The others were fine, but Fujimaru Ritsuka was only flesh and blood. If he were to honestly walk this route, it would take at least two or three days.
Fortunately, Amber directly used True Qi to lift everyone, along with the cart carrying the treasure. Flying the whole way, they reached the foot of Mount Ebif in just an hour. After walking for only a short while, they saw the temple Ishtar had built herself.
Amber had already been here once, so she swaggered up and pushed open the temple doors, leading everyone inside.
Ishtar seemed to know they were coming. She was already seated in the place of honor, posing as though she had been waiting for them.
"What, after attacking the Beast Goddess, am I next?"
Though she sat in an imposing posture, she somehow gave off an adorably restless feeling. Amber could not help but smile.
"What are you laughing at?! You really have completely obeyed that King of Uruk and joined forces with him, haven't you?!" Seeing her still smiling, Ishtar angrily pounded the armrest of her divine throne. "That King of Uruk must be feeling smug, right?! His capable Servants were clearly taken out, yet he immediately got himself another trump card. I know that villainous face of his better than anyone!"
"I only came because I wanted to see you."
Amber had not expected Ishtar to imagine so much, so she hurriedly interrupted her.
"You wanted to see me... You could have just stayed here all along..."
Ishtar had not expected Amber to say that. After choking on her words for a moment, she replied.
"Though it is disrespectful to interrupt the goddess's pleasantries, may we first have you hear us out?" Merlin interjected with a smile.
"If you know it's disrespectful, then don't do it in the first place." Ishtar showed him absolutely no mercy.
"This really is..."
Realizing he had never left the other party with a very good impression before, Merlin looked toward Ritsuka.
Ritsuka nodded, then lifted the cloth that had been covering the cart behind him all this time.
Ishtar had originally intended to mock them with something like, "It won't matter if someone else comes to talk. You're all Gilgamesh's lapdogs." But the pile of gemstones that suddenly illuminated the dark hall dazzled her eyes.
Th-There were this many gems?
"The Great Witch of the Honkai World"
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Ishtar's Dissatisfaction
"Th-These gems are..." Ishtar looked expectantly at Ritsuka.
"They are the reward for hiring the goddess Ishtar." Ritsuka smiled.
"R-Reward, you say..."
Ishtar restrained the upward curve of her lips. "Talking about hiring a goddess, or payment and such... is a little..."
"These are only the deposit." Ritsuka did not give Ishtar the chance to refuse and continued, "After all, fighting alongside the goddess Ishtar is the wish of all the people of Uruk. Naturally, this treasure is not enough to pay you."
"The... deposit?"
The goddess, whose eyes had already been dazzled by the glittering treasures, was instantly shocked.
"Tell her the full amount, Ritsuka." Merlin wore an amused expression.
"Twenty percent of the mineral treasures in the Babylonian Treasury." Ritsuka gestured.
"T-Twenty percent...?"
Ishtar's body began to tremble. But thinking of a goddess's dignity, she forcefully suppressed the desire in her heart and said calmly, "Th-The goddess's anger is not so easily appeased, you know... By the way, the Babylonian Treasury is that one, right? The one Gilgamesh created for the future... Once completed, it would be equivalent to humanity's total assets, inexhaustible and endlessly replenishing..."
"That's right." Ritsuka revealed an utterly innocent smile.
"N-No... Would that Golden Sparkle really be so generous?" Ishtar could not believe Gilgamesh, who had always been at odds with her, could be so willing to part with it.
"After all, you are also Uruk's city goddess. It is only natural that he holds you in respect. Besides, our Master and the Crimson Kite Immortal both have a favorable impression of you." Merlin was half reminding her not to be too greedy and half giving her a way to back down.
The Beast Goddess's situation was no secret to Servants from the Age of Gods like them. They had all witnessed that sword descending from the clouds as though it could destroy heaven and earth.
Under such circumstances, surely you would not draw blades against us while we were taking the initiative to curry favor with you.
Ishtar did not catch the hidden meaning, but she did indeed have a good impression of Amber and Ritsuka. Then, hearing even the Merlin she disliked constantly praising her, her pride was quite satisfied.
"Fine. Since you have invited me so earnestly, I shall reluctantly let you witness the power of a goddess!" Ishtar finally smiled, declaring the completion of Gilgamesh's plan.
Now that they had confirmed they were allies, Ishtar naturally formed a contract with Ritsuka, connecting their magical energy channels.
Though to Ishtar, the channel did not mean much.
Later Heroic Spirits—or more precisely, Magicians from after the end of the Age of Gods—generally used the magical energy within their own bodies, their Lesser Source. Thus, they placed great importance on their own reserves of magical energy, considering more numerous and higher-quality Magic Circuits to indicate greater aptitude.
But for Magicians of the Age of Gods, the amount of magical energy they possessed was not important at all, because they directly drew magical energy from the environment or even the Root, collectively known as the Greater Source. Unfortunately, with the end of the Age of Gods and the sudden decline of the Greater Source, no Magician could gather much magical energy directly from the environment anymore.
However, they happened to be in the Age of Gods, where the Greater Source was inexhaustible. So under normal circumstances, Ishtar had no need to draw magical energy from Ritsuka at all.
Because of this, when Ishtar made the contract, she specifically said, "The contract has already been formed. As for the relationship between Master and Servant, you may imagine whatever you please." It was a statement meant to display a goddess's nobility.
Hearing that, Amber grew tense as well. This Greater Source and Lesser Source business was remarkably similar to the difference between Tai Xu Sword Qi and ordinary martial arts. Fortunately, she had not transmigrated into the modern era, or she might have become an Immortal with an empty slate.
Host, please do not worry. The system will not allow the host to run out of mana. The Navigator's mechanical voice rang out.
It somehow felt as though even the Navigator's words had become much more human.
"Whoa... The second goddess Servant to form a contract after Miss Artemis..." Once the atmosphere had finally stabilized, Roman's voice sounded. "But now is not the time to worry about that. We need to confirm the basic situation."
"Goddess Ishtar, you are a Pseudo-Servant based on a human body, correct?"
"Of course. Divine Spirits cannot become human familiars, because their specifications are simply too large." Ishtar had no intention of denying it. "So if a Divine Spirit wants to become a Servant, it needs to possess someone. Simply put, it needs to descend by possessing a body."
"Possession?" Amber froze for a moment.
Of course, she was familiar with the term. It was just that, having only watched two Fate series, she had never considered the possibility of Heroic Spirits possessing humans.
Looking at that face identical to Tohsaka Rin's, and a figure that seemed no different either, she naturally thought of Tohsaka Rin again.
"Yes, you didn't know?"
Ishtar looked at Amber strangely. Though Amber had no Divinity and was human in essence, during the Age of Gods—especially in Mesopotamia—the boundary between some humans and gods was actually quite blurred. Like Zusurade before: he had originally been a human who survived the great flood, yet eventually became something like a gatekeeper of the Underworld.
Gilgamesh's so-called Divine Authority Seals symbolized "deification." They did not represent gods recognized by gods, but gods recognized by humans—faith born from humanity and existing for humanity.
In her eyes, the Crimson Kite Immortal, whom an emperor had bestowed with the title of Exalted Immortal, was such an existence.
Would it not be stranger for someone like that to be surprised by descending through possession?
"Then may I ask a question? As Chaldea's representative... no, as a doctor, it is a matter of personal ethics." Roman's tone was serious. "What happened to the girl you possessed? Is she still in a state where you have forcibly occupied her body?"
Hearing that, Amber frowned, and her feelings immediately became complicated.
Tohsaka Rin was a fictional wife she liked very much. It was precisely because Ishtar resembled Tohsaka Rin that she had started out with quite a bit of goodwill toward her.
But ultimately, Ishtar was the person she had actually met and befriended. As for forcibly taking over Tohsaka Rin's body...
Amber's pig brain overloaded, leaving her unsure of what to do.
"Hm? If I'm not mistaken, Mash was your handiwork, right? After doing something like that, you still want to lecture me about humanitarianism?" Ishtar raised an eyebrow. But seeing that Amber seemed to care deeply about this as well, she still sighed and said, "Fine, I'll answer you for Crimson Kite's sake. If you are asking whether I killed this girl, then the answer is no."
"But if you are asking whether that girl can ever surface again, then the answer is also no."
"We are not in a relationship where one replaces the other. We are fused together. Roughly speaking, I am seventy percent, and she is thirty percent." Ishtar explained, "So do not think of it as one replacing the other. Rather, one day, this girl suddenly became Ishtar."
After saying that, she looked at Amber, whose brows had relaxed, and spoke with a somewhat resentful, dissatisfied tone. "Are you satisfied with that answer, you protector of humanity?"
"The Fog Fleet Ship Girl Commander in Gundam SEED"
It's a male-protagonist story. I don't know whether everyone will like it, but Gundam SEED and Fog Fleet were both anime I loved in my childhood. I even considered whether to send Liuying to Gundam.
Though if anyone were going, it would be the Mercury Succubus.
Unfortunately, I recently rewatched Code Geass. If I wrote a mecha war story, Code Geass would definitely take priority.
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There will be another update today, maybe even two more chapters, though one is more likely.
Stopping Short
Even Amber could see Ishtar's meaning at a glance.
She had previously said Amber resembled an old acquaintance, and now she had this attitude again. Clearly, Amber had reminded her of that acquaintance once more. For a proud goddess with such strong self-esteem, looking at her while thinking of someone else was an enormous insult.
Besides, even if the other party were not a goddess, treating someone as another person's shadow was not a good thing.
Faced with the goddess's sarcasm, Amber naturally should apologize. "Sorry, I was disrespectful."
"Hmph. This is already the second time, but there will not be a third." Ishtar crossed her arms and lifted her chin, expressing her dissatisfaction.
The interaction between the two made Ritsuka smile.
"What is it, Master?" Ishtar looked at Ritsuka, who had suddenly laughed.
"It's nothing. I just thought that perhaps only Ishtar could make the Exalted Immortal show such an expression." Ritsuka said, "At times like this, I feel that the Exalted Immortal might not actually be so distant from us."
That was pleasant to hear.
Very pleasant to hear.
Ishtar immediately smiled. As she walked down from the divine throne in the temple, she said, "Naturally. I am Ishtar, after all. Besides, Crimson Kite may be far closer to you than you imagine. She is humanity's protector, someone who walks alongside humanity. She would not be so distant from humans."
"Is that so?"
Ritsuka really did not know much about the Crimson Kite Immortal. According to the novels Merlin had mentioned, the Crimson Kite Immortal did not seem like someone particularly full of human warmth.
But after experiencing so many Singularities, he naturally understood that a Servant was a reflection of a Heroic Spirit from a certain period. It was still uncertain which period this Crimson Kite Immortal came from. If she herself had no intention of revealing it, no one could know.
That was probably one of the reasons why alternate Heroic Spirits were so hard to understand.
Hearing this, Amber's eyes lit up slightly.
Are they going to ask? Now? Here!?
She had wanted to tell everyone just how amazing Fu Hua was for a long time, but she had never found the opportunity. If she said it herself, it would feel like self-praise, so she could only suppress the thought. But given the current timing, they could naturally ask her about it now, right?
Come on! Ask!
However, Ritsuka merely nodded. Thinking that she would naturally tell them when she wanted to, he ended the topic and brought up the next matter instead. "Since we have accomplished our purpose here, let us return to Uruk directly."
The feeling of being stopped short left Amber hanging for a moment.
Fortunately, the Navigator had never forgotten to help her manage her expression.
"Return to Uruk? Is there any need to be in such a hurry?" Hearing that, Ishtar became a little awkward. Though she had accepted Gilgamesh's things, that did not mean she would thank Gilgamesh for it.
On the contrary, she disliked Gilgamesh even more. Gilgamesh's attempt to win her over clearly meant he thought she was a poor goddess, which was why he had so brazenly displayed his wealth.
Though that was true, she still needed to save face!
Amber only thought Ishtar could not bear to leave the temple she had painstakingly built. Just as she was about to comfort her and fly everyone back again, the Navigator, which had remained silent for so long, displayed a screen before her.
Optional: Speak with "Ishtar" at night.
The Navigator was usually rather quiet. If it did not take the initiative to speak, there was generally no movement from it, like an emotionless AI.
Now that it had suddenly issued a task, Amber naturally intended to complete it.
But... at night? She still needed to cultivate at night...
"Missing one night will not have much impact." Fu Hua said upon seeing this.
She had more or less understood the logic behind the system's tasks. Simply put, it wanted the characters in the "story" to pay attention to and acknowledge Amber. The greater their acknowledgment, and the more important the characters who acknowledged Amber were, the greater the benefits Amber could obtain.
Since the Navigator had suddenly spoken, that meant some sort of plot would occur tonight.
Amber felt Fu Hua's consideration, but she could not resist being mischievous. The Exalted Immortal said before that cultivation means advancing or falling behind, and that it had to be completed every day. Heh, women.
Fu Hua only felt that this little brat had been sent to torment her. All her many disciples combined were not as lively as Amber alone, nor did any of them know how to provoke her anger as well as Amber did.
Fortunately, Amber knew she was dancing in a minefield and hurriedly added, I acknowledge this ability to adapt to circumstances. As expected of the Exalted Immortal. With disciples at the Exalted Immortal's level, I'm probably fine even if I miss ten days!
It only gave Fu Hua more to write down in her notes.
Unaware of this, Amber continued along with Ishtar's words. "It takes three days to travel back to Uruk. If you cannot bear to leave the treasures in this palace, you can settle them first, then catch up with us along the way."
"It's not that serious." Ishtar waved her hand, then sighed. "Forget it. Let us set off now. By the time I see that King of Uruk's face in three days, I should be calm enough not to punch him."
Since the goddess had said so, naturally no one objected.
In any case, the Demon Beast Frontline was not urgent. Three Servants were holding the front line. Unless a goddess personally attacked the city, it would be difficult for anything unexpected to happen. As for that goddess waking up three days later, they would have already returned to Uruk by then.
There was no helping it. Though it was said that nothing unexpected would happen unless a goddess personally attacked the city, if a goddess did attack the city, those three Servants would be completely unable to stop her.
Divinity was indeed a weakness, but it had far more advantages than weaknesses. For example, if there were ten thousand weapons in the world and one thousand were anti-Divinity weapons, then Divinity only needed to fear those thousand. Without Divinity, however, one would need to fear all ten thousand.
And those three Servants happened to have no moves that could affect Servants with Divinity.
Ishtar packed up the treasures she had gathered in the temple, then directly left the temple with everyone.
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