A certain crossover anime's nuclear-powered sword immortal

Originally, Ishtar, with the power of her divine armor, could have fought Ereshkigal in the Underworld. However, due to Ereshkigal's deliberate design, Ishtar had to pass through seven gates to enter the Underworld. With each gate she passed, a piece of her divine armor would be stripped off. By the time Ishtar entered the Underworld, her divine armor had been completely stripped away.

Without the support of her divine armor, Ishtar was naturally unable to fight against Ereshkigal, the ruler of the underworld. She was tragically killed by Ereshkigal, who later resurrected her, and her soul was left forever in the underworld.

Ishtar was only spared by Ereshkigal after a scapegoat was found to take her place in the punishment, and she slunk back to her own territory.

In reality, Ishtar, as a high-ranking god, can summon the Bull of Heaven to replenish her combat power, and can easily crush Ereshkigal, a mid-ranking god, outside the underworld.

If Ishtar makes a thorough plan and lures Ereshkigal out of the Underworld, she can easily win.

Unfortunately, Ishtar's temper is even more willful than Rin Tohsaka's; she just wants to fight to the death with her sister on someone else's turf.

This kind of "fountain-camping" behavior is the easiest to turn the tide of battle. Ishtar was stripped of her full power and gear by her pieces when she was fully equipped, which led to her embarrassing defeat.

Chapter Thirty-Five: A Combination of Coaxing and Deception

Taken aback by Mashu's sudden question, Ishtar froze for a few seconds before giving up and answering directly.

"Alright! I've been to the underworld, okay? I didn't really want to say it...!"

"Ah, I see." Mashu suddenly understood. "I'm so sorry..."

Hearing Mash's apology, Ishtar sighed helplessly.

"Well~ I was just being temperamental. I'll tell you, I failed when I went down to the underworld that time, and I made a huge fool of myself."

“I see. No wonder you didn’t want to bring it up.” Mashu nodded.

Ishtar continued.

"Ever since then, I've been incredibly bad at dealing with that guy, and the place we're heading to next is his territory."

As she spoke, Ishtar looked at Shirou.

“This is the underworld. Ereshkigal, the ‘Goddess of the Underworld,’ is extremely powerful here. Even you might not be her match.”

"Is that so..." Shirou said.

At this moment, the group arrived at a tightly closed stone door.

The moment the four of them stopped there, a woman's voice came from the stone gate.

"O living being who has fallen into the underworld, answer the question of how your soul exists."

Ishtar explained to everyone, "Alright, here comes the choice: the Gates of the Underworld will question the good and evil of the soul; it is a just and rational gate of good and evil."

"The good and evil of the soul?" Gudako asked in confusion.

“That’s right, there are seven in total. These are the doors that stripped me of my powers before,” Ishtar replied.

At this moment, the female voice from inside the stone gate sounded again.

"Then, let's ask the deeply sinful Orihara Shirou."

Upon hearing that, Ishtar was taken aback. "Nomination included!?"

A woman's voice came through once again.

"While the standards of beauty vary widely, they remain absolute. Black can triumph over white, and earth can triumph over heaven. So, who is more beautiful, Ereshkigal or Ishtar?"

"Hey! Wait, this is different from the previous question!!" Ishtar was completely bewildered when she heard the question.

female voice

The voice still echoed: "Quickly, answer me! Answer me!"

“There’s no need to hesitate about this kind of question!” Ishtar’s eager gaze fell on Shirou. “Of course I’m more beautiful! Right!?”

“No, I choose Ereshkigal,” Shirou said directly.

Upon hearing this answer, Ishtar's face immediately fell, and she glared at Shirou with gritted teeth. If she weren't outmatched, she probably would have already rushed up and bitten him.

At this moment, the sound from the stone gate seemed to become joyful.

"Correct answer~"

With a tremor, the tightly closed stone door slowly opened to the crowd.

"Let's go." Shirou went inside first.

There were six more stone gates to go. When they reached the second stone gate, the familiar female voice rang out once again.

"Which one is more beautiful, Ereshkigal or Ishtar?"

"..." The four people present fell silent.

“Ereshkigal!” Shirou answered again.

The tightly closed stone door slowly opened.

Ishtar's expression turned angry again.

After that, there were three more Q&A sessions, and each time the questions were exactly the same.

Each time Ishtar passed through a stone gate, her body would shrink. After five times, she was the size of a palm, like a living figurine.

"Miss Ishtar, are you really alright?" Mashu asked with some concern, looking at Ishtar sitting on Fou's furry back.

"This is already the sixth door; there's only one left. Even though I've become like this, I have no choice but to go!"

Ishtar's body floated in mid-air.

"Although I can't fight, it was expected. I will protect myself and not let Ereshkigal crush me."

"But it looks much cuter after being shrunk down."

Shirou reached out and grabbed Ishtar's headdress, lifting her up to his eyes as he examined the girl. Then he raised his other hand.

Under Shirou's scrutinizing gaze, Ishtar's cheeks immediately turned crimson.

"What...what do you want to do?!"

"It's nothing, I just found it very interesting."

Shirou held out his index finger to the tiny Ishtar and watched her try her best to push his finger away, but because she was too weak, it looked like she was massaging his finger. He found it quite amusing.

Just then, a loud laugh came from the shadows ahead.

That distinctive, joyful laughter undoubtedly came from Gilgamesh.

"Thank you for coming to greet me," the wise prince said, waving to the crowd.

"You...you weren't imprisoned by Ereshkigal?" Mash asked in surprise.

"Hmph~ Although this death was due to carelessness, this is not the first time I have been to the Netherworld. It was a piece of cake to dodge it! Before those Garura spirits came looking for me, I hid in the shadows, held my breath, and entered a meditative state to conceal my aura. I escaped right under their noses and was just planning to make my move when the opportunity arose."

As he spoke, Gilgamesh looked at Ishtar, who was held in Shirou's palm, and immediately pointed at her and burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! Are you trying to make me laugh to death, you bastard?!"

"So, now that we've met you here, can we just go back?" Gudako asked.

“No.” Gilgamesh shook his head. “I am already dead. Without that guy’s permission, I cannot leave this underworld.”

But then he smiled.

"In that case, let's go teach Ereshkigal a lesson before we go back!"

With that, Gilgamesh walked toward the stone gate ahead.

"This must be the stone gate, right? There's no need to ask, the answer is me!"

"That's not you!"

In the end, Shirou gave the "correct answer," and the group passed through the last stone gate.

"If Ishtar is not of any use, our battle with Ereshkigal will probably become very intense."

"This is what the wise King Gilgamesh said."

"What is the approximate combat strength of the goddess Ereshkigal?" Mash asked.

“Well… if we’re making a comparison, she doesn’t have the same divinity as Ishtar,” Gilgamesh replied.

Did King Gilgamesh also know about Ereshkigal?

Gudako asked in confusion.

"Well, I do know that. If Ishtar is a goddess who can get whatever she wants, then Ereshkigal is a goddess who doesn't crave anything."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Ereshkigal's Joining

Gilgamesh's answer surprised Mash.

"You don't crave anything?"

"That's right. When the underworld was created, she was offered as a cornerstone. Because a pillar god had to take up a post in the underworld, this responsibility was placed on Ereshkigal. From the moment she was born, Ereshkigal became the god who has managed the spirits of the dead for millennia."

"And they were banished to the underworld," Gilgamesh replied.

"This is so sad," Gudako sighed.

“It’s not that I’m sad because I can’t go out, but that I’m sad because I can’t experience new worlds and have new encounters,” Mashu replied.

Gilgamesh then continued.

"In exchange, Ereshkigal is invincible in the underworld, where heroes and gods lose their power."

After that, Ishtar spoke.

"But if the opponent is a living person, that's a different story. First of all, they won't be bound by the 'must-kill' law of the underworld, which means that even Mash is a match for them."

Gilgamesh also crossed his arms and said.

"In terms of divinity and power, she is a mid-level opponent, and I have a high chance of winning."

“Alright, let’s stop this small talk,” Ishtar said, looking ahead. “This is Ereshkigal’s palace.”

"Hiss... It's so cold..." Gudako suddenly felt the chilling aura spreading around her.

At that moment, Roman's somewhat anxious voice came through the communicator on the girl's wrist.

"The air pressure has reached 500 hPa! The temperature drop caused by adiabatic cooling means the wind chill is probably only -6 degrees Celsius. It's almost at the limit for life. You guys, get out of there right now!"

However, it was already too late.

A huge, scarlet humanoid skeleton appeared.

"Fear, pray, despair, humans! I am the steward of death, the mistress of the underworld, the one who treads upon the sacred peak—Ereshkigal!"