Afterwards, he saw a goddess sitting in front of him before he knew it.
"How is it? Are you very surprised? Didn't expect I would take the risk to come see you, did you? Are you very moved, my divine messenger?" Ishtar's triumphant voice rang out in the pitch-black room, a pair of bright red eyes gazing steadily at him.
[...]
Lan Ze silently closed his eyes, continuously chanting: I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming.
Then, when he opened his eyes once more, Ishtar's face came clearly into view. She was leaning in front of him, poking Lan Ze's face with her finger: "Why did you suddenly stop talking, and why did you close your eyes? This is disrespectful to a goddess, you know!"
"Why did you run over... Goddess-lord?" Lan Ze said helplessly.
"Because after I went back, the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt," Ishtar said unhappily. "Clearly you are my divine messenger, yet one after another, females have snatched you away first."
Indeed, just as Ishtar arrived at the doorway and spied on everything inside the room, she suddenly remembered this matter.
Clearly she had been the first to forge a contract with the divine messenger, but first she had been cut off by Mother and that could be forgiven, yet later a princess of the root had even popped out... The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she felt. As a goddess adored by the gods, Ishtar had never suffered such a grievance before.
Thus, a bold notion arose within her—
"I've decided, whether it's Mother or that other beast, I'm going to enjoy you first!"
As if having made up her mind, Ishtar uttered shocking words.
She looked at Lan Ze's astonished expression and nodded with satisfaction: "Shocked? Are you very surprised? But this is precisely my style. Be a good boy and come with me for a trip tonight. Don't worry, I'll send you back before dawn, and no one will notice."
Listening to Ishtar's confident words, Lan Ze instantly felt helpless.
"Why are you suddenly not talking?" Ishtar asked. "Let's make this clear first, even if you refuse me, I'll still drag you to my temple—"
Just as she reached this point, she suddenly heard Tiamat, deep in sleep, emit a tiny whimpering moan.
Ishtar's body stiffened slightly. She quickly jumped down from the head of the bed, cowered in a corner, and remained completely motionless.
Clearly she had already made up her mind, but when she saw Tiamat wake up, she still felt somewhat afraid for no reason.
That foolish goddess... Lan Ze's heart was filled with helplessness. Watching Tiamat open her bright eyes to stare straight at him, he had no choice but to speak up:
"Mother, why did you wake up so soon?"
"Dreamed, someone wanted to carry you away," Tiamat said softly.
Lan Ze's heart skipped a beat. Feeling a bit guilty, he shook his head and smiled: "It's just your imagination. I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here to accompany you."
"All right, let's go back to sleep quickly," he softly soothed Tiamat.
Tiamat nodded gently, yet instead of closing her eyes, she climbed up from the bed.
Lan Ze's heart gave a jolt, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, and he subconsciously blurted out: "Where are you going...?"
As soon as he asked that, he saw Tiamat walk over to the corner of the room, staring fixedly at Ishtar hidden in the darkness.
Mo- Mother... Why are you awake? Ishtar shivered jpg.
She froze on the spot, unable to move forward or back, and could only look at Tiamat with a pitiful expression.
Just a moment ago she had been full of swagger, boasting that she would drag Lan Ze back to her own temple, yet when Tiamat squatted down in front of her, this fearless goddess of beauty turned coward, shrinking her head with a face plastered with the word "submission."
"Don't touch my child," Tiamat said softly.
Ishtar's heart instantly grew cold, but the thought that her divine messenger was still watching made her pluck up her courage: "But Mother, before he met you, he had already forged a contract with me first—"
"This is my child." Tiamat stared at Ishtar, seeming to emit the sound of —glower.
"But—" Ishtar still wanted to say something; she didn't want her trip tonight to be in vain.
However, lingering near her ears, she seemed to hear the sound of —glower once more. Tiamat's gentle eyes shone with a faint green light.
Under Tiamat's fiercely protective maternal gaze, Ishtar's body seemed to shrink smaller and smaller until finally, she buried her little face in grievance.
She sighed: "...Alright, alright, I get it. You, you go first..."
"Feel free to enjoy yourself slowly first..."
As she spoke, she heaved a dejected sigh and slunk out of the room in disgrace.
The next morning.
Nothing else happened to stimulate Lan Ze's fragile heart, such as suddenly wondering while sleeping last night whether Goetia would make a comeback and slaughter his way back after resurrecting from the Temple of Time.
But thinking about it now, he seemed to be overthinking things a bit.
With two beasts right here, even Goetia would have to ponder whether he had any certainty of dealing with both of them.
Even if the Temple of Time could resurrect him, psychological trauma and the like would still exist.
Lan Ze rubbed his eyes, finally shaking off the grogginess of just waking up in the morning.
He glanced at Tiamat, who was sleeping soundly beside him. At this moment, the woman's eyes were closed, a few buttons left undone, her snow-white, delicate skin glowing with a translucent beauty in the morning light.
She really sleeps without a single care in the world... Lan Ze muttered inwardly to himself.
This mother of creation, having seemingly suffered a surprise raid once before, still didn't worry about being ambushed or anything of the sort, completely devoid of any defensive vigilance as she slept in an extremely comfortable posture.
Yet precisely such a gentle woman had firmly rejected Ishtar upon seeing her last night, resolutely refusing to let anyone touch her child, and had even chased away that arrogant goddess of heaven without a shred of temper.
Thinking of this, Lan Ze couldn't help smiling. Gazing at Tiamat's sleeping face, and then casting a glance at Sajyou Manaka sleeping equally sweetly on the other side, he pulled up the blanket, quietly got up, and left the room.
Construction outside the city had already begun early. Not long after Lan Ze stepped out of the house, he spotted Gilgamesh not far away.
Sensing Lan Ze's gaze, the other man turned his head to look at him and spoke up: "It's you. How did you rest last night?"
"Pretty comfortable, quite warm." Lan Ze nodded slightly. After all, nestled in Tiamat's warm and soft embrace, how could it not be warm?
Gilgamesh nodded slightly, and then he raised his hand.
At that moment, a ripple of golden light surged behind him, and the radiance of the Gate of Babylon suddenly flared at Gilgamesh's side. Within that Gate of Babylon, a golden Holy Grail emerged to reveal its true form, rippling with captivating brilliance amid the golden ripples.
"This is...?" Lan Ze was slightly surprised.
"Last night, that person sent it over." Gilgamesh's voice betrayed little emotion, yet Lan Ze still caught a trace of nostalgia in his eyes.
That person?
Lan Ze was stunned for a moment, then, as if thinking of something, he instantly fell silent.
Was it handed to Gilgamesh by Kingu...?
Lan Ze had spent over half a month experiencing time within Tiamat's dreamscape. Exactly how many things had happened outside during that half-month or so, he wasn't clear, but he imagined that during that period, Gilgamesh and Kingu must have gone through quite a lot as well.
Just as Lan Ze thought of this, he suddenly saw Gilgamesh retrieve the Holy Grail from the Gate of Babylon.
Then, he raised his hand slightly, causing the Holy Grail to drift lightly and stop right in front of Lan Ze.
"King... What does this mean?" Lan Ze raised his head and asked.
"The people of Chaldea are leaving today. Hand this thing over to them," Gilgamesh said.
Lan Ze was startled. He glanced at Gilgamesh, only to find that the other man was gazing steadily back at him.
He subconsciously took the Holy Grail, thinking to himself, why didn't you just give it to them yourself?
As expected of the oldest tsundere...
"In addition, do you want any rewards?" Gilgamesh withdrew his gaze. He stood tall with his arms crossed over his chest upon the earth, gazing into the distance at the scenery, as well as the peaceful Uruk after a great battle, and the newly risen warm sunlight.
"You are the greatest contributor to this Singularity; it is only proper for the King to grant you a corresponding reward."
Lan Ze shook his head. "If not for your decision, I might not have been able to reach the Sea of Life back then."
"Speaking of contributions, King Gilgamesh, you are the greatest."
"If you hadn't first rushed alone into the center of the battlefield swarming with Lahmu, this King would not have made the subsequent decision. You are the bravest pioneer," Gilgamesh said indifferently.
"Not at all, not at all. The King is far-sighted, brave, and decisive. Compared to you, I still fall a bit short," Lan Ze said modestly.
Brave, decisive, and far-sighted... Hearing this, Gilgamesh's brow involuntarily relaxed, the corners of his mouth tugged upward slightly though he didn't show it, and he said indifferently: "You need not belittle yourself. When it comes to courage and resourcefulness, you are by no means inferior to this King."
"Compared to the King, I am still slightly lacking, slightly lacking indeed," Lan Ze was modest once more.
Afterwards, both of them secretly nodded in satisfaction; this wave of mutual commercial praise left both men feeling quite pleased.
As the sun gradually rose and sunlight blanketed Gilgamesh, the Golden King of Uruk spoke once again: "Do you truly not want anything, Lan Ze?"
"...There shouldn't be anything I particularly want?" Lan Ze wasn't quite certain either, thinking to himself, if you want to give me something, why don't you just look and decide?
Indeed, he didn't particularly want anything. After all, playing games usually meant taking whatever the system gave; if it were a mobile or online game and the reward given after completing an important quest was too trashy, Lan Ze might even follow the trend and roast the planners together with everyone else.
"Nothing you want?" Gilgamesh frowned.
Lan Ze could be said to have rendered great service this time. As the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh naturally hoped to reward merit accordingly.
Yet upon careful thought, Lan Ze indeed seemed to lack nothing.
Or rather, he had no idea what Lan Ze actually wanted.
"Actually, if I must say..." Lan Ze weighed his words, "The thing I wanted, I have already obtained it."
Come to think of it, hadn't he already obtained the greatest reward this time?
To be precise, it wasn't a reward, but a person.
"Already have it...?" Gilgamesh raised a brow slightly, appearing unable to comprehend.
Then, he glanced sidelong at Lan Ze. Seeing the meaningful smile hanging on Lan Ze's face, he was startled for a moment before silently supporting his forehead: "You surely don't mean... Mother, do you?"
Lan Ze smiled without answering.
Gilgamesh let out a rare sigh. "Your way of thinking is truly different from a normal person's, Lan Ze."
That goes without saying, I am a man of culture after all... Lan Ze shook his head. "Everyone pursues different things. As long as I have Mother, that's enough."
"So you don't even look favorably upon this King's Gate of Babylon?" Gilgamesh's voice suddenly rang out, causing Lan Ze to freeze for a moment.
"You are a contributor who guarded Humanity's Order this time. This King shall grant you a quarter of the access rights to the Gate of Babylon as a reward," Gilgamesh slowly said. "Or could it be that you are equally uninterested in such a reward?"
[Gilgamesh bestows one-quarter of the Gate of Babylon. Accept/Reject]
As the system pop-up option appeared, Lan Ze remained in a daze.
Then, he immediately chose to accept.
This reward was basically equivalent to him owning the Gate of Babylon. After all, the Noble Phantasms inside the Gate of Babylon could be said to be infinite—an infinitely large quarter was still infinity, wasn't it?
As expected of the King of Heroes, truly generous...
"Very well, take this Holy Grail as your reward and hand it over to the people of Chaldea," Gilgamesh continued, then gazed into the distant horizon.
Lan Ze silently nodded.
"Right, have you seen Ishtar today?"
Lan Ze suddenly recalled this matter. Ever since Ishtar left last night, she seemed not to have been seen at all today, and he didn't know where on earth she had run off to.
"I saw that fellow in the temple today; she seemed to be in a state of autistic self-isolation," Gilgamesh glanced sideways at Lan Ze. "Do you know something about this?"
"She ran into my room last night and was discovered by Mother," Lan Ze explained.
Gilgamesh was startled, looking at Lan Ze with some surprise. Upon seeing Lan Ze give an affirmative nod, he finally snapped out of his momentary daze and burst into hearty laughter:
"Hahahahaha, so that's how it is! This King was wondering why that goddess was acting so well-behaved today—so she got disciplined by Mother? Excellent! As expected, things manage to bring this King joy right until the end!"
After laughing heartily for a long while, as if suddenly thinking of something else, he turned his head, looked at Lan Ze, and suddenly said: "Right, there's one more sentence I forgot to say."
"What is it?" Lan Ze asked subconsciously.
"Thank you very much," he said softly.
"This is the Holy Grail, you guys can take it back."
When Lan Ze handed the Holy Grail into the hands of Ritsuka and Mashu, he could see expressions of pleasant surprise surface on both girls' faces. Yet, within that joy, a trace of lingering gloom seemed to bleed through.
The King of Magecraft—their enemy up to this present moment, the mastermind who intended to incinerate Humanity's Order—his true identity unexpectedly turned out to be the First Beast... Goetia.
This news was almost enough to make one despair.
Even with everyone joining forces this time in the Seventh Singularity, they had failed to defeat him. In the end, it was only thanks to the Old Man of the Mountain, Tiamat, and finally Sajyou Manaka's rescue that Goetia had managed to be beaten back.
Yet, he had not died; instead, he had resurrected within the Temple of Time.
Even if they found the coordinates of the Temple of Time, could they truly defeat Goetia?
Ritsuka suddenly raised her head and said, "Senior, if you don't mind, you can come with us to Chaldea to rest for a couple of days before leaving."
Before you continue