When the Holy Sword's radiance bloomed, and when the violent roar sounded, the gate that stood before everyone, refusing them to go see Ereshkigal-chan again, dispersed like smoke.
And this time after unleashing the Holy Sword, Mash panted heavily, as if this strike had made her consume a large amount of Mana.
Then...
"Mash, I order you with a Command Spell: Recover Mana quickly!"
The young girl Ritsuka reached out her hand, another Command Spell faded away, and the gasping Mash was already able to straighten her back up, and return the Holy Sword to her Senpai.
Speaking of which, it was also unexpected. Guinevere and the King of Knights exchanged Holy Swords, but the original intention was only to make it easier for the King of Knights to replenish Mana. She truly never thought that the exchanged [Excalibur] could be used by Mash.
Going forward, Guinevere took the Holy Sword from Ritsuka, and after sensing it slightly, she found that she could also unleash it, and the sword truly didn't have the faint consciousness she thought.
And since it didn't even have a faint consciousness, then there was no need to talk about any shamelessness, it was really just a relatively powerful weapon.
If it had been the Sword in the Stone, then that might only be usable by the King of Knights.
"Ritsuka, take it. The only reason you cannot release its power is because your Mana is insufficient."
The Excalibur that lacked its own will, which seemed as if anyone could release, indeed had a strict threshold for its release.
This was the conclusion Guinevere reached after touching both the Holy Sword and the young girl Ritsuka.
"I see, so it's just a lack of Mana?"
Taking the Holy Sword once more, the young girl Ritsuka seemed lost in thought. However, her only opportunity to continue using the Holy Sword would be during this journey to the Underworld.
After a short break, without the "supervisor" Guinevere needing to urge them, Mash and Ritsuka took the lead and continued advancing toward the "bottom" of the Underworld.
Still the endless birdcages, still the endless variety of spirits.
But perhaps due to the deterrence brought by the Holy Sword Release, until they reached the bottom and faced the Giant Vengeful Spirit over ten meters tall, draped in a wedding veil, no one else blocked their path.
"Have you come, Master of Chaldea!"
The Giant Vengeful Spirit turned around. Its face was a skull, its body made of resentment. Boundless ghosts floated and wailed within it, as if wanting to turn all living beings into their own kind.
Not only that, this Giant Vengeful Spirit also held a Spiritron Spear even taller than itself in its hand, and this spear pointed directly at Ritsuka, then aimed at Mash and Guinevere after a moment, until it finally rested on Ishtar.
It was the lightning of Divine Punishment, it was the will of the Underworld, and also the displeasure at this idiot little sister's ugly appearance when facing the temptation of gems just now.
"How embarrassing, Ishtar!"
Lightning is itself light, and it came so suddenly that only Guinevere and Gilgamesh reacted, yet neither of them made a move to stop it.
Thus, after the screams and smoke cleared away, the figurine-sized Ishtar appeared as if struck by the hand of fate.
She was angry, she was hateful, she was resentful, she was helpless, she could only place her hands on her hips and point at the Giant Vengeful Spirit in a fury:
"You socially anxious shut-in! What, to appear in such an ugly form, is it because you don't want people to know how cute and delicate you are under this ugly appearance! Hmph, useless!"
"Useless? You useless goddess with a tag hanging from your neck!"
-
When Ritsuka first saw the Giant Vengeful Spirit, even after having been through several Singularities, her heart still pounded. But as Ishtar's cursing continued, and the childish bickering between Ishtar and Ereshkigal-chan unfolded...
In Ritsuka's mind, the Giant Vengeful Spirit had already transformed into that socially anxious girl from last night, the one who couldn't stop eating Guinevere's roasted meat.
"Useless! Useless!"
"You damn Useless Goddess!"
The two goddesses continued their bickering, and even Gilgamesh couldn't help but facepalm. He had stayed in the Underworld and specifically lured the Chaldea group down, but this wasn't what he wanted to see.
Fortunately, without needing her to interrupt, Guinevere produced some marinated Magical Beast Meat from somewhere and began roasting it over the Underworld's spirit fire.
And here was the problem: after being roasted by the cold spirit fire, the Magical Beast Meat actually released a delicious aroma.
Then, even the Vengeful Spirits in the birdcage heard it, the sound of swallowing saliva coming from the Giant Vengeful Spirit... no, from the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal-chan.
"Pffft..."
That was Ritsuka unable to hold back her laughter.
"Hahahahahaha~~"
That was the laughter of Ishtar, who had been struck by lightning several times and was now emitting a fragrant aroma all over her body.
Gilgamesh didn't laugh. He simply sat down next to Guinevere, anticipating Ereshkigal-chan's furious outburst.
And just as Ereshkigal-chan truly lost her temper, throwing the Spirit Spear in her hand at Ishtar, only for Mash to block it with her shield...
Gilgamesh grabbed a piece of meat for himself to roast, and under Guinevere's displeased gaze, he said:
"I have the Elixir of Immortality in my treasury, enough to fix Mash's physical flaws. You wouldn't mind trading a piece of Magical Beast Meat for it, would you, senior?"
"You're actually being so generous?"
"From the moment I started assigning them missions, I began seeing them as citizens of Uruk. And when it comes to the citizens of Uruk, when have I ever been stingy? Guinevere, the reason I didn't mention it before was simply because those two had never made a wish to this King."
"And now?"
"They have made a wish. In the records of the Tablet of Destinies you brought back after returning from the Underworld."
Hearing this, Guinevere raised an eyebrow, because this meant the King of Heroes was seeing a changed future.
"So, has your Elixir of Immortality taken effect?"
"I don't know, it's not something that can be perfectly confirmed before this Singularity ends."
While Guinevere and Gilgamesh chatted over the barbecue, Ritsuka, Mash, and Ereshkigal-chan had already begun their fierce battle.
But how should I put it, Ereshkigal-chan was truly not skilled at fighting at all.
Facing Ritsuka and Mash, who were buffed by Guinevere, blessed by Ishtar, and wielding the Holy Sword and the dining table, her Giant Vengeful Spirit avatar was forced into a steady retreat, its defeat already decided.
"Ereshkigal-chan! Can I call you that? After this fight is over, come and help us save Uruk too! We've only known each other for a short time, but I believe you must be a super cute girl!"
Having severed the Giant Vengeful Spirit's hand with a sword, the girl Ritsuka revealed a smile under the protection of Mash's shield.
And perhaps because Ritsuka naturally possessed the "Queen of Harem" physique, the shamed and angry Ereshkigal-chan's attacks became even more fierce.
But...
"Muda muda!"
Beside the barbecue pile, it was Guinevere making this sound. She, the King of Heroes, Ishtar, and Fou had all started eating, and Dr. Romani from Chaldea had even projected an envious image over to watch.
And as she ate, she prepared the same thing for the three in the midst of battle.
Unable to launch an attack against the Goddess of the Underworld in the Underworld, this was Guinevere's final ripple in this battle.
The aroma wafted through the air, not to mention Guinevere and the others eating publicly, and the fact that she had truly tasted Guinevere's cooking last night.
If not for the persistence in Ereshkigal-chan's heart, she would have already surrendered!