"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Two simultaneous impacts echoed through the chamber.
Takeyo and the God locked eyes, their expressions mirroring identical displeasure at Gabriel's enthusiastic declaration.
Lord and mother? What the hell?
As if sharing a single mind, Takeyo and the God each delivered a sharp flick to Gabriel's forehead.
"Ow!"
Gabriel's eyes immediately welled with tears as she clutched her head, her lower lip trembling. What had she done wrong? Why were both the Lord and the Holy Son treating her this way?
"Let's table the naming discussion for now," the God sighed, resignation coloring her voice. Since neither she nor Takeyo seemed willing to budge, they'd have to resolve it properly later, after determining who held the stronger claim.
"Agreed. Seems I'll need to convince you properly at some point." Takeyo shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his lips.
Apparently, the God shared his particular stubbornness when it came to matters of identity and legacy.
"We'll see about that," the God responded without hesitation.
Your potential may exceed mine, but don't think you can simply overwrite my will.
...
Michael observed the exchange between the two divine beings in uncomfortable silence, a bead of cold sweat trailing down his temple.
He'd been about to suggest an alternative name, but after witnessing this interaction, he wisely decided against it. Nothing he could propose would be significantly better than "Lord and Mother" anyway, and he had no desire to earn matching forehead strikes.
...
And so, Takeyo and his companions settled into Heaven.
The environment proved ideal for his current needs. An incomprehensibly powerful sacred presence permeated every corner of the realm, allowing Takeyo to deepen and broaden his understanding of the Holy Path with unprecedented clarity.
Of course, there was a complication.
The overwhelming holy power that saturated Heaven posed a significant problem for Devils. Grayfia, at the peak of Maou-class, or possibly beyond, could withstand the pressure without issue. However, her younger counterpart lacked such resilience.
To address this, Takeyo established a specialized barrier around the girl, isolating her from the oppressive sacred energy. Watching young Grayfia explore the celestial realm with genuine excitement confirmed the barrier's effectiveness.
But the most pressing matter awaited elsewhere.
"Let's use that to decide," Takeyo said, pointing to a small object resting on a table in the God's study.
The God's golden eyes gleamed with sudden interest as she followed his gesture.
Chess. The one game where I excel.
"If you win, we'll do things your way. If I win, we'll do things mine. Sound fair?" Her cherry lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"Exactly right," Takeyo responded, matching her expression.
He knew the God must possess tremendous confidence to keep chess pieces displayed so prominently in her personal study. Her computational ability and capacity for understanding complex systems ranked among the strongest in this world, she'd single-handedly designed both the Sacred Gear system and Heaven's entire administrative framework. Her processing power was nothing short of extraordinary.
Of course, Takeyo was hardly defenseless in this area.
What the God didn't yet know was that he'd temporarily achieved Dragon God-level power by utilizing both the Heaven Realm Array and Underworld Array simultaneously. His own computational abilities had been dramatically enhanced.
"Then... let's begin."
Takeyo settled into his chair.
The God accepted his challenge and sat across from him. Having witnessed the magic circles within Takeyo's body and observed his ability to defeat Trihexa while fused with her power, she'd already acknowledged his capabilities.
Recognition was one thing, however. Concession was another entirely. Some matters couldn't be compromised, and this happened to be a perfect method to settle things in a way both parties would accept.
...
Watching the God's enthusiasm, Grayfia released a long sigh.
She already knew how this contest would end. Others might be uncertain about the outcome, but she understood perfectly.
How many mysterious abilities do you possess?
Observing Takeyo as he matched moves with the God, Grayfia's eyes reflected a mixture of confusion and longing.
Yes, longing.
Takeyo had been her object of admiration for a very long time.
She'd known about his ability to traverse time and space for years. That knowledge was precisely why she'd been able to provide him with the correct temporal coordinates at the correct moment.
As for her current state of emotional vulnerability, that could be attributed to Takeyo's unique constitution.
Both the Origin of Human Bloodline and the Origin of the God of the Bible were physiques that exerted powerful attraction on other creatures, especially those weaker than the bearer. The Three Thousand Paths: Path of the Holy combined with the God of the Bible's essence created a synergistic effect.
Finally, the massive power gap between Takeyo and Grayfia, spanning multiple tiers, made her exceptionally susceptible to his influence.
Of course, being so easily affected also stemmed from Grayfia's own lack of resistance.
Serving at Takeyo's side was, after all, her long-cherished wish.
...
Half an hour later, the soft click of a chess piece being placed resonated through the study.
"Shall we continue?" Takeyo asked with a gentle smile.
Though the God still maintained her position on the board, she remained far from defeat. Yet Takeyo had already secured his victory, this was absolute.
The God met his question with a long sigh and a knowing look.
If hope of victory remained, she would never surrender. But she understood clearly whether victory was still possible.
"Then I've won the right to decide our titles," Takeyo said easily. Neither he nor the God considered this matter particularly serious, it was more about principle than outcome.
"By the way, you mentioned you're planning to construct a large formation. Have you gathered the materials? I'd like to see it," Takeyo continued.
As one of the few beings who could match his expertise in formations, he was genuinely curious about what type of array the God intended to establish.
The God considered the request briefly before agreeing. She'd actually wanted to ask Takeyo to review the formation anyway, seeking his insight.
"Why didn't you kill Trihexa before?" the God asked suddenly. "Was it because the consequences of killing it would be too severe?"
Though she herself couldn't defeat the Beast Emperor, after fusing her power with Takeyo's, he should have been able to display Dragon God-level strength. With full effort, eliminating Trihexa shouldn't have been impossible.
"Is it because the Beast remains alive in the future?" the God ventured.
That was the only explanation she could conceive. Otherwise, she couldn't understand why Takeyo had spared Trihexa.
Takeyo's eyebrows rose slightly. The God was indeed perceptive, she'd grasped the situation without requiring explanation.
"Yes, that's correct."
During his previous travels with Grayfia, he'd explored several adjacent dimensional planes. Though the process was labor-intensive, he could still cross to other dimensions with effort.
Among those planes, he'd found the one where Trihexa was sealed.
In other words, at least until the Devil Civil War that followed, Trihexa remained alive.
Of course, the most fundamental reason was simpler: Takeyo no longer considered Trihexa a significant threat.
Once he returned to his original timeline, he could utilize both the Heaven Realm Array and Underworld Array simultaneously, completely replicating his current combat capabilities.
What concerned him more now... was the matter of the other world.
"Let's go. I'll show you the formation I've prepared," the God said, floating ahead to guide him.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
However, before either could depart, bells began ringing throughout Heaven.
These were the alarm bells.
"Awoooo!"
The distant sound of war horns followed.
The rapid pealing of bells and the echoing horns added an unmistakable atmosphere of killing intent to the peaceful celestial realm.
"This is... the war horn!" The God's eyes sharpened with sudden ferocity.
Only during the highest level of warfare would all seven layers of Heaven sound their horns simultaneously.
"So... the war is beginning," Takeyo said quietly, shaking his head.
"This war should be recorded in history, shouldn't it?" the God asked, her eyes gleaming with strange light.
Any conflict significant enough to trigger the simultaneous sounding of Heaven's seven war horns would definitely be preserved in historical records.
"Yes. This is the three-way war between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels," Takeyo replied, his gaze shifting toward the Underworld.
It seems I've truly become the God of the Bible now.
"So what's the result of this battle? If I'm correct, in the original timeline, I was either defeated by Trihexa or expended enormous power to seal it," the God said, following Takeyo's gaze into the distance.
She wanted, no, needed, to know the answer. Because understanding the outcome was essential to protecting Takeyo's future.
"In that war, the God of the Angel faction and the Four Great Satans of the Devil faction all perished. The Fallen Angels lost most of their cadres, the Devils lost a vast number of pure-blood demons, and all three major factions suffered catastrophic damage. It wasn't until my era that they finally began to recover."
When Takeyo first arrived in this time period, he hadn't even considered remaining here. His original plan had been simple: eliminate Trihexa and return home.
He certainly hadn't expected the God to use that method to force him to stay.
However, solutions existed, and they were surprisingly straightforward.
Hearing what fate awaited the three major factions, the God frowned deeply.
Currently, all three factions, even the Angels, could rightfully claim the title of top-tier power. If events truly unfolded as Takeyo described, the three factions would be reduced to dangerously vulnerable levels.
"Let's go assess the situation," the God said, her golden eyes filled with determination.
So I originally died? Or more specifically, I died alongside beings only at the level of the Four Great Satans? How ironic.
Yet it made sense. Even if she could seal Trihexa, her strength would likely drop to the Transcendent-class afterward. At that point, the original Lucifer, himself at Transcendent-class, bringing three half-step Transcendent beings to challenge her would be entirely plausible.
"Let's go," Takeyo agreed.
He and the God exchanged a meaningful glance. Then the God dissolved into golden light and merged into Takeyo's body.
They both understood the situation perfectly.
Though this war was nominally a three-way conflict, it would primarily consist of the Devils and Fallen Angels jointly attacking the Angels.
Because the God of the Bible was simply too powerful.
In fact, if the Devils and Fallen Angels hadn't learned that the God was preoccupied dealing with Trihexa, they would never have dared launch this war.
"Have you made your decision?" Takeyo asked the presence within his body.
He'd already guessed what the God intended to do.
"This is for the future," the God said softly.
To avoid accidentally creating a future where Takeyo doesn't exist, I've already decided.
"Very well. My power, no, our power, is yours to command," Takeyo said, surrendering control of his body to the God.
He trusted that with her wisdom, she wouldn't need his guidance for what came next.
Though Takeyo's origin was immensely powerful and maintained dominance in their fusion, the God wasn't without her own control. As long as Takeyo was willing, she could utilize his power.
Naturally, Takeyo could reclaim bodily control at any moment if he chose.
Relaxing his consciousness, Takeyo entered the inner space of his artifact system.
While the God handled external matters, he had his own tasks to complete.
"Found it."
Takeyo discovered a small pyramid-shaped construct surrounded by golden light particles.
This contained the vast repository of knowledge accumulated by the God.
Since no barriers blocked his access, meaning the God had deliberately opened it to him, there was no reason to be shy about accepting.
When someone essentially handed you a gift directly, refusing would be the height of rudeness.
☆☆☆
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