........................
Even so, there are still many lives that want to live.
…………
[To survive, and then continue developing technology that uses the suffering of all souls to power. They don't even love their own kind, only exploit and indifference. If such a human civilization develops technology to the point of being able to travel between worlds, it will only inflict the same suffering on humans in other worlds… Those parallel worlds that are more loving, gentler, and happier will also suffer their torment… This is just my own opinion, unrelated to this work, but I think it's better not to let them live.]
Perhaps this is just another test?
........................
Even so, there are still many gentle, kind, loving lives in this world, lives that are willing to sacrifice for others. They don't deserve this ending.
…………
Judging humanity is not my job; my responsibility is only to send them to meet the Father. Perhaps the Father has other plans; I do not know.
However, I seriously doubt how many people like you actually exist in this world. To witness evil happening right before one's eyes, yet choose to remain silent, neither standing up to fight nor even choosing non-cooperation, is simply succumbing to evil and becoming its accomplices. Humans who act as accomplices to evil, if they only expect an omnipotent savior, in my view, are utterly unworthy of salvation.
...Upon hearing this, Raphael, still lost in his dream, vaguely remembered that Uriel's temperament seemed somewhat similar to Samael's.
For the angel of death, there is no room for compromise between holiness and evil. One must either stand up against evil and win the crown of righteousness, or succumb to evil and become its slave.
Raphael didn't think Uriel's idea was wrong. But...
But...
"I can't go back yet. I still have work to finish."
…………
The prophet you chose? He's a righteous man who rejects evil and fights against darkness, and he should be rewarded with justice. But he's just a decent good man. Even if he defeats the other one, he can't change the state of the world now.
…………
"Until the very end, neither of us can be certain of what is absolute. I cannot leave this universe now, because it will surely come looking for me. Could you simply release me from this cage without pulling me back to the upper realm?"
Of course not.
"Then I'll just have to wait for him here."
[That way, when I activate the star system elimination system, you'll be caught in it. That'll hurt a lot.]
"Then I guess I'll just have to wait for him here."
My sister, do you really love that human that much?
Yes, my sister. That's why I hope everyone can find happiness.
----------------
When God descended to earth, all hypocrisy was stripped away.
Human sins, evil deeds... all the truth will be revealed.
Whether positive or negative, its value will be determined.
Is humanity on the verge of extinction?
Don't we have our own destiny in our own hands?
Perhaps, or maybe, it has always been in our own hands.
Humanity will ignite the fires of self-destruction.
The judgment of oneself will fall upon everyone.
No one can escape.
—————————————————————
Uriel's actions had a significant impact on all of humanity.
The main impact is psychological.
Hearing Mithra say that cosmic invaders have arrived is quite different from actually seeing aliens shred the starry sky, seeing them build a wall that blocks out all the stars... The difference is still quite significant.
A very small number of powerful individuals, primarily Protoss, were able to see the aliens orbiting Pluto, using the debris from the Mithraic space fleet to construct a new colossal space machine. As it grew larger and larger, the psychological pressure naturally increased accordingly.
(Hayden couldn't understand why Uriel insisted on using the debris from the Mithraic space fleet to create things. Perhaps it was for convenience, perhaps the angels genuinely needed to find material in the material world, or perhaps they simply had strange on-site rules. In any case, it's all unclear now.)
Although Mithra initially told everyone, "Don't be afraid, I can protect you! My wall will protect you too!", seeing such a massive black wall in the universe, naturally fewer people could still believe him.
On the other hand, interestingly, although the black wall in the sky plunged many people into a state of extreme depression, most people maintained their normalcy in their low mood and did not suffer a mental breakdown. Instead, they maintained a general stability.
A numb stability.
Perhaps Hayden is right, perhaps there are more people who want to see the Earth explode than people imagine. Or perhaps most people have simply become numb from the torment of life.
People who are utterly numb from the torment of life may not try to summon a supernatural force to wipe out all of humanity... but when the end of the world truly arrives, they won't have the energy to resist either.
Why resist? To protect the daily routine of working fourteen hours a day? Although there are such people, their numbers are still relatively small.
Some people, after "realizing" the current situation, actually had their eyes light up: "Aliens are attacking? The world is going to be destroyed? Then we'll be free!"
Since there is no tomorrow, some people can naturally abandon all worries and burdens, allowing the remaining time to belong entirely to themselves, and use their last moments to enjoy life to the fullest.
Some individuals, however, have begun to revel in the destruction, plunder, and harm of others. After all, if life were a table laden with misfortunes, the urge to overturn it is human nature—although these individuals are not actually that numerous.
Although the police were somewhat at a loss due to the current situation, they still tried their best to maintain social order, so society did not collapse, nor would it collapse so easily. This is because humanity is not something that can be easily generalized; there is no option for everyone to immediately go insane, become stupid, or become listless.
This is undoubtedly normal. So some people, upon seeing the Outer Gods attack, are instead inspired by their will to survive, or see it as an opportunity to climb up, and immediately volunteer to enter the Mithraic cycle of reincarnation.
However, their proportion is not very large. This is because humans and human societies are very complex; it's impossible for everyone to be exactly the same.
However, Mithras was very dissatisfied with the state of humanity, even very disappointed, extremely disappointed.
And what disappointed him wasn't just these ordinary, apathetic people. Even those in power, the managers and administrators who should theoretically be wiser than the common folk—like the mid-level gods in the company—acted foolishly at this critical juncture. Instead of proactively entering Mitra's "cycle of reincarnation" to demonstrate the power and necessity of this new technology to the public, they procrastinated, were short-sighted and fearful, and some gods even secretly tried to escape to outside the solar system, hoping to find a way to escape the apocalypse on their own—which, of course, was impossible and utterly stupid.
There are also some mid-level managers of the Protoss who outwardly show enthusiasm and trust for Mithra, but inwardly they just want to stand out and climb the ranks in the chaos... How could Mithra's invincible eyes not see these things?
Mithra was very disappointed with both of these subordinates.
“I have already told you that the invaders from outer space cannot break through my Jupiter orbit defense wall for the time being. I have strengthened it with the spiritual power of all living beings, and even if those extraterrestrial demons want to break through it, it will take them a very long time. I have already seen all of this.”
"There's no need to be too afraid of Uriel's attacks. The upper limit of the power that demon can use in our universe is the discontent, resentment, and anger of the people. So as long as everyone enters the cycle of reincarnation and is freed from resentment and anger, the invaders from the outer universe will have no energy to use and won't be able to burn us all to ashes. I've seen all of this with my own eyes."
"Why do you still hesitate and disbelieve, why don't you help me, why don't you quickly guide all beings to enter the cycle of reincarnation? Fine, forget it. I never had high expectations of you anyway. Now you can go in first."
With a wave of his hand, Mithra cast all these distrustful and worthless gods into the cycle of reincarnation.
"Once you realize and transcend this, everything will be much better."
He intends to send at least most of humanity into the cycle of reincarnation before the angels invade, and to have them transcend to a state of liberation. Once they reach the state of Arhatship, a state of transcendent enlightenment, these Arhats can help Mithra fight the angels and even seal their energy.
Mithra aims to use reincarnation to lead all beings to liberation, transcending suffering, attaining peace, and gaining power. These benefits are genuine, and he has absolutely no ulterior motives. Why then do these timid and apathetic people refuse to believe him and cooperate with him?
However, Mithra was not angry; he wouldn't be angry.
He merely grieved and sighed, then continued to intensify the cycle of reincarnation. His radiance grew ever larger, soon to envelop the entire Earth.
If we can bring all of humanity into the cycle of reincarnation, and then have them attain enlightenment and transcendence, then angels and outer gods will no longer be a threat. This is for everyone's benefit.
Everything in the world is under Mithra's control.
——————————————————————————————
Meanwhile, in Hayden, the last remaining anti-Mithra forces were also working diligently.
Abigail fainted. Hayden checked on her and found that her Fallen Angelic Flame had been extinguished, probably because she had been caught in Uriel's clearing.
Now, the secret fire that was supposed to protect all the fallen angels in the world has been extinguished. On the last day, at the time of judgment, God will first score them and strip the fallen angels of their last privileges.
Fortunately, Abigail is still human at heart and should wake up in a day or two. It's just a pity that she probably won't regain her fallen angel powers.
On the other hand, Odin kept his word, not only bringing his Wotan Company, the powerful members of the Aesir, and their army to Newbud City, but also successfully persuading the Mars Group to send an entire powerful army. Leading them were the two chief gods, Apollo and Mars.
It seems everyone is really unhappy with Mitra.
Thor arrived too. As soon as he reached Newbud City and saw Hayden, he burst into laughter and gave him a bear hug: "Brother! I've been looking for you for ages!"
"Huh," Hayden exclaimed in astonishment, "how come you've been the same for four hundred years?"
Perhaps Thor simply doesn't think about so many random things. After hugging Hayden, he asked enthusiastically, "Are we really going to kill Mithra this time? I've been wanting to get my hands on that gay guy for ages!"
Sometimes Hayden really envied Thor.
"We can't let this go unresolved; we can't delay any longer. [Reincarnation] is rapidly engulfing the world. Because its scope is so vast, the spread is relatively slow. However, I estimate that in about three more days, all of humanity will be sucked into [Reincarnation]."
Hayden explained,
"In other words, current human society will be destroyed."
All of humanity is sucked into the cycle of reincarnation dozens, hundreds, thousands of times before being reborn. After everyone transcends and becomes an enlightened Arhat... let's not discuss whether this is good or bad, since everyone has different opinions and we can't generalize.
However, transcendence means relinquishing all attachments, being without desires or wants, and emptying the mind. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form... Depending on the standard, it might not be a bad thing if all of humanity became like this, but it would be impossible to continue maintaining the current human society.
"Will all of humanity be enlightened and attain enlightenment, or will they all be burned at the stake by Uriel before that? — If we don't step forward and save the world, there are only these two possibilities."
At this point, Hayden turned to all his allies gathered together and said to them,
"In this operation, we will split up and the two sides will not be able to support each other directly. So please fight with a relaxed attitude and don't risk your lives. Today's battle is only about the survival of modern society, and it is not a big deal compared to personal freedom. If you really die and are absorbed and captured by [Reincarnation], that would not be worth it."
"Huh? Who talks about this before a war?" Several Roman gods thought Hayden was joking and burst into laughter.
After saying this, Hayden turned to Karen: "Kalen, before the battle begins, there's something else I want to tell you."
Others might assume this is just the couple having a private conversation.
However, Karen, despite not being a prophet, suddenly had a strange, ominous premonition.
Hayden... what did he want to say to her?
436: Confidence
What does Hayden want to say to Karen?
Karen did consider some possibilities, even some terrible ones.
However, after Hayden took Karen to a small room alone, he said, "Kallen, I sense that your will is wavering. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"……what?"
Kallen was stunned.
Then she got a little annoyed: "You're telling me this in private at this time?!"
"Uh, huh?" Now it was Hayden's turn to be stunned. "Shouldn't we talk about this privately before the final battle? You're my wife, who else should I talk to if not you?"
Then Karen beat him up: "So you still know I'm your wife?!"
"Ever since he came back! He's been pushing forward on his own! Without saying a word! Without discussing anything!"
Hayden quickly dodged Karen's punch, still somewhat bewildered: "Didn't I discuss this with you? Didn't I call a meeting with you as soon as I got back?"
"You call that discussion? That's called notification!" Karen slapped Hayden on the head with a chop to the head. "I won't say anything else, I'll just ask you one question. If we don't agree to your plan, will you give up, or will you secretly go to the moon by yourself?"
"Of course, it's about one person going to the moon."
"Isn't this a notification?!"
Seeing Karen point a finger at him, Hayden quickly jumped away: "Wait, wait, it's not fair to me to argue about this. If we switched roles, would you go to the moon by yourself?"
Karen's eyebrows shot up: "I would rush to the moon to punish Mithra's evil, I would rush to the moon to save the world. But I would not..."
“I didn’t just rush to the moon to save Angela.” Hayden rubbed his temples. “I consumed four hundred years’ worth of humanity’s disappointment, sorrow, and anger toward the world Mithra created. I am the vessel of their anger, the agent of their revenge. I want to twist Mithra’s head off and hang it on the city wall as a light bulb—or at least they would very much like to do so.”
Whether Hayden really intends to do so remains to be seen.
Swallowing the accumulated suffering of humanity over four hundred years within a time-space tunnel is somewhat similar to the concept of reincarnation. It must be admitted that Mithra's reincarnation, in its technology and principles alone, is not inherently evil. The only problem is that good things can be used for evil, and that unwilling people cannot be forcibly thrown into it…
“I will save Angela, I will be Mitra’s retribution. I will do both. Even if no one helps me, I will do it.”
"But saving the world and creating a new society is something I can't do alone. I need your help; I definitely can't do it by myself!"
At this point, Hayden shrugged and made a face.
…Now that things have come to this, it’s time to reveal what exactly the battle plan Hayden told his comrades about was.
How did Hayden convince everyone, even getting Susanoo, Odin, and the Mars Group to bring troops to help him with the final battle?
The answer is actually quite simple. He told everyone that another Outer God's messenger (Raphael) is currently imprisoned inside the core of Mithra's lunar base. Once released, Mithra's cycle of reincarnation will be immediately broken. Mithra will then be as powerless as a child wielding a sword.
As for Uriel, who is eyeing the outer reaches of the solar system and preparing to blow everyone away, dealing with him is also quite simple.