It wasn't just Canary, Shiroyasha, and the others who believed the Son of God wouldn't let things end here.
The other observing pantheons thought the same.
The Church had always been known for its hardline stance, and its past strength had fully supported that image.
Even the Buddhist pantheon, another top-tier group, had far less influence and control over Little Garden than the Church did.
If they could maintain that status, few would dare to challenge such a behemoth.
But now, if the Church were to suddenly back down and accept defeat, that powerful image would be completely shattered.
Although the defeated Church's overall strength might not be significantly weakened, that wouldn't stop the pantheons they had once suppressed from testing the waters.
Once that happened, it would be incredibly difficult to re-establish their dominant image.
It was like a courtesan who sells art but not her body; once she loses her "first," she no longer has the right to refuse clients.
Some things, once lost, are twice as hard to regain.
At this point, to avoid such a situation, the Son of God had only one choice.
To take the stage himself and go all-in!
If he could crush Su Mo, it would be a massive win.
Although having his entire pantheon toppled would be a source of ridicule, if he used the Church's usual tactics and absorbed Su Mo into his ranks as an angel, he could claim this heaven-defying powerhouse for himself.
Then, when people spoke of the Church, they wouldn't laugh; they would fear.
With the terrifying dominance Su Mo had displayed, in a Little Garden where the Full-Authority Domain could not easily intervene, his addition to a pantheon was no less significant than a new member of the Full-Authority Domain.
If the Church could absorb Su Mo, their status would rise again, even putting them half a step ahead of the Buddhist pantheon.
They would be, in name and in fact, the strongest pantheon in Little Garden!
Of course, while the potential rewards were enormous, there were also risks.
If, by some chance, even the Son of God lost to Su Mo, then the Church would truly be finished.
Even if Su Mo showed mercy and didn't kill anyone from the Church, they would never be able to regain their former status and would fall to the level of an ordinary pantheon.
The reason was simple.
As innate gods and buddhas, and especially as a monotheistic religion, if the might of their supreme god was suppressed to such a degree, what was the difference between them and the begging Norse pantheon?
A pantheon that had lost its dignity was destined to decline.
However, despite saying this, the gods didn't seriously consider the possibility of the Son of God being defeated. At most, they thought it would be a stalemate, or perhaps, if Su Mo went all out, a draw.
The reason was simple.
No way, right? There's no way a being in the Full-Authority Domain would lose to someone below them, right?
It just seemed impossible.
So, even though the battlefield had fallen silent, the gods did not stop watching.
They believed that the Son of God would surely come!
In fact, Su Mo held the same belief.
But he didn't just wait. He looked up at the sky.
"If you don't act now, you won't have to act at all!"
At this point, Su Mo's objectives were mostly achieved. He had not only obtained the Demon Lord Alliance as evidence of the Church's crimes but also the most crucial item.
Shiroyasha's request, the Queen Halloween's request, and his own needs were all more or less satisfied.
If the Son of God was unwilling to intervene, he didn't mind calling it a day.
Besides, during his clash with Michael's Another Cosmology, Eden, he had gained a new understanding of how to use cosmologies. It was the perfect time to study it in detail.
If he succeeded, it would be a major boost to the upper limits of his mythological system.
Just as Su Mo showed his intention to leave, his opponent could no longer sit still.
---||---
*VMMM~*
An invisible ripple spread through space. Like the dawning sun, a white light illuminated the earth.
A scene almost identical to the unfolding of Eden appeared, but this time, unlike a cosmology deployed as a weapon, the Eden people saw was only the side of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, a paradise, a utopia flowing with unending milk and honey.
It was the place where the first humans had lived after God's creation, and it had now become the Son of God's domain.
The white light encroached upon the land, and even the battlefield beneath their feet gradually became a part of Eden's territory.
Su Mo could feel the very nature of the ground beneath him changing.
As Eden spread, the might of the Son of God pressed down upon him.
The spiritual essence of a two-digit being in the Full-Authority Domain, on par with a universe, was enough to suffocate even a three-digit being in the Almighty Domain.
The Almighty Domain and a domain that had unified all authorities had a qualitative difference, both in conceptual absoluteness and in the scale of their spiritual essence.
One was still within the universe; the other was an incarnation of the structure of the universe itself, comparable to a single universe.
Just by sensing this pressure, Su Mo could tell that one being in the Full--Authority Domain could absolutely crush a hundred beings in the Almighty Domain working together.
To use a gaming analogy, the Almighty Domain was, at best, a "stat monster," with almost no upper limit on their numbers. The Full-Authority Domain, however, was a "mechanics monster," an admin-level existence.
However, under the rules of Little Garden, a rule-level bug like the Full-Authority Domain shouldn't have been able to act on its own accord.
So how did the Son of God bypass this restriction and exert his pressure on Su Mo?
"Sanctuary Creation?"
Looking at the divine domain at his feet, Su Mo raised an eyebrow, quickly recognizing the technique the Son of God was using.
"By expanding your cosmology, you turn the outside world into your own sanctuary, bringing it under the sovereignty of the Church, thus bypassing the restrictions of Little Garden's central hub?"
It was true that the Full-Authority Domain could not take the stage, but their very existence in Little Garden proved that they were not without a place to stand.
In fact, within their own mythology—that is, the mythological domains where their pantheon held sovereignty—the Full-Authority Domain was unrestricted.
Just like the Spirit Mountain of the Buddhist pantheon and the Heavenly Court of the Taoist pantheon, these domains were the private lands of the gods and buddhas, the true face of the heavens.
The mythological domains of the various pantheons, when put together, were collectively known as the Heavenly Realm.
But this time was different.
The location under their feet was originally a four-digit Outer Gate of Little Garden. But if it were encroached upon by a cosmology, that territory would become a part of the Church's mythological universe.
And within one's own universe, a being in the Full-Authority Domain could wield their full power.
If the rules of the world won't let me on stage, I'll just claim the stage as my own. This was the original intended use of a Another Cosmology, and it demonstrated the domineering nature of the Full-Authority Domain.
Unlike the three-digit beings, who were completely subject to Little Garden's central hub, the Full-Authority Domain truly had some bargaining power.
As if hearing Su Mo's words, the voice of the Son of God came from within the pure white light.
"No. This place is the Papal State of Vatican, my sacred ground. It can be claimed as my sanctuary at any time. This is a rule permitted by Little Garden's central hub."
Hearing this, the observing gods chuckled, but no one objected.
A temple dedicated to a god was indeed within the category of a sanctuary. Although the Son of God was fudging the concept a bit, it was generally acceptable.
In fact, according to the rules of Little Garden, not only the Vatican in Little Garden's world but also all the churches in the infinite multiverse were the property of the Church.
If the Son of God wished, any of those places could become a sanctuary to bear his divine might.
Of course, the same applied to other pantheons. For those with a being in the Full-Authority Domain, this was a well-known loophole.
Hearing the Son of God's words, Su Mo didn't nitpick the details but asked with interest, "Oh? It seems the Son of God not only acknowledges the church he once opposed but is also willing to acknowledge the status of the Papal State of Vatican. In that case, you must also acknowledge the agreement of the Donation of Pepin, then?"
For extremely conservative believers, the Donation of Pepin was the beginning of the church's corruption.
For the Son of God to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Papal State could cause a small-scale crisis of faith.
"..."
Faced with such a malicious question, the Son of God fell silent.
Fortunately, as the Son of God, everything he did was by the will of Heaven.
To answer or not to answer?
No! There was no need to answer at all!
"Su Mo, what is it that you want?"
The other's enmity was clear, and the situation was as it was. There was almost no possibility of reconciliation.
So, the Son of God got straight to the point, his invisible gaze carrying a universe-level pressure as he looked at Su Mo.
"What do I want? Why don't you tell me what you want!" Su Mo said calmly. "As the largest pantheon in Little Garden, not only did you secretly harbor a Demon Lord Alliance, but you even sabotaged the subjugation of a Last Embryo. What is it that you want?"
Before all the gods, Su Mo shamelessly exposed this scandal.
Hearing his words, the Son of God's expression didn't flicker in the slightest, as if he hadn't understood at all. He looked down at the dying Demon Lord Alliance.
"Believing the one-sided words of a Demon Lord... is that your reason for making an enemy of the Church?"
After completely disassociating himself from the Demon Lord Alliance with an air of utter indifference, the Son of God's gaze toward Su Mo turned cold and dangerous.
"If that is the case, I must show you what it means to be a two-digit being in the Full-Authority Domain!"
The moment his words fell, the Son of God raised a hand slightly.
Without any visible movement, a ray of holy light, carrying an irresistible authority, slashed toward Su Mo.
Seeing this, the gods shook their heads and sighed, already foreseeing the outcome.
The two-digit Full-Authority Domain was a realm one could only reach by unifying one's authorities to an absolute degree.
A casual move was already a limit that even a top-tier three-digit being would find difficult to reach.
If one could not unify their authority to this level, if one could not master a Cosmic Truth to this degree, one could not possibly contend with it.
The Son of God was so confident for this very reason.
Besides a Another Cosmology, only another being in the Full-Authority Domain could fight one.
No matter how strong Su Mo's power was, as a mere three-digit being, he could never fight against the Full-Authority Domain.
Therefore, Su Mo, having failed to respond correctly, would now be utterly defeated—
The word "defeated" hadn't even fully formed in their minds before it was cut off by Su Mo's sudden words.
Su Mo, who seemed destined to lose in everyone's eyes, faced with the authority of the Full-Authority Domain, spoke in a remarkably calm tone, words that would shake every pantheon in Little Garden.
"Putting aside whether a Cosmic Truth can contend with a unified authority..."
"Even if it can't, the solution is simple. I'll just ascend to the Full-Authority Domain, won't I?"
As he spoke, the aura within Su Mo's body, no longer concealed, began to surge.
Seeing this, the gods, buddhas, and asuras of all the heavens were collectively shaken.
How was this possible?
He was already a three-digit being. How could his spiritual essence still be expanding like this?