"Yes! She possesses the authority of the heavens, while Ere-sama commands the earth!"
"She governs harvest and life, and Ere-sama stands for decay and death!"
"She receives offerings in the grand city of Uruk, while Ere-sama reigns over the entire Underworld!"
"Besides, you personally taught her a lesson. In a one-on-one, you totally dominated her!"
The ancient snake perked up, raising his head with excitement, hissing with enthusiasm.
The subtle praise and admiration in his words made Ereshkigal, who usually felt inferior when compared to Ishtar, beam with delight. Her gaze softened, finding her little pet more and more pleasing.
But in the next moment, that same passionate little creature suddenly drooped, his voice dropping with gloom.
"But the one flaw... is that she can command the strongest Divine Beast, Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, while I'm just a useless snake…"
"I'm the only living being in the Underworld, and yet I'm so weak… I've brought shame to you…"
Then, gathering his spirits again, the ancient snake's vertical pupils sparkled, filled with longing and determination.
"Maybe I'm weak now, but someday I'll be as strong as Gugalanna—the mightiest beast in the heavens! I'll become the strongest Divine Beast of the Underworld!"
"Ere-sama is perfect! I won't let your name be tarnished because of me!"
That sudden, heartfelt cry pulled Ereshkigal into silence. A smile slowly spread across her delicate face as she gently patted the little creature's head.
So, this little one wanted to grow stronger just to defend her?
He actually had the audacity to dream of matching the mightiest beast of the heavens. What a silly, adorable fool.
But then again, what if they did meet in the future?
That awful rival, Ishtar, riding Gugalanna in all her glory, galloping through the sky…
And her… playing with a snake?
No way! The contrast would be unbearable! How humiliating!
With her overactive imagination, Ereshkigal could vividly picture Ishtar atop Gugalanna, laughing down at her with smug arrogance. The thought alone made her blood boil.
Yes! That settles it!
Even if she couldn't train Samael into something on Gugalanna's level, she'd at least make him a capable guardian beast of the Underworld!
"Learning Magecraft and combat skills is no easy task. Are you sure you can handle it?"
The determined goddess leaned on her spear and asked seriously.
"For Ere-sama! I'll take down that bull!"
The ancient snake lifted his triangular head with excitement, bared his fangs with a hiss, and practically sparkled with joy.
Ereshkigal coughed and blushed, but didn't stop him. It was clear she was quite pleased.
Perfect—mission accomplished!
With a lofty goal in mind, there was a good chance Ereshkigal would now throw herself fully into his training.
And if, in the process, he happened to awaken the divine power gifted by the Mother of Genesis, Tiamat, and unleashed some unbelievable ability—he'd have the perfect scapegoat ready.
After all, if he ever wanted to challenge the Babylonian gods, play the long game, shake their foundations, and usher in Tiamat's return…
He'd first have to learn to hide, to mask the unusual traits that made him a target.
Only by lying low could he survive.
"Alright then. Starting today, I'll set aside time every evening to train your combat skills."
The diligent goddess of the Underworld straightened her expression and declared her plan solemnly.
Then, her eyes drifted toward the mountains, where the glow of drifting soul flames made her cough awkwardly, her expression turning a bit awkward.
"But before that, there's a crucial skill you need to master."
"What is it?"
The ancient snake's tail brushed across his head like he was scratching it, his eyes full of eager curiosity.
"Refining metal with Mana, solidifying barriers, and constructing Spear Cages!"
Ereshkigal patted the ancient snake's head with grave seriousness.
Ian's face froze. The corners of his mouth twitched.
You seriously want me to believe you're teaching this for my benefit, and not just to offload work?
How could you bear to squeeze your cute, loyal pet like this?
Mining and forging Spear Cages by day, learning combat at night, even sharing your bed—all this without pay or even three meals a day?
Wait, scratch that. Three meals a day my tail! There's barely any living beings down here besides me!
He wasn't starving only because he survived on gnawing Mana Crystals. That's basically eating dirt!
Even the shady sweatshops in his past life as a corporate drone weren't this cruel!
And worse—when has any Lancer in history ever had a happy ending?
Starting with Spear Cage crafting? He might as well prepare for a Luck E curse.
As if he wasn't unlucky enough already. Wouldn't it be better if Ereshkigal went and tunneled through Uruk or messed with Gilgamesh instead of tormenting him?
Seriously, protect the animals—it's everyone's responsibility!
Noticing the strange look the snake was giving her, Ereshkigal seemed a little guilty. Her eyes darted away as she quickly changed the subject.
"Well, no need to start with actual Mana manipulation today. It's still a bit early for that."
"I'll begin by explaining the basic knowledge about the Age of Gods and the world of Mesopotamia…"
Ian lowered his gaze and obediently coiled himself in front of his Master, neatly arranging his writing board and stone stylus, ready to take notes.
Fine. Making Spear Cages can count as tuition.
After all, his Master not only had to protect human souls but was also bound by the contract of the Three Goddess Alliance. That couldn't be easy.
Understanding is everything.
Seeing the ancient snake's earnest attitude, Ereshkigal nodded in satisfaction. She organized her thoughts and began to speak in a contemplative tone.
"To begin with, there's a general principle when it comes to Mystery: the older something is, the more mysterious it becomes; and the more mysterious it is, the more powerful it is."
"That's because, when the world was still engulfed in chaos, the ancient beings known as [gods] were born from the purest source essence."
"For them, absorbing Ether and manipulating the natural laws was easier than breathing—it was an innate authority."
"So, those earliest beings started from the highest point imaginable, with nearly limitless room for growth."
"But as heaven and earth separated, as the sun, moon, and stars began to rise and fall, as time and space were carved apart and the concepts of life and death, growth and decay took shape—the framework of the world began to solidify."
"Throughout this process, terrestrial life evolved and multiplied in waves."
"Creatures that once could absorb Ether and carried bloodlines linked to the source gradually saw those traits degraded and diluted. And as the structure of the world stabilized, their growth potential was increasingly suppressed."
Ian listened intently, occasionally nodding his snake head in agreement, processing her words through his own understanding and finding them deeply resonant.
Most mythologies share a common theme in how they depict the origin of the world.
In the beginning, the air was saturated with high concentrations of Ether, food was abundant, milk and honey flowed across the land, and all things grew freely.
And in that high-purity energy, gods were born—everything was as surreal and beautiful as a rainbow-hued soap bubble.
But as the world took shape, these "soap bubbles" floating in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers began shedding their dreamlike and irrational qualities, slowly sinking toward the real world's surface.
As Mystery faded, the infinitely malleable Age of Gods began to collapse, eventually degrading into the fixed, structured reality of the human world.
At last, each World Egg born from the Sea of Imaginary Numbers shed its protective membrane and anchored itself to different regions of Earth, forming the various origins of human civilizations.
If, during this process, one were to insert high-purity Mana blocks into a World Egg where Mystery had faded—recharging it, distorting its reality, and triggering a detonation aimed at the foundation of human civilization...
Then rebooting the entire era would become possible.
However, humanity's civilization is multi-origin. Their greatest strength lies in rebirth from ruin.
Detonating a single node wouldn't be enough to wipe out the miracles these small beings have created.
That's why the Demon King Goetia, in his attempt to rewrite human history, planted Holy Grails in seven key civilizational nodes, hoping to tear down the entire edifice.
But now, those explosion-like cavities have been sealed off, and no one even knows who ended up swallowing the Grail meant to be "delivered."
That troublemaking madman still roaming outside the World Egg ended up losing everything—both the plan and the pieces.
But what Ian couldn't wrap his head around was this: if even Tiamat, stripped of her divinity, was able to resolve such a minor threat…
Then what were the gods, who were supposed to protect the Mesopotamian region, doing?
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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