An unknown amount of time passed before Izayoi startled awake from a deep slumber.
"Homura! Homura!"
Crying out his brother's name, he scrambled up from the floor in a panic.
Only then did he realize he wasn't in his own room, nor in the side hall, but in the main hall of Su Mo's mansion.
Which meant that everything that had just happened was no nightmare.
Just as a sense of loss washed over him, Canary's voice drifted from nearby.
"Little Izayoi, my not-so-adorable student. I know you have a brother complex, but when you're in the presence of Lord Su Mo, could you please rein in those perverted tendencies and maintain some basic etiquette? Otherwise, you'll make me look bad as your teacher..."
Hearing that all-too-familiar, teasingly sarcastic tone, Izayoi looked up. He saw his teacher, Canary, sitting beside Su Mo, and Su Mo himself in the main seat.
In no mood to respond to Canary's jest, Izayoi looked at the two of them desperately, as if clutching at a lifeline.
"Lord Su Mo! Teacher Canary! Homura—he just knocked me out and ran off! He wants to give up his qualification as a savior! If we stop him now, we might still have time! I'm begging you—"
Faced with a problem of this magnitude, the embarrassment of being instantly defeated by his younger brother was the last thing on his mind.
Izayoi hastily recounted what he had seen, hoping to persuade Su Mo to intervene.
Even if it meant letting Homura Saigo truly withdraw from the competition, at least it would prevent him from genuinely falling into the role of Absolute Evil.
Demon Lord was hardly a glorious title, especially for a kind-hearted boy like Homura Saigo. He couldn't imagine how much his brother would suffer in the future if he truly shouldered the fate of Absolute Evil.
But halfway through his plea, he saw their calm expressions and suddenly stopped.
How could something that happened right at the hall's entrance possibly escape the notice of these two?
If they had truly wanted to stop it, they would have done so without him even having to ask.
Yet not only had Su Mo not stopped it, he had even summoned that Absolute Evil Demon Lord and given him some kind of task.
Which meant...
"Lord Su Mo, are you planning to just watch as Homura betrays your initial expectations and walks down this path of no return?"
Izayoi's eyes widened as he asked, his voice tinged with grief.
"Betrays my initial expectations?"
At this, Su Mo shook his head and said something that stunned Izayoi.
"Why would you think that? Isn't Homura Saigo walking the very path I foresaw?"
"What?!"
Izayoi's eyes flew open, his worst premonition confirmed.
If Homura Saigo's journey down this path of no return had been something Su Mo had permitted, or even orchestrated, from the very beginning...
He couldn't help but clench his fists. He turned to Canary, his voice filled with grief and anger as he questioned her.
"Canary, Homura is your student, too! Why did you just stand by and watch? Are you treating him as a sacrifice as well?"
Having been educated by Canary since he was a child, he didn't dare aim his accusations at Su Mo, nor could he bring himself to believe that Su Mo would truly have such plans for his brother. So, he could only question Canary, with whom he was more familiar.
Faced with Izayoi's question, Canary raised her hands in a gesture of weary resignation, though she had expected it.
"Stop, stop, stop! Izayoi, don't make me sound like some cruel adoptive mother who'd abandon the child she raised for a man."
"While it's true that Homura's path was decided long ago, it's not the kind of sacrifice you're imagining. I know you're anxious, but try to calm down first."
Canary's assurance helped Izayoi cool down slightly.
Though he still had many questions, he didn't want to believe that Canary had truly betrayed them. At the very least, it gave him the patience to listen to her explanation in such an urgent situation.
"Not the kind of sacrifice I'm imagining, but still a sacrifice, right? If Homura's fate was already sealed, why make him a savior candidate in the first place? If we let him continue down his current path, won't he be doomed beyond redemption?"
Izayoi fired off a series of questions, his eyes fixed on Canary, refusing to miss a single word of her answer.
"Why does this feel like an interrogation? The tables have really turned. You're getting a little too full of yourself, Izayoi... Alright, alright, stop glaring at me like a little wild boar! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Canary grumbled for a moment before Izayoi's intense gaze forced her to raise her hands in surrender.
"First, let's be clear about one thing. We knew about Homura's fate from the very beginning, but that doesn't conflict with his qualification to become a savior. In fact, even now, Homura is still a savior candidate! It's not like I've kicked him out of the Holy Cross Group!"
That first sentence left Izayoi stunned.
That's right! It was true that no one had officially expelled Homura.
"But! Homura said just now that he's lost the qualification to be a savior—"
"And he gets to decide that?"
Canary cut Izayoi off with a dissatisfied huff.
"Have you two forgotten? When you agreed to join the savior project, you signed a contract that was practically an indenture agreement. Forget running away from home—even if you want to quit the project, you need our, the adults', permission."
As Izayoi stared, dumbfounded, Canary crossed her hands to form a large 'X'.
"So, unilateral withdrawal has always been invalid, okay!"
"But Homura said he's going to become Absolute Evil. Can he still be a savior candidate even then?"
With no mental energy to complain about the indenture agreement, Izayoi pressed on.
"Of course he can."
Canary nodded.
"In essence, Homura is advancing human history in the manner of an anti-hero—or rather, a Demon Lord. The Absolute Evil Demon Lord has already been vanquished in the Little Garden, and he himself is still human. So, we can't rule out the possibility that he could eliminate all apocalypses and lead humanity to a new future."
Who said a Demon Lord couldn't be a savior?
"But... but..."
The sheer volume of information was making even Izayoi's head spin.
Was Canary saying that Homura Saigo was now both an incarnation of a Demon Lord and a savior candidate?
Setting aside how those two completely contradictory identities could coexist, that wasn't even the most important point right now.
The important thing was...
"Is it really okay for Homura to walk such a path?"
Canary shook her head, reiterating in a clear tone.
"Strictly speaking, although I adopted you two, I never interfered with or changed your destinies. And guiding him toward sacrifice is completely out of the question."
This disclaimer made Izayoi's brain stall once more.
It took him a dozen seconds to realize what Canary meant.
"Are you saying that even without you, Homura would have become the incarnation of a Demon Lord, a savior candidate, and Absolute Evil?!"
Izayoi was in disbelief.
Was his little brother's fate really that rough?
"Strictly speaking, yes."
Canary shrugged.
"This is the destiny you must bear as that man's children."
In other words, Homura Saigo's choice to take his current path had little to do with Canary and was instead directly related to their father, Saigo Toya.
Izayoi didn't doubt Canary's words.
But the crucial question was...
"Why? Why is Homura destined for this? Isn't that man already dead?"
Izayoi couldn't understand.
Saigo Toya had died long ago. It made no sense for his younger brother to have to shoulder their father's destiny. This wasn't ancient times.
"That gets into the full scope of your trial this time."
Canary said with a spread of her hands.
"The full scope of this trial?"
Izayoi paused at her words.
"Come to think of it, Black Rabbit also said that this was the real trial... So what's really going on? Don't tell me Homura is also part of this trial?"
He looked at Canary, utterly bewildered. This time, he was completely lost.
"It's not so much Homura as it is the Absolute Evil Demon Lord."
Canary nodded.
"In fact, this trial has three components: Typhon, the Dystopia Demon Lord, and the Absolute Evil Demon Lord. They are all part of it. The complete trial is the three key factors linked together."
"Three Demon Lords..."
Hearing Canary's answer, Izayoi felt like he was suffocating.
Any one of those three was a monster that surpassed the Bull of Heaven, capable of easily destroying the world.
And now, the three most terrifying monsters combined was the true nature of this trial?
What kind of hellish difficulty was this?
Are you serious?
Seeing Izayoi's existential-crisis expression, Canary smiled.
"No need to be so despairing! It's actually quite easy to understand!"
"After obtaining the Third Stellar Particle, there are only three types of identities that are most likely to cause an apocalypse-level crisis. When they overlap, you get the most complete and comprehensive apocalypse."
"If you want to prevent humanity from destroying itself, stopping these three is enough. Solving three problems in one go—don't you think that's a great deal?"
Canary's tone was playful, but Izayoi only felt the immense pressure mount.
Tackling three problems at once was certainly a good deal if they could solve them. But if they couldn't, weren't they just asking for trouble?
If he didn't know Canary so well, he might have even suspected she was doing this because she intentionally wanted to destroy the world.
However, complaining about it now was pointless. The key was to dig for more information.
"These three identities you mentioned, what are they specifically?"
Izayoi seized on the key point and asked.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Canary winked and spoke without a hint of concealment.
"Of course, it's the Rulers, the Victims, and finally... the Experimenters!"