Goetia Strikes Back

'You wretched fellow! I've lost so much money because of you. I'll teach you a lesson later!'

Then she glanced at Rovey and the others who seemed even more eager to step forward than her, and a strange feeling arose in her heart. She had a feeling that she might have been tricked.

'Am I just imagining things?'

She couldn't help but think to herself.

Chapter 241 The Attack of Goetia

Today, Goetia is furious, extremely furious, furious like never before.

Just a few days ago, the seventy-two Demon God Pillars, including Flauros, told him that they should teach Solomon a lesson and that the great cause of Humanity Incineration could not end so hastily. He was quite pleased, at least these seventy-two guys, although they usually bickered and sometimes ignored his command because of their own ideas, had indeed developed feelings for each other after thousands of years of getting along, and still chose him in the face of right and wrong.

While he was pleased with the choice, he wasn't entirely surprised. After all, excluding the time Solomon spent slumbering on the Throne of Heroes, he had only led them for a few hundred years, while he had led the Demon God Pillars, accomplishing great things, saving the world, and burning Human History —all in pursuit of the future—for thousands of years. Moreover, he believed he had done a better job and led for a longer time than the inactive Solomon. Their choice of him was undoubtedly reasonable. Goetia, reflecting on his own efforts over those thousands of years to learn how to be a good leader, felt quite gratified by this outcome.

But--

He never imagined that the guys who were just peacefully discussing with him how to make Solomon suffer and let him know that he couldn't do anything without the Demon God Pillars would betray him without hesitation the moment he turned around. Some of them hadn't even changed their expressions yet, and while agreeing with him, they held him down, which made Goetia so angry that he cursed them out.

These usually quiet and unassuming Demon God Pillars are truly social butterflies.

The demons, who utterly despise human treachery, dared to exploit his trust and commit such a heinous act. Seventy-two demons, in a premeditated act of betrayal, caught him completely off guard, leaving him no time to react before being subdued. Even more infuriating was Flauros, the one who stole his rings, turning his situation from one of advantage to one of vulnerability. Without the Ten Commandments, most of Solomon's Noble Phantasm were rendered useless, and even the Temple of Time was largely paralyzed, though it had already been crippled during the 72 Demons' rebellion...

Similarly, even more frustrated and angry Goetia were the Demon God Pillars who had just won a battle.

Having regained their freedom by taking the Ten Commandments, they were preparing to wait for the King's return at the entrance of the Temple of Time and then offer their loyalty. However, Flauros, the sixth brother, stole the spoils of war and fled with the Ten Commandments. Moreover, to prevent them from chasing after them, he used the Ten Commandments' powers to block the entrance. They could only concentrate their powers to open the entrance and send Barbatos, the most loyal of the Demon God Pillars, to hunt down their captors. But like throwing meat buns to a dog, he was gone forever, leaving them with nothing but—

Barbatos left the group chat.

Seventy Demon God Pillars: "..."

Now, seeing that Barbatos and Flauros had escaped again and were ignoring their communications, they were so angry that they wanted to rush over and kill the two traitors.

Having just betrayed Goetia, you're now betraying the Demon God Pillars. Are you playing a double agent game here?

At this moment, seventy Demon God Pillars remain in the Temple of Time. Although the Ten Commandments have closed the gates, even if all seventy of them concentrate their power, they could still send one or two Demon God Pillars away. However...

The thought of the two traitors' actions immediately plunged the remaining seventy Demon God Pillars into a vortex of suspicion. None of them dared to gamble, as no one could guarantee that the newly sent Demon God Pillars wouldn't defect like the two traitors. This resulted in none of the seventy Demon God Pillars mentioning the matter, and they remained stuck in this stalemate.

"..."

At this moment, the Demon God Pillars and Goetia, who had been fighting fiercely not long ago and wishing they could kill each other, have reunited. However, after learning about the situation, they both felt extremely tired. They didn't mention their previous grudges, but instead thought about what to do now.

Despite having just been betrayed and deeply wounded, Goetia rubbed his head. Despite being the embodiment of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, he felt exceptionally tired. He turned to the Demon God Pillars below and said, "Let's put the past behind us and think about what we should do now."

As soon as Goetia turned around, the bizarre scene before him nearly gave him a heart attack. Although he was immortal in the Temple of Time, sometimes immortality really isn't a good thing. Like that pink-haired boss who refused to reveal his name or appearance.

The Demon God Pillars who had been beating him, shouting "Charge!" and eager to personally kill him, had now transformed into human form and sat on the ground. They tied themselves up with a rope, covered their eyes and mouths, and had the words "hostage" prominently displayed on their heads.

This instantly enraged Goetia, who was already feeling utterly helpless, to the point that he almost unleashed the Noble Phantasm he knew nothing about, "The Time of Parting Has Come." But after the anger came boundless sorrow and helplessness.

"Well..."

Goetia sighed inwardly. Back then, it took them, a group of demons, countless years to decide to stand up and save this filthy human world. How could they have degenerated into this state in just over ten days since Solomon appeared?

Internal strife, backstabbing, sneaking away, deception, and even the world of anime... it really has been tainted by every kind of Evils of Humanity.

(What did the world of anime do to you!?)

Raising his hand tremblingly, Goetia could even hear the desolation and trembling in his own voice. But he still forced back his grief and indignation, pointing at the demons who were less than salted fish, and said, "You... you... don't you know shame? Where is your dignity as the seventy-two demons of Solomon? Have you truly no shame at all?!"

This was his soul-searching question and cry. Goetia sincerely hoped that these lazy bums could do something worthwhile and stop embarrassing themselves.

"Pah, you talk as if you're so innocent. If you hadn't tricked us into doing something big, we'd still be sleeping peacefully here."

"That's right, and not long ago they were calling themselves the 72 Demons, but now that the King has returned, they've become the 72 Demons of Solomon. Who would believe you don't have ulterior motives..."

Goetia glared angrily at the group of Demon God Pillars and shouted, "Damn it! Who said that? If you have the guts, step forward and stop your nonsense!"

Having been kicked out of the group chat, Goetia could no longer communicate telepathically with the Demon God Pillars. The seventy Demon God Pillars below were exchanging words in a chaotic cacophony, making it impossible for him to identify who was speaking. Even though they were supposed to be mouth-sealed, these guys could still communicate so loudly—what was the point of sealing them up?

"I... you... never mind! If you're not leaving, then I'll leave!"

"You've forgiven Solomon, but I can't forgive even a little bit!!"

Finally, completely speechless, Goetia could no longer tolerate these idiots and, without hesitation, smashed the object into a space behind her.

Click!

With a strange cracking sound, a pitch-black dimensional rift was created by him the next moment, and Goetia jumped into it without hesitation.

"I'm not playing along!"

After leaving behind his last words, Goetia vanished completely from the sight of all the Demon God Pillars, leaving only Demon God Pillars astonished shouts.

"—No!! Goetia, at least leave the door open!!!"

However, Goetia demonstrated to these Demon God Pillars what "no way" truly meant.

After finally realizing that Goetia, the traitor, had also escaped, the remaining seventy Demon God Pillars had no choice but to make another decision.

However, this time they chose a representative who was known for his honesty and loyalty among the Demon God Pillars, and who would definitely not choose to defect like those two traitors Flauros and Barbatos.

"It's up to you, Jiepai. You must find the king, or capture Flauros, and open the gate for us," the Demon God Pillars said earnestly.

"Leave it to me! I, Jiepai, stake on the name of King Solomon 72 Demons, I will complete the mission and bring our king back safe and sound!!"

Having said that, the Demon God Pillars named Jiepai, with the help of the other sixty-nine Demon God Pillars, successfully escaped from this place, carrying boundless hopes. Seeing Jiepai leave, the Demon God Pillars behind him clenched their fists in cheering him on, hoping for his triumphant return.

However, Jiepai, on whom his companions placed high hopes, was unaware that hell lay ahead.

——

"Hmph... Hahahaha!!"

Issei of Gilgamesh's treasure, along with two Demon God Pillars, a Solomon, and two Heroic Spirit bodyguards as a bonus.

"Hmph hmph hmph hahahahaha! Ahahahahaha! There's nothing to be afraid of now! I don't believe that black guy can beat this combination. How can they turn the tide? If she can still turn the tables, I, Ishtar, will devour the Bull of Heaven alive today!!"

"I, Ishtar, am indeed a goddess favored by fate! This is true fortune, destiny-ordained fortune!!"

She's the kind of person who can't hide her thoughts. Although her face is still Rin's, Ishtar's heart has already collapsed beyond recognition. She even wears the image of a crazy goddess on her face. If it weren't for Rovey and the others around, this girl might have imitated some Egypt queen and performed "I'm so high!"

In short, Ishtar considered Rovey and the others her bodyguards after she joined the ranks. Now that the new army had been reassembled, all that remained was to reclaim the palace and secure the newly acquired treasures. As for the rest— the Beast Goddess, her mother, and so on— Ishtar didn't care much. After all, no matter what, she had to participate in the war once Tiamat appeared; it was an order from the Father God, who had even granted her permission to bring the Bull of Heaven out.

Although she had recently abandoned the Bull of Heaven on the beach while playing, and it had vanished without a trace when she remembered, causing her a great deal of panic, now that the Demon God King was about to deal with Tiamat, it didn't matter whether the Bull of Heaven was there or not.

Just as mentioned before, she, Ishtar, truly is a goddess blessed with incredible luck! No matter how reckless she is, someone will always clean up her mess in the end!

However, when he was only a short distance from the summit, Rovey looked up and saw the dark Tower of the End the End above him, he knew he had come to the right place.

As expected, the only being capable of driving Ishtar to tears by the altar was the Black Lancer Artoria, who was of god-like strength. Therefore, upon seeing the dark Storm Tower, Merry smiled and said...

"The first one has been found successfully."

"Hmm." Rovey nodded.

"What, the first one?"

Ishtar suddenly spoke up, asking something she didn't quite understand. What were they talking about? What did they mean by the first one?

"It's nothing, I was just saying that you're the first capable helper we've found." Hearing Ishtar's question, Rovey smiled and answered her.

If this woman knew that his main purpose in coming here was actually to find Black Lancer Artoria, and considering that Black Lancer Artoria had recently beaten her up, she would definitely think they had plotted against her, and she would probably start acting crazy again, causing even more unnecessary trouble. Therefore, Rovey decided it was better to keep this not-so-bright guy in the dark forever.

"Oh, I see. So I really am the first one? You guys really have good taste, coming to find me, the most outstanding goddess who governs love and beauty, right away."

Ishtar naturally had no doubt about this explanation. She patted the body's barren chest and laughed triumphantly, thinking that being placed first was a sign of recognition. In reality—

Actually, it's because you're the easiest goddess to fool.

Rovey and Merry muttered to themselves.

That's why we chose this place as our first stop, precisely because it's the easiest to deal with.

However, seeing Ishtar's smug expression, neither of them revealed the cruel truth, letting the wise Ishtar, comparable to a water goddess, continue her fantasy.

Then, to avoid conflict, Rovey Wei suggested, "I'll go up there and bring that black goddess down by myself."

Rovey volunteered to go up there alone and bring Black Lancer Artoria down.

Hearing this, Anna paused for a moment, then asked Rovey with a strange expression, "Why go up alone? If it's going to be a fight, wouldn't the more people the better?"

"Hmph, foolish. How could Demonic Beast like you possibly understand the King's great will? The King has only just recovered; he must be testing his power against the Goddess!"

As the number two lackey, Barbatos immediately retorted. Although he didn't understand either, he figured it was always right to flatter first.

"My king, please bring your most loyal Barbatos to accompany you."

Barbatos then offered to accompany Rovey up there.

This time, however, unlike Barbatos, henchman number one Lev remembered something.

"The Black Holy Lance Goddess..."

In fact, when he ran down from Mount Ebih, he was in such a hurry that he was focused on taking the Holy Grail and Ibaraki-dōji to find the king. So, although he saw some of the battle between the two goddesses on the mountaintop, he didn't get a clear view of the whole thing, nor did he stop to experience it.

Now that it's come to his senses, he realizes that one of the two goddesses was indeed Ishtar, who, enraged, began relentlessly pounding down with the power of Venus. But the other one's aura...

Although slightly different, Lev still felt a strong sense of familiarity. Now, upon further reflection, and considering the dark, Tower of the End at the end, he immediately realized—wasn't this the Lion King from the Sixth Singularity? Only reversed. She hadn't perished with the Sixth Singularity; instead, she had arrived in the Seventh Singularity?

Furthermore, in Lev's memory, he vaguely remembered that when Goetia appeared, the Lion King's color had already turned jet black, and it seemed that he had a good relationship with the King, which meant...

Then Lev's eyes widened as if he suddenly understood something. He immediately stopped Barbatos, who had volunteered to go ahead, and said something astonishing, "Your Majesty, we are going to go up and subdue that black goddess."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, the people present showed different expressions. Rovey was somewhat surprised that this idiot's brain had become so sharp. Barbatos, on the other hand, found it hard to understand. After all, when Goetia led his troops to attack Camelot, he was among those outside releasing AoE attacks, so he didn't see the Lion King and didn't know the current situation.

Aside from Merry, who also knew everything, Ishtar's face showed an expression of disbelief. She hurriedly shouted, "Impossible! Don't waste your energy! She can't possibly be recruited! You'll only get hurt for nothing."

Why would you say that?

Hearing her so resolute words, Rovey couldn't help but ask a question in return.

"Of course it's because I've seen her!" Ishtar cried out anxiously. "Besides me, none of you know what that wretched goddess looks like!!"

Rovey: 'I not only know, I know it even better than you do.'

However, upon seeing Ishtar's sudden reaction, Rovey asked curiously, "Since you've met her, what kind of goddess do you think she is?"

What kind of goddess is she?

Faced with this question, Ishtar paused for a moment, then pondered before saying, "She is a terrifying goddess, entirely black, with an ugly face, a violent nature, and a pair of dragon horns on her head. Moreover, she wields a very ominous Star Artifact, which can summon a black storm with a mere wave, cleaving a crater on my mountaintop larger than an altar. That kind of creature is not a goddess at all, but purely a powerful evil god! And I simply cannot understand what kind of evil could corrupt the Star Artifact to that state."

Whenever Ishtar mentions the Black Lancer Artoria, she can't help but recall the black spear in her hand. It is clearly a Star Weapon, but the power it contains is incredibly violent and evil.

Moreover, the gun's output was incredibly high, and it didn't even have a recovery animation when released. Once the Dark Tower was activated, it became an anti-aircraft gun. Even Maanna, whom she was most proud of, couldn't compete with her in a direct firefight. After struggling for a while, she was shot down to the mountainside when she ran out of strength.

She was pierced five or six times. If it weren't for her divine constitution and strong regenerative ability, she would have died there long ago.

Honestly, when facing that guy, Ishtar always thought of a certain dark goddess below, who also used a gun cage. She had pierced herself like that several times back then, so now she was almost traumatized by these dark goddesses who wielded gun-shaped weapons.

"Oh, I see. I understand."

After listening to her embellished description, Rovey nodded. He couldn't see any accuracy in Ishtar's words; instead, he saw only arrogance and prejudice.

Putting everything else aside, her description of Black Lancer Artoria as ugly is enough to illustrate the point.

"You finally understand, right? That guy wields a corrupted Star Artifact, his inherent nature is evil—he's a demon god, absolutely impossible to recruit. So you'd better abandon your unrealistic ideas now, and then we'll go and destroy him together..."

"No need, I'm still going to go up myself."

Before Ishtar could finish speaking, Rovey ignored her prejudiced words and strode towards the mountain peak, leaving Ishtar shouting behind him.

"Huh?! Are you deaf? You didn't hear a single word I said?!"

Ishtar was furious and was about to teach Rovey a lesson when two self-proclaimed right-hand men suddenly appeared and spoke righteously.

"Useless, worthless goddess, obediently obey the king's orders."

"You two Demon God Pillars are really asking for death..."

Ishtar narrowed her eyes, her whole body exuding killing intent, but the two Demon God Pillars did not retreat in the slightest.

Barbatos initially didn't understand either. After all, as Demon God Pillars, it would be extremely derelict of his duty to let the King face the black goddess alone. However, after Lev whispered a few words in his ear, his attitude completely changed. He and Lev became gatekeepers, determined not to let Ishtar interfere. Seeing the atmosphere become so tense again, Merry stepped in to mediate and stopped them both.

Whatever happens, we should wait until the final result is out before making any decisions.

Anna didn't go either. In terms of combat strength alone, if even Rovey couldn't handle that black goddess, then her going would only cause trouble.

The enemy she truly needed to fight and desperately confront was none other than her own completely corrupted self.

"Ugh, whatever! I'm not going to care about you guys anymore!!"