"So, there's no need to maintain a relationship with Ereshkigal anymore, right? That person is me, but not me.
She is the darkest, most unpleasant version of me.
Now that you've recognized the charm of Ishtar, there's no need to look at a woman like Ereshkigal anymore, right?"
Ishtar said, walking closer to Moran.
A radiant smile covered her face.
She slightly twisted her snake-like waist, full of charm.
That graceful figure could captivate countless men.
"Now that I'm here, don't be with that person…"
"I won't abandon Ereshkigal."
Moran refused decisively.
He wouldn't abandon Ereshkigal, to whom he had made promises, just because he had fallen in love with Ishtar.
In his eyes, both Ishtar and Ereshkigal were equally important.
"…"
Ishtar's hand, reaching out to Moran, stopped.
Her expression also froze.
"What's so good about that person in the underworld? Where do you think I'm inferior to her? The underworld is a barren land; you're just wasting your efforts helping her. What can that gloomy woman bring you?"
Ishtar said, gritting her teeth.
The resentment she had once felt resurfaced, and it was fiercer than ever before.
Her heart was more bitter and painful than ever.
"Just because I've fallen in love with you, Ishtar, doesn't mean I should abandon Ereshkigal. That's not my principle. Building the underworld is indeed not easy, but I don't think everything I've experienced with Ereshkigal is a burden."
Moran had a reason he couldn't back down from.
This was a matter of principle for him.
[That's right; you don't deny your all-encompassing love.]
[This is your true nature.]
[It is this all-encompassing love that has brought you to where you are today, allowing you to overcome many hardships and impossibilities.]
[To make him go against his heart,]
[Would be like overturning everything you stand for.]
[That's almost the same as asking you to die.]
[You can't betray your wives; you would rather give up yourself than give up on them.]
"Haa… Haa… There's a saying for everything. Ereshkigal is a woman who can only stay in the underworld; she can't give you anything! But I can give you this sky and this earth! Even so, you still choose Ereshkigal!?"
Ishtar was so angry that her chest rose and fell.
Her cheeks also turned red.
Ishtar's meaning was quite clear: either she goes or I go; either I go or she goes.
This is a major proposition that all men have found difficult to solve since ancient times.
Now it has finally come to Moran.
Moreover, the one asking him to make this choice is the goddess herself.
"If I valued those things, I wouldn't have fallen in love with Ereshkigal in the first place. She is the only beautiful flower in the underworld, the Ereshkigal who can live tenaciously even in that desolate land. She is the woman I, Moran, deeply love. No one can change that."
Moran said with unwavering determination.
Facing Ishtar, he didn't waver in the slightest.
[You know how much Ishtar hates Ereshkigal; it's almost a life-and-death hatred.]
[Even if she forgave your past impoliteness,]
[She can never forgive the humiliation she suffered in the underworld.]
[The fact that you still love Ereshkigal is the worst thing possible for Ishtar.]
[Ereshkigal and Ishtar]
[Are like fire and water.]
[Perhaps Ereshkigal can tolerate Ishtar because of you. But the willful Ishtar can never tolerate Ereshkigal because of you.]
"Guu… You, you…"
Ishtar almost gnashed her teeth.
She both loved and hated Moran.
In addition to anger, she would also recall that love.
[You are the only man in thousands of years who has given her a different feeling, unlike any other being, someone she wants to be with even if she has to restrain her nature.]
[But only Ereshkigal,]
[Only that hateful woman,]
[The woman who once pierced her naked body with countless spears, giving her countless humiliations—]
[Only she is unacceptable to Ishtar.]
"In other words, Moran… do you like Ereshkigal more than me, Ishtar?"
Ishtar almost squeezed these words out of her throat…
This shows the grief and resentment within.
"Ishtar, I do like you.
But if you think I'm going to abandon Ereshkigal for you, I can't do that no matter what… I'm sorry…"
Moran said sincerely.
He had said similar words more than once.
Whether it was towards any of his wives, he gave his whole heart sincerely. In terms of giving, he treated them all equally and would never abandon one for the sake of the other.
In his eyes, his love for his wives
Could never be measured by mere value.
"Hehehe…"
Ishtar laughed.
She revealed a smile like plucking a flower from the sky, a smile that cast an indescribable killing intent towards Moran.
The distance between the two was only two meters.
They could reach out and grab each other.
For these two, this distance was no different from being close, and it was easy to kill each other.
"…If Ereshkigal asked me to abandon you for her sake, I wouldn't be able to do it either. I won't abandon either of you," Moran said.
"You're such a strange person. You insist that you love me, but you won't give up Ereshkigal even at this point. In my opinion, you're just a big liar! You're a bastard!"
Ishtar glared at Moran.
Even though she was exuding killing intent, she still didn't attack.
Compared to her past willfulness, the current Ishtar had changed too much. Although her essence hadn't changed, she had at least learned to restrain herself.
"Ugh! Saying I'm a liar… You're not any better, are you?! You were the one who took the container I gave to Ereshkigal in the first place, right?! You were the one who wanted to deceive people using Ereshkigal's identity, right?! You're also the one who always goes out to steal gems and treasures from other gods, right?!"
Moran seemed to choke at first.
Then, he started arguing with Ishtar.