"Hey! Watch where you're going! That really hurt!"
"I should be the one saying that to you, Lady Goddess..."
Just as Ishtar was rubbing her sore backside and grumbling, a familiar yet distant cold snort rang out by her ear.
The Mistress of Heaven looked up in a daze. Before her stood a black-haired, red-eyed figure with arms crossed and a cold smirk tugging at his lips. The sight left her momentarily stunned.
"What's wrong? Don't recognize me?"
"A similar scene, a similar encounter... and with 'Mount Ebih' and 'Great Offering' thrown in—ring any bells?"
Samael narrowed his eyes, his expression cold and sharp.
"You... you're that one from Babylon..."
Ishtar sprang to her feet and pointed in realization, but the words caught in her throat.
"Samael! Don't tell me you forgot my name too?"
Even knowing that this great goddess would likely slack off after taking her commission, forgetting her client's name altogether still left the ancient serpent speechless.
"Yes, yes! Samael! Haha, what a coincidence—you actually made it out alive to Uruk?"
Ishtar's eyes darted around, her smile awkward as she tried to mask her guilt and clumsily changed the subject.
"Thanks to you, I'm still alive!"
"But maybe you could explain something... why did I run into the Blue Dragon Bašmu in Uruk—the one you were supposed to have hunted down?"
"I distinctly remember performing the Great Offering, paying the deposit. You even beat your chest and swore you'd take care of it."
Samael frowned and let out a cold snort, his sharp gaze locking onto the goddess.
"Ah, well, um..."
"Right! Recently, the magical beasts have been running wild, and Mount Ebih's been in chaos too... I haven't had the chance to act yet..."
Though Ishtar had a well-known greedy streak, she still had a sliver of shame. When faced with a blatant breach of contract, she couldn't help but show a rare trace of guilt.
As long as she still had some pride, there was room to negotiate. But if she'd truly lost all shame, then there'd be trouble.
Samael steadied his emotions, his expression growing even darker and colder.
"You didn't have time? Then do you know who first broke through Babylonia's defenses? It was Blue Dragon Bašmu!"
"Do you know how many people died beneath the claws of the Wyverns and Three-Horned Lion-Dragons it led?"
"Do you know the chain reaction it triggered, causing the frontlines to collapse and nearly leading to Uruk's fall?"
"So many lives lost. My second home nearly repeated Babylon's tragedy. And you're telling me—you didn't have time?!"
Ishtar opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The fury in the victim's words was so overwhelming, she didn't even dare look at the ashen face before her.
At that moment, murmurs could be heard as someone vaguely mentioned how someone had twisted the battle report to dump the blame on Ishtar. The expressions of those at the Sacrificial Grounds changed one by one.
Many strange glances turned toward Ishtar—the very same Ishtar who had claimed top credit for the victory and seized treasures from Uruk.
The Sacrificial Grounds, Astrology Tower, and Temples each operated independently.
In recent days, most had turned a blind eye to Ishtar's misconduct only because she truly had defended Uruk during the crisis.
So by both logic and sentiment, they felt they owed the great goddess some measure of gratitude.
Of course, that gratitude could be shown materially.
But now it seemed that long before the outbreak of the magical beast tide, the War Goddess who accepted the Great Offering had already promised to eliminate the Blue Dragon Bašmu.
Without the Blue Dragon Bašmu, the Dragonkind troops that broke through Babylonia's defenses might never have come into existence. Without the Dragonkind troops, the guard forces and defensive barriers could have continued functioning properly. With those in place, General Leonidas wouldn't have suffered serious injuries, and the king wouldn't have been forced to leave the Divine Tower.
If the king hadn't left the Divine Tower, Kingu and the Goddess of Demonic Beasts would've had no opportunity to act. Perhaps all these tragedies would never have occurred.
Likewise, Ishtar, still dazed from being spun around, couldn't help but reflect once that chilling sensation crawled up her spine.
Blue Dragon Bašmu? Could the brutal conflict in Babylonia really be tied to that magical beast?
These past few days, I've seen the Sacrificial Grounds and guards dragging numerous dragon-type flying beasts off the streets. They really are breeds we've never seen before, and they struck right at the weak points of Babylonia's defenses.
Could all this… really be because of me?
Smack!
A heavy thud echoed as several clay tablets, engraved front and back with cuneiform script, were thrown down in front of the goddess, lost in her thoughts.
"Look at the names on these. Ask yourself—can you still repeat the excuse you just gave?"
They were the names of the dead from that battle. Her mind in turmoil, Ishtar lowered her head even further, like a quail shrinking under storm winds.
"So was it that you didn't have the time… or that you didn't even try?"
That question, like a hammer to the chest, struck the goddess of heaven who, deep down, truly loved humanity—leaving her ashamed and speechless.
Hmm. That should be enough. Push her any further and she might actually break. If that happens and she just gives up, running off to hide on Mount Ebih and shutting herself away, then it'd all be for nothing.
Samael noticed Ishtar was already stunned by his relentless barrage—almost to the point of questioning her divine purpose. He decided to stop while he was ahead. After all, thinking rationally, Blue Dragon Bašmu was just one of the factors behind the fortress's collapse. Shifting the entire blame onto Ishtar was just taking advantage of her guilty conscience and sense of obligation—making it easy to pin the failure on her lack of action.
It's like saying, "When Pan Jinlian opened her window, she single-handedly triggered the fall of Chinese civilization." If she hadn't opened that window, she wouldn't have met Ximen Qing; no meeting, no affair; no affair, no murder; no murder, no Wu Song becoming an outlaw; no outlaw, no rebellion crushed; the Song Dynasty stays strong; no northern invasion, no Qing dynasty, no isolationism, no Opium Wars, no foreign occupation. And in the end? China's the sole global superpower, and everyone else bows down. So really, Pan, why'd you open that window?
See? This kind of angry, victim-blaming logic doesn't hold up under scrutiny.
That's why Samael had to act fast—strike while Ishtar was still tangled in guilt and hadn't come to her senses. Trick her, drag her aboard the pirate ship, and seal the deal before she backed out.
"Lady Goddess, you are the protector of warriors… I once placed all my faith in you."
"To avenge my fallen comrades, I offered you every coin I brought from Babylon."
"But you betrayed that trust. Or at the very least… you didn't take it seriously."
The ancient serpent shook his head, face cold and disappointed.
Already riddled with guilt, Ishtar couldn't help but be led by emotion. Shame gripped her, and she even began wondering if she should cough up the offerings she had taken in.
But just as the great goddess hesitated, a creaking sound reached her ears.
Wheels, turning slowly.
Then came the rustle of thin cloth being pulled back, and the clattering from below snapped her out of her stupor. Ishtar, her head still drooped, suddenly jolted upright like she'd been electrified, eyes scanning ahead.
In her blood-red gaze, the glint of dazzling colors reflected from the carriage.
Jewels.
So many jewels!