In that instant, the entire Underworld seemed to tremble, causing soil and stone to roll across the ground.
Inside Chaldea, alarms blared nonstop, while the voices of Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman rang out through the communicator.
"Watch out!"
"The mana reaction keeps increasing!"
"It's the goddess's authority!"
With the Chaldeans shouting warnings, Rozen's group didn't hesitate—they leapt away from where they had been standing.
Boom!
The very ground they had just stood on exploded apart.
The Underworld Goddess Ereshkigal, ruler of both "Earth" and "Death," could command the land and mortality alike with her Authority.
Thus, as the ground erupted, countless fragments of stone instantly transformed into a barrage of projectiles, hurtling in every direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!…
In a heartbeat, the wasteland was bombarded as if under heavy artillery fire, each shard like a devastating explosive sweeping across the field, filling the air with deafening detonations.
Rozen clutched Mash in his arms, with Ishtar and Fou alongside, and—borne aloft by the billowing of his haori—shot up into the air, avoiding the bombardment entirely.
Had they not moved in time, they might have been blown to pieces just now.
"She actually attacked for real! That woman!"
Ishtar gritted her teeth, clutching Rozen's shoulder in frustration.
"Fou! Fou!"
Fou, meanwhile, had burrowed into Rozen's robe, unwilling to poke his head out.
"Senpai!"
Mash looked at Rozen, her eyes asking a silent question—
Should we fight?
That was all.
But Rozen only gave a small shake of his head, signaling Mash not to act rashly.
He still had questions for Ereshkigal.
And clearly, Ereshkigal herself was rather interested in Rozen's presence.
Even as she vented her anger, she lifted her gaze toward Rozen floating in the air.
"You're here to oppose me, aren't you? Humanity's final Master!"
Ereshkigal's voice was heavy, seeking confirmation.
But Rozen didn't give her a direct answer.
"That depends on how you see it."
His reply was deliberately vague.
He couldn't help it.
"To be honest, I feel conflicted toward you." Rozen looked her straight in the eye. "In the two brief encounters we've had before, you never struck me as hostile to humanity—in fact, you were even… kind to me."
The first time, during their conversation in the embassy, Ereshkigal had shown nothing but curiosity and a sense of closeness toward his journey.
Though she was one of the Three Goddess Alliance, she had shown no hostility or killing intent toward someone from Chaldea, and had even risked violating the Alliance's pact by revealing information about it to him. That alone said plenty.
The second time, in the cedar forest, when she descended using Ishtar's body—although she appeared to side with Gorgon and Quetzalcoatl—she had nonetheless acted to shield Rozen from them, even at personal cost.
From these encounters, Rozen had never once felt true malice from Ereshkigal.
So he couldn't understand—
"What exactly is your position? Why did you join the Three Goddess Alliance?"
Rozen voiced the question plainly.
"Gorgon's reason is obvious—she hates humanity without end, fueled by her burning vengeance, and wants to wipe them out."
"Quetzalcoatl's motives haven't been openly stated yet, but from her demeanor and her divinity, I can guess some of her intentions."
"But you… I really don't know why you'd join the Alliance with the goal of annihilating humanity."
That was Rozen's honest feeling.
"So whether I'm your enemy or not isn't up to me—it's up to you." Rozen stated outright. "Depending on your answer, I'll decide my course of action."
It was that simple.
Ereshkigal fell silent.
It was the silence of someone tasting bitterness… or perhaps sighing in resignation.
Then—
"I thought you were going to say something profound. So this is all it is?"
Breaking the quiet, Ereshkigal's first words were mockery.
Mockery of everything.
"If you really want to know, I don't mind telling you."
And so, she said—
"My reason for joining the Three Goddess Alliance is simple: to turn all humans into my personal property."
At those words, the air grew colder still.
"Turn humans…?"
"Into property…?"
Mash and Ishtar were stunned.
"What…?"
Even the Chaldeans were taken aback.
Rozen narrowed his eyes, silently watching the terrifying Goddess of Death.
Under the weight of everyone's shock, Ereshkigal spread her arms wide.
"As you can see, the Underworld has nothing—no sunlight, no life. Flowers cannot grow here, nor can grass take root. Nothing from the surface exists here."
"There's nothing beautiful here."
"Nothing luxurious here."
"All that exists is cold, solitude, wasteland, stone… and the dead."
As she spoke, Ereshkigal struck the ground with her spear of light, and the earth quaked violently.
From below, prison-like spear surged upward one after another, filling the wasteland.
Within them, human souls burned with a strange, haunting beauty.
"The only thing here that can be called beautiful is the soul-fire that seems capable of lighting the entire Underworld. Don't you agree?"
Ereshkigal laughed then—a wild, almost arrogant laugh, yet tinged with unspeakable sorrow.
"Human history is already gone. The foundation of humanity has been incinerated. Sooner or later, the Mage King's grand work will reset this planet, and humanity will vanish from the surface—every last one."
"If that's the case, rather than letting them suffer an agonizing death, why not let them slumber peacefully beneath my breath of death? In the end, I'll gather them all here, to become ornaments adorning the Underworld. Isn't that better?"
"My goal in joining the Three Goddess Alliance is just that—to gather every human soul into the Underworld and create a Kingdom of the Dead."
"Well? Does that answer satisfy you?"
Her words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"She's treating humanity as her property…"
Mash bit her lip.
"Tch…"
Ishtar clicked her tongue.
Only Rozen continued to gaze at Ereshkigal, as though trying to pierce through to her true heart.