In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

As he became more familiar with using this technique, Luo Wei found that although it was extremely unethical and unfriendly to other pantheons, it was undeniably effective. Any target possessing divinity would be pierced through by her; indeed, divinity in FGO was a debuff. Furthermore, he even considered that if he teamed up with Enkidu, they would be veritable god-slayers! Once Enkidu controlled the gods, he would rush in and pierce through them, taking them down one by one. The higher the divinity, the faster they died—far more effective than a god-slaying special attack.

Seeing the colorful spiral forming in Luo Wei's hand, Ereshkigal trembled, completely devoid of any will to resist. He was utterly terrified, as if he had been utterly broken, muttering, "This isn't the rule, this isn't the rule..."

However, as she sensed the weakening of her divine status in the Underworld, she also realized that the Underworld's control over her was waning. Perhaps, if Luo Wei continued to descend, the moment her authority in the Underworld was completely downgraded, she could finally escape the King of the Underworld's duties and return to the surface?

"—!!"

Realizing that he had actually entertained the idea of ​​using others to destroy the underworld, abandoning his responsibilities, and escaping, Ereshkigal's expression changed slightly, and he quickly shook his head.

'What am I thinking? Protecting the underworld is my mission. If I leave, who will continue to protect these souls? I absolutely can't let these awful thoughts continue to wander!'

"I haven't lost yet, I still have a mission to complete, keep going! Elekhenkigal."

He took a deep breath, then silently cheered himself up, and his previously hesitant gaze became serious again.

-

With the help of Ereshkigal, the group quickly arrived at the final section of the road to the underworld.

Here, all seven gates to the underworld have disappeared. From this moment on, we are officially considered to have entered the underworld, and ahead lies the courtyard of Hades.

As they continued forward, they discovered that there were more ghosts and undead creatures here than on the outside. However, compared to the undead legions outside, the ghosts here were clearly more rational. It seemed that they were just sleeping and living here and did not belong to the official legions of the underworld. After all, their magical aura was very weak, and they did not look like they were responsible for fighting.

When they saw living people intruding, they didn't react much, continuing to sleep or drift around. Some even obediently hid in their gun cages without making a sound. However, when they saw that the living people who had broken into the underworld had even kidnapped the King of the Underworld, they bravely rushed forward, wanting to rescue the mistress of this underworld.

"Hmm? Are there still enemies?"

Looking at the tens of thousands of undead ahead, initially thinking they were just soldiers from the underworld, a trick by Ereshkigal, Luo Wei manipulated his third hand to reach them. Just as he was about to grab them, Ereshkigal grabbed his arm tightly from behind, wailing, "No, no! This is absolutely not allowed!"

"I was wrong, I deeply realize my mistake! But, please... please stop fighting! This is absolutely unacceptable! They are all innocent souls from the underworld. If we destroy them here, they won't even be able to reincarnate!"

Undoubtedly, after a series of defeats and under the influence of Rin Tohsaka's constitution, Ereshkigal also began to lose face.

If it were just a goddess with tears in her eyes, Luo Wei wouldn't have thought much of it, but after hearing that these were actually the souls of living people, he immediately chose to stop.

After all, he came to take Gilgamesh back, not to go on a killing spree.

God knows how many people in Uruk would die if he actually slapped them. These were souls from Mesopotamia, souls that could be resurrected; they were lives lost.

but……

He glanced ahead. Despite their weak strength, the undead rushing towards them were not afraid of being captured, and the souls of the dead were somewhat troubled.

Killing them is definitely out of the question, but if we don't kill them, they won't allow us to continue advancing, so—

What should we do now?

"Nito".

Lowe subconsciously recalled the scene on the ground when Nitocris transferred the six souls to the Egyptian underworld, and wanted her to transfer the souls here as well.

However, Nito quickly shook his head and explained: Each of these souls is a life. If there are dozens of them, transferring them to the Egyptian underworld is no problem, and the next generation can also be Egyptians.

However, if half the souls of the underworld were sent to the Egyptian underworld, Egypt would surely experience a population explosion at some point in history. The underworld might even collapse due to the excessive number of souls, which would incur punishment from Osiris and Lord Anubis. Moreover, doing so would definitely bring calamity to Egypt, so she could not do it.

Upon hearing this explanation, Luo Wei nodded, indicating that he understood.

In that case, we really can't let so many souls be transferred to Egypt, and we can't kill them either, so...

He glanced at Ereshkigal, who was still clinging to his arm and wailing, fearing she might do something rash, then reached out and severed the chains and seals on her body.

"In that case, you should take these souls and leave first."

"Huh?!"

Upon hearing these words and personally experiencing the disappearance of the seal placed on his body, Ereshkigal, who had been crying, was slightly taken aback, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Rovi.

"You...you mean you're going to let me go?"

She asked incredulously, "Aren't you worried that I'll retaliate against you?"

"Not afraid."

Without hesitation, Luo Wei replied, "Because you care more about the souls here than revenge, don't you? Besides, we only asked you to lead the way in the first place. Now that we're almost at the end, there's no need to keep holding you any longer. Take them back. We'll be at your courtyard soon. If there's anything else, let's talk about it there."

Luo Wei pointed to the dead souls in front of him.

"So that's how it is..."

Upon hearing this answer, Ereshkigal looked somewhat puzzled, but quickly accepted it.

After all, in her mind, although the human in front of her was disrespectful to the goddess and extremely hateful, he was definitely not evil, and it was perfectly reasonable for him to do such a thing.

but--

"Sorry……"

After being freed from her restraints, she suddenly lowered her head and murmured softly.

"what?"

Hearing her words, Luo Wei was somewhat puzzled.

But the next moment—

Rumble!!

As her voice faded, the surrounding underworld scenery underwent a dramatic and earth-shattering transformation.

"I command you all to leave this place with the power of the Lord of the Underworld!"

Under Ereshkigal's command, the gathered undead scattered in the shortest possible time, while an ominous premonition buzzed in everyone's ears.

What on earth is this...?!

Sensing the drastic changes in the underworld environment, everyone had an extremely ominous premonition.

As the sounds continued to ring in her ears, Ereshkigal, or rather Ishtar, emitted a burst of intense light, and then a golden figure emerged from it. The instant the figure appeared, Ishtar, whose body had been possessed, collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Merlin: "Ereshkigal!"

Nitocris: "Lord Ereshkigal!"

However, compared to the unconscious Ishtar, the people present were more concerned about Ereshkigal, who had revealed his true form before them.

Looking at her, Luo Wei asked, "What exactly happened?"

She turned her head slightly and looked at Luo Wei and the others, a hint of disappointment appearing in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rowe, I just lied to you."

"You lied to us?" Upon hearing her words, Luo Wei pondered, "What do you mean?"

“There are indeed other gods in this underworld, and he is also a god of the underworld. I have kept this from you. Moreover, I will still not return Gilgamesh’s soul, and you will all remain here.”

Ereshkigal said, "Although my sudden appearance on the ground was unexpected and caught me off guard, I had anticipated your arrival and made preparations in advance. I originally planned to use the power of the underworld in my courtyard to break the seal on my body before making my move. However, there is no need for that now, and I no longer wish to hide it."

"Actually, whether it's the Underworld Legion or the Seven Gates of the Underworld, they are just my way of lowering your guard. What follows is my real plan."

"—Unleash your full power, will of the underworld, slumbering spirits of death! In the name of Elekhengigal, Lord of the Underworld, I summon you! Help me capture all the outsiders!"

As she spoke softly, Ereshkigal raised her hand to disperse the surrounding souls, then looked in a certain direction in the underworld. With a wave of her hand, a golden cup quietly appeared in her palm. Then, under her earnest control, the entire underworld was activated by the Holy Grail in her hand, and countless streaks of crimson lightning crashed down from the sky, sweeping towards the people in front of her.

Without hesitation, Lovi summoned the crimson hand to shatter the lightning. Black Lancer Alter wielded his holy lance and summoned a storm. Nitocris, on the other hand, was not attacked because he possessed the divinity of this underworld. Apart from Ishtar, who was lying on the ground and about to wake up but was suddenly stunned by the electric shock, and Merlin, who was fleeing in panic, he was not seriously injured.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ereleshenkigal shouted, "Otherworldly Hades, now is the time for you to fulfill your promise. As long as you help me kill them, this Holy Grail will be yours."

Upon hearing this, Nitocris was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected that Ereshkigal would actually deceive her, that there was a Hades in this underworld, and that he had even reached an agreement with Ereshkigal.

If that's the case, then doesn't that mean...?

"—Ugh!!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Merlin behind him suddenly let out a scream.

He clutched his bloodied abdomen, then squatted down with a pained expression.

Merlin!

This sudden scene stunned Artoria, who was right next to him, and she hurriedly looked at the situation in his direction.

At this moment, Merlin's abdomen had been pierced by a hand that appeared out of nowhere, leaving a huge hole. His white robes were covered with deep crimson blood, and behind him appeared a cloud of dark mist, within which a figure was slowly coalescing.

"A new enemy?!"

The unexpected attack took everyone present by surprise.

"We're really too late."

Ereshkigal complained to the figure hidden in the mist, then looked at the others in the underworld and said, "I don't know how you knew about this guy's existence, but you didn't expect this, did you? My real backup plan has always been this."

"So that's why you let us in so easily? You were using yourself as bait!"

At this moment, even Nitocris understood, and now she understood what had caused her previous sense of unease.

While it's true that Ereshkigal was caught off guard by being suddenly transported into Ishtar's body and captured, he should have realized what was happening when the Gates of the Underworld were transformed into fairies.

If it were Ereshkigal, she wouldn't have been as calm as she had been throughout the journey; she should have panicked the moment she was captured.

"That's right. Although some unexpected things happened, I finally chose to turn the tables and lure you all into a trap to wipe you out in one fell swoop."

"Don't blame yourself, Nitocris. Although you are indeed my friend, we have only known each other for a month. Goddesses are the most complex beings. You have never truly known the real me."

Ereshkigal looked at her and said, "Because you possess my divinity, you will pose no threat to me in the upcoming battle. Therefore, it's a fair second-on-two."

After glancing at Nitocris, who couldn't harm her, and then at the heavily injured Merlin beside her, she felt confident of victory.

The region is the underworld, and both she and that guy are genuine Hades. Ereshkigal doesn't think the other side has any way to turn the tables under these circumstances.

"They actually managed to fool Merlin's eyes..."

On the other side, Artoria attacked the black mist with her gun, but she could not reach the target.

The other party did not seem to have a physical form; it was like a wisp of fog or a gust of wind, difficult to fathom.

At this moment, Merlin, who was lying on the ground, also spoke with difficulty. He said to the merging black mist, "Be careful, Lily, Lovi! The mist that can deceive my eyes is Hades, and with such an attack and performance, Grand Spirit Origin, I think I know who you are—I never thought that [Grand Berserker] would actually be the legendary Black Smoke Mirror, the god of Aztec mythology, Tescatlipoca!"

Upon hearing Merlin's words, the deity who had just landed a blow and whose body was still hidden in the black mist spoke up as if he had heard something interesting.

"As expected of Merlin, a candidate for Grand Caster. You saw through me after just one attack? I thought I was pretty good at hiding my true intentions. But you're not simple either. The feeling of that stab I gave you just now was really strange."

Once its true name was revealed, the figure hidden in the black mist ceased its pointless disguise.

While concealing one's identity is sophisticated and classy, ​​it would be foolish to continue hiding it now that one's real name has been discovered.

"Whoosh!!"

As the evening wind howled through the darkness, the indistinct, impenetrable black mist before them suddenly coalesced. From within this newly formed mist, footsteps sounded, and the figure of a tall, slender man emerged.