Atop the ruins of the City of the Moon's Shadow, billions of gods fled in disarray under Su Mo's terrifying presence.
Forget showing any hostility; they wished they could go back in time and slap themselves a couple of times.
This time, they had learned an extremely profound lesson.
It was this: their self-righteous grandstanding and moral blackmail, supposedly for the good of Little Garden, could only work when facing Problem Children they could actually beat, like Shiroyasha and Algol.
But when facing an existence like Su Mo—one who truly held the power to decide the life and death of Little Garden—they had no right to pass any judgment.
After all, if he could decide the fate of Little Garden, he could naturally decide the fate of the pantheons as well.
If they didn't want to die, it was best not to disrespect such a peerless powerhouse.
After this crowd of cowards had left, the Buddhist World-Honored One, the Twin Goddesses, and the other previously neutral deities exchanged glances and chose to take their leave as well.
Faced with Su Mo's overwhelming might, they were powerless to persuade him. But it was clear they wouldn't give up so easily and would certainly find another way.
However, in the eyes of both Shiroyasha and Su Mo, their schemes were of little significance and were temporarily set aside.
After the dust settled, the Moon Rabbit clan finally broke free from the spell of the mythic epic they had just witnessed.
As the sun gradually rose on the horizon, they were brought back to the grim reality of the utter devastation around them.
Although Humanity's Last Embryo had been vanquished and the Moon Rabbit clan had suffered no casualties, they had still lost their home, which was now nothing but a field of rubble.
Rebuilding a home base of this scale would undoubtedly take a great deal of effort.
"Waaah, my home is gone..."
The young Black Rabbit, finally processing the scene, realized that everything she had known was destroyed.
Her lip quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Even though she didn't want to be a spoilsport during a victory celebration, her misty eyes already looked incredibly endearing.
Just as she couldn't stop herself from wiping her eyes, trying desperately to contain her emotions, she felt a slender hand mercilessly grab the rabbit ears on top of her head.
"No need to be sad, little Black Rabbit! Things aren't as bad as you think!"
Canary's playful voice rang out from behind her, clearly teasing the little rabbit girl.
"B-Big Sis Canary, I know!"
Though her vision was blurry and she was being bullied, Canary's grip wasn't tight. Black Rabbit endured it and replied obediently, "If it weren't for Lord Su Mo, it wouldn't just be our houses and the City of the Moon's Shadow—the entire Moon Rabbit clan might have been wiped out."
This wasn't an exaggeration.
If Su Mo hadn't been there, given the power Azi Dahaka had displayed—surpassing millions, even billions of gods—he wouldn't have even needed to act personally.
The army of evil dragons he could casually create would have been enough to annihilate the Moon Rabbit clan.
Compared to that outcome, the fact that not a single Moon Rabbit was harmed under Su Mo's intervention was already an incredibly fortunate result.
"I-I shouldn't be so embarrassing. Everyone is safe, and that's the best possible outcome. I'm so grateful to Lord Su Mo. The destruction of the City of the Moon's Shadow is nothing..."
She tried to widen her eyes and express her sincere gratitude, but halfway through, the red-rimmed eyes of the little rabbit girl couldn't hold back any longer.
"Waaaaah! My home is gone! The mushrooms I worked so hard to pick, and all the memories of living with Mommy and Daddy!"
While she could rationally accept this small price, she was, after all, only ten years old. Emotionally, it was the first time she had faced such a massive change, so it was only natural for her to be overwhelmed.
However, just as the little rabbit girl was about to break into a full-blown wail...
"Those memories you're talking about, they haven't disappeared, you know!"
Canary's words cut right through the emotions Black Rabbit had been building up.
"Eh?"
Black Rabbit looked up blankly, not understanding what Canary meant.
Could it be that this mean big sister was about to tell her that memories never truly disappear as long as you hold them in your heart?
Just as her thoughts began to stray, Canary pointed to the scene in the distance while using a handkerchief from Lamia to wipe away Black Rabbit's tears.
"Open your eyes and look! The old village... it's back!"
With her vision cleared by Canary, Black Rabbit witnessed a scene that looked like time itself was reversing.
Scattered rocks, broken trees, houses that had become ruins—everything within her sight was moving in reverse, gradually reassembling from its broken state.
Her delicate rabbit ears twitched as she heard noises from beyond her line of sight. It seemed that everything, far and wide, was being governed by this power of time reversal.
"This is..."
Black Rabbit's eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the City of the Moon's Shadow gradually return to how it had looked at the start of the Divine Child's Birth Festival.
And it wasn't just the city; every single area affected by the battle was being rolled back to its previous state.
"A miracle?"
Looking at her familiar, warm home, Black Rabbit felt a sense of dazed wonder.
But the moment the word left her lips, she realized it was the wrong one to use.
After all, having witnessed the pathetic performance of the billions of gods earlier, she understood one thing with absolute clarity.
"No, the gods can't do something like this."
Indra's voice suddenly cut in.
"And even if they could, they wouldn't lift a finger to do it like Su Mo has."
"Ah, of course, it was Lord Su Mo!"
Hearing Indra identify the one behind this phenomenon, Black Rabbit's eyes lit up with excitement.
As expected of the great hero who defeated the Demon Lord, bested the gods, and saved her and the entire Moon Rabbit clan! Lord Su Mo is omnipotent!
Only after her burst of excitement did she realize she was speaking to the creator of the Moon Rabbit clan.
"M-My Lord?!"
She nearly jumped up as if she had bitten her tongue.
But Canary held her ears firmly, preventing her from bowing to her patron god.
"No need for formalities."
Indra waved a casual hand, stopping the little rabbit's squirming.
"I may be your patron god, but the one who protected you this time was Su Mo. As your creator, I feel rather ashamed."
As the last god remaining, Indra looked at the completely restored Trāyastriṃśa and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Wonderful. I can't believe Su Mo fixed this as well. Looks like I won't have to post the Divine army here to do civil engineering on a broken heaven!"
After his joyful exclamation, he rubbed his chin and turned to Canary.
"If I'm not mistaken, the power Su Mo used this time was the Moon Authority, correct? I recall the Moon Authority can interfere with time, but I never imagined it was this effective. It can even affect a Boundary Gate?"
"An ordinary Moon Authority certainly couldn't do this, but Lord Su Mo is no ordinary person. Not to mention, he holds thirteen Moon Authorities!" Canary said with a shrug, making no attempt to hide the information.
After all, the information itself wasn't particularly valuable, and it was a secret that couldn't be kept anyway.
"Thirteen Moon Authorities? Hiss... I remember now! The World-Honored One did say that the Twin Goddesses paid twelve Moon Authorities as a fee for borrowing a Sun Authority."
Indra slapped his forehead as he recalled the detail, then added with a hint of regret, "Unfortunately, ever since the advent of heliocentrism, the status of the Moon Authorities has paled in comparison to the Sun Authorities. Unless you gather all fifteen, they aren't all that significant."
"That said," he mused, "Su Mo is only two away from completing the set. It might be worth keeping an eye out for them."
As one of the gods who participated in the creation of Little Garden, Indra was a walking encyclopedia of its various secrets.
Hearing this, Canary didn't seem too fazed.
"Is that so? I'll mention it to Lord Su Mo later, or maybe I'll ask Lappy for information on the other Moon Authorities."
"Worth a try," Indra nodded in agreement.
Just as Indra was about to reveal his true intentions and use Canary as a roundabout way to probe Su Mo's attitude toward Little Garden, an incredibly young and soft voice suddenly piped up in excitement.
"The Moon Authority! Can the Moon Authority help Lord Su Mo?"
The little rabbit girl looked at the two of them with eager anticipation.
Then, as Canary blinked in surprise and an idea seemed to dawn on Indra's face, she announced joyfully, "I just happen to have a Moon Authority! Could it be useful to Lord Su Mo?"
As the Divine Child of the Moon Rabbits, she was born with the blessing of the moon god, Tsukuyomi, and naturally carried a Moon Authority with her.
Su Mo needed two more to complete the set, and she held the second-to-last one.
"Useful? Of course it's useful. But are you sure you want to give it to Su Mo?" Canary nodded, then asked out of instinct. "Isn't the Lunar Realm Divine Palace extremely important to the Moon Rabbit clan... Okay, seeing your expression, I know my answer. Never mind what I said."
Seeing the look of pure adoration in Black Rabbit's eyes—a look identical to Lamia's—Canary knew her question was pointless.
For a girl in that state, it didn't matter that Su Mo was the hero who saved the Moon Rabbits, who wouldn't have hesitated to thank him anyway. Even if Su Mo had been the one to destroy their city, she would have probably offered it up to him all the same.
Once a girl falls for someone, her loyalties shift so quickly.
Beside them, Indra also noticed Black Rabbit's expression.
He recalled how this little Moon Rabbit had timidly hidden behind Su Mo when he was knocked down to the Lower Realm. It seemed their relationship was quite close. His eyes lit up.
It seemed Canary wasn't his only indirect route to his goal!
"Say, you're the Divine Child of the Moon Rabbit clan, right?" Indra asked, feigning ignorance.
"Yes, Lord Indra!" Black Rabbit immediately snapped to attention, looking nervous.
"Relax, don't be afraid. I'm not a bad guy. As your patron god, I would never lead you astray."
As Indra uttered the classic line of every bad guy, he considered playing the "creator" card to build more rapport. But seeing the growing suspicion in Black Rabbit's eyes, he abandoned that approach and got straight to the point.
"What I mean is, are you interested in becoming Su Mo's pet... ahem, I mean, his... subordinate?"
"If you don't mind," he added, "you could even switch faiths and become one of Su Mo's believers!"
Hearing this, Black Rabbit's brain instantly short-circuited.
"Huh?"
The creator and patron god of the Moon Rabbit clan was actively encouraging his own follower to change her faith and become Lord Su Mo's... p-pet, no, believer?
Wasn't there something seriously wrong with this picture?