Crossing the rolling terrain of Mount Epiph, one could see another famous Sumerian city in the distance—Kusa.
In the Age of Gods before the Common Era, the human structures rising from the plain were especially conspicuous.
But this place had actually long since fallen into ruin. Its former glory was gone, and even the scattered demonic beasts that slipped past Babylonia's defenses did not dare approach it.
Half a year ago, with the emergence of the Triple Goddess Alliance, a plague suddenly swept through Kusa, cutting off its contact with the other fortress cities.
By the time Uruk's reinforcements arrived, they found the place deathly silent, its streets and houses filled with "sleeping" residents.
There was no blood anywhere, nor were there any signs of struggle. Yet the entire city reeked of death, as though some vicious plague had slaughtered the whole city overnight.
From then on, Kusa was regarded as a cursed land and completely abandoned by the survivors who gradually evacuated from the surrounding areas.
As someone well acquainted with the relevant history, Samael naturally knew the full story. Seeing the city's outline in the darkness, he felt a faint ache in his liver.
That period happened to be when his owner, Ereshkigal, had been working overtime day and night to produce Spear Cages. A massive influx of souls had inexplicably poured into the Underworld, and almost all of them came from Kusa.
Likewise, having only just learned how to forge Spear Cages, he had been drafted into the labor force and forced to work insane overtime every day. He had practically worked himself to death!
Even now, thinking back on it gave him severe psychological trauma. He might even feel like vomiting at the sight of ore.
Of course, Ereshkigal was not so deranged that she would directly massacre an entire city, especially one under her protection.
It was merely that, compared to bodies she was not skilled at managing, she had used the authority of the Underworld to preserve the souls of Kusa's people.
That way, even if the people of Kusa lost their bodies, they could continue living in the Underworld in soul form.
If they were lucky enough, perhaps after the disaster passed and a new era began, these souls might have a chance to return to the surface.
Besides, Samael guessed that his owner had also intended to use this as a token of allegiance to the Triple Goddess Alliance.
Joining when you couldn't win was not humanity's exclusive privilege.
It was just that, compared to humans, the intentions of gods were impossible to fathom.
To onlookers who did not know the full story, Ereshkigal's actions naturally appeared extreme and vile.
With old memories stirred up, the ancient serpent avoided entering that cursed land saturated with Death Qi so as not to invite unnecessary trouble. Instead, he chose to make camp and rest in the wilderness.
Orange flames rose into the air, and the dry branches crackled as they burned. Samael, seated before the campfire in deep thought, became the dividing point between light and shadow.
One half of him was lit by the flames, while the other remained hidden in darkness.
"Little Samael, I still think... you got ripped off!"
The tiny Soul Cage was removed from his waist. Still agonizing over that deal, Shamhat could not help manifesting beside him and muttering her complaint.
With her many years of experience working in Uruk's divine administration, she could naturally see how perfunctory that goddess's promise had been.
Expecting her to work for a bag of gems, and paying in full before even establishing a contract, was no different from throwing meat buns at a dog.
Ishtar had broken agreements on a whim more than once. With nothing binding her, it would be a miracle if she acknowledged the deal.
"That's because you're only seeing the first layer..."
Samael came back to himself, picked up a dry twig, and stirred the flames. A cryptic smile appeared on the half of his face concealed by shadow.
"First of all, that bag of gems was originally intended as toll money, to bribe Goddess Ishtar."
"Besides, night was about to fall. If we wanted to leave the scene quickly, we had to be willing to pay the price."
As far as he knew, Ishtar and Ereshkigal were twin sisters with opposing natures. They shared an inexplicable connection and currently used the same vessel for descent.
Once night fell, his former owner might awaken at any moment and take control of that body.
Though he had changed his appearance and escaped the Underworld, his appearance had been far too coincidental, and Shamhat's conspicuous ghostly presence still hung from his waist.
To be safe, Samael wanted to leave the scene as soon as possible, lest he run into Ereshkigal at the time.
If his identity were exposed and he was dragged back, he might really end up as snake soup—or get skinned, stuffed with cotton, and reduced to a snake-shaped body pillow.
Therefore, that bag of gems given to Ishtar was both protection money and life-saving money.
Hearing the ancient serpent's veiled explanation, Shamhat fell into shock.
She had never expected Ereshkigal and Ishtar to be in a state of two souls inhabiting one body, and Samael's audacity in putting on a tragic act with Ishtar on Mount Epiph just to stall for time was even more outrageous.
"Then why didn't you run immediately after paying? We almost dragged things out until nightfall!"
Fortunately, this saint did not yet know of someone's feat of debating law with Gilgamesh and finding loopholes to evade punishment.
Otherwise, her jaw would probably have dropped on the spot.
At that moment, Samael paused. His reptilian slit pupils, faintly reflecting the firelight, were filled with unfathomable depth.
"So, that was the second purpose of the bag of gems: I needed an identity that could reasonably exist in this world..."
"An identity that could withstand verification from every side..."
Shamhat carefully replayed his wrangling with Ishtar on Mount Epiph, and intense astonishment filled her eyes.
Who was Samael?
A brave soldier who had broken through the tide of demonic beasts in the ruined city of Babylon, carried vital intelligence, and headed for Uruk to sound the alarm!
What was the physical evidence?
The Clay Tablet left behind by the ghostly centurion Tarel!
What was the witness testimony?
Great Goddess Ishtar!
As for the other comrades?
Heh. They had either died beneath Blue Dragon Bashum's claws or gone missing. If anyone did not believe it, they could dig up the other witnesses themselves...
Besides, this man had risked his life to enter the Sacred Mountain of Epiph, offering a sacrifice to Ishtar, Goddess of War, and begging her to kill Blue Dragon Bashum in revenge for his fallen comrades!
Who would doubt the integrity and loyalty of a brave soldier?
In truth, by this point, Samael's identity, his timing for appearing on Mount Epiph, and his motives all had perfectly reasonable explanations.
After Ishtar accepted the gems, whether she was willing to kill Blue Dragon Bashum was no longer important.
It was the identity information that had formed a fixed impression in her mind that would determine every step going forward.
Now that the chain of evidence had been established, even Marduk, King of the Gods, would likely find it nearly impossible to uncover Samael's true identity from these scattered clues.
Besides, this was a false name.
Taking a step back, even if the King of Kings who held the Fate Tablet could glimpse something unusual and grow suspicious.
Would his judgment be credible?
This brave soldier named Samael was an upright man who, in his anger, had reclaimed the gems from the temple and instead offered them to Ishtar, Goddess of War.
Any suspicion Marduk raised would look like personal retaliation.
If he retaliated against a survivor who had escaped the ruined city of Babylon over this, then the King of Kings would be seriously beneath himself.
Likewise, even if Ishtar took that bag of gems and did nothing, she would still be dragged into the mess.
Having considered it all again and finally understood every key point, the saint looked gloomily at the ancient serpent beside the fire, dividing light from shadow, her expression stiff.
"You thought of every single step?"
"You even planned to deceive gods in advance! You really are a bad thing!"
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