Eresh was right. In the original timeline, Illya's purpose as the Lesser Grail was to help the Einzbern family win the Holy Grail War and obtain the Holy Grail. Her potential was pushed to its absolute limit, limiting her lifespan to only the duration of the Holy Grail War.
However, the game's timeline progressed in real-world time. Very few games lasted a full decade, let alone a collaborative event like this. By then, Konami would likely shift its focus to other ventures. After all, adopted children never receive the same attention as biological ones. Jiang You felt he wouldn't even see that day come.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely respond to her."
If he was still playing, he'd strive for the best ending.
"But even as the God of the Underworld, can't you help her repair her soul?" Jiang You asked.
Eresh wasn't unwilling to help. "My Authority is greatly diminished when I'm outside my Underworld. But this problem is quite simple for you—you could bring Illya here directly. However, there's another problem: using souls is easy enough, but repairing them in detail requires exceptionally rare materials. These materials..."
Eresh was halfway through her explanation when Jiang You pulled something out of his backpack. The Soul Crystal—a near-universal currency he considered as versatile as Saint Quartz.
"You actually have one of these?"
Even gods considered this artifact, one of the Five Great Elements, to be immensely valuable.
"Then there's no problem."
And just like that, the side quest to increase Affection inexplicably completed. However, the reward Jiang You received came from Eresh, not Illya, leaving him utterly puzzled. Perhaps Eresh was touched by his willingness to offer such a precious material for Illya's use, seeing it as proof of his sincerity?
Hearing Illya's name from Eresh's lips, Medea immediately realized the pair had been gallivanting across alternate Worldlines. Her eyes nearly rolled out of her head.
"So while I'm slaving away for you here, you're off gallivanting across Worldlines with the God of the Underworld you just met? I should commend you on your exceptional social skills! Even if we're just business partners, sometimes I wish you'd at least consider my feelings a little!"
"My bad!" Jiang You immediately apologized, but Medea was genuinely useful, and he'd dare to do it again next time!
Following her defeat in the Duel, Eresh reluctantly joined Jiang You's forces, as per their agreement. Jiang You soon discovered that after Eresh joined the Three Goddess Alliance, the souls of the living she ferried to the Underworld were now counted toward the "humans killed" quota. This immediately fulfilled over half his objective, and some minor rewards were already appearing in his inbox.
After praising Eresh until she blushed crimson, Jiang You prepared to return to Ur, now renamed the Faerie Realm.
"Well then, let's meet again after Tiamat descends. By then, if I successfully restore this Singularity, don't forget our promise of eternal commitment!"
"It was my fault for saying something misleading! I'll honor my promise, so please stop using that phrase!" Eresh covered her burning face, Jiang You's repeated references to their deal making her utterly mortified.
"Also, while Tiamat is the Mother of All Things and our enemy, show her a little respect, okay?"
"Actually, she'd probably be quite pleased if you called her that."
Tiamat's reputation loomed so large that the Mesopotamian pantheon regarded her with the same awe and terror as the Hassans faced King Hassan. No one could truly imagine Tiamat's true form.
"Who knows? Maybe she's just a doting, overprotective mother?" Jiang You speculated.
"You speak as if you've actually met her," Eresh scoffed, bursting into laughter. She couldn't possibly picture Tiamat as such.
"Then I'll see you when the time comes. If you lose, I've already prepared a Soul-Binding Spear Cage for you. You'll just have to wait quietly until it's all over."
"I've already defeated two Major God-class Goddesses. At least have a little faith in me, would you?"
This was the downside of playing card games: even with overwhelming strength and a perfect track record, everyone still thinks they have a fifty-fifty chance against you.
"Hard to say," Eresh waved her hand dismissively. "You know, that could be Tiamat."
"Want to bet on it?"
Jiang You followed Medea onto the teleportation array. Before leaving, he tried to squeeze out a few more rewards. But Eresh shook her head in refusal.
"Then never mind. I've left you some gifts at your house. If I lose, consider them my final possessions. They'll be your last memories of the outside world—cherish them."
"What kind of talk is that?!"
After Jiang You departed, Eresh turned around and noticed a gift box he had left behind. Because Jiang You had kept it hidden in his Item Slot, she hadn't noticed it before. It was truly remarkable how Jiang You had managed to accompany Eresh shopping, get beaten up by Minamoto no Raikou, and still wrap the gift within such a tight timeframe.
Inside were some small snacks and the fluffy plush toy Eresh had paused to admire in the shop window earlier—pink and adorable, utterly out of place in the Underworld's grim landscape.
-
Three days flew by. During that time, Jiang You shuttled between the Underworld and the Faerie Realm (Pseudo). Raising Eresh's Affection was surprisingly easy; all it took was spending time chatting with her. Jiang You suspected that if it weren't for the mission card blocking his progress toward ending the Singularity, Eresh's card would have already reached max level three.
With Gorgon preparing for the final battle, the Magical Beasts on the northern front of Uruk ceased their attacks. This allowed Ana, who had been constantly on edge, to finally breathe a sigh of relief. After briefly enjoying the "modern" (or rather, not so modern) life there, she began preparing for the upcoming battle.
Jiang You agreed to Ana's condition that he wouldn't attack Uruk's forces, leaving her to face Gorgon and her created Magical Beasts. He needed someone to intercept Gorgon's advance anyway, as those slain by her side couldn't be resurrected. Eresh, however, could still claim some of their souls.
As for the soldiers, the Faerie Realm (Pseudo) fielded fewer than one-twentieth of Uruk's numbers. However, Uruk had to fight on two fronts simultaneously, while Jiang You's forces faced far fewer enemies. Moreover, his soldiers were equipped with modern firearms. Once the battle began, Uruk would learn firsthand what it meant when times had changed—a change spanning over four millennia.
None of that mattered, because these were merely supplementary factors. Ultimately, the battle's outcome would be determined solely by the combat strength of the servants on both sides, and Jiang You's forces held an overwhelming numerical advantage in servants.
"Then it's time to launch the attack. Let's finish this quickly!"
Jiang You rallied his troops and sounded the battle horn. Led by Quetzalcoatl's Flying Dragon squadron, the dragons soared into the sky, charging toward Uruk.