Journey to Salvation from Chaldea

"how you said that?"

"Every god thinks that human beings should not exist apart from gods, but Ereshkigal is even more so. She doesn't agree with abandoning the gods and intends to create you who belong to your own world." Alley said softly, "Because of this There is only pain - human beings will not be able to escape the pain of living and the fear of death. And as long as in the age of gods, this pain can also be alleviated. Because of the existence of things that human beings cannot understand, human beings can put many unreasonable, many cruel Blame it mercilessly on the gods, then face each day with an open mind."

"Well, that's it."

Ai Lei's voice sounded like a whisper: "She has always believed that this way of existence is good, and she has endured like this for thousands or tens of thousands of years. So she joined this alliance. In order to turn the human world into a A world where humans and gods coexist. She is not the enemy of mankind, but the enemy of the human world."

Ai Lei finally looked at Yue Ye with a smile: "I'm only telling Yue Ye about this."

Yue Ye nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

"...I...that's all I want to say. Let's stop here today...tonight." Hearing Yue Ye's thanks, Ai Lei became flustered.She blushed and stood up from Yue Ye: "Good night then, I should go to bed too! You should also pay attention, don't stay up late!"

"Ai Lei." Yue Ye suddenly stopped her.

"Eh?"

"You are really gentle."

Ai Lei's back froze.She stood for a few seconds, then said, "Yue Ye, I have a request."

"But it doesn't matter."

"If... I mean, if you meet Ereshkigal and find her annoying, please don't hold back at all. Ereshkigal is indeed an unpopular goddess, and you hate her There is absolutely nothing wrong with it." Ai Lei's voice was a little low, "However, it's okay, don't hate Ai Lei..."

Yue Ye froze for a moment, then stood up with a smile, walked up to Ai Lei, and patted her head: "Don't worry, I will never hate Ai Lei."

"Hmm..." Allie blushed and lowered her head.

"Good night, my lord goddess."

————————————————————

"Are you ready? I'm going to open the gate of the underworld."

The next morning, the three of them arrived at the central square of Kusa.

"Although the words are very pretentious, the essence is to blow up a big hole in the ground..." Yue Ye said, "Should we hide away?"

Ishtar flew into the sky and shouted: "Of course it's the best! Maana! The bow gun port is loaded with tidal cluster bombs! The output is equal to one-third of lapis lazuli!"

Tianzhou drew the bowstring, and took Ishtar's finger as the aim, and loaded a surging magic bullet.Seeing her posture, Yue Ye pulled Jeanne Alter back several steps.

"Smash it, the cover of the underworld! Give the empty land the light of the sky! In other words... blast the ground and open a big hole!"

"boom!"

The magic bullet roared and flew out, hitting the ground hard.For a while, gravel splashed and dust flew up.After everything quieted down, Yueye saw a large hole with a diameter of more than 20 meters and a depth that could not be observed at all.

"In the Age of Gods, the heaven, the earth, and the underworld were all on the same fabric. The afterlife world and the sky world became metaphysical existences after entering your human world." Ishtar explained, "You probably know it too, so I won't say anything superfluous. Let's go, Yue Ye, let me show you the underworld of the Age of Gods!"

### Chapter [-] Seven Questions of the Underworld ([-]) ###

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"It was just a glimpse last time, so I don't think there is anything to make a fuss about. Now it seems that the underworld is really amazing." Yue Ye looked around, "This is indeed an underground cavity that humans cannot imagine from a geological point of view. The one in London Angelboda is nothing compared to the underworld of Mesopotamia."

Jeanne Alter stretched out her hands to the slender, birdcage-like things that could be seen everywhere.There are several light spots locked in the cage, and while they are floating in the cage, they make a piercing "wow" sound.

"Hey, what is this?" Jeanne Alter asked curiously.

Ishtar shook his head: "It's better not to get close. Because those are the souls of dead humans on the ground. These are the gun prisons of Ereshkigal, and the souls imprisoned inside can never return to the ground. .When the body is completely dead, the soul will gradually thin out and finally disappear. But Ereshkigal does not allow this. That guy will put the human soul he likes in a cage, and play with it for tens of thousands of years for fun ah."

"Wow, it's scary!" Jeanne Alter flinched in fright.

Ishtar shrugged and added: "Of course, the imprisoned soul has no freedom. As long as human beings have no body, they will feel very cold. Therefore, in the state of only the soul, the hands and feet will start to freeze, and finally become alive. Ice cubes, the pain is so painful that I would rather disappear. But the soul imprisoned in that cage will not disappear until Ereshkigal gets tired of playing, and will continue to suffer like this forever.”

Jeanne Alter already had goosebumps all over her body.She cowardly slid behind Yue Ye, as if she wanted to seek protection.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I will protect you." Yue Ye held Jeanne Alter's hand dumbfounded.

"I don't need your protection! I'm just a little cold!" Jeanne Alter was still stern.

Ishtar frowned and said: "Yueye, you better be careful? The number of gun prisons is much more than what I saw when I came down. It should have increased after she joined the Three Goddess Alliance... I'm afraid At least doubled. Does that guy want to build a kingdom of the dead? But she shouldn't be such a cruel goddess before, right?"

"Where is Ereshkigal?" Yue Ye asked.

Ishtar pointed at their slant below: "Over there. Do you see the cliff and the stone bridge? We have to go all the way down and pass through the seven gates to see Ereshkiga on the opposite side." Ereshkigal's palace is there, because that fellow is a goddess who cannot leave that place."

"...I think the veracity of the statement that you can't leave even one step is very suspicious." Yue Ye shrugged, "But it sounds like she was locked there?"

Ishtar shook his head: "Who knows? This seems to be a rule decided by the gods, or is it out of the sense of responsibility of the eldest lady? Anyway, it has nothing to do with me, and I can't control it."

She patted Yue Ye's shoulder carelessly: "Anyway, it's your turn to play next. I can't help you with anything other than leading the way. First of all, it's over there, breaking through the first door Right. Then you will understand the rules of the underworld."

Yue Ye looked along her fingers, and indeed saw a door blocking the road.The door was entirely made of stone, and looked like nothing special except that it was a little thicker.As soon as Yueye brought Jeanne Alter and Ishtar to the door, an ethereal voice sounded from behind the door.

"Answer it, answer it... Those who have fallen into the underworld, please answer the way of existence of their soul..."

"There will be a problem of choosing one or the other, Moonlight Night. The gate of the underworld is a fair and rational gate that will question the good and evil of the soul. Good and evil are equal. Only the value of human beings who make a choice will change... So, there is no one The choice must be correct." Ishtar said, and then a troubled expression appeared on his face, "Anyway, there will be annoying tests anyway. You just choose the one you think 'it seems easier to choose this side' It’s just an option—of course not! Any test is easy for you!”

"...Although this is indeed the case, I even think that there is nothing wrong with me smashing the door, but because the voice of the question has a strange familiarity, I'd better listen to it for the time being."

"Then ask the sinful Yue Ye..." Hearing Yue Ye willing to answer the question, the door seemed very happy, and his tone became a little cheerful, "Although the benchmarks of beauty seem to be varied, there are still absolutes. Black can win white, earth Conquer the sky. That being the case - Ereshkigal and Ishtar. Who is the most beautiful?"

Ishtar originally planned to listen carefully to the question that the gate of the underworld would ask this special human being, but at the end, his face turned black: "Wait for me, is this different from before!?"

Yue Ye suppressed a smile and replied without hesitation: "Ereshkigal."

Ishtar sat down on the ground all of a sudden, with a completely betrayed expression on his face.After a few seconds, she stood up wobbly, comforting herself mutteringly: "Ah, is it, I made a mistake, right? This is a psychological warfare... One, it must be like this? If you brag about Ereshkigal, the enemy will become weaker or something... I understand, I understand..."

This door seems to like to see Ishtar lost.After Ishtar's thoughts were over, it spoke again: "Very good!"

With the sound of "rumbling" rubbing stones, the stone door opened.There was nothing behind the door, no monsters at all.

"What about the test? What about the test?" Ishtar was very unconvinced, "Could it be possible to deal with Ereshkigal by just blowing rainbow farts? It's really full of malicious content... It won't always be like this in the future Bar……"

Yue Ye shrugged, pulled Jeanne Alter through the stone gate, and then looked at Ishtar with a smile: "It seems that there are indeed no traps, it is really a simple and easy-to-understand mechanism. There is no ambush behind the door, I seem to have to You got the right answer, Ishtar."

Ishtar came over with a blushing face: "Nah! I don't admit it! I'm the embodiment of beauty! I'm the most beautiful goddess... Hey! What's the matter with this strange chill?"

Joan of Arc Alter looked up and down at Ishtar who came to the door, then walked to her side to measure her height, and then burst into laughter: "Hahahahahahaha, Yue Ye, look quickly, this The goddess who lost her cow has shrunk!"

"Yeah! Really, really became smaller...Ereshkigal! It's really you who are playing tricks!" Ishtar stomped his feet and roared at his feet.

"That's right. Understand your ignorance deeply, Ishtar." The proud and melodious girl's voice sounded, "You failed to go down to the underworld. As long as this mythical fact still exists, you will not be able to escape from the underworld." Curse. It symbolizes the crown of the wilderness, the reed measuring ruler, the glass jewelry, the beaded necklace, the gold bracelet, the enchanting pectoral and the last lady's dress. I took these seven treasures away from you in the past, and this rule still exists today. Effective. Since you have lost the power to correspond to the treasure, you can only bear the debt yourself. Every time you pass through a door, you will become smaller. Every time you will take away one-seventh of the god Sex. When passing through the second gate, one will become a lower-level deity. When passing through the fourth gate, one will become an elf lower than the Galura spirit. Finally, it will become a powerless flying insect, which can be A sad butterfly that I crush with one hand."

At the end of the talk, Ereshkigal laughed triumphantly: "Oh ha ha ha ha!"

### Chapter [-] Seven Questions of the Underworld ([-]) ###

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Hearing Ereshkigal's voice and the queen's three-part laugh, Ishtar stomped his feet angrily: "Bad taste! You have become even more distorted, Ereshkigal! Damn it, Whether it's laughter or mocking remarks, they are all prepared early!"

Ereshkigal denied: "There's no such thing. I'm being very humane. Since the moment you brought the living people in, you and the humans over there should have fallen to the bottom of the underworld. But since you intend to accept the test of the seven gates, according to the rules of the underworld, you must appraise your answers. Yue Ye, if you want to defeat me, you must overcome these tests. As long as you can pass the seven gates safely, then I will use Welcome the guests as the master of the underworld."

"As the host, are the delicacies and wines ready for the guests?" Yue Ye asked with a smile.

"Eh? This, this..." Ereshkigal panicked, "That... that... of course there will be! As long as you can come to me, I will definitely be ready !"

"Oh? Then I'll look forward to it." Yue Ye nodded, "Let's go, Ishtar, you won't back down, will you?"

"This level, I'm already mentally prepared!" Ishtar stood up straight, and walked towards the second door with Yue Ye and Joan of Arc Alter.

A few minutes later, a stone door identical to the previous one appeared in the sight of the three of them.As soon as they approached the stone gate, the carved lines on the stone gate lit up.

"Is this thing infrared sensing..." Yue Ye complained, "The sensitivity is too high!"

"Answer...Answer..." Youyou's voice sounded from behind the door again, "The distribution of property is fluid, but there is only one person who deserves to own it. All the wealth on earth should be kept by one person, that is, it is worth entrusting Who is the Goddess of Wealth. Ereshkigal or Ishtar, who should be?"

Ishtar smiled smugly: "Very good, the second subject is also a sub-question! You don't need to think about it, Moon Night!"

Yue Ye pretended to be silent for a few seconds, and then replied: "After careful consideration, it was decided to be Ereshkigal."

"Ding dong ding dong ding dong!" The pattern on the door flashed like a neon light a few times, accompanied by a suspicious sound effect like a quiz show, a cheerful voice came from behind the door: "Leave it on me!"

As if struck by lightning, Ishtar murmured and comforted himself: "Say...that's right, I deliberately entrusted it to Ereshkigal, so that the poor family can fight! Let that guy's incompetence Expose it in broad daylight, clarify the gap between me and her... I can believe that this is the content of the battle, it is absolutely possible! It is not that I am not trusted, it is not!"

While muttering, she walked through the slowly opening stone door.Unsurprisingly, her body shrank again, and now her figure looked like that of a six or seven-year-old girl who just started elementary school.

Moon Ye suppressed a smile and led Jeanne Alter through the second gate of the underworld.Similarly, the two of them were not hindered or punished in any way, just like the previous one.

"Malicious, absolutely malicious..." Ishtar murmured, "Damn Ereshkigal..."

After walking for a few more minutes, the third door also appeared in front of them.

"Answer...Answer..." The door said quietly while the lines were lit up, "Kindness is a virtue, and kindness is the cornerstone. In the world of gods, kindness is also a necessary quality. Answer, Ishtar Who is the kinder goddess, Er or Ereshkigal?"

"It's really difficult for her to deliberately suppress her voice to create a mysterious atmosphere." Yue Ye wanted to laugh a little, "My answer is Ereshkigal."

"Excessive! Excessive! Am I not kind? Thanks to me helping you for so long!" Ishtar grabbed Yueye's arm and shook violently, "Hey! Let me tell you, you can easily deal with punishment and even break into it Right? I beg you to call in directly, woo woo woo, stop saying good things about Ereshkigal... It's hard for me to keep lying to myself..."

"Correct! Ishtar, this is your usual domineering retribution, you deserve it!" A proud voice came from behind the door, and then the door opened with a click.

Ishtar walked through the stone gate dejectedly, his height shrunk to the size of a three-year-old child less than seventy centimeters.Yue Ye squatted in front of her with some amusement and said, "Okay, okay, don't be angry, this is all to reduce the difficulty of the task. What's wrong with being soft?"

"Absolutely not!" Ishtar flatly refused, "No matter how hard it is, a woman has a bottom line that cannot be compromised!"

When facing other goddesses, as long as I look relatively superior.But in the face of Ereshkigal, it must be a competition - and I must win! "

"Then I'll give a serious answer to the next door, and I will definitely give the answer fairly and justly." Yue Ye comforted.

"Really? It's a deal, don't lie to me, okay?" Ishtar quickly looked into Yue Ye's eyes.

"This goddess is so humble..." Joan of Arc Alter complained, "There is no dignity at all..."

Soon, within a few minutes of walking, the next door appeared in front of their eyes.As the pattern lights up, the door also asks its question: "Answer...Answer...Frugality is a virtue, waste is a vice. As a goddess, one must not only keep wealth for oneself, but also Use them wisely. Who is more economical, Ereshkigal or Ishtar?"

Yue Ye looked at Ishtar with some pity: "I don't even bother to think about this question, you woman and the word saving don't even have a relationship with radicals... My answer is Ereshkigal .”

"Bingo~ The answer is correct!" With the cheerful magic pattern flashing, the door opened with a click.

"I'll start saving money and keeping accounts tomorrow! No, tonight! No, start now! Immediately! Immediately!" Ishtar was a little annoyed but helpless.From a logical point of view, Yue Ye's answer really wasn't to please Ereshkigal on purpose.Anyone with a discerning eye can see that compared to Ishtar, anyone seems to be much more frugal.

"Give up, Ishtar." Ereshkigal's voice sounded just right, "Admit it, extravagance and waste is your nature, otherwise you wouldn't become the poor you are now. A little You can be bought by human beings if you take the gems, and go to find the Tablet of Destiny diligently with him, as a goddess, you have already lost all face!"

"Shut up ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

### Chapter [-] Seven Questions of the Underworld ([-]) ###

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After the fourth gate, Ishtar was as big as a house cat.She simply sat on Yue Ye's shoulders, a little resignedly braiding flowers with Yue Ye's hair.

"Hey, you won't give me some weird hairstyle, will you?"

"Shut up! I don't want to talk to you!" Ishtar was still a little angry, "The door is over there, hurry up and leave after flattery!"

"Answer...Answer..." The fifth door flickers, "Faith is something that is not returned...Prayer is a thing that is given...Man does not seek favor from God, but only gives it...In that case, Answer, the goddess who is qualified to accept such a noble belief is—"

"Ereshkigal." Moonlight replied without hesitation.

The door opened immediately: "I wish you happiness~"

"What about the fair and rational question and answer in the underworld? This is just a draft for choosing which goddess!" Joan of Arc Alter complained, "I said Moonlight, this goddess named Ereshkigal, could it be that someone Is it the kind of easy-to-handle person who can be as happy as if you can fly to the sky with a few compliments?"

Yue Yexin said that you were praised a few times and immediately showed a silly smile... He shook his head and said, "Maybe? Living in this environment all day long, he should be a child who lacks love?"

"Yes." Unexpectedly, Ishtar answered Moonlight's self-talking question in a low voice, "If I am a goddess who desires a lot and keeps growing, then what is Ereshkigal? A goddess who does not desire or grow at all. She is the existence that was dedicated to the underworld as the cornerstone when the underworld was created. Because there must be a pillar of gods to go to the underworld to take up the post. This responsibility was pushed to Ereshkiga The newborn Ereshkigal was stuffed into the underworld, and thus became the mistress of the underground. As a god who has been managing the undead for thousands of years, even for a moment, there is no earth or sky stayed."

"Wow, isn't this too miserable?" Jeanne Alter's eyes widened.

Ishtar nodded: "Yes. In exchange, Ereshkigal is invincible in the underworld. Even the gods cannot disobey her laws in the underworld... However, for her What's the use? In the end, it's not the compensation she wants at all... It's so sad that I can't experience the new world and new encounters, and be imprisoned underground forever by responsibility..."

"Well, after listening to your words, I am more determined." Yue Ye nodded.

"Oh? What do you think?" Ishtar asked with interest.

"Temporary secrecy." Yue Ye smiled, "The sixth door is ahead, let's see what questions she will ask this time."

"I've come to terms with my shrinking body... Habits are a scary thing..."

"Answer...Answer..." The sixth door dutifully lit up, "Survival is to eliminate unnecessary habits, and life is to cultivate unnecessary habits. Extravagance in food, energy consumption, and finding joy are to have The inevitable duty of a sensible person. But be careful, unlimited intake of nutrition will only lead to fat. If you want to entrust your life to one person, it will be Ishtar, who represents eating and drinking, or Erel, representing moderation Shkigal?"

"Protest! I protest! Why should I eat and drink on behalf of you!" Ishtar yelled, "As the goddess of beauty, I obviously have the top golden body in Mesopotamia! One point No fat at all!"

"Ah, now that I've said that, the answer is obvious." Yue Ye nodded, "Ereshkigal."

"Hey! Listen to me carefully, hey!" Ishtar grabbed Yue Ye's ear.

"Correct~"