"A goddess who snatches wealth right from the people's hands has appeared. I'm afraid we're her next target," Merlin still found time to joke.
"After all, she's already smearing us with that whole 'investigation' excuse. Who knew a goddess would also care about justifying a surprise attack?"
"Hah? How is that smearing? If you weren't up to anything, why would you even be here? If it's not an investigation, what other reason could there be?" Ishtar retorted irritably.
"Besides, everything I take is fair compensation! Whatever, I can't be bothered repeating myself. Now you'll pay in full for offending me earlier! Perfect timing—that gold-obsessed Gilgamesh, who has no redeeming quality besides his wealth, must have given you plenty of treasures! I'll be gladly taking them all!"
As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Amber, who stood on the ground, having just protected the Chaldea team.
"Hey! Just this morning you were sweet-talking me, and by afternoon you've already sided with my enemies?!"
Morning?
Everyone looked questioningly at Amber.
"I have no intention of making an enemy of you," Amber said. Before Ishtar could even begin to smile, she continued, "But I also don't wish to see my friends from Chaldea get hurt."
"What kind of answer is that!?" Ishtar frowned.
Instead of explaining immediately, Amber directly used the Fenghuang Down, overlaying the surrounding area in an extremely rough manner.
Such an undisguised use of technique naturally made everyone aware that something was wrong.
"Is this... a Reality Marble?" The scenery hadn't changed much, but the feeling of something enveloping them was distinct, leading Mash to guess.
"Not a Reality Marble. It's more like an illusion... an Authority," Merlin said, looking at Amber with an unreadable expression.
He was an expert in illusions, but as he'd said before, no magecraft could compare to the effects of an Authority. If Ishtar had used her Authority back at the ziggurat, even with Gilgamesh present, the three of them would have been swiftly defeated.
An Authority wasn't magecraft; it was a technique that utilized the very rules constituting the world. Generally, it was a skill only gods could master.
But Amber, or rather, the Phoenix Celestial, though called a Celestial, genuinely possessed no Divinity.
This was also why Ishtar hadn't taken Amber seriously initially. While Divinity was often called a debuff, possessing it was also a stepping stone to being a truly powerful being.
Those without Divinity weren't necessarily weak, but those with it were certainly strong.
"So you used this to approach me this morning," Ishtar deduced, figuring out how she'd been approached without detection.
Then, curious, she asked, "What Authority is this? I've never seen its like in Mesopotamia."
"An Authority that controls consciousness," Amber stated without beating around the bush. "This area has now become a domain of consciousness. All laws here are under my control. Don't worry, you won't get injured fighting here, and time flows much slower."
This was considering Fujimaru Ritsuka, being an ordinary human, had limited mental fortitude. Accelerating consciousness too much could cause damage.
"Don't worry about your physical bodies in reality; I will protect them properly."
"You... are unexpectedly high-handed," Ishtar remarked, a cold sweat trickling down her temple.
She could feel that she could force her way out of this mental space, but the concept of 'consciousness' was entirely foreign to her. Even she couldn't be sure what would happen if she broke free by force.
"Wouldn't it be nice to settle the score here?" Merlin said, having nervously checked his own condition and only relaxing after confirming the magecraft maintaining his body was still active.
He grinned. "At least our wallets won't get emptied by the goddess."
"I said it already! This is just compensation for your disrespect!" Ishtar had long been annoyed by this white-haired mage.
The Maanna next to her fired a blast, and then she took out three of the Asterite Amber had given her that morning, instantly amplifying the magical energy within her. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed hundreds of magical blasts.
Incidentally, Amber hadn't expected Maanna to be able to enter the mental space. So Maanna did possess a faint consciousness, after all.
"Attacking without warning! Is this also a goddess's virtue?!" Merlin immediately ducked and weaved, a pathetic sight that, for better or worse, didn't seem to surprise Mash or Ana.
Though they didn't fully understand the consciousness space, Mash, seeking to accumulate experience fighting divine beings, wouldn't pass up any training opportunity.
She raised her shield and leaped into the air, aiming to interrupt Ishtar's assault, but Ishtar nimbly dodged and kicked her back to the ground.
Ana's chains seized the chance to entangle Ishtar's ankle, trying to drag her down, but Maanna's blast severed them. Subsequently, Ana herself was forced to retreat by the relentless barrage.
Troublesome.
Both Ana and Mash felt a headache coming on.
Without Gilgamesh's assistance, Ishtar's magecraft was completely unrestricted.
"What's wrong? If you can't reach the sky, you can't hit me, you know?" Ishtar taunted from mid-air.
"That's cheating! Come down and fight fair and square!" Merlin yelled.
"Who'd give up their advantage?" Ishtar mocked.
Seeing this, Mash and Ana had no choice but to keep fighting by leaping up, but it was sadly ineffective. With ample magical energy and no restrictions on her magecraft, Ishtar had no reason to descend and fight them on the ground.
Finally, growing bored, Ishtar decided to end the battle, gathering a massive amount of magical energy that pressured both Ana and Mash—only to suddenly vanish from the space.
"Huh?"
Not just Ana and Mash, but even Merlin looked confused.
Where'd she go?
Amber, of course, knew the situation. As the user of the Fenghuang Down, she could monitor the consciousness space while simultaneously acting in the real world.
Seeing Ishtar's consciousness suddenly grow still, Amber deactivated the Fenghuang Down, returning everyone else's consciousness to their bodies.
"What happened? Why is Goddess Ishtar...?" Everyone stared at the dazed Ishtar hovering in the air, puzzled by her state. But regardless, this was a perfect opportunity.
Ana swiftly scaled the buildings and leaped behind Ishtar.
Just as a cloud passed before the sun, Ishtar's expression became animated again. Seeing everyone on the ground, she opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly heard a whooshing sound from behind.
"Eh!? What!? When did you get behind me... Whoa!?"
After carefully inspecting the goddess, who had been struck down and completely buried under rubble, Mash and Ana confirmed she had lost consciousness.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.