I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"Bang!" Jill swung her fist and exchanged a punch with Rudolf.

"Fighting isn't just about looking, Teacher Slayer!" Jill sidestepped, her longsword flashing with a startling light—

"Soul Flash - Moon Chaser!" A sword aura shaped like a crescent moon slashed out fiercely.

"Ugh!" Rudolf raised his arms, only to be slashed hard across them, then propelled away by a powerful force, at which point the golden light vanished.

"What's going on?" Teacher Jian exclaimed in surprise, but what awaited him was a whip kick.

Of course, it's because of Esther's ability to erase things like "magic" or "barriers." Jill could sense the presence of "magic power" and "cursed power" in those golden lights, so being struck by the Demon Slayer would definitely shatter her.

“I have no obligation to explain to you!” Jill delivered a whip kick that sent Rudolf flying, crashing into the wall.

"Cough... Ugh!" Rudolf coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.

On the other side, the rainbow-colored giant, who was completely bound, also dimmed.

“…You lost, Rudolf…” Jill sighed. “Actually, you’re not that annoying.”

The Demon Slayer in Jill's hand disappeared, turning into particles of light that returned to Jill's hand.

“Damn it…” Teacher Jian looked up with difficulty at Jill.

Jill's golden armor slowly turned into tiny specks of golden phosphorescence and dissipated into the air.

“Hey, I’m asking you—do you want to reclaim your faith, your offerings?” Jill asked.

"...What did you say?" Teacher Jian looked up and asked with difficulty.

"Should we retrieve that thing from that pillar?" Jill asked. "I have a treasure that can replace it, stabilize this island, and help you get back the [Saint's Right Arm] without any problem."

"Why are you?"

“Because I want to do it, I will do it,” Jill replied.

"Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning...?"

“Did you give me a chance to speak?” Jill retorted.

"...I..." Teacher Jian was speechless for a moment.

"Teacher! Watch out, that old man..." Akatsuki's voice rang out, and then he saw the familiar bound by silver chains over there, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

"Don't worry, I've defeated him."

Jill said expressionlessly, then Rudolf looked at Jill with a hopeful look in his eyes, "Can you really do it...?"

“If I want to,” Jill shrugged and said, “If you don’t believe me, then go away and get your punishment.”

“No, I’m willing to believe! As long as you can take back our faith, even my life… I’ll give it to you!” Rudolf said with a determined look.

“Teacher—you wouldn’t be…” Yukina Himeragi, standing next to Kojou Akatsuki, looked at Gilgamesh as if she had realized something.

"Don't worry, I won't let Itogami Island sink..." Gilles glanced at Akatsuki Kojou, a somewhat strange smile on his face. "Alright, enough chit-chat..."

"Well then, let's begin." Jill's attire transformed into a white hat and white shirt, red trousers, and she held an axe (or wand) in her hand.

Jill took a pale gold cross from the Gate of Babylon with one hand.

"What is this...?" Akatsuki asked.

“It’s just a relic from another world, and a relic of the Church.” Jill smiled. “Don’t worry about what it is. Just know that I will take back what you’ve been worshipping.”

Upon hearing Jill's words, Rudolf's astonishment turned into ecstatic joy.

"If you can retrieve the Saint's Right Arm, my life, Rudolf's, is yours!" Rudolf's eyes hardened as he spoke.

“…” Gil didn’t speak, but gave Rudolf a deep look before turning his gaze to Akatsuki Kojo. “Akatsuki, go and deal with that artificial life form girl over there—I know you can do it. Leave things here to me.”

"Ah...ah, okay." Akatsuki nodded repeatedly.

Who exactly is this teacher...? Why can I still sense danger from him? Even my familiars seem to have a strong desire to fight him...

Jill's gaze was fixed on the pillar, and at the same time, he slammed his wand into the ground. Countless golden runes began to appear around the cross in Jill's hand.

“God…is this your salvation…” Rudolf watched this scene, tears streaming down his weathered and rugged face.

Faith is a kind of idea or religion, and the belief in and veneration of a person or thing, which is then adopted as a code of conduct.

Rudolf was a true believer—retrieving the saint's relics was, perhaps, a form of redemption for him?

Itogami Island was designed more than forty years ago.

To create artificial floating islands and build new cities in the ocean along the dragon vein was a groundbreaking idea forty years ago. Everyone believed that the spiritual energy flowing from the dragon vein would bring vitality to the residents and guide the city towards prosperity, but construction proved extremely difficult. The power of the dragon vein, exposed by the ocean, far exceeded people's expectations.

Land built upon dragon veins is imbued with spiritual energy, which alone allows for the possibility of conducting more powerful spiritual and magical experiments than usual. This is ideal for demon-centric special zones conducting demon research. Building cities on dragon veins is an indispensable part of the artificial island project.

The city's designer, Senra Genshin, did a beautiful job. He originally envisioned four artificial islands—east, west, south, and north—divided into four sections, likened to the four guardian deities in Feng Shui, using the organic connection between the islands to control the dragon vein. However, even with this arrangement, an unsolvable problem remained.

That is the strength of the foundation of the artificial island.

According to the original design of the Thousand Gods Senro, the leader of the four gods residing in the center of the island, namely the Yellow Dragon, needed a foundation stone as a key component for the connecting part. However, with the technology at the time, it was impossible to create building materials strong enough to support it. Therefore, he resorted to a despicable and evil method.

In order to strengthen the building, he thought of using the evil method of human sacrifice.

However, dragon veins are the natural flow of energy, and that powerful force would place an immense burden on the artificial island's connecting parts. The foundation that would bear this burden is not something that rudimentary incantations can accomplish.

As a result, the sacrifice chosen by Genshin Senra to support the city was the "Saint's Right Arm".

This act trampled on the faith of Rudolf and his followers.

This is also why Rudolf harbors such deep hatred for Itogami Island.

Chapter 282 Aftermath

Jill threw the cross in her hand, which struck the stone pillar and replaced the severed hand. The severed hand, covered in golden runes, appeared in space and hovered in Jill's hand.

"This..." Rudolf knelt on the ground, "This is unbelievable..."

Indeed, no one saw what Gil did, but Gil so easily removed the [Saint's Right Arm].

“Take it…” Jill looked at Rudolf with a slightly appreciative gaze. Although Rudolf’s indiscriminate killing displeased Jill, he still appreciated Rudolf’s devotion to his faith.

With admiration slightly outweighing disgust, Gilles handed the "Saint's Right Arm" to Rudolf.

"..." Rudolf took the Saint's right wrist, his face showing the expression of a child seeing his father return home. Even as a grown man, he couldn't help but cry.

After many years, I have finally rediscovered what I believe in.

Moreover, this "Saint's right arm" is completely free of any resentment from the human sacrifice!

Rudolf's eyes immediately filled with gratitude as he looked at Jill.

“You can leave now. I’ll handle what happens here. The girl stays behind… as a final act.” Jill looked Rudolf straight in the eye. “Don’t reveal a single word about the Fourth Progenitor, not even a whisper. Otherwise, I’ll make you watch your faith be destroyed.”

Rudolf did not hesitate; he immediately made a magical vow before leaving.

“Teacher…you shouldn’t have let him go,” Himeragi Yukina said, looking at the departing man.

“You don’t understand.” Jill’s white shirt and red pants disappeared, and the card fell into Jill’s hand. “He’s not a bad person, he’s just blinded by hatred because his faith has been trampled on.”

Jill took out her water glass, took a sip, and said, "I'll leave the rest of this to you guys, okay? I need to get home quickly."

"Ah...yes." Himeragi Yukina nodded.

Jill stuffed the class card in her hand into her pocket and then walked upstairs.

Back on the ground, Jill made a phone call to Nero.

"Brother~"

"I've finished my business and I'll head back now." Jill looked at the sky outside, which was already completely dark. "Sorry, it's getting late."

"It's okay~"

……

The matter was not officially resolved until three days later.

The investigation ultimately fizzled out, since the perpetrator had fled and the remaining artificial lifeforms were merely creatures obeying their master's orders.

In the high school classroom of Saikai Academy at night, where there should be no one, there is a boy's figure.

He was a boy with his hair styled in a spiky updo and wearing headphones around his neck.

Next to him, leaning against the wall, was a crow.

The boy was leisurely talking to the ominous bird perched by the window.

"This way, Kojou Akatsuki, having obtained a blood companion, now controls a familiar. Another step closer to becoming a fully-fledged Fourth Progenitor, that's how it is. But, I just can't understand it. Why would you want to awaken a monster that could accidentally burn down a street..."

Yes, before heading to the Foundation Gate, Kojou Akatsuki drank Yukina Himeragi's blood and thus gained control of a familiar.

That's the familiar that destroyed the entire street that day.

Such a thing could easily be described as the embodiment of a "natural disaster."

Surprisingly, the boy in front of them seemed to know a lot about the matter, and his conversation with the crow was more like a casual chat.

"Or rather, it turns out that the Fourth Ancestor's watchers include both overt and covert watchers... After all, even I find that guy somewhat troublesome."

A clear voice rang out somewhat abruptly. The boy turned his head and said, "As expected of a teacher, you defeated Teacher Jian with one hand and have such keen observation skills."

"Even if you flatter me, I won't go easy on you on your exam... Motoki Yase." Under the moonlight, the blond figure appeared in Motoki Yase's line of sight.

"Teacher, don't worry, my grades are excellent, it's impossible for me to fail." Yase Motoki smiled, revealing a set of white teeth.

“It seems that this girl, Yukina Himeragi… has something special about her,” Gil said. “What I can sense is probably that innocent heart that hasn’t been tainted by the world… but it seems there’s more to it than that.”

"...You are...the young man who refused the contract, right?" the crow uttered, a voice that sounded like that of an old man.

"Well, you're one of the people behind those two men in black, right?" Jill sat down on the lectern, took out a piece of chocolate, took a small bite, and asked.

"Gilgamesh... that name must be fake, right? After all, the real Gilgamesh is the son of Luga Albanda in the Sumerian royal list. Around 2600 BC, he was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk..." the raven uttered.

"At the same time, he was also the first king in history to have an epic, and the Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest existing heroic epic..." The raven stared at Gilgamesh, and its "feathers," which were so smooth that they didn't look like raven's, moved slightly.

"...Hahahaha...Well, that's a very nice compliment, so I'll forgive your previous rudeness." Gil laughed heartily.

His actions, however, made both the crow and Yase Motoki's tone become somewhat strange.

“Teacher… even chuunibyou is acceptable…” Yase Motoki was about to say something when he saw golden ripples appearing beside him, with a sword pointed at him from within.

Jill's finger was pointing in that direction.

“First, I need to explain something… Are you aware of the existence of Heroic Spirits?” Gilles asked.