Inside the divine tower, the Servants who had returned atop wyverns formed a circle around Mash's shield.
Gilgamesh, facing the throne, rested his chin on his thumb, frowning as he reviewed the analyzed data on Tiamat from Chaldea.
A few seconds later, his expression twisted into sheer fury. "You fool! Are you actually on Tiamat's side!? There's not a single weakness listed here!"
"Because there aren't any!" Roman's face was equally grim.
"She's a perfect existence with no flaws in either physical or mythological terms. Even the Axe of Marduk didn't kill Tiamat; it dismembered her. But that was ultimately meaningless—it just immobilized her temporarily so she could be exiled into the Imaginary Number Space!"
"In fact, there are no records of Tiamat ever truly dying!"
Gilgamesh, of course, knew this already. But to be faced with a calamity they absolutely had to overcome and have no solution was a complete joke.
"Little Senti is holding back Tiamat's advance in the Persian Gulf. We still have plenty of time." Amber, seeing the gloomy expressions around, offered a word of comfort.
"Even so, we can't just keep discussing this with no leads forever." Gilgamesh's expression didn't improve.
"Besides, how long can that fellow hold out? Does she really have enough magical energy to squander so freely?"
Amber didn't answer.
The truth was, she could hold out indefinitely if she wanted, but Amber suspected that Little Senti's patience would run out long before her magical energy did.
"Wait..." Ritsuka spoke up suddenly. "We said before that as long as she's in the Underworld, Ereshkigal is invincible, right? You all remember that, don't you?"
Gilgamesh had reached the same conclusion a moment before Ritsuka spoke. A smile spread across his face seeing Ritsuka had caught on too. "Well now, it seems you've arrived at the same place as your king."
Amber and Ishtar quickly grasped their meaning as well.
"Drag Tiamat down into the Underworld!" Ishtar exclaimed in sudden realization. "If her existence is reinforced by the life present on the surface, then all we have to do is take her to the lifeless Underworld!"
"Not just that," Gilgamesh added, giving a rare nod of approval to Ishtar's momentarily clever head.
"Ereshkigal is the mistress of the Underworld. It's no exaggeration to say she's invincible there. She would undoubtedly provide us with immense assistance."
Even as he spoke, his heart ached.
If he'd known the Phoenix Celestial was this reliable, capable of holding back Tiamat single-handedly, there would have been no need to bribe Ishtar at all.
And the one on the front lines right now wasn't even the Phoenix Celestial herself, but a divine personality split from her—practically a Noble Phantasm.
Compared to this divine persona, Gugalanna was completely useless, utterly obsolete.
To have wasted treasures on such a useless thing was irritating... though, not really.
After all, he'd never actually intended to honor the agreement. His treasury would seal shut upon his death. If anyone wanted its contents, they'd have to ensure he stayed alive.
But his death was inevitable. So, getting the treasures from his vault was impossible. Even searching for it in the real world was futile; he'd long ago falsified its location and booby-trapped the real vault with countermeasures capable of killing a god.
From start to finish, all he'd ever given Ishtar was that single cartload brought by Chaldea.
Still, the quality of that single cart likely surpassed a whole year's worth of Ishtar's usual offerings, maybe even more. So no one could call him stingy.
"Hey! Ereshkigal! Can you hear me!? Ereshkigal!?" In much better spirits, Gilgamesh directly activated the Mirror of the Underworld and began calling for Eresh.
"How annoying! A goddess's name isn't for you to shout so casually!" The black surface of the mirror projected an image of Eresh herself, spear in hand, her expression far from pleased.
"I've been busy since yesterday! Don't call me unless it's important!"
"Besides, I didn't lend you the Mirror of the Underworld to be your chat partner, but so you could contact Fu... Hua?"
The displeasure on Eresh's face vanished the moment she spotted Amber slowly moving into view, replaced by an instant blush.
Whether from shyness or embarrassment, she slowly hid her face with her cloak. "Why is Fu Hua here too!?"
"Well now, what an endearing display this is, especially compared to the so-called Mistress of Heaven. It seems some introspection has finally enhanced your femininity," Gilgamesh laughed.
"Enough of your useless chatter, alright?" Ishtar shot Gilgamesh a glare, then turned a frustrated look towards Eresh. "And you! Having the same face as me just doubles the embarrassment!"
"Eresh, we have a request for you," Amber said, ignoring the comedic duo and walking straight up to the mirror.
"A... a request? For me?"
Eresh was taken aback, peeking cautiously with just her eyes from behind her cloak. "You... you're not angry with me anymore?"
"Angry?" Amber was puzzled by this. She rifled through the memories Fu Hua had given her, but couldn't find any reason for anger. "Why would I be angry?"
"Be... because before, you wouldn't even look at me... I thought you didn't consider me a... friend anymore." Eresh's eyes darted around nervously as she tested the waters.
"You misunderstood. I was just lost in thought about something else at the time."
Amber, unsure why she'd gotten that impression, softened her voice to reassure her.
"Alright, that's enough of the celestial romance drama for now. We have serious matters to discuss," Gilgamesh cut off their conversation.
"Is it something Fu Hua needs? Fine. For Fu Hua's sake, I'll agree," Ereshkigal nodded without hesitation.
"Excellent. I'm relieved to hear it."
Gilgamesh wasn't one to waste an opportunity. "Then the task of receiving Tiamat falls to you! Open a gateway to the Underworld in the Persian Gulf and imprison Tiamat down there!"
"Hah!?"
The blush instantly faded from Eresh's face, replaced by stunned disbelief.
She waved her hands frantically. "Wait!? No, no, no! Putting aside how to open a gate that far away, are you seriously suggesting we imprison Mother in the Underworld!?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Amber frowned. "We can't resolve the issue of Tiamat's traits on the surface. If we can't bring her to the Underworld, then..."
"...Urk!"
Seeing Amber's expression, Eresh, already feeling guilty, gritted her teeth. She forced down her panic and began seriously considering the feasibility.
But in the end, she still shook her head with great difficulty. "It's not that making Tiamat fall into the Underworld is impossible, but... I can't open an Underworld gate that far away. You know well that Ishtar and I were summoned by the Chief Priest. We've actually been manifested for less than a year."
"In this short time, I haven't been able to expand the Underworld's reach that far. Realistically, aside from Kutha, I can only open gates in Uruk and at the Northern Wall."
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.