'Tch. Those old bastards are always making trouble for me...'
Indra cursed inwardly, then thought for a moment before saying:
"The Authority of Destruction... one of the three strongest species... Could it be the pure-blooded dragon Niohöggr from the Norse pantheon?"
Brahma didn't answer. He simply looked at him calmly.
"No..." Indra frowned, then continued, "Could it be Surtr, the Jötunn King from the Norse pantheon?"
Both Niohöggr and Surtr possessed the Authority of Destruction.
Although both had passed away, there was always the possibility that either of them had survived in this world under some other identity.
That was why Indra had made those guesses.
"Why are all your guesses Norse?" Rakshasa couldn't help asking.
"Because after the Norse pantheon fell, quite a few of its members defected to Ouroboros." Indra answered casually.
Then he noticed the unnatural expression on Brahma's face and immediately realized something. "Not Norse?"
"Mm."
Brahma nodded.
It was basically a game of charades.
Brahma knew the answer, but for the sake of his own life, he couldn't say it. So Indra had to figure it out himself.
Of course, knowing the answer but being unable to say it was incredibly frustrating.
And because Brahma had to avoid attracting the attention of the Two-Digits, he could only give hints right now.
Which was a massive pain in the ass.
He was especially worried that Indra would start asking some bizarre questions.
After all, the guy had a history of doing exactly that.
But now Brahma wasn't worried anymore.
Indra was such an idiot that even after being told the answer involved a Two-Digit, he'd immediately gone and guessed two Norse gods...
Did this guy have an IQ of nine?
"So it has something to do with a Two-Digit? Could it be..." Indra's eyes widened as he muttered, "No way. How could it possibly be him?"
Brahma finally relaxed, his expression visibly easing.
Then Indra finally said, "Mithras? Didn't that guy die?"
Someone closely connected to a Two-Digit, and connected enough that Brahma was reluctant to even say his name. And whoever this was possessed an Authority of Destruction and could casually toy with the artificial sun Amun-Ra had created, according to the intelligence report.
In that case, there was an eighty percent chance it was Mithras, the Lord of Cross's hidden agent!
That had to be it.
He was the only one who could make Brahma this wary, forcing him to avoid saying the name out loud for fear of attracting the attention of a Two-Digit.
So it absolutely had to be Mithras...
Brahma's expression twisted exactly as it had years ago when he'd caught Indra selling his beloved crane.
"Could he really have parasitized Kalki's body? Isn't he worried about angering Vishnu's people and starting a war? Hiss... Lord of Cross, just what kind of grand conspiracy are you cooking up?"
Indra was about to continue when he noticed the expression on Rakshasa's face.
He raised an eyebrow, followed her gaze, and saw Brahma standing there with a face so horribly twisted that the corner of Indra's mouth twitched.
"I guessed wrong again?"
"Yes." Brahma lowered his gaze, staring calmly at his hand, suppressing the urge to punch Indra.
What the hell? Mithras parasitizing Kalki?
What kind of utterly insane thing was that?
How could Mithras possibly dare...
At that thought, a spark suddenly flashed through Brahma's mind.
Wait. That feeling...
Could it actually be...?
Brahma's eyes widened, and his mouth fell slightly open in disbelief.
Mithras had actually parasitized Kalki?
Was he insane?
While Brahma was still reeling from the revelation, Indra looked at him awkwardly. "Hey, hey. Judging by that expression, did I get it horribly wrong?"
Brahma was just about to answer when a terrible feeling suddenly rose within him.
It was as though something was telling him that if he said those words now, the consequences would be absolutely horrific.
So Brahma paused.
And chose silence.
Indra noticed something was off and immediately realized there was something to it. His eyes lit up.
"Seriously? He impersonated Kalki? Now that's interesting!"
The deep sense of danger began to fade, as if some unseen force were interfering with the ominous feeling he'd had earlier.
Feeling that change, Brahma breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, looking at Indra's ecstatic expression, he rolled his eyes. "No."
Indra's face instantly froze.
He looked deeply uncomfortable. More than that, he looked downright pissed. "Niohöggr isn't it, Mithras isn't it... Then tell me, who the hell actually fits the requirements?"
"There's no way a Two-Digit personally came down, right?"
Indra couldn't help cursing for a while.
The Authority of Destruction was rare in Little Garden. Aside from the people he'd already mentioned, the only ones who had any real room to act were those monsters among the Two-Digits who had collected every possible authority.
The Two-Digits obviously weren't going to personally intervene, so...
"Among those who possess the Authority of Destruction and might still be alive..." Indra rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me it's Shiva!"
"You're getting warmer." Brahma nodded.
At the time, Ryo was using the Rudra Divine Persona, and Shiva had devoured his Spirit Rank. So in a certain sense, he could genuinely be considered Shiva.
Indra's face immediately darkened.
He seriously suspected Brahma was messing with him.
But he understood Brahma's current limitations and knew that Brahma could only speak the truth.
And that was starting to scare him.
For once, Indra fell silent for a moment.
Then, in an unusually calm voice, he asked, "Brahma, did I do something to offend you? You sold my crane. And you did it right after he came of age. So I just sent Sachi your future whereabouts."
Brahma's face had turned red as he said this.
At the moment, he could only speak the truth, so he couldn't control what came out of his mouth.
Now that he'd revealed the truth, he naturally felt extremely awkward.
Indra didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed.
"Oh, so you betrayed me! I admit the crane thing. I'll accept whatever punishment or apology you want later, but this... Wait."
Indra's face suddenly turned black. "Why did you call the crane ' he '?"
"He's male. What else would I call him?" Brahma looked genuinely puzzled.
"But he has a hole!"
Brahma fell silent.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Then Rakshasa looked at Indra with undisguised contempt. "I see. So you didn't know that birds have a cloaca?"
Indra's face darkened. "Zeus, you damn bastard! No wonder you looked so pleased when I sold you this crane. Damn it, the price should've been at least twice what I charged you!"
He clenched his fists, already mourning the fortune he could've made.
...
By the time Shiva and Mata arrived at the underground cavern, they were both startled to see Indra's eyes red as he cursed Zeus.
"What happened to him?"
Mata quietly walked over to Rakshasa and put an arm around her.
Rakshasa answered disdainfully, "He got scammed by Zeus again."
Mata's face lit up with sheer delight. "This is good news! Tomorrow's headline is finally guaranteed!"
"Mata!" Indra shouted, clearly embarrassed. "What the hell are you yelling about? Hand over the intelligence report! You failed to capture Kalki, and you don't even know who was impersonating him! And you actually have the nerve to come back here in such high spirits?"
"Who says I don't know?" Mata retorted helplessly. "Wasn't it Ryo impersonating him? He told me from the very beginning!"
Indra froze.
After a long silence, he slowly turned his head and looked at Brahma.
Brahma seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he nodded.
"It's true."
Indra's face went from black to white, then white to red.
Finally, he exploded, "WHO THE HELL COULD HAVE GUESSED THAT?!"
Connected to a Two-Digit. Possessing the Authority of Destruction. One of the Three Strongest Species.
Aside from the second condition, which one of those did Ryo actually fit?
"Brahma, you son of a bitch! You set me up! You already knew the answer, didn't you? You deliberately screwed with me! I'm gonna fight ya!"
Brahma calmly rolled up his sleeves. His expression turned cold. "Perfect. Then I'll settle the score with you for selling my child. Do you have any idea what would've happened if I hadn't stopped Zeus before he could do anything to him?"
Under the speechless gazes of Rakshasa and Mata, and with Shiva watching from the side while yawning, the two of the Heavenly Army's Twelve Devas immediately launched into close-quarters combat.
They kicked each other in the shins, poked each other in the eyes, and went straight for each other's weak spots.
"Should we stop them?" In the middle of the fight, Mata quietly asked Shiva, "They're going to wreck the roads Ouroboros built through this cave. It'll make some of the supplies difficult to transport later."
"Leave them alone." Shiva pulled out a deck of playing cards. "Want to play UNO?"
Mata hesitated for exactly one second.
Then she saw Rakshasa already sitting down on the ground.
"Sure!"
_ _ _
Arcadia Headquarters— Ryo's room—
An owl flapped its wings and gently pushed the door open with its feet.
With an envelope clutched in its beak, it flew into the room and placed the letter beside the bed.
At that moment, a beautiful arm emerged from beneath the covers.
Two delicate fingers pinched the envelope and pulled it back under the blanket.
A moment later, a woman's voice rang out, "So it arrived. The Heavenly Army's operation report..."
.
.
.