How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

The guiding light grew increasingly dazzling, and Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly lost consciousness as everything went white before her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Mash's worried gaze and Fou's fluffy chin, which was slightly yellowed in the dim sunlight.

"Senior, you're finally awake!"

"Uh... Mashu? What's this?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka lifted her head from Mashu's lap, feeling as if she had just had a dream. She looked around and her gaze settled on Yuuto, who was quietly reading a clay tablet beside her.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Master? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Noticing Fujimaru Ritsuka's gaze, Yuto calmly put down the Destiny Tablet in his hand. Despite his focused expression, he hadn't actually understood a single word on it...

He was simply curious about what was written on the clay tablet, so he took a look at it while Fujimaru Ritsuka was unconscious.

"After all, you entered the underworld in the body of a living person, and your body might be affected by the underworld environment, causing some discomfort..."

Ah...right, she went down to the underworld...

Shaking her head, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who felt a little dizzy from sleeping twice in one day, cleared up a bit.

She told Mash and the others about her previous experiences.

Although they had already heard it from Yuuto, when they heard that Fujimaru Ritsuka had entered the underworld without her knowledge, they couldn't help but marvel at whether Fujimaru Ritsuka's luck was good or bad.

You agree... She's a living person who went down to the underworld; most people would probably have lost their lives there.

But if you want to talk about the bad thing... she brought back that Destiny Tablet.

Although the clay tablet was given to her by King Hassan, it's not something a normal person could do...

After a short rest, seeing that night was approaching after dusk, and thinking that they were going to encounter ghosts anyway, Yudo simply had Ishtar lead them directly to the entrance to the underworld, intending to enter the underworld before dark.

"The underworld during the Age of Gods existed beneath the earth, which, as the name suggests, was beneath this city called Kusa."

Ishtar explained to the group, then stomped her foot hard on the solid ground where no one was around. After choosing a spot, she flew into the sky with Maanna.

"Therefore, the way to get to the underworld is also very simple—"

"Then we should just shoot it through!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka: "Huh?"

"Maanna's bow gun is loaded with tidal cluster shells, with an output of one-third the isosceles radius of a lapis lazuli!"

Seeing the large, blue magical beam poised to strike above Maana, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash immediately sensed something was wrong, while the others had already grasped Ishtar's meaning during her explanation and were all preparing to withstand the shock.

"Shatter! Gates of the underworld! Grant the land of emptiness the light of heaven!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu: "Wait—!"

Ishtar: "Fire!"

boom--!

A blue light pierced through the ground of Kusa City, revealing a large, irregularly shaped circular hole.

The explosion and earthquake caused by the beam also shattered the ground beneath Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, giving them a glimpse of the feeling of bungee jumping without a parachute.

Yuwatari caught Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu in mid-air while piloting the D-Wheel. Anna and Merlin each used their own methods, either nimbly stepping on the gravel or releasing magic to land on the ground.

"Aha! It worked!"

As the group landed together, Ishtar clenched her fist tightly, feeling quite satisfied with the force she had controlled perfectly this time.

It would be considered a success if the entire city of Kusa wasn't blown to smithereens in one go!

Deep within the underworld, a golden-haired goddess seemed to sense that some uninvited guests had intruded into the underworld.

Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Just and Rational Gates of the Underworld

"Oh dear, that's really the kind of rough approach that's typical of a goddess."

Merlin used magic to slow his descent and land on the ground. He rubbed his head and complained about the spot where he had been hit by a piece of gravel when he landed.

"What's the big deal? It works anyway!"

Ishtar paid no attention to Merlin's complaints.

"Is this the underworld?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka, who said those words for the second time, stepped off the D-Wheel and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around, she saw that the scenery was very similar to the underworld she had just visited, but it was clearly not the same place.

But going to the underworld twice in one day... that doesn't seem like a good experience, does it?

"I never imagined that the Underworld wasn't located in some other dimension, but was actually connected to the soil of reality..."

“Of course!” Ishtar responded to Mash’s surprised tone as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “In the Age of Gods, the heavens, the earth, and the underworld were all on the same cloth!”

Meanwhile, Roman and Leonardo da Vinci in Chaldea discovered that since Fujimaru Ritsuka entered the underworld, they had been in a state where they could observe her but could not communicate with her.

All they can do is try their best to make the most thorough preparations during this period.

The interior of the underworld is a deep abyss on both sides, with a winding and twisting path. Many gun cages containing human souls are placed along the way, serving as streetlights to guide the way.

"Those inside are all the souls of humans who died on earth."

Seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka curiously crouch down to look at the blue soul fire inside the gun cage, Ishtar kindly reminded her.

“The souls imprisoned inside are not even allowed to disappear. Ereshkigal will lock up the human souls he likes in cages and keep them by his side for tens of thousands of years to play with…”

Fujimaru Ritsuka was startled and quickly stepped back, but then she remembered something and turned to look at Yuuto.

"Yes, the souls of the citizens of Kusa should also be here."

Knowing what she meant, You Du nodded, confirming her guess.

"But there seem to be quite a few more gun cages here than before?"

Ishtar looked around, taking in the sight of these gun cages glowing with soul fire.

"Is that guy planning to build a kingdom of the dead?"

No one answered Ishtar's question. They continued down the road to the bottom and came to a gate.

“This is it.” Standing before a simple stone gate, Ishtar casually flicked out a gem, triggering the gate’s protective barrier.

"After passing through these seven gates, you will reach Ereshkigal's palace; Ereshkigal is right there."

As soon as she finished speaking, the animal patterns engraved on the barrier stone door that blocked the gem lit up, and a leisurely voice followed.

"Answer... answer..."

"O living beings who have fallen into the underworld... answer the question of how your souls exist..."

The door actually spoke?!

Mash took out her shield and stood in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka, while Yuwatari remained calmly standing in place.

He had already recognized the voice as that of Ereshkigal.

In fact, Ereshkigal had not intended to ask the questions herself, but what could she do when she saw that Ishtar and Yūdō were among the uninvited intruders into the underworld?

Thinking about the gentle Ishtar that Yuwatari had described last night, Ereshkigal decided to be a good person and make the blinded Yuwatari realize what a wicked goddess Ishtar was.

"Get ready, here comes the either/or question!"

Ishtar, unaware that something was amiss with the sound of the door opening, said to Yudou seriously:

"The Gates of the Underworld will question the good and evil of the soul. It is a fair and rational gate, and there are seven such gates in total."

The last time she went down to the underworld, she was stripped of her powers by these gates, and then Ereshkigal stabbed her with a gun until she was riddled with holes.

Upon hearing this, You Du's expression immediately turned very strange.

Fair and rational... Yes, it is indeed very fair and rational. I just hope you won't scream when you hear her question...

"Then, let's ask the deeply sinful [Yudou] a question."

"Huh?"×2

Upon hearing that Ereshkigal had chosen them to ask a question, both Yudo and Ishtar, who each knew something about the Gates of the Underworld, were momentarily stunned.

Ishtar wondered when the Gates of the Underworld would start designating someone to answer her questions again.

Yuto was curious as to why he was chosen to answer.

However, he then realized that they had only just met Ereshkigal, and perhaps because their relationship wasn't very deep yet, Ereshkigal had just randomly chosen someone to ask a question.

While he was still in a daze, Ereshkigal had already asked her first question.

"It should be understood that the line between good and evil is not clear-cut; the good can also do evil, and the evil can also do good."

"However, despite the turbidity, there will ultimately be a bias between the two, since that is the case—"

"Is the greedy goddess next to you evil or good?"

Upon hearing the question, Ishtar immediately realized what was happening and stopped Yuwatari, who was about to answer, instead questioning Shimen.

"Wait a minute, these are different questions from when I came last time! Also, who is the Goddess of Greed?!"

However, Shimen ignored her and continued to repeat himself, urging Youdu to answer the question quickly.

"This problem... does seem a bit difficult..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka pondered for a moment.

After all, the person they knew was Ishtar, who had possessed the body of a human girl and was influenced by her.

If you were to ask the current Ishtar, she could answer without hesitation that although she has many flaws, such as being rude, greedy, and narcissistic, she is, overall, a good goddess... right?

Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly found herself unable to convince herself.

However, she knew that if she answered "evil," Ishtar would definitely get angry.

"Is that even a question? Of course, it's good!" Seeing that Shimen didn't answer her question, Ishtar simply put one hand on her chest and said with a proud expression, "There is no goddess in this world more kind and beautiful than me!"

As she spoke, convinced that this was the correct answer, she walked directly toward the stone gate. However, just as she stepped into the barrier of the stone gate, she was struck directly by a bolt of lightning that fell from the sky, and Mashu cried out in surprise.

"Miss Ishtar?!"

Yuuto covered his eyes with one hand and used the other to shield Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes as well. Everyone else also avoided looking directly at the dazzling lightning.

When the lightning disappeared, the group saw Ishtar, covered in charred marks, swaying and spewing black smoke as he collapsed.

"It's really stupid."

Tsk tsk tsk, that's so pitiful. He got struck by lightning and is still being mocked...

Yudu couldn't bear to look at him, but he wasn't worried about Ishtar's safety at all.

If such a small bolt of lightning could seriously injure Ishtar, then her status as a goddess would be far too undeserved.

He stepped forward and gave his answer to Shimen.

"My answer is evil."

Ding dong ding dong!

The stone gate emitted a sound effect similar to the correct answer in some variety shows.

"Very good!"

As Ereshkigal deliberately drew out his voice, the stone door in front of Youdu opened, revealing the path leading to the six gates behind.

Chapter 80 Ereshkigal, I'm here to negotiate!

"So long!"

After an unknown amount of time and an unknown distance, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally passed through the seventh door and plopped down on the ground.

"Ah... I'm so tired..."

The journey was farther than they had imagined. Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that if they were to return to the surface from here, they might have already reached another town.

"I'm really tired. I didn't expect that just seven doors would take so long..."

As he answered questions along the way, Yuwatari, who had already portrayed Ishtar as a lazy, gluttonous, fat, and violent gorilla goddess, nodded.

Not to mention her, even Yuto himself felt that this journey was longer than he had expected.

In the past, when he watched anime and read about it in the story, it all seemed to pass by quickly, so he didn't think much of it. But after experiencing it firsthand, he realized what an excellent mode of transportation the D-Wheel was.

I'm grateful that I chose the Stardust Dragon deck back then. Otherwise, if I had to walk across this land without D-Wheel, I'm afraid I would have been exhausted to death.

It refers to the psychological aspect.

After all, their bodies have become heroic spirits, so it's difficult for them to die from exhaustion just by traveling.