Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance of that future, we're willing to bet everything..."

The originally impassioned oath became calm and devoid of momentum when spoken by Gaia.

Because this phrase wasn't originally hers, but rather the declaration of those who broke through the impassable sea and created miracles on the Oceanus Sea.

They actually tried to shut me up with these words?

Samael was momentarily dazed, but when he came to his senses, his expression softened, and he raised his hand to rub his temples.

"Alright, I'll make a trip and bring her back."

Having received permission, Alaya and Gaia seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, a look of joy and ease appearing on their blank faces.

Seeing that the two unreliable bosses were about to run away after giving them instructions, Samael quickly called out to Alaya and Gaia.

"However, before I leave, there is something I need to ask you."

"what?"

The two little girls, holding hands, tilted their heads in unison and stared blankly at Samael.

The ancient serpent took a deep breath and asked the question that had been weighing on its mind for a long time.

"Where is the Mother Goddess? I released the thirteen restraints and returned the mystery to the surface, so why hasn't she returned?"

Alaya and Gaia looked at each other and fell silent.

Instantly, Samael's eyes widened in surprise, and his heart leaped into his throat.

"Could something have happened?!"

"Do not."

Seeing Samael's tense reaction, Gaia quickly shook her head to clarify.

"No, she's safe now, she just can't see you for the time being."

Samael was initially relieved, but his confusion intensified.

"why?"

"Because she wants to protect you, to protect us..."

Alaya raised her head, stepped forward to answer, and at the same time reached out and touched the sea of ​​stars in front of the three of them.

Instantly, countless streams of starlight surged from both sides, and beneath the deep blue of life, the Mother of Origin, who was born of the touch of the earth and possessed emerald wings, was fast asleep in a curled-up position.

So loving, so beautiful.

Upon seeing the familiar silhouette in the slumbering sea of ​​stars, Samael couldn't help but reach out his hand, his fingertips trembling with excitement, but he ultimately chose to let it fall.

Because in her warm embrace, she was holding a round, blue and white interwoven light core.

Above the light core, there are textures of mountains and rivers, and countless shimmering points of light of all sizes.

That was the planet, along with a miniature model of the life on it.

Samael turned to look at Alaya and Gaia beside him, his gaze deep and solemn, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Children need their father's guidance and their mother's care."

Gaia raised her head, glanced quietly at the guardian in front of her, then turned her gaze to the towering figure within the sea of ​​stars, and spoke softly.

"Alaya is the mother of mankind, I am the mother of the gods, and she will become the mother of the new world, protecting all things, both tangible and intangible, and protecting all the children."

"That really does sound like something she would do..."

Samael murmured something, shook his head with a wry smile, and looked into the depths of the starry sea with eyes full of love and tenderness.

Fatherhood and motherhood are inherently different, and they are often destined to choose completely different paths.

Marduk, who once proclaimed himself the Father God, attempted to devour all his offspring and lives in order to ascend the ladder to become the "Supreme God" and reduce all things to one.

Tiamat, the mother of origin, willingly transformed herself into all things for the sake of her children, returning authority to heaven and earth, and exiling herself.

Although time has passed, life has changed, and the world has evolved, Tiamat's original intention as a "mother" remains unchanged.

No matter when or where, no matter how much the world changes, she will still protect her children, using her own wings and her own body to shield them from the wind and rain.

Currently, Alaya and Gaia are in the Starry Sea, probably to help Tiamat achieve this goal.

I was the first one here...

A sudden surge of jealousy welled up inside Samael; he even felt a pang of envy for the life in this world that was taking away Tima's love.

"Can we set off now, Father?"

The question from Alaya made the ancient snake pause for a moment, but it quickly composed itself and couldn't help but chuckle at itself.

Honestly, as a father, why is he competing for attention with a bunch of children?

After taking one last deep look at the Mother Goddess sleeping in the sea of ​​stars, Samael composed himself and turned to move forward.

As Gaia and Alaya raised their hands in succession, hazy light and shadow were projected from the star core in the arms of the mother goddess Tiamat, and vermilion torii gates rose from the sea of ​​stars, leading to an unknown future.

Torii, a three-part structure consisting of two pillars, a kasagi (wooden frame) and an shimagi (wooden gate) on the pillars, and a kanju (a type of gate) inserted between the two pillars, often appears near Japanese shrines. It represents the entrance to the sacred realm and is used to distinguish the sacred realm where gods reside from the secular world inhabited by humans.

Its existence is to remind visitors that stepping through the torii gate means entering a sacred realm, and that all subsequent actions and behaviors should be carefully observed.

The realm of gods? He had no idea how many he had breached.

Samael smiled nonchalantly and stepped onto the stone steps, his silhouette disappearing.

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to mention..."

Just as the ancient serpent was about to set off, it seemed to remember something, turned around and waved to those behind it.

what?

Alaya and Gaia instinctively moved closer, looking completely bewildered.

"Crack! Crack!"

As the two sides drew near, Samael's expression changed, and his arms, hidden behind his back, swung out to the left and right with lightning speed, followed by two crisp explosions.

The two newly born gods clutched their brutally attacked buttocks, looking utterly stunned.

"Collect some interest first, and we'll settle this score with you later."

The blasphemous snake curled its lips into a sinister smile, its chest brimming with the pleasure of revenge, and its figure smoothly disappeared at the end of the Torii Mountain Path.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Stop! Robbery!

Late at night, in the suburbs.

A soft creak broke the silence of the night. Two old wooden doors were gently pushed open, and a tall figure stepped across the threshold and stood on the square. His vertical pupils, opening and closing in the darkness, looked around.

It turned out to be a shrine.

Samael glanced at the grand hall behind him, which was in the style of the Tang Dynasty, and the statue of a deity placed inside. He muttered to himself, then turned his gaze to the front.

At the entrance of the main hall, there is a pair of fox statues. The fox on the right has a pearl in its mouth, while the fox on the left has a key in its mouth. They are very lifelike.

It appears to be an Inari shrine.

The ancient snake raised its hand and stroked its chin, seemingly lost in thought.

Inari, also known as Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami or Kurane-no-Mikoto, is popularly called the "God of the Three Foxes" and is said to be an incarnation of Amaterasu Omikami. Inari is also the Japanese mythological deity of grains and food, and is in charge of harvests.

In Japanese mythology, the fox messenger of Inari, the god of Inari, is the benevolent fox, also known as Misaki Inari. The most commonly enshrined fox in shrines is the white fox, whose white fur symbolizes the fulfillment of people's happiness and represents the benevolent fox.

White foxes that cultivate for over 1000 years gain powerful supernatural abilities, becoming celestial foxes and achieving deification, surpassing even the nine-tailed fox. They possess four tails, have clairvoyance, and the ability to see through all things; their eyes are golden. Great divine foxes who have cultivated for over 3000 years and freely wield their supernatural powers become ethereal foxes. Ethereal foxes have no tails, appear in human form, and have fox ears.

There are records in literature that the Heavenly Fox is the highest-ranking fox, and the Empty Fox is considered to be the form of the Heavenly Fox after its retirement. Therefore, as the Osaki Inari, the Heavenly Fox is the highest-ranking. Because the Empty Fox belongs to the gods, it belongs to the highest ranks, including Osaki Inari.

In conclusion, the Inari deity and foxes have a deep connection, and many of the sculptures in front of shrines depict foxes.

It's even possible that the essence and form of God are that of a fox.

As for the origin of this connection...

Samael pictured a dead fox with a white face and golden fur in his mind and shook his head inwardly.

Given that woman's personality, even if you ask, she might not tell you;

Even if they say it, it might not be the truth;

Even if it's the truth, it's not necessarily the whole truth.

In short, that dead fox is still one of the few people he can't see through.

But it doesn't matter. If she dares to spout nonsense this time, the ancient snake won't mind letting her know what it means to be the worst of the worst, and having a good discussion with that dead fox about training techniques.

Alright, let's take care of the important matters first.

Immediately, the ancient serpent composed itself, focused its divine sense, and tried to locate Tamamo-no-Mae as quickly as possible.

After half an hour.

Samael slowly opened his eyes, a look of surprise appearing in them, his brow furrowing deeply.

Gone...

There was no trace of Tamamo-no-Mae in the entire so-called "singularity".

But her presence seemed to be everywhere, sometimes faint, sometimes palpable.

After pausing to ponder for a moment, the ancient snake's relaxed expression gradually turned serious.

It seems she's really run into some trouble.

Since we can't get there quickly, let's honestly unravel the mystery step by step and investigate little by little.

Samael made up his mind, got up and started to leave, while habitually observing his surroundings, looking for any unusual clues in order to gather intelligence.

Shintoism is a unique aspect of Japanese culture, and the shrine rituals derived from it are deeply rooted in this land.

After the Meiji Restoration in the mid-19th century, the main objects of worship in shrines were, on the one hand, the main deity, Amaterasu Omikami (also known as the sun goddess), and on the other hand, various natural creatures and deities. The most representative example is the Inari shrine, which is now one of nearly 100,000 shrines throughout Japan that are in charge of wealth and crops.

As one of Japan's two major religious shrines, Inari Shrine should be very popular.

But right now, the ground is covered with withered branches and fallen leaves, the entire shrine is deserted, and the statues and windowsills are covered with dust, making it look very old and dilapidated.

Incidentally, both Amaterasu Omikami and Inari, the two representatives of the festival, have a deep connection with a certain dead fox.

Just then, the fox spirit disappeared and asked him for help.

The situation seemed to be more serious than he had anticipated.

Samael frowned inwardly, got up and walked down the steps to the square outside the shrine.

In the center of the square stands an ancient tree, with rows of fluttering ema (votive plaques) hanging from some of its withered branches.

As the night wind blew, the wooden plaques engraved with the wishes of those who prayed for blessings made a crisp, clinking sound.

The bamboo tube used for drawing lots clattered down the steps, scattering dozens of divine lots everywhere. One of them, whether intentionally or by coincidence, bounced to Samael's feet. The vermilion character for "ominous" became even more vivid, as if it were bleeding.

The pleasant sound of the ema (wooden plaques) clashing together seemed strangely eerie in the dark environment, and one could even faintly hear prayers and murmurs coming from the wooden plaques.

"..."

The ancient snake's lips twitched, its expression somewhat speechless.

I've only just started, and this is already happening?

Unfortunately, he is neither the blood pressure-raising, reckless protagonist of a thriller nor a blindly confident atheist.

The world's biggest charlatan unceremoniously picked up the ominous fortune slip, crushed it, and then strolled out of the shrine gate, following the signs of the torii gate, until he arrived at the roadside at the foot of the mountain.

Looking into the distance, one can see a quaint and ancient city below the mountain.

The city's houses are built on the hillside of the basin, and the streets rise and fall. Two rivers converge in the city and flow south into the plain, eventually joining the river bend at the end. Standing on high ground and looking out, the entire city is a beautiful landscape of green mountains and clear waters. Temples, ancient shrines, shops and imperial gardens are distributed on both sides of the undulating streets in an orderly manner, which makes the architectural style maintain a strong ancient charm.

There's no breakthrough progress yet, let's go into the city and take a look.

After a brief moment of thought, Samael decided on his next plan.

Just then, a crisp bell rang from behind, and an old-fashioned tram emerged from the night and stopped by the roadside.

Samael's gaze swept over the bus stop sign behind him, hidden by tree branches, and the old, peeling timetable on it, and a smile crept onto his lips.

At this hour, there are still cars available; I'm really lucky.

"This is the last train..."