— — — — — —
"Still no sign of a fight?"
Ten kilometers away, Hades asked in a low voice.
Three minutes had already passed since the scheduled time to lure Great Red over, yet there were still no signs of battle coming from the Hokyoji Temple.
If he couldn't still sense Great Red's immense aura, a power so vast it made his skin crawl, Hades would have started wondering whether the Dragon of Dreams had even shown up at all.
"Not yet. Don't rush, Hades. Let's wait another two minutes."
Indra tried to reassure him, though traces of concern lingered in his eyes. Every so often, he glanced toward Nijō Castle.
Great Red's lack of immediate action had completely exceeded his expectations.
Wasn't Ophis supposed to rush over and attack Great Red? And wasn't Great Red supposed to be exceptionally sensitive to the presence of other worlds, investigating the slightest abnormality?
So why were both sides completely motionless?
Where exactly had his plan gone wrong?
"So that's Great Red... damn, he's ridiculously strong."
Among those present, the most relaxed person was Rizevim.
Or rather, the most carefree.
Whether Ryo, Ophis, and Great Red fought or not didn't really matter to him. A fight would be great, but if nothing happened, that was fine too.
After all, his goal was simply to explore the ExE World and see the sights of a new universe.
Everything else was secondary.
Still... Rizevim cast a meaningful glance at Indra.
Indra actually possessed a keepsake from a powerhouse of another world.
Now that was interesting.
Not only had Indra made contact with someone from another world, he seemed to have formed some sort of partnership with them.
And that cross-shaped token... the aura attached to it felt completely natural, meaning it was probably an item personally carried by some powerful individual from the other side.
In other words, there was a powerful figure in that world who carried a cross around.
Interesting.
Was that one actually alive all along?
Or was it just some otherworldly powerhouse connected to Him?
Or perhaps our dear Creator God had made contact with beings from another world long ago.
Going even further...
What if... what if God himself had originally come from another world?
The endless possibilities stirred excitement in Rizevim's heart once again, a heart that had long grown numb from a life of boredom.
'Damn it, why does Rizevim keep staring at me?'
Indra shivered involuntarily.
'This freak doesn't have some weird fetish, does he?'
Though inwardly alarmed, he maintained a calm expression on the surface.
If Rizevim weren't actually useful, Indra would have killed him already. The man's thought process was simply too bizarre. He constantly came up with actions no sane person could predict.
A dangerous madman.
Compared to him, Loki was infinitely easier to deal with.
They were both troublemakers who enjoyed throwing the world into chaos. They shared common interests and common secrets. That was the proper foundation for cooperation.
'Maybe I should find a chance to sell Rizevim out to the Three Factions and get Loki back instead...'
The thought crossed Indra's mind as his irritation continued to grow.
The plan to use Great Red to probe Ryo's strength seemed to have gone wrong.
Even the scheme to capture Samael was starting to fall apart.
If nothing changed soon, his Evil Dragon Legion would become completely useless.
That put him in an awkward position.
After all the calculations and schemes, he hadn't achieved a single objective. Worse, he'd specifically invited Rizevim and the new Hades to witness his brilliant strategy.
Wasn't this just making a fool of himself in public?
How embarrassing.
Just as Indra's frustration over losing face reached its peak, the atmosphere around them suddenly trembled.
It was as though the very air had let out a mournful scream.
A terrifying wave of malice erupted from the direction of Hokyoji. The surrounding air compressed under that malevolent pressure, layer upon layer, like mountains weighing down on Indra's body.
It nearly bent his waist in half.
"Damn it! We've been discovered!"
All three instinctively assumed Ryo had noticed them and released his killing intent.
In the next moment, the weakest among them, Hades, cried out, "Run!"
The instant the word left his mouth, he struggled to turn around. Then he froze.
Under the crushing pressure, Indra, whose knees had already sunk into the mud, suddenly exploded.
Starting from his head, his body burst apart inch by inch, turning into white ash that scattered into the air.
At the same time, Rizevim's body dissolved into countless white specks. The fragments splattered onto the ground like someone had poured white paint across the dirt.
Hades' raised foot stopped awkwardly in midair. His face went blank.
So he was the only one who had come here in person? The other two had sent avatars?
The hell?!
Those bastards had insisted everyone show up in person!
And this counted as coming in person?!
Hades' face twisted for several seconds before he finally snapped out of it.
Gritting his teeth, he unleashed all his magic.
The burst of energy barely forced a tiny opening through the oppressive malice. Without hesitation, he flashed forward and dove into a spatial teleportation formation he had prepared in advance.
...
..
Meanwhile, back at Hokyoji—
The moment Hades released his power, Great Red's expression shifted slightly. "There's someone over there?"
"No need to worry about them. We can deal with them later."
Ryo casually glanced that way before saying calmly, "The priority right now is verifying the information on the ExE World's powerhouses."
As he spoke, he took out a fragment of a cross, specifically part of the handle near the base.
Holding it up, he asked, "Whose aura is attached to this thing?"
"The Holy Mother Goddess." Great Red answered immediately without even looking at it.
He might not know every powerhouse in his own world very well, but he was thoroughly familiar with the major figures of the ExE World. One could say he was terrible at internal affairs but highly specialized in foreign affairs.
"The Evie Etoulde World (ExE) is divided by two factions," Great Red explained. "The first is the Machine Lifeforms, the Evies. The second is the Spirit Gods, the Etouldes. Both factions possess individuals stronger than me, although the Machine Lifeforms currently hold the advantage."
After saying that, he seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, right. The Holy Mother Goddess has contacted our side several times before. The deepest level of cooperation was when she formed a strategic alliance with the Creator God."
"The Holy Mother Goddess cooperated with the Creator God?"
Ryo looked genuinely surprised.
Then his expression paused, becoming rather strange.
"Wait... don't tell me this Holy Mother Goddess is..."
"That's right." Great Red nodded, confirming his suspicion. "She is the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Cross. At least, that's what she likes to call herself. I don't really believe it, but the connection between the two is real."
.
.
.
(A/N: Again, she's not the Virgin Mary.)