Shepherding Humanity

"An interesting opponent has finally appeared before me."

Floating in the dark sky above, the peerlessly beautiful Medusa waved her staff. "Why haven’t you developed your own custom spells when you're already at this level? Why are you still using spells from the era of the Three Witches? Behold!"

"Lily Carnation!"

The ground started emitting dark mist, which gathered together to form a towering black plant.

This plant rapidly grew, sprouting countless branches and roots. Its height passed 10 meters, 100 meters, 300 meters… until finally piercing the churning black clouds above. Mystical black roses swirled on its branches, each of them comparable in size to the gigantic rose from before.

This was the real Flower of Death!

The alchemical airship shifted its stern, holy light blazing from its hull. The transparent currents erupted, forming golden butterflies that fluttered in the sky; they gathered and converged, transforming into a verdant green tree that pierced the heavens.

"The Guardian of Spring!"

The signature spell of The Witch of Spring Cassandra displayed its might.

Light flashed as black roses clashed against green tree and golden butterflies.

Rumble! !

The sound of metal clashing against metal shook the sky. Violent winds howled and trees splintered as shockwaves from the conflict engulfed the verdant mountain range.

The heavens trembled and the earth groaned.

Throughout the Rose Kingdom, women gathered in the streets. They were all young and beautiful, with tidy appearances and gorgeous clothing, but at this moment, all of them were wailing. Their screams of pain and despair mixed together into a miserable chorus.

Countless Level Four and Level Five witches looked up in horror as they struggled to raise their magic staves, forming a barrier to protect the royal city from the aftershocks of the titanic battle taking place in the sky above.

….

The Kingdom of Babylon.

A giant mirror made of countless mist droplets hung in the sky. The battle above the Rose Kingdom was projected on its rippling surface.

This was the Level Five magic spell "Mirror of Spring Mist" that all the witches in the Kingdom of Babylon have combined their efforts to cast. Normally, this intrusive scrying would certainly provoke the Rose Kingdom and bring terrifying consequences, but at this moment, they no longer cared.

This battle would determine the fate of the Kingdom of Babylon, and everyone had the right to know its outcome!

"If we cannot win, then we will perish."

The people of Babylon all silently walked out into the streets. Their hands were clasped in prayer as they looked up at the fierce battle projected in the sky. No one knew who had started it, but soon, they were all humming the mournful Symphony of Fate.

The urgent notes resounded throughout heaven and earth.

It was like the roar of a storm.

It was like the crashing rain.

Full of fervent passion.

This was the somber hymn of human destiny, a hymn to human courage!

…..

Above the Royal Palace of Babylon.

All the witch ministers of the royal court were silent.

Their pretty faces were pale as they looked up at the deadly battle projected in the sky. It felt as if they could be ripped apart at any moment and they were unable to breathe from the sheer tension.

"So this is the power of the mightiest beings in this world, the power of Legendary Mages pushed to their limits?"

This was a battle beyond human ken. Perhaps, the only thing comparable to it would be the war preceding the Great Flood—Gilgamesh’s war against God—that had been recorded in the myths of ancient Sumer.

"We will definitely win."

Lilith gripped her staff tightly as she looked up at the terrifying battle in the sky. Her palms were full of sweat.

Scenes of her daily life with this cute and lively Slime played out within her mind. She had thought she knew everything about him, but before she realized it, this cute and unassuming Slime had accumulated such terrifying power!

A complicated feeling, equal parts pride and awe, surged within her.

Before she knew it, the boastful little Slime Wizard who had suddenly appeared in her throne room all those decades ago had reached such terrifying heights.

…..

In the shabby little room of Elizabeth’s Coven.

Elizabeth looked at the frightening scene in the sky and shivered; the horrible and oppressive images chilled her entire body. She nervously covered her mouth with her hands, trying to keep herself from making a single sound. Behind her, her companions gripped her arms tight.

"That's… our Slime!!"

"It's our little magic pet!"

Melly yelled anxiously, her pretty face pale. "It’s just a Slime! Only a Slime! But it's now wearing its odd contraptions and fighting for our sake."

When she had peeked on him in the past, he had always been doing the weirdest things. With "wrench", "screw", and "gear" in hand, he had spent all day in his room, enthusiastically working on that bizarre mechanical man of his.

It looked very different now, but one could still vaguely see traces of the original prototype.

"If this thing has appeared, then there can be no mistake. Our Slime is the mysterious Sixth Level Wizard who had appeared in the Royal Palace."

Elizabeth bit her lips. She could not believe it at first.

Everyone had thought that the Slime was merely a Third Level Wizard. All these years, the sisters had labored away, cheerfully working together in order to help it reach Level Four.

No one knew that their Slime had already reached such terrifying heights behind their backs, enough to make the entire magic world tremble!

At this moment, he was engaged in a pitched battle against the Empress of Death Medusa in the sky!

But, the little witches all wished he could have remained their little magic pet. They wished he was merely the Level Three Wizard who once happily laughed at their side. This heavy responsibility was not something a little Sime could bear…

"He had promised us that he would become the next Magic Emperor. To think that it would actually come true…"

They silently held hands as they looked up at the mirror of mist hanging in the sky above Babylon. Pride, along with a myriad of complicated emotions, filled their hearts.

…..

Amidst the churning black clouds.

The Witch Empress Medusa’s mightiest Level Six magic spells had all been blocked by this strange man’s fearsome flying behemoth.

"Without custom spells of your own, you managed to fend me off with only magic from the era of the Three Witches? Is this the power of alchemy? Have you opened the legendary Gates of Truth?"

Medusa looked surprised. However, she soon calmed down. "It’s time I show you my true power, and the reason I am called the Empress of Death. My roses can bridge the boundaries between life and death; I can break the rules of death!"

"My teacher, Circe of the Three Witches, taught me this spell because she wanted me to perfect "Resurrection" magic and break into forbidden territory."

Medusa quietly continued, "Although I am still a long way off from perfecting this magic, and am unable to revive the dead, there’s no longer anyone in this world who can defeat me. This is because, for a short time, I can summon the strongest man in history, the mythical hero king, Gilgamesh."

Gilgamesh! ?

In the Kingdom of Babylon, everyone’s mind went blank with horror.

The legendary Gilgamesh, who lived in ancient Sumerian Myths, was said to be the strongest man in history. He was the King of Heroes who pointed his sword against God.

He was an Epic Hero, who had reached the legendary domain that even the Three Witches could not—the Epic Seventh Level. There was an immeasurable gap of one Level between them, and the Three Witches would be little more than helpless babies before him.

"Impossible."

"How could it be possible to summon the dead…"

"In the legends, this is the terrifying man who had been killed by God!!"

While everyone panicked, Medusa held her staff up high. Endless magic power surged as she softly chanted: "Oh lost soul who wanders this world, head my prayers, the prayers of the living. Remember your life, break open the gates of the underworld, and return to the world of the living."

"Forbidden Technique! Stygian Rose, Gilgamesh!"

As the black rose of madness blossomed, ripples spread through the sky. The flower bud slowly opened, revealing the frightening being gestating within.

A towering man formed of black mist strode forth. His posture as he looked down on the world was full of domineering confidence. His handsome face was expressionless, his lightless eyes devoid of intellect. He held the holy sword of civilization—the Sword of Damocles—high and slowly swung it downwards.

"This is the strongest man, the mythical Hero King who dared to attack God in the ancient Sumerian era!" Grantham widened his eyes slightly as fear flashed across his face.

Boom!

The sword descended in the next instant.

It was an exquisitely beautiful sword swing.

At this moment, the wind stopped. The rain stopped falling. The leaves no longer rustled. No one spoke. It was as if God has closed his eyes and held his breath, and all sound had disappeared from the world.