Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"So, what's your decision?"

"Serving me, the great goddess of Uruk, will surely be a reward for you!"

As the goddess muttered to herself, she smiled and reached out to hook her arm around Samael's neck.

But the moment their skin touched, red and black lightning flashed, and a terrifying aura spread out.

"boom!"

"Ow!"

Ishtar screamed as she was thrown seventy or eighty meters away, crashing through three ancient trees and a bunch of vines along the way before finally crashing into the bushes.

Everyone looked at each other, stunned, staring blankly at where the great goddess had landed.

A few breaths later, the charred object, whose body had stopped convulsing and bouncing, leaned on a half-broken tree trunk and struggled to its feet from the bushes. It coughed, black smoke billowing from its mouth, and pointed tremblingly at Samael.

"How come there are restrictions on you?"

Samael looked at Ishtar, whose hair was a mess and whose appearance was miserable, and couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head slightly as he tried to suppress his laughter.

“That doesn’t make sense. We were in contact with Samael this morning in Ur…”

"Anna, why don't you give it a try..."

As Merlin spoke, he encouraged the little girl beside him.

Before Samael could even begin to berate the shameless nightmare, a small hand beside him casually took his forearm.

Ishtar stared wide-eyed for a full quarter of an hour, but still couldn't find anything unusual.

Immediately, the resentful serpent grinned and placed its hand on Merlin's shoulder.

Unfortunately, the so-called "restriction" still failed to work, and simply electrocuted the nightmare to death.

"Could it be that I've made a mistake?"

Ishtar was also confused, and she couldn't help but rub her chin, frowning in thought, but the more she thought about it, the more her head ached.

I don't know what's wrong with her, but lately she's been spacing out a lot. When she closes her eyes, she always feels like she's half asleep and half awake. Now she doesn't know if she's dreaming or in reality.

"It was probably an accident just now."

Seeing that Merlin and Anna had tested themselves repeatedly and were unharmed, the goddess gradually relaxed and habitually reached out to hook Samael's nape.

"By the way, where were we...?"

"boom!"

"Ow!"

As they watched Ishtar being struck by the red and black lightning once again, and then bounced away like a cannonball, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

There really are restrictions!

Moreover, this thing seems to be specifically designed to defend against Ishtar?!

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Chapter Seventy-Nine: Don't Come Any Closer! (First Update)

"This is... protection from the underworld?!"

As Merlin slightly lifted the clothing from Samael's right arm, revealing a slightly hot skin surface, a peculiar pattern with a red and black background and three red flower petals was gradually fading.

Ishtar, who had carefully kept a ten-meter distance from the ancient serpent, stared at the strange patterns and the mark in the center bearing her divine name. Painful memories were instantly stirred up.

Ereshkigal! So it was you, you crazy woman, who did this! What did I ever do to you?

Ishtar recalled her previous trespass into the Underworld and the horrific fate of being stripped naked and stabbed to death by her best friend Ereshkigal. She felt a chill run down her spine and her heart was filled with resentment.

"Yes, it's a defensive technique with superimposed divine imprints, and it's specifically designed to target specific targets."

"It only activates when the target that needs to be defended gets close and makes contact, no wonder Anna and I are fine."

The wise man, who claimed to be a lazy bum but was actually quite knowledgeable about magic, held Samael's arm and watched him repeatedly, finally arriving at a definitive conclusion.

"You're not dead yet, so how did you manage to hook up with that woman, Ereshkigal?"

Ishtar's face darkened as he circled around Samael, his expression growing increasingly grim and fearful.

“We were chatting closely in the hallway last night, and there were no problems.”

"This situation only started this morning."

"If anything is suspicious during this period, it's that after you sneeze, you act like a completely different person."

The ancient snake innocently spread its hands, its expression bewildered, but it had a general idea of ​​what was going on in its mind.

Did Ereshkigal knock him unconscious last night to inscribe a defensive spell, specifically targeting Ishtar?

Weren't you two sisters going to be affectionate? How did I get dragged into this? What's going on here?

Samael was frustrated and puzzled that he had been implicated without being exposed.

"Uruk Summoning Ritual! One body, two sides! Understood!"

Ishtar raised his right hand and slammed it into his left palm, his face showing sudden realization.

"I was wondering why I'd been feeling so confused lately! So that's what it was!"

After a brief questioning, the goddess's expression gradually turned bitter and resentful.

"Fine! I wasn't going to look for you, but you still came up here to cause trouble for me!"

Because Samael was worried about being exposed, he edited and embellished the conversation between Ereshkigal and Ereshkigal after Ereshkigal's consciousness surfaced.

As a result, Ishtar, who already harbored resentment towards Ereshkigal, naturally blamed her older sister, whom she disliked, for everything.

Immediately, Ishtar looked up again, her gaze fixed intently on Samael.

The ancient snake felt a chill run down its spine, as if those two gazes were melting its entire body. Its serpentine instinct to seek good fortune and avoid harm made it writhe restlessly.

"What do you want? Calm down. There's a reason for this, right? This has nothing to do with me?"

However, Ishtar turned away from her burning gaze and put on a fake friendly smile.

"Don't worry, don't worry, am I the kind of unreasonable god?"

"Yes!"

Samael considered the goddess's numerous misdeeds and responded sincerely. Merlin and Anna behind him couldn't help but nod subconsciously.

Caught off guard, Ishtar's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly managed to force a smile thanks to her excellent self-regulation.

"It's not important, it's not important, that's all in the past."

"The key is the future, right?"

"Honestly, how have I treated you?"

Samael sighed helplessly, gazing wistfully at the goddess whose face was charred in several places and whose hair was disheveled and messy.

"Just say what you have to say."

He had a vague feeling that Ishtar being targeted by the goddess of the underworld might be related to him in some way.

Given Ishtar's reasonably satisfactory performance during this period, Samael would be willing to lend a hand if possible.

"Raise your left hand!"

Under the serious request of this great goddess, Samael did as she was told.

Immediately afterward, Ishtar clenched her fingers horizontally, and amidst the aggregation of golden ether particles, the golden-white divine artifact resembling an arrow appeared.

Then, with lightning speed, the tip of the golden-white arrow struck the back of Samael's left hand.

In a flurry of strokes, a series of wedge-shaped divine patterns coalesced into a golden-white crown pattern with seven branches, and finally, accompanied by a slight pain, it was branded onto Samael's left arm.

"Hmph, so what if the underworld protects you!"

"With this, you still want to steal what I want? That's too stingy."

Immediately, Ishtar crossed her arms and proudly raised her chin at the somewhat stunned Samael.

"Be grateful, for I have given you the highest-ranking divine seal!"

"From this day forward, you shall be the shepherd and priest of this goddess!"

Now even that old rival from underground is coming to snatch him away.

Hmph, it seems my judgment was right!

The more people scramble for something, the more valuable it becomes! In short, stock up first, and label it with your own tag – you can't go wrong!

Did you think this was the underworld where you could do whatever you wanted?

Please! This is my territory!

Last time you hurt me so badly, showing no mercy at all, and now you want to take something from me again?

Tch, I'll do the things you tell me not to do!

What you want, I'm not going to give you!

Otherwise, wouldn't all my past suffering have been for nothing?!

As Ishtar pondered her thoughts, the corners of her mouth curled up higher and higher, forming a smile resembling that of a beckoning cat, giving off a smug feeling that she was about to burst into laughter with her hands on her hips at any moment.

However, after waiting for a while, the expected trepidation and tears of gratitude did not appear on the face of the one who received divine favor.

That calm expression, tinged with a hint of disdain, deeply hurt Ishtar.

"Hey, hey, I'm a goddess! The real deal!"

"To choose you as the shepherd priest is the highest honor for the people of Uruk!"

Ishtar grabbed her hair in frustration and grumbled to Samael.

"I said, can we go now?"

"Those people in Eridu are still waiting for us to save them, Your Majesty..."

The ancient serpent paused briefly, turned around, and responded irritably, placing one hand on Ishtar's shoulder as it earnestly advised and reminded him.

The moment they made contact, Ishtar's pupils contracted sharply, and like a cat with its fur standing on end, she flung herself backward to create distance.

However, it was too late. Samael's body flashed with red and black light, and Ishtar was struck by lightning again and thrown away, falling miserably into the bushes.

Anna, who was carrying a food package half her height on her back, wrinkled her nose and a strange thought popped into her mind.

It smells so good...

Samael followed, instinctively reaching out his right hand, but Ishtar, who had been half-dead just moments before, suddenly sprang to life, leaping a great distance with a terrified expression.

"You...you...don't come any closer!"

The crowd could faintly hear the somewhat off-key scream, which even sounded like a sob.

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Chapter 80: Are They All Inhuman? (Two Updates)

After all that, you still haven't solved the "Underworld Protection" defense mechanism and the reflection problem?

Samael was speechless, and Anna and Merlin couldn't help but look strangely at Ishtar, who was rubbing her hands together and looking embarrassed.

"This thing bears the mark of divinity, which cannot be erased. You can't blame me for that, can you?"

Immediately, the goddess, wanting to change the subject in the awkward atmosphere, rolled her eyes and, as was her usual tactic after causing trouble, shifted the blame to everyone.

"It's the priestesses' fault! Who told them to summon that troublesome thing from underground!"

"It's Uruk's fault! If they had given me more faith and gems, and let me try a few more times, maybe I would have found a way!"

"It's that woman's fault! Why did she have to try to take it from me and then stab me in the back? She's shameless!"

"It's Father God's fault! Why did he give her such great power? It's practically cheating!"

"Yes…"

When Ishtar's gaze turned to Samael, the ancient serpent responded with a cold laugh.