A certain crossover anime's nuclear-powered sword immortal

"With that face provoking me like that, who else should I arrest if not her?"

"That face? Do you recognize the owner of this body?"

Ai Lei asked with some confusion.

"Of course, her original name was Rin Tohsaka. She came into this world because of Ishtar."

“I see…” Ellie nodded.

However, speaking of which, the combination of Tsundere Rin, Spear Rin, and Bow Rin into one body is even better than the Lion King's trinity.

“Oh, right…” Ereshkigal suddenly remembered something and was a little confused about Shirou’s attitude toward her.

"Um...aren't you afraid of me? It's just...I am..."

With her fair and slender legs slightly together, Ai Lei lowered her eyes and spoke hesitantly.

She was unsure how to express her question; what Ereshkigal wanted to ask was Shirou's opinion of her.

It wasn't directed at her who was possessing Ishtar, but at her as the mistress of the underworld.

But Shirou chuckled lightly at her question.

"Of course I'm not afraid, whether it's you now or you at any other time."

Not only are they unafraid, they even have bolder ideas.

The silvery moonlight spilled across the earth, and Aileen's red eyes shimmered slightly.

The air was slightly chilly, but Ai Lei felt a warm current flowing through her heart, completely unaffected by the cold night.

A smile gradually appeared on her face, as gentle and beautiful as a blooming flower.

It was as if it were a beautiful flower that had never bloomed in the underworld.

"Are you really... really not afraid of me?"

A blush crept across Ereshkigal's cheeks, and her eyes held a hint of nervousness, as if she feared Shirou might suddenly change his attitude.

"Of course I'm not afraid."

Even if I'm a goddess?

"Wouldn't that be even better?" Shirou sat up and reached out to stroke her cheeks, which were slightly flushed with extreme shyness.

When her cheek was touched, Ai Lei felt incredibly shy, and tears welled up in her slightly widened eyes.

Their cheeks drew closer and closer, but Eileen ultimately couldn't overcome her shyness and gently pushed him away.

"No!" Ellie puffed out her cheeks. "You must have fooled a lot of girls with that gentle expression, right?"

"Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?" Shirou asked rhetorically.

"..." Ai Lei looked at him expressionlessly, then sighed, "I have something more important to tell you today."

"Oh? What is it?" Shirou asked.

"You're here to fight against, or rather, to help Gudako fight against the 'Three Goddess Alliance,' right? So, what are your actual views on them?"

"What do you think?" Shirou asked the goddess of the underworld, puzzled.

"Yes, what's your opinion?"

Eresh asked, "First is Gorgon, she is the goddess of magical beasts, and the most powerful of the three goddesses."

Gorgon, she is Medusa, a goddess born from the accumulation of resentment. She will not reconcile with humanity, she will only keep attacking.

Ai Lei continued, "Actually, I don't know her very well. The cultural differences are too great. What is good, what is evil, there isn't even the most basic definition."

As she spoke, Ai Lei plucked a weed from the ground.

"Then there is the goddess of the forest, Quetzalcoatl, who represents the feathered serpent god."

She mixed the weeds in her hands into mud and threw it into the lake.

Then, with her eyes slightly lowered, she said to Shirou, "And the last one is me. I cannot forgive Mesopotamia as it is now, and I cannot condone your desire to abandon the gods and create only a human world."

“But this is humanity’s own choice.” Shirou looked into her eyes. “Humanity’s separation from the gods is like separation from a mother’s embrace. It is both the direction of human progress and a symbol of human evolution.”

Ai Lei is like that mother. Just a moment ago, her child was constantly by her side, living under her wing, but the next second her child was about to leave. This huge sense of loss is something she can hardly accept.

"Humans cannot escape the suffering of death and the fear of living. They have developed too fast and learned too much, which makes it impossible for them to accept their original lives, so they want to leave God."

Ai Lei said with some emotion, "But, if we rely on the gods, if we rely on ourselves, then humanity can continue to live safely. With the protection of the gods, we don't have to suffer so much anymore."

“I have always believed and thought that I should blame all the unreasonable things, all the painful things, and all the desperate things on evil gods, and then rely on good gods to get by.”

Ereshkigal poured out her heart and grasped Shirou's right hand, placing it against her chest.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Whirlwind Chat with the Goddess Under the Moon

"That's why I joined the 'Three Goddess Alliance,' that's why I abandoned everything from my past... as long as I can make this world anew."

In a world where humans and gods coexist, I will stop at nothing. I am not an enemy of humanity; I love humanity. I am merely an enemy of the human world, so please do not stop me…

Aileen's voice trembled slightly; she had said everything she wanted to say.

After listening attentively to Ereshkigal's words, Shirou nodded and stroked her blonde hair with his other hand. Ereshkigal, moved her head like a cat in response to this gesture.

“Ereshkigal, humanity’s future path is only meaningful if people walk it themselves. Gods shouldn’t keep stopping us, nor should they keep accompanying us. Even if the final end turns into the apocalypse, humanity will never regret the path they have chosen. I think… that’s what humanity is all about.”

"Ugh... but..." There was something else I wanted to say, but morning had already arrived.

There was no time to linger; Ereshkigal needed to return to the Underworld.

"Looks like there's no time tonight, see you tomorrow night..." Ereshkigal said, looking at Shirou with a hint of longing.

Being able to have a heart-to-heart talk with a man who completely understands her is the most enjoyable moment of the night for her.

"I've spent so much time chatting with you before I leave, aren't you going to give me some compensation?" Shirou joked.

Upon hearing Shirou's words, the goddess of the underworld blushed slightly and glared at him.

Her long, flowing blonde hair was beginning to turn black at the tips. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, a sly look appeared on Ereshkigal's face, and she unexpectedly leaned closer to Shirou.

At that very moment, the sunrise, symbolizing the beginning of a new day, finally appeared, and a golden wheel emerged on the horizon.

Her hair had turned completely black. Ishtar felt something was off and suddenly opened her eyes. In that instant, looking at the man's face so close to hers, her eyes widened in shock.

She quickly pushed Shirou away, and Ishtar was so shocked that she stumbled back several meters, staring in astonishment at the man pointing at Shirou.

"You...you...you...!!!"

"What's wrong with me?" Shirou, who hadn't expected to be pranked by Ereshkigal, didn't feel like he'd been tricked, since he hadn't lost out in the end anyway.

"What did you do to me?!" Ishtar pointed angrily at Shirou, then suddenly remembered that she had lost consciousness last night. "No, what did you do to my sister?!"

"You should be asking what your sister did to me," Shirou said, shrugging innocently.

At this moment, Shirou, seeing Ishtar's somewhat dazed expression, suddenly felt like teasing his little sister and walked over to her.

Seeing Shirou approach, Ishtar was immediately startled and quickly put her hands in front of her chest, watching Shirou cautiously.

"Your sister still owes me a reward, and she hasn't given it to me yet. Why don't you, her younger sister, repay it on her behalf?"

"Huh? What were you doing just now?" Ishtar said, then fiercely raised her hand and wiped her lips.

"Just now? What just happened?" Shirou seemed unable to remember, which only made Ishtar more furious.

"You are indeed a bastard!"

She cursed like that.

"Stop talking nonsense, you dare to curse me? Show me what you've got!"

Shirou made a move to grab her, and Ishtar was so frightened that she tried to run away, but because her wrists were bound by chains, she stumbled and fell to the ground after only a few steps.

"No, no!"

Perhaps it was because she possessed Rin's body that the girlish personality combined to give this goddess such a rich humanity.

Hearing the goddess plead for mercy, Shirou found it quite amusing and reached out to pull her up.

"Alright, there's no reward. I was just teasing you. Go back now."

“You—!!” Ishtar stared at him with wide eyes.

"Aren't you going to hurry up?" Shirou raised his hand to scare her, and Ishtar quickly sped up and ran into the house.

Even gods have emotions and desires, which is much more interesting than those unfathomable beings like the Great Old Ones or Outer Gods.

……

Back at the camp, Gudako, Mash, and the others were already up and having breakfast. Shirou followed them into the dining room.

"Huh? That's strange, Shirou, where did you go last night?" Gudako asked curiously.

"I have something to do with the goddess, like a moonlit chat," Shirou replied.

Ishtar, who was eating in silence, choked and coughed violently.

"Cough cough cough!!!"

Merlin and Mash immediately turned to look at them with curiosity.

Ishtar felt her ears burning and dared not think about what happened at dawn, so she ate her breakfast by herself.

The delicious taste of the mutton further solidified her resolve to seize Uruk.

After breakfast, Leonidas I brought a mission regarding a monster attack in the neighboring city.

The group immediately set off with Ushiwakamaru, Musashibo Benkei, and a squad of soldiers.

"Then I wish you good fortune in your martial endeavors." Upon arriving at a mountain range filled with magical beasts, Ushiwakamaru said to Shirou and his group.

"Okay, then we'll leave our backs to you." Gudako said.

"Do not worry."

The two sides temporarily separated, and Ushiwakamaru and Musashibo Benkei led their soldiers to meet the horde of demonic beasts.

After overcoming numerous obstacles to reach the summit, Shirou turned around and looked at the soldiers who were engaged in a fierce battle.

"It seems necessary to give them some small help."

As Shirou spoke, thousands upon thousands of azure magical lights shone in the sky, from which weapons appeared and plummeted toward the magical beasts.

In order not to harm the soldiers, Shirou did not use "Imagine Collapse", but the sharpness of the Noble Phantasm itself was enough to pierce through the bodies of the monsters and cause them serious injury.