The Human Order Cannon

"Hey-hey..."

Just as Ishtar was grinning foolishly while holding the flowers, Rovey, who appeared behind her, suddenly sprang up, grabbed her waist with both hands, and lifted her up forcefully.

"Hey, hey, hey? What are you doing? Touching the goddess like that will get you punished..."

Caught off guard, Ishtar was filled with panic.

Subsequently, Ishtar was knocked to the ground by one of Jacob's Limbs by Rovey then pressed down on her back and slapped her with a spell to prevent Ereshkigal from returning to the sealing spell.

"Ah!"

The moment the Magecraft took effect, Ishtar, who had been struggling, suddenly felt something strange in her body. A tingling sensation spread throughout her body, causing her to let out a scream like a groundhog.

Moreover, in the brief instant the seal began to take effect, Ishtar, who was pinned to the ground, seemed to have her disguise broken. Her black twin tails instantly turned into golden twin tails, and her eyes turned red.

"I knew it..."

Everyone wore an expression of surprise. Nitocris, in particular, couldn't help but sigh when she saw her boss reveal her true form, and then spoke to her.

"It really is you, Boss Ereshkigal."

"It's been a long time, Ereshkigal."

Rovey, whom she had met once before, also greeted her.

The group of people who were about to enter the Underworld all looked down at the Lord of the Underworld who was being pinned to the ground by Rovey, and the whole scene suddenly became very strange.

Chapter 253 The Human Order Cannon

A piece of land located above the Underworld.

"Let me go! Let me go! You are disrespecting the gods! Disrespectful, utterly disrespectful!!"

The blonde girl, pinned to the ground, screamed angrily. She struggled to escape from Rovey's grasp, but Rovey's strength was too great, and the sealing technique made it difficult for her to break free.

"I knew it..."

Upon seeing Ishtar, who had been acting extremely strangely, suddenly reveal her true form with golden hair and red eyes, Merlin had already sensed something was amiss, nodded slightly. Then, his eyes lit up slightly, and he raised his staff and gently tapped the ground, causing a shower of pink petals to fall around him.

Then these petals gathered in Rovey's palm, forming a pink rope, which he used to quickly bind Ereshkigal, who had just revealed his true form on the ground.

"I'm sorry, but if I let you escape, it will be difficult to find you again. So I had no choice but to resort to this until I was sure you would behave yourself. Anyway, we meet again, Goddess Ereshkigal."

After firmly binding her hands, Rovey Wei greeted the goddess he had met once before, equally delighted by this unexpected gain.

After all, she offered herself up; it's a rare opportunity, so why not seize it?

"Huh? What Ereshkigal? You, you've mistaken me for a goddess! I've never seen you before. I'm Ishtar, Ishtar! That selfish, greedy, and treacherous goddess, not the Ereshkigal you're talking about."

Even after being exposed by Rovey, Ereshkigal was still unwilling to admit it so easily. Even though his body was bound like a caterpillar, he continued to struggle. However, when he found that his body was bound by the magic seal and the rope created by Merlin, he could only shout angrily in the end.

"You look terrible, the way you are now." Seeing the blonde goddess still trying to argue, Nitocris sighed helplessly, then walked up to Ereshkigal and said apologetically, "Excuse me, Lady Ereshkigal, since you've been caught, please be honest."

"You, you shouldn't slander me either. I'm... I'm not Ereshkigal. I've already said I'm Ishtar, the goddess of free youth!"

When Nitocris looked at him, Ereshkigal turned his head away guiltily, still unwilling to admit it so easily.

After all, she originally intended to hide among these people who were trying to sneak into the Underworld, and then suddenly appear when they reached the depths of the Underworld to give them a surprise and a good scare.

So now that she's in this shameful state, she naturally wants to shift all the blame onto Ishtar.

"Running away won't help, Lord Ereshkigal, and—your disguise has already been exposed."

As Nitocris sighed, she reluctantly took out her dark mirror and showed it to Ereshkigal. Seeing the blonde, red-eyed figure in the mirror, she suddenly realized that her hair color had already given herself away.

"Huh? This, this is actually..."

Ereshkigal, whose disguise had been exposed, tried to argue, but the other continued, "And don't forget, Lady Ereshkigal, my own power is Lord Anubis's 'Judgment'—the power used to judge lies and the sins of the dead, so the scales will remind you when you lie. I just never expected that you would appear above the ground at night, and be able to enter your sister's body and share a body with Ishtar. No wonder I thought you two looked so alike when I saw you before."

After interrupting her lie, Nitocris shook her head, then looked at Ereshkigal and asked with a helpless expression, "But why did you suddenly come to the surface instead of continuing to weave gun cages and maintain the operation of the Underworld?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Ereshkigal shook her head. In fact, even she herself didn't know how she had suddenly gotten up here.

After a moment's thought, she remembered that she had just been about to take the two guys who had broken into the Underworld back and lock them up when she suddenly found herself on the ground, still in Ishtar's body. The ground was right above Underworld, and as soon as she realized what was happening, she saw Rovey, whom she had met once before and had gotten along well with, along with her employee Nitocris, and two Servant, one black and one white, about to use their Holy Lance to shoot straight through the roof of her house.

It can truly be said that there are bad people in the Underworld.

But when she remembered that Rovey was the husband Nitocris had told her about, Ereshkigal wasn't so angry anymore.

After all, she was the only one in the Underworld, so she could just wander in if she wanted. If she did, they could stay and work for her. Besides, she had found Rovey quite agreeable last time.

However, she is more concerned about something else right now.

Ereshkigal suddenly spoke up, asking Rovey, who had just subdued him, "Hey, how exactly did you see through my disguise? I was clearly using Ishtar's appearance and speaking the same way as her, how did you see through my disguise so quickly?"

She was very puzzled by this, and similarly, Rovey laughed when he heard Ereshkigal's question.

"So that's what you were asking about? Haven't you realized it yet?"

"Realize what?"

"You know," Rovey said with a smile, seeing that she was indeed too naive and innocent. "As for how I found out, the answer is actually very simple. It's because you made a crucial mistake."

Upon hearing this, Ereshkigal couldn't help but ask, "What crucial mistake?"

"That's because you did something that's not in line with Ishtar's character. Although your tone and appearance are the same, you clearly didn't realize how she acts."

The Black Lancer Artoria beside her provided the answer. In fact, she had vaguely noticed that Ishtar was acting strangely before Rovey returned. However, because Ishtar had always been with her and they had never been apart, she hadn't investigated further. Now, she realized that Ishtar had actually been replaced right under her nose.

"This behavior is out of character for Ishtar...! Could it be...!!"

Upon hearing this, Ereshkigal was suddenly stunned, immediately recalling how he had been attracted by the blue rose and completely ignored the choice of the gold brick.

"Indeed, if it were Ishtar, she would choose the gold brick without hesitation even if there were a hundred more beautiful blue roses in front of her."

To confirm his guess, Rovey smiled and gave his answer.

'Yes, that makes a lot of sense...'

After receiving the answer, Ereshkigal looked at Rovey with a face full of grief and indignation, and said, "Damn it... you actually tricked me with roses, making me make such a low-level mistake! You're right, with Ishtar's greedy nature, how could she possibly choose flowers and give up gold bricks..."

"That's right, exactly. Once you notice that, even an idiot can tell you're not Ishtar."

Just as Merlin popped up, ready to make his presence known and ask the Lord of the Underworld if he could return Gilgamesh and the Holy Grail to them, hoping to skip the rest of the story...

Suddenly—

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently.

This unexpected change startled everyone on the hillside. "This, this is...?"

"The entrance to the Underworld has been opened."

Merlin said this while looking at the deep crack that appeared on the ground in the distance.

"It's open? But didn't Ishtar say that you have to use the Holy Lance to pierce through the surface to reach it?" Black Lancer Artoria, who was prepared to use the Tower of the End to directly pierce through the Underworld, said with some surprise.

"Why was it suddenly opened, Merlin?"

"I don't know either."

Merlin immediately shook his head; as Nightmare, he didn't know much about the Underworld.

"You humans who have no manners, how dare you try to break through my Underworld?! Ishtar is right, if you are a living person or an outsider, you can enter like that under normal circumstances, but since I am here, the gates of the Underworld can be opened without so much effort."

At that moment, a voice with a slightly different tone from Ishtar's came into view.

"Um?"

Rovey and Nitocris looked at Ereshkigal together; at this moment, she had completely given up on continuing to pretend to be Ishtar.

Merlin and Black Lancer Artoria also turned their heads, and were slightly taken aback.

Because they saw that Ereshkigal, who was tied up, not only did not curse, but actually laughed.

Yes, she was actually laughing.

The next moment, Nitocris seemed to realize something important, and she hurriedly reminded, "Leave quickly! This is Lord Ereshkigal's power, and the area beneath our feet now belongs to the Underworld!"

"It's too late to warn them now, Nitocris. Since they want to enter the Underworld, I will grant their wish myself."

The earth trembled even more violently. The instant Nitocris finished speaking, the crack beneath their feet widened to tens of meters. Then, the deathly aura of the Underworld enveloped them like a thick fog rising from a jungle at dawn. The dark earth surface churned, and many enormous Underworld skeletons appeared. Afterward, one after another, huge, mountain-like giant corpses charged out madly, creating a terrifying and overwhelming spectacle.

"The death aura of the Underworld? And these are... the Death Army of the Underworld..."

As the goddess of the Underworld, Nitocris naturally recognized the true nature of the entire army at a glance. She looked at Ereshkigal and asked somewhat anxiously, "Lord Ereshkigal, releasing death energy here will affect the surrounding towns. It might cause the entire land and all life to wither away overnight."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do about it, Nitocris..."

Upon hearing Nitocris's words, Ereshkigal's smile immediately turned somber, and she said to her with a touch of sadness, "The world is about to be destroyed. Even with your protection, these humans will inevitably face death. So rather than let them die in pain and despair, it's better for them to die peacefully in their sleep, like in a dream. This is something I decided long ago. As long as their souls come to my realm, I can continue to protect them. Giving humanity such a painless end is the limit of what I, as a goddess, can do."

Sensing the coming of the end times, Ereshkigal chose to kill all life on the Mesopotamian Plain and imprison all souls in the Underworld, which was also her way of showing love for humanity.

"A peaceful death...?"

Upon hearing this, Nitocris paused slightly, and not only her, but also Artoria and Merlin felt that Ereshkigal's words Black Lancer Artoria familiar, especially for Artoria. As Artoria herself, even though the worlds were different, she shared similar desires and a past. Therefore, she naturally prayed that Britannia could peacefully await its end, as if asleep.

Originally, this wish had been forgotten during the Lion King era because of the other side of the gods' thinking and what she had seen too much. She also realized that it was an impossible delusion and had long since put it out of her mind. But now, suddenly hearing this familiar, peaceful death that sounded like someone asleep, Black Lancer Artoria suddenly remembered her past self.

She glanced at the legion filled with the deathly aura of the Underworld in front of her, then at the wide-open Gates of the Underworld, and then at the city-states that were already fast asleep behind her. Black Lancer Artoria unconsciously frowned.

Before witnessing it with her own eyes, she had never truly imagined the full picture of a peaceful death. Now, Ereshkigal has fulfilled her dream, allowing her to see everything with her own eyes and clearly understand how ridiculous her previous fantasy of a peaceful death was. It turns out that being harvested by the Underworld in one's sleep is what a peaceful death is. What was she fantasizing about in the past?

"Alright, Rovey, and all you Servant and gods. The time is almost up! These armies were originally created to transfer all life on Earth and to protect the Underworld. Today is the perfect time to use them. So—die obediently! Humans and goddesses alike will all become my subjects!"

Ereshkigal said firmly, "As long as everyone hides in the Underworld, they will definitely be safe!"

As her words fell, the dark earth continued to overflow with the deathly aura of the Underworld, and more armies of the dead continued to emerge from the ground, quickly occupying the land outside the city.

"Stop thinking about resisting. Once you enter the realm of the Underworld, you will be punished by it. Your divinity and magic will be suppressed by the Underworld." Seeing the resistance, Ereshkigal continued, "As long as you remain in this area, you are no match for these legions."

"Um...?"

As Merlin and Black Lancer Artoria felt their magic and divinity weakening, they knew that Ereshkigal's words were true.

In any mythological world, there are generally three layers: the heavenly realm, the human realm, and the Underworld.

In these three realms, the ruler of any realm, the god-king, possesses immense power to suppress and weaken any gods or humans who enter it. This is also true in Sumerian Mythology. As the mistress of the Underworld, Ereshkigal is the god-king of the Underworld. While in the Underworld, she is the most terrifying being, even suppressing the god-king of the heavens, An.

Because they were right next to the entrance to the Underworld, they were also bound by the power of the Underworld, and their own power was being constantly weakened.

"It's no use. No matter how many goddesses you have, they are no match for me."

Ereshkigal was already popping champagne at halftime.

But things are indeed as she said, so what should we do now?

Seeing Ereshkigal laughing happily, Nitocris sighed helplessly, then stood up to prepare for a fight with her boss.

Because she also possessed the divinity of the Sumerian Underworld, she was not among the targets of the Underworld's weakening efforts. Therefore, she prepared to hold off her leader and create opportunities for others.

Only--

Before she could even summon Libra to fight, the unaffected Rovey had already placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Let me handle this."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Ten Rings on the fingertips of Rovey, who had just stepped forward, began to flash. The next moment, a golden, blazing special ring appeared behind him, like a huge Light Wheel, directly illuminating the darkness of the surrounding environment.

"Ah?"

Ereshkigal, who had seemed quite relaxed, was taken aback when she saw the Light Wheel behind Rovey, as she sensed the terrifying heat contained within it.

"This, this is..."

Before she could finish speaking, the golden Light Wheel behind Rovey began to spin rapidly, then dissolved and split into several golden streams of light that shot towards the Underworld Legion.

Boom! Boom!

Several golden streaks of light, imbued with terrifying heat, were like an unstoppable divine punishment. In an instant, they tore apart the newly emerged, seemingly unstoppable army. With their unparalleled heat, they shattered Ereshkigal's Underworld authority and finally, like heavenly fire, completely engulfed the entire army.

Bear! Bear! Bear!

Golden streaks of light formed a blinding meteor that pierced the sky. In the blink of an eye, it reduced Ereshkigal's proud Underworld army to ashes. All the bones vanished the moment they touched the heat that could melt any material on the planet, leaving not even a trace behind. The land that had been completely evaporated by the light remained, calmly telling the story of what had just happened.

"I, my... army...!"

"Stop! That's something I spent countless years building!!"

Ereshkigal stared in disbelief at what was happening before his eyes.

This was a legion of death that she had painstakingly built over at least several thousand years, drawing upon the magic and bones she had extracted from the Underworld, along with the authority of the Death Army of the Underworld, to protect the Underworld. Yet, it was instantly evaporated before her very eyes by the golden light, without even having played the slightest role it was supposed to.

"What is this?!" she couldn't help but ask loudly.