While Mari and I were arguing, Ereshkigal’s ghostly form vanished, and she returned to being blonde Ishtar. Just as she had said. So it really hadn’t been a male form.
At that moment, a golden spear flew in and embedded itself in the wall beside me.
"Have one more irreverent thought, and this time I’ll make sure it hits..."
How did she know when I was wearing a helmet? Could she really read minds? My rank should be higher than hers, though.
"Anyway, how did you know I was lying?"
Ereshkigal—that goddess was terrible at acting.
She had been meeting Ritsuka at night, talking with her and helping her.
"And you spoke to Saber when he was alone because you wanted to make friends, right? Saber must have known."
No, I didn’t.
I just thought the usual pitiful goddess had eaten something bad.
I braced myself in case another spear came flying, but Ereshkigal turned her head away, apparently embarrassed that her act as a terrifying goddess had been exposed.
They really were demigods.
One could be bought off with jewels, and the other had been pretending to be a scary goddess.
But even if we won, what happened now?
Was this really the end?
What about the restrictions imposed by the Three Goddess Alliance...?
She was even better at concealing her presence than the Black Knives. She had come this close, and I had not noticed her at all.
Had I gotten too careless?
"Not killing you back then in Kutha was far too costly... wasn’t it?"
The instant she finished speaking, a thin vertical line appeared across her body, and she collapsed. Ishtar rushed forward at the sudden development, but I grabbed the back of her neck. It would not work on me anyway.
"Ereshkigal?"
"Lady Ereshkigal!"
"Urk. Let go of me! Ereshkigal was just cut—wait, she wasn’t?"
Looking at it, he must have cut something like the restrictions of the Goddess Alliance.
I had been considering trying it myself after imbuing my weapon with lightning, but shortening the timetable worked for me.
It felt similar to Destined Death.
Was he a Servant too?
A man named Ziusudra appeared, and Ritsuka explained that he had cut through the restrictions binding Ereshkigal to the Goddess Alliance. It did save us time, but why did he have to speak so obscurely? Had living alone for so long done that to him?
With the restrictions resolved, we asked Ereshkigal for help. But she was suffering over how many people she had killed, when Gilgamesh said,
"Eight hundred people in Kutha and four hundred in Uruk, for a total of twelve hundred, died of the wasting plague! Not only is that fewer than what the other two goddesses have done, it is downright pathetic!"
"What? That’s a lie! I worked as hard as I possibly could this time!"
"And since you merely killed them with the wasting plague and released their souls, every last one of them can return."
"So, could we make this work somehow? I want to ask Ereshkigal for help again."
"Okay..."
After Ereshkigal promised to help us, only Gorgon remained. We freed Ereshkigal, and just as we were about to leave—
"Um!"
Did she still need something from me?
Surely she was not going to stab me over the insults I had thrown at her last time?
"It’s a favor. You know, since I greeted you before... could you be my... friend?"
It seemed like something she could ask Ritsuka for.
Hmm... Looking at her reminded me of my old self.
Back then, even though I had raised them that way, everyone hated me.
Still, I did not have many friends. It would be nice if I gained another one this time too, wouldn’t it?
Having had no friends anywhere in the world, I gladly accepted and held out my hand for a handshake.
"Huh? Just like that? Um... yes! I’m Ereshkigal! It’s nice to meet you again!"
With that handshake, I gained another friend. We exchanged farewells and caught up with the others.
"Saber? You’ve been making a lot of friends lately, starting with me. But remember that I’m your ‘first’ friend, okay? Got it?"
"You are my ‘first’ junior as well, so remember that."
...She was smiling, but why did it seem like her eyes were not?
And Mari was my first friend.
[No. We’re family. We share one body. And I introduced you to my family before, didn’t I? Don’t you remember?]
Didn’t you introduce me as a knight?
What did you say before you introduced me?
What did you say?
Mari fell silent after my questioning. Then, before the tenth day had passed, we left the Underworld and began our assault on Gorgon.
Ritsuka, Mash, Ana, Ishtar, and Merlin would enter Blood Fort Andur. Quetzalcoatl would throw her massive axe, while I was supposed to draw Kingu’s attention.
"I don’t know whether it’s because Saber wounded him or something else, but Kingu is excessively wary of you. Saber, keep his attention on you until Quetzalcoatl throws Marduk’s Axe."
Come to think of it, Ushiwakamaru and Musashibou Benkei had apparently gone off to train after seeing me, saying they were frustrated. Lucky—no, they were like puppies.
The operation began. I fought Quetzalcoatl and the Demonic Beasts at the Northern Wall until Kingu arrived, at which point the two of them withdrew.
"Where do you think you’re going? Tch!"
How long had it been?
His wound still had not healed?
Looking closer, the lightning spear was still lodged inside it.
I had not known it would not disappear unless it was pulled out.
When we first met, I had unknowingly wrapped a lightning spear around my sword and wounded him. It was still embedded in that wound, preventing it from healing. Kingu frowned at the sight of me.
"You human... This time, I’ll bind you and tear you to pieces!"
Wow. How had he held that in back then?
I immediately drew the Bastard Sword, stomped my foot to unleash [Storm Stomp] and [Stormcaller], knocking away the chains. The ones I could not deflect, I cut apart with my sword.
These were hard to cut.
But if I retrieved that lightning spear, he would be fine, wouldn’t he?
[Focus. Do you think I weakened myself for no reason?]
Yeah, yeah. I’m focusing.
"Where are you looking? How dare a human lose focus in front of me!"
Chains flew at me from every direction as Kingu closed in. I unleashed [Troll’s Roar] infused with storm power. The chains coming straight at me were knocked off course, and I advanced as well. My sword collided with Kingu’s hand.
But my throat hurt every time I used this.
I was never using it again.
As we struggled against each other, I tried to step on his foot. Chains burst from beneath my feet, and I spun to Kingu’s right, drew a dagger with my left hand, and thrust it at him. But my left arm was bound, so it could not reach him. At the same time, I invoked [Golden Vow] and [Endure], enduring the impact just before I struck the ground.
"Got you! You possess more divinity than I expected. So you are not entirely ordinary for a mere Servant, is that it?"
Seriously, this was ridiculously overpowered.
It would not break, and he could make it appear wherever he wanted. If only I could use lightning spears, I could cut all of them apart.
At the very least, I wanted to wrap one around my sword, but I had not had time to train. My luck with opponents was awful too.
I cast [Storm Wall] on my still-bound left arm. When the chains loosened, I pulled free and resumed our standoff.
"I’ll keep you from escaping, heal you so you cannot die, and feed you to the Demonic Beasts. Then I will take my time enjoying the sound of you crying in pain."
What a personality.
He was full of openings.
At that moment, a massive axe flew over my head and struck Blood Fort Andur directly.
Huh?
Wasn’t it not supposed to hit directly?
Didn’t Quetzalcoatl have the restrictions of the Goddess Alliance?
Hadn’t Merlin said he would do something about it?
At that instant, divine punishment flew from inside the fortress and cut her divinity in half. I felt as though I could hear her fury toward Merlin all the way from here. Merlin, you were dead now.
Then Kingu hurriedly flew into Blood Fort Andur, while I ran to its entrance. Mari, why were you asleep at a time like this?
But what was this uneasy feeling?
Things were going far too well.
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