Fate: No One Plays the Villain Like I Do Chapter 78 78: Underworld Anti-Lust Techniques

When it cos to being rich, you? A goddess without Golden Rule, relying on extortion and tributes just to scrape by? How can you possibly compare to Gilgash?

The ancient serpent suddenly rembered one of her many blunders and couldn't help but snap.

"Also, didn't you nearly demolish your own temple? Feed ? House ?"

"Am I supposed to sleep under the stars and live off fresh air? No way!"

Ishtar froze, visibly embarrassed, unable to defend herself against those accusations. As she saw Samael about to escape again, she clung to his arm and gritted her teeth like she was cutting off a piece of herself.

"No, wait, wait! We can work sothing out! If I really make money off you, we'll split it 70–30, okay?"

"Ana's broke, but Quetzalcoatl's a top-tier god of an entire era!"

"Or! You could give that 20% ore share from the Babylonian Treasury in advance—I'll pay you for it!"

You want to sell off? Split the profits? And now you want to help you crack Gilgash's vault?

You've got to be kidding.

Samael muttered internally, his face blank as he continued walking into the house.

But Ishtar, now fully locked onto the business opportunity, was dead set on profiting off him and yanked him back.

A sudden surge of divine power sent the ancient serpent tumbling to the ground, pinned under her grip.

Just as she was about to switch from bribery to threats, a tickle hit her nose, and she let out a loud sneeze.

At the sa ti, a golden shimr spread from the roots of her hair to its tips.

Their eyes t. Her face flushed from cheeks to ears, overwheld with shock and embarrassnt. On instinct, she shoved Samael away and clutched her now-loosening towel tightly.

Bang!

Samael slamd into the railing, wincing as he rubbed the back of his aching head. He vaguely heard muffled curses from across the space as she bit down on her lips.

"Shaless hussy! Absolutely no sha!"

As he looked over and saw the flustered goddess curled in the corner, face crimson, steam practically rising from her head, Samael instantly realized—Ereshkigal had taken over.

Having spent so much ti around his master, the ancient serpent was all too aware: the more contact he had with Ereshkigal, the higher the risk of blowing his cover. He quickly raised a hand and tried to slip away quietly.

"W-well, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading out, Ishtar-sama."

"Don't go!"

The muttering goddess in the corner abruptly looked up and grabbed him before he could retreat.

Samael froze, shoulders tensing. His face twitched at the sudden contact.

Seeing the target of her accidental outburst cowering, Ereshkigal's lips moved slowly before she managed to squeeze out a stiff apology.

"This kind of thing happening again... I'm sure it's troubling for you. I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

Samael blinked, then realized it wasn't what he thought. He relaxed slightly.

"You an... last ti, in the room—"

"That's enough! Don't bring it up again!"

Ereshkigal hurriedly raised her hand. The flush that had just faded flared up brighter than ever, and her eyes practically burned with embarrassnt.

Clearly, just keeping an eye on that lewd woman wasn't going to be enough.

I know Ishtar's nature too well. She won't learn unless she's punished—just like before. Only then will that wild hussy rember her place!

The atmosphere around them darkened. A low, eerie pressure began to build, prickling at Samael's instincts.

And when that chilling energy locked onto him, the ancient serpent shuddered, yanked his arm free, and slipped quickly back inside.

"Ah, right—I suddenly rembered Ana needs her bedti story to fall asleep."

Sensing trouble, Samael was already preparing his third escape.

But before he could act, red and black ripples spread across the ground. His body went limp, his senses peeled away one by one, and his mind faded into silence. He collapsed instantly.

As he fell backward, about to hit the ground, the underworld goddess caught him gently, a trace of guilt in her eyes. She knelt and laid him to the side, whispering softly like a lullaby.

"Don't worry, it'll only sting a little. It'll pass quickly."

...

The next day, after saying their goodbyes in Ur, the group made their way through the humid rainforest.

Samael rubbed his stiff neck, still puzzled.

After being knocked out by Ereshkigal, everything went blank. When he ca to, he was tucked neatly in bed, even the blanket corners properly folded, and the room carried a faint floral scent.

Sothing felt off—both tis he'd seen Ereshkigal, her reactions were strange.

Could she have found out?

After confirming his body was untouched—no scratches, no marks—Samael felt a mix of relief and disappointnt.

Guess not yet. Could the issue lie with Ishtar instead?

Pondering this, he picked up his pace slightly and drew closer to Ishtar at the front of the group, whispering.

"Ishtar, did you feel anything strange last night?"

"What could've been strange? Everything was normal."

The great goddess winced as she forced a grin, her cheek visibly swollen.

Apparently, he'd touched a sore spot—Ishtar glared around and muttered through gritted teeth.

"The mosquitoes in this rainforest are brutal! When I see Quetzalcoatl, I'm going to make her pay!"

Pretty sure that's from getting slapped...

Samael eyed the faint fingerprint swelling on her cheek, lips twitching as he swallowed the guess.

So long as he wasn't the target, that was fine. The sisters fought like that—clashing was just part of affection. In the Age of Gods, this was how emotions were expressed. Best to adapt.

Still, to avoid becoming collateral damage, he'd stay out of it.

Just as the ancient serpent turned away, Ishtar, still clinging to her dream of profiting as a middleman, walked over with a wince and whispered with a forced smile.

"So... have you thought it over?"

"Serve , the great goddess of Uruk—I promise it's a good deal!"

She bead, reaching out to hook an arm around Samael's neck.

But the mont their skin touched, a flash of red and black lightning erupted. A chilling aura surged.

"Boom!"

"Ow!!"

Ishtar shrieked as she was blasted seventy to eighty ters away, crashing through three ancient trees and a ss of vines before landing deep in the bushes.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, eyes locked on where she landed.

A few monts later, the charred, twitching figure finally pushed herself up against half a tree trunk, coughing black smoke as she trembled and pointed at Samael.

"Why... is there a restriction on you?!"

Samael looked at her scorched, disheveled appearance—hair a ss, face a wreck—and couldn't help but smirk. He barely managed to hold back laughter and shook his head.

"But that doesn't make sense... We were all around Samael this morning in Ur..."

"Ana, you try."

rlin nudged the little girl beside him.

Before Samael could curse the shaless incubus, a small hand calmly took hold of his arm.

Ishtar stared, unblinking, for a full minute—and nothing happened.

Still unconvinced, the ancient serpent placed a hand on rlin's shoulder with a sinister grin.

Too bad the so-called "restriction" didn't trigger this ti either—it just straight-up electrocuted the Incubus.

"Wait... did I ss sothing up?"

Even Ishtar looked confused now. She rubbed her chin and frowned, trying to think it through, but the more she thought, the more her head throbbed.

Sothing was wrong. Lately she'd been zoning out, stuck in a daze between dreaming and waking. At this point, she wasn't sure if this was all a dream or reality.

"Maybe that was just a fluke."

Seeing rlin and Ana run repeated tests without triggering anything, the goddess finally relaxed. She reached out, again, like it was routine, to hook Samael's neck.

"Anyway, we were saying—"

"Boom!"

"Ow!!"

Everyone froze as Ishtar was once again launched like a cannonball by red-black lightning.

So there really was a restriction!

And it looked like it was made specifically for Ishtar!

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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