Selling Out a Teammate

The underworld, the Temple of Heat Meslamtaea.

The goddess looked at the faint light in the cage that was about to go out, her expression solemn, and immediately beckoned to Samael.

"Bring the Water of Life! Quickly!"

The ancient serpent, who was very familiar with the temple's structure and knew the location of each item, rushed to the cabinet, opened a hidden compartment, and brought a silver pot containing a special liquid to Ereshkigal.

The God of the Underworld looked with a pained expression at the dwindling amount of crystalline color remaining in the pot, then closed his eyes and, in accordance with the spell, poured all the remaining contents into the Soul Cage in the array diagram.

The flickering light gradually stabilized and began to show signs of repair and growth.

Ereshkigal breathed a slight sigh of relief, gently tapped the tip of her spear, and sank the vessel containing Shamhat's soul into the depths of the temple.

As the owner turned his head, he noticed Samael's furrowed brow and hesitant expression, and offered words of comfort.

"Don't worry, everything is fine now."

"Using the environment of the underworld, combined with my powers, she will slowly recover."

"Besides, who knows, this might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It's the Water of Life from the abyss, my last bit of reserves..."

As she spoke, Ereshkigal looked at the empty kettle in her hand, feeling somewhat reluctant to part with it.

The Water of Life, the essence and blood of the earth, can create miracles of rebirth.

Once, Ishtar went to Hell to provoke us, and was stripped of her powers by Ereshkigal and stabbed to death.

Without the presence of this goddess of abundance, love, and fertility, all things on earth lost their ability to reproduce.

Men could no longer impregnate women, so donkeys no longer mounted females, and crops in the fields and vegetation in the forests withered and died in large swaths.

(Therefore, Ishtar is able to stir up Ereshkigal's desires and emotions, assisting her "husband" in harming her sister, which is ridiculous.)

Therefore, in order to restore the balance between life and death, the Earth God Ea created two asexual messengers, Galatura and Quyara, who could walk in the underworld.

They were dispatched to the Temple of Heat to deliver the "Water of Life" from the very essence of the earth and the "Food of Mana" as Mana Crystal to the dying Ishtar.

Ultimately, Ishtar rose from the dead and brought creation and reproduction back to the earth.

Wasting this precious treasure, which can even revive the main god, on a ghost you don't even know well is a huge loss for Ereshkigal.

"Thank goodness Ereshkigal was here, you were a huge help this time!"

Seeing that Shamhat had finally weathered the crisis, Samael breathed a sigh of relief. Overwhelmed with emotion, he tightly grasped his owner's hands, his gratitude overflowing.

In human form, such close contact caused the Underworld Goddess, who had long lived in solitude and was not good at socializing, to tremble.

Ereshkigal immediately blushed and turned her head to the side, not forgetting to preemptively belittle her own hard work.

"Well, this is just to stabilize her soul. I can't guarantee whether her memories and emotions will be fragmented in the future, or how long her rationality will last..."

"My dear Ming! You've done your best! Thank you!"

Samael nodded solemnly, and based on his experience of spending more than half a year with Ereshkigal, he spoke lavishly with praise.

Seemingly realizing she had been too pessimistic, the goddess paused, then turned and brought up the favorable factors she had just discovered.

"It's strange, but it's already a miracle that his soul and body weren't directly destroyed by the Chain of Heaven."

"It's incredible that she could survive all the way to the underworld and still maintain her vitality..."

"Is it because of that special power that appeared inside that Nanyu is suppressing her dissipation?"

Samael seemed to have found the answer in his heart, and a look of relief appeared in his eyes as he looked at the spot where the Soul Cage had sunk.

The Chain of Heaven... Enkidu...

It seems that the teacher's sacrifice was not in vain.

After temporarily resolving Shamhat's crisis, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

The ancient snake glanced around, catching sight of the large bed and the steamy mist wafting from the bathroom, and cold sweat beaded on its forehead.

When I was being inhuman, I did a lot of inhuman things.

What if, after the owner calms down, they think of...

The ancient snake couldn't help but shudder, and the names of various dishes instantly flashed through its mind, such as Three-Snake Porridge, Ginseng Snake Soup, Salt and Pepper Snake Meat, Braised Snake Meat, Stewed Snake Meat, Pigeon Snake Meat, and Stir-fried Snake Segments.

"By the way, let's sit over there first, and while we're at it, tell me how you escaped from the underworld."

At this moment, the goddess clapped her hands and casually murmured something.

The ancient snake followed its owner's fingertip and looked to the side, where it saw the very bed where it had committed countless beastly acts.

Even though Ereshkigal seemed to be just curious about her pet's itinerary, Samael, who already had a guilty conscience, was terrified and wished he could find an excuse to run away immediately.

"Over in Uruk..."

"Oh, Gilgamesh sent word that you don't need to return to the underworld recently; you'll be in charge of contacting the underworld."

Ereshkigal hummed softly with a slightly nasal tone, while lowering her eyelids and fiddling with her cloak.

Holy crap! What a bunch of amazing teammates!

You've sold me out again!

Samael was on the verge of tears, his heart filled with inexplicable grief and indignation.

If I had known this would happen, I would have just let that happy guy make a fatal mistake and instead seized power myself!

Driven by a strong will to survive, the ancient snake looked around, rushed impatiently to the table, picked up the silver pot, and chuckled as it changed the subject.

"By the way, where can we collect this [Water of Life]? I'll help you find a way to replenish it."

Ereshkigal wasn't particularly attached to the consumption of items, and even took the initiative to comfort Samael.

"In the abyss beneath Mount Epiph."

"However, these things are extremely rare and hard to come by. I waited for millions of years to collect the few I could find."

"You'll need it sooner or later anyway, so don't worry about it."

No, I don't mind!

If we stay any longer, I'm worried it won't be as simple as just returning the water.

If you remember what I did in the past, I might just skin you alive!

After several unsuccessful attempts to escape, Samael felt as if dark clouds were gathering overhead, ready to unleash a devastating storm.

Just as a sinful ancient serpent was racking its brains for a reason, a strange tremor came from all around.

"How come there are earthquakes in the underworld...?"

Samael immediately gathered his scattered thoughts, frowned, and asked.

"This situation seems to have only recently emerged..."

Ereshkigal shook her head slightly, looking confused, as she herself knew nothing about it.

"What locations on the ground do the epicenters correspond to?"

Samael narrowed his eyes, a serious expression appearing on his face, and asked in a deep voice.

"It seems there are three places where the intensity is particularly strong: the Fir Forest on the north side, Mount Epiph on the winter side..."

"The last one is..."

Ereshkigal thought for a moment, then raised her hand to search in a certain direction, pondering the corresponding landmark area.

However, before the Underworld Goddess could reach a conclusion, Samael suddenly frowned and whispered, her expression solemn.

"It's Edessa!"

At the same time, the ancient serpent's heart contracted sharply, and it looked eerily at the location that Ereshkigal had initially mentioned, its mind conjuring up a huge shadow that was rising.

Mount Epiph, serving as a bridge between heaven and earth, also became a breach into the underworld after its destruction...

The Fir Forest not only stretches across the headwaters of the Euphrates River and Tigris rivers, but also hides the Temple of Blood!

In addition to Edessa, which lies below, a massive inverted triangle is covering the entire land of Mesopotamia!

Ereshkigal