Calm, quiet, somber, and cold, like a dark river quietly flowing deep within the earth.
"Who are you?" Luo En asked.
The goddess held a lantern of eerie blue in one hand and grasped a gun scythe formed of red thunder in the other, answering proudly.
"The mistress of the earth and the Netherworld?"
Luo En’s face showed surprise and doubt, seemingly intimidated by the name that symbolizes terror and death, instinctively stepping back to increase the distance.
"Don’t be nervous, I have no ill will," the goddess explained in a deep voice, "Siduri sent me to help you."
"Yes, to help you escape that crazy woman’s entanglement and take you away from her clutches."
Ereshkigal answered earnestly, her words filled with disdain and contempt for her sister.
"If you don’t believe me, I have proof left by Siduri."
Saying that, Ereshkigal tossed out a clay tablet engraved with a cuneiform divine pattern, preserving Siduri’s divine aura.
So that’s how it was.
Luo En sorted out the situation and couldn’t help but feel emotional.
The Babylon Wine God indeed has a wide circle of friends, not only getting along with someone difficult like Ishtar but also managing to enlist Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Netherworld, to help her.
If I’d known she was so resourceful, I’d have just found an excuse to let her organize a party and invite these two sisters over together.
But speaking of which, Siduri really is quite good to him.
Luo En retracted his thoughts, looking at the Netherworld goddess before him:
"No need to be so formal, just call me Aile. You’re Siduri’s friend and thus my friend too."
Ereshkigal waved her hand slightly, showing a hint of approachable calmness.
Luo En nodded and asked:
"Then, Lady Aile, if I may ask, did Siduri have to pay any price for asking you to help?"
Ereshkigal glanced at the man before her in surprise, feeling a slight fondness in her heart:
"No wonder Siduri cares for you so much, even personally went to the Netherworld to find me. You should know, she rarely asks favors."
Listening to this, Luo En was moved by his drinking friend’s care, and his face showed a touch of genuine concern.
Everything has a price, that’s the common principle among the gods.
Ereshkigal smiled and said: "Don’t worry, I’m merely the goddess ruling the Netherworld, not some heart-devouring fiend. All Siduri needs to do in return is treat me to a cup of malt wine."
Luo En breathed a sigh of relief.
It was evident that the two goddesses got along quite well.
No wonder in Babylonian mythology, Siduri and her tavern frequently appeared alongside the Netherworld, with some versions even classifying her among the deities of the Netherworld.
"Thank you for your help, but I have one more question, where’s Siduri? Why hasn’t she come along?"
"She’s of course staying in the mortal world, holding off that crazy woman for you."
Ereshkigal answered casually, a rare trace of schadenfreude flickering in her eyes,
"With your disappearance, she’s the prime suspect. If she stays by Ishtar’s side during this period, that woman has no reason to trouble her."
Turns out you two are in cahoots, setting a trap for Ishtar together.
Luo En was left speechless, unable to help but voice a fair comment:
"Actually, you might have some misunderstandings with Ishtar; she’s not bad."
"Speaking for that crazy woman? You must have been tormented silly!"
The once-friendly Netherworld goddess suddenly put on a stern face.
Are the sisters’ relations that bad? Can’t they reconcile?
Luo En muttered to himself, then cautiously suggested:
"How about letting me go back first? Everyone sitting down to talk might clear up the misunderstandings."
"I see. You’ve been bewitched by her!"
Ereshkigal sneered, and the gun scythe in her hand slashed toward the ground in front of her.
The ground beneath Luo En’s feet instantly cracked open, carrying him plummeting into a dark abyss.
"You think you can leave my domain? No chance! Stay put in the Netherworld until Siduri comes to fetch you!"
The Netherworld goddess snorted as she unleashed her authority, the entrance to the mortal world closing with a roar.