Chapter 258
"Then let's organize the information we have gathered so far."
It was night in Uruk. The group, having gone through a day of battle, gathered in the Council Chamber at the center of the Ziggurat to conduct their post-battle briefing.
"First is Gorgon. She is a monster from Greek Mythology that specializes in killing heroes," the Doctor, speaking from Chaldea, said. "She is a monster formed by the fusion of the three sisters: the eldest sister Stheno, the second sister Euryale, and the youngest sister Medusa."
Hearing this, Ana, who was standing to the side, silently pulled down her hood.
"Whether she drifted here because of the King of Mages' Holy Grail or for other reasons," the Doctor continued, "regardless, she has reclaimed her past form and majesty."
"From what we saw, her ability to give birth to demonic beasts, Potnia Theron, was likely obtained through the Holy Grail."
"I think so too," Da Vinci added from the side. "Gorgon herself has no legends about giving birth to demonic beasts."
"You're right, Da Vinci," Merlin suddenly spoke up at this moment. "The tragedy regarding Gorgon began when the youngest sister angered the great goddess of Olympus, Athena."
"The youngest sister was cursed to become a monster. Her two older sisters pitied her, so they moved with her to the Shapeless Isle. The humans incited by Athena treated the three sisters as monsters, desperately trying to capture and destroy them to win the title of a hero."
"Although Medusa repelled many challengers, in the end, she truly turned into a monster and even absorbed her two most beloved sisters into her body. She lost her sanity due to excessive persecution and prejudice, and thus the primordial goddess possessing the divinity of the three sisters, Gorgon, was born."
"That should be the reason for her exceptional hatred towards humans."
"To think that the exiled goddess has returned as an avenger," Gilgamesh pondered while sitting on his throne. "How truly... absurd Greeks, absurd gods, hmph." He had always disliked gods anyway.
"But this is just one of the Three Goddesses," Merlin sighed.
"There is also the goddess Ishtar who possesses the Bull of Heaven, and that supreme deity of South America to the south..."
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. No matter how they looked at it, the future seemed bleak.
"Why are you sighing?" Gilgamesh sneered at this moment. "At times like this, you should be letting out a fearless laugh!"
"That fellow Gorgon said it herself, right? Humans were never the enemy from the start."
"Uh, yes," Mash replied upon hearing this. "She said we humans are merely obstacles, and the only ones she needs to be wary of are the other goddesses."
After all, at that time, Gorgon still didn't know of Kiana's existence.
"Then we have a great chance of winning!" Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. "Hahahahaha! The discord among the enemies is the most delightful weakness to seize an opportunity!"
"Is that so," Merlin stroked his chin, wondering what he was thinking.
"To conquer the Three Goddesses, we must go in order," Gilgamesh analyzed. "First, exclude Gorgon, who is the incarnation of non-negotiable hatred, and Quetzalcoatl, about whom we have the least information."
"The goddess Ishtar?" Fujimaru Ritsuka raised her head, locking eyes with Gilgamesh.
"Exactly," the latter showed a confident smile.
"My King, this is something I cannot obey!" Siduri, the priestess representing the religious authority of Uruk, stepped forward and spoke up. "Even if the damage caused by the goddess Ishtar is continuously expanding, she is still the city goddess of Uruk."
"How can we turn our blades against her!"
As a believer, she had to step forward to declare her stance.
"You disappoint This King too much, Chief Priestess Siduri," Gilgamesh sighed helplessly. "Even Fujimaru Ritsuka has realized it."
"Realized what..." Siduri turned to look at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"No one said anything about defeating that woman," Gilgamesh said. "Instead, we are going to win her over, just like taming a wild beast."
"Win over the goddess Ishtar as an ally?" Mash was completely dumbfounded upon hearing this.
"Exactly," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded. "We don't know how many sacrifices it would take to subjugate a goddess. Right now, every bit of strength in Uruk is precious!"
"And compared to Gorgon, with whom communication is definitely impossible, and Quetzalcoatl, whose background is unknown, we are somewhat familiar with Miss Ishtar. Also, do you remember the matter with the ranch?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke slowly, "She doesn't completely disregard Uruk either; she's protecting the people of Uruk in her own way. Though there might be a few issues with her method, her stance is definitely biased towards Uruk!"
"As for why such a goddess would join the Three Goddess Alliance..." Speaking up to this point, she glanced at Gilgamesh on the throne, her meaning self-evident.
After all, given that kind of grudge, and with Ishtar being such a capricious goddess, it wasn't surprising at all that she would make this choice.
"And there's another benefit," Merlin spoke up. "Compared to us, the friends of friends of friends, Ishtar, who spends time with her day and night, should understand Kiana a bit better."
"Wait, what does this have to do with Sister Kiana?" The naive Mash was completely bewildered.
"Mash, even though Sister Kiana could have killed Gorgon today," Fujimaru Ritsuka explained helplessly, "she held back... no, she practically let an entire Persian Gulf slide."
"Isn't it obvious what this represents? Perhaps from the very beginning, her goal was different from ours, so the upcoming conflict is basically unavoidable."
"Mhm. After you guys left today, I went to talk to her," Merlin appeared deeply troubled. "Sigh, as for the result of the conversation, I can only say everyone needs to be prepared for battle. Prepared to face a powerhouse who is at least at the level of a Beast."
"That's why we need to win over anyone we can possibly win over," Gilgamesh's expression turned grave. "That person isn't someone who can be casually brushed off."
"Whether it's Ishtar or Quetzalcoatl to the south, if it weren't for Gorgon being too extreme, we could have temporarily formed an alliance."
Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash exchanged a glance.
More than that...
They had compared information a few days ago and had basically confirmed that Kiana and Firefly were the same person. So if they really fought, what they would have to face wasn't just a Beast-level powerhouse, but a superhuman capable of solo-clearing a Beast within ten minutes!
Fight? Fight with what!
Even if the current lineup was more luxurious than the one in Fuyuki City, she still didn't think they could win.
But there was always a way out. Fujimaru Ritsuka believed she still understood her way of doing things; as long as they didn't stubbornly block her path, she basically wouldn't deal a fatal blow.
Therefore, the top priority now was to see if they could pry Sister Kiana's ultimate goal out of Ishtar's mouth.
Only by knowing this information could they decide whether to lie low and put on an act next, or immediately start struggling!
Please, let it not be the latter!
"There are some things that are hard for me to say," Merlin suddenly spoke up. "I can only say that in the worst-case scenario, we will face the siege of two Beasts."
"But there's always a way out. The Humanity Order won't just sit by and watch a Beast appear without doing anything, so in that situation, we can likely get the support of at least two Grand Class Heroic Spirits."
"So it's not like it's truly impossible to fight," Gilgamesh nodded with satisfaction. "Then it's decided to be you! Fujimaru Ritsuka!"
With a wave of Gilgamesh's hand, golden ripples rose in front of everyone.
"This King shall pass a secret trick to you. Go, hero! Go and tame that arrogant goddess!"
"Hey, I say," in the southern rainforest, Quetzalcoatl threw an arm around Xia Yu's shoulder. "What will it take for you to have a satisfying battle with me?"
"We'll talk about it when you actually block my path," Xia Yu handed the roasted rabbit to her mouth. "As for now, I think this is pretty good. Why engage in killing and fighting all day long?"
"Aren't you tired? Why not come and enjoy some delicious food instead?"
"But it's really boring," Quetzalcoatl sighed, taking a large bite of the rabbit. "You know? As a god, especially a deity possessing a combat authority, how could I just walk away after seeing a human like you!"
"Child of man, you who are so outstanding, so powerful, why are you so indifferent to fame and wealth? Can't you just come and have a satisfying battle with me?"
"No matter which era or which divine spirit system, if an outstanding person like you appeared among the subjects under their command, they could brag about it for a lifetime, okay!"
Quetzalcoatl's eyes gleamed as she said, "Even though I can tell from your name that you can't be separated from Roman Mythology—and Roman Mythology was born from Greek Mythology, basically just those gods changing their names."
"But I don't see their blessings on you. So since I saw you first, you're mine!"
The big sister licked her lips, "I will win you back for myself through a fair and square battle!"
"So that's how you all view me," Xia Yu thought out loud upon hearing this. "No wonder Ishtar keeps shouting for me to be her attendant."
So... when she revealed her true nature without reservation during their first meeting, Ereshkigal didn't think about keeping her either...
Are you really that free of desires?
Or rather, as the goddess of the underworld... you really are dedicated to your duties.
You don't dare to be capricious at all.
"Ishtar? She's not qualified enough," Quetzalcoatl leaned close to her. "A treasure like you would be coveted even by a god king, no matter which divine spirit system."
"Gods have a sense of rivalry too."
"You should be glad I'm an honorable god who only wants to win you over by subduing you in battle. If those despicable ones were to see you, their unscrupulous methods..."
"You must have read mythology, right? There are far too many examples in there."
"Oh, like that Zeus who is riddled with bad deeds," Quetzalcoatl said with a mischievous grin. "He would probably transform into the most handsome man to seduce you, binding you tightly to Mount Olympus with love, making you the most dazzling pearl on his crown?"
Well, looking at it this way, Zeus's reputation wasn't great even in the eyes of other pantheons; they could just bring up an example at random to gossip about him.
Then again, given Zeus's reputation... tsk, despised by both humans and dogs alike, were those things a human would do?
"That sounds so disgusting," Xia Yu shuddered upon hearing this. "Zeus? Heh!"
She reached out her hand and clenched it into a fist!
"I don't think Zeus could beat me," her expression was indifferent; she was just that confident.
How should she put it? She wasn't unaware of the strength of the fully materialized machine god Zeus from the Lostbelt—Olympus. The strength of the Herrscher of Flamescion was completely sufficient, okay?
Not to mention the Zeus on the Humanity Order line who had even shed his machine god body after his defeat. Kiana's strength would easily handle him.
With the Herrscher of Flamescion plus the Four-Core Greatsword, she would even dare to clash with the White Titan that broke the backbone of Earth's Age of Gods.
After all, although that titan was powerful, it hadn't reached the level of being able to blow up a planet.
If there was only one thing in Greek Mythology that could make Kiana find it tricky, it would be the flagship Chaos.
The essence of Chaos was a super-giant interstellar navigation flagship manufactured by an alien civilization, a Dyson sphere structured celestial sphere driven by stellar energy.
As the origin of the twelve machine gods of Olympus and a core existence of the Type-Moon World view, it had once consumed 97% of its functions to transport the machine gods to the galaxy where Earth is located, and the machine gods eventually evolved into the Greek gods.
It was the core threat of the Greek Lostbelt. To obtain fuel to escape the void, Chaos attempted to strip away 37% of Earth's mass through a void hole, destroying the god of war Ares the instant it appeared.
If she really had to face it, Flamescion's strength wouldn't be enough. That would be the time to pull out her invincible Acheron, Naught (Slashed Dream Cries in Red)!
"And seriously, let alone Zeus," Xia Yu glanced sideways at Quetzalcoatl, "I feel like you're really not my opponent."
"Ha, of course I know that!" the latter laughed freely. "Precisely because of this, a child of man like you appears so dazzling in our eyes!"
"So I absolutely cannot miss this duel! Even if I'm defeated, I want to fall down thoroughly enjoying it! Having witnessed the tracks of a child of man like you walking on the path of salvation, it's worth it even if I die!"
"Hmm? How did you know..." Xia Yu was slightly startled upon hearing this.
"Don't forget, my name is Quetzalcoatl," the latter revealed a brilliant smile. "I am Quetzalcoatl, and at the same time, I am Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the benevolent god who is the incarnation of the Morning Star, and the Kukulcan of the Mayans."
"As the highest point of the South American Pantheon, I, as the chief god, naturally possess power unimaginable to others. Kiana, I can see it! Your past was incredibly rough, and your future is filled with thorns!"
"But from you, I can feel that you are a hero walking on the path of salvation. That's why I, as the peak of the benevolent gods, love you so much!"
"The hero of salvation," she stood in front of Xia Yu, opening her arms, her divine light so dazzling. "So, do you really not want to consider me?"
Meanwhile, Xia Yu just lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "No!"
As if afraid her eyes would be burned by that dazzling divinity.
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