The Underworld Never Needs Flowers

When facing the Bull of Heaven, Rovi had deactivated the protection Ereshkigal had given him.

Otherwise, he could never have died.

Even if he had endured the Bull of Heaven's furious strike after exhausting all his strength and becoming weakened, as long as his body remained somewhat intact, he would at most have been unconscious for a while.

But now, after dying?

At least at this moment, what he saw left him feeling both amused and helpless.

Even though he had long guessed something like this would happen...

"Why... why aren't you saying anything?" Seeing Rovi remain silent and stare fixedly at her, the goddess named Ereshkigal inexplicably grew a little bashful.

Could he have realized... that she had been watching him all along?

Having met Rovi once before, Ereshkigal had actually been looking forward to seeing him again.

Having spent so much time among the souls of the dead, Ereshkigal often touched upon the purest parts of people's hearts after death. Thus, she was the god closest to humanity. In a sense, Ereshkigal was merely a lonely girl.

Easily moved,

and even more easily attached because of the impulse of a fleeting heartbeat.

Whenever she thought of what she had done last time, of that intimate skin-to-skin contact, the Mistress of the Underworld's heart could not help racing again.

Worry, fear, embarrassment, unease... and the urge to do it once more.

Yet even though she already knew of Rovi's "feelings," she was still uneasy over whether her actions last time had made him resent her.

So until now, Ereshkigal had not appeared before Rovi again.

But she had been secretly watching him all along.

In the deepest reaches of the underworld.

Within her own divine temple...

Otherwise, Ereshkigal could not possibly have pulled Rovi over the instant he had "died."

He had surely chosen to "die" so he could see her, right?

Otherwise, why had he not used the undying protection she had given him?

Though she knew thinking that way seemed rather narcissistic, a maiden's mind had always been prone to fanciful imaginings...

"That's right." Rovi saw what she was thinking.

"Eh!?" Ereshkigal froze, and then her face instantly turned crimson.

"I came to invite you, Ereshkigal." Since dying was no longer an option, Rovi certainly could not tell Ereshkigal to let him die.

That would inevitably alert the Counter Force to something unusual.

He could only think about the next opportunity.

Or perhaps he should consider a way to die without entering the underworld?

But now—

"Come to the human world with me again!" Rovi smiled.

He would take this chance to do something else!

The present world.

Rovi opened his eyes and could not help staring blankly.

Without question, he was still where he had been, where his "corpse" had fallen after fighting the Bull of Heaven.

The land, whose drought had already been dispelled, instantly surged with boundless vitality, and lush greenery covered the earth once more.

Time flowed differently in the underworld and the present world.

When he had "died," the dusky sunset had been falling.

Now, the rising sun's morning light filled his vision.

Before him were countless eyes. Countless people surrounded him, kneeling as though on a pilgrimage.

They were...

"Lord Rovi, you're awake?" The moment Rovi opened his eyes, someone noticed and cried out.

Like a boulder thrown into shallow water, it instantly stirred enormous waves through the crowd.

"It really happened—the old man was right!"

The people cried out excitedly.

"Lord Rovi, thank you for saving us at the cost of your life!" Rovi hurriedly helped the trembling old man to his feet.

"Lord Rovi, please accept our gift of thanks..." Where was he supposed to put this cow they were leading over?

But after a few exchanges, Rovi finally sorted out the situation.

These people were undoubtedly those who had suffered on this land because of the Bull of Heaven.

They had likely seen that scene before his death and come from all directions.

As for the words, "the old man was right"...

"It was the old man who was with you," one young man said. "He said your 'death' was only temporary. You were a hero protected by the gentle Goddess of the Underworld, a light that death would not accept."

"You would return from the underworld with the sunrise of the second day—"

"Oh, right. That old man also asked me to pass along a message. He said he would act when the time was right, so please rest assured!"

All right, it really was Ziusudra.

That old man had probably seen through the Goddess of the Underworld's protection on Rovi and known that he absolutely would not die, which was why he had stood aside and watched.

Rovi did not particularly mind.

"You need not thank me so much." He waved his hand. "If not for the protection of the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal, I would not have dared do such a thing."

Cleverly, Rovi shifted the credit for this matter onto Ereshkigal, whom he had just met.

The people still thanked Rovi.

But at this moment, they also sincerely gave thanks to the god whom so many had forgotten.

Rovi raised his eyes.

You can come now... He did not speak, but the words reached Ereshkigal's ears through the "key" he had once given the Goddess of the Underworld.

Then, through that key, he opened a rift between the underworld and the human world.

The aura of the underworld wafted out from it.

Drifting on the wind...

A figure draped in a red robe slowly emerged.

The goddess of the underworld would descend in person—

Something she had never dared imagine before, much less believed she could accomplish.

But during the brief conversation after Rovi invited her in the underworld, she had realized—it was possible.

Because of the "key" Rovi had given her.

The Key of Heaven's ability was "doors."

And through it, Ereshkigal could temporarily turn the underworld's breath blowing into the human world... into a gateway at the boundary between the underworld and the present world.

She descended into the present world, yet remained within the scope of the underworld.

Otherwise, why would Rovi have suddenly invited her into the present world?

Now, the goddess of the underworld arrived full of anticipation.

Full of anticipation... and crashed straight into his arms.

Wait, his arms?

Ereshkigal froze.

Golden hair scattered through the air, while her fair, naked body pressed closely against him.

A soft, warm friction reached her in an instant. The thorned crown atop Ereshkigal's head swayed, and her eyes beneath the strands of hair widened slightly, as if she had only just jolted awake...

Then her face reddened, and her heart instantly began to race.

What she desired deep down was indeed to feel Rovi's scent against her once more, but she had never expected it to be so direct—

Who knew he would open the "door" on his own body?

No, ghosts did not know.

Because even she, the Underworld Goddess, did not know...

Thump, thump, thump!

Their violently pounding hearts could be felt through their pressed-together bodies. Rovi paused.

He had not actually done it on purpose.

After all, he himself was the Key of Heaven. When he used his power and opened a "door," it naturally opened on himself.

It was like how people were accustomed to using their right hands; when they needed something, they naturally raised them without thinking.

Without paying attention to anything else.

Still...

"Stop moving around!" Rovi said helplessly.

Ereshkigal's breathing instantly caught.

Embarrassment made her body sway uncontrollably. As her slender waist twisted, her rounded hips beneath the black fabric pressed down slightly, seeming to touch something.

No matter what, Rovi was still a man... some things could not be held down!

"You... you shameless... waaah!"

She wanted to scold him, but did not dare raise her voice too much, so the goddess bit her tongue instead. Her cheeks puffed out in an instant, flushed to an utterly enticing shade.

Rovi could not help laughing again.

"Hah hah... cough, no, that wasn't the right laugh." Gilgamesh was almost rubbing off on him... Rovi choked on his words.

Then it was Ereshkigal's turn to laugh.

"Rovi... you're very interesting." She finally relaxed and found the courage to look up. Her jewel-like eyes met Rovi's face directly, moist with red light and brimming with shimmering radiance.

"Is there something in Lord Rovi's arms...?"

"It seems so, but I can't see clearly... It looks like a god?"

"Wait... Lord Rovi just returned from the underworld. Could that be the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal!?"

Gods were not beings mortals could gaze upon directly.

So to the people around them, the figure who had crashed into Rovi's arms was only a blurry shadow.

But in this present world, where faith in gods still remained widespread, some could infer the truth from the clues.

Yet those voices frightened Ereshkigal again. She immediately shrank back into Rovi's arms, instinctively wanting to flee.

But Rovi caught her hand.

"Look at them," he said. "Don't be afraid. They won't be afraid of you either."

Since dying was no longer possible anyway.

Then he might as well go with the flow—helping Ereshkigal step out of the shadow in her heart was not a bad thing.

Not afraid?

Indeed... she did not hear the fear and rejection she had always heard before.

Ereshkigal instinctively turned to look at the people. What greeted her were faces no longer withered and sallow.

They looked at her with gratitude in their eyes.

Death was not something terrifying.

Because just now... Rovi had saved them under the Goddess of the Underworld's protection.

"Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal, you are a great and merciful god. You saved our lives. We are willing to offer you our faith—"

Ereshkigal froze.

Once, she had been nothing more than a lonely being everyone scorned, forever confined to a deep, dark world.

Once, she had merely been one who was forgotten. No one remembered her, and no one would ever have faith in her.

But now.

Someone thanked her.

Someone believed in her.

Because death was never merely cold, silent terror.

Because the underworld could have warmth even without the sun.

Death held in one's hands could also bring hope.

"Thank you..." Ereshkigal murmured softly.

She stepped out of Rovi's arms and faced the crowd.

Rovi folded his arms as he watched, somewhat regretful at the loss of that warmth and fragrant breeze, yet feeling that this was good too.

It was a rather lovely sight...

"Rovi." Ereshkigal turned toward him. "You believe in me as your goddess too, don't you?"

Rovi nodded instinctively.

Of course he could not say he did not believe... but for some reason, Ereshkigal seemed to have undergone a tremendous change at this moment.

She seemed... confident.

Overwhelmingly assertive—!?

"Then, in the name of the goddess Ereshkigal, I command you, Rovi, my believer." Ereshkigal approached once more, golden hair drifting and red robes fluttering through the air.

The girl's radiant, fair legs supported her lovely body. Her raised face was exquisite and flawless, while those scarlet eyes reflected his figure.

She stepped forward—and took Rovi's hand of her own accord:

"I want you..."

"...to go on a date with me!"