Hawk's Frozen Underworld was perpetually plagued by blizzards of extreme cold, and ubiquitous ice storms ravaged the land.
Any soul, whether mortal, transcendent, or divine, that arrived here could not withstand the blizzards.
Their fate was singular: to die and revive countless times within the endless blizzards.
Jehovah was no exception.
With a thought from Hawk, the previously stagnant blizzard roared back to life. In an instant, Jehovah felt an unparalleled cold freezing his soul.
Suddenly.
"Ah—!!"
Even Jehovah, under the sudden freezing of his soul, couldn't help but instinctively cry out in pain.
He remembered what Hawk had just said.
If he had any more trump cards, he should show them; otherwise, he would suffer greatly.
But... his trump card was for Hawk to consume the poison he had meticulously prepared. As long as Hawk ingested the Heaven Core, he could become the omnipotent Jehovah within Hawk's Universe, which would then contain a part of himself.
Earth?
Even if he occupied Earth, it was just one world. But if he replaced Hawk and took over this Phoenix Universe, he could break free from his superior and establish his own domain.
However... feeling the raging blizzards from all directions and his soul involuntarily freezing, Jehovah's eyes widened, his voice carrying a final trace of struggle.
"I don't believe it!"
"I don't believe you knew from the start."
"Heh."
Hawk sneered, looking at Jehovah: "Don't believe it?"
He hadn't originally intended to explain.
After all, villains die from talking too much, and Hawk was aware of this rule.
But considering that Jehovah was the villain now, and his soul had already reached Hawk's Underworld, in a sense, Jehovah was already dead.
So—
Hovering above the Frozen Underworld, Hawk, with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face, slowly spoke to Jehovah, who was below, shivering with his arms crossed.
"If I'm not mistaken, you did send people into my timeline."
"But you sent them in two waves."
"The first wave: those two birdmen, Jack and Allen."
"But you didn't invade my timeline; you invaded my father Andrew Chloe's timeline to prevent me from noticing."
"My family's ruin was indeed caused by you."
"Even my placement in the church, an attempt to domesticate me, was indeed part of your plan."
"But then you discovered that nothing had changed."
"So you sent out a third birdman. This time, you invaded my timeline."
"But you didn't realize that I had already contracted my timeline."
"The moment I finished contracting my timeline, my past was set, becoming an unchangeable past, so you miscalculated."
"At that time, I was curious why I only saw one loophole in my timeline."
"But I didn't think much of it then, until I saw Father John."
"Lucifer?"
"Betrayal?"
"Heh heh."
"If Father John's faith could be swayed so easily, you wouldn't have been able to send him to invade my timeline at all."
Hawk's voice was melodious as he looked at Jehovah, who was shivering, head raised, struggling against the pervasive cold, and listening to his explanation. Hawk's lips curved upwards: "It was at that moment that I realized you were putting on a show."
"Lucifer, fallen?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"You simply created a new timeline at most, and changed your plan because I had contracted my timeline, even if Father John had killed me."
"It was all to make me believe that I had seen through your plan, so that I would fall into your trap within a trap."
"Andrew Chloe was probably also instructed by you, which is why he was able to escape."
"The purpose was to make me believe that you would appear above Earth at a specific time, so I would rush there and enter the Heaven Dimension."
"And then it was a feigned retreat, followed by a stratagem of self-injury."
"Oh, and also."
"There was the provocation tactic."
"All to make me swallow the Heaven Core and occupy the Heaven Dimension. Once the Heaven Dimension integrated into my Universe, your divine body would silently appear and begin to contend with me for my Universe, right?"
"Stupid!"
"Clumsy!"
"Incompetent!"
"If you can't play schemes, then don't. If you want to play, play smarter. Why add unnecessary flourishes?"
"If your projection hadn't appeared, I might have fallen for it."
"But..."
"Superfluous, utterly too superfluous."
After Hawk finished speaking, he shook his head, somewhat speechless, making his assessment.
Truly.
If Jehovah hadn't appeared after he had chopped up Gabriel, he might have genuinely thought Jehovah had run away, and then he would have occupied the Heaven Dimension for his own use.
But... Jehovah appeared.
And he spouted a whole lot of nonsense.
Especially that line about how if he had seen the future earlier, he would have known Jehovah wasn't here.
Clearly.
Jehovah was implanting a suggestion in him.
Jehovah had seen the future, and therefore knew he would attack Heaven at this time, so he had preemptively avoided the risk.
And Hawk hadn't seen the future, so he foolishly rushed into an empty trap.
There was nothing inherently wrong with this statement.
But this statement, by implying that Jehovah was truly not here, became its biggest flaw.
Especially under Jehovah's final provocation.
What did he mean by, if I occupied his Heaven Dimension, he would definitely regret it?
Good gracious.
He wasn't some Westerner who, knowing it was an enemy's banquet, would go unprepared, only to be surprised and exclaim in disbelief after falling into a trap.
Just as he had said.
If he had fallen for such a crude provocation, he would truly be shaming his nine years of compulsory education and his history teacher, who often taught various historical stories through narratives.
Therefore... "You're finished."
"Jehovah."
"Game over!"
Hawk looked at Jehovah, whose face was now completely frozen in the Frozen Underworld, and smiled, uttering his final words.
The next second.
Jehovah's body shattered into pieces in the extreme blizzard, scattering across the ground.
His soul transformed into countless frozen fragments, falling to the ground.
Motionless.
No resurrection.
Again.
He was calm and rational.
And his rationality and calmness were telling him one thing: completely annihilating Jehovah's soul was the best option, rather than tormenting him permanently.
Leaving such a powerful enemy in his Underworld, who knew if he might attempt a desperate counterattack when Hawk wasn't paying attention?
To be safe, killing him cleanly and decisively was the best choice.
So—
Jehovah died.
Without firing a shot, without a single fight, he died because of his own petty cleverness and his belief in his own schemes and trickery.
Hawk looked up.
The faintly visible Phoenix Eye in the depths of the Universe also turned its gaze here.
The next moment.
The Phoenix Fire, said to burn everything, burst into flames among Jehovah's soul fragments. As the Phoenix Fire burned, Jehovah's soul fragments, scorched by the Phoenix Fire, turned into nothingness, utterly annihilated.
Hawk then reopened his eyes within the Heaven Dimension.
Before his eyes.
He saw a different Heaven Dimension.
To be precise, it was the Heaven Dimension as it was before it was destroyed.
Blue skies and white clouds.
Palaces in clusters.
Tens of millions of Heaven beings.
Millions of Two-Winged Angels.
Hundreds of thousands of Four-Winged Angels.
And... thousands of Six-Winged Angels, as well as dozens of Eight-Winged Angels, theoretically equivalent to Gold Saints.
This was the true Heaven.
Look.
Rich in heritage, teeming with Angels.
So, skin color determines everything.
This Jehovah was, after all, a bit petty.
Hawk, in the sky above the Heaven Dimension, smiled slightly as a corpse plummeted towards the dimension's ground.
The Lord is dead?
Our Lord is dead?
All the beings and Angels of the Heaven Dimension, watching the familiar figure begin to dematerialize as it fell, their eyes were wide with shock, their hearts trembling in disbelief.
The next moment.
The Eight-Winged Archangel Gabriel drew his sword of protection.
Raphael, Uriel... the Six-Winged Archangels all simultaneously drew their swords of judgment.
The remaining Four-Winged and Two-Winged Angels also drew their Angelic swords.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Avenge the Lord!"
"For the Lord!"
"Heretic!!!"
Following Gabriel's furious roar, a sound that echoed throughout the entire Heaven Dimension immediately followed, as they charged towards Hawk in the sky.
"Phoenix!"
"Chirp!"
As Hawk extended his right hand, a Phoenix, covered in black flames and large enough to encompass the entire Heaven Dimension, appeared.
"Wing!"
The black Fire Phoenix slowly spread its wings. Beneath its wings, the Heaven Dimension was completely shrouded, its holy light obscured.
"Heaven!"
The black Fire Phoenix's wings began to burn, the black flames growing dense and continuously dripping downwards.
Each drop of black flame, after hitting the ground, would transform into a sea of fire.
The beings of the Heaven Dimension, upon contact with a single drop of this flame, turned to ash before they could even scream.
The kind of ash that leaves no trace.
Hawk's Underworld didn't even appear to guide these souls.
Although he was short on souls.
But... better safe than sorry.
He could discard Jehovah's soul without a second thought, so Angel souls were also expendable.
In short.
He was going to completely erase the Heaven Dimension today.
Therefore—
"Soar—!!!"
The Phoenix soared through the nine heavens, its cry resounding!
As Hawk pointed his right hand downwards at the countless Angels charging towards him with ferocious expressions, the black Phoenix, symbolizing Hawk's strongest attack, roared forth, striking the Angelic army led by Gabriel at the forefront.
The next second!
The sky and Earth darkened!
Black fire filled the heavens!
Annihilation of soul and spirit—!!!
... (End of this chapter)
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