Chapter 7: the Chains of Heaven
This situation differs from the relationship between Waver and Zhuge Liang in The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II; in that case, Liang and Waver share a body but possess distinct personalities. Under normal circumstances, Waver's personality remains dominant, while Liang's stays dormant.
Ishtar and Rin, however, achieved a perfect fusion, and the degree of their integration is even stronger than that of Liang and Waver. In other words, the personality of "Archer Rin" is the result of Ishtar and Rin being neutralized by one another. After all, Ishtar in mythology is capricious and often brings suffering to others. With Rin's personality acting as a buffer, Ishtar is now a bona fide energetic girl. Because of this positive neutralization, Ishtar's mischievous nature has been greatly improved; otherwise, being touched by Shirou just now would have likely sent her into a rage, ready to start a fight.
However, Shirou didn't care at all about the act of offending a goddess; one could even say he was quite skilled at it.
"Hey? What are you looking at?" The girl, held horizontally in Shirou's arms, glared at him with a nasty tone.
"Looking at your legs. Any problems with that?" Shirou replied righteously.
"Hmph! Who gave you permission to touch me so casually? Let go of me!" Ishtar shouted fiercely at Shirou.
Upon hearing this, Shirou let go without a moment's hesitation. The sudden loss of weight caused Ishtar's expression to freeze, and her body fell out of control.
Thump!
"You... why did you suddenly let go?!"
"Didn't you tell me to let go?" Shirou spread his hands, looking innocent.
"You...!!"
The girl was speechless with rage, unable to come up with a retort, and could only puff out her cheeks in anger.
"Do you know who I am, to dare treat me like this?! Which city are you from?!"
"Fuyuki City," Shirou replied.
"Huh?" Ishtar arched a brow, her expression turning puzzled. "What kind of place is that?"
At this moment, Mash and Gudako recovered from the sudden chaos and looked at Ishtar, who had intruded between the three of them.
"In my opinion, that accidental conflict just now didn't seem to be Shirou's fault... Can we talk this over properly?" Mash looked at Ishtar and spoke, "Um... may I ask who you are...?"
Hearing Mash's words, Ishtar stared at the two of them, sizing them up.
"You don't recognize me? Are you serious about that?"
"Eh... what does that mean...?" Gudako didn't quite understand. "We are members of an organization called Chaldea, and we came to this Singularity to restore human history."
Upon hearing Gudako's explanation, Ishtar nodded.
"I see. So, you are guests from a foreign land? Well... that's not impossible. I suppose it's thanks to 'her' that I was able to..."
Ishtar trailed off, her words coming to an abrupt halt.
"By the way, let me ask you something: have you noticed if anything important has fallen around here?"
"Huh? What?" Gudako and Mash tilted their heads.
"I mean... something that you look at and immediately think, 'Wow, this thing is incredible'!" Ishtar waved her hands, painting an inexplicable shape in the air. "Well? Have you seen it?"
"Even if you ask us like that..." Gudako scratched her hair.
"Did you lose something?" Mash followed up.
Ishtar, suddenly asked this, glared like a ruffled kitten.
"Ha?! How is that possible! I didn't lose anything!"
"..."
Seeing the three people in front of her staring at her without a word, Ishtar felt her cheeks gradually heating up.
"Say something! Sometimes silence is the cruelest thing of all!"
At this moment, the cry of some animal came from out of nowhere.
"Ah! Over there!!"
A joyful expression emerged on Ishtar's face, and her body immediately flew into the sky, heading toward the direction of the sound.
"She left... what a strangely behaved person..." Mash watched Ishtar's figure drifting further and further away.
"Indeed. We should get back to business as well." Gudako retracted her gaze and then looked at Shirou beside her. "Orihara-senpai, are you coming with us?"
"Let's go. Besides, as long as I'm with you, I'll surely run into that goddess again," Shirou nodded. He was still considering whether to directly drive Ishtar out of Rin's body or to observe for a bit longer. Ereshkigal might also end up in Rin's body later.
"...Senpai, the way you say that makes me feel really anxious," Gudako felt somewhat embarrassed by Shirou's comment.
Just then, Roman's voice finally came through the communicator on Gudako's wrist.
"Hey, hey...! Great! Communication is finally restored!"
At the same time, the roar of Demonic Beasts erupted from the surroundings once more. One after another, Demonic Beasts that looked as if they had been stamped out from a single mold began to surround the location of Gudako, Mash, and Shirou.
"Doctor, we'll talk later! Mash, enter alert status!"
"Yes!"
Mash immediately held her shield in front of her.
"These Demonic Beasts seem to be the same ones from before. It looks like they didn't run away because they were defeated, but went to call for backup." Shirou surveyed the surrounding Demonic Beasts that were closing in with predatory glares. "I checked before; these beasts were mass-produced from a single mold, not naturally occurring."
"Mass-produced? Who would do such a thing...?" Gudako frowned deeply.
"Before we discuss that, let's take care of these beasts first."
As Shirou said this, blue ripples appeared in the air above him. From within the circles of ripples, the sharp edges of Noble Phantasms were exposed, already primed and ready for action.
At that very moment, the sound of clashing metal came from the other side of the sky. Silvery-white chains shot toward the Demonic Beasts, and the golden wedges at their tips pierced through them one after another! Without even a cry of agony, the swarming Demonic Beasts were easily slaughtered.
"The 'Chains of Heaven'?" Shirou arched a brow and looked toward the direction from which the chains had flown.
A figure dressed in white robes, with long green hair and purple eyes, stepped into the view of the three. 'He' possessed a beauty so transcendent that gender was difficult to distinguish—perhaps this was the ultimate in androgynous beauty.
"The immediate area is temporarily clear, but other beasts will be attracted by the smell of blood. We should leave here first," 'he' said. To the ears, the voice sounded more masculine.
Then, 'he' looked at Gudako.
"You must be the Master of Chaldea, right? I have been waiting for you in this Age of Gods for a long time." His voice was very gentle, naturally eliciting a sense of goodwill.
"Who are you?" Mash looked at the other person, feeling as if she had seen him somewhere before.
"As for my identity, the person over there should know better, right?" Saying this, 'he' looked at Shirou. "You just... blurted out the name of the divine artifact I possess, didn't you?"
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