Su Mo's appearance here, completely unscathed, could only mean one thing: he had won.
But then, what about Michael?
How could someone blessed with the divine protection of the Son of God possibly lose? He temporarily pushed that shock to the back of his mind. More than the outcome of the battle, he was concerned about Michael's condition.
He couldn't have been killed, could he?
"Su Mo!"
Shiroyasha's eyes lit up at the sight of him.
Though she never doubted his strength, Michael was, after all, a renowned god of war, so she had been a little worried.
Seeing him without a scratch, she breathed a small sigh of relief. Only then did she remember her current position. Clearing her throat, she asked with feigned composure.
"Where is Michael? While We may not be on the Church's side, if you've gone too far, they won't just let it slide!"
She offered a subtle reminder.
After all, the Church had been the one to break the rules and act unreasonably in the first place.
But if Su Mo's counterattack was so excessive that he actually killed Michael, the Church would never let the matter rest—if only to save face for their pantheon.
The Buddhist pantheon could at least absolve themselves of blame by claiming the Asura King had fallen and become a Demon Lord on his own. The Church, however, had no such convenient excuse for Michael.
Before Su Mo could even reply, a brilliant flash of fire erupted, and Michael, the Archangel of Flames, appeared in mid-air.
A golden sword was embedded in his chest. His face was pale, a trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth, and he looked gravely wounded.
Upon appearing, Michael shot Su Mo a death glare before turning without another word and rushing to Gabriel's side.
"We're leaving!"
"Michael!"
Relieved to see he was still alive, Gabriel immediately abandoned her fight with Jibril, spreading her wings to cover Michael's retreat.
The Church only had so many archangels; his death would have made this mission a catastrophic loss.
With the angelic legion providing cover, the two archangels fled with their tails between their legs.
"Tsk, tsk. You don't often see those feather-brains looking so pathetic. How satisfying!"
Shiroyasha shook her head, gloating.
Then, she turned to meet Su Mo's eyes.
In front of the Great Peng Roc clan, she couldn't say much.
But she didn't need a chat group for this; a single questioning glance would suffice.
Su Mo gave a nearly imperceptible nod, confirming her suspicions.
At this point, the Church had all but shown its hand. The Demon Lord Alliance was connected to them, and so was the situation with King Arthur.
Now that their interception had failed, they could no longer stop the news of Arthur's survival from spreading.
Thus, an unspoken understanding was reached between them.
The Queen Halloween knew the Church was the hidden hand behind it all, and the Church knew that the Queen Halloween knew.
But without concrete evidence, the word of a Demon Lord alone was not enough to convict the Church.
For now, they wouldn't suffer any major consequences, though they would certainly become more wary of the Queen Halloween.
What they didn't realize, however, was that their actions had also roused Shiroyasha's suspicions.
Thanks to this test, Shiroyasha, who cared deeply for Little Garden, and the vengeful Queen Halloween were, through Su Mo's intervention, now truly standing on the same side.
"Sigh..."
Shiroyasha let out a soft sigh at Su Mo's nod.
She had held out a sliver of hope for the other pantheons, but it seemed those vermin were utterly unreliable.
If they were truly willing to abandon Little Garden just to perfect their creation myths, then they couldn't blame her for what was coming.
"Why do you sigh, Lady Shiroyasha?"
One of the Great Peng Rocs asked curiously.
The Asura King had been vanquished and those two meddling archangels had been driven off. Wasn't that a good thing?
"It's nothing. We were just... just worried about things over at Trāyastriṃśa."
Shiroyasha replied casually. The moment the words left her mouth, she froze, a look of panic on her face.
"Wait! It's been this long... That idiot Algol couldn't have wiped out the entire Divine Army, could she?! No, We have to go see!"
Releasing Algol had been a ploy to draw Indra away and force the Church's hand.
Now that her suspicions were confirmed, it was time to clean up the mess.
"I'll go with you."
Hearing her, Su Mo decided to tag along.
He wasn't worried about Algol's safety, he just didn't want her causing too much of a scene.
---||---
Trāyastriṃśa. For thousands of miles in every direction, everything had been petrified into a gray, rocky wasteland.
The sky was perfectly clear, as even the clouds had been turned to stone and had crumbled from the heavens.
Moreover, the path was lined with the petrified statues of Divine soldiers. While Jibril had been wiping out the angelic legion, Algol had been doing the same to the Divine army.
Her speed seemed to rival Jibril's, and in terms of the sheer quality of her work, she might have even surpassed her.
Su Mo saw hundreds of thousands of petrified soldiers along the route, apparently reinforcements that had rushed in from all sides. A few of their leaders were even three-digit figures.
But not even beings in the Almighty Domain could contend with Algol now that she had regained her Star Authority from Su Mo.
At the heart of Trāyastriṃśa, the battle seemed to be entering its final stage.
Even before they drew near, they could hear voices carrying from the last pocket of fighting.
"Indra, put down that spear in your hand, and Al-chan might just consider forgiving you, you know!"
"You put down what you're holding first! A Demon Lord using the weak as a shield—aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
"Hmph! Al-chan has nothing to be ashamed of! Al-chan is everyone's idol, so anything Al-chan does is automatically the right thing to do!"
Hearing that narcissistic declaration, Shiroyasha pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
Su Mo stepped forward and saw a young girl who looked to be around twelve or thirteen.
The girl's hair graded from gray into a transparent, glass-like hue that would likely shimmer with a brilliant rainbow of colors in the sunlight.
She was currently peeking out from behind the petrified statue of Indra's second-in-command, eyes half-lidded with a smug expression that was both age-appropriate and utterly triumphant.
Her beautiful features, mixed with a charm unique to girls her age, made it clear that she really did have the potential to become an idol, just as she'd claimed.
A single glance at Indra and Algol was all Su Mo needed to grasp the situation.
After Algol had swept through the Divine army, Indra had brought out his Brahmastra Spear to try and defeat her. However, Algol hadn't taken the bait and was now using a petrified Deva as a shield.
The spear's "guaranteed victory" effect only activated upon piercing its target. If Indra forced the issue, he would have to run his own subordinate through before he could ever hope to hit Algol.
If that were all, it wouldn't have been a problem. Indra was not an indecisive man; sacrificing his soldiers was their duty if it meant defeating a Demon Lord.
The problem, however, was that Algol was a Celestial Star Spirit.
To truly kill a Celestial Star Spirit, one had to simultaneously destroy their corresponding star in every parallel universe.
Otherwise, even with his Brahmastra Spear, the most Indra could do was guide the battle toward a "victory" without being able to land a fatal blow.
No wonder Indra was hesitating; it was a steep price to pay for a non-lethal outcome.
In reality, however, his situation was even more perilous than he realized.
The slender girl was giving him a contemptuous look, all the while secretly activating her petrifying Mystic Eyes as she verbally abused him.
"...Middle-aged geezer?!"
Her previous insults hadn't gotten through Indra's defenses, but that one hit home.
"I'm still young for a god, thank you very much! The last married woman I ran into said I had plenty of masculine charm! What would a little pipsqueak like you know about... Huh? Shiroyasha? And Su Mo? What are you two doing here?"
He offered a quick defense against the young girl's slight before noticing the newcomers' presence.
His eyes widened in shock when he saw Su Mo. If his senses weren't mistaken, two of the Church's archangels had personally taken the field.
How was Su Mo standing here without a scratch? Did Shiroyasha help him?
As his mind reeled with shock and suspicion, Algol spotted an opening.
"Now's my chance! Al-chan Kick!"
The slender girl shot forward, delivering a side kick imbued with the full mass of a Star Spirit. Indra instinctively raised his Brahmastra Spear to block, a move he regretted the very next instant.
Empowered by the Authority of the Demon Star Perseus, the might of her Gorgon Gift surged to its absolute peak, instantly petrifying and sealing the spear in his hands—a weapon that contained a truth of the cosmos itself.
Though the seal was only temporary, in the heat of battle, it was enough to decisively tip the scales. Without his ultimate weapon, and facing the immortality of a Celestial Star Spirit, Algol's victory was now certain.
Even he would not escape the fate of petrification.
This was the Demon Star Algol, the problem child who had once challenged the gods, buddhas, and asuras of three thousand worlds.
She was as reckless as she was powerful.
Just as Indra braced himself for the humiliation of defeat, Algol didn't press her advantage. Instead, she pulled back and, like a swallow returning to its nest, launched herself at Su Mo, wrapping him in a massive bear hug.
"Master! Did you see Al-chan's dashing figure in her moment of total victory? I told you this morning! An old fossil like Indra is no match for a youthful, idol-class beauty like me!"
The slender, stunningly beautiful Demon Star Spirit happily nuzzled against Su Mo, chattering excitedly about her brilliant achievements.
Though a Demon Lord, she was acting just like an energetic, genki girl.
Indra stared, completely dumbfounded.
His eyes darted between Su Mo and Algol a few times before he managed to ask, "Su Mo... didn't you say that this Demon Lord's Gift had been left behind, and her Authority stripped?"
"I did," Su Mo confirmed with a calm nod.
"On that point, Indra, I wasn't lying."
"If you weren't lying, then what's all this?" Indra demanded, gesturing toward the affectionate way Algol was acting with Su Mo.
"What do you mean, 'what's all this'? Al-chan is free!"
Algol let go of her hug, opting to cling to Su Mo's arm instead. She flashed a V-sign with her free hand.
"The Al-chan of today is a freelance idol! Kira~!"
"Then why are you still listening to him... and calling him 'Master'?"
Indra was completely lost now. If Algol was truly free, why would she submit so willingly to another?
"Well, duh, it's because..."
Algol dragged out the words, tilting her head up to look at Su Mo with an admiring, satisfied gaze.
"It's because Master is handsome, obviously! He's the only man worthy of being an idol in Little Garden alongside Al-chan! I don't need some Authority to make him my number one partner!"
"..."
Indra fell silent at her completely irrational explanation.
So, this Demon Lord, free of any and all constraints, had just... defected to the enemy because he was hot?
Yep. That sounds about right.
Totally insane, and totally Algol.
As expected of the problem child who once threw Little Garden into chaos. When it came to being unpredictable, she was in a league of her own.