Credits: Khenom
"How rude!" Ereshkigal, her face flushed with a mix of shame and anger, glared at Alaric.
"It's just an illusion. Do you believe me, Goddess Ereshkigal?"
Alaric smiled awkwardly as he naturally dispelled the several chains of heaven.
He then extended a hand to help Ereshkigal up from the ground.
'...…'
Seeing Alaric's natural gesture of reaching out to help her, Ereshkigal, still red-faced, froze for a moment. She hesitated, reconsidering whether she wanted to stand up.
After a moment's pause, she nervously extended her delicate hand, placing it on Alaric's arm, and used it to push herself up from the ground.
The blush still hadn't faded from Ereshkigal's face as she tidied her slightly disheveled attire. She raised her small fist to her mouth and coughed lightly, "Ahem, for you to defeat Ishtar… it seems you are worthy of being called a hero."
Ereshkigal's words brushed aside the awkwardness of the earlier scene as though it had never happened.
Alaric was more than happy to go along with this. He could only hope that when Ishtar woke up from her baby-like sleep, she'd forget all her troubles—preferably including the fact that her temple had been destroyed.
"Thank you for the compliment, Goddess Ereshkigal. It seems my score is quite high."
Pushing aside his worries about Ishtar, Alaric wore a faint smile. "Talking with you last night was truly enlightening, something I can't forget."
Now that he had the leyline's support, Alaric spoke with newfound confidence.
Although he couldn't compare to Ereshkigal, the ruler of the Underworld, Alaric was no longer at risk of dying so easily. His enhanced vitality now made him akin to an indestructible cockroach.
"Is… is that so?"
Alaric's straightforward words made Ereshkigal visibly awkward. She instinctively fiddled with a few strands of her golden hair, twirling them repeatedly. "It wasn't anything too important.
But it seems you've taken the goddess's teachings to heart!"
At this, Ereshkigal smiled faintly. "It seems my efforts haven't been in vain!"
'Efforts, huh…'
Hearing this, Alaric's smile deepened. "That's certainly true."
"You're looking well today. Have you been eating properly?"
Having shaken off her initial awkwardness, Ereshkigal, the goddess who had long resided in the Underworld, spoke with a warm smile. "You must eat well. People on the surface often fall ill and suffer because they neglect their meals."
At this moment, Ereshkigal seemed like a girl next door, chatting casually with Alaric.
Faced with her kindness, Alaric also relaxed.
This goddess had an unexpected warmth that made her feel approachable—something entirely different from the likes of Ishtar or Quetzalcoatl.
Her gentle tone carried a genuine sense of care that was hard to ignore.
"I've been eating quite well! After all, my appetite is as big as my King's!"
Mentioning his appetite made Alaric laugh.
Thanks to the changes brought about by the blood of the Red Dragon, Alaric's food intake had increased dramatically, rivaling even the insatiable appetite of Artoria.
"Your King? Could you tell me about them?"
Hearing Alaric mention his King, Ereshkigal's curiosity was piqued.
By now, Ereshkigal was certain that Alaric wasn't from Uruk, and his King wasn't King Gilgamesh. He was a traveler from a distant land, someone who must have gone through countless stories before arriving here.
As a goddess who had long inhabited the Underworld, Ereshkigal couldn't help but feel a genuine curiosity and anticipation for unknown tales.
"My King, huh…"
At her words, Alaric recalled the figure of the Lion King. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "That's a story worth telling."
And so, Alaric recounted the only story he had experienced—the sole tale that proved his existence...
"Throwing a pyramid down from the sky? That guy must be an incredible idiot of a Heroic Spirit! I get it now, he must be on the same level of foolishness as King Gilgamesh!"
When she heard the story of Ozymandias, Ereshkigal's eyes sparkled, her entire being seemingly glowing with excitement. "That person called Nitocris—she seems lovely. A Heroic Spirit who cherishes the dead must surely have clear principles!"
"But… those Heroic Spirits with skeletal remains… I really can't deal with them. Carrying bones around like that must hurt a lot!"
Thinking of the Old Man of the Mountain, Ereshkigal's face twisted into a look of fear and confusion, scrunching up her features. But soon, her expression softened. "So, the Chaldean Master, a star from a foreign land, huh…
They must have gone through countless stories and adventures, right?"
Hearing about Fujimaru Ritsuka and her companions, Ereshkigal seemed almost radiant with excitement.
"If it's Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, they must have even more stories to share with you."
Seeing her so happy, Alaric remarked with a sense of nostalgia, "As for me, I only have this one story to tell you."
Ereshkigal shook her head, her excitement fading as her expression grew somber. "Those Round Table Knights… your comrades—
They must have suffered greatly. This is the pain brought about by humanity's excessive growth in intellect."
If Ozymandias and his companions had brought Ereshkigal surprise and delight, then Gawain and Mordred evoked deep sorrow.
As someone who had wandered the Underworld for thousands of years, Ereshkigal had come to a conclusion: humanity's suffering stems from its excessive intellect. If humans were to abandon this intellect and place all their pain upon the gods, they could attain peace.
"It's not the same. This pain is precisely what drives humanity forward. Only desire compels progress, and desire is the root of suffering."
Holding a different perspective, Alaric shook his head with a carefree smile. "Ereshkigal, I choose to keep moving forward. What about you?"
'...…'
Hearing those words, Ereshkigal froze, staring blankly at Alaric's resolute and confident face.
It was then that Ereshkigal truly realized how different she and Alaric were.
It was a denial of faith.
Alaric would never agree with the obsession she had clung to for thousands of years. He would only shatter her small dream with determination.
—————
After Ereshkigal issued a dismissal, Alaric left Mount Ebih aboard the Heavenly Vessel.
Though the night's conversation had brought him closer to Ereshkigal, his final words had broken the tranquil atmosphere.
Recalling Ereshkigal's final gaze, Alaric rubbed his chin in frustration, wondering if he should have been more tactful.
While Alaric wrestled with these thoughts, two figures plummeting from the heavens caught his attention.
'That is—'