"The person you're talking about is right here, you know."
Jiang You considered whether to antagonize Ishtar to increase Eresh's Affection, but ultimately decided against it. They had no real grudge, and doing so would be petty.
"I never imagined anyone would come to such a dark and desolate place."
Ishtar finally turned her attention to Eresh's opponent—an unfamiliar face.
"So you're Ereshkigal's rival, hmm... While your Noble Phantasm irritates me greatly, if you give her a good thrashing for me, I'll forgive your insolence!"
Jiang You waited a moment but received no quest notification. "Well... what's the reward?"
"Reward?"
Ishtar wore a look of genuine surprise. "My mere forbearance of your insolence is already an immeasurable reward! How dare you demand compensation, you clueless mortal! Do you even know who I am?"
"Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of beauty, fertility, and battle. It's written right on your card, isn't it?"
Jiang You knew his side quest reward was as good as gone.
"What a stingy goddess," he muttered. "But I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Even if I win, I won't teach Eresh a lesson."
"Eresh?"
Ishtar paused, then realized this was a shortened form of Ereshkigal. "Wait a minute, who are you? How dare you call that gloomy woman so intimately?"
"I'm not gloomy, okay?!"
Eresh stamped her foot in frustration. It's not like I wanted this! "You shameless Goddess! Fine, you're a gloomy one now too! Because of the Underworld's Blessing effect, Ishtar's allegiance has changed, and her Attack Power has increased!"
Ishtar's Attack Power: 3200 → 4200
"I don't want to become an Underworld servant! You bastard! Someone, hurry up and destroy me!" Ishtar twisted her face in disgust. Her impression of the Underworld was terrible; she'd rather die than become an Underworld servant.
"Sorry, the arena rules don't allow it," Jiang You shrugged. If he could destroy her, he wouldn't be stuck playing defense.
"Why—?!"
"Ishtar's effect: Add one An Gal Tā Kigal Shē to your Hand!"
Eresh added Ishtar's Noble Phantasm to her Hand.
"Ishtar, heed my command! Activate An Gal Tā Kigal Shē!"
Eresh seemed to relish ordering Ishtar around. "Destroy all cards on the opponent's field!"
"I don't care what happens next!"
Ishtar rode her Heavenly Boat Maanna into the sky, opening a Star Gate once more. At her invitation, Venus's ethereal projection materialized into a radiant arrow in her hand.
"Excellent, excellent! Give it your all this time too! From the great heavens to the great earth! Alias: The Mountain Shatterer!"
A golden stream of light shook the mountains, obliterating everything in its path!
"The Fanatic's effect! I'll detach another Xyz Material as a substitute to negate this destruction!"
Jiang You's backrow couldn't be saved, but the Fanatic withstood the attack. However, with only one Xyz Material remaining, she couldn't endure another assault.
"Looks like you've lost."
Seeing only a lone Fanatic remaining on Jiang You's field, Ishtar declared victory assured.
"As expected. A low-tier Servant like you could never challenge a goddess. Even just this one was enough to make me regret holding even the slightest hope for you. Therefore, this great goddess will now punish you for your insolence and humiliation!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
Eresh was clearly displeased with Ishtar's attitude, and her expression toward the goddess remained frosty.
"You should be grateful to him for allowing you to appear unharmed in my territory!"
"Who wants to be here anyway?! If it weren't for his Noble Phantasm, you could beg me and I still wouldn't have come!" Ishtar retorted, sticking her tongue out at Eresh.
Eresh wished Jiang You's Noble Phantasm could do even more. "Fine, I don't want to see you either. Rest assured, you won't be seeing him again! Enter the Battle Phase!"
"You shameless goddess, just stay out of this! Romulus Quirinus attacks Fanatic!"
Eresh planned to end the battle swiftly. "Because Romulus Quirinus deals double piercing damage against defending units, this attack's damage value is 6000 points! Jiang You, I win!"
"So, why does everyone assume I've already lost?"
In reality, Jiang You had already grasped the winning formula. If he could just survive until the next turn, he could end the game immediately.
"I activate Morning Glory from my hand! By discarding it to the Graveyard, I switch Romulus Quirinus to Defense Position!"
Since it was activated from her hand, the effect of Underworld didn't apply. The small girl (or perhaps loli?) successfully blocked Romulus's attack.
Romulus Quirinus's Attack Power: 4000 → Defense Power: 4000.
"Is that even allowed?" Eresh was stunned that the mighty God Ancestor could be stopped by such a tiny girl.
"Never underestimate any Servant," Eresh warned. "Even a fourth-rate assassin with no proper training could tip the scales of victory."
"Wait a minute! How did he get here?!"
Consumed by her bitter rivalry with Eresh, Ishtar had completely overlooked the others until now. She finally noticed Romulus standing beside her.
"Guess."
Eresh smirked, thoroughly enjoying Ishtar's shocked expression, even though her own performance earlier hadn't been much better.
"Very well then! The Shameless Goddess attacks Fanatic!"
"Ishtar's effect: When attacking, you can discard one card from your hand to inflict 2000 damage to the opponent at the start of their next turn!"
The damage was substantial—triggering it twice would secure victory. However, the delayed activation made it impractical in most situations.
"Ishtar, use Mana Burst!"
"My jewels!"
At Eresh's command, Ishtar crushed several jewels as catalysts, channeling magical power into arrows that soared into the sky as she attacked.
The Fanatic was destroyed, clearing Jiang You's field. But equally, Eresh could no longer act, forcing her to end her turn.
"How do you plan to win?"
With a 4000-defense Romulus and a 4200-attack Ishtar, combined with a field unaffected by effect destruction, Eresh felt she had no reason to lose.
"If it weren't for your field's protection, winning would be tough." Jiang You smiled. The battle was already over.
"Count how many Hassans are currently in your graveyard."