Chapter 213

"……"

"……"

A brief silence filled the air; Xia Zhi tilted his head slightly, looking at the golden-haired girl before him with a thoughtful gaze.

The golden-haired girl before him seemed to have undergone no great change in appearance — whether face or figure, she still looked the same, clearly still using Rin Tohsaka's body as a vessel — yet her ink-black long hair had turned a brilliant gold, like radiant autumn sunlight, dazzling to the eye.

He was not particularly surprised by this; he naturally understood this was no mere surface alteration, but a transformation of the goddess's inner essence.

Simply put, Ereshkigal had taken the top spot.

After all, they were originally a two-sided deity, like the bright moon and dark clouds alternating across the sky. Perhaps the two goddesses were the same existence to begin with, or perhaps a single divinity split in two; in any case, they were a goddess who is two sides of one body.

Under normal circumstances they would be chain-summoned, yet would not appear simultaneously.

Like the two faces of a coin — when the obverse turns up, the reverse hides; when the reverse turns up, the obverse is concealed.

The current situation is probably just that — the coin flipped, so Ishtar's side is temporarily hidden while Ereshkigal's side manifests before the world.

"Eh? Th-this is where… am I…?"

The golden-haired girl also seemed somewhat dazed; she wore a bewildered expression, staring in shock at the unfamiliar scene before her.

In her eyes, the flat ground resembled a giant chessboard, stretching upward for over a thousand meters.

Each brick was like a meticulously carved work of art, laid out in neat, uniform rows. Moonlight fell, and the seams between bricks were so fine they were almost imperceptible, reflecting a dazzling silver light like a mirror surface.

At the far end of the plaza, towering steps coiled like a giant dragon.

Those hundreds of steps seemed to lead straight to the horizon; the stone carvings on both sides of the steps were exquisitely detailed, and at the top stood the solemn and majestic palace gate, symbol of power and glory.

The surrounding city nightscape under the moonlight was dreamlike; those high towers stood like swords pointing at the vault of heaven, displaying imposing might, and the massive palace complex built against the mountain rose in dense, orderly layers, as if crafted by heaven itself, tier upon tier of palaces shining brilliantly in the lamplight, magnificent beyond imagination.

However…

This ultimately could not change the objective fact that all of this was utterly unfamiliar to her.

So the girl completely failed to react; her whole person was dazed, staring blankly at the strange city before her, her little head filled with instinctive doubt — What place is this? Why am I here? What did I come here to do?

And this bewildered posture naturally fell into the eyes of someone not far away.

— Is it because "the Underworld" does not exist here?

— So Ereshkigal lost her informational relative advantage?

Xia Zhi's eyes flickered slightly, and at the same time his face showed a hint of concern as he asked, "Goddess Ishtar, what… happened to you?"

"Wah—!!"

The dazed golden-haired girl jumped in fright, whipping her head around to look at him in terror, then seeming to recover, she hurriedly retreated several steps: "Y-you you you you… who are you?"

She really doesn't know anything, does she?

Does she lack the memories of being summoned in daytime, or is she simply unaware of Ishtar's previous experiences? This doesn't seem to match the intelligence Master Lady revealed?

Xia Zhi understood clearly in his heart; he was no longer some novice just entering the mysteries, but a grandmaster-level figure, so he immediately made corresponding speculations about this situation.

What was said before was the normal case, so naturally abnormal cases also exist.

After all, a coin can also stand on edge; moreover, in mythology there is the story of Ishtar going to the Underworld to provoke and being killed by Ereshkigal.

This means that if the Seventh Singularity's situation occurs, on the premise that the Underworld exists, Ereshkigal — as the pillar of the Underworld offered up and ruling it — would simultaneously exist there in the Underworld. Even in the Underworld's environment, the two goddesses who are originally "one body" could perceive and meet each other.

This is because Ereshkigal, who rules the Underworld until its end, actually is the Underworld itself.

This leads to Ishtar not knowing Ereshkigal's condition, while Ereshkigal conversely knows Ishtar's experiences. After all, when the former controls the body, the latter can still stay online and keep watch from the Underworld side.

But if the situation is reversed, with Ereshkigal controlling the body… Ishtar would have no way to log in remotely and stay online.

She could only go directly offline, unable to receive any online information.

However that is probably limited to the Seventh Singularity's special environment; in the current world of the Britain Fairy Kingdom, the concept of a place called "the Underworld" does not exist.

So Ereshkigal also lost this informational advantage; the two goddesses' information no longer interconnects.

Xia Zhi's thoughts raced like lightning; in an instant he understood the reason for this difference — it wasn't that Mash Kyrielight's intelligence was wrong, but should be due to different environmental parameters on both sides.

Yet on the surface he still betrayed nothing, even deliberately showing a clear puzzled expression as if completely unaware: "Goddess Ishtar, are you… joking with me?"

"……"

"……"

"What do you mean? What joking with you—"

Ereshkigal froze for a moment, then subconsciously wanted to retort, but immediately reacted.

Wait, Ishtar?

Perhaps because it involves her good (dead) older (rival) sister (head), the Underworld goddess who caught the keyword instantly sharpened, almost immediately faintly guessing how things stood.

This seems to be Ishtar being summoned again, so I was dragged along and summoned too?

Because she had the same experience in the Seventh Singularity, Ereshkigal's reaction this time was fast.

"Not joking?"

The magician opposite frowned, looking at her with some doubt: "Goddess Ishtar, you wouldn't have some problem, would you? How come a sneeze changed your hair color, and you suddenly seem not quite right…"

He understood that at this moment he couldn't truly pretend not to see the other party's abnormal behavior; that would be too obvious, too deliberate.

It's best to appropriately show some suspicion, let the goddess lady explain herself; anyway, whatever happens, letting her bluff her way through first will seem more natural.

"Ah hahaha, th-that's how it is…"

Ereshkigal also laughed dryly a few times; for a moment her thoughts were somewhat panicked, not knowing what to say.

When switching accounts, this body's hair color does indeed change with it; she once didn't notice this point, thinking she was passing as Ishtar, but was exposed from the very start — recalling it makes her want to die of embarrassment…

So now should she just straightforwardly explain the situation?

But the person opposite doesn't seem to have perceived the truth.

At this moment, the mistress of the Underworld was more or less conflicted; the shameful feeling made her unwilling to repeat the mistake.

However, also at this very moment, the youth opposite swiftly received information transmitted from the future to the past, and immediately became dissatisfied. He felt life should be enjoyed in blissful ignorance; if Miss Ale is this frank, how can he play both sides?

This won't do; he had to give her a little motivation, instill some competitive spirit in her.

So—

He did not relax his brow, still pretending to look suspiciously at the opposite side, and directly took the initiative to strike first: "Wait, surely you're not... Goddess Ishtar, you want to go back on your word now, right?"

"Huh? Go back on what?"

Ereshkigal, who had just made up her mind to lay everything bare, was somewhat confused upon hearing this.

Then she saw the Magician before her turn around with a serious face, pointing at the Goddess Statue behind him: "I've paid the money, I've signed the contract, and I've even erected the Goddess Statue... so from now on, Goddess Ishtar, you are the City God of Londinium, even the only Goddess of this world, you have to admit this!"

"Ugh?! Wait! The only... Goddess?"

The Golden Hair Goddess was stunned for a moment, and just as sharply caught onto this point.

Wait, this isn't quite right. Although there are still many things not understood, what can be certain is that she was also summoned here this time. So the question arises: Ishtar is the only Goddess of this world, then what is she, Ereshkigal?

"Of course, just as Goddess Ishtar you requested, there can only be you as the Goddess here—"

The Magician said with a straight face, following the questions given by this Goddess of the Underworld in the Seven Gates Trial, and boasted without reservation:

"You are the most beautiful Goddess, the Victory Goddess most worthy of trust and love, the most noble Goddess, you are most qualified to keep all the Wealth on Earth, and most qualified to receive the grace offered by people... after all, compared to you, other Goddesses are completely not worth mentioning! They don't even count as Goddesses!"

He spoke these unstinting words of overflowing praise, flattering Ishtar on one side, while secretly...

No, it should be said it was blatantly engaging in trash-talking!

He launched a map cannon indiscriminately against other Goddesses!

But no matter how cliché the tactic of incitement was, the effect was indeed significant, especially since this was said openly in front of Ereshkigal, making the effect even more outstanding!

"Wh-what—!!"

The Goddess of the Underworld immediately looked incredulous, and after coming to her senses, she was directly furious.

"Damn it! How can this be!!"

"......"

"......"

"Hah?"

The Magician opposite was somewhat puzzled, turning his head to utter a questioning syllable.

"No... I, I mean—right! Right! I mean, actually I was just joking with you before..."

The Mors Girl took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, but still couldn't help gnashing her teeth in anger as she said, "This young lady, this Goddess Ishtar, how could I possibly be such a petty! Such a narrow-minded Goddess!"

She changed her mind, deciding not to let the foolish Ishtar get her way.

And she didn't doubt at all that this was Ishtar targeting her.

After all, what the other party just said was basically the question she had set in the Seven Gates Trial of the Underworld not long ago.

"So—"

The Magician opposite looked somewhat puzzled, tentatively asking: "Goddess Ishtar, what do you mean—?"

"What I mean... what I mean is, I think there should still be some other Goddesses, after all other Goddesses are actually much stronger than me, for example, for example, the Underworld Goddess Ereshkigal!"

The Mors Girl said with a straight face: "This Goddess Statue is very necessary! It's best placed right here! As for Is... cough cough, I mean my own Goddess Statue, it can actually be placed in any corner, no need to be so grand..."

——————

——————

At the same time.

In the depths beneath the Kingdom.

"... Line up, accept Reinforcement in order, lie in the Enhancement Pod without resisting..."

The Court Center, which was the auxiliary AI split from Gray Gu, projected a general interaction interface, orderly commanding the arrayed Legion servants as they underwent necessary Reinforcement surgery.

"The 'Adaptive Module' must be installed. According to preliminary survey, the Earth environment on the Opposite Side is extremely harsh; without it, you will find it difficult to move..."

"The 'Micro-aggregation Module' is recommended for users whose Strength does not reach Rank B or above. This allows you to have the strength to lift a main battle tank..."

"Other Modules you can choose yourselves. You can Reinforce according to your own strengths, or choose to make up for your weaknesses. But note that your Enhancement Plugin slots currently number only four..."

"More Plugins will cause a greater Burden, and your Spirit Origins will be hard-pressed to support them. Moreover, certain Plugins will conflict with each other. Most importantly, they are all prototype models, and you are the first batch of users..."

(Chapter End)