— — — — — —
'I seduced you?'
'WTF. When exactly did I ever seduce you?'
Ryo's expression darkened.
Maybe he had thoughts about beautiful women. And yes, Algol's personality was undeniably terrible, but when it came to appearance? She was flawless. So flawless, in fact, that she once dismissed Athena as ugly, a remark that struck straight at a goddess's pride. The result was swift and vindictive: a sealing ritual, and an intentionally grotesque clone created solely for trials.
But seduction? That was going too far.
"When did I ever seduce you?" Ryo's tone sharpened.
Attacking his character was crossing a line.
"Hmm?"
Lilith's voice turned oddly subtle. "Don't tell me you don't even know what you've been doing."
That made Ryo hesitate.
Had he done something unintentionally? Something that made Lilith —or Algol, her main body — think he was making a move on her?
When he bathed, he always used mental force to block her perception.
There was no way she'd peek through the Zanpakutō past that barrier. And honestly, if she had spare time to snoop, she'd probably spend it watching beauty tutorials instead.
That woman only cared about things related to beauty.
If she owned a Magic Mirror, she'd ask it daily, "How can I be more beautiful?" or "Who's the most beautiful in Little Garden?"
And Ryo knew all too well that he didn't have some hidden trick to amplify her beauty—aside from the Hōgyoku, which she was already using.
So it wasn't that.
Then what did Algol care about? What had he done recently that involved her?
The Dawn Empire?
That was just borrowing Algol's reputation as a smokescreen. It kept the gods from digging too deeply and redirected suspicions about anomalies in human history toward her.
At most, it added the identity of "Primogenitor Vampire" to her mythos.
But in Little Garden's mythology, there were already legends of Lilith and Cain giving birth to the first vampire.
…Wait. Cain?
Ryo's thoughts abruptly froze.
He remembered something he'd once suggested.
Let Algol replace Cain. Become the true Primogenitor of the demon race in Strike the Blood.
"…It has something to do with Cain, doesn't it?" Ryo frowned at the Zanpakutō hovering in midair.
"Heh."
Lilith snorted, clearly irritated. "So you dangled bait in front of me and nearly forgot about it yourself?"
"So that identity actually matters to you?" Ryo muttered, realization dawning.
Once he learned that Cain was the leader of the Deva and that vampires were essentially modified beings rather than true fallen gods, he'd abandoned the idea.
To the real gods of Little Garden, that whole narrative was laughable.
A vampire-like species calling themselves gods? Amusing.
Claiming they had dragged the gods down into demonhood? That wasn't just a joke. It was provocation. The kind that got you erased.
Even if the Deva manipulated the human world into believing it as history, it would still be false.
Before the Central Authority of Little Garden could absorb such a fabricated human history, any random three-digit existence could step in, smash the fake lineage, and reconstruct the truth.
And depending on their mood, they might wipe out the Deva entirely as an example.
But…
"If Cain were Algol… if she used the Cleansing to drag the gods worshipped by humanity into demonhood…"
The words slipped out before Ryo could stop them.
Then a chill shot up his spine.
If Algol truly accomplished that "feat," and Ryo observed that world—
The Central Authority of Little Garden would register it as fact.
The Primogenitor who corrupted the gods into demons.
Algol would gain an ascended spirit rank. She would become a Demon corresponding to the gods, their absolute opposite.
The Primogenitor of Demons.
And the Cleansing would evolve from a racial conversion technique into a conceptual authority capable of corrupting divine spirit ranks.
If Algol built a new divine faction around that concept, or integrated it into an existing cosmology, it could crystallize into an entirely new worldview. A new Pseudo Star Map, a new Another Cosmology.
And just ordinary Another Cosmology but one specifically targeting the gods.
For someone like Algol, wasn't that the ultimate temptation?
All this time… was I actually helping her construct Another Cosmology?
But I only wanted her to take the blame…
Ryo felt momentarily lost.
Because the terrifying part was... It could work.
Just travel to a parallel world. Replace Cain. That only required capturing the Vampire King Kenon and extracting his time-space technique.
As for replacing Cain? That was trivial.
Algol, even in the form of Lilith bound as his Zanpakutō spirit, was still an incarnation of the Demon Creator. A four-digit existence.
Replacing Cain would be effortless.
All the pieces were there.
If Ryo committed to it, he really could push Algol into standing opposite the gods. Forge her into the ultimate demon.
Even carve out a path toward a higher level. A path that might lead to two-digit.
So… I was waving a road to two-digit status in front of her and only asking her to shoulder the blame?
No wonder she agreed so quickly.
If the roles were reversed, he would have leapt at it too.
Ryo's face twitched. He took several steadying breaths before untangling the storm in his mind.
"So? Finally figured it out?"
Lilith's laughter returned, bright and teasing as she lifted the subtle mental nudge she'd applied. "And you still claim you weren't seducing me?"
"You laid out a path perfectly suited to my ambitions. If I have to bow my head a little to that ugly woman, so what? If I have to stain myself, what of it?"
"When I reach two digits, what can Athena even do? I could crush her back when I was still three digits. Once I hit two digits, she'll be nothing more than an ant to me."
She paused, then added mischievously, "Oh, right. You and Athena have a bit of a connection, don't you? Want me to make her kneel and serve you? Her mouth carries the authority of victory… you'd better beware!"
Ryo's cheek twitched.
He wisely said nothing.
Agree, and you offend someone. Deny it, and you offend someone else. Silence was safer.
Besides, if two-digit were really that easy, Little Garden wouldn't have only seventeen of them.
To reach that realm, Algol would likely need to corrupt an entire mainstream divine faction.
For example…
The Greek pantheon.
Ah. So she's even eyeing the incarnations of Hermes and Ares I hold.
Ryo's eyelid twitched again. He kept his expression neutral.
When she saw no flicker of temptation on his face, Lilith fell quiet for a moment. Then she spoke, irritation slipping through. "Fine. I'll admit my persuasion skills aren't great. Tell me your terms."
Ryo narrowed his eyes, sinking into thought.
Join forces and walk this dangerous road together?
Or part ways here?
That was the real question.
.
.
.