FATE: The Man with Divine Keys

"If you're trying to obstruct me, then... I'll crush all of you!"

Ereshkigal raised her light spear in a defensive stance as she declared.

"Obstruct? No, no, I think you've misunderstood something here." Arkhan shook his head calmly. "I just want to lend you a hand, that's all."

In the next moment, Arkhan suddenly threw Abyss Flower in his hand, but the target was not Ereshkigal, it was a nearby iron cage.

Seeing the approaching lance, the cage shook as several wisps of soul flames inside it burned chaotically.

Not only Ereshkigal but also Gilgamesh and Ishtar were momentarily stunned by Arkhan's sudden move.

"What are you doing?!"

Ereshkigal roared in anger and threw her light spear, knocking the flying Abyss Flower away.

Seeing this, Arkhan paid no heed and calmly retrieved Abyss Flower before continuing his attack on the iron cages imprisoning souls in the surroundings.

Yet, every one of his attacks was fiercely blocked by Ereshkigal.

"Stop it, you madman!"

At some point, Ereshkigal couldn't take it anymore and shouted in complete rage, the intense chill emanating from her giant skeleton body lowering the temperature of the area to the brink of bodily limits.

"Do you know how fragile these souls are?! If they cease to exist, they'll be truly dead!"

"Oh? Why are you angry? Didn't you say you killed these humans and imprisoned their souls out of anger?" Arkhan said with a smirk, his eyebrows raised. "If that's the case, why are you working so hard to protect them?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the vast underworld instantly fell into silent stillness.

"..."

After a while, the silence gradually turned awkward.

Ereshkigal, in the form of a giant skeleton, held her light spear high in the air, standing motionless.

For some reason, Arkhan seemed to detect a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"Hahh, so you've been ranting about hating humans all this time, yet when I offered to help you wipe them out completely, you stepped in to protect them?" Arkhan tilted his head, pretending to be confused. "It's quite confusing... Do you want to protect them or destroy them?"

"Uh... I... I..."

Ereshkigal, hidden inside the giant skeleton, had a frantic look in her eyes as her mind raced, trying to come up with a suitable excuse.

"Are you dumb?!"

Ishtar, reduced to the size of half a palm due to her divinity being stripped away, suddenly intervened.

"Ereshkigal clearly wants to build a kingdom of the dead. If you destroy all these souls, her kingdom will crumble too, won't it?"

"Ye-Yes, exactly!" Ereshkigal grasped onto this lifeline as if drowning, exhaling deeply. "Since these souls are my subjects, it's my duty to protect them!"

"Oh, I see, I see..." Arkhan nodded knowingly, as twelve spears with golden chains appeared behind him. "In that case, I can't let these souls remain then."

"Wa-Wait a minute! Why would you do that?!" Ereshkigal cried out in panic.

Arkhan looked at her with confusion, wondering why she would ask such a question.

"Isn't it obvious? We must destroy what our enemies need. Since your goal is to create a kingdom of the dead, and these souls are your subjects, I can't allow your plan to take shape."

"If that's the case, you should come at me! I am the source of this!" Ereshkigal urged anxiously.

"Nope, Ishtar and Gilgamesh have already informed me that you are invincible in the underworld," Arkhan shook his head. "Since I'm not confident I can defeat you here, it's easier to deal with these souls."

"Don't you realize that these souls are the people of Uruk?! How can you bear to harm them?! You're harming your own people!" Ereshkigal shouted in panic.

Arkhan pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"You make a fair point."

Upon hearing that, Ereshkigal's heart eased slightly, but Arkhan's next words immediately brought her anxiety rushing back.

"Alright, Gilgamesh, what do you think?" Arkhan turned to the blond man next to him. "They are your subjects, so you should have the say in their fate."

Gilgamesh glanced at Arkhan with his arms crossed before replying calmly.

"My subjects are all loyal and determined people. If they found out their souls were trapped by a goddess for her evil plan and that they had no freedom left, they'd definitely ask me to just kill them."

"With that in mind, go ahead and proceed, Arkhan. I approve."

"Wait a minute!" Ereshkigal's skeletal eyes gleamed with two points of crimson light. "If you dare harm them, I'll fight you all to the death!"

"Sorry, but this is Gilgamesh's command."

Arkhan shrugged casually before a golden spear shot out from behind him. Clearly, his targets remained those souls imprisoned in iron cages.

Ereshkigal was both desperate and frustrated but had no choice but to repeatedly fend off Arkhan's attacks.

"Seriously, you really have a nasty personality..." Ishtar flew to Arkhan's side and whispered.

"If we don't act like this, Ereshkigal won't honestly reveal her true intentions to us." Arkhan replied in a hushed voice. "You know, this is the best way to handle her."

As time went on, Ereshkigal realized that continuing this way was futile, so she decided she had to regain control.

As a result, she stopped defending and began to attack Arkhan directly.

Unfortunately for her, Arkhan was not alone.

As Gilgamesh opened the Gate of Babylon, in the next moment, countless weapons flew out to block Ereshkigal's attacks.

Watching the restless giant skeleton, Ishtar couldn't help but feel a little sympathy.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she couldn't have imagined that a goddess could be pushed to such extremes by a mortal.

Indeed, her judgment was correct—this black-haired guy was truly a monster!

Although Arkhan's attacks seemed extremely fierce, it was just an appearance. He always controlled the momentum of his attacks, ensuring enough pressure on Ereshkigal without truly harming any soul inside the iron cage.

At the same time, he subtly manipulated Fenghuang Down, affecting Ereshkigal's mind, and making her believe that the souls were truly put to death.

Under immense mental pressure, Ereshkigal's mind began to collapse.

Eventually, the giant skeleton stopped its movement and gradually faded away, leaving behind only a golden-haired woman.

Undoubtedly, this was Ereshkigal's true form.