In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

“This is truly a pathetic kind of invincibility.” Yanan glanced at the iron cages around him that imprisoned the souls. “They are destined for their fate from birth, without even the right to choose. For thousands of years, they have been imprisoned in such places, unable to experience new worlds or encounter new things.”

Upon hearing this, Ishtar's eyes revealed a complex expression.

“So you are our only hope now,” Gilgamesh said without turning his head. “The rules of the underworld have no effect on the living, and only you can fight against Ereshkigal. Ishtar and I can’t do much.”

“I don’t think we necessarily have to fight that goddess,” Anahn shrugged. “Maybe she’ll be quite easy to talk to?”

"Stop daydreaming, that's impossible." Ishtar rolled her eyes. "Who do you take Ereshkigal for? She's the mistress of the underworld, the ruler of the dead. Judging by how she cursed Uruk on a whim, do you think she's the kind of person who can be easily persuaded?"

Yanan smiled without saying a word.

After an unknown amount of time, Anan and the others finally arrived at the deepest part of the Underworld, the palace of Ereshkigal.

Despite being called a palace, this place is actually a complete wasteland, with only a few tall stone pillars remaining.

Compared to the magnificent palaces built by Ishtar on Mount Ebif, this place is at the complete other extreme.

If you didn't see it with your own eyes, it would be hard to believe that this is actually the abode of a deity.

"This is the so-called Underworld, completely devoid of any splendor." Gilgamesh looked ahead. "Am I right, Ereshkigal?"

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, and visible magical lightning crackled between the stone pillars. Accompanied by a massive magical reaction, a tall figure gradually emerged.

It was a skeletal giant more than ten meters tall, with long hair flowing behind its head, and its whole body exuding a terrifying aura.

"Despair, fear, pray, humans!" the skeletal giant roared. "I am the ruler of death, the mistress of the underworld, the one who treads upon the sacred peaks, Ereshkigal!"

The mistress of the underworld has finally appeared!

Although Ereshkigal looked intimidating, Yanan knew that this was not his true form.

Even the intimidating aura deliberately released by the other party had absolutely no effect on him.

“I know why you came here, stranger, but my decision will not change.” The skeletal giant’s empty eyes stared at Anan. “I will not let you take Gilgamesh back, nor will you take any of the other humans here.”

“Can I know why this is?” Yanan raised an eyebrow.

"My mother will soon awaken. Before that, I must kill all the humans of Mesopotamia, gather their souls in the underworld, and make all humans my possessions." The skeletal giant summoned a massive spear of light and slammed it into the ground. "This is the first choice that the goddess Ereshkigal has made based on her own will!"

"Are you doing this out of hatred for humanity?" Yanan asked.

“Of course!” the skeletal giant replied without hesitation. “This is the consequence of humanity’s betrayal of the gods; they must pay the price for their folly.”

"I see, I understand now." Yanan nodded and summoned the Black Abyss White Flower.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be that simple," Ishtar muttered. "After all that talk, we still have to fight in the end."

Gilgamesh remained silent, and countless golden ripples appeared behind him.

"If you dare to hinder me..." the skeletal giant raised his spear of light in a fighting stance, "then I will crush you all!"

“Help? No, no, I think you’ve misunderstood.” Yanan shook his head. “I just wanted to help you out.”

He threw the Black Abyss White Flower in his hand, but the target was not the skeletal giant, but an iron cage not far away.

Inside the iron cage, a few flames of the soul were burning quietly.

Not to mention Ereshkigal, even Gilgamesh and Ishtar were stunned by Anahn's sudden action.

"What are you doing!?"

The skeletal giant roared and hurled the light spear in its hand, sending the Black Abyss White Flower flying.

Yanan did not respond and continued his attack on the iron cages that imprisoned human souls.

Every single attack was blocked by the skeletal giant with all its might.

"Stop right there, you madman!" The skeletal giant was furious. The intense cold had brought the temperature down to near the limit of biological activity. "Do you know how fragile these souls are? If they go out, they'll be dead forever!"

“Oh? But didn’t you say you killed them and imprisoned their souls out of anger towards these humans?” Anan looked at her with a half-smile. “If that’s the case, why did you go through all that trouble to protect them?”

The vast underworld fell silent instantly.

Chapter Twenty: Flowers Blooming in the Underworld

The entire underworld instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and a slightly awkward atmosphere permeated the air.

Ereshkigal, now a skeletal giant, stood motionless, holding his spear of light aloft. For some reason, Anan seemed to detect a hint of embarrassment on his face.

“You’re the one who keeps saying you hate humans, but now that I’m helping you wipe them out, you’re standing up to protect them.” Yanan tilted his head. “That’s really confusing, Ereshkigal. Are you trying to protect humanity or destroy it?”

"I...I..." Ereshkigal, hidden inside the skeletal giant, had his eyes flashing wildly as his brain raced, trying to find a suitable reason.

"Are you stupid?!" Ishtar, who had been stripped of her divinity and shrunk to the size of half a palm, suddenly stood up. "Ereshkigal clearly wants to create a kingdom of death. If you destroy all these souls, won't her kingdom be destroyed along with them?"

"Yes, yes, that's right!" Ereshkigal exhaled a long breath, as if a drowning person had suddenly grasped a lifeline. "These souls are my subjects, so of course I have a duty to protect them!"

“Oh, I see.” Yanan nodded knowingly, and twelve spears carrying golden chains shot out from behind him. “In that case, I can’t let these souls stay.”

"Wait, wait a minute! Why is this happening again?!" Ereshkigal shouted in panic.

Yanan looked at her with a puzzled expression, seemingly surprised that she would ask such a question: "Isn't this normal? What the enemy needs is what we need to eliminate. Your goal is to create a kingdom of death, and these souls are your subjects, so of course I can't allow your plan to succeed."

“Then come at me! I’m the one who’s the source of all this!” Ereshkigal said anxiously.

“On the way here, Ishtar and Gilgamesh both told me that you are invincible in the Underworld, and I don’t have the confidence to defeat you here.” Anahn shook his head. “You have to pick on the weak. It’s easier to eliminate these souls.”

“These souls are all people of Uruk! How can you bear to harm them? You are killing your own people!” Ereshkigal shouted.

After a moment's thought, Yanan nodded: "You have a point."

Hearing this, Ereshkigal finally felt a little relieved, but then Yanan's next words raised his anxiety again.

“So, Gilgamesh, what is your opinion?” Anan turned to the blond man beside him. “These are your subjects, and you should have the right to dispose of them.”

Gilgamesh glanced at Anahn, crossed his arms, and said calmly, "My subjects are all loyal and resolute. If they knew that their souls had been captured by a goddess and that they would never be free again, they would surely beg me to help them find release."

"So go ahead and do it, Anahn, I grant your permission."

"Wait a minute!" Two crimson lights shot from the skeletal giant's eyes. "If you dare to hurt them, I'll fight you to the death!"

“Sorry, this is King Gilgamesh’s order.” Anan spread his hands, and the golden spear behind him shot out.

The target remains those iron cages that imprison souls.

Ereshkigal was both anxious and angry, but there was nothing he could do but try his best to block Yanan's attacks one after another.

"You have such a terrible temper," Ishtar whispered as she flew to Anahn's side.

“If we don’t do this, Ereshkigal won’t reveal her true feelings to us,” Yanan replied calmly. “This is the best solution.”

Ereshkigal also realized that this couldn't go on, and he had to take the initiative.

So she began to attack Yanan and the others directly.

However, Anahn was not alone. Gilgamesh opened the Royal Treasury, and countless Noble Phantasms shot out, blocking all of Ereshkigal's attacks.

Seeing the skeletal giant struggling to move, Ishtar couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have found it hard to imagine that a goddess could be driven to such a state by humans.

As expected, her judgment was correct; this man from another world was a monster!

Although Yanan's offensive appeared incredibly fierce, it was merely a facade.

He maintained control of his attack rhythm, ensuring that he could put enough pressure on Ereshkigal while making sure that he wouldn't actually harm any of the souls.

At the same time, he was also secretly manipulating Yu Duchen, influencing Ereshkigal's mind, making her mistakenly believe that souls were really disappearing.

Under immense mental pressure, Ereshkigal gradually began to break down.

The skeletal giant stopped attacking and then gradually disappeared, leaving only a blonde woman in its place.

That is Ereshkigal's true form.

"Please, please, don't hurt them." She looked at Yanan with teary eyes, her voice already trembling with sobs. "Treat me however you want, even kill me, but please, please, don't hurt them anymore."

Yanan's lips twitched slightly, and a sense of guilt welled up in his heart.

Did I... go a little too far?

"Ereshkigal, do you intend to confess your sins?" King Gilgamesh asked in a deep voice.

Ereshkigal remained silent for a long time, then said in a vague tone, "Confess? But what crime have I committed?"

“I am Ereshkigal, the mistress of the underworld, a goddess entrusted with the task of bringing all humans and all souls into the underworld. This is my destiny.”

"I have fulfilled my duties wholeheartedly, and I have no regrets or self-blame."

Ereshkigal looked up at the pitch-black sky: "In this long time, I have nothing. I have no joy, happiness, sorrow, or friends of my own. I have been managing the souls of the dead here all day long. Every day I can only watch my own half soar freely in the sky, while I can only stay in this dark, cold, and gloomy hell forever."

“Ereshkigal…” A complex emotion flickered in Ishtar’s eyes.

“If you truly believe that I am guilty…” Ereshkigal opened his arms, “then punish me.”

After a brief silence, Yanan, holding the Black Abyss White Flower, walked step by step toward Ereshkigal.

He stood before the goddess, pointing the tip of his spear at her brow.

Ereshkigal gazed at him calmly, making no move to resist.

“I see relief and ease in your eyes,” Yanan said, looking directly into the other’s eyes. “If you truly have no regrets about this job, then why do you look like that?”

Ereshkigal's eyes flickered slightly.

“You know what, Ereshkigal? You’re really bad at lying,” Yanan said.

"What do you mean?" Ereshkigal was slightly taken aback.

“Managing a kingdom of the dead is never a fun thing.” Yanan shook his head. “My mother, or rather my adoptive mother, was the administrator of a kingdom of the dead, the queen of the land of the dead, but she never liked the job because it was too boring and tedious.”

"A sky without light, an earth without illumination, isolated from the world of the living, where not even a single vibrant flower can be seen, and all one faces all day long are those dazed and confused spirits—that kind of loneliness, solitude, and despair is unbearable even for the gods."

“Ereshkigal, your envy of the unrestrained Ishtar shows that you also yearn for freedom. How could someone like you be content to remain trapped in the underworld?”

Ereshkigal remained silent.

“But even so, you still intend to create a capital of the dead, to encompass the souls of all the living,” Yanan continued. “This is not because you hate them; on the contrary, you want to protect them and become their protector.”

"You... still deeply love humanity, don't you?"

“I…I…” With her deepest thoughts suddenly revealed, Ereshkigal’s pretty face couldn’t help but blush slightly.

Yanan snapped his fingers, and Ereshkigal's body jolted as he discovered that all the souls that had been "annihilated" were completely unharmed.

"This..." She froze for a moment, then quickly realized, "What just happened... was all an illusion?"