That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

"This is getting more and more exciting. Don't blame me if I accidentally kill him in the battle." Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, grinned with a wicked and cruel smile.

Ereshkigal asked, "And what do you think of him?"

"Me? Let me think... Regardless of his thoughts, he is an excellent human being, and the more excellent he is, the more destructive value he has."

Inside the ancient mirror of the underworld, Ereshkigal spoke solemnly, his voice now sharper: "It's about time you revealed your true thoughts, Winged Serpent."

"what?"

"You don't want to destroy humanity; at least, that's not your true purpose."

"..."

"Ugh~ Did they see right through me?"

"Knowing your true identity would make anyone doubt your desire to destroy humanity. For the supreme and benevolent god to want to destroy humanity... is utterly foolish."

"That statement is incorrect."

Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, abandoned his gentle and peaceful demeanor, rose from his throne, and gazed into the distance, radiating a malevolent darkness from within, heavy and chaotic: "There is no boundary between good and evil. What others perceive as good is merely my own perception. I love humanity, I love their ugliness, I love their fighting spirit. It is precisely because of the disparity, precisely because they are worthless, and because they have never realized their own folly, that they create a vibrant and beautiful civilization."

“The kindness of the gods… I can understand your thoughts, how ironic.” Ereshkigal chuckled self-deprecatingly.

She is the goddess who controls death, feared by all, and her way of loving humanity is through death.

After a pause, Ereshkigal commented, "Your ideas are very similar to those of King Gilgamesh, who ruled Uruk."

King Gilgamesh believed that humans were worthless, yet capable of creating things of value, and therefore protected them.

Quetzalcoatl chuckled, his gaze fixed on the projected Hall: "The starting points are completely different. For example, even if your little lover wants to destroy humanity, I would accept it if you categorize his actions as a struggle among humans. That is my divinity."

"Human beings can only grow through struggle."

······

After shutting down communication with Quetzalcoatl, Ereshkigal sighed, sat down, and gazed up at the dark underworld sky, lost in complex thoughts.

When he first met Hall in this world, he owed her a favor for reclaiming ownership of Hall from Quetzalcoatl.

Now the debt is paid off, as this is exactly what Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, had hoped for.

But that wasn't Ereshkigal's original purpose; what she wanted was to understand Hall's true intentions.

Ereshkigal was not without inner conflict and struggle regarding this seemingly treacherous act.

Liking Hall is one thing, fulfilling the duties of the goddess of the underworld is another.

After spending so much time together, she vaguely sensed a contradiction within Hall, and she believed that Ishtar felt the same way.

But Ishtar fully accepts Hall's actions and sees Hall as a tool to please herself, enjoying whatever fate awaits him.

Ereshkigal, on the other hand, considered things more deeply.

On the one hand, she gives Hall unconditional trust, and on the other hand, she is active as a member of the Three Goddess Alliance.

"You are not on the side of humanity. You clearly have the ability to save humanity, so why do you stand by and watch coldly?"

“You are not one of King Gilgamesh’s men; the fate of those two Servants is the best proof of that.”

"Hall, what are you looking for?"

Doubt and confusion filled Ereshkigal's heart, which is why she sought out Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god.

She knew very well that only the immense power of Quetzalcoatl could force Hall to take things seriously and reveal some clues.

Purpose, Circumstances, Determination...

Who doesn't love the big sister's expressive face?

Chapter 436 Elidu

"Hey~ I think it's about time you came to check on this lonely old man living alone!"

“The number of pterosaurs is increasing, which means we are getting closer and closer to Eridu. My magic is almost depleted, and I can no longer maintain the illusion.”

On the path through the dense forest, Merlin, his cheeks sunken and looking utterly drained, struggled forward, leaning on his staff.

Cherry blossom petals filled the air, enveloping Hall and his companions in an illusionary barrier to conceal their presence.

The reason for this is that the ancient creatures that occasionally fly by in the sky are pterosaurs, the familiars of the feathered serpent god. Each pterosaur has a spirit origin strength and scale comparable to that of a dragon. When their numbers accumulate to a certain extent, it becomes quite troublesome for Hall to deal with them.

Therefore, Merlin, who had been coasting along, was tasked with using illusions to conceal the group's movements.

"I'm...not good enough anymore."

Merlin collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, as the cherry-colored illusion barrier vanished in an instant.

Ishtar landed from mid-air, looking at Merlin with annoyance, and said, "Aren't you completely useless?"

Merlin gave a wry smile: "I'm very sorry."

Merlin's main body was still maintaining the illusion that trapped Tiamat, so his clones didn't have much magic power available.

Hall's Magic Eye surveyed the dense forest and nodded, saying, "We should be close to our destination. There are more signs of human activity around here."

Footprints on the ground, muddy roads, coconuts picked from the trees—everywhere there are traces of human activity.

Merlin struggled to sit up: "That's good."

The group had advanced some distance when Hall suddenly raised his hand to signal a stop. A huge black shadow swept across the ground and disappeared before anyone could look up and see it clearly.

After a moment of silence, Hall raised an eyebrow and shouted, "Run! Ishtar, take Merlin with you!"

"Gravity restraint, released."

"strengthen."

Holmer chanted an incantation, his legs lit up with light patterns, enhancing his explosive power, and he vanished from his spot in an instant.

Merlin was taken aback: "Huh?"

"quack!"

With a sharp cry, the shadowy figure that had disappeared vanished swept past again, but this time it turned back, clearly having discovered Hall and his group's whereabouts.

"What a hassle."

Ishtar complained, grabbed Merlin's white hood from behind and roughly threw it onto the Sky Bow Maana, then fled with Hall.

Hall's magic eye detected an abnormal flow of true etheric elements, symbolizing the pterosaur's immense life force. As he rapidly approached, he cursed inwardly, "As expected of the Type-Moon world, this pterosaur's exaggerated flight speed is almost comparable to that of a modern fighter jet!"

A massive figure roared in, the pterosaur with its wings fully spread was at least twenty meters long, and it opened its mouth to spew out flames.

boom!

Pillars of fire poured down from the sky, instantly burning the dense forest behind Hall to ashes.

"Damn it! Merlin, you're in my way! Hold on tight, or I'm not responsible if you fall!"

Ishtar cursed under her breath, and the Sky Bow Maana quickly changed angle, aiming at the pterosaur in the sky, gathering divine power to fire.

boom!

The golden streak struck the pterosaur's body, knocking it down from the sky.

Ishtar, however, was very dissatisfied. "I knew it was like that."

With a casual strike, she could shatter the bodies of elite magical beasts on the magical beast front, but when she hit a pterosaur, she only managed to knock it down, temporarily rendering it unable to move.

The reason lies in the difference in divinity. This is not the land she governs; there exists another being whose status and divinity surpass hers.

Merlin, clutching the Heavenly Bow and Ma Anna, looked blankly at the scenery rushing past and asked, "Is it over?"

Ishtar shrugged. "I'd like to too."

In the distance, more pterosaurs heard the commotion and rushed toward Hall's location, and a storm swept through the dense forest.

Ishtar flew beside Hall and asked, "Hall, what do we do now? Should we just start a war with them?"

"There's no need for that, we're almost there."

"where?"

"There."

At the end of the road, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious clearing after emerging from the dense forest. Most importantly, there were quite a few humans active in this clearing, staring in astonishment at Hall and his group of strangers who had suddenly intruded.

As Hall and his group stepped into the open space, the pterosaurs following behind them seemed to have lost their target and scattered like birds and beasts.

Their owners had given orders that no humans were to be disturbed in this area.

Ishtar looked around in surprise: "This is... an altar?"

Occupying the open space are three altar buildings in a U-shape, each resembling a pyramid with its top cut off. At the very top are various strange statues and structures, while in the very center of the altar is a huge disc with a diameter of nearly four meters.

The Sunstone, a symbol of the power of the feathered serpent god, is the foundation that sustains this dense forest world.

Ishtar's expression was solemn; she sensed a divine power and concept emanating from that sunstone that surpassed her own.

She instinctively knew that the round stone was probably something like the Bull of Heaven, the most essential manifestation of divine authority and divine power.

Hall's gaze, however, was fixed on a giant axe of similar size stuck in the side of the main altar.

The supreme artifact of Uruk, the [Marduk's Axe], whose quality is equivalent to that of a city.

This is Eridu.

Hall narrowed his eyes. Just as the Mystic Eyes couldn't analyze the Ea back then, the Mystic Eyes can't analyze the power contained in Marduk's Axe now either.

Merlin, lying on the Heavenly Bow Horse Anna, looked around and hesitated before asking, "Are they setting up a ceremony to welcome us?"

"It seems so."

Hall nodded slightly; it seemed to be the case no matter how you looked at it. A wooden board with a slogan written in cuneiform script had already been erected: "Welcome warriors from Uruk to come and challenge us!"

The people here are setting up the scene for what is supposed to be a wrestling tournament.

Before long, a familiar figure emerged from the crowd, complaining, "It was because I hadn't made all the necessary arrangements that I ordered the pterosaurs to do everything they could to stop you from arriving, but you still arrived even faster than I expected."

She is tall and mature, wearing unique and distinctive ethnic costumes, with a beautiful face and a warm and gentle demeanor like a friendly older sister next door.

Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god.

Ishtar carefully took a step back, whispering solemnly, "You are..."

Quetzalcoatl smiled and greeted Hall, "We meet again, Mr. Magician."