An Agreement?

Gilgamesh retrieved a healing potion from his Gate of Babylon for the elf who was on the brink of death. After a drop of the potion touched the moon elf's body, his deathly pale face quickly regained a rosy hue, and in just a few seconds, he made a full recovery.

"What kind of potion is that?"

"One made by a goddess..." Gilgamesh didn't lie when he returned to Eris, who had a cold expression, and murmured, "I'm not going to apologize."

"Why should you?" Gilgamesh asked while caressing her crimson hair, to which she smiled faintly.

Cirdan took a step forward, his face full of embarrassment, and said, "I must apologize for the shameful act we committed. We have been overly sensitive about the gate issue, but that doesn't justify our lack of respect, so I beg your forgiveness."

"You can forget about that. Since you are from the same clan as Elaine, we can put the past behind us. So tell me, once you take the portal, what ensures that another one won't be born from the ancient tree?" Gilgamesh pointed to the gigantic tree and said, "You know very well that the ancient tree has the ability to travel between worlds and dimensions, so its power was somehow taken from the dark world to create the portal, which is constantly being opened by creatures of darkness."

Cirdan showed a worried expression, and after thinking about what Gilgamesh said, he replied, "We don't have much time. Perhaps the portal will open again in a few years, and we, the moon elves, need to protect it. This is our sin for bringing the ancient tree to this world. Maybe this is why we have to bear this sacrifice continuously."

Now that he mentions it, it makes more sense. There is no doubt that if the moon elves and those humans chosen by the ancient tree brought that same tree to the human world when their world was destroyed, they should take responsibility for this anomaly that shouldn't actually be happening.

If you look at it from that perspective, the moon elves are guilty of this crime. However, small matters like these do not concern Gilgamesh because maybe, if he investigates the ancient tree, he can enter a completely different dimension and discover new places.

This is an object he truly doesn't have in his treasury, so if you ask him, he wants to take the tree for himself and explore its abilities. Of course, he shouldn't reveal his intentions because that might not be beneficial if he wants to have Elaine's tribe as people under his command.

"I can easily destroy the creatures of darkness; you shouldn't worry. Besides, I won't allow you to take this portal and harm the world out of your selfishness. There are humans I must take care of; they may be currently on the wrong path, but I will change that course."

When Gilgamesh said this, it awakened a series of deep thoughts within Cirdian. He had lived for over five hundred years and was one of the first beings born in this world. Consequently, he had inevitably learned about slavery, wars, and divisions.

Everyone fought for complete dominance of this piece of land, without considering that all races except for humans were merely guests in this place. In other words, this world did not belong to them, but humans had never acknowledged this in their lives.

Upon discovering that hundreds of elves were being returned to the forests and tribes, he also learned that they were being protected by the Tower of Uruk, an organization that had risen to prominence on most continents, and its strength couldn't be challenged. The Tower of Uruk never engaged in conflicts with the slavers, as many expected. Instead, they bought all the slaves sold in the market. Afterward, they conducted investigations and returned those who wanted to go back home.

Cirdian had great respect for Prince Gilgamesh of the Asura Kingdom. Perhaps, if he were to become a king, slavery might be completely abolished in the Asura Kingdom. But it was only one kingdom, and nothing would change beyond the borders of the Asura Kingdom.

"Gilgamesh, you are far from the central continent, so your authority is weak in this place. You know very well that I respect what you do for other races, but even if you make a change in your lands, it won't change anything beyond that," Cirdian was honest with his words and wanted to tell Gilgamesh that any power he had in the Asura Kingdom didn't influence the decisions of other realms.

Gilgamesh understood this almost instantly, so he smiled, "What if I, as king, conquer the entire central continent? Tell me, would you see a change? A realm led by the elves, directly under my command, capable of producing the highest quality crops, hand-woven clothes, and timber."

"Perhaps you conquer the entire central continent, but for that, I'd need over five hundred thousand soldiers, and all of them must be incredibly powerful. I won't cause a massacre, nor will I abuse my power to oppress people from other realms. My goal is unity; I want to unite everyone into a single race, and our objective should be evolution, not killing each other."

Cirdian felt a chill running through his old bones. His gaze could tell him that Gilgamesh wasn't lying, and he warned, "Beings like the Dragon God or the Armored Dragon would never allow it. A war like that would plunge all the continents into unprecedented chaos."

"They're just dragons who have lost their world. What authority do they have to tell a human what to do with the future of the races? Cirdian, you know that even after living so many years, those gods are ignorant. You're concerned about slavery within your own species, and you've never done anything. Everyone worries about wars, and nobody does anything. Why should you stop me when I'm actually doing something?" Gilgamesh's gaze grew colder as he spoke.

"That's..." Cirdian was left speechless, and he didn't know how the conversation had taken this turn, but it was simply stunning.

Gilgamesh turned his gaze to Roxy and asked, "Dear Roxy, do you think I would lose if I were to fight the Dragon God or the ape who calls himself the God of Fighting?"

"You wouldn't lose; you would win using only half of your power, and that's already a lot. Lord Cirdian, maybe you don't understand, but there were ancient beasts in this place so powerful that even you, as a Sword Emperor, couldn't defeat them. If we're talking now, it's because we took care of pacifying these beasts," Roxy spoke firmly. Her gaze shifted towards the other elves, and she continued, "I dare say that even Eris and I are more than enough to defeat your entire elf retinue. Not to offend, but you are not our rivals."

Eris looked at Sarah and said, "I can stand by those statements."

Gilgamesh smiled, his expression pensive as he said, "What if the Moon Elves swore loyalty to me? In exchange for that, I will allow you to live in this place. From what I understand, you have lived many years in the darkness, so there will be no place more secluded than this. Additionally, if you want, I have a Spirit that can teleport your entire territory to an area within this vast land."

"For what do you need us? Regardless of what you plan for the future, what do you expect from us?" Sarah intervened in the conversation this time.

"I am going to change this world. For that, I need the support of more than half of all living beings in this world. If the Moon Elves join me, all those elf tribes, dwarves, and beastfolk could have a peaceful life in this place. Those who want to fight can do so, but this change can only be brought about with my sword," Gilgamesh replied.

He smiled and asked, "Do you believe your clan will accept my proposal? If they are here, they can protect the ancient tree, which is something they are deeply committed to, isn't it?"