There was no doubt about it—Ishtar was a selfish, self-centered goddess with an extreme case of jealousy.
In order to overthrow a fellow Goddess of Beauty—one who was hailed by the world as "the most beautiful", Freya—she would not hesitate to plunge the Lower World back into the primordial chaos of ancient times.
As for how much bloodshed and suffering the entire continent would fall into afterward… she did not care.
All that mattered was bringing Freya down.
If Soma could be described as a giant baby who still retained a shred of conscience, then Ishtar was a full-blown spoiled brat—one who had never been disciplined, and who firmly believed the entire world should revolve around her.
The problem was—she was a goddess.
And when a god threw a tantrum, the consequences were catastrophic.
For many years, Ishtar had secretly colluded with the remnants of the Evilus—those extremists who sought to break the seal of the Dungeon—providing them with financial support.
In return, her confidence in eventual victory grew more and more inflated.
Yes, Ishtar might have been reckless—but she was not entirely without calculation.
In the original future timeline of this world, the plan to use the Killing Stone to sacrifice the souls of three reincarnated Haruhime clones in order to mass-produce the Level-Boosting artifact "Uchide no Kozuchi" was merely one part of her meticulously arranged rebellion.
Beyond that—
Ishtar had also secretly contacted the leader of the evil forces known as "The City Destroyer—Enyo", borrowing from them a special monster cultivated from a fallen spirit fragment embryo—the Bull of Heaven.
This thing possessed a conservative estimated potential of Lv.7.
It belonged to the same category as the magic-type fallen spirit fragment that had nearly wiped out the Loki Familia—except that while its magical aptitude was lower, its physical strength was explosively overwhelming.
Building on this foundation—
Ishtar then cooperated with the Thanatos Familia, borrowing the usage rights to the Artificial Dungeon—Knossos.
Furthermore, she hired the Kali Familia, rulers of Telskyura. That familia alone possessed two Lv.6 adventurers, along with a large number of high-tier fighters.
Taking everything into account—
If Ishtar's grand plan were to succeed in its entirety, she would command multiple monsters with Lv.7 potential, two adventurers who could temporarily reach Lv.7, and dozens of elite Amazon warriors.
From this perspective alone, the plan truly did have a chance of defeating the Freya Familia.
Of course, Orario would almost certainly be destroyed in the aftermath.
But Ishtar did not care.
As long as she could witness Freya's downfall—and laugh at her misery afterward—that was enough.
Unfortunately…
In the original timeline, the Bull of Heaven was first slain by the Loki Familia, who forcibly invaded the artificial dungeon.
Then, the two Lv.6 adventurers from the War Nation were severely wounded in Melen by Tiona, Tione… and Finn.
On top of that, the rabbit-eared boy shattered the Killing Stone meant for the ritual, preventing the full-moon sacrifice of the fox-woman altogether…
GG.
As for tonight—
BOOM~
When the members of Freya Familia led the charge and began their assault on the Ishtar Familia's headquarters, they certainly were not going to knock politely.
After all, ever since Lumine had explained Ishtar's schemes to the core members, everyone—including Ottar and Hedin—had already been seething with rage.
And now that they had explicit permission to go all out, there was no reason to hold back.
At present—
"Freya-sama, I have a question."
"Hm?"
Amidst the flames reaching toward the sky in the Pleasure Quarter, only Lumine walked at the Goddess of Beauty's side, accompanying her and ensuring her safety.
In the past, this role should have belonged to Ottar.
But now, even though the boar-man warrior was still the acting captain of the Freya Familia, he had voluntarily yielded this honor.
Taking the opportunity, Lumine asked on Renjiro's behalf,
"Hypothetically speaking, if I were to send Ishtar into a 'ten-thousand-year revival period,' what consequences would there be?"
Freya fell silent for a brief moment.
Then—
"In the past, the heavens would likely have descended with divine punishment."
"But now it is different. The gods long for the emergence of the unknown, and will not excessively interfere with the Lower World."
"Under those conditions, if you acted on your own initiative, the Guild might issue a manhunt."
"Ouranos would know instantly what you did—there's no hiding it."
"But…"
Freya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"If you did it because you received my order, then afterward I would only need to pay a certain fine, and the matter would be settled."
Her answer was exceedingly thorough.
In the next moment—
"Then… would you like to issue such an order, Freya-sama?"
Lumine tilted her head, looking at the goddess beside her.
Immediately—
Freya stopped in her tracks.
"Ah~"
She let out a long, helpless sigh.
Then she looked at Lumine with indulgent affection.
"It's true—Ishtar has played many nasty pranks in the past. I could overlook those."
"But today, she dared to lay a hand on my child…"
"Even a god should be prepared to fall for that."
"Originally, I intended to do it myself."
"But now…"
The Goddess of Beauty who ruled the strongest familia parted her crimson lips softly.
"Go, Lumine."
"The task of godslaying—I leave it to you."
At that moment, the corner of Lumine's mouth lifted slightly.
"Understood!"
=======
At the same time, atop the divine tower at the center of the Ishtar Familia's headquarters—
"Damn you, Freya, you lunatic."
Beside the dark-skinned goddess, there was not a single piece of high-end combat power remaining.
She had never expected—
"So you were after that man as well."
Wrong. Completely wrong.
This was clearly the result of insufficient intelligence leading her to a disastrously incorrect conclusion.
After all, those siblings had been on the same side from the very beginning—there was never any question of "setting sights on him" in the first place.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Because, at that very moment—
CRACK~
The door to the goddess's chambers was forcibly blown open from the outside.
When Ishtar instinctively turned her head, what she saw was a golden-haired, golden-eyed girl holding a corroded greatsword.
At present, across the entire Lower World, almost no one was unfamiliar with her identity.
One of the Twin Stars, Lumine.
"…Why is she here?"
…..
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]