I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"Does it matter who I am?" Jill smiled, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes. "The important question is, who are you?"

The elf in front of me slowly took off her hooded coat.

What appeared under the coat was—

A boy with brown skin covered in tattoos and bright red eyes.

"I am Geo Inzat, the successor of the Demon King!" the boy said, pointing to himself with his thumb.

After the boy finished speaking, a mysterious silence fell over the room.

"Pfft... Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Jill burst into maniacal laughter. "Hahahaha, this is hilarious! You idiot, you actually call yourself the successor of the Demon King... Hahahahahaha!"

Jill's maniacal laughter provoked the other party's anger. "You underestimate me? Die!"

So the lightning bolt flew toward Jill.

“…Tch, boring…” Jill curled her lip. “Soul Flash - Shadow Assassin!”

The lightning bolt, already reaching supersonic speed, flew towards Jill, but before that—

An arm flew into the sky, and in Jill's hand, she held a weapon that looked like a slender rapier.

"Too slow. Don't you even realize you've had your arm cut off?" Jill brandished her longsword. "It's laughable."

"Aaaaaah!" Geo clutched his wound, letting out a mournful cry like a wounded beast.

“You bastard…you bastard! Who are you?!” Geo Inzat’s bloodshot eyes turned even redder as he roared and questioned them in resentment.

"Who am I?" Gilgamesh turned around. "I am Gilgamesh, the oldest hero-king in human history—you claim to be the successor of the Demon King?"

Not a drop of blood dripped from the silver rapier in Gil's hand. Holding the rapier, he looked at Geo, "Perhaps only someone with the courage to face me deserves to be called the successor of the Demon King..."

“The rest are really not worth mentioning.” Jill lightly flicked her right foot, lifting the arm in front of her foot, which landed in Jill’s hand.

Jill glanced at the "elf mark" on her arm and chuckled. "These things on... ha... aren't really elf marks, are they?"

Upon hearing this, Geo Inzat's face twitched violently, becoming somewhat distorted.

Gil looked at Geo Inzat, "You... you've implanted cursed markings all over your body, haven't you..."

The spell mark is a spirit mark that is artificially attached to the spirit user. In addition to sealing the spirit, it can also produce various effects such as forcibly drawing out the contracted spirit's abilities or adding different attributes.

Cursed inscriptions were widely used during the war, but because many of those who underwent the procedure died one after another due to side effects, they were banned by various countries after the war.

However, human ambition is boundless, so there are certainly some countries and institutions still conducting research in this area.

"The so-called 'spirit mark' on your body is just a tattoo to cover it up, isn't it? You call yourself the 'successor of the Demon King' and claim that you can use 72 spirit pillars... but in fact, all of them are one-time sealed spirits, not ordinary contract spirits."

The source of your power lies in the blood of the Elemental King, which sealed away the Mad King Elemental capable of controlling countless Elementals!

Jill's tone turned sharp, her voice as cold as ice.

When talking about the blood of the Elf King, we must mention Elf Ore, a special stone that can seal away a portion of elves and their power.

The Blood of the Elf King is a type of elven ore, a special elven ore that can only be mined in the "Sacred Domain (Astral Zero)" of the "Elemental Elf Realm." It can seal a portion of the power of high-ranking elves. It is a true national treasure, not something that can be bought with money or power.

And Geo Inzat possesses a piece of the Elf King's blood... In other words, Geo Inzat is not a male elf user or a "successor to the Demon King" at all, but...

"You are nothing but a pathetic wretch who borrowed external power and called himself the successor of the Demon King." Gil's words struck Geo Inzat's heart like a heavy hammer.

“Because, without that ore, you probably wouldn’t be able to control the elves at all!” Gil’s words were exactly the same, so Geo Inzat’s face turned as red as a pig’s liver.

"You bastard...you bastard!"

“A powerless roar…” Jill raised her silver rapier. “Well, then let me finish you off with one blow, you pathetic wretch.”

Jill tossed the severed arm aside and took a step forward.

At that moment, a sense of crisis made Jill turn her head to the side. A red dagger flew past Jill's forehead, catching a few strands of golden hair.

"...Run!" Another figure grabbed Geo Inzat and ran.

"You think you can just come and go as you please?!" Jill sneered. "Soul Flash - Shadow Step!"

Gil appeared once again beside Geo Inzat.

As Jill gradually came to understand Soul Flash, she discovered that it was not a simple sword dance technique at all, but an entire system.

Soul Flash is not just a swordsmanship system; it also includes footwork, movement techniques, and many other moves.

However, Jill has only learned swordsmanship, footwork, and movement techniques so far; she has not yet deeply grasped the others.

Soul Flash Shadow Walk – A movement technique that allows you to go from 0 to maximum speed in a short period of time.

After reaching maximum speed, Jill used brute force to stop herself, then thrust her sword out—

"Show yourself, Sword Spirit!" Geo Inzat roared, a longsword appearing in his hand, barely blocking Gil's attack, but the Sword Spirit shattered completely—

"Soul Flash - Moon Chaser!" Gil unleashed a crescent-shaped slash, leaving a long wound on Geo Inzat's chest, causing him to spit out a torrent of blood.

At that moment, the two of them disappeared.

“…the magic of spatial transfer…” Jill curled her lip. “Consider yourself lucky, you bastard.”

Jill casually tossed it aside, and the silver rapier was swallowed by the golden ripples and disappeared.

"How... is it?" Alice, who had caught up with him, looked at Jill and asked.

“There were at least three people on the other side, and one of them could use spatial magic,” Jill said. “I cut off one of their arms…that arm is enough to explain to Grevas.”

happy New Year!

"Hurry up! Here, here, hang them up!" The blond, bespectacled young man directed a group of people to hang lanterns.

“Mr. Kusanagi…this is…” The orange-haired youth wearing a headscarf rode his skateboard to the blond youth’s side and asked.

"Well, it's New Year's Eve...yes, New Year's Eve." Kusanagi Izumo smiled. "And, he's coming back, Yata-chan."

Misaki Hatta paused for a moment, "Him? He's finally coming back?"

“Yes…it’s been…a long time, hasn’t it?” Kusanagi said, lighting a cigarette.

“Yes, it’s been a long time.” Misaki Hatta nodded.

"Well then, Hatta-chan, could you please go and buy some ingredients? I remember that according to Chinese custom, dinner tonight must be very lavish." Kusanagi Izumo took out some money and stuffed it into Hatta Misaki's hand. "Go quickly."

"Okay, then see you later, Mr. Kusanagi." With that, Misaki Yata waved and rode off on her skateboard.

"How's the setup for Kusanagi going?" the red-haired young man in the black coat asked.

The young man's first impression easily evokes the image of a lion; he exudes a subtle aura as he approaches Kusanagi.

"Don't worry, Master, I've also sent invitations to other clans, but I don't know if they'll come..." Kusanagi nodded and said.

At that moment, a noisy commotion came from the other side.

Kusanagi Izumo paused, and Suoh Mikoto narrowed his eyes.

"...This must be it." The black-haired, unremarkable-looking young man at the head of the group glanced at the note in his hand and then nodded.

"Halt! This is Homra territory," Kusanagi Izumo said.

“…Yes, this is indeed the place.” The young man smiled, a very happy smile. “We are also members of Homra. Happy New Year.”

"Huh? I don't recall ever agreeing to let you join Homra." Suoh Mikoto's eyes turned unfriendly. "What are your motives..."

"There's no need for fighting and killing during the New Year, is there?" A young man with a gentle appearance, no less beautiful than Yukari, stepped forward to smooth things over. "We are not members of the Homra in this world."

“This world…” Kusanagi frowned, “What do you mean?”

"Our king is Gil." The man in the black coat, with a sword at his waist, spoke, his tone calm and composed...

“I see… Happy New Year then.” Kusanagi Izumo smiled and extended his hand to the black-haired youth. “I am Kusanagi Izumo, the manager of Homra.”

"I am Chu Xingliu, and also the steward of Homra." Chu Xingliu smiled. "After all, our king is quite the absentee manager..."

“Alright, then let’s help out too…” Kusanagi smiled. “So, it turns out we’re not the only ones who received an invitation.”

"I'm not quite sure..." Chu Xingliu scratched his head, then turned around and shouted to the people he had brought with him, "Come and help!"

"Oh!"

……

"What's wrong? Aren't you going down to see your former subordinates?" the green-haired girl asked, standing next to the blond youth.

"No need to rush!" the young man laughed. "There are still some people who haven't arrived yet... let's wait a bit until everyone is here."

He sat on the rooftop, gazing down. "Long time no see... Homra."

……

Time flew by and it was already evening.

"Mikoto... hasn't Gilgamesh returned yet?" The silver-haired, red-eyed girl asked, looking at Suoh Mikoto beside her.

"Hmm..." Suoh Mikoto nodded. "Let's be a little patient. It'll be alright. He said he would definitely come back, didn't he?"

A figure slowly walked towards the Homra bar.

Anna seemed to sense something and tugged at Suoh Mikoto's sleeve.

Suoh Mikoto nodded, glanced at the figure, and went to meet him.

A blond-haired, red-eyed young man dressed in a black motorcycle outfit and black trousers walked towards them.

“Welcome back, Gil,” Suoh Mikoto said, stubbing out his cigarette.

“Welcome back, Jill,” Anna said to him.

Jill came to the two of them.

Gil smiled and gave Suoh Mikoto a big bear hug. "I'm back, Mikoto."

“I’ve come back as promised, Anna.” Jill hugged Anna back. “Happy New Year, Anna.”

“Happy New Year, Jill,” Anna said with a smile, looking at Jill. “You look so much older…”

"Well, don't worry about it." Gil patted Anna's head. "Zun, how's the surprise I gave you?"

“I never expected you could go to another world… But this Homra…” Suoh Mikoto also smiled, “Let’s go in.”

“Wait a minute…we’re waiting for someone,” Jill said.

"Ah, sorry Gil, I've kept you waiting~" The green-haired girl came to Gil's side.