"It's just a simple observation of the future," Su Mo said with a nod.
For him, in his current state, the fate of a world was like a clearly visible river. While he hadn't yet reached the point of being able to control fate at will, observing and interfering with an ordinary world was a piece of cake.
"As expected of you!" Tendō Kisara's gaze towards Su Mo became even more reverent.
If what Su Mo had demonstrated in the Demon Slayer world was simply power, then what he was showing now was a mastery over fate itself. This was far more awe-inspiring than mere strength.
The members of the group were also slightly shaken, once again gaining a direct understanding of the value of a so-called Tier 7.
After the shock, someone noticed a discrepancy.
Rin Tohsaka: "Eh, wait a minute! If this child will eventually grow close to humans, then why would she become the catalyst for world destruction?" she asked, deeply confused.
Logically, shouldn't the Cursed Children who rebelled be the ones to cause the world's destruction? Even if Aihara Enju herself "defected," the general trend wouldn't change. She would only become a target for the rebelling Cursed Children, not a key factor in the apocalypse, right?
Faced with this question, Su Mo shook his head and extended a hand towards Aihara Enju.
Aihara Enju should have been very resistant to a stranger's touch. In fact, there was a significant chance she would attack.
This girl, who was so lively and cute in the original story, was in this state before the plot began: already so desperate that she was on the verge of collapse, even filled with self-destructive tendencies.
It was precisely because of this that Shiroyasha had suspected she was the one who would ignite the flames of rebellion.
But Su Mo had denied this possibility. Why?
"In the current environment, this child is the first to break free from the cognitive conditioning, the first Cursed Child to let go of her expectations for humanity. However, children like her have a fatal weakness—"
As he spoke, Su Mo's hand rested on Aihara Enju's head.
But she didn't attack him.
If her initial resistance was merely self-defense born of fear, then upon feeling the warmth of Su Mo's palm, noticing his calm expression, and confirming he had no ill intent, Aihara Enju's eyes immediately showed a look of bewilderment.
Her originally cold expression also became somewhat dazed.
Accustomed to facing coldness and hostility, she truly didn't know how to respond to Su Mo's actions. Even though she was a little wary and scared, she still didn't choose to attack.
Seeing her waver, Tendō Kisara also knelt down and placed a hand on her dry, frizzy hair.
"Nngh~"
The little girl couldn't help but let out a whimper like a young animal, her eyes flickering between coldness and confusion.
At this moment, Su Mo continued, adding, "This weakness is that they are not good at dealing with human kindness."
"Whether it's genuine kindness or false kindness, for children who grew up in an environment so lacking in love, it is like honey or sweet dew."
"So much so that even if they have already recognized the unfriendliness of human civilization, they will still be captivated by this kindness and willingly become the protectors of human civilization."
If things followed the original story, Aihara Enju was almost destined to be won over. Even if she deeply resented those who killed the Cursed Children, she would still fight for the remaining humans who had "conscience."
It was in a child's nature to be lured by sweets. Just like now.
After confirming that Su Mo and Tendō Kisara had no ill intent and having rarely felt such kindness and warmth from others, Aihara Enju's gaze clearly wavered.
Especially when Su Mo casually took out a loaf of bread, after a few seconds of hesitation, she chose to start devouring it, wolfing it down without any care for her image.
In this state, forget about patting her head; even if you pinched her cheeks, she would at most let out a low growl of dissatisfaction, showing no intention of resisting.
From this, it was clear that the official strategy of controlling food in this world was quite effective. Just by controlling food, one could easily tame a Cursed Child with extraordinary combat power.
The other Cursed Children, seeing the breadcrumbs falling from her mouth, began to look on with eagerness, but they were too timid to approach the two adults.
Before she could toss it, Su Mo stopped her.
Without any visible movement from Su Mo, a large crate of exquisite bread and various drinks appeared before him. It was enough to feed all the Cursed Children present to their hearts' content.
Seeing this, all the Cursed Children were stunned. It wasn't until they received permission from Su Mo and Tendō Kisara multiple times that they finally swarmed forward, stuffing food into their stomachs like wild animals.
March 7th: "They look so pitiful. But it's true, after being treated like this, if someone showed them even a little kindness, they probably wouldn't fall into complete despair."
Rin Tohsaka: "But I still don't get it. If their weakness is exploited, won't they just become human weapons? Why would that lead to the world's destruction?"
Shiroyasha: "I'm curious too. If these children can really be controlled this way, setting aside moral factors, shouldn't this world still have a chance to overcome the apocalypse?"
A weakness is a weakness, regardless of morality. If the Cursed Children were all controlled like this, it seemed humanity wasn't without a chance to counterattack.
Moreover, from a macro perspective, the treatment of the Cursed Children would also improve. A little bit of sweetness was still better than none.
Faced with this doubt, Su Mo shook his head again, tracing a light and shadow in the air with his finger.
"If we simply follow a mechanical calculation of fate, there is a ninety-nine percent chance that this world will proceed as I initially described, with the awakened Cursed Children and the Gastrea destroying human civilization together."
As he spoke, a version of Aihara Enju appeared on the screen before him.
"But with the interference and self-preservation of the human collective subconscious, this world will advance according to a one percent probability. This child will meet a sufficiently kind partner and thus strengthen her resolve to protect people."
A scene of Aihara Enju fighting Gastrea appeared on the screen.
"With her aptitude, she will challenge strong enemies one after another, and eventually, through various coincidences, she will assist humanity in defeating almost all the Zodiacs. In the end, all eleven of the Stage V Gastrea that caused the apocalyptic disaster will be declared dead."
A scene of Aihara Enju's victory appeared on the screen. Behind her, the corpses of all eleven Zodiacs lay.
Hearing this, everyone felt it was strange.
Shiroyasha: "Eh? Weren't there only eleven of the most terrifying Stage V Gastrea in this world?"
Rin Tohsaka: "In that case, wouldn't that be the merit of saving the world?"
Everyone was confused.
Far from destroying the world, wasn't this saving it?
The eleven Stage V Gastrea, named after the zodiac constellations, were the culprits behind the apocalypse ten years ago, the very catalyst for world destruction. Under Aihara Enju's influence, these culprits were all destroyed.
Wouldn't that mean humanity's greatest crisis had been averted? What danger of world destruction could there be left?