— — — — — —
The power of Leo can turn into my own Cosmo to boost my battles? Ryo's eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, pure delight flickered across his face.
To be honest—shamefully honest—he'd never actually burned his Cosmo before.
No matter who he faced, not even Mitras, he had never once unleashed that kind of power.
The reason was simple: burning the Cosmo meant burning away your lifespan.
That had always been the one thing that truly worried him since awakening this power.
The Cosmo was naturally vast and mighty. Those who'd mastered the Sixth Sense could move at the speed of light, and once they began burning their Cosmo, their strength grew exponentially.
If lifespan weren't a limit, even a lowly Bronze Saint could potentially threaten a god.
And not just any "god" like the ones in Little Garden—he meant the ones from the Saint Seiya universe, monsters whose power practically reached two-digit levels here.
Of course, Saints strong enough to threaten gods were incredibly rare—just a few extraordinary ones.
Take Seiya, that cosmic-level menace. The guy could burn his Sixth Sense Cosmo and literally kill these gods. Absolutely insane.
Ryo could imagine how Seiya fought: with his very life on the line.
He could almost hear Seiya boasting, "As long as I've got life left to burn, even the gods are going down!"
He chuckled softly. "That line's got a bit of Shiki Ryogi energy to it."
"Thinking about it, Type-Moon would be a good world to observe."
After teasing himself, he focused again, trying to sense exactly how far Leo's support could go.
But his first attempt failed.
"This Cosmo is massive. The combined power of fifty-two star systems in Leo—it feels like standing before an endless ocean. I can't even see the bottom," he muttered, frowning slightly.
"Could it require the Seventh Sense? Or higher?"
He wasn't sure. When he tried to draw on Leo's Cosmo, it took immense effort, and even then, he could only tap into a tiny part of it.
"Barely a ten-thousandth of its power… and even that's still being replenished," he murmured with a half-smile. "And here I thought I was at the peak of a Silver Saint's level."
He exhaled, his tone leveling out. "Summoning avatars, immunity to weapons and abilities, and now Leo's Cosmo backing me up… at least my affinity with the Sun Authorities might even surpass Kalki's."
"Wait a minute...
"In the Saint Seiya world, the divine will born from burning Cosmo doesn't include something like 'stellar reinforcement.'"
"If I remember right, Athena herself created all eighty-eight constellations to aid her Saints in battle."
"Following that logic, Leo's support should also come from a higher existence… someone who granted this to me."
He paused, then his eyes sharpened. "This has to be the work of the Little Garden Core. Only that entity could channel the power of the stars so directly."
"So the Core's acknowledging my Cosmo as Another Cosmology… and granting me the corresponding Gift—the power of constellation support?"
As the realization settled, Ryo's expression grew serious.
"If I could gather all twelve Sun Authorities, would that mean I could command the Cosmos of all twelve zodiac constellations?"
"No… it's even more likely the support extends to all eighty-eight constellations. That fits perfectly with the concept of the Saint Seiya universe—the Saints of all eighty-eight stars."
He leaned back slightly, eyes gleaming with understanding. "And since Little Garden's starry sky basically is the eighty-eight constellations… then unlocking my full Cosmos' Another Cosmology would mean I could control the entire Garden."
His eyes brightened further, a hint of excitement in his voice. "That lines up with the rule about collecting half of the Sun Authorities to rebuild a new Garden."
"So for me: 12 Sun Authorities = The Lord of Little Garden? Heh, now that's one hell of a temptation."
He licked his lips, unable to help but grin. Becoming the Lord of Little Garden—yeah, that was a fantasy worth chasing.
After a few deep breaths to calm the thrill, he forced himself back to reality.
"Alright, with Leo's Sun Authority backing me, I can now burn my Cosmo without dying instantly. So just how strong can I get?"
He wasn't sure—there was no clear benchmark to compare against. The only real way to find out was to fight one head-on.
"Not that I'd ever be stupid enough to provoke a three-digit just to test it," he added dryly.
Without a clear motive or gain, picking a fight like that would just be suicide.
Besides, there weren't even that many three-digits in the lower layers—and those who were there never dared to unleash their full power.
The reason was simple: the divine pact, and the Heavenly Army's punishment.
The Heavenly Army wasn't just the Twelve Devas—it included angels, the twelve Olympians, and the twenty-eight Mansions of Heaven as backup.
If a three-digit dared to go all out down here, they'd be met with a purge led by Indra himself.
"Hah. Except for Azi Dahaka, the Last Embryo, nobody's dumb enough to do that," he said with a smirk.
Even Mithras, when Ryo had nearly tricked him into death, hadn't dared unleash his full three-digit power.
If Ryo had killed him outright, there was still a small chance Mithras could've survived somehow—but a Heavenly Army purge? No way out of that.
He'd be captured, maybe even devoured by Indra to strengthen his own spirit.
And in that case, even if Mithras really was the Holy Son, he couldn't say a damn thing. He'd probably even have to send angels to cheer on his own execution.
After all, the two digits had to keep each other in check.
Ryo let out a slow breath and stepped to the window.
"The sun's up…" he murmured.
A calm smile touched his face. For the first time in a while, he felt ready to face anything head-on.
"I used to fear death. But now? With Leo watching over me, let's see who's afraid of who."
"Maybe it's time I start crafting my own Saint Cloth."
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and with a subtle twist of will, he shattered Indra's barrier around the room.
With a soft pop, the tidy, quiet space instantly reverted to chaos—empty bottles everywhere, juice stains on the carpet, grease from grilled food splattered across the floor. The air still carried the faint scent of last night's party.
And scattered around the room were several figures—leaning, sitting, or lying across the floor, all breathing steadily in sleep.
By the window, standing beside the drawn curtains, was Leticia.
She studied him quietly for a moment before asking, "Indra was here, wasn't he?"
"You're sharp as ever." Ryo blinked, then chuckled.
'What is she, some kind of ancient dog?' he thought wryly. 'Guess that's what happens when you've survived since the dawn of the world.'
Leticia sighed softly. "Even if you are my leader, commenting on a lady's age is still rude."
"I was that obvious?" Ryo blinked, genuinely surprised.
"So you were really thinking it," she replied, a faint note of exasperation in her voice.
"…" Ryo fell silent for a moment, then awkwardly changed the subject. "Anyway, maybe we should talk about something else."
"Like what?" Leticia played along, amused.
"Like when we're finally stepping onto Little Garden's stage," he said, a grin forming at the corners of his mouth.
Under the name of Arcadia.
.
.
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Info on Last Embryo (Final Trial of Humanity): https://mondaiji.fandom.com/wiki/Last_Embryo