Instantly, a monk, a god, and a Divine Ancestor trembled simultaneously, then fell into a prolonged silence.
After about half an hour, Sita raised her hand, her face somewhat pale, and said, "Is it still possible for us to surrender now?"
Susanoo stared at Sita in disbelief.
(No way. Why are you surrendering so quickly? Weren't we allies?)
(Wait. If the three of us flee in different directions, with the Netherworld's characteristics, at least two of us can escape.)
However, even Susanoo didn't expect that the Living Buddha beside him also silently performed a French military salute, raising both hands to show he posed no threat.
"King Arthur, there shouldn't be any conflict between us, right?"
Hearing this, Aslan nodded slightly.
"Indeed. But who set up the Keeper of the Horses?"
At that, the Living Buddha and Sita pointed at Susanoo without the slightest hesitation.
"He set it up. We swear to you, it has nothing to do with us."
"Uh…"
Instantly, Susanoo's face turned green.
(Weren't we supposed to be allies and good brothers? Why did they sell me out so quickly? At least hesitate a little, you know? This is so embarrassing.)
"I think I can explain—"
Susanoo said weakly. Where else could he hide? Believe it or not, if he fled this second, he'd be beheaded the next.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in hearing it."
Before Susanoo could finish, Aslan stabbed with his sword without a shred of hesitation.
Then, leveraging Susanoo's connection to the Domain of Immortality · Takamagahara and Domain of Immortality · Yomi no Kuni, he seized both Domains.
Aslan felt his heart lighten considerably.
"I don't want to deal with a God who symbolizes trickery and deception."
"?? I'm innocent!! I'm also a Steel Hero!"
Susanoo, beheaded, vanished in the Netherworld with a depressed expression.
"So, does anyone else have something to say?"
Aslan smiled, raising his sword and looking at the Living Buddha and Sita.
Sita gazed at Aslan, particularly at the Star Holy Sword in his hand, which was imbued with even more world-saving divinity than the Divine Sword of Salvation.
She sighed and said, "After killing a Great God, does King Arthur plan to confront Prince Rama?"
"Oh?"
Aslan raised an eyebrow, sheathed his sword, and looked at Sita.
"What do you want to do?"
Sita opened her mouth, then sighed.
"My name is Sita. In mythology, I am Prince Rama's wife."
"Oh? Want to kill your husband?"
Aslan showed an intrigued expression.
At that, Sita shook her head.
"Though I resent that Prince, I'm not so extreme as to want to kill him."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Maybe I just want that exhausted man to find some relief?"
Sita fell silent for a long time, then spoke with a sigh.
"It seems, in a sense, our goals align."
"We both want Rama to stop working."
Aslan smiled at Sita. After confirming her stance, he said calmly, "Then tell me where Rama's resting place is and how to undo his seal. I'll take your place and give him that relief."
"Uh…"
Sita paused for a moment. The relief she meant and the relief Aslan meant might not be the same.
(But it's close enough, right?) Sita sighed and said, "Thank you for your kindness."
Susanoo sealed Sun Wukong only to use Sun Wukong's characteristics to suppress Rama as effectively as possible.
Sun Wukong was a hybrid Steel God, quite close to Rama. His divinity largely stemmed from Hanuman, Rama's subordinate God.
Though he and Hanuman were distinct Gods, sharing and having similar divinity was normal.
By sealing Sun Wukong in the Western Heavenly Palace, Rama could be suppressed optimally, and his divinity could be absorbed, bringing Sun Wukong closer to the King of the End.
This was precisely why Sun Wukong qualified to use The Great Ritual of the Old Covenant.
And by suppressing Rama through Sun Wukong, Rama was kept asleep for fifteen hundred years. Only then could so many God Slayers appear in this world.
Normally, if the number of God Slayers exceeded three, the King of the End would begin cleansing the Earth.
The King of the End's true location was on an asteroid in satellite orbit in space.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
On a frozen iceberg, Sha Wujing, battling Athena, suddenly froze, his body beginning to fade.
"Big Brother lost, huh?"
Sha Wujing was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and vanished into specks of light.
In the sky opposite, Athena sheathed her scythe, looking at the ground expressionlessly.
At this moment, the mountainside was riddled with craters, as if bombarded by saturation artillery.
Just then, from the void, Luo Hao, who failed to kill Zhu Bajie, returned from the Netherworld to the real world.
Luo Hao's face was dark, clearly in a bad mood.
"How's my husband doing over there?"
Luo Hao turned and asked Athena. Seeing Zhu Bajie vanish, she knew Aslan must have killed Sun Wukong.
(But why so fast? At least give me time to kill Zhu Bajie!)
"It should be done."
Athena replied, then looked up, a slight smile tugging at her lips.
"No, he's back."
At that moment, Aslan's figure appeared in the void. Beside him was Sita, the Divine Ancestor in a luxurious kimono.
"I dealt with Susanoo along the way, took a bit of time."
"And, lucky me, I caught an interesting creature."
Aslan said with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Luo Hao and Athena simultaneously turned their gazes to Sita, somewhat curious and confused about why Aslan said that.
"My Lord, I sensed Rama's aura."
Before Aslan could finish, Guinevere and Lancelot arrived, riding a white horse, stepping through the air.
Guinevere, arriving beside Aslan, looked around, scanning the land, sky, sea, and water with magic. Yet, she found no trace of the King of the End's aura.
"The aura is so strong, but why no trace of Rama?"
Guinevere frowned, asking in confusion.
"Because Prince Rama is sealed in space."
Sita stepped forward, offering a clue. The reason Rama's aura was so strong here after Sun Wukong's death was that this was Rama's final resting place. The remnants of the King of the End were stored here.
Meanwhile, the real Rama had merged with the Divine Sword of Salvation and was stored in satellite orbit.
"No wonder I couldn't find him for years."
Guinevere smiled with relief, then looked at Aslan and instinctively rushed to apologize.
"Sorry, my Lord. I had no intention of betraying you."
After Aslan's explanation and questioning Lancelot, she also understood why she was so eager to awaken the King of the End and why Lancelot submitted to her.
She was fundamentally the White Goddess of Britain, the Queen of Wisdom—Gwenhwyfar.
Roughly fifteen hundred years ago, there was a God Slayer from Rome in Britain.
That God Slayer was extremely brutal, possessing combat power rivaling Gods and fond of hunting and killing.
As Britain's Earth Goddess, she was greatly troubled and constantly hunted. In the end, out of necessity, she allied with Rama and his entourage, who were cleansing Devil Kings on Earth at the time.
But the King of the End needed to fully awaken. Awakening the Divine Sword of Salvation required vast magical power and the life force of an Earth Goddess.
In the end, she was naturally chosen. On one side was a God Slayer, on the other was the King of the End and his entourage. She had no choice but to offer most of her life force. After all, Earth Goddesses were renowned for their robust vitality.
And Rama and the others weren't so cruel as to leave her lifeless.
But no one expected that the Divine Sword of Salvation would twist the will of the slain Earth Goddess, honoring the last manifested King as the Supreme Lord.
Sita was like that, and so was she. Though not killed by the Divine Sword of Salvation, her will was still twisted.
Or rather, all Divine Ancestors in this world were like that.
In the end, Guinevere chose to let it go. What could she do?
She quietly followed Aslan, this King Arthur.
At least the legend of King Arthur was one she wrote. She still held considerable affection for King Arthur.
Even after understanding everything, choosing to follow Aslan gave her a slight thrill of immorality.
After all, the legend of King Arthur in this world was born because of her. In a sense, wasn't she King Arthur's mother?
Yet she was also his wife.
"…"
Even Aslan didn't know how to judge Guinevere's thought process. All he could say was, truly worthy of a Divine Ancestor—her thought process was bizarre.
In any case, he didn't lose out. And with Guinevere's contributions, he might also gain a Poet Spirit Status.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
High above, in satellite orbit.
There, Aslan quickly found a small floating island.
The island wasn't large, with hills and plains clearly visible, but devoid of plants or life—just earth and stone.
At the island's center, a sword was embedded.
It was a double-edged broadsword, about one hundred centimeters long.
Its blade was rusted, looking ordinary, yet it held an extremely noble rank.
The Divine Sword of Salvation.
The core of Prince Rama, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu and the King of the End. The strongest steel formed from the fusion of weapons bestowed by the Gods with Prince Rama.
An invincible blade that annihilates all Rakshasa in the world.
"Here's the Divine Sword of Salvation. Looks a bit ugly, not as good as the Star Holy Sword."
Aslan stepped forward without hesitation. He grasped the hilt, pulled it out forcefully, examined it in his hand, and showed a disgusted expression.
"This thing is Rama's core."