Or, why don’t you find another savior?

Pop, pop, pop.

Shiomi stood on the tree trunk that bent forward and clapped his hands three times in succession.

"what?"

Ereshkigal was surprised once again. With the roots of the trees tearing the earth as the center, the lush green color spread forward and covered her feet. The hard ground of the temple suddenly became soft.

It was ankle-deep soft grass.

"You're lying... Why can you still do that..." Ereshkigal knelt down in a trance.

The soft touch of the grass relaxed her mind, and she even forgot that those people were still there and that they had just started a war.

Flowers are in bloom.

When she came to her senses, Ereshkigal found herself lying in flowers and plants that were big enough to cover her body, but she just bent over a flower, sniffing the fragrance in ecstasy and laughing inappropriately.

"...Even if it was an illusion, the goddess of the underworld fell for it...Why was I so nervous just now?"

Shiomi sat on the branch, almost speechless.

Scathach patted his shoulder to comfort him in his disappointment and nodded in understanding.

"It's amazing that this goddess can resist the urge to roll over."

Chapter 34: The Blinded Goddess

Later, Ereshkigal sat in the flowers, his hands on his knees, most of his face hidden behind his legs, full of embarrassment that could not be concealed.

"Are you finally calm now, mistress of the underworld?" Shiomi asked calmly as she stood up from the treetop and left, landing in front of Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal raised his eyes slightly, his embarrassed eyes flashing with questions: "Who are you? I have never heard of a guy who can do such a thing in the underworld?"

It was perfectly natural for her to ask that.

The underworld is the realm of the dead, a place that denies the concept of life.

As soon as ordinary people step into the gate of the underworld, they will be discovered by the roaming Garula spirits in the underworld, and their vitality will be devoured by those undead spirits, becoming the new dead in the underworld.

The reason why Xijian and his group were able to travel smoothly was because they exuded an aura that was not that of ordinary people. The Garula spirits did not dare to appear in front of them at all. They instinctively feared another level of extinction.

"Of course it is...power, Goddess Ereshkigal, you should know it very well." Scathach leaned against the tree and looked at her leisurely.

"Power? How can a human being--" Ereshkigal's eyes widened, and he focused his attention a little bit on Shiomi, and cold sweat immediately slid down his cheeks, "...You, don't have 'death'?"

"It seems so." Shiomi spread his hands. "Originally, I didn't expect it to be like this. At first, I just made a taboo attempt in the Shadow Kingdom out of curiosity--"

"The Land of Shadows..." Ereshkigal knew that place.

In other myths, it is equivalent to the underworld. Although it is much later than this era, she has gained some knowledge related to it when she descended again in this singularity.

Only then did she realize that the woman with long purple hair over there had a temperament similar to her own.

"You and I are people with similar responsibilities." Scathach waved her hand easily, "My name is Scathach, the Queen of the Kingdom of Shadows. Now, in my personal capacity, I am assisting my beloved disciple in Chaldea in the burning of human principles. By the way, the person standing in front of you is my beloved disciple."

“…Is that so?” Ereshkigal gradually understood the situation.

But even so, some questions still cannot be answered.

It’s not like no one has ever grown flowers in the underworld. Enkidu also tried this out of good intentions when he was alive, but he failed as expected.

The person in front of her not only crossed the seven doors she set up on the road to the underworld, but could also create flowers, plants and trees that could not survive in the underworld in an instant.

"Then..." Shiomi started again, "Let me ask you again, is your only path to becoming an enemy to us?"

This statement alerted Ereshkigal, who saw these people as disrespectful, and a fight broke out.

However, after one move, he temporarily lost his will to fight due to the illusion and behaved in a very embarrassing manner.

Logically, for the sake of her own dignity, she should stand up and continue fighting, risking her life to kill all the people who witnessed the scene in the underworld, so that this matter would become a secret forever.

But she hesitated.

"What are you going to do if I say... that we should continue the war?" Ereshkigal asked tentatively.

Shiomi's hand slid in an arc in front of him, and flames burned from his hand.

"Then we will not be afraid. This is a matter of survival. You are one of the three goddesses. Even if the underworld is burned to ashes, we will not surrender."

His attitude was extremely clear. There was no doubt that as long as the goddess of the underworld said she wanted to continue fighting, this place would turn into a sea of ​​fire.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute! You are so rude! Are you going to burn this forest, this meadow, and these flowers to ashes?" Ereshkigal was panicked.

"So what should we do?" Xi Jian asked, "The decision is yours."

Ereshkigal was not afraid of fighting, but she felt sorry for this botanical garden which she didn't know how long it would last. Before she could love it enough, it would turn into a sea of ​​fire.

No matter whether she wins or loses, she will be too upset to sleep afterwards.

"Okay, just consider me as being threatened by you." Ereshkigal suddenly understood the other party's intentions and decided to go with the flow. She changed to a straight sitting position and said, "If you have anything to say, sit down and talk. If there is really no way to communicate, it's not too late to fight."

Sakura, who had been standing behind Shiomi with her wand raised and fully prepared for battle, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them also came over and sat in the flowers with Shiomi, ready to talk to the mistress of the underworld.

"The first question is, what is the reason why you joined the Alliance of the Three Goddesses with the intention of destroying Uruk? The Kusa that believes in you has become a dead city. What's the point of doing this?" Shiomi asked.

"I should have made it clear before... Never mind, I'll repeat it again. Our Three Goddesses Alliance is not an offensive or defensive alliance, but a competitive alliance. We will march into Uruk first, destroy the city, and obtain the Great Cup of Uruk—"

"Wait a minute, you said... the big cup of Uruk?" Shiomi interrupted her.

Ereshkigal looked speechless. "Don't you know? The Great Cup of Uruk is in the treasure house of Gilgamesh. It is what you call the Holy Grail."

"No." Morgan denied it lightly.

"What's wrong?" Ereshkigal asked.

"The reason why the singularity can appear is due to the power of the Holy Grail created by the Magic King. And the Holy Grail that created this singularity was sent to this era by the Magic King himself." Sakura explained at this time, "Don't you know?"

"The Holy Grail of the Magic King is Gilgamesh's—" Ereshkigal answered hesitantly.

Then he suddenly realized his negligence.

"It seems that there is more than one Holy Grail in this era." Scathach smiled, "The Great Cup of Uruk that King Gilgamesh originally possessed, and the real Holy Grail of the Magic King that created this singularity."

Ereshkigal's eyes widened as she questioned them, "Could it be that I... no, we, the Three Goddesses Alliance, have all been deceived?"

"After all, who told you that the Great Cup of Uruk is the Holy Grail of the Magic King?" Shiomi discovered a turning point.

If Ereshkigal could be convinced that they were not lying, the alliance of the three goddesses would collapse on its own and disintegrate one by one.

"Kingu." Ereshkigal said a name, "He's the guy who looks exactly like Enkidu. You should have seen him, right?"

Shiomi showed a confident smile.

"Then the answer is obvious. The person who lied to the goddess Ereshkigal was the fake Enkidu, Kingu."

Chapter 35: The Strategy of Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

Jingu, in Mesopotamian mythology, is the god who commands the children of Tiamat and is also the son of Tiamat.

This was the real name of the false Enkidu.

"Where's the evidence?"

Ereshkigal questions Shiomi's accusation.

The alliance of the three goddesses was not something on paper. The alliance brought them a "bind".

"The evidence is in my mind." Shiomi looked at Sakura, "Please, Sakura."

"I understand." Sakura moved her body and sat between the goddess of the underworld and Shiomi, and stretched out her hands to her forehead on both sides. "I'm sorry, Goddess Ereshkigal."

The magic of sharing memories.

It is not difficult to falsify memory, but unlike illusion, it is easy to deceive humans, but it is extremely difficult to deceive gods because God's eyes can see the existence of the soul.

No lie, no matter how brilliant, can conceal the truth of the soul.

After sharing the memory of the fatal battle with Kingu a few days ago on the coast of the Persian Gulf, Ereshkigal was extremely angry.

The Holy Grail of the Magic King is in Kingu's body, but that guy always tells them shamelessly that in order to obtain the Holy Grail, they must destroy Uruk and take the Great Cup of Uruk from Gilgamesh.

"...That guy! He really tricked us!" Ereshkigal was so angry that he wanted to smash something.

But there were flowers all around her, and she had no place to vent her anger.

"Don't be so angry, Mistress of the Underworld." Morgan advised calmly, "Instead of getting angry here, why not think about how to punish the guy who deceived the goddess."

"Then what do you say we should do?" Ereshkigal collapsed again, losing her previous composure. When she got angry, she looked more like Toosaka Rin.

——Even though she has blonde hair which Toosaka Rin doesn't have.

"For example..." Xi Jian had a sly smile on his face, "Withdraw from the Three Goddesses Alliance and help us restore humanity?"

Then, Ereshkigal calmed down again. She drooped her shoulders weakly, and touched the flowers at her feet with her fingertips lovingly. "It's impossible. When we made the alliance, the three goddesses signed a 'bond' that we were not allowed to attack each other. Once anyone violated the bond, they would be punished by heaven, completely deprived of their divinity, and disappear."

"'Binding' is a very magician's way of doing things," said Scathach.

"Is it just that we are not allowed to attack each other?" Xijian narrowed his eyes.

"Well, that's all. Other than that, no matter what methods or means the three of us use, as long as we can destroy Uruk, we can get the Holy Grail." Ereshkigal nodded.

"What kind of attack method?"

"Personally launch attacks on each other's territories."

Shiomi laughed. "Then don't attack each other. You just need to accept our negotiation, stop attacking Uruk, and provide convenience within the scope of the 'restraints'."

"Huh?" Ereshkigal was stunned.

"Don't be so surprised. Wufu's meaning is very simple. What he needs now is not to kill the three goddesses of the alliance, but to disintegrate the alliance and reduce the pressure that Uruk needs to face." Morgan added, "You only need to provide information about the identities of the other two goddesses."

It was a very reasonable request, and Ereshkigal found it acceptable. She wished she could capture Kingu and take him to the underworld right now and use all the possible punishments on him.

Unfortunately, I can't leave the underworld, so I don't have that opportunity.

"It sounds right, but if I agree to it, the benefits are not obvious to me." Ereshkigal tried to bargain.

Her additional requirements were not high. As long as the botanical garden could continue to exist in the underworld until the singularity was repaired, that would be enough.

"From what I understand about your mythology, you and your sister, the goddess Ishtar, are two sides of the same coin, and now you share the same divinity, right?" Shiomi said.

“That’s right. When Ishtar was summoned, I was also summoned.”

"Then why is it that only she can move around in the outside world by possessing humans, but you can only stay in the underworld?" Xi Jian asked tentatively.

"That's not entirely true. That human body belongs to Ishtar during the day, but I can use it at any time at night." Ereshkigal didn't understand why Shiomi asked this. "This is determined by our respective natures as goddesses."

"Well, if we can help you seal Ishtar's personality so that you can move freely in that body during the day, how about that in exchange?" Shiomi said.

"Eh--?"

Ereshkigal had never expected such a good thing to happen.

However, this was just a strategy for Shiomi to kill two birds with one stone. He knew the legend of Gilgamesh, so he had a considerable degree of distrust and vigilance towards Ishtar.

In comparison, the goddess of the underworld here does not have such a bad reputation, but she is a little more trustworthy.

By using Ereshkigal to suppress Ishtar's personality, he could also reduce the damage the latter brought to Uruk.

"Can such a thing be done? You are just humans and fairies. Do you have the means to seal the goddess?" Although Ereshkigal was excited, he still did not quite believe it.

"If you can assist us while occupying that body, the seal can be successfully completed." Morgan said, "Unfortunately, I have some knowledge of magic for sealing gods."

"How can I trust that you won't seal me away while I'm asleep?"

Scathach couldn't help but laugh: "During the time you are active in that body, your divinity and power cannot be used, and you will be sealed before your eyes?"

"..."

Now Ereshkigal was completely silent.

When she was active in the outside world, her power was not as absolute as in the underworld, but it was no less than Ishtar’s.

"You still have time to worry. We have to go back to the ground to find something first." Xi Jian stood up from the flowers with a calm attitude. "The conditions for negotiation have been discussed. It's up to you to decide. If you refuse, the next time you come, we will really fight to the death."

Seeing that several people were about to leave, Ereshkigal stretched out her hand to keep them, as she had not yet gotten what she wanted.

"that--"

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"These...these flowers, plants and trees, will they disappear after you leave?" Ereshkigal hesitated, and whispered euphemistically, pressing the tips of his index fingers against his own.