340: One-Sided Damnation!
Chapter 340: One-Sided Damnation!
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Why must she stay in the underworld?
Why must she be the one to look after passed souls, in this gloomy place?
For the past millennia, why was it she who was stuck in this lonely place? Why couldn't she too have a friend or two like Ishtar?
Why must Ishtar receive all the glory and benefits, while she suffered alone?
The Goddess Ereshkigal didn't have an answer to any of those questions, for the past millennia.
Though Ishtar and Ereshkigal were the same Goddess, their powers and minds were different. So, their preferences too were different.
Ereshkigal didn't fall for Gil the same way Ishtar did, decades ago. She didn't have any romantic feelings for him, as far as Neji was aware. Due to her good-hearted nature, it wasn't as if she hated Gil either. She did see him as a younger brother—he who was millennia younger than her.
Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal simply wanted someone to accompany her in her long-listed stay in this gloomy place. If that 'someone' happened to be her half-brother? She would be much more pleased.
So, this poor Goddesses wished for her own younger brother to die. As the ruler of the underworld, all it took was that 'wish' that moves the entire terrain to act against him.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh was about to die.
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The Underworld of Kur may not be a different dimension, but the entire place was still the domain of Ereshkigal.
The rocks, the air, the dust. Everything was under her control.
With that, she easily channeled her will onto the spiky rocks in the ground, on the ceiling, and on the wall.
The spiky rocks moved to obey her will and rushed toward the trespassers. A human, two servants, and two Gods.
– Shiuuung!
The rocks moved fast, cutting through the cold air of the underworld. They all centered on the group, about to impale everyone and destroy their existence.
Neji couldn't let that happen so easily.
Kamui was the easy answer for himself, but the others would die. So he would have to take the blow on his body. He had to keep them safe.
With a roar, his dragon transformation was already midway there. His instincts had kicked in before his brain had caught on, so he was already a huge 20 feet dragon.
– Chip-Chip-Chip!
The sound of something sharp entering wet flesh filled the area. It was such a sound that rippled across this vast area.
There was also the sound of something solid hitting something harder, and just bouncing off. However, that sound was lacking compared to the former.
"Grrrrgh-!"
Neji growled in pain at a sensation that imitated the feeling of getting shot, by a normal person. It's as if he was riddled with multiple bullet holes.
What's worse, the barrage didn't end with just that. The spikes continued shooting at Neji, the white dragon who had wrapped his wings around the four girls and protected him with his body.
– Chip-Chip-Chip!
The same sound reverberated around the empty domain of the underworld. It was accompanied by soft groans… that died out rather soon.
[Ding! The Passive Skill, Pain Tolerance, has leveled up!]
[It has reached level 100!]
[The skill has evolved into the Level 1 Skill, "Pain Numbness"!]
For the next few minutes, there was no groan sounding in the area. Just the painful sound of spikes piercing Neji's body could be heard.
Neji's silence was worrying to the ones who were being protected, but they kept the belief that he was alive. After all, they were still floating in the air.
At last, the barrage ended. There was no more spike left in the terrain. Neji had endured it all, and slowly lowered his flight.
It appeared that the kinetic walls that blocked everything previously, making the gates the only possible route, had been broken off. Perhaps that needed to be put down to shoot those spikes.
This allowed Neji to safely lower to the floor, the dry land that was beneath the huge staircase.
While there was a large mass of land here, there was a clear round area that was well-lit. It looked as if it was a battle arena. That idea only solidified seeing a skeleton-like creature, a large Lich wearing a bridal outfit, floating at one end of the area. Opposite the White Dragon who landed on the floor.
"Gah-!"
Neji almost puked, but he held it in. He slowly unwrapped his wings and let the girls drop. Only then did he open his mouth and let the blood content out to the side, away from the girls.
His body was riddled with holes, his wings looked as if it was an old cloth that was torn from the continuous use of wiping the floor.
Everywhere else other than his torso was filled with two side holes. The torso wasn't entirely safe either, as large spikes were sticking out of his back. They couldn't penetrate him further, or else the girls would have died.
Thanks to his weak stats, and due to the special qualities those rocks of the underworld possessed, Neji was hurt quite badly.
That wasn't the end. Now there was a nerd coming, due to having reached the ground.
"Brother,"
The large Lich said, looking right at him. Its Tier flashed above its head at an ominous waver, revealing its identity.
[Goddess Ereshkigal – Tier 15]
The Goddess of Death raised her hand in the air and it glowed with purple light.
"I apologize."
Then, a forbidding feeling washed over the ground. The living who shouldn't be in the world of the dead naturally suffered the illness of the underworld. A weakening power washed over all five of them, including Neji.
[The regional debuff, Underworld, has been issued upon the gamer.]
Thankfully,
[The regional debuff has been overwritten by the Omniverse. The Will of the Omniverse's Blessing has canceled the Debuff.]
This was it. Though the group was still under Debuff, Neji was not. He also reckoned Ereshkigal's high Tier was thanks to her domain manipulation and large attacks. She wasn't at Quetzalcoatl's level in 1v1 fights.
He could work with that.
The holes in Neji's dragon body began to heal. The spikes that were poking out were pushed out by his healing flesh. It all happened at a moment's notice, as countless healing factors worked in sync to heal Neji.
The Gamer System's HP Regeneration, a Dragon's Regeneration, the healing of the Yin-Yang Release, and the Tenseigan healing. They all worked together, assisting one another, to return Neji to his peak in what appeared to be a few breaths.
Neji returned to his humanoid form, under the eyes of his allies and enemy.
He entered his hybrid dragon form, and his eyes went black and a blue cloak erupted around him.
Simultaneously, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, penetrating the roof of this area, and falling on his body to wrap around him.
Then a burst of ruthless and rough mana, ticked by the Eighth Gate of Hell, twirled around his Tenseigan Mana Mode and Lightning Armor.
The Voidmancer skill, [Darkness Fist], formed around his hands too. His fists took a luminous black color, stretching up to his forearms, and flickered like the dangerous hungry energy that it was.
Neji was angry.
He sympathized with this woman, that she was lonely and whatnot, but he also agreed that she needed some serious sense knocked into her head.
Flying Thunder God allowed his form to flicker right behind her, and with the help of Lightning Cloak his reflexes and attack speed were crazy fast. His leg moved before the Goddess could react, as the explosive force from Surge and the Eighth Gate aided his kick.
– Boom!
– Boom!
– Boom!
There were three consecutive blasts, and a web of cracks traveled from the attack spot to the entire body. Thanks to the Tremor side of his first quirk.
The fight would have been longer and much more dangerous usually, however, a blood-lusted Neji didn't stretch a fight. He went all out from the start.
His overall destruction capabilities may not be at her level, but in hand-to-hand, 1v1 combat, no Ishtar or Ereshkigal was a match for Neji.
"Keugh-!"
Ereshkigal in her Lich form groaned in incredible pain, as Neji attacked her. Cracks appeared in her bone body, and a disgusting dent was left on her body from the sheer force, nearly breaking her.
Regrettably for her, 'nearly' wasn't enough to satisfy Neji.
He didn't speak. He didn't waste time growling. Instead, he moved fast and swiftly to appear near her face. He clutched her skull, putting fingers in the holes, and went for the killing blow.
Neji activated his recent Voidmancer Skill.
[Void Nova: The ability to release a massive burst of void energy that can vaporize everything in its path.]
A burst of void energy deployed from his palm and traveled right through his hand. Instead of a straight beam, he motioned the energy to spread from his palm and obliterate her body from the inside out.
"Wha- Wait-"
The feeble Goddess tried, but only a painful screech left her. Her false body of a lich exploded aloud into particles of darkness, and the long white bridal capelet fell down on the ground.
Under the clothing, her naked blonde form was revealed to all its glory.
Her eyes were wide and her lips were shaky. Looking up at the multi-colored Neji looming over her, she could only raise her hand and scream.
"I-I am sorry!!!"
The battle had ended even before it began.
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