Amber was distracted—again. Whether it was nerves or sheer obliviousness, no one could tell. But thankfully, Ishtar took a closer look at her. Or rather, at Fu Hua's composed, ethereal appearance.
The goddess's fury softened. Her divine pride took over, and the punishment she'd been ready to unleash twisted into something far more dramatic.
"In that case… unless you dedicate your body and soul to me, I won't forgive you easily!"
"Huh."
Before Amber could respond, Gilgamesh snorted. "As expected of you—a fool with no memory."
"Ha!?" Ishtar's blood pressure spiked.
Gilgamesh waved her off. "If you're here to throw a tantrum, leave. Uruk doesn't host petty squabbles."
"I didn't mean to fight," Amber said calmly. "Forgive me, goddess. I was simply surprised by your fashion choices. No offense intended."
Everyone glanced between Amber's tightly wrapped Taixu robes and Ishtar's barely-there divine ensemble. The contrast was… stark.
Ishtar noticed too. But she didn't feel shame. She was a goddess, after all. Mortal standards didn't apply. If short skirts were normal now, why should ancient modesty dictate her style?
Still, she couldn't help but glance at Fu Hua's serene face and dignified posture. It stung a little.
Fortunately, Ishtar was nothing if not distractible. She quickly remembered her real purpose: to ask Gilgamesh about something.
"Forget it. If you don't want to be buried with me, stand aside. I'm only here for him."
Gilgamesh smirked. "The mighty goddess Ishtar… worrying about collateral damage? How strange."
"I didn't—! Ugh, why do I always trip over my own words!" Ishtar fumed, her golden eyes flashing. "I came to ask something, but since you won't answer, I've changed my mind!"
Magic surged in her hands—dense, divine, incomprehensible to human mages.
"This tower must be knocked down!"
Gilgamesh sneered. "You destroy your own home with your mouth alone. And you still call yourself Uruk's patron saint? Fine. Chaldea—if you claim to defend Uruk from the Three Goddesses, then destroy her here!"
"Eh…?" Fujimaru hesitated. He liked Ishtar since she had indeed helped them once after all. But the Three Goddess Alliance had brought ruin and that was something he couldn't ignore that either.
"Mash! Ana!"
"Yes, Senpai!" Mash stepped forward without hesitation.
Ana sighed at being lumped in again, but followed silently.
Fujimaru turned to Amber. "Immortal…"
He remembered the battle with Enkidu. Mash had struggled, but held her own. Only the Holy King had ever made him feel truly powerless. But Gilgamesh's duel had shown him the gap between mortals and gods.
Only god like beings could face gods.
He looked at Amber with pleading eyes.
Amber glanced at navigation. The prompt was clear: "Assist Fujimaru."
She nodded.
Ishtar, meanwhile, held her own against three opponents. Her divine nature made her impervious to ordinary magic.
Gilgamesh frowned. "She's still holding back. My patience wears thin, Ishtar!"
"That's my line! Your interference is beyond annoying!"
Neither could fully harm the other. Gilgamesh's divine blood shielded him. Ishtar's magic was blunted by his presence.
"I'm holding back for Uruk's sake—not yours!"
Her expression darkened. "Why do I even care about this city? It's not mine. Enough—I'll end this in one blow!"
"Master!" Mash and Ana braced themselves. Ishtar's magic swelled—far beyond anything they had seen.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. He was far from his prime. His magic was spread thin—supporting summoned heroes and powering Uruk's 300 gates.
He couldn't go all out.
But just as Ishtar prepared to unleash her power, she froze.
Her eyes glazed over. Her body went limp.
She collapsed.
Everyone stared, stunned.
Gilgamesh's gaze snapped to Amber.
Amber had already moved. She caught Ishtar mid-fall, unwilling to let Rin Tohsaka's face hit the ground.
A drone hovered nearby, its sensors locked onto Amber. It hesitated, unsure whether to fire.
Amber, slightly embarrassed, glanced at the drone. 'I didn't expect to move faster than her own weapon…'
"Immortal?" Fujimaru asked, bewildered. "What happened?"
Amber cradled the unconscious goddess. "Don't worry. I just put her to sleep. But divine spirits don't react like humans. So it is best not to get too close."
She had used Shen Yun—the most mysterious and powerful of the five aggregates of Taixu Sword Qi.