Being dragged to this new terrain, the champions of humanity finally faced Phetra down. Though the ruler of the underworld deigned to speak rather than act and asked that the champions follow suit. The question raised was a simple one on the surface, it made Lucifer consider his motivations for a moment. The child of Tiamat had been through many phases since his rebirth, he attempted to understand humanity then he tried to bridge the gap between them by explaining Tiamat as he understood her, everything changed when he met the sentinels and experienced that strange vision. He saw what he believed to be Tiamat trapped, by a monstrous serpentine creature with glowing eyes.
“I seek to release Tiamat from her chains, so that she may be truly free both body and mind.”
Listening carefully to the fragmented hints scattered throughout her boastful speech. Her history started to become clear. "Divinity" can be achieved and apparently misused. True gods lack imperfection and judging from the state of the underworld, Phetra has it in spades. Upon hearing her last question Hei steps forward and simply answers
"Balance"
He didn't want fame or glory. Nor power or riches. Only to stop the threat that disrupts the natural order, or at very least his understanding of it.
Panthalassa was thrown completely out onto the deep waters without so much of a floater. He had known, jumping into the portal to the Underworld, that he was truly ignorant of the circumstances of the World. Battle after battle, he had become completely aware of his own powerlessness and ignorance, yet he was nothing more than a FLY in the face of a GOD. He stood apart from the Champions of Humanity and voiced his own answer.
"I seek power and loot, to be honest. I joined the Champions to help Humanity, but these challenges have so far appeared completely unjust and unnatural. I don't think what we are doing is right, so morality is out of the question. But we shall defeat you... because that appears to be what your plan is. So if we are going by your plan, at least I want to gain something out of it."
Merlin listened silently to each answer given by the warriors whom he had fought alongside through Irkalla. They were varied, where some spoke of their service to the greater good, and others their own self-interest. Though their reasons were diverse, there was one thing that united all those present on the journey to defeat Phetra, one commonality that persisted in their motivations; humanity. Humanity, not in the biological sense of the word, as some among them were not human themselves, Merlin included, but in terms of their nature. To be altruistic, to be selfish, to be principled, to be unscrupulous; to be all of these things is to be human. To exist in such a way is both the beauty and tragedy of mankind. It was because Merlin found that contradiction beautiful that he wished for a happy end for all mankind. Speaking with uncharacteristic gravitas, the Magus of Flowers would give the final answer to the question that echoed throughout the hadean realm.
"A future for mankind."
Emiya stared up at the source of the melodically venomous voice, her words dripping with the clearest disdain for the Gods, the world they left behind, and the humans who blindly inhabited it. She asked the Champions before her a simple question. What would defeating her mean? What would they achieve? They had all fought together through some truly terrifying challenges, from the Twins who weaved together the fabric of reality in a harmonic melody, to one who would judge the dead, and weigh their deeds to determine what kind of afterlife they got to live out. These were no mere obstacles, they were Gods in their own right, and yet for all intents and purposes, they amounted to naught but roadblocks to Phetra herself. This was not to imply Phetra was even stronger than they, though surely that was true. No. Emiya's mind wandered to what purpose they served here. Writing and rewriting and unwriting reality, judging the souls of the dead, sending them to a hellish landscape to be tortured, or to a paradisiacal vista to live out eternity in sheer bliss. Even though the Champions had "triumphed" over these figures, neither seemed to have been completely destroyed, or killed, or otherwise had their existence permanently rendered null, which in hindsight would have been bad. It was unintentional, but the Champions had, with their actions, seemingly been disrupting the delicate balance between life and death with their mere presence within Irkalla. What would happen should Falnir's judging of Souls come to an abrupt end, or the weavers of Fate suddenly stop singing? Emiya shuddered at the thought of this entire afterlife system crashing down around them out of a petty desire to see Phetra receive justice for her actions, or worse out of a desire for treasures, or fame. Emiya's answer was simple to the point of being crudely childish;
"I don't know... But we can't just let you do as you please."
Naruto looked on as they had reached the final threshold. He listened to the answers given and realized everyone had their own reason for being here in this final encounter. However, the answer he had was simple and pretty uncool. Though he knew, he was here to save humanity. That's why they were called the Champions, correct? It was his sworn duty to protect his family and friends, and if Phetra was the newest threat to try and harm them, well, there was only one thing to do.
"If we don't defeat you. Then who will?! I don't know what all it'll mean when we do beat you, but I do know it'll feel good to kick your ass, believe it! You've got no right to try and hurt the people of this world and we're gonna stop you!"
Douman looked up at the supposed God of the underworld, his expression somewhat vacant and dissatisfied. Truth be told he expected more from the underworld but in reality he didn't quite know what to expect when it came to this place. He heard the question posed to the group from Phetra and was taken aback slightly. He expected her to be in more of a foul mood and not at all wanting to ask questions after all the champions had barged there way into her kingdom and were in a sense seeking its destruction he couldn't help but think they were beyond the point of asking questions, perhaps it was an attempt to bring out unease within the group, perhaps it alluded to more. Would she simply stand down if our reasons were justified? Doubtful, laughably so. Perhaps she would choose who to bully and torture first depending on their answer, would she go after those pure of heart in their ambition? or go after those whose reasons she didn't deem understandable. Douman decided the best course of action was to simply remain silent and just stare at the goddess, whether she would find that insulting or not was entirely up to her.
Kōtetsu spent no time thinking about a response when the ruler of the underworld posed her question, because he already had his answer. He would meet her in battle for the same reason he stood against Tiamat. For the same reason he ventured to the Dark Tower in search of a cure for the red fever, and for the same reason he aimed to unlock the secrets of the core Siri’s wore around her neck.
"For the safety of my people"
Vayne simply nodded his head in agreement with Kotetsu’s statement, mirroring his desires.
