Shiomi's crimson spear carved a sharp arc through the air, clashing against Maanna with a burst of blinding sparks.
"Urgh...!"
Though she managed to avoid a direct strike, the sheer force of the collision nearly caused Ishtar to lose control of her weapon.
A human—wielding monstrous strength like this—was absurd!
What made it worse was that this human could float in midair.
"The sky is my domain! Humans should keep their feet on the ground where they belong!"
As the goddess of the heavens, the sky was her pride. Shiomi soaring freely through it was a direct insult to her dignity.
Maanna spun rapidly in Ishtar's hands, transforming into a projectile more savage than a rampaging chariot, barreling straight at him.
"You know... you're not really good at fighting, are you? You just use overwhelming force to bully average opponents, don't you?"
Shiomi fell back, letting himself drop to evade Maanna's charge. Even as he dodged, he spoke with casual ease.
"Don't get cocky!"
As her attack missed, Ishtar braked sharply, twisting midair alongside her flying ship.
Golden magical energy gathered into a glowing blade, slicing downward toward Shiomi.
But after just two exchanges, her full attention had been drawn to him—completely forgetting he had three other companions.
Before the blade could reach him, a blue magical spear intercepted it with a thunderous impact.
"Urgh—!"
Ishtar let out a deeper cry of pain as she adjusted herself midair and traced the attack's source.
She saw Morgan now floating alongside them, having taken advantage of Ishtar's distraction to unleash a spell that bypassed her Magic Resistance.
And it wasn't just one spear—wave after wave of blue lances followed, timed precisely to leave just enough reaction space to disrupt her rhythm without giving her a chance to fully counter.
The resulting barrage of explosions didn't deal a fatal blow, but they did destabilize her flight, sending her plummeting toward the ground.
Just before impact, Ishtar twisted midair, regaining control and preparing to retaliate against the two in the sky.
Whoosh—
A cold red spear pressed against the back of her head. A slight push would drive it through her throat.
"Checkmate, Goddess Ishtar," said Scáthach.
"...This sensation... the power to slay gods..." Ishtar didn't turn her head. "Are you a Heroic Spirit who has slain deities?"
"I wouldn't go that far," Scáthach replied with a soft smile. "Just a woman who refuses to die."
Shiomi and Morgan descended, landing beside Sakura as they surrounded Ishtar.
There was one thing Ishtar had to admit: she wasn't suited for combat. After all, war was never her domain—only victory.
Morgan raised her hand, fingers curling.
Chains extended from the void, winding tightly around Ishtar.
They weren't as absolute as the Chains of Heaven, but they carried potent binding Magecraft. Caught off guard and unable to resist in time, Ishtar found herself firmly restrained.
"What's your plan? Tie me up—?"
Ishtar scowled at the group, just about to lash out with a question—when her voice abruptly cut off.
A moment later, she looked up again, her expression suddenly calm, even friendly.
"Oh my, it's already dark? Didn't expect to see you all again so soon. Good morning—" Her tone had subtly shifted. Though she greeted the four of them cheerfully, her face quickly twisted in confusion. "Wait a second! Why am I tied up?! I thought we agreed to cooperate!"
At her reaction, Shiomi raised an eyebrow and turned to Morgan with a questioning glance. She couldn't help but laugh and waved a hand, releasing the chains.
"That voice... I take it you're in control now, Ereshkigal?" Shiomi asked, arms folded as he sat casually on a broken wall nearby.
"Pretty much," Ereshkigal replied. "But wow, you guys really have terrible luck. Just left the Underworld and already got jumped by Ishtar?"
To make her identity unmistakable, the body's hair turned golden in the blink of an eye.
"Actually, scratch that... you managed to capture Ishtar alive. If I took over afterward—"
The goddess of the Underworld shivered slightly at the thought.
She might've underestimated them. If they'd fought her in the Underworld, even she couldn't guarantee victory.
Shiomi's powers alone, already far beyond the norm, were no small threat.
Thank goodness they hadn't fought.
Thank goodness they still preferred peaceful resolutions.
"You could say our luck wasn't all bad," Scáthach said, waving a hand. "We were going to rest in Kutha for the night, then head to Mount Ebih to confront Ishtar at her temple. But why wait? Since she came to us, let's go ahead and fulfill that little agreement you made with my beloved disciple."
"...Well..." Ereshkigal hesitated.
Her relationship with Ishtar was... complicated. Not something that could be labeled simply as good or bad.
They were sisters, after all.
Yet the elder sister was doomed to an eternity alone in the Underworld, while the younger flew freely across the heavens, doing as she pleased.
Ereshkigal couldn't help but envy that freedom.
The current control over Ishtar's body stemmed from a pact born of that long-ago encounter—when her sister had once trespassed into the Underworld, and Ereshkigal had struck her down, seizing her divine power. When she returned it, a binding agreement had been forged.
"If you're still unsure, we can give you more time," Morgan offered. "But Ishtar will be brought back to Uruk. What King Gilgamesh decides to do with her... is out of our hands."
"...No need."
Ereshkigal wasn't about to let this opportunity go. If anything, she just found herself feeling a little sorry for her sister.
"Then—" Shiomi gave Morgan a nod. "Let my wife place the binding spell. That'll completely suppress Ishtar's divinity and put her into deep sleep. That way, Mesopotamia will have only one goddess left."
"The last... goddess..." Ereshkigal echoed softly, understanding the full weight of those words.
"I can't believe it," Romani chimed in, a mix of astonishment and admiration in his voice. "You went into the Underworld, made a pact with the goddess there, and used it to take down another goddess?! You really do have a thing for dangerous plans!"
"I'm just going with the flow," Shiomi replied. "Whether it's Ishtar or the Three Goddess Alliance—if we want to protect Uruk and fix this Singularity, we have to deal with them one way or another."
He gazed into the unseen depths of the forest ahead, his voice solemn.
"If only the other two goddesses could be resolved this peacefully... that would make things much easier."