The Peacock King's question was very serious, filled with heartfelt concern.
His words, however, made Angela laugh, as if he had amused her. And it wasn't just a smile; she genuinely laughed, much more intensely than the Peacock King had anticipated, almost to the point of being unbearable, which looked quite undignified.
A powerful and mysterious divine entity, even if it were to laugh, should only smile or let out a deep chuckle, not laugh so hard it's breathless—that's just too low-class!
In short, this kind of laughter made the Peacock King very embarrassed, as if he had told a ridiculous joke that made him a little angry and ashamed: "If you think this is a joke, then you are very wrong!"
"No, no. I wasn't laughing at you." Angela finally stopped laughing, wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. "Well... actually, things aren't as serious as you think. I definitely won't fall from the heavens."
Even so, Angela still looked up at the azure sky purified by the Dream Flower and said thoughtfully, "But you are right about some things. My behavior did deviate from the perspective of a pure observer."
"Don't make it sound so casual. You might get dismissed!" the Peacock King roared. "And the main point is, you've given Hayden the wrong impression, making him mistakenly believe that God shares your intentions! He's trying to use your power to solve problems now, and when God's will finally arrives, he'll only be doubly disappointed!"
“I must say, that’s entirely your own conjecture,” Angela said quietly. “But I’m still a little surprised. Melek Tauss, when did you become so fond of Hayden?”
"He is my daughter's husband, my second son," the Peacock King replied coldly. "He is my family. I will do anything to protect my family. And you, the just and impartial angel?"
Angels are extensions of Outer Gods, and their way of thinking is ultimately different from that of humans. Fallen angels have lived among humans for thousands of years, gradually acquiring human traits and becoming more like humans.
Normal angels do not undergo this process, so their way of thinking is vastly different from that of humans. They are intelligent beings with a completely different thought structure from humans, and their ethics, morality, and language are also different from those of humans. Their existence is far more distant from that of humans than the distance between humans and mice.
It's difficult enough for people to understand each other, let alone for intelligent beings with fundamentally different natures to understand each other. The Peacock King believes that Angela can talk to Hayden in a normal way because she simulates an intelligence different from humans by using the body and definition created by Hayden as a benchmark.
This is a truth that every fallen angel understands, and it is one of the reasons why the Peacock King was wary of Angela.
...But just as He finished speaking, the Peacock King suddenly realized that he might have made a mistake:
Does Angela really think in the standard angelic way?
As an observer sent by the Outer Gods, has Angela done a bit too much so far? An observer should only "witness" and should not be able to interfere with the situation.
But it's obvious, even to a fool, that Angela does have some kind of "expectation" for Hayden, rather than simply letting humans roam free and be observed according to standard procedures.
Thinking about this, the Peacock King was finally confused. He realized that he didn't understand Angela's thoughts at all—even he couldn't understand what Angela was thinking!
“Whether I’ve gone astray or not is not for you to decide, Melek Taus. You always think your ideas are right, which is why you fell from grace. You’ve learned to love in these five thousand years, but your arrogance will probably never be cured even in death.” Angela shook her head, saying thoughtfully, “But I also know you’re concerned about me—well, I’ll give you a heads-up.”
The Peacock King was even more bewildered: "Huh? What?"
"A crisis is coming. Before the final battle, you will face a dilemma. But as long as you stick to what I just said, your fate should not be too much of a problem."
Angela said with a smile.
The Peacock King was even more speechless: "Can we not talk about riddles?"
“No. Who gave you the right to judge me with such ignorant words?” Angela turned around. “But don’t worry too much. I’ve always seen your growth and changes. You can take another step forward before the final crisis.”
He couldn't understand. The Peacock King couldn't fully comprehend her words at all. But He still noticed something very strange: Angela spoke of a future "crisis," a final "war." How could a normal observer sent by an Outer God regard these things as a "crisis"?
From a normal angel's perspective, even if Mithra were to destroy the entire company and its people, it would be a minor matter, so how could it be considered a "war"?
The more the Peacock King pondered, the less he understood. What on earth was Angela planning? This was so unlike an angel!
"That's just your stereotype."
Angela didn't turn around, but she clearly understood what the Peacock King was thinking.
"And you can put it another way. Instead of saying I'm not an angel, why not say I'm becoming more and more human?"
The Peacock King was speechless for a moment.
A few seconds later, seeing that Angela was about to return to Hayden's side, He pressed on, "You weren't like this when we first met. So when exactly did you start to look more and more like a human?"
"Good question. It should start from the Battle of New Seattle, right?"
Angela said thoughtfully,
"Adam and Lilith, they accidentally did me a huge favor—it really is true that 'the wicked will always be punished by the wicked,' don't you think?"
-------------------------------
And so, Hayden's adventure in South America came to an end.
Although the mess caused by the smoke mirror still requires a lot of effort and time to fix, it's no longer Hayden's responsibility to handle personally. He'll leave that to his trusted companions. For example, uh, Panya.
Because Hayden himself now has to deal with the next more important matter.
Quetzalcoatl flew into space in His biological ark, never to return. But before He left, He told Hayden some information that might be useful.
"About 20,000 li west of here lies the Land of Reed Plains. The last fallen angel sealed away is there. He is Asmodius, the King of Hell, the Lord of Demons, and the leader of the black sheep who led us to our fall. He has some ancient connection with the messenger and surely has a way to provoke the messenger to remember his true name."
Information revealed by the devil is always taken with a grain of salt. But even with that bias, Hayden still felt the information was worth investigating further.
From South America, 20,000 li west of Aztland, what kind of place is that? The answer is simple: Japan. Ashihara no Kuni (貴原の国) is an ancient name for Japan, and may also refer specifically to a certain region within the Japanese islands.
Hayden's next destination is there, to find the sealed Asmodius, the King of Hell.
On the other hand, Japan is not entirely controlled by the Mithra Group. Although Japan has its own pantheon and powerful financial corporations, these corporations are not considered "super-corporations" and lack any supreme deities, thus they can only reluctantly submit to the Mithra Group. Mithra wields considerable influence over Japan, but it does not completely control it.
The Mitra Group is currently engaged in a battle with two other major companies, which presents Hayden with the perfect opportunity to infiltrate Japan and conduct a secret investigation.
Furthermore, Karen is now taking others back to unite the two major companies against the Mitra Corporation. Hayden only needs to leave a clone with Karen and doesn't need to show his face often. Who would have guessed that he's actually secretly traveling to Japan for a covert investigation?
This plan is brilliant!
However, before Remiel left in his spaceship, Hayden couldn't help but ask Him, "Asmodeus, I've heard that name before. Lilith also said that He is the king of the Old Gods. Why exactly is He the King of Hell?"
Quetzalcoatl casually flicked his tail: "Who isn't a king of hell once? I, Remiel, used to be a king of hell, and your father-in-law, Samael, used to be a king of hell too. There are plenty of kings of hell."
Uh, okay.
Hayden figured he couldn't get any more information from Quetzalcoatl, so he gave up and let Him launch the Ark of Life to escape Earth.
Hayden will probably have to see for himself and try it out for himself to find out what's going on in Japan. If he finds out in the end that it's useless, then... well, there doesn't seem to be a better way.
It had been less than two hours since the Mithra Group declared war on the Mars Group and Wotan Company. But according to his comrades' reports, in the past hour or so, the two major companies had been utterly defeated by the Mithra Group, suffering heavy losses of resources and troops.
Because that's how strong the Mitra Group is. Comprehensively strong, invincible strong, the only truly super strong!
Since the enemy is the strongest capitalist god, a super bodhisattva, Hayden can only try his best to seize every opportunity to earn as much as he can from him.
The more Hayden conceived his plans, the more he felt he was going crazy. Perhaps Karen should question whether he was mentally sound.
On the other hand, he had tried to solve the problem rationally, tried to handle it in a "normal" way, but now it had clearly failed. The path of farming was over, Mitra was about to win, and the tide had turned. There was no time for rationality or caution now. Once Mitra won, he clearly intended to use the [Reincarnation] system to control the life and death of everyone.
This is no laughing matter. Once Mithra uses the Reincarnation system to control the entire world, everyone's very soul will be in his grasp. How they live, how they die, how they are reborn will all be at Mithra's mercy, like puppets on strings, with absolutely no freedom.
Hayden didn't want that. He firmly rejected that kind of future.
When a clever and rational plan fails, it's time to go all in.
When Angela returned, Hayden was still gazing at the sky, pondering his next plan, because he really needed some time to think it over.
So Angela patiently waited for him to think for a while longer. Once Hayden returned from his thoughts, she asked him a very interesting question:
“Master, why did you rush to pull Miss Isam and those four hundred guerrillas up to perform the necromancy ritual? You know that was very dangerous.”
Hayden scratched his head: "I know it was dangerous, but back then, even a slight hesitation could have wiped out the entire South America, and I led the way... I know my decision was too reckless, and I also know I promised you I wouldn't use psychic abilities again. I'm sorry, it's all my fault. There won't be a next time."
“I am not accusing you of acting rashly, because courage, depending on the circumstances, is itself a virtue.”
Angela tilted her head slightly, but kept her eyes fixed on Hayden's.
“Master, you are a prophet. I am pleased that you value and trust those fleeting thoughts in your mind, and that you have the courage of a newborn calf not afraid of tigers, because momentary intuition is often a higher revelation. But this time it is not the issue. I could see that you were thinking about something else, and I know that you had other reasons for your recklessness this time.”
Hayden was speechless.
After about ten seconds, he awkwardly and reluctantly admitted, "Yes."
"Can you tell me another reason?"
Hayden didn't want to say anything. But since Angela had stared at him directly and asked, just like a mother asking you a question, he could only sadly and honestly answer in the end: "It's because of what I said to Quetzalcoatl before. I told Him that if you are an observer of the Outer Gods, you will judge the good and bad of this world. If I let you see the good in this world, let you see the value and beauty of mankind, then maybe the Outer Gods won't destroy the world so easily."
Angela was somewhat surprised: "So you actually deliberately chose to be with those four hundred guerrillas because you thought they represented the better and kinder people in the world?"
“Yes.” Hayden admitted honestly, “If it were just me stepping forward, it wouldn’t feel very valuable; it would be too much of a personal heroism. But if there are four hundred volunteer guerrilla fighters from all walks of life and backgrounds, the nature of the situation would be quite different.”
Angela raised an eyebrow: "And then you almost got all four hundred of them killed."
“I told them about the risks, they volunteered, and they were all originally soldiers… Well, it’s definitely my fault.” Hayden covered his face. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.”
Angela sighed: "Silly child, I'm not complaining about you. You should apologize to them, not me. And what's even more foolish of you is that I've already seen these wonderful values."
“Since I first came to your side, I’ve seen so much over the years. Many brave, innocent, and loving people have appeared in your adventures, and I will never forget their sacrifices and dedication. Do you really think I need to start watching 'now'? Isn’t that just trying to fool the censors?”
Hayden was speechless.
This time, after a longer silence, he hesitated and even muttered with some grievance, "...I want to be someone who can make you happy and proud."
“You have already made me happy and proud,” Angela said with some doubt. “Even if you don’t do anything special, I will feel genuine joy for you. Your achievements and virtues make me happy and proud, but they are not directly related to my love for you.”
“Uh, these are two different things.” Hayden’s voice was soft, because these words were really hard to say. “I… don’t want to be treated like a child anymore. I want the right to have an equal conversation with you.”
“…Oh, that’s a bit of a problem.” Angela frowned. “Judging from your performance today, I think you still need to work harder.”
Hmm, is Angela being more scathing than usual today?
"Can't you just tell me how to do it instead of spouting riddles?" Hayden muttered. "You've been spouting riddles in my ear for years. With world war looming, isn't it time for some real advice?"
But Angela still shook her head: "Master, if you want to be my equal, how can you expect me to tell you the way? That doesn't make sense logically. You have to find, think, and grow on your own. You have to grow as fast as a child, not like an old person who is used to and stuck in the old ways."
Grow up as fast as a child.
He had just said something similar to Isham, and now this boomerang has come back to haunt him. What a fitting end!
How exactly do children grow up? Hayden himself couldn't say for sure (though he wasn't exactly old). He always felt that children, if left unattended, would simply grow into adults on their own. Is that really true?
"Master, can you let me see your growth?"
Angela asked with a smile.
What else could Hayden say?
"...I will do my best."
Despite her lackluster reply, Angela still patted Hayden's head gently and affectionately: "Worry all you want, my master, for you have the right."
Every story has an ending. And I will stay with you until the very last chapter.
A cool breeze blew from the clear sky, brushing against Hayden's face. He closed his eyes, feeling Angela's healing power while continuing to think.
Tomorrow still looks hopeless. While not as overwhelmingly despairing as before, Hayden still feels a sense of foreboding. Sometimes he doesn't dare imagine the future, doesn't want to know the ending. Because if things continue like this, how can there be a good ending? How can the world become a better place?
But regardless, he still chooses to believe in his current choices and direction, even if it's just a feeling. He doesn't do it because he knows he can win, but because he believes it's the right thing to do.
Belief is inherently irrational.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go, we can figure out the rest as we go."
Hayden could feel his spirits recovering a little. Time was of the essence; he needed to continue quickly.
"Next stop, Japan."
"Go to the land of reed plains where the old gods are sealed."
Speaking of the ancient gods sealed in Japan, Hayden seems to have had some connections... Oh dear.
"...Where did I put the red leaves?"
Volume Nine: The Eastern Gods' Record
369: Mithra the Invincible
The World War has begun.
Mitra Corporation launched a full-scale attack on Mars Corporation and Wotan Corporation.
According to reports from our team at [New Sprout City], the performance of these two large companies is currently not ideal, and they are being attacked and forced to retreat.
If this continues, Mithra might really unify the world.
Therefore, Hayden decided to travel to Japan, to the land of Ashina, to find Asmodeus, the King of Hell who is said to be sealed there. According to Quetzalcoatl, Asmodeus can help Angela remember her true name and unleash the true power of the Outer Gods.
Now that things have come to this, Hayden no longer intends to dwell on the potential risks of this unknown power—because compared to the so-called ethereal "Outer God," the super-capital god about to conquer the world is clearly far more dangerous!
However, no matter how eager Hayden was, he couldn't possibly teleport directly from South America to Japan right now. His companions wouldn't agree either. Before setting off, Hayden still needed to go home with everyone first, at least to rest and recuperate.
Karen used her divine power to teleport everyone, including the Dream Flower City beneath their feet, back to New Sprout City. But the moment they set foot on Evergreen Prefecture's soil, they discovered a group of "guests" had already arrived at their home.
"The goddess Freya from the Wotan Corporation and the goddess Iris from the Mars Group have both sent their avatars here. They're both looking for you."
Sensing Hayden and Karen's return, Alastor immediately notified them using the [Dream Flower Life Network].
The "you" in this context refers to Karen, not Hayden.