Ishtar Rin Goes on a Rampage

Even in his human form, barefoot, Quetzalcoatl is over 1.8 meters tall. If he were to wear high heels, even the adult Shirou would feel immense pressure. Now, with his elementary school-sized frame, the disparity in height is so great that he can only struggle to speak.

"Gah!" Although Lion Saber and Panda Jeanne d'Arc wanted to save Shirou, they were stopped by a group of their kind with complicated expressions, who grabbed their arms and legs.

"I'm sorry... Shirou, gaaaa..." The little tiger covered her face in sorrow, refusing to look at the boy. At that moment, she wished she were the Black Panther God descending to earth and could absolutely stop the madwoman's tyranny.

"Don't be shy, yes. Let's do it this way!" Feathered serpent goddess said, stomping her foot. A circular crack appeared around the ground, turning the spot where she stood into an elevator platform. With another stomp, the ground sank several meters down. With yet another stomp, it sank down again.

Her destination was a massive ley line leading dozens of meters underground, a space connected to the Holy Grail to store magical energy. Normally guarded by feathered serpent goddess, no creature was allowed to enter, but now, in her drunken stupor Quetzalcoatl seemed intent on using it as her bridal chamber.

"Shirou! She likes to dance! Dance with her!" Ereshkigal was standing nearby, was also terrified at this moment. Despite her extreme nervousness, she still managed to make the suggestion.

"Yes! Quetzalcoatl! Dance with me first!!!" Shirou shouted loudly.

"Dancing? Hiccup~! Yes... Of course we have to dance before entering the bridal chamber!" Feathered serpent goddess let out a drunken hiccup, finally stopping his attempt to lead Shirou into the bridal chamber. He took Shirou's hands and jumped to the campfire, where he began to dance a strange dance.

However, Shirou was lifted up, fared worse, being spun around like a tidal wave.

Quetzalcoatl lifted Shirou high with both hands, raised his legs, waved his arms, and laughed loudly, "Ahahaha, ahahaha, ahaha..."

Finally, he released Shirou and fell headfirst into the sunken hole with a thud, like a heavy object hitting the ground. He remained motionless for a long while.

The magical creatures above peered into the burrow, while below, even snoring sounds filled the air.

At the last moment, Shirou, who had been released and fallen to the ground, lay there for a long time without getting up.

"Hey, Shirou, are you alright?" Ereshkigal walked over worriedly and patted the boy's shoulder, only to feel his body trembling slightly.

"I'm saved!" Shirou quickly turned around, hugged the girl, his body trembling, tears welling in his eyes, and said with lingering fear. In order to regain his childlike heart, Shirou was turned back into an elementary school student. Although he still retained his memories, the change in his physique had a significant impact on a person.

Even a simple cold and fever, lying alone in bed recovering, can make a strong person who has been working hard away from home for many years, extremely vulnerable. In his sleep, he thinks countless times about buying a ticket home, opening the door, and eating a meal cooked by his parents.

Not to mention, in a completely unfamiliar environment, where even his life couldn't be guaranteed, his body reverted to that of an elementary school student. The current Shirou is far from the strong and battle-hardened adult he is now. He's just keeping a tight rein on his mind, building up a mental defense, and forcing himself to appear as strong as his adult self.

However, Quetzalcoatl's rampage shattered Shirou's defenses, causing the tension he had been holding onto to snap, leaving the boy bewildered.

"Wait!" Suddenly hugged, Ereshkigal blushed and raised her hands, unsure what to do. Although it was embarrassing, feeling the boy's tense body, she sighed helplessly, patted his back, and comforted him, saying, "Okay, okay, it's alright now."

Meanwhile, on the other side, the little lion, the little tiger, and the Panda Jeanne d'Arc, who had been worried sick about Shirou, were also moved to tears, their arms outstretched and snot flying as they ran towards them.

"Waaah!"

"Gawoo!"

"Shirou!"

"Everyone!!" Shirou excitedly hugged his friends, holding them tightly for a long time. It was really scary; when women get drunk and go crazy, it's truly terrifying.

The magical creatures around him, understanding the boy's hurt feelings, patted him on the shoulder or back, and then left. Much later, Shirou finally parted ways with the blonde girl.

"Thank you... Ereshkigal," the boy said, his face slightly flushed.

"Hmph, just this once! You're a boy, so don't always act like this." Ereshkigal blushed, crossed her arms, and turned her head away. She then quickly turned to her bag, took out a blanket, and lay down. The girl closed her eyes, but the heat on her flushed ears didn't subside.

The girl had her back to Shirou, and a slight smile played on her lips.

Nothing more was said that night.

The next morning, the rising sun shone into the clearing in the center of the forest, dispelling the cold and gloom and bringing everything back to life.

When the boy woke up, he saw that the sun was already high in the sky, shining on the earth. Shirou, who was exhausted from the events of the previous night, was able to sleep in, which was a rare treat.

Shirou sat up and found three small animals lying beside him, like guardian angels. He chuckled and covered them with a blanket. He stood up and looked towards the stove that had been set up the night before, where he saw the blonde girl, Ereshkigal, stirring a round iron pot with a spoon.

"Good morning, Ereshkigal. Sorry to make you breakfast." Shirou walked over.

"Good morning, Shirou. It's alright. I've been quite interested in cooking anyway. It's rare to have a human body, and I actually want to try making my own food." Ereshkigal said with a smile. After eating Shirou's cooking yesterday, she became interested in cooking. So this morning, she tried to make breakfast using the ingredients in Shirou's backpack.

"Good morning, really? May I watch you make your breakfast?" Shirou asked softly.

"Of course, if there's anything I haven't done well, please give me your guidance," Ereshkigal said humbly.

"Okay, so what are you doing now, Ereshkigal?" Shirou asked with a smile.

"Hmm, I'm planning to cook the wheat into a light yellow soup, and add some wild vegetables stir-fried with animal fat, wild mushrooms, and the smoked Shirou you made last night that we didn't finish. Should that be okay?"

"Of course, Ereshkigal, you made more than I expected. Porridge is a more common food in China. In Japan, people rarely drink porridge. Even restaurants only serve ancient dishes that have been passed down from certain regions, as a better-swallowing liquid food to replace rice on special occasions or when one is sick."

Compared to the ancient He Kingdom, where the samurai and noble classes ate white rice, while the peasant and lower classes ate beans and konjac.

Since ancient times, China has had a tradition of famine, when ordinary people couldn't even afford a bowl of porridge, leading to uprisings. Before the invention of rice noodles and noodles, porridge was practically the only option for ordinary people to fill their stomachs, making it truly important to the Chinese people.

Shirou thought to himself, "Well, logically speaking, but at this time, China probably hadn't reached the era of Yu the Great controlling the floods, the ruling class of the Xia Dynasty hadn't risen, and Chinese civilization hadn't officially begun. It can only be said that Tohsaka's passion for Chinese cuisine can still influence goddesses who look similar, even in this world."

"Good morning... everyone~ Haa!" At this moment Quetzalcoatl also woke up, lifted his legs to sit up on the ground, and yawned.

Cú Chulainn asked, "Big sister, just wondering, do you remember what happened last night?"

"Last night?" Quetzalcoatl touched his painful head and said doubtfully, "We held a banquet and drank wine..."

"Then..." Everyone's gaze turned to feathered serpent goddess.

"Then? Then I fell asleep, right? And slept soundly until dawn. Ee-ah, Shirou's meat was delicious, the sake was great, and the dancing was fun, but I have absolutely no memory of anything else." The older woman with long, curly blonde hair chuckled and shrugged.

"Ah... is that so?" The other people present all wore complicated expressions and turned their faces away.

"Huh? What's going on? Did something else happen?" Quetzalcoatl looked at the strange reactions of the crowd, sensing that he might have done something irreversible again, and said, "If I did something, just say it."

"No..." The surrounding magical creatures turned away again in unison, avoiding eye contact with the woman.

"Shirou?" Feathered serpent goddess felt as if her prestige had been hit harder than ever before, and looked to the boy beside her for help.

"No, it's nothing, but you should probably drink less alcohol in the future, big sister. I'm going to make breakfast for Ereshkigal now, goodbye." Shirou said demurely, though his body involuntarily distanced itself from feathered serpent goddess.

The boy's calm words, his indifferent politeness as if he were treating a stranger, were the most distressing. And what was going on with the aloof attitude hidden in his indifferent eyes?

Isolated on the spot Quetzalcoatl felt a chill run through him, even his heart. He blinked blankly, then clutched his head and roared to the sky, "I knew it! What happened?!"

When it was time for breakfast, Ereshkigal brought a dish of steamed meat, wild vegetables, and wheat porridge to the feathered serpent goddess.

"Ereshkigal... you're the only one who cares about me, your big sister." With no beasts paying him any attention, Quetzalcoatl was feeling dejected, looked at the kind-hearted goddess girl with deep emotion, feeling ashamed of herself for having acted so fiercely to tease her yesterday.

Ereshkigal raised her hand to stop feathered serpent goddess's presumptuous advances, saying, "No, goddess from another land, I've only come to ask you to fulfill yesterday's promise, to tell me the secret of the Holy Grail, and the reason why you retain your Divine Power!"

"Ah... so that's what it was about." Feathered serpent goddess's eyes turned ashen, feeling the fickle nature of the world. Just last night everyone was chatting happily, but this morning the world had changed drastically.

"Well, as I mentioned before, I'm essentially the same as the magical creatures here, somewhere between Servant and Divine Beast, similar to Servant Spirit in its beast form. It's just that the energy I received is much stronger than that of the other children. However, in exchange for this power, I also became the guardian of this forest, and unless something special happens, I can't leave this great forest," said the eldest sister feathered serpent goddess, shrugging.

"An exchange? Are you referring to the Holy Grail? The Holy Grail gave you your current body?" Ereshkigal looked up at feathered serpent goddess and asked.

"To be precise, it's the ley lines. The Holy Grail, under the influence of the white light, also faced the danger of disappearing. However, while you gods were fighting against the white light, it infiltrated the ley lines here and connected with the great forest."

"And the great forest here also underwent a strange change, developing consciousness, and thus it signed a contract with me." Quetzalcoatl shrugged and continued, "Didn't your gods also obtain human bodies under the influence of the white light? Now, in this world, your divine bodies are no longer usable, are they?"

"Yes, that's true." Ereshkigal nodded. Originally, she didn't have a physical body because she was in the underworld.

"That's how it is. Big sister thinks you seem really happy right now, Ereshkigal, especially when you're with Shirou," Quetzalcoatl said with a grin.

"No! That's not it! Shirou and I are not like that!" Ereshkigal blushed and jumped up, shouting.

"Ereshkigal? What are you talking about?" Shirou asked, looking in that direction with a puzzled expression when he heard his name called.

"None of your business! Don't look over here!" Ereshkigal shouted at Shirou, her face flushed.

"Huh?" Shirou was even more confused.

"Tsk!" A sound came from the bushes that no one noticed. Hiding inside was a blonde girl with twin ponytails who looked exactly like Ereshkigal in the center of the forest, but with a much more arrogant air.

"What are you doing, Ereshkigal? Getting so familiar with the enemy, you've been fooled after all. And that guy, he looks infuriating! I really want to run up and kick him."

Ishtar was watching the situation from behind the bushes in the distance, gritted her teeth and said angrily. For some unknown reason, she was very anxious. She crossed her arms and looked at the unknown but very interesting boy. She tapped her arms with her fingers, and finally the veins bulged, as if she wanted to chisel the boy through.

Chapter 336 Rampage by Ishtar

In the heart of the great forest, the area where the boy sat was quickly surrounded by beast girl and beast-boys who were active during the day. After last night's revelry, everyone had become familiar with each other.

Wearing a light blue skirt and carrying a small wooden bow, the lion-like creature, Taman, approached and greeted its fellow Lion Saber. Panda Jeanne d'Arc offered nuts to the black and gray boar-like Taman. A little tiger playfully wrestled with several feline magical creatures, playing hide-and-seek. A muscular gorilla with squinty eyes strolled arm-in-arm with Cú Chulainn and the others. The whole scene seemed harmonious and joyful.

Shirou was also very popular, surrounded by magical creatures such as snakes, bats, foxes, tanuki, and cows, with no empty space on his head, arms, or legs.

There were also some gluttonous magical creatures, which they had captured, hoping that Shirou would prepare them like last night, turning them into a super delicious dish.

Shirou chuckled and said, "It's still morning."

"Gah! Gah!" The little animals looked at each other, then chattered and gestured, showing Shirou their determination.

"Huh? You've been waiting for lunch on empty stomachs, couldn't you have waited until noon?" Shirou asked in surprise.

"Woo-ga, woo-ga." The little animals' eyes sparkled as they looked at Shirou.

"Alright, alright, I really can't do anything with you guys. Stop looking at me like that." Shirou raised his arm to cover his eyes and said with a helpless smile.

"I love it~! Shirou!" One by one, the little animals pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Except for his back, he was completely surrounded and swallowed up by the little animals that hugged him. Shirou had become a humanoid mountain of flesh crawling all over the little animals. Some of the animal beast girl even stuck out their little tongues and licked Shirou's face.

"Haha, stop it, it tickles!" Shirou reached out to stop the little blue snake and the long-haired black cow that jumped onto his face and rubbed against him. He then put the little raccoon and the pink bat that were jumping around on his head and shoulders on the ground, and took the little animals with wagging tails off his arms and legs.

Looking at the three puppies clinging to his belly, Shirou said irritably, "Why did you all come along too?"

"Gah..." Lion Saber, Panda Jeanne d'Arc, and the little tiger raised their heads and looked at Shirou. After being put on the ground by Shirou, they all puffed up their cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Alright, alright, if you want something to eat, don't bring it over. Otherwise, I won't be able to work," Shirou said.

After much effort, we finally managed to calm them down.

Shirou began processing the meat, washing it clean, marinating it with seasonings, and Projection a large number of tools to prepare lunch for the magical creatures here.

To allow them to eat for a few more days, we found a large tree facing the sun with perfect lighting and wind direction, tied vines to it, and hung the marinated meat on it to air dry. The salty meat was very popular with the small animals.

The thick smoke and the aroma of frying wafted on the wind, continuously drifting into the bushes on one side.

A gurgling sound came from the bushes at that moment.

Standing near the bushes, the Monkey eating a banana turned its head, seemingly having heard a sound. However, after looking in that direction for a while, it disappeared again, so it turned its head back in confusion.

Ishtar, who had been holding her breath and not daring to move, finally Matsushita. The girl clutched her stomach with one hand and clenched her fist with the other, thinking, "Damn it! That human, he did it on purpose! He definitely did it on purpose!"

To monitor the heart of the forest, Ishtar, who had been lying in wait since before dawn, dared not make a sound and had not eaten anything. He did this so that his body odor would not be carried by the wind to the forest's center and thus reveal his location.

She had deliberately chosen the downwind side, but now it had become the path through which the aroma of food passed. The girl, who could normally go a day and a night without food or water, felt increasingly hungry and thirsty under the temptation of the aroma.

'But now is not the time to expose ourselves! Be patient! Be patient!'

Ishtar clenched his fists, leaving deep red marks on his palms, veins bulging.

Meanwhile, on the other side was a blonde girl with pigtails.

"Getting back to the point, you said you're the guardian of the great forest, so what about the magical creatures? They shouldn't be able to exist," Ereshkigal asked.

Feathered serpent goddess said, "In order to sustain itself, the Holy Grail connected with the ley lines of the great forest and made a pact with the beasts there. This acted as a conduit to the Throne of Heroes beyond the turbulent flow of time and space, summoning some of the Heroic Servant who possessed both beastly and natural characteristics. Thus, wondrous creatures were born."

"That Holy Grail is that important? That can't be right. My father and uncles have tried to destroy the Holy Grail many times, but it always returns to this forest afterward," Ereshkigal said.

"Ah, those old men who think they're the best and are impossible to talk to, because they're doing all the work for nothing, so I told everyone to hide and didn't show up to stop them," Feathered serpent goddess said nonchalantly, shrugging.

"Useless effort?" Ereshkigal asked in confusion.

Quetzalcoatl explained, "This Holy Grail is no longer in its original form. When it is exposed to the white light, because the Holy Grail is an energy-gathering instrument, it also absorbs some of the energy of the white light."

As the 'mysterious' Holy Grail could be swallowed up by a sudden surge of white light at any moment, it absorbs magical energy from the ley lines of the great forest to maintain a delicate balance, forming a symbiotic relationship between the white light, the Holy Grail, and the great forest. The Holy Grail will use the energy of the white light to neutralize your attacks; as long as the balance remains intact, the Holy Grail is indestructible."

"How could this be! Is there no way to restore the status quo?" Although Ereshkigal knew that as a member of the divine race, her relatives had never adjusted their mindset after falling to the mortal world. They still believed that the world belonged to the gods and that humans were merely their servants. Therefore, they preferred to stay on the mountaintop rather than live in a more convenient city-state.

Aside from maintaining contact with the royal family, which is related to the gods, they almost never have any contact with mortals, except for sending lower-ranking gods each month with handicrafts made using their unique divine techniques to exchange for necessary food.

Because they didn't communicate with the outside world, their information was very limited, and they never even thought of communicating with magical creatures. They didn't even know that the Holy Grail held such a secret. It turns out that all their parents' efforts from twenty years ago until now have been in vain. Ereshkigal couldn't even imagine how her proud people would react if they knew the truth about this.

'No! I have to find a solution!' With that thought, Ereshkigal looked anxiously at feathered serpent goddess and asked.

"It's not impossible, you know. Just break the balance. As long as that white light disappears completely from this world, although it will take some time, the gods here will still be able to find a way," Quetzalcoatl said, looking at the girl.

"Why? Why are you telling me all this?" Ereshkigal asked, looking at feathered serpent goddess with a puzzled expression.

"Well, although life here isn't boring, and everyone's a good kid, even I wouldn't want to stay here forever. After all, the world can't Issei forever," the feathered serpent goddess, said with a hearty laugh. Then she looked at the girl and asked, "But, little Ereshkigal, what do you think of the world right now?"

The blonde girl with twin tails glanced at Shirou beside her, then at the Cú Chulainn companions, and said, "I think it's very good."

"Then why do you still want to restore it to its original state?" Feathered serpent goddess asked.

"The disappearance of the Underworld means that those who were trapped there have returned to nature and become nourishment for new life. I don't think there's anything wrong with this cycle. But I don't know what Father and the others are thinking." Ereshkigal shook her head sadly.

"Is that so? Then think it over again. To destroy the Holy Grail, the balance must be disrupted. If the Great Forest is destroyed, who knows what will happen to the little ones who rely on its energy for survival? Of course, if you choose to do this... I won't hold back then, I will definitely stop you." Feathered serpent goddess said with a snarling grin.

"I understand..." Ereshkigal replied softly, reality being even crueler than she had imagined.

Seeing the girl return looking dejected, Shirou asked worriedly, "Ereshkigal, are you alright?"

"Um... Shirou, I don't know what to do right now. I don't want to disappoint my family, but I don't want to hurt the children here either," Ereshkigal said sadly.