"I overestimated myself. Redirecting the Halo of the Supreme Ruler isn't that easy." Aslan said, gasping in pain.
The highest-ranked gift of Flash Heat Divinity, the Halo of the Supreme Ruler, capable of destroying a third of the world, was still too powerful.
Though Aslan had tried his hardest to construct a spatial trajectory to deflect the Halo of the Supreme Ruler, the beam still pierced through most of the trajectory meant to disperse the attack. Thankfully, it was successfully redirected, though at a great cost.
Aslan felt his Spirit Status nearly drained.
"Take this. It's the Heavenly Army' secret medicine. Swallow it, and your Spirit Status will fully recover." Kenshin said, observing Aslan's overloaded Spirit Status. He wasn't surprised, as overloading was normal after deflecting such an attack.
Or rather, Aslan's success in deflecting it showed his mastery of spatial laws surpassed over ninety-nine percent of Boundary-type Spirit Status holders in Little Garden.
Karyou took the jade bottle containing the medicine and handed it to Aslan without hesitation. The medicine melted in his mouth, and in an instant, Aslan felt his Spirit Status nearly restored. He reluctantly stood up from Karyou's embrace, looking at the ruined game arena and Absolute Evil, Azi Dahaka, who had seized the chance to escape. His expression turned serious.
Yes, Azi Dahaka had escaped, completely free from Indra's suppression.
Though Heracles wasn't weak, neither his Spirit Status nor worldview could suppress Azi Dahaka. He couldn't even attack him. If he accidentally struck him, he could easily add a Four-Digit Spirit Status to him, speeding up his recovery.
"This damned Another Cosmology!"
"There was no such thing when fighting Dystopia!"
Heracles wasn't afraid to fight a Demon Lord barehanded. But adding Spirit Status and worldview to a Demon Lord, increasing the difficulty for future attackers while sacrificing his own life?
Forget it. Heracles wouldn't make such a meaningless sacrifice.
He couldn't help glancing at Indra.
Indra was in trouble too. He was battling Zarathustra, using his Four-Digit Spirit Status to counter the near-suicidal attacks of his former comrade. He also had to protect Kalki, which was quite challenging. He'd even been forced to release his hold on Azi Dahaka.
Raging golden lightning clashed with the foul, gray-black wind of aging, reaching a stalemate.
At that moment, a black lightning bolt pierced through the aging wind, suddenly striking Indra. Instantly, Indra's blue hair turned white, and his powerful spear attack slowed for a moment.
That moment gave Zarathustra an opening. He burned his Spirit Status frantically, unleashing another aging lightning attack toward Kalki at light speed. Simultaneously, he ignored all defenses and rushed toward the newly escaped Azi Dahaka.
He wanted to kill him or die by his hand, removing the final obstacle to Absolute Evil's Spirit Status, which had swollen to its limit.
"How could I let you succeed?"
Always watching the battlefield, Aslan used spatial teleportation to redirect Zarathustra's movement one hundred eighty degrees.
"Want to die? Go back to your battlefield!!"
Indra didn't miss the opportunity. To prevent a repeat, he immediately threw his Vasavi Shakti.
"Vasavi Shakti!!! Pierce everything and bring me victory!"
As an Another Cosmology embodying the truth of victory, Vasavi Shakti's triumph wasn't just about killing enemies. All victories were encompassed within it—whether buying a lottery ticket, dueling, or a Gift Game. Once Vasavi Shakti was drawn, victory was assured.
Of course, repelling enemies without harming them was also part of victory!
The golden, lightning-filled Vasavi Shakti struck Azi Dahaka into the air, once again piercing the sky's curtain.
The curtain was shattered. Now, Azi Dahaka's escape could no longer be hidden.
After all, Little Garden was a flat, round continent floating in the starry universe, with an area comparable to a star. It wasn't a planet. This meant that if something happened in the sky, anyone with good enough vision could see it from anywhere in Little Garden.
And Little Garden didn't lack gods, Buddhas, or Asuras. How could their vision be poor?
There were also those who loved chasing news. The sky's curtain couldn't stop them.
"What now, what now, the evil dragon is free!!!"
"That falling star earlier? No, that was definitely not a falling star—it was the Halo of the Supreme Ruler!!"
"Is Little Garden doomed?"
Seeing the white three-headed dragon flying in the sky, countless gods trembled. Before the strongest God-Slayer, capable of facing millions of gods alone, all gods were the same—no different. They were all pigs ready for slaughter. Even the great Kings of Gods were no exception.
Though his weaknesses were clear, Absolute Evil brought absolute fear to Little Garden's gods. Almost all gods quaked in terror under his power.
This was why, in the original story, after Absolute Evil broke free, most gods in Little Garden quickly agreed to build a new Little Garden.
At least with Dystopia, they could fight or surrender. But with Absolute Evil, they couldn't harm him, and if they accidentally killed him, he would revive. They could only rely on human heroes.
But even gods didn't want to entrust their lives to human heroes. Unless forced, who would leave their fate in others' hands?
Relying on humans to survive—they couldn't accept it!
How could great gods admit such a thing?
Even those secretly allied with Ouroboros grew angry and panicked.
What was Ouroboros doing, actually releasing Azi Dahaka?
But when they saw a white-haired youth fighting Azi Dahaka in the sky, they couldn't help but smile joyfully.
The savior Kalki was human, a Candidate of Origin on the gods' side created by Ouroboros.
If Kalki overcame the Last Trial of Mankind: Absolute Evil, wouldn't they gain unimaginable achievements?
At that moment, they somehow supported Ouroboros again.
"By the way, is it okay for Krishna to leak this information to them?"
"What can they influence? We need to give them some reward to stabilize them, right? After all, Ouroboros is an alliance."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Move!"
In the sky, the three-headed dragon glared at the white-haired youth blocking his path, his three pairs of eyes filled with killing intent.
He didn't want to waste time with Kalki. He could sense that Kalki also had an Another Cosmology. Once they fought, this wouldn't be resolved quickly. And that time could let the one using his mother's name escape!
Azi Dahaka now only wanted to kill him, the petty thief using the Mother of the Evil God's name!
Kill him! Kill him!
"Sorry, but I can't let you keep destroying this world."
Kalki shook his head stubbornly. He could feel the intense killing intent from the three-headed dragon. But he was the destined savior. How could he retreat just because of killing intent?
What he needed to do now was kill or surpass Absolute Evil while still human.
Uesugi Kenshin
On the other side, Aslan closed his eyes and logged into his 'secondary' account, Angra Mainyu.
"Ahriman, don't you want to meet him? Azi Dahaka's practically lost his mind with rage."
"No. Dying like this might be the best end for Absolute Evil's fate." The Mother of the Evil God, Ahriman, said, her voice still tinged with sadness. But Aslan could hear a glimmer of hope in her sorrow.
She wanted to live like an ordinary mother and child with Azi Dahaka and Zarathustra, didn't she?
Evil always equaled good. Extreme evil was also extreme good. Human Evil was also Human Love.
"Then let's let Absolute Evil die completely, like you."
Hearing Aslan's voice, the Mother of the Evil God seemed to feel better. Letting go of everything and being fully free? That was a pretty good future.
"Then it's time for me to act."
Seeing Azi Dahaka and the countless gods around, Aslan decided to do something big. To give Little Garden a massive shock.
Aslan gave Azi Dahaka a loving smile, like a parent's. After provoking Azi Dahaka into completely losing his sanity, turning from an evil dragon into a mad dragon.
"I'll kill you!! I'll kill you!!" Azi Dahaka roared like a lunatic. Or rather, at this moment, he had no shred of sanity left.
This was the effect Aslan wanted. After all, Azi Dahaka, with his Thousand Magics and ability to draw information from human history, was quite difficult to handle. No conspiracy or plan could be hidden from him.
But after losing his sanity, the situation became easier to control. The only cost was that it might be hard to manage this mad dragon.
The effect was too dramatic, wasn't it? Just with a little provocation?
Aslan still underestimated the Mother of the Evil God's place in Azi Dahaka's heart.