Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"Then fulfill your responsibilities as a husband." Morgan hooked her arms around his neck and slowly moved her wet lips closer.

Knowing that it was impossible to just kiss and be done with it, Xi Jian had to gently hold her shoulders and said, "Come on... Ying is still in the camp, aren't you afraid of being discovered by that kid?"

"That's a serious question..." Morgan seemed to accept his advice.

But soon, Scathach made this issue no longer a problem to worry about.

"It's okay. I cast a sleeping magic on Sakura. She will sleep till dawn."

The sudden appearance of the master left Xi Jian completely at a loss.

“What a great cooperation.”

He hugged Morgan tightly, then freed one hand to hold the hand that his master extended to him.

Although she said that, in fact, Xijian was reluctant to refuse such a warm and tender time.

Chapter 30: The Entrance to the Underworld is Under Your Feet

The time when Kusa became a dead city coincided with the time when the goddess Ishtar appeared in Mesopotamia.

But it is only a coincidence in time, there is no direct evidence to show that all the people were killed by Ishtar.

A city that had completely become a dead city. In just half a year, the buildings in the city had been worn out by wind and rain. It did not look like Uruk was from the same era, and one could not help but think that it had been attacked by monsters.

But the reality was just the opposite. Not only did the monsters not enter the city, they even seemed to be afraid of it and avoided it.

Based on this, in Kusa City, which was relatively safe despite being an empty city, Shiomi and the other three separated and dispersed in four directions starting from the city center to investigate the whereabouts of the Destiny Tablet.

however--

"how?"

An hour later, when the four of them returned to their starting position through magical communication, Shiomi asked.

Everyone shook their heads to varying degrees. They were all like him, gaining nothing.

"Could it be that Gilgamesh remembered it wrong?" Sakura speculated.

"There is another possibility. The Gilgamesh in this singularity did not return to Uruk, so the incident of 'on the way back to Uruk, the clairvoyant saw the future in meditation and recorded it' did not happen." Scathach pointed out another possibility.

Morgan disagrees: "But there are no reliable clues to help us determine when Gilgamesh disappeared, or even why he disappeared."

"Hmm..." Shiomi looked at his feet and thought slowly, "How about we not separate this time and investigate the entire Kusa again with this place as the center. Anyway, the monsters can't get in, and the threat to security will be much smaller."

When he finished speaking, he raised his head and looked at the three people with an inquiring look. They smiled in different ways, supporting his decision.

There will always be omissions when one person conducts a survey, but if four people work together, the omissions can be further reduced.

Realizing that although the road ahead was long and arduous, at least everyone was united in purpose, Shiomi couldn't help but smile. He raised his head and looked towards the east of the city, where he saw the towering sacred peak Mount Ebif, where the temple of the goddess Ishtar was located.

Kusa is so close to Ishtar's territory. Perhaps this city, which the monsters dare not approach, can be used as an outpost for the march to the Temple of Ishtar.

Having made up his mind, Xijian turned and headed west, but his master suddenly grabbed him by the collar and almost strangled him to death.

But it wasn't that the master had any problem with him, it was just that the city roads beneath his feet had suddenly changed.

Shiomi slowly withdrew his feet from the big hole and squatted down in a daze.

"The ground collapsed?" Xi Jian narrowed his eyes.

He really wanted to guess so, but there was no sign. It was a pure change in space that made the non-existent hole appear under the feet of several people.

"Then the location of Kusa's city is really dangerous. If there is a slight earthquake, the whole city will sink." Morgan teased, but his expression was serious.

Ying couldn't help but shrink her body: "It's so dark and bottomless. I feel like I'll die if I fall in."

"Because it's the underworld." Scathach asserted, "I told you before I came here that the patron saint of Kusa is the Mesopotamian goddess of the underworld, Ereshkigal."

Therefore, it is not surprising that the land of the city of Kusa can lead directly to the underworld.

"But the entrance to the underworld appeared so casually right under our feet... Is it really okay for a city that we protect?" Shiomi sighed, "Citizens will die if they are not careful."

"In other words, the soul has been welcomed into the hands of the goddess of the underworld." Scathach possessed him to check. "So what are you going to do, my beloved disciple? The entrance to the underworld that I had been planning to investigate slowly has now appeared. Do you want to change your priorities?"

"Opportunity is rare and will never come back." Shiomi made a decision.

Then he performed the Feather Fall Technique on the four of them, and Shiomi took the lead and jumped into the bottomless hole.

Although the underworld is directly connected to the land of the mortal world, it does not mean that you can enter casually by finding the entrance.

Because there is no normal path.

It was like a bottomless hole. The group fell for several minutes before their feet touched the soil of the underworld.

"Is everything okay?"

Shiomi, who landed first, turned around and looked at the three of them.

"Yeah." Sakura took a deep breath to calm the tension in her heart.

She had heard Xi Jian tell stories about the Kingdom of Shadows many times since she was a child, but this was her first time setting foot in the Kingdom of Death, which was similar to the Kingdom of Shadows, and she couldn't help feeling more nervous than ever before.

“Hmm…” Morgan raised his hand and lowered his eyes slightly, “It is indeed the underworld. Just standing here, I can feel the power being suppressed.”

Only Scathach looked relaxed: "Really? I feel very familiar with it, even though there is no sky here."

"Master has finally come to his home ground." Xi Jian couldn't help laughing. He reached out and took Morgan's hand. "Let's go and investigate nearby first--"

He took Morgan's hand and was about to lead his master and Ying down the slope when a deep and deep voice called out to them from behind:

"Everyone, please stay."

The three women, who were completely unaware of the people behind them, immediately picked up their weapons and became fully alert. Only Shiomi shook Morgan's hand, signaling her and everyone else not to be too nervous.

He was an old man wearing a brown coarse cloth cloak, holding a sharp sword more than half a person's height in both hands.

It was as if "death" itself was standing there.

If he intended to kill Shiomi and his group, only Shiomi would be able to react to the approach of "death".

Fortunately, the other party had no such intention, and there was not even any hostility.

"Nice to meet you again, old man." Xi Jian bowed slightly, his tone full of respect.

Even though his true identity was hidden, he still recognized the other person.

The first Old Man of the Mountain who had assisted him and Chaldea twice.

"From here is the road leading to the center of the underworld. There are seven doors. Even so, do you still want to pass through here and meet the mistress of the underworld?" The old man said slowly.

Shiomi stepped forward in surprise: "The mistress of the underworld? Ereshkigal has also appeared in Mesopotamia?!"

"Master who has overcome death but still holds awe in life and wants to continue to fight for mankind, I have heard your determination and will not stop you." The old man smiled faintly, "Cross the seven gates and offer the answer you firmly believe in, and you will reach the center of the underworld."

"Who are you?" Scathach asked.

"My name is Jusuddra, the one who sounded the alarm for the end of the world. The storm will come three times, and the underworld is still alive."

Having said this, the old man's figure disappeared naturally, just like the wind melting into the darkness.

Chapter 31: Seven Gates of the Underworld

"Zhusudra? Isn't that the old man who is considered the original story of Noah?"

After the old man disappeared, the four of them set out again and sorted out information on the way. Scathach spoke first.

"In Sumerian mythology, who was the last person to survive the world-destroying flood of Nabistine?" Shiomi laughed.

Sakura looked at Shiomi at this time: "But Dad seems to know that old man, he seems to be very familiar with him."

"It turns out that my husband would make friends with such seemingly unfathomable old men besides women?" Morgan said with a smile.

"...Don't make it seem like I'm just a playboy, okay?" Xi Jian scratched his head and refuted them forcefully, "I was helped by that old man before, so I recognized him."

It sounded a bit complicated, and Ying nodded as if she understood.

Morgan and Scathach just smiled knowingly. Since they were not enemies, there was no need to dig into the matter immediately. They both believed in Shiomi and kept the matter as a suspense on the journey for the time being.

"And the more serious problem now is that Ereshkigal has also arrived." Shiomi held up four fingers, "Isn't it the Three Goddesses Alliance? Is it common sense that an alliance that claims to have three pillars will actually have one more in the end?"

"That's not possible. There are only three pillars of divinity detected in Mesopotamia." Morgan said, "Does that mean the underworld has always been like this?"

"There are only three pillars... Four people but only three pillars of divinity reacted." Shiomi muttered habitually, and then suddenly realized, "I remembered that in some Sumerian myths, Ishtar, the goddess who symbolizes the sky and Venus, and Ereshkigal, who symbolizes the earth and the underworld, are sisters. They are the inside and outside of each other--"

Scathach reached out and pressed down one of Shiomi's fingers. "It is not impossible for different gods to share the same divinity. For example, Parvati, the goddess of snow mountains in Indian mythology, can also be transformed into the violent goddess of war Kali through certain rituals. The latter is said to be one of the aspects of the former."

This example is not quite accurate, but it does illustrate to a certain extent that it is not impossible for Ishtar and Ereshkigal to share the same divinity.

"We talked about it yesterday when we were camping in the reed plains. The witches of Uruk summoned Ishtar, so it's not impossible that Ereshkigal, who is her counterpart, was also summoned in a chain reaction." Shiomi pinched his chin, "However, there is only one container, so Ishtar appeared in front of us, but Ereshkigal, as in the myth, cannot leave the underworld, so no one knows."

"This should be the most likely outcome. However, we can only come to a final conclusion after we go to the lowest level of the underworld and confirm the existence of the goddess." Sakura listened carefully to their analysis and kept these things in mind one by one.

As one gradually moves towards the lower levels of the underworld, the countless roads that originally stretched out in twists and turns gradually become just one, extending in a zigzag shape.

"So what are you going to do when my beloved disciple sees the goddess of the underworld? Are you going to trick her over to our side to help us, just like you tricked the Lion King?" Scathach teased Xijian with a smile.

Morgan made a playful sound, "Oh?"

"..."

Xijian could only look at the two of them speechlessly and resentfully, as if to say, Sakura was still here, so don't talk about such bad topics, and give him a little face as a father.

——Although he always felt that he might no longer have the dignity and dignity of a father.

"……Door……"

At this time, Ying pointed to the front, and a stone door with animal patterns carved on both side pillars appeared in front of everyone.

Shiomi immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to stop. He walked forward and threw a rune stone towards the door.

Crack-!

The special barrier shattered the rune stone, preventing any magic power from invading.

If you touch it with your hands, it will probably be burnt.

In mythology, the goddess Ishtar once entered the underworld for personal reasons, and after passing the test of seven gates, she arrived before Ereshkigal.

And these doors—

"Answer me, answer me, the living who have entered the underworld. Answer me about the way their souls exist."

The pattern on the door lit up and a silent voice echoed.

"The way the soul exists..." Scathach pinched her chin, "It is to test the good and evil of the person being questioned. I will leave it to my beloved disciple to judge."

"I am an innocent fairy from paradise and cannot answer these questions." Morgan also shirked the responsibility leisurely.

"Dad, come on!"

There is no doubt that at this moment the wife, master and daughter reached a tacit understanding. They were all waiting for Shiomi to be "tortured" in her heart by the mechanism set up by the strange goddess of the underworld.

"Just ask..." Xijian scratched his head.

"Responsibility is something that everyone, whether gods or humans, bears. Is the behavior of a person who has no one to understand or agree with him, and who can only uphold his responsibilities alone, worthy of praise?"

It was a very serious question, so serious that Morgan and the others, who were waiting to see the show, gradually stopped smiling.

responsibility.

A rather broad question.

As the queen of the Kingdom of Shadows.

As the Queen of Winter.

Or just being someone’s daughter.

The three of them also each shoulder responsibilities of different weights, types, and meanings.

Just like now, everyone... everyone in Chaldea still bears the great responsibility of "saving the world".

"Just answer the question that you agree with, my beloved disciple." Scathach put her hand on Shiomi's shoulder.

Morgan's hand fell on the other shoulder: "No matter what answer you give, whether it is recognized by this underworld, I believe that your answer will not be wrong."

The encouragement from the two made Xi Jian smile.

He looked at the door calmly:

"I don't fulfill my responsibilities to gain praise from others. The responsibility may be great, or it may be just a trivial matter. No matter what it is, I will not think that I am qualified to be praised just because I fulfilled my responsibilities. Because... I just did what I should do as a human being at the moment. If it is good for someone, for many people, or even for the whole world, it will still make no difference to me."

His voice was not loud, but it came from the bottom of his heart.