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A space filled with gold in every direction.

A golden throne at the highest point.

And sitting there… a corpse?

The path leading up to the throne was littered with all kinds of weapons.

Swords, axes, blunt weapons, spears, whips, polearms, throwing weapons, bows, crossbows, slings, and other projectile weapons.

Every type of cold weapon I knew existed was here.

Even shields, armor, helmets, and more.

The equipment here alone could arm hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

They looked so luxurious that it almost felt wrong to attack someone with them.

Turning my gaze slightly, the space was filled with glittering jewelry and gold.

A literal treasure trove of sparkling riches.

Heukgu and Heukrang’s eyes sparkled as brightly as the treasures.

Until they saw the corpse suddenly rise and move.

“You’ve finally found this place, mongrel.”

“…Huh?”

“I shall reward you personally. Here, accept your death.”

“…What?”

The moment we faced each other, the human—no, the corpse—called me a mongrel with an arrogant expression and raised its arm.

Zzzzzzzzz—

As its arm rose, the weapons on the floor floated into the air as if drawn by something.

“…Telekinesis?”

The phenomenon and the sensation were almost identical to the telekinesis I use.

‘But why can’t I sense any magic power?’

Neither the magic power used by humans nor the magic used by the demon race was detectable.

I wanted to investigate further, but there was no time.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Bang!—

The weapons, as if propelled by some force, shot toward me at an incredible speed.

“Heukgu! Heukrang! Get behind me!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Even in this situation, they managed to hide behind me at a speed that even surprised me.

Their survival instincts might be the best in the demon realm.

I tried to deflect the weapons with telekinesis, but I only staggered slightly.

The weapons kept coming.

Without hesitation, I created a double shield using magic and telekinesis.

Crackle—

I thought the shield might not hold, but thankfully, it only cracked and stopped.

“You’re somewhat useful, I see.”

“…?”

I prepared for the next attack, but…

The guy sat back down on the throne after just one attack.

Starting and stopping the fight as he pleased.

He’s definitely insane.

Whether it’s Earth, the demon realm, humans, demons, or corpses…

I’m the only sane one here.

“I am the son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun, the lord of Sumer, the Golden King of Uruk. The demigod Gilgamesh.”

“…I didn’t ask.”

If it’s the Gilgamesh of Mesopotamia, I already knew about him from myths before the sealing.

I thought about reading more but gave up because it seemed boring.

Thanks to that, I’m more familiar with the manga “Fate/Stay Night” than ancient myths.

I didn’t think he’d actually exist, but since he introduced himself as Gilgamesh, there’s no reason not to believe him.

By the way, why did an ancient Earthling die in the demon realm?

‘Could it be that Earth and the demon realm were originally one?’

Just as I was about to start imagining, he continued speaking.

“For unknown reasons, I fell into the demon realm and established my dynasty here. After unifying the demon realm, I was revered as a demon god.”

“…I see. But I didn’t ask.”

Gilgamesh ignored my response and kept talking.

“Of course, unlike those lowly demons who call themselves kings and gods, I am a true demigod.”

“…He seems even more arrogant than Lucifer.”

The Lord of Arrogance, Lucifer, might have to give up his title.

Here’s arrogance personified.

“You’ve proven your worth by blocking my attack.”

“…That’s all it takes to prove my worth?”

As I spoke, I noticed something strange.

It wasn’t that he was ignoring my words—it felt like he genuinely couldn’t hear them.

Just in case, I picked up a dagger from the floor and threw it at him.

Swoosh—

The dagger passed right through him and hit the golden throne behind.

Gilgamesh took no damage.

The moment the dagger touched him, it flickered faintly…

“A hologram?”

This is beyond messed up.

Not only is there a ruin of an ancient mythological figure in the demon realm, but it’s also a hologram?

How is this any different from King Sejong conquering a fantasy world with railguns?

“Captain! What is that? A ghost? Our attacks aren’t working!”

“Shouldn’t we run away now?!”

…Even demons are scared of ghosts.

It’s a moment where I feel unjustly mocked by these primitive demons who don’t even know what a hologram is.

“It’s not that, just stay behind me. We went through all this trouble to find these treasures, and you want to leave them behind?”

“…We’ll trust you, Captain!”

After calming Heukgu and Heukrang, I turned back to Gilgamesh, who continued speaking.

“Aside from proving your worth, there’s something I need.”

“…Something you need?”

The first thing that came to mind was the key I had commissioned from a broker in exchange for adamantite.

Glancing at Heukgu and Heukrang, they seemed to be thinking the same thing, nodding slightly.

“To prevent petty grave robbers from stealing, I created an unbreakable lock and left clues about the key scattered across the demon realm. Without the key, you can’t take anything from here.”

Is eye contact some kind of trigger?

The way he delivers his lines at just the right moment makes it feel like I’m in a game.

By the way, when I threw the dagger earlier, nothing happened.

He said without the key, you can’t take anything?

I don’t know if he’s bluffing or if something happens when you take the treasures out of this room.

Either way, it doesn’t concern us.

“If you’ve proven your worth and even created the key, I’ll give you all the treasures in this world.”

Gilgamesh didn’t say anything about how to use the key.

Nor did he explain why he was giving away the treasures.

And just like that, he disappeared.

His exit was as anticlimactic as his entrance.

Putting aside the absurdity, I turned to Heukrang.

“…Do you know how to use the key? He didn’t say.”

“Ascend to the pinnacle of gold. That’s all we know about the key.”

“That’s the only clue we have. We’ll have to search every nook and cranny to find the keyhole.”

…?

That sounds like he outright gave us the answer.

If this were Korea, even a kindergarten kid could figure it out.

The stairs were arranged in a pyramid shape, with the throne at the very top.

Anyone could see that’s the pinnacle of gold.

“Take the key and try inserting it into the throne.”

Heukgu and Heukrang’s faces froze in real-time.

They seemed deep in thought, but what came out of their mouths was ridiculous.

“Captain! We’ll leave this honor to you.”

“Ladies first! Such a glorious moment should go to the lady first.”

These guys must be really scared.

Even though Gilgamesh’s hologram disappeared, they’re still not moving.

Reluctantly, I took the key from Heukrang and headed toward the golden throne.

‘I thought I might finally learn a new technique, but it’s a shame.’

It wasn’t magic or demonic energy, but the technique he used was very similar to telekinesis.

If that’s the case, I could probably mimic it with my telekinesis.

It was a great opportunity to steal and learn, but…

He only attacked once, talked a lot, and then disappeared.

Oh well, I should be grateful for all these treasures.

I walked past the various weapons, climbed the golden stairs, and reached the throne.

Sure enough, there was a keyhole in the exact center of the seat.

I was a little nervous, but not scared.

More like excited.

Anyway, I inserted the key and turned it…

“…”

“…”

“…”

Nothing happened.

…Was I tricked?

Unable to hide my disappointment, I let out a sigh.

“Sigh…”

“What’s wrong? Did you get cursed?”

“Captain, your sacrifice will be remembered forever!”

These guys…

They weren’t scared of ghosts—they were scared of curses and sent me instead.

“What do we do, guys? It’s all bound to me now.”

“…Huh? What do you mean, bound?”

“It means… all of this is bound to me, so I can’t give it to you.”

“…Don’t joke around, Captain.”

With just one joke, Heukgu and Heukrang’s faces turned pale.

You guys are too easy to mess with.

“It’s the curse of the ruins. I’ll have to live alone with these treasures for the rest of my life.”

“This b*tch…”

“What did you say?”

“…How can I blame fate for this…”

Tears were streaming down Heukgu and Heukrang’s faces.

They were so easily fooled.

Or maybe they just gave up because they knew they couldn’t win by force.

For a moment, I considered keeping it all for myself…

But I couldn’t bring myself to betray these two poor souls who spent their lives searching for ruins after losing everything.

What would make me any different from the demons?

Let’s uphold human dignity.

“Just kidding, let’s split it 50-50 like we said before.”

“…Really? You’re really giving us half?”

“Thank you! Thank you, Captain!”

Heukgu and Heukrang were crying again.

Tears of gratitude.

…Did they really think I’d take it all?

“But… how are we going to carry all this?”

“We’ve prepared for that.”

“…?”

Heukgu and Heukrang went outside the ruins and started gathering branches to light a fire.

“We told the broker to bring a bunch of cargo carts to the foot of the mountain. Hehe.”

Heukgu and Heukrang were surprisingly thorough.

They were struggling to light the fire, but I didn’t feel like using magic to help.

After all, we just hit the jackpot in the ruins. They should do some work.

“…But what if we get robbed on the way?”

“That was the problem. We were worried about trusting mercenaries. But thankfully, thanks to you, everything’s been resolved.”

“Exactly! If it weren’t for you, Captain, who easily handled Dantalion and even befriended Satan, this would’ve been impossible. Without you, we’d have been caught sneaking out treasures one by one.”

They’re thorough in preparation but… definitely lacking in thought.

“Let’s say we manage to take it all. I have to leave soon—how are you going to protect these treasures?”

“We have a plan! We’ll give 10% to Satan and ask for his protection.”

They really, truly don’t think things through.

“What if Satan says that’s not enough and takes it all?”

“…T-that wouldn’t happen! It shouldn’t… right? It shouldn’t…”

Well, Satan, being the most honorable figure in the demon realm, probably wouldn’t do that.

…Probably?

Anyway.

Our impromptu ruin exploration ended successfully.

Now, all that’s left is to return to Earth.

 

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