[No doubt, you've lost it too.]
[I can't help it, from Ishtar's point of view, your view of love is also very unreasonable.]
[However, Ishtar's isn't normal either.]
[The two of you started scolding each other irrationally like children.]
[In the end, the two fell silent.]
[They both knew the other wasn't going to back down, and thus fell into this stalemate where neither could speak.]
"…"
Ishtar silently gazed at Moran.
The killing intent she emitted hadn't changed at all.
She still looked like she wanted to kill Moran.
However, she hesitated to act, and Ishtar's hesitation gave Moran quite a bit of time to think.
"…"
Moran momentarily thought she was joking.
Of course, this illusion only lasted for a moment.
"You're really calm. Even though I've given you so much time to think, you still have this attitude. Just like when we first met, I won't be fooled by you again. This is the last time, and my last bit of consideration—"
Ishtar paused slightly.
Then, she said, "Give up Ereshkigal and come to my side. I can give you everything she can't.
Whether it's power, wealth, or authority. As long as you're willing to abandon Ereshkigal and become my lover, Ishtar's. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise? What will you do?"
"Moran, if you refuse, you will face a divine punishment more cruel than anything you've ever experienced. Whether it's Uruk or that arrogant Gilgamesh, I will make everything you cherish disappear."
Ishtar's expression was very calm.
As if she were talking about something insignificant.
But the invisible pressure that increased made it clear that beneath her calmness lay hope and madness.
"I thought that after these past few years together, you would have understood that love cannot be obtained through coercion and violence.
I will not accept. And I will not choose to submit to you because of your threats. No matter what divine punishment you bring down, I will not abandon Ereshkigal because of threats."
A trace of disappointment flashed in Moran's eyes.
If Ishtar hadn't threatened him like this, then Moran could at least still see her as someone he loved.
But he couldn't accept this kind of threat.
Threats like these, that would make him love one person and abandon another, he couldn't accept no matter what.
"Ishtar, it's not that I'm pushing you away, but that you're choosing to push me away. If you can't accept me, you can choose to leave me, and I won't pester you. But if you want to harm the things I cherish, then I can only see you as an enemy."
Soon, the disappointment in Moran's eyes was dispelled by determination.
If he were simply afraid of divine punishment and chose to submit, he wouldn't have defied the gods in the first place, nor would he have reached the point of fighting to the death.
This was the bottom line he couldn't back down from.
"Ugh—"
Ishtar clenched her fist.
As if she had lost even the last bit of hope.
"Moran… if you're not willing to accept me… not willing to love me… then I will kill you! Even if it's you, I won't spare you, I will kill you without mercy—!!"
Ishtar's eyes were filled with tears.
Her jewel-like beautiful eyes were already wet with tears.
"…"
This scene made Moran's heart clench.
But Moran couldn't just give in like that, not when Ishtar threatened him.
[The conversation can only go this far.]
[Everything from the past few years with her is lost.]
[A sense of loss emerges from the bottom of his heart.]
[It hurts, of course it hurts.]
[However, you won't regret it, this is the path he chose.]
[You foresaw this day a long time ago.]
[Morgan also often talked to you about this.]
[If you continue to be so indiscriminately loving, you will fall sooner or later. It seems that the time has come.]
[You must grit your teeth and finish the path you chose.]
[Now that things have reached this point, you and Ishtar only have one path left to take. And you can only accept it.]
[Accept the fact that you can no longer laugh together with her.]
[Whether facing Artemis or the current Ishtar, you haven't changed at all.]
[You can't possibly choose to sacrifice any of the people you love.]
[To achieve love between yourself and another.]
"—Hoo."
Moran took a deep breath.
Facing Ishtar's completely erupted killing intent.
"I can't abandon Ereshkigal for your sake."
"If that's the case, then even if I have to force you, I will make you submit! This time, I will settle the past humiliations as well!"
Ishtar suddenly rose up with a white storm.
Releasing a divine-level pressure.
There was no room for hesitation, nor time for decision.
Absolutely not… the slaughter with the goddess he didn't want to fight at all had begun—
[This time, Ishtar is completely serious.]
[No longer as careless as when she first met you, she is using her full strength from the start.]
[On this land ruled by her.]
[She shows you absolute hostility.]
[She is undoubtedly a main god-level being in the ranks of gods, and is originally a mother goddess who is only higher and not lower.]
[Ishtar not only has the authority of love and beauty, but she also possesses the divine nature of the god of war. The fact that the ancient Mesopotamian land could be conquered by Uruk is greatly related to her.]
[In terms of specifications, she is not weaker than you, and this land is also the home ground of the goddess Ishtar.]
"I will definitely make you regret it, absolutely, absolutely make you shatter into pieces! I will never spare you!"
Ishtar glared at Moran.
Her resentment and hatred had already exploded.
This voice was as cold and merciless as a vengeful ghost, completely revealing the cruel side of the goddess.
The authority of beauty was activated under this emotion.
——Causality Inversion.
The cold earth was bewitched, gaining functions similar to organic intelligent life forms, even emotions.
Like giant animals, or groups of small animals.
The earth rose up like clay animation, turning into a chaotic sea, mixed with storms, attacking Moran.