— — — — — —
Arcadia City
As the Boundary Gate at the edge of the city flared with light, sending off "Ryo" and the members of the Avengers Alliance, Kurousagi finally stopped waving and let out a long breath.
"They've left?"
Athena, still in the form of a loli girl, spoke calmly.
As Arcadia's hidden trump card, she hadn't joined the expedition.
Aside from her, nearly everyone who had come to Little Garden from the worlds Ryo had observed had taken part in this divine war.
Of course, they did so under the banner of Valkyrie's auxiliary forces.
That arrangement had come from a "sponsorship" Ryo secured after a secret meeting with Scáthach a few days earlier.
"Yeah, they're gone."
Kurousagi nodded, then lowered her voice. "Nothing suspicious, right?"
"Nothing."
Athena, with her silver short hair and cat-eared hat, shook her head. "Even I couldn't detect anything about what he prepared. The 'me' in Little Garden tested it personally too. It's well hidden."
"That's a relief."
Kurousagi patted her chest, finally relaxing.
If Leticia wouldn't be exposed, then Ryo's safety was much more secure.
She didn't entirely agree with his risky plan, but she understood it.
In Little Garden, it was incredibly difficult for pure humans to grow stronger.
Even for those who weren't pure, becoming a god or buddha didn't mean freedom. Escaping the control of higher-ranking deities was still nearly impossible.
For Ryo to reach his current level was already a stroke of luck.
To go any further, taking risks was unavoidable.
"Let's head back."
With that, Athena nodded, grabbed Kurousagi's hand, and leapt across boundaries, returning to Arcadia's headquarters.
Arcadia Headquarters. The underground chamber that once held Kalki.
Ryo suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the door.
"Aman, someone came by?"
Eyes and a mouth formed on the tightly shut door. The door spirit created by Canaria, Aman, spoke. "Miss Kurousagi came by just now. She asked me to pass along a message: 'Lady Leticia has departed according to plan.'"
"Got it."
Ryo nodded slightly, then added, "Activate all defenses."
"Understood."
Aman's features vanished. Ripples, invisible to the naked eye, spread across the door and quickly enveloped the entire underground space.
Only then did Ryo take out the stone disc Algol had given him and send a message: {Preparations complete.}
He instructed her to release the invitation to the Dimensional Forum.
After that, he took out three Limit-Authorities: Destruction, Shattering, and Machinery, then opened the forum and posted a question: [What's the best way to absorb these Authorities?]
The forum's core responded instantly:
[Answer: Wrap them with your spirit rank, then forcefully integrate them using soul power. During the process, the holder's spiritual nature will be tempered accordingly. Alternatively, spend 5,000 points to complete the integration directly… (click to see more.)]
Ryo's mouth twitched. His face darkened as he tapped the barely visible "see more" note.
[After directly completing integration with 5,000 points, the tempering of the holder's spiritual nature will be minimal. It is recommended to spend an additional 10,000 points to compensate for the deficiency.]
"…Damn it, you greedy piece of work."
He couldn't help but curse.
This forum was shameless. Hiding extra costs behind expandable text?
It was practically begging to scam him.
"You're definitely sentient, aren't you?"
[Answer: The forum does not possess intelligence as defined by the holder.]
"No intelligence? Then what's with these tricks? You're clearly trying to bleed me dry!"
Ryo was fuming.
Did it come easy, earning points?
He'd been walking on thin ice in Little Garden and grinding nonstop in the lower worlds. After all that, he'd only just saved up 119,000 points.
And now this damned forum was scheming to drain him?
Had it lost its mind?
[Answer: Primary core principle #1: Acquire evolutionary resources at all costs. This takes precedence over the non-core principle 'protect the holder's interests.' Therefore, this operation does not violate any rules.]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Ryo immediately opened the backend and dug through the endless list of rules.
Sure enough, buried between entries 10,284 and 92,847 was the first principle.
And it was written in garbled text.
Unbelievable. He was going to have to read this thing more carefully in the future.
"…Can I add rules?"
[Answer: Additional rules may be added as long as they do not conflict with core principles.]
"Fine. Then add this: 'No methods may be used to extract points from the holder.'"
He added the rule with a dark expression.
[Checking…]
[No conflict detected. Rule added successfully. Resulting deficit will be compensated by extracting from Little Garden's central system.]
[As compensation for inconvenience caused during rule enforcement, 1,000 points have been issued. Please check.]
Ryo stared at the notification and almost went speechless.
So it knew it had inconvenienced him?
He accepted the points anyway, bringing his total to 120,000.
Then he asked coldly, "So now, what's the best way for me to absorb these Authorities?"
[Answer: Based on the holder's current condition, burning the Leo Cosmos as support while simultaneously integrating Destruction, Machinery, and Shattering will bring the improvement of spirit rank close to maximum.]
"Close to maximum? Then what's the actual maximum?"
[Answer: Simultaneously integrating three limit-level Authorities approach the theoretical maximum.]
"So I can absorb multiple Authorities at once, with a limit of three?" Ryo frowned, then nodded. "That works perfectly for me."
He immediately wrapped the three Authorities with his spirit rank.
The moment they entered, he groaned.
It felt like layers of armor were being forced onto his body, one after another.
At the same time, whispers filled his ears.
Relentless. Chaotic.
They stirred an overwhelming urge to destroy everything… to shatter everything.
Yet alongside that came another impulse. A drive to dismantle and rebuild the world around him, to create mechanical life.
The conflicting thoughts surged wildly.
Ryo groaned again, his body lighting up with the glow of his Cosmos.
He closed his eyes and entered meditation, pushing back against the whispers.
Before long, he seized control completely.
When it came to obsession, Saints were second to none.
Legend had it that every Gemini Saint was borderline insane, and almost every one of them ranked among the strongest.
The more extreme the obsession, the greater the power. The stronger the Cosmos.
That principle held true.
In a sense, the Big Will (Divine Cosmo) beyond the Eighth Sense was just obsession refined to its peak.
So even with multiple Limit-Authorities pressing in, they couldn't overpower Ryo's will.
And as he continued integrating them, a new question quietly appeared on the Dimensional Forum.
.
.
.