A quarter of an hour later, Kutha.
The city cursed by death still retained its original appearance, as if time itself had frozen. A quiet, haunting beauty lingered over everything.
But then the ground trembled violently. From the distance, a surge of mud mixed with shattered rocks, trees, and animal corpses rushed forward, towering into waves nearly a hundred meters high. The Sumerian city-state in their path looked like toy blocks beneath a giant's palm.
"A vast sea in the heavens...and a prison upon the land... My heel is the wrath of Kur itself! Appear, O scorching shrine! Reflect upon your behavior—Kur Kigal Irkalla: The Bellows of Kur that Tramples upon Ekur!"
At that moment, a shrill cry echoed from beneath the earth. The plains between Mount Ebih and Kutha suddenly split apart, revealing a bottomless chasm that cut between the oncoming flood and the city, forming a natural barrier.
At the same time, the ground near Kutha surged upward. Towering peaks erupted from the depths, rising rapidly to form a wall behind the chasm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder roared in the sky, and the muddy torrent raged like a stampede of wild beasts.
One by one, the massive waves slammed into the mountains flanking the chasm and shattered apart. The surging floodwaters then plunged into the abyss that led straight to the underworld.
"It held!"
Beneath the pouring rain, Ishtar stood aboard the Boat of Heaven, Maanna. She glanced back at Kutha—still intact—and pumped her fist in triumph.
But almost immediately, remembering her unresolved rivalry with her dear sister, the goddess of Uruk crossed her arms, gave a haughty little cough, and muttered smugly, "Ahem... Not bad. Just a little worse than me…"
Now then—it's this goddess's turn to take the stage!
In a heartbeat, Ishtar's expression turned serious. Her gaze shifted toward the devastated line of Mount Ebih.
The storm raged on—torrential rain and howling winds!
Twelve fierce cyclones, carrying torrents of water and mud, tore across the land, as if splitting heaven and earth apart.
Pitch-black clouds blanketed the sky, swallowing the last glimmers of starlight, pressing down with suffocating weight. Countless lightning bolts slithered and darted through the storm, lashing the earth and shaking the ground beneath them.
Just as expected—Samael was right! Something's inside!
Ishtar narrowed her eyes, raising her fingers in the shape of a gun. Behind her, the Bow Maanna drew taut into a perfect full moon. Massive arrows of light gathered, ready to unleash.
Hmph! Let's see what's hiding in there!
"Maanna, fire at full power!"
With a sharp cry, the glowing arrows—hungrily absorbing nearby Ether particles—burst forward. Their tips flared like brilliant morning stars. In that moment of condensed power, they shot from the bow with a deafening roar.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The twelve swirling wind pillars before the dark clouds were instantly torn apart—four in the front row ripped open. The arrows of light cleaved through the boundless darkness, their terrifying force carving a rift through the sky that echoed the chasm below.
Hmph, if she can do it, so can this goddess!
With pride gleaming in her eyes, Ishtar shot forward, gaze locked on the dark clouds that had been split apart.
This strike could blast through Mount Ebih itself. Whatever was inside had to be at least half-destroyed... unless—
Bang!
A deafening tremor burst from deep within the clouds. Lightning erupted in chaotic flashes, illuminating the darkened sky.
Ishtar's eyelid twitched. Her throat went dry.
Unless... it's a Chief God–level being!
Then, as if to confirm her fear, a single hoof emerged from the clouds—every inch gleaming with metallic gold, as though forged from divine alloy—and stomped downward with blinding speed.
"Maanna!"
Ishtar hastily summoned the Sky Bow and swerved aside, barely avoiding the massive hoof that came crashing down.
Boom!
Even so, when the hoof struck the ground, it sent arcs of lightning exploding outward like a copper pillar conducting raw energy.
"Aaah!"
Caught off guard, Ishtar took the hit directly. Lightning blasted her midair like a cannonball, her hair standing on end, body smoking as she slammed into the spirit peak standing before the chasm.
"Cough... cough…"
Luckily, it was just the residual force. The spirit peak behind her gave off a soft, supporting energy.
Not seriously hurt, the Great Goddess of Uruk used the mountain's bulk to absorb the blow. She climbed out of the human-shaped crater she'd made, then immediately shot forward aboard the Boat of Heaven, Maanna.
"Gugalanna, are you insane?!"
That's right—the colossal creature riding the flash flood, veiled in mist and storm, was none other than her long-lost Bull of Heaven.
Buzz!
But the Divine Beast, over a hundred meters tall and partly visible through the clouds, gave her no reprieve. Its giant hoof came crashing down again, merciless and unstoppable.
The eight remaining whirlwinds churned, laced with filthy surging waves, tearing through the sky.
"Damn it! I just yelled at you a little! And you dare hit me?!"
Ishtar screamed, dodging left and right on Maanna as her fury boiled over.
"I swear I'll skin you and make a coat, then stew your hooves into soup!"
Blazing with rage, the Great Goddess of Uruk poured her full power into Maanna. Dozens of light arrows arced upward, crossing paths as they struck toward the bull's head cloaked in storm clouds.
But after a string of sharp clangs, that massive head, pulsing with brute strength and unyielding toughness, hadn't lost even a single hair.
What the hell?! It's tougher than before!
Ishtar's face stiffened as frustration welled up inside her.
Then the dark clouds trembled violently as Gugalanna began to move, revealing half of its massive body.
Twin azure horns atop its head glowed brighter, drawing lightning from kilometers around. Hundreds of chilling, deep-blue thunderballs condensed from the summoned energy.
"Moo..."
With a low, savage bellow, the thunderballs shot forward, trailing chaotic arcs of electricity as they streaked through the sky.
Faced with the oncoming barrage, Ishtar's scalp tingled. Her hair stood up involuntarily.
The goddess threw away all concern for appearances, leaping and dodging through the air. Using her magic to intercept and deflect, she narrowly managed to avoid disaster.
"Easy... easy now…"
"I promise I won't yell at you anymore…"
Swallowing hard, Ishtar stared nervously at the glowing red orbs in the clouds—like giant lanterns—and forced a dry laugh as she offered peace.
Back then, she used to sic Gugalanna on others without a second thought. Only now, facing it herself, did she realize just how troublesome this walking fortress truly was.
"Moo moo!"
Gugalanna reared its head and roared. Its right hoof gouged the ground, then slammed down hard.
The earth thundered as spiderweb-like cracks spread out across the land.
Boom!
In an instant, the spirit peak behind the chasm collapsed with a deafening crash.
At the same time, the abyss that had blocked the floodwaters began to compress inward from both sides. The fissure was slowly closing.
And worse—the muddy waters, which had just calmed, surged up again. Under Gugalanna's hooves, wave after wave rose, stacking on top of each other.
It's shifting the terrain, manipulating water flow, commanding wind and lightning…
This is bad. At this rate, not only is Kutha doomed—Uruk's going down with it!
Calling this thing a walking war fortress would be more accurate. Why didn't I realize just how absurdly overpowered it was before?
"Stop staring! Gugalanna is already under control—hurry and knock it back into the underworld!"
Ereshkigal's voice echoed in her mind, a sharp reminder.
"I know!"
Ishtar looked at those crimson eyes, voice cracking as tears welled up.
"But that's my bull! My property! I can't bear to part with it!"