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"This is what you meant by 'giving it your all'...?" Asher looked at the goddess beside him. Not long ago, she stood with her hands on her hips, boasting, "Leave everything to me!" Now, there was no trace of that confidence on her face.
"Shut up! This is called caution! When you enter an enemy's territory, shouldn't you be careful and vigilant?"
Ishtar cautiously surveyed her surroundings, then glared at Asher and continued, "Besides, I wasn't even supposed to follow you into the Underworld. Just telling you about that Underworld goddess would've been enough. Now that I'm here with you, shouldn't you be properly grateful for this favor?"
"Hmm, thank you for your favor, Lady Goddess."
"Ugh..." Ishtar let out a faint whine. "I knew I shouldn't have followed you in, you ungrateful wretch."
"But I am thanking you. What else do you want?"
Ishtar pointed a finger at Asher. "You're clearly trying to subtly insult me."
Asher looked at Ishtar, speechless. This goddess was so willful, a huge difference compared to Sister Morgan.
"Are you comparing me to other goddesses right now?"
Ishtar seemed to have thought of something, looking up
and saying, "Ah! Are you comparing me to this Underworld goddess of death?!"
"..."
In a way, the Venus goddess's intuition was spot on, and quite terrifying.
As they chatted, the two arrived at the Seven Gates of the Underworld.
"We're here," Asher said, simultaneously looking down at the carnation in his hand. That was the flower's name. It was said that the goddess liked such flowers. It was a pity Merlin wasn't here; otherwise, he might have been able to conjure up more carnations.
"Strange? Don't you have to answer a question every time you pass through a gate?" Asher looked at the first gate in confusion, muttering to himself, "Why is there no sound now?"
"Hmm, it is a bit strange..." Ishtar also looked at the first gate ahead in confusion. "Did that guy lift these questions?"
"Or is she neglecting her duties and currently sleeping soundly on a huge rock or something?" Asher tried to analyze.
"Cough..."
The gate finally spoke: "Question"
"Finally." Asher walked to the gate. "Come on, no matter what the question is this time, I'll answer you."
"Some people get angry easily, while others are very tolerant. Now, Asher, please answer: How do you think one can forgive someone who refused to turn back last night no matter how much they were called, and instead rode their horse straight out of here? Should they kneel by the Underworld goddess's side for three days and three nights, devoutly apologizing, or continue riding their horse to escape the Underworld?"
Asher: "..."
Clearly, the goddess had changed the question on the fly.
"To actually name you specifically to answer... Did you really do something very offensive?" Ishtar asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"I genuinely didn't do anything. Maybe she's just too resentful...? Don't worry too much; if worse comes to worst, we'll just force our way in," Asher said with a smile, turning his head.
Ishtar turned her face away, a blush appearing on her cheeks, and muttered, "I'm not worried, don't
misunderstand. It's just that I accepted your request, so I need to see it through."
"Also, haven't you realized by now that even gods must abide by the rules here?" Ishtar continued to ask.
"I have. In fact, it's precisely because I sensed the original essence that I came down to investigate last night," Asher said.
"Original essence..." Ishtar repeated, then looked up at Asher again, her gaze fixed for a moment before she withdrew it. "So that's how it is. Was the place you were responsible for as a god in your past life also similar to the Underworld?"
Asher shook his head. It was too troublesome to explain, and he couldn't be bothered.
"Anyway, we've just been chatting this whole time, it's a bit sad that we've ignored her," Asher said, looking up at the gate. Ever since he and Ishtar started talking, the gate had been repeatedly saying the same phrase, but no
one had paid attention.
"Answer... please answer..."
"Please answer..."
...It just kept repeating the same sentence.
"Who cares about her? In fact, seeing that gloomy guy frustrated makes me feel great," Ishtar snorted.
Asher sighed. Ishtar might not care, but he couldn't afford to, so he had no choice but to say, "I choose one."
"Ding-dong-dong! Perfect correct answer! Please proceed, hurry and proceed! Your path ahead will be smooth and unobstructed!"
When the voice of the Underworld goddess sounded, Asher stepped towards the second gate, only to his surprise, found it was open. And after that, the third to the seventh gates were all wide open.
In short, he didn't need to answer any more questions.
...But it didn't make him happy.
Undoubtedly, the other party was simply eager for him to enter the palace beyond the gates, which was why she granted him this "privilege."
"Are you still coming with me?" Asher turned to ask Ishtar, who had shrunk in size behind him.
This was a curse Ishtar had carried from her past life; with each gate she passed, a seventh of her divinity would be stripped away, and her body would shrink. Once she stepped through the last gate, this Ishtar would probably be the size of a figurine.
A living, talking figurine... sounds kind of interesting?
Ishtar was still hesitating whether to continue forward, but as soon as she heard Asher's words, she immediately straightened her back. "Of course, the mere Underworld is nothing to fear for me."
Even if Ishtar was currently burdened by the Underworld, having to lose a portion of her divinity with each gate, she would still not be afraid.
Asher saw this and didn't try to persuade her further.
Instead, he continued to walk through the remaining gates, and Ishtar's body kept getting smaller.
"Um... Ash, are we partners?" Ishtar suddenly asked softly.
No, it wasn't soft; it was just that her body had shrunk,
causing her voice to become smaller as well.
Asher turned to look at the Heavenly Goddess, now only the size of his palm. He felt an inexplicable urge to laugh, but then remembered that she was willing to follow him deep into the Underworld for this so-called request, and couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion.
She could have just run off with those jewels after telling him about the Underworld goddess, but she still came with him to the Underworld... Regardless of the reason, her sentiment was quite touching.
Asher extended his hand to Ishtar. "Come on up. It'll be faster if I carry you."
Ishtar's face unknowingly flushed. She lightly bit her lip, squirmed a bit, but finally stepped onto Asher's palm.
Carrying the now palm-sized Ishtar, Asher successfully passed through the Seven Gates of the Underworld and arrived inside the palace.
Boom!
With a sound that seemed to be a display of power, a giant skeleton monster appeared before Asher. The surrounding palace's chill spread, and the temperature was no longer an environment where humans could stay for long.
Runic script glowed at this moment. Ishtar felt the warmth emanating from Asher's palm but said in dissatisfaction, "Don't underestimate me. I am a goddess, after all, and I won't freeze to death from this temperature."
"Oh... is that so? You should have said something earlier. Wasting my magic," Asher nodded, withdrawing the warmth that had spread to his palm.
Ishtar: "..."
For the first time, Ishtar secretly wished for the Underworld goddess to succeed. She desperately hoped that this unknown god would be humiliated by the Underworld goddess.
The giant skeleton monster slowly spoke: "Servant, do you remember what happened last night?"
"I apologize for what happened last night, so I'm here today to apologize to you. I was wrong, and I won't dare to do it again," Asher said, offering the carnation in his hand to the giant skeleton monster.
"What is this? Do you intend to bribe me with such a
paltry thing?" Asher could feel a gaze from behind the giant skeleton intently watching the flower in his hand.
"This is a carnation. I think it suits the Underworld goddess very well, so I wanted to offer it to you. One day, it will bloom throughout the entire Underworld," Asher said.
"Suits me well, does it...?" For some reason, the voice remained incredibly cold, but one could sense that someone's lips were unconsciously curving upwards.
"I accept your sincerity. Place the flower down."
Asher placed the carnation into the ground beside them, finally feeling a sense of relief.
That should be fine now, right?
Just as he thought that, he heard the voice return: "And, do you remember the choice you made at the first gate?"
Asher: "..."
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