After a moment of stunned silence, a dark joy flickered in the Son of God's eyes.
Heh! A foolish choice!
Given the Kalki divinity Su Mo possessed, if he had truly been willing to accept the identity of a Divinity-side Paradigm Candidate—even just on the surface—the pantheons, including the Buddhist faith, would have treated him with extreme leniency.
In that case, not just Shakyamuni, but other pantheons would have been more inclined to protect Su Mo.
After all, a wild, fully-formed savior for a pantheon was genuinely hard to come by.
Under those circumstances, the Son of God would have found it difficult to object. Even if Su Mo didn't apologize, he would likely have had to swallow his pride.
However, with such a significant advantage, Su Mo had made the most foolish choice.
Not only did he deny his identity as a Divinity-side Paradigm Candidate, but he even stated that he leaned toward the humanity side?
To the gods, this was tantamount to treason!
"Shakyamuni, you see now, this heretic will never be our ally!"
Already unwilling to suffer the humiliation, the Son of God's stance flipped on the spot.
He too raised his longsword of holy light, his gaze piercing through Shakyamuni to lock onto Su Mo.
"In that case, he will be the enemy of all our pantheons! So, abandon the illusion of a truce and join me in crushing this great enemy of the gods!"
Perhaps unsure of his own strength, he even tried to team up with the World-Honored One to defeat Su Mo.
Hearing this, Su Mo's expression remained unchanged.
Given the positions of these two as leaders of top-tier pantheons, the probability of them joining forces was already high.
In fact, it was somewhat strange that Shakyamuni's first reaction hadn't been to team up and suppress him.
Perhaps it was just a feeling, but Su Mo sensed that although both beings of the Full-Authority Domain supported the history of gods, their reasons for doing so seemed to differ.
Hearing the Son of God's words and seeing Su Mo's defensive posture, Shakyamuni seemed a little helpless.
He didn't immediately change his attitude and attack Su Mo as the Son of God had expected. Instead, he continued to try to persuade them.
"Son of God, there is no need to be so extreme. Lord Su Mo is merely lost in a momentary confusion. With a little explanation and persuasion, he will surely come to agree with our way of thinking and return to the righteous path."
After trying to calm the Son of God, he turned to Su Mo.
"And you, Lord Su Mo. Although I am not sure why you hold a prejudice against our pantheons, if you wish to protect the history of humanity, you should be supporting our decision."
As he spoke, he glanced at his surroundings.
The Buddha's wisdom eye could easily perceive the three realms. Even though the gods were spectating from their own domains, they all felt as if they were being watched by the Buddha at that moment.
When you gaze at the World-Honored One, the World-Honored One also gazes at you.
However, he didn't say much more, turning his attention back to Su Mo.
"The Dharma is not to be spread to six ears. The reasons for this are difficult to explain in a short time. If Lord Su Mo truly wishes to know why I support the Son of God, I will explain it to you in detail later, holding nothing back."
"I guarantee, on my name as the World-Honored One, that after hearing my reasons, if you are willing to change your mind and support our plan, I will bear the full responsibility for the losses the Son of God has suffered."
In short, there were too many people here; he wanted a private chat.
Hearing the World-Honored One's words, Su Mo was somewhat surprised.
Although he hadn't revealed many secrets or explained why he supported the history of gods, his attitude was incredibly sincere.
He was willing to face the Son of God's wrath and even personally compensate the Church for their losses. His sincerity was palpable.
It was clear that he genuinely wanted to resolve the conflict.
It was just a pity—
"Impossible!"
"I cannot!"
Unfortunately, the opposing sides had no intention of accepting his sincerity.
In this, Su Mo and the Son of God were in perfect agreement.
"Although I am curious about your reasons, I cannot devote myself to the divinity side," Su Mo said, shaking his head.
The more he studied mythological history, the more he understood the limits of myth, and the less he could bring himself to entrust everything to the gods.
For him, the divinity side versus the humanity side was not a choice. Naturally, no new reason would change his mind.
"Did you hear that, Shakyamuni? With a heretic who knows no reverence, only absolute power will make him change his attitude!" the Son of God stared at Su Mo with a sinister gaze. "In the end, he is nothing more than a completed savior's spiritual essence. An disobedient stray dog, no matter how excellent, can never compare to an obedient house dog..."
"If you truly have any compassion for the myriad beings of heaven and earth, then join me in slaying this disobedient Paradigm Candidate here and now!"
"Rather than hoping to convert such a heretic, it would be better to use his spiritual essence as nourishment to cultivate a new Kalki. That is what we truly need!"
Evidently, he had given up all hope for Su Mo.
If Su Mo were to serve as the Divinity-side Paradigm Candidate, Shakyamuni's goal might be achieved, and the history of gods might come to completely dominate Little Garden. But whether the Church would still exist at that point was a big question mark.
After careful consideration, he realized that placing his hopes in a savior who harbored such deep malice toward him was an absolutely foolish strategy.
It would be better to take this opportunity to eliminate Su Mo and cultivate a new Kalki from his corpse.
That would be more in line with the Church's interests.
"...Please, you two, don't be so hasty. There is still room for discussion!"
Seeing his proposal rejected, Shakyamuni wanted to try again.
Unfortunately, the two on the battlefield had no patience to listen.
And so—
"Heretic, your sins have been heard in heaven!"
With a resounding chant, the Son of God, with the wrath of God, invoked the judgment of God upon the city of Sodom from the myths.
Heavenly fire and lightning rained down from the sky, a scene from myth made real.
Empowered by the Authority of Judgment, this was an attack that even a being in the Full-Authority Domain would find difficult to withstand head-on.
The wide-area attack bypassed the Buddha's light and went straight for Su Mo.
"And you call yourself heaven?"
Facing the Son of God's offensive, Su Mo waved his hand unhurriedly.
The pure white apocalyptic flames, carrying the will of Purification, consumed the very space of Little Garden before them, along with the Authority of Judgment.
The pure white apocalyptic flames surged upward, defying the heavens.
With the common will of the two beings of the Full-Authority Domain, the battle was instantly reignited.
Although they tried to avoid him, Shakyamuni, caught in the middle, was undoubtedly hit by a portion of the firepower from both sides.
Under the roasting of the holy light and apocalyptic flames, even his sixteen-foot golden body seemed unable to hold up for long.
As the peacemaker, his treatment was nothing short of miserable, being beaten by both sides simultaneously.
An ordinary person would have given up by now, and Su Mo and the Son of God had left him room to retreat.
But as the Buddha, Shakyamuni did not give up.
Not only that, but he held a mudra and fully unleashed his spiritual essence.
*VMMM~*
A golden Buddhist light manifested, illuminating the three realms.
It was the wrathful manifestation of Mahāvairocana, Ācalanātha Vidyārāja.
The dharma body of the Buddha, thousands of meters tall, slowly opened its eyes. One hand pointed to the heavens, blocking the holy light of Judgment, while the other pointed to the earth, parrying the apocalyptic flames of Purification that defied the heavens.
The apocalyptic flames almost instantly burned through the Buddha's palm, but under the Authority of Reincarnation, the burned palm quickly grew back, only to be destroyed again, and then grow back again.
Simultaneously withstanding the attacks from both sides, the Buddha's palms, at different speeds, displayed the same scene.
In the endless cycle of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness, his palms were destroyed and reforged again and again, a strange defense that blocked the offensives of both sides at once.
"You two!" the dharma body of Ācalanātha spoke. Unlike the gentle and compassionate tone of Shakyamuni, Ācalanātha's voice was stern and unyielding.
The colossal Buddha looked down at the two figures, as small as dust.
"Can you do me a favor and cease this conflict for now?"
As he spoke, as if worried his words would have no effect, he added, "From this moment on, anyone who wishes to make a move must be prepared to face two beings of the Full-Authority Domain at once."
Whoever made a move, he would unconditionally help their opponent.
This resounding declaration and incredibly powerful deterrent left the spectating gods in awe.
They had never expected that the gentle-tempered Buddha could also transform into a wrathful Vajra.
Despite his easygoing demeanor, Shakyamuni was by no means weak among the beings of the Full-Authority Domain.
When he asked someone to do him a favor, who would dare refuse?
"Shakyamuni!"
As expected, the Son of God froze.
He glared at the giant dharma body of the Buddha before him, a fire burning in his heart that he couldn't voice.
If he hadn't felt so weak, he would have demanded, "Shakyamuni, have you betrayed me?"
Looking at the situation, anyone could tell who benefited from a ceasefire.
Su Mo had dismantled the entire Church and trampled their pride into the mud. To stop him from retaliating now was to let Su Mo walk away without paying any price.
As the Son of God, how could he endure such a humiliation?
So, he glared at the Buddha before him, demanding an explanation.
However—
"What, you wish to fight?"
Ācalanātha glanced at the Son of God with utter indifference, the Buddhist light on his body blazing.
The Authorities of Karma and Karmic Obstacles were fully activated, on standby.
Unlike his main body's good temper, the dharma body of Ācalanātha had a temper hotter than the Son of God's. This was a wrathful manifestation born for battle.
Most terrifying of all, he had inherited the same sincerity as his main body.
In other words, if the Son of God were to nod and say he wanted to fight, then regardless of whether he was bluffing or not, Ācalanātha would, as he had said, immediately side with Su Mo and attack him with full force.
"..."
The Son of God was momentarily choked, unable to speak.
If he had dared to fight, he would have started long ago. Why would he need to act tough for the sake of pride and demand an explanation?
Even he knew that he could never stand against the combined might of two beings of the Full-Authority Domain. He was just trying to save some face.
He just hadn't expected that Ācalanātha wasn't as easygoing as Shakyamuni and wouldn't give him a way out.
Seeing the Son of God's predicament, some snickered, some were speechless, some mocked, and some sighed.
But regardless, most of the gods let out a subconscious sigh of relief. They instinctively felt that with the World-Honored One's firm intervention, this war was destined not to happen.
After all, it was impossible for someone to dare to take on two beings of the Full-Authority Domain at once, right?
However, just as the gods were preparing to leave, their entertainment over, just as even the Son of God felt there was no hope left, Su Mo's voice rang out again.
Before the giant Buddha, the figure of a mere human was like a drop in the ocean, as insignificant as dust.
But the words that came from his mouth instantly made his presence surpass that of the Buddha, even the heavens and the earth.
"One against two, is that all? Then, come at me, both of you!"
In a remarkably calm tone, Su Mo spoke words that would shake the three realms.
He was actually going to take on two beings of the Full-Hall Authority Domain by himself!
A drop in the ocean?
No, a single drop that could overwhelm the entire ocean