Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Sorry Anna, I just got them to sleep. How long have you been waiting here?"

Samael waved, stepped forward, and greeted his close friend with a smile.

"Not long..."

The goddess of serpents responded casually, feigning nonchalance.

Samael glanced at the few bare branches at his feet and the leaves scattered around him, and chuckled to himself as he shook his head.

Sure enough, it's still the same as always.

Then, the ancient serpent stepped forward, placed its hands on Medusa's bare shoulders, and offered a gentle blessing.

"Then, happy birthday, Anna!"

"Um…"

The goddess, who had grown into a mature woman with purple hair, slightly raised her head, and her slightly tense body softened a bit.

Today is not only Athena's birthday, but also Anna's birthday, and even more so, the birthday of the Gorgon sisters.

They were born on the same day.

Of course, these adults and friends wouldn't show favoritism, so while Athena was asleep, they went to the Serpent Mother's house to bring blessings and gifts to the three sisters.

However, the food and environment at the Snake Mother's house were rather meager.

It's unrealistic to expect gods and monsters with low intelligence to organize a banquet.

So, after discussing it, the two sides decided to combine their visits to Samael's house for meals on multiple occasions.

Otherwise, given how many times Euryale and Stheno have gossiped about his misdeeds behind his back, it would be a miracle if Samael just sat back and watched them act like royalty, doing nothing but sightseeing and eating and drinking.

Even so, the ancient serpent still felt it wasn't enough; tonight he needed to give Anna a special blessing and a unique gift.

"Let's go, little Anna."

Samael smiled slightly, habitually raised his hand, and placed it on Medusa's head, stroking it gently.

“Samael, I’m not a child anymore.”

Medusa bit her cherry lips and gave a soft hum as a reminder, but her head and neck lowered unconsciously, bringing them to the height where her fingers and palms could just touch.

"The night isn't too long, hurry up and keep up, don't just stand there."

The ancient snake chuckled to itself, then, to prevent the girl from getting angry, it immediately put on a serious face, and without saying a word, pulled her to the other side of its cave entrance, pushed aside the stone slab, picked up the basket that was glowing with a ghostly blue light, and headed straight down the slope.

After opening up a series of magic arrays woven from wedge-shaped divine patterns along the way, the two finally arrived at their private space after many twists and turns.

Snapped!

Samael released Medusa's delicate hand, mysteriously placed the ghost cage in a certain spot, then stood up, clapped his hands crisply, and smiled brightly.

"Now, Anna's birthday dinner officially begins. Please offer your blessings, friends and family!"

In an instant, streaks of light activated and flickered, engraving themselves on the underground rock wall. A dense magic array, adorned with hundreds of divine cores, rose up from the center of the array, featuring a transparent blue-white pillar of light.

"Yes, little Anna has grown up. I'm relieved to see you're alright. Happy birthday!"

In the spacious hall, a beautiful priestess dressed in a light green dress, holding a clay tablet, with her hair neatly tied up, leaned slightly forward and approached the light screen, her smile gentle.

"Well, it's been a long time, Anna. Although I would like to invite you to visit the Underworld, it seems that it won't be possible in the near future."

"However, with this guy around, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Happy birthday."

The goddess of the underworld first waved to her former friend, then gave a disdainful look and glared at a certain figure.

Sister Siduri… and Sister Ellie…

Medusa stared in astonishment at the familiar figure that appeared on the light screen, and involuntarily raised her hand to cover her cherry lips, her eyes overflowing with the joy of reunion.

"You're an adult now? Happy birthday, little Anna."

"No, we can't call it 'small' anymore. It's developing well. Tell me secretly, is it because that guy rubs it a lot?"

A seemingly respectable, green-haired old driver was exposed for his true colors with just one sentence.

"Haha, it's connected again? Let me see! Happy birthday, happy birthday. The technique is still unstable, so I'll skip the gift, right?"

Ishtar smiled broadly, but after the initial excitement wore off, her eyes began to gleam.

"Someone else's birthday? Hmph, what does that have to do with me? Thanks to the guys around you, I've been very busy!"

Gilgamesh, sitting in a corner of the hall, picked up a clay tablet concerning the Judgment of the Dead, his face darkening as he grumbled.

But before the Underworld Judge could continue complaining, a fair arm grabbed him by the collar from behind and dragged him outside the Spirit Communication service area.

"I'm sorry, Jill has been working for half a year and this is her day off, so she's a little emotional."

Dressed in white with his green hair tied up, Enkidu explained apologetically and then sincerely offered his blessings to his friend with whom he had a deep connection.

Happy birthday, Anna.

Medusa's eyes were filled with uncontrollable joy as she nodded or whispered to the familiar figures that appeared in the pillar of light.

That bright smile radiated from the goddess's beautiful, aloof face, shining from within.

This is truly the best gift she has ever received since birth.

Unexpectedly, after many years, Samael actually managed to secretly locate the people of Mesopotamia using limited resources and established spiritual communication.

Through the beam of light, one could see Uruk's friends sitting around in the spacious and magnificent hall.

On the outside, patches of lush green grass and a riot of colorful flowers can be vaguely seen, while some transparent figures solidified from souls, clad in armor and armed with weapons, guard the palace.

Many of those faces belonged to human soldiers who had appeared during the Third Storm and the Battle of Uruk.

Medusa even spotted the one-armed general Tim among the soldiers, as well as the old man who had given her the bread at the city gate.

It seems this is the lost paradise built by the underworld, where only innocent souls can enter.

Everyone is here, and no one has changed. That's wonderful.

Medusa's eyes sparkled as she sat cross-legged, engaging in lively conversation with her friends who appeared in the pillar of light.

At this moment, she forgot her destiny, forgot the tragedy of the future, forgot the crisis hanging over her head, as if she had returned to Uruk.

Chapter 75 Husband Terminator (3/3)

Samael, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, looked at Medusa, who had shed her mature facade and become more lively, and nodded with satisfaction.

The process of setting up Lingzi Communication was indeed quite arduous.

Moreover, this is mainly achieved by the Mother Goddess's main body floating in the Sea of ​​Imaginary Numbers, which acts as a satellite base station, the juvenile body as an antenna, and the several holy relics in her hands for positioning.

Otherwise, if he were to rely solely on his magical talent to overcome technological limitations and complete the communication between the two world bubbles, it might take him hundreds of years to research.

After all, my skill level is only so-so.

But now it seems it was all worth it.

However, Samael's thoughts returned, and looking around the area near the pillar of light, he still felt a little regretful.

This reunion was not perfect, as many friends were absent for various reasons.

For example, there's the leopard-woman who sets the mood, the feathered serpent goddess who gets along with everyone, the cheerful and reliable Leonidas, and the wise and profound old man Jusudera…

The first two are relatively easy to deal with; if one lives long enough and has enough time, one might be able to make contact with the Mayan civilization and encounter them.

As for the two following ones, one hasn't been born yet, and the other is elusive, making it even more difficult to contact them.

Yes, and who was the other one?

Tsk, I forgot.

That's fine, it's good.

After a brief moment of reflection and reminiscence, the ancient serpent stretched its limbs with a sense of joy and took out the prepared fruits and dew from the shelf in the secret chamber.

Friends from the two worlds sat around the pillar of light of the spiritual communication, kneeling down to eat and chat in a relaxed and carefree manner, much like a video tea party.

Of course, not everyone present was so relaxed.

Samael glanced at the two baskets of clay tablets behind Siduri, and at the hardworking figure sitting on the steps, writing furiously and not even bothering to talk, with a strange expression.

"Why are there still so many? Has he been skipping work lately?"

Enkidu immediately defended his close friend, speaking in a serious tone.

“How could that be? Jill has always been a very hard-working person.”

Shamhat popped a date into his mouth, chewing and nodding in agreement.

“I can testify to this! Even when he was not serving in the lands of Mesopotamia, he was still a wise and diligent king.”

Samael was confused by what he heard and raised his hand to remind him.

"Why would someone take up their hard-earned vacation? There's no need to go through all that trouble."

Siduri shook her head slightly, smiled bitterly, and touched her forehead in response.

"Taking a vacation means working from home..."

Upon hearing this, Samael's breath hitched, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

Goodness, this is going to be even more grindy than in Uruk.

"Is work in the underworld very busy?"

Medusa opened her lips to ask, somewhat puzzled.

"Not just busy, I'm extremely, extremely busy!"

Ishtar responded with a rare solemn expression, counting the changes on the earth's surface as she faced the two strangers.

Since the war of the Ea, the Black Tide has receded, and many city-states, including Uruk, have been able to re-establish themselves.

However, after several generations, internal strife became severe, and nomadic desert tribes in northern Mesopotamia rose to power, establishing the Kingdom of Akkad and causing the old Sumerian city-states to suffer repeated defeats.

Initially, Ishtar and Ereshkigal, who had some affection for the Sumerian city-states, even wanted to go to the surface.

However, Gilgamesh rejected the goddesses' excessive interference in human civilization, believing that even the Sumerian civilization should be eliminated if it was not adapted to the times.

As for bloody wars, humanity is a race that progresses through competition with one another, and the flowers of civilization watered by blood and fire will bloom even more brightly and brilliantly.

At the repeated insistence of the Hero King, Ereshkigal and Ishtar had no choice but to give up.

Samael, however, had some understanding of Gilgamesh's choice.

He loves the human species as a whole, not a fixed individual.

Since it is a fair competition among civilizations, there is no need for the Hero King, who has fallen into obscurity along with the Age of Gods, to intervene in the battlefield.

Besides, several generations have passed, so why would there be so much reluctance? If we're talking about blood ties, wouldn't all the ghosts in the underworld who entered Paradise Lost have strings of descendants?

Since humanity has chosen its own path, Ishtar and Ereshkigal have no choice but to invite some of the Sumerians with ties and qualifications to enter Paradise Lost.

This can be considered their last bit of favoritism towards that country and that civilization.

Having severed their last ties with the surface world, Ereshkigal, Ishtar, and the others dutifully managed their small plot of land in the Underworld.

However, the Akkadian kingdom's reign was short-lived, as the Gutians invaded and destroyed them, taking control of southern Mesopotamia.

After that, various human tribes, such as the Third Dynasty of Ur, the Old Babylonian Kingdom, and the Assyrian Empire, took turns on the stage.

With the separation of gods and humans, mystery diminished, the human population increased rapidly, and lifespan decreased.

The continuous wars led to rapid changes in human history.

In other words, they are born quickly and die quickly.

Therefore, every day a large number of the souls of the dead enter the underworld.

In order to maintain the balance of the world, the underworld needs to sort out the sins of souls, judge them, and rearrange them to return to the cycle of the Great Source.

Due to their lack of experience, they have to learn everything by trial and error. Ereshkigal and Ishtar have long since severed ties with the past of the two main gods, and their abilities are limited by their human nature.

During this process, Gilgamesh, as the Grand Judge of the Underworld, had to take on everything and was extremely busy.

Even those who intended to slack off and retire were forced into relocation, and their situation can be imagined.

If most of them hadn't taken the Immortal Herb, worked overtime until they were vomiting blood, and could still be lively and energetic the next day after lying down for a few minutes, they would probably all be dead by now.

Even now, wars of all sizes continue to rage on the ground.

The inhabitants of the underworld have gradually become accustomed to and numb to this conflict between civilizations.