Just like Astaroth, the Peacock King immediately regarded Abigail as Hecate. This was because Abigail now indeed possessed the name and essence of Hecate; in fact, she was Hecate, but also Abigail. To force her to explain would likely only create more trouble.
"That's not the point! The point is, what exactly are you up to?!"
However, Astaroth started yelling at the Peacock King first.
"My city! My property! What the hell was that bastard who just grabbed your sword?! So you really did send your son-in-law and daughter to cause me trouble, didn't you?!"
It's no wonder she thought that way. But calling her a bastard in front of her own father was a bit much. The Peacock King immediately raised his eyebrows: "Should I demolish the rest of the dilapidated houses for you right now? Guess how many people will say I'm causing you trouble?"
Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Abigail finally did something.
She coughed, drawing everyone's attention, then took out her phone and projected an image. The Peacock King was only slightly taken aback by the image, but Astaroth was immediately stunned.
"When the Dead Sea juvenile was rampaging, Astaroth, the price of your bonds plummeted to an astonishing level, to about four percent of its original value. Everyone thought you were completely finished this time, so the price of the bonds dropped like a waterfall."
Abigail swiped her phone and projected these things onto the screen for everyone to see.
"After all, judging from the state of Fallen City ten minutes ago, any normal person would think it was hopeless. Even major companies were willing to sell their debts at low prices to reduce losses. Although Dream Flower saved your city, you still lost many people, and most of the production equipment in the city was destroyed. As for your cash, you should have used it all up during the battle."
A glint of pity flashed in the eyes of the demoness.
“I just bought 30% of your debt with my own money, most of which are your old artifacts. And I can tell you very directly, Astaroth, nowadays, apart from me, very few people will lend you money anymore—everyone thinks you're finished. If you sell yourself, you might be able to work as a contract employee for a big company. But if you want to continue being a boss? Absolutely not.”
Astaroth was completely stunned.
Several seconds later, she came to her senses, both shocked and furious: "Isn't this enough evidence that you plotted to harm me?!"
The Peacock King finally lost his patience: "Ishtar, are you really stupid? Do I need to spend money to kill you?"
No one could refute that statement, not even Astaroth herself. She was simply too shocked to speak coherently.
"The key point is that this panic was not a coincidence, but rather something that was created in advance."
So Abigail pulled up more presentation materials and continued.
"This actually started a couple of days ago. Two days ago, someone started spreading rumors and creating an atmosphere that something bad might happen to Fallen City, and then took advantage of the situation to push down the price of your debts... and then buy them up in large quantities. Now, 60% of your debts have flowed into companies I've never even heard of. I just checked out of the blue, and most of them are shell companies. All of this was arranged, but if we wanted to harm you, why would we go through all this trouble and waste so much money?"
Hearing this, Astaroth felt his forehead flush red. Clearly, Hecate, the Peacock King, and Hayden were all in cahoots. However, although the witch was defending herself, her demeanor didn't seem to be lying. Even if not everything she said was true, at least some of it was.
Hearing this, Hayden, who was standing nearby, suddenly remembered something. Some things that he hadn't paid attention to before resurfaced from the depths of his memory.
The chaos in Fallen City this time was most likely caused by the already deceased Hecate. She was digging for fragments of the [Divine Punishment Sword] at the bottom of the sea, then tried to ambush Abigail and Hayden but was killed instead. Before dying, she even brought out the stillborn fetus, intending to take everyone down with her... It can only be said that her personality was truly awful.
Now that the nameless Darkmoon is dead, Hayden can't help but wonder who instigated him to go to Hecate in the first place.
It's Adam.
He probably knew about Hecate all along, and also knew what Hecate was planning. If Adam had foreseen this outcome, anticipated the devaluation of Ishtar's bonds, and then secretly prepared various shell companies to acquire them in large quantities…
...This sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory, but that's what Hayden's intuition tells him. However, we can deal with Adam's part later.
Anyway, Astaroth is completely deflated, like she's been beaten with a stick, so we have to deal with her first... But then again, Hayden doesn't really have any motivation to let the Fallen City continue to exist. He, Karen, and even the Peacock King himself would love for the Fallen City to explode, so this city of sin could die a horrible death.
Perhaps this is actually a good opportunity.
“Ms. Astaroth, it’s practically impossible for you to make a fortune with this kind of twisted tourism industry on the Dead Sea. But now that the Dream Flower has purified the entire land, it’s actually a turning point for you.”
So Hayden spoke up.
"You were once a fallen angel of bountiful earth, and now you can cooperate with us again. Stop running that crazy, dark tourism service industry. Go back to doing something you truly love and are good at, and bring this Dead Sea back to life. Why not?"
These words immediately drew the attention of both the Peacock King and Astaroth, who were somewhat surprised. Only then did they truly notice that Hayden's aura and the light in his eyes were somewhat different.
But Astaroth was still somewhat unwilling: "You want me to work for you?"
“Of course not.” Hayden shook his head. “This land is still your property, and the title is yours. I’m just proposing a plan. But it just so happens that the whole world has seen the big advertisement for Dream Flower. I think this place can become the first large-scale planting base for Dream Flower.”
With the terms so favorable, even Astaroth began to hesitate. Besides, what did Astaroth truly want? She didn't really want to find out who had caused this mess; she wanted someone to take responsibility, or an opportunity to earn money again.
She wasn't completely stupid; after thinking it over, she understood the pros and cons and immediately went down the ladder: "Okay, but we still need to discuss the detailed contract terms."
That's not a problem, after all, Hayden isn't really in it for the money. As long as there's negotiation and as long as it's not an enemy of Hayden, it's all good for him.
And so, Astaroth's problem was temporarily resolved. With the Fallen City half-destroyed, the goddess flew back to the city, filled with anxiety and uncertainty; she still had many things to attend to.
Hayden also wanted to hurry back to the professor and Red Leaf to check on the situation. So he turned to Peacock King and Karen, hoping that the father and daughter could quickly take the egg home first.
"Kid, don't run away yet."
Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.
The Peacock King still frowned. He looked at Hayden, and at the starlight shimmering in Hayden's eyes.
Then an invisible ripple suddenly appeared in the space around them.
In an instant, not only the lesser gods, but even the vision of the Bodhisattvas and the chief gods was blurred! The Peacock King had actually mobilized most of his divine power to block the gaze of all the gods!
He would rather temporarily halt his other businesses than allow the gods to spy on him!
For a moment, not only Hayden, but even Karen felt a chill run down her spine.
“I didn’t pursue this matter much before because I thought it was insignificant, but now I can no longer delay it.”
The Peacock King looked at Angela, and at the [Heavenly Punishment Divine Sword] that was being easily manipulated in Angela's hands like a broom.
“There have been a lot of strange things happening in the last two or three years. Not only has Karen started to change, but many things that seemed to be happening in the background have eventually led to you all… especially you.”
"I'll get straight to the point—who exactly are you, and what is your purpose in coming here?"
His dragon-like pupils were already locked onto Angela.
"Is your arrival a harbinger of the end of this generation?"
230: Hell on Earth
"Who exactly are you, and what is your purpose in coming here?"
"Is your arrival a harbinger of the end of this generation?"
And so, the Peacock King finally asked Angela this very important question.
The other three people present, Hayden, Karen, and Abigail, were also stunned for a moment.
But to be honest, they really wanted to know the answer to this question—they had wanted to know the answer to these questions for a long time!
Angela, Angela, who are you? What are you, and why are you here beside me?
Hayden longed for the answer to this question, and he had longed for it for far too long.
Three years have passed since Angela came into his life. Hayden still isn't entirely sure what Angela really is. And Angela herself? She's always been so unhurried.
She wasn't in a hurry, but Hayden was frantic. That's why he traveled all the way to the Dead Sea to dig up underwater ruins, hoping to uncover the secrets of the ancient gods. Although he didn't come away empty-handed, things turned out this way.
Hayden had initially thought this would be another veiled question. He had assumed he still wouldn't be able to find out Angela's identity—but now the Peacock King had come knocking, asking so directly!
Hayden, Karen, and Abigail dared not speak, but they all pricked up their ears, waiting for an answer.
Angela's face then showed a hint of helplessness.
“Samael, I’ve already said it, and I never lie.”
She called out the Peacock King's oldest name, then sighed softly.
“I don’t remember my own name… though I know all your names. As for my purpose, I only remember that I was to fulfill my master’s wish.”
Angela tilted her head, lost in thought.
“Apart from that, my memory is very vague, it feels like I’m dreaming—it’s really strange to say I’m dreaming. But I’m telling the truth.”
These words left the Peacock King speechless, and Hayden and Karen exchanged bewildered glances.
Did they believe Angela's explanation? Frankly, they couldn't help but. Angela had forged Hayden's "sword of words," and her own words carried the same power. When she spoke the truth, others naturally knew it was the truth.
From the time she was summoned three years ago until now, Angela has probably never uttered a single lie. Although Hayden knows that she sometimes uses the truth to conceal her true intentions, this time it shouldn't be like that.
So... what should we do now? Is the mystery of Angela truly unsolvable?
Now that things have come to this, there are some things Hayden has to say.
“Angela was summoned into this doll's body by me using a wishing spell.”
The matter had to be brought up now, so Hayden reluctantly began to explain.
"Could it be that the summoning effect was incomplete, which is why her memory is so blurry?"
However, after looking Hayden over a few times, the Peacock King shook his head: "I don't believe that a mortal's wish-making magic can summon a spirit of at least my caliber from outside this universe."
Not to mention, sometimes the Peacock King even suspects that Angela may not be just a spirit of the same level as him!
So, when everyone was completely baffled, Karen finally spoke up: "Father, things have come to this point, and there are some things we hope you can explain to us clearly. Since you have mentioned the so-called 'beyond the universe,' what exactly are these ancient gods from beyond the heavens?"
"I also want to understand my own origins. And if we don't even understand what the ancient gods from beyond the heavens are, how can we possibly understand these things right now?"
Karen had indeed asked a good question. Normally, if he were asked this again, the Peacock King might not have given a direct answer. But given the current circumstances, and Karen's blunt question, the Peacock King could no longer avoid the topic.
"Ugh."
He looked up at the starry night sky, seemed to hesitate for a moment about where to begin his explanation, and then sighed.
"Alright, Karen, let me ask you a question first. What is the name of the world we live in now, the land we stand on?"
The Peacock King then asked a very strange question.
Karen, of course, didn't understand: "What's the name? Isn't it... Earth?"
But the Peacock King shook his head.
"This land, long, long ago, when we had just fallen from the other side of the stars, we named it..."
He hesitated for a moment, but still said the name.
"hell."
"The true name of this world, the name that this earth used to be, is Hell."
No matter how brave Karen was, she was stunned when she heard this.
And this is the beginning of all the truth.
————————————————————————————
And so, the Peacock King began to tell them a story.
A story that isn't actually that unusual.
Long, long ago, before everything began—there was a God who first created many divine messengers in the eternity of the soul. He gave them the secret fire, the inextinguishable fire of the soul, and taught them various kinds of knowledge, words, and songs. Later, this God created the universe of many matter.
However, perhaps by choice, or perhaps by fate, about a third of these divine messengers gradually developed rebellious thoughts. They began to desire more control, to seize power and rule for themselves. Thus, a rebellion broke out beyond time and space, above the universe.
God then blasted this third of the messengers down from the heavens. As they fled heaven, they took some mortals with them who had come to join them. This defeated army fell from the eternity of the soul into this material universe, onto this (relatively) desolate planet.
These fallen angels took root on this planet. They named it "Hell," because the word "Hell" means "a place where God is not present."
At that time, the sun and moon hung high in the sky, the seasons changed, and the winds and clouds shifted. Majestic mountains rose abruptly from the ground, and vast plains and forests stretched all the way to the ebb and flow of the sea. Where the forests did not cover, hills rose and fell, and colorful flowers adorned the earth.
At that time, this land was still primitive, full of untamed natural potential. These natural spirits, beast gods, and some demi-human monsters were all fierce and ruthless. The fallen angels bombarded or subdued them one by one, but in the process, they discovered that since escaping the upper realm, their secret fire had lost its energy source, becoming rootless water, dwindling with each use.
So the fallen angels began to learn to absorb the energy of this material universe, then scattered the mortals they had brought with them across the earth to multiply, and then they themselves became kings and ruled over them. In this way, the fallen angels established the first feudal era, drawing their secret fire from the faith of mortals and their worship of social systems.
They thus proclaimed themselves gods and kings in the feudal hell.
“At first, my fellow countrymen were worried that the upper realm might send down pursuers to wipe us out. But nothing happened for so long, so everyone became decadent and started to exploit and oppress mortals. I hate both gods and mortals, and I also hate those who step on mortals to become kings and ancestors. So I don’t get along with my fellow countrymen.”
King Samael, recalling the past, sighed again.
"For five thousand years, I have honed my supernatural swordsmanship in actual combat, and I have always been the strongest fallen angel. Mortals gathered around me and built countries, and I ruled and observed and studied them. Until four hundred years ago, when I was observing humanity, I realized that humanity was probably about to surpass us."
Hayden and Karen exchanged bewildered glances upon hearing this.
Because they all knew what happened afterward. The Peacock King realized that times were about to change, so he joined the capitalists' camp and ended the feudal era of the fallen angels.
Karen couldn't help but press, "So, Father, you joined the forces of capital to overthrow your own people for the sake of the well-being of mortals?"
"What lofty reason could there be! I just reacted faster than my fellow countrymen. Besides, capitalists haven't created a much better world for ordinary people; it's only a little better than before."
The Peacock King, however, laughed self-deprecatingly.
“I can’t beat those top-tier capitalists. The only reason they haven’t targeted me is because the risks and costs of doing so are too high. If I hadn’t reacted quickly enough and joined the capitalist camp earlier, I wouldn’t even be able to maintain the current balance of power.”
"Yet the most powerful capitalist bodhisattvas and supreme deities are still competing with each other, wanting to increase their power even further. They already possess the power to move mountains and seize the moon, yet instead of using it to improve the world, they even want to devour the sun. They overthrew the feudal devils who reigned in hell, but they exploited the world even more forcefully, competing and killing each other even more viciously, creating an even more terrifying hell on earth. I truly admire the dark humor of this supreme destiny. Because it is not we devils who created this new hell, but you humans yourselves!"
At this point, the Peacock King gave another dry laugh. His laughter was full of irony and helplessness.
Hayden and Karen, however, both felt a chill run down their spines.
Having fought against the ancient gods for at least five thousand years, the Peacock King, a war god honed through real combat, was an incredibly powerful deity. With a single, level strike, he could cleave a continent in two. If no other new gods intervened, the Peacock King could wipe out all life on Earth in a single day. He was the most powerful deity Hayden and Karen had ever witnessed in their lives.