It's like coiling up a rail elevator, and if it were a living thing, that's probably how it would feel.
Oh, what a rare guest!
Sensing the presence of another, the thing shifted slightly. This single movement caused the space to tremble, creating ripples across the Yin-Yang realm.
[Long time no see... What brings you here?]
Asmodius, the king of hell, the lord of demons, a red dragon with golden eyes, slowly raised his head and looked at Angela in surprise.
My dear sister?
398: Wengxing666
The scene that Hayden saw before him was exactly what the "evil dragon" looked like in human imagination.
Although it was adorned with eight vajras and eight golden spears, it still lay leisurely on the fiery and dark stone mountain.
Its body was covered in crimson scales, with ten winding horns, seven thick yet unusually long necks, and seven long, smooth, snake-like heads that protruded with venomous fangs. Although it had seven heads, it only had one tail, a long and graceful tail with a barbed yet beautiful tip.
Beneath the burning black lava, it possesses a pair of golden eyes that glow in the darkness, conveying both terror and evil, yet also radiating intelligent rationality.
Faced with such imposing presence, Hayden felt his heart race for a moment.
Sometimes people say that the root of all evil is a snake, and Hayden now finally understands. It turns out that there is indeed a terrible basis for the ancient legend. The ancient legend did say that a giant serpent was cast down from the sky to the ground, but it was unwilling to accept this and still tried every means to rebel, waiting for the day it could crawl back out of the ground and press the whole world under its body.
This is Asmodius, the Star God of the Heavenly Urn. This demon king, who has many names, raised his head and glanced sideways at Angela.
"Long time no see, Aspel, my sister."
Angela said calmly,
"You look a bit off."
Asbe-el
In the ancient language, which Hayden only understood in part, the name meant "the departure of God".
The name "God's Departure" is quite interesting—in ancient languages, this word has two meanings, so does it mean that God has departed, or that she has left God?
Unfortunately, Hayden didn't have time to delve into the Demon King's true name. He brought Angela here so that she could remember her own true name and rediscover her true Outer God powers.
"How is it?" Hayden reached out and nudged her. "Did you remember anything?"
Unfortunately, Angela shook her head: "Unfortunately, apart from this shameful sister, I can't recall anything meaningful."
Clearly, this assessment didn't please Asmodice. She stared at Angela for a moment, exhaled a puff of black smoke from the corner of her mouth, and murmured, "Dear sister, you don't seem to be in your complete state either. What happened? How did you end up confined to such a small doll-like body?"
“I don’t feel restricted at all.” Angela tilted her head. “On the contrary, I see the world more clearly here. You can’t understand the cries and suffering of all living beings just by sitting on the high moon and looking down.”
"Really? That's good news." Asmodius stuck out his tongue, then lazily turned his head to look at Hayden. "And you here are also a rare guest. Samael's son-in-law, and the prophet and saint chosen by my dear sister. Komakusa even said you want to save the world—so are you really the savior?"
“That’s a strange question.” Hayden scratched his chin. “I need to try and save the world first before I know if I can.”
These words made the red dragon laugh.
[Hahaha. I didn't expect my sister to choose someone with such a good sense of humor. Much more endearing than that stiff, serious saint.]
“Thank you for the compliment,” Hayden said calmly. “So now I’m going to try being a savior. Today I’m here as a self-employed individual to request financing from you.”
"Hmm." Asmodis grinned and asked, "What benefit would I gain from investing in your plan?"
She was quite in tune with the atmosphere.
“This situation can be resolved,” Hayden replied. “Mithra is about to use Reincarnation to envelop the world and deliver all beings from suffering. I think none of us would like this outcome. To defeat Mithra, I need to make Angela remember her true name and regain all her power.”
He didn't hesitate to speak the truth, because there was no need. Asmodius was certainly evil, the leader of the devils, but he posed no threat to Hayden at the moment. Mithras, on the other hand, was the problem that needed to be addressed first. Now that things had come to this, Hayden wasn't afraid to be honest with the devil.
However, after hearing Hayden's words, Asmodius slowly stopped laughing and tilted his head: "You mean this?"
“Yes.” Hayden frowned. “...Is there a problem?”
"If that's the case, then I won't invest." Asmodius shook his massive dragon-serpent head. "Mitra, and his Reincarnation Technique—I don't care about any of that. Let him control and dominate the world."
ah? ah? ?
Fortunately, Hayden was quick-witted. Recalling Komakusa Tayu's behavior, he immediately realized: "You also want the world destroyed? You'd rather see Mithra Bodhisattva escalate things, accelerate the process, and then let the Outer Gods come and annihilate everyone?"
"Outer God...you really know how to name things." Asmodis's body trembled slightly. "What you said isn't entirely correct. It's not that I'd rather the world be destroyed like this. First of all, I have no choice. I've already lost to Mitra, I lost four hundred years ago. And for these four hundred years I've been sealed here, obviously unable to improve."
She pointed with her seven heads to the eight vajras stuck in her body.
Secondly, even if there were a way to defeat Mithra, it would be too late. The Outer Gods will come anyway. My dear sister has witnessed all the evil and injustice in this world. The Father of Destruction knows everything. The time of judgment is near.
Then Asmodius turned to Angela.
[I can tell my dear sister isn't fully recovered yet; she's probably still a bit groggy and hasn't woken up properly. But little Hayden, you don't seem stupid, you don't really not understand, do you? Ever since you brought her to see the oppression, exploitation, evil, despair, and suffering of this world, and heard the people's yearning for fairness and justice, even their yearning for annihilation, this world has been beyond saving.]
“I disagree.” Hayden shook his head. “Anyway, the Outer Gods haven’t arrived yet, so I’m going to give it a try. I’m going to defeat Mithra, create a world where everyone is equal, without oppression or exploitation, and then let Angela inspect the goods. That way, the world won’t need to be destroyed.”
"You're dreaming," Asmodius said decisively. "First of all, although you're Samael's son-in-law, it's clear he never taught you the meaning of sin. This isn't about creating a better world, nor is it about compensation. It's simply a matter of sin and punishment. Do you think creating a better world will even things out? You completely misunderstand."
At this point, the enormous red dragon trembled slightly and said in a voice tinged with a hint of pleasure, "Our father is the god of vengeance and justice."
God of Vengeance.
Hayden had never heard this claim from Quetzalcoatl Remiel. But upon hearing it, he suddenly understood a little.
As the ancient sages said, revenge creates nothing of value.
That's how it should be. But so what?
Measuring its value by what it can create is, at best, a matter of survival of the fittest.
Suppose Hayden really defeats Mithra today and works hard to create a better world, then would the suffering, pain and death of those who died yesterday, those who were tormented and humiliated by this world, those who watched helplessly as their parents and children died of illness and starvation, and those who were trampled by society to the point of mental breakdown and loss of happiness be spared?
Isn't that how it's calculated?
Does it make sense that if the world is better tomorrow, the dead whose families were killed by the dark society and times yesterday will have no resentment?
Can we compensate the dead of yesterday by making the living happy now?
No. We can't even use the term "next generation" to gloss over it, because many who died in suffering didn't have any descendants at all.
Therefore, compensation for the deceased can only be implemented based on the deceased's wishes. Otherwise, the accounts cannot be balanced, and there would be no "fairness" to speak of.
Even if the living complain, "Why should we destroy the world today because of the resentment of the dead?"
The dead, who died with resentment and suffering, can also complain: "Why should my death and pain be forgiven just because you are living well now?"
For an Outer God transcending time and space, the opinions of both sides might have the same effect. The most troublesome aspect is that the resentment of the dead who died painfully in this world likely far outnumbers the happy and content living…
Ultimately, every living person in this world will have to pay the price for the sins accumulated over thousands of years.
Asmodius was trying to explain these principles to Hayden, and Hayden did indeed understand them in an instant.
In the next instant, Hayden suddenly realized two more things. The first was that he understood even more why Mithra would create such a powerful magic as [Reincarnation].
The second thing is that Hayden also came up with his own solution.
What has he been fighting for all this time? Is it for fairness and justice? Of course, but that's only part of it.
His primary motivation was the desire to save lives. Even while killing, he wanted to save lives.
Hayden's goal has not yet been achieved.
"...I have a way." He raised his head again, looking at the great red dragon. "As long as we defeat Mitra first, I'll have a solution!"
These words caused Asmodius to stare at Hayden with a strange look for a long time. After a while, she finally spoke—not to Hayden, but to Angela: "Dear sister, isn't the prophet, the saint you've chosen—aren't they a little slow on the uptake?"
“I think Master is quite adorable,” Angela replied leisurely. “Conversing with the Demon King (Satan) and finding one’s own answer is an inevitable path for any savior. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Okay, fine. Whatever.
Asmodius flicked his tail.
"Well then, little Hayden, I have the second piece of bad news for you—I currently have no way to help my dear sister return to her full potential. Your idea of getting her back to full strength to defeat Mitra is simply not going to work."
These words finally stunned Hayden: "Huh? Why!?"
"To bring your sister back to her full potential, you must first defeat Mitra. But if you can defeat Mitra, you won't need to do this—it's a vicious cycle, it won't work." Asmodis said calmly, "Don't think I'm speaking in riddles, I'm serious. But some things can't be explained in too much detail, because knowing beforehand would be bad for you."
Before Hayden could react, he saw Angela beside him sigh and poke her cheek with her finger in a troubled expression: "Oh dear, I knew it?"
Then, realizing that Hayden still didn't understand, Angela explained to him, "Master, you should remember, right? When New Asia was engulfed in flames, after Mr. Adam attacked the moon, I felt that I could recall more knowledge, and the fog in my head was cleared up, just like there was less interference with the signal."
Angela had indeed said these things to Hayden before.
Since the New Yatu incident, Angela has become less confused and her speech has become more organized.
Everyone knows that the entire moon is Mithra's private property. Hayden had long suspected that Mithra might have secretly built a strange interference device on the moon to shield himself from the Outer Gods, only to have it destroyed by Adam's punch?
However, Hayden couldn't personally go to the moon to investigate, because that was the enemy's main base, where Mithra Bodhisattva's true form and several Vidyarajas usually guarded. Anyone who went there would be committing suicide. Even seeking help from the Peacock King was useless.
"...But wouldn't that really create a vicious cycle, a complete dead end!?" Thinking this, Hayden couldn't help but clutch his head. "That's not fair! I finally found a solution, and Mitra blocked the way beforehand!?"
"How could a capitalist god with the advantage of early accumulation possibly compete fairly with you?" Asmodis coldly retorted, making sarcastic remarks. "Mithra isn't stupid. He also knows something about us angels and Outer Gods. With four hundred years to prepare, of course he would have thought ahead and plugged any loopholes in advance."
Hayden may have felt like a savior, the protagonist.
However, Mithra would certainly consider himself the "protagonist," and he was also very intelligent, thoughtful, and prepared in advance, even though Hayden and the others did not see him thinking.
However, since my older sister is already running around everywhere, it means that some things just can't be stopped.
The great red dragon shifted its body slightly, assuming a more comfortable lying position: "So, little Hayden, I advise you to give up and just lie down and wait. I estimate that in a few months at most, the stars will return to their correct positions, and our beloved Father of Destruction will arrive. He will crush all the evil in this world, including me, and everything else in this world, bringing everyone a completely fair death."
Some people might think that this is acceptable, not bad, and accept it.
Hayden understood this idea.
But he really doesn't like it! Even after considering it, he still can't accept it!
399: Beyond Boundaries
Humanity may forgive history.
(hominespossunthistoriacondonare)
But God will not let it go unpunished.
(seddeusnonvult)
-------------------------------
"I can not accept!"
Although Asmodius told Hayden that the road was blocked, he held his head and refused to give up.
"We've come this far, there must still be a way. At worst, I'll infiltrate Mitra's lunar base right now and see if I can find some key point to blow it up!"
These words made Asmodius turn to Angela, hissing as he exhaled several puffs of miasma: "Sister, this person you chose doesn't seem very bright, does he?"
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Angela replied calmly. “To call it reckless might be a bit reckless. But even doing things recklessly with good intentions is much better than someone who hesitates all day, saying ‘this is useless’ and remains stagnant.”
"Besides—Asbel, my sister, although I can't fully recall my past and knowledge right now, I at least know that you've always been a liar. There are still many things hidden under your tongue."
"I didn't lie outright." The red dragon flicked its tail. "Lying under the observer's nose is suicidal. I'm not that stupid."
In front of Angela, these fallen angels might give perfunctory answers, but they would never dare to tell a completely false story.
"The Reincarnation spell is ineffective against angels."
Angela continued, her voice firm and resolute, as if stating a simple fact.
“Mithra Bodhisattva cannot completely kill you. Things that are neither born nor die cannot be included in the cycle of reincarnation. So the worst that can happen to you is that you continue to be sealed away as you are now.”
"However, this is not a privilege, but a heavier shackle. When the [Fire of God] arrives and burns the entire world to ashes, others will experience instantaneous destruction and eternal death, but you sinful creatures will spend countless lifetimes in eternal burning—after all, you will not die."
Angela's tone was calm, but what she said was terrifying: "Eternity is very long. You've only been in this world for less than ten thousand years. Even if you multiply ten thousand years by several times the length of Griffin, it's just a moment compared to Eternity. My sister, I guess you wouldn't like to be roasted in the eternal fire until you have a mental breakdown, and never be able to escape."
So these words not only made Asmodius pause, but even Hayden was taken aback. It was the first time he had ever heard Angela say such things, revealing such coldness.
"But a just trial will contain mercy. Asbel, my sister, I know you still have things you haven't said. Normally, I wouldn't put pressure on you. But this is your last chance, your only chance... I've seen the consequences of your unrepentance, I've seen you fall from the sky like lightning. Be brave. You've already made a mess of things for yourself, this time try to change and do something good."
Angela stated this directly and decisively.
It was at this moment that Asmodius widened his eyes for the first time.
Then the silence lasted for a long time.
Hayden hesitated for a moment in the silence, then couldn't help but privately message Angela: "Why are you so harsh on your 'sister'? I don't think you talk to me, or even to other people, like this."
“Precisely because she is my sister,” Angela said calmly. “Justice places higher demands on angels than on humans. Humans only need 60 points to pass, and if they fail, they have the opportunity to retake the exam. Angels must get 100 points to pass, and once they fail, it is very difficult to have another chance to take the exam. The privileges of angels bring with them a greater responsibility.”
Hayden remained silent. But after a moment's thought, he couldn't help but ask, "What about the Peacock King? Can he retake the exam?"