Hraesvelgr, Embrace of the Underworld

"You bastard!"

Golden Flash looked up at the sky with a face full of anger, sensing the presence in the void.

"I never expected you to show up at this hour... You bastard... Have you really fallen this low?"

Now that they had spoken, the newcomer no longer concealed themselves. "Degradation... that's really going too far."

A beautiful woman floated high in the sky, her red eyes fixed on the Golden Flash, and she said softly:

"The position I hold has never changed; it's just that you've arrogantly placed yourself above us, haven't you?"

Golden Flash didn't recognize the woman high in the sky, but he was extremely familiar with the soul hidden deep within her, so familiar that he was disgusted by it.

"To be honest, it was really hard to find you..."

"Just the thought of me going into those filthy caves is enough to kill you ten thousand times over."

"However, I forgive you."

"After all, it's thanks to that that I found something that would be very helpful in killing you."

The woman looked down at Gilgamesh with disdain and took out an ornately decorated key.

That was the relic used by the Magus to summon Gilgamesh, the key to the Gate of Babylon that Golden Flash himself had discarded.

"This is just something that ordinary humans can't find any use for, it's completely meaningless."

"But if it were me... I could definitely do something like 'locking it from the inside with a key'."

The King of Heroes' treasury has been sealed, and due to his arrogance, he is unable to access it at this crucial moment.

"Hmph!" Golden Flash said sarcastically, "I didn't expect you to close the door before you were dazzled by my treasure."

"Isn't this something to be praised for, Ishtar?"

As the Venus Goddess, Ishtar is notorious for her greed, which explains why Golden Flash would satirize her so much.

She seemed to be angered by Golden Flash's words, or perhaps it was her pre-arranged decision.

In the next instant, a rainbow-like seven-colored halo spread out from Ishtar's feet, and directly beneath that light, her enormous figure appeared.

It is the true Berserker summoned by Hally.

"This child has a very bad temper!"

As Ishtar spoke, a rainbow-colored halo seemed to emanate from the massive, true Berserker steel body, and its rock-cutting-like tip rapidly pierced through the Golden Flash.

Golden Flash dodged the piercing attack with a swift movement. Even without the Gate of Babylon, he was still the King of Heroes, and such an attack posed no threat to him.

The enormous body relentlessly stabbed at Golden Flash, each strike causing continuous destruction to the surrounding buildings.

Clang!

A metallic clanging sound rang out, and the spikes were blocked by something, unable to advance any further.

"That's enough, Ishtar, stop fooling around!"

A beautiful figure appeared, standing on the ground, looking up quietly at Ishtar in the sky.

She wore a fence-like sash around her waist, with a brightly colored flower pinned to the top, making it particularly eye-catching.

Ishtar, who had been calm all along, trembled upon seeing this figure, and her beautiful face contorted in pain.

She spat out a name, word by word, with resentment.

"Ereshkigal!!!"

"Are you going to ruin my plans again!?"

Ereshkigal gently shook her head. "Stop fooling around, my willful little sister."

"Let's retain some of the dignity of the gods. It's not something a god should do to wantonly interfere in the world of ordinary people."

Ishtar wouldn't listen to a word, glaring at Ereshkigal with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

Why are you here!?

Ereshkigal replied softly, "With your Bull of Heaven approaching the city with such a grand display, it would be hard not to notice."

The hurricane that had been moving toward Snowfield was actually the Bull of Heaven in Ishtar.

"Oh ho, did the sisters have a fight?"

Golden Flash was also surprised by Ereshkigal's appearance, but that didn't stop him from making sarcastic remarks.

"Shut up!" Ishtar and Ereshkigal both turned and yelled at Golden Flash.

They're definitely sisters; even their reactions are exactly the same.

With a sharp "tsk," Golden Flash decisively shut her mouth. Provoking Ereshkigal at this moment was clearly not a wise choice.

Ereshkigal continued, "Ishtar, recall the Bull of Heaven, and stop it from wreaking havoc."

"Why should I listen to you! It's none of your business!" Facing Ereshkigal, Ishtar lost the composure and calmness befitting a goddess, acting like a spoiled little girl.

"This isn't the underworld, you can't stop me!"

Ishtar shouted those words out loud.

She didn't know that her loud screaming was actually a manifestation of her inner guilt, after all, the shadow that Ereshkigal had cast on her was quite significant.

The horrific scene of being stripped naked and thrown out of the underworld by Ereshkigal is still vivid in my mind.

Ereshkigal sighed helplessly, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to fight Ishtar; that wasn't her original intention for coming here.

At this moment, Enkidu walked slowly barefoot, saying as he went:

"The simultaneous appearance of two goddesses is truly a rare sight."

Richard I had been left out in the cold, suddenly muttered, "Is this some kind of hometown reunion?"

He spoke softly, but that didn't stop all four people present from hearing his mutterings, and all four pairs of eyes turned to him.

Richard I under a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, someone came to his rescue, and several birds flew over.

Alcides arrived at that moment, and his arrows transformed into strange birds from Lake Stymphalis, hurtling towards the two goddesses.

Ereshkigal swung her gun to deflect the sudden attack, frowned as she looked at Alcides, who had attacked her without any explanation, and made no further move.

Ishtar, however, seemed to have found an outlet, and she immediately turned her attention to Alcides.

"Court death!"

She spurred the massive body of the true Berserker beneath her feet to fiercely attack Alcides, as if to unleash all the anger and frustration she had just felt.

As soon as their battle began, a dark wind surged from a hospital ward, enveloping everything around them.

Several tens of seconds later.

Everyone around had vanished into the street, leaving not even a single insect corpse behind; their whereabouts were unknown.

Only silence remained as it wandered the avenue.

"Ereshkigal!!!"

In her final moments before disappearing, Ereshkigal heard a familiar voice.

She didn't have time to turn around and look at the person who made the sound, but she knew who it was; she had been waiting for that voice to appear.

Chapter 23, Section 537 Hraesvelgr, Embrace of the Underworld

The surroundings were completely silent; this was a colorless city.

This lack of color is not visual, but a sensory experience originating from within.

If I absolutely had to find a word to describe Yuxian...

"No life... This is a lifeless, desolate world."

Yu Xian looked around. Yuxian a few seconds ago, they were on the street, excitedly wanting to go up and say hello when they saw Ereshkigal.

But in the blink of an eye, they were brought here. Although it still looked like Snowfield, Yuxian knew that this was not Snowfield, at least not the Snowfield they knew.

"Bounded Field ... Senior, we've been pulled into Bounded Field."

Yuxian nodded. Of course, he had also noticed this, but who activated this Bounded Field?

Where is Ereshkigal? Where are the others?

"Sister Abby, did you bring everyone to find Chun to play?"

A cute little girl ran over from a distance, a happy smile on her face, as if she were seeing an old friend and couldn't wait to run towards her.

Behind her followed a tall, dark figure, guarding the little girl closely.

Kagarioka Tsubaki took short strides and rushed towards Abby with great eagerness. In her excitement, she tripped over a small stone on the ground and was about to fall.

Before Yuxian could even shout "Watch out!", the dark figure behind her instantly lifted up Kagarioka Tsubaki, preventing her from falling.

"Thank you, Mr. Darky, Chun almost tripped and fell."

Kagarioka Tsubaki stuck out her tongue sheepishly, then continued running forward.

"It's a little sister!" Abby and the children went to greet her, and the children quickly became friends with Kagarioka Tsubaki.

Yuxian did not stop them. He could tell that Kagarioka Tsubaki meant no harm, and her joyful expression was genuine.

As for the black figure behind her... Yuxian frowned and slowly walked over.

Can we talk?

Yuxian looked intently at Mr. Darky, hoping to communicate with him.

The black figure remained unmoved, simply standing there as if it hadn't heard Yuxian's voice.

Yuxian blinked and continued, "You're Kagarioka Tsubaki's Servant, right? Is this the Bounded Field you created?"

The black figure remained unresponsive.

Yuxian turned to look at Kagarioka Tsubaki, who was playing with the children. "What a lovely child. Are you protecting her?"

Mr. Darky remained completely still, like a wooden figure.

Yuxian shook his head helplessly; the communication had failed.

He didn't know why the other person wasn't reacting at all. Was it aloofness?... Or perhaps he simply lacked the ability to communicate.

Kagarioka Tsubaki smiled happily. Yuxian could tell from her innocent and simple smile that she was a little girl with no guile or malice.

Everything here must be related to this unknown Servant.

But without communication, there is no information, and no understanding of what is happening here.

What kind of Servant is this? What is their purpose? Why did they pull everyone into this Bounded Field?

Without knowing these things, it's impossible to know how to get out of here.

Fighting the shadowy figure beside him?

Yuxian didn't want to do that. He couldn't guarantee that doing so would not harm Kagarioka Tsubaki, which was something he didn't want to see.

Another part of the dream world.

Ereshkigal and the others remained locked in a standoff.

Calling this a dream world isn't entirely accurate.

After Kagarioka Tsubaki summoned 'Plague', this place actually became the barrier of 'Plague's' Noble Phantasm.

"Come, Hades, come!"

The 'plague' fixed Kagarioka Tsubaki's dream world into Bounded Field with certain underworld powers.

"Ereshkigal!"

Ishtar's voice rang out in terror, "You actually turned this place into the underworld... no, into your kin. You..."