Mithra glanced over in that direction and calmly said, "Loki, you see. Everything is just as I predicted. Even with just the mighty warriors, we'll still be in for a tough fight."
The Vajrapani warriors had begun their assault on the dragon. Wielding their vajras, each strike precisely aimed at the gaps in the seven-headed red dragon's scales. These warriors were masters of martial arts; their attacks were elegant yet deadly. However, even the most exquisite techniques were insufficient to decide the outcome of this battle. Even the strongest armor forged in Asgard could not withstand the wrath of the fallen angels, and even Mithra's personal guard could not escape the demon king's fury.
Asmodius's seven heads tore through the strongest armor, claiming the most resilient lives. At least a dozen Vajra Warriors had already perished. Both morally and logically, she could no longer be allowed to continue killing.
...However, at that moment, Hayden seemed to sense something, vaguely recalling a strange matter:
Why is Asmodus here on the front lines? Shouldn't she be hiding deep within Ashina Castle, tinkering with a dark ritual to summon the power of the Outer Gods?
This was known history for Hayden, and a foreseen future for Mithra. There shouldn't be any mistakes, right?
“Mitra, didn’t you say Asmodeus could summon something…”
But at the same time, Mithra glanced at Asmodius and projected his will upon him—the invisible intent instantly severed one of the seven-headed red dragon's heads! Black blood immediately splattered from the forcibly torn severed head!
However, fallen angels don't suffer much pain or die just because one of their heads has been cut off. The remaining six heads, along with the severed head on the ground that was still cursing, all turned around at that moment. Fourteen emotionless eyes stared at Mitra... and Hayden behind Mitra.
And Angela is behind Hayden.
"……I see."
The King of Hell hissed in a calm yet contemptuous tone.
"This is the truth behind the whole savior charade."
Mitra nodded and stepped forward to meet Asmodius: "Indeed. Come, King of the Fallen Gods from Beyond the Heavens. I am the end of your dark reign."
“No, I wasn’t talking about you.” The great red dragon sneered, a mocking grin spreading across his face. “Besides, my reign ended long ago. This is a trivial matter, insignificant by now. Mitra, do you think we’re all fools? Do you think everyone will act according to the script you’ve read?”
...These words finally made Mitra, who had four eyes that could see through the past and future, pause for a moment.
"In any case, you are doomed to lose."
After a few seconds, Mitra frowned and asked,
"Either you are defeated and sealed away by me, or you resist to the end and complete the summoning ritual you have prepared. But that will be of no use. Your ritual will not succeed, and the power you summon will not be enough to defeat me. I will seal away all of you invaders from beyond the universe, and then build this world into a better place. Everything is within my foresight."
What he said actually made a lot of sense.
"You think you're the only one reading the script, yet you don't even know the most basic principles. If you can't rebel against the established script, how can there be fallen angels?"
Asmotis's cold laugh sounded like mockery, yet also like self-mockery.
"Will my summoning ritual fail? It's only because I did it wrong before. I know I will succeed because I'm already seeing the results. I even know who to summon."
Angela subtly shifted her gaze.
Hayden... Hayden has actually come to some understanding of things by now.
Only Mitra hadn't fully understood, and he frowned, asking, "What are you saying?"
There is only one answer.
"Simply blaspheming two false gods dressed as Michael and Gabriel is certainly not enough to elicit a real reaction from the upper realm. Besides, they are not innocent and pure sacrifices, but just two old princesses of the Yamato God Clan who have eaten and drunk their fill."
As the great red dragon spoke, it focused all fourteen of its eyes on a particular person present.
"But if I kill the true savior, and truly blaspheme God... destruction will surely come."
421: Loop Down
It's too late to say, then soon!
Before the words were even finished, Asmodius pounced on the group. She was a giant dragon with seven...six heads, charging at them like a skyscraper.
Mitra's mind raced, and he drew his sword. The Blade of Will transformed into a streak of light, flowing smoothly across Asmodeus's massive body. Another head of the red dragon was severed.
However, Asmodius's target was not Mitra. Completely ignoring Mitra's attacks, she forcibly dug through the ground and charged towards Hayden like a madwoman!
To avoid directly entering the combat zone, Hayden maintained a certain distance from Mitra.
"It's coming this way!!"
"Prepare to attack!!"
The Vajrapani warriors near Hayden immediately countered with their vajras, unleashing bolts of lightning. Other warriors also charged forward, determined to stop the advance. But…
"No, no! We can't stop them!!"
None of the attacks stopped the great red dragon. She charged forward relentlessly. She opened her massive maw, revealing sharp teeth on all five heads, and snapped at Hayden!
Even in her fallen state, Asmodius is still the Queen of Hell, the most powerful fallen angel besides the Peacock King. Her power is only slightly less than that of a Bodhisattva.
Although Hayden has made considerable progress in the past twenty years, he still cannot withstand a self-sacrificing, suicidal attack like the Peacock King!
Therefore, only Angela could, and would, stand in front of Hayden. She stepped forward, swung her arm, and punched Asmodius squarely in the center of his head, sending him sprawling on his back!
For an ordinary fallen angel, this single punch would have been enough to shatter their skull. But Asmodius is the Satan of this world, and also Angela's sister machine. She's not so easily defeated!
"Hayden! I'm going to kill you!"
While using her five heads to fight Angela, she roared furiously.
"Once you die, all those Mithras and capitalist new gods you hate the most can die too! Don't you want that too? Can't you cooperate and make a sacrifice!?"
Hayden was immediately shocked: "Wait, how do you know all this?!"
After returning to this era, he never uttered the name "Hayden," let alone anything about the future. How could Asmodius have known?
“Master, because the time loop is almost complete.” Angela explained instead, “Asmodius now has a vision of four hundred years in the future, because this is the place where the past and the future intertwine.”
She used her hands to block Asmodeus's attack, but the aftershocks still shook the entire Ashina Castle and the entire mountain. This was because the Asmodeus of today was an overlap of four hundred years ago and four hundred years in the future, and even possessed fighting power equal to that of a Bodhisattva.
Today, when these two sisters clash, the shockwaves are not just felt in the city, the mountains, or the earth, but in time and space itself.
Hayden wanted to go up and help Angela, but as soon as he tried to get closer, he was dumbfounded to find that the space around them was distorting and deforming, as if paper was being crumpled and cracked.
But how is that possible? Even if two Bodhisattvas fought, they couldn't possibly shatter spacetime!
The reason is actually quite simple: the spacetime structure here is far too fragile.
Observation itself is enough to have an impact, and a connection is formed between two subjects who observe each other; the more observations, the stronger the connection. Those who perceive from the past to the future are also constantly explored from the future to the past. The combined effect of their observations using all sorts of incredible methods eventually reaches a critical point, distorting dimensions and even bridging two points in time.
Ashina Castle in Ashihara Province is a labyrinth where the past and future constantly interact, and time is distorted.
People from the future and the past, along with multiple time observers, cycle back and forth. The boundary between yesterday and today becomes blurred, and rifts in spacetime are being opened. It could even be said that this is already the most fragile place in the spacetime structure of this universe.
And that's exactly what Asmodius wanted.
Only here—Asmodius must have known all along, only by performing the ritual in this place—was there even the slightest chance of breaking through the barrier—to reach that place beyond space and time, a place where even the concept of time did not exist!
Mitra turned back, ready to help Hayden and Angela. But just as he was about to rush over, Mitra suddenly stopped. He looked into the rift in spacetime with his double pupils, then stared in astonishment.
What did he see? Hayden didn't know either. Mithra's prophetic vision was far superior to Hayden's; he could see things much farther and farther back than Hayden could. In any case, after seeing something through the spacetime rift, Mithra stopped and did not continue to help.
Hayden, on the other hand, simply didn't have the power to help.
Thus, the battle between Angela and Asmodius could only continue.
It's strange, really. Angela now possesses combat power at the level of a Bodhisattva. Asmodius, enhanced through time-space manipulation, is roughly at the same level. But Hayden knew long ago that Angela had the ability to dispel magic. Even if their power were equal, she should have the advantage in a fight against a fallen angel. Why is it a stalemate?
...Hayden had barely thought that when he saw Asmodius's five heads, black smoke billowing from their mouths. Not only that, he could also see her abdomen—a red glow was brewing within her belly, growing ever hotter.
Dragon's Breath?
Did these seven ten-horned red dragons actually possess dragon breath?!
“My dear sister, you are not your true self yet, but rather you are attached to this doll shell. You can’t even remember your real name, but I am the one who knows your real name!”
The fallen angel king murmured smugly.
"Now that I've superimposed time and space, even if you have an attribute advantage over me, you still can't defeat me! Ultimately, you were never a battle angel!"
Angela didn't refute. But Hayden, standing to the side, knew that Asmodius wasn't wrong. In fact, Angela didn't seem to have any combat skills whatsoever. Hayden also knew she had almost no knowledge of martial arts.
In essence, she is an absolutely compassionate and gentle being.
“I really didn’t expect this either,” Angela replied calmly. “I never imagined that one day I would be unable to even beat my own unworthy sister. It’s so embarrassing.”
Whether this was true or not, it was certainly enough to enrage Asmodius. The red dragon's five heads took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of miasma and destructive fire at Angela!
Angela took a deep breath and exhaled a cool, emerald-green breeze. The miasma, all the filth, all the harm and suffering exhaled by the great red dragon were blown away as easily as dust by Angela's gentle breath.
This attribute advantage is no joke.
...But at the same time, several electrical sparks malfunctioned from Angela's Valkyrie mechanical body.
"Oh dear, even the most advanced body isn't durable enough." Angela stretched her joints and sighed. "The body can't handle the energy anymore."
Even the most advanced Valkyrie mechs created by the future Aesir gods could not remain intact under the wrath of the Fallen Angel King.
"You've been trapped in this world long enough! Why don't you just let me kill the savior and get it over with?"
The dragon's breath was ineffective, and Asmodius was also getting a little annoyed. He temporarily stopped his attack and said irritably,
"Anyway, Hayden is definitely the saint you chose, some kind of good boy who remains untainted in this corrupt world. Even if I kill him, you'll still take him and ascend to heaven sweetly. Let this world be destroyed, and your troublesome observer job will be over! After all, observers shouldn't interfere in the mortal world on their own!"
"I never interfered with the mortal world. Light does not interfere with people's choices."
Angela shook her head.
"Therefore, all my current actions are based on the wishes of my master, a mere mortal. He wished for me to bring him happiness. To fulfill this wish, we need to save the world, and it has nothing to do with the rules and regulations of angels."
Now it was Asmodius's turn to be shocked: "Huh? So you went to work as a maid for mortals? My dear sister has even learned to exploit loopholes? How come you haven't fallen from heaven yet?"
However, after saying that, the red dragon shook its five heads vigorously: "But it doesn't matter! If you want to protect that savior from me killing him, then I'll just blow your body to smithereens! As long as the observer is taken offline, the result will be the same!"
With murderous intent, the Fallen Angel King continued to pounce on Angela, his five heads attacking together, each capable of single-handedly destroying countless lives.
Angela continued to raise her hand to defend, fighting Asmodius with the agility of the wind. She was definitely not going to lose to a fallen angel so easily, but she also couldn't determine a winner in a short time... Moreover, even the most advanced Valkyrie mechs of the Wotan Corporation four hundred years later were still not enough to handle this level of battle, and there was no guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
Hayden watched from the sidelines, groaning in despair. He had to go up and help, but four hundred years of observation and distortion of this point in spacetime had turned Angela and Asmodius's battlefield into a place where only the strongest could intervene.
Hayden was never the strongest.
...So he turned to Mitra: "Friend, why aren't you taking down Asmodeus? What are you doing standing here?"
Mithra did not speak.
He turned around and scrutinized Hayden for a moment with his four-eyed eyes before saying, "I will launch an attack. On the condition that these two alien invaders finish fighting first, I will then order the warships to bomb the remaining one."
These words finally made Hayden's heart sink. He had actually guessed that things might turn out this way. He had long suspected that Mitra might say such a thing. After all, he had been by Mitra's side for twenty years.
However, Hayden still had to try: "Angela is not an enemy. As you have seen, she is the enemy of these fallen gods from beyond the heavens, but our friend."
“They’re in cahoots,” Mitra said coldly. “Just a moment ago, when I looked into the spacetime rift, I saw it. I saw beyond the universe, I saw beyond the veil—I saw that hidden, lurking god from another dimension! We’ve always thought we were fighting an evil god from another dimension, but they’re just mass-produced products of the true Outer God, automated soldiers of other-dimensional spirits.”
"I've always thought this mechanical maid next to you was strange! Her presence is so faint. She seems to exist yet not exist when I look at her. She's right in front of me, but she's as blurry as a dream, and there's an unusual sense of isolation. Now I finally understand! You think you have a cute mechanical maid, but she's just an alien invader attached to a machine, hiding next to you and secretly observing you, and even brainwashing you!"
"They are the enemy! They are the vanguard of the true evil god!"
Mitra said firmly, staring directly into Hayden's eyes.
"Loki, you've been brainwashed by the Outer God invaders! I'm sending you back to the Putuo for a psychological evaluation right now! Then, I'm summoning the entire fleet to bombard them and destroy these two Outer God vanguards first!"
He was clearly serious. His eyes burned with light. Hayden didn't know what Mithras had seen in that instant, as he peered into the other side of time and space, but it was clear that Mithras had already determined that the Outer Gods were the enemy.
...Hayden wasn't entirely unable to understand his thoughts. When Hayden first met Angela and first realized she was an indescribable visitor from another dimension, he also felt she was very terrifying and wary of her.
It took Hayden several years to gradually understand Angela, and he and Angela came to understand each other. Hayden then chose to believe that Angela, the messenger, and the Outer God she represented were not evil, not enemies, and certainly not extradimensional invaders.
It wasn't until later that Hayden finally believed that Angela had given him tender, unconditional love.
Fear and hostility stemming from a lack of understanding are like a tangled bundle of threads. The right approach is to take the time to untangle them.
However, Hayden doesn't have time right now.
While Angela was still entangled with Asmodius, Mitra was about to immediately mobilize the entire New Gods Alliance army for a bombardment. He even wanted to drag Hayden away for a psychological examination.
Therefore, there is only one way to solve this problem.
It can only be cut with scissors.
Only by cutting off the knot can you succeed.
This is the only way to untangle this knot.
"That's it."
Hayden closed his eyes and sighed.
"It seems this is the only way."
Twenty years ago, his confusion led him to temporarily walk alongside Mithra. But now, that confusion has vanished.
The paths have diverged. From this point onward, Hayden and Mithra will embark on different paths.