"—Haa!"
A wind as cold as midwinter swept through the entire space, like an invisible blizzard, causing the temperature in the air to drop further and further.
"—!"
Rozen's eyes narrowed sharply. With a flick of his hand, the hem of his coat fluttered forward, blocking in front of him.
Flames burned across its surface, scattering glowing embers while resisting the oncoming wind.
However, the true nature of this wind was not cold in the ordinary sense—it was a miasma of death capable of freezing a person's soul.
Its purpose was to strip away a human's body heat and life force—that was the true meaning of this cold wind.
This was the authority of the Goddess of the Underworld—the power to grant death and decay to life.
And since they were in the Underworld itself, divine power was useless before Ereshkigal. So even with the Kinu burning fiercely, an icy chill still seeped into Rozen's body.
His body temperature was continuously being stolen away.
"Senpai!"
Mash's voice rang out. She rushed into Rozen's arms, raising her shield to block the attacking wind.
Only then did the cold invading Rozen's body subside somewhat.
But the situation did not improve.
"Be careful! That one's seriously angry now!"
Somehow, Ishtar had also slipped into Rozen's embrace, burrowing into Fou's fur for warmth while shouting a warning.
Truthfully, there was no need for her to say it—everyone could already see it.
"The Underworld is a realm where only the dead may exist. When you, as a living being, step into this world, every action you take is nothing but provocation to me, the Goddess of the Underworld!"
Ereshkigal's entire body swirled with magical red light, which transformed into crackling red lightning that flashed across her form.
"A mere human, daring to provoke a goddess and even claiming you need some kind of reason to oppose me—utterly laughable!"
The Goddess of the Underworld declared:
"If you truly wish to accuse me of wrongdoing, then die here!"
"Only by becoming one of the dead will you stand on the same ground as me, and understand my words!"
"Rest assured, I will treat your soul as a special prize, keeping you by my side forever, to listen to you slowly."
"At that time, you may say as much as you like, and hear as much as you like!"
With those words, Ereshkigal raised the spear in her hand high, striking it against the ground, causing the earth to quake as countless stone pillars shot upward.
"Embrace death, human!"
At the very moment she declared this, Ereshkigal swung her spear down, and the countless stone pillars transformed into arrows, raining toward Rozen like a torrential storm.
"Hey!"
Seeing this, Ishtar cried out in shock, quickly diving deeper into Rozen's coat, refusing to come out again.
"Fou!"
Fou also shrank its head back in fright, no longer daring to poke it out.
"Senpai!"
Mash called out urgently.
But Rozen no longer had the luxury of responding. He simply wrapped his arms around Mash, transforming into a streak of light as he retreated with explosive speed.
The countless stone pillars hurtled toward them, but Rozen's figure—like a phantom—wove back and forth in midair, dodging each one in turn.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The stone pillars either struck the ceiling or fell into empty space, exploding violently in bursts of flame, each impact carrying devastating force.
Rozen had fully activated both Wise Eye and Mind's Eye, reading the trajectory and blast radius of every incoming pillar.
Using his Thought Acceleration technique, he moved rapidly, trailing a chain of afterimages that rendered all of Ereshkigal's attacks ineffective.
"Mash!"
Knowing the battle had truly begun, Rozen no longer hesitated and called out.
"Yes!"
Mash understood instantly and replied loudly.
At a certain moment, Rozen dodged several stone pillars midair and released Mash from his arms.
Mash fell under gravity but landed atop one of the pillars. With a powerful kick, she propelled herself upward, springing from one stone pillar to another as she leapt toward Ereshkigal.
"What are you staring at, Shiki?"
Ereshkigal's cold voice rang out.
At that instant, a figure shot upward from the ground, likewise springing from pillar to pillar with even greater speed and agility than Mash, intercepting her.
Ice-blue eyes with rainbow spirals came into view—
A plain yet razor-sharp knife was drawn.
Ryougi Shiki, gripping the knife in a reverse hold, became a silent killing machine. Without a sound, she struck, releasing a flurry of slashes toward Mash's neck, heart, and abdomen.
"...!"
Mash instantly halted her forward movement, sensing the danger.
Holding her shield, she bent back, ducked, and leapt away in fluid motion, narrowly avoiding the killing strikes.
The blade passed by, missing her by hairsbreadth, but leaving a chilling aftertaste in the air.
"Miss Ryougi Shiki...!"
Mash bit her lip as she looked at the assassin before her.
"Don't blame me. Ever since I came to this era, I've been trapped in the Underworld. Ereshkigal took me in. So I'm simply doing my duty as a guest under her roof."
Ryougi Shiki stated this flatly, all while unleashing relentless slashes, each strike sharp and merciless.
This girl showed no hesitation whatsoever—despite acting harmless earlier when guiding them, she was now going straight for the kill.
She was not driven by passion or hatred—only by the simple will to kill when killing was to be done.
A pure, emotionless killing intent that inspired fear.
Mash could only dodge frantically, letting the blades whistle past her while attempting to raise her shield to block.
But—
"Don't block, Mash!"
From above, Rozen—still weaving through the storm of stone pillars with phantom-like speed—shouted toward her.
"That Servant's Mystic Eye is among the most unique and supreme of all Mystic Eyes—an ability beyond abilities, a rarity among rarities! Whether organic or inorganic, so long as something is 'alive,' it can read its cause of death and recognize it as a phenomenon to be interfered with."
"By slicing along the 'death lines' of a thing, she can kill anything—the Mystic Eye of Death Perception! Even your shield, if struck along its death line, would shatter instantly!"
These words made Mash's face change drastically. Almost reflexively, she lowered her shield and forced herself to dodge instead, narrowly evading each slash.
"As expected, you saw through the true nature of my ability," Ryougi Shiki said coldly, raising her knife.