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"Want me to lure Ryo Yagami to Mount Meru?"
Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, having just finished meditating, Ryo looked at the screen before him in surprise.
On the screen, Indra wore a grave expression as he said seriously, "That's right. Get him to go to Mount Meru. I imagine that shouldn't be difficult for you."
Indra had great faith in Loki's talent for deception. After all, this was the guy who had managed to drive the entire Norse pantheon into Ragnarök. His ability to stir up trouble was extraordinary, and his methods were ruthless enough that he didn't even spare himself.
If Indra hadn't been holding something over Loki's head, he never would have trusted him so much. But in the end, Loki was simply too useful. Especially lately, whenever they were dealing with the Three Factions, Loki's intelligence had always been accurate.
Sure, Indra had somehow managed to ruin every opportunity himself, but that didn't diminish his confidence in Loki's abilities.
"Yeah, that won't be difficult." Ryo nodded slightly.
After all, getting himself to lure himself somewhere was as easy as taking a few steps. What interested him more was why Indra wanted this.
"You set a trap on Mount Meru, didn't you, Indra?"
"Haha, it's better than just a trap." Indra visibly relaxed.
The cooperation of the God of Breasts, the trap preparations, and the gathering of experts from Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and other factions at Mount Meru as sacrificial bait had all gone smoothly.
Just thinking about all those people he had always disliked dying in this trap put him in a fantastic mood.
"All I can tell you is that this trap involves powerful figures from another world working together. As for the details... Loki, you've been around long enough. You should know that once a trap is explained, it stops working."
"I understand." Ryo nodded slowly. "I'll find a way to lure Ryo Yagami into attacking Mount Meru. As for how many people he brings with him, I can't say."
The number would be exactly one. Ryo himself.
Not even his real body, just an incarnation.
If he already knew it was a trap and still showed up in person, that would be idiotic. Mount Meru wasn't exactly far from Japan. Launching an attack from there and striking all the way to India was hardly difficult for him.
He could simply send out his special cosmo projection to draw out all the trash hiding in the trap, then wipe them out from a distance.
Compared to that, Ryo was more concerned about the ExE world. That place was supposed to become a backup base in the future.
Unfortunately, Ms Creator still hadn't managed to contact the Mother Goddess recently. She seemed to be occupied with something extremely important.
"As long as you can draw Ryo Yagami away, that's enough. He's the only one giving me a headache."
Hearing Loki's assurance, Indra visibly relaxed.
He had finally figured it out. All the changes in the world had started with Ryo's appearance.
Without Ryo, Great Red would inevitably return to the Dimensional Gap. Ophis would continue her endless pursuit of her homeland. The Creator God might have revived, but handling the affairs of the Three Factions would already keep her busy enough that she wouldn't bother causing trouble for him.
In other words, Ryo Yagami was the source of everything.
The root of all misfortune. The lone star shining in the darkness.
Get rid of him, and everything would return to normal.
If he succeeded, great.
If he failed… then he, Indra, would simply flee to the ExE world, live comfortably as a wealthy retiree, enjoy a few wives and children, a warm bed, and maybe even a few other people's wives while he was at it.
Wasn't that wonderful?
It absolutely was.
Feeling reassured, Indra even decided to sweeten the deal.
"As long as you can lure Ryo away, all the Evil Dragons in my possession will be placed under your command."
"The Evil Dragons?" Ryo raised an eyebrow.
That was actually a valuable gift. Niðhöggr, Yamata no Orochi, Apophis, and other powerful pure dragon species were all previous Last Embryos in Little Garden.
Most of them had already been defeated, but if they were brought into Little Garden and inherited even a part of their original spirit rank, they would still be formidable four-digit-class powerhouses.
With a force like that, Ryo would finally possess a hidden card outside of Arcadia. It would make many future plans much easier.
"Indra, I'll need the dragons delivered in advance." Ryo made a rather bold request.
He was worried that when he reached Mount Meru, a casual attack might kill the dragons in the collateral damage.
"No problem." Indra agreed without hesitation.
After all, the Dragon Revival Project had been Rizevim's idea in the first place.
Now that they hadn't obtained Samael, the dragons had lost most of their value anyway. Passing them off as a gift cost him nothing.
As for Rizevim's opinion? Simple. Didn't the kid want to explore another world? Heh. Once Ryo stepped into the trap and those foreign evil gods arrived, Rizevim could just tag along with them.
Whether he ended up turned into a cyborg afterward was none of Indra's concern.
Smiling broadly, Indra said, "I'll have the dragons land in Seto. Be ready to receive them."
"I'll send people to meet them." Ryo nodded before adding, "Ryo Yagami will probably attack Mount Meru around three in the afternoon. Make your preparations."
"You brat, you're impressive." Indra looked delighted. "You can even pick the exact time he'll attack?"
He never imagined his little brother possessed that kind of capability.
Looks like Loki had climbed pretty high within the Three Factions. At the very least, he must be one of Ryo's trusted confidants.
That was impressive.
Hearing this, Ryo lifted his chin proudly. "Nothing special. Let me tell you, these days Ryo believes whatever I tell him. Our relationship is even closer than you can imagine."
Well, they were the same person. Of course they were close.
Indra was overjoyed. "Then I'll be waiting for your good news."
He still had a trap to finish preparing and didn't dare waste any time. He immediately ended the call.
The moment the connection was cut, the smugness vanished from Ryo's face.
What remained was calmness. And a trace of caution.
"The ability to replace someone's identity like this is genuinely terrifying."
Even now, Indra had never once suspected that Ryo and Loki were the same person.
That kind of power sent chills down Ryo's spine.
In the future, he definitely couldn't casually impersonate gods or buddhas anymore. Even after reaching Little Garden or traveling to other worlds, he would have to be wary of deities with the same names.
After thinking it over for a moment, Ryo stood up and walked outside.
Looking up at the blazing sun hanging high in the sky, he narrowed his eyes.
"It's already noon… Rather than waiting another three hours, I'll hit him two hours early. Yeah, at two o'clock, I'll give Indra a nice surprise attack."
"At least let him die knowing exactly how he lost."
After saying that, Ryo shook his head and let out a sigh. "In the end, I'm just too kind. I could let him die without ever knowing what went wrong, but my weak heart just can't do it… sigh~"
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