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

[Attack power: 2500→5700]

"Battle has begun! Ereshkigal! [Power Tool Courage Dragon] is attacking [Necromancer King Evil Eye]!"

After briefly explaining the effects of [Unity Power], Yuwatari immediately entered the battle phase.

"At this moment, the effect of [Guardian's Power] activates!"

"When the equipped monster declares an attack, place 1 Spell Counter on this card, and for each Spell Counter, the equipped monster gains 500 ATK and DEF!"

【Power Tools: Courageous Dragon】

[Attack power: 5700→6200]

"Attack power 6200..."

Ereshkigal frowned, sensing something was amiss.

Fortunately, although her [Necromancer's Eye] is in attack position, its 2800 attack power is not low, enough to help her block this attack and prevent her from losing all her life points.

"You think you can escape this time?"

Just as Ereshkigal was thinking this to himself, Yudu's voice suddenly rang out. He smiled and raised his hand, declaring loudly.

"The effect of [Miracle of Life]! When a monster equipped with this card battles an opponent's monster, that opponent's monster loses 1500 ATK!"

"Come, Mistress of the Underworld! Feel this torrent of life!"

[The Evil Eye of the Necromancer King]

[Attack power: 2800→1300]

Ereshkigal: "!!!"

[Power Tool Courage Dragon] flew to Ereshkigal's field and extended the drill in its left hand to stab [Necromancer King's Evil Eye].

stab-

As easily as piercing a piece of paper, with a difference of 4900 points in attack power, the drill of the [Power Tool Courage Dragon] easily pierced through the body of the [Necromancer King Evil Eye]. The remaining shockwave hit Ereshkigal, instantly sending her and her D-Wheel flying.

"Uh, ah, woo-wah—"

[Ereshkigal LP: 4000→0]

[Yudou: Win!]

……

There is no happiness, joy, sorrow, or friends of one's own...

Throughout the long years, Ereshkigal had nothing but the ability to manage the souls of the dead.

He could only watch as his upper body soared freely in the sky, always diligently fulfilling his duties alone, never even hearing a word of praise from others.

The sky of the underworld has no light, and the earth of the underworld has no light. Nothing can be born on this barren land.

Day after day, year after year, Ereshkigal, who looked back and found himself not even knowing what those souls were saying, made a decision.

If you don't have it, then create it.

To create a radiant 'sky,' a bright 'earth,' and soil where flowers can bloom...

Create a kingdom that will not be inferior to any other world, a kingdom that belongs only to the dead!

That's why she joined the Three Goddesses Alliance—

This was the answer Ereshkigal originally wanted to give when Yuwatari asked him why he had joined the Three Goddesses Alliance after his defeat in the duel.

But now...

"I see. So you joined the Three Goddess Alliance because you knew about the impending end of the Mesopotamian world and wanted to protect humanity in your own way..."

Looking at Ereshkigal, who stood before them with a flushed face, forced to speak his true feelings after losing the duel, Yuwatari nodded in satisfaction.

From now on, please call him 'The Tsundere Nemesis', thank you.

Chapter 84 Does the underworld also govern the deaths of people in society?

I really want to die...

For the first time, Ereshkigal, the goddess who rules the underworld, felt the urge to die.

She admitted that she had witnessed all sorts of deaths over the long years: dying from illness, burning to death, being crushed to death, drowning, being bitten to death by monsters...

She had even seen the souls of humans who died at the hands of the goddess.

But today was the first time she had ever tasted the bitterness of social death!

"Eh~ I never expected this, Ereshkigal, you actually like humans that much?"

Having regained his size and divinity, Ishtar covered his mouth and chuckled to himself, glancing mockingly out of the corner of his eye at Ereshkigal, who was squatting on the ground, covering his flushed face with his hands, looking utterly ashamed.

"Stop hiding it. It's impossible to get away with it now."

However, while she was laughing at the other person, she also felt a strange sense of fear about what had happened to Ereshkigal.

After all, she knew all too well how stubborn Ereshkigal was. A guy who could keep his thoughts to himself for thousands of years was forced to speak out just because he lost a card game...

Yuwatari's Noble Phantasm is just too bizarre!

Ishtar now doesn't even dare to look at Yudo, for fear that a single glance might trigger some strange condition and get him dragged into a game of cards.

Previously, when Quetzalcoatl was at the pinnacle of goodness, Ishtar didn't think much of it because the South American goddess was herself a goddess at the pinnacle of goodness. So, in Ishtar's view, it was normal for her to choose to join Yuwata and the others after losing the duel and having the contract of the Three Goddesses Alliance broken.

However, seeing Ereshkigal's demeanor after his defeat in the duel, where he could only speak his true feelings, she realized that even a goddess couldn't escape the full force of this Noble Phantasm's effects!

She didn't want to end up like Ereshkigal, revealing all her innermost thoughts to the public...

Under Ereshkigalna's gaze, which seemed to want to devour her alive, Ishtar silently took two steps away from the crossing.

Yudu: "?"

Her abrupt action was so obvious that it immediately drew a questioning look from You Du.

However, since Ishtar's reaction was not important at the moment, he did not pay attention to it and turned his gaze to Ereshkigal, who was trying to kill Ishtar with his eyes in the underworld.

"Damn it, you insatiable goddess who only has jewels on your mind, I will definitely kill you..."

Although the requirement to speak one's mind had passed, everyone present, seeing Ereshkigal's appearance, felt that what she said was absolutely the most genuine truth.

As they were talking, Ereshkigal noticed Yudo's gaze, snorted irritably, and turned his head away, looking as if he refused to communicate.

She hadn't forgotten who had caused her to lose all her dignity as a goddess in front of everyone.

"The alliance contract you were bound to has been broken. How about it? Come join us?"

"..."

Ereshkigal remained silent. The fact that the alliance contract had been broken was indeed quite unexpected for her. However, considering that the other party's Noble Phantasm could even make her, a goddess, speak her mind, the fact that the alliance contract had been broken seemed quite normal.

Yuuto didn't care that she didn't speak, and shrugged, letting Fujimaru Ritsuka behind him step aside.

Anyway, he had already told Fujimaru Ritsuka that he had broken the alliance contract on Ereshkigal. Since Ereshkigal was unwilling to communicate with him, he might as well just find someone else.

Let Fujimaru Ritsuka communicate with Ereshkigal. Merlin, Anna, and Mash are all there, plus Ishtar. Even if Ereshkigal's personality is different from what he remembers, and he wants to harm Fujimaru Ritsuka at this time, these people working together can definitely hold out until he can use his Noble Phantasm again.

Yu Du walked to the edge of this vast open space, which could be called a wilderness, and looked up at the gun cages that were stuck on both sides of the road they came from, like streetlights.

He had been curious about whether this thing could be used as a material for refining since the way here.

After all, this is a gun cage made by Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. It can not only house souls, but also slow down the rate at which the souls inside disappear. In a sense, it can be considered a kind of divine artifact, right?

And judging from the number of these gun cages... they probably wouldn't be too difficult to make.

You Du's gaze swept over the countless gun cages covering the mountains and the souls imprisoned within them, his eyes gradually becoming profound.

The mistress of the underworld...

As a goddess, she deeply loves humans who are destined to die. Instead of degrading death as a disgusting fear, she reveres it and tries to protect the remaining souls after death.

Even though I can't get anyone's understanding.

Even if she is the only one isolated among tens of thousands of souls in this country.

She also joined the Three Goddess Alliance in order to protect the silence of the underworld and to bring as many souls as possible to this land of the dead for protection.

Poor Gorgon, in the end, both of his teammates were traitors who joined in order to protect humanity, and now they've both turned against him and joined his side.

Hmm... it's about time we started thinking about how to deal with Tiamat, who appeared after we dealt with Gorgon...

You Du stroked his chin.

Because of him, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others did not start as ordinary laborers as in the original story, but instead entered into the strategy of conquering the Three Goddess Alliance from the very beginning.

Furthermore, he has already successfully conquered the second pillar goddess in just a few days. Gilgamesh probably hasn't even finished designing the Fang of Napishtim yet.

Facing Tiamat in this situation is obviously risky. Even if he went directly to Tiamat and pulled her into a card game, he wasn't sure if the black sea of ​​life surging towards the earth would also disappear.

If they didn't disappear along with him, then apart from those who were trapped within the range of his Noble Phantasm and watching him and Tiamat play cards, the rest of them probably wouldn't have been able to survive in that ocean.

Just as Yuuto was pondering how many times he would have to overwork Gilgamesh to death before he could finish the design for the Fang of Nabistine ahead of schedule, the conversation between Fujimaru Ritsuka and Ereshkigal had already ended.

"Youdu! Ereshkigal has agreed to release the souls of the citizens of Kusa City and will fight alongside us against the Beast Goddess Gorgon!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka excitedly ran up to Yuuto and said to him.

"Really? That's wonderful! But Ereshkigal... you wouldn't be talking about Ereshkigal, would you?"

You Du asked, feigning confusion.

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and nodded: "Yeah, because doesn't it sound cute?"

Yudu remained silent, but turned his head to meet the gaze of Ereshkigal, who was secretly glancing in his direction, and was then glared at.

Tsk tsk tsk, such obvious discrimination...

Chapter 85 Are you awake?

Since Youdu and his companions descended to the underworld at night, the sky outside was still not bright when they left.

Although they could return to Uruk before dawn using the D-Wheel, the group was exhausted after their journey to the underworld, and even Yuto felt a rare sense of weariness.

Furthermore, since there was nothing in Uruk that required their immediate return, the group decided after some discussion to rest for the night in Kusa and set off back to Uruk the next day.

There's no time to rest in the underworld. If someone falls asleep in that low-temperature environment, the other heroic spirits might be okay, but Fujimaru Ritsuka, being a living person, would likely just die in her sleep.

As for the skeletons that were spawned in Kusa City at night due to the aura of the underworld, with Ereshkigal's help, dealing with them would be a piece of cake.

However, just in case of any unforeseen circumstances, Yu Du and his team still selected two people to be on night watch.

Yudu guarded the first half of the night, while Merlin, the nightmare demon who played no role from beginning to end, guarded the second half.

Why do nightmares need to sleep?

Yuuto, who had already begun his night watch, looked at Merlin, who had fallen to the ground and immediately started snoring away, and suddenly realized this, feeling a little speechless.

Well, he's already asleep anyway, it's not good to wake him up again...

Just as Yudu was having a great time playing with a stick and fiddling with the fire, the sound of Ishtar sitting up next to him caught his attention.

Upon seeing 'Ishtar' wrapped in a blanket, Yuwatari's eyes flashed with understanding, but he also felt a little puzzled.

He remembered that he and his companions had just said goodbye to Ereshkigal.

Does she not sleep at night?

Should he continue to pretend he doesn't know the other person?

While Yudo was still struggling with his thoughts, Ereshkigal had already arrived by the fire. As soon as she saw Yudo's expression, she guessed what he was thinking and rolled her eyes resentfully.

"No need to pretend anymore. Fujimaru already told me, you all knew it was me all along, right?"

These words were somewhat nonsensical, but You Du understood her meaning perfectly and nodded without dwelling on it any further.

"Alright, but since you're here, Ereshkigal, I'd like to ask you something."

"what's up?"

Do you have any spare gun cages? If so, could you give me one?

Ereshkigal: "?"

Heroic spirit, are you awake?

She couldn't help but look up at You Du, and seeing his serious expression, as if he understood what she was saying, she sighed and said:

"Sigh... I'm telling you, do you really know what those gun cages are?"

"That's a prison for souls! A prison! This is the first time I've ever met someone who actually came to me, the mistress of the underworld, asking me for a prison!"