Kusanagi Godou stared at the newcomer's face, then looked back at Ishtar in the sky. His jaw practically hit the floor.
"Other than the hair color... they look exactly the same?!" he groaned, clutching his head as if it were about to explode.
From the swirling dark vortex stepped a woman with flowing golden hair, crowned in a jagged black tiara. She wore a crimson cloak patterned with glowing ancient runes over a sleek black gown. Instead of a necklace, a golden, spine-shaped ornament adorned her neck, and in her hand, she gripped a strange, spear-like cage that radiated a chilling, lethal aura.
Her face soft yet regal was an absolute mirror image of Ishtar's.
"So it really is you," Ishtar spat, flying her divine vessel Maanna down to hover beside the newcomer. "Master, you actually summoned this troublesome woman... my 'dear elder sister,' Ereshkigal!"
"I'm equally shocked Master bothered with a flashy brat like you," Ereshkigal shot back coldly. However, her expression softened instantly as she turned her crimson eyes toward Ritsuka, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "But of course, Master favors me more. Foolish little sister. Master, do you require my strength? If so, I shall crush these insects into dust this very instant!"
"Ishtar... and Ereshkigal..." Godou muttered, dumbstruck. "Don't tell me... they're..."
"Yes," Marquis Voban interjected, a thin, predatory smile stretching across his weathered face. "The twin goddesses of the Mesopotamian cycle. A rare sight indeed."
He began to recite their legends with unsettling precision:
"The elder sister, Ereshkigal—the Mistress of the Underworld, absolute ruler of death and spirits, the Goddess of Plague and Judgment."
"The younger sister, Ishtar—the Mistress of the Heavens, Goddess of Beauty, Fertility, and War, also known as the Morning Star, Venus."
Ereshkigal puffed out her chest proudly like a golden peacock at the mention of her title, while Ishtar fumed, biting her thumb in annoyance at being called the "younger" one.
"Oh, come on," Godou groaned, his spirit nearly breaking. "As if Athena wasn't enough, now I've got another Goddess of the Underworld to deal with? My life is a tragedy."
Ritsuka quickly stepped in, waving her hands to stop the sibling bickering. "That's enough! Ishtar, Eresh your enemies are those two Devil Kings! Beat them first, then you can settle your family drama later!"
"Hmph!" Both goddesses snorted in unison before turning their icy glares toward Voban and Godou.
"A God-Slayer, is it?" Ereshkigal's crimson eyes narrowed as she studied Voban. "You reek of the stolen scent of the dead... let me see just how much of my domain's power a mortal can truly wield." She advanced toward him without a hint of hesitation.
"Tch. That leaves me with the other guy?" Ishtar muttered irritably, her words reaching Godou's ears. "You dared strike me with lightning earlier? I'll beat you so hard you'll forget your own name!"
Ereshkigal marched toward Voban, only to be met by a fresh pack of summoned wolves. But before the beasts could even leap, they collapsed instantly, their life force snuffed out by a mere flick of her wrist.
"What terrifying control over the concept of death..." Voban muttered, his composure finally beginning to crack. He quickly summoned a wave of undead warriors to stall her. "But like Osiris, you cannot kill what is already dead!"
Ereshkigal's expression darkened, her eyes flashing with divine fury. "You dare toy with the souls of the departed in my presence?! You wretched thief!"
She flung out her hand, the air around her freezing. "Galla! Tear him apart!"
From the shadows of the earth surged monstrous, wolf-like demons with crimson fur and eyes blazing with malevolence.
[Demonic Hounds of Calamity — Garula]
These were the hellhounds of Mesopotamian myth, the hunting dogs of the Queen of the Underworld. They tracked the scent of life across the boundaries of time and space, dragging the guilty down to the land of no return.
The Galla swarmed Voban's wolves, shredding them in an instant. Even his undead thralls were torn to pieces, unable to resist the primordial authority of the true Goddess of Death. Soon, the horde of hellhounds lunged at Voban himself. He fought savagely, his werewolf claws rending flesh, but for every beast he slew, three more took its place. In the end, his silver fur was matted with blood.
"Filthy witch," he snarled, glaring hatefully at Ereshkigal. He invoked his most terrifying Authority:
[Curse of Sodom]
His eyes glowed with a sickly light. Everything in his line of sight began to crystallize into white salt, recreating the biblical catastrophe that erased all life.
Ritsuka swore under her breath. "Oi, oi... isn't this just Medusa's petrification with extra steps? Did you even pay the royalties for that?!"
But Ereshkigal didn't flinch. Her crimson eyes burned with a superior light.
[Evil Eyes of Death: EX]
The oldest of curses, passed down from the dawn of myth. Even gods could not withstand it. Her gaze didn't just turn things to salt; it sealed away the very concept of "activity," freezing reality into eternal stillness.
The two curses collided the Curse of Sodom vs. the Evil Eyes of Death. The battlefield twisted and groaned under the weight of the conflicting laws. While Voban strained against her deadly stare, Ereshkigal calmly raised a glowing gem from her cloak.
[Sixty Plagues of Death: A+]
These were the sixty calamities that not even the highest gods could escape. Suddenly, Voban doubled over. His chest burned, his eyes seared, and his body erupted with every plague imaginable at once fever, seizures, internal bleeding, and organ failure.
A God-Slayer's body should have been immune to disease. But against the Goddess of Pestilence herself, there was no sanctuary. Voban thrashed on the ground in agony until his breathing finally ceased.
The ancient wolf of Eastern Europe, Marquis Voban slain not by a blade, but by a divine infection.
Elsewhere, Kusanagi Godou was reliving his worst nightmare. He was being completely overpowered his strikes missed every time, while his opponent's blows fell like a relentless storm.
But had he known what Ishtar was actually doing, he might have coughed up blood in pure rage.
High above, aboard the Maanna, Ishtar had set the divine cannons to "Automatic Fire Mode"... while she casually lounged on the deck, happily reading a volume of shoujo manga she had swiped from the library. To her, finishing the latest chapter was clearly more important than the battle.
Then, sensing her sister's victory through their divine bond, she froze.
"What?! She finished already?! No way!"
Snapping her teeth in frustration, Ishtar slammed her manga shut and stood up. "Unacceptable! I'll finish this brat quickly!"
[Manifestation of Beauty: EX]
The dazzling, divine allure of the Goddess of Beauty capable of enchanting any mortal beyond the reach of reason. Even a Devil King's resistance could only hold for three measly seconds.
For Ishtar, three seconds was an eternity.
[Mana Burst (Gem): A+]
She pulled forth her high-grade gems, pouring massive amounts of mana into Maanna's systems, amplifying its destructive output to the absolute limit. The flying ship roared as it unleashed a furious, golden barrage.
By the time Godou snapped out of the trance, the storm of beams was already upon him. He was swallowed whole by the explosion. When the light cleared, he lay broken and bloodied, half-dead.
Ishtar smirked in triumph. But just before she could declare victory, Godou summoned his final ounce of strength:
[Authority of the Ram]
His shattered body began to glow, his wounds knitting back together as his vitality returned.
"You... you cockroach!!!" Ishtar screamed, stomping her foot in fury.
"Comparing me to a cockroach is going too far, you flashy goddess!" Godou roared back, struggling to his feet.
The two glared at each other, ready to descend into a petty shouting match when a thunderous, world-shaking roar split the skies.
"ROOOAAAAARRRRR!!!"
Both froze, their heads whipping toward the source of the sound. It came from Ereshkigal's side of the battlefield.
Looming above the ruins was a titanic shadow an immense, primordial monster cloaked in absolute darkness. Its presence was so heavy that the very air felt like it was turning into lead.
Ereshkigal herself stiffened, her lips trembling as she looked up at the behemoth.
"What... what in the name of the Underworld is that?!"