Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"The last... goddess..." Ereshkigal repeated softly. She knew the weight of this title at the moment.

"I didn't expect that you would actually enter the underworld and make a covenant with the goddess there to deal with another goddess?!" Romani was surprised and delighted, "You really like to do dangerous things!"

"It's just a matter of course. Whether it's Goddess Ishtar or the Three Goddesses Alliance, if they want to protect Uruk and resolve this singularity, they must find a way to deal with these problems."

Shiomi looked in the direction of the invisible dense forest, his tone uneasy.

"If the other two goddesses can also be resolved peacefully in this way, it will be simple."

Chapter 38 Return

"So is it really decided, Ereshkigal? Are you really going to return to Uruk with us to meet the Moon King?"

As Shiomi asked this question while sitting in front of the carriage, he was handing the reins to Morgan.

Scathach and Sakura sat in the back carriage to rest.

It was now the early morning of the next day, and they were now gradually moving away from Kusa, preparing to cross the reed plains and return to the city of Uruk to report the results of this trip.

"It's already daybreak, but I can feel that Ishtar is still asleep... Your seal is very effective." Ereshkigal sat on Maana and followed the carriage at the same speed. "Since you have fulfilled the promise you made at the beginning, as a goddess, I should also show some appreciation."

As she had said before, because they shared divinity and this body, the goddess of the underworld could freely use all of Ishtar's powers.

"He really abides by the rules." Scathach leaned against the car window, "Compared to the reckless Ishtar, he is indeed much better."

“Is that so…” Ereshkigal lowered his altitude and responded with a hint of joy.

She was somewhat glad that she met this group of people. Not only did they not find her scary at all, but they were able to remain calm at all times.

- Of course, when Ereshkigal suggested going together instead of arriving in Uruk earlier or later, she noticed that Morgan and Scathach were a little dissatisfied.

"Then let me confirm the situation. Although you are gods, you and Ishtar are now both pseudo-Servants based on human bodies, right?" Sakura asked at this time.

"Yes, originally, gods like us cannot become Servants. In the final analysis, we can only be Pseudo-Servants." Ereshkigal nodded.

Sakura looked at the goddess of the underworld, "So what happened to the human you possessed? Is he dead?"

Just provide a suitable body and then accommodate the needed soul and spirit. Sakura has seen similar situations many times.

There are both failed cases and successful cases.

The reason why I am so concerned now is simply because this body is too similar to my sister Toosaka Rin.

"I'm not sure. I descended into this body a little after Ishtar was summoned. The only thing I can be sure of is that the original owner of this body is not dead. But her personality cannot surface, so she is not asleep like Ishtar is now." Ereshkigal explained the current situation. "Just like Ishtar merged with the personality of the owner of this body, I also merged at the moment of the incarnation. Originally... my personality would be much more gloomy and dark... I might not be able to negotiate with you at all."

At the end of her speech, her voice dropped again.

In a sense, for Ereshkigal now, the current situation is an extremely real dream.

"What's the degree of integration?" Morgan asked.

"The original owner took 30%, and we each took 70%, which then formed two personalities, me and Ishtar," said Ereshkigal.

Sakura looked at the goddess, "So... you don't have the memories of the original owner of this body?"

"Well... basically no. After all, although it's called a fusion, I'm still the goddess in charge." Ereshkigal probably guessed why Sakura asked this. "But it's strange. It's the first time I see you, but I always feel an itch on the back of my neck. Who are you, Sakura?"

Shiomi then slowly spoke: "If the original owner of this body is called Toosaka Rin, then she is Sakura's biological sister. If it is just a past life with a similar soul, then they will only be related in the distant future."

"Sister?" Ereshkigal covered his mouth in surprise.

She and Ishtar are sisters, but while their outward appearances are largely similar, Sakura has a completely different feel.

"I'm not really sure about that," Ereshkigal explained awkwardly, "The souls of the priestesses who summoned me went to the underworld when I descended into the spirit world..."

However, it was originally those witches who prayed for salvation, and the only way for the goddess of the underworld to save them was to take these people away.

"Besides, this happened half a year ago, and I can't tell you who the original owner of this body was." Ereshkigal added embarrassedly.

"Yeah……"

Ying leaned against the carriage, no longer sticking her head out to look outside, and sat there lost in thought.

The air was slightly stagnant, and everyone could see that Sakura was worried about her sister's whereabouts. Was she caught up in the human burning, or was she stranded in this singularity for some reason? There was no clue at the moment.

Then, in order to break the silence, and also because they were not used to it, they naturally said nothing, and Ereshkigal decided to change the subject:

"Um, well... as a reward for your cooperation, although I don't fully understand the other two goddesses, I can still tell you something useful."

"Please go ahead." Xi Jian nodded, indicating that he would listen attentively.

"First, the monsters that are attacking the northern wall of Uruk are all created by the goddess of monsters in the northern temple. However, it should be due to some reasons that I don't know. Although there are many monsters, they can't attack day and night to make up for the losses after being killed by the defense army."

"I can see that, so the Magic King sent out the Demon Pillar, and it has begun to launch attacks together with the monsters at irregular intervals." Shiomi nodded.

"The situation is really not optimistic." Ereshkigal sighed, "Anyway, no matter what, you'd better give up the idea of ​​negotiating with the Goddess of Warcraft. She hates and detests humans more than I do, and she will never stop killing and attacking."

Scathach nodded in agreement: "So, what do you know about the goddess who rules the southern forests?"

"According to the information you provided on the way, you did not see the goddess who ruled the southern jungle when you entered it. I can only say that her cultural circle is completely different from my own, and I cannot judge her standards for good and evil. In addition, Eridu, where her temple is located, keeps the Axe of Marduk."

The Axe of Marduk. In some legends of Sumerian mythology, the god of war Marduk used that axe to cut the throat of the primordial mother goddess Tiamat, killing her and splitting her into two, which turned into the land of Mesopotamia.

"Marduk..." Xijian raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Is there anything that concerns you?" Morgan asked.

"No, I just remembered that the belief in Marduk lasted until around 700 BC, when it gradually disappeared after Babylon was annexed by Assyria. After that, the god believed in on this land... is the god that the Holy Church is also believing in today."

Chapter 39 No Breathing

The return journey was much faster than the outbound journey. With galloping horses, it only took one day to get back to Uruk from Kusa.

In order not to cause panic among the people of Uruk, Ereshkigal put on a cloak, covered his face with a hood, and followed them into Uruk.

After entering the city, the carriage stopped at the military camp inside the city wall to rest and prepare to replace the horses pulling the carriage.

"I forgot to ask you before, why did you join the Three Goddesses Alliance and destroy Mesopotamia?"

During the time of waiting and resting, Shiomi looked at Ereshkigal who was communicating with Sakura and asked.

This question surprised the other party. She lowered her head, her face hidden in the shadow, and her expression was unclear.

"...I cannot forgive the current Mesopotamia." She spoke slowly, and in a low voice, she said the truth that should have been forgotten and cooperated with Chaldea and Uruk, and not mentioned. "I do not agree with abandoning the gods and planning to create a world that belongs only to me."

"What's the reason?" Xi Jian asked directly and impartially.

"Because this is only painful, humans cannot escape the pain of living and the fear of death. If you want to accept reality as it is, you have already grown too much intellectually." She said, "You who have achieved this should know better than anyone how happy it is to not die."

"...Happy." Xi Jian did not comment.

He sees only lives that are more resilient than others, and the ability to better fulfill his responsibilities and do everything he can.

"This is the Age of Gods, where things exist that humans cannot understand. We blame the gods for all unreasonable and cruel things, and live a carefree life. I believe this approach is good." Ereshkigal said, "I have persisted in this way for thousands and tens of thousands of years, so I joined the Alliance."

"'Good'..." Xijian felt a little helpless. He didn't want to try to empathize with the values ​​of the gods, but he seemed to have seen something similar. "It's just like Angra Mainyu. Is he going to be the 'all evil in this world' and bear all the malice of mankind?"

"Not exactly the same, but there are similarities. What I hate is not humans, but the human world that does not need gods," said Ereshkigal.

"That is to say, you have never been an enemy of humans from the beginning." Shiomi finally understood.

Because she is not an enemy of humans, when a human who can make her put aside her prejudice and accept cooperation appears, Ereshkigal will be willing to give it a try.

"You understand it very well. No wonder you can be Sakura's father." Ereshkigal said neither lightly nor seriously.

Apparently, when he was talking to Sakura alone just now, Sakura had roughly the same understanding as his father.

"There's something you may not know. The Magic King also said something similar. He was also disappointed with the lives that could not overcome 'death', so he planned the great cause of burning human affairs." Shiomi said.

"I don't know what kind of person the Magic King is. If he can completely rid life of death and create this planet from scratch... I can actually understand it." Ereshkigal sighed.

Xi Jian didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Perhaps there is a deeper inevitability for your descent to this singularity."

"Maybe that's something like 'fate'." Altria's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

He turned back in surprise: "You are not at the northern wall..."

"The offensive of the Demon Pillar has slowed down a bit, and the monsters have also stopped attacking." Artoria said, "I am worried about the safety of the Master, so I came to visit you while you were entering the city."

When Xijian and his group entered the underworld, they discovered that the abnormality was not only happening in Chaldea.

As a servant who had a contract with Shiomi, Altria also found that she had lost contact with Shiomi.

If the channel connecting to the magic power had not been completely cut off, Altria might have really thought that something big had happened to Shiomi, and then left her post and went to Kusa to track down his whereabouts.

Fortunately, the time of no contact was not long, so this situation did not occur.

"It was just a trip to the underworld. I've already explained it to you through telepathy." Xi Jian explained apologetically, "No need to come all the way here."

"East Starion can travel a thousand miles a day. It's only a blink of an eye to get here from the northern city wall." Altria stepped forward and strongly refuted Shiomi's statement.

"...That's right." He realized that if he continued arguing, it would seem a bit unromantic, so he could only respond to Altria's feelings with his eyes.

"Now that I have confirmed that the Master is safe, I will return to the front line first. I will ask the Master in detail about the matters of the underworld after I return from my shift." There was a hint of imperceptible tenderness in Altria's clear voice.

"Really..." Xi Jian could only chuckle.

He turned around and saw Ereshkigal with a shocked expression.

"What's wrong with you? You are also a goddess, right? And the goddess of the Tower of the End? What's going on in Chaldea?"

"It's amazing that you could recognize it at first sight." Xi Jian was not surprised and complained with a grin.

As both are gods, of course they can see through each other's nature at a glance.

"I am just a servant now. In order to watch over the Master's future, I moved from the utopia to here and offer my limited power." Artoria greeted her calmly, "My real name is Artoria Pendragon. Nice to meet you, goddess of the underworld."

“…Nice to meet you.” Ereshkigal gave a forced smile.

As far as she knew, the goddess of the Tower of the End should be more...bloodless and tearless, but the Altria in front of her was very humane.

——Although I am also possessed by a human, so in a sense it is similar.

"As soon as you smelled the Master's scent, you rode your horse from the northern city wall. Is your nose sharper than that of the hunting dog you ever raised, Altria?" Morgan came over and teased.

"How rude, the Master doesn't have anything on him right now..." Altria blushed and was about to explain.

A loud roar came from the south gate of Uruk, instantly destroying their joking atmosphere.

"what's the situation?"

Shiomi, who was at the east gate at the moment, immediately contacted Chaldea.

"Not sure. The director and Gray, who are still in the city, have already rushed to the South Gate!" Romani replied quickly.

Uruk's elite forces were concentrated on the northern city wall, and the defense force within the city was limited.

Whether it is Warcraft or something else, siege will cause huge damage.

"There's no time, Master. Please take care of this place--!"

Shiomi reached out and placed his hand on the shoulders of Altria and Morgan. A strong wind blew up, and he disappeared from the east gate with the two of them.

Chapter 1: Quetzalcoatl, the God Who Comes and Goes Like the Wind ()

Due to the abnormal conditions of the singularity, the gates of Uruk are not always open, but have fixed opening periods, and city guards are responsible for checking people entering and leaving.

It is closed at other times and no one can enter or leave unless they have the seal of the king or the chief priest.

This was also a special strategy to deal with a small number of Warcraft that successfully bypassed the northern Warcraft front and headed straight for Uruk.

It is now dusk, and the soldiers defending Uruk are waiting for their superiors to give the order to open the gates as usual to welcome the troops returning to the city from the northern Warcraft front to rest.

As a result, the city gate was suddenly attacked without warning. A woman who called herself Quetzalcoatl broke the heavy door with her bare hands and entered the city alone. The soldiers defending the city were completely vulnerable.

There were nearly a hundred soldiers lying on the ground along her route.

"Okay! One (Uno)! Two (Dos)! Three (Tres)!"

Quetzal killed one soldier after another with his bare hands like chopping melons and vegetables. The captain of the city guard was well-trained and immediately mobilized his troops to form a spear formation to stop the woman who intended to go to the divine tower.

"It's no use! Back off!"

Olga Marie shouted to stop them from behind.

At this time, Quetzal had already jumped up. His jumping ability, which was beyond the reach of humans, made these well-trained soldiers realize at a glance that their opponent was not an ordinary person.

Quetzal threw the dead soldiers to the soldiers who were setting up the formation to intercept them. Seeing the bodies of their comrades, the morale of these soldiers suffered a great blow.

The soldiers in the front row instinctively protected their bodies and were not hit by Quetzal who jumped up and kicked downwards.

The barrier formed by magic barely withstood the attack, but it had already cracked. Quetzal was surprised for a moment, then licked his tongue even more excitedly and increased the strength of his feet.