Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"I was going to ask you that too..."

Samael looked at Hestia beneath him and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

“It’s because there was some trouble in Greece recently…” Hestia said with a frustrated expression. “Even the streets of Athens have been hit by the Dark Butterfly, and Mount Ares has been unusually quiet. I felt that things were not right, so I had to go out and avoid it.”

"So, you ran off to Tokyo?"

Hestia nodded, recounting her perfect plan with a hint of pride.

Based on her experience living in the Greek pantheon, when Athens descended into chaos, it generally meant that a new round of trouble was about to unfold in Greece.

It's either the arrival of giant warriors, the fall of predatory planets, or a divine war of mutual slaughter; at the very least, it'll be a Trojan War-style arm-wrestling match...

In short, it can be summed up in two words: troublesome!

If we didn't run then, when would we?

Having made up her mind, Hestia fled overnight with her bucket, leaving the troublesome place of Athens far away.

"To avoid the trouble in Greece, I deliberately chose a place a bit far away. The prices here are reasonable, and the hourly wage is good. After paying rent and utilities, I'll have a lot left over each month, enough for me to buy a ton of merchandise, light novels, and game discs... cough... cough cough..."

Suddenly, Hestia realized that she had inadvertently revealed her true nature and quickly coughed to stop.

After a brief pause, the expression on the hearth goddess's face seemed rather melancholy.

"But who knew this place was even more chaotic than Athens! First, a sudden Holy Grail War blew up the maid café where I worked, leaving me jobless, and then I was inexplicably dragged into this singularity!"

……

Looking at Hestia's grief-stricken expression, Samael was speechless for a moment.

Why did you choose such a wonderful place? Sweden, Finland, Norway, or other Nordic welfare states would be so much more comfortable. Why did you have to come to East Asia, and specifically pick Tokyo, a place plagued by disasters?

Wait, didn't she just say that "the Dark Butterfly" and "Mount Ares have lost contact"?

Samael's lips twitched involuntarily, and his gaze toward Hestia revealed a hint of guilt and pity.

If I remember correctly, the "turmoil" that caused this goddess of the hearth to move and run away overnight seems to have been a stunt orchestrated by a goddess of wisdom.

The goal was to lure the Father God, who was far away in Fuyuki City, back to Mount War God so that he could take it all for himself.

As a result, Samael, the primary target, was not fooled. Instead, he tacitly cooperated with the performance and successfully used this pretext to "re-educate" the unfilial daughter.

On the contrary, the father and daughter's coordinated actions fooled the innocent Hestia, causing this perpetual shut-in to decisively go to Japan and be forced to start a new hellish chapter.

It was Athena who did it; I'm a victim too!

Snake secretly shifted the blame to his good daughter, and was just about to change the subject and ask about the cause of the singularity when the roof of the castle tower roared violently.

The evil spirit, extending its dark claws, and the benevolent king, stirring up the earth, fire, wind, and water, collided violently, and a raging tide of ether swept in all directions.

Large sections of wooden beams and stones were torn apart and blown away by the terrifying wind pressure, crashing down on the two people on the floor.

not good!

Samael's divine power surged instinctively, repelling the falling debris.

"Boom!"

However, the already crumbling castle tower was further shattered by the flying debris, with timber and stone flying in all directions under the unleashed divine power, and the entire foundation of the castle tower was exposed to the sunlight.

Hearing the commotion, the heroic spirits and demons on the battlefield all turned to look.

On the intact floor, the two deities remained in a position with the man on top and the woman on the bottom, their limbs tightly intertwined.

In an instant, the once bustling battlefield fell into a deathly silence, and the minds of the onlookers froze.

It seems I've forgotten, this isn't the occasion for catching up...

Samael and Hestia stared at each other, beads of cold sweat trickling down their foreheads in perfect unison.

Just as the two people in the spotlight were struggling to gather their thoughts and trying to explain, a ghostly claw, as thin as smoke and mist, suddenly took shape in mid-air.

"My lady goddess!"

A gigantic black hand, accompanied by a mournful cry, slammed down on a blasphemous, lustful demon.

"Protect our lord!"

Miyamoto Musashi subconsciously put himself into the role of a retainer of Kiso Yoshinaka from the previous game, and with a loud and furious shout, the phantom of the angry-looking King Nioh behind him immediately crossed his four arms and swung his sword to block, protecting his lord.

The ghostly energy and wind pressure collided, creating layers of ethereal turbulence, and the colorful light dyed the sky with magnificent colors.

Dangerous yet beautiful!

Accompanied by a violent roar and sonic boom, the warring sides were pulled back to the battlefield, suddenly realizing what was happening. They immediately drew their swords again and rushed forward to try to reclaim their own king piece.

"stop fighting!"

"stop!"

Hestia and Samael exchanged a glance, then simultaneously distanced themselves, rolled off the ground, and gave orders to the others in perfect unison.

Although things have escalated to the point of armed conflict, based on their understanding of each other, there must be some misunderstanding involved.

However, their rationality could not resolve the hostility between the Shogunate faction and the Oeyama Oni Clan.

"Despicable! Let go of the goddess!"

"Protect our lord, don't let these vermin get past!"

The two sides, who had already been at each other's throats, clashed and fought fiercely, with their respective leaders as the dividing line.

Oh no, what do we do now?

Hestia gazed at the chaotic scene before her, her heart filled with anxiety and worry for the demons. However, her lack of experience in this area left her feeling utterly helpless.

In contrast, Samael, who has extensive experience in controlling the game, reacted with unusual calmness and decisiveness.

He skillfully summoned the Tablet of Destiny, pointed it forward, and golden ripples spread out.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to be paused, and everything around us seemed to be frozen in time.

Even so, the blades of the two sides were still about to clash, and the anger and resentment in their eyes could not be extinguished.

"There's no other way but to reason with them first."

Samael sighed, then spread his twelve serpentine wings and launched himself from the remaining base of the castle tower. His high-frequency moving body broke the sound barrier, splitting into light and shadow, and knocked on each of the stationary "sculptures" in his path.

Whether it's the demons of Mount Oe or the heroic spirits of the shogunate.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The muffled explosions echoed from the mountaintop down to the foot of the mountain. Under the firm persuasion of the ancient snake, the two sides, who were on the verge of battle, laid down their weapons and lay down in a cheerful manner.

A few minutes later, Hestia, standing on the platform, stared blankly at the figure swinging his arms and carrying both Heroic Spirits up the stone steps, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Is this what you mean by 'reasoning'?"

"correct."

Samael nodded matter-of-factly, shrugged, and looked quite innocent.

"In my opinion, might makes right."

"..."

Hestia's lips twitched. She really wanted to complain to her face, but when she thought of the countless demons and heroic spirits lying dead all over the mountains, the goddess of the hearth obediently shut her mouth.

This supreme god in the Orphic canon, the First Incarnation Chronos, has surpassed the Olympian gods, powerful enough to break free from the shackles of destiny and defy the mysterious force of inevitability, creating miracles of chance within a predetermined future.

To put it simply, she really can't beat this guy.

Having successfully persuaded the irritable audience with "reason" (fist), Samael contentedly retracted his wings and the mud tablet of fate in front of him.

However, the moment his fingers touched the tablet of destiny, the divine runes on it flickered, everything around him began to distort, and even his right arm became somewhat illusory.

Tsk, it seems that his continuous use of high-level powers to interfere with the laws of this world has caused the entire singularity to have a strong rejection reaction against him.

Sure enough, we still need to take it easy.

Samael shook his head, casually tossed the Destiny Tablet back into the magic circle for safekeeping, then suppressed his aura and calmed the increasingly strong sense of rejection emanating from him.

Gradually, the arm, which was between illusion and reality, also reformed and became more stable.

The ancient snake shook its arm, but its brow remained tightly furrowed.

The hostility from the world hasn't disappeared; it's just temporarily hidden. If we want to find out the truth before the singularity squeezes him out of this world, we probably need to hurry.

Samael composed himself, stepped over the groaning demons and heroic spirits on the ground, and stood on the platform. He looked up at Hestia and got straight to the point.

"We don't have much time, so to make a long story short, how did you become the leader of the Hundred Demons? And how did you manage to command them to attack Tokyo?"

"Of course, it's to cleanse the world of impurities, so that this world and the life here can continue!"

Hestia instinctively puffed out her chest and answered proudly.

But the answer was something Samael hadn't expected.

"To cleanse oneself of impurities and preserve life?"

Tomoe Gozen, who was lying on the ground, seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and snorted angrily.

"You're the ones crying 'stop thief!' You're the filthy devils, the evil ones who caused all this turmoil!"

At this moment, the surrounding Shogunate Heroic Spirits couldn't help but show absurd expressions and unfriendly faces.

The notorious anti-heroes of the Ooe Mountain faction, however, looked on with sarcasm and sneered repeatedly.

"We are evil, but aren't you the same?"

"Nonsense! You bunch of rats from Mount Ooe, you're spouting complete nonsense!"

"Stop barking here, you lackey of the Shogunate!"

Samael watched the two sides exchanging trash talk, the atmosphere still tense, and felt a headache coming on.

Since he wanted to shake hands and make peace, and jointly explore the truth, he naturally needed to involve both sides in the discussion.

Therefore, the ancient serpent only temporarily paralyzed their mobility, but still allowed them to maintain clear cognition.

But a bombshell dropped right at the start of the peace talks.

The ancient serpent rubbed its temples, turned its gaze to Hestia, and, on behalf of the Shogunate Heroic Spirits beside it, asked the questions that had been nagging at it.

"You lead a hundred demons to attack and wreak havoc in human cities, is it all just for good deeds? I remember today isn't April 1st..."

Are all ghosts and monsters evil? Do all heroic spirits necessarily represent good?

A deep voice came from behind Hestia. Ugly Gozen, with his purple hair disheveled and blood staining half of his cheek, leaned against a remaining pillar on the side of the platform, quietly looking at Samael.

The look in those purple eyes was full of meaning.

In a daze, the image of the ghost girl named Red Leaf appeared in the ancient snake's mind. After a moment of silence, it slowly spoke.

"I have seen the noblest evil spirits, and I have seen the most despicable humans..."

Similar questions, same answers.

A hint of surprise appeared in Ugly Gozen's eyes, and a relieved smile bloomed on her somewhat gloomy face, as if a stone that had been pressing on her heart for a long time had been removed.

After a brief pause, her cherry-red lips parted slightly, her voice deep and powerful.

"Then, foreign serpent god, have you ever heard of the legend of the guardian demon...?"

Suddenly, Samael seemed to realize something, his pupils contracted, and he subconsciously looked in a certain direction.

Chapter Seventy-Four: Let the Dead Return to Death

"Heroes who save the world will become spirits, and those who save the world of ghosts will become guardians."

“The guardian spirit is one who warns, interrogates, and kills ghosts—by saving all ghosts from existence through these methods.”

"Too much sunlight will cause flowers and plants to wither and die, and too much darkness will cause animals to freeze and starve to death..."

Ugly Gozen paused briefly, then leaned against the broken stone pillar in a more comfortable position, looking up at Samael with deep eyes.

"Just like the two sides of light and shadow, for this peaceful world, we are not a calamity that needs to be eradicated, but a necessary evil to maintain the boundary between life and death..."

"Why bother telling them this?!"

Amidst the ruins, Shuten-dōji, slumped on the ground, laboriously raised his arm, tilted his head back, and gulped down a mouthful of sake. Amidst violent coughing, he glanced at his colleague with a sneer.

"Could it be that you still want to continue being the Shogunate's loyal dog, Lord Raimitsu?"

"...!"