Kapitel 481: To the Underworld
"I don't know what happened either..."
Inside the throne room, Siduri, usually composed, couldn't help but panic upon Gilgamesh's death.
"His Majesty was dealing with his usual affairs, but suddenly he collapsed on the throne, not even breathing, without any warning."
"Could it be overwork?" Ishtar glanced at the pile of clay tablets beside the throne, looking puzzled.
"But didn't Lord Arkhan already treat His Majesty's fatigue?" Siduri looked puzzled.
"No matter how much treatment he received, there's always a limit." Ishtar crossed her arms. "In the first place, that guy doesn't treat himself like a human when it comes to handling affairs. So, dying from overwork wouldn't be surprising, would it?"
Upon hearing that, Siduri looked guilty and lowered her head.
Indeed, after that incident, her king's workload had more than doubled, and he had even less time to rest than before.
It was hard to say if he really died from overworking.
However, just the thought of it alone made her heartache.
As the chief priestess, she couldn't share her king's worries, nor could she timely advise him.
"Don't make up stuff there. Gilgamesh didn't die from overwork."
On the other side, Arkhan chimed in after finishing examining Gilgamesh's lifeless body.
As he expected, the problem wasn't with Gilgamesh himself.
"Big Sis, have there been any changes in Uruk recently?" Arkhan asked his nearby elder sister.
Morgan nodded.
"In the days you were away, there have been several curses erupting in Uruk, causing the deaths of hundreds."
"If I'm not mistaken, these curses are caused by a god, right?" Arkhan asked again.
Morgan glanced at him with slight surprise, nodding slightly.
"Exactly. These curses carry a clear divinity, which is why they're so powerful. But now that I've cast my magecraft to protect all of Uruk, these curses won't be effective anymore."
In fact, relying solely on Morgan was not enough to cast such a large-scale magecraft covering the whole city. However, after transforming the entire Uruk into her Territory, such situations weren't a big deal for her.
"So, this is an attack from our enemy?" Merlin pondered, stroking his chin. "But who could it be?"
"The identity of the enemy isn't hard to guess, really..." Arkhan said lightly, turning his gaze to Ishtar. "Let the goddess enlighten us about this doubt."
"Huh? How would I know who the enemy is—" Ishtar was slightly confused, then suddenly realized. "Wait a minute, you mean, could it be Ereshkigal?"
"In this era, besides her, who else could be associated with death?" Arkhan walked toward the ziggurat entrance. "Well, perfect timing, it's time we paid a visit to the Goddess of the Underworld."
===
"Here we are, Kutha."
Ishtar stated, pointing casually to an open area as she rode on her Boat of Heaven, Maanna.
"That's the entrance to the underworld."
The location of the underworld wasn't fixed, and in this world, only Ishtar, with her divinity related to Ereshkigal, could accurately locate its entrance by having ventured through it herself.
As a result, despite Ishtar's reluctance, she was dragged here by Arkhan.
Arkhan stood where Ishtar pointed, feeling the aura of death seeping from the ground, a hint of nostalgia crossing his face.
The Land of Shadows, much like the underworld, was a place where the living were forbidden and the dead found rest. Having lived in the Land of Shadows for over a decade, Arkhan was familiar with this aura.
Combined with the Dragon of Despair's blood coursing through him, inherited from the world-devouring dragon, he felt a fondness for this place.
Ishtar, observing Arkhan from above, couldn't help but show a strange expression at his reaction.
Ordinary humans would instinctively recoil from the aura of the underworld, but this guy not only lacked such a reaction but also seemed to enjoy it?
"What a weirdo..." Ishtar muttered to herself, then warned. "Alright, move aside, I'm going to open the gates of the underworld. Don't blame me if you get hurt later."
In the next second, her eyes gradually turned pure golden.
At the same time, Arkhan felt an ominous sensation in his heart for no apparent reason.
"Hey, wait—"
Before Arkhan could finish his words, Ishtar had already grabbed a gemstone and stuffed it into Maanna's ammunition chamber.
"Maanna, load the tidal convergence round into the bow ammunition chamber, fire at full power, and crush the gates of the underworld!" Ishtar shouted excitedly.
As Maanna radiated with a brilliant light like stars, a beam the size of a person soon erupted, shooting toward the ground.
*BOOOM!*
A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth, causing the ground to tremble and clouds of dust to rise.
Shortly afterward, Arkhan waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind to disperse the dust.
Looking at the enormous cavity, roughly the size of a football field, Arkhan's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Yay!" Ishtar exclaimed, clenching her fist excitedly. "I've been wanting to do this for ages!"
"It's just opening a damn door." Arkhan said with a hint of resignation in his eyes. "Did it really have to cause such a ruckus?"
"Pfft, you don't get it!" Ishtar said, placing her hands on her hips. "Back when I stormed the underworld, Ereshkigal really gave me a hard time, y'know. Now, all I did was smash her front door, that's pretty tame, don't you think?"
"That's because you insisted on barging into the underworld in the first place." Arkhan retorted calmly. "If someone barged into my house without warning, I'd make sure they regretted it."
"Blah... Blah..." Ishtar rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to go find Ereshkigal? Get on with her already!"
"Who said I'm going alone?" Arkhan raised an eyebrow. "You're coming with me."
"What?" Ishtar blinked, then quickly waved her hands. "Hey, that's not what we agreed on! I'm just supposed to lead you to the entrance of the underworld. I never said I'm going down there myself!"
"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Arkhan smirked at her.
"Of course! After the feud I had with that woman, if I set foot in the underworld again, she'd torture me to no end!" Ishtar shook her head vigorously, adamant about not going.
"But what if I can't rescue Gilgamesh? What about your precious gems?" Arkhan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Twenty-five percent of them, are you sure you don't want them?"
"Well..."
Ishtar looked conflicted and started pondering seriously.
After a while, Ishtar sighed in resignation.
"Damn it, fine! I'll go with you!"
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