Absolute demonic front of blades

by davido747

After foreseeing the terrible calamity humanity was facing, King Gilgamesh summoned several servants to assist his people in the demonic front. But this time, he ended up summoning a certain nameless hero. Now, the King of Heroes and the King of Fakers will have to put aside their differences to defeat the Gods and save humanity.

6. Chapter 5: Sister troubles

We meet again, people! It's been a while… you know, I think I always lead the starting NT like this, but it can't be helped. The word count of this chapter already suggests why it took me this long to update, which is already a norm by this point.

At any rate. This chapter is, in a sense, the calm before the storm. There's still action, but given that the real shit is about to start in the next chapter, I decided to pump up the comedy aspect of the chapter. Replicating the carnival goofy style for the idle conversation was basically what took the most out of me, even if I really enjoyed it. And also some foreshadowing.

Before we start, let me clarify something about the previous chapter. Some of you asked why Archer didn't just use his noble phantasm against Gorgon, and the answer is, it wouldn't have worked. Yeah, Gorgon fills the niches of "threat to humanity" and "divine" to a T, but the Archer saint graph doesn't allow him to use his noble phantasm full power. You know, even if he still can use it, it is the Unlimited Blade Works and his archery skills that are maximized in that saint graph. The other reason is that he already knows who is the real final boss, so killing Gorgon there before making preparations would have led them to quite a bad ending.

Now, leaving aside the ramblings, let the chapter begin!

Disclaimer: I don't own any right over Type-Moon or the Fate franchise.

---

"ROOOAAA-" The vicious roar of the Uridimmu was silenced when a purple chain wrapped around its neck so hard it choked it.

"Hnn!" With a grunt, the hooded little girl at the other chain lifted the beast and hurled it around like a rag doll, causing it to crash into a Mushussu.

Both feline and lizard-like demonic beasts were left rooted in place, and Ana didn't waste a second to finish them. Pulling her chain again, the little servant propelled herself towards her prey and started to spin with hir immortal-killing scythe, pretty much becoming a circular saw.

The pair of defenseless demonic beasts and several more of them that had the misfortune to be on her path were completely obliterated. And without losing pace, she shot her chain at another demonic beast to use it as an anchor to stop her momentum.

The hopeless victim was lifted into the air, leaving it completely defenseless when a white blur sliced it cleanly in half. The Sakura Saber landed beside Ana, and casually sheathed her katana before speaking to her.

"You've been a lot more eager than usual since we left Uruk, Ana-chan. Is something the matter?"

The little girl blushed a little, not expecting to have her stoic expression be read so easily. But it was inevitable. After all, Okita was the closest member of the demonic front to her due to the samurai's fondness for children.

"It's just… this is the least I can do to make up for what happened the other day."

Those words caused Okita's face to turn into a slight frown. "I agree we couldn't make a difference against that monster, but that's no reason to overdo yourself. Just be patient and the opportunity will present itself."

Those were the same words that bas- she meant, Merlin kept repeating the first weeks of their contract, but coming from Okita, Ana was more willing to have them in mind.

With a small nod, she prepared herself to rush at the next demonic beast, but then she realized why the swordsman had sheathed her blade. The only thing remaining around them were corpses and the leader of the pack…

"Strike air!"

The hammer of the wind king struck the massive Ugallu from above, stunning it and nailing and causing the flaming stakes piercing its limbs to sink further.

"Let's do this, Darling!" The voice of the Bride Saber was followed by a grunt in affirmation from the as they raised their respective white and red Aestus Estus for a final thrust.

The couple acted in complete synch, giving the impression to be staring at a mirror as the two lunged forward. In the blink of an eye, the tip of their swords shrouded in fire hit the head of the defenseless demonic beast at almost the same point and pierced through it like nothing.

Their feet slid across the floor to kill the momentum, their red cloak and white veil dancing with the wind as the lifeless corpses collapsed behind them.

"Did you guys have to make it so dramatic?" The dragon witch's voice tinged with mild annoyance interrupted the scene.

However, Nero didn't let it sulk her mood and puffed her chest. "There's no reason to sacrifice elegance while performing a deadly attack, right, Darling?"

"If you can afford it, I guess…" Archer let out an ambiguous answer as he was already sensing Arturia's blank stare on his back.

Making flashy movements was against his combat principles, but it felt wrong to destroy the dazzling smile on Nero's face after she convinced everyone to come along for this expedition.

"I have to agree with Nero-chan here, that was awesome." And having Ai's okay helped him in that endeavor, even if it came at the cost of having Alter a little grumpier than usual for some reason. "You two were even more synchronized than when you do it alongside your other self."

"That's obviously because the other me lacks bride power."

"I wonder if we'd be able to do a double Mumyo Sandanzuki…"

"Well, now that we cleaned this area of demonic beasts, we can finally proceed to our real objective." A certain Magus of Flowers spoke over Okita's comment as he pointed at the huge mountain looming at the end of the road.

But he only received blank stares and a kick in the face from Fou.

"What did you even do while they were fighting, Merlin? We brought the members with the best firepower while the others stayed behind repairing and defending the Northern Wall for a reason."

"C'mon, don't be like that, Romani. I did my part protecting our luggage and the items we brought for negotiations."

"Even as a transport mule, you're still useless." Ana's comments were as merciless as always regardless of her mood.

"At any rate." Arturia decided to intervene so as to get the conversation back on track. "How much do you think it's going to take us to climb that mountain."

"Given that the sun is starting to set and how harsh is Mt. Ebih, I'd say we will arrive at Ishtar's temple tomorrow afternoon."

"Man, that's rough. Even if that bratty Goddess doesn't offer resistance, that's already gonna take a third of the days we have before shit gets real."

"Well, it can't be helped, Alter. This is hardly the first time we have to travel long distances." If there was something the master was prideful about, that would be definitely her cardio. She was sure her total walking distance already surpassed several continents.

"Besides, Goldie already had this in mind. That's why he insisted that we split our numbers. He'll most likely assign another task to them while we're here."

"Let's get going then. The sooner we start climbing, the sooner we'll get there."

Everyone nodded at Okita's words before resuming their hike. The group remained in silence throughout most of the way aside from some chit-chat, mostly started by Ai herself to liven up the atmosphere.

It started with asking about the shenanigans at the demonic front before the Chaldeans arrived, which led to a really embarrassing conversation.

That time Archer returned from the front in the middle of the night to see Ana sneaking into the kitchen to steal a cake. That time in the earlier days when Okita walked out of the bathroom naked out of habit from back in her Shinsengumi days. Or later that day when Leonidas and Kotarou had to have that talk with Archer because he wasn't even aware why his "sword" got ready for action.

The image of the fierce unit that defended the last front of humanity with nails and teeth was falling apart as the conversation went on.

But then, after retelling one of Merlin's escapes from the brothel, a wicked smile showed on his lips as he started to explain how Mordred's birth came to happen.

That was definitely the first time everyone saw Arturia blush so hard it looked like she was about to faint. Needless to say, the Magus of Flowers had to pop up from the dream world after a pretty hard beatdown.

From there, Nero started to proudly talk about her wedding ceremony with Finn at the Domus Aurea, and her subsequent performance. Judging by the way Archer's face hit a new level of paleness, his memories differed a little from hers.

The way his other self had to project several earplugs because they crumbled with her… astounding voice was gasoline for nightmares. Luckily, the atmosphere created by the previous ceremony mitigated the impact on the citizens.

And Alter wasn't spared either. Ai didn't leave out details about her sessions to learn basic mathematics and reading skills to surpass her "Onee-chan". Which was properly answered by the dragon witch telling them about the time she found the orange-haired teenager using the battle simulator just to practice epic one-liners and what she called 'JoJo poses'.

It all ended with a pact to not divulge any embarrassing secret revealed during the conversation.

Once the sun started to set, the group decided to settle beside the road. They couldn't carry that much equipment aside from their assets for negotiations, so they ended up bringing a small tent for Ai and another bigger one for Okita, Ana, and Archer.

On the other hand, they didn't spare space when it came to the food they brought with them. Filling Arturia's stomach already required the rations for several mouths, and this was just the first night of the two-night trip, while most of them didn't need to sleep that much.

"Heh, despite her usual stoic expression, she looks like a real angel while sleeping." Okita whispered as she gently caressed Ana's purple hair.

Archer could only observe the scene mesmerized, not daring to interrupt the moment. It wasn't just that seeing Ana get all her tension out of her body and sleep like a baby was a really rare sight. Okita by her side was wearing a heartwarming smile that was hard not to fall for.

However, the silence was starting to make the red knight feel out of place, so he decided to strike up a conversation after a while. Or at least try it.

"You two really look like mother and daughter. Even after all these months, I never thought you were that good with children."

The samurai's cheeks blushed a little at his first comment. "It's nothing that impressing. Back at the Shieikan dojo and even at the capital, I spent a lot of time playing with the local children. You could say it was my way to keep my head away from my other activities. Besides…"

Her greyish eyes left him to look at Ana's sleeping form. "I can't put a finger on it, but I can tell she's shouldering an even heavier than any of us. At least putting aside Ritsuka-kun and Ai-chan."

"Yeah, even if she came to trust us to a certain degree, she's still the type to rather take on her problems alone. Not that I'm the most indicated to complain about that…"

"C'mon, Archer-dono, you're not that bad. I admit I thought you were cold and distant at the beginning, but it became quite obvious you were just socially awkward after a week. You are a worrywart at heart, even when it came to Amakusa Shirou-dono. It took long enough, but you're finally opening to us."

"Heh, right back at you. Back in the beginning, you were used to falling into your "man-slayer" persona really, but now you rarely do it. I guess we really are cut from the same cloth."

His words unwittingly caused her to blush, but her expression turned somber as she answered. "Yeah, our lines of work were quite similar in a sense. But you actually succeeded where we all failed."

"You give me too much credit. You could say it was pretty much a fluke." His hand landed on Fou's back to caress him, which made him purr in delight. "This little rascal was… "going through a really bad phase of puberty", so to say. We fought each other to death, and he beat the crap out of me. It was a miracle I managed to calm him down."

Okita looked at the cute animal with a raised eyebrow. She knew for sure Archer wouldn't go down without putting up a hell of a fight, and Fou here stomped him? That was hard to believe, but the red knight wasn't lying.

"Fou!" The cute animal noticed her eyes and suddenly jumped at her chest, startling the samurai. The place he was touching fervently was unnerving, but she ignored it to continue the conversation.

"Even if it was a matter of luck, I can't help but feel that you were the most fitted to lead us. Even if Ushiwakamaru-dono and I had more experience regarding leadership, I always felt more inspired by you. It was… almost like when Kondo, Hijikata, and I started the Shinsengumi…"

Now it was the red knight's turn to blush a little. "I… I didn't know you felt like that. I never thought you'd feel like that…"

There was no answer from her. The two remained silent, but they slowly started to close the distance between each other, which conversely caused them to blush harder. But just when they were able to feel the other's breath…

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A certain Bride Saber materialized beside Archer with a really annoyed face, which caused him to almost choke with his own tongue. "I agreed to not say a word when you start negotiating with the fake Goddess, but I have yet to approve this Eastern samurai with an oddly similar face to mine, Darling!"

While Archer was getting air into his lungs, Okita answered with an equally annoyed expression. "Hey! Even if you are the Western equivalent of the Shogun, who said we need your permission for anything!? And you're the one who looks like me!"

"Fou! Fou!" As if to back Okita, Fou jumped from her to Nero's face.

"Geez! Why do you have to be like this, Fou!? The you that became my court's cute pet was a lot nicer!"

She managed to calm him down with one of her practiced charms. Well, it only took letting him sob her chest.

"Ahem." Archer faked a cough to get the attention of the two women. "I guess this is a good moment to say it… but could we avoid talking about this subject for the time being?"

"What do you mean by that, Darling?" The empress looked at him with 'suspicion' written all over her face. "Are you entering your 'fake density mode'? That might work with most people, but you can't fool me."

"It's not that I don't want to give a proper answer to… basically everyone. But after taking a peek at the tablet of destinies… you could say I finally understood my true mission in this fight to take back humanity's future. The reason Chaldea was never able to summon me, even if the conditions were met and there's a lot of people that share karmic threats with me there."

"And what those that have to do with you ignoring everyone's advances?"

"Let him explain, Nero-san. For someone of royalty, you certainly need to work on your patience."

Sparks flew around due to the intensity of the glaring contest between the two ladies, but they kept silent awaiting Archer's answer.

"I can't give details since it would ruin all Ritsuka and Ai had been working for, but what I mean is that this summoning was just a fluke." His steel-grey eyes drifted to his open hands as he thought about how he should put his feelings into words. "Maybe it was because Goldie and that girl who once summoned me were here, but the fact that I was summoned into the Archer class is already telling. That's why I don't think this 'me' should be the one answering to everyone's feelings, but the one that is fated to fulfill that mission."

His words were followed by silence until a pair of hands of hands covered in white gloves. When he raised his head, he was met with Nero's warm, gentle smile.

"Of course, I already smelled something like this. I am your bride, you know? Not even you would act so dense now that everyone is so direct, and you are finally getting a good grasp on the memories from your other selves. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you and leave you alone. I'm sure the others think the same. Even this mannerless samurai who is still indecisive about her feelings."

Okita was split between being embarrassed by her words or glaring at her by the way she referred to her.

"This time, we will fight the enemies trying to destroy our precious Rome (humanity) together, and you won't almost die in the process."

At the end of her speech, she gave him a light kiss on his cheek, causing both Archer and Okita to blush so hard to the point their heads were slightly steaming. In contrast, Nero giggled at their reaction. It reminded her of the first days after formally starting their relationship.

"H-h-how shameless! Why did you do that in front of Ana-chan!?"

"What do you mean? She's still fast asleep, see?"

To their amazement, she was right. Not even Fou pocking her cheek managed to wake her up.

"Wow, how tired must she be?"

"Well, you should get some sleep too, Darling. Do you want to use my lap as a pillow?"

"No, that would still be embarrassing." She was enjoying every second of his embarrassed reactions, wasn't she?

"Then we can sleep cuddled."

"Stop with your shameless suggestions, pervert Empress!"

The three decided to finally go to sleep together after hearing some laughs from outside the tent.

---

Next morning…

"Sooo, now that we're finally getting there, can someone tell us why Ishtar even set her temple here of all places?"

"Glad you asked!" Romani's excited voice was the first one to answer Ai's question. "Mt. Ebih is said to be the tallest magical summit, or rather, spiritual mountain in Sumer. Even An, the greatest of Sumerian Gods feared it. His daughter Inanna was obsessed with it, however, and to her, he said: 'Ebih is a fertile mountain. Its blessings are great, and it is deep. My dear Inanna, only a fool would disobey Ebih'."

"And that only served to anger Inanna, or as we know her, Ishtar." Merlin interjected, causing Romani to grumble at the other side of the communication. "She took her weapons and headed for Mt. Ebih, bringing a storm behind her. She tore apart the mountain as she walked along its edge toward the center. Of course, it was a spiritual mountain that even her fellow Gods feared. Ferocious monsters, volcanoes, rivers, and cold winds struck at her."

"And each time, Ishtar complained. 'Toxic mist, raining boulders, burning lava! I can't believe it! What kind of welcome is this!?'" Ana added her two cents. "In her mind, the fact that she only went there to destroy the mountain didn't matter at all. She might very well be mankind's oldest example of victim-blaming."

A blank stare was shared by all the listeners. The picture they had in mind of the Goddess was starting to get even more sullied.

"I knew that fake Goddess wasn't good news, but we need her power…"

"At any rate." Romani resumed his story even if he too was starting to review the pros and cons of having Ishtar as an ally. "Mt. Ebih's error was that it didn't send all its disasters at once. It kept hoping the next thing it did would get her to leave. It sent its storms bit by bit. Now, Ishtar was selfish, but adversity only made her stronger. At last, she reached its top, and as legends say, she grabbed it by its head and stabbed her blade deep into its body. Mt. Ebih fell apart, its body sliding down like a drop of water. In reality, the mountain collapsed to half of its original height, and Ishtar's aspect as a Goddess of War became common knowledge. But what's really interesting is that Ishtar never used her bow. She took the trouble of challenging the mountain directly."

"At least she's forthcoming…" Arturia tried to look at the bright side, but Alter didn't think as such.

"The fact that she likes to face problems head-on only makes things difficult for us. But I guess this is another chance to make a God feel my hatred."

"At least let us try to talk things out first. I know you're frustrated but-" Ai's words got stuck in her throat as they finally reached the place where Ishtar's "temple" was built. "What the hell am I seeing…"

The appearance of the building was… bizarre to put it simply. It was gold and white themed, making it really fancy, but the problem was the statues. The place was filled with weird-looking statues, the majority of them being golden cats with a raised pawns and Japanese scriptures.

"The cats are most likely Rin's influence, but still… I expected something more similar to my Camelot from a Goddess."

"Those things are from 100-yen stores… why would she choose that of all things from Japanese culture…"

"Wait, those things are common in your era, Ai-chan? I thought she was just blaspheming our Gods…"

"Heh, I knew it. My Domus Aurea is superior in all aspects to this insult to all artists."

"Man, the castle of terror I built back at the Orleans' Singularity wasn't that horrifying."

"Perhaps we should leave her alone? I think she might self-destruct."

"No, I knew we should just go there and beat her."

"I'M HEARING YOU!"

And as it was to be expected, the Goddess in all her glory flew out of her temple atop her Boat of Heaven to face them. And she was absolutely livid. Her usually red eyes now were showing a golden glint due to all the power radiating from her.

"I held back up until now because I thought you were all a bunch of bumpkins from a foreign land, but that does it! I'm done playing the nice Goddess!"

With each of her words, she was accumulating even more magical energy on her bow, and she even pulled out some of her precious gems. She really wanted to blow them away for sure.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second, Lady Ishtar!" But while everyone was just ready to fight her, Archer stepped forward with his hand lifted and making an active effort to not show the desperation on his face. "Don't listen to them! They can't appreciate your superb sense of style with their simple minds!"

Those words got him no small number of glares drilling his back, but he turned around for a second to shoot back at them a murderous glare while whispering through his teeth.

"This is a negotiation, damn it! Don't make my work even harder!"

While the place plunged into a dead silence, the red knight carefully observed the mistress of heaven's reaction. Well, at least she didn't start blasting and her cheeks took a slightly reddish tone, but she still seemed annoyed if the way she was gritting her teeth was any indication.

"Only because Archer here knows proper manners, I'll give you lot one last chance. State what you came here for, and depending on what you say, I'll just blast you away from my mountain."

Now came the difficult part. He had to choose his words carefully if he wanted to avoid a pointless fight.

"We came here to make you a preposition, Lady Ishtar. Would you join us in our fight against the Three Goddesses Alliance?"

The way Ishtar was torn between just laughing at him or just calling him a fool and unleashing divine retribution was already a part of his plan. The surprise factor always helped regardless of the situation. And luckily, she opted to go with the first option.

"Hahahahahaha! Now that's cute! Is humanity's situation so hopeless that you came to ask the same question after a couple of days, expecting a different answer!? I knew you weren't one for brains Archer, but I might have to rethink-"

"No, this isn't the same as last time." Repressing his mischievous smile became impossible. The nonsense Gilgamesh was spewing back at the throne room made him nervous, but this tactic would certainly be infallible. "This time, we brought a suitable offering for you! Ai, do your thing!"

"On it!" The last female master of humanity walked beside the red knight with the same smile while pulling a sizable cart.

And the moment Ishtar's red eyes saw its contents, everyone could see how her breath started to become uneven.

"Wa-wait… don't tell… are all of those Lapis Lazuli!? And is that a crown!? A seven-jeweled crown!? That's enough to power my magecraft for a long time… And you're giving it to me? No take-backsies?"

She was so concentrated on inspecting the offer that she failed to notice that everyone was sporting the same wicked smile. Even Arturia and Romani on the other side of the hologram projected from Ai's bracelet.

This was the glaring weakness of this Ishtar. Rin's influence not only made her greedy when it came to money and jewels, but her bad luck when it came to it caused the Goddess to lose her Golden Rule skill.

In other words, forget about seducing her. They were shamelessly buying her.

"No… calm down, me. Also, calm down, Ishtar-me. The great Goddess of beauty, fertility, and war can't fall just because of some… *gulp* gems…"

Not even she believed her own words. She was feeling dizzy, sweat was sliding throughout her body, her cheeks were now completely flustered, and steam came out with each of her breaths.

"No, this is just a deposit. You see, not only Goldie, but all of Uruk's citizens agreed to pay for your services with 10% of the riches contained in the Gate of Babylon."

Now those words caused Ishtar's breath to get stuck in her throat. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!? Th-that can't be right! That treasury was said to be bottomless by the end of Goldie's life, and you say I can have a good portion of it!? That sounds too good, even coming from you!"

She was putting up some resistance, they had to give her that. But now came the finishing blow.

"What about the 25% percent?"

"I-it's still going up!? A quarter of Goldie's treasures… No, I can't give in under such miserable conditions…"

"Well, we 's get going, guys."

"It's a pity, but I guess we'll get to keep the jewels after all."

Without even leaving her a second to think, they turned around to leave with the jewels, and that broke the final stray.

"NOOOO! HOLD ON! Don't do that! Don't do that! It would make me so sad I might just DIE!"

"Then, what's going to be your answer, Lady Ishtar?" The way they immediately turned around with wider smiles took her aback. She was finally realizing she played right into their hands.

"Just give it up already. There are only good things to be found if you join us. There will be no one left to revere you if you let humanity die."

"Don't you think it would feel dull if your no longer had people to adore your beauty?"

"If you fight alongside us, you will definitely go down in history as a benevolent Goddess instead of a whimsical one."

"That… that sounds good…" Romani, Archer, and Arturia's compliments caused her to finally give in. Although her eyes were still staring at the cart filled with gems.

"Fou, Fou! (Special translation: What an easy Goddess!)"

"I know what you are thinking Fou, but keep it to yourself for the moment…" Ana had to appease him.

"Ugh, fine! I'll join you guys. I too think this can develop into a good business relationship." Her eyes drifted for a moment to the orange-haired master. "Ai, was it? I'll let you form a temporary contract with me. But before that, we have to strengthen our bonds. So first…"

At that moment, the original wicked smile showed on her face as she descended, and the red knight started to have a very bad feeling about this.

"Archer, kiss my feet."

"… Wat?" Archer's elaborated answer was followed by a series of surprised gasps and Merlin's laugh, which was more sinister than usual.

"Isn't it obvious? You are the one who brought the offer, so it is only natural that you are the one who has to pledge himself to me. Besides, I know for sure Goldie is a poor master. I'll definitely do a much better job."

"You want to be my master!? Well, a servant contracting another servant isn't that farfetched but-" This was her payback, wasn't it?

"What has that to do with Darling kissing your feet!? I'll never allow that!"

"I don't like to think the same as her, but I can't allow your depravity to sully Archer-dono!"

The Goddess's smile only grew wider at the reaction of the two women with identical faces.

"Hoh? What's the matter? Feeling that he may fall for my charms and forget you now, aren't we?" Her words only caused the empress and the samurai to grit their teeth harder.

"Wow, she really is the 'Devil of Venus'. Not even Artemis is this petty aside from the times her yandere switch is flipped…"

"Is he going to be well? A pact with a God doesn't tend to end well in most legends…" Arturia asked her former counselor, but she only got a half-backed answer.

"He'll manage… somehow."

"As long as he gets that bimbo to help us we're good to go."

"I trust Archer to handle her…"

"Fou, Fou!"

By the end of the morning, they managed to sort out things and started descending the mountain. Ishtar made a temporary contract with Ai, while Archer struck one with her. His master was still Gilgamesh, but now he received some magical energy from her.

Who would have thought they would end up in the same situation after so much time…

As they walked, aside from reaffirming why was a great honor to have her by their side, they talked about her nature as a pseudo-servant.

In her words, she didn't take over Rin's body or anything like that. The best way to put it is that her human vessel one day woke up to find that she was now the Goddess Ishtar. In essence, due to their compatibility, the Ishtar that was summoned was the result of their personalities merging.

She still proclaimed that humans were hers to bully even after confirming she was a lot softer though. The moment she was summoned was really confusing, as the first thing she saw was the lifeless body of her temple's matron after draining herself of magical energy. And since Gilgamesh built the Northern Wall and proclaimed that it was humanity who would fight this calamity, the already weak link to the realm of Gods had completely collapsed.

"I think that's how things should be." Merlin's comment got him a lot of questioning stares. "We need the ruthless Ishtar as a trump card in our fight against Gorgon."

"I don't know if the benefits outweigh that downside…"

"Hey, Ana, was it? You're not one to talk. You have to clean your own mess, okay?"

"I know. Please, don't mention it."

"At any rate. I've been meaning to ask…" The Goddess looked at the rest of the group with a doubtful expression. "…but why are you guys so confident in my power despite having yet to show my full might? In fact, you've managed to force me to a draw a couple of times already."

Everyone gave her a raised eyebrow and Alter voiced her thoughts. "Isn't it obvious? You have that mass-destruction thing, how was it called?"

"The Bull of Heaven, yes. That divine beast will surely be able to defeat Gorgon and her army, but we should keep it only as a trump card. We don't want it destroying Uruk again as collateral damage."

"Oh, yeah, you're referring to Gugalanna. Yeah, he's really impressive…"

The way she started fidgeting instead of bragging about the gift bestowed to her by her father set a massive red flag for everyone, but they weren't able to ask further.

"Romani, sorry for interrupting you, but we have a situation on our side!" Da Vinci's oddly serious voice was heard through Ai's intercom.

"Judging by the fact that you're not with your usual cup of tea, this must be really serious."

"I'll let King Gilgamesh explain the situation-"

"Is this thing on already!? There's no time to waste!" The image of the Golden King sitting on his throne was projected by Ai's band, and the anger on his face faded. "Good. It seems your technology isn't as disappointing as I thought. But I have to correct them here. We'll just have to bring the schedule forward."

"Heh, leave it to Goldie to still beat around the bush despite the situation if it helps him assert his dominance."

Surprisingly, Ishtar's snarky commend barely caused a reaction from the king. "Oh, so you did manage to bring the whimsical Goddess to our side. Well done. Now, I need you to be here tomorrow morning to take Ritsuka's team position as they will be taking a mission. In fact, if any of you feels they are still in good shape, you should accompany them. You could take it as warm-up before the battle against Gorgon."

"Err, can you fill us in about what happened, King Gilgamesh?" Ai dared to ask, but Archer's blank stare and Merlin's playful grin pocking over her helped convince him.

"I already said what was needed. Ritsuka, Mash, as the leaders of this mission, it's your duty to inform them."

"Ri-right!" The image changed to the two teenagers, and their disheveled caused Ai's expression to shift to a worried one.

"Onii-chan, Mash, what happened!?"

"Well, you see, this morning…"

---

Earlier, at Uruk's ziggurat…

"…with Ritsuka-dono and his entourage's help, I believe the reconstruction of the Northern Wall will be over by tomorrow. Not only that, but the morale is still high after Mash-dono replaced Leonidas-dono in the front and EMIYA-dono and Tamamo-no-mae-dono started to supply the food."

Ushiwakamaru finished her daily report to the king alongside the rest of the Chaldeans, which caused the aforementioned Shielder to blush. On the other hand, the King just took note of it silently before throwing the clay tablet to the pile at his right.

"I see. We can start with the real preparations then. It will take Fujimaru Ai's team another day to get here with that noisy Goddess, but that's no reason to slack off." Gilgamesh ignored the stinky eye he received from Siduri after referring to Uruk's patron deity like that. "Now, let's talk about what we know about the Goddess at the South-"

"I'm really sorry to interrupt you, my King! But we have an urgent message from the Southern gate of the city!" Everyone in the room was startled when a soldier suddenly rushed into the throne room with a deeply concerned face.

The King merely gestured at him to speak; his full attention having been caught. "The Southern gate has been utterly annihilated! They are requesting reinforcements!"

"An enemy attack now of all times!? What are the lookouts doing!? How could they miss such a huge horde of demonic beasts!?"

"I'm afraid Sir they said it was a single enemy! A woman calling herself Quetzalcoatl has destroyed the gate with her bare hands and breached Uruk! Sher's heading straight here!"

Those words had everyone widening their eyes in astonishment, and the tremors they were starting to hear only kept the tension increasing.

"Wait! You mean Qerzalcoatl, as in one of the supreme deities of Central America!? But 'he' is supposed to be a God, not a Goddess! But I guess that would explain the jungle-"

Da Vinci's words were interrupted by the Golden King. "There is no time to infer in the truthfulness behind their words! Fujimaru Ritsuka, take Ushiwakamaru along with your servants and go help the soldiers repel that rampaging Goddess!"

"Yes!" The master turned around and swiftly ran outside the ziggurat followed by his trusted Shielder, the samurai, the holy maiden, the red Archer, and the fox Caster.

And the scene at the streets that met them was quite… mindboggling.

"She's coming! Get the citizens out of here now!"

"Everyone, defensive formation!"

"We'll definitely put an end to your killing spree right here and now!"

The soldiers were frantically running around, some of them escorting the civilians before they got in the crossfire while others hastily joined to form one of the defensive formations used at the demonic front.

But it amounted to nothing.

"Oh my, what little naughty kids you are. This isn't a tag team match. I said to come at me one on one. I know! I'll juggle you till you cool off! Now, uno, dos, tres!"

Just after hearing that playful voice, a blur crashed right into the group of soldiers, blowing them away as if they were bowling pins hit by the speeding ball.

"She's tossing us like toys! How can she be that powerful!?"

"Even if she didn't do that much damage to that attack, they were sent so high that…"

The flying soldiers were finally pulled to the ground by gravity, and even if they managed to at least not fall head-first, the sickening sounds of bones cracking was really disturbing.

"Oh my. You're terrible at plancha and also at landing. You won't be top-tier luchadores like that, you know! Being able to break your fall nimbly is important for both the attacker and the defender in Lucha libre! If you don't get something as basic as that, you will never be able to defeat me no matter how much of you come at me, niños!"

And among them, the one talking with a carefree tone as if they were a coach giving them advice was a woman with long, wavy, blonde hair and emerald eyes. She was wearing colorful garments that fitted the Meso-American theme, covered with a big number of golden ornaments and jewels, including some kind of crow filled with palm leaves.

But the most disturbing thing was the cheerful smile plastered on her face while she mercilessly beat the soldiers of Uruk to a pulp.

"Watch out!" However, she was interrupted when the man she was about to hurl at the sky was shouldered by Mash and her fists were blocked by the shield of the Round Table.

The deafening sound of the steel clang plunged the entire market into silence, only interrupted by the Shielder's voice. "Leave her to us! You have to evacuate too! Hurry!"

The soldier seemed to be relieved by the sight of the approaching Chaldeans and did as he was told without hesitation. "I wish you luck against that demon!"

"Wow! Qué técnica! I'll give you 40 points. But stealing opponents is against the rules, so I'll have to apply the penalty, yes! And that means…"

The Goddess's smile suddenly changed to a really twisted one that showed a line of sharp fangs as fierce gusts of wind were released from beneath her feet.

"My one-hundred-meter ring-out toss! Adiós, muchachos!"

With that said, all the people in said radius were flung away by the winds as if they were trapped in a hurricane.

"WHOOAAA!"

"I got you!" Mash was no different being so close to the epicenter of the attack, but luckily for her, Jeanne caught her before she was too far away.

The exceedingly powerful magic resistance of the Ruler servant turned the winds into a harmless breeze. The two battle maidens landed without trouble where the other servants and Ritsuka had been clinging to EMIYA's projected chained nail.

"Are you alright, Mash!? That was a close call…"

"I'm okay, master. However, I can't say the same for the rest of the soldiers…"

As she said, all the people caught in the attack didn't fall, at least not near them. And such a long fall was most likely lethal…

"Yet again, someone appearing out of nowhere and catching one of the luchadores isn't allowed by the rules. But I guess it's okay if the public loves it. After all, we don't fight to kill our opponents, but to encourage people."

The Goddess was again showing her cheerful smile as she slowly walked towards them bare-handed. "Aaanyway, are you my next opponents? Good, you seem to have some pep! I'll fight each and every one of you until your hearts give up."

The fight didn't break out immediately as the Chaldeans tried to make heads or tails of the opponent in front of them.

"Ritsuka-dono, even though I've fought a great number of opponents, I can't get a read on this one."

"I'm a bit thrown off too, master. We've met cruel opponents, and opponents who are simply stoic without regard for life, but this is different… The way she's smiling and laughing while she kills…"

"Even as a Counter Guardian, I must admit I've hardly run into this kind of threat…"

"Heh, and people call me "evil Goddess" having freaks like this in the other mythologies. She had to appear just when Goshuhin-sama isn't here so I can't show off…"

"But is she really killing?" Ritsuka thought out loud as he overserved the cheerful Goddess. Even if she seemed to have a screw loose, there wasn't a single corpse to be seen around…

"I don't know master. But even if she isn't, she's still a member of the Three Goddesses Alliance. Even if it pains me to see that the Gods of other pantheons aren't as benevolent as the Lord, we must put a stop to their schemes."

"Be careful, everyone! This is going to be the first time you actually fight the highest-ranking divine spirit there is! Quetzalcoatl, a true Goddess! Remember that you don't have to defeat her now-"

"Allá voy!" The Goddess hurled at them just as Da Vinci finished her warning.

"Guh!" Well, "hurled" might not be accurate enough as she became a golden arrow that hit Mash's shield with so much force that she was blown from her feet.

"Landing is important but keeping your feet firmly on the ground regardless of the attack is also crucial for a luchadora!"

Ignoring Quetzalcoatl's comment, Jeanne hurried to engage her before she attacked the other servants. With Mash out of commission temporarily and both Arturia and Nero away, she was the only one who could take on such devastating attacks.

Her arms trembled as the bare fists of the American Goddess collided with her banner. The Goddess's smile widened seeing Jeanne was enduring her onslaught well, and she decided to add a roundhouse kick.

The Ruler servant decided to duck instead of blocking, and just when she was about to receive an axe kick on the back of her neck, a barrage of "arrows" and curses flew over her towards the Goddess.

"Wow! Now, this is a real tag team maneuver! 60 points!" She was completely unfazed though. A rounded shield with matching golden ornaments appeared on her left hand and she used it to block all the projectiles.

The fire curses thrown by Tamamo created a screen of flames for Jeanne to step back and regroup, but Quetzalcoatl's right fist flew through it before she could jump. It was aimed right at her face, but she managed to twist her neck in the nick of time to avoid it.

She let the Goddess continue her trajectory past her, but unfortunately, she wasn't out of the woods.

"Huh!?" The Holy Maiden felt a pair of arms grab her head from behind just before she was forced to look at the sky as her head crashed violently against the concrete. It was a movement similar to the three-quarter facelock bulldog in Lucha libre.

At that moment, Jeanne thought she really had to work on her defense against grabbing techniques.

"Yes! Who's next!? I know! Let's see what the foreign Goddess is made of!"

Tamamo's yellow eyes widened as the golden comet rushed at her. Judging by the way she stretched her right arm to the side, she wasn't aiming for a punch. She intended to literally ram her.

Even with all the lessons in self-defense she took from the golden boy and that young, battle-hungry martial artist, she was under no illusion she could wrestle with this monster. At least with only one tail.

"EMIYA, it's up to you!" And her master knew it as well. That's why Ritsuka waited for the last second to activate a spell from his mystic code to switch her with the red Archer.

"Hnn!" The moment Archer took her place, he was already swinging down the Peerless Sword at the Aztec Goddess.

Quetzalcoatl showed some surprise as she blocked the attack, but her smile was never lost. The power behind the straight managed to put a halt to her charge, her sandals sinking in the concrete, as EMIYA had been also boosted by the master's mystic code.

The next moment, Durandal was dropped in favor of projecting Kanshou and Bakuya for a relentless assault. Even if the offense wasn't his strong point, he used the last remains of extra magical energy to press on the attack.

But even so, the Goddess swiftly dodged the Yin Yang swords as if she were dancing. Midway through it, she proceeded to drop to the ground on her back to deflect his attacks with some sort of break-dance movements. In fact, she surpassed his attacks to throw a kick that caused his arms to shake when he blocked it.

The Goddess used the momentum to roll back and jump toward one of the nearby buildings. She used the clay wall as a springboard to jump back at the red archer while executing a magnificent aerial attack.

"Olé!"

EMIYA braced himself for the impact, but before he experienced a world of pain, a white blur clashed against the Goddess with a long clang.

"Your mischievousness end here, Goddess of the South!"

"Sí! Come at me then!"

Both Quetzalcoatl and Ushiwakamaru started to jump between the buildings of the district so fast that they became blurs to even EMIYA's hawk-like eyes. Even if he could have a general sense of their movements thanks to the sounds caused by them kicking the walls and the samurai's katana clashing against the Goddess's shield, he couldn't take the risk of trying to support her. And the same went for Tamamo and Ritsuka.

The only thing they could do was to put their faith in the tanuki, but things looked bleak…

"Dan-no-Ura- Wha-" Ushiwakamaru was ready to release the true name of her noble phantasm and kick into the highest gear, but the Goddess interrupted her.

"Noble phantasm? No, no, no, señora! We can't have that in an exhibition match!"

In a bust of speed using her wind authority Quetzalcoatl's legs wrapped around the samurai's neck before spinning and crashing her against the ground so hard it caused a small crater.

Her feet didn't even touch the ground before she was already jumping at her original target in a plancha attack. Tamamo immediately used her divine mirror to block the attack, but even so, the impact caused her entire body to tremble in pain.

A trio of her talismans slipped into her free hand and she immediately unleashed a burst of fire right on the Goddess's face. However, even if those curses could pierce through any rank of magic resistance, the kitsune widened her eyes in horror when her opponent emerged unscathed.

"Good movements, but flames are also a part of my authority!" She spun in midair to deliver a devastating kick, and to everyone's surprise and horror, Tamamo's flames moved to wrap her leg and enhance the attack further.

The fox caster hurried to move her mirror between her head and the attack and added another layer of protection in the form of ice curses.

The result was a nasty vapor explosion that threw away both Goddesses in different directions. However, while Quetzalcoatl landed without problems, Tamamo crashed through the wall of a building.

Why did she have to use a female avatar for this summoning? She would have defeated her Lucha Libre in no time with her Polygamy Castration Fist otherwise!

As those thoughts crossed the downed kitsune's mind, a red blur crossed the vapor while swinging a golden sword against the mighty Goddess. She noticed how EMIYA's movements changed drastically, not only his technique but his speed and strength.

His movements, guided by the experience engraved onto the sword by the King of Knights herself, were actually causing trouble to Quetzalcoatl. No longer was she dancing around, but she had to manifest a sword of her own to complement her shield. A sword that, despite its ornaments, looked more like a club, but it was able to meet the strikes of the Golden Sword of the Victorious unscathed, nonetheless.

However, the favorable situation didn't last long. Even if Arturia's skills were able to press the Goddess in a swordfight, there was still a fatal flaw that EMIYA couldn't fill with his own experience.

Arturia wasn't used to fighting unarmed martial arts. Therefore, the stance that allowed no counterattack on any of his vital points with a sword, wasn't able to react when Quetzalcoatl suddenly tossed aside her weapons and grabbed the red Archer's arms.

"Bravo! Those are the best movements so far, but you're still a long way off from becoming a luchador!"

"Dam-" EMIYA cursed under his breath as he reinforced his back in preparation. He was flipped like a ragdoll and crashed against the ground, causing another small crater.

But before the Goddess could perform another of her Lucha libre attacks on him, she had to raise an arm to block a steel boot coming at her face.

"Haaaaaahhh!" Mash let out a battle roar as she threw a cut with the lower edge of her shield.

The Goddess ducked below the attack before throwing a high kick at the Shielder's face. The purple-haired kohai moved her head to avoid it barely in time before throwing back a left jab.

The fight delved into pretty much a wrestling match, and Quetzalcoatl was visibly enjoying it much to Mash's chagrin. Ritsuka felt how his heart was being gripped by an invisible hand as his first servant was quickly losing ground despite the magical boost he gave her.

He was healing Ushiwakamaru, who was the most injured, but it seemed that none of his servants were going to stand up in time. At this time, he would have to…

"This is more like it, yes! We have here a promising luchadora! But you have to watch more your feet!"

Just as she caught one of Mash's fists, her leg quickly swept her legs. At that moment the, Shielder lost her balance, the Goddess pressed her other arm below the caught forearm, and with a quick movement, Mash was sent into the air spinning.

"Time for the big finale!" Quetzalcoatl jumped after her and grabbed her by the waist when her head was facing down.

With a vicious grin, the Goddess slammed the poor kohai headfirst into the ground with so much strength the entire place was shocked.

"Guh!"

"Oh? Not bad!" However, to her surprise, Mash managed to put the Shield below her head. Even if the impact still hurt as hell, it wasn't her head that received it but her arm. "What about a German Suplex then-"

"Get off of Mash!" Before the Goddess could turn the Shielder around to perform the suplex, a Gandr shot impacted her temple.

It caused no harm, and it barely caused any stun to her, but it was the surprise of having been attacked by the master that gave her pause. The boy had closed in without her noticing, and despite being clearly anxious in her presence, the fierce glare on his face actually took her breath away. And that was enough for Mash to get away from her with a well-placed quick on her chin.

The Goddess, however, didn't retaliate and just stared at Ritsuka. It was a really tense moment until a hand pushed him behind and he saw Jeanne's figure blocking the enemy's gaze.

"Please, stay back, master! You shouldn't take such risks!"

"Sorry, I…"

He didn't have time to answer as he saw Ushiwakamaru and EMIYA rushing at the Goddess with some giant icicles covering their flanks. But again, she didn't engage them and just jumped back to land on a nearby roof.

"That cutie over there. You must be one of the last two masters of humanity, am I right?"

The way in which she referred to him gained her a lot of raised eyebrows. Ritsuka himself was now sporting a healthy blush, and Mash seemed to be stuttering something unintelligible.

"Y-yes… that would be me, Fujimaru Ritsuka. And just to confirm, you are Quetzalcoatl, one of the members of the Three Goddess Alliance, right?"

"Claro que sí! I'm the Onee-chan who came all the way here from Mesoamerica to destroy Uruk a little, yes!"

He didn't expect to be able to talk with her, but this was a good opportunity. "And why are you doing that if I may ask?"

In contrast to her straightforward personality up until now, she remained silent after that question. More than not wanting to answer, it looked more like she was hesitating.

"Why are you doubting? Isn't that a trivial question for a Goddess like you?" EMIYA threw him a bone and managed to snap her out of it.

"Ahahaha! Well, how do I put this? It happens that Ritsuka-kun there is just my type, so I'm a little bit surprised. Disciplined, righteous, and earnest. That hits all my buttons. So much so, you deserve a penalty! If you decide to marry me, I wouldn't mind swaying to your side!"

""WHAT!?""

"Where did that come from!? You marrying senpai!?"

"Political marriage was common during my age, but somehow, I feel vexed by this development."

Jeanne, EMIYA, and Tamamo shared a blank look and there was no need to voice their thoughts to know they were thinking the same. The boy in front of them was even more of a harem protagonist than a certain nameless hero.

"Hehehe, forgot about that for now. That was a little bit childish of me. Now, as for the reason to destroy Uruk…" For the first time, her cheerful expression turned into a serious one. "That's because we were called over by Mother to kill humans. It is our purpose here, and we can't change it. So that's what we'll do."

After that statement, the Goddess returned to her usual self. "But how I do so is up to me, no? It'd be boring just to drop the sun and burn the city. I want to have fun, yes! That's why I decided no matter who I'm up against, I'll kill them one by one until I eradicate humanity, yes! Besides, using my authority is tiring."

"But you kept using your wind and fire authorities. Isn't that cheating then?"

Ritsuka's remark got her once again. "Ah, being scolded by a young master for the first time makes me blush. But you need a trial like this. Going easy won't help anyone grow. That's how humans learn, no?"

"That's easy to say for you, but we don't have enough offensive power right now… If only we had Arturia or Nero here…"

"Master, I can accept relying on the King of Knights, but why should we have to rely on the child emperor that is most likely going to ruin Goshujin-sama's mission?"

"Caster, there's no time for your oddly specifical complaints. If you manage to buy me enough time to use the Unlimited Blade Works-"

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I only fight one hundred people a day! Any more than that and I start forgetting my opponents. Fighting would become a chore, and I don't want deathmatches to be of anything but the highest quality."

Having said that, everyone heard a loud screech before a huge flying reptile approached the Goddess and let her mount it.

"So, everyone, adiós! I'll be back tomorrow at dawn to kill another 100 of you!"

And just as she came, the Aztec Goddess quickly disappeared into the horizon, leaving everyone confused.

---

Back to the present…

"…and that's what happened this morning. Given the state of things, I agree with King Gilgamesh that the best course of action is to go on the offensive. We're planning to head there tomorrow first thing as it is going to be a two-day journey to Eridu."

Ritsuka finished explaining the situation and left everyone some space to assimilate everything. However, Da Vinci didn't seem to agree with him in that regard.

"You're also going there to secure the ancient relic that will give us an extra bun against Gorgon, the Axe of Marduk."

"The Axe of Marduk?" Ai parroted, having no clue of what she was referring to.

"That's the axe that dealt the finishing blow to Tiamat in the ancient myths. Even if Gorgon is just borrowing her authority somehow, it should still be quite effective." Merlin explained further before turning his eyes to Ishtar. "But going back to Quetzalcoatl, what do you think about her Lady Ishtar? You two are fellow Goddesses that rule over Venus, right?"

The answer he got was a scowl. "Hey, don't put me together with that weirdo. She's from a really different culture. Heck, her origin as a deity isn't even the same as us Sumerians. She came from a meteor back when the dinosaurs were still alive as a microorganism that infected terrestrial life. That female body must be one of her many avatars."

"Wow, we're dealing with aliens now? This singularity just keeps getting more convoluted by the day…"

"Believe me, she might very well be the outsider that better adapted to this planet and without causing much fuss." Arturia and EMIYA at the other side of the hologram silently nodded at Archer's comment, which only caused the rest of the group to sweat even more.

"At any rate. You guys should continue your journey back to Uruk. We can discuss the details tomorrow before you head to the south."

Everyone agreed to Romani's suggestion and the group at Mt. Ebih continued their descent.

They encountered some resistance on the way. More stray demonic beasts and also an androgen creature made out of rock that, for some reason, seemed to be dead inside. But to their surprise, Ishtar took care of all of them on her own. She must have been either trying to impress them or blowing off some steam.

By the time the sun went down, and they started setting up the camp again, they were already in the middle of the plains at Uruk's West. They used the same formation to guard against possible enemies, with the addition of the Goddess of Venus.

Archer knew he should be resting, as he and Ishtar were most likely going to take part in the operation: "Infiltrate the jungle and defeat the foreign Goddess". But he needed some time alone to… cool off.

He thought he could handle it but sleeping beside two beauties he already saw in their birthday dress somehow or another was nearly impossible. Adding Ishtar to that equation would only make it worse and thank goodness Ana had yet to develop her tiny body.

Surprisingly enough, neither Nero nor Okita followed him on his nightly stroll. They must have started arguing if the heated voices he left behind were anything to go by. He also heard Alter getting into the fray, but he didn't hear a certain Goddess trying to mess with them…

At any rate. After he found a good spot, he sat down to do his usual stargazing to clear up his mind. But not that long after that, he heard some steps approaching before a familiar voice greeted him.

"What is it that you are thinking about so much instead of resting? I thought you were more straightforward rather than a sage."

"Hey, I like to think I matured after so many years." His steel grey eyes turned to look at the Goddess with a small frown, but the sight that greeted him caused him to blink a couple of times.

The Goddess was standing beside him instead of floating around with her authority as the Mistress of Heaven, but what really got him confused was the gentle smile on her face.

"I would tell you to not give your everything for others, to at least save something for yourself, but I have the feeling I would be wasting my breath. Anyway, can I seat here?"

The red knight just nodded at her before turning his eyes toward the starry sky again. Or so he tried. The way her gaze was completely fixed on him made it impossible for him to relax. The Goddess was scrutinizing him intently as if she were trying to peer beyond his physical form.

"So… um… do you need something from me?" He tried to start a conversation to lessen the heavy atmosphere.

"What? Feeling uncomfortable with just a girl's stare? Or is it that mind of yours is filled with perverted thoughts?"

"Of course not. Besides, that outfit of yours doesn't leave that much to the imagination." He counter-teased on reflex before thinking that this wasn't Rin, but the Goddess of Beauty who wouldn't feel shame about showing her body…

Or not. He could see the Goddess's cheeks getting a healthy blush after lowering her gaze to look at her ornamented bikini.

"Now that I think about it, it's actually kinda cold wearing something like this… Ah… Ah… Achoo!"

"…!?" Her loud sneeze only surprised him a bit. Ishtar had had no qualms with her outfit regardless of the weather up till now. What really startled him was that her hair suddenly turned blonde.

Merlin said that Sumerian deities were all blonde, but could the Goddess really change her vessel's hair color at a random time? And her presence… it changed radically. As a Goddess, Ishtar triggered his fight-or-flight instincts to some level, but her presence was mostly majestic and dazzling.

The Goddess beside him thought… she felt more dangerous, and for some reason, gloomy and lonely.

"Sorry about that. At any rate. What I wanted to talk about…" Her gentle expression suddenly turned dead serious when she looked at Archer again. His tense muscles to be precise. "Why do you look like you're about to run away at any moment? Are you… Are you scared of me too?" That last question was said in a tone so sad and mournful that he felt as if he just kicked a kitty.

"No, no, no! Not in the least! It's just… you know, I wasn't expecting a Goddess to sneeze right beside my ear."

"Really? You aren't afraid of me? Do you not hate me because I'm a Goddess?"

"Well, I mean, it's a general rule to not trust the Gods. But there are always exceptions, and you have yet to make me think you fall into the general category. Or at least, you're quite terrible at being a Goddess."

"He-hey! I'm not terrible! I'll let you know I take my job as a Goddess really seriously! At least in my domain…" There, that got her back into her usual mood. "Wait, I didn't come here for a teasing contest. I can't waste time if I don't want one of your comrades to interrupt us. Let's get to the point. You're planning to fight the Three Goddess Alliance, right?"

He could just raise an eyebrow at that question. "Yes. It's not like we have an option here. If we don't win humanity is doomed."

"And what do you think about them? The Goddess of Demonic Beasts… well, there's no helping her. Even you know she'll never make peace with humanity. The Goddess of the jungle… her way of thinking is just too alien for us. And the third Goddess, well, that's me."

Looking at her expectant expression, Archer decided to taste the waters. "Well, before I say anything, could you at least tell me what's the goal that made you join the Alliance to destroy Uruk?"

"I won't forgive Mesopotamia for what's become." Her answer came crashing down on him without any attempt of making it sound sweet. However, her face was not severe, but full of pity. "I refuse to accept that you humans parted ways with the Gods to create your own world. Even if that's a part of your nature, that will only bring you misery. As an envoy of humanity's collective unconsciousness, I'm sure you know that pretty well. When humans became so smart that they started to comprehend and accept what this world really is, they no longer could escape from the suffering of life and the terror of death."

For the first time, she looked at the sea of stars above them. The goal mankind was fated to reach one day from the moment they left behind the Gods and mystery.

"However, in the Age of Gods, that pain was lessened as there were a lot of things humans can't understand. You can blame all the bad things, the crazy things, everything on the Gods. That way, your life would be really easy. I at least thought that was a good way to live. I took all the blame for tens of thousands of years. That's why I joined the alliance. So that your world could become our world. I'm not an enemy of humanity, but an enemy of humanity's world. I'm only telling this to you because I thought you would be able to understand, not because you're special or something."

Archer had to repress the urge to give her a blank stare. Even if she seemed a completely different person, she was still a tsundere at heart. But aside from that, what she just told him was... interesting to say the least.

"I see you really are a nice Goddess after all."

"H-huh!?" That compliment got her stumbling with her own words. "I-I'm not gentle. If anything, everyone says I'm merciless and cold!"

"That depends on the perspective. But to answer your question about what I think about the last Goddess, your goal is similar to my dream. A world where no one cries. However, I can't agree with your view of death. For it is only when we know the end of our journey is certain that we learn to treasure every fleeting moment of it. That's true even for someone who went on a journey to hell."

"I see…" Despite his total refutation of her point of view, she still gave him a gentle smile. "I guess that's the reason you didn't turn out as that other red archer. You still cling to that naivety even after all this time. But still… would you answer to one last whim of this Goddess?"

"Of course. As long as it is within my capabilities."

"Then would you tell me the reason you started to pursue your dream and why did you end up as a Counter Guardian? Gods were no longer walking alongside humans in your era, right?"

"Yeah. But my memories are a little bit messy after so much time. Humanity barely remembers me. It wasn't the most interesting story, to begin with. But if you insist, I guess I should start with my first memory. The first time I saw hell..."

The two became absorbed with the story of the nameless hero that they lost track of time. As a Goddess, she must have heard or even witnessed more epic tales about revered heroes, but nonetheless, she kept listening carefully. An array of emotions crossed her face throughout the tragic story, but she never interrupted him, unlike all the other people that heard it.

"I guess we should end the conversation for tonight." With that said, the Goddess stood up to take her to leave once he finished, reserving her judgment for herself. But she still gave him a proper farewell. "I meant it when I said you need to get proper rest. Have a good night, Archer. I'll be waiting for you."

"Goodnight to you as well, Goddess."

---

Next morning…

"What… What's going on here?" Ai voiced the question in everyone's mind as they finally entered Uruk.

The guards at the Western gate were all in a somber mood, but they just chalked it up to yesterday's attack by the Aztec Goddess. However, the entire city behind the walls seemed to be in mourning.

"Hmph, for them to ignore the glorious return of their patron Goddess, it better be a good reason…"

"Let's go to our inn. I'm sure Ushiwakamaru-dono or Ritsuka-dono will know what's happening."

The group followed Okita's suggestion and went straight there, but to their surprise, there was no one there despite how early it was. The tension just kept increasing as all of them started to have an ill omen. Even Nero and Merlin were making serious faces.

"I have a very bad feeling about this. They even left breakfast unfinished…" No one commented on the way she just grabbed one of the sandwiches on the table and took a bit.

"Indeed, Arturia. The lingering emotions I can feel aren't bright in the least."

"Should we visit the ziggurat right away?"

"I was going to ask you to come with me there, Ana-chan." A familiar voice came from the entrance. There they saw the rider servant wearing an unusual stoic mask as she walked up to them. "Siduri wants to meet you. She'll explain what happened."

Sensing the urgency in her voice, they followed her in silence at a brisk pace. They arrived there in a couple of minutes, and the sight that greeted them at the throne room was disheartening, to say the least.

Not only Siduri and Ritsuka's team were there, but the captains of the demonic front. However… the Golden King wasn't sitting on his throne, but lying on an opened coffin at the center of the room.

"A funeral!? Onii-chan, don't tell me…" Her brother and Mash barely registered Ai's voice as they were pretty much in shock.

"Siduri, please, tell me you went overboard with the sleeping pills last night because Goldie refused to call it a day…" Archer said almost pleading, even if he could already deduce the answer.

"No, Lord Archer… King Gilgamesh… is no longer between us." The secretary forced those words out of her mouth. Everyone could say it was taking all her willpower to not break into tears in the middle of the meeting.

The faces of all the members of Ai's team went pale. The room was plunged into absolute silence. Not a single sound could be heard… until a feminine snort slowly delved into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Goldie kicked the bucket!? Just like that!? What kind of joke is this Siduri!?"

All the Urukians looked at her with expressions varying from shock to rage, until they finally recognized the Mistress of Heaven and immediately dropped to the flow and bowed to her.

"La-lady Ishtar! I'm so sorry we forgot to prepare an appropriate welcome for you! We were so busy preparing the King's funeral-"

"You don't have to apologize. Hearing this put me in such a good mood that I'll forgive all the offenses I've suffered since the day I was summoned."

"Hey, Ishtar, could you at least be more subtle? The situation is completely hopeless without Goldie commanding all of Mesopotamia."

"What are you saying, Archer? Shouldn't you be overjoyed that your natural enemy is dead? Now you're completely my servant~" Those last words accompanied by a wink gave him goosebumps.

"Putting aside Ishtar's opinion, Archer is right." Merlin spoke quickly to get the conversation back on track. "Without its central pillar, all of Mesopotamia is going to fall apart before even Gorgon and her army of demonic beasts attack... How could this happen!? He was the man that saw the future and willingly became a mage to avoid the risks of the battlefield! I'm sure he had taken a lot of precautions against assassination attempts!"

For Merlin to lose his composure like that, the realization of how bad the situation was started to sit on Ritsuka, Ai, and Mash's minds.

"About that, well… It happened just before I had to force the King to go to sleep. He was the same as usual, even bragging about how the Fangs of Napishtim were finished in record time. I just left him alone for a minute, but when I returned… he was in an eternal slumber…"

"Pfft! So he just went and died from overwork. Now that even poetic-"

"EMIYA, this isn't the moment!" The Chaldeans admonished him, even if some of them were fighting to contain their laughter.

"That's… That's horrible! Da Vinci, I need to make my breaks longer! That could happen to me as well!"

"Your breaks to do God-knows-what with that AI magical girl are already long enough! Besides, it's the King of Heroes we're talking about here. If a Demi-god could die from exhaustion so easily, everyone here would've stopped breathing a long time ago. There has to be something more to it."

"Right. Sorry for losing my cool in the heat of the moment." Merlin quickly forced himself to calm down. "Now that I see things clearly, I believe it is evident what happened to him after hearing the symptoms. Lady Tamamo, can you check it just in case."

The kitsune, who had been glaring at Ishtar from the moment she saw her entering the room so close to Archer, finally snapped out of it and walked towards Gilgamesh's inert body.

Her eyes then widened. "You're right! He didn't die. Someone killed him. It's the same as all the people who succumbed to the "mysterious disease". His soul was taken away."

"But who could have done that? None of the members of the Three Goddess Alliance has that kind of authority. Neither Gorgon, nor Quetzalcoatl or Ishtar…"

"Huh?" Ishtar looked at Jeanne with a raised eyebrow. "Who said I'm part of the Three Goddess Alliance? In case you've forgotten about it, I'm the one that has been protecting the people outside of Uruk from the other Goddesses, even if it wasn't for free."

Those casual words felt like an ice bucket pouring down on them.

"Wait, but you clearly said that you were a member back when we captured you in Kutha!" Mash voiced the logical contradiction, but before the Goddess could ask what she was talking about, Archer spoke up.

"I see, so that was also her. The third Goddess."

"Darling, you're going to need to be a little bit more specifical. Who is this third Goddess?"

"I don't know her identity, but just like then, she took over Ishtar's body last night and had a talk with me. I think she might have been already hinting at this as she told me that she was going to wait for me before leaving."

"Wait, someone has been taking over my body whenever a went to sleep!?"

"That's not the point! I thought you just walked away to avoid these two gals, but you just went to hit on another girl!?"

""WHAT! Is that true Archer/Darling/Goshujun-sama/Archer-dono!?""

"Archer's love life isn't the point either, Alter. Merlin, Dr. Roman, what do you make of it?"

Both men looked at each other before the Magus of Flowers got ahead of Chaldea's acting director.

"Well, if this mysterious Goddess can use Ishtar's vessel, has the authority to take away souls, and we consider the words from that Ziusu-dra guy "all is well in the underworld", then her identity is quite clear. It is surprising Lady Ishtar never noticed the resurrection of the Queen of the underworld, Ereshkigal. You two are like cats and dogs, especially after you invaded her domain and got killed."

"Even if we take that event aside, they are still two sides of the same coin and perhaps born from the same deity. Ishtar's authority over fertility makes her a Great Earth Mother symbolizing human life, while Ereshkigal is the Terrible Earth Mother which symbolizes human death. It makes sense that, if one of them is summoned, the other one will be summoned too. And I think that's the real reason the matron of your temple died in the first place. She didn't summon one Goddess, but two, and in her weakened state, Ereshkigal took her soul. The girl that became your vessel must have a really unique personality. She was able to cleanly separate her good and evil sides, allowing two Goddesses to become each of them."

When the two finished the explanation, they were met with a glare from Ishtar that was a mixture of annoyance and shame.

"Are you two done exposing a lady's dark past? Yeah, I got stripped of my authority and skewered to death by thousands of spears. And now she has the gal to use my body without my permission to go out of Kur… That woman and I are never getting along."

"Well, if that's the case, you can still save Gilgamesh." Siduri's words brought a light of hope for everyone. "His body is well conserved. If you manage to free his soul from Ereshkigal's cages, he will be back to life."

"So we just have to infiltrate the underworld then."

"Well, that is definitely going to be one of the most interesting places on our list."

Ishtar's face paled upon hearing the casual words of the two masters. "Are you nuts!? Ereshkigal is the absolute ruler of that place. Even if you bring all the servants here, you will be completely powerless against her! The dead stand no chance against her."

"She's right, senpai. Besides, there's another problem. We were already prepared to depart to Ur to fight the Goddess of the Jungle. What should we do?"

"Rescuing Gilgamesh should take priority, but we can't just let Quetzalcoatl deplete our numbers before the battle against Gorgon… Maybe you should split again?"

"That wouldn't cut it. Quetzalcoatl already cleaned the floor with just half of us. If we have to split our forces in three to fight her, rescue Gilgamesh, and protect the front…"

"You won't have to worry about that last matter, Lord Ritsuka!" One of the captains of the demonic front spoke up surprising everyone.

"Yeah, the wall is already back into shape and the attacks have calmed down."

"You can leave everything to us, commander Mash!"

All the soldiers nodded in unison, leaving them no choice but to accept their determination.

"Even so, how should we do this? We were counting on Ishtar's help to defeat Quetzalcoatl, or at least keep her busy enough so Ritsuka could destroy whatever symbol she was using to keep her divinity despite being in a foreign land, but she's the only one who knows how to go to the underworld…"

"Then you all should go fight the Goddess of the Jungle while I go with Ishtar to the underworld."

Those words got Archer no small amount of looks as if he had just grown two heads.

"Darling this isn't the time to go around assuming everything on your own!"

"Actually, he's right." Ana's comment put a stop to everyone else trying to object. "The chances of being trapped there are big. That way, if he fails, we can go later to rescue him and the King."

"As much as it pains me, I think the same." EMIYA agreed with them reluctantly, which was quite telling. "The Goddess of the Underworld seems to be waiting for him alone, and his reincarnated body will give him a better chance than any of us. On the other hand, we need all the firepower we can get to compensate for Ishtar's absence. It's a risky bet to have everything nicely wrapped before the deadline."

"Well, that's good and all, but I never agreed to go back there!"

Archer turned to look the Mistress of Heaven in the eye. "I remember someone telling me that master and servant should fight together."

"Wh-what this girl said before becoming me doesn't apply! Besides, as your master, I should be the one making decisions here."

"You don't have actual command spells to force me to not go. And I'm going even if you don't. I can always start making holes around Kutha until I stumble into the underworld."

Steel grey eyes met red in a really intense staring contest, which ended with the Goddess's defeat as she let out a tired sigh.

"Jeez, I should have known you would never back down once you've made up your mind. Very well, we're doing this. If you have something to do before departing, then do it quickly because we're going right away."

Well, that definitely was way easier than he expected, but he wasn't complaining. His eyes then turned to the Chaldeans.

"As a last piece of advice, I'll tell you about the other clue I received from the old man Ziusu-dra. "Three storms will hit Uruk soon. Empathize not with the hateful one. Celebrate not with the joyous one. And extol not the pained one." I think you can work around that- whoah!"

Even if they wanted to ask for a more detailed explanation, or even bid him farewell, Ishtar had already taken Archer by the arm and had flown away the top of her divine bow.

"Well, we should get going too. I assume you three are coming along, Ana-chan, Okita, Ushiwakamaru."

The other three members of the demonic front nodded at Merlin's question, and everyone walked out of the room now that things were settled.

However, as they were packing their things, Mash realized something.

"Wait, where's Fou?"

---

"HUH!? What is that Beast doing here!? Get off of my Maana!"

"Fou! Fou, fou, FOOOUUUUUUUUU!"

The acclaimed Mistress of Heaven suddenly went pale and started panicking when saw the white fur ball so close.

As a result, the Bow of Heaven's trajectory across the sky started to become erratic in an attempt to push him away. But she seemed to have forgotten an insignificant detail.

The person who Fou was clinging to.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Stop thrashing around, ISHTAR! I'm really going to fall!"

"Then let go of the Beast of Calamity! He might frighten Ereshkigal, but that goes for me, too! How can the Chaldeans even be near it!?"

"Oh, c'mon! Fou here doesn't look like he's going to suddenly have a growth spurt! Right!?"

"Foouuu!"

"Since when are you two so close? Does that mean he actually obeys you?"

"Not exactly, but he's definitely an ally… ISHTAR, THE FLOOR!"

Just when the Goddess was finally calming down, her red eyes widened just like Archer's the moment she realized they were heading straight to the ground.

"WAAAAHHHH! Not again!"

"Please, don't tell me you can't slow down!"

"Maana doesn't exactly have brakes, you know! Hold on!"

"Fou fou, fouuuu! (Special translation: I knew she was useless, but this is too muuuuuch!)"

"Damn it, we can't go to the underworld already dead!" The red knight gritted his teeth as he grabbed Fou and put him on his head where he would be safe.

At the same time, he stretched the arm from which the Goddess was holding him to take her hand and swung forward.

"What are you doing-"

"Trace, on!" He ignored her question and quickly projected the model of all the swords that select the king. "Merodach!"

The light that burns everything it touches was fired at… the soil. But the recoil of summoning the sword's true name with just one hand and in midair quickly halted all their momentum.

However, to their horror, the speed Ishtar's boat reached was too much for him to handle regardless of how much magical energy he poured into the noble phantasm. In the end, they still crashed into the scorched crater caused by the beam and punched a hole through it.

---

"Kuh…" Archer was sure he lost consciousness for a moment. In fact, it was actually the feeling of something warm and sticky rubbing against his cheek that woke him up.

His grey eyes turned to look at Fou who was cutely moving his tail after checking that he was still good to go. After that, his eyes widened for an instant after realizing that Ishtar was lying on top of him.

Archer immediately started to slip to the side to avoid a tragedy, but even the slight movement managed to make her react.

"Mmm… It's already morning? Where is this?" Fortunately, she was a slow starter just like her vessel, giving him the opportunity to quickly help her stand before her brain started to process the situation.

"Now that you mention it…" He expected to have crashed in the middle of the plains, but it took him a moment to get his eyes used to the almost total lack of light around him. And he was starting to feel freezing cold.

"Oh… Oh! We were actually lucky after all! There's no mistaking it, this is the finitely Kur!"

The thought that they really died crossed Archer's mind, but the vapor he saw coming out of his and Ishtar's mouth said otherwise. Their flesh bodies were still there.

Looking upward, what received him wasn't even a ceiling, but a literally dark sky. The landscape around them really seemed otherworldly due to the weirdly shaped rocks and the countless metal cages with something shining inside distributed across the land.

"I guess this really is the underworld… What are those cages?"

"Can't you tell? Those are basically the souls of the dead. As for why they look like that, well, unable to produce their own warmth, the souls only keep getting colder until they become chunks of ice. Normally, they would dissipate and pass away, but Ereshkigal conserves them within those cages for her own amusement. Not like it's conventionally portrayed, but this is pretty much hell."

Ishtar answered in a plain tone as she nodded at him to follow her instead, which only made the situation more gruesome for Archer.

"But there are so many… does she do this with everyone soul that gets here?"

"She usually only keeps the souls of humans who caught her interest, but I guess things changed in the underworld after she joined the Three Goddess Alliance. I wonder if she's trying to make a kingdom of the dead. She was never that cruel in the past…"

"And where is she exactly?"

"Over there, at the other side of the narrow cliff path. We'll have to go through the seven gates to reach Ereshkigal's palace."

"Seven gates?" Both Archer and Fou on his shoulder raised an eyebrow at the same time, which caused a soft giggle to leave the Goddess's mouth. "Is it something like the sphinxes' riddles in ancient Egypt?"

"No, don't worry. You'll be asked questions, but nothing as complicated. It's a way to judge if a soul is good or evil. However the answer won't matter that much, but the intention behind it. Just think logically and you should be good."

The two kept walking through the desolate land. They had expected some of the Gallu Spirits to come their way as they were unwanted invaders, but so far, they didn't see a single one.

"Answer me… Answer me…" A low, creepy voice greeted them when they finally got close to the first gate, which was pretty much three rock pillars resembling one. Although, he could distinguish something girlish in it…

"You who lives gain… you who has fallen to the underworld, tell me how your soul should be. Standards of beauty seem diverse but are absolute. Black wins over white. The earth wins over the heaven. Then… Ereshkigal or Ishtar? Which is more beautiful?"

"…. Wat?" The red knight's face quickly went from serious to a mixture of astonishment and horror.

Fou on his shoulder remained dead silent as if he failed to make sense of the situation, and the Mistress of Heaven mirrored Archer's expression.

"What's with that overly specifical question!? That's nothing like the ones you asked me last time!" Her red eyes then fell on Archer's figure, and despite wanting to tell him that the answer was obvious, she immediately understood that was the biggest landmine he faced in his entire existence.

The red knight swallowed loudly before opening his mouth to give the most logical answer. "That would be Ereshkigal."

"GUH! My servant betrayed me just a day after making a contract!?" Those words felt like a jab straight to the guts for Ishtar, even if she knew the reason behind them. He wanted to mellow down the Queen of Kur before coming face to face with her, but still…

"A-AAAWWWKWAAARD! B-but ve-very well!"

That certainly wasn't the answer one would expect from the terrifying ruler of the land of the dead. However, what accompanied it was more in tune, as several Gallu Spirits suddenly ambushed them, letting out bloodcurdling scritches.

"Huh? Didn't she say she'd let us pass!?"

"I don't know, but this is how things would go normally for a living being here!" Ishtar pulled herself together and started firing beams at the incoming ghosts. "Don't let your guard down or you might get your soul snatched!"

"Noted!" The red knight immediately projected several sets of black keys and started throwing them.

Despite Christianism having yet to even be established in this era, the sacraments were still effective against these evil spirits. Perhaps it was because he wasn't even trying to use them properly. Praying to the biblical God in this era, in the underworld of all places, would be completely pointless unless you're someone like Jeanne d'Arc.

Still, even if both Archers had plenty of projectiles in their stock, the Gallu Spirits still kept coming at them viciously. They were like moths drawn to a flame, in more than one sense. And for some reason, they were targeting Ishtar with more vigor than Archer.

"Maybe we should just run forward… Archer, I'll make a way!" The Mistress of Heaven called upon her divine bow again to fire one of her massive arrows of light.

Everything in a straight line between her and the first gate was completely vaporized, and the two didn't hesitate to rush at full speed through it toward the next gate. Unfortunately…

"Kyah!" The moment the Goddess crossed the door, some kind of lightning bolt struck her down.

"Ishtar-" Archer immediately sunk his steel-tipped boots into the soil and turned around, but it was too late. The Gallu Spirits were already on her-

"FOOUUU!" But in the nick of time, the cute animal jumped from his shoulder and swung one of his little pawns. And the next moment, all the spirits above Ishtar were completely shredded.

The underworld was abruptly plunged into silence once again. The murderous spirits looked at Fou landing in front of the red knight with a frown that made him look cuter than anything else... and proceeded to disperse and retreat.

Even Archer was shocked at that. Despite him actively refusing to mature, it seemed Fou had magical energy to spare. And well, there was no need to keep the façade now that it was just him, Archer, and Ishtar.

Now that they weren't in danger, he walked up to the Goddess still caressing her head, and offered her a hand to stand up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes… It surprised me more than anything…" The Goddess took his hand, but she stopped the moment her red eyes landed on the red knight. "Since when were you so tall?"

"No, that's not it…" Admittedly, the height difference between the two had been remarkable even if Ishtar's vessel was more mature than it was during that distant Holy Grail War, but now she barely reached his abdomen. "I think you're the one who shrunk."

"Wha- You have to be… kidding…" Her voice died down as she inspected her body and realized he was right. "A curse!? Now of all times!?"

"Hehehe, finally realizing your stupidity, Ishtar!?" Ereshkigal's voice was heard throughout the underworld again. "The legend in which you traveled to the underworld and were cursed still holds true. You can't escape it. And since you didn't bring any authorities, you yourself will have to pay the price. Not only will you shrink, but your divinity will fade until you're nothing but a bug!"

Archer could hear how Ishtar was grinding her teeth. "How nasty! I see you've only gotten worse with time! Is this how you greet a pair of pacific guests!?"

"On the contrary, I'm already giving you plenty of mercy. Normally, I would have dropped you two right into the abyss for coming here with living bodies. However, if you take on the trials of the seven gates, you will be judged by the laws of the underworld."

There was a pregnant pause before the queen of the underworld addressed him. The red knight didn't know why, by an image of a certain blonde Goddess coughing to clear her voice and checking if her hair was alright popped into his mind.

"Red knight, if you've come to defeat me, then overcome those trials. If you achieve so, I, the ruler of the underworld, shall welcome you here as visitors."

The voice stopped there with her piece said, leaving the nameless hero and the now teenage Goddess to fare on their own.

"I think now is when I ask you if you really want to go ahead at the risk of losing all your power."

"What nonsense are you saying?" The Mistress of Heaven rested her hand on her hips as she squinted at him. It was a really familiar pose. "You made me come all this way to now tell me I should leave on your own? I said we're doing this, and that's what'll happen, even if I turn into a small bug!"

Of course, the question was unwarranted. As Ishtar, the stubborn side of that girl was amplified even more.

"BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You really are turning into a little brat literally!" But before they got going, a familiar figure emerged from behind a rock. "What's the matter Ishtar? Did you finally decide to have an appearance that matches your insignificance?"

A variety of expressions crossed the couple's faces. First surprise and disbelief, then blank stares, and then, annoyance in Ishtar's case, while Archer had to actively suppress the urge to attack after registering that laugh.

"What in the world are you doing here, Goldie!? Didn't Ereshkigal capture your soul!?"

"Heh. The underworld is my backyard. I have been here more times than you could ever hope, little brat. I did accidentally die, but I hid in the shadows before the Gallu spirits took me to one of the cages. There, I held my breath and meditated… and the Presence Concealment EX."

"Ignoring the nonsense that last line was and the fact that you seem pretty lively for a dead man, I guess our priorities were kind of backward."

The King snorted at Archer's assessment. "I would say I'd rather die than get rescued by you two of all people, but I am already dead, and you took the right sending off the Chaldeans."

"So you're going to actually help?"

Despite Gilgamesh's softened expression, he still ignored Archer's question. "Listen well, Faker! As much as I regret it, the time for us to join forces on the battlefield has come. Even if the curse of the underworld only affects the living, I'm still subjected to Ereshkigal's rule. Therefore, I command you to cross the remaining gates and punish her in my instead!"

While the red knight just shrugged it, The Mystress of Heaven scowled at him. "Hey, aren't you forgetting someone? Even if my divinity is depleting, I'm still more powerful than you in your current state, AND, I'm Archer's master now."

"That's why I thought your role as a battery went without saying. Or do you think you will be more useful to us with your drifting skills?"

"Hah? Says the swimmer that got so enthralled that got the immortality stolen right under his nose."

"Tsk, what a foul way to point out my traumatic past, woman. And here I thought you were being all nice to win over this brick of concrete."

"Wh-who said anything about winning over anyone!?"

"Guys, I don't want to interrupt your long-awaited reconciliation…" The red knight ignored the two murderous glares he received, with Fou countering them. "… but we don't have all day and Ereshkigal over there seems to be starting to feel lonely."

Once the three stopped to listen a quiet voice that lost all its authority came from the second gate saying 'Answer me…' with a really depressing tone. And that only caused some giggles.

"Hahahaha. Now that's cute. You have permission to speak, second gate. Ask and the Faker shall answer."

"Ishtar or Ereshkigal, who's a worthier ally to have?"

She didn't even try to mellow down the question, perhaps in a desperate attempt to get some of his attention back.

"Given the current circumstances, I think it would be Ereshkigal."

"Gah!" Ishtar gasped in pain, not only due to the metaphorical jab, but also because the lightning-shaped curse struck her without even going through the gate, causing her to shrink again.

"BUAHAHAHAHA! I didn't know I needed to see a drama between sisters until now! This is hilarious!"

"Grrr! Just shut up, GOLDIE!"

The Goddess couldn't take it anymore and ended up snapping. Gilgamesh widened his red eyes when a flying kick was directed right at his face. It didn't even hurt, but to his horror, it was enough to make him lose his balance… and the only thing behind him was the abyss.

"Careful there!" Luckily for him, Archer caught his arm before the fell off the cliff. "I don't know about you, Ishtar, but I surely don't want to have to go down there to look for Goldie."

"There's no "going down there"! What are you doing, fool! The abyss there is a sea of nothingness from which the Gods Abzu and Tiamat came and created the world! Now that Enki, the God who managed it, is absent, there's no returning if I fell into it!"

"Whatever. Let's get this over with so I don't have to hear you more…"

"At least we agree on something."

A sigh escaped the red knight's mouth as he followed them and Fou gave him a pitiful look. The teamwork option was definitely crossed on their list…

Ereshkigal's weirdly specifical questions remained the same as they crossed the remaining gates, and by the end of it, Ishtar was the same size as Fou. Some Gallu Spirits attacked them on the way, but even if it was limited, having Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon on their side made things easier.

Ishtar's Boat of Heaven retained its firepower despite the curses, but by the end of their journey, just firing a barrage of arrows was already exhausting for her. She would have to stay back with Fou for the upcoming fight.

And the other problem was… the crushing cold. The closer they got to Ereshkigal's throne, the worse the atmospheric conditions. A regular human would only last a few minutes before their lungs fell apart without proper equipment.

"I guess the title of "Ice Queen" must have come from somewhere."

"Of course, Faker. There's nothing beautiful to see in these lands."

"Feh, that's just because you living creatures are so feeble."

The low and intimidating voice of the ruler of the underworld greeted them, and they finally saw her monstrous figure. A massive Gallu spirit with four arms, burning red eyes, a long veil flowing behind her, and wielding a massive, obsidian spear with a red glow. Not just that, but their bodies started to feel tremendous pressure just by being in her presence.

"So you came at last, oh red knight who seeks to challenge me. You dare stand before me, the Queen of Kur, with the dead King of Uruk, the Beast of Calamity in an immature state, and some annoying maggot as your only help. You are no brave, but a moron."

"You didn't leave us much choice here. We need Goldie alive if we want to have a chance against Gorgon. You shouldn't have kidnapped him if you wanted to avoid direct conflict." Archer retorted before Ishtar could get out all her pent-up frustration through her mouth.

"Who said I kidnapped that guy? He just died from exhaustion and a passing by Gallu spirit dropped him here. I don't have any interest in him. You can go have yourself killed by Gorgon."

While the Golden King's face became really stiff, the other three threw a blank stare for the umpteenth time.

"You really died from work…"

"Hah! That's what happens when someone who lives in abundance suddenly gets intense work!"

"Look who's talking, bratty Goddess! You two really are sisters." The King coughed and forced himself into a serious mood. "Getting back to the topic, Ereshkigal, you're the patron deity of Kutha and yet you joined the Three Goddess Alliance. Of all your sins, none comes even close. Though I might be dead, I can still convict you under my royal authority. Traitors are judged by the world itself. You should be pretty aware of that."

"That is correct. As a King who has gained Dingir, you can punish even a God by exchanging everything you have. But would you really kill me in exchange for your own life?"

"That depends on your answer to my next question. Ereshkigal! Why did you join the Three Goddesses Alliance!? Have you abandoned your duty to protect Sumer's people and culture!?"

"Of all the things to ask..." The massive Goddess frowned upon them as her killing intent expanded. "I am the ruler of the underworld. From the very beginning, I exist to manage humanity's souls. I dedicated all my life to that purpose, and I don't regret it one bit! And now I shall pass judgment upon yours!"

The massive spear was swung on them like a sledgehammer, forcing Gilgamesh and Archer to dodge aside. The cold stone floor of the palace's front yard was demolished, sending several chunks of debris flying.

"What the hell, Goldie!? Was that supposed to be a negotiation!? You just pissed her off even more!" Archer yelled at him from the other side, but the King was unfazed.

"No, that was the final piece I needed to assert her situation. Now it's up to you Faker! I'll only give you some support!"

"Watch out, Archer!"

"Fou!"

His two little companions holding on to his shoulder warned him in time to see the blown-away debris turn into spears and attack them from all directions.

""Trace, on/Gate of Babylon!""

The red knight projected his black bow to shoot down all the projectiles coming from the front while Gilgamesh blew away the rest with a barrage of curses.

With the way cleared, he focused his steel-grey eyes on the Goddess and opened his mouth to address her directly.

"Ereshkigal, can't we just talk things out!? You didn't seem like an evil Goddess to me!"

"Your words won't change my mind! Before Gorgon attacks, I will destroy Uruk and take the Holy Grail! If you insist on getting on my way, then I'll make you aside!"

What lucked like a bell appeared on the Goddess's free hand, and the earth trembled upon its ringing. The next moment, the massive, black skeleton of a bipedal lizard emerged from the depths of the underworld with a defiant roar.

"Wow, she must be serious if she's already pulling out dinosaurs!"

"Redeemed!" Archer didn't know if that qualified as a "monster", but he let go of the silver, cursed sword and flew from his bow now shining with runes without hesitation.

It flew with so much speed and power that it punched through the dead tyrannosaur's skull and continued its way toward the Goddess, who had to use her spear to block it. The explosion of the broken phantasm shook the entire place and obscured her giant form, but when the smoke faded away, she was completely intact.

"Useless. That body might be alive, but your soul is still that of a dead man. Your attacks will only feel like a breeze, Archer!"

"Technically, the fact that you have yet to be born counts as "being dead"…"

"I guess that's how Merlin could manifest as a servant."

"Fou, Fou!"

The knight and the mistress couldn't tell what Fou was trying to say, but judging by his tone, Archer didn't think twice before jumping away with a mana burst. Just the next moment, three massive horns emerged from the ground before another dead dinosaur poked its head.

"I got you!" Ereshkigal shouted triumphantly as she prepared another barrage of spears to skewer the red knight before he could land.

But before she could open fire, several fire pillars enveloped her, throwing off her aim and allowing Archer to avoid the spears. It caused little to no damage, but she threw an annoyed look at the Golden King.

"Impudent! Your attacks are even more insignificant than your retainer's!"

Gilgamesh ignored the Ereshkigal's provocation and threw his own exasperated look at the red knight. "What are you waiting for, Faker!? You have to punish that sinful Goddess properly!"

"Punish me, you say…" Archer was about to retort but he stopped himself after seeing how Ereshkigal's face turned from annoyance to outright rage. "After all my dedication to this task. Happiness, sadness, friends, even the outside… after abandoning all those notions, do you really think I need to be punished!?"

The cry of the Queen of Kur shook her entire realm, and her power and presence became almost overwhelming as if gravity started to pull them with way more force.

"Kuh, as much as I hate it, I guess that's the only way to get through that thick skull of hers… Fou-kun, can you lend me a hand!"

"Fou!"

His steel-gray eyes turned to the Goddess clinging to his shoulder with curiosity, and what she did with the magical energy Fou gave her was… shouting at the top of her lungs.

"What kind of ridiculous show is this, Ereshkigal!? You're just bumping your frustration on others! There's a limit to how pathetic a Goddess can be!"

"SHUT UP!" Those words caused the Queen of Kur to genuinely snap. All pretense of a dignified ruler was thrown out the window as her power started to burst outwards, to the point that Archer had to actively resist so as to not be blown away. "What would you know, you Daddy's girl! How do you think I felt when my counterpart, the one who could fly freely through the sky, come down here to spit nonsense! Just… DISAPPEAR!"

Their eyes widened as the Goddess of death stabbed her spear into the ground, sending a massive wave of energy that vaporized everything on its way towards them.

"I am the bone of my swords… Rho Aias!" The red knight brought out his best and braced himself before the impact, but even so… "Kuh!"

Several layers of the legendary shield were shattered on the first impact, and even if it managed to disperse most of it, all their surroundings were turned into an inferno. He could feel some of his bones starting to crack, and some parts of his body and armor burning.

Things would have ended really badly if he didn't have Fou and Gilgamesh's support to keep Rho Aias steady.

And when everything settled, he was met by Ereshkigal's piercing stare.

"Do you think the same, Archer?" She said- no, she forced those words with a cracking voice. More than a question, it felt like a desperate plea. "All these years I spent managing souls all alone… were they a mistake? Is there no one who will praise me for all my efforts instead of pointing their finger at me and accusing me? Archer…"

"Ah…" Right then and there, he saw the core of the "ruthless" Queen of Kur after being cracked open by Gilgamesh and Ishtar's merciless words.

Bellow that tough front only laid a girl who wanted someone to recognize her efforts. She wanted to hear at least one of those humans she loved to approve of her resolution. And if it came from a soul that didn't wither after forming part of the brutal cycle that was the counter force the same amount of time she had been managing souls, then she would definitely be able to see her plan through.

Presented with such a heartbreaking sight, he was almost tempted to comfort her. Even if his social skills didn't improve in the least after these six months, a part of him wanted to give some solace to her. However, those words of advice he received from the old man crossed his mind again.

"Extol not the pained one."

"I see…" Now he understood what he had to do. Comforting her would only give her the resolution to keep fighting. Instead, as much as it pained him, he had to shatter her beliefs. Even if having that girl as her vessel mellowed her down just like in Ishtar's case, she was still a Goddess, so he couldn't apply common sense here.

"Sorry, but the one to comfort you isn't here. I can't praise you for enduring a burden you yourself placed on your shoulders."

The moment those harsh words left his mouth, he could hear how something literally broke inside the Queen of Kur. A wry laughter followed the dead silence as the Goddess tried to pull herself together, and he had the feeling she would be crying if she wasn't using that monstrous form.

"I… I see… If even you won't praise me… THEN I'LL SEND ALL OF YOU TO HELL!"

Her words filled with sorrow and tragic resolution shook the entire underworld as she accumulated all the power of the land into her spear. However, the expression on the red knight's face didn't falter in the least as he extended her arm forward with his hand opened, and both the Golden King and the Mistress of Heaven showed smiles of approval.

"It's now or never, Archer!" Ishtar brought out one of her gems, which was now as big as her head, and smashed it to release its magical energy. "This will only be a crude imitation, but let's do it for old time's sake!"

The massive amount of magical energy condensed in the back of her hand, taking the shape of a nostalgically familiar trio of red sigils that shone with power.

"By my command seal, I order you, Archer! Beat some sense into that stubborn Goddess for good!"

"I am the bone of my sword!" The energy of the pseudo-command seal flowed into the red knight, and he called forth her true noble phantasm to face the incoming onslaught.

Thousands of spears were already being fired at them, and Ereshkigal herself was rushing in to skewer them. The whole underworld was now attacking them.

But amidst it, a golden light appeared to cast away all darkness.

"HUH!?" The Queen of Kur widened her eyes after seeing all her spears repelled by the sword in Archer's hand. Even the spear in her hands got a small crack after clashing against it. "No way… That sword is…"

The realization hit her like a truck. When she said that the reason his soul didn't break after all those years as a Counter Guardian was that he never lost his naivety, she didn't expect to be right in a literal sense. That sword, that warm and welcoming light was the very representation of that dream he spent his life pursuing.

And also, humanity's will to move forward. In other words, something that will continue shining until the last human dies, even in this land of death.

"I don't know you that well, Ereshkigal." The red knight's calm voice pulled the Goddess out of her stupor. "But I know which side of your vessel you inhabited. While Ishtar took her hedonistic side, you took the side of her that toughed through all the misery in her life, never asking for help. That's why…"

He spun his sword to hold it in reverse grip and firmly stabbed its blade into the concrete. The warm light then burst forward, covering the cold lands and turning them into the exact opposite.

When the Queen of Kur opened her eyes, she no longer saw her domain deprived of life, but a land of hope bathed by the sunlight from a beautiful blue sky.

"An illusion…" Even if she could tell this wasn't real, the fact that she was finally able to see the ideal land of death she dreamed of warmed her heart.

"I'm not going to compliment you. That would only encourage you to keep shouldering your burden all alone. Instead, I'm going to offer you what you never dared to ask for! I'm going to lessen your burden!"

Those sweet words truly struck a chord, but the Queen of Kur still bit her lips and put up a last desperate resistance.

"No! That's not how things are in the least! I am going to kill every human so I can rule over them! There's nothing noble in my ambitions! Nothing this light can stand for!"

"You're lying! You didn't say it explicitly, but I can tell you're doing this out of love for us! If you insist on keeping this up, then you leave no choice but to smash through it."

The nameless hero started to put all his energy into the sword of promised salvation while the Goddess did the same with her spear. Both knew the fight was going to end in the next exchange, so they weren't going to hold anything back.

"NAMMU ABZU GUGALANNA!"

"HAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Both noble phantasms were released at the same time. Archer fired a concentrated beam of golden light while Ereshkigal thrust her massive spear into it. She managed to pierce through it at first, but both quickly noticed she was quickly losing her ground.

"I-impossible!" Despite her tone, deep down, she already knew this was the inevitable outcome of the clash.

She might have had a chance if she were really putting her mind to it, but her resolve had fallen apart long ago. The fact that this attack represented humanity's will to move forward and part ways with the Gods saddened her to no end, but at the same time, she was finally able to see with her own eyes how far humanity has grown.

And it was really beautiful. A happy ending that would never be reached in her cold domains…

"Ah…" Her spear finally gave away and the golden light bathed her. But no harm came to her. Instead, what was blown away was her monstrous Gallu form, along with what little was left of her will to oppose them and the curse shrinking Ishtar's body.

Once the light faded away, they were back in the underworld. The Queen of Kur was laying on the ground several meters from them, her real figure finally visible to them.

As expected, she was identical to Ishtar, with the only difference being her blonde hair tied with red ribbons. She was clad in a black dress with golden ornaments and covered with a red mantel, a skull-shaped necklace, golden boots, and a black crown.

The knight, the King, and the Goddess walked up to her. The sound of her footsteps caused Ereshkigal to finally react, a hand reaching to clean her tears as she put strength into her trembling legs to stand up.

"How?" The first words to escape her mouth were a question, her red eyes refusing to meet the pair of steel-grey ones. "How did you see through my act so easily?"

The first answer she received was a raised eyebrow before Archer opened his mouth. "I mean… you just told me your real motives yesterday. The thing about destroying the human world so humans and Gods could coexist again."

"Huh?" The face of the Queen of Kur started to gradually turn bright red as she processed that statement. "Yo-you knew all along!? H-how!?"

"Your hair turned blonde after sneezing."

"Wh-wh-what!?" Her hands shot up, barely holding back her urges to pull her hair out. "Wh-why didn't you say anything then!?"

"I thought you were just acting tough in front of Ishtar and Goldie. You said I was the only one who you would tell about it."

"Aah… AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" A cry full of despair, embarrassment, and frustration filled the underworld, followed by Ishtar's laugh and Gilgamesh's giggle.

"I said all those things a minute ago just to piss you off, but you really are an embarrassment of a Goddess."

"I don't want to hear that from a Goddess obsessed with jewels! I saw you crying as you used that ruby!"

"Th-that's not true! Unlike you, I know how to manage my finances!"

"As entertaining as this quarrel between sisters is, we should get to the point before I return to my body. I would tell you to finish her off, Faker, but I know I would be wasting my breath. Just do your thing."

The red knight silently offered the Goddess a hand. "C'mon, Ereshkigal. If you really want to protect the future of the humans you love, then join us."

"I-it's not that simple. I still… I only love the humans who are already here. Even if you find my cause noble, that doesn't take away the fact that I cruelly killed a lot of humans to rule over them. I'm not that different from Gorgon-"

"Fool. Such behavior ill becomes a Goddess, and leads to nowhere. So immature, so stubborn. Save your petulance for another time."

Everyone widened their eyes at that instant. None of them noticed the figure behind the Queen of Kur until they spoke, nor did they hear the blade soaring through the air.

"Ereshkigal, watch-"

"Wait, I- I-" The Goddess of the underworld felt death lurking above her, but it was too late. The sword swiftly bisected her in a flash in front of their astonished looks, and her body landed gently on Archer's chest like a puppet with its strings cut.

"YOU BASTARD!" Ishtar was the first one to snap out of her shock and fired a massive arrow of light at the figure.

"Wh- no way!" However, to her utter surprise, it went right through the figure as if it didn't exist.

"Calm yourselves. Look and see. What this sword has severed was not her bond to life, but this misbegotten alliance." The figure addressed them unfazed, barely acknowledging the killing intent of the Mistress of Heaven.

And just as he said that, Ereshkigal's eyes snapped open. "Wha- you didn't just cut me in half!? Like in myth!?"

"Well, she definitely looks fine…" Her ears perked up upon hearing Archer's voice so close, and then she realized the position in which she was.

"So, who are you, old man." Gilgamesh ignored the micro heart attack the Queen of Kur had in pose to confront the hooded old man. "Judging by your appearance, you must be the so-called "Ziusu-dra" the Faker met before, but that isn't your real name, right? Who called you here?"

"A good question. Little and less has been achieved here, and so I have come from the Abyss to set things in motion. I appear here as a friend from a different land." His dead eyes then turned to the blonde Goddess that barely managed to get her bearings. "Oh Mistress of the Underworld, bloody flower consigned to the depths of earth, even you know the lie in your words. You do not love the dead. You love all humans, each fated to die. Death was gentle, not a terrible thing in your hands. Though you may stand alone in this sea of souls, you sought to keep them safe here. Here, in your kingdom of silence."

"But… but I killed so many…"

"What are you saying? Even putting together all the casualties in Kutha and Uruk, they barely amount above 1000. Such a small amount fitted within the Ziggurat without a problem. The moment you release their souls they will wake up as if they just took a long nap."

"Why do you think we didn't even bother searching for the culprit until Goldie kicked the bucket? Of all the Goddesses, you were by far the one who less destruction caused."

"N-no way!" The Queen of Kur covered her face in embarrassment after hearing the two men. "I really put all my effort into it, you know!"

"And that's why I insist. We might have started on the wrong foot, but I believe we were on the same side from the very beginning." It was then that he showed the smile Gilgamesh made him practice for Ishtar but never got to use. "C'mon, Ereshkigal, let's save humanity together."

Judging by the way Ereshkigal's blush became even more profuse and she slowly reached out to him, that was really effective.

"Ve-very well. I'm no longer a part of the alliance, and that old man would really cut me if I refuse-" The moment she said those words, she realized the old man was nowhere to be seen. "Eh?"

"At any rate. Even if you don't come out of the underworld to join the fight directly, you promise you will not attack Uruk again, right?" Ishtar interjected, a cheeky smile forming on her face. "This is when you ask to form a contract with Archer to prove it, but too bad for you, he's already my servant."

"I have my pride, Ishtar. I shall help Uruk to repay my debts, unlike you, I won't form a contract until both parties are equal. And that won't happen until I save the world." Despite her attempt at appearing dignified, the way her eyebrow trembled betrayed her, which only caused Ishtar's smile to widen.

"And what are you going to do exactly?"

"I'm going to start thinking about that right now! I should have plenty of chances! Probably…" Her eyes then turned to Archer and she quickly mustered all her confidence again. "I'll be returning to manage the underworld. I grant you permission to depart, Archer, so go back right away. Of course, I'll be keeping careful watch over the battle against Gorgon. Don't worry Ishtar. If you mess up and blink out of existence, I'll take over your vessel for you. See you!"

Having the last word, the Queen of Kur disappeared from their sight with a big smile on her face.

"All's well that ends well. I suppose I should be heading, too. There's a lot of work to do while the Chaldeans return from the jungle. Don't dawdle too long on your way back, Faker!"

The Golden King also went ahead, leaving the Goddess, the knight, and the Beast alone.

"We should be going then. This time, I'll show you my real drifting skills!"

The other two agreed with her, but before jumping on the Boat of Heaven, Archer still had one last thing to ask.

"You know, there's something that's been on my mind since we got here. Given your relationship with Ereshkigal, why did you go to the underworld in the first place?"

That question threw her off a little, but she decided to humor him. "I just didn't like her situation one bit. I heard the sorry story of how the Gods ordered her to never leave the underworld, and I felt I had to do something about it. That's why I went to tell her to just drop her duties and go out."

Once again, both Archer and Fou gave her a blank stare for a few seconds before busting out laughing.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! That's so like you. No wonder she got mad. I can already hear her say "that's easier said than done!""

"Fou, Fou!" (Special translation: "I guess you aren't that useless after all!")

The Mistress of Heaven made a small pout, but the smile didn't leave her face. In the end, they more or less achieve that.

Now, it was up to the Chaldeans to defeat the Goddess of the Jungle in time before Gorgon and her army attacked.

---

And that's it for now. Yeah, when I said I was going to increase the comedy factor, I was referring to de journey to the underworld. I mean, a squad featuring Archer, Ishtar, Fou, and Gilgamesh can't be functional in the least, even if they pack quite the firepower if they were at their peak and put aside their quarrels.

I actually planned to include the fight against Quetzalcoatl, but I felt that this was a good place to wrap things up. That, and well, the order of the fights against the Goddesses changed since the travel to Ur is way longer than the one to Kutha, and that's not taking into account the traveling speed of Ishtar's "bow".

Not gonna lie, I want to finish this story as soon as possible even if I enjoy writing all the interactions and fights. Well, actually, let me rephrase that. I want to finish the first arc and get to the special chapter crossover with "Date a Density" and the Lostbelts. It would also serve as the link to "Reenacting a Legend", which would save me the trouble of avoiding making spoilers in that story.

At any rate. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this chapter and I hope I entertained you. The next update will be "Reenacting a Legend", no surprise there, but people are starting to get quite impatient.

With that said, I bid you farewell for now. Hasta la vista!