Chapter 88 Xiling: Welcome to join
The cold underworld ushered in an unprecedented, bustling, or even chaotic scene today.
And the source of this excitement is only two people.
But no matter how lively a play is, it always has to come to an end.
Xiling squatted beside the Mistress of the Underworld, who had exhausted all her magic power, and her physical strength had completely collapsed on the ground, and stretched out his finger to gently poke at Ereshkigal's head.
"Still fighting?"
Ereshkigal, lying prone on the cold ground, barely had the strength to lift her head. She buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled from beneath, with a kind of desperate determination:
"...Beat you!"
Upon hearing this, Xiling chuckled and slowly stood up:
"The premise is... that you have to get up from the ground first, great goddess of the underworld."
"..."
Ereshkigal was silent for a few seconds before she uttered a weak, humiliating voice, "...I don't have any strength left..."
"Oh..."
Xiling stretched out his tone, as if he had suddenly realized something.
"So, it means there's a temporary truce?"
"No!" The goddess retorted almost immediately, her voice rising a little, but still weak.
"Don't want a truce?" Xiling raised an eyebrow.
"Then why don't you stand up?"
"...I have no strength left..." Ereshkigal's voice faded again.
"How about a temporary truce?" Xiling said as if coaxing a child.
"No way!"
Ereshkigal straightened up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, staring hard at Xiling.
"Today... Today I must give you a liar a beating! Come on!"
"Liar?" asked Xiling, who looked innocent and confused.
"What did I lie to you about?"
"You! You lied to me and said you wanted to be my friend!" Ereshkigal accused.
"I didn't lie to you about it," Xiling spread his hands with a frank expression, "Although my original purpose of coming here was definitely not to make friends with you..."
"Look!!" Ereshkigal raised her voice as if she had obtained irrefutable evidence.
"—But!" Xiling immediately raised his voice to drown her out and gave her a thumbs-up.
"That doesn't stop me from finding you... Well, quite interesting, and then really wanting to make friends with you, right?"
Ereshkigal was so shocked at his logic that she went speechless, and her face turned red.
At this moment, Xiling's expression suddenly changed. He raised his finger and pointed at Ereshkigal, turning his attack on her aggressively:
"Besides! In the final analysis, you were wrong first!"
"Eh? What...what am I wrong about?!"
Ereshkigal shrank her neck in shock at the sudden accusation, and her momentum instantly dropped.
Xiling began to narrate the other party's sins.
"I came here with all my heart to subdue you, to get you to recognize the situation and join us! But what happened? I don't know what was going on in your head! You just gave me the 'nice guy' card! Making me completely confused."
"Plus, the expression on your face just now made it impossible for me to say something as cold-blooded as, 'I'm here to fight and recruit you!' That's why I came up with this awful idea. That's the source of everything..."
"——It's all your fault for your complicated inner drama and for giving me the nice guy card without permission! It's you! You made things so complicated now."
Listening to Xiling's accusation, which was both emotionally charged (with twisted logic) and logically clear (with bandit logic), Ereshkigal froze. She thought about it carefully... it seemed... maybe... maybe... was it really as he said? Was she, on her own, preconceived notions, distorting the situation to an unrealistic level?
A huge wave of shame washed over her like a tsunami! Her fair cheeks instantly flushed red, all the way to her ears! Unable to bear it any longer, she slammed her hands tightly over her burning cheeks, wishing she could dig a hole right there and bury herself in the depths of the underworld. Even her hair radiated shame.
"Ooooo…" Ereshkigal uttered a meaningless wail.
"Feel sorry!"
At that moment, Xiling felt as if he had suffered the greatest injustice of all time:
"You know you're wrong now? Apologize? You think you can get over it with just a simple apology? All you paid for was a halfhearted apology, and all I paid for was—my innocence!!!"
"Your innocence?"
A pair of astonished eyes appeared between Ereshkigal's fingers as she covered her face.
"That's right! My innocence!"
Xiling beat his chest and stamped his feet in grief.
"I, Xiling! I've never been given a nice guy card in my two lifetimes! This pure and innocent first time! Just like that, it was taken away by you inexplicably and muddledly! Do you know how much damage this does to the reputation of an upright young man?! You must pay the price for this!"
Ereshkigal was so taken aback by Xiling's words that she forgot to take her hands off her face. She whispered in panic and with a hint of guilt, "Then...then how can I compensate you?"
"Of course—"
Xiling dragged out the tone, looking at the bewildered goddess in front of him, and suddenly restrained all exaggerated expressions, revealing an extremely sincere and gentle smile, while slowly and once again extending his hand.
"Forgive my earlier dishonesty. Then... this beautiful, powerful, slightly shy, yet incredibly serious mistress of the underworld, Ereshkigal, would you please lay down your weapons... and be my true friend?"
Looking at the hand extended in front of her, then at the almost inappropriate smile on Xiling's face, Ereshkigal was completely stunned. This was the nth time her brain had crashed that day.
This guy in front of me always has one thing after another.
But unfortunately...
She just fell for it.
It would be very easy for the other party to kill her. With that previous sword strike, the other party could have hit her without her being able to react.
The other party's strength is completely superior to her own.
The other party may not reason with you.
So... this time... It's real, right?
Ereshkigal was torn between her conscience and her desires, but her hand seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread. She wanted to timidly raise it and touch the hand that represented her friend.
Xiling suddenly moved and grasped her fair and slightly cool hand!
Xiling looked into those red eyes that went wide with surprise.
"You don't have the right to hesitate, Ereshkigal. This is the price you must pay—use your friendship to make up for my tarnished innocence! It's settled!"
Ereshkigal lowered her head and remained silent for a few seconds before saying in a low, compromising voice, "...I know."
Ereshkigal felt a subtle dizziness as the distinct heat from her wrist radiated. Before she could feel it for long, Xiling released her hand and said happily, "Very good, let's talk about something else."
But before Xi Ling could tell about what was going on——
"I promise you." Ereshkigal's voice sounded clear.
The sound was not loud, but like a stone thrown into a calm lake, it caused a clear and audible echo in the empty underworld.
Eh?
The words Xiling was about to say were stuck in his throat.
Ereshkigal slowly raised her head.
This time, it was her turn to glow brightly! A pure, happy smile, as if she had finally won back a victory! Her expression was somewhat similar to Xiling's earlier expression!
Looking at Xiling's stunned expression, Ereshkigal felt that all the frustration, shame, and grievances that had accumulated before had disappeared at this moment!
"I said," she said, her voice clear and light, like a declaration of victory, "I. Agree. You!"
Ereshkigal paused deliberately, admiring Xiling's expression as his brain continued to crash, before adding slowly, "Whether I surrender or join your organization... I promise you."
Xiling finally recovered from his daze and saw a new side of the goddess in front of him.
"Heh..." Xiling chuckled.
"Welcome to join us"
...