In Sumerian mythology, Ishtar was unquestionably a being of boundless love—she had sought the affection of many gods and heroes, willful and unrestrained.
Then, as Ishtar's other half, the one who was her counterpart in both form and essence—how could Ereshkigal not also be filled with love?
Only, unlike Ishtar, Ereshkigal's love was directed toward ordinary humans.
As the Goddess of the Underworld, she loved neither heroes nor gods—only those simple, mortal people.
"Because I am the goddess who governs death. To embrace death, to accept death—this is my divinity."
"For one such as I, what I witness most is not the death of gods, nor of heroes, but the deaths of you fragile, ordinary humans."
"Perhaps, for you humans, death is something fearful and terrifying. But to me, death is something worthy of respect—something that must be protected."
"And so, for you humans, whose fate is to die one day… how could I not love you deeply?"
In that moment, Ereshkigal laid bare her true feelings.
"Not allowing death to be stained by loathsome fear, showing it respect, and guarding the souls that remain—this is who I am, the Goddess of the Underworld—Ereshkigal."
"So, when I learned that human history had already been destroyed, that mankind would inevitably vanish from the surface—can you imagine how much sorrow, how much pain, I felt?"
"Seeing the humans on the surface grow fewer and fewer—either seized by the Beast Goddess's monsters to be used as fodder to make new beasts, or torn apart in cruel death by those same monsters—how could I not feel anger?"
"But I can change nothing. I cannot leave the Underworld. All I can do is forever manage the souls of the dead here."
Given such circumstances, what Ereshkigal would decide to do was already obvious.
"What I said before wasn't entirely a lie. At least, seeing humans killed so cruelly, I truly thought—if this ending cannot be changed, then I would rather grant humanity an eternal sleep without pain, without suffering, and bring as many human souls as possible into the Underworld to protect them."
"Even if no one understands me, even if the countless souls in this world isolate me, I will still guard this silence."
"This is my resolve as Goddess of the Underworld—and the only bit of aid I can give you."
"That is why I joined the Three Goddess Alliance."
Ereshkigal's words brought silence to all present.
"Miss Ereshkigal…"
Mash's expression was complicated.
"..."
Altera, Ryougi Shiki, Ishtar, and the others all looked at the resolute-faced Ereshkigal, their thoughts unreadable.
"This is really…"
Even the people in Chaldea were struck speechless.
Rozen understood what they were feeling.
It couldn't be helped—if this was truly the goddess's heartfelt truth, then she was far too pitiable, far too worthy of compassion.
"Even though the gods one-sidedly forced this duty onto you, stripping you of everything, leaving you here in this world of nothingness for countless millennia, managing the dead in solitude and silence—you still choose to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others?"
Rozen could not help but speak.
To this, Ereshkigal had only one answer.
"That's right—because this is what it means to be a goddess."
Yes—this is what it means to be a goddess.
No matter who they were, each goddess had her own love to uphold.
That love might be twisted, it might be cruel, it might not be directed toward people, or it might be toward mere things—there were all kinds, each different—but before that love, they would treat it as the greatest conviction of their life, holding to it until the end.
Ishtar, for the sake of her own love, had once ravaged the land, trampled humanity, toyed with gods, and crushed human hearts. Even if it was cruel and harsh, it was still for love.
Ereshkigal was the same.
Even if she gained nothing.
Even if she desired nothing.
She still wished to hold to her love—her duty and her mission.
If Ishtar loved in order to gain everything, then Ereshkigal loved only after losing everything.
Two halves of one whole, mirror images opposed—that was the relationship between Ishtar and Ereshkigal.
And now, Ereshkigal had laid everything bare.
Not in a plea for life, but in a wish for death.
"I am the Goddess of Death. I will never deny death."
Ereshkigal declared with composure.
"Defeat me here, and release all the souls in this place."
These words left everyone speechless.
All eyes turned to Rozen, waiting for him to make the decision.
But instead, they froze in surprise.
For at this moment, Rozen was smiling.
"Senpai?"
Mash couldn't help but speak up.
"Hey."
Ishtar tugged at Rozen's collar.
But Rozen only looked straight at Ereshkigal.
"Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?"
Faced with such a direct gaze, Ereshkigal's expression became uneasy, a faint blush rising to her fair face.
Yet Rozen kept looking at this goddess.
The reason was simple.
"I finally understand why you took over Ishtar's body to speak to me, why you revealed information about the Three Goddess Alliance, why you helped me back in the cedar forest, and even why you want me to defeat you."
Rozen spoke softly.
"It was all so I could save humanity, wasn't it?"
Because Ereshkigal could do nothing—she could not leave the Underworld, nor stop the coming extinction—she had naturally placed her hope in the Master of Chaldea who had saved six entire Singularities.
At the embassy, Ereshkigal had wanted to hear about Rozen's deeds in those six Singularities—not just from curiosity, but because she admired and longed for someone with the power to save everything.
That was why Ereshkigal had risked breaking the alliance by revealing information to Rozen.
That was why she had hindered the other goddesses, keeping them from harming him.
She even wished for Rozen to defeat her, gradually breaking apart the Three Goddess Alliance.
More than that—just like Gorgon and Quetzalcoatl—her attack on Uruk had been, under the unchangeable decisions of the other goddesses, an attempt to act before them, to gather as many human souls as possible to protect them.
Everything Ereshkigal had done was for humanity.
In that case—
"I'm not going to let you just die like this."
Rozen's voice was firm.
"Th-Then what do you want to do?"
Ereshkigal couldn't help but ask.
"It's simple."
Rozen reached out his hand toward Ereshkigal.
"Form a contract with me."