Chapter 8: This Goddess Guarantees Not to Beat You to Death
The goddess's voice outside the palace rang with aggression, and Siduri instantly understood the situation:
the palace guards would never be able to stop her.
By the time anyone tried to intervene, it was already too late.
Ishtar was not a patient goddess.
A deafening crash exploded from beyond the grand hall's doors. Under the scorching sun, golden dust shot skyward like a rising sandstorm. The blinding grains of shining quicksand veiled everything in sight—
And from within it, a lithe, graceful silhouette stepped forward.
"Still as impatient as ever… Lady Ishtar," Siduri murmured with a bitter smile.
As the King's adjutant, she had dealt with her countless times in the past. She knew all too well the temperament of this goddess, volatile, magnificent, and destructive.
Rowe said nothing. He simply followed Siduri's gaze toward the entrance.
The woman emerging from the golden haze had long black hair, a fit and athletic figure, and an outfit so revealing it barely qualified as clothing, just enough fabric to cover what decency demanded, leaving pale, luminous skin exposed in a way that made her seem somehow divine and wicked at once.
Rowe blinked.
Isn't this… Tohsaka Rin?
In the Type Moon world from his previous life, she was a certain tsundere magus with twin tails.
But this was clearly Ishtar.
A Divine Spirit Possession…?
It made sense. The Age of Gods had ended. Divine Spirits could not descend fully, only through possessing suitable vessels.
And Tohsaka Rin was the perfect vessel for the goddess of Venus.
Ishtar glanced around the hall, searching.
"Hmph? That coward isn't here?" Her crimson eyes narrowed irritably. "Gilgamesh, avoiding a beautiful and noble goddess, your insolence grows by the day!"
"Lady Ishtar, the King is currently—"
"Silence!"
Siduri didn't even finish her sentence before Ishtar barked at her.
"Did I grant you permission to speak? Hmph!" she scoffed, flipping her hair with practiced arrogance. "Think hiding will save you, Gilgamesh? You underestimate me far too much!"
She raised her hand. A golden radiance swirled like molten starlight, taking form in her palm—
The bow of Venus.
The materialization of the heavenly star itself.
The moment it appeared, an overwhelming pressure filled the entire hall, and the air seemed to heave outward from the force.
Ishtar cared nothing for the mortals inside.
She cared nothing for Uruk's stability.
She cared only for her fury, and for Gilgamesh, who wasn't here to witness it.
Siduri's face tightened.
If she destroyed the palace, Gilgamesh would absolutely come out—and both divinity and royalty would end up clashing.
But the King's instructions had been clear:
Do not let Ishtar disturb him.
So Siduri prepared to intervene, planning to invoke the one excuse that worked on divine beings: Gilgamesh was communicating with Ninsun, his divine mother. Even Ishtar hesitated to interfere with a fellow goddess.
But before she could act—
Rowe stepped forward.
"Lady Ishtar?"
He slowly descended the steps, standing directly before her, enduring the divine pressure crushing down upon the hall.
Ishtar flicked her eyes toward him.
"Oh? A new face." She plucked the shimmering bowstring, sparks rippling. "Not bad looking—but unfortunately, you aren't to my taste."
She smirked.
"Move aside, little mortal. You can't stop this goddess."
"And if you don't move?" she added, her voice turning sugary and cruel, "Then I'll simply blast you, and this entire palace, into dust."
To Rowe, it sounded like music.
He had been worried she might be influenced too much by Tohsaka Rin's humanity. But seeing Ishtar's divine arrogance, her utter disregard for mortal life, her cosmic scale narcissism—
He relaxed.
This was perfect.
This was an opportunity.
This was death probability 99.99 percent.
Still, to guarantee success, he mentally prepared the most effective provocation possible.
"I will not move," Rowe said calmly, focusing on her crimson eyes.
"I know who you are, Ishtar, goddess of beauty, war, and harvest."
He paused dramatically.
"It is said you are the most beautiful among the gods. That the stars themselves tremble before your radiance."
"Hmph hmph, finally, someone with taste!" Ishtar straightened proudly. "Unlike that shallow Gilgamesh, you at least know beauty when you see it!"
"But—"
There it was.
The deadliest word in any language.
"But," Rowe continued with a serene smile, "now that I see you in person… I must say, I'm disappointed."
The goddess froze.
"…What did you just say?"
"You are not as beautiful as the legends claim," he said bluntly. "In fact, you're quite ugly."
The entire hall fell silent.
Siduri choked on air.
The guards trembled.
Even the bowstring of Venus flickered.
"You ugly mortal." Ishtar's lips curled, her eyes boiling with divine outrage. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
Rowe smiled even more brightly.
"Of course. As the so called goddess of beauty, you don't even understand true beauty."
He stepped closer.
"Everything beautiful fades with time. People, landscapes, sunsets, none of it lasts. Only the spirit endures."
He pointed at her heart.
"And your spirit is shallow, arrogant, cruel, and self indulgent. Where is the beauty in that?"
"None."
"I see only ugliness.
Ugliness in appearance.
Ugliness in soul."
"And frankly," Rowe added, "it's no wonder Gilgamesh hides from you."
He clapped lightly, as if impressed with himself.
"In terms of ugliness, you truly are exceptional."
"Exceptionally ugly.
Uniquely ugly.
The real deal."
Ishtar stared at him.
The goddess of Venus—stunned speechless.
For one beat.
Two beats.
Three.
Then—
Her divine heart crackled with something fierce and unstable.
Huh?
If you dare to insult me, then keep going…
This goddess guarantees, absolutely guarantees, not to beat you to death…!
(Probably.)