Whoosh!!!
With a piercing whistle, Humbaba opened the gates of the Golden Capital, hurling countless divine constructs toward Ishtar and her allies.
"Danger, danger… so dangerous!!"
Taiga, the Jaguar Man drawing the most aggro from Humbaba, panicked. She sprinted away, twisting her body to dodge the golden weapons imbued with divine-slaying properties, all while shouting.
But that wasn't the most surprising part.
Compared to Taiga, who ran while crying out yet remained unscathed, Humbaba, chasing her, was practically fuming with rage.
Roar!!!
As he pursued, he let out deafening roars.
This loudmouthed jaguar seemed to have a taunt skill baked into her. From her entrance to now, her mouth never stopped, constantly provoking him, even insulting his mother, drawing relentless aggro.
If it were just that, he wouldn't have prioritized her.
Though she seemed like a comic relief, her strength was undeniable, second only to Ishtar among the enemy Servants. Unlike the two mortal Servants blocking Lahmu at the battlefield's edge, this jaguar possessed divinity, and not a weak one. The oddly shaped spear in her hand could harm him, making her a foe he couldn't underestimate.
She and Ishtar alternated, one from above, one below, encircling and delaying him. Their coordinated rhythm dragged Humbaba into their pace from the start, preventing him from breaking free to aid Tiamat.
If he tried to disengage, Red Hare, at the battlefield's edge, would intercept with greater speed, while Ishtar, with air superiority, would bombard him. Then Taiga would charge from afar, completing the encirclement, trapping Humbaba in their rhythm once more.
"Ha, looks like it's shift change time! Catch you later, blasted Humbaba!!"
Another rotation came. Taiga nimbly leapt out of the fray, and the next to arrive was… Ishtar.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
A shrill whistle cut through the air. Ishtar, riding Maanna, arrived at top speed, seamlessly swapping with Taiga.
She held several vibrant, high-quality jewels between her fingers. Seizing the moment of the switch, she activated her jewel magecraft, launching streams of multicolored light straight at Humbaba.
"Explode!!"
Under Ishtar's precise control, the jewels followed her designated paths, rapidly surrounding Humbaba, cutting off his pursuit of Taiga and any chance of escape.
Roar! Roar! Roar!!!
The same tactic, the same war of attrition, this prolonged trap enraged Humbaba to his limit.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd faced this infuriating strategy.
But before he could act, Ishtar's jewels fulfilled their purpose.
As they landed per Ishtar's trajectories, the jewels began attracting each other. In a blink, they converged from all directions, colliding with a deafening Boom!!.
A blinding flash erupted. The red jewel's landing unleashed a terrifying wave of magical heat, the green jewel's toxic gas burst precisely, and the scattered yellow powder formed a barrier, pinning Humbaba in place.
"Hahaha, feeling the pain now, Humbaba? Oh, sorry, I mean Kingu."
"How's the taste of this goddess's jewel magecraft?"
Seeing Humbaba below, unable to lift his head under her barrage of jewel magecraft, Ishtar flashed a smug grin.
She'd known her old rival Humbaba was the enemy before the battle, causing quite a fuss. It wasn't that she lacked spirit, her past defeat, followed by being strung up in a cedar forest for seven days and nights, made it hard to face him calmly. If he caught her again, her fate would be worse.
But this situation was partly her fault. If she hadn't lost Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, they wouldn't be in such a bind. Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca could've handled Humbaba.
Now, everyone was giving their all. Even if it meant death, Ishtar had to die on the battlefield today.
This was Gilgamesh's demand and a strict order from the gods Anu and Enki.
No more whims for Ishtar, she had to fulfill her goddess duties, aiding Gilgamesh against the Mother of Genesis. Failure meant no return.
To crush any hopes of escape, Anu and Enki cut off her retreat, forcing her to fight to the end. Cruel but effective, Ishtar, aware of her critical role and under pressure, reluctantly took on the task of facing Humbaba.
To ease her mind, Roy, while reinforcing her with a Command Spell, secured significant outside aid from Gilgamesh.
In her hand was a golden spare key, the Key of the King's Law, unlocking the Gate of Babylon.
Knowing Humbaba's terrifying strength, with Roy, Quetzalcoatl, and Tezcatlipoca facing Tiamat, Arjuna battling Karna, and Gilgamesh holding Uruk, Ishtar was the only one left to tackle Humbaba.
But Gilgamesh knew Ishtar's unreliability.
Humbaba's power, combined with her prior loss to him, made worry inevitable. Yet the task was critical, letting Humbaba reach Tiamat or attack Uruk would doom their plans.
Roy understood this too.
Though Ishtar was strong, her unreliable nature and poor mindset capped her potential.
Ideally, Humbaba would've been handled by Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, or Roy himself, but Ishtar was the only option.
So, before the battle, Roy counseled her psychologically and borrowed the Gate of Babylon's spare key from Gilgamesh.
This allowed Ishtar to freely access jewels and special items, boosting her combat strength to delay or defeat Humbaba, giving her confidence.
When Roy proposed lending the treasury key to Ishtar, Gilgamesh's face twisted.
Yes, he had a spare key, made for emergencies. It could only open a few dozen portals but connected to his treasury, allowing access to any treasure.
But lending it to Ishtar, that greedy hoarder? Wasn't that like throwing meat to a tiger?
He could already imagine her never returning it, emptying his treasury.
Normally, he'd never agree to such an absurd idea and would've launched Roy from the Melammu Dingir for suggesting it.
But for Uruk, for humanity, for victory, with everyone giving their all, how could he falter?
Such failure was Ishtar's style, not his. It was just the Gate of Babylon.
If it secured victory, he'd give it all away.
But, Ishtar…
This king has paid a steep price. Don't let me down.
Seated on Uruk's throne, tuning the Melammu Dingir while directing the Ascendant Legion to slay Lahmu, Gilgamesh cast a weary, worried glance toward the distant battlefield.
The critically injured Quetzalcoatl had been escorted back to Uruk by her pterosaur, unconscious from burning her divinity, now under Ritsuka and Mash's care.
Tiamat had been dragged into Roy's small world, testing his and the Grand Servant's theory.
Arjuna and Karna's fated battle remained undecided.
Merlin's Saint Graph was shattered by Tiamat's immense power.
Ereshkigal was still working to transfer the underworld.
Ishtar's battle was locked in a stalemate.
Across Mesopotamia, land and sea, north, south, east, and west, chaos reigned.
All he could do was hold the line, tune his secret weapon, and prepare to shine in the final battle, offering what aid he could.
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