12dz Chapter 218 The Shy Ereshkigal
Chapter 218 The Shy Ereshkigal
Chapter 219 The Shy Ereshkigal
He steered the chariot swiftly down from the sky and landed steadily on the ground.
As soon as Kotomine Shirou jumped off the chariot, he was surrounded by Fujimaru Ritsuka and Merlin's group of four.
"Where did you get this tank, Shirou?! It's so cool!"
Approaching Shirou Kotomine's chariot, Ritsuka Fujimaru carefully touched the cool vehicle and then patted the lead Pegasus.
Anna is the same.
Feeling Anna's caresses, the three pegasus horses obediently enjoyed it.
"This is not my chariot, it is the chariot of Achilles."
Faced with Merlin and Mash's scrutinizing gazes, Shirou Kotomine immediately offered an explanation.
Although Merlin and Mashu didn't ask any questions, Shirou Kotomine knew they would definitely inquire about his journey.
This has become the norm.
"Achilles, is that the great hero from Greek mythology?!"
Upon hearing Achilles's name, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately exclaimed in surprise.
Mashu's eyes were also filled with surprise.
After all, Achilles' name is known worldwide.
Therefore, Achilles is an idol for many people in Western society.
For example, Iskandar, the King of Conquerors.
"Yes, it's him."
Kotomine Shirou nodded in confirmation.
"It's actually this great hero? That's wonderful news!"
Knowing Shirou Kotomine's abilities, Ritsuka Fujimaru naturally understood what this meant.
This means that Achilles will now join their fight to save the world as one of their companions.
This will undoubtedly greatly increase our strength.
"Besides this great hero, are there any other powerful Servants?"
Merlin asked expectantly.
Even he was curious about what Kotomine Shirou had gained from this trip.
"Yes, because the Holy Grail War I participated in this time was very unique, so there were quite a few powerful Servants who appeared in this Holy Grail War."
"And some of your former comrades are among them?"
"Our partners?"
Mashu asked, puzzled.
She stretched out her finger and waved it back and forth between Fujimaru Ritsuka, herself, and Merlin.
"We have them all!"
"Who are those people?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly pressed for an answer.
"Karnah, Chiron, Atalanta, Siegfried, Mordred, Vlad III, Semiramis, and Joan of Arc."
Kotomine Shirou named several of the strongest individuals.
"There are quite a few familiar faces here."
Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but sigh.
There were indeed people she knew among them.
Those were their teammates who had fought alongside them in previous singularities.
"However, almost all of those familiar names don't know you. They have no memory of fighting alongside you, but there is one exception."
After saying that, Shirou Kotomine gave him a look that said, "Guess what?"
Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but roll her eyes, and then lowered her head to guess.
"Could it be Lady Joan of Arc?"
Mashu's uncertain voice suddenly came through.
This was indeed her guess.
"Mash's guess was spot on!"
Seeing that Mashu had guessed it, Shirou Kotomine had no intention of continuing to make things difficult for her and Ritsuka Fujimaru, so he directly revealed the answer.
"Is it really Lady Joan of Arc?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes lit up.
In that world where they fought against Jeanne Alter, they had a very good relationship with this noble saint.
"It was Joan of Arc. When I was sending my greetings to her on your behalf, I suddenly remembered our battle in the Singularity."
"So after she learned of my abilities, she took the initiative to join them, intending to help you all in this world one more time."
""
Kotomine Shirou told Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash about Jeanne's thoughts.
Joan of Arc's righteous act immediately moved the two of them deeply.
Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately asked Kotomine Shirou to summon Jeanne d'Arc to express her gratitude.
However, this time Shirou Kotomine did not get her wish.
"You'll have plenty of time to express your gratitude to Joan of Arc later, but we have more important things to deal with right now!"
"Don't forget, that troublesome goddess Ishtar is still around."
Kotomine Shirou helplessly pointed to Ishtar, whom he had placed behind the chariot.
She's clearly a goddess, yet she's so easily overlooked.
Is this a good thing or a tragedy for her?
"I haven't ignored her!"
Anna's calm voice quickly drew the attention of Shirou Kotomine and the others.
She was holding her scythe to Ishtar's throat, preventing her from suddenly rising from the dead.
"Anna, you're so reliable!"
Kotomine Shirou gave a thumbs-up in praise.
Upon hearing this, both Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu blushed.
The two of them had indeed just forgotten about Ishtar.
"Let's hurry and tie her up now. Maybe we can get some rare information from this goddess?"
After being enlightened, Fujimaru Ritsuka's brain immediately regained its intellectual dominance.
She quickly began to offer suggestions.
"yes!"
Compared to her, Mash, who was slightly less intelligent, chose to follow orders when she couldn't think of a perfect solution like Fujimaru Ritsuka.
She immediately removed Ishtar from the chariot.
He then demanded from Merlin the ropes that could bind Ishtar.
Merlin also happened to have something like that.
Soon, the group prepared to find a house to ask Ishtar some questions.
The reason for this choice is that Ishtar has a very proud and arrogant personality, and if she were to wake up in an undignified manner, Fujimaru Ritsuka was worried that she would be completely enraged.
This completely severed any possible channels of communication between the two parties.
Therefore, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that she should be given some dignity.
Shirou Kotomine and Merlin also agreed with her idea.
While searching for a suitable room, Shirou Kotomine and Merlin, who were gradually falling behind, started chatting.
"Merlin, I think I've already guessed the identity of that Lord of the Underworld."
"Coincidentally, I guessed it too."
Shirou Kotomine and Merlin exchanged a glance, then laughed simultaneously.
After all, there were just too many abnormalities about Ishtar.
Merlin, being a clever man, easily deduced the identity of the Lord of the Underworld from the unusual behavior of Ishtar.
"Should we test the waters a bit later?"
"Let's be more direct."
"I think we can be more direct."
"Then it's decided."
In just a few words, Shirou Kotomine and Merlin had already decided on their next move.
We're just waiting for that goddess to wake up.
In a relatively clean room, Ishtar was bound to a chair and unable to move.
However, she was still asleep and had not yet woken up.
Meanwhile, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu stood before her, waiting for her to wake up.
Anna, on the other hand, sat behind the wall to one side, holding a sickle just in case.
As for Shirou Kotomine and Merlin, they sat on either side of the table chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened.
Until Ishtar woke up.
"She's awake."
Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly called out.
Upon hearing this, everyone who had been leisurely stopped what they were doing and unanimously turned their gazes toward this goddess.
"Um, is it dark yet? Good morning."
The goddess spoke naturally, as if she had just woken up after a long sleep.
But she soon realized her situation and then exclaimed in surprise.
"What's going on? Why am I tied up? Where am I? And who are you?"
A variety of questions came out of her mouth one after another.
She spoke very quickly.
"Huh? I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, the last Master of humanity."
Fujimaru Ritsuka was also somewhat baffled by this situation.
They had clearly met many times before and exchanged greetings, and had even just fought.
At this point, making such a question as if they were meeting for the first time was truly hard for her to understand.
So she gave her name and also revealed the identity the other party might ask about: the last Master of humanity.
But the goddess's next answer surprised her even more.
"Huh? What is that thing! I don't know what it is, but aren't you afraid of getting punished for doing this?"
The goddess continued her aggressive questioning.
This unexpected situation clearly surprised her.
Just then, Anna, who had been standing behind Ishtar against the wall, slowly moved her scythe to Ishtar's throat.
"Don't put up a futile resistance!"
Anna warned coldly.
Seeing this, the goddess, who had been emotionally agitated, immediately calmed down.
Ishtar truly felt threatened by that scythe.
After all, Anna herself is not a simple being.
Anna.
Shirou Kotomine, who had remained silent until now, nodded to Anna, and Anna slowly sheathed her weapon.
Seeing that Kotomine Shirou seemed to have something to say, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, who were standing in front of Ishtar, slowly stepped aside, leaving Kotomine Shirou and Ishtar sitting behind them to face each other directly.
"Should I say nice to meet you?"
"Looking at Ishtar across from me," Shirou Kotomine asked with a smile.
"You may not know, but it was I who captured you, goddess."
"Is it you?"
Looking at Shirou Kotomine, Ishtar couldn't help but frown.
Ishtar originally thought that these people had tied her up while she was asleep, but she never expected that they were actually Ishtar who had been defeated and captured.
This situation made her take it seriously.
After all, it represents a different meaning.
"Who are you?"
"I am Shirou Kotomine, a traveler who wanders through different worlds."
Kotomine Shirou introduced himself.
There are quite a few people in this world who know Shirou Kotomine's true identity, which means that Shirou Kotomine doesn't need to worry about his identity being exposed.
This identity even facilitated his actions.
Like this moment.
"Is he someone who can travel to different worlds?"
Upon hearing this, Ishtar looked intently at Shirou Kotomine.
As a deity, she naturally knew that such abilities did indeed exist in this world.
Moreover, those who possess this ability are generally very strong.
This made Ishtar quickly take Shirou Kotomine seriously.
Seeing this, Shirou Kotomine continued to ask the goddess in front of him a question, but this time the question he asked surprised everyone present except Merlin.
"You are not the goddess Ishtar, are you?"
"Or perhaps I should call you Ereshkigal, the mistress of the underworld."
After a brief exchange, Shirou Kotomine immediately delved into the topic.
Kotomine Shirou's words shocked not only the goddess in front of him, but also his companions.
"She's not Ishtar, she's Ereshkigal!?"
Mashu asked in surprise.
Mash, who was well-versed in mythology and history, naturally knew about Ereshkigal.
She is Ishtar's sister, the mistress of the underworld, and the ruler of death and the dead.
"That's right. Do you remember what Ritsuka and I thought after we returned from the Underworld? A Lord of the Underworld descended upon this Singularity, which is why the Underworld, which should have disappeared, reappeared."
"But this ruler of the underworld is very mysterious. No one had mentioned her existence before, not even Merlin knew about her in advance, which is really strange."
"Unless she does exist, but her existence is overshadowed by another goddess, such as Ishtar."
Shirou Kotomine explained in detail to Mash and the people around him.
"Ereshkigal and Ishtar, the mistresses of the underworld, are sisters. You must have arrived at this singularity at the same time during that séance."
"From now on, Ishtar will control this body during the day, and you will operate it at night, and Ishtar won't know you exist, right?"
"That's right, I am the mistress of the underworld, Ereshkigal."
Seeing that Shirou Kotomine had deduced his identity, Ereshkigal no longer bothered to hide it.
She readily admitted that she was Ereshkigal.
"Is that really how it is?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was slightly surprised after hearing this news.
She had never heard of two gods descending into the same body before.
"Why did you three goddesses attack Uruk?!"
Although surprised, Fujimaru Ritsuka also realized that this was a good opportunity to ask questions.
Furthermore, Fujimaru Ritsuka has realized that Ishtar is not a member of the Three Goddesses Alliance, but Ereshkigal is.
And that is indeed the case.
Having acknowledged his identity, Ereshkigal no longer intended to hide anything.
"We are in a competition to see who can destroy Uruk first and who can obtain the Holy Grail from King Gilgamesh first."
"The first goddess to obtain the Uruk Grail will be able to claim this land for herself. That's our reason, simple as it is!"
Ereshkigal explained it casually.
As she said, the reason was simple.
But that's what makes her a goddess.
However, Shirou Kotomine knew that this was not Ereshkigal's true thought.
So, looking at Ereshkigal who was explaining, Shirou Kotomine teased her with a smile.
His gaze was quite unbearable for Ereshkigal; she felt as if the North had seen right through her.
This made her feel very awkward.
So much so that she always tried to turn her head to the side to avoid Kotomine Shirou's gaze.
Gradually, she became somewhat shy.
In fact, Ereshkigal, the mistress of the underworld, was such a simple and honest deity.
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