Chapter 237:
Soon, they knew why Gilgamesh had shut his mouth.
A crestfallen Ishtar walked in unsteadily.
"Want a drink?" Xia Yu brought out a cup and poured a glass of Jade Nectar into it.
"Waaaaah..." With lifeless eyes, Ishtar picked up the wine glass, drained it in one gulp, and then looked tearfully at Xia Yu. "Kiana, am I a huge failure at life?"
"Why do you ask that?" Xia Yu reached out and gently stroked her long black hair. "What happened?"
"I... I..." Ishtar really couldn't bring herself to say that she had lost the Bull of Heaven; it was just too shameful.
"Why... why..." She threw herself straight into Xia Yu's embrace, sobbing, "Clearly... clearly I treated it so well, so why did it abandon me!"
Having searched for a long time without finding it, Ishtar finally realized one thing.
It wasn't that she had lost Gugalanna, but rather that Gugalanna was actively hiding from her (not really).
But why? That was clearly her proudest divine beast...
Why was it hiding from her?
And while hiding, it was still keeping an eye on her, even stepping in to help the moment she fell into danger.
Ishtar couldn't understand it.
But her mood right now was very, very bad.
It would have been fine if she hadn't found it, but now that it had clearly appeared, it was actually still hiding from her...
"Come on, don't cry," Xia Yu gently patted her back, then brought out a little cake and pushed it in front of her. "Eat something first."
"Waaaaah..." Quite spinelessly, Ishtar stuffed the little cake into her mouth while sobbing.
The ample sugar finally alleviated a portion of her bad mood.
To the side, Gilgamesh looked at the Ishtar before him with a highly subtle expression.
He had actually managed to hold back from opening his mouth!
No, it wasn't that he refrained from mocking her, but rather that he was purely enjoying the show! Enjoying Ishtar's wretched state!
Gilgamesh knew full well that if he spoke up right now, Ishtar would absolutely explode at the slightest provocation and engage in a massive fight with him.
He wasn't afraid of Ishtar, but this tearful Ishtar was a sight he had never witnessed in the first half of his life!
He absolutely had to record this, save it, and wait to mock her ruthlessly in the future!
The Magecraft in his hand was already prepared, and the recording function was turned on.
Tsk tsk tsk, is a proxy actually this miraculous? To influence that damnable Ishtar into her current state?
Gilgamesh felt that the original Ishtar would absolutely never make such movements. When she was in a bad mood, rather than tearfully seeking someone for comfort, she was more likely to find someone to fight with and engage in wanton destruction everywhere.
By transferring her bad mood to everyone else, she would naturally cheer up.
Don't doubt it, that was the true Ishtar.
As for this one... ha, it could probably be counted as a stain on her divine life.
Gilgamesh was now infinitely tolerant of the Ishtar before him. As long as she kept crying, he could even restrain his toxic tongue and remain completely silent.
He was just waiting to gather more leverage over Ishtar.
After Ishtar finished one little cake, she felt it wasn't enough, so she turned her gaze and fixed it on Fujimaru Ritsuka next to her.
"This is a thank-you gift," being very tactful, Fujimaru Ritsuka pushed the little cake in front of her forward. "Thank you for helping us that day."
"Yes, a thank-you gift!" Hearing this, Mash also hurriedly pushed her own little cake over.
"At least you know your place, Chaldean," Ishtar sniffled, directly reaching out to take them, but she was gently stopped by Xia Yu.
"What are you doing?" Seeing this, Ishtar looked at Xia Yu. What was clearly a word of accusation somehow felt like throwing a tantrum under her tear-stained expression.
Is this the legendary 'baby, your scolding feels like flirting'?
Mhm, it really does!
Xia Yu teased in her heart, then turned her head to look at Tomoe Gozen.
The latter nodded, turned to walk into the kitchen, and then brought out an incredibly large cake decorated with various fruits.
"The one just now was merely an appetizer," Xia Yu handed Ishtar a fork. "Here, eat this."
"Oh... wait!" Holding up the fork, Ishtar finally reacted and turned to look around.
"Why are you here helping them cook?" Just as she finished speaking, she saw Gilgamesh also sitting to the side, looking at her with a face full of smiles.
That smile was full of banter. Ishtar only just realized what she had done earlier, and her entire face turned red with anger.
"And this guy! Why is he here?!"
"Ho? Those words are truly rare," Gilgamesh elegantly picked up the little cake in front of him, took a bite, and only then continued, "This is Uruk, and This King is the King of Uruk. Why can't I be here?"
"You even made a cake for him!" To his surprise, Ishtar ignored him entirely, turning to look at Xia Yu with a pitiful and aggrieved expression.
Having experienced the betrayal (not really) of Gugalanna, Ishtar had become completely soft and doughy.
"No," Xia Yu shrugged. "He's an uninvited guest."
"In my original plan, I was only hosting the few from Chaldea."
As she spoke, she patted Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulder. "After all, she's a friend of my friend. It wasn't easy to meet, so naturally we have to enjoy some wine and conversation, right?"
"But... but..." Ishtar looked at Gilgamesh across from her, finding him more and more unpleasant to look at.
"You woman..." Her soft and doughy manner actually threw Gilgamesh off first. Wait, could that wretched creature Ishtar actually show this kind of expression?
"When I go back, I must ask Siduri what exactly the name of the vessel they used to summon you is."
He spoke with an air of lamentation, "To be able to assimilate that unreasonable Ishtar into her current state... that vessel is truly extraordinary."
In the past, even when he and Enkidu teamed up to defeat the Bull of Heaven and thoroughly beaten Ishtar, she had never shown such an expression.
This was truly too amusing!
Gilgamesh decided to thoroughly enjoy the sight.
"Vessel..." Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash exchanged a look.
They had long noticed that the goddess Ishtar was practically identical to Miss Tohsaka Rin, whom they had met in Fuyuki City!
Wait, speaking of Fuyuki...
Fujimaru Ritsuka turned her head to look at Miss Kiana beside her.
Given Miss Firefly's ever-changing abilities... was this person claiming to be a friend of Kiana's friend really not her herself?
Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't know.
But she felt... the probability was fifty-fifty.
Mainly because the impression Miss Firefly left on her was strong, intense, and dominating!
The superhuman achievement of hacking a Beast to death in ten minutes was something one could only look up to.
But the Kiana before her, who was obsessed with getting close to girls... she wasn't quite so sure.
Back then, Miss Firefly hadn't shown any inclinations in this regard either.
"By the way, Big Sister Kiana," she put on a sweet smile and took Kiana's hand. "I have some things I want to ask you."
"Mhm, what is it?" Xia Yu speared a piece of cake to feed Ishtar, then turned her head and spoke casually.
"It's about Miss Firefly," Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes shone brightly. "Before saying goodbye last time, she mentioned she was going to face the Swarm. The Swarm Disaster sounds incredibly terrifying."
"How is she doing now? We can't contact her either, it's truly worrying!"
"Now?" Hearing this, Xia Yu turned her head to glance at her. "And the Swarm? What Swarm? Where would a Swarm come from?"
"Oh? You don't know?" Mash, who was to the side, said in surprise, "It's the very Swarm that destroyed Miss Firefly's homeland!"
"From what era is that old history?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Glamoth has been destroyed for who knows how many years. The universe is so vast, heaven knows where the Swarm from back then is."
"And the Swarm Disaster," speaking up to this point, she gave Fujimaru Ritsuka a deep look. "She even told you about those things?"
"Mhm, of course," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded.
"She's just someone who can't hide things, it's normal," Xia Yu nodded. "Relax, don't take the things she said too seriously."
"Uh, why is that?" Fujimaru Ritsuka was somewhat puzzled.
"Mainly because your worrying is useless anyway," Xia Yu shrugged. "With your current state, if even one of the things she encounters shows up, you're all finished."
"So instead of being anxious, it's better not to think about anything."
"Just be your Savior properly. This is an errand of boundless merit."
It was more than just boundless merit; every living being within over ten billion light-years would have to bow down to Fujimaru Ritsuka.
If it weren't for Fujimaru Ritsuka's salvation, they would have been directly copied, pasted, and overwritten by a blank universe.
Even though this major crisis was also caused by Humans themselves...
The Savior of Humanity would rescue the living beings of the universe from the depths of misery, as for how the misery came about, don't you worry about it (laughs).
"So what exactly are you all talking about?" Ishtar was very displeased that Kiana was talking and laughing with the people from Chaldea, the goddess's possessiveness rising to the forefront once more.
"Always Firefly this, Firefly that. Who exactly is this Firefly?"
"A super good friend of mine, a bestie," Xia Yu turned her head and smiled. "She's a really great person."
"A friend..." Ishtar pouted.
Normally she would never engage in such a fragile behavior, but hadn't she just suffered a heavy blow?
"And a super good friend..."
She looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka. "So, the friend of a friend's friend refers to this friend?"
"Mhm, we met Miss Firefly during a Rayshift," Fujimaru Ritsuka replied. "She is truly super powerful."
"Oh, how powerful can she be?" Hearing this, Ishtar lifted her chin. "As a goddess, I can't pretend I didn't hear that kind of talk."
A strange competitive streak had appeared!
"Uh, does hacking a Beast representing an Evil of Humanity to death in ten minutes count as powerful?" Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka hesitated for two seconds before replying.
"Huh? A mere demonic beast... wait, you said demonic beast, right?" Ishtar instinctively wanted to mock her, but quickly reacted.
"Heh, have you gotten older and your ears aren't working well either?" Gilgamesh, who was to the side, seized the opportunity to mock her, "Beast, that Beast representing an Evil of Humanity!"
"You can't possibly not know what that thing is, right?"
"Wait, really that Beast?" Ishtar's pupils dilated in shock, "That legendary Beast that represents the Evils of Humanity?"
"That's right," hearing this, Xia Yu smiled and picked up Fufu from Mash's shoulder, placing her in her lap and stroking her occasionally. She said meaningfully, "It's exactly that Beast."
Hearing this, Fufu turned her head to look into her eyes.
'Could this strange human have figured it out?'
As a calamity beast—Cath Palug—that fed on the competition, growth, jealousy, and regret among humans, possessed the characteristic of "being stronger than the opponent," and theoretically could never be defeated, it could not see through the strange human before it.
Its own Principle of Comparison simply couldn't take effect on the other party.
"You've got to be joking," Ishtar's face was filled with disbelief.
"Not just a Beast, but a Beast hatched from All the World's Evil, the manifestation of evil in Zoroastrian dualism, born from human misdeeds," Fujimaru Ritsuka explained. "Theoretically, as long as people are still committing evil, It can never be eliminated."
It sounds very strong, right? In fact, all Beasts were like this; their Authorities sounded incredibly grandiose one by one.
All the World's Evil was like this: as long as evil deeds remained, It could not be eliminated.
Tiamat, who held the Principle of Regression, was like this: as long as the life She originally birthed still existed in the world, She would never die. This characteristic of the Mother of Life was fully displayed, and She even possessed the bug-like Anti-Genesis, which completely incapacitated the Heroic Spirits, the enforcers of the Human Order.
If it weren't for Fujimaru Ritsuka turning the tide, no one present at the time could have harmed Her at all.
And Fufu, as a Beast holding the Principle of Comparison, used human competition, growth, jealousy, and regret as its source of power. As long as you were chosen by It as an opponent, It would forever be stronger than you.
Furthermore, the generic skill of the Beasts was still active: as long as competition, growth, and comparison still existed among humans, It would never die. In the Grand Time Temple, after resurrecting Mash at the cost of all Its own Magical Energy and intellect, It seemed to have turned into an 'ordinary animal.'
But in the subsequent plot, it was obvious that Its intellect was gradually recovering; this was the shameless nature of a Beast.
"You sure know how to boast," Ishtar was full of disbelief. "How could such a powerful Beast be eliminated by a single person in ten minutes?"
"It's very simple," hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked and said, "A Beast born from human misdeeds loses its source of power once it's far removed from humans."
"Miss Firefly directly took the Beast into outer space. A Beast away from Earth is like a fish out of water; it was easily hacked to death."
"Huh? Do you even hear what you're saying?" Ishtar was somewhat speechless, "Taking a Beast into outer space... do you think that's an easy thing to do?"
"At least for Miss Firefly, it was quite simple," Fujimaru Ritsuka said seriously. "The relaxed manner in which she killed that Beast... was just like going out to slaughter a pig."
"I can testify to that," hearing this, Xia Yu patted Ishtar's shoulder. "Firefly is indeed super strong!"
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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