I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

He stepped through the foundation gate, and even with the slightest breath, he could feel the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.

Jill exhaled, then took some ice and threw it at a soldier's face.

"Hmm..." The soldier shook his head slightly, feeling a bit more awake from the ice.

"What happened? Who are the intruders?" Jill asked in a serious tone.

"Quickly...quickly go provide support...they've gone down below, the intruders are..."

Jill nodded. "I've already called for backup. You all get some rest. I'll go down and stop them."

"Please...please...stop them," the soldier said with difficulty.

“Okay, leave it to me.” Jill nodded.

Jill rushed out, her steps as light as the wind, and dashed straight into the stairwell.

"Estelle, you've been sleeping for so long—it's time to wake up... I'm a little sorry that I'd have to send you into battle as soon as you wake up, but please wake up quickly, I need you now." Gil called out to the elven mark.

Esther's voice rang out, "I am my brother's sword, everything is as my brother wished..."

Yes, Esther has woken up.

Just a few minutes ago.

"Ah, thank you, Esther."

Elvish rang out from Jill's mouth—

"Cold-blooded Queen of Steel, holy sword that slays demons and monsters—transform into a steel sword here, and grant me divine power!"

The silver holy sword—the Demon Slayer—appeared in Jill's hands.

"Teacher, I'm going to have a real fight with you!" Jill sped up and headed towards the deeper floors.

P.S.: Today, the author had some free time and managed to get Chiling in two single pulls...

Stop! Don't throw banana peels at me! And tomatoes too! I'll add more chapters, I'll add more chapters! Don't throw them!

Chapter 280 Negotiations Failed

That place was built deep in the ocean where even light cannot penetrate, making it reminiscent of an eternal prison.

The lowest level of the Foundation Gate is located on the seabed, about 220 meters below the surface.

The conical outer walls, built to withstand high water pressure, bear some resemblance in atmosphere to the mythical Tower of Babel.

This layer can control the vibration of the entire island and render it harmless by tuning the links extending from the four artificial islands with steel wires.

All the connecting wires leading through the doorway were bound to this lowest support. The connecting line, formed by approximately 65,000 wires wound together, was about 1,650 millimeters in diameter. An enormous winding machine, powered by a motor comparable to that of a power plant, controlled them.

The overwhelming mass of the steel and the imposing presence of the explosively powerful drive mechanism, coupled with the intense water pressure surrounding the entire building, transformed the atmosphere in this layer into a viscous and dense gas.

And the airtight barrier at the bottom, which was separating the layers, was being pried open with a mournful sound.

The armor wall, which was seventy centimeters thick, was easily torn apart like tin foil, revealing a humanoid familiar that shone with iridescent light.

The figure of its host can be seen in the center of the familiar's chest.

That was a girl with long blue hair and light blue eyes, an artificial life form named Astarothie.

From behind her appeared a strong, muscular man dressed in a Buddhist robe.

Rudolf, the teacher from Lotalingia, was slowly admiring the lowest level of the stone gate he had reached, filled with emotion.

"Command complete. Visually confirm the target."

Astarothie informed him that she was still inside her familiar's body.

The voice, which already lacked intonation, has now completely lost its emotion.

Familiars are summoned creatures from another world. To materialize them, the host must shorten their own lifespan. While this varies depending on the type of familiar, it is said that for an ordinary human, even a single moment of summoning would result in the loss of their entire lifespan. The host's life is nothing more than a simple sacrifice to the familiar.

Even if the host is an artificial life form, there will be no exception.

The Astarothie, modified to coexist with her familiars, was granted a lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary humans. However, even this is almost entirely depleted. In her attempt to conquer the Central Stone Gate, she overused the power of her familiars.

"..."

However, Rudolf didn't even glance at Astarothie, and kept walking towards the center of the lowest level.

Those are the ends of four steel wires extending from the four bases of the artificial island.

The anchor blocks that secure all the spindle boxes are small, inverted pyramid-shaped metal bases.

A pillar, like a stake, runs through the anchor block, securing it in place.

Its diameter is less than one meter. But that thing has borne a load of hundreds of tons to this day in order to connect Itogami Island.

It was a translucent stone pillar with a texture somewhat like obsidian—the Central Stone.

"Oh...oh oh..."

From Rudolf's mouth came a sound that was a mixture of sorrow and joy.

Trembling uncontrollably, Rudolf knelt down. Tears streamed down his face as he gazed up at the stone pillar.

In the end, his sorrow and joy turned into a frenzied roar of laughter.

"The immortal body usurped from the Sanctuary of Rotalinkia... I have long awaited its return to us believers! Astarothie! Nothing can stand in our way now. Pull out that hateful wedge and bring judgment upon this desolate island!"

Oista let out a loud laugh and issued a command to the Servant's artificial life form.

But Astaroth didn't move. Still encased in the armor of his materialized familiar, he spoke in a completely emotionless voice,

"Command recognized. However, there is an error in the preconditions, therefore a request is made to select a new command."

"So that's how it is, so that's the saint's right arm?" Such an abrupt voice rang out.

The blond youth's short hair fluttered slightly. He wore a suit of golden armor and held a silver holy sword in his hand, which constantly emanated magic and pressure.

Jill looked at the stone pillar.

The remains of a saint who was once worshipped as 'God' in the Western European Church...

Floating in that translucent stone is someone's "arm".

Those were thin, withered arms, like a mummy's.

His wrists bore horrific scars, as if he had suffered some form of torture. This was the remains of a martyr who had endured suffering and lost his life for his faith.

It is also the embodiment of God's holiness manifested in the world, and therefore becomes an object of people's faith. Remains imbued with rich holiness are said to never decay and to trigger various miracles.

And a part of the remains of such a saint is sealed in this stone pillar.

"You guy..."

Rudolf stared at Jill, an undisguised hostility rising within him.

"Hey, hey, don't be so easily provoked." Jill glanced at the arm and sighed. "Have you thought about how many people will die if this relic is taken?"

“Just thinking about the sins this city must pay for makes this level of sacrifice utterly insignificant,” Rudolf said, gripping his battle axe.

"Is that so... You really are... pathetic. Your faith has been taken away, and this pillar was even erected using human sacrifices, wasn't it?" Jill uttered words that could be described as utterly heartless. "But so what?"

"That cannot be the reason for you to kill the 560,000 residents of Itogami Island."

Jill drew a line on the ground with her longsword, sending stone chips flying.

"If they deserve to die, then it is their sin, but it is not their fault."

Jill doesn't reject killing, but he hates killing innocent people.

"This is Chira Itogami's fault, not the island's inhabitants' fault."

"This is the island's sin—do not stop me." Rudolf swung his battle axe, the axe making a piercing sound as it cut through the air, his voice filled with suppressed emotion.

“…Then I’m sorry.” Jill gripped the Demon Slayer tightly, and at the same time, golden ripples began to appear around her.

“Although I’m not a good person, I just can’t bear to watch innocent people die,” Jill sighed.

"Then, negotiations have failed, Astarothie—tear him apart!"

"Command accepted."

The Demon Slayer sword that Jill held in her hand glowed with a silvery light.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the artificial life form girl with long blue hair also controlled her familiar to take a step towards Gil.

The smell of gunpowder filled the space, growing stronger and stronger.

Chapter 281 Replacement

“Step—” Jill took a step.

As he took this step, Gilles used the Gate of Babylon, and golden ripples appeared directly beside his familiar. At the same time, his figure seemed to transcend time, appearing directly beside Rudolph!

boom!

This is the sound of the Noble Phantasm launched by the golden ripples striking the materialized familiar.

The rainbow-colored giant raised his arms to protect the girl, and his Noble Phantasm was embedded directly into her arms.

Clang—Click—

That's the sound of the Demon Slayer colliding with Rudolf's battle axe and shattering it instantly.

"How..." Rudolf managed to squeeze out a surprised sound from his throat, but before he could even be surprised, a sharp longsword narrowly grazed his face.

If it weren't for the axe he used as a shield and his quick reaction, that blow would have easily torn his head apart, leaving him a cold corpse with no head left.

"Astarothie! Tear him apart!"

"Don't get in the way!" Jill waved her hand, and silver chains with golden light flew out, tightly binding the rainbow giant.

At that moment, a dazzling golden light flashed before Jill's eyes, forcing even her to squint.

A radiant light emanated from the gaps in the robes worn by the instructors. The armored suits beneath the robes glowed with a golden light.

"The 'Fortress Garment,' a holy war weapon created using advanced technology—by the light of this, I will remove all obstacles for us!"

Rudolph roared and charged forward, then swung his fist straight at Jill's face.