Volume 8: The Fourth Impact Chapter 98 If you are in hell, the only one who can save you is the devil
Lord Doom left soon. He handed over an important force under his command to Old A and promised to send someone to join his upcoming operation.
However, he chose to be absent on the grounds that he had to appease the goblin power and complete the final construction of the End Star.
This reason is impeccable.
However, his decision itself revealed Lord Doom's attitude towards assassination. For a man who regards rationality as a good quality, this is indeed not the option he would choose when he is at a disadvantage.
Fury did not leave the beach.
He watched Lord Doom disappear in an arc of light, then leaned back on the deserted beach chair, supporting his forehead with his hand and lost in thought.
Doom is not the only one who will meet tonight. He is determined to complete the alliance of this action tonight and kill Mason with the momentum of a lion fighting a rabbit.
Doom was just the first collaborator met, he wasn't even the most important one.
After the failure of Utopia's operation, Dum's importance in Lao A's plan dropped significantly. As he said, they missed the most important opportunity, which was enough to turn a favorable situation into a big disadvantage.
But even if the mentality is already broken, the game still has to be played... What should I do if I don't play? Should I just give up?
"Hiss"
The noise caused by the energy piercing through time and space woke up Old A who was in deep thought. He looked up and saw a light and shadow screen opened on the beach chair opposite.
The aperture composed of pixels diffuses into a lifelike holographic image, which is so realistic that it can be mistaken for the real thing. The only problem is that it penetrates the model.
The guy's feet were all under the sand.
"What's wrong with you?"
The Chief Arbitrator frowned and asked:
"It's rare to see you make such a low-level mistake and panic like this? What happened? Wait, before you answer, tell me, which Kang are you?
Where is the Conqueror?"
"He's at war."
Kang, who cast a shadow in front of him, was a silent black man. He was wearing a set of armor that was obviously used for combat and was sitting on an extremely mechanical suspended throne.
He replied to Mr. A:
“I am Quantum Lord Kang, his ally and supporter. The sacred timeline has collapsed again. The success of Mason Cooper’s world fusion has directly led to the largest branch of the sacred timeline ever split.
This led to the collapse of Kang's dynasty.
One out of three Kangs has chosen to rebel, and the Conqueror is now in a state of panic. He has to fight every single one of himself on every branch of time, which is much busier than you think, so we better hurry up.
I have just cleared up my issues here and am speaking to you on behalf of the Conqueror.
But I don't have much time.
There is a terrible rebellion brewing in the past time stream, and I must deal with this hidden danger before it happens. Tell me, Arbitrator, what do you want to talk to Kang about?"
"The one who caused you this big problem!"
Old A was not polite either. He leaned back on the beach chair, crossed his legs, and said to the Quantum Lord Kang in front of him :
“You control time and have built the magnificent Kang Dynasty based on the existence of the sacred timeline. However, an attempt by a young man caused your empire to collapse.
If I were you, I would choose to solve the problem from the source..."
“What a typical amateur statement! You always like to speak from a high vantage point and get to the root of the problem, but when you really get into the details you can’t even say shit.
Don't play this kind of crap in front of me, and don't talk about things you don't understand, it will only expose your stupidity."
The Lord of Quantum curled his lips in disdain and said:
"If things were really that simple, this great rebellion would not have spread to such an unmanageable extent. You know nothing about the operation of the sacred timeline. Do you need me to take a few seconds to explain it to you?"
"No need! It's going to collapse anyway! There's no point in discussing something that's doomed to destruction."
Fury sneered and said:
"The reasons why Kang the Conqueror and his dynasty joined the Council of Hope have never changed. He sees more clearly than you all that the collapse of the sacred timeline that you rely on is only a matter of time. What he desires is to control time from the source in the next era and reshape a force larger than the current dynasty.
Why you would kill each other for a throne that is about to burn is beyond my comprehension, but please tell every Kang you can find.
Tell them, allies and foes alike, that Mason Cooper will not allow them to control time in the next era, and you don't even have to try.
I am the only one who can give you this privilege. The Star of the End is the only hope for the Kang Dynasty to continue into the next era!
I don't care which Kang is in power in the future, but if you can't grasp the present, there will be no future. I don't understand how timelines work, and thinking about that stuff is harmful to my brain.
But I know one thing.
If you don't eliminate the disruptors, you'll never be able to unite again.
I will assassinate Mason and eliminate the chaos he has caused in the material world and the timeline level. I have found others to participate, and you can stand by and watch.
But whether you succeed or fail, you have no part in it.
Do you understand what I mean?"
"I just think you are doing useless work..."
The Lord of Quantum snorted, propped up his chin with both hands, and was about to ridicule Old A who was talking nonsense about the time masters, but suddenly a bullet shot from the side and blew the old black man's head apart with a bang in the energy explosion.
The simulation effect of the holographic projection is so realistic that even the splashes of blood leave dazzling trajectories.
Fury watched expressionlessly as the projection in front of him shook a few times. Then an old man named Kang, dressed in a wasteland style, came forward with a pistol that was still emitting smoke, and kicked the headless Quantum Lord Kang off the throne.
He didn't care about the blood on the mechanical throne. He sat on it, pulled up his hood, and shouted at Old A in front of him:
"You idiot! This guy is from Kang's resistance army. He intercepted the communication signal between you and the Conqueror. You almost revealed your plan yourself."
"It doesn't matter."
Old A played with the Mind Gem in his hand and said casually:
"Do you think Mason doesn't realize the change in the situation? He knows exactly what I will do, and I also know that all my actions cannot be hidden from him. This round is an open card.
It was a real fight, a final desperate struggle.
So, what is your answer to this unknown Kang in front of you?"
“We join in!”
Wasteland Kang sneered a few times, activated the mechanical throne and headed for the next time point. In the flickering time vortex, he said:
"We will never be late. Although assassinating an important figure who has already triggered a branch of the sacred timeline will have disastrous consequences, as you said, the sacred timeline has already begun to collapse on its own. There is no point in keeping this layer of window paper."
"Shua"
Kang's projection flickered and disappeared, and Old A was left alone on the beach again. The second collaborator had been found, and their firm attitude made Fury feel relieved for a moment.
He regained that feeling of ease, and the current situation reminded him of his life when he was not yet the arbitrator of the Council, and he was also looking for opportunities to defeat the enemy in such adversity.
He was much weaker than he is now, and the resources he could mobilize were much more scarce than they are now, but he survived. So many difficulties and setbacks could not defeat him. Now facing Mason's challenge, what should he be afraid of?
"Ah, the young lion is provoking the old lion king. A great war in the name of the king is about to break out on the dark grassland..."
Fury looked up at the dim stars above his head, took a deep breath, and said:
"If this confrontation is the ending, it's actually... okay."
"Well, are you desperate enough to start choosing a tombstone for yourself?"
A faint voice sounded in Old A's ears. He could only hear the voice but could not see it, which revealed a sense of horror and mystery. However, the voice was gentle and persuasive, just like the earnest greetings from an old friend from afar.
Needless to say, this kind of appearance is naturally the result of a group of guys who love to play tricks.
"I'm too lazy to repeat what I've said twice. What's your answer?"
Fury asked bluntly.
The voice that came with the wind and lingered in my ears was silent for a moment, and then answered seriously:
"Half of us are on the opposite side, and the other half have no other choice. Although some people are planning to sit on the sidelines, the fact is that choosing you is more in our interest than choosing Mason.
A godslayer cannot become friends with gods. Just look at the fate of poor Nabu and you will know that Mason will not easily forget past grudges.
So, let's join in!
We will offer you something, something you have always desired but never gotten. It cannot kill Mason, but it can help you complete the assassination.
You must choose a wielder for it, a fearless warrior willing to sacrifice himself, a being who holds power and is not afraid to embrace it."
“There are a lot of people like that.”
Old A nodded and said:
"I'll get it done, but your uncertainty is a big problem..."
"That is a problem that cannot be eradicated, my dear Arbitrator."
The voice said helplessly:
“The majestic figure of God is made up of human thoughts. We are the conceptual bodies of countless thoughts, and each thought that makes us is full of uncertainty.
We are the source of chaos and unrest, we are the fusion of the past and the future, we are the symbol of darkness and light.
You killed your opponents, but new opponents appeared. You might as well just get on with it. However, now, you and your former disciples are on both sides of the scale, as if God is betting on both at the same time.
No matter who of you wins, we won't lose.
Phew, such is the privilege of being a god."
"It's just a simple risk hedging. You always like to make such simple and easy-to-understand things sound mysterious. If I didn't really need you, I would definitely..."
Old A suppressed his impatience and finally refrained from saying anything impolite or indecent. The voice that spoke for the gods also let out a light laugh, and finally disappeared on the empty beach with the sound of a light flute that matched the rolling tide.
Another collaborator expressed his attitude.
Another power was taken into his arms.
If this wasn't the night that kicked off a life-and-death struggle, such a scene of unity would definitely make Old A very happy.
It is a shame that this unity is based only on the threat posed by the same enemy.
Old A took out a watch and looked at the time. There was one last guest tonight, and the most important person on Old A's invitation list was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe it's because I messed up that I'm too embarrassed to see him?
After all, that guy had promised that Mason would return empty-handed, but he broke his promise.
"I guess you must be complaining about me in your heart right now, resenting me for not being able to do what I promised, and for choosing to be late for such an important occasion tonight.
For a person of status, this is really not a decent thing to happen to him.”
As Old A waited patiently, the guy finally showed up.
He walked barefoot on the fine beach, leaving his own strange footprints, and walked behind Fury, placing his black-gloved hands on the shoulders of the chief arbitrator, making such an intimate gesture like a real friend.
He said:
“I thought dropping a mountain on his big baby would teach him a lesson, but it turns out I may have slept too long, or maybe young people these days aren’t as delicate as I thought.
I had caused him trouble, but not as much trouble as I had thought.
He staged a stunning reversal at the final moment, and the scene was so exciting that I, who was watching the live broadcast, had to give him a thumbs up and exclaimed that it was wonderful.
I'm sorry, my friend, I screwed up."
Mephisto's sincere apology did not make Fury forget the incident. Old A said in a hoarse voice:
"You didn't mess up, nor do you lack the ability. You are just happy to see the situation develop to this point. You are happy to see us lose our advantage, only in this way can you take advantage of the situation.
I should have guessed it when you suggested that I join the Star Society!
You did that on purpose, didn’t you?
"If you insist on my answering, I can only tell you that I was careless."
The old devil smiled as he walked around the table and sat in the chair across from Fury.
This guy's human form is indeed graceful and full of orderly temperament. He put the cane carved with a crystal skull beside him, leaned back in the beach chair with his hands crossed, looking very relaxed.
His burning pupils stared at the expressionless Fury across from him.
He said:
"You asked me for help in exchange for the Garden World in the hands of the Council, and I helped. But I was not very happy when my request for 'friendship' was rejected by you.
In the eyes of a traditional person like me, cooperation has always been a two-way thing. You make a request and I make one. Only such equal exchange can make cooperation continue.
If you only give me 50% of your sincerity, I will only do 50% of the work.
Isn't this a normal rule of the game?
As you can see, I did put Mason in a desperate situation, but the kid was lucky and he broke free. I didn't promise to help you get rid of him, right?
That's mine!
He has a tattoo of me on his arm... and you don't!"
Old A stared at the devil opposite him without saying a word. The latter did not feel uncomfortable being stared at with such murderous eyes. Perhaps it was because as a devil he had been accustomed to such "cold violence" since he was born.
"I know you're upset, but think on the bright side. For me, the current situation is indeed perfect."
Mephisto smiled and said to Old A:
"You are already in a passive hell. Shouldn't you give a friendly smile to the devil who can lend you a hand? You are really rude, Arbitrator.
You know, where I come from, the polite people would call me a bastard and a freak..."
"I have no interest in the customs and practices of hell!"
Old A interrupted the old devil's chatter and said:
"I need your help. Mason can't move forward anymore. This time the help can't be based on luck. I want you to do your best."
"I'm sorry, but I refuse."
The old devil shook his head and said:
"The time limit has passed. Even someone like me who longs for friendship will not waste time on a guy who doesn't want to make friends with me. It is precisely because the opportunity only comes once that it is so precious.
I have come to-night to tell you that I will not take any direct part in any action you may take against Mason, not because I do not want to play, but because I must play a one-on-one game with him.
Mr. Arbitrator, please understand that for a person who has been planning to destroy the Star Society from the very beginning, my position in his heart is much more important than yours.
So, tell me about your plan and see if I can use it.
I mean, we take some pressure off each other and stuff."
