I really didn't want to burn it.

A blinding white light flashed, and a purple-haired, twin-tailed loli appeared on Mashu's shield.

"You were before..."

Ritsuka recognized this Servant; she had met him not long ago in a temporary singularity.

But she should have disappeared with Li Ang.

"Hello, Master of Chaldea."

Euryale bowed gracefully to her counterpart.

"You weren't with Li Ang..."

“Excuse me, Master of Chaldea,” Euryale interrupted Ritsuka, “I came to Chaldea to ask for your help.”

"what?"

"Lord Leon has gone missing. I hope Chaldea can help find him."

Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone in the control room, Euryale revealed her purpose.

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Mount Ebif, Temple of the Goddess of the Sky.

Ishtar looked at Li Ang with a puzzled expression. She raised her hand slightly and pointed at Li Ang with her slender finger.

"Lord Utnabishtim, you said you came to find me to find Ereshkigal?"

“Yes.” Li Ang nodded. “There’s something I want to confirm with her.”

"Tsk, so you weren't here to see me after all."

Ishtar clicked his tongue in displeasure.

"What did you say?"

"No, no. I was just talking to myself."

Ishtar waved her hands repeatedly, trying to appear very ladylike.

DD, standing behind Li Ang, frowned.

Following Li Ang, DD has met quite a few goddesses, including three who tried to steal Li Ang from her.

But no matter how unreliable a goddess may be in her daily life, she still retains some semblance of a goddess, at least maintaining her dignity and composure.

But DD didn't see even a trace of authority in the Ishtar in front of him.

Rather than describing Ishtar as a proud goddess, it would be more accurate to say she was an ordinary young girl who had just met her idol.

Indeed, after DD's observation, she confirmed that Ishtar didn't really have much affection for Leon; rather, she admired him more.

"No wonder the master said she was an incompetent goddess, that she would actually worship mortals."

Although DD herself also admires Li Ang, she was raised by Li Ang since childhood and is certainly aware of Li Ang's greatness.

Ishtar has only heard of Utnabistim's deeds, yet she worships him so much. Where is your dignity as a goddess?

DD, who is not very familiar with Mesopotamian mythology, is puzzled by Ishtar's fangirl behavior.

In fact, in mythology, Ishtar herself was one of the gods who approved of Utnabishtim's deification.

The gods initially decided to destroy humanity with a flood, but when the divine punishment actually came, most of the gods regretted it, including Ishtar.

Therefore, after the discovery of surviving humans on the Ark, a conflict arose between the human preservationists, led by Ishtar and Aya, and the human destructionists, led by Iriel.

Ultimately, the human preservationists won, and Utnabistim was even deified for his savior's achievements.

At the same time, in order to prevent Illyr and other gods who hated humanity from attacking humans again, Ishtar and other gods took the initiative to act as protectors of humanity.

Indeed, Ishtar, who punished humanity with calamities in mythology several times, is essentially the guardian deity of mankind.

This contradictory setting is more about highlighting the inviolability of the divine.

Throughout Mesopotamian mythology, Ishtar's punishments of humanity are essentially rooted in human problems—from the perspective of the gods.

The most typical example is Gilgamesh, whose act of refusing a divine marriage proposal and binding the bull of heaven, from a human perspective, was a rebellion against a tyrannical god.

But for Ishtar herself, this was like the very humans she was protecting slapping themselves in the face.

Although Ishtar disliked those humans who rebelled against her, she was tolerant and loving towards the human race as a whole.

This is why she admires Utnabistim, the man who dared to defy the King of Gods and protect humanity, who made the world beautiful.

DD wasn't particularly interested in the reasons behind it; she just felt that this god Ishtar seemed to lack any semblance of divinity.

"Lady Utnabistim's servant."

Ishtar noticed DD's attitude towards her and asked unhappily, "You seem to have some prejudice against me."

"No, that's always my expression," DD lied through his teeth.

This answer made Ishtar frown.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh dear, I was just joking. My Goddess Ishtar, you don't need to take it so seriously, do you?"

DD said this, emphasizing the words "God".

"To be honest, I kind of dislike you."

Ishtar said frankly.

He finally had a chance to talk to his idol, Lord Utnabistim, but this woman was so conspicuous.

This infuriated Ishtar.

She, a goddess of the heavens, was actually looked down upon by a mortal woman.

This made Ishtar feel utterly disgusted with every part of the woman in front of her.

Especially the chest!

It's a human being, so why is it so big? It's practically cheating!

Sensing Ishtar's gaze, DD raised his lips, revealing an even brighter and more innocent smile.

Of course, DD didn't think she was smug; she only believed that as her master's maid, she had to maintain proper decorum at all times.

"Tsk, you really are an annoying woman."

"Oh dear, can I assume that you're jealous, Goddess? You're clearly a goddess of beauty, yet you only have a figure like a washboard."

Washboard!

Ishtar's eyes seemed to spit fire.

Although she is an ancient deity, the humans she relies on are from the modern era.

She knew perfectly well what the word "washboard" meant.

As a result, a nerve in Ishtar's brain snapped completely.

"Ahem, sorry, I think I went a bit too far."

DD said without any apology.

"Hmm... It's called a washboard, but it's actually quite substantial. I feel like a teapot lid would be more suitable."

"Tea...teapot lid..."

Ishtar felt deeply insulted.

In the air where the two girls' eyes met, it seemed as if fire and lightning were about to strike.

"DD, that's enough."

Li Ang interrupted DD's verbal attack.

"Sorry, Master."

DD took a step back, but her gaze toward Ishtar remained smug.

"Lord Utnabishtim, I think you'd better find a new divine servant. This one is really..."

"Cough cough!"

Li Ang interrupted the goddess's rambling and said directly, "Ishtar, I have something to discuss with the goddess of the underworld."

"What on earth is going on?"

“I want to confirm something,” Leon said seriously. “I want to know if Enkidu’s soul is in the underworld.”

If this timeline was originally based on Mesopotamian mythology, then perhaps Enkidu wouldn't be completely dead yet.

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PS1: Ishtar is described in many different ways in mythology.

Basically, aside from the flood arc and her journey to the underworld for Saturn, Ishtar is almost always portrayed in a negative light.

But she was indeed worshipped as a guardian deity. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Incidentally, in mythology, Saturn's relationship with Ishtar is that of husband, lover, and son all in one.

This is related to the evolution of mythology, just like Greek mythology.

But Mimi still has to say—the entertainment industry is truly chaotic →_→

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PS2: When Mi-chan was looking for pictures of Ishtar, she discovered that the size of Ishtar's breasts always depends on the artist's mood.

It has a Schrödinger-like feel to it. =w=

Chapter 189 It's all Tokiomi's fault

Leon's suspicion that Enki was not dead was not without reason.

The original text of the Epic of Gilgamesh consists of 12 clay tablets, of which the first 11 tablets contain the most widely circulated version of the Gilgamesh story.

From the birth of Gilgamesh recorded on the first clay tablet to his return to Uruk recorded on the eleventh clay tablet, Gilgamesh's story undeniably ends with the eleventh tablet.

And that's where the strange thing comes in: the extra 12th tablet is the strangest thing in the original text.

Generally speaking, content added after a complete story is usually a supplement to that story.

However, the strange thing is that the content of the 12th tablet cannot be connected with the story of any of the previous 11 tablets.

The most obvious example is Enkidu's part, which is important to note as Enkidu had already died in the 7th tablet's narrative.

But he was still alive on the 12th clay tablet.

However, there are many logical contradictions in viewing it as a side story of Gilgamesh.

The story recorded on this extra clay tablet is that Gilgamesh built two treasures named Puku and Meku out of wood, which later fell into the underworld.

Enkidu, for the sake of his friend, voluntarily descended to the underworld to find the two treasures, but instead became trapped in the underworld and unable to return to the human world.

Gilgamesh had no choice but to plead with the gods to bring Enkidu back from the underworld.

Afterwards, Enkidu, who had returned to the human world, described the appearance of the underworld to Gilgamesh.

The paradoxical thing that contradicts the Epic of Gilgamesh is that if this story takes place after Gilgamesh, then why is Enkidu still alive? And if this story takes place before the seventh tablet, then why was Enkidu able to return from the underworld?

It is important to know that the seventh tablet clearly describes how Enkidu felt fear when he knew he was about to die, because he knew that once he entered the underworld, there was no way to return.

Of course, the authenticity of this clay tablet is beyond doubt, and its description of the underworld is no different from that of the underworld in other Mesopotamian myths.

According to Li Ang, this 12th clay tablet is likely another version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it may have been created even earlier than the most widely circulated version.

This is not surprising, after all, mythology itself is a process of continuous evolution.

But since there are 12 clay tablets, Li Ang thinks it's possible to speculate that Enkidu's soul may not have dissipated, but is trapped in the underworld.

Perhaps Gilgamesh knew this, which is why he chose to place Enkidu's body in the Underworld?