The disaster he remembered had come from the sea near the Persian Gulf—Mother Goddess Tiamat awakening, sweeping ashore with an endless Black Tide that surged straight toward Uruk.
The invasion route from south to north had almost no natural defenses, and most of the people there were civilians who, sheltered by the Babylonia defense line, had barely seen real warfare.
After all, Mesopotamia's military might had been concentrated entirely on the Absolute Demonic Front.
So once the Black Tide and the Laḫmu landed, they swept through the Observation Posts, Girsu, Umma, and nearly two-thirds of Mesopotamia's rear with unstoppable force.
What made it worse was that after devouring countless lives, the Black Tide used them as raw material to spawn an overwhelming number of Laḫmu.
With such unbalanced attrition, the mysterious children poured in from every direction. That Uruk was reduced to just five hundred survivors was no surprise at all.
By contrast, while Apsu—this catastrophe's instigator—was even more brutal than Tiamat, he'd been sealed by the gods for so long that his authorities had been almost entirely stripped. He simply wasn't in the same league as Tiamat in terms of power.
Furthermore, this time, the Black Tide had surged from the north—from the Cedar Forest.
The wastelands stretching from north to south had already been ravaged for over half a year by the magical beasts. Apart from the ruined cities of Babylon and Nippur, there were barely any signs of human life.
As a result, the Laḫmu spawned by Apsu were limited in number and lacked reinforcements.
They had no choice but to ride the Black Tide downstream and clash head-on with the unbreakable Babylonia defense line.
Yet this time, Leonidas—who could truly be called the "most unyielding holdout of Thermopylae"—hadn't died intercepting the Goddess of Magical Beasts. Instead, he boosted morale, commanded with precision, and pushed Uruk's soldiers to their limits, keeping the line intact.
Even more fortuitously, Samael had arrived just in time. Using his authority over magical beasts, he turned the creatures gathered along the northern wall into disposable forces to deplete the advancing Laḫmu.
Merlin, Ishtar, and the Jaguar Warriors, assigned to clear out the last remaining Laḫmu in the city, were essentially overkill.
Though battered, Uruk had only suffered structural damage. It hadn't collapsed.
And with the Black Tide held back in the north, most of the southern cities and foundations survived, allowing them to continue supporting Uruk.
Of course, there had been one unexpected event: the collapse of Mount Ebih. Another branch of the Black Tide, this one carrying undead, surged downstream.
Fortunately, the residents of Kutha—directly in its path—had already evacuated to Uruk. That city was effectively a dead zone. The entire western region lacked any significant population base to fuel further Laḫmu creation.
As for the weakest point, the southern gate—it had been successfully held by the combined forces of Kukulkan and Ere.
In short, the fact that the Goddess Tiamat hadn't been dragged into this conflict was a blessing for the people of Sumer.
Could this be considered a twisted form of mercy from the Mother Goddess herself? Samael couldn't help but sigh at the thought.
Two thousand survivors—just in Uruk alone, nearly half of Mesopotamia's remaining population had gathered.
It looked like the Sacrificial Grounds had handled the evacuation well.
But good news always came with complications. He could only hope that "that thing" could hold them all.
With mixed feelings, the Shepherd Priest refocused and began issuing specific orders to strengthen the northern and southern defenses.
"The Fangs of Napishtim on the northern wall are 27% damaged?"
"Siduri, send people from the Sacrificial Grounds to gather magical beast corpses. Merlin, have the Astrology Tower use the materials to create replacements—finish the installation before dawn!"
"Also, dig wide trenches at the southern gate, clear the roads, and prepare for drainage. That task can be handled by the hardworking Jaguar Warriors..."
With Samael's commands issued in an orderly fashion, those assigned with duties left to begin their tasks.
Soon, only Kukulkan, Ishtar, and Ana remained in the Divine Tower of the palace.
"Big sis Quetzalcoatl, you're the sun goddess—don't you have some control over the weather?"
The ancient serpent rubbed his chin, glanced out the window, furrowed his brow, and asked quietly.
"You want the rain to stop?"
The Mayan goddess noticed Samael's subtle gesture and immediately responded with a knowing smile.
"Hmm, is that something you can do?"
"It's not easy. I'm just a spirit descended into this world—I can't fully defy the 'Mandate of Heaven' here."
"What about a localized effect? Like shielding the area around Uruk?"
"That, I can try. But I'll need a few things..."
Seeing Kukulkan soften, Samael breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward, solemnly taking the South American goddess's hands.
"Then I'll have to trouble you with this task."
"Understood. I'll get it done as soon as I can."
Quetzalcoatl nodded seriously, clearly aware of how critical the mission was.
However, just as everyone was sending her off with grave expressions, Kukulkan stopped at the steps, turned with a playful smirk tugging at her lips.
"Parting already? Shouldn't my little brother give his big sister a warm goodbye hug?"
"Hey, hey, Kukulkan—don't say I didn't warn you. Try anything, and Ereshkigal will come knocking."
Ishtar stepped forward instinctively, shooting Samael a glare as she let out a grumpy snort.
But then, a figure slipped past the elder goddess, stepped forward, and gently embraced Kukulkan. With his head bowed, he whispered softly.
"Take care..."
"Wow, so sweet. You almost got me, you know? Samael, you really do have the makings of a goddess killer..."
Kukulkan chuckled, letting go with a teasing tone. She winked playfully, then waved and turned to leave.
Tch! Shameless pair! One day, you're gonna get strung up like smoked meat by Ereshkigal and hung right at the temple gates!
Ishtar fumed silently, her good intentions completely ignored. Her face darkened like storm clouds, and her lips twitched in frustration.
Just then, Samael, having quietly approached behind her, leaned in with his back to Ana and whispered into her ear.
"It's not convenient during the day. Come to my room tonight. Alone."
At night? Alone?
Wasn't he supposed to be sleeping alone in the Divine Tower tonight?
Ishtar's body stiffened, her lips trembling slightly as she stammered.
"You… what are you planning?"
"I need your help—and maybe a tiny sacrifice on your part..."
"Sacrifice?! Keep dreaming!"
Samael leaned closer, whispering with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Ishtar instinctively crossed her arms, eyeing him warily.
"I'm not that easy..."
"Thirty percent of the Babylonian Treasury's ore stockpile. If I get control, that share's yours."
The ancient serpent, having long seen through a certain goddess's true nature, curled his lips and held up three fingers.
"Don't try to bribe me with gems!"
Ishtar protested righteously.
"Oh? You object? Then never mind..."
Oh? Giving up? Look at you, so principled.
Samael withdrew with a sigh, already thinking of another way to coax Ereshkigal to the surface. After all, only she could handle that task.
"Wait!"
Ishtar immediately threw on a pitiful face and clung tightly to her golden goose's arm.
"I meant… I'm really bad at resisting temptation..."