If I am right, then the enemy must be wrong.
If the enemy opposes me, it proves they deserve to die. If the enemy supports me, it proves I am right beyond a shadow of a doubt.
If a friend opposes me, they become an enemy. If a friend supports me, it proves I am absolutely correct.
The higher one's position as a leader, the more one falls into the trap of self-reinforcing cognition.
Even a purely benevolent god, if they believe from the bottom of their heart that only they can save the world, then any other savior will become a Great Demon disrupting the world in their eyes. Even if they know the other party also possesses a pure and benevolent heart, they will be even more convinced that this person can only lead the world into the abyss of destruction.
The concept of punishing evil and promoting good, when taken to its extreme, becomes the denial of the goodness in all other things, recognizing only oneself.
Reflected in their actions, they would wield the heart of a world-saving Buddha while walking the path of a world-ruining Great Demon.
Shiroyasha: "If it's for the sake of saving the world, those guys might actually attack other saviors."
Recalling the events of recent times, the white-haired loli had a very bad feeling.
Kanae: "It can't be that terrible, can it? Besides, if they did something like that, wouldn't they worry about being discovered?"
She could understand Shiroyasha's concerns, but she still couldn't imagine a perfectly good, benevolent god killing other saviors just to save the world. Besides, since Little Garden was a paradise where Asuras, gods, and buddhas all gathered, wouldn't such underhanded schemes be easily discovered?
Shiroyasha: "With the power of the pantheons, if they specifically choose their moment, it would be very difficult to be discovered."
Shiroyasha: "For example, a 'History's Turning Point' is an unobservable domain. Even the omniscient Laplace's Demon cannot perceive what happens within."
Shiroyasha: "This won't do, I have to guard against the pantheons making trouble in the future... Hiss—wait!"
Kanae: "Hm? What's wrong?"
Rin Tohsaka: "Did you remember something else?"
Shiroyasha's sudden cry of alarm caught everyone's attention.
After several dozen seconds of silence, she finally spoke in a grim tone.
Shiroyasha: "I just realized a problem. If there's a possibility of the pantheons acting like this, then it's highly likely they've already done it."
Shiroyasha: "And as it happens, there has always been one unsolved case."
She had only mentioned it earlier to give an example. But as she was speaking, Shiroyasha suddenly remembered something.
During the subjugation of the Dystopia Devil King, Canary had once joined forces with the main force under the Halloween Queen, the Knights of Avalon, to create a decisive battle opportunity. With Canary's planning and the Knights of Avalon's composition at the time, it was genuinely possible they could have struck down the Dystopia Devil King.
However, just before the decisive battle, the Knights of Avalon, composed entirely of human heroes, were attacked by an unknown Devil King and completely wiped out. Even the weapon that was supposed to be used in the final battle, the Sword of the Polar Star, had vanished without a trace.
This directly led to the collapse of the battle plan. With no time to train the next generation of warriors, Canary could only resort to a clever trick to seal the Dystopia Devil King.
This cold case remains unsolved to this day because the details are too peculiar. The main knights of Avalon almost all possessed Four-Digit spiritual ranks, and King Arthur, wielding the Sword of the Polar Star, was strong enough to easily fight a Three-Digit being, and wouldn't have been defeated too quickly even against a Full Authority Domain.
A force of this level couldn't be defeated by just a few wild Three-Digit Devil Kings, let alone so quickly that they didn't even have time to send a distress signal. Without a doubt, it was a premeditated attack. Only a power that completely countered the knight order could have achieved such a result.
But at the time, the whereabouts of the Knights of Avalon were a closely guarded secret. Besides Canary and the upper echelons of the pantheons, almost no one knew their movements.
Under these circumstances, how did the enemy pinpoint the knights' location and annihilate them in such a short time?
Before, Shiroyasha had thought the enemy must have possessed some special Gift.
Now, she felt a chill run down her spine.
If Su Mo's previous speculation was correct, and the pantheon leaders would really attack their own allies to prevent the world from being saved in the "wrong" way... then wasn't the annihilation of the Knights of Avalon a foregone conclusion?
Hearing Shiroyasha's words, the other group members' eyes widened.
Rin Tohsaka: "So, you suspect the pantheons in your world have already attacked others, just because they were human and didn't support Creationism?"
The twintailed girl strongly believed Su Mo's speculation, but she hadn't expected it to come true so quickly.
Shiroyasha: "...If Canary didn't leak their location, then it could only have been the upper echelons of the pantheons."
Shiroyasha didn't want to admit this grim reality, but the facts were what they were.
Rin Tohsaka: "Terrifying! If you can't beat the apocalypse, just beat up your own teammates... Aren't these guys afraid that Little Garden will be destroyed?"
She couldn't rack her brain hard enough to figure out the pantheons' motive for such a backstab. Even if you wanted to be the savior, you had to let someone else overcome the apocalypse first, right?
Shiroyasha: "As long as they abandon Little Garden before the Wind of Decadence descends, those guys really won't be afraid. Rebuilding Little Garden isn't too difficult for them."
The white-haired loli shook her head.
If you compared Little Garden to a game, as long as the final ending hadn't been reached, the pantheons could reload a save at any time. Even if the Eschatology Theory couldn't be overcome, they just needed to seal the save file and re-roll before the Wind of Decadence descended. Although, from her perspective, this act of evasion was shameful, and there was no guarantee that reloading would lead to a successful clear, she was sure those pantheons wouldn't care about such things.
Erica: "That sounds pretty bad. If they can just run away at any time, then isn't everything pointless?"
She used to think the Campione! world was pretty miserable, a paradise for Heretic Gods and Devil Kings before Su Mo's arrival. But compared to Little Garden, the Campione! world suddenly seemed quite nice, or at least not as dangerous.
Seeing Erica's comment, Shiroyasha shook her head.
Shiroyasha: "You don't have to worry too much about that. To rebuild the Central Hub of Little Garden, you need the support of more than half of the Solar Sovereignties. And as it happens, most of the Solar Sovereignties are in my hands. As long as I don't agree, they can't do it."
As a Solar Spirit, Shiroyasha's importance in all of Little Garden was unique.
Shiroyasha: "However, I lost to the Twin Goddesses in a Gift Game before, and now I can barely protect myself, so I can't be too optimistic."
Although the Twin Goddesses, as cosmic truths, weren't on the same side as the pantheons, that didn't mean they wouldn't agree with the pantheons' ideology. She couldn't trust them too much.
Erica: "Then what do you plan to do? You're surrounded by enemies, and your only reliable allies are the humans, but the human faction's power has been weakened to the point of being completely negligible."
She didn't know how Shiroyasha could possibly break out of this situation. In Little Garden, the upper limit for humans was Four-Digits. If you excluded the demigods who were too entangled with the pantheons, there weren't even many Four-Digits left. With a lineup like that, how could you fight against Three-Digit or even Two-Digit pantheons?
Shiroyasha: "I'll take it one step at a time. No matter who's plotting in the background, they can't openly attack a hero who can subjugate Devil Kings. If I'm careful, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Seeing her say this, Rin Tohsaka suddenly replied in a grim tone.
Rin Tohsaka: "Um, did you forget something? You said before that there were two Last Embryos. One has already been dealt with, but there's still one left, right?"
Shiroyasha: "?!"
Shiroyasha: "Oh, right! If the pantheons were behind what happened to the Queen, then they'll definitely make a move during the next Last Embryos!"
The white-haired loli was shocked, then became anxious.
Shiroyasha: "This won't do. They almost messed things up last time. If something really goes wrong this time, the entire Little Garden will be plunged into a state of eternal damnation!"
Shiroyasha: "Those guys aren't really planning to run away and rebuild Little Garden, are they?"
She had been thinking of giving up because the problem was too severe, but now she suddenly realized that if she continued to do nothing, either she or Little Garden would have to be destroyed. But with her intellect, she really couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.
After completely messing up her hair, Shiroyasha finally remembered something.
Shiroyasha: "H-h-help! This is an emergency! @Su Mo! Master, is there any way you can save us?"
She chose to ask a reliable person for help.
Erica: "It's the end of the world. Are you free? Can you come and save us?"
Shiroyasha: "Yes, that's it, that's exactly it!"
The white-haired loli nodded desperately.
The others were slightly stunned, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Rin Tohsaka: "The world... is ending again."
Kanae: "A familiar scene."
Erica: "But the scale is indeed bigger than what we had here. This is the apocalypse of the infinite multiverse!"
Watching the others' increasingly nonchalant comments, Shiroyasha stared eagerly at Su Mo's reply, hoping he could point her toward a clear path.
To this, Su Mo, who was already interested in the world of Little Garden, naturally did not refuse.
However—
Su Mo: "The problem with the pantheons is easy to solve, but there's no rush. The key is the Eschatology Theory behind it."
Su Mo: "Until the final Last Embryos appears, you won't have any problems over there, so don't worry. Wait until I've finished creating the Celestial Spirit here, then I'll come and help you."
Su Mo didn't refuse, but in his eyes, the crisis in Little Garden was clearly not that urgent.
"Right, no rush! No rush! N... how can I not be in a rush?!"
Shiroyasha tried to comfort herself with these words, but she obviously couldn't. Who knew when the final Last Embryos would appear? How could she not panic, sitting on a volcano that could erupt at any moment?
But Su Mo had already spoken, and since they were strangers, she couldn't rush him.
Therefore, she could only ask pitifully.
Shiroyasha: "Then, is there anything I can do now? If I just wait, my heart will be in a panic."
She still wanted to do some preparation, but she didn't dare to act on her own, lest she become a burden.
To this, Su Mo was understanding, so he quickly gave her some guidance.
Su Mo: "The pantheons' actions can't possibly be in everyone's best interest. You can start by looking for allies and building a coalition strong enough to counter them."
Shiroyasha: "Allies?"
Su Mo: "Primordial gods, pure-blooded Dragons, and Celestial Spirits are the Three Strongest Races in your world. Apart from the first one, which is rather dangerous, the other two are potential allies."
Su Mo: "Those who have grudges against the pantheons, or even belong to opposing factions, are even better candidates for an alliance."
Su Mo: "For example... the Halloween Queen."
To get by in the world, you needed connections. The main reason Shiroyasha had fallen from the Two-Digits to her current state was because she had always fought alone.
But hearing this, the white-haired loli immediately exploded.
Shiroyasha: "You want me to go find the Queen? Her? How is that possible?!"
She didn't want to bow her head to her arch-rival. She would rather die.
Su Mo: "It's just a suggestion. Do as you please. With your status, even if Little Garden is destroyed, the pantheons won't kill you. There's no need for unnecessary worry."
Shiroyasha: "..."
If she were only concerned about herself, she wouldn't be this angry.
Shiroyasha: "Alright, I understand."
She hung her head dejectedly, preparing to endure the humiliation.
Su Mo: "@Rin Tohsaka, are you ready?"
Rin Tohsaka: "Hm? Oh! I'm ready. Come on over, Lord Su Mo!"
After preliminarily settling the matter with Shiroyasha, Su Mo stuck to his original plan, wanting to resolve the issue of Earth's Celestial Spirit first.
The twintailed girl quickly remembered and immediately sent the invitation.
In the next moment, Su Mo vanished from the Campione! world and arrived in the Nasuverse, inside the Tohsaka residence.
Standing before him was a twintailed little girl in her pajamas, her hair still slightly damp, clearly having just finished a bath.
"Lord Su Mo, we meet again... or should I say, welcome back?"
Rin Tohsaka had been a little nervous about facing a Tier 6 being, but seeing Su Mo's usual attitude, she let out a sigh of relief, her expression gradually relaxing.
"Mm, we meet again."