Chapter 59: Rescuing Ishtar!
As he observed the state of Mesopotamia, Akira felt a wave of frustration. The original timeline had been shattered almost from the start.
Still, Akira didn't particularly care about the plot's integrity. His only focus was the matter of Mother Tiamat. He wasn't sure if this was the influence of the 'Beast' Spirit Origin or some scheme by Goetia, but Tiamat was currently acting as a walking natural disaster, driven purely by instinct.
Akira had no intention of letting this continue, nor would he allow the original tragic ending to unfold.
Because of Akira's interference, Fujimaru Ritsuka hadn't formed bonds with any of the goddesses yet—he hadn't even met them. Of course, that wasn't a total guarantee of safety. The "Protagonist" was, by definition, an entity that defied logic.
"Hm?"
"You up ahead! Get out of the way right now, or I promise you're going to be in big trouble!"
The voice was familiar, the tone was unmistakable, and the situation was classic. Everything about this moment gave Akira a sense of déjà vu.
In the sky not far away, a feminine silhouette was flying toward him at high speed. The familiar back, the familiar view—it was Ishtar.
"Ishtar... you really haven't changed your bad habits..."
Akira stepped forward and caught Ishtar as she barreled toward him, bracing himself so the impact wouldn't send him flying. The fastest rider of ancient times, Ishtar, had arrived!
"Hey, the ones behind me are catching up! Don't hold me back!"
"The ones behind you?"
"Yes! A whole swarm of monsters that appeared out of nowhere!"
Akira's eyes sharpened. He looked past her toward the horizon. Dozens of shadows were cutting through the air, closing in on their location with frightening speed.
"Lahmu? No, those are Bel-Lahmu."
Akira was genuinely surprised. In the original story, they only evolved into Bel-Lahmu after absorbing the Holy Grail. Now, even without it, they had reached that stage.
On second thought, it made sense. The growth rate of the Lahmu was monstrous. In the original history, Tiamat was surrounded by an uncountable number of them.
"Hey, what are you staring at? We need to get out of here!"
Despite the bad impression Akira usually left on her, the core of human kindness within Ishtar's vessel won out. She didn't want to see Akira swarmed by those things. She knew he was strong, but in a world like this, unexpected failure was always just one mistake away.
"Stand down..."
Akira's voice was low and commanding. Instantly, the Lahmu that had been charging toward them stopped dead in their tracks.
As a child born directly from Mother, Akira held a certain level of authority over the Lahmu. However, he had looked down on these creatures from the very beginning.
"Shin Akira... what are you doing? She is a god. Gods are the enemies of Mother."
"A mere puppet dares to speak my name directly? You must be tired of living."
Swoosh—
Thwip—
The Enkidu: Chain of Heaven shot through the air. In a heartbeat, the life of the speaking Lahmu was snuffed out.
"Do you intend to betray Mother, Shin Akira?"
"Silence. I am Mother's true child. You are merely her creations. Even if you were to betray her, I never would."
"Then why do you block our path? Why protect that goddess?"
"She is mine. Therefore, she is an automatic follower of Mother."
"Hmph. How do you prove this?"
"It seems you lot truly don't understand the hierarchy. Let me help you realize your place."
Ripple—
From every direction, a multitude of golden ripples appeared, and from them, the Chains of Heaven surged forth.
Dozens of Bel-Lahmu were instantly ensnared. Then came the spray of blood. In a single, fluid motion, Akira slaughtered every last one of them. Creatures like this were a dime a dozen—there were plenty more in the sea and at Mother's side.
"Proof? I, Shin Akira, do not need to provide proof to the likes of you. Trash."
Akira genuinely disliked the Lahmu. Killing a few of them to vent his frustrations actually made him feel a bit better.
Ishtar stood there, completely stunned by the display. Wow, that was impressive. The problem that had given her so much trouble was resolved in seconds by Shin Akira.
"Hey! What was that about this goddess being 'your person'? Did I ever agree to that? I certainly did not!"
Now that the Lahmu were gone, Ishtar's feisty side returned.
"From now on, that is the reality."
"Excuse me? Do you know who I am? I am the Goddess Venus of Mesopotamia, the ruler of the heavens! Recruiting me isn't nearly that simple!"
"Whether you agree or not is up to you."
His voice was cold, offering not a shred of the typical reverence shown to a deity. Time was of the essence, and Akira had zero interest in debating with Ishtar. Her consent didn't matter as long as she stayed on his side of the board.
He wanted to keep her as far away from Fujimaru Ritsuka as possible. But more importantly, his real target was Ereshkigal.
The Mistress of the Underworld, the Queen of the Netherworld—she was the one Akira actually cared about.
His original plan involved finding a way for Ishtar to take him to the Underworld so he could meet the Queen in person. As the saying went, there was a single flower named Ereshkigal blooming in the darkness of the grave.
Akira truly wanted to meet the goddess who loved flowers in such a desolate place. If they could become friends, all the better.
"What's with that attitude? I am the Goddess Ishtar! Show some respect!"
Ishtar, naturally short-tempered, was fuming. First she was chased by monsters, then she was grabbed by Akira, and now she was being treated like a subordinate. A spoiled goddess—that was the perfect description of Ishtar.
"Ishtar, do you know the way to the Underworld?"
"Huh? The Underworld? Why would you want to go there?"
"Let's just say I've admired the Queen of the Netherworld for a long time."
"Hah? Someone actually admires that gloomy woman? Is there something wrong with your brain?"
Even though they were sisters—and technically two sides of the same coin in this summoning—their conflict ran deep.
As sisters who shared a destiny, their lives couldn't be more different. One was the 'Mistress of the Heavens,' pampered and loved since childhood, which resulted in her arrogant and abrasive personality.
The other, however, was sent to the Underworld the moment she was born. She carried out her duties there for tens of thousands of days without even a hint of basic freedom, forever confined to the lonely silence of the Netherworld.
It was like a pair of twins: one was the spoiled brat, and the other was the dutiful child. And as is often the case, it was the good child who suffered most.
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