Goddess Ereshkigal.
In mythological records, she is a somber Goddess who imprisons the souls of the dead in her spear cages, toying with them by her side, ensuring they can never be reborn—a rather cold and cruel Goddess.
As someone who was once harshly punished by her, Ishtar strongly affirmed this.
However, the reality was quite different.
Ereshkigal was a very gentle Goddess.
Her attitude toward souls wasn't cold. She created spear cages not to imprison but to provide a comfortable resting place for souls with nowhere else to go. After all, the Underworld was a barren place, utterly devoid of comfort. To ensure the souls of the dead could rest in peace, Ereshkigal busied herself daily crafting spear cages, carefully considering whether the souls might feel uncomfortable.
She was truly a kind-hearted Goddess, deeply considerate and gentle toward souls.
Her reason for joining the Three Goddess Alliance was also rooted in her own pride and care for humanity.
No matter how hard they fought, humanity would be eradicated. If that was the case, then while the Underworld of the Age of Gods still existed on the surface, she would bring as many human souls as possible to the Underworld for protection.
This was why Ereshkigal joined the Three Goddess Alliance: it was the only way she could protect souls in a relatively safe and reasonable manner.
Initially, Ereshkigal intended to keep this from everyone. After all, there was no one in the Underworld she could talk to, and despite being the Goddess of the Underworld, she lacked the ability to communicate with souls.
She was prepared to continue enduring in silence, misunderstood and alone, as she had for thousands of years.
But now, aside from Arcueid, who appeared out of nowhere as an exception, another person who understood her had emerged.
"You… are as strange as Arcueid said." Ereshkigal sighed after a moment of silence.
"Not being afraid of things that should be feared—Arcueid said it was the same when she officially met you."
At that time, Arcueid had been split into seventeen pieces. Normal people wouldn't dare approach her; just seeing her would make them flee in terror. Naoki's act of bringing her back and piecing her together was utterly unreasonable, making one wonder if his brain was broken.
Naoki smiled: "Because I already know what kind of people you are, don't I? And if I know, there's no need to be afraid. Living beings only fear the unknown. Once the unknown becomes known, fear diminishes greatly."
"Haaah… such a weird guy." Ereshkigal sighed again. "Back to the main point. You want me to lend my strength to… help you fight Gorgon? Sorry, based on the Three Goddess Alliance's agreement, we're not allowed to attack each other. Breaking it would cause me significant losses."
"No, that's not what I meant."
Naoki shook his head: "A Goddess like Gorgon? I can handle her myself. Plus, now we have Arcueid, and Uruk's combat strength is sufficient. Gorgon is no longer a threat."
"I'm hoping you'll join us to fight the real enemy sleeping in the Persian Gulf—the true Magical Beast Goddess, Tiamat."
"What did you say?!"
Before Ereshkigal could respond, Ishtar shot out from Naoki's clothing: "Mother is in… the Persian Gulf?! No way, Mother has been—"
"Banished to the Imaginary Number Space, right?" Naoki continued. "That was true before, but now Goddess Tiamat has returned from the Imaginary Number Space… Most likely, it was the Magecraft King who did it. He sent the Holy Grail to this era himself and awakened Goddess Tiamat."
"But that's not the point. The point is what Goddess Tiamat will do after waking up."
In mythology, Tiamat deeply loved her children, tolerating all their behaviors, but in the end, she was abandoned and killed by them, banished to the Imaginary Number Space by a world that no longer needed her.
Now, through the collapse of Human History and the power of the Holy Grail, she had returned to this world.
At the same time, driven by hatred, anger, sorrow from being mercilessly abandoned, and her instinct to reshape Earth's ecosystem, she decided to follow her instincts, beginning to sweep through and destroy humanity.
"Mother wants to destroy humanity… It's hard to believe, but it's not that hard to believe either."
Ishtar let out a long sigh.
"So, you plan to stop—no, you plan to defeat Mother?"
"Yes." Naoki nodded. "Regardless of the old issues from the mythological era, I absolutely don't agree with the destruction of humanity, nor do I agree with the Human Order Incineration. So, I'll do everything I can to stop Tiamat."
"But how do you stop her? That's Mother, you know. In terms of divinity, she's on a completely different level from us."
Ishtar considered herself all-powerful, but even she was aware that her level of Divinity was vastly inferior to Tiamat's.
Naoki gently patted her head: "Don't worry, I have knowledge from parallel worlds about how to defeat Goddess Tiamat. And for that, Goddess Ereshkigal's power is absolutely essential."
As he spoke, Naoki extended his hand to Ereshkigal once more: "So, will you help us, Goddess Ereshkigal?"
"Not yet."
Ereshkigal shook her head: "It might sound harsh, but—I don't trust you, even if you're Arcueid's friend. Besides, right now, your claim that Mother has returned is just your word, with no convincing evidence."
"If you want my help, give me convincing proof first."
"Hmm… So, you'd be willing to help if Goddess Tiamat really appears?"
"You could understand it that way."
Naoki could understand Ereshkigal's concerns. After all, he didn't expect her to trust him immediately upon their first meeting. It was enough that they could communicate well.
"I understand. Then let's discuss this after I successfully defeat Gorgon."
"So confident. As a warning, Gorgon isn't alone out there." Ereshkigal hinted. "There's another one with her—"
"Enkidu, or rather, Kingu, right?"
Naoki said: "King Gilgamesh already told me and asked me not to hesitate to completely destroy him when I meet him… Well, that's what he said verbally. I don't know what he's actually thinking."
"But no matter what Gilgamesh thinks, what I'm going to do won't change."
"—I will definitely bury Enkidu for the second time, along with his soul."