"Did God truly say that?"
It was still that familiar little river, and still that familiar young man.
However, unlike before, the young man no longer wore a smile. His face was completely expressionless.
Yet the faint trembling of the surrounding space seemed to indicate that this God of Destruction was not in a particularly good mood.
"Yes, Shiva..."
After leaving Mount Olympus, Brahma had returned directly to the headquarters of the Hindu pantheon and told Shiva everything that had happened during the meeting.
Although Brahma, like Shiva, was one of the three supreme gods of the Hindu pantheon, his strength was clearly inferior to that of the God of Destruction. A matter of this magnitude could only be left for Shiva to decide.
"Since God dared to say something like that, it means..."
"That one has already recovered to the peak of her power, perhaps even surpassed her former self! Otherwise, she never would have made such a decision."
Although Shiva was a battle maniac, he had not allowed that fact to cloud his judgment. Instead, he carefully analyzed the situation and the relationships involved.
It did not take him long to understand why Elise had dared to let Brahma return. It was because she possessed absolute confidence in her own strength!
In a certain sense, this God of the Bible really was quite similar to him.
"Doesn't that mean we have no chance left at all?"
Brahma immediately grew anxious. If things really were as Shiva said, then their Hindu pantheon would truly have no choice but to submit... and that was something they absolutely could not accept!
"If I could also break through to that realm, then it wouldn't necessarily be impossible..."
Shiva's words caused a spark of hope to rise within Brahma's heart, but his very next sentence mercilessly extinguished it.
"But you know the truth as well as I do. All these years, I've never encountered an opportunity to advance. Reaching the same realm as God now is nothing more than wishful thinking."
Indeed, how long had Shiva remained stuck at his current level?
Although no one knew the exact amount of time, it had unquestionably been an extremely long period!
After all these years without a breakthrough, could Shiva suddenly succeed now simply because he had to face the God of the Bible?
The answer was unknown.
No one knew whether Shiva could truly break through at such a critical moment.
"So the choice you made back then wasn't a bad one, Brahma."
"We currently lack the strength to oppose the God of the Bible. Surrendering for the time being really is a good idea."
"When the right opportunity comes, we can decide what to do next."
Seeing Shiva, who still looked like a young man, casually wave his hand, Brahma understood that surrender was probably their only path forward.
Only if Shiva broke through to the same realm as the God of the Bible would they have any possibility of counterattacking. Otherwise, resistance would only bring destruction upon the entire Hindu pantheon.
"Since even you're saying that, then I suppose we have no choice but to comply..."
However, just as the matter was about to be settled, a strange voice suddenly came from nearby, causing both supreme gods to frown.
"To think the renowned Shiva would actually turn out to be a coward."
"Looks like I came here for nothing."
A figure draped in a black cloak abruptly appeared on the opposite bank of the river.
"Who are you?"
Shiva's expression became extraordinarily grave. It was one thing for Brahma not to have noticed, but even Shiva himself had failed to sense that a third person was here?
"No one of importance. Merely an insignificant god who happened to be passing by."
Such an answer was obviously far from convincing.
"I originally intended to contribute my meager strength and help the Hindu pantheon resist the God of the Bible. I never expected you people to simply give up."
"So much for the mighty Hindu pantheon."
The figure's words were filled with provocation. Brahma was already unable to remain seated, but Shiva beside him firmly held him in place.
"It can't be helped. There is an entire major realm separating me from that God of the Bible. I have absolutely no hope of victory. If I try to force the issue, I'll only cause unnecessary casualties."
Shiva's face betrayed no emotion whatsoever, but Brahma, who was in physical contact with him, could feel Shiva's hand trembling.
Clearly, the God of Destruction cared deeply about being unable to fight this battle.
"Hahaha! So that's all it was?"
The sudden laughter caused Shiva and Brahma's gazes to sharpen. When the figure happened to raise his head, they finally caught a clear glimpse of the face beneath the cloak...
It was actually a mechanical mask?
And that was not all. The aura emanating from him was unlike anything Shiva or Brahma had ever encountered before.
Just where had an existence like this come from?
"Since Lord Shiva has so little confidence in making a breakthrough, allow this insignificant god to lend you a hand!"
The hand beneath the cloak moved. A moment later, a mechanical arm extended outward, and shock instantly appeared across both gods' faces.
Naturally, it was not the mechanical arm itself that shocked them. It was the object in his hand—or rather, that mass of energy...
It was completely pitch-black, resembling a black hole, as though it contained enough energy to destroy the entire world!
More than that, Shiva could sense an inexplicable attraction coming from it!
"This is... destruction?"
Although the corners of his mouth trembled slightly, Shiva gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at the sphere of power.
He had been stuck at this level for countless years. All he lacked was that single opportunity!
And what stood before him was precisely what he had been missing—a power belonging to destruction itself!
If he could obtain it, Shiva's strength would undoubtedly advance further. It might even become possible for him to contend with the God of the Bible as an equal.
But...
There was no such thing as a free lunch!
Despite the enormous attraction this object held for Shiva, he restrained himself.
"Correct. This is the very origin of destruction!"
"With this, Lord Shiva, you'll surely be able to defeat the God of the Bible, won't you?"
"Then what is the price?"
Shiva was not lured in by such an enticing promise. Instead, he stared intently at that mechanical face, hoping to discern something from it.
Unfortunately, even with his eyesight, he could obtain no useful information whatsoever.
"There is no price. This insignificant god simply does not wish to be ruled by the God of the Bible, which is why I hope Lord Shiva can eliminate God!"
"That is all."
As expected...
Shiva was not surprised by the answer, but he still seemed to harbor some reservations and did not immediately agree.
Seeing this, the black-cloaked figure was not surprised either.
Suspicion was perfectly normal, especially toward someone of completely unknown origins like him.
But... sometimes people simply had no other choice!
Boom!
While Shiva was still hesitating, the black-cloaked figure suddenly aimed the mass of energy at him and hurled it over with tremendous force.
Shiva easily caught such a straightforward attack in one hand, but when he looked for the black-cloaked figure again, there was no longer any trace of him. Only his voice remained in the air.
"No matter what Lord Shiva ultimately decides, this mass of energy is yours. I hope you can advance even further!"
Shiva's eyes narrowed. He continued staring at the sky for a long time before finally lowering his gaze to the mass of energy and putting it away.
Shiva was still hesitating.
However, just as the black-cloaked figure had said...
Only those with a choice could hesitate, and sometimes people simply had no other choice!
...
Heaven.
Elise looked at the report in her hands with an intrigued expression. She truly had not expected things to develop this way.
After all, this was intelligence concerning the Khaos Brigade!
What was the Khaos Brigade?
In this world, it could at least be considered a minor boss-level organization. Since Elise intended to secure this world's faith for herself in the future, she planned to eliminate some of the troublemakers who might interfere with that goal.
First and foremost was Rizevim. He had been a genuine chaos-loving lunatic, but he had already died at Metatron's hands, so there was no longer any need to worry about him.
Second was the Khaos Brigade. This organization had gathered talented individuals from all over the world, and its ability to cause trouble was truly first-rate.
If Elise wanted to solve the problem once and for all, she either had to dismantle them or wipe them out!
And that was exactly what Elise had been doing. She had kept the members of the Khaos Brigade wanted and had also assigned people to monitor Vali on the Fallen Angel side.
Hard work paid off. Thanks to the angels' tireless efforts, the Khaos Brigade's headquarters had been discovered!
Of course, it did not actually have much to do with the angels under her command. Elise acknowledged that they had all worked very hard, but finding those members of the Khaos Brigade was simply too troublesome.
The reason Elise had ultimately obtained intelligence on the Khaos Brigade was because she had the people inside the Khaos Brigade itself to thank.
As mentioned before, the Khaos Brigade had gathered talented individuals from all over the world. Naturally, that included angels!
That's right. You heard correctly. Even white-winged angels who had never fallen were among their ranks!
Even Elise found that utterly unbelievable.
Back when the former God of the Bible had died, the entire balance of the world had undergone tremendous changes.
The original plan had been to conceal the news of God's death, but many angels already knew the truth. They had personally participated in the war back then and witnessed God's death with their own eyes!
Naturally, some of those angels fell as a result and became members of the fallen angels.
However, there was another group who left Heaven without falling, because they had always believed that God could not possibly be dead!
They had remained utterly convinced that they were still fighting for God!
Through sheer force of conviction, those angels had avoided falling and instead joined the Khaos Brigade.
After all, God had died at the hands of the original Four Great Satans, so these angels naturally possessed an enormous hatred for the Satans and the Underworld.
They had joined the Khaos Brigade precisely to carry out God's former will—to destroy devils and eradicate evil!
But then something interesting happened.
Ever since Elise arrived in this world and became the God of the Bible, the angels within the Khaos Brigade gradually began to react.
Little by little, they realized that God had returned!
At first, some of the angels planned to return directly to Heaven and serve God once more, but another group opposed the idea.
Because they wanted to eliminate every obstacle standing in the Lord's way!
And the Khaos Brigade was one such obstacle!
And so, those angels remained hidden within the Khaos Brigade, becoming concealed blades that could deliver a fatal strike at any moment!
While Elise had taken Est and the others to the Underworld, Michael and the others were the first to receive this information. They immediately joined forces with Metatron and launched an operation with the goal of eliminating the unstable factor known as the Khaos Brigade.
After all, the Khaos Brigade had previously attacked the meeting place of the Three Factions, and Elise herself had issued an order for their arrest. It simply had not been carried out immediately.
Now that the opportunity had arrived, how could the angels not be excited?
This was the perfect opportunity to ease their Lord's burdens!
And so, a huge group of angels from Heaven charged enthusiastically into the Khaos Brigade's headquarters as though they had been injected with pure adrenaline. The outcome was naturally obvious.
How could that collection of worthless rabble possibly defeat the new angelic army Elise had created?
Especially with fallen angels and devils helping from within, catching the Khaos Brigade completely off guard.
Those people probably never imagined that after spending so long launching surprise attacks on others, the day would actually come when they themselves were ambushed!
Although a small number managed to escape, they were unlikely to cause much trouble. After all, Metatron and the others had already dealt with all the primary targets.
"My Lord, I'm back!"
Just as Elise was becoming increasingly engrossed in the report, Metatron excitedly pushed open the door and walked in.
Normally, Elise probably would have given her a lecture for barging in like that, but this time, even Elise's attention was immediately drawn to the object in Metatron's hands.
It was a spear!
An extremely unusual spear!
The entire shaft was blue, while near the spearhead were two spiraling structures resembling golden ears of wheat.
"Is that... the True Longinus?"
Elise could clearly sense the aura of the God of the Bible emanating from the spear!
"So it's called the True Longinus?" Metatron tilted her head before continuing, "I remember the guy who used it was called Cao Cao, wasn't he?"
"During the battle, he charged straight at me without saying a word. He really startled me."
"But at the time, I could also sense the power of this spear. Its aura was extremely similar to yours, my Lord, so I took it from him!"
Elise had not expected Metatron and the others to move so quickly. They had actually taken down the Khaos Brigade outright!
As Cao Cao's Longinus, the True Longinus ordinarily could not possibly be obtained by someone else. But one must not forget!
Sacred Gears and Longinus were originally distributed by the God of the Bible. Since God could grant them, naturally God also possessed the ability to take them back!
"Excellent work, Metatron!"
Elise rose from her chair and accepted the holy spear from Metatron.
"Then what about the remaining members of the Khaos Brigade?"
Although Elise had issued arrest orders for the Khaos Brigade, that did not mean she intended to kill every last member. Her primary targets were the ones constantly causing trouble.
"Following Michael's instructions, we've imprisoned everyone burdened with serious sins in Heaven's prison!"
"If you don't like that arrangement, executing them would be fine too!"
As one of Elise's creations, Metatron naturally despised the members of the Khaos Brigade, but she had not acted rashly.
After all, her Lord had given no such order. As a subordinate, how could she possibly execute prisoners on her own authority?
"There's no need. When I have time, I'll go take a look at the prison myself..."
Elise shook her head, then reached out and gently stroked Metatron's head.
"You must be tired after a battle like that. Go get some proper rest for now. I'll give you a nice reward later!"
"Yes, my Lord! Understood!"
Metatron naturally understood the implication in Elise's words, so she immediately departed with light, cheerful steps, leaving Elise alone in the room with the holy spear in her hands.
"I originally thought the scheming Cao Cao would immediately run away. I didn't expect him to be so stubborn."
"But precisely because he didn't run, I was able to get my hands on you, wasn't I?"
As though responding to Elise, the True Longinus began radiating golden light...
There was no doubt about it. This spear possessed a consciousness of its own!
Based on Elise's knowledge of the original story, there was a very high possibility that it was the consciousness left behind by the former God of the Bible!