In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

"Marana, load tidal cluster shells into the bow guns, fire at full power, and shatter the gates of hell!"

Maanna instantly shone with a brilliance as dazzling as stars, and a beam of light the size of an arm burst forth, shooting straight towards the ground.

Boom!!

The deafening roar shook the earth, causing the ground to tremble and countless specks of dust to fly up.

Yanan waved his hand, and a gust of wind swept in, dispersing all the dust.

Looking at the hole, which was roughly the size of a football field, Yanan's lips twitched slightly.

"Great!" Ishtar clenched her fist excitedly. "I've wanted to do this for ages!"

"It's just opening a door," Yanan said, looking at her helplessly. "Was it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

"Tch, what do you know?" Ishtar put her hands on her slender waist and curled her lip. "Back in the Underworld, Ereshkigal really gave me a hard time. Now I've only smashed down her front door. I've already been very restrained, okay?"

"That's all because you insisted on forcing your way into the Underworld," Yanan said calmly. "If anyone were to break into my house without permission, I would make them wish they were dead."

"Shut up... so nagging!" Ishtar said, her face flushed with embarrassment and annoyance. "Weren't you going to find Ereshkigal? Then hurry up and go downstairs."

“Who said I was going alone?” Yanan raised an eyebrow. “You’re coming with me.”

"What?" Ishtar was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved her hand. "Hey, this is not what we agreed on. I was only responsible for leading you to the entrance to the underworld. I never said I would go down myself!"

"Oh? Are you sure?" Yanan looked at her with a half-smile.

“Of course! I had such a huge grudge against that woman back then, if I were to set foot in the underworld again, she would definitely torture me terribly.” Ishtar shook her head like a rattle-drum, refusing to go down with her no matter what.

"But what if I fail to rescue Gilgamesh? What will happen to your jewels?" Anan spread his hands. "A full 25% of those jewels, are you sure you can rest easy about that?"

“This…” Ishtar’s face showed a very conflicted expression.

After a long while, she finally shook her head helplessly: "Fine, I'll go down with you."

The two fell into the huge hole together, and after descending for thousands of meters, they finally stepped onto the ground of the underworld.

The aura of death here is exceptionally strong. If an ordinary person came here, they would completely lose all vital signs in less than a few minutes.

However, neither Ishtar nor Anahn were ordinary people. One had once forced her way into the Underworld and was extremely familiar with everything here, while the other had grown up in a similar place of death since childhood and felt no discomfort at all, even feeling as if she were in her element.

Looking up from here, Anan can only see a small, glowing circle, which is where the soil of the underworld and the earth meet.

In the age of gods, heaven, earth, and the underworld were all on the same fabric, not separate spaces.

Therefore, for the people living here, mythology is mythology, not some vague and ethereal legend.

It is not inconceivable that a human being could touch mythology.

The ground here floats in mid-air in an illogical way. Although it looks like it might fall at any moment, it is actually very solid.

Because what supports them is not the laws of physics, but the rules of the underworld.

Yanan followed Ishtar downwards, seeing many iron cages with blue flames floating inside.

“These are the souls of the dead on earth,” Ishtar said calmly. “Ereshkigal will lock the souls she likes in cages and imprison them by her side. Unless she gets tired of them, these souls will never be free.”

“It seems the souls of those humans who died from the curse on the ground are also here,” Yanan said.

“Probably. There are more souls here than before.” Ishtar glanced at the surrounding iron cages, a complex expression on her face. “This must have increased after she joined the [Three Goddess Alliance]. Is that woman trying to create a kingdom of death…?”

“Why can’t we just ask her in person?” Yanan looked up ahead, his superhuman eyesight allowing him to see something different. “Perfect, we’ll be able to see her soon.”

A massive stone gate blocked the only passage ahead, its surface carved with various images of the dead.

Seemingly sensing the arrival of Anahn and Ishtar, these patterns began to glow with an uncertain light.

"Answer it, answer it..."

A hollow, ethereal voice came from the door, echoing throughout the vast underworld.

"O living beings fallen into the underworld, answer the question of how your souls exist..."

“Alright, here comes the choice.” Ishtar’s expression was calm, clearly having anticipated this scene. “The gates of the underworld question the good and evil of souls. They are a fair and rational gate. If you fail to pass the test of these gates, you will be punished… When I forced my way into the underworld before, these gates took away my powers.”

"To ask questions to those from another world."

"So it was a specific person?" Ishtar was slightly taken aback.

The door continued to make noise:

"The standards for beauty vary from time to time, but they are still absolute."

"Black can overcome white, and earth can overcome heaven."

"So, between Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which one is more beautiful?"

"Wait a minute, this is different from the previous problem!" Ishtar shouted.

The gate ignored him, stubbornly repeating, "Answer me, answer me..."

“There shouldn’t be any hesitation about this,” Ishtar said, placing her hand on Anahn’s shoulder with a “kind” smile. “One is the goddess of plants and decay, the other the goddess of beauty and harvest. Isn’t the answer obvious?”

An ordinary person might have succumbed to the goddess's tyranny, but Anan clearly wouldn't fall for it.

“This is Ereshkigal’s territory. Are you sure you want to offend her here?” Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I don't care!" Ishtar gritted her teeth. "Remember, I'm the one who brought you down here. If you have any gratitude left, answer me properly!"

Yanan shrugged, looked at the door, and replied, "My answer is—Ishtar."

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck Ishtar out of nowhere, causing her to faint instantly.

“Wrong answer,” the gatekeeper replied leisurely.

"See? I told you not to do that."

Looking at Ishtar, who was spewing black smoke, Yanan helplessly shrugged, but a faint smile appeared on his lips.

This was actually his real purpose in insisting on bringing Ishtar down with him.

Ereshkigal had always disliked Ishtar. Although there was no deep-seated hatred between them, Ereshkigal always felt a sense of envy and jealousy towards his "twin sister".

That's why Ereshkigal used such cruel methods to punish Ishtar when she stormed into the underworld.

Anan brought Ishtar down with him this time as a gift for the mistress of the underworld.

In short, Ishtar was used as a scapegoat this time.

If Ereshkigal is kept in a good mood, the success rate of this trip to the Underworld will be greatly increased.

As for Ishtar's safety, there's no need to worry. Although Ereshkigal dislikes her, he won't actually kill her.

Besides, even if something unexpected happens, there's still Yanan here to watch over things.

Hades has the power to control Ishtar, but it doesn't have much effect on him.

"Answer my question, stranger," the gate spoke softly. "Which is more beautiful, Ereshkigal or Ishtar?"

“My answer is—Ereshkigal.”

"Very good!"

With a heavy, crushing sound, the door opened.

—As Anan said, as long as you grasp the weaknesses of these goddesses, then dealing with them will be a very easy thing.

Chapter Nineteen: Hello, Goddess of the Underworld

"Finally, it's almost over..."

Ishtar floated listlessly in mid-air, looking sickly.

“I said…” Yanan’s expression was slightly strange, “Are you alright?”

"Do I look like I'm alright?" Ishtar glared at Anahn, then looked down at her body, which had shrunk to the size of a palm, and sighed helplessly. "But I expected this. Every time I pass through a gate of the underworld, my divinity is weakened. I already experienced this once when I forced my way into the underworld."

She waved her little fist, her pretty face full of indignation: "Otherwise, how could I have been so easily defeated by that guy!"

"Who told you to be so stubborn and insist on forcing your way through the seven gates of the underworld?" Yanan shrugged. "According to the logic of a normal person, if they knew their power would be weakened, they certainly wouldn't choose to go all the way."

“I never imagined that the Underworld’s suppression of the gods would be so terrifying,” Ishtar sighed. “I had just conquered Mount Ebif then, and my confidence was at its peak. Who knew I would encounter something like this…”

“So you should be glad that Ereshkigal didn’t actually try to kill you back then,” Yanan said calmly.

"Tch..." Ishtar curled her lip, about to say something, when a familiar laugh suddenly came from around her.

"Hahahaha! As expected of you, Anan. I knew you would come to save me."

From a deep shadow, Gilgamesh slowly emerged, a satisfied smile on his face.

“I thought you had been imprisoned by Ereshkigal.” Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Although I was careless this time and fell into that woman’s trap, the underworld is just like my backyard. It’s a piece of cake to hide there.” Gilgamesh walked towards Anan. “Before those Garula spirits came looking for me, I hid in the shadows, held my breath, and entered meditation to conceal my presence. In this way, those dull-witted undead will not be able to detect my disguise at all.”

To put it bluntly, you're just hiding in a corner trembling with fear. It's not like you killed all those Garula spirits. And why do you, a Caster, have Presence Concealment? Isn't that an Assassin's unique skill... Anan silently complained in his heart.

"Originally, I intended to wait for an opportune moment to act, but..."

Ishtar had a strange feeling that something was wrong, but before she could react, Gilgamesh had already lifted her up and let out his signature demonic laugh.

"This development is too stupid! My patience has reached its limit, and I couldn't help but burst into a maniacal laugh! Hahahaha!!"

"Bastard, let go of me right now!" Ishtar was filled with shame and indignation. She broke free from Gilgamesh's grasp, flew into the air, and glared fiercely at him. "I knew I shouldn't have risked saving scum like you!"

Gilgamesh burst into laughter as if he had heard a joke: "Hahaha, you bastard, you actually came to save me? Am I hallucinating?"

“That’s right, that’s how it is. That way I can justify watching you die without a care in the world. How about you just fall into the abyss?” Ishtar said irritably.

"Hmph, who would do such a pointless and stupid thing? There are still a lot of things waiting for me to deal with." Gilgamesh snorted and turned to look at Anan. "Let's go, it's time to see Ereshkigal."

"Didn't you say the Underworld was your backyard? Then why don't you just go back to the surface?" Anahn looked at him with a half-smile.

"Are you trying to undermine me?" Gilgamesh looked at him with a hint of helplessness. "No matter what, I am now immortal. Without that guy's permission, I cannot leave here."

Yanan smiled and shook his head, then followed Gilgamesh to Ereshkigal's palace.

“But speaking of which, with Ishtar in this state, the battle with Ereshkigal might become even more difficult,” Gilgamesh said on the way.

“I already told you, I’m no use to you.” Ishtar rolled her eyes.

"It seems you have a lot of confidence in Ereshkigal's fighting ability?" Yanan said casually.

“Under normal circumstances, it would be fine, but this is the Underworld.” Gilgamesh looked up at the dark sky above. “When the Underworld was built, Ereshkigal was offered as a cornerstone to the Underworld. In exchange, she is invincible here. Any god or hero who sets foot here will be severely weakened.”