Those time travelers that year

In the deserted temple, in the innermost chamber, stood a Buddha statue. Before the statue lay a stubborn rock, the source of the menacing aura that Xia Er had clearly sensed. Or rather, within that rock, taller than a person.

"Monkey God?!" Xia Er walked in, seemingly unaffected. Neither the fierce aura emanating from the stubborn rock nor the concealed Sanskrit Buddhist supernatural powers were noticed by Xia Er. He was completely indifferent to the former, and had been tricked and bypassed by the latter. "—How should I put it?! Truly utterly unlucky! Being restrained by the divine power of Buddhism, to the point that even a few scoundrels could use some petty tricks to completely control you!"

"With such a pathetic performance, I don't acknowledge you as the Monkey King!"

Boom!

A rumbling sound echoed from the stubborn rock, and the fierce aura surrounding it now carried a strong killing intent. The rock emanated an unruly consciousness, fiercely impacting Xia Er's mental barrier.

Of course, Charles simply ignored this situation.

Anyway, now that he's here, he can confirm that the monkey here is indeed just a part of that monkey, perhaps even a part of its entire life. What's even more bizarre is that, seemingly to restrain this monkey, despite descending as a demon king, it was forcibly given a Buddhist divine status. This means the monkey's combat power is practically nonexistent.

"I know you're unhappy with me! That's normal, but how could the mighty Great Sage Equaling Heaven be so pathetic as to be trapped here? They're not the Buddha Shakyamuni of the Western Paradise, suppressed by the Five Fingers Mountain." Xia Er ignored the fierce killing intent and continued, "...So, I came here to accomplish something. Your arrival wasn't complete to begin with, and it was a strange mix of various divine attributes... That won't do. The real Great Sage Equaling Heaven isn't a steel hero like you who specifically targets dragons and snakes. This is a joke."

“The rebel, the hero… how could he possibly transform into the very thing he is rebelling against?”

The fierce killing intent emanating from the stubborn rock vanished instantly, replaced by a puzzling message.

"Hehehe..." Xia Er laughed in response to the doubt conveyed by the stubborn stone, "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven did not descend as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, but rather as the Demon King. Moreover, in order to limit the Demon King's power, he added the superfluous divine status of the Victorious Fighting Buddha of Buddhism. You are no longer that rebel!"

“So…” A spark escaped from Charles’s hand, and soon, a bright fire appeared. “I’ll lend a hand and help you burn away all that dross in your concepts!”

Golden rays of light appeared in the air after the fires raged in the Charr, forming countless Sanskrit characters that connected every corner of the temple, the forest, and even the sky. However, these Sanskrit characters were utterly useless amidst the flames ignited by the Charr.

No wonder, these Sanskrit characters weren't meant for defense, so who could have imagined that someone could bypass the foolproof seal and enter here?!

So, without any warning, these Sanskrit characters were burned to ashes one after another. One thing caused a chain reaction, and after Charles burned some of the Sanskrit characters, the others began to slowly crumble one by one.

However, Charles ignored the Sanskrit and had no intention of releasing the monkey from the stone. Instead, he controlled the flames and compressed them into the temple where the stone was located.

The stone was scorched by extreme heat to demonstrate the birth of a certain process. And watching the stone turn red-hot in the flames, and the consciousness that had inexplicably settled within it, was truly awe-inspiring.

He whispered softly, "I've only ever known the Monkey King, why bother with the Fighting Buddha of Mount Ling!"

524. The Out-of-Control Plot

The raging flames illuminated the golden Sanskrit characters that emerged from the firelight. Before a golden Buddha statue, the flames not only scorched the stubborn rock but also gradually melted the golden body of the Buddha. Or rather, the flames were burning away the shackles of confinement and restriction.

The consciousness within the stone had now settled down. To be honest, he didn't know why, but when Charles used flames to burn away the Sanskrit inscriptions and the golden Buddha statues, he involuntarily sensed something breaking apart.

Indeed, something was cracking, originating from within the stubborn rock—a Buddhist divine essence that, while descending as a demon king, had been crammed in with additional burdens. The incomplete monkey, on top of this incompleteness, had this cumbersome Buddhist divine essence added to it. This demon king divine essence was utterly unable to unleash its full power, as the demon king's divine essence and the Buddhist divine essence were inherently in conflict. The result of this conflict was that the Buddhist divine essence suppressed a significant portion of the demon king's divine essence's power.

This is why three people, far inferior to the Buddha, were able to restrain this demon king monkey through simple means.

But now, the restrictions are being shattered bit by bit by Xia Er… The divine essence of Buddhism is beginning to crumble, no longer able to suppress the divine essence of the demon king. However, what Xia Er needs is not a demon king monkey; he needs another one.

What is needed is that brave person who is neither demon, nor Buddha, nor god, nor immortal; that person who has become the representative of ideals, the embodiment of the beautiful ideals engraved in people's hearts—a hero.

"The Great Sage, in golden helmet and golden armor..." Xia Er began to sing softly.

"Wearing a purple-gold crown on his head and cloud-stepping boots on his feet."

"The pair of fiery eyes were forged in Laozi's furnace."

As the saying goes, "He stole peaches from the heavens and caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace."

"His somersault covers 108,000 li (approximately 54,000 kilometers), and his name is: The Great Sage Equal to Heaven—"

"—Sun Wukong!"

thump!!!

A thunderous heartbeat resounded, followed by a series of thumping heartbeats from within the stubborn rock. At that moment, cracks appeared on the rock, from which golden-red light emanated.

Charles quietly walked out of the temple, which had been engulfed by flames, and looked up at the sky.

The blockade and even some restrictions here have been lifted, accompanied by the strange changes occurring in the stubborn stone, and the endless flames burning it incessantly. Certain factors and concepts are being drawn in continuously—beliefs, tales, praises of something beautiful, and also aspirations.

Myths originate from faith, but what is involved is not simply faith, but more often a prayer called hope.

One is the hope called "hero"; the other is the spirit called "rebellion." It is something that transcends faith, and this thing is crossing the boundary between illusion and reality, surging towards this place and pouring into that stubborn rock.

Within that place, a hero who will fight against heaven and earth, a hope to whom all sorts of beautiful fantasies will be born.

——————————Divider Line——————————

When Lucifer grew impatient and directly activated the sealed Christ Godhood, which manifested as a seven-headed, ten-horned dragon—the Godhood of the Seven Deadly Sins—those on the other side of the world, in Europe, who had been searching for the arrival of the Son of Dawn, the Demon King of Pride, immediately located Lucifer's position.

Even though she is currently in the Underworld, and in an isolated area, this did not prevent the Vatican, the Papal States within Rome, Italy, from discovering Lucifer's coordinates immediately.

Lucifer, once a seraph and later the fallen ruler of Hell, is also considered one of Satan's figures. Satan, in Christian mythology, is the one who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge, thus leading them to leave the Garden of Eden.

They are true enemies of Christ.

Therefore, even though Lucifer was in an isolated space, when she replaced her Morning Star divine status with the Seven Deadly Sins divine status that she had been suppressing, the Vatican knew her location immediately.

In this timeline that Ciel has intervened in, things have already spiraled out of control. Whether it's the original destiny that Ciel has thwarted, or the Vatican, the Papal States, now aggressively asserting its presence, both are driving this world headed wildly down an uncertain path.

So the Vatican, which had been virtually invisible in this world—in fact, less so than the God of Disobedience and the Campione in the world of magic—went berserk at this moment!

The Vatican, which had been closed since Lucifer's arrival, reopened its doors on this day. In a scene unseen by ordinary people, the resounding hymn "Hallelujah" echoed through the sky as troop after troop of Templar Knights, clad in full, sealed armor, emerged from the Vatican.

Also emerging alongside these Templar Knights were numerous priests and clerics, all possessing the fighting prowess of Grand Knights—an army capable of overwhelming the entire Italian magical society. In other words…

The Vatican's inherent power emerged, directly intimidating the lowly members of the Greenwich Sages' Council. An army of Grand Knights—the last time such an army had been seen was during the troubles in Finland. In short, the entire European magic world was thrown into chaos. No one believed that the seemingly insane Vatican was planning a cosplay; more likely, it was another Crusade.

Soon, the group of several thousand people broke away from the Vatican and began to travel to the Eastern world using their own methods. Meanwhile, the Greenwich Sages Council, which was essentially a minor force, finally received a definitive reply from the Vatican.

The trail of Lucifer, the arrogant demon king and ruler of hell, has been found. His location is an island nation in the east. Now, the Vatican's task is to go there, fight their way through, and personally send Lucifer back to hell.

A true holy war.

Seeing that things had escalated to a great extent, even though the Greenwich Wise Council didn't care how many people would die in that country, since it wasn't in Europe, the chaos caused by the Vatican's major actions had already spread throughout Europe.

The three troublesome Campione in Europe have already set their sights on us. And the more energetic Sword King, Tony the Husky, has already given chase. Meanwhile, the Black Prince and the Marquis of Vauban have sent messengers to inquire (question) what exactly happened at the Greenwich Sages' Council.

Ultimately, due to considerations such as 'avoiding a major conflict between the Campione and the Vatican Crusaders in Europe' and 'letting those guys wreak havoc on that island nation', the decision was made.

The Greenwich Wise Council ultimately decided to sell the entire island nation and its official history compilation committee. After all, it's better for the island to be destroyed than for Europe to be destroyed; how could noble European aristocrats be lumped together with lowly island commoners?

525. Experience 'rights' and 'democracy'!

From the perspective of the Council of Sages of Greenwich, the Vatican Crusaders who want to cause trouble, the Campione godkillers who want to join in the fun, plus the disobedient gods that may exist over there... well! It doesn't matter. After all, this isn't in Europe, and it's not a problem on the territory of these noble lords. It's just a mere island nation. Let it rot away. Who cares about what's going on over there!

Not to mention, the Greenwich Sages Council is hailed as the United Nations of the magic world. While these lowly figures' daily work revolves around cleaning up the messes of the Rebel Gods and Campiones, it's still a globally recognized organization—yet, this mere lackey of the US has independently created a so-called Historic Compilation Committee within the magic world, and it's even family-run, controlled by the four major families and a series of smaller factions. What is this?! !?!

This is blatant anti-democracy, feudal autocratic rule, and the work of potential dangerous terrorists. They need to experience firsthand the glory of 'rights' and 'democracy' in Europe and North America before they can understand.

Especially that official history editor who only obeys orders and not decrees, and the so-called four major families—these are all 'dictators' who should be brought down.

Thus, with this in mind, the Greenwich Wise Men Council, after thorough discussion and research, decided, through a unanimous secret ballot, to approve everything that might happen, might happen, might happen, and might happen—all of which would be directed at all the Campione god-slayers they could be notified of.

Then, these European nobles and gentlemen, sipping their coffee and tea, watched from the other side of the world as the editors of official history experienced firsthand what the glory of 'capital' and 'democracy' truly meant.

Unfortunately, the Historians were completely unaware of the Greenwich Wise Men Council. They were still reeling from the devastating losses of the previous disaster, and now, having suddenly lost contact with the three leaders at the top, they were thrown into chaos.

Furthermore, the Greenwich Wise Men Council's failure to 'intentionally' conceal the truth, but rather their sudden 'forgetfulness' to remind them, plunged these families, large and small, who were the committee members responsible for compiling official histories, into a disastrous power struggle.

After all, even Alice Louise Of Nafal, the former speaker and now special advisor, believes that Europe simply cannot afford any more turmoil regarding the issue of shifting the blame eastward. In the past year, first Finnmark County in Finland, then Rhodes in Greece, followed by Sardinia and Matera in Italy—an inaccurate count of at least five disobedient entities have jumped in.

Europe, such a small place, can hardly withstand any more turmoil.

Thinking about it this way, for the good of everyone, and considering the increasingly sluggish economy, getting these troubles far away from Europe is simply a perfect idea.

Without any obstruction from the Council of Sages of Greenwich, and even with the enthusiastic delivery of intelligence and information about the situation, the Vatican's forces, though aware of the 'bastards' schemes, were clearly unconcerned. They weren't merely going to send the Son of Dawn, the Arrogant Demon King, back to the mythical hell; they were prepared to annihilate the entire island nation along the way.

The leader of this crusade was Archbishop Maxwell, a notorious figure in the European magic world. He was most famous for his indiscriminate extermination of anything he considered 'heretic,' including all non-Catholics. If it weren't for the existence of disobedient gods and Campiones, this guy might have caused a whole host of problems.

But now, it's like a mad dog being unleashed.

European gentlemen are already considering whether they can profit from the country that suffered the most losses once this series of major problems is over. Perhaps through financial means, financial speculation, and so on.

As for Campione, he implemented the so-called 'democracy' policy by contacting everyone the Greenwich Sages Council could reach, cramming them with a massive amount of information. In the Greenwich Sages Council's understanding, it was impossible for Campione not to get involved in such a major event.

As the Council of Sages of Greenwich had predicted, Tony the Husky, the sword king of Europe, had already rushed over thanks to his keen sense of smell. The Black Prince, after some deliberation, also set off. Having received incredibly accurate intelligence and information, the Marquis of Vauban, the eldest and most powerful Campione, also left the castle openly and legitimately, boarding his private jet.

Although the Campione in North America hasn't set off, supposedly because he's been entangled with a god, it doesn't matter. With so many fighting forces going together, no matter how the battle turns out, the nobles and gentlemen of the Greenwich Sage Council can simply watch quietly.

——————————Divider Line——————————

"Um!?"

In the Netherworld, on the battlefield where the curtain had already fallen, Lucifer, a black-clad Gothic Lolita, suddenly turned her gaze to the west.

"What's wrong? Φωσφ?ρο? (Phosphorus)!" Athena, seeing Lucifer's actions, asked, "What happened?!"

“There’s a bunch of nasty bastards coming from Europe toward where I am…” Lucifer said. “A bunch of overconfident mortals!”

“Mortals!?” Athena frowned. “A group of mortals could never possibly get in here.”

“They’re not ordinary humans!” Lucifer shook his head. “…They’re a group of ants who can possess angels by sacrificing their own lifespans, and some Campiones who came with these ants!”

"...Don't worry about them. They're going to find their way in anyway, and that'll give them a hard time." Athena said nonchalantly. "Not to mention—what can these fools change?! Nothing. Athena's fate has been rewritten. From now on, Athena is just Athena, and Lucifer is just Lucifer."

"If these uninvited guests dare to go to that other world with us, then in that world, we will utterly crush these overconfident mortals!"

……

In front of the Garbhadhatu Mandala of the Vajra Realm of Light and Darkness, nearly half of the sea of ​​mandala flowers had been eroded. However, at this point, Xia Er also encountered great resistance.

It seems that it will take half an hour for Charles to completely break through this esoteric barrier.

At that moment, Charles burst into laughter and waved his hand, reclaiming all the corrosive power.

"Why are you laughing, benefactor?" The illusory figure suddenly became uneasy and asked, "Also, has the benefactor chosen to give up? We haven't even reached half an hour yet!"

"Give up? Little monk, you've already lost!" Charles pointed with a sarcastic smile at the barrier created by the phantom. "You lost from the very beginning. And I tore apart your flashy but useless barrier before half an hour had even passed—fool!"

526. Understanding cause and effect? ​​Nonsense!

"What!?" the phantom exclaimed in astonishment. "This is impossible!?"

"Impossible?!" Charles replied. "Take a look behind you!"

Upon hearing this, the phantom turned around and looked at the sealed area behind the barrier. Then, through the connection of the Light and Dark Vajra Mandala barrier, the phantom easily saw the Sanskrit characters that were gradually collapsing completely within the seal, as well as the temple engulfed in flames.

And there was that stubborn rock that underwent a transformation in the flames.

"This, this is...when?!" the phantom asked in disbelief. "Impossible? Why didn't this humble monk notice or pay attention...this is impossible!?"

"Could it be?!" A flash of inspiration struck the illusory figure, as if realizing something. "So that's it! It's the outside world. You broke through from the outside world, benefactor?!"