiving said slap.

"It would seem that you have not been trained well enough."" Scathach said in a cold tone. "To think a disciple of this Scathach would be so easily distracted by his opponent's weapon. It would seem that your training needs to be intensified going forward."

Immediately after Scathach's words ended, Cu Chulainn's eyes widened in horror. However, since he knew that pleading for leniency would be useless, an unprecedented level of clarity washed over him in the next instant.

"Yes, Master, I understand." Cu Chulainn said while taking his fighting stance once again. "I assure you; it will never happen again."

Instead, Cu Chulainn raised his focus to the absolute limit. Since he knew reducing his punishment was impossible, he would do everything in his power to not have it extended any further.

Without another word, Cu Chulainn dashed forward once again. Like the last time, he thrust his spear forward as soon as he was in range. Also like last the time, Gilgamesh defended with the original Gáe Bolg. Unlike last the time, however, Cu Chulainn's spear was not parried so easily. Instead, he dragged the blade of his spear down the shaft of his opponent's spear, aiming to cut off his fingers.

Noticing what Cu Chulainn was planning, Gilgamesh quickly released the spear with the endangered hand, spun on his left leg and threw a roundhouse kick toward Cu Chulainn's abdomen.

Pulling his spear back to block, Cu Chulainn successfully intercepted the incoming kick, however, he was forced to take distance when three golden portals opened behind Gilgamesh and fired a trio of highly ornamented swords.

In response, Cu Chulainn allowed himself to be pushed backward by the kick, in order to gain a bit of distance for himself. Then, once his feet were planted securely, he began twirling his spear with great proficiency. With this maneuver, he was not only able to deflect the three incoming swords, but he also stopped Gilgamesh's thrust that followed shortly afterward.

Before Gilgamesh could recover his spear from his most recent thrust, he felt a sharp pain raking across his left arm. Looking down, he saw a crimson red spear had just cut through his armor and left a gash on his left bicep.

"Damned mongrel!" Gilgamesh roared angrily. "You'll pay for injuring this king."

A moment later, thirty glowing, golden portals opened and began rapid firing weapons at the master and disciple. As the duo defended against the barrage, they each received several wounds due to their proximity to the gates when they opened.

As Scathach and Cu Chulainn slowly gained distance from the portals, they both noticed Gilgamesh pulling a weapon, that neither of them had seen before, from a portal he had summoned beside him.

As Gilgamesh pulled his arm out of the portal, the first thing Scathach and Cu Chulainn noticed was a hilt, followed by a handguard. These two things let them know that the weapon Gilgamesh would be wielding was most-likely a sword. However, when they saw the "blade," if one could call it that, they were both taken aback.

The blade was dull, and it spun around itself in a spiral until it reached its equally dull tip. On top of that, the blade was split into three distinct sections, with the base and tip of the sword spinning in a counterclockwise direction while the middle section spun clockwise. Plus, there were read, ancient letters inscribed into the "blade" from its base to its tip. However, they also spun, in alternating directions.

"What the hell kinda sword is that/" Cu Chulainn asked, while he continued to fend off the incoming projectiles.

"Though I have never seen it before with my own eyes, I believe that is the Sword of Rupture, Ea." Scathach replied while similarly fending off the onslaught of weapons.

"It would seem that one of you mongrels has been rather well educated." Gilgamesh said with a proud smile on his face. "And since you know the name of my favorite weapon, then you should know that you have no chance of living through this encounter."

As Gilgamesh said, Scathach had heard of Gilgamesh's signature weapon on many occasions. This weapon alone gave the original King of Heroes, a demi-god, the ability to contend with those even at the God King-rank. So, this human reincarnation, who's strength was capped at the ultimate-rank, could easily face off against the average major god-ranked individual.

Before Cu Chulainn could ask any more questions about the strangely shaped sword in Gilgamesh's hand, a dozen portals opened behind him and Scathach. From each portal, a golden chain with a sharp tip shot toward them. Though Scathach was able to defend herself from the chains, Cu Chulainn was a beat too slow to defend himself.

"Gah!" Cu Chulainn groaned as he was skewered through the shoulders and thighs by four of the six chains that attacked him.

Meanwhile, the other two chains that attack Cu Chulainn wrapped themselves around his neck and torso, effectively immobilizing him.

"Damn… What's up with these chains?" Cu Chulainn asked, his breathing haggard because of the chain rapped around his neck. "I… can't move."

"Well, aren't you full of surprises, mongrel?" Gilgamesh said to Scathach with respect and astonishment in his tone. "Not only could you identify Ea, but you also managed to evade the Chains of Heaven, Enkidu."

Though Scathach was able to avoid being captured by the Chains of Heaven, in return, she received a few more injuries from the volley of weapons that were still being fired at her, even now. Eventually, however, the barrage of projectiles came to a stop as Gilgamesh took a step toward his opponents. And to her surprise, even Enkidu only attempted to capture her once.

"Your knowledge and skill are rather admirable, Mongrel." Gilgamesh said while raising Ea above his head. "And because you have managed to gain my respect, and even injure me, I shall perform this final blow as a parting gift to you."

As Gilgamesh spoke, the aura that Ea gave off began to rise quickly. IN fact, the spike in power of both Gilgamesh and the sword was so immense that Cu Chulainn found breathing even more difficult. Scathach, on the other hand, despite all her injuries, big and small, positioned herself between Gilgamesh and Cu Chulainn in an attempt to protect both her disciple and the town at their backs.

"I will tell you of the beginning. Heaven and Earth split, nothingness congratulated creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!" Gilgamesh chanted as a crimson red glow coated Ea.

While Gilgamesh chanted, Scathach considered rushing the immobile reincarnation of the King of Heroes. However, as soon as she tensed her muscles to dash forward, her instincts shouted at her to cancel that train of thought. So, instead of going on the offensive, she dematerialized one of her spears and took a defensive stance while flaring her demonic power.

"Mortar of the stars, Heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration. Now you shall die and be silent…" As Gilgamesh neared the end of his chant, the pressure radiating from both he and his sword could be felt throughout the entirety of Kuoh. Then, once his aura was at its peak, he swung down his sword as he spoke the name of his technique. "[Enuma Elish]!"

As Ea was swung downward, the three spinning segments of the blade began to spin even faster. Then, a red wave of energy was shot forward with tremendous force. Though Scathach already knew that this attack would be enough to wipe Kuoh off the map, when the attack was launched, she realized that she had vastly underestimated its power. Instead of just wiping Kuoh off the map, a large part of the region would be turned into a crater.

Luckily, the months of training in Team DxD's base had raised Scathach's power to a whole new level. Pushing her demonic energy to its limit, her hair began to float while her skin took on a darker tone and her wine-red eyes began to glow.

Then, from where her devil wings would usually grow, a pair of crimson spears with barbed blades protruded outward. From those two spears, a few smaller, thinner spears grew, creating the skeletons of wings. Then, where the feathers would have been, millions of tiny runes flickered into existence.

"Let us see how much the power differs when I am in my Super Devil State." Scathach muttered to herself while pulling her right leg back by half a step, taking a stance to throw her spear.

"[Gáe Bolg Alternative]." Scathach muttered just before launching her spear forward with all her might.

As soon as the spear left her hand, Scathach turned around and spread her wings as far as she could. A moment later, many of the runes that made up her wings lit up and a large barrier was formed behind her, protecting herself, Cu Chulainn, and the town.

In the next instant, the spear and the energy blast from [Enuma Elish] met between Scathach and Gilgamesh. And contrary to the King of Heroes expectations, Scathach's spear was not slowed in the slightest, cutting through the [Enuma Elish] effortlessly. However, it did little to block the wave of destructive energy, either.

In fact, Scathach knew she was incapable of stopping Gilgamesh's attack. So, instead of trying to stop it, she made a barrier that would divert its trajectory. And just as she expected, when the energy wave made contact with her barrier, it was split, causing it to gauge the ground to either side of Scathach, Cu Chulainn, and Kuoh.

After the energy wave fizzled out, Kuoh was left unharmed, other than the accidents that occurred when many of the normal humans suddenly lost consciousness due to the supernatural pressure, the miles of land on either side of the town were the exact opposite. For miles, there was not a single blade of grass, tree, or animal that survived the power of Gilgamesh's attack.

Cu Chulainn was also completely uninjured by Gilgamesh's attack. Scathach, however, was not so fortunate. Though her barrier held out, she, herself, acted as the focal point of the barrier. So, even though the barrier also covered her, her back was in contact with the barrier. Thus, some of [Enuma Elish's] energy still managed to harm her.

A moment after the energy wave ended, Scathach lost strength and fell forward. When she landed on the ground, Cu Chulainn could see that her back had been badly burned. In fact, the burns were so bad that some of the bones making up her rib cage could be seen through the holes in her skin and muscles.

"Master!" Cu Chulainn shouted after seeing the state Scathach was in.

Struggling to free himself for a few moments, Cu Chulainn realized that Enkidu was beginning to dematerialize. This realization caused Cu Chulainn to pause for a moment. Then, he reflexively looked in Gilgamesh's direction. When he did, he saw Gilgamesh slumped forward, his body being supported by Scathach's spear, that was pierced through his chest plate on the left side of his chest.

"Holy Shit, she got him." Cu Chulainn muttered in amazement.

"Stop tempting fate, my foolish disciple." Scathach rasped out. "Make haste and cut off his head. Only then should you relax… It looks like… we will have to… triple the intensity of your training… once this is… all over."

Paling immediately after Scathach mentioned tripling his training intensity, Cu Chulainn picked up his spear as quickly as he could. Then, he sprinted toward Gilgamesh and decapitated him with extreme prejudice.

After sighing in relief, Cu Chulainn finally remembered that Scathach was in terrible shape. Then, he created a communication magic circle and reported the state of the battle and requested a healer to help stabilize Scathach's injuries.