Before Su Mo could even respond to Ishtar's demand, someone else exploded with frustration.
"Hold it right there!"
Okita Souji suddenly leapt from Su Mo's arms, cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared at the goddess in the sky.
"I don't care whether you're a god or a Servant! Master isn't something you can claim for yourself!"
"If you want to take him, you'll have to go through me first!"
The sword-wielding girl drew her blade, eyes locked onto the arrogant goddess who threatened to steal Su Mo away. She was Su Mo's rightful Servant. No matter what, she was going to be the one by his side.
"Hmph~"
Ishtar let out a short, amused laugh.
"Your swordsmanship is indeed commendable. Even as a goddess of war, I must give you credit."
"But what can someone like you, bound by such a heavy curse, truly do?"
While Ishtar was genuinely impressed by Okita's technique—her current vessel couldn't best her in close quarters—she didn't view the Saber as a real threat. As a goddess, it was easy for her to see the deathly curse clinging to Okita's body. She knew this Saber was only one step away from collapse at any moment.
"..."
Okita was silent for a moment upon hearing those words but then lifted her chin with resolve.
"Even with this frail body… there are still things worth protecting."
"If you really insist on taking action… then I'll fight you with everything I have."
"I will protect Master with my—ghhk!"
Her passionate declaration barely reached its end before the curse of [Weak Constitution] flared up at the worst possible time. With a sudden thud, Okita collapsed again—right in the middle of her speech. The sheer timing of it left even the furious goddess speechless.
Was this Saber… just here for comic relief? The other Servants and Masters all wore similarly conflicted expressions. Before she could hit the ground, Su Mo caught her just in time.
"Master…"
Cradled in his arms once more, Okita looked up at him with teary, deeply touched eyes. Of course. Of course Master would catch her. He really was the best.
So she thought…
…until she heard Su Mo mutter under his breath:
"You know, Saber, sometimes I think you might actually have a real future as a comedy performer." He'd said what everyone else had been thinking. And that one line caused devastating psychological damage.
"Uwaaaaahhh!"
Tears welled up as the sword girl clutched desperately at Su Mo's chest.
"Master, there are some things you can say, and some you absolutely can't!"
"What do you mean comedy performer?! I'm your Servant—I'm supposed to protect you!"
"Right? That's right… right?!"
"Master? Why are you looking away? Why won't you look at me?!" Okita was heartbroken. She needed cuddles from Master to recover. Meanwhile, Su Mo, still holding the cursed Saber, shifted his attention back to Ishtar.
"I enjoy saying 'No' to arrogant people who think they can decide everything for me."
"So I'll reject both your options."
"I'll choose a third path."
Ishtar, now genuinely intrigued, tilted her head.
"The goddess hasn't given you a third path. What are you trying to do?" Su Mo smiled faintly.
"I'm going to drag a certain arrogant goddess down from her throne and give her a proper beating."
"Maybe that'll teach her to behave." The moment he said that, the air froze.
"Whoa, to challenge a goddess directly like that… that's some serious guts!" Rider said with a whistle, clearly enjoying the drama.
Waver, meanwhile, looked like he was about to cry. "I-I think that goddess just got really mad…"
Lancer silently watched from the side, choosing not to interfere without orders. In the center of everyone's attention, Ishtar smiled radiantly. But beneath that glowing smile surged a deep, bitter killing intent.
"Oh, I get it now. You just want to make me angry, don't you?"
Her furious golden eyes were locked onto Su Mo. In that moment, the rest of the world ceased to exist to her.
"You want to hit me? You think you can tame me?" Her voice dropped as her resolve solidified.
"Fine then. I've decided—I'll still bring you back to Uruk, but I won't be so gentle anymore."
"I'll keep you at my side and torment you until you can't live without me."
"And when that day comes… I'll throw your soul into the Underworld!"
"You'll spend a thousand years locked among bones and wandering spirits in the cold, terrifying darkness!"
"You made one fatal mistake—you angered me!"
The cruel proclamation that left Ishtar's lips wasn't just a punishment for Su Mo's defiance—it was a divine sentence of soul-bound imprisonment in the afterlife. Just hearing those words would be enough to make most mortals tremble. Even someone like Rider looked a little shaken. That punishment was far too extreme.
But Su Mo's reaction was… different. When he heard Ishtar's threat to throw him into the Underworld, his expression turned oddly complicated.
For most pantheons, the Underworld was a place of torment and suffering.
But in Sumerian mythology? The goddess who ruled the Underworld was none other than Ereshkigal. One of the four 'shield girlfriends'! Compared to spending time with Ishtar… wouldn't it actually be nice to spend a thousand years with Ereshkigal, that sweet little angel?
If not for the fact that he still had other girls to care for in this world, Su Mo might've just told Ishtar to hurry up—he'd been wanting to meet Eresh for a while now. Ishtar, seeing Su Mo's completely indifferent reaction, grew even more furious. Fortunately for him, she couldn't read minds. If she could, she might have gone berserk right then and there.
Seeing Su Mo's shamelessly composed expression, Ishtar raised her hand. The air began to tremble. A massive surge of mana pulsed through the space. All the other Servants tensed instantly—the atmosphere turned heavy and dangerous.
They could all sense it. Something was coming. Something that didn't belong to the world of man. As that terrifying magical pressure reached its peak, Ishtar looked down at Su Mo and delivered her final declaration before battle.
"Blasphemer! Before I unleash the full wrath of a goddess… tell me your name!"
"Su Mo," he replied casually. He didn't particularly mind giving it.
"Alright, Su Mo. I'll remember that name." Ishtar etched those two characters into her heart, committing his name to memory with divine seriousness. The goddess was fully ready to begin the battle. But just before she moved, she seemed to hesitate, as if sensing something.
"…The me of that era should be able to handle it, right?" she mumbled to herself in a rare whisper. Then, with her usual recklessness, the willful goddess raised her hand and activated her Noble Phantasm without hesitation.
"Know the wrath of the Queen of Heaven!"
"This is the mightiest divine beast that can shake the earth itself!"
"Gugalanna Strike!"
"The Bull of Heaven!"
This was the monstrous beast that once nearly brought Uruk to ruin. A creature even stronger than most gods—a manifestation of divine authority itself—summoned through her power. This was the revival of the most powerful beast in all Sumerian myth.
RUMBLE—!
The sky cried out in grief, the earth began to tremble. The entire harbor swayed violently as if on the verge of collapse. Even Lancer, a high-tier Servant, couldn't keep a straight face in the face of such overwhelming pressure.
And all this devastation?
It was merely the result of the Bull of Heaven's impending appearance—the aftershocks of its summoning. From the storm-covered heavens, a single massive bull's leg emerged, thick enough to crush buildings with ease.
"Oi oi, you've got to be kidding me," Rider muttered in disbelief.
Just one leg—just one—and it had already created such a terrifying disturbance. The mere thought of the full beast descending onto the battlefield was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
Could it flatten an entire city? Or a whole district? That wasn't an exaggeration.
And it hadn't even attacked yet.
"So this… this is the power of a goddess?" Waver couldn't help but gasp, completely shaken. And he wasn't alone. Even Lancer's Master, Lord El-Melloi Archibald, was starting to pale. Compared to such divine power, even Servants seemed irrelevant. If Lancer hadn't been a demi-god himself, Kenneth might have called it quits right then and there. What mortal could possibly stand against the might of heaven? Seeing the fear and awe on everyone's faces, Ishtar smiled in satisfaction.
But when she turned to look at Su Mo—
His expression was still flat, unmoved, utterly unimpressed. And that… pushed her over the edge.
"Come forth!" With her command, the Bull of Heaven fully emerged.
Its true body soared toward a hundred meters tall, but under Ishtar's control, she thoughtfully shrank it to about twenty meters to avoid destroying the nearby civilian zones. That… probably came from the lingering kindness of young Rin's heart.
Hovering high above with her strongest weapon beneath her feet, Ishtar crossed her arms and looked down at Su Mo with regal disdain.
"Now, even if you begged for mercy, Su Mo, this goddess would never forgive you!"
She eagerly awaited his look of regret, his despair, his collapse before her divine might. But all she saw was… the same calm, bored face.
Su Mo looked at her—this supreme goddess—as if she were a piece of broken junk.
"That's it?" he said flatly.
"Hsss—!" Rider hissed through his teeth.
He sucked in so much air it felt like the temperature of the harbor had actually risen. To think that this Master—Su Mo—still had the guts to talk like that in the face of a divine beast… Rider couldn't help but admire him. Even if Su Mo was just bluffing to die with dignity, Rider respected that resolve. This was a man who could do great things.
"Stubborn fool." Ishtar let out a cold laugh.
She didn't believe for a second that Su Mo had the means to fight the Bull of Heaven. Honestly speaking, even she herself couldn't beat the thing in a direct brawl. Its power far surpassed normal divine spirits.
For a mere human to survive even her gemstone attacks was already incredible. But to defeat this god-level beast? Even that golden mongrel Gilgamesh couldn't manage that! In this age where the gods had long faded, who could possibly stand against a creature like this?