Chapter 38 - When the beast becomes a man!

Here's the new chapter!

Well… Thanks for waiting!

*Any images in this chapter do not belong to me! It belongs to their respective artists' creators!

Attention: Remember, the *Auxiliary chapter* is reserved for the design characters chosen by ME. But if you don't like it, feel free to choose the design you like for the characters.

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

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Pov. Third-person.

"So… what's the plan to attract the 'beast'?" asked Thor, looking at the hunter.

At that moment, Thor, who was accompanying the hunter and the 'priestess' of Inanna, was in a small clearing where there was a source of water.

According to the hunter, this was the most likely place for the 'beast' to come and drink water along with the other animals.

"Well, we are following King Gilgamesh's advice... When the 'beast' arrives, the priestess will undress to seduce him, only then the beast will become a man" replied the hunter.

Thor just stared at the hunter.

"...You're kidding, right?" asked Thor.

The hunter denied it.

"No sir! It was the advice the king gave me, he is the son of the great goddess Ninsuna, who is a goddess able to see the future and interpret men's dreams, so the king's advice must work" said the hunter.

Thor couldn't help but think of the hunter's idiocy. However, Thor only thought about the future if he were part of this adventure, so he was willing to wait.

"*sigh*... Alright, when you're done I'll be waiting for you by that mountain, just follow the smoke, I'll always have fire lit" Thor said, as he pointed to the mountain and walked towards it.

The priestess soon interrupted.

"Now wait a minute! Will you leave me at the mercy of the beast? I know my job, but what if the beast attacks me?! I thought you would be my security!" said the priestess.

Thor didn't even stop walking towards the mountain.

"So I hope your goddess loves her priests as much as she 'loves' her lovers," said Thor.

And with that, the Norse god walked away, leaving the perplexed priestess and hunter behind.

Thor was in no hurry, he knew the 'beast' was Enkidu himself, the being that was created by the Anunaki in response to Gilgamesh's rule.

The Norse god knew that Gilgamesh's rule could be considered… controversial.

Gilgamesh was said to be a 'pragmatic' king according to legends, he was neither completely 'good' nor completely 'evil' with his people.

He was from a certain point of view... competent.

The problem was that, like any man, Gilgamesh is a 'sinner'.

One of the king's most well-known sins was lust.

Even so, Thor wanted to meet the 'king of men', as he knew he could be 'special'.

Although Thor knew that in the DxD world humans were greatly underestimated, the Norse god wanted to make sure humans could be considered a force to be reckoned with.

And who better to prove it than the 'hero' recognized as the oldest.

Thor wanted to know for one simple reason...

Although Thor had obtained the 'plant of youth' for Ihbana, the Norse god managed to find four more of these plants on the seafloor and managed to transfer and grow them in his home in Midgard.

Thor had found a total of five 'plants of youth'.

Considering that one plant was given to an Ihbana, there were only four left.

If Thor could figure out if humans were special, even before the holy gears, then the Norse god had plans to 'recruit' some humans.

The reason Thor did such an action was for one simple reason...

On the thunder god's first millennium birthday, Balðr had given him a castle.

The 'god of light' already gave a name for the castle...

The Þrúðheimr (Thrudheim).

And for the moment, the castle was empty.

It had no inhabitant.

Thor had denied any inhabitant because he had no 'leader' who could manage the castle in his absence, as the castle was located in Asgard. The Norse god was thinking of recruiting 'mighty and forgotten humans' who could run the castle which, in the future, will be accommodating einherjar.

Ihbana happened to become one of the 'powerful humans' that Thor ended up recruiting due to the demigoddess's potential being high.

Until now Thor had thought of just one more human, even if his birth is far away.

In the crusades to be exact, but 'which' of the crusades Thor didn't remember exactly...

Thor only knew that this human was one of the greatest warriors in history, as well as an exemplary leader.

But this man was unlucky enough to have been born at the same time as much more important figures.

So much so that even Thor himself at the moment couldn't remember the warrior's name.

The Norse god only knew that this warrior had fought alongside a 'leper king'.

Thor hoped to remember this warrior's name when the time came.

Thor remembered only this man's cognomen.

'The young'.

But now, Thor still needed to know about humanity's potential... So the Norse god waited for hours.

Until 'hours' turned into 'days'.

It wasn't until the morning of the seventh day that Thor was greeted by the hunter, the priestess...

And a mixture of man and animal.

Enkidu.

Thor noticed that for some reason the priestess had a passionate look on her face when she looked at Enkidu.

Although, Enkidu looked... Depressed.

Thor then stood up and walked towards the small group.

This seemed to alert Enkidu, who growled in response.

Thor then stopped in front of Enkidu.

"...S'up mate," said Thor, holding up his hand.

This action seemed to have confused not only Enkidu but the hunter and priestess as well.

"...What is 's'up mate'?" asked the hunter, whispering to the priestess.

The priestess just shrugged.

"He said he was a traveler... Maybe he's from a long way off and that's how his people greet each other?" said the priestess, uncertain.

Whether the priestess was right or not didn't matter.

However, strangely enough, Enkidu tried to imitate the gesture.

"... S'up?" said Enkidu uncertainly.

Thor then looked at the hunter.

"So... are we leaving?" asked Thor.

Thor's action was soon forgotten when the question was asked.

"Not exactly, you see, it would not be suitable for our... Friend... to accompany us to Uruk in his present state of attire," said the hunter.

Enkidu, due to being raised among animals, was wearing the same clothes as them...

None.

Thor, understanding the situation, just nodded.

"Okay... I'll wait a little longer, I hope you still remember your end of the bargain," said Thor.

In fact, Thor had notified his group via a rune of his possible absence for a week.

Although Thor went to Uruk to buy supplies, the camp could still last ten days without purchasing supplies.

"Surely sir, I honor my word," said the hunter.

It was at this moment that, for the first time, Enkidu spoke.

"Where are we going?" asked Enkidu rudely.

Although he lived among animals for most of his life, Enkidu had full knowledge of the local dialect.

He just wasn't used to talking.

Who answered was none other than the priestess.

"My lover, we will make you presentable so that you can enjoy the great city of Uruk," said the priestess, as she took Enkidu's hand and dragged him back along the path to the city of Uruk.

Thor just looked at the priestess strangely.

Wondering where the word 'lover' came from.

Thor looked to the hunter for answers, and the hunter seemed to get the message.

"The king's advice worked, and for six days the priestess tamed the 'beast' to make it more human-like, but it seems that the priestess became very attached to the 'beast,'" the hunter said.

From the play on words, Thor understood.

For six days the priestess had intercourse with Enkidu.

And it seems that this made the priestess a little attached to the new 'lover'.

The Norse god just shrugged and then decided to follow the priestess.

By late afternoon of the same day, the group was heading towards the city of Uruk, with Enkidu now having clothes.

The priestess was still clutching one of Enkidu's arms as if she were a maiden in love.

"So… what is your king like?" asked Thor.

This seemed like a bit of a complicated question, as the priestess and the hunter exchanged a look.

"He is... a capable ruler," said the hunter.

"Actually, he's just a little... insatiable," said the priestess.

Thor asked this question just to be sure, after all, the writing of the famous epic could have been done by men for political purposes.

The problem with humans was that they always changed things to be more favorable to their will.

This was something Thor learned from Thoth.

Humans will never record their history impartially, so there will always be inconsistencies.

For Thoth, this is due to the very nature of humans.

The god of knowledge claimed that even if humans knew the meaning of the word 'impartiality', they would never act this way.

It was then that Enkidu spoke.

"...Insatiable?" asked Enkidu, confused.

The priestess seemed to give a sad smile.

"Our king is a great warrior, he built together with 'volunteers' the walls of our great city, we were never threatened by some rival city again, we never went hungry again, the criminality of our city is almost none due to the fear of being punished for our king, but..." said the priestess, before stopping to speak, as if afraid.

Enkidu looked more confused.

"... But?" asked Enkidu, waiting for the priestess to continue.

But it was the hunter who answered.

"But, there is always 'the other side', the 'volunteers' are the men, young or old, that the king took from their homes to serve in the buildings or the army, no one can go against King Gilgamesh because he's too strong, capable of raising mountains, and while the men work... The King sleeps with any woman who catches his eye, whether married or not," said the hunter.

Thor remained silent, while Enkidu looked irritated.

"…forced?" asked Enkidu.

The priestess gave a hollow laugh.

"... This matters? A man of power that has never known limits, that is our king. He even declared during his reign that any marriage within his lands he must be present, in addition to the 'first-night' decree being his" said the priestess.

Basically, any man who decided to marry in the lands of Uruk, the groom would have to cede his bride to Gilgamesh on the night known as 'wedding night', in order for the king to approve the marriage.

"Why don't man and woman unite in another land?" asked Enkidu, still irritated.

The hunter laughed at the question.

"Hahahahaha! Let me tell you what King Gilgamesh once said to the people of Uruk: 'Don't worry about our enemies, because everything that the sun touches belongs to me, and forever I will defend what is mine', may have seemed arrogant, but he kept his word, no one threatened Uruk after Gilgamesh showed his strength, however controversial it is, we feel safe in Uruk" said the hunter.

Enkidu was silent.

"I want to meet this king," said Enkidu.

It might have seemed like a simple statement, but Thor sensed Enkidu's displeasure when he said 'king'.

Location: Uruk/throne room.

Pov. Third-person.

In a throne room, which could be described as extravagant due to its golden adornments, a man sat on a throne made of gold. The man could be described as powerful, not only because of his physical size but also because of the clothes he wore.

Gold ornaments adorned their clothes that appeared to be made of the highest quality material.

The man was currently drinking some wine as he thought about what his mother had said about the dream he had several years ago.

The man was questioning the interpretation of the dream that his mother made.

"The meteor represents that someone you will face will be your equal in power, it symbolizes that soon you will have a friend who will be like your own brother, although the lightning that struck you, waking you from your dream, it can symbolize many things because lightning is always unpredictable," said the man, reciting what his mother had said.

The man's mother even warned him about the upcoming confrontation.

"... Fuhaha! As if any mongrel could even cogitate the idea of calling me a friend," said the man, scoffing.

Although the man respected his mother, there were things she said that were meaningless in the man's opinion.

Man has never known anyone who could match him.

For that reason, he never considered anyone his friend.

For the simple fact that he considered that for someone to be his friend, he must first be his equal.

However...

"An unpredictable lightning... Unpredictable... Fuhahahahahahaha! A change of pace should be acceptable! After all, 'predictable' is so boring!" said the man, laughing.

This man is no stranger to the unpredictable.

Even because its very existence was considered something 'unpredictable'.

But the man never cared. In fact, the only thing he cared about was his self-proclaimed fate...

To be the pride of mankind.

To be the greatest king the world has ever seen.

Those were his ambitions.

A king who will be remembered for all eternity for defying the supernatural.

And when his name is recited, it will echo through time.

His name will be adored by many and hated by the envious.

The 'king of men', that was his title...

And his name was...

Gilgamesh.

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Well, that's all folks!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

In fact, I suppose the biggest flaw is the number of words... The reason is simple, I had to separate certain parts of the epic, so as not to skip too many parts.

Don't forget to leave your comment! Your opinion is always welcome!

Title of the next chapter:

Chapter 39 – The King of men!