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(Fate) Chapter 255: Goddess Hecate, long time no see!
🕑 Added 2025-01-11 16:03:43 +0000 UTCIs that so...
Looking at Tohsaka Rin, the goddess hidden in her, and then looking at Ishtar thoughtfully, Promise finally understood everything.
Then he lowered his head and thought seriously for a moment, then quickly raised his head and smiled with determination in his heart.
"That's it... Since everyone is here, let's go together."
"I may need your help."
Ah, what can we do for you... Rin Tohsaka was still thinking blankly, when the young man stretched out his hand and took out a painting from the night sky.
In the painting, there is a beautiful goddess with long black hair like the night and her eyes, red like drunkenness.
She was carrying a ghost lamp, walking in the dark underworld, surrounded by countless ghost butterflies, and in front of her, there was a three-headed Cerberus leading the way.
Promise took it out, and it dissipated in the eyes of everyone.
Then the bright moon tonight turned crimson in everyone's eyes.
This area also formed a unique space.
And in the crimson moonlight, ghost butterflies, one after another, flapping their wings and emitting a faint light, flew out of the underworld and landed on the fork in the road.
Then, carrying the ghostly ghost lamp, the mysterious and elegant goddess walked out of the underworld surrounded by ghost butterflies and came to reality.
And for her appearance, even he was surprised at this moment.
Because unlike any goddess that appeared before, such as Persephone, the Queen of the underworld, and Nyx, the Goddess of the Night, they all came in the form of an afterimage by means of the Holy Grail War to provide help.
Even Ishtar came here by relying on it.
And she...
"Is it Medea? Is there something I can help you with?"
A slightly lazy voice, as if she had just woken up not long ago, destroyed the elegance and mystery of her appearance, but... This was the real her.
After saying that, she walked out of the fork in the road, then looked up and scanned the crowd.
Those puzzled red eyes finally stopped when they landed on Promise.
And the moment they did, even the black veil that could cover the beautiful face of the goddess, could not cover the shock in her eyes.
Looking at the young in front of her, the goddess's eyes widened little by little, and the shock gradually evolved into fear and fear...
"Goddess Hecate..."
Promise smiled very happily and said, "Long time no see."
"...You've got the wrong person. I'm not Hecate, I'm Medea!"
The moment the words fell, in the stunned eyes of Rin Tosaka and Shirou Emiya, the goddess instantly turned into Medea and turned to run.
But as soon as she stepped out on her front foot, the embodiment of the night descended again on her back foot, landing beside her as a phantom, putting her hand on Hecate's shoulder, and smiling.
"...Goddess Nyx, why are you here too!"
Why is this happening again!
Goddess Hecate showed an expression as if the world had collapsed again.
But soon, she felt something was wrong again, turned her head abruptly, stared at Promise fiercely, and said, "Wait, that's not right, why do you have my painting? I've been paying attention to it, and I didn't let you succeed.
That's right!"
"Ah, you mean this." Promise raised the painting in his hand and explained to Goddess Hecate: "Goddess Nyx gave it to me directly. That day, she suddenly borrowed my paintbrush, drew you and gave it to me..."
When he spoke these words, Hecate, who was still disguised as Medea, had death in her eyes.
Seeing this, Jason laughed, and so did Heracles.
Even Hippolytus, who had heard similar rumors, couldn't help but laugh.
The most ancient and powerful tool god of the Age of Gods—Hecate!
As for her true use, now was the best proof.
Currently, the deities who had arrived due to Promise and through the Holy Grail War appeared mostly as shadows.
But this goddess, who had stepped out from the underworld, was no such shadow.
"...Speak, what do you want me to do?"
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Hecate's mind, but in the end, she could only come to one conclusion... Just go with it!
There was no other way.
Not only was the Night Goddess Nyx her former patron, but she had always treated her like her own daughter.
Hecate feared no one, except her.
Now that she had been sold out by her mother once again, what else could she do but swallow her tears and accept her fate!
'I'm already dead, why won't you let me rest?'
'This isn't even the Age of Gods anymore, why do I still have to answer the call!'
At this moment, Hecate felt utterly hopeless and secretly made up her mind that once she returned, she would play dead no matter what.
No one's calls would work on her anymore!
As for her reaction, even though she was wearing a veil, Promise could roughly guess what she was thinking... Mainly because he had quite a bit of similar experience.
"I want to go to the underworld."
As he spoke, Promise deliberately glanced at Ishtar and Rin.
"I'll have to trouble you, Goddess Hecate."
Following his gaze, Hecate also glanced at the two of them as a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Then she looked up at the Bull of Heaven and the painting in the night sky... Even she couldn't help but linger on that painting for a good while.
And she curled her lip.
Then, Hecate tossed the lamp in her hand into the sky.
In the next moment, the ground beneath them began to collapse.
The Bull of Heaven didn't even have time to cry out before it, along with everyone else, fell into the underworld through the collapsing ground.
With that, the night here finally returned to its original appearance, and the painting vanished from everyone's sight, as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than an unreal dream.
.
.
.
.
The Underworld.
In the prison's dim, ghostly light, the previously pitch-black underground world was illuminated, creating an incredibly vast and void-like space that now shone upon those who had dared to step into this forbidden land.
Along with the road, the magic performed by the goddess of sorcery, Hecate... no, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a divine magic.
This great goddess of the ancient Greek era allowed the underworld's red moon butterflies to land on everyone's shoulders, protecting their souls within the underworld.
At the same time, the ground split apart, transporting everyone to this realm of the dead.
And after accomplishing all this, without giving Promise a chance to speak or persuade her to stay, she turned around, carrying her underworld lamp, and disappeared into the darkness.
As for the reality of arriving in the underworld, apart from the still-dazed students like Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya, the various Heroic Spirits were rather indifferent.
After all, in this day and age, which Heroic Spirit hasn't visited the underworld at least once?
Well… wait a minute.
Now that it’s mentioned, Jason might actually be an exception.
"...Why does I feel like this place is strangely familiar?"
Just as everyone was looking at the underworld, the first person to speak and break the silence was Ishtar, who had a puzzled look on her face.
And as soon as she spoke these words, Enkidu and Gilgamesh also felt the same sense of familiarity with this place.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, Ishtar's eyes gradually widened.
"Wait a minute, the underworld... Could it be... No way! Who would want to come back here again?"
Frantically, she turned her head, anxiously searching for the departed goddess Hecate as shouted,
"Hey, Promise! That person you called earlier, where is she? Bring her out! Make her send me back! There's no way I'm staying here again!"
Seeing this, unlike the puzzled Shirou Emiya, Gilgamesh and Enkidu exchanged glances and laughed.
Gilgamesh burst into uncontrollable laughter and said, "Hahaha! A masterpiece, truly a masterpiece! Promise, you've done well. This king has decided—this deserves a reward! Hmm... let’s do this!"
"This king permits it. Start painting now! Capture my handsome and magnificent figure, and immortalize it upon the night sky forever!"
When Gilgamesh said this, even the little girl, Tine, who had been hiding behind him, gave him a helpless look.
You’ve got some nerve…
The group collectively shot Gilgamesh disdainful glances, even Enkidu had an amused expression on her face as she looked at him.
Promise, wearing a faint smile, ignored Gilgamesh’s over-the-top antics and turned to Ishtar. "Apologies, Goddess, but this is the one thing I cannot grant you. Because... bringing you here was my purpose all along."
Hearing this, Ishtar looked at Promise with confusion.
"Though I am very grateful for the trials you, the great goddess Ishtar, have brought me, and for that, I presented you with that painting under the night sky... however..."
The latter carefully thought about his words before continuing to speak to Ishtar, "Goddess, I humbly invite you to join me in a battle for the Holy Grail tonight."
When Promise said this, everyone present froze in surprise.
Ishtar was equally stunned, her eyes wide as she stared at Promise.
'So it wasn’t my bull you were after, but me?!'
"What's your reason?"
She asked curiously.
Ishtar didn’t even look displeased.
After all, with that stunning painting Promise had created under the night sky earlier, let alone proposing a battle for the Holy Grail, even if Promise had asked to spend a night with her instead she probably would’ve agreed without hesitation.
Anyway, this goddess wasn’t exactly known for her restraint in mythology…
"Because I will claim victory in the Holy Grail War, and you, Goddess Ishtar, are inevitably an obstacle in my way."
Promise smiled faintly and before Ishtar could utter something like "I could just help you instead," he continued, "Of course, I understand that as a goddess, you have little interest in the Grail itself. Your descent here is likely more about reclaiming divine authority. But who’s to say that by tomorrow, for some reason, I won’t find myself standing in your way?"
Hearing this, many people present immediately understood Promise’s meaning.
Indeed, goddesses.
One moment they might lend their aid, and the next, they might descend with divine wrath.
Ishtar didn’t refute him.
After all, she couldn’t exactly make guarantees about her own actions.
"And there’s another reason—it’s because of Enkidu."
"Me?" Enkidu was startled to hear his name.
"Yes… I haven’t properly thanked you yet. Thank you for saving Heracles from the corruption of the black mud."
Promise expressed his gratitude to Enkidu and then turned his gaze back to Ishtar. "She has shown me kindness and was the first friend I made after arriving here. So… Goddess Ishtar, let’s have a battle for the Holy Grail."
Enkidu, kind and gentle to everyone, was an embodiment of nature itself.
There was only one exception: Ishtar.
In mythology, Ishtar’s moments of anger and selfishness had caused the deaths of many.
She was also the one who framed both Enkidu and Gilgamesh, directly leading to Enkidu's death.
She was, without a doubt, the main culprit in Enkidu's tragic demise.
When Promise sincerely spoke to Ishtar with this request, the one who felt most moved at that moment was none other than Shirou Emiya, who was there as an observer.
"...As expected, he truly is Promise," Shirou said with a smile.
At his words, both Heracles and Jason turned to look at him, each breaking into a smile of acknowledgment.
In that moment, Shirou Emiya earned the friendship of two legendary heroes of the Age of Gods.
The Amazonian queen, Hippolyta, observed the scene before her and couldn’t help but say, "So this is the reason you all joined the Holy Grail War? Merely to make a wish to meet him again?"
Jason chuckled and said, "He once stood against the goddess of fate for Actaeon, who was turned into a great stag, and faced the moon goddess Artemis head-on.
He ventured into the underworld for Orpheus and stood before Hera, the Queen of the Gods, to uphold his promise with me.
"You must understand, he was initially the weakest among us, someone who seemed like even a gust of wind could send him to the underworld.
Yet, despite that, he rewrote the fates of us all and created the future we now live in."
As Jason's voice fell, the normally stoic Heracles showed an unusual gentleness in his expression and said, "So, when he chases his dreams, we all bless him from the bottom of our hearts and sincerely wish him happiness.
"But that doesn’t mean we accept his departure."
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.
.
In the vast, empty underworld, illuminated only by the faint glow of ghostly flames in the cages, their voices echoed loudly, reverberating through the silence.
Looking at Promise, who had his back to Hercules and Jason, his face showed a little embarrassment and even his ears were red, Ishtar couldn't help herself and and covered her mouth, laughing softly.
'Wow, this kid is too adorable!
Maybe I should just snatch him away!'
At that moment, Ishtar had a thought that nearly all the gods of ancient Greece...except Hecate—had once entertained.
This scene also gave the students following Waver, as well as Tiné, Gilgamesh’s Master, and the synthetic silver wolf that accompanied Enkidu, a vivid impression of who Promise was.
Rin Tohsaka blinked repeatedly, staring at Promise’s back as he stood before the goddess.
At this moment, she couldn’t help but recall Waver’s words to her.
Now, Rin Tohsaka fully understood.
Indeed, someone like him—there was nothing to worry about.
As Medea once said, he was like the dawn breaking the dark night or the last light before sunset.
Once you’ve seen him, it’s difficult to forget.
Ishtar, who initially found it amusing to watch Promise’s embarrassment, found herself unable to refuse the pleading look he gave her.
So, she smiled brightly, coughed twice and shifted the topic for him, asking the question that had been on her mind for a while. "I understand now why you want to challenge me for the Holy Grail, but... why here?
"If you want to fight, just fight! Why bring me to the underworld?"
Hearing this, Promise displayed his usual warm and gentle smile.
Inwardly, he let out a massive sigh of relief.
Finally, this torture session was over!
"Because, having glimpsed fate, I saw certain things."
"Well, that’s not entirely true, after all, he didn't have clairvoyance.
But...
'But considering my reincarnation and knowledge of future events, it could count as foresight, right?'
"And in that vision, I saw a gentle and adorable goddess. I thought it might be a good idea to greet her here first, especially since we might meet again in the future."
Promise explained with a smile, "Moreover, Goddess Ishtar, have you not realized? When you and the Bull of Heaven arrived here, the concept of death had already been attached to you."
Hearing this, Ishtar froze, then instinctively glanced at the Bull of Heaven beside her.
What she saw shocked her.
Her beloved bull was now wrapped in crimson lightning chains, its mouth bound tightly shut without her even noticing.
The Bull of Heaven, seeing Ishtar finally looking its way, was on the verge of tears from desperation.
"...You’ve got to be kidding me, right?"
Ishtar froze, her eyes widening again as she mechanically turned her head to look at Promise. "The gentle and adorable goddess you mentioned… don’t tell me it’s…"
