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[9999] Outer Gate — City of Desire.
Following Mr. Mystery's advice, Kalki (Highness) accepted the delivery job and made his way here.
He looked around at the streets packed with ugly men and stunning women, silently observing for a moment. Then he headed straight toward the Indian-style central temple.
Along the way, he slipped past layer after layer of guards using his advanced concealment gift, weaving cleanly through six defensive barriers.
Finally…
He stopped at the underground entrance beneath the temple at the heart of the city.
There were no guards posted—only an empty black passageway, with the faintest trace of light leaking from below.
Kalki stared down into the tunnel, hesitated, then gritted his teeth and stepped inside.
After passing through a long passage lit only by scattered candles, he reached the hall at the bottom—and was greeted by a sea of molten fire.
Gurururu—
The black-red lava bubbled and popped.
Kalki walked to the edge of the pool and stopped. Rather than watch the lava, his gaze drifted to the far side of the cave.
There stood a stone altar, and atop it rested a closed lotus bud, glowing a fiery red. Red lines pulsed slowly along its surface, and a delicate, elegant fragrance drifted through the air.
Kalki immediately held his breath, trying not to inhale it—but still caught a bit. Even that tiny amount was enough to trigger certain... embarrassing physical reactions.
Just then, a woman's voice echoed through the hall, "Leader of the Third Union, what brings you to a little place like the Desire City?"
Her voice was bright and sweet, almost girlish.
But even though the words were normal, Kalki's mind was instantly flooded with illusions.
Kalki clenched his jaw, forcing himself to ignore the visions that tried to stir his desire, and replied stiffly, "Because the First Union was being tailed by Indra, the delivery target has been reassigned to me. Please take note, Lady Asura."
Asura.
One of the Eight Legions of Buddhist mythology—demigods, representing the "wrath" in karmic retribution.
In Little Garden, the ruler of the Asura race bore the title 'The Asura,' a name that reflected not only their authority but also the clan's deep pride in that title.
Every generation's king or queen of the Asuras got that name, along with a four-digit rank. They also belonged to the Buddhist faction, acting as one of its extensions in the lower layers.
Kalki's current task was to deliver a letter to the present Asura Queen.
"Oh? Indra?" Asura snorted. "The bastard who stole my ancestor's wife? He descended to the lower layer?"
A faint anger colored her voice.
"So he finally managed to grab the Ouroboros' tail? Something must have provoked him if he actually stopped pretending to be useless."
"Hmm… what big events happened recently? Is it that Canaria's community? I remember one of his Moon Rabbits is there…"
The Asura clan and Indra were both part of the Buddhist side, but the Asuras weren't part of the heavenly army—and they famously didn't get along with him.
Kalki didn't know the details, nor did he care much; he was only here to deliver a message.
So he stayed silent, head bowed. But his ears twitched as he sensed something, and he spoke again, "Lady Asura."
"What is it?" she asked.
Kalki hesitated briefly, then said, "The community you mentioned—Arcadia—has already reclaimed their flag."
"Hm?" A note of surprise. "Mithras actually failed?"
"Yes." Kalki nodded. "Lord Mithras was killed by Indra's ambush. There were also traces of the Thousand Eyes Leader at the scene."
"How interesting. Arcadia lost the Canaria, yet still managed to draw their attention…"
A light, amused laugh echoed through the cavern, followed by a sultry whisper, "Leave the letter."
"And tell the First Union… I'll think about it. I'm not sure yet whether I should intervene and bury that community's little sprout before it grows."
As her voice faded, a stone platform quietly rose from the lava.
Seeing this, Kalki took out a sealed letter and placed it atop the platform. Then he paused, hesitated, and spoke again, "Lady Asura."
"What now?"
Kalki's expression turned solemn. "Please be careful of Arcadia's new leader. That man… is no ordinary opponent."
"Oh? Interesting.... I'll remember your warning."
From the temple's depths back to the surface, out of the City of Desire, and deep into the wilderness—
Only then did Kalki wipe the sweat from his brow, bend over, and mutter in frustration, "So this is what lust reactions feel like? What a pain… Doesn't Lady Asura realize I'm still just a child?"
A voice only he could hear spoke beside his ear. It was the voice of the being who called himself Mr. Mystery.
"You should be grateful, kid."
"This generation's Asura Queen doesn't even practice the classic charm-type arts."
"If she did, you'd have gotten a taste of seduction on par with a demon temptress."
A "demon temptress" referred to none other than Daji.
The woman who helped bring down the Shang Dynasty, and whose divinity stood close to Tamamo-no-Mae and Amaterasu—a true icon of seduction in Little Garden.
No man who encountered her escaped her charm. Even many almighty gods had dreamed of becoming her pets.
But for Kalki, women like that were exactly the type he could not handle.
He was only two years old! Using charm magic to provoke reactions from a two-year-old—how twisted could someone get?
"Mr. Mystery… I still don't understand why you told me to bring up Arcadia taking back their flag."
"Heh, and I don't understand why you warned Asura," Mr. Mystery chuckled.
Kalki fell silent, then sighed. "Maybe… because I don't want to spark any more conflict."
By revealing Arcadia's leader's strength, he hoped the Asura Queen might think twice about getting involved.
He still had a little kindness left in him.
.
.
.