Those time travelers that year

“Looks like you haven’t become mentally challenged from chanting Buddhist scriptures!” Charles said. “That’s right… I planned to enter the blockade from the outside from the beginning, because I knew that you scheming people would never let me in easily.”

"What's more!" Xia Er looked at the phantom with a mocking smile, "You used Buddhist methods to summon a demon king monkey that was restricted by Buddhist divine status. That won't do. What that monkey needs is not hypocritical Buddhist scriptures—it needs that indomitable fighting spirit."

"Cause and effect, cause and effect, little monk, you plan to understand the cause and effect with me so that you can completely get rid of this entanglement and ascend to the Pure Land? Aren't you overthinking it? Why would I let you off so easily?! I'm not some selfless 'good person'!?"

“Right!?” Xia Er spread his hands. “Not to mention, in order to summon the complete Great Sage Equaling Heaven, I also need to help that monkey understand the cause and effect with your Buddhist sect in order to completely get rid of the influence of the Buddhist deity.”

"And here, what could be a better target than you, a Tantric master about to ascend to the Western Paradise?!" With a laugh, Charles's figure gradually dimmed and completely disappeared before the phantom.

He left, but he left behind a time bomb.

"Alas!" After a long silence, the illusory figure sighed helplessly. "It seems that this humble monk is ultimately unable to escape this calamity!" He couldn't leave. From the moment he abandoned his body and began his spiritual ascension, he was only one step away from resolving the cause and effect with Xia Er before ascending to the Pure Land. However, what he didn't expect was that Xia Er never intended to play along with him from the beginning. He didn't personally tear apart the Light and Dark Vajra Realm Garbhadhatu Mandala barrier, nor did he completely obliterate this illusory figure formed from his remaining obsessions. This prevented him from completing that final step of escaping cause and effect, leaving him utterly trapped here.

This barrier was connected to the phantom itself. Once Xia Er destroyed the barrier, the phantom would naturally disappear, which would be equivalent to understanding cause and effect. But now, everything had completely exceeded his expectations.

The barrier is linked to the seal, but something has changed within the seal. This phantom can naturally see what is being conceived within your stubborn rock amidst the flames. It is neither the Victorious Fighting Buddha nor the King of Demons, but a rebel who is neither demon, nor Buddha, nor god, nor immortal.

This rebel has countless karmic ties with Buddhism. If this rebel wants to escape the ultimate fate of mythology and arrive as a free being, then he must resolve his karmic ties with Buddhism.

Just as Charles said, what better target could there be here than him? No! Charles's departure left behind a time bomb binding the phantom, and the phantom, having not understood the cause and effect with Charles, could only bitterly watch as the true one descended.

The phantom's fate was already sealed—

—It was nothing more than the destructive blow wielded by the true rebel who had descended.

"In the end, this humble monk brought this trouble upon himself; he could not escape the word 'greed'!" Amidst the bitter voice, the illusory figure helplessly recited Buddhist scriptures, quietly awaiting his fate.

……

After easily swatting away the idiot who dared to block his way, Charles had escaped. Now, everything was ready; they were just waiting for the big event to begin.

"Huh? Is it already over?!" Athena asked curiously when she saw Charles return. "Where is that invincible rebel?!"

“It’s undergoing a transformation!” Xia Er replied. “I need to help that monkey get rid of the influence of the Buddhist deity, and I also need to use the right method, like burning it with fire, so that the monkey is not a demon king… Only in this way can we bring down the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.”

"Moreover, if this person is to be brought down, this Great Sage will have to settle his karmic ties with Buddhism. Perfect! A Tantric idiot has delivered himself to our doorstep. What better 'sacrifice' could there be than this idiot?!"

"How long will it take?!"

"To recreate the Monkey King's havoc in Heaven, he needs to descend after forty-nine days, just like in the myths," Xia Er said. "What's wrong? Has something unexpected happened?!"

“That’s right, Lucifer sensed the arrival of some uninvited guests just now. In that case, forty-nine days is too long!” Athena frowned, and then told Charles what Lucifer had sensed. “That’s how it is. A group of reckless mortals seem to be overestimating themselves and coming to challenge us.”

"I see!?"

Are these Vatican lunatics idiots? Do they always seem to jump in as villains and cause trouble whenever something happens? Charles thought to himself, thinking these religious charlatans were a bunch of mentally unstable freaks. A group to take down Lucifer? Okay! A bunch of idiots!

Although this little girl looks like just a tiny, sweet-toothed girl barely an inch tall, she is actually the Child of Dawn, the Arrogant Demon King, the Lord of Hell! She once led a third of the angels against Millerka. Just how confident were these Vatican religious figures to dare come and die?!

Anyway, Ciel just couldn't understand whether these guys had lost their intelligence and moral integrity!

What can these guys do? A god descend? Which god? Yahweh is completely outside of mythology, and who else can stand up to this little girl, Lucifer? Millerka?!

It's utterly impossible for Milarepa, who can't truly descend to earth, to possess a mortal body and defeat Lucifer...

“A bunch of idiots! Ignore them!” Charles said. “However, just in case, I’ll personally accelerate the passage of time over there—shortening forty-nine days to seven days… After that, you can handle this place, right, Athena?!”

“Of course!” Athena laughed. “My Athens and Rome were not defeated by these mortals. If I couldn’t handle a few mere mortals, I would be a disgrace to the title of Goddess of Wisdom.”

527. Gathering of Winds and Clouds

For the official history compilation committee and the four major families that control the entire organization, these past few days have been filled with tragedy. First, a group of outsiders not only looted, vandalized, and burned, but they also wiped out half of the world's fighting force in this country.

To the Sayamiya, Renjo, Kyuhozuka, and Seishuin families, it was nothing short of a series of disasters. The turmoil not only resulted in the deaths of two family heads but also caused a significant decline in their family's power. If it weren't for the fact that other families, large and small, also suffered heavy losses, some even being wiped out, rebellion would have already broken out.

However, their situation is still not good.

In reality, only a select few from the four major families knew about the plans of the three who remained in the Netherworld. Initially, although there were some concerns about the plan, it seemed to have a high success rate. However, the plan was aborted before it even began, resulting in devastating losses that were almost unbearable.

To make matters worse, just as they were cleaning up the mess, they lost contact with the three leaders above them. Yes, quite suddenly, the four major families were unable to reach the three de facto rulers in the Netherworld. Not only that, but soon after, news came that the Knights of Fran had once again descended and brutally slaughtered everyone in a certain place.

The members of the four major families were all terrified...

Fortunately, these knightly orders only appeared out of thin air, creating a censored spectacle before disappearing again. Before the official history editors could even breathe a sigh of relief, their own shrine maiden brought more bad news.

Those three are gone, literally gone. The Saya-miya family, the Renjo family, the Kyuhozuka family, and the Seiju-in family all knew the identities of those three, and when they heard this devastating news, they were all dumbfounded.

The four great families were able to control the official history compilation committee and all the families, large and small, throughout the entire country, and their true backers were none other than the three people here. Similarly, this was the source of the official history compilation committee's confidence in disregarding the Greenwich Wise Men Council.

Now everything is gone, and it could even trigger a civil war.

Anyone could imagine that once this news spread, the other families, who had already suffered far greater losses than the four major families due to the pre-arranged orders of the four major families, would likely launch a civil war or rebellion. This was an answer that was obvious without even thinking about it.

However, reality was even more dramatic than these guys imagined.

Before the four major families on the official history compilation committee could sort out all the issues, another unexpected event occurred. The Crusaders, who had departed from the Vatican, had arrived in the country directly through private channels. A force of several thousand landed, silencing the country's inner world completely.

The official history editors, who reluctantly stepped forward to negotiate, quickly received a bad answer.

A disobedient god has descended and come to their side; this god is none other than the arrogant demon king, the ruler of hell in Christian mythology. When this news reached them, coupled with the changes that had occurred to the three at the top, it was hard not to imagine the complexities involved.

Now, the Crusaders from the Vatican are demanding that the Historians cooperate with their mission to open the gates to the Underworld so they can confront the Demon King. Yes, that's right, they want to fight a war on the Historians' own turf.

God's war...

Unfortunately, these crusaders from the Vatican were not the first visitors.

The other visitors arrived in the country just as the crusaders from the Vatican were arriving.

Sword King - Salvatore Tony (Husky)

Marquis de Vauban - Sasha de Jansdar Vauban

Black Prince - Alexander Gascoigne

Three European Campione godkillers arrived at almost the same time...

The sky has truly fallen.

What's even more frustrating is that Luo Cuilian, the martial arts queen who originally had no interest in this at all, also started to come after hearing that three Campione Godslayers had arrived.

This country is beyond saving. After all, the martial arts queen Luo Cuilian alone possesses the power to destroy this country single-handedly, not to mention that there's a whole bunch of people planning to fight here!

……

In the Netherworld, except when Sharl had just begun to actively accelerate the flow of time, attempting to complete the ritual within seven days so that the fully-formed monkey could be born.

Athena and Lucifer remained in the space where the original trio of the Underworld were located. The plan had progressed to this point, and no one could stop them now. At this moment, this space was no longer what it used to be. This world, which was once like a landscape painting, was now a barren wasteland. Above this space was a dark sky, and above that, a pitch-black sunset hung in the heavens.

As deities, both Athena and Lucifer could sense something approaching from afar. That dark sun was the manifestation of a colossal being, whose power far exceeded the limits of their world.

The rules of this world are rejecting him...

However, all of this had no effect whatsoever. The gaze of that being, along with his power, was undeniably spreading towards this world bit by bit.

To a large extent, it is because in this world, there is a part of that being rejected by the world, which echoes here from afar, forming an incredibly clear coordinate.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's still quite astonishing!" Athena exclaimed sincerely as she watched the black sun grow larger and larger over time. "The real body of Ciel? It's simply unimaginable power... No wonder he needed to create an avatar and suppress his own power to come to this world."

"This world simply cannot contain such a 'monster' that is equivalent to a star in size!"

How much power does Surtur possess in the Marvel universe? This is beyond the comprehension of Athena in this world, let alone the fact that Ciel completely absorbed everything from Surtur, the Father God of the Marvel universe, and also devoured a primordial demon. It can be said that if it weren't for the fact that Athena's world rejects anything excessive, even the gods of its mythology would be excluded. It is precisely because of this powerful repulsion that Ciel was unable to forcibly descend in his true form.

If the true form of the Charr were to descend, the planet beneath their feet would immediately begin to be corroded and destroyed.

“This reminds me of that lowly woman, Guinevere…” Athena said to Lucifer, who was still eating sweets. “The so-called Last King she seeks is utterly laughable in comparison. The so-called sword of salvation, which claims to be able to cleave stars… How ridiculous! If that one were to descend, the so-called Last King would be nothing more than an ant that would be destroyed in an instant.”

528. The Unscrupulous Committee for Compiling Official History

"Mmm, mmm, mmm..." Lucifer stuffed a piece of strawberry ice cream into her mouth, glanced at Athena, and then looked up at the dark sun in the sky. To be honest, she didn't really understand these kinds of questions, but at least this little girl understood one thing: the sun in the sky didn't have the aura she disliked. For example, something like Millerka.

Since there was no unpleasant smell, it had nothing to do with her. So the little girl just kept nodding and stuffing more sweets into her mouth.

Compared to the dark sun approaching this world, the creatures gathering outside the Netherworld were even more repulsive, so much so that Lucifer couldn't contain himself and wanted to go out and wipe them out.

"Mmm, Athena!"

"What's wrong?!"

"Those annoying bastards are here!" Lucifer pointed in a certain direction and said, "...A very unpleasant aura. Can I go out and wipe out these ants?!"

"Hmm?!" Athena thought for a moment. "These mortals are indeed a problem... If we leave them alone, who knows how far these mortals are capable? But killing them isn't so easy either."

Lucifer: "Is it because of those Campione god-killers?!"

“That’s right, there are four Campiones who have already arrived in this wretched country, along with those Crusaders who are chasing after you—” Athena said—if they join forces, they might cause some trouble… though it will only be trouble!

"Then let's keep them out of trouble!" Lucifer's little face showed an eager look, like a cat about to snuggle up to its owner, with cream still stuck to its face from ice cream.

“We are all unwilling to comply…” Athena bent down and gently wiped the cream stains off Lucifer’s face. Then she said softly, “...Don’t worry about those restrictions. Since Lucifer wants to go and play with them, then go!”

"Regardless of life or death, let these mortals become the sacrifices for the coming of our time!"

——————————Divider Line——————————

What religious people hate most is simple: heretics and infidels.

Especially in this world, the arrival of disobedient gods and the birth of Campione, the god-killers, greatly displease religious figures. Among them, the most displeased are the members of the world's largest religion, the Catholic Church. In Catholicism, which centers on monotheism, apart from that one God, all other so-called gods are considered false gods.

They were monsters whom they did not acknowledge, but unfortunately, their acknowledgment had nothing to do with the disobedient gods. The gods who came bounding over had no interest in paying attention to these arrogant ants in their eyes.

The existence of Campione further damaged the Catholic Church's religious views and reputation. Unfortunately, given the prevailing circumstances, no matter how much the Vatican complained or expressed dissatisfaction, they could only bow down to the world itself.

Therefore, in the eyes of Catholic clergy, Campiones were far more despicable than heretical false gods. After all, in Europe, a Campion was far more powerful than the Pope, and magical societies, using the guise of Campiones, had long since disregarded the Vatican.

This is intolerable.

This time, the arrival of the Arrogant Demon King was seen by these Catholic clergy as a golden opportunity to prove to the world that they were still the supreme and theocratic Papacy that dominated Europe in the Middle Ages.

However, when the Crusaders arrived in the country, they discovered that the Campione, whom they considered deserving of death, had also come. All three European Campione were present, and the martial arts master from the Celestial Empire also arrived shortly afterward.

This was even more unbearable for these clergy members.

However, under the coordination of the official history compilation committee, these four major families, having lost their powerful backers, decisively and thoroughly abandoned all integrity in order to maintain their rule in the face of highly likely changes.

In this country, attaching oneself to the strong is taken for granted. Since ordinary people in society attach themselves to their "American daddy," then in the magic world, attaching oneself to a "European daddy" isn't a big deal, is it?!

They attached themselves to the Vatican Crusade, which appeared to be a large and powerful force consisting of thousands of knights, priests, and clerics.

Unfortunately, this wasn't among the choices of the members of the official history compilation committee. Simply put, in this world, when it comes to influence in the magical world, the Vatican simply cannot compare to the Campione, those who slay gods.

Thus, a disagreement arose.

First, there's the Saya family. As the core think tank of the official history compilation committee, they weren't particularly skilled in martial arts, so they didn't suffer too much loss in the previous series of unfortunate events.