The Tablet of Destiny (Continued)

"It doesn't matter whether you're saved or not, you're still alive and well, aren't you?"

Rovey blinked, glanced at the recently resurrected Merlin, and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened? Why are you messing around here? Didn't Gilgamesh tell you to go find the Tablet of Destiny?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Upon hearing this, Merlin immediately flipped over, did a sit-up, and sat back down next to Rovey, saying, "I came here to find the mud tablets..."

At this point, his tone became somewhat helpless.

"Your Tablet of Destiny is only half, so I took some fragments from it to locate the other half. The final direction it pointed to was this one, but my Clairvoyance couldn't find the tablet anywhere on the ground, so..."

"So?"

Rovey raised an eyebrow.

"The clay tablets were probably lost to this city protected by the Underworld for some unknown reason, or perhaps they fell directly into the Underworld, which is why we haven't been able to find them. And Gilgamesh, he..."

At this point, Merlin sighed helplessly.

Although he didn't continue, Rovey certainly understood what he meant.

"Speaking of which..."

Merlin shook his head, then looked at Rovey with a very serious expression, and then hugged his leg.

"Hurry and save me! I can feel it, the goddess of the Underworld is almost here! I don't care if it's humans messing with me, but if she gets my hands on me, I'll definitely be going back to Avalon today, so you have to help me! I'm innocent!"

"Innocent?"

Rovey looked at him suspiciously and asked, "You mean... you're not the culprit?"

"It's me."

Merlin immediately gave an answer.

"Then what makes you innocent?"

Merlin: "But it was clearly the other party who took the initiative."

"Then you won't refuse?"

Rovey's eyelids started twitching uncontrollably.

How could I possibly refuse a lady's request?

Merlin declared righteously, "Any man who refuses a lady's invitation is the worst kind of man!"

"What about her husband?"

"What does this have to do with me?"

Merlin's tone was so matter-of-fact that it took Rovey a while to react before he drew his own conclusion.

"Why don't you just die? It would be better for you and for the whole world."

While the two of them remained seated on the altar chatting instead of running away, the goddess, surrounded by a crowd, also approached them from the other side.

"Disrespectful! Utterly disrespectful!!"

The priest who was clearing the way saw this and shouted angrily, "Sinners! You're about to die and you still have the mind to chat here. This is utter contempt for the goddess and for the majesty of the Underworld!"

Punish them!

Upon hearing his words, the crowd behind him became agitated.

For the people of this era, they don't need to understand or know anything; they just need to follow the leader and agree with him. They are very easily swayed, or rather, they are very naive.

Nitocris said nothing, but told them to step back. She would then use the scales to judge, trusting the artifact in her hands more than human words.

However, just as she stepped out of the crowd, preparing to use her divine power to demonstrate the majesty of the god of the Underworld...

The first thing she saw on the altar was the figure she had been longing for day and night, and then she was completely stunned.

"Rovey Lovi!"

She couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"It's me."

Rovey also saw her, then raised his hand to greet Nitocris: "Yeah, it's been a long time, Nitocris, I've finally found you."

The two smiled at each other, and then, to everyone's astonishment, embraced.

"..."

This scene silenced the previously excited crowd, who stared blankly at it. After all, in this era, the relationship between humans and gods was far more intriguing than the stories between humans.

Indeed, watching the drama unfold is human nature.

"I miss you so much, Rovey Lowe."

Nitocris Alter held him and murmured to herself.

"Me too."

Rovey also responded.

——

Although the situation was extremely complicated, the appearance of the goddess of the Underworld prevented it from spiraling out of control.

Originally, Nitocris thought that it was Rovey who had done what these humans claimed was the one who did it, and believed that there must be some misunderstanding. He was prepared to punish these slanderous humans.

Upon seeing that this human had such a relationship with the goddess of the Underworld, the priest was so shocked that he immediately knelt down. It wasn't until Rovey stated that there was no misunderstanding, but the culprit was the lazy Merlin on the other side, that the priest's life was saved.

Then, with Rovey's permission, Merlin, who thought he was finally saved, was captured again and hung above the city wall for several hours.

It wasn't until almost dusk that it finally crawled back, looking utterly exhausted, completely dried out like a salted fish.

However, despite his current pitiful state, after learning what he had done, no one sympathized with him; on the contrary, they felt that simply hanging him up was too lenient.

This is especially true for Nitocris, whose personality became just and rigorous after merging with the divine essence of Anubis.

Naturally, she had no liking for a scoundrel like Merlin.

If it weren't for Rovey's pleading on his behalf, and the fact that he was still needed to find the clay tablets and retrieve Gilgamesh's soul, Merlin might have been forced to return today.

"Waaaaah, you all have no conscience! You all just stood by and watched me die!"

Merlin sobbed softly, while the others stared at him speechlessly.

"—?!!"

Because he simply couldn't bear it any longer. So, when faced with Merlin pretending to cry, Black Lancer Artoria Alter's style was even more decisive and efficient; he directly plunged the Holy Lance into Merlin's groin and then said...

"Merlin, hurry up and hold it in, or I'll help you completely break this bad habit."

Then, seeing the Holy Lance that was only a hand's width away from his manhood, Merlin actually stopped crying. He didn't want to become like Merry and be pinned down by someone else.

"Alright, don't worry about me for now."

Merlin shook his head, wiped away the utterly fake tears on his face, then straightened his expression and said, "Now that we've all gathered here, let's go and bring out Gilgamesh's soul together."

Despite his cynical attitude, Merlin wasn't really a fool.

The reason he didn't go into the Underworld alone to rescue people and find the clay tablets was because the master of this place Ereshkigal, was almost invincible in the Underworld, and if he went alone, he would only be a casualty.

The reason I dug a hole in the temple before was to try to explore the entrance to the Underworld and investigate Ereshkigal. As for causing such a big commotion, it was because I roughly predicted when Rovey and the others would arrive, so that it would be easier to meet up.

(Merlin: It's not because I couldn't control my lower body.)

Of course, Rovey didn't believe this.

However, what he said now is indeed correct.

Rather than discussing the despicable things this guy did, they have a more important mission.

Everyone nodded. After finding Nitocris, the most urgent task now was indeed to rescue Gilgamesh and retrieve the tablets and the Holy Grail.

According to Ishtar, the entrance to the Underworld can only be opened at night, so there is still some time.

Originally, Rovey had planned to investigate some intelligence, but after seeing Nitocris sitting in the chair, smiling at him, he gave up the idea.

After all, the true ruler of this city was right here, and it was faster to ask directly than to investigate on his own, so he asked directly, and Nitocris naturally answered all his questions.

The first question Rovey asked was about the time; he wanted to know when Nitocris arrived in the Underworld.

Nitocris responded to this.

"It was about a month. Because of Lord Anubis, I had a good affinity with the Underworld of this world. So when the Imaginary Number Space disappeared, I opened my eyes and found myself transferred here."

Upon hearing this, Rovey nodded; the timing matched.

Moreover, the first thing he did upon waking up after landing was to use Command Seal to summon Nitocris, but it failed because of the barrier of the Underworld.

However, he could tell that when Nitocris spoke of Anubis, her originally cheerful tone inexplicably turned somewhat sad, and he also did not see the cunning strategist appear after this meeting.

"Then... what about Anubis?"

Rovey asked Anubis where he had gone.

"Lord Anubis, he..."

Upon hearing this, Nitocris lowered her head and replied, "Now it has merged with my Spirit Origin. Because I was seriously injured at the time, coupled with the interference of the Underworld affinity, Lord Anubis's influence on me became more and more serious. In order to prevent him from completely taking over my body, Lord Anubis dissipated on his own after handing over his soul and divinity to me. That's why I act in this form."

As she spoke, Nitocris lifted the Golden Scales that Anubis had left her, a gift from Anubis.

Originally, after being swept away and stranded in the Underworld, she was already on the verge of death. Logically, Anubis should have taken her place, and her soul should have returned to the Throne of Heroes. However, perhaps realizing that even if he took her place, Nitocris's other side would still return to the Throne of Heroes, and whether Nitocris could return would be beyond their control, Nitocris, who had just gained his own life, couldn't allow it to be lost so easily. Furthermore, Anubis also loved Nitocris and, although he longed to see other worlds, knew one trip was enough. Therefore, he gave Nitocris as much of his power as possible, and to avoid his will influencing Nitocris, his own soul returned directly to the Throne of Heroes.

Although Nitocris was inevitably affected, Nitocris's side accounted for 90%, while Anubis's side only accounted for Issei, so in the end, only their personalities were slightly affected.

Nitocris then briefly recounted her experiences in the Underworld—

After successfully merging with Anubis's power, her strength increased dramatically. She transformed from an Egypt Pharaoh into a composite divine servant, Servant elements of Horus's divinity with the soul of Anubis. Coupled with her Underworld powers, she could practically move freely within the Mesopotamia Underworld. However, just as she was preparing to leave, her foreign Underworld aura attracted the attention of the region's Underworld ruler.

Moreover, the opponent was also a divine Servant, naturally a very powerful being. In addition, this was their Underworld, so Nitocris had almost no power to resist and was controlled by the red lightning. Even using the power of Anubis and Horus at the same time, she could not defeat the opponent.

To her surprise, after subduing her, the other party did not kill her. Instead, they asked her some questions with some trepidation, such as: (What is she doing here? Is she here to attack her or cause trouble?)

Nitocris's answer was, of course, the truth. She had wandered in by mistake and didn't even know which part of the Underworld she was in. How could she possibly be causing trouble?

The other party was a very simple god, who released Nitocris without even interrogating her about whether she was lying, and even revealed her true form from that terrifying skeleton. Nitocris thus saw her true face, which was a person with long golden hair who seemed a little not very smart, or rather, simple-minded.

"Um?"

As Nitocris thought of his boss's appearance, he glanced at Ishtar unexpectedly. He had been so focused on Rovey that he hadn't paid attention to Ishtar when he came back, mainly because the difference in their hair color was too great. But now that Ereshkigal was mentioned, Nitocris immediately realized that they looked very similar.

Why are you looking at me all of a sudden?

Ishtar, who was suddenly being stared at, was taken aback for a moment, then pointed to herself and said loudly, "Your capture has nothing to do with me. I never go to the Underworld. You've mistaken the god."

"Yes, I know it's not you. After all, the difference in temperament is just too great, but..."

Nitocris asked, "What is your relationship with Ereshkigal?"

"Ha?"

Upon hearing this question, Ishtar paused for a moment, then sighed helplessly and replied, "She is my sister."

"Oh, I see. No wonder they look so alike."

"Picture?"

Ishtar frowned involuntarily at Nitocris's words.

"That's impossible. Although our original bodies do have similarities, I'm currently using a young girl's body. How could she be similar to me?"

"... Yes, but it's very similar, even exactly the same."

Nitocris continued, "Could it be that the beings you possess are also twin sisters?"

"—?!!"

Ishtar's eyes widened, then she exclaimed, "Maybe it's really possible! I remember Rin Tohsaka does have a younger sister..."

"Alright, let's leave that topic aside and talk about how to get into the Underworld and find the clay tablets, and Nitocris. What kind of goddess do you think Ereshkigal is?"

Even after seeing that the answer was almost revealed, Ishtar still hadn't realized that her numerous sudden loss of consciousness was actually due to someone else taking her place. Especially when she said that Ereshkigal was possessed by Sakura Tohsaka, Rovey really couldn't hold back.

How does Sakura resemble you?

Putting aside her looks, her figure alone is far superior.

Realizing that if they continued their discussion, the tone would become increasingly skewed, Rovey, who already knew the truth, inquired about something more important.

"Yes, Rovey Lowe."

Nitocris nodded, then smiled and replied, "Ereshkigal is a very good person, definitely not an evil god. Her personality is really good, even to my opinion, she is a little too gentle and naive."