The letter was quite simple. Aside from the standard formalities, the central message was singular:
Our Demon Lord Alliance, Ouroboros, is located at this four-digit Outer Gate. I have laid an inescapable trap. Come and try your luck, if you have the guts.
Despite the respectful form of address and the impeccably courteous signature, the blatant provocation in the letter's main text was impossible to miss.
Hearing this, the two blonde vampires, Carla and Leticia, went pale.
Based on the Storyteller's gifts of a maid and a princess, they had assumed he was making a friendly overture, and had truly believed the sisters could be reunited.
Who would have thought that after offering so much, it was all a prelude to a challenge?
What a psycho!
Su Mo paid no mind to their expressions, nor did he heed Jibril's dissatisfied muttering.
"A challenge?"
Looking at the increasingly hurried handwriting toward the end of the letter, the frantic style suggesting a race against time, he shook his head.
"I doubt it."
"Hmm?"
Jibril tilted her head, leaning in to read the letter over and over again before blinking at Su Mo.
"It's so obvious. How could it not be a challenge?"
"Of course not," Su Mo said, shaking his head and pointing at the text. "Have you ever seen a letter of challenge that lays out the exact location and lineup of forces all at once?"
The most crucial part was that the location he had provided was correct.
It matched the intelligence Su Mo had extracted from Michael's memories perfectly.
This made the situation very intriguing.
An organization like the Demon Lord Alliance might sound intimidating, but in Little Garden, they were like rats scurrying in the streets, constantly needing to hide their movements.
Never mind that the Storyteller wasn't a particularly belligerent type—even if he were, was it necessary to expose his own headquarters just for the sake of a provocation?
Wouldn't that be walking straight into a trap?
From an outsider's perspective, it should have been impossible for Su Mo to obtain the location of the Demon Lord Alliance.
"That's a good point!" Jibril's face lit up with understanding.
But there was still one thing she didn't get.
"Then what's he trying to do?"
"Perhaps he's trying to warn us not to go to that place, lest we be ambushed by the pantheons," Su Mo theorized.
'If you have the guts to come' could easily mean 'you'd better not come'.
If that were the case, they were warning Su Mo not to walk into the Church's trap.
If Su Mo had proceeded with his original plan and rashly attacked the Demon Lord Alliance, he might have been ambushed by a waiting Church force.
The Church would then surely leak information about the Demon Lord Alliance on purpose.
Or they might directly order the Demon Lord Alliance to cause a commotion, mimicking Su Mo's own tactics to test and lure him in.
Defeating Michael didn't mean he could defeat the entire Church pantheon.
Putting aside whether those in the Almighty Domain could intervene, the Church had yet to even bring out their Another Cosmology (Pseudo Star Map Creation)!
The resources of Little Garden's strongest pantheon were not to be underestimated.
"Huh? Then he's a pretty nice guy!" Jibril said, surprised.
Putting aside whether it was necessary, wasn't this a bit too much goodwill?
They didn't even know this "Storyteller" person!
"..."
The maids, Carla and Leticia, exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
No matter how you looked at it, "nice guy" was not a term one would associate with the Storyteller.
Just then, Su Mo added, "Of course, there is another possibility... He's asking for help!"
"Help?!" Leticia's expression grew tense. The Storyteller's fate was irrelevant, but no one else knew where her sister was sealed!
"Gloves are things you throw away after you're done with them..." Su Mo said with a faint smile, his gaze drifting toward the Church's domain. "And when the glove itself might bring harm to its owner, perhaps they don't need an enemy to act. They might just cut their losses and erase all the evidence themselves."
That was why the man had offered so much, and why his handwriting had been so rushed.
If Su Mo wasn't mistaken, had he been just a little slower, the Church would have conducted an internal purge of the Demon Lord Alliance before he even had a chance to attack.
The Storyteller must have sensed this danger, which is why he sent such a letter.
The lineup he listed wasn't meant to intimidate or warn others away. It was meant to say something else entirely.
If you can handle a force of this magnitude, please come and save us! Quickly!
Waiting online, urgent!
"Huh? Master? Pantheons?" Leticia was completely lost, still unaware of the scheming within the divine circles.
"It's nothing. This doesn't concern you. It's a matter for me, Canary, and the others." Su Mo had no intention of explaining in detail and turned to leave. Exploring the vampire's spiritual essence could wait.
"But, Lord Su Mo, what about Carla?!" Leticia asked anxiously.
She was afraid Su Mo had lost interest in vampires. If so, the Storyteller might not return her sister.
"Isn't she your maid? I'll leave her to you. Consider it a welcoming gift," Su Mo said with a wave of his hand before departing.
"Lord Su Mo..."
Leticia's eyes widened.
In that moment, Su Mo's retreating figure seemed to shine with the brilliance of the sun.
She instinctively pressed a hand to her chest, a million feelings of gratitude welling up in her throat, yet she couldn't speak a word.
Seeing her princess's state, Carla the maid blinked and moved to stand behind Leticia.
"What a shame. I was hoping to put in a good word for you with His Excellency. Now it seems you'll have to work hard on your own, Your Highness..."
"...Carla!" Leticia froze, finally understanding her maid's meaning. Her cheeks flushed crimson.
"Being too thin-skinned won't do!" Carla shook her head, seeing her mistress's obvious lack of romantic experience. "It seems I can't count on Your Highness Leticia. I wonder if Her Highness Lamia will have a chance to be freed from her curse. Perhaps the two of you together might hold some appeal for His Excellency."
Even today, the head maid was worried about the continuation of the vampire bloodline.
"Carla!" Leticia was clearly not accustomed to such racy topics.
After shooting her maid an annoyed glare, she sighed.
"I don't have much of a feminine charm; it's hard for me to appeal to men. If you wish for someone to serve him, it's best to wait for Lamia. Lord Su Mo might prefer a more lively and cute type."
With that, she stepped forward and gently embraced her maid.
"Welcome back."
Carla wanted to point out that such an action was beneath a royal's dignity, but seeing her princess's expression, she didn't refuse.
"...Yes, Your Highness."
---||---
Late that same night, in Shiroyasha's private quarters, the anti-pantheon alliance reconvened, minus a sleeping Algol.
"So, even if it is a plea for help, why should we save him?" Shiroyasha asked, a faint scent of alcohol on her breath after hearing what had transpired. "The Demon Lord Alliance can't be good news either. Wouldn't it be better to just watch the dogs bite each other?"
At this, Canary sighed and corrected her.
"Lady Shiroyasha, the point isn't the Demon Lord Alliance. It's the evidence!"
It didn't matter who killed the Demon Lord Alliance. What mattered was proving that the pantheons were pulling their strings.
If they let the Church wipe them out, that crucial evidence would be gone.
After Canary spoke, the Queen Halloween also shook her head.
"Actually, the evidence isn't important either. What's important is that the Demon Lord Alliance is now under heavy surveillance by the Church."
"If we act rashly, we'll run into the Church before we even reach the Demon Lord Alliance. The Ouroboros headquarters is in the Western District, which is the Church's mythological domain. That place is extremely dangerous."
While Canary might still be fantasizing about exposing the Church's crimes and having them judged by the other pantheons, the Queen Halloween had no intention of relying on Little Garden's system of justice. She was only concerned with how to destroy the Church herself.
"How dangerous?" Su Mo suddenly asked.
"We would be facing the entire Church pantheon, and in the worst-case scenario, even the two-digit Son of God..." the Queen Halloween said, taking a deep breath.
Though her words implied they should hold back, the fire burning in her emerald eyes revealed her extreme unwillingness.
If the Church was the mastermind who had killed the Knights of Avalon, then the Demon Lord Alliance was the hand that had carried out the deed.
With her vengeful nature, she wanted nothing more than to destroy both organizations at once, burning them to ashes.
But now, the Church was planning to clean its own house, not only erasing its own dark history but also robbing her of the chance to exact her revenge personally. How could she accept that?
Yet, no matter how unwilling, no matter how headstrong, she had to admit one thing.
"With our current strength, we cannot truly go to war with the entire Church. And I cannot, for the sake of my own selfish desire for vengeance, throw away our real chance at retribution. Therefore, I believe we should not—"
The one who should have been the most impulsive, the one who should have been pushing for war, was now displaying unparalleled composure.
Suppressing the intense indignation in her heart, she refused to act on a whim and cause their alliance to suffer a great loss.
Compared to this small grievance, toppling the Church was the far greater goal.
However, just as she was about to state her decision—
Su Mo cut her off.
"Is that all?"