Kutha was located northeast of Uruk. The distance wasn't exactly short, but it wasn't particularly far either.
Just as Siduri had said, the land to the northeast could basically be considered Ishtar's domain. Although it bordered the territory of the Goddess of Beasts, the two forces hadn't clashed.
Or rather, there hadn't been any large-scale conflicts.
After all, unlike Gorgon, Ishtar didn't have numerous subordinates, nor did she occupy land.
She merely held dominance over the skies, flying freely over the northeastern region of Uruk. Even when she saw Beasts running rampant in her territory, she usually didn't bother interfering.
At most, she'd bomb the ground on a whim or when she was in a bad mood, destroying both the Beasts and the terrain.
Perhaps because of that, the number of Beasts in the northeast wasn't particularly high—at least compared to the beast-infested northern region, it was significantly better.
On the way to Kutha, Rozen and Mash even saw several ranches, a sign that the threat from the Beasts was relatively mild.
Of course, not very large didn't mean there was no threat.
Rozen and Mash encountered multiple waves of Beasts. Although they considered going around them, they ultimately decided to wipe them out on the spot.
This was also to reduce the Beast population in the northeast, minimizing the threat to the ranches and cities.
So even though it cost them some time, Rozen and Mash chose not to bypass the Beasts, instead launching extermination battles. They even detoured at times to eliminate nearby Beast packs—doing, in a sense, the most humane thing.
Under such circumstances, even though they were delayed, Rozen and Mash still arrived at Kutha before nightfall.
Only…
"So quiet..."
Standing in the streets of Kutha, Mash couldn't help but whisper.
Rozen didn't look much better.
"Seems like there's not a single living soul in this city."
Rozen glanced around to confirm.
Using his Wise Eye to observe, Rozen was certain—not only was there no human presence in Kutha, there wasn't even a trace of Beast spiritual energy.
The buildings were all perfectly intact. The roadside stores and stalls were still in place, with goods arranged neatly—there were no signs of disorder. But there were no people. The stillness gave off a strange sense of lifelessness—or perhaps, of death.
To be honest, this kind of situation was not only suspicious—it was downright chilling.
Everything was left as if nothing had happened, and yet there wasn't a single person around. The eerie stillness was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
But that couldn't be helped.
"According to the information provided by that Siduri, the people of Kutha were just like those in Uruk who had their souls taken by the Garula spirits—they all died silently in a single night, not a single one survived."
Olga Marie's voice, tinged with tension, came from Rozen's wrist communicator.
"The soul-less bodies were all transported to Uruk, which is why there's nothing here," Da Vinci chimed in casually.
"But it's still strange—there isn't even a single Beast. We detected strong mana and life signals around Kutha, indicating many Beasts nearby. Yet not a single one dares enter the city. Truly baffling."
Roman's tone turned serious.
Even Mash spoke up.
"I heard from Miss Siduri that half a year ago, when the northern cities were suddenly attacked by Beasts and various anomalies occurred, all life in Kutha was silently extinguished."
Mash spoke softly.
"That was when King Gilgamesh claimed to have seen the future and made the reckless decision to initiate the Heroic Spirit Summoning, because the current crisis couldn't be solved by one person's strength alone."
It was after that that Gilgamesh ordered Babylon dismantled, using its materials and resources to build the Beast Front, raising the northern wall from Uruk's northern border.
Afterward, Gilgamesh dispatched Ushiwakamaru and Benkei to Kutha for a rescue mission. But all they found were citizens who had lost their souls, sleeping silently and forever.
Since then, Kutha became a cursed land. Not just humans—even Beasts avoided it.
Thinking about it carefully, that made sense.
"This place reeks of death, who'd dare come here?"
Rozen remarked.
From his observation, the entire city was shrouded in deathly miasma—at least ten times denser than that in Uruk, turning it into a city of death.
With death this thick, even the strongest human wouldn't survive more than a few days before succumbing.
Even Gorgon's Beasts couldn't last long in a place like this.
Given that, anyone willing to approach this city would be the strange one.
If this world were like the one in Tokyo Ravens, then just this concentration of death would cause a chain reaction of spiritual disasters, summoning Hyakki Yagyō and plunging all into ruin.
From that perspective, this really did seem like the handiwork of the Goddess of the Underworld.
"I imagine the coldness of the Underworld must be hundreds of times more intense than the death aura here. Just entering it would be fatal to most people, right?"
Which only showed how dangerous descending into the Underworld would be this time.
But Rozen and Mash had to go.
The only question was—
"How do we get to the Underworld, Senpai?"
Mash asked the question for now.
Rozen wanted to answer.
But before that, there was a problem to take care of.
"Let's put that aside for now." Rozen smirked. "Get ready, Mash—the unreasonable goddess is coming."
Hearing this, Mash froze for a moment before her expression changed.
She immediately leapt in front of Rozen, and with a flash of light, her Round Table Shield appeared in hand.
"Spiritual foundation detected!"
In Chaldea, everyone cried out in surprise.
And then—
"Who are you calling unreasonable !?"
With that fiery voice, countless flashes of light rained down from the sky like a storm.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Explosions erupted across Kutha, the ground shattering at every impact, raising dust clouds everywhere. The devastation was overwhelming.
The flashes came quickly and disappeared just as fast. As the dust settled, a ruined, cratered landscape was revealed.
Rozen stood still where he was.
Before him, Mash had already raised her shield, blocking every single flash.
And then—
"Barging into someone else's turf and talking trash behind their back—do you seriously think I'm afraid of you!?"
With those words, a figure riding a heavenly vessel slowly descended from midair.
It was none other than Ishtar.