"What on earth just happened!?"
"Why are there dark clouds all of a sudden?"
"Sothing's wrong with that cloud… it feels ominous and terrifying!"
…
The sudden appearance of the dark clouds alard everyone on the mountainside. Soon after, they saw two sword lights slash through the darkness, followed by powerful attacks of various kinds. However, instead of dissipating the clouds, the attacks only made them thinner.
Then, a thunderbolt struck the mountaintop—and the clouds vanished.
No one knew exactly what had occurred, but lin's furious roar echoed clearly through the ears of every single person. His rage, agitation, and hatred seeped into them unconsciously.
They knew—sothing major had happened.
And when lin suddenly turned into a stream of light and left the Sanctuary, it only confird their fears.
…
…
Sensing the crisis, Charles imdiately gathered all the X-n, just in case.
"Erik, what happened? Are we under attack?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before. Uncle lin has never lost control like that."
"Can we go up the mountain?"
"Yes. Co with . The others should stay alert. Sothing terrible must have happened."
Everyone nodded, and Erik hurriedly led Charles uphill.
On the other side, Peggy and the others—being closer—had witnessed everything from beginning to end.
For the first ti, they felt sothing toward lin—fear.
At the mont of his roar, it was as if the air had frozen. Waves of fury dyed their minds crimson. If that fury had fully erupted, the earth would have crumbled, the sky torn apart, and even ti and space would've been obliterated.
As ordinary humans, Colonel Phillips, Maria, and Tony passed out the instant lin's roar swept over them.
"This can't go on! We have to stop him! Or the Earth is dood!"
Peggy imdiately tried to rush forward to stop lin, but Howard yanked her back. "You can't go! Don't forget who you are! What can you possibly say to stop him? What reason do you have!?"
Peggy ignored his protest and tried to break free. "Even if I can't stop him, I still have to try!"
"You'll die!"
"If he really loses it, we're all dead anyway. Dying sooner or later—what difference does it make!?"
"Peggy! Calm down!" Steve stepped in quickly, helping Howard restrain her.
"Steve! Good, you're here! Help talk to him—"
"Calm down, Peggy! lin hasn't completely lost his mind!"
"What are you—"
"Lady Athena is safe. But the ti and place of her reincarnation was interfered with. lin has no intention of destroying the Earth."
Steve then relayed the order he had received to Peggy and Howard.
"It's… really just the Buddhist sects he's targeting?" Peggy asked for confirmation.
"Yes. I've been ordered to follow Milo on this campaign, so I won't say much more. Just rember—stay calm. Whatever happens, wait for to return." With that, Steve took off after Milo and the departing Saints.
"This… Who knows how many people will die from this," Peggy murmured in anguish.
"Alright, Peggy. Don't bla yourself," Howard said, trying to comfort her. To him, lin's actions were understandable.
If his wife had been ambushed during her reincarnation and gone missing, he probably would've lost his mind and gone on a rampage too.
lin was taking revenge against the Buddhist factions—but he hadn't gone completely berserk. He hadn't lashed out at everyone, and he had made sure Sanctuary's defenses were in place.
"But even so… this is too much…"
"What should he do instead? Arrest them? Put them on trial? Host a public forum?" Howard shot back. "Don't be naïve! Do you really think soone like him can be bound by mortal rules? And who are you to tell him how to act?"
"But—"
"Look around you, Peggy! Look at the Saints!"
Peggy numbly turned her gaze. The Saints were dashing back and forth with pained expressions and blazing eyes, radiating fierce battle spirit.
She realized that if lin gave the order—even if it ant destroying every nation on Earth to root out the three main culprits—not a single Saint would hesitate.
"Now do you understand? Sanctuary is their faith! lin is! Athena is! And now, their faith has been attacked. How could you possibly stop them!?"
"I… I…" Peggy was speechless but still couldn't accept this path.
As wicked as the Buddhist factions might be, eradicating everything connected to them would harm countless innocents. It would shake the entire world—maybe even trigger the next world war.
But this ti, it wouldn't be man versus man.
It would be man versus god.
"Peggy, I know you've always clung to your beliefs. That's your greatest strength—and your greatest flaw. And let say it again: rember who you are. You and I are rely priests. He is our god," Howard said sternly.
"…" Peggy's face paled. She laughed bitterly. "A god, huh? So that gives him the right to do whatever he wants?"
"Yes. It does," Howard replied, voice like iron.
He had figured out what was wrong with Peggy—she was too confident. Too proud. She had started seeing herself as the center of everything. Ever since the founding of Spear Bureau, this flaw had beco more apparent. Originally, she, Steve, Colonel Phillips, and Howard were all equals in the organization.
But lately, Peggy had begun treating Howard and Phillips like subordinates, with only Steve getting any real respect.
Howard regretted not calling it out sooner. Peggy had started thinking of herself as lin's equal.
Peggy, always self-centered, failed to see what Howard did: the world had changed. Rules? Laws? Morals? Those were for ordinary people. A being like lin writes the rules—because he can destroy the world with ease.
"Heh… and a god like that… deserves to exist?" Peggy sneered.
SMACK—
Howard slapped her, sending her sprawling to the ground.
Peggy stared at him in disbelief, holding her cheek. She had never imagined Howard would hit her.
"Are you awake now?" Howard said coldly.
He didn't want to, but he had to. Saying this in private would've just led to an argunt. But this was Sanctuary.
Surrounded by Saints.
lin was their faith. Anyone slandering him—regardless of identity or reason—could be executed on the spot.
Saying sothing like that here was suicide.
"You! How dare you—"
"Don't forget—we're equals, Peggy. We founded Spear Bureau together. I'm not your subordinate," Howard said.
Honestly, the unfinished accusation she had just started to utter chilled him. He never thought his longti friend would fall this far.
If she refused to wake up, Howard was ready to cut ties altogether.
"I… you… I…"
His words struck her like a dagger, flooding her mind with mories—but the more she rembered, the more dazed and pained she looked.
"You should be grateful the god you're questioning… is lin."
Howard stopped speaking then, remaining silent at her side.
Athena had gone missing. lin would surely mobilize forces to find her. At this mont, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the X-n would be essential in that search. That was their duty.
"I found you, Howard! What the hell is going on—what happened!?" Erik and Charles finally arrived at the Twelve Palaces. They found Howard just as Peggy was sitting on the ground, holding her face.
"Peggy needs ti to cool down. I'll be taking over S.H.I.E.L.D.'s responsibilities for now." Howard then filled Charles and Erik in on everything.
"Zeus… Hades… the Buddhist sects… unforgivable!"
To Erik, lin was like a father. Athena was his mother in all but blood. Though they'd never t, her being attacked—and lin suffering—filled Erik with rage. He wanted to descend the mountain and join the strike against the Buddhist factions.
"Erik, calm down. Lady Athena is safe. lin is fine. Don't act rashly and cause more harm," Charles said.
Though he agreed with Peggy that this was brutal, Charles was more rational. He knew he had no power to change lin's will.
Like Howard, he realized the best thing they could do was help search for Athena's new reincarnation.
At that mont, Alex appeared.
"Finished talking?" Alex's voice was cold, and he gave a chilly glance at Peggy on the ground.
"Yes, Acting Pope," Howard, Charles, and Erik bowed slightly.
"Good. From now on, your top priority is finding Lady Athena. We will assign people to assist you."
"Understood, Acting Pope. We'll fully cooperate with the Saints to locate the goddess," Howard and Charles replied.
"Good." Alex nodded. As he turned to leave, he gave Peggy another glance.
"lin's judgnt has never failed. I hope you don't make him wrong this ti."
With that, he vanished. He had many other matters to handle—assigning Saints, calming the city on the mountainside. He had no ti for this petty squabble.
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