That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

A clear voice broke the brief silence in the palace, "King Gilgamesh, Merlin the Magician requests an audience."

Merlin, the magician in white robes and with white hair, entered through the main entrance, attracting everyone's attention.

The king's advisor, High Priestess Siduri, asked in surprise, "Lord Merlin, has the cursed trap in the northern district outside the city been maintained?"

Merlin laughed and said, "Because I heard some information that I was interested in, I sped up the process. The maintenance of the curse ritual, which originally took three days to complete, was finished in just one hour."

"An hour...isn't that too fast?"

"Since it's only an hour's work to begin with, I can finish it easily if I'm focused."

High Priestess Siduri said irritably, "Lord Merlin, please be more careful in your work in the future. Even the King's patience is limited."

Merlin chuckled: "I haven't been out and about for a long time, and my body has become rusty. Besides, don't be fooled by my youthful appearance; I'm actually quite old. King Gilgamesh will understand the hardships of an old man."

"Enough with the nonsense," King Gilgamesh said calmly, setting down the clay tablet in his hand.

Merlin said seriously, "You seem to have entrusted the magician Hall with an interesting task."

“Teaching robbers a lesson is hardly fun.”

"Unless that jewel thief is the goddess Ishtar."

Upon hearing this, the high priestess Siduri couldn't help but stand up and sternly rebuked him: "Lord Merlin, please shut up. This is a great disrespect. If the goddess hears this, she will punish you."

"Let's... go outside."

"I don't want to hear people talking about goddesses."

"That's right~ That's right~".

A commotion broke out inside the palace, and guards and officials alike hurriedly fled, fearing that simply hearing bad things about the goddess would bring a curse upon their descendants.

Leaving aside the current Ishtar, the original Ishtar left behind countless terrifying stories.

Merlin's smile remained cheerful, completely unconcerned: "Haha, please don't worry about that. Hall did something even more outrageous to the goddess Ishtar, and the goddess has no time to deal with me right now."

Did they do something even more outrageous to the goddess Ishtar?

Siduri turned to face King Gilgamesh, frowning as she asked, "Your Majesty, I am also interested in this commission. May I ask you to explain?"

"No need for explanation, Siduri. You have witnessed what happened. I don't care what means Hall uses to take back the property of the citizens of Uruk. Anyone who violates the laws I have promulgated must be punished, even if the other party is the city goddess worshipped by Uruk."

“King…” Siduri sighed softly, knowing that this was the only point on which she could not persuade King Gilgamesh.

Merlin stepped forward, “But it’s too risky. We still don’t know the true identity of the Three Goddesses Alliance, and no one understands Hall’s true intentions. Is this a decision you’ve made after careful consideration?”

Siduri said softly, "Lord Merlin, please be quiet! It is disrespectful to question the King's decision."

Merlin: "It is precisely because of this disrespect that I get closer to the heart of the matter. I was given this mission and summoned by King Gilgamesh."

King Gilgamesh scoffed dismissively: "Merlin, this is the most fundamental difference between you and me. We both have no feelings for humans, but you are just a half-baked bastard, a hybrid of a succubus and a human. As a monster, you can understand human nature, and you have suffered because of it."

"I can't refute that," Merlin said with a wry smile.

"Humans are worthless in my eyes, but they can create things of value. What is the point of their existence if they are protected? My judgment is not only on humans, but also on this land, the sky as far as the eye can see, and even the endless sea."

Merlin frowned and pondered for a long time, then sighed and muttered to himself, "So that's how it is. The Three Goddesses Alliance wanted to destroy humanity to obtain the Holy Grail. While you were helping humanity, you were also judging the value of the Three Goddesses Alliance's existence."

In other words, if King Gilgamesh agrees with the idea and value of the three goddesses in destroying humanity, he will not hesitate to turn around and destroy humanity.

Gilgamesh is the Wedge of Heaven created by the gods to maintain the relationship between gods and humans. He is both a human and a god, yet neither a god nor a human.

王

Perhaps only this identity can truly define him.

Even after returning from his journey in search of the sacred herbs, Gilgamesh's arrogance never disappeared; it was merely a change in his outward appearance.

In the parlance of a chuunibyou (a Japanese term for a person with delusions of grandeur), it means that the king comes to acknowledge, the king comes to permit, and the king comes to bear the burden of this world.

Humans are only a part of this world.

······

Kusa City, evening.

The setting sun, like blood, bathed every destroyed house, while thick smoke and debris fell in a flurry.

coming.

Now that we're here, things will be easier.

Hall could come up with a hundred reasons to keep Ishtar. Looking up at Ishtar floating in the sky, his Mystic Eyes analyzed that her Spirit Origin strength was continuously rising, reaching the level of the Lion King.

The sun's radiance illuminated his deep golden eyes, devoid of warmth, revealing a lofty and awe-inspiring presence that looked down upon all things.

As always, the goddess Venus wore a three-piece outfit resembling a bikini swimsuit, adorned with numerous gold ornaments to prevent it from looking too monotonous. Her straight right leg was encased in a black stocking that did not cover the sole of her foot, with a ring at the end of the stocking around one of her toes. Her opposite left hand was also clad in a similar black glove.

Hall glanced at the horizon out of the corner of his eye; the setting sun painted the horizon red. Ishtar reacted faster than expected; there was still about a minute left before sunset.

We need to figure out a way to get through this.

Hall smiled and asked, "Ishtar, have you already seen the contents of the clay tablet?"

Ishtar gritted her teeth and said, "I've read it, every single word. I never imagined you would end up as a subordinate of that naked king of Uruk. I'm so disappointed in you."

The Naked King of Uruk...

Hall shrugged, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "I also think King Gilgamesh is a narcissistic exhibitionist, but your outfit doesn't give you the right to say that about him."

"I am the goddess of beauty. What right do you, a mere mortal, have to criticize my taste?"

"I wasn't commenting on your taste, I was just comparing the degree of exposure in your clothes."

"Is that so? So, these are all your last words?" Ishtar chuckled gently, a beautiful spiral arrow appearing in her right hand, her killing intent resolute.

"It's almost time."

In the distance, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, and the world suddenly darkened, leaving only a faint crimson glow.

"When..."

Ishtar's voice gradually weakened, her pupils changed from the gold of divine manifestation to red, losing their luster, and her spirit origin reaction also weakened. Her body swayed like a puppet that had lost control and fell from the sky.

Hall strode forward and caught Ishtar's body, his long black hair falling from his hands.

Ishtar grabbed Hall's clothes, trying to stand up, and asked with difficulty, "What...what did you do?"

Hall smiled: "Goodnight, Venus."

Her black hair gradually turned gold, the nature of her spirit origin was changed, and she opened her red eyes again.

Good morning, goddess of the underworld.

Ereshkigal looked at the quiet street scene with disbelief and exclaimed, "It really worked?"

So you weren't confident either.

Hall was speechless. If he hadn't known the plot, he would never have thought of this method.

“What a novel experience. I can even use her power now and simulate her authority.” Ereshkigal’s body flew up from Hall’s arms and landed lightly on the ground.

Hall glanced at Ereshkigal's bare feet; she wasn't even wearing shoes, just standing there on the ground...

Although Ishtar and Ereshkigal look alike, their temperaments are clearly different. Ereshkigal's every move reveals the curiosity and composure of a young lady who has just stepped into the outside world.

Ishtar, on the other hand, is probably like a spoiled young lady.

She stretched and sighed, "It feels so good to be back on Earth. It must have been a bit boring being alone in the Underworld."

Hall, not forgetting his mission, asked, "Ereshkigal, have you found the gems Ishtar kept?"

"Gemstones?" Ereshkigal nodded, and with a wave of his hand, a large number of colorful gemstones fell from the sky.

Splash splash splash~

The gems were clustered together in a small pile, displaying a dazzling array of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—enough to dazzle even in dim light. Each gem had undergone special processing and contained astonishing magical power.

"Are you talking about these beautiful stones? She really likes these sparkly stones. Although I don't dislike them either, you can take them if you want. But be careful, if you touch the goddess's beloved treasures, you must be prepared to bear the goddess's wrath."

Hall shrugged. "Anyway, it's none of my business. I'm just following orders."

Ereshkigal chuckled wickedly, “She’s not a goddess who can distinguish right from wrong, but you and that King of Uruk should be able to find a way.”

Watching Hall put away the gems, Ereshkigal looked around and asked, "Hall, is there anything else?"

"No."

"I've finally made it back to the surface, so I'm going to explore it properly. If you need anything, contact me through the Underworld Mirror. Goodbye."

As Skybow Maana carried Ereshkigal away, she left with a playful remark: "One last piece of advice: Kusa City is quite dangerous at night. Be careful not to get taken to the underworld by the undead, or I won't return you to the surface."

"..."

Damn!

Hall got goosebumps; the living instincts sensed the almost tangible presence of death.

Kusa City is the entrance to the underworld, and during the Age of Gods, the underworld was connected to the earth. After Ishtar shattered the surface of Kusa City, it became even closer to the underworld.

"The favor of a goddess is something most people can't handle." Hall said with a dark face. His demonic eyes had already detected a large number of undead, and a dense aura of death was surging out from the shattered abyss and the depths of the underworld like a volcanic eruption.

"The living! The living! The living!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

The whispers of the dead.

Click~ Click click click~

The dense, crisp sounds of collisions were like endless waves. Thousands upon thousands of skeletons crawled out of the abyss and occupied the streets and alleys of Kusa City. Even Garula spirits of different forms were wandering in the sky.

As the only living person in Kusa City, Hall was the center of attention, and the aura of the goddess of the underworld on Hall had been erased, making it impossible for him to escape by using the goddess's name.

"This number is more than the entire population of Kusa City!"

"They're nothing but piles of dead spirits. Without the divine protection of the ancient tomb, they're nothing." Hall suddenly opened his eyes, his demonic eyes glowing with rainbow light. All the dead spirits extending to the end of his vision froze instantly, their bodies turning into dust and falling to the ground.

Before more undead surrounded the city and re-covered the undead areas destroyed by the Magic Eye, Hall summoned an artificial phantom beast and cast a magical barrier to protect himself and the phantom beast.

boom! boom! boom!

Skeletons lunged at Hall, only to be instantly incinerated upon touching the defensive barrier.

The Garura spirits gathered together to curse, continuously eroding the barrier until it collapsed.