"Sorry, you just have this 'loser' vibe about you. I couldn't resist teasing you."
As the record holder for the fastest dismissal—akin to a company going bankrupt on her first day of work—Eresh often found herself the target of bullying.
"Losing to King Hassan isn't anything to be ashamed of. Even in the Underworld, he comes and goes as he pleases."
"Loser..."
The golden-haired, pigtail-wearing Eresh didn't understand the word's meaning, but she knew it wasn't a compliment, and her spirits sank further.
"My Goddess, I've overcome your trial as well. You should uphold your end of the bargain and assist me, as agreed."
Jiang You didn't activate the Shadow Game, reasoning that it would make raising her Affection later easier. Since it wasn't mandatory, he needed to first gain Ereshkigal's approval.
"Ugh... I promised I wouldn't become an accomplice to the destruction of the Human Order."
"I know, I know. You adore humanity the most."
Jiang You had no intention of doing that anyway.
"I'm saving the world in my own way, and merely collecting some compensation along the way. You only know Quetzalcoatl's Authority, right? Unlike you, she can resurrect humans who die within the range of her Authority. Those humans never truly die."
"It's not like I adore humans..."
Ereshkigal would never admit she painstakingly wove spear-shaped cages to provide comfortable dwellings for souls. "I merely want to imprison souls! If humans disappeared, it would be quite inconvenient for me, that's all! Since you're keeping your word, I'll cooperate with you too."
"Alright, alright, this is your area of expertise. You call the shots."
Jiang You didn't press the matter. After all, most of Type-Moon's deities had a soft spot for humans. "Then you should send me back out. I don't know how Medusa will explain my sudden teleportation to the others... though they're probably used to such strange occurrences by now."
"Send you back out?" Ereshkigal blinked. "You... should just go back the way you came. I'll keep my promise and won't use my Authority to stop you."
"..."
Jiang You hadn't expected Ereshkigal to refuse even this simple request. Just how low was his Affection level with her? "Then which way leads out? Should I just follow that undead procession heading outside?"
"Within the range of my Authority, the souls of humans automatically appear in a certain location within the Underworld upon death. That's not the exit." Ereshkigal glanced at the direction Jiang You pointed. "A direct path to the outside world doesn't exist, of course."
"So I have no choice but to rely on you, then."
Why doesn't this isolated map even have a teleportation function? I'll have to suggest adding that to the feedback.
Ereshkigal sensed Jiang You had misunderstood something. "I'm so sorry, but if you were hoping I could get you out of here, I can't. I can't even leave myself. How could I possibly get someone else out?"
Seeing Ereshkigal's crestfallen expression, Jiang You realized he had misjudged her. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but that she simply couldn't.
Still, all hope wasn't lost. In this era, the Underworld hadn't yet fully separated from the mortal realm. According to the plot, this place was located several hundred meters beneath Kusa. If they could blast through that thick layer of earth, they might find a way out.
Jiang You knew he couldn't do it himself; he lacked any Skills with sufficient destructive power.
So he pinned his hopes on Ereshkigal. "Then use your Noble Phantasm to blast through the ceiling?"
"I already told you I can't!"
Ereshkigal understood Jiang You's plan. It would indeed work, but "I've already explained that I'm forbidden from leaving the Underworld! That includes any sneaky tricks like this! Besides, this is my ceiling! Can you at least consider how I feel about this?"
Jiang You pondered. Among the servants currently under his command, only Quetzalcoatl possessed the power to instantly obliterate the entire surface layer. But even aside from how Ereshkigal would react, Quetzalcoatl wouldn't expend so much magical power just to pull him out.
As for Hundred Faces, she could certainly organize a team to dig downward, but time was against them. Even bringing in modern excavation equipment would be far from sufficient.
That left only one option: seek help from the all-purpose Caster.
So, Jiang You summoned Medea from her task of imbuing weapons with Quetzalcoatl's Authority in the armory.
"Speak," Medea said, accustomed to Jiang You's sudden summons. "What trouble have you gotten into this time? Or do you have another one of your wild ideas?"
After all, among the people Jiang You had at his disposal, only she and Hundred Faces were suitable for such tasks. She hadn't considered the implications so carefully at the time, but if given the chance again, she'd likely do the same. Heroic Spirits rarely got opportunities to act freely. She just needed to endure until the next hapless Caster appeared.
"As you can see, this is the Underworld. I'm trapped here. Could you figure out a way to teleport me back?"
"The Underworld?" Medea's impression of the Underworld still lingered from her dealings with Hades. "You overestimate me. Even with all my power, I can't retrieve someone from the Underworld. Among all the Greek heroes and demigods, only Hercules, Orpheus, Odysseus... Well, alright, there are quite a few, actually."
"In any case, I can't do it."
Medea had unwavering confidence in her judgment, or rather, a clear understanding of her own limitations. "Even if this isn't the Greek Underworld, it should be similar. Typically, in every pantheon, the God of the Underworld ranks just below the Great God. Such a deity, who governs life and death, is beyond my ability to defy."
"Why don't you praise her a little more?" Jiang You suggested, glancing at Ereshkigal beside him, who was beaming with pride. "Let her enjoy it."
"...Who is this?" Medea asked, a nagging feeling that she recognized the woman. "Have we met before?"
"This is the God of the Underworld you mentioned—Ereshkigal, the Mesopotamian God of the Underworld, Eresh for short," Jiang You introduced. "By the way, since the Great God rarely descends directly, she's currently using Rin Tohsaka's body."
"Rin Tohsaka... She's from the 21st century, right? I don't quite understand." Medea, unaware that she would later encounter servants with identical faces, continued, "If she's the God of the Underworld, why is she standing with you? You didn't come here willingly, did you?"
"Simple: all you need to know is that she lost to me."
"Somehow, I'm not particularly surprised."
Though Medea had never faced the Lion King directly, she understood the power of the Holy Lance. It was only natural that Jiang You had defeated the God of the Underworld.
"Since she's agreed, I'll give it a try. The opportunity to use the God of the Underworld's Authority in the Underworld is too rare to pass up. Let's see how the magical power of the Underworld differs from that of the living world."