"Leader, it…?" Laplace stared blankly at Riku, who had suddenly slipped away, a step slow to react.
"Don't be fooled by how domineering and mighty the leader is on the battlefield. In reality, he's a hands-off boss who likes to slack off. He's easygoing and easy to get along with most of the time, but the way he doesn't manage anything gives us a real headache," Athena said, rubbing her temples.
"Uh." At that, Laplace and the two god-kings beside her were left speechless.
"Well, that's how it is. In short, while [Disboard] isn't the Abyssal Purgatory, just keep that much in mind," the Lord of White Night said with a gentle smile.
"Mm…" Laplace gave a slight nod, her mind wandering.
"Heh heh, Laplace, thanks to you, I was put under house arrest a year ago. This time, I'm definitely making you pay the price." The Lord of White Night suddenly wore a lecherous look, raking his gaze over Laplace's body. Then he simply seized her and headed toward his own chamber in the Skyborne Palace.
Laplace's face flushed scarlet, and she began to struggle, but she plainly couldn't break free from the Lord of White Night.
Tragically, she could only be dragged away by him with a soft wail.
Though the Lord of White Night was a terrifying Demon Lord, he was, in truth, a great "gentleman." Whether now or in the future, countless women would suffer at his hands.
For example, Laplace right now would probably be made to play at humiliating costume changes by the Lord of White Night. And later, Black Rabbit would be the same…
Athena watched this scene wordlessly, shook her head helplessly, and went back to handling affairs. [Disboard] might be strong, but why are all its members problem children!!!
...…
Elsewhere, Riku once again hurried toward the place where the Immortal Stone was located.
On the way, Riku also checked the information on the treasure chests he'd opened.
[ Ding. Congratulations, Master, Upon opening a Diamond-grade treasure chest, you have obtained the divine-class armament Gungnir! ]
Gungnir: also called the "Eternal Spear" or "Decree of the Great God." Gungnir means "to pierce." Lauded as the "lost divine spear of the heavens," the "Meteoric Spear, Gungnir," it is the exclusive weapon used by Odin, chief god of [Norse Mythology].
This spear's ability is quite simple yet powerful: once thrown, it will invariably strike its target. A divine spear with a hundred-percent hit rate, it embodies the cosmic truth of penetration and can pierce anything it hits.
"Gungnir, huh, not bad," Riku nodded, fairly satisfied.
The [Brahma-Shattering Spear], the [Godslayer Spear: Longinus], and Gungnir are all famed divine spears in myth. In terms of ability, Gungnir can't compare to the [Brahma-Shattering Spear] or the [Godslayer Spear: Longinus], but when facing certain specific targets, it can produce miraculous effects.
[ Ding. Congratulations, Master, upon opening a Diamond-grade treasure chest, you have obtained [Pseudo Star Map: Three Thousand Worlds]. ]
[ Pseudo Star Map: Three Thousand Worlds ]: a Buddhist arcana whose governing worldview is Sealing! Its power is such that it can suppress even the divinity of "Heliocentrism"!
"So it's the [Buddhist Order]'s Three Thousand Worlds that's interesting." A faint smile played on Riku's lips, a sharp light flickering in his eyes.
After reviewing the abilities of Three Thousand Worlds in his mind, Riku finally understood just how formidable it was. Even with his [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence], a careless moment could see him caught.
"But since I have Three Thousand Worlds on my side now, the [Buddhist Order] is much less of a threat," Riku snorted, eyes flashing. Then he checked the information on the last Diamond-grade chest.
[ Ding. Congratulations, Master, upon opening a Diamond-grade treasure chest, you have obtained: one pair of Angel Gabriel's originally worn panties. ]
"…What the…!" The voice in his mind nearly made Riku drop from the sky.
He knew Diamond-grade chests had a probability element, but it was his first time pulling something like this. It had actually given him a pair of originally worn panties…
And Gabriel's at that, what the heck is this!
"Looks like my luck's run out," Riku said, touching his nose and griping.
He wasn't some pervert who'd do anything with an angel's originally worn panties. As for angels, he already had who knows how many under his command. Although Gabriel was a child of fortune, that didn't mean much to Riku.
"System, you win," Riku said with a curl of his lip.
Then he casually tossed this "deeply meaningful" pair of panties into the far reaches of the system storage space.
With the chest information checked, Riku stopped dawdling. Turning into a streak of rainbow light, he vanished into the sky.
......
On Little Garden's third layer, within the community [Twelve Guardian Devas] in Sharp-Edge Heaven, Good-Seeing City, the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.
Indra and the other god-kings found the crushing defeat hard to accept.
Still, hard to accept or not, they could only continue discussing plans to deal with the Human Final Trial.
The Human Final Trial absolutely could not be left alone.
Yet Indra and the god-kings discovered, helplessly, that there was truly no way to resolve the Human Final Trial for now.
Because the Human Final Trial was a senior officer of the taboo [Disboard], at whose hands they had just suffered a rout.
Under normal circumstances, when a Human Final Trial appears, though the legion of gods cannot defeat it, fighting regardless of cost and then sealing it is still possible.
In that case, lowering gods to the human realm, or at any cost nurturing human heroes to surpass it, would be the soundest method.
Unfortunately, to surpass the Human Final Trial, they would have to crush [Disboard]. But to defeat [Disboard], even mobilising a million-strong legion of gods had not been enough; and sending so many gods, given the Perpetual Motion Engine's special nature, would swell its divinity to a level where even the Twin Goddesses would be utterly outmatched. The discussion thus circled back to the start.
It couldn't be done! At least for now, it was impossible even to seal the Human Final Trial, let alone annihilate it!
At this, even Indra, the once "Lord of Little Garden", could only furrow his brows and sigh helplessly.
[Disboard] had become an obstacle the legions of gods could scarcely overcome, a true mountain pressing down upon their hearts and driving them to despair.
Especially that man who could even command the Human Final Trial.
Indra's mind filled with Riku's figure; his brow had yet to relax.
...
Elsewhere, on Little Garden's third layer, the community [Zoroastrianism].
Hoisting the banner of mortal enmity, the flag of evil fluttered, proclaiming all.
At this moment, within [Zoroastrianism]'s great hall, the Demon Dragon Azhi Dahaka, one of the Demon Lord's Pillars, knelt on one knee before a woman as if receiving a decree. And this queen was the very incarnation of evil: for the sake of justice, for the sake of humanity, she had willingly fallen to become evil's embodiment, the leader of [Zoroastrianism]!
-
The leader of [Zoroastrianism] was not born within [Zoroastrianism] itself, but rather came into being in Little Garden as a fragment of the world.
Though she was the incarnation of evil, she loved humanity, loved it more than any god. For the sake of humankind, she shouldered the fate of "mortal enmity," was born with the dawning world, and has fought ever since to this very day.
Precisely because she loved humanity, she grieved all the more for humanity's destiny.
Humanity was about to face its trial.
If they did not surpass it, there would be no future.
If they could not surpass it, there would likewise be no future.
"The pure evil that terminates the causes of humankind is swelling," the woman said, face full of sorrow.
In her hand lay something pitch-black divinity. To be precise, a divinity formed from the very source of pure evil: the divinity of Absolute Evil.
Within it was contained every malice in human history, fermenting and expanding at every moment.
"Dualism of good and evil already has its conclusion: someone must bear the burden of Absolute Evil," the woman said sadly. "Otherwise, humanity will have no future at all."
Absolute Evil was a dire causal factor sufficient to annihilate human history.
"My lord, I am willing to bear the sin of 'mortal enmity' and accept evil's brand," Azhi Dahaka said, closing his eyes and then opening them again, resolute.
He could not bear to see his creator saddened; even if he had to become the very incarnation of Absolute Evil, the enemy of the world, fighting ceaselessly for all eternity and destroying everything within his sight, he would not hesitate.
Even if, one day, a hero who had surpassed the trial would drive a radiant blade through his heart and end the Demon Lord, he would not regret it.
The leader was his everything.
"Sigh." Looking into Azhi Dahaka's steadfast eyes, the woman let out a breath; at last, with a kindly gaze, she passed the divinity of Absolute Evil into Azhi Dahaka's hands. "I entrust it to you: humanity's trial, humanity's future."
"Mm." The ruby gleam in Azhi Dahaka's eyes flickered as he took the divinity of Absolute Evil, accepting the final task his leader entrusted.
The justice of "evil" is precisely the ultimate summit reached by all heroes: by offering up the corpse of an evil that has been surpassed to "the victory of justice," and by one's own body bearing the doctrine of "evil" bestowed upon the saints by [Zoroastrianism].
By my life, let evil be shown; by my death, let good be built!
Upon my corpse shall justice stand!
Thereupon, the body of Azhi Dahaka, who had accepted [Absolute Evil], began to change.
Human skin became scales; nails sharpened; a draconic lower jaw emerged; his head split into three ferocious dragon heads. Azhi Dahaka became a true monster.
'My future shall shatter everything that enters my sight. All lives, cities, civilisations, societies, prosperity, order, crime, social ills, the rampant "justice" and the hideous like a storm, like a tsunami, like thunder rain toward all things in the world, I will bare my fangs without distinction.'
'Wait, heroes await my trial.
'I await the day you surpass it, unknown hero.'
Azhi Dahaka closed his eyes and fell into slumber, quietly awaiting the swelling of Absolute Evil, the swelling of the curse.
When he awakened, it would be the moment to display tyrannical kingly might, under the name of the Human Final Trial, [Absolute Evil]!
"I'm sorry," the woman whispered, stroking the head of the slumbering Azhi Dahaka as tears traced down from the corner of her eye.
Riku knew nothing of the Human Final Trial [Absolute Evil] about to be born within [Zoroastrianism]. At this moment, he had arrived at the valley where the Immortal Stone had been.
What he saw was only a pile of ordinary rubble.
"So it's already been born?" Riku said in surprise.
"May as well go take a look," he added, the corner of his mouth lifting as his figure vanished again, darting toward the forest.
He had infused Sun Wukong with the Perpetual Motion Engine's spiritual power for a whole year, and the two still shared a special resonance.
"Why are you stopping me?" In the forest, a pretty girl draped in animal hide tilted her head at the monkey before her, puzzled.
Though the girl's attire was somewhat dishevelled, her snow-white skin still stood out, and paired with her delicate features, she was strikingly beautiful.
A newly born maiden, her eyes were pure, and her heart was as white as blank paper.
More importantly, the innate kingly might on her person made the monkey spirits around her unable to help themselves; they quailed between fear and awe, and hailed her as their king.
"Sigh, this damn Little Garden mechanism, is it toying with me?" Before the girl, a humanoid monkey looked at her with a face full of lament and clenched his fists.
Branded across his back was the character [混](Chaos). He was the Great Demon King of Chaos…
More precisely, he was a defective half-Star Spirit, spawned by Little Garden through replicating the divinity born with Sun Wukong's half–Star Spirit, equivalent to Sun Wukong's younger brother.
He had been specially brought forth so that Sun Wukong would kill him. In that way, Sun Wukong would become a true Star Spirit.
So long as he killed him, Sun Wukong could become a true Star Spirit, the very apex of Little Garden. Yet even when he delivered himself to Sun Wukong's doorstep, finding his own existence unbearably dull, Sun Wukong only foolishly told him to step aside and refused to strike.
"Won't you kill me?" the Great Demon King of Chaos could not help asking.
"Why should I kill you? Who even are you?" Sun Wukong asked, confused.
"You don't know who I am?" the Great Demon King of Chaos said, pointing at his own nose in shock, dumbfounded.
"I don't even have a name myself, and I've never seen you how would I know who you are?" Sun Wukong tilted her head, bemused.
"So you don't even know yourself… This damn Little Garden mechanism must be broken," the Great Demon King of Chaos said, at a loss as he looked at Sun Wukong, his heart a tangled mess.
The meaning of his birth was to be killed by Sun Wukong. If he could die cleanly, it would be bitter and humiliating, but nothing more. After all, that was the meaning of his existence.
In the end, he was only a defective half-Star Spirit.
But this problem had arisen, leaving him in a dilemma. To live there was no meaning in it. To seek death by his own hand, his unwillingness would not allow it.
"Your name is Sun Wukong, and I am the Great Demon King of Chaos, one destined to be killed by you. This shitty fate really is loathsome. So please, kill me," he said at last, staring straight at Sun Wukong, his face devoid of interest.
Whether it was himself, or Sun Wukong, or Little Garden, it all left him cold.
"Go. I don't want to kill you," Sun Wukong said with a frown, without the slightest hesitation.
Those pure eyes made the Great Demon King of Chaos turn his head away despite himself, not daring to meet her gaze.
For a moment, the air turned heavy.
"If you won't kill me, then I'll kill them!" In the end, the Great Demon King of Chaos gritted his teeth, seized a nearby monkey spirit, and issued his threat.
Watching the monkey spirit clutched in the Great Demon King of Chaos's hand, Sun Wukong's heroic brows knit slightly.
Then she reached out, and before the Great Demon King of Chaos could react, she had already snatched the monkey spirit back.
"Don't do anything reckless," Sun Wukong said seriously.
"…!" The Great Demon King of Chaos stared blankly at his now-empty hands. In that instant just now, he hadn't reacted at all.
Even if he was a defective product, he was still a half–Star Spirit, like her; was the gap in strength not a bit too much?
"So long as I'm here, it's impossible for you to save every monkey. You'd best kill me," the Great Demon King of Chaos said, his face a tangle of emotions.
At that, a troubled look crossed Sun Wukong's face.
"Great Demon King of Chaos, don't make things hard on Sun-chan." A voice sounded then, making the Great Demon King of Chaos freeze for a beat.
Though the voice was calm, the kingly might it carried naturally was far stronger than Sun Wukong's much stronger.
A white-robed, white-haired youth appeared before him, at Sun Wukong's side.
Just standing there, he gave the Great Demon King of Chaos a suffocating feeling. In an instant, the Great Demon King of Chaos understood: they were not beings on the same level.
Sun Wukong, however, had no such complicated thoughts. She only stared blankly at Riku, who had appeared out of nowhere, and felt a powerful sense of closeness in her heart.
"Who are you?! And why do you know about her?!" the Great Demon King of Chaos demanded, fixing his eyes on Riku and forcing down his fear.
Sun Wukong had only just been born; even the legion of gods likely hadn't sensed her yet. Only he, this defective half–Star Spirit, essentially Sun Wukong's younger brother, knew everything.
So who was this man who had suddenly appeared, setting off such a keen sense of danger?
"I am Riku Dola, master of [Disboard]," Riku said evenly, meeting the Great Demon King of Chaos's gaze. "Rest easy, I bear no malice toward you."
"…!" The Great Demon King of Chaos's pupils contracted violently; he looked at Riku in horror.
Though he was newly born, Little Garden's mechanisms had instilled certain knowledge in him. Those top communities were, of course, among that knowledge. The taboo name of [Disboard], the Great Demon King of Chaos, naturally knew it.
Though [Disboard] was a new community, it had, upon its birth, defeated the [Twelve Main Gods of Olympus] and had even broken the taboo of [Christianity], enslaving all of [Christianity].
The most controversial figure among them was Riku Dola, master of [Disboard], who had utterly defeated the Two-Digit, full-authority domain–class "Son of God, Jesus." In Little Garden, he was a taboo among taboos.
The Great Demon King of Chaos had not expected that this man, who had appeared out of nowhere, would be that very taboo. No wonder just his presence alone made breathing hard.
Of course, this secluded Great Demon King of Chaos knew nothing of the rout of the million-strong legion of gods led by the Twin Goddesses and Shakyamuni. If he did, he would probably be scared stiff.
"A being of your level, why are you here? And how do you know about us?" the Great Demon King of Chaos ground out, jaw tight, heart heavy.
"I infused the Immortal Stone with energy for a year. What do you think?" Riku glanced at Sun Wukong, who had been staring at him curiously, gave a faint smile, and then replied to the Great Demon King of Chaos in a casual tone.
"Uh…" The Great Demon King of Chaos was taken aback.
"In any case, don't do anything meaningless. Sun Wukong doesn't want to kill you, and I won't make things hard for you," Riku said slowly. "If you're interested, you can join [Disboard]. Perhaps you'll find a different meaning to your existence."
According to the fate laid out, Sun Wukong would never kill the Great Demon King of Chaos, who was essentially her younger brother. If he forced the issue and made Sun Wukong kill him, it would only sow a rift between the two.
That was not something Riku wished to see. Only as a half–Star Spirit would Sun Wukong walk the path of the "Great Sage." Interfering too much with his [Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence] told Riku would have the opposite effect.
"[Disboard]…" the Great Demon King of Chaos murmured.
The fame of [Disboard] was too great; even Little Garden's mechanisms called it a "Demon Lord Alliance." The figures gathered there were all formidable beyond measure. "...I'll consider it." The Great Demon King of Chaos looked at Riku, eyes flickering.
Before this being, there was no way he could do anything.
To be personally invited by him, few in Little Garden could boast such a thing. 'Is my lousy luck actually not so bad?'
The Great Demon King of Chaos gave a self-mocking smile.
Then his Gift, "Divine Concealment," activated. Leaving behind a single character [混], he vanished without a trace.
Clearly, though Riku had intervened, he would no longer try to force his elder sister Sun Wukong to kill him. Nor would he seek death out of boredom. The scales in his heart had tipped.
As the Great Demon King of Chaos departed, Sun Wukong, who had been watching Riku all this time, finally moved.
She spread her lotus-white arms, stepped forward, and hugged Riku, breathing in his scent.
"I feel… safe," Sun Wukong said, looking up with pure, pristine eyes that drew one in.
"Do you? I rather like this feeling too, Sun Wukong," Riku said with a faint smile as the girl held him, sighing softly.
Who would have thought that this girl would one day reappear in myth under the name "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" and shake Little Garden?
"Let's bathe first, then change clothes; we can talk afterwards," Riku said, ruffling Sun Wukong's hair with a small smile.
"Mm." That special sense of closeness in her heart made the girl blink and nod.
Riku then helped Sun Wukong bathe and dressed her in clothing he had stored in the system's inventory, once obtained from treasure chests, with outfit-changing functions.
As for "benefits" while bathing Sun Wukong, there's no need to spell them out.
Even so, Riku would not take advantage of Sun Wukong's innocence to do anything out of line; he merely taught her some basic knowledge so she wouldn't, like a wildling, need ages to learn it on her own.
Next, Riku tested the power Sun Wukong possessed.
Though she didn't go all out and didn't know Riku's strength, she feared hurting him, so she only used part of her power; it was still enough for Riku to estimate her current level.
Roughly on a par with Brahma, top tier among the Three-Digits. But she was still growing rapidly. Reaching Indra's level was only a matter of time. And she wouldn't even need to "cultivate" with eating and sleeping alone; she would naturally grow to that height.
Riku couldn't help but sigh. Talent like that would make many die of envy.
In the months that followed, Riku stayed with Sun Wukong in this forest, teaching her the knowledge she needed.
However, Riku did not interfere with Sun Wukong's own ideas; he only instructed her in common sense, combat techniques, and control over her power.
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T/N: If you enjoy horror stories, you can take a look at my new work Warden of the Eternal Prison.