Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

["The Benevolent Hidden Emperor": You are born alongside a legendary ruler. The hidden emperor will step forth when a ruler fails to be benevolent. The more people worship you, the stronger you become, and the higher your divinity.]

The final skill had awakened, but Kyouya was not happy. The soldiers of Uruk were merely carrying out Gilgamesh's orders.

The suffering in front of him was merely simply the result of a king's impulsive decisions. For a king, a careless word was enough to crush the lives of countless people.

"Do you want to follow me?"

He stood in the sea of blood, looking at the mountain of corpses around him.

These soldiers had been loyal to Gilgamesh and shouldn't have died by his hand.

"What happened here has already happened. It's either waiting for Gilgamesh's retribution or will you join me to build a place where we are not oppressed by him. Those who are willing to follow me, come with me."

He wiped the blood from his spear, and those with nowhere else to go quietly followed him.

At that moment, they seemed to feel something awakening before their eyes.

Even those who had once seen Gilgamesh before suddenly felt as if the wise king they once knew was standing in front of them.

Could anyone stand shoulder to shoulder with that heroic king?

This crazy thought was quickly dismissed from their minds, but following this stranger before them might be the best option in the current situation.

[You despise the cries of suffering, the wails, the separations of life and death, and the tyranny of kings...]

[You know that what you're doing isn't out of kindness but out of selfishness because you want to shape this world into your ideal.]

[Do you have the ability to do this?]

Who the hell cares about that?

He did indeed remember reading about such an idealized society before but also understood what he was facing now.

The person who killed Gilgamesh's army would naturally never be allowed to escape easily.

Their first thought would likely be to run if it were anyone else.

However, Kyouya's thought differently. Since he had already made an enemy of Gilgamesh, he figured he might as well go all the way.

The city was called Ur, a small city deep in the forest surrounded by monsters.

It was already a place unsuitable for humans to live.

However, under Kyouya's effort, the magical monsters posed no threat to the city. Instead, they became a natural defense, roaming the outskirts and protecting Ur.

[You seized Gilgamesh's city, and this act made your name spread throughout the Mesopotamian region.]

[You cleared the magical beasts around Ur, showing the people your power and boosting their confidence in their survival. The people began to worship your strength, increasing the effect of "Benevolent Hidden Emperor."]

[You taught the people how to farm, and with the help of magicians, you quickly obtained a large amount of food. With plenty of food, the people began to worship your wisdom, increasing the effect of "Benevolent Hidden Emperor."]

[You destroyed Ishtar's temple and used the treasures inside for foreign trade and construction. The quality of life for the people greatly improved, and they began to worship your kindness, further increasing the effect of "Benevolent Hidden Emperor."]

...

"King, is it really okay to destroy a god's temple...?"

Even though the people's living conditions improved, and Gilgamesh's small-scale revenge was completely stopped with Kyouya's protection, destroying that goddess's temple still felt like a bold move.

"Compared to gods I don't even know, the people in front of me are more important."

Kyouya's words deeply moved the people.

After all, they had already followed him in rebellion, and whether they were killed by Ishtar or by Gilgamesh, it didn't matter to them because they would have died either way.

The people of Ur were naturally thrilled by Kyouya's determination to go against the goddess for the sake of the people.

A king who stands with his people—the last time this had happened was during the wise reign of Gilgamesh.

"Humans are like this—they only believe what they want to believe."

Unlike the people's excitement and enthusiasm, Kyouya didn't feel much emotion.

This didn't mean that what he said before was fake, but simply that the people had misunderstood his intentions.

In fact, Kyouya didn't actually know Ishtar personally, but he did have a grudge against her.

The goddess, who was always favored by the gods, would often come to trouble in front of Ereshkigal.

In the end, Kyouya came up with a plan to strip her naked and throw her down, making her look ridiculous.

Since they already had bad blood, why not let it continue until the end?

[Your destruction of the temple has caught Ishtar's attention. This goddess, who has been pampered since childhood, is furious. You are about to face the wrath of a goddess.]

The laughter of the people calmed Kyouya's mood, allowing him to focus fully on dealing with that troublesome goddess.

...

"That annoying bastard! Why are all 'Wedges of Heaven' such arrogant jerks?"

Ishtar, the goddess of Venus, flew through the sky at night on the Bull of Heaven.

She thought back to when her humiliation to the Underworld could only be blamed on Ereshkigal, but this time, it was all the fault of this fool seeking death.

"He's just a replacement, and yet he's acting so arrogantly, just like Gilgamesh."

To Ishtar, Gilgamesh barely even caught her attention. Kyouya was merely a replacement and was nothing more than a Shadow trailing behind Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal couldn't leave the Underworld, or else her power would be greatly reduced, and no one would come to save him now, not even Ereshkigal.

"Shadow, I'm coming for you."

A golden light from the stars hit the small city of Ur.

A boy with black hair opened his eyes on the city walls with his proud and unyielding aura was unforgettable for anyone who had met him.

"Ishtar."

"Shadow, you've gone too far."

"Too far? My people need protection for their city, not a goddess who may or may not show up to protect them."

He understood that in this age, worshipping gods was nothing more than paying a "protection fee."

Gods didn't care about whether humans live or die. They couldn't care less if humanity didn't perish entirely.

However, humans were expected to give up everything to worship the gods.

Even though gods rarely protected them, they could easily cause trouble for them if they wanted to.

"Today, you choose survival over worshiping the gods, but tomorrow, will you dare to raise a banner of rebellion against them for survival?"

"You are welcome to try."

Kyouya slowly rose into the sky.

In this Age of the Gods, flying magic wasn't unusual, and he didn't have the habit of always looking up when speaking to others.

"The people worship you, but how many times have you actually done your duty as a god?"

If the gods fulfilled their responsibilities, Kyouya wouldn't mind building a temple and regularly offering sacrifices.

However, he understood that this particular goddess in front of him was definitely not the type of god who would do so.

A god-like this should have their statues to be smashed.

To be continued...

...

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