Bell's gaze fixed on Amphisbaena's position, signaling the maiden to begin.
The maiden goddess waved her delicate hand, and her voice began to swell with intensity.
"Open the gate!"
A tear appeared in the air above the maiden goddess. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that it was a portal to the cosmos. A massive planet emerged from the portal, symbolizing the maiden's divine authority over Venus as its goddess.
With her right hand holding a ceremonial dagger, the goddess flung it toward Venus in the sky.
The dagger pierced through time and space, striking Venus directly. The enormous planet, previously still and unchanged, was immediately enveloped in golden divine power. It began to descend slowly, gradually materializing beside the goddess.
Wrapped in divine energy, Venus rapidly shrank, condensing into a sphere the size of a person—which floated next to the colossal bow.
The maiden goddess raised her right hand, pointing her index finger at Amphisbaena's position.
The sphere formed from Venus slowly morphed into a long arrow, which was nocked on the giant bow, ready to be launched at any moment.
"Shatter! An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè: Kindling of Venus that Shook the Mountains!"
The arrow, representing the condensed essence of Venus, struck down at the speed of light.
A deafening roar echoed through the entire floor.
Every obstacle in its path was shattered the moment it made contact with the arrow. As for the primary target, the floor's master, Amphisbaena, had been reduced to a pile of white ash.
"Whoa~ Nice work."
Seeing her own handiwork, the maiden goddess's expression shifted from emptiness to one of self-satisfaction.
Bell, witnessing this, wasn't surprised. In fact, he felt a sense of inevitability.
"Seems that as I strengthen my control over my Authority, the figures I summon from my memories start resembling the originals even more. Their emotional fluctuations are nearly identical."
"Of course, does every reaction require sufficient Cognition from me?"
"There are some limitations, but the effect is impressive."
As long as the figure fell within his sphere of Cognition, he could pull those from his memories into the present—even if they were just fictional characters from another dimension.
Purely from an ability standpoint, there was almost nothing to criticize. If anything, this ability was a definite advantage.
At that moment, a bold idea crossed Bell's mind.
"What if I could pull those special gods from the Miniature World into this world using this power?"
Naturally, the idea was quickly shut down after a momentary surge of excitement.
The gods he had summoned so far were those he could control or were linked to him in some way. Expanding the scope to those beyond his reach could invite considerable trouble.
After a brief silence, Bell suppressed this thought.
"I can't risk doing something reckless when my power isn't enough. Four-digit power isn't sufficient—only with two-digit power like mine could I even consider such a thing."
With that thought set aside, Bell glanced at Ishtar and waved her off.
He could have ignored her, but this time, Bell paused.
He could summon Loki because their relationship was unique, but his bond with Ishtar from Type-Moon wasn't nearly as deep.
In the end, he had only borrowed Ishtar's power to test his own Authority. Not acknowledging that would feel a bit off.
Thankfully, Ishtar was fond of shiny treasures, and Bell had plenty to offer.
With that in mind, Bell didn't rush to take action. Instead, he used the lingering divine power of Ishtar to probe the Type-Moon world, quickly locking onto her position.
Bell's hand reached straight through four-dimensional space.
"...."
In the Mesopotamian Singularity of the Type-Moon world, Ishtar stared blankly for two seconds at the hand suddenly descending from the sky.
"Aaaah!"
Snapping out of her stupor, Ishtar screamed and backed away.
On his throne, Gilgamesh watched the shrieking Ishtar with utter disdain. He had never seen a more embarrassing goddess than this madwoman.
The second projection conveniently broadcasted Ishtar's humiliating, terrified reaction to the whole scene.
Bell's outstretched hand seemed to be taken aback by Ishtar's extreme response...
A voice echoed from the four-dimensional space.
"You, fused with Rin Tohsaka, seem far more composed than our world's version. While you're still a woman on the brink of madness, your actions are considerably milder compared to the Ishtar from our realm.
"I didn't expect you to be startled even by this... I'm a bit surprised by your courage."
The voice carried no trace of disdain, yet there was an undeniable weariness and helplessness.
"Besides, I didn't intend to scare you. I just suddenly thought of something and wanted to give you something."
"Considering the body you're in—Rin Tohsaka—has lived in poverty, your life must have mirrored hers. She loved gems, and you love gems. So, as thanks for being my power's test subject, I'll give you the gems you cherish."
With a snap of her fingers, precious stones and rare metals cascaded directly from Ishtar's head.
"Huh?"
Before Ishtar could react, her eyes were already fixated on the falling gems.
"So many gems!?"
In that moment, Ishtar's eyes sparkled with delight as her body instantly reacted.
"Mine! All mine! These gems are mine!"
"Hehe~"
In mere seconds, the falling gems piled up into a small mountain. Ishtar, completely shedding any semblance of dignity, sprawled on top of this gem mound. Her greedy expression resembled that of someone who had never seen wealth before.
As the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh immediately noticed the change in the projection. However, he was helpless to stop the woman, now consumed by her obsession with the gems. He could only watch as this madwoman made a fool of herself in front of both worlds.
Ishtar, now completely absorbed by the mountain of gems, paid no attention to her surroundings.
She had truly been impoverished for far too long. Now that someone had finally given her a mountain of gems, how could she possibly think of anything else?