"What? You want to learn Magecraft and combat skills from me?"
Inside the Fire Temple of Meslamtaea, the goddess Ereshkigal looked at the snake coiled up on the quilt to help cool it down, and at the writing board it had rolled up with its tail, her expression full of surprise.
Mm-hm!
Ian nodded eagerly, nuzzling his head gently against his Master's hand, exuding obedience and submission.
Lately, the ancient serpent had reached a conclusion.
To return to the surface, spread the teachings of the Mother of Genesis Tiamat, and clear her name, the first thing he needed was—basic self-defense!
Mesopotamia was facing an unprecedented crisis. The wave of Magical Beasts, the Three Goddess Alliance, and the human city resistance forces were all tangled together in chaos.
If he foolishly rushed in, he'd likely become a "brutal" appetizer.
Right now, he was the only remaining link between the Mother Goddess Tiamat and the world of Mesopotamia.
If he didn't want everything to fall apart, he had to act carefully and be fully prepared.
That said, while this was the worst of times, it was also the best of times.
The crises of the Three Goddess Alliance and the Magical Beast wave also presented Ian with a chance to blend in with the chaos and quietly clear the name of Goddess Tiamat.
Back to the point—every melon must be eaten one bite at a time, and every road taken one step at a time.
To achieve his great goal, he needed to first master the skills to stay alive.
However, in response to her pet's request, the Master simply stroked his head and answered with confidence.
"Little one, with me here, the Underworld is safe."
I don't buy that for a second! That face that always screws up at the crucial moment has zero credibility, okay?
Safe? The Underworld got wrecked by Tiamat herself in the past, and you barely managed to save yourself!
Ian flicked his tongue, grumbling inwardly.
Of course, to avoid ending up in a snake stew, he wouldn't dare speak the truth. Instead, he stretched out his tail, picked up the stone stylus, and scribbled a line.
"But I still want to become stronger!"
He paused, then lifted his head, his little snake face filled with determination.
"I won't let Ere-sama lose to that nasty goddess in the sky because of me!"
Huh? I'd lose?
No! No! When have I ever lost to Ishtar?
The Underworld goddess was furious at such outrageous words, puffing up like a golden Persian cat with its fur on end.
"I clearly won last time! She barged into the Underworld, and I caught her and gave her a good lesson—wasn't that enough?!"
The ancient snake hesitated for a moment, then sheepishly displayed the writing board.
"That was because Ishtar didn't bring her Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna, last time…"
"If that kind of top-tier Divine Beast showed up, even with your advantage in the Underworld, you'd definitely lose…"
Ereshkigal let out a dark, cold laugh and was about to utterly crush this ridiculous statement.
But when she heard the name "Gugalanna," all her rage was instantly choked back. In the end, she stiffly cleared her throat and let out a reluctant grunt.
"Tch. What's there to brag about with a dumb beast like that? Besides, it's not even exclusively hers."
"Losing is losing. Only idiots and arrogant fools make excuses!"
She didn't directly answer the question of winning or losing, instead narrowing her eyes into a smile and asking with a deliberately sinister tone.
"So… who said that?"
"The latest souls who entered the Underworld. Some of them were talking about it…"
"Uh, it probably started near a few ranches that got hit by Magical Beast attacks…"
A certain troublemaker had chosen deliberately vague phrasing.
In Babylonian mythology, Ishtar, who wielded the authority of the heavens, and Ereshkigal, ruler of the Underworld, were twin deities—united yet opposing forces.
Since the birth of the Mesopotamian world, the two had borne deep grudges and could never see eye to eye. They were classic, long-standing rivals.
"A beast disaster? Ranches? I knew it!"
"That spoiled lunatic—hasn't she learned anything, even after descending as a spirit medium?"
"What's so impressive about commanding Gugalanna? It's not even her own power!"
Ereshkigal ground her teeth, her words laced with bitterness and jealousy.
The herders hadn't been having a good time lately, caught between fending off Magical Beast attacks and enduring Ishtar's raids. Even if the rumors did start from the ranches, the heavily affected owners would sooner welcome someone powerful enough to punish that wretched goddess than speak kindly of her!
So, this kind of talk was almost certainly from her old rival Ishtar, who—after defeating the Magical Beasts—showed up in front of the herders and, in her usual overconfident swagger, left behind some boastful nonsense just to flaunt her strength.
That behavior fit her character to a tee. No doubt about it—this was slander!
The Underworld goddess, long steeped in grudges against Ishtar, quickly filled in the gaps with her own assumptions, piecing together the "evidence" and pinning the blame squarely on her old nemesis.
Ian caught sight of the indignant look on his Master's face and couldn't help but smirk inwardly, savoring the satisfaction like sipping sour plum soup in the sweltering heat.
Ever since arriving in this hellhole called Divine Era Mesopotamia, he'd been the one constantly taking the fall. Finally, he got to drag someone else into trouble for once.
He wasn't worried at all about Ereshkigal verifying the details herself.
He'd been fanning the flames everywhere lately—gathering intel from ghosts, subtly and not-so-subtly mentioning both Ereshkigal and Ishtar in conversations.
With no other forms of entertainment, humans loved to rank and compare the strength and status of supernatural beings. It always stirred up passionate debates.
Rumors passed around like that had no clear source to trace.
Of course, sowing discord between the goddess sisters Ishtar and Ereshkigal wasn't his actual goal.
"Ere-sama, are all the gods in the Three Goddess Alliance this cruel?"
"Why did the guardians of Sumer abandon us?"
The ancient serpent asked with wide-eyed confusion, his expression filled with doubt and puzzlement.
"Don't lump me in with her. Ishtar isn't—"
Ereshkigal, still fuming, began to respond reflexively. But at a critical moment, a golden sigil pulsed from her chest and seared into her skin, making her freeze.
At the same time, the distant rumble of thunder and storm echoed from the sky above. Her face went pale as she hastily shut her mouth.
Only when the dormant divine power faded did Ereshkigal unclench her stiff fingers and release the Spear Cage. She let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After calming herself, she looked down at her pet—now limp and flattened by the oppressive force of the divine contract. With a trace of guilt, she gently lifted him and murmured softly,
"In any case, there's more to the Three Goddess Alliance than meets the eye. You can't simply define it as good or evil. You'll understand it all in time."
Ian nodded solemnly, a flicker of dread flashing in his serpentine pupils.
That reckless probe just now had revealed two critical facts.
First, even though history had veered off-course, the heavenly goddess Ishtar wasn't actually part of the Three Goddess Alliance.
That untrustworthy madwoman was still secretly hunting Magical Beasts to protect the pastures and the Sumerians.
Of course, she demanded payment for her help.
Plundering as a form of compensation—keeping humans from becoming dependent—wasn't exactly the kind of moral high ground a goddess could boast about.
Second, Ian's worst fear had indeed come true.
Ishtar's counterpart, the earth-bound goddess Ereshkigal, had become one of the pillars of the Three Goddess Alliance.
And this time, the mutual non-betrayal contract seemed even more binding and unforgiving.
Just revealing a sliver of the alliance's secrets had nearly triggered divine punishment for Ereshkigal!
"By the way, didn't you say earlier that you wanted to become stronger?"
As the ancient snake pondered all of this, Ereshkigal blinked and abruptly shifted the topic with visible awkwardness.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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