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Living room couch.
Hawk leaned back against the cushions.
Gwen sat cross-legged, her eyes sparkling with analytical brilliance, her pretty face composed as she worked through the problem.
"You said Mephisto was ambushed by Yahweh right after you obtained the Blood God's dimensional space. You're sure about that?"
"That's what Mephisto said."
"Then it all fits."
"Let's assume—just assume—that Mephisto wasn't actually putting his life on the line to perform some elaborate double act with Yahweh for your benefit."
Gwen emphasized that her analysis was built on the foundational assumption that "Mephisto was telling the truth" before continuing.
"You allied with Mephisto."
"Yahweh wasn't happy about that."
"If you two work together, Yahweh has zero chance of reclaiming Earth."
"His original plan was to infiltrate quietly. But now he's been exposed. So if he wants to succeed, his best move is to break up your alliance with Mephisto first."
"The Blood God La Magra was the key bait for splitting you two apart."
"Michael disguised himself as La Magra and fed you the lie that Mephisto and Yahweh were actually partners."
"And to make you believe it, La Magra 'died' right in front of you."
"He even left the dimension behind."
"Go big or go home. So who do you trust—Mephisto, whose every word is suspect, or a Dimension Lord's dying warning?"
"Obviously, the latter."
"But!"
Gwen—now fully in her role as Hawk's intelligence analyst—was getting increasingly animated. She paused for effect before continuing.
"Here's the thing about sowing discord. It's actually a pretty low-tier strategy."
"Because the moment both parties calm down and start comparing notes, the whole scheme falls apart."
"And clearly, you're very calm."
Gwen glanced at Hawk, who was listening attentively like a student. "You didn't let anger cloud your judgment. Your first instinct was to contact Mephisto and hear his side of the story."
Hawk heard this and smiled—very much like a student receiving praise from Dr. Stacy.
Gwen continued.
"But Yahweh anticipated that."
"The key to successful manipulation is cutting off communication between both parties."
"So while he was using La Magra to mislead you, he also sent Michael to ambush Mephisto."
"You mentioned before that as long as Mephisto stays in the Hell dimension, he can't be killed no matter how badly he's wounded, right?"
"Right."
Hawk answered Dr. Stacy's question. "Even if I hadn't shown up, the worst-case scenario was Michael killing off all of Mephisto's forces. But once Mephisto recovered, without those Hell Angels Yahweh's been trying to create, they couldn't actually finish him off."
Michael couldn't truly kill Mephisto.
Because even Hawk couldn't kill Mephisto quickly right now.
Gwen spread her hands.
"Exactly. So why would Yahweh send Michael to attack when he knew he couldn't kill Mephisto at this point?"
"To weaken Mephisto's forces?"
"That's part of it."
Gwen looked at Student Hawk, who had raised his hand to answer, and nodded with a smile. "But more importantly, while manipulating you, he was also manipulating Mephisto. Think about it—after Mephisto escaped, wouldn't he come looking for you?"
Hawk nodded.
"Definitely."
"But you'd have the Blood God dimension's aura all over you."
"And you'd already met with Yahweh. You probably picked up some of his aura too, right?"
Gwen looked at Hawk as she said this. "Imagine Mephisto detecting Yahweh's presence on you, plus finding you in possession of a dimensional space that used to belong to Yahweh's side. Don't you think he'd conclude that his Hell dimension got wrecked because you and Yahweh teamed up? He'd never agree to meet with you."
Never agree to meet?
Mephisto would probably try to create some kind of Hell War God to kill Hawk before his final showdown with Yahweh.
Hawk thought this to himself. Meeting Gwen's gaze, his mind raced as he stroked his chin.
"So what you're saying is... Yahweh's real target was Mephisto all along."
"The best targets for manipulation are naturally suspicious people."
"Strong, level-headed people are immune to this kind of scheme."
"You fall into that category."
"But Mephisto..."
Gwen shrugged at this point and looked at Hawk. "Unfortunately for Yahweh, he miscalculated one thing. You hadn't contacted Mephisto in a while, so he assumed you'd given up trying. He thought he could keep weakening Mephisto in the meantime. What he didn't expect was that after you swatted his projection—making him lose track of you—you'd immediately head to the Hell dimension."
Hawk nodded in agreement, looking at Gwen. "Dumb luck, I guess."
If Yahweh hadn't projected himself at the church, Hawk would have gone to confront Mephisto anyway.
But that would have given Yahweh advance notice. He could have instantly ordered Michael to retreat.
And then—Mephisto, freshly wounded from Heaven's assault, would have seen Hawk arrive carrying the Blood God dimension that once belonged to Yahweh's side. He would have assumed Hawk had taken Yahweh's payment and come to finish him off.
Given Mephisto's suspicious nature and explosive temper, he would have swallowed the bait whole.
But Hawk had gone to the Hell dimension only after Yahweh's projection appeared—and after he'd destroyed it.
Yahweh wasn't physically in the solar system. He couldn't detect Hawk's movements in real-time or warn Michael to evacuate.
So—
Hawk's thoughts raced. With Gwen's help, he'd finally pieced together Yahweh's scheme. He shook his head with a chuckle and looked at Gwen. "You think Yahweh's coughing up blood right now?"
Gwen smiled faintly at this. Then her expression turned serious.
"I don't know if Yahweh's coughing up blood. But I do know that now that you and Mephisto have seen through his scheme, he'll definitely try something else."
"Bring it on."
Hawk shrugged. "I already blew up the Blood God dimension. Even if he really did hide some backdoor I couldn't detect, it's useless now."
This was exactly why he'd destroyed the Blood God dimension.
Better safe than sorry.
Besides, the Blood God dimension's contribution to his overall strength was negligible anyway.
One sentence said it all.
A Saint infinitely approaching Silver level was still just a Bronze mutt at the end of the day.
Same with sub-light speed.
No matter how you dressed it up, sub-light wasn't light speed. So when he'd self-destructed the Blood God dimension, he'd felt nothing.
Hawk's tone was relaxed.
Gwen frowned slightly, looking at Hawk with concern. "Obviously, Yahweh isn't the holy being the Bible describes. He's cunning. If you hadn't gotten lucky this time, he might have successfully driven a wedge between you and Mephisto. Don't get cocky."
Hawk nodded in agreement.
"Lady Luck's on my side."
"This wasn't Lady Luck's doing. This was all you."
"Uh..."
"Because you're good."
"..."
Hawk blinked, studying Gwen. His expression gradually turned suspicious.
"I feel like you're insulting me, Gwen."
"I'm not."
Gwen shook her head, looking at Hawk. "This really is because you're good. That's why you got lucky. All schemes and conspiracies work by exploiting the darkness in people's hearts. But against someone with genuine goodness, no scheme can succeed."
Hawk paused.
"Really?"
"Absolutely." Gwen smiled. "Think about Mystic Falls... With Klaus. If you'd been even slightly darker, you could have used brute force to make him submit, right?"
"Yes."
"But you didn't. You chose to talk to Klaus first. That's how you got the lead on Dr. Merrick."
"Same thing this time."
"It was your goodness that made you give Mephisto a chance. Even knowing his track record was questionable, you didn't jump to conclusions. You went to the Hell dimension to hear him out—and that's how you uncovered Yahweh's scheme."
"So..."
"Lady Luck isn't on your side."
"Your goodness and your calm are what make Lady Luck smile at you."
"..."
Hawk listened to Gwen's serious explanation. The suspicion on his face gradually faded, replaced by an increasingly bright smile.
"Hahaha!"
"Right."
"I'm good. Because of my goodness, Lady Luck smiles at me."
Hawk nodded repeatedly as he spoke, looking at Gwen with obvious delight. "I really am quite good, you know. Look at Alexander Pierce—I gave that old bastard two chances. I still haven't turned him to ash."
Gwen watched Hawk—who now resembled a student getting carried away after receiving praise. She'd given him the carrot. Time for the stick.
"Don't get cocky, Hawk. Yahweh's scheme failed. He definitely won't let this go."
"Obviously not."
Hawk took a deep breath, stroked his chin, and looked at Gwen. "So, Strategist—what do you think Yahweh's next move will be?"
Gwen shook her head.
"No idea."
"But..."
"It'll definitely be another scheme targeting you."
"Then bring it." Hawk spread his hands.
Gwen blinked—then smiled and shook her head.
"As long as you stay calm, I'm not worried about you falling for any traps. I'm just afraid you'll get overconfident."
"That won't happen."
"As long as I'm not in a rush, my enemies are the ones who have to panic."
Hawk said this as he pulled Gwen back into his arms.
Gwen, nestled against his chest once more, glanced up at his expression and smiled softly.
"Mm."
"I believe in you."
"..."
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