"You have love, family, friends, admiration—everything!
So why… why are you still trying to take the one thing that's mine?! The only thing I care about!"
A surge of red light burst from the eye sockets of the giant skull. The glowing wheel of the spear swept out, aiming to cleave the annoying "Little Dragonfly" in two.
But Gilgamesh's projected Noble Phantasm, combined with Merlin's illusion, caused Ereshkigal's strike to miss its mark and crash into a fading afterimage.
"You pinned your hopes on me—yet you side with her?!
It's not fair! It's not fair!
You're all liars!"
Consumed by rage, the underworld goddess spiraled into extremity. With clenched resolve, she forced down the spear wheel, preparing to unleash her Noble Phantasm once more.
"Ereshkigal! That's enough!"
"If you want something—fight for it! If you want it—say it out loud!"
"Every time something hurts you, you shut down, lash out mindlessly, hurting everyone else—and hurting yourself even more! What is that supposed to solve?!"
"Keep this up, and the people who care about you will only keep running further away!"
Under the others' cover, Ishtar burst through the raging wind and flew to the side of the giant crimson skull, shouting furiously at her sister.
"Shut up!"
Sealed inside the skull, Ereshkigal was struck by the harsh truth. Her heart faltered, and when her gaze fell on the still-wet bloodstains on the ground, shame and fury twisted her expression. She clenched her cloak tightly.
"I won't!"
Ishtar leapt into the choking miasma, landing squarely on the skull's massive shoulder. She lifted her chin proudly.
"So what if I stole what you cared about? Even if I handed you the chance—would you have the guts to take it back?!"
With that, the pixie-sized goddess raised her hand and conjured a misty swirl of pink fog, hurling it directly into the skull's eye socket.
Watching from a distance, Merlin immediately caught on and shouted toward the converging wings of the group.
"Ana, throw it!"
"Okay!"
Before Samael could even react, the chain around his waist was yanked forward.
In an instant, the ancient serpent, now the new object of contention, was hurled straight into the arms of the giant skull.
Tears welled up in Samael's eyes.
What a wonderful team!
I was just about to sell out Ishtar, and the lot of you turned right around and sold me out instead!
Did it never cross your minds what might happen if these two sisters ended up splitting me in half in the fight?!
And yet, the crushing impact he expected never came.
Instead, Samael plunged straight through the phasing bones of the skull—and into a pair of warm arms that instinctively reached out to catch him.
After a brief tumble, the ancient serpent pushed himself up—only to realize Ereshkigal was lying beneath him.
Heat radiated from the point where their skin touched. The goddess of the underworld, just moments ago filled with anger and gloom, now had a dazed look in her eyes, her cheeks tinted with a tempting flush of pink.
"D-Don't touch me… liar!"
Seeing how close their faces were, the shimmer in Ereshkigal's eyes trembled. Her expression stiffened again with embarrassment and frustration as she glared at Samael, lifting a hand to shove him away.
Just as the ancient serpent floundered in awkward silence, the three-inch-tall Ishtar zipped to Ereshkigal's chest, planting her palm against the goddess's rather disappointing bosom.
A thick haze of pink mist seeped into her skin, channeling straight into her divine core.
Instantly, Ereshkigal's face—once so cold and stormy—flushed bright red, and her angry shoves turned soft and powerless, like a drunken stupor.
"You idiot. Do I really need to spell it out for you?"
"Want me to pin her down for you? Get on with it!"
As Samael's brain short-circuited, Ishtar—who looked suspiciously like she was monopolizing her sister's chest—snapped at him in frustration, shoulders hunching as she muttered complaints.
"This time, I'm risking everything to help you!"
"If she snaps out of it and you haven't convinced her yet, getting stabbed to death will be the least of my worries!"
And you're not worried that if I fail, she might stab me too?!
The ancient serpent swallowed hard, mentally teetering between being a beast and being even worse than one. His trembling hesitation showed in the way his hand kept pausing mid-motion.
Finally, as their lips drew closer, breath hot against each other's skin, Samael gave Ereshkigal's burning cheek a quick peck like a bird pecking rice. Then, as if reaching a decision, he looked up with an awkward chuckle.
"Uh, maybe we should ask Ere what she wants first—"
Thud!
Before he could even finish, before the furious Ishtar could move in to bash his head in, a pair of slender arms looped around Samael's neck and yanked him down.
In the next instant, two smooth legs coiled around his waist like serpents, locking him in place.
Their lips met.
As the moment deepened and heat surged through his body, Samael's mind blanked. Acting on instinct, he pried open his Master's lips and chased after her pink tongue.
"Don't just kiss me! My ears are sensitive!"
"Hands! Put them on my thighs—come on, touch me!"
"And hey, explain things already!"
"She'll believe anything you say right now!"
Ishtar, still maintaining the flow of the pink mist, yelled instructions into his ear while coaching him through every move, guiding him on how to properly handle her sister's body.
Somewhere between climbing and directing, an odd pang of melancholy crept into her heart.
Several paces away, even Merlin and Gilgamesh—seasoned veterans of countless absurd situations—found the corners of their mouths twitching.
This looked way too much like a wicked younger sister stealing her big sister's man, marching in to show off, then helping her shameless husband seduce and corrupt the older sister too.
Absolutely appalling behavior.
Made worse by the fact that the ringleader was none other than Uruk's Great Goddess of Love and Marriage.
That said, neither of the onlookers did anything to stop it—in fact, they watched with growing interest.
Merlin even fueled the atmosphere by turning the ground into a sea of blooming flowers, using his Illusion Arts to heighten the sensation.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, the white-haired Incubus leaned down to the purple-haired loli beside him.
"Oh, right…"
"Ana, close your eyes. Kids shouldn't be watching this stuff…"
Obediently, the girl beneath the hood lifted her small hands and covered her eyes—but between the fingers, her violet Mystic Eyes were staring straight ahead without blinking.
...
After a long while, the kiss broke.
Once Samael had finished explaining their journey and how he and Ishtar had met, the clarity slowly returned to Ereshkigal's eyes. A faint, unnatural blush crept across her face.
"I never intended to run from you. I came back this time to fight by your side—for the humans you care so deeply about."
The ancient serpent's earnest whisper slowly dissolved the fear and self-doubt in the underworld goddess's heart.
And after learning that Ishtar's so-called misdeeds during their earlier encounters were all just misunderstandings, Ereshkigal couldn't help but feel a secret sense of relief.
Still, the sudden shift in their relationship had come too fast. What had started as mutual admiration had, thanks to a dash of "love-lust," spiraled into something entirely unexpected.
So, once they both sobered up, the warmth between them lasted only a short while before they tacitly gave each other space again—maintaining a close but cautious distance.
"I'll let the past go."
"But what just happened? You didn't see anything. You didn't hear anything. No one is allowed to say a word about it!"
Sensing the bizarre atmosphere around her—and knowing full well her earlier disgrace had been witnessed by everyone—Ereshkigal, filled with shame and fury, laid down a strict gag order before the group could proceed. Her tsundere pride flared in full.
Then, clearing her throat, she tried to reassert a semblance of composure—even if her image had already shattered beyond repair.
"Ahem. Let's… talk about Uruk's defenses."
Just as everyone gathered around the heated temple, ready to discuss what came next, a powerful tremor rumbled beneath their feet.
The direction… was Uruk.
Everyone's hearts raced.
A foreboding sense of doom swept over them.