Fate Savior - Chapter 399 - Vol. 6 - Chapter 33: Shiomi: This Is the Underworld Goddess?

The moment Ereshkigal appeared, Sakura's legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed to her knees. It wasn't killing intent, nor was it pressure—just the sheer presence of the goddess of the underworld. As a mere human, Sakura instinctively understood that nothing in this realm could possibly rival her.

"You see me standing before you and still refuse to kneel? Such insolence. Tell me—what brings you here? Do you seek an audience with me, or shelter within the underworld?"

Shiomi stepped forward and raised his hand.

"Then I’ll get straight to the point. Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld—have you joined the Three Goddess Alliance with the intention of destroying Uruk, the last stronghold of Sumer?"

Clang—! A golden spear, formed from radiant light, struck the ground with force.

"The Three Goddess Alliance? But isn’t that Ishtar—?" Sakura asked quickly.

"Ishtar doesn’t have the power to kill people in their sleep. With her kind of strength, she’d just blow them to bits."

Shiomi looked up and met the gaze of the towering GallĂ» Spirit.

"The moment you appeared, I knew. You're one of the Three Goddess Alliance—mistress of the underworld! The souls of Kutha’s citizens
 you’re the one who took them, aren’t you?"

"And if I am? The other two goddesses will eventually attack Uruk. I simply intend to get there first, seize Uruk’s Great Grail, and gather all human souls into the underworld," Ereshkigal replied, her tone calm yet commanding.

"As Kutha’s guardian deity, you slaughtered the people you were meant to protect... Is that the duty of a goddess?" Shiomi challenged, voice sharp with disapproval.

The GallĂ» Spirit grasped the spear buried in the earth and aimed it at Shiomi's head.

"This is my choice. It is not up for debate. Offer your soul in penance, human."

With those words, she drove the spear into the ground again. The temple beneath them trembled as a jagged crack surged toward Shiomi. It split open beneath him, sharp stone spikes lunging for his body.

"My will is set. My shadow strikes!"

Sakura swiftly unleashed her Imaginary Magecraft. The surge of shadow energy shattered the rock spikes, suppressing them and halting their advance.

"Not bad... but this part—leave it to Daddy."

Sakura’s defensive spell had done its job—just as Shiomi expected—buying him the crucial moment he needed. A maneuver even Ereshkigal wouldn’t have foreseen.

He slowly raised his right hand. Blood trickled from his palm and dripped onto the temple floor.

This caught Ereshkigal off guard. She was sure her attack hadn’t touched Shiomi. So how was he wounded?

"Be born."

The blood seemed to move with intent, seeping into the cracks on the ground. From the very fissure Ereshkigal had created, more cracks spread outward.

Before she could grasp what was happening, tender saplings burst from the earth, swiftly growing into towering trees so thick it would take two people to encircle them.

The trees spread wildly and without order, surging toward Ereshkigal’s manifestation—the GallĂ» Spirit.

"Trees?"

For a moment, Ereshkigal, once certain of her victory, was thrown into disarray.

This was the underworld—a land where no life could exist, where no life should ever be born. And yet here, now, a lush forest was blooming.

It wasn’t just one tree, but a wild, untamed thicket, so dense the figures within were hidden from view. Though the trunks twisted awkwardly, ugly and unusable for construction, Ereshkigal found herself shaken.

Life. Vibrant, thriving life.

Rough, sturdy trunks, branches full of green, and the sound of wind rustling through the treetops of the underworld.

This was the underworld—land of the dead—where such things should never have existed.

"You're being careless, Ereshkigal."

Shiomi's voice snapped her back to reality. In just a few seconds, the trees had overtaken her temple, pushing in toward her. They surrounded and wrapped around her GallĂ» Spirit form.

“Ugh...”

Ereshkigal tried to cut down the overly lush trees with her spear, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. More than that—she simply couldn't. The trees weren’t growing wildly; they extended with purpose. Even as the GallĂ» Spirit, Ereshkigal still had a physical form. Her hands were entangled in the branches, rendering her powerless... or rather, she knew that if she struggled, she would hear the sound of branches snapping.

Now hidden beneath the leaves and branches, the very goddess who moments ago was ready to strike them down had become a prisoner.

"Don't move, or the red spear will pierce your heart. Even for a goddess of the underworld, getting run through the heart by this spear wouldn’t be pleasant, would it?" Shiomi pointed the spear at the GallĂ» Spirit.

He had initially been puzzled by Ereshkigal’s sudden distraction during the battle, suspecting it was a diversion meant to lower their guard before a counterattack.

"Because... if I move, these trees will be harmed..."

The GallĂ» Spirit suddenly dispersed into mist. Shiomi jumped back, thinking it might be toxic—but quickly realized he was overthinking it.

Ereshkigal revealed her true form. A blonde girl stood beneath the trees, head bowed in silence, lost in thought.

"It can't be..."

Shiomi murmured to himself. His master had once told him: in a realm of death, life was a rare and precious thing. Even in the distant Age of Gods—far older than the Celtic myths—that truth remained unchanged.

Even so, Shiomi stayed alert. This was Ereshkigal’s underworld. If she wished, she could throw them into a fierce battle with a mere flick of her fingers.

But if there was still a chance for a peaceful resolution...

He decided to shift tactics.

Snap, snap, snap.

Standing on a curved tree trunk, Shiomi clapped his hands three times in quick succession.

“Huh?”

Ereshkigal was startled once again. From the roots that had torn through the ground, a vibrant green spread outward. The hard stone floor of the temple softened beneath her feet.

It had turned into ankle-deep, lush grass.

"You're lying... How is this still..." Ereshkigal sank to her knees, dazed. The softness of the grass relaxed her mind. She even forgot that the others were still there, that a battle had nearly erupted just moments ago.

Flowers bloomed in full.

When she came to her senses, Ereshkigal found herself lying in a bed of grass and flowers deep enough to cover her body. She bent toward a blossom, inhaling its fragrance with a dreamy smile, laughing in a way that was almost ridiculous.

"...Even if it's just an illusion, the goddess of the underworld still fell for it... So why was I so tense just now?"

Shiomi sat on a tree branch, nearly at a loss for words.

ScĂĄthach patted his shoulder in consolation and nodded understandingly.

"The fact that she isn’t rolling around in it already makes this goddess pretty impressive."