Moon World Girlfriend Comes Knocking

Before him appeared a dark world, filled with nothing but shades of deep blue. Scattered at his feet were a few cages, their faint blue flames flickering in the darkness.

Other than that, there was nothing.

Why was the Absolute Demonic Front so gloomy? Or was this some kind of PV animation?

"So another new soul has arrived in the Underworld... Human, tell me, what is your name?"

At that moment, a grating voice like rusted gears turning came from behind him, accompanied by the occasional howl of demonic wind, sending a chill down his spine.

Lan Ze turned to look, then froze.

A look of disbelief crept into his eyes.

Before him stood a massive skeletal monster, its eyes glowing with a crimson light that sent a jolt of fear through him at first glance.

But Lan Ze didn't look away. Instead, he studied the skeleton with a puzzled expression, as if pondering something.

Then, the skeleton spoke again in that harsh voice, and the deathly aura around it suddenly expanded. The red light in its eyes flared brighter.

"Answer me, human. What is your name, and where did you come from?"

"You're Ereshkigal, aren't you?" Lan Ze asked abruptly.

"Huh?!" The synthesized voice vanished, replaced by a small, girlish squeak.

In an instant, the massive skeleton disappeared, and in its place stood not the terrifying monster, but a golden-haired girl wearing a crown.

"Who are you?" The girl stared at Lan Ze in shock, clearly not expecting her identity to be seen through so easily.

"So it really is Ereshkigal." Lan Ze wasn't surprised.

Yes, the girl before him was a character from a mobile game he used to play—the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal.

"Strange... Shouldn't the starting point of the game not be here? Starting with an Underworld dungeon is way too hard for a player... Could it be a bug? But it's weird for a single-player game to have a bug right at the start." Lan Ze muttered to himself, glancing around at his surroundings.

But if he remembered correctly, this place was indeed the Underworld, wasn't it?

"What are you muttering about to yourself?" A cold voice rang out again, snapping Lan Ze back to reality.

To maintain her image as a cold, aloof goddess, the girl's voice turned icy once more—though she had just let out a small, girlish squeak not long ago.

"You know me?" Ereshkigal asked coldly, a faint blush creeping onto her pale cheeks.

Girl, if you're going to act aloof, at least make sure your face isn't that red first... Lan Ze silently complained to himself.

As for knowing her—well, of course he did. After all, he'd watched the anime.

Of course, he couldn't say that outright. He shook his head and replied, "No... I just think you look familiar. I have a friend named Ereshkigal, and she looks a lot like you."

If it's a bug, so be it. Maybe it's some hidden side quest or something? Even if not, getting familiar with the late-game dungeon environment early wouldn't hurt.

It's a single-player game anyway. If I die, I die. I'll probably just respawn at the starting point.

"Hah, you have a friend with a name similar to mine?"

Ereshkigal seemed to find this unbelievable and let out a low laugh. "What a cliché pickup line. Have you never been in a relationship or something?"

"Have you?" Lan Ze asked instinctively.

"..."

Silence.

Their eyes met for a moment. Ereshkigal's face flushed red as she demanded loudly, "Where exactly did you come from? If you don't explain properly, your soul won't find any peace!"

"Hmm..." Lan Ze thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "So, does that mean I'm dead now?"

That's weird. I just logged in, and I'm already... dead?

Is it part of the game's setting? Or a bug?

"Isn't it obvious? You died because—" Ereshkigal's voice cut off abruptly.

Strange... How did he die?

She couldn't detect the cause of his death.

Finding this baffling, she set down the spear-like cage she was holding and reached out to pinch Lan Ze's cheek, kneading it like dough.

"Eresh...kigal?" Lan Ze's speech was garbled from the pinching, his eyes fixed straight on the Underworld Goddess before him.

"Call me Goddess!" Ereshkigal let go. "And stop staring at me like that. Do you want to die again?"

She was furious. How could there be such an ill-mannered, naughty child?

She was a goddess! When mortals saw her, even if they didn't show genuine respect, they should at least put on an act!

"Yeah, I get it. By the way, Ereshkigal, you were saying I died because of what reason?"

"I told you to call me Goddess... Forget it." Ereshkigal let out a heartfelt sigh. "I don't know how you died. All I know is that your soul is now in the Underworld, so you're under my jurisdiction."

Though she had always wanted to be a good girl, Lan Ze had truly infuriated her, and she had completely forgotten her "good girl code."

"Alright, so how do I leave the Underworld?" Lan Ze asked.

"Oh~ With such a beautiful girl here in the Underworld, aren't you tempted to stay and keep her company?" Ereshkigal asked in a teasing tone.

"Hmm..." Lan Ze thought for a moment. "Honestly, I'm a little tempted."

"What—?"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Ereshkigal's face flushed bright red. "Do you even know who you're talking to?!"

"Ereshkigal," Lan Ze said.

Ereshkigal stammered for a long while before finally speaking in an irritated tone. "You idiot, how many times have I told you? Call me Lady Goddess!"

"But calling you Ereshkigal feels more intimate," Lan Ze said.

"..."

"By the way, do you know how to get out of here?"

"So what exactly have you been rambling on about this whole time?!"

Ereshkigal's cheeks tinged pink as she smoothed her bangs, then crossed her arms and snorted. "You've entered the Underworld, and you still want to leave?"

This human was acting far too strange—completely lacking any fear of death, instead looking around the Underworld with curiosity. Only now was he finally showing a hint of dread...

Was this what fear looked like on him?

But just as Ereshkigal finished speaking, she heard the young man muttering something odd under his breath, like "So it really is a hidden quest, huh."

Then she saw Lan Ze turn around, as if preparing to leave.

"Where are you going? I told you, this is the Underworld. You can't leave," Ereshkigal said, instinctively calling out to stop him.

"In theory, entering the Underworld requires passing through the Seven Gates. So conversely, if I pass through them in reverse, I should be able to go back, right?" Lan Ze said.

"What are you thinking, trying to leave here by crossing the Seven Gates with such a fragile soul?" Ereshkigal wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"No choice. Since you don't have a quest for me, I'll have to go explore on my own," Lan Ze said helplessly. "Well then, Ereshkigal, see you around."

With that, Lan Ze strode toward the gates of the Underworld.

But after taking just one step, he felt an overwhelming pressure surge over him, and his entire body uncontrollably slammed to the ground.

At the same time, a system window popped up:

[Please explore this area later]

What the hell?

Why did his whole body feel completely powerless?

Even with one hundred percent full-dive immersion, this was way too much!

This had to be a bug!

"That's what I said. Crossing the Seven Gates of the Underworld with a fragile soul is impossible. Don't you understand what 'the land of no return' means? Even I can't easily leave here."

Ereshkigal quickly grabbed Lan Ze and pulled him back.

Lan Ze breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken, and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling to calm himself.

Then he looked at the girl before him and said sincerely, "Thanks."

"Even though it's a bug, I've figured out that the NPCs here are super intelligent. I'll definitely come back to conquer you later."

"So what exactly have you been talking about this whole time?" Ereshkigal stared at Lan Ze, her face showing confusion.

"Well... it's a bit complicated to explain. Just think of me as someone from another world. For now, I need to go back and figure out how to fix this bug," Lan Ze said, then swiped his finger through the air.

"I hope you'll still remember me when we meet again."

As he finished, Lan Ze looked up, a hint of melancholy creeping in.

If he restarted the game, it would mean Ereshkigal wouldn't have the memories of their time together. That was a bit hard to let go of.

But that was fine. Next time he came here, he'd conquer her too!

With that thought, Lan Ze raised his hand and swiped through the air to open a menu.

However, the moment he opened it, a harsh [BEEP] rang in his ears.

Then a red interface popped up:

[Menu cannot be used in the current area. Please move to another area and try again.]

"What the hell? What's going on?"

Lan Ze was a bit dumbfounded.

Couldn't open the menu... That meant he couldn't save progress or open his inventory?

Sure, some games didn't let you save in dungeons, but not even letting you open the menu was way too much, right?!

Still, Lan Ze wasn't too panicked.

Even if he couldn't open the menu, he didn't have to worry about not being able to log out. The logout option wasn't only in the menu—players could log out just by thinking about it. It was a second safety measure designed to prevent anyone with malicious intent from trapping players in the game.

These days, no one dared buy VR games without safety features.

Was this a bug, or part of the game's story...?

Lan Ze fell into brief thought.

He didn't want to quit the game immediately, because this might be an opportunity.

"Hey, are you listening to me? Zoning out in front of the Goddess of the Underworld—how rude can you be!"

Just then, Ereshkigal's voice pulled Lan Ze back to reality. His gaze wavered slightly before refocusing on her.

The girl stood with her arms crossed, looking displeased. "I'm asking you a question. What do you mean by 'game'? Don't tell me you made some pact with the gods and ended up in the underworld because of it?"

"Ah... could it be you're here to toy with me for fun?!"

At the thought of this possibility, Ereshkigal felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment. To hide her distress, she reached out and pinched Lan Ze's cheek, saying again, "Are you listening to me?"

She was feeling particularly upset now.

This human, who came from who knows where, was acting like a fool. From the moment he first saw her, he kept spacing out now and then. Even if he was captivated by the goddess's beauty, there was no need for that.

Moreover, he probably wasn't mesmerized by her appearance at all—he was likely just a tool sent by the gods to mess with her.

Because Lan Ze had just mentioned words like "game" and "quest."

When this possibility crossed her mind, the hostility in Ereshkigal's eyes grew more pronounced.

Lan Ze finally snapped out of his earlier reverie. Feeling the cool touch of the girl's fingers against his cheek, he glanced at Ereshkigal's delicate face again and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

The soft, warm sensation of her fingers felt just like the real thing.

"Speaking of which... if you wanted to, you could send a dead soul back to the surface, right?" As Lan Ze spoke, his gaze fell on the prison spear in Ereshkigal's hand.

Ereshkigal was the mistress of the underworld, the ruler of death and the dead. Logically, if she were willing, she should be able to send him back to the surface.

Ereshkigal immediately shook her head, rejecting the idea outright. "That's impossible. How can we just casually let the dead return to the surface?"