Chapter 25: Her Mouth Is Truly Stubborn
"It was you who insisted on fighting me, so take the loss like a good sport, you idiot goddess," Shirou said, crossing his arms.
"Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't use my Noble Phantasm, I would never have lost to someone of your caliber!" Ishtar retorted, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.
"If your strength were even half as tough as your mouth, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Shirou's mockery sent Ishtar's mental state into a tailspin. As the chains tightened further, Ishtar instantly gave up on being stubborn.
"Waaaah—alright, alright! I'll tell you!" Ishtar cried out, her face contorted in pain as she gritted her teeth.
Once Ishtar compromised, Gudako immediately asked, "Why are you attacking Uruk?"
"We are competing to see who can destroy Uruk first and obtain the Holy Grail in King Gilgamesh's possession," Ishtar pouted. "The first goddess to obtain the Uruk Holy Grail will be able to claim that land as her own. That's our reason. Simple, right?"
"What are the true names of the other two?" Gudako followed up.
"I cannot tell you that," Ishtar said.
"Why?"
"Because there is an inviolable commandment among us three goddesses; even if I were killed, I would not speak of it." Ishtar answered with a resolute expression.
Shirou looked at her calmly and said, "I know even if you don't say it. The other two goddesses are Quetzalcoatl and Ereshkigal, right?"
"Y-you... how could you...!?" Ishtar's eyes widened as she stared at him. Then, suddenly realizing something, she flushed a deep shade of red with shame. "Since you already knew, why did you have to ask me?!"
Ishtar felt that her display of "I'd rather die than talk" looked absolutely ridiculous and laughable. This feeling of humiliation made her rage boil over.
At that moment, Ana suddenly spoke up. "Something is approaching this way!"
Hearing this, Gudako, Mash, and the others immediately looked toward the nearby alleyways. Beneath the cover of night, skeleton after skeleton poured into the ruined city, making it look like a dead city in the Underworld. Countless skeletons emerged from the darkness of the houses and alleys, relentlessly closing in.
"Are the ancestors of Kutha all returning home for a family reunion at once?" Merlin asked in surprise.
Ana swung her scythe, shattering the skeletons that approached, and addressed the group: "We should retreat immediately. Thankfully, we have already obtained the target tablet, so the mission can be considered a success."
Ana's words were immediately affirmed by Gudako and Mash.
"Let's escape the city via the rooftops!" Mash proposed.
"Hey! What about me? What about me!?" Ishtar looked at the group of skeletons approaching her and tried to fly into the sky, but remained pinned down by the chains.
Just then, the chains suddenly jerked, pulling the girl's form into Shirou's arms.
"Damn it, don't touch me!" the girl struggled immediately.
"That's not up to you. Just behave like a prisoner," Shirou said ruthlessly, holding her bridal-style as he leapt onto the roof. "Everyone, gather 'round!"
Hearing this, Gudako and Mash, though not entirely sure what he meant, immediately closed in on him. Once everyone was assembled, Shirou activated his magic. A brilliant purple light materialized as a magic circle on the ground, enveloping their bodies and transforming them into particles of light.
The next instant, as everyone opened their eyes, they were looking at the landscape from a mountain peak outside Kutha.
"This is..." Gudako looked at the night view of the city in surprise, a glimmer of awe in her eyes.
"Alright, let's go back. We've added another captured goddess to the count," Shirou looked at Ishtar, who was glaring at him in his arms, and flashed a smile that she perceived as malicious.
"Another? What do you mean?" Ishtar caught the key point in Shirou's words, unable to help but feel a bit startled.
"You'll see once you get to Uruk," Shirou replied with a laugh.
"No! I don't want to go!!" Ishtar began to struggle again, but the chains suddenly tightened, leaving her unable to move. In the end, she could only glare at Shirou like a wriggling caterpillar. "Damn it...!"
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After bringing the Tablet of Destiny and Ishtar back to Uruk, Gilgamesh accepted the tablet and handed over the previously agreed-upon reward. However, because Uruk had no one capable of guarding a goddess, it was ultimately decided that Shirou would have to keep her by his side.
"Let's go, Goddess-sama. Surely you aren't still hoping I'll carry you?" Shirou urged Ishtar, whose wrists were bound by the Chains of Heaven, to pick up the pace.
"I would never have such thoughts! Keep dreaming, you jerk!" Ishtar retorted viciously, followed by a stream of trash talk—calling him a bastard, telling him to drop dead, and so on—grumbling the entire way.
Shirou remained completely indifferent. Even though the goddess had a bad temper, she couldn't seem to spit out any truly malicious vocabulary. If it were up to Shirou, he could have cursed her into questioning her existence using beautiful, postmodern internet slang. But there was no need for that for the time being.
After completing the Tablet of Destiny mission, Shirou, Ishtar, Gudako, and the others headed for the Demonic Front.
"There are so many people here," Mash remarked as she watched the busy soldiers.
Merlin, walking beside them, provided an explanation: "They have been holding off the Demonic Beasts' offensive here for half a year; some preparations are only natural." As he spoke, he observed the soldiers drilling in formation. "As expected of the soldiers under Lord Leonidas's command—they are filled with a sense of urgency."
At that moment, as the city gates gradually opened, the expressions of Gudako and Mash turned serious.
"That over there is... the Northern Wilderness...!"
Just then, screams rang out from the gates, followed by the angry roars of Demonic Beasts.
ROAR—!!!
Numerous red-skinned beasts, shaped like velociraptors, charged through the gates in droves and began attacking the soldiers inside the city.
Seeing this, Mash immediately manifested her cross shield and rushed forward, rescuing a soldier who was about to be bitten by a beast.
"Ana!" Gudako shouted immediately.
"I know!"
The petite girl transformed into an afterimage, darting toward the beasts like an arrow released from a bow. She swung her scythe, dancing like a waltz as she relentlessly reaped the beasts' lives.
Simultaneously, Leonidas I, wearing his helmet, arrived with his spear. He threw the weapon, piercing the head of one of the monsters.
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