Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Immediately after realizing the identity of the visitor, Ereshkigal's expression became uncertain:

"They're from Chaldea...! And that woman even dared to come along..."

Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was standing to the side, seemed to be deep in thought.

Have they arrived?

"Ouch... Senior, are you alright? I managed to block it..."

"Yeah, I'm alright, I guess..."

Caught in the crossfire of Ishtar's attack, Mash barely managed to block it, falling to the ground along with Gudao. They lay there somewhat disheveled, exhausted both physically and mentally.

"Excellent, success!"

Ishtar flew down from the sky, celebrating her triumphantly:

"We've successfully reached the underworld!"

"What success? You idiot!"

Gilgamesh landed leisurely, and scolded her irritably:

"Do you want to open a passage to the underworld, or do you want to send Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu directly to the underworld?"

"You wouldn't happen to be a mole sent by the Three Goddesses Alliance, would you!?"

Seeing the two somewhat disheveled individuals, Ishtar was momentarily speechless, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she stubbornly insisted:

"What? As long as we get there safely, that's all that matters!"

"Hmph, that's why I call her a stupid goddess..."

"What did you say--!?"

“Um, Your Majesty,”

Seeing that the two seemed about to start another long argument, Gudao could only helplessly interrupt them and ask:

"Is this the underworld?"

"...That's right."

Gilgamesh appropriately stopped arguing and nodded, saying:

"This is the Age of Gods."

"Unlike the underworld, which exists as a concept in later generations, in this era, whether it is the heavenly realm, the human realm, or the underworld, they are all on the same dimension and can be real existences that can be reached through physical means."

"Even the soul reaching the underworld is not considered true death. As long as the soul can return to the body, the person can be resurrected."

"I see……"

Gudao and Mashu suddenly realized something and gained a deeper understanding of the Age of Gods.

"So,"

Then, he looked at the crisscrossing, winding, suspended stone paths that stretched deeper into the earth, and the gun emplacements burning with eerie blue flames that could be seen everywhere along the roadside, and his expression became serious.

Their mission this time is to defeat Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld.

And to rescue Gudako.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 440 Slaying the Goddess and Saving Miss Gudako

At the banquet yesterday, Miss Gudako expressed her desire to join the operation, to which he readily agreed.

Since King Gilgamesh was also going to accompany them this time, Merlin and Anna chose to stay in Uruk just in case.

Thus, the final team members were him, Mashu, King Gilgamesh, Gudako, and four others.

Ishtar originally did not intend to participate in this operation and chose to stay in Uruk because she was not very good at dealing with Ereshkigal.

Considering the other party's background, Gudao had no objection.

But to everyone's surprise, Ishtar showed up again this morning and chose to go with them.

Although the other party did not give a reason, Gudafo had a feeling that Ishtar seemed to care about Ereshkigal.

In short, although the team was temporarily increased from four to five people, it was not a big problem.

However, just before they were about to leave, Gudako failed to emerge from her room. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Gudako has passed away.

In fact, during this period, citizens have been dying suddenly one after another—people who were perfectly healthy but lost their lives for no apparent reason—the total number of people has reached thousands.

According to King Gilgamesh, this was the work of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld, who sent people's souls to the underworld with the Garula spirits she dispatched.

Unlike later times, in the Age of Gods, as long as the body remained intact, the soul could be resurrected after returning to the body. Therefore, their mission this time was not only to defeat Ereshkigal, but also to bring back the souls that had been taken away from the people.

However, according to Merlin, Gudako's situation is different from those people. Her soul was not taken away; she was simply trapped in a dream that could not be awakened by normal means.

To wake up Gudako, you must first find her in your dream.

Meanwhile, Gudako in the dream seems to be in the underworld, possibly trapped by Ereshkigal.

Gudao didn't quite understand Merlin's speech, but fortunately, the ultimate goal hadn't changed much.

Thus, burdened with an unexpectedly heavy responsibility, the group hurriedly arrived in Kusa City, where Ishtar roughly dug a hole in the ground and, incidentally, blasted him and Mash into the underworld.

Back to the point.

"Hey? Senior, look, what are those?"

Looking at the numerous gun emplacements before her, Mash asked with some curiosity:

“Everywhere there were long, thin, birdcage-like things…it seemed like countless points of light were floating inside them…”

These gun slings were so beautiful, like works of art, that she approached them with curiosity, wanting to reach out and touch them, but was warned by Ishtar beside her:

"...I advise you not to go near them. Those are the souls of humans who have died on earth."

"Eh?!"

Mashu was startled like a bird, and she immediately withdrew her outstretched hand, staring at the gun barrel in astonishment.

"So, these are all...?"

“That’s right, these are all gun stiles, or prison cells, made by Ereshkigal.”

Ishtar frowned and said:

“When the body dies, the soul also gradually thins out until it disappears. But Ereshkigal does not allow this.”

"That guy will lock the soul of the human he likes in a cage, completely depriving them of their freedom, and painfully play with them by his side for tens of thousands of years for his own amusement."

"This……"

Gudao and Mashu exchanged bewildered glances. Judging from Ishtar's words, she was a rather cruel goddess, but—

Mashu pointed to a gun saddle and hesitated for a moment before saying:

"There seems to be a spirit over there, just coming out of the gun sack and taking a stroll on the road..."

"...Ah?"

Ishtar's previously solemn expression froze instantly. Looking at the ghost in the distance, she rubbed her eyes with some suspicion.

In fact, it wasn't just the ghost Mash pointed out; upon closer inspection, one could find many other ghosts in the distance who could move in and out of the gun slings, making it look like there were no cells at all.

"When did the management of the underworld become so lax, or did that guy forget to lock the cell?"

Ishtar was momentarily filled with self-doubt when Gilgamesh scoffed:

"Are you sure you're not telling a fabricated story to fool children? At least I've never heard of such a thing."

"Not only that, Enkidu's evaluation of the other party is much better than his evaluation of you."

"what?!"

Ignoring their bickering, and combining Gilgamesh's words with his previous conversation with him, Gudao had a general idea in mind.

"Let's just keep going."

The group continued down the road, and soon they came to a huge stone gate that blocked their way.

At the same time, a cold, emotionless voice rang out—

"Answer it, answer it."

"O living being who has fallen into the underworld, answer the question of how your soul exists."

"The door spoke?!"

Seeing the surprised expressions on Gudako and Mash's faces, Ishtar explained seriously:

"Alright, here comes the choice between the two."

"The gates of the underworld question the good and evil of the soul; they are a just and rational gate, and there are seven of them in total."

“These doors were what stripped me of my powers before.”

Upon hearing this, Gudao swallowed hard, and the question of the door immediately arose—

"Then, let's ask the deeply sinful [Fujimaru]:"

"Although the standards of beauty are varied, they are still absolute: black can beat white, and earth can beat heaven."

"So, between Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which one is more beautiful?"

"...Huh?" ×4

To everyone's surprise once again, the problem of the Gates of the Underworld did not seem as serious as Ishtar had said; it was not only somewhat strange but also very targeted.

For example, questions like, 'Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which goddess is worthy of entrusting wealth to?' and 'Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which goddess is more reliable?'...

Of course, for strategic reasons, Gudafo chose Ereshkigal for all of them.

Although it is unknown whether this choice is correct, Ishtar's size will shrink and her strength will decrease with each door she passes through. After passing through all seven doors, Ishtar has become the size of a figurine and her strength is almost non-existent.

"Why did I come here...?"

Ishtar lay on Fou's back, looking utterly dejected, while Gudao and Mashu could only offer her wry smiles and words of comfort.