In Mesopotamian mythology, there exists a goddess who, since her birth, has been the ruler of the underworld.
She governs the growth and decay of vegetation, commands serpents and dragons, and freely manipulates the Garula spirits, messengers of the underworld. She exists as the very embodiment of death.
In terms of divinity and authority, this goddess ranks only as average among the many gods of Mesopotamian myth.
However, because the underworld must have a ruler and death itself requires a keeper, this goddess—assigned such a thankless task—though her divinity and authority are not overwhelming, becomes utterly invincible while within the underworld.
No god or Heroic Spirit can resist her judgment there.
This goddess is named Ereshkigal—the Lady of the Underworld, the Sovereign of Death and the Dead.
She is also an earth mother goddess and widely known as the city guardian deity of Kutha, held in awe by humankind.
Now, this goddess's name had been brought up.
Because the current state of affairs is, indeed, inseparable from her.
"The Garula spirits are messengers of the underworld under that woman's command. Only she could emit a scent of death potent enough to envelop an entire fortress city, continuously bringing death to humans. Coupled with the ability to manipulate a vast army of undead—no other goddess but Ereshkigal could accomplish such a feat."
So said Gilgamesh.
However, his words left everyone bewildered.
"P-Please wait!" Mash couldn't help but speak up.
"Are you saying that the one manipulating the undead-type monsters is the goddess Ereshkigal? H-How did it come to this?"
"Yeah," Anna added with a deep frown. "Weren't the ones attacking Uruk supposed to be the three goddesses of the Three Goddess Alliance?"
"Goddess Ereshkigal..." Siduri echoed, uncertain and troubled. "Could it be… that goddess has also manifested?"
Unaware of the true situation, Mash, Anna, and Siduri were all struck with shock.
Until now, everyone believed that the manipulator behind the undead-type monsters was the Venus goddess of the Three Goddess Alliance—Ishtar.
After all, the north was ruled by the Beast Goddess, the south by the Jungle Goddess, so the third force should logically be Ishtar, the final member of the Alliance.
But now, the sudden mention of a fourth goddess naturally stunned everyone.
Not just those present—even the staff at Chaldea were taken aback.
"Wasn't the one behind the undead monsters supposed to be Ishtar?" Olga Marie exclaimed in surprise.
"Indeed..." Roman's expression also darkened.
Only Da Vinci—far from surprised—spoke with a tone of understanding.
"I thought something was off. There's no way a goddess like Ishtar could be behind the undead-type monsters."
This was only logical.
"Ishtar is the mistress of the heavens, a great goddess of harvest and growth—the life-bringing Earth Mother. How could she possibly wield powers over death?"
Da Vinci's words snapped everyone out of their confusion.
Indeed, as she said, although Ishtar was a great goddess who had received all sorts of divine authorities from the gods, she alone did not possess dominion over death.
In mythology, there was once a legend of Ishtar descending into the underworld—but that event ended in utter disaster.
It's said that the all-powerful Ishtar, undefeated in every other myth, suffered a humiliating loss during her descent into the underworld.
Thinking there was no place she could not go, she charged into the underworld brimming with confidence and divine authority, only to have her powers stripped away.
She went from a high-and-mighty mistress of the heavens to a helpless, bedraggled soul, easily bullied and beaten.
Because in the underworld, no matter how mighty a god may be, they must obey Ereshkigal's will. Otherwise, they are rendered powerless, stripped bare, and dragged before her.
Ishtar was no exception.
Thus, in Mesopotamian mythology, Ishtar's descent into the underworld ends in failure—she was literally dismembered. If not for her resurrection through the powers of the shepherd god Dumuzi, her carefree, high-handed goddess life would've ended right there.
Therefore, Ishtar never obtained authority over the underworld.
As a goddess of life, she inherently lacked the ability to control death.
In other words, the army of undead monsters attacking from the northeast could never have been under Ishtar's command.
"Unless Ishtar, like Gorgon, possessed the power of a Holy Grail and fused with the divine authority of an underworld goddess—becoming a composite divine being—this would be impossible."
Da Vinci's words silenced the group.
Only three people remained unfazed from the beginning.
One was Gilgamesh.
Another was Merlin.
And the third was Rozen.
Rozen spoke up then.
"In any case, based on the current situation, we need to address the Garula spirits first."
He changed the subject as if redirecting the conversation.
"The battles in the north and south have been stabilized. The undead army from the northeast has also been kept outside the walls and cannot enter. But the Garula spirits can move freely in any area inhabited by humans. That makes them the only true threat left inside Uruk."
If they didn't find a way to deal with the issue, it didn't take Rozen's reminder for the group to understand where things would head.
"We worked so hard to rescue those 100,000 people. If more continue to die meaninglessly, losing manpower and fighting strength would be the least of our concerns—Uruk itself could fall."
So spoke Gilgamesh.
"Right now, the only ones in Uruk capable of dealing with the Garula spirits and without any active mission assignments are you."
His golden gaze fell upon Rozen, Mash, and Anna.
"Therefore, I hereby formally commission you—to find a way to drive out the Garula spirits from Uruk and prevent any further deaths from exhaustion or soul-loss."
That was the reason Rozen and the others were present.
At dawn, Gilgamesh had ordered Siduri to summon them to the throne room for this very reason.
"If Uruk falls, then the Sumerian civilization, the foundation of human culture, will vanish. Human history will become unsalvageable. Surely, that's not an outcome any of you desire."
Gilgamesh extended a hand.
"Our interests align. Now, lend your strength to Uruk!"
Upon hearing that, Mash and Anna turned their eyes toward Rozen.
Clearly, they were leaving the decision to him.
And Rozen, of course, had no intention of refusing.
Whether by obligation or personal intent, he wanted to investigate the matter of the Garula spirits.
Thus...
"I accept the commission."
Rozen gave his answer.
And so, Rozen, Mash, and Anna returned to the embassy together.
Tonight would likely be a sleepless night.