Flamescion!!!
Xia Yu opened her eyes, only to find herself in a dim, lightless cave.
Well, calling it a cave might not be entirely accurate, as this cave was ridiculously massive.
She looked down at her own attire.
A predominantly white Valkyrie Battlesuit dotted with a few accents of red, and these two arm-guards looked very familiar... Behind her, there was also
a cape, red on the inside and white on the outside, with flames burning at the tail end...
Xia Yu raised her hand and brushed her head. Sure enough, a high ponytail.
Isn't this my super invincible giant freaking cute Kiana?
And it was Kiana debuting in her Herrscher of Flamescion form! Flamescion!
Xia Yu raised her hand and summoned, and a pair of dual pistols appeared in her hands. Clashing the dual pistols together, Blazing Hope—which closely resembled Godslayer: Surtr in Himeko's hands, also commonly known as the Four-Core Greatsword—emerged from the flames.
Flamescion! Xia Yu chuckled. This was her favorite Kiana.
A high ponytail and all that is just too amazing!
Right at that moment, as if finally detecting the intrusion of an uninvited guest, a cold and gloomy aura swept in from all directions.
Xia Yu finally looked up at her surroundings.
The pitch-black underground was illuminated by countless specks of light, but upon closer inspection, those specks were not any kind of lamp or fire, but souls imprisoned in cages!
A few undead spirits appeared nearby, glaring like tigers watching their prey.
Seeing this, Xia Yu already knew where she was.
Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia.
Inside the Underworld of the little angel Ereshkigal.
So these things in front of me must be Gallu Spirits, right?
She subconsciously wanted to raise Blazing Hope in her hands, but facing the gathering Gallu Spirits around her, Xia Yu thought about it and decided to put the sword away, switching back to her dual pistols.
Mainly because the power of this Four-Core Greatsword was simply too immense, and she was genuinely afraid of accidentally tearing apart Ereshkigal's Underworld... Xia Yu's impression of Ereshkigal was actually quite good.
She was the Goddess of the Underworld in Sumerian mythology, a terrifying ruler of the Underworld who could freely manipulate cage-like spears, sometimes piercing enemies, sometimes imprisoning souls, and sometimes calling down lightning.
A goddess who had taken on the duty of managing the Underworld since her birth, who vanished along with the Age of Gods without ever knowing what the surface and freedom were like.
Her appearance did not truly belong to the Goddess Ereshkigal, but was rather in the state of a Pseudo-Servant, having possessed the soul of a human whose wavelength closely matched her own.
Despite claiming with the full demeanor of a Goddess of the Underworld that monitoring humans was her duty, she would still say things like, 'So many people rushing into the Underworld all at once will only cause me trouble... Crafting prisons to hold souls is hard work... I wonder if I can provide them with comfortable living quarters...' It was difficult to conceal the side of her that was very good at taking care of people.
She was simply an angel of the Underworld.
In Sumerian mythology, Ishtar, as the Mistress of Heaven, and Ereshkigal, as the Mistress of the Underworld, were rivals. From a mythological perspective, the goddess of harvest Ishtar was the Earth Mother Goddess representing human life, while Ereshkigal, representing human death, was the Goddess of Decay.
In mythology, Ishtar traveled to the Underworld and was killed by Ereshkigal. Even though Ishtar was later resurrected, the reason why she went to the Underworld in the first place, and why Ereshkigal was so deeply enraged, were never mentioned. In this work, it was believed to be due to the two of them being two sides of the same coin.
Ishtar and Ereshkigal; perhaps these two goddesses were the same entity, or divinities split in two from a single goddess.
Because of her extremely high intellect and pride, she devoted herself entirely to the duty of being the master of the Underworld, to the point of becoming a goddess of death and decay whose actions were completely bound.
Jealous of beautiful things, mocking ugly things, killing others so that what she desired would not fall into their hands... Ereshkigal was originally such a being. However, by fusing with the young girl of her vessel, she began to objectively realize that such desires were bad and shameful, and her ferocious nature thus vanished beneath the surface.
However, she had a straightforward personality, so once she got angry, she would show it, becoming the terrifying yet flawed goddess from the myths and legends. Her behavioral principles were Ereshkigal's own, so she was calmer and more self-deprecating than the young girl of her vessel.
She would speak the same lines as Ishtar, but would occasionally use the tone of a noble Ojou-sama.
How to put it... as expected of you, Tohsaka Rin, directly leading two divinities astray with your own humanity.
When straightforward or plunged into a panic, her tone would become somewhat exaggerated, but this was also a manifestation of her true self, someone who strictly followed the rules. Ever since the Age of Gods, Ereshkigal had felt pain and hatred because she was despised by others and forced to live in the shadows.
She even harbored extremely maiden-like wishes such as, 'I want to live freely like Ishtar, too,' and 'I want to meet someone who knows I am the master of the Underworld but doesn't care about my status and will just stay by my side.'
Just as she was internally conflicted over thoughts like, 'I don't deny villains, and evil also helps humans in an evil way, so why is everyone so afraid?!' she learned of the impending Finality that the world of Mesopotamia was about to face. To protect humanity in her own way, she joined the Three Goddess Alliance and became an enemy of Uruk.
In the original texts of Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal governed the growth and decay of plants, controlled snakes and dragons, and could freely manipulate the Underworld's messengers, the Gallu Spirits.
Finally, some Gallu Spirits could no longer hold back and lunged straight at Xia Yu.
However, facing the overwhelming basic physical attributes of a Herrscher, these mob enemies could only be picked off one by one by Xia Yu's shots.
Even without using the immensely powerful Blazing Hope, these little minions couldn't do a single thing to Xia Yu.
She leisurely strolled among the enemies, occasionally delivering a stylish execution shot. Those Gallu Spirits simply couldn't keep up with her speed.
Speaking of Gallu Spirits, they were a type of evil spirit of the Underworld in Sumerian mythology. It was said they had slender builds and wore weapons at their waists. They appeared in the story "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld." By the time Inanna reached the Underworld, she had already lost all her magical power, yet she remained arrogant and domineering, demanding that Ereshkigal abdicate her throne. As a result, Ereshkigal sent the Gallu Spirits to beat her to death.
Later, when Enki sent help to rescue Inanna from the Underworld, there were still two Gallu Spirits relentlessly pursuing her, demanding that Inanna find a scapegoat to die in her place, otherwise they wouldn't let her go. In the end, when Inanna saw that her husband Dumuzid was not grieving her death at all, but was instead wearing magnificent clothes and throwing a wild party, she sent her husband to be her scapegoat.
This is also why in FGO, even though Dumuzid is Ishtar's husband, he is always seen with Ereshkigal.
He's the spoils of war (laughs).
And right as she was weaving through the enemies like a dragon, in a dim place far away, a pair of eyes blinked rapidly as they watched the battle over here.
'Where did this person come from?'
Ereshkigal looked at the scene of that valiant white-haired young girl weaving through her Gallu Spirits with matchless agility, and she couldn't help but marvel, 'So cool!'
'Wait, no, she's an enemy! What kind of good person would barge into the Underworld at a time like this!'
Actually, good people wouldn't barge into the Underworld either, right?
Well, regardless, she wasn't on her side. Ereshkigal blinked and started to truly command those disorganized Gallu Spirits.
Very quickly, Xia Yu noticed the change in her enemies' attack patterns; they were beginning to launch organized, orderly assaults.
Seeing this, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
In the Underworld, there was only one person who could do this.
Ereshkigal, you're watching me, right!
In the shadows, Ereshkigal shuddered for some unknown reason.
But her hands didn't stop for a single moment, commanding wave after wave of Gallu Spirits to charge forward fiercely.
And then came defeat after crushing defeat. Damn it, that person was just too agile! With every attack, she could find an angle to break through her blockade!
Finally, after the fifth siege was declared a failure, Ereshkigal blushed.
The young girl's blush surpasses all sweet words (laughs).
Her figure darkened, and the beautiful, charming young girl vanished in an instant, replaced by a super gigantic Gallu Spirit.
I don't believe it, I can't even deal with you!
How can I, a grand Goddess of the Underworld, be so humiliated inside my own Underworld!
Those giant skeletal claws swiped right at that annoying girl!
Seeing this, the dual pistols in Xia Yu's hands combined, and the Four-Core Greatsword reappeared in the world.
You've finally come out, Ereshkigal!
She gripped the hilt tightly with both hands and began to exert force.
'Wait, what is that?' Ereshkigal watched in terror as the energy reaction on that little fly who was previously just running fast soared higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, it broke through the Chief God level, and that terrifying energy completely converged onto that greatsword!
"With this raging fire..."
"Stop... Stop..."
"Severing all..."
"Stop it right now!!!" That super gigantic Gallu Spirit instantly performed a standard French military salute, throwing its hands high into the air. "Absolutely do not swing that!"
Ereshkigal's eyes practically popped out of her head. If that strike hit the Underworld... all her efforts over the years would go down the drain.
Even if she could block it herself, the souls she had gathered all around wouldn't be able to withstand it!
As the Mistress of the Underworld, she was immortal in the Underworld, so she was confident she could defeat the enemy before her. At worst, she'd just have to suffer a bit more, but she could always rely on her immortal body to wear her down.
But if that happened, all her years of hard work would be completely ruined.
Ereshkigal could not bring herself to abandon so many souls.
So she could only humiliatingly raise her hands in surrender and see if they could talk it out first.
If they could come to an agreement, they'd talk. If they couldn't, well, taking one hit wouldn't kill her anyway.
Although Chief God-level magical energy was powerful, she, Ereshkigal, was no pushover. In Sumerian mythology, she was also one of the Chief Gods, not to mention she was fighting on her home turf.
"This... lady," Ereshkigal asked in humiliation. "What business do you have coming to my Underworld?"
"Me? I don't know," Xia Yu shrugged at this and put away the greatsword. "I closed my eyes and opened them, and I was here. I was even wondering where this place was."
"This is the Great Underground Underworld of Sumer!" Hearing this, Ereshkigal immediately answered, "Living one, this is not a place you should come to! The living should not set foot in the kingdom of the dead!"
"This is a desecration and provocation of the Underworld's order! The grand administrator of the Underworld, Lady Ereshkigal, will not allow anything that desecrates the Underworld to occur!"
"Actually, I didn't want to either," Xia Yu blinked and said. "But what can you do when fate decrees it? How about we negotiate?"
"You let me out? That way, you won't have to worry about the Underworld's order being disrupted."
Hearing this, Ereshkigal's eyes lit up. In truth, she didn't want to fight such a strong opponent either; she wasn't that battle maniac from South America.
As a member of the Three Goddess Alliance, Ereshkigal could be considered quite a slacker. Her slogans about destroying humanity were shouted loud enough to shake the heavens, but all she did was quietly reap the souls of the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, bringing them to the Underworld to protect them.
Her original intention was also to protect Sumer, because she felt she wouldn't be a match for those two goddesses. Setting aside the fake Tiamat, the one in the rainforest was a genuine Quetzalcoatl, the absolute peak of the South American pantheons.
So she could only compromise for the time being, endure the hardships, and then quietly carry out her secret plans behind the backs of the other two goddesses.
As long as she collected all the souls of the people of Uruk into her Underworld, then even if the outside world fought to the death, they would at least still have a sliver of hope, wouldn't they.
She had joined the Three Goddess Alliance harboring such thoughts.
But Ereshkigal didn't know that the big sister from South America wasn't actually a bad person either. Despite shouting about Lucha Libre all day, she hadn't actually killed anyone; she had taken them all back and raised them.
Among the three goddesses, there was only one who was actually making moves, and that was Gorgon, who was impersonating Tiamat.
She was also the greatest threat to Uruk right now.
Ereshkigal quickly calculated in her heart whether or not to let her out.
If she didn't let her go, her Underworld would definitely suffer, and the souls she had gathered with such great difficulty would all go to waste.
But if she let her go... coming to the Underworld whenever she pleased and leaving whenever she wanted, where would that leave her reputation as the Mistress of the Underworld?
One had to know that even the most arrogant Ishtar had to lose a layer of skin before she could return from barging into the Underworld.
If she just let someone go like this... this was completely against the rules!
But Ereshkigal looked at the other party's red greatsword and the four brightly shining gems on it... and then looked at the strange, powerful energy on the other party's body...
Forget it, forget it. The great cause takes priority; I'll just endure a momentary humiliation.
She intentionally pinched her voice and said majestically, "Since you strayed in by mistake, why do you not leave at once!"
"I'd love to, I just can't find the way out," Xia Yu shrugged, looking at the deadpan giant skeleton.
Keep pretending, just keep pretending!
"I am not an unreasonable person either," Ereshkigal breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Since the other party wanted to leave, she wouldn't fight her to the death.
"Go, follow that Gallu Spirit."
A small, gray skeleton flew out.
"It will lead you out of the Underworld," Ereshkigal said excitedly. "Remember, once you leave, you must not return. The Underworld is not a place for the living."
"I understand, I understand," Xia Yu nodded with a smile upon hearing this, and then spoke up, "But since I'm already here, could I perhaps pay a visit to the legendary Lord Ereshkigal, whose beauty is said to outshine the moon and put the flowers to shame?"
"Please, just one look!"
"Wh... what do you mean outshines the moon and puts the flowers to shame!" Ereshkigal questioned in flustered embarrassment upon hearing this.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!
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