Conquest of the Underworld
At Sunya's words, Neti hastily assumed a defensive stance.
Unfortunately, preparation made no difference whatsoever.
"I'm sorry. I'm not normally the sort to strike first... but it seems we don't have much time."
Thud.
The sound of a leather pouch bursting rang out. Before anyone could react, Sunya's fist was buried in Neti's abdomen.
"Guh..."
Neti sank weakly to his knees. His mouth fell open reflexively, but not even a scream emerged.
It hurt beyond measure. No—before the pain, it felt as though he couldn't even draw breath. Gods and beings of the underworld had no need to breathe, yet Sunya's fist seemed to deliver a tremendous shock to existence itself.
D-dangerous. I have to report this at once...
Despite Neti's struggle, his consciousness slipped away. He simply couldn't hold on. Before long, the gatekeeper of the underworld's threshold lost consciousness entirely.
With a single blow?
Ninshubur, standing beside him, was impressed. The underworld's gatekeeper was no god, but a spirit powerful enough to give even most deities a hard time. It was precisely because he was such a being that Ereshkigal had entrusted him with the gate. And yet Sunya had neutralized him so effortlessly—it was impossible not to be impressed.
But the surprises had only just begun.
Thud.
"Pardon me."
So saying, Sunya struck the door with his palm. A clear sound rang out, and the thick stone gate opened as if it were nothing.
"There's no way this should open so easily..."
Mere strength alone was never enough to pass through the gates of the underworld. If it were, every dog and cow would have come and gone freely. Faced with a phenomenon unprecedented since the creation of the world, Ninshubur stamped her feet in agitation. She had no idea what to do from this point on.
"Please go on ahead."
Sunya pointed the way forward for her.
"I'm afraid I won't have time to look after you separately, Lady Ninshubur."
"Pardon?"
"You have a task that Lady Inanna assigned you, don't you?"
With that, Sunya stepped through the gate. Already, underworld soldiers who had received word of the intrusion were swarming toward him.
"But..."
"I insisted on coming even though you tried to stop me. So this is entirely my responsibility. Preparing for the worst is what you should be doing, Lady Ninshubur."
"...Understood."
Ninshubur nodded and left the underworld. Sunya left her behind and continued on.
"Coming through."
Without a moment's hesitation, Sunya plunged into the ranks of the dead.
As Inanna sat upon the throne, she felt the power of the underworld flowing into her. If only things had ended so smoothly—but not everything in this world went according to plan.
"Ugh?!"
Excruciating pain shot through her entire body. At the same moment, dark blue-black mud began seeping from the throne and climbing up her form.
"You stupid bitch! Get off that throne right now!"
Ereshkigal, who had already recovered from most of her injuries, staggered over to stand beside Namtar. An ordinary person would have been long dead, but she too was a powerful goddess and remarkably resilient. It would take a great deal to kill her.
"That seat isn't something the likes of you can handle!"
"What are you talking about? I'm Inanna! Goddess of love and war! Queen of Heaven!!"
"Goddess of war, my ass. A bitch who can only destroy—what business do you have ruling the underworld?"
"...If you can do it, why can't I?"
Crack. Inanna gritted her teeth. The pain wracking her body grew steadily worse. It wasn't merely pain—every corner of her body seemed to be going numb.
"Look at you, acting without knowing your place. How did you even come up with the idea of snatching the underworld's throne just because some man turned your head? I always knew you were an empty-headed bitch, but I never imagined you'd be this pathetic."
"Kh... Shut up! You're too loud!"
Even speaking was becoming a struggle. As the fog swallowed her, her very consciousness grew faint.
"Don't act like you know everything! He's a man... worth that much...! Khh, what do you even know about Sunya?"
"So? Where is that man of yours now?"
"Th-that's..."
Even speaking was hard now. By this point, Inanna understood. The underworld did not acknowledge her. For a sinner who, lacking the qualifications, had arrogantly dared to covet the underworld's throne—heavenly punishment was inevitable. Sticky, cold death sought to devour Inanna.
Crack.
But in that moment, someone seized Inanna's wrist and forcibly yanked her up from the throne. The black, foul mud that had been wrapping around her was torn away in an instant.
"Fortunately, I wasn't too late."
It was Sunya. He had appeared suddenly and was holding Inanna in his arms.
"S-Sunya?"
"I was worried about you."
"H-how did you get here? No—why did you come?"
"As I said, I came because I was concerned."
"You didn't have to come all the way here..."
"If it were the usual Lady Inanna, that would be true. I know that. But right now you have a child in your belly—if you overexert yourself, something terrible could happen. If my concern was unfounded, I apologize."
"..."
Honestly, she was moved. That he would personally risk danger and cross the underworld for her sake... Wasn't he just like the prince on a white horse from the stories Sunya had once told her? Unable to contain the emotions welling up inside her, Inanna threw her arms around Sunya and nuzzled her face against him.
"...Who is that? How did he get in here?"
"W-well..."
Meanwhile, Ereshkigal and Namtar were dumbfounded. From their perspective, Sunya had appeared without any warning whatsoever.
"Your Majesty!!"
A shout rang out from behind. Ninazu, captain of the royal guard, could be seen rushing over in a panic.
"Ninazu!! What on earth were you doing that you're only now—"
Namtar, about to yell at Ninazu, fell silent at the sight of the countless soldiers collapsed in the distance. Not only that—every general of the underworld was groaning, unable to move. Ninazu himself walked unsteadily, clearly having taken a heavy blow somewhere.
"What is this...?"
"I apologize. I failed to stop him."
Ninazu prostrated himself before Ereshkigal. The mistress of the underworld prioritized grasping the situation over scolding her subordinate.
"The extent of the damage?"
"...None are seriously injured or dead."
"Explain in more detail."
"That man's divinity is so powerful that merely releasing it rendered most of the army of the dead unconscious without a proper fight. The other generals were all incapacitated by a single blow as well."
"Haa!"
She was so flabbergasted she couldn't even speak. If even Ereshkigal was like this, how much more absurd must it have been for Ninazu and the others who had witnessed and experienced it firsthand?
Judging by the looks of it, that must be the man Inanna was hiding...
Ereshkigal turned to look at the two of them—and the spectacle was utterly ridiculous.
"...Are you hard?"
"Ahem. Even so, if you rub against me naked like that, it's hard for me to restrain myself."
"Want to do it now?"
"No, even I draw the line at that..."
"You're adorable!"
Naturally, watching this, Ereshkigal's insides boiled with rage. She was so furious she even set aside her wariness of Sunya.
Those bastards dare to put on this filthy display right in front of me?
How was she supposed to take a couple flaunting their affection in a house of mourning—before a woman whose husband had just died, no less? And this from a woman who had supposedly come to offer condolences, if only in name. Ereshkigal was seized by the urge to use her power and strike Sunya and Inanna dead on the spot.
"I have been most discourteous to my wife's elder sister."
As if sensing Ereshkigal's feelings, Sunya turned at just the right moment and spoke. Compared to the thuggish Inanna, at least he made a show of courtesy.
"Most discourteous? Is that all a man who just tore through the underworld has to say?"
"Oh, how petty can you get."
When Inanna responded to her rebuke with pure brazenness, Ereshkigal found she was past anger.
"Even if you are one of the Seven Great Gods, show some respect!! You stand before the Queen!!"
Instead, Namtar beside her leapt up in fury.
"Respect for a bitch I already beat the crap out of? What respect?"
"Iiiiiik!!"
Namtar's eyes were about to roll back completely from rage. Sunya stroked Inanna's hair as if to soothe her, then calmly spoke.
"I am truly sorry. Thinking the matter urgent, I committed a grave discourtesy and caused considerable trouble. I will make amends somehow—might you find it in yourself to forgive me?"
"Make amends? How?"
"Well... I'll have to think about that in due course? Haha..."
Sunya smiled with an awkward expression. That sheepish grin of his was somehow irritating.
Ereshkigal thought carefully. She pondered and pondered how best to deal those ruffians a crushing blow. She racked her brains fiercely, all for the sake of seeing Inanna's face contort.
"There is one way."
"Please, go on."
Ereshkigal wore the expression of someone about to deliver a finishing blow.
"You stay here. Then I'll let that little savage and the child go."