Watch My Quad-Core Greatsword
"I see."
Siduri looked at the clay tablet in her hand. "That is to say, you have confirmed it yourself, King, yet still haven't found it?"
"Correct," Gilgamesh nodded upon hearing this, his expression stiff. "The remains of Enkidu, which should have been buried in the Underworld, have indeed disappeared. Enkidu and Ereshkigal had a decent relationship. Because Enkidu once treated her with courtesy, she buried him in the Underworld."
"But Enkidu's remains have disappeared, which means..." Siduri still found it somewhat hard to accept. "Could that Kingu really be Enkidu?"
The thought of that once gentle hero turning into what he was now was simply unacceptable to her.
"No, Enkidu's soul has already been destroyed by the gods," Gilgamesh looked up at the starry sky. "Even if that body is his, he is not Enkidu."
"Is that so..." Siduri fell silent.
"Alright, Fujimaru and the others should be returning soon," Gilgamesh turned his head and said. "Go find them for a meeting; we still have a lot to do."
At this moment, in the Underworld.
"That black-robed one said you are an outsider..." Ereshkigal looked at the Rune Pillars and sighed. "Originally, I thought you were from a parallel universe at most... but looking at these runes..."
"Your origins are much further away than I imagined."
"Yeah," Xia Yu nodded upon hearing this. "I can't help it. I can't find my way home, so I can only take quests across various worlds to support myself."
"But you don't look that pitiful," Ereshkigal intertwined her fingers. "Look at all the major things you've done... Not long ago, you even said you wanted to single-handedly fight all the Grand Classes."
"I have no choice. Wandering the world, one naturally needs a trump card or two," Xia Yu said with a smile. "Otherwise, I wouldn't even know when I'd get eaten alive."
"But speaking of which, Ereshkigal, do you really believe me that much?"
"I can understand agreeing in a moment of excitement, but now that you've come to your senses, do you regret it?"
"I actually don't believe you that much," Ereshkigal lowered her head upon hearing this. "But... this is the Underworld, and I am the Mistress of the Underworld."
"Oh, which means Ereshkigal has enough confidence in her own strength," Xia Yu smiled and leaned in closer, looking at her face as she said, "Confident enough to ruthlessly suppress an outsider like me?"
"...No," Ereshkigal sighed. "Although the Divine Authority of the Underworld god is powerful, if I really fought you to the death, even if I won, my Underworld would be ruined. That's also why I kicked you out the first time we met."
"But believing you now... Kiana, you might not know this, but the Divine Authority of the Underworld god comes with the ability to judge a soul's past."
Ereshkigal leaned back slightly, blushing as she dodged her approach. "Because you aren't dead yet, this ability isn't very effective, but I've been in contact with you long enough."
"Without a doubt, you walk on the path of world salvation. The impact of your good deeds is etched into your soul. You have saved the lives of far more than tens of millions of people..."
Speaking up to here, Ereshkigal looked at Xia Yu with serious eyes. "Kiana, do you know? In the eyes of a god like me who can see it, your soul is an incredible treasure!"
"A human who successfully saved the world, a person of miracles who personally saved countless lives. If you appeared in the true Age of Gods, all the good gods would desperately extend an olive branch to you, taking pride in having your loyalty, and all the evil gods would take glory in claiming your soul or tempting you into Depravity!"
"Among the four goddesses currently in Uruk, Gorgon would consider it an honor to kill you. Ishtar... well, she doesn't possess my Divine Authority, but she can vaguely sense your uniqueness, which is why she keeps sticking by your side."
"As for the one from South America, she is an existence standing at the pinnacle of good gods. She can absolutely see it; I believe she must be clinging to you as well."
"There's also that young girl from Chaldea who is the same, walking on the same path as you, but her journey has not yet reached its end, so her soul isn't as dazzling as yours... However, if she continues, she will surely reach your state."
"I believe you. I believe in the echoes brought about by the good deeds engraved in your soul. You wouldn't lie to me, right?"
'World salvation? Good deeds?' Hearing this, Xia Yu stroked her chin and pondered. Well, in Teyvat, she had exposed Vacher's conspiracy, which counted as avenging those young girls, and could be considered a good deed. In Ursus, she had saved so many Infected, as well as in Lungmen. She had also put an end to the Sarkaz's wars, so that probably counted too?
On the Honkai Impact 3rd Earth, she had prevented the Great Honkai in Nagazora City from destroying the entire city, which also saved around a million people?
Right, in Fuyuki City, she had killed All the World's Evil. Her achievement of eliminating a Beast was no small feat either, right?
All in all, the people who survived because of her were far more than tens of millions... Just the food scattered across Terra alone was enough to keep many people alive...
So did this mean she had innate bonus affection in the good faction from now on? Though it required someone with sufficient strength or special abilities to see it?
Not bad at all. It could somewhat be considered a gain.
"That's right, I am a legendary great philanthropist," Xia Yu grasped Ereshkigal's hands. "So Ereshkigal, you must help me! Once I acquire Tiamat's Authority, I'll definitely revamp and build a garden for you in the Underworld!"
"Acquiring Mother's Divine Authority..." Hearing this, Ereshkigal looked at the surrounding Rune Pillars. "Is this really something that can be done?"
"Don't worry, the source of this technology is guaranteed," Xia Yu said with a grin. "Anyway, I'll be having my first actual combat soon, but at that time, I'll be standing on the opposing side of everyone."
"Ereshkigal, feel free to help them. Just stand by my side at the final moment."
As the sun set in the west, Ana, who had taken off the hood that always covered her head, sat on the stone steps by the south gate of Uruk. Wearing a black robe, her white-stockinged feet dangling without reaching the ground looked incredibly adorable.
She silently stayed there until the sun went down... Finally, Ana saw the people she had been waiting for. She directly jumped down from the steps and ran toward them with slightly cheerful steps.
"Fujimaru, Mash, welcome back!" Her voice carried a sense of relief; after all, they had gone to subjugate a goddess, and within her domain at that.
"Hmm? Merlin is still alive too?" The corners of Ana's mouth curled up slightly. She tilted her head and looked at Merlin, who had 'coincidentally' bumped into everyone on the way back. "That's great."
"Yes, we're back, Miss Ana," Mash said very happily. "Um, did you take your cloak off?"
"Ah, this is..." Ana touched her hair, feeling a bit shy.
"Hmm, hmm," Merlin bent down, leaning in close to look. "You look quite different from usual. Today, it seems a flower has begun to bloom."
"Ah, this..." Ana hesitated for two seconds, then decisively changed the subject. "Anyway, King Gilgamesh is waiting for everyone at the Ziggurat, hurry and go!"
After saying that, she turned around directly and walked at the very front, her large pink braid swinging back and forth behind her.
Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.
Ziggurat.
"We will now begin the strategy meeting for intercepting Gorgon!" Gilgamesh announced loudly, standing before the throne.
"Then everyone," Siduri had someone bring up a table, upon which a sand table model was already set up, "please allow me to confirm and report on the current situation."
"Right now, in order to resist the large-scale invasion of Gorgon's main body, we have concentrated all remaining forces at Uruk's Northern Wall. On the other hand, the Demonic Beasts have gathered in the Cedar Forest."
"Their numbers are more than ten times ours!"
"Exactly. In this situation, Humans have no chance of winning," Gilgamesh spoke up. "Our trump card, Quetzalcoatl, still has a covenant on her and cannot strike at Gorgon. Although Ereshkigal is free from her covenant, she cannot leave the Underworld."
"Ishtar... your use is not here, so our top-tier combat power can barely withstand Gorgon's attacks, and there's no one to deal with the Demonic Beasts that outnumber our soldiers ten to one."
"Of course, we could deploy Heroic Spirits to lead the army against the Demonic Beasts, but if we do that, we will lack the combat power of Leonidas, Ushiwakamaru, Musashibou, and Tomoe Gozen for the decisive battle with Gorgon."
He said with a headache, "But if we do that, our combat power for subjugating Gorgon would be insufficient."
Now that there was the threat of Kiana, Merlin couldn't possibly trick Quetzalcoatl, who could act as their trump card, into losing half her divinity anymore.
"Hey, what do you mean I have another use?" Ishtar frowned upon hearing this. "Are you implying I can't beat Gorgon?"
Without the Bull of Heaven, facing Gorgon who possessed Tiamat's Authority might be somewhat difficult for her. But now, with the Bull of Heaven, she was invincible. A mere Gorgon wasn't the real Tiamat!
How could she possibly not beat her!
"I mean that you, just like Quetzalcoatl, are an ultimate trump card." Having no other choice with their forces stretched so thin, Gilgamesh had to yield to her.
"Besides, rather than passively meeting their attack, why don't we directly raid the enemy's stronghold before they launch their offensive?"
"Our citizens of Uruk will mobilize in full force to buy time at the Northern Wall," Gilgamesh introduced his plan. "Within this half-day, you all will raid Gorgon's base, the Blood Temple!"
"But will things really go that smoothly?" Ishtar frowned. She did possess the Authority of war, after all. "Furthermore, how are we supposed to travel to the Blood Temple?"
"This is where the Axe of Marduk comes into play," Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, looking at the sand table. "That axe should be able to destroy the Blood Temple and carve a path to the interior."
Hearing this, Siduri added, "A mysterious Servant calling herself the Black Panther Courier has already delivered the Axe of Marduk. She has now headed to the Northern Wall to assist with the defense."
"But here comes the problem," Quetzalcoatl said with her arms crossed. "If we transport that giant axe, it'll quickly get shot down by the Demonic Beasts. It's not like they're blind."
"I do have the ability to throw it directly over there, but I'm still bound by a contract. If I really did that, you wouldn't be able to count on me for what comes next."
"Leave that axe to me." Just then, Xia Yu suddenly popped her head out from behind Fujimaru Ritsuka and said, "It's just a small axe, easy peasy."
"Hmm?!" Hearing her voice, everyone immediately looked over. They saw Kiana leaning her upper body out of a purple portal, resting her arm on Ritsuka's shoulder, smiling as she craned her neck to look at the sand table.
"Also, you can leave the problem of traveling there to me. One portal will take care of it."
"Wait, you have the Authority of space too?" Seeing this, Merlin was not feeling well at all. How was she getting stronger and stronger!
"More than just space," Xia Yu reached out and drew Blazing Hope, pointing at the four gems on it. "This is the Herrscher of the Void Core, representing the Authority of space. This is the Herrscher of Reason Core, which can be used to construct all things. This is the Herrscher of Sentience Core, the absolute authority over consciousness and souls. And this is the Herrscher of Fire Core, which grants me the Authority of flame."
She offered Blazing Hope to Ritsuka. "How about it, Ritsuka, isn't my Four-Core Greatsword cool?"
Actually, the original base-form Flamescion didn't have the power of that many Cores. She only had the Authorities of the Void and Fire. As for Reason and Sentience, they were temporarily borrowed and had to be returned after fighting the Legion of a Thousand.
Otherwise, Sentience, who got scammed by her own mother, would cry herself to death.
But Xia Yu had transformed into Kiana at her absolute peak, so she naturally possessed the borrowed Authorities. What? Return them? There was no one looking for her to demand them back anyway.
"Such beautiful gems..." Beside them, Ishtar stared at the four Cores in absolute obsession. "These are peerless treasures! Not just gems, but also powerful Authorities that even gods dream of... Wuu wuu wuu, why don't I have such a good fate, I want giant gems too..."
She still knew her limits. If it were other gems, she could just ask Kiana for them, but asking for these gems that contained someone else's Core Authorities would be going too far. So she could only look at that Four-Core Greatsword with envy, jealousy, and bitterness.
"Can I touch it? Just a little touch!"
"Here," Xia Yu directly handed the greatsword to her. "Touch it as much as you like!"
"Kiana, you're such a good person!" Ishtar pounced on it entirely, reaching out to caress her greatsword.
"Um... ahem," Watching Ishtar lose so much face, Gilgamesh sighed. Forget it, liking gems wasn't a big deal. Compared to the original Ishtar, the current one could simply be called pure and good-natured.
"I thought you wouldn't come back," he looked up at Xia Yu.
"The main thing is that you guys are going to fight Gorgon," Xia Yu smiled at him. "I absolutely have to come and help out with that!"
'You absolutely have an ulterior motive!'
Gilgamesh and Merlin looked at each other, confirming each other's thoughts.
Since she wanted to come, let her come. Rather than letting her plans remain hidden in the shadows, it was better to let her expose them openly.
Lest everyone be on edge all day.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me! But for faster responses, please notify me on my discord server instead (link is in my profile). Thanks!
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