After finalizing the agreement with Ereshkigal, the four set out once more.
When faced with the second question, the same answer allowed them to pass through without issue.
Everyone made it through.
Except Ishtar.
She shrank another size.
"Hey, Shirou Emiya."
Ishtar glanced sideways.
"Do you have some kind of history with Ereshkigal?"
"We just talked."
"That's all?"
"And besides that?"
Shirou thought for a moment.
"Does promising to defeat each other count?"
"...Huh?"
That answer was clearly not what Ishtar had imagined.
She had assumed the two shared some kind of complicated, intimate connection.
She hadn't expected something so... straightforward.
Rivals.
"Is this a long-overdue reunion, King Gilgamesh?"
Shirou suddenly smiled and spoke toward a rock at the side of the path.
"Hmph."
A voice answered.
"As expected of you."
"To see through this King's disguise at a glance."
"I managed to evade the detection of countless Gallu-spirits with Presence Concealment."
"It's nothing."
Shirou shrugged.
"I just have a bit of a special perspective."
No matter how powerful Presence Concealment was, it only hid aura.
It didn't erase existence.
And in the Age of Gods, Shirou Emiya's magical perception was far sharper than usual.
Even hiding behind a rock, Gilgamesh's position was obvious to him.
"That's great!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's face lit up.
"We found King Gilgamesh, Senpai!"
"Are you alright, King Gilgamesh?"
Mash asked eagerly.
"Hmph. Of course this King is fine."
"Then can't we just return now?"
"How could we?"
Gilgamesh answered flatly.
"No matter how you look at it, I am already a dead man."
"Without Ereshkigal's permission, I cannot leave the Underworld."
He understood his own state very clearly.
"...Looks like we have no choice but to keep moving forward."
...
They continued along the winding stone path.
Behind them, the constant bickering between Gilgamesh and Ishtar echoed endlessly.
Listening to it, Shirou Emiya felt unusually relaxed.
The two clearly despised each other.
Yet whenever they were together, they became a pair of endlessly quarreling rivals.
Because of that noise, the tension pressing on Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash from being deep within the Underworld eased slightly.
They even let out small laughs.
Passing through another gate, Ishtar shrank yet again.
She couldn't help but complain.
"Ugh... I got shocked again."
"I'm starting to feel scared of myself for getting used to this."
"Tsk."
Shirou clicked his tongue softly.
"It was amusing at first, but now it's getting hard to watch."
"If this continues, Ishtar will lose all combat capability."
"That would make our situation far worse."
"By the way..."
Roman's voice came through the connection.
"What kind of divinity does the goddess Ereshkigal have?"
"Is she on the same level as Ishtar?"
"No."
Gilgamesh answered immediately.
"She isn't as strong as Ishtar."
"Though both are ancient goddesses, Ereshkigal is far more restrained."
"Ishtar is the favored daughter of heaven."
"A goddess who could obtain anything she desired."
"The gods indulged her. As long as she pouted, they would give her whatever she wanted."
"In contrast..."
"Ereshkigal desired nothing."
"When the Underworld was created, she was offered up as its cornerstone."
"A god had to be sent to govern the Underworld."
"So that duty was forced onto her."
"The newborn Ereshkigal was pushed into the Underworld."
"Just like that, she became its mistress."
"For thousands-tens of thousands-of years, she has managed the souls of the dead."
"She has never once set foot on the surface."
"Nor in the heavens."
Mash lowered her gaze.
"...That's tragic."
"The old me might not have felt it."
"But now, I can."
"It's not tragic because she can't leave."
Mash continued quietly.
"It's tragic because she can't experience anything new."
"No new world."
"No new encounters."
"That's what's truly tragic."
No one spoke.
For a moment, silence settled over the group.
At the front, Shirou Emiya tightened his fist.
His resolve solidified further.
After a brief pause, Gilgamesh continued.
"In exchange, Ereshkigal is invincible within the Underworld."
"Even the gods cannot defy the laws she established here."
"Just like that little-little-little-little girl over there."
"But once she leaves the Underworld, that authority disappears."
"In terms of divinity and Authority, she is only mid-tier."
"Furthermore..."
"If the opponent is a living person, they are not bound by the Underworld's law of 'must kill.'"
"In other words..."
"Within this Underworld, Ereshkigal's laws do not apply to Shirou Emiya, Fujimaru Ritsuka, or Mash."
"Don't intervene."
Shirou Emiya spoke before anyone else could respond.
"Leave everything to me."
Feeling the gazes on him, he continued while walking forward.
"Ereshkigal and I made an agreement."
"We will duel here, in the Underworld."
"If I win, she will join Uruk as our ally."
"If I lose..."
"I'll become a soul."
"And stay with her in the Underworld forever."
"So this battle is mine."
Hearing that, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash hurried forward.
"Senpai Shirou, isn't that too dangerous?"
Shirou looked at their worried expressions and smiled.
"Relax."
"I'm confident I'll win."
"Oh?"
Gilgamesh laughed.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you."
"I trust you completely."
"Yeah."
Shirou nodded.
"Leave it to me."
...
Passing through the seven gates, the five finally arrived at Ereshkigal's temple.
Calling it a temple felt generous.
It was nothing but desolation.
"We're here, Eresh."
The moment Shirou's voice fell-
A violent storm erupted.
From the center of the temple, a massive skeleton emerged.
"Fear."
"Pray."
"And fall into despair, humans."
"I am the Administrator of Death."
"The Mistress of the Underworld."
"The one who tramples the sacred peaks."
"One of the Three Goddess Alliance."
"Ereshkigal."
A cold, death-laden aura flooded the area.
Fujimaru Ritsuka trembled behind Shirou.
In response, magical energy rippled outward from Shirou Emiya's body.
The oppressive atmosphere vanished.
At the same time, light gathered around him.
When it faded, his appearance had changed.
He wore a mage's robe.
A staff rested in one hand.
In the other, he held a stone tablet.
"According to our agreement..."
Shirou Emiya raised his gaze.
"I have come to challenge you, Eresh."
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