Ereshkigal, the local Goddess of the Underworld, wanted to destroy one of the Three Goddess Alliance of Uruk.
But as a child thrown into the Underworld at birth, a socially anxious shut-in who craved friends, did she really want to destroy Uruk?
"Ereshkigal-chan! Let's end the fight, and then we'll save Uruk together! Because... because Ereshkigal-chan, who can't even give up on barbecue even when running away, definitely isn't an evil goddess!"
The air grew cold, and the atmosphere froze as Mash's shield blocked Ereshkigal-chan's spear.
"So! I'm! Asking... who are you calling Ereshkigal-chan!"
"Of course it's you, the super shy Ereshkigal-chan!"
Wielding the Holy Sword, Ritsuka looked like a Hero. She wouldn't shy away or retreat just because of the other's retort.
After slashing through a floating skull and stepping forward to say those words, she leaped over Mash's shield. She charged into the Giant Vengeful Spirit's open gate, slicing it in two with a single sword strike, instantly revealing the annoyed and blushing Ereshkigal-chan.
The Giant Vengeful Spirit rapidly retreated and fused back together. Suddenly, a bony claw emerged from the ground, reaching for Ritsuka, but the sluggish bone claw was no threat at all.
"Ereshkigal-chan, you can't win against us, and I can promise you that with your help, we will definitely save Uruk!"
"Save! Save! Save! Your opponent is the Goddess Tiamat! How do you plan to save anything? Do you even have the power to fight a world!"
"Ereshkigal-chan, we..."
"Shut up! You've only repelled a mere snake using Tiamat's name. You can't possibly do it!"
Being a local, Ereshkigal-chan knew better than anyone how terrifying the Goddess Tiamat truly was, and she had never even considered the possibility of winning against Her!
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Even if I can't defeat you, my decision won't change! I will kill all the humans of Mesopotamia, gather their souls in the Underworld, and then... then I will make them all my possessions!"
The Giant Vengeful Spirit had been severed once already, and as she spoke these words, she was severed again. Ritsuka's mouth might have been running, but her hands never stopped moving.
Watching them, and figuring they probably didn't have time to think, Guinevere took a bite of the Magical Beast leg and called out to them:
"Mash, Ritsuka, don't you think this feels like déjà vu? What Ereshkigal-chan and the Lion King are doing.
The way I see it, the difference is that the Lion King wanted to preserve specimens, while Ereshkigal-chan wants to preserve souls, right?"
After saying this, Guinevere chuckled. Hearing her words, Mash and Ritsuka became even more certain that Ereshkigal-chan wasn't a bad person.
From the very beginning, drawing on her experience of interacting with over a hundred female servants, Ritsuka had instinctively felt that Ereshkigal-chan wasn't a bad person.
"Guinevere-nee, are you saying that Ereshkigal-chan, just like the Lion King, is just an idiot who wants to protect humanity but chose the wrong method?!"
Ritsuka shouted this so loudly that she even yelled it a second time, just in case Ereshkigal-chan hadn't heard!
As she listened, she was severed once again. Ereshkigal-chan simply stopped regenerating the Giant Vengeful Spirit. She now stood in mid-air, wearing her bone mask and wielding her Noble Phantasm spear.
"Fine, fine, fine! Even if it's as you say, the original problem that forced me to make this decision won't change. Tell me, how exactly are we supposed to defeat the Goddess Tiamat? She is a hundred, a thousand times stronger than that stupid snake Gorgon!"
"Only a hundred, a thousand times?"
Their original goal for this journey had always been to bring back the King of Heroes' soul. Persuading Ereshkigal-chan to join their side was simply Ritsuka's natural thought.
Along the way, she had received help from so many people, and she understood...
"A single person's power is limited, but with Guinevere-nee, the King of Knights... Mash and me, you and Ishtar... and later we can even persuade Quetzalcoatl and Gorgon. Once we gather the strength of the entire Singularity, why wouldn't we be able to defeat the Goddess Tiamat, who is a hundred, a thousand times stronger than Gorgon? Or perhaps we don't even need to fight the Goddess Tiamat at all, we can just persuade her directly!"
Ritsuka finished reciting the names of all their Servants and explained her reasons, but Ereshkigal-chan's heart was already set, and she simply wouldn't listen.
Her hand dropped, her mask shattered, and she found Ritsuka's overly idealistic words laughable.
"Are you done? If that's all you have to say..."
Before she could even finish, Ereshkigal-chan's Noble Phantasm began to glow, and Mash prepared to defend with her own Noble Phantasm.
Beside the barbecue, Guinevere frowned after realizing Ereshkigal-chan wouldn't listen. According to the laws of the Underworld, she couldn't harm Ereshkigal-chan even a little, nor could she, as the known plot dictated, wait for the King of Heroes to use Kingship to judge Divinity, using his royal body to condemn the Divine Body.
"Guinevere, have you seen enough? Have you witnessed Mash and Ritsuka's growth? Do you still insist on leaving this trial to these two children?"
"There's still time, isn't there?"
As she spoke, Guinevere actually abandoned her desire to stand up and shouted once more:
"Ritsuka, since you've said everything you had to say and she still won't listen, just beat her up first. If you can't defeat Tiamat, can't you at least defeat Ereshkigal-chan? Remember, aim for her backside! Make her truly understand the might of you, a Chaldea Master!"
Could Ritsuka do it? Of course she could. Otherwise, why else would she have saved today's third Command Spell until now?
Something like a Command Spell is not only used to order Servants but also to replenish one's own strength. Cleverly used, it can even be used to command oneself, just like a certain homunculus named "Sieg."
Today's third Command Spell was used by Ritsuka to order herself, after obtaining Guinevere's permission for her "education."
"With my Command Spell, I order my body to release the Holy Sword!"
Needless to say, the golden radiance of the Sword of Promised Victory had already bloomed once in the Underworld.
Ereshkigal-chan's Noble Phantasm, called the Nammu Abzu Gugalanna, is a direct thrust with mana concentrated on the Spirit Spear in her hand, and also a highly powerful light beam Noble Phantasm.
But to be honest, using this Noble Phantasm was Ereshkigal-chan's last resort. Her other Noble Phantasm, Kur Ki Gal Irkalla, is an earth-shattering attack with a much wider area of effect, making it completely impossible to deliver a direct hit like the Holy Sword.
Even so, she still couldn't reach her.
After her crimson light beam was swallowed by the golden one, Ritsuka, who had deliberately aimed wide, quickly reached her side and truly started fighting her seriously while holding her.
Such a plan to openly take advantage of someone, and even get permission from their "elder," was extremely rare.
Moreover, this was a physical persuasion to make her open up, so no one could say she lacked a sense of propriety.
"Stop it already, Ritsuka Fujimaru!"
"Ereshkigal-chan, if you don't join us, I'll keep fighting."
At this moment, Ritsuka's smile was extremely Gudako.