The moment the platinum-gold radiance slashed toward the Heavenly Army, Shiva, dressed in a layered black evening gown, rapidly faded from view before disappearing altogether, as though she had been erased by an invisible rubber.
The same thing happened to Ouryu (yellow dragon) beneath her feet.
The two vanished into the vast sea of stars in an instant.
At the same time, Mata, who had been locked onto as the target, scattered like flower petals. Each petal that drifted into the void instantly transformed into a golden lotus.
Like willow fluff carried on a gentle breeze, the golden lotuses rose to meet the light that seemed to span the world. Some were destroyed outright, while others drifted away with the force of the blade, one after another blocking the descending slash.
Taking advantage of the opening created by the attack, Ryo quickly broke through the cage. Reflected in his eyes was the enormous continent of the Little Garden, not far away.
He immediately locked onto the direction of the North Area and reached out his hand, preparing to tear open the boundary and step into the gap between space and time, teleporting himself back to the Little Garden continent.
Just then, a golden longsword whose details were impossible to make out descended from above.
Ryo's expression froze for a moment. He quickly withdrew his outstretched hand and instead raised his index finger.
A deep gray radiance flickered briefly at its tip.
Bzzzz...
The golden longsword descending from the sky let out a mournful cry before exploding inch by inch, scattering into countless golden points of light across the starry universe.
But by stopping the enemy's attack, Ryo had naturally lost his best chance to escape.
"So that's how it is. You're planning to intercept me here?" Ryo sighed and turned his head toward the empty space ahead.
At that moment, a figure rapidly took shape.
It was a person seated upon a golden throne, wearing a white ceremonial headdress. A balance was held in the left hand and a golden longsword in the right. Their face was impossible to make out.
"Hm?"
Ryo was momentarily surprised when he saw the newcomer.
As a competent leader, he had naturally purchased information on the leaders and major powerhouses of the various factions in the Little Garden from the Thousand Eyes.
And the person before him was one of them.
The Ancient Mesopotamian God of Sun and Justice, Shamash.
In fact, Ryo had considered who might attack him in his identity as "Kalki." He had even run through several possibilities in his mind.
But Shamash had never been among his suspects.
After all, this God King had an excellent reputation throughout both the upper and lower layers of the Little Garden. He was one of the few God Kings who openly stood on the side of the weak.
Thinking of this, Ryo shook his head, sounding almost regretful at how badly his guess had missed the mark.
"I never expected His Excellency Shamash to be the first one to make a move against me." He paused before adding, "If I remember correctly, there shouldn't be any grudge between us, should there?"
The figure seated upon the golden throne seemed to raise their head. When they spoke, their voice was calm and impossible to distinguish as male or female.
"Ouroboros destroyed nineteen Communities under my protection. That is the first reason."
"Second..."
At that moment, Ryo clearly felt a regretful gaze sweep over him.
Shamash paused before continuing. "Kalki, your existence is simply too dangerous. Little Garden has not reached the era in which you should have been born."
Kalki, whose very identity represented an omen of destruction, was an existence that should never have been born at this point in time. Yet the Ouroboros had forced his birth ahead of schedule.
Bound by his duty to uphold justice, and seeking to answer for the deaths of his subordinates, Shamash had chosen to be the first to strike.
Yet after declaring his intent to kill, Shamash suddenly let out a sigh. "Alas. If you choose to return willingly and allow the Heavenly Army to imprison you until the era that follows the proper course of history arrives, I can simply leave."
In the end, he still gave Kalki a choice.
After all, Kalki himself was not the one who had committed the great transgression. The ones who had done so were the higher-ups of the Ouroboros, who had treated him as a pawn.
In truth, if Kalki's identity were not so extraordinary, Shamash would never have attacked him despite the damage it would do to his own reputation.
"I see. So that's your reason."
For a moment, Ryo wasn't sure how to judge whether Shamash's actions were right or wrong.
But there was one thing he could determine with absolute certainty... Right now, Shamash was his enemy.
"While I have to admire your willingness to offend the people backing me, I have to say..." As he spoke, the corners of Ryo's mouth slowly curled upward. His expression was calm, almost serene, and his smile was gentle yet illusory, like a reflection of flowers in a mirror or the moon in water. "...If these are the only people you've brought, then forget killing me. I'm afraid you won't even be able to protect yourself."
"Arrogant!"
Pure golden flames erupted across the starry universe.
A tremendous blaze gathered among the stars, condensing into a "sun" that radiated endless light and heat.
And within that sun, a golden divine bird slowly beat its solar-gold wings and spoke in a human voice. "A mere embryonic Savior dares to speak so arrogantly!"
When he saw the golden divine bird, Ryo was stunned for a moment before breaking into an amused laugh. "So it's Amun-Ra of the Egyptian Pantheon. Now this is interesting."
Seeing the sun god whom he had once frightened away with a single harmless bottle, Ryo couldn't help but marvel at the man's sheer persistence.
He had already offended Zeus, then offended Ryo, and now he had come to hunt down "Kalki," thereby making an enemy of the Ouroboros as well.
Shamash could at least claim deep grievances and a conflict of ideals.
But Amun?
Ryo genuinely couldn't understand why he was here.
He thought about it for quite a while and still couldn't figure out what the other man was after.
"Still, if it's only the two of you, you won't be able to accomplish anything." Ryo smiled.
The smile on his face was gentle yet unreal, like a reflection on water.
"Two cheetahs want to hunt a lion. Don't you think that's a little arrogant?" He laughed again. "Then again, compared to jackals hiding in the shadows, I suppose the courage of cheetahs is worth acknowledging."
"Ara~ Ara~ Such a sharp tongue."
Another voice rang out, its gender impossible to distinguish.
Then, amid a familiar power that Ryo immediately recognized, clusters of black mist appeared around Amun.
A figure stepped out from within.
It stood three meters tall, with the head of a goat and a humanoid body covered in fur. A black hexagram was emblazoned upon its forehead, and it walked upright on two legs.
...The goat-headed demon, Baphomet.
Ryo recognized Baphomet immediately. A smile spread across his face. "One of the competitors for the Satan Spirit Rank of the Cross, the Sabbatic Goat, Baphomet! Now that's troublesome."
Ryo continued smiling. "Being outnumbered three to one, killing the true body of a god is going to be quite troublesome."
The moment his words fell, the solar divine bird could no longer restrain itself and attacked first. "You're the one who's going to die!"
Before the words had even finished, flames surged upward.
Countless amounts of energy and matter appeared out of thin air before collapsing inward.
In the blink of an eye, a sun materialized from nothing and hurtled toward Ryo at terrifying speed.
...
(Chapter's Image)
.
.
.
༺ If you're interested, you can read the chapters ahead on pat👉 patreon.com/_Coreal ༻