After rescuing the survivors, Castorice and the others didn't linger long in the city.
The commotion and the scent of blood from the earlier battle were bound to attract other magical beasts. Once entangled, they'd be faced with an endless tide of monsters.
What made this Singularity especially difficult was that these beasts truly seemed infinite, as if they could never be fully wiped out.
Hundreds of millions of them rampaged across the land—and not just ordinary lion hounds or the like.
Creatures like wyverns and giant demon boars were everywhere as well. This was the true Demonic Front.
Beyond the walls of Uruk, the wilderness was essentially a sea of monsters.
The reason they could travel safely through these wilds was their own formidable strength. An ordinary person in this environment would have no chance of survival.
And because they now had survivors in their care, Castorice and the others had slowed their pace considerably.
Their route choices also became far more cautious.
Main roads were out of the question—on open plains, if they encountered a pack of magical beasts, they could easily be overrun and scattered.
So Merlin charted a new path.
It would not only get them to Uruk by the safest possible way, but also pass by several human cities where they could gather more survivors.
The closer they got to Uruk, the more likely they were to find people still alive.
Luckily, in the next city they reached, the number of survivors was greater than Castorice had expected.
This was thanks to several powerful warriors who had protected the civilians and allowed them to hold on.
Of course, by the time Castorice's group found them, their condition was far from good. By day, they evaded monsters; by night, keeping watch made real rest impossible.
When Castorice came across them that morning, they were surrounded by beasts. Had her group not intervened in time, they would have been wiped out, devoured by the monsters.
Just like that, two days passed. They were getting closer to Uruk—only one day's journey remained.
--+--
Night fell. By the campfire.
Everyone else had already fallen asleep, and tonight's watch duty fell to Castorice.
Her unique constitution meant she needed very little rest. Not far off lay the camp where Ana and the others slept.
Ana had offered to keep her company, but Castorice refused.
As a Servant without a Master, Ana's magical energy reserves were precious, so Castorice rarely called on her to fight.
'If only Chaldea's Master would arrive already...'
Maybe they'd already made it safely to Uruk.
After all, to clear this world smoothly, the power of a Grand Assassin was essential. Perhaps after absorbing the Coreflame and becoming a demigod of death, she too could gain the power to impart death upon Tiamat.
But the real question was—how could she find the Titan's Coreflame?
If only it were really just in the Underworld. In this world, the Underworld wasn't exactly an unreachable place...
But her intuition told her it wouldn't be that simple.
As Castorice was lost in thought, a rustling sound came from a bush in the distance.
Clearly, something was approaching.
Immediately, Castorice grew alert.
Faint moonlight spilled from the sky like a veil of silver. Visibility at night was poor, and through the darkness, she could only make out a faint, flickering black shadow.
But once she got a clear look at the newcomer, she relaxed.
It was Ishtar. She wasn't sure why the goddess wasn't riding her Maanna through the skies, but one thing was certain—the other bore no ill will toward her.
After all, over the past couple of days, Castorice had occasionally glimpsed Ishtar's figure streaking across the heavens.
"So it's you, Lady Ishtar."
Castorice offered a faint smile as she regarded the other.
Ishtar had never actually introduced herself to Castorice, but that wasn't important. Her identity was no secret in this land—anyone could learn it with a little inquiry.
Hearing the address, Ishtar paused briefly before realizing she was the one being spoken to.
'So that Ishtar has already met her, huh...'
Ereshkigal, the Mistress of the Underworld—or just "Eresh"—murmured inwardly.
She was a little surprised that Castorice recognized her, but it did make things easier.
After all, she was deeply curious about Castorice herself.
The true Ishtar, as a goddess, couldn't manifest directly in this world. The Ishtar known here was a Pseudo-Servant created by priests using a young girl's body as a vessel.
However, something had apparently gone wrong during the ritual. As a result, during the day, the body was controlled by Ishtar, the Mistress of the Skies, while at night, Ishtar's personality fell dormant, and the body was governed by Ereshkigal, the Lady of the Underworld.
For Eresh, who was always confined to the Underworld, this chance to move freely upon the earth felt incredibly fresh. She took every opportunity to explore the land.
To experience the beauty of this world, to breathe in the fragrance of flowers.
After escaping the cold, lifeless Underworld, even the silent nights and pale moonlight felt warm to her.
Compared to the Underworld where no life existed, everything on the surface was wondrous and new.
And during her wanderings, she had encountered one person in particular—Castorice. Someone who intrigued her deeply... A human?
There was something about her—an intuition told Eresh that Castorice was like her.
As a goddess of the Underworld, Eresh was acutely sensitive to the aura of death around Castorice. It was a presence no weaker than her own.
But she was the goddess of the netherworld, while the other was just a human—an unknown human with death authority on the same level as her own... Something about that didn't add up, did it?
In that moment, Ereshkigal grew intensely curious about Castorice.
Over the past two nights, whenever darkness fell, Eresh had secretly observed Castorice from the shadows. Only now had she resolved to meet her face to face.
Just as she was fretting over how to start a conversation, Castorice had recognized her as Ishtar. This made things much easier!
"Ahem... That's right, it's me. Fancy meeting you here."
Eresh coughed lightly to mask her awkwardness, then did her best to imitate Ishtar's tone.
Gazing into the other's dark golden pupils, Castorice suddenly recalled something, but she didn't let on. Instead, she pretended not to notice.
"Why are you protecting them?"
Eresh sat down gently beside Castorice, watching her with a puzzled expression.
If not for shielding these ordinary humans, they could have reached Uruk long ago, instead of trudging through these dangerous lands surrounded by magical beasts.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.