"Unfortunately, under Zurvan's influence, I failed to obtain the Absolute Evil Spirit Status." Angra Mainyu said with a smile. Though he failed, he wasn't surprised at all.
In Little Garden, there's also the concept of Zurvan, meaning fate or destiny. It's the ultimate destiny that even Full Authority Domain (Two-Digit) entities cannot resist.
Like the fall of the Mother of the Good God, which birthed many Pantheons in Little Garden, or every Last Trial of Mankind destined to be surpassed by a hero.
Zurvan might be Two-Digit, an influence of human history, or an evolution of Little Garden's Central Core.
It seems to exist, yet doesn't. It can't be proven or disproven. Like why Dystopia occupied the Western District for thousands of years undetected. Some gods might've sensed something off about Dystopia but subconsciously ignored it, as if under a suggestion.
This is also why Aslan could guess and prevent Angra Mainyu from obtaining the Absolute Evil Spirit Status.
It's all nonsense. It's the result of the imaginations of cunning people living in Little Garden for years. The longer gods live in Little Garden and the more they know, the more they believe in a true destiny with supreme power.
In Little Garden, even lies can become reality if enough people believe. So, perhaps there really is such a Zurvan.
"However, it's not like there's no gain."
Just as Angra Mainyu took Another Cosmology: Avesta, Aslan, Kalki, and Indra—who rose from the ground, forcibly reconstructing his heart with divine power—surrounded Angra Mainyu. They formed a triangular formation, ready to encircle and kill him.
The only good news now was that Angra Mainyu wasn't strong. His Spirit Status level was comparable to Kalki's, still within the Four-Digit range. He hadn't grown, so they could still fight him. If he truly grew, it would be a moment of true despair.
Now, Kalki hadn't grown either, and Angra Mainyu's Kali Yuga hadn't grown. With Aslan and Indra's help, they might actually kill him early. Otherwise, once he grew, he'd cause endless trouble.
"By the way, Uncle Indra, are you okay? Can you still fight?" Aslan asked with concern, seeing Indra's pale face. Ahriman's earlier attack was brutal, directly crushing Indra's heart.
And the gap between Four-Digit levels was too vast.
When Aslan entered his body, he could only talk.
As for combat power?
Could not being killable count as combat power?
In contrast, the Mother of the Evil God, Ahriman, though Aslan's consciousness was also in Angra Mainyu's body, couldn't comprehend how she counterattacked.
Indra nodded. Weakly holding Vasavi Shakti, he said stubbornly, "Just a fatal wound. I've had worse in the past. How could this affect my fighting?"
However, Indra was currently in his human incarnation. The heart is a vital organ. Plus, it was destroyed by a Last Trial of Mankind. The damage from such a special attack wasn't light. Maintaining his combat power already showed his capability.
"Actually, I was going to say I still have two golden pills." Aslan secretly pulled out the jade bottle he took from Tamamo no Mae and tossed it to Indra.
"Damn it, why didn't you say earlier? You made me lose so much blood." Indra unhesitatingly swallowed both golden pills at once.
After being treated with the two golden pills, Indra's injuries improved significantly. At least they wouldn't affect his fighting anymore.
"You didn't ask. By the way, don't forget to pay for them."
"Damn, you're shameless." Indra couldn't help glaring at him.
He felt Aslan now had a bit of Canaria's style.
Did he really not know whose pills those were?
Nowadays, every pill from Chinese mythology is rare. Their prices must've skyrocketed to insane levels.
Could this kid afford them?
"Why be shy?" Aslan said calmly.
If he could keep them, that was his skill. If he hadn't used spatial teleportation to reduce Kalki's injuries, it'd be strange if he could've kept them.
"But, Uncle Indra, didn't you surpass Kali Yuga once? Any clues this time?" Aslan asked Indra about the most critical issue now: how to defeat the current Angra Mainyu.
He needed to arrange for Angra Mainyu to retreat naturally and keep growing. Otherwise, he couldn't think of a reasonable retreat in a short time.
"No way at all? This Kali Yuga is too different from the old one." Indra said helplessly. He found it extremely difficult. He still couldn't handle that earlier attack.
If he weren't certain the Mother of the Evil God was truly dead, and if this Angra Mainyu wasn't so different from the tearful Mother of the Evil God in his memory, he'd think she had revived and decided to destroy Little Garden.
But he knew the Mother of the Evil God, Ahriman, wasn't like that and wouldn't disguise herself. So, that possibility was zero.
If the Mother of the Evil God revived, it'd still be better. What he feared was that this was a true Last Trial of Mankind, and an extremely evil one. Indra was utterly confused. He really didn't know what was happening.
How did the Last Trials of Mankind, from the dawn of Kali Yuga to Dystopia, Absolute Evil, and now this Angra Mainyu, keep getting more abnormal? He couldn't imagine how absurd future Last Trials of Mankind would be.
Little Garden was about to end, wasn't it?
Indeed, Gaia's past argument was correct. Gods shouldn't just take achievements from human history; they should give back. Only then could Little Garden and human history grow healthily.
But now?
Give back?
Give back what?
Little Garden had gained 17 Full Authority Domains from human history, countless Three-Digit and Another Cosmology entities.
As for Four-Digit and below, their numbers were incalculable.
How many of those did the gods truly deserve, and how many were forcibly taken? Who knows?
The only thing Indra knew was that Gaia, who advocated giving back to human history, had vanished from Little Garden.
"Ah, so even you have no way?" Aslan sank into thought. As expected, he had to figure out a retreat himself.
"It seems there's only one way."
Aslan took a deep breath, as if making a decision. He looked at Angra Mainyu with determination.
"You have a way?" Indra looked at him in surprise.
The only way he could think of now was to fight all-out, then find a way for Kalki to surpass Kali Yuga.
But the difficulty… it was like asking a baby to fight Mike Tyson, with him, Tyson, helping from the sidelines.
Yes, that's the level of absurdity. Indra had little confidence.
Before Angra Mainyu got Another Cosmology, there might've been a sliver of hope to win. But now… better to sleep; maybe he could keep a whole corpse.
"Three against one, the advantage is mine."
They had three Another Cosmology: Vasavi Shakti, Void Star · Tai Sui, and Avatāra, while the opponent had only one. It wasn't certain who'd win.
"Three moves." Ahriman said in Aslan's mind. In just three moves, she could kill Aslan, Kalki, and Indra.
After all, she was the Mother of the Evil God. Another Cosmology: Avesta was her creation. No one knew it better or could unleash its power perfectly like her.
Even Indra's Vasavi Shakti couldn't compare. In her hands, she could even temporarily mimic Aslan and the others' Another Cosmology.
Ahriman's meaning was clear: Aslan should find another way. This retreat plan was a bit foolish and risked exposing secrets. Instantly, "Three against one, the advantage is mine" became "The advantage is my death."
Was this the power of one of the four original truths that founded Little Garden? It made Aslan want to give up.
After understanding Ahriman's message, Aslan immediately changed his plan.
"If there's no other choice, there's only one way: exile." Aslan sighed.
It was the method used by the Demon Lord who attacked Arcadia to deal with Canaria and others—exiling them to an unobservable area of Little Garden. Though they'd return someday, wasn't stalling better?
Out there, Angra Mainyu couldn't gain achievements or grow. Meanwhile, they could train Kalki. Maybe when Angra Mainyu returned, he could surpass him?
"At least it's still the era of Absolute Evil, not yet the Iron Age."
"Kali Yuga hasn't truly been born, right?"
Indra paused, then looked at Angra Mainyu and said helplessly, "It seems this is the only way we can use."
Stalling with exile? It was the last method they could think of. If this were Kali Yuga's era, even if exiled, he'd be summoned back soon. They could only be grateful he was born early.