Gilgamesh quickly withdrew his gaze and continued:
"In short, the initiative is no longer in our hands. All we can do is maintain our current stance and adapt to the changing circumstances. It is highly likely that no major, critical event will occur for quite some time. Until then, Siduri..."
Just as Gilgamesh was speaking, the sound of something moving through the air at extremely high speeds suddenly echoed from above the Ziggurat. The noise grew rapidly closer, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"That insolent fool..."
Having foreseen exactly what was about to happen, Gilgamesh's face instantly darkened.
CRASH!
True to his expectation, the very next second, a massive hole was smashed through the ceiling of the Ziggurat. Amidst a shower of falling rubble and dust, a scantily clad silhouette plummeted downward, riding atop a massive, bow-shaped flying contraption.
"Goldie!"
Ishtar called out the nickname she had so familiarly bestowed upon Gilgamesh. The moment she landed, she began casually surveying the interior architecture of the Ziggurat.
"Eh? Uruk actually didn't suffer any damage at all? I clearly saw some bizarre monster carving a path of destruction straight in this direction... Or did Uruk just get lucky?"
Ishtar brought two fingers together and rested them above her brow, looking around with genuine confusion. Aside from her usual mocking tone, there seemed to be a subtle hint of relief in her voice?
"Isn't the vast majority of the destruction Uruk suffers caused entirely by you, you useless Goddess?! Just think about how many times you've smashed a hole through the roof of my Ziggurat alone!"
"Furthermore! How severely outdated is the information you're relying on?! You only just now decided to come and check on Uruk?! And you call yourself Uruk's Patron Goddess?! I could tie a sheep to a post out there, and it would be more useful than you!"
Gilgamesh pointed a finger straight at Ishtar's face and unleashed a ruthless, verbal barrage.
If it weren't for the fact that she was currently manifesting by possessing a certain unknown Rin Tohsaka—which made her personality significantly more tolerable than her original self—Gilgamesh probably would have stood up and beaten her senseless right then and there.
"Hah—?!"
Ishtar was instantly furious, her voice pitching up indignantly.
However, if one observed her closely, it was obvious that Ishtar was actually feeling a bit guilty—could she honestly admit that the only reason she hadn't come earlier was because she was genuinely terrified?
Mainly because... who wouldn't be terrified of that level of apocalyptic destruction, combined with an aura of pure, suffocating killing intent? Moreover, she was currently in a pseudo-Servant vessel, meaning her combat power was nowhere near her original divine self. At the very least, she needed to find her Bull of Heaven before she even considered fighting something like that, right?
So, thoroughly spooked, Ishtar had been cautiously flying around the continent, prioritizing the search for her missing Bull. Having lost her usual "I am the absolute ruler of the heavens" arrogance, she had also been nervously keeping tabs on the fallout caused by that terrifyingly murderous entity.
It wasn't until she noticed that after the entity beat the living daylights out of Gorgon, it completely vanished, and Uruk remained entirely unscathed, that Ishtar finally mustered the courage to fly over and see if she could gather any intel.
However, Ishtar was, at her core, a willful and arrogant Goddess. Swallowing an insult silently was simply not her style. She immediately decided to flex her divine might.
"Fine, fine, fine! Since you're asking for it, I might as well just blast this entire Ziggurat into the sky!"
"But before I do that, I'm going to teach you, you disrespectful mongrel, a harsh lesson in reverence!"
Ishtar declared, her temper flaring. She pointed her finger at Gilgamesh like a gun, rapidly gathering a dense concentration of magical energy at the tip.
"Ho? Then by all means, try it. I shall sit right here and watch to see if a useless Goddess like you can harm even a single hair on my head."
Gilgamesh leaned back lazily against his throne, crossing one leg over the other. His crimson eyes overflowed with absolute mockery.
"Ahhhhh! Since you actually have the nerve to say that, whatever happens next is entirely your own fault!"
Ishtar was practically boiling over with rage at Gilgamesh's taunts. After a brief moment of frantic frustration, the magical energy gathering at her fingertip surged, glowing as brightly as a massive, blinding spotlight.
The next second.
A crimson beam of magical energy, roughly the size of a soccer ball, tore through the air between them, aiming directly for Gilgamesh's highly punchable face.
Gilgamesh's expression didn't change in the slightest; he didn't even attempt to dodge. However, when the crimson beam was roughly a meter away from his face, it was abruptly intercepted by a spherical shield intricately etched with patterns of flame.
With a soft vmmmm, the high-energy beam vanished into the shield like a pebble dropped into the ocean, leaving behind nothing but a few faint ripples across the barrier's surface.
The resulting breeze gently rustled Gilgamesh's golden hair, making the mocking smirk on his face look even more infuriating.
Fwump-fwump~
Simultaneously, the sound of fabric snapping sharply in the wind echoed out. Holding his faintly glowing flag of fire with one hand, Takumi walked out from the side with a look of profound exasperation, slowly stepping between the two of them.
"...Huh?"
Failing to process the situation, Ishtar stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her.
She hadn't held back at all! That attack just now was the absolute strongest spell she could cast without utilizing her Boat of Heaven, Maanna. Yet it didn't even produce a single spark!
"Hahahahahahahaha! You useless Goddess! If you actually intend to harm me, the least you could do is use your strongest attack, no? A pathetic strike like that is only fit to provide this King with a light breeze!"
While roaring with laughter, Gilgamesh naturally didn't forget to ruthlessly mock Ishtar.
You really had absolute faith in me catching that, didn't you...
Takumi thought, utterly speechless.
"—Damn you, Goldie! Don't act as if you were the one who blocked my attack! It was clearly this guy who suddenly walked out from the side..."
Ishtar glared at the laughing Gilgamesh, grinding her teeth in frustration. At the same time, she didn't forget to size up Takumi, who was now standing between them. Her gaze grew noticeably wary.
Anyone who could casually block her attack like it was absolutely nothing was clearly ridiculously strong!
She gave him a quick once-over.
Handsome!
That was Ishtar's immediate first impression. And it wasn't just a superficial appreciation of his physical appearance; it was something much deeper.
Then, she saw a Flame. Warm, unyielding, brilliantly radiant... yet carrying an undeniable trace of profound exhaustion.
Ishtar began to examine Takumi's attire: a black combat uniform, a faint crimson light pulsing from his chest, and a bizarre, silver prosthetic right arm...
I've never seen a style like this before. He definitely doesn't look like someone from this era...
Sensing that the situation was rapidly turning unfavorable, Ishtar began formulating an exit strategy. It wasn't like she came here strictly intending to destroy anything anyway; she only wanted to take a quick look. Running away now wouldn't cost her anything other than having to swallow her pride.
"At the end of the day, this Ziggurat is dedicated to my worship, and Siduri is present as well. I suppose I'll magnanimously forgive you for your insolence this time, Goldie!"
Having rationalized her retreat, Ishtar summoned her Boat of Heaven, Maanna, preparing to slip away.
"You think you can come and go as you please? As the Patron Goddess of Uruk, it is high time you finally made yourself useful!"
Not expecting Ishtar to fold and run this quickly, Gilgamesh instantly furrowed his brow.
"Blehh! You don't possess a single ounce of reverence for me anyway! If I leave, what are you gonna do about it~!"
Ishtar stuck her tongue out and pulled a face, mocking him shamelessly.
She could sense that Uruk's priests and officials were attempting to initiate a ritual to prevent her departure. But unfortunately for them, even as a pseudo-Servant, she was vastly superior to any non-Divine Heroic Spirit. A ritual of that level couldn't possibly hope to stop her while she possessed her Boat of Heaven!
"Heh! Then I suggest you try and see if you can leave so easily!"
Gilgamesh sneered coldly, then shifted his gaze to Takumi standing in front of him:
"Takumi. I have no desire to waste further effort on this useless Goddess. Detain her here for me!"
Hearing this, Takumi took two steps forward, wearing an incredibly awkward expression as he physically blocked Ishtar's path.
While he felt slightly bad about doing this, he completely agreed with Gilgamesh's logic. It was better to solve this problem once and for all right now: they were going to press-gang Ishtar into Uruk's service.
"Miss Ishtar, could I trouble you to remain here?"
Takumi asked politely.
"No way! This Goddess does whatever she pleases! Bye-bye!"
Feeling the situation escalating rapidly, Ishtar casually tossed out her refusal and prepared to fly Maanna straight back out the hole she had smashed in the ceiling.
"Sigh... Then I apologize for the offense—"
Knowing that peacefully persuading this willful Goddess was practically impossible, Takumi shook his head. His gaze instantly sharpened, and his silhouette vanished from where he stood.
CLANG!
A crisp, metallic impact echoed through the hall. Ishtar, who had been hovering mid-air just a microsecond ago, only registered a sudden blur in her vision. An irresistible sensation of weightlessness consumed her, and before she could even process what was happening, she found herself pinned firmly to the floor by a single hand.
"Huh? Huh?! HUH?!!! What just happened?! Why am I suddenly pinned to the floor?!"
With both of her hands firmly pinned down by Takumi's [Silver Arm], Ishtar let out a shriek of absolute, bewildered disbelief.
In that fleeting instant, Takumi—having activated his ultra-high-speed state—first delivered a precise strike to knock Maanna out of the air, then flawlessly caught the falling Ishtar and pinned her to the ground. While the sequence of events sounded simple, Takumi was practically the only person capable of executing it and ending the fight that quickly.
Panic surging in her heart, Ishtar didn't stop fighting. She frantically mentally commanded her Boat of Heaven—which had been swatted to the side—to ram Takumi from behind, attempting to force him off her.
SWISH!
Sensing Ishtar's desperate maneuver, Takumi cast a brief glance at the rising Boat of Heaven. Without missing a beat, he casually drew the [Sword of the Heart] from his chest and tossed it directly at the incoming construct.
The [Sword of the Heart] could alter its form at will, transforming into any type of weaponry. This time, it shifted into a set of heavy chains, tightly binding the charging Maanna in mid-air and rendering it completely immobile.
I'm doomed!
Realizing her Boat of Heaven had been neutralized, Ishtar felt a freezing chill run down her spine.
"Hahahahahaha! You useless Goddess! Weren't you acting incredibly arrogant just a moment ago?! Oh, and I might as well inform you: Takumi here is the exact same 'bizarre monster' you saw carving a path of destruction across the land!"
Gilgamesh mocked, his eyes locked onto Ishtar, clearly giddy with anticipation for her upcoming reaction.
"Ahhh! Let me go! Let me go right now, I can't breathe—"
Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Ishtar, who had been struggling violently under the suppression of Takumi's [Silver Arm], instantly froze completely solid.
I knew it! I knew there was no way someone this ridiculously strong would just randomly pop up here! It's over! I'm completely finished! He's going to humiliate me!
"Ugh..."
Although she was screaming internally in absolute despair, Ishtar, refusing to show weakness or submit in front of Gilgamesh, bit her lip and forced an expression of stubborn, unyielding defiance onto her face.
That's the expression!
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Gilgamesh practically leaped off his throne in sheer excitement, landing perfectly right in front of Ishtar.
"I have always wanted to see you make that exact face! That look of absolute, bitter resentment, yet being entirely powerless to do anything about it! Hahahahahahahaha!"
Squatting right in front of Ishtar's face, completely abandoning any semblance of royal dignity or composure, Gilgamesh pointed mockingly at her and erupted into manic, unrestrained laughter.
He laughed for nearly ten straight seconds without showing any signs of stopping. Ishtar, who had never suffered this kind of humiliation in her entire life, was genuinely on the verge of tears. Finally, Siduri—whose heart ached seeing her Patron Goddess bullied like this—stepped forward. With a mix of exasperation and sternness, she scolded:
"My King! Lady Ishtar is, after all, the Patron Goddess of Uruk! I implore you, please cease this disrespectful behavior!"
"Hahaha... hah... Yes, yes, I understand."
Only then did Gilgamesh slowly rein in his laughter and return to his throne.
"Now then, let us get straight to the heart of the matter! Although the combat prowess of a useless Goddess like you is entirely negligible, allowing you to run free and cause endless trouble is simply unacceptable. Therefore, this King shall offer you a proposal you absolutely cannot refuse—"
"This King is willing to offer you twenty percent of all the gem and mineral wealth contained within the Gate of Babylon, in exchange for your assistance in the upcoming battles!"
"What say you, Ishtar?"
Gilgamesh sat straight on his throne, a supremely confident, victorious smile playing on his lips.
He was over ninety percent certain this would work. After all, while the Goddess Ishtar possessed an obsessive, pathological love for gems, she absolutely lacked the [Golden Rule] skill. If she wanted gems now, her only real option was to literally rob people!
In stark contrast, Gilgamesh's A-Rank [Golden Rule] meant he practically tripped over massive fortunes just by taking a casual stroll.
True to his expectations.
Upon hearing Gilgamesh's offer, Ishtar's brain instantly blue-screened from sheer overload. Visible steam practically puffed out of her ears, and dizzy spirals replaced her pupils.
Seeing this, Takumi knew the deal was sealed. He tactfully released his hold on Ishtar and stepped to the side.
Simultaneously, he released Maanna from its bindings.
"Wha... what? You mean the Gate of Babylon? The one you built... the one designed for the future... the one where the treasures are practically infinite once complete... the one you claim represents the total sum of all human wealth... that one?!"
Ishtar stumbled to her feet. Completely concussed by the massive, metaphorical pie of gems that had just crashed onto her head, she held her hands out, asking in sheer, breathless disbelief.
Having possessed a hopelessly impoverished Rin Tohsaka, she was likely even more cripplingly greedy than the original Ishtar!
"Hmph. What else would I mean?"
Gilgamesh shrugged nonchalantly.
"Wait, wait, wait... Words like that are incredibly suspicious! It's practically unbelievable..."
Despite Gilgamesh's confirmation, Ishtar clutched her head, desperately trying to force herself to calm down and think rationally.
"Then I shall make it twenty-five percent!"
Gilgamesh decisively upped the bid.
Hiss!
Ishtar sharply inhaled a breath of cold air.