Chapter 249

"The world is changing." Shinji casually punctured her confusion, "I let the people here evacuate in advance."

He looked at his wife, his smile carrying an inexplicable nuance.

"Asuka, I have been watching the world you live in for almost 20 years now."

"Would you like to see the world I live in?"

Before the words had even faded, and before Asuka could react, he scooped his wife up into his arms and walked out with a leisurely stride, heading to the sanatorium's rooftop.

On the roof, the wind was clear and cool.

"The wind… today is truly a good day."

Standing on the roof, his gaze swept over the quiet hospital and looked toward the chaotic city in the distance. At this moment, he had completely shed his usual laziness, appearing calm and sharp.

"Do you still remember the song I taught you when we first met, Asuka?"

"Sing it. It's been a long time since I've heard you sing."

"What on earth are you talking about, you idiot Shinji." For some reason, looking at her husband now, Asuka felt a bit nervous.

"I am very serious."

Shinji replied with a smile,

"Because that is a song praying for victory."

"It is also a song praying for the arrival of a new world."

…Rin had once complained that the relationship between her mother and father was a bit like that between Elaine and Qi Xing — even if they didn't know what crazy things their husbands were saying, and didn't understand their husbands' strange actions, they would still believe them in the end and follow their husbands' words.

Born to be hangers-on. But what's wrong with that? Trust doesn't require rationality. This is also a type of relationship, and it is also a choice.

Although she didn't understand, she still believed, tried hard to recall, and began to sing.

Singing the mysterious — ancient lyrics that almost no one in this world could understand.

"??? ??? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? (At that time, glory descended from heaven)"

"????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ?? (No one in the world knows His appearance)"

"?????????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???????? (The sky cannot contain His glory, the abyss cannot hide His radiance)"

"?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ????? (His birth is unique throughout the ages, His guidance shines upon all paths)"

"???? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? (His hair is like gold, His eyes are as piercing as the blazing sun)"

"??????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? (Son of God, appear here)"

The distant singing, like a surge piercing through time and space, rippled through the air in invisible waves.

— Tokyo, in the underground secret chamber of the Lionheart Society headquarters.

The golden box placed in the center of the room suddenly ignited with flames. The tongues of fire, as if alive, climbed and spread across the long golden hair inside the box, instantly swallowing the entire lock of hair. The fire reflected on the walls of the chamber, as if declaring the starting point of a new era.

— Iceland, the cold wind of the Arctic Circle swept over the peaks of the glaciers.

Beneath the famous Godafoss waterfall, the splashing white mist suddenly froze, and a tremor came from deep within the ice, as if an ancient heart were awakening.

The next moment, a sharp claw ripped through the broken ice sheet with a roar, and a giant dragon covered in pitch-black scales poked its body out of the crevice.

Its wings spread like the night sky, shaking off countless ice fragments and snow mist, as it let out a roar that shook the heavens, diving straight toward the East, piercing through the aurora and the sea of clouds, heading for Japan.

— Around the world.

On the lands of Romania, Grand Duke Dracula, who was busy blasting away mad mages causing chaos, suddenly raised his head, his red pupils slightly contracting; beside him, Lady Remina also stopped, her eyes widening in surprise.

The Brotherhood of Wolves of Fenia, who were on their way from Ireland to Oxford to help Qi Xing and the others, those werewolves known as the vassals of God, seemed to suddenly smell the scent of blood and fire intertwined, and raised their heads with low growls.

The Valkyries patrolling the streets of Tokyo, including the recently joined Magical Girl Cahill (Hinata) — they all simultaneously sensed that an ancient gear, higher than the world itself, had begun to turn slowly.

As the last syllable was sung, Asuka felt that the man holding her had undergone a change in aura — or rather, it wasn't just a change in aura.

His beard quietly vanished, and his golden hair grew long and poured down, draping to his waist.

The blue in his pupils faded, engulfed by blinding gold, like two midday suns.

Even his signature Hawaiian shirt disappeared, replaced by blue-black armor. A cloak made of giant animal hide emitted the distinct musky scent of a beast. On his arms, golden and blue runes were etched.

And so, Asuka finally remembered.

That was the "true appearance" of the person beside her pillow, which she had deliberately forgotten over the past nearly twenty years — the way he looked when they first met.

"Hahahaha! Kulin, we set out!"

Holding his wife tightly, Shinji's laughter was now deep and wild, and without hesitation, he actually leaped off the rooftop!

"Ah?!"

Asuka screamed in shock, only to see a shadow suddenly surge below — it was a giant dragon clad in black armor and wreathed in frost, appearing from the wind. Its back caught them steadily, and its wings flapped violently, the resulting air currents sweeping through the surroundings like a storm.

The giant dragon flapped its wings and flew south, the city rapidly receding beneath their feet.

"Idiot Shinji!"

Unable to suppress the shock and questions in her heart, Asuka gripped her husband's armor tightly,

"What on earth are you trying to do?!"

"I am going to establish my kingdom in hell."

Narrowing his golden pupils slightly, Shinji's smile now carried an unquestionable dignity and certainty.

"And then, I'll take the opportunity to see how our daughter and son-in-law are doing, and whether they need a little prodding."

Volume 6: Thunder [Redacted] · Lunar Expedition: 228: Attack on the Moon

"Sasa,"

Before landing on the moon, Qi Xing specifically slipped into the room alone, dragged the Loli Evil God hiding in the shadows out, and patted her bottom.

"It's about time we headed out."

"That [Papiyas] who calls you Mom — if you still know anything, you should tell me now."

However, Sasa's expression looked as if she wished she could burrow into the ground. Rather than simple fear, it was more like nervousness.

What was she nervous about?

Qi Xing was truly very surprised by this.

After all, in his impression, Sasa had always been very shameless. Not only did she dare to plagiarize, but she also dared to show it off openly; no matter what mess she made or how much trouble she caused, Sasa never felt ashamed, but rather took pride in it.

Occasionally she would feel awkward because of things she had done, but that was just awkwardness. At most, she would brush it off with a few words or a giggle and move on.

She had never been as terrified as she was now, like a child caught in the act of doing something wrong, her eyes flustered with nowhere to hide.

What bad thing had Sasa done that she didn't dare to admit?

…The functions of the Giant Spirit, Maitreya, the Age of Dharma Decline, Buddhist eschatology… Qi Xing had a good understanding of Eastern religions. Connecting this to Sasa's current state, he soon had a guess: "Oh, I think I get it."

The Age of Dharma Decline — in the Buddhist worldview, this is not a sudden disaster, but an inevitable stage of the cycle.

After the Buddha entered Nirvana, the age of the True Dharma gradually drifted away; the teachings remained, but human hearts had become increasingly turbid, and those who could attain enlightenment were as rare as morning stars. By the Age of Dharma Decline, the scriptures still existed, and the sangha was still there, but the power of practice had long since faded — the Good Dharma could no longer widely save sentient beings, and people were mostly lost in names, forms, and strife. The Five Turbid Ages obscured all light.

Thus, the gaze of the believers turned to the future — the Future Buddha, Maitreya.

According to the "Maitreya Descends to Earth Sutra," the current world will eventually collapse amidst catastrophe and decay, and Bodhisattva Maitreya will descend from the Tushita Heaven to the human realm, attain Buddhahood under the Dragon Flower Tree, hold three Dharma assemblies, proclaim the True Dharma, and allow all sentient beings in the world to attain liberation.

This is the final hope people pinned on an era powerless against the present world: when the Dharma completely withers in the human realm, only by waiting for Maitreya to be born can a pure and prosperous age possibly be reopened.

…This worldview, if viewed merely as Buddhist eschatology, has nothing special about it. Concepts of the end of the world and the creation of a new one exist in many religions. "The current world is too terrible; it must be violently destroyed and a better new world rebuilt" — this kind of thinking is actually very common.

Even, although few people know it, Taoism actually has concepts of the "Final Kalpa" and the "Seed People."

If one were to compare this set of Buddhist concepts with Sasa's universe and the current situation, Qi Xing could certainly guess thirty percent of the answer.

"So Papiyas — no, this [Bodhisattva Maitreya], is actually the Giant Spirit you use to destroy the world and reopen a new heaven and earth."

Speaking of this, Qi Xing also furrowed his brows,

"It's just that you've always kept it as a backup and never really took it out to use, but now for some reason, it's actually been dragged to the human world and activated… right?"

Saying "now," according to Xue Ning's previous statement, [Papiyas] had been in the human world for at least a hundred years, traceable back to the beginning of the last century.

Sasa had previously said that two thousand years ago, at the same time she was sealed by Christ, the Giant Spirits she created were also locked into the [Dream of All Living Beings] by Christ. They could only serve as mythological archetypes, responding mechanically to the slight usage by humans.

— Because although the Giant Spirits themselves were sealed and couldn't come out, if humans wanted to use their own will and desired to utilize the Giant Spirits, brother Jesus wasn't planning on interfering.

Later, the group known as the [Peacock Disciples] developed a method to re-summon the Giant Spirits from the [Dream of All Living Beings]. But thinking about it, the manifestation of [Giant Spirit · Bodhisattva Maitreya] should have nothing to do with the [Peacock Disciples] — at least Xue Ning was completely unaware of it.

In Sasa's universe, the diffusion of knowledge is like entropy increase, basically unavoidable. Just like primitive tribes using meat armor to compete, secret transmissions will eventually be pirated, artifacts will one day leak out, and exclusive techniques will sooner or later spread.

Qi Xing suspected that it wasn't the [Peacock Disciples] who created [Bodhisattva Maitreya], but someone from somewhere who developed similar technology… probably.

Anyway, Sasa didn't answer, just curled up a bit more, shrinking from the size of a medium cup into a mini velvet ball.

"Why are you making such a fuss?"

Qi Xing simply reached out and poked her face to make her talk,

"You are usually so shameless, daring to do any bad thing except for dirty stuff, why do you chicken out when it comes to this?"

[This is different from anything before.]

Sasa, whose face was being poked, finally had to mutter a rebuttal,

[I have my bottom line too.]

Ha, that's actually somewhat interesting.

When they first met, Sasa had told Qi Xing that in ancient times, when she saw primitive tribes using meat armor to engage in vicious competition with each other, she sent Giant Spirits to kill them all.

For countless years, whenever someone abused the bugs in the laws of the universe to a degree she couldn't stand, she would send Giant Spirits to slaughter them.

Why is it different here?

[It just is different.]

Sasa puffed out her cheeks, looking unhappy.

Hey, you're actually getting unhappy about it!

"Fine — isn't it good that you have a bottom line?"

With no other choice, Qi Xing had to coax her,

"Since you have a bottom line, does this doomsday device you worked so hard to build have any kind of weakness that makes it explode if you just poke it?"

[You mock and look down on the systems I design all day long, saying they are full of bugs and such, and I usually just put up with it.]

As a result, Sasa was so angry that she was grinding her teeth,

[But do you really think I would create an ultimate weapon that explodes if poked?!]

…If she insisted on forcing Qi Xing to tell the truth, then this question would be really hard for Qi Xing to answer.

[Although I didn't create the Giant Spirits for beast fighting, [Bodhisattva Maitreya] is indeed the highest-spec Giant Spirit I have ever produced.]

[It has all the miracles and divine deeds of all gods and Buddhas built-in; the four great elements cannot attack or affect it; it has a restraining attribute against all death; the mountain of knives will part before it, and hell will turn into a sea of flowers at its feet.]

[If the divine power output of a typical [Silver Coin Messenger] is ten, [Mahamayuri] is about thirty or forty. Then the divine power output of [Bodhisattva Maitreya] is at least over one hundred!]

For a Future Buddha — the savior of Buddhism, these are of course the most basic configurations. It is understandable that Sasa would compile them into the Giant Spirit when designing it. Qi Xing is not unable to understand that.

[These are fine, but the most important thing is, we have no idea why it gained self-awareness, gained a human soul — and even has a [silver coin]!]

"So," Qi Xing really had to interject with this question, "Does Papiyas really have a [silver coin]?"

[It should have one. It hid one, and distributed three to its three disciples… that's probably how it operates. I didn't sense any more [silver coins].]

Sasa gritted her teeth,

[Only one… but for such a powerful Giant Spirit to gain self-awareness, and even obtain fragments of my divine power, this in itself is already a mistake completely beyond expectations!]

[Qi Xing, I object to you going to the moon to fight it! Because there is no way to predict what will happen! And the [Death] silver coin you just mastered a while ago is actually restrained by [Maitreya] in terms of attributes!]

Hmm.

Qi Xing pondered for a moment, but didn't directly answer her, instead asking again: "Why [Bodhisattva Maitreya]?"

[Huh?]

"For the savior of the end of the world, there are many religions, many choices, you can pick any one," Qi Xing waved his hand, "Why [Maitreya]?"

[Because the database I can copy from Buddhism is huge, and otherwise who would I choose? My brother?]

Sasa frowned, confused,