Chapter 923

The rain curtain tore open a golden fissure in the Desire Palace.

Ahiru stood at the center of the fissure, his body began to swell, from within him a deeper kind of swelling, as if something was growing out of his spine.

Golden patterns appeared on his skin, starting from the collarbone and spreading downward, like roots taking hold in his chest cavity.

His skull became larger and squarer, the lines of his jaw as if cleaved by a chisel.

A vertical slit split open at the center of his forehead, an eye slowly opened within it, the pupil golden, like a lit lamp. His body was covered in a layer of deep blue skin, as black-blue as the deep sea, with a metallic sheen on the surface.

He grew three faces—one in front, one on each side—each with a different expression.

The front face was dignified, the left face angry, the right face calm.

A snake coiled around his neck, its scales flashing cold light in the reflection of the golden patterns, a leopard-skin skirt wrapped around his waist, the pattern of the leopard skin writhing on its own as he moved, as if alive.

Three arms, each holding something—a drum, a trident, a lotus flower. The drum surface bore fine patterns, the tip of the trident flashed cold light in the rain curtain, the lotus petals slowly opened and closed along the edge of his deep blue skin.

Mahakala! Shiva!

Uesugi Muneyuki saw this scene, his brow furrowed tightly.

Hindu Gods!

As expected, Ahiru's little trick is the same as mine—essentially both come from Hindu-Buddhist syncretism transmitted to Japan! These Hindu Gods are no easy opponents, for they are not like the abstract supreme goodness of the other two teachings, nor like the Greek or Norse gods who merely appear to have great power but still possess the seven emotions and six desires.

Hindu Gods are all stat monsters.

That's why in those so-called national fortune tales involving summoning deities and heroic spirits, Hindu Gods rarely appear—there's a reason.

Because Hindu Gods are all about stacking numbers.

For example, the world you exist in is merely a small thousand-world, three thousand small thousand-worlds make a medium thousand-world, three thousand medium thousand-worlds make a great thousand-world, and three thousand great thousand-worlds are merely a pillar of Mahabrahma, and then Mahabrahma used 9999 pillars to create a Western Pure Land, and such Western Pure Lands have existed from past to present to future in three thousand instances, and these three thousand Pure Lands are governed by a Buddha, and such Buddhas number five hundred. This kind of number-stacking is more brutal than any metaphor, brutal to the point of being unmanageable.

India is also the ancient civilization that proposed the largest numbers, they created the unit "Ganges sands," roughly 10 to the 52nd through 56th power. Shiva. One of the three major gods of Hinduism, god of destruction, king of dance, lord of ascetics.

He creates, he sustains, he destroys. Shiva's symbol has never been merely destruction, but the beginning and end of all cycles.

Now, that image is stepping step by step out of the golden fissure.

His voice emanated simultaneously from the palace walls, ceiling, and floor, as if the entire building spoke for him: "Destruction and rebirth are one. Your so-called justice, truth, fairness—are merely stories humans fabricate during their brief existence to comfort themselves. True power transcends all this cycle."

"Cheer, for you shall witness my true power!"

Uesugi Muneyuki stood in the rain, rainwater forming a fine water curtain around him, he subconsciously glanced toward the Village Flower Palace beside him.

"This is——" Uesugi Muneyuki only managed to utter two characters before he and the Village Flower Palace had to separate immediately!

Because Mahakala's trident in his hand had already been aimed at him!

That trident carried the entire palace's power as it pressed down!

He sidestepped to dodge, the spear tip grazed his left arm, the rain curtain at the point of contact was torn into a vacuum band, then the trident struck the ground and exploded with a thunderous crash!

He heard Ahiru's laughter coming from that drum: "You can't escape. Shiva's dance is the rhythm of all things in the world. Your steps are also in my rhythm!"

"Even if you are an Inner World existence, so what? I've studied for ten years in cold windows—could I still not match your three generations of accumulation?!?!"

"Go die! Uesugi Muneyuki, you and that corrupt system you uphold together! Send yourself to heaven for me!!!!"

"Witness my great ascension! And the birth of new life as well!"

Ahiru roared with laughter, while Uesugi Muneyuki's face grew solemn.

He fundamentally doesn't understand these things!

At this moment, Arimura Hana's silhouette appeared at his side, rainwater around her formed a vortex, that vortex emitted a hissing sound when it touched Shiva's golden light, the Village Flower Palace said coldly: "His power is very strong, but strength is merely his vessel. His vessel is Shiva, but his soul remains that of a judo athlete who wants a gold medal."

"I know, but how am I supposed to deal with this guy?" Uesugi Muneyuki gritted his teeth and said.

"This is his domain, you cannot defeat him within his domain! You must find a way to summon your own power!" the Village Flower Palace said sternly: "Hurry, I'll buy you time!"

The rain curtain intensified, Uesugi Muneyuki immediately closed his eyes.

"Poo poo poo~poo poo poo~"

Instantly, a large patch of thick fog rose in the Desire Palace, the Vajra Yaksha Wisdom King Dharma Image manifested, Yan Gui Miyuan Toru began shaking his spray-spray乐, followed by Yaegaki Tetsuya's Horse Head Wisdom King slowly appearing in the void, mane burning with dark red flames: "I come to resist the evil curse! Uesugi!" "Good!" Relying on the fog, Uesugi Muneyuki instantly vanished from Ahiru's sight, Mahakala Shiva temporarily lost his target, he cursed angrily, Shiva's third eye opened, destructive laser flames shot from his eye, sweeping horizontally across where the Smoke Ghost produced smoke! Amidst a chain of explosions and flames, Uesugi Muneyuki narrowly dodged the attack, he said to the Village Flower Palace: "How many of these attacks can I withstand?"

"One!" the Village Flower Palace said calmly.

"Then that's acceptable!" Uesugi Muneyuki exhaled in relief.

"I mean, one hit will kill you!" the Village Flower Palace still said humorously: "But you don't need to worry about that mother cockroach, this guy still needs her organs, he won't kill her immediately, he'll kill you first."

"Kids, this isn't funny!" Uesugi Muneyuki's facial muscles twitched several times.

"Eh!" Fortunately, for Ahiru, Shiva's destructive ray seemed not to be unlimited, after sweeping around he let out a muffled grunt and stopped moving.

This conveniently gave Uesugi Muneyuki enough time.

After fully perceiving this Inner World, Uesugi Muneyuki opened his eyes, he gazed upon the surrounding Desire Palace, those deep red drapes, those golden patterns, those organs on the shelves soaked in formalin.

"Shiva's domain is the cycle of destruction and creation. Your domain is desire. You wish to transcend life forms, to become a higher existence. But have you ever considered—desire itself is also a kind of prison?"

He began to release his own domain, he clenched his fists at his chest, both fists glowed with another color of light, deep blue light, then he aimed his fists at the ceiling of the Desire Palace.

The deep red drapes began to change, those heavy, congealed-blood-like reds were being covered by another color. It was black, fine, smooth, with a slight sheen.

Those blacks flowed like water along the walls, each pattern as if carefully woven, possessing elasticity and luster.

The golden patterns began to dissolve upon contact with those blacks, as if swallowed by some deeper color.

This guy!

As expected, his understanding of "desire" surpasses mine!

Ahiru thought: No wonder he's the lust demon of the Metropolitan Police Department!

If not for this incident, we might have become friends?

But unfortunately, we ultimately chose different paths—today either you die or I live!

However, the following scene left Ahiru speechless.

At this moment, Shosuke Menou also stood in the distance, watching those black patterns covering the palace walls.

"What……" her voice trembled slightly in the rain curtain. Those black patterns began to take shape, becoming countless pairs of legs wearing stockings, each pair wrapped in nylon velvet core spandex as thin as cicada wings, the sheen in the rain curtain flowing with the light, like bolts of black silk unfurled.

The heels of the red-bottom CL high-heeled shoes stepped on the deep red carpet, the slender tips made the carpet surface sink, leaving faint impressions in the moist air.

Those legs moved slowly and lazily, each step as if carefully designed, the rhythm landing precisely on some unspeakable heartbeat.

At that moment, Ahiru's Dharma Image showed a fine crack, his expression changed, and the golden radiance of Mahakala Shiva trembled slightly: "This is your domain... your domain is... stockings and high heels?"

"I am this pure!" Uesugi Muneyuki roared: "I am this kind of man! Genius on the left, madman on the right, I am in the middle! I am the Emperor!!!"

The black patterns began to seep toward the core of the palace, the lotus in the Desire Palace's hand began to wither, petals falling one by one, landing on the deep red carpet, soaked by rainwater.

The deep red curtain fell to the ground, dissipating into golden specks of light.

The patterns on the drum surface also began to blur, those ancient symbols like ink stains soaked in water, spreading, dissolving, disappearing. Ahiru's voice first showed a crack: "This is impossible... your mental realm is so low... why is it above mine???"

"Your desire is to seize outward. And my desire one by one does not need to seize outward. Because my desire contains no 'dissatisfaction,' no 'lack,' no 'I need to obtain something to be satisfied.' Therefore, when your law confronts my domain, there is nothing for it to cling to. It finds no gap!" Uesugi Muneyuki, while reflecting his heart like the world into Ahiru's inner world, roared: "Roll out from your disguise! Let us decide the victor!"

"Good, come on! Three times, three times, do not underestimate the strength of the judo champion!!!!" Ahiru was also enraged, revealing true fury and the pride of a judo champion.

"I am, judo, Emperor!!!"

At the boundary of those two regions, Shosuke Menou stood there, watching the stockings and high heels and the Desire Palace erode each other, watching Uesugi Muneyuki stand at the center of it all, locked in struggle with Ahiru, the Horse Head Wisdom King battling Mahakala.

The corner of her mouth twitched, truly not knowing what to say.

"Looks exciting, but ultimately burning what..."

"These two perverts... couldn't they both be eliminated?"