Chapter 13: The Three Goddess Alliance
Gudako stared intently at the Holy Grail in Gilgamesh's hand, unable to wait any longer. "P-please, hand that over—" But before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Gilgamesh.
"Even if it's a slip of the tongue, don't you dare spout such foolishness as 'please hand over that Holy Grail' to this King," Gilgamesh's expression turned serious. "This King has no reason to give his own treasures to you."
"This..." Gudako's brow furrowed. "Then... how about we take defeating the 'Three Goddess Alliance' as a condition for the exchange?"
"..." Hearing this, Gilgamesh couldn't help but laugh. "You say... you are going to defeat the 'Three Goddess Alliance'!?"
"That's right. Is there something so funny about that?!" Gudako, hearing Gilgamesh's ruthless mockery, immediately puffed out her cheeks in anger.
Her words, however, only made Gilgamesh's laughter even more uncontrollable. "That was a good joke. Go record it in the palace log later: 'The King laughed so hard his abs cramped'."
With that, Gilgamesh reined in his laughter. "Uruk is a city that should be protected by this King; it has no need to borrow the power of you Chaldeans."
Just as Gilgamesh made this declaration, a soldier hurried into the palace. "Apologies for interrupting your pleasant conversation, King!"
"Who is having a pleasant conversation? Are you blind?" Gilgamesh said coldly.
"No... it's just because the King's laughter echoed through the entire Ziggurat..." the soldier replied nervously.
"You fool! I am not some adolescent girl easily amused by every little thing... No, that is irrelevant. Tell me what has happened," Gilgamesh demanded.
"Yes!" The soldier straightened his posture. "One of the 'Three Goddess Alliance,' the Goddess Ishtar, is approaching Uruk!"
Hearing the soldier's report, Gilgamesh sighed helplessly. "Ugh... that dimwit again?"
The second after Gilgamesh spoke, an angry female voice boomed from the top of the Ziggurat. "What did you say!!"
Boom—!
The top floor of the Ziggurat was smashed open by Goddess Ishtar, creating a massive hole. Stones tumbled down, and dust and smoke filled the entire palace.
"It's Lady Ishtar!" "Everyone, retreat!" "Quick, get out of here!"
The panicked voices of soldiers began to ring out.
"Senpai! That lady isn't the one from before..." Mash recognized that this goddess was indeed the woman they had encountered at the ruins.
"So she is the Goddess Ishtar..." Gudako also appeared somewhat surprised.
Compared to their composure, the palace guards were indeed in utter chaos—calling for emergency evacuations, asking priests for special prayers, and requesting suppression spells against urban deities. But Gilgamesh, as King, didn't react at all.
"Oh?" Ishtar, who had landed on the ground, was surprised to see Gudako and Mash, not expecting to encounter them here. Then she saw Shirou and Merlin. Her gaze, filled with annoyance, lingered briefly on Shirou's face. "You guy, you're here too...!?"
"Why, am I not allowed to be here?"
Faced with Shirou's retort, Ishtar's face turned bright red with rage.
"You look cute when you're angry." Shirou studied the goddess using Rin's body with great interest.
"You! Damn it, forget it—I'll just turn this whole place into ash!"
Provoked, Ishtar immediately raised her right hand, releasing a golden beam of magical light from between her index and middle fingers.
Boom—!
The target was Gilgamesh, who was sitting on the throne above, prepared to watch the show. Not expecting to be caught in the crossfire so suddenly, Gilgamesh hurriedly employed the "Gate of Babylon." The Noble Phantasms that shot out were destroyed under the impact of the magical beam.
"Why are you attacking me when that guy was the one who provoked you, you dim-witted goddess!?" Gilgamesh asked, his face full of bewilderment.
"Shut up!"
Having lost her composure, Ishtar fired another beam of magical light.
"Mash!" Knowing that Gilgamesh, who held the Holy Grail, could not be harmed, Gudako immediately shouted to Mash.
"Understood!"
Without hesitation, Mash manifested her Noble Phantasm, flashed forward, and blocked the path before Goddess Ishtar. At the same time, Ana, who had been standing behind Merlin, also rushed out.
Mash's reaction was extremely fast; she arrived moments before the beam reached Gilgamesh and used her cross shield to deflect it away. Ana also appeared before Ishtar, holding a scythe, and swept it horizontally toward her!
"Tch!"
Blocked, a strange, large bow appeared in Ishtar's hand. She used it to parry Ana's attack and, in that same instant, kicked Ana flying away.
"Ugh!" Ana gave a muffled groan; her body could not withstand the strength of a goddess, and she was sent flying backward without pause.
"Ana!" Mash hurried forward to shield the fallen Ana.
Ishtar, whose form rushed toward Mash like an arrow released from a string, suddenly stopped the moment her gaze swept across Ana's revealed face. She walked closer, and before a nervous Mash, she inspected Ana.
"So that's it... this really is karma and fate..."
Ishtar sighed and turned around. "I've changed my mind."
"What, are you running away with your tail between your legs?" Gilgamesh mocked with a smile.
"I was just taking a walk and passing by. Goodbye, King of Uruk." Saying this, Ishtar looked at the veiled woman. "Oh, by the way, Siduri. If Gilgamesh dies, I might consider helping Uruk. You should prepare the white flag in advance."
Standing on her strange large bow, Ishtar waved to her with a smile. Then, her figure rose into the sky, and amidst a sudden sonic boom, she rapidly moved away from Uruk.
"White flag? What does she mean...?" Siduri tilted her head in confusion.
"What a troublesome woman." Gilgamesh remarked. "No matter, Siduri, let's get back to work."
"Understood." Siduri withdrew her gaze and turned around. "Then, let's first deal with the flooding of the Tigris River."
"I was looking forward to Miss Ishtar's appearance changing the King's mind a little," Mash said helplessly, watching Gilgamesh, who had become serious once he started working.
"Since things have turned out like this, it can't be helped," Merlin shrugged. "Anyway, you should find a place to stay first."
"I suppose that's the only way," Gudako said with some resignation.
At this moment, Merlin whispered, "That great King is a mercurial person; perhaps by tomorrow, he will be willing to listen to what we have to say."
Just then, Gilgamesh, who had been listening to Siduri's report, suddenly looked at Merlin.
"You fools! Uruk is facing an unprecedented crisis. This King has no time to go on a hike with you Chaldeans. However, if you truly wish to be of use to this King..."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting to reveal a gleeful smile.
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