Alastor watched his actions with near awe, then said, "Do you want to become the human representative who uses righteous rage and hatred to bombard Mitra?"
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Hayden chuckled. “Do I look like the kind of person who’s good at this? By the way, here’s something interesting—the idea that they’re all vengeful spirits against Mithra and capitalist society is actually quite far-fetched. So I don’t really have any representative to speak for.”
"Among these countless wronged souls, the number of vengeful spirits who hate Mithra himself rather than society is actually very small. Because most people, even if they die, even if they hate society, hate the world, hate their boss, supervisor, or superior... will not necessarily project their hatred onto the specific leader at the top. Because they rarely truly feel Mithra's presence."
“Alastor, guess who are the vengeful spirits who hate Mitra the most?”
That's an interesting question. Since Hayden was in the mood to chat with him in the enemy's stronghold, Alastor naturally obliged. He was also quite clever, so after a moment's thought, he immediately replied: "The early people who were dissatisfied with the newly established capitalist society four hundred years ago, who felt they had been deceived and that Mithra had failed to fulfill the social contract... and those who, in recent years, suddenly lost their jobs and died tragically after Mithra introduced the [Skill Chips]. The latter are probably the most numerous."
Hayden nodded: "That's right, so in reality their demands are both the same and completely different. There is no unified decision, no unified will, so there can be no representation."
"So what are you now?"
“I am,” Hayden stroked his chin, “I’m just their jinchūriki.”
…………ah?
Meanwhile, they finally traversed the labyrinthine network of countless magnificent pavilions and towers, entering a new mainframe partition. This place finally began to resemble a sealed chamber. The diamond floors and walls of the square corridor were covered with various lines and mantras, forming beautiful mandala diagrams.
At the other end of the corridor, in front of the door leading to the real sealing chamber, you can see a figure blocking the way.
So Hayden asked Alastor first, "Although I think it's unlikely, is there any way to bypass the front door and hack in through the wall?"
“Although I also find it amusing and ironic, this really won’t work.” Alastor glanced at the heavy code around him and shook his head. “Mitra spent at least a hundred years building these protective walls. He himself deliberately went to great lengths to block them up.”
"Looks like he's terrified of a prison break," Hayden chuckled. "I'll go first. If you see a good opportunity, give me some backup."
"I thought you were going to have a one-on-one fight with Mitra."
"Stop joking. I'm not stupid."
After saying that, Hayden walked over.
The person sitting cross-legged at the entrance of the corridor was also a golden figure with eight arms and four faces. He had a solemn and compassionate appearance and held three vajra wheels in his hands. His posture with his legs crossed was called the lotus position.
However, what's strange is that she looks like a woman, with a graceful figure and appearance. She looks about sixteen years old and can be described as a beautiful young girl.
Moreover, Hayden had seen this face before, and even spoken with her up close. She was the Mithraian goddess, her representative, her virtual idol—[Mira]. However, what she emanated now was not the aura of a goddess, but the pure radiance of the Mithra, like… the sun.
From a distance, it looks like the sun, but that's just a judgment based on appearance alone. In reality, she has almost nothing in common with the sun—for example, although she emits intense light, she doesn't seem to generate heat; she's a cold sun radiating a light devoid of warmth.
Hayden walked to within ten paces of her and said, "Mitra, are you imitating Odin? Why have you turned into a woman?"
"Long time no see, Loki."
The golden maiden remained seated in meditation, but when she opened her eyes, she revealed Mitra's unique pair of eyes with four pupils in total—a striking azure.
"This is the peaceful manifestation of wisdom that I show for preaching the Dharma, Kalachakra Consort."
"Yin and Yang, female and male, the two manifestations of the peaceful body and the wrathful body must coexist, and neither can be missing for a moment. Therefore, the manifestation that guards the seal in the Star Network is only female, nothing more."
Upon hearing this, Hayden immediately frowned: "Hey, friend, you're not trying to get involved with some kind of dual-body pleasure ritual or something, are you?"
The practice of dual-body meditation, or secret bliss, refers to methods of spiritual cultivation that aim for Nirvana and liberation. Similar techniques exist from West Asia to East Asia; Hela had even discussed this with the Hayden couple before.
Hayden certainly wouldn't know such a thing.
“If we could pull you back from being brainwashed by the Outer Gods and Demons, that wouldn’t be impossible,” Kalachakra Vajra Consort said calmly. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that easy.”
Hayden didn't reply, but instead waved his hand, releasing a sword light that slashed towards Kalachakra Consort from a distance—however, the sword light disappeared in mid-air.
Just like when he first faced the "Five Hundred Arhats" in Japan.
“It’s no use. My still body manifests as utter stillness, entering into the Dharmadhatu nature.”
Kalachakra Consort quietly explained.
"The serene and pure nature of the Dharma realm is like a wish-fulfilling jewel, pure and perfect, without defilement or attachment. Even in the face of any disobedience, attack, separation, or impermanence, it remains unmoved. No attack can harm me in the slightest; my compassion will encompass everything."
Placing such an absolutely immovable object at the only entrance to the sealing chamber is quite a reasonable sealing method.
“Sigh, I’ve pretty much guessed it.” Hayden scratched his chin. “But this silent body is also a body of wisdom. You’re not just sitting here waiting to block the door, you probably want to talk to me about something, right? So let’s chat now.”
These words finally elicited a slightly surprised expression from Queen Shilun: "You're actually planning to talk to me?"
“Of course I want to talk to you.” Hayden found a spot on the diamond floor and sat down. “About 30% of the reason I came here is to talk to you. What? You think I just came here to save the angels?”
Mithra's avatar raised an eyebrow: "I did indeed think you were just here to rescue the Heavenly Demon. That's fine. It's good that you made me misjudge. It means your brainwashing wasn't so thorough. We still have things to talk about."
As soon as she finished speaking, without any visible movement from Kalachakra, the surrounding StarNet space began to change. The short ring of diamonds centered on Hayden's feet remained, but all the other floors, walls, and ceilings vanished. They transformed into the landscape of outer space.
In the endless darkness of space, Hayden saw Earth, looking down upon it from space. Nearly ten billion humans lived on this tiny planet. Compared to the vast universe, the Earth on which humanity still depends for survival was truly insignificant.
On the other side, at the edge of the solar system, in the orbit of Pluto, the angel Uriel is making things out of matter.
He had already created a mechanical device that looked somewhat like an energy cannon, but with a bizarre and inexplicable structure, something indescribable just by looking at it. The cannon was slowly gathering energy, using a powerful magnetic field to bind a large fireball whose temperature was rising higher and higher.
"Loki, do you intend to defeat me (if you can actually do it), unleash Raphael, and then watch these demons burn our world down?"
Kalachakra, suspended in this unsupported expanse of space, spoke to Hayden,
"Do you want to kill nearly 10 billion people in this world to save this brainwashed demon? To abandon everyone else in the world as worthless for a demon who descended to your side and gave you false love?"
She pointed to the Earth, the planet inhabited by billions of people, her tone gentle yet carrying a hint of motherly reproach.
Hayden couldn't help but sigh: "Who told you I was going to save Angela and sacrifice the whole world? Can you stop being so narcissistic?"
"I want to save Angela."
He pointed to the sealing chamber behind Queen Kalachakra.
"I want to save the world too."
He pointed to the Earth in the distance.
"That's impossible," said the Queen of Time calmly. "The demon Uriel is accumulating enough firepower to burn the world, and the source of its firepower is the anger and resentment of all the souls in this world. You have awakened and pulled out billions of dead souls from the underworld, but their resentment is just adding fuel to the fire of Uriel's cannons."
"You brought these spirits up here to breach my firewall. What are you trying to do? They are in pain, they blame me, they are conflicted, and they think I am the source of their suffering... So you want to help these petty, vengeful spirits who lack perspective and don't understand the bigger picture? Are you trying to sacrifice the greater good for the sake of petty righteousness?"
“Loki, I am the one who is saving the world now. And what you are doing is making you the enemy of this world.”
These words were incredibly blunt, immediately igniting the fury of the billions of vengeful spirits possessing Hayden. But Hayden smiled, reached out to calm them down, and said, "Damn Mithra, you have absolutely no right to talk to me about this. What do you know about people? There are nearly ten billion people on Earth. Do you really think you can understand them by sitting high on the moon and casually looking down at them? Even the Outer Gods knew to send Angela to walk on Earth and carefully observe everything. Do you understand the suffering of people?"
Mithra's clone raised an eyebrow: "I see, I understand what you mean. You're saying that there are too many suffering people in this world, so you ignore whether this suffering is a necessary developmental pain, whether it's a necessary sacrifice to resist the invasion of the Outer Gods, and presumptuously claim that the whole world should be destroyed, is that right?"
These words finally made Hayden laugh out loud: "Mithra, Mithra, how amazing are your clairvoyance and knowledge of destiny? But where do you actually look all day? Why do you understand neither the people nor their suffering?"
"As for the fact that you don't know me well enough, that sounds too gay, so I won't say it. But I still have to tell you something now."
Hayden stood up, dusted himself off, and drew his "sword of words."
“Mithra, I am not here to kill people today, I am here to save people. I will save Angela, I will save the whole world, I will save these dead souls, and I will free them from their resentment and anger towards you and the world... Although this resentment is indeed justified, I will seek justice for them.”
"And then I'll save you."
Flames that burn everything are ultimately not meant for salvation. Yet, even though Hayden had killed in the past, he still ultimately wanted to save people.
Wanting to save everyone—this is the idea of the most greedy person in the world, the ultimate form of tyranny.
Hayden was ready for this domineering move.
"It is time for me to save you. Mithra...bring it on."
440: The Biggest Mistake
There's a saying that goes like this:
“I was standing on the first floor when someone cursed at me, and I got very angry. I was standing on the tenth floor when someone cursed at me, but I couldn’t hear it clearly and thought they were greeting me.”
“I’m standing on the 100th floor. Someone is cursing me. I look out and all I can see is the scenery. The people below are so small that I can’t even see them.”
"The reason why a person suffers is because he lacks perspective. If one's perspective is not broad enough, all one sees are problems; if one's vision is too narrow, one gets caught up in trivial matters."
Hayden surmised that this argument... isn't entirely without merit, perhaps.
However, it depends on who says it.
Those who plunder the wealth and happiness of others, occupy the top of the social pyramid, and yet remain unaware of their crimes, dare to point fingers at the people below—that is shamelessness.
Indifference to evil and suffering.
Enough said.
It's time for war.
Hayden no longer wanted to delay. So, Hayden drew his sword completely.
Can his sharp words sever the stillness of Mithra's body and shatter the immovability of Kalachakra Consort?
At least, Mingfei seemed unconvinced: "You think you can break my meditation with just words? Loki, you really underestimate me—but so be it. My silent body will subdue and capture you here, and my wrathful body will crush all the other traitors outside."
"I will send all sentient beings into the cycle of rebirth, and then liberate them from that cycle, attaining peaceful Nirvana, free from suffering!"
Hayden scoffed at this: "You have absolutely no right to say such a thing!"
In the cosmic space conjured up by the StarNet, the two finally began their battle.
Without saying another word, Kalachakra Consort slowly opened her eyes, and the gaze from her four pupils pierced through the universe, fixing on Hayden.
Silent Body, Silent Venerable One, when the mind is still, it is like a calm lake; when it moves, it is like a million swords and spears! Without needing words or actions, in an instant, powerful supernatural mental energy has already attacked Hayden!
Hayden and she are currently in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, surrounded by dense clusters of asteroids.
However, Mingfei's mental power was so strong that she shattered all the asteroids within her field of vision in a single thought! Destruction!
"My words are a sword, sharper than any other sword."
But Hayden spoke up.
"No calamity may come near me."
His words transformed into swords, radiating a pure white, flawless light, brimming with vitality; their sharp blades were sharper than any other sword, capable of piercing the boundary between soul and spirit, and even dissecting the thoughts and ideas in one's heart.
Mithra's supernatural powers shattered countless asteroids, but they were severed as they passed by Hayden!
The Peacock King's sword is a weapon of killing... but Hayden's "sword of words" is a scalpel!
The difference was indeed very interesting, and it even made Mingfei finally look at Hayden's tricks in a new light.
So she unleashed her divine power once more. With immense mental power, Kalachakra Consort pulled together thousands upon thousands of asteroids, drawing them towards Hayden. She intended to compress and harden them, creating a gigantic celestial body, a sphere with a hardness comparable to diamond, tens of kilometers in diameter, to envelop and seal Hayden!
But with a flash of sword light, Hayden had already cleaved the giant sphere in two at an even faster speed. A massive meteorite that could threaten life on Earth in the material world could now be shattered by Hayden with a single sentence. His power had indeed grown to an extraordinary level, surpassing even that of ordinary Bodhisattvas and supreme gods.
Unfortunately, Mithra was not a normal bodhisattva. He was just as powerful as Hayden—even his avatars were as powerful as Hayden! Without words or actions, Kalachakra Consort attacked again, one attack after another, using only her thoughts and gaze.
In this universe of the Star Network, her thoughts flowed endlessly like a long galaxy. She herself, however, built a bridge across that galaxy and the river of time, sitting cross-legged on the bridge like a lotus flower. She didn't speak, but it seemed as if she were saying: The sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore.
However, Hayden drew his sword to cut through the water, using the "Sword of Words" to sever the endless galaxy that was rushing towards him. The sword light, like a string, used lightness to overcome heaviness, carving out dazzling trajectories in the dark universe. The galactic intent that should have overwhelmed and killed Hayden was actually blocked by his "Sword of Words."
...That being said, can we really win by just defending and not attacking?
"This is the space of the StarNet, so no matter how much power you exert, it won't affect the outside world."
After several rounds of probing, Queen Kalachakra finally spoke.
"Loki, stop holding back and testing me. Show me your true abilities."
Hayden raised an eyebrow as he sliced through the galaxy with his sword: "This request sounds really strange. Why are we testing each other's attacks here? Why don't you just use your most powerful spell to blast me into the sun?"
These words earned him a strange look from Queen Kalachakra: "Loki, I don't intend to kill you."
"Yes, you just want to capture me and throw me into the [Reincarnation] system to brainwash me. I should really be grateful to you for sparing my life."
Mingfei shook her head casually: "Reincarnation is not brainwashing, nor is it the goal. My purpose is to use reincarnation to help all beings escape the state of suffering and enter a transcendent state of no thought or desire. How can there be a path to salvation without transcending suffering?"
"So what I'm doing for you now is the same. You've been through four hundred years of time travel, and your obsessions are extremely deep. Even if you were to enter the cycle of reincarnation, you probably wouldn't be able to achieve purity, perfection, awakening, and enlightenment even after a hundred lifetimes. Your attachments and rigidities are just too deep. That's why I want you to show your true abilities, because I want to conquer you, shatter your stubbornness, and force you to remove the barriers in your consciousness. Only in this way can I use the cycle of reincarnation to guide you towards enlightenment."
...Would anyone say such a thing directly to their opponent?
"puff."
Hayden found it hilarious. Extremely hilarious. So he burst out laughing: "Haha ...
Even Mitra's silent body, which remained perfectly still and composed, couldn't help but be puzzled by Hayden's reaction: "Why are you laughing?"
"Because your misunderstanding is laughable!"
Hayden grinned.
Since Mithra told him not to hold back, not to test him anymore, and to show his true strength—then let's go!
"What exactly do these words mean: no-thought, purity, enlightenment, liberation...?"
These terms are prevalent in East Asian magical practice philosophies. Most classical East Asian magical schools ideally aim to achieve this state through diligent training, so the meaning is actually quite easy to understand.