— — — — — —
The term Mother Goddess meant nothing to Cao Cao and the others. Confused looks immediately appeared on their faces.
Ms Creator God, however, reacted completely differently.
The moment she heard those words, her expression changed dramatically, shock flashing across her face.
Before Cao Cao could even wonder why she seemed so startled, the divine phantom casually waved a hand. And everyone present vanished from the underground passage.
Everyone except Jeanne, who was still trapped in Ryo's arms.
Seeing this, Ryo casually glanced around before asking, "Where'd you send them?"
"An uninhabited island in the Pacific." She sounded calm. "There are seals I've set up there. They won't be able to escape."
"I think they will," Ryo said with a smile. "Humans are the best at making miracles happen, you know."
"..."
The Creator opened her mouth, then let out a sigh. "Fine. I don't know what you're planning, but I'll let them escape. But what you said today will be remembered by him—especially the part about you searching for the Mother Goddess."
Jeanne stiffened in Ryo's embrace.
One was the supreme leader of the Three Factions. The other was its founder.
Could these two giants please have their conversation without involving her?
If they could send her away like they had sent Cao Cao away, that would be wonderful.
She really didn't want to know enough secrets to get silenced afterward.
As Jeanne's heart raced in panic, Ryo chuckled and reached up to pinch her soft cheek. "Wouldn't it be best if the news reached him?"
"The way you're saying that..." Creator hesitated.
Then her eyes widened. "Are you saying Indra has ties to the Mother Goddess?"
"That's right." Ryo nodded. "Indra has one of the Mother Goddess's tokens. He sent the Insomniac Dragon Ladon to Kyoto carrying it, hoping to lure Great Red out and use him to keep Ophis and me occupied."
"So she actually chose to work with someone like Indra..." Creator found it hard to believe.
She trusted Ryo wouldn't lie about something like this. That was exactly why the revelation shocked her.
"Given her personality, schemers like Indra should be among the people she hates most. Yet she still chose to cooperate with him." She sighed. "Looks like the war on the ExE side is getting serious. Serious enough that even Chimune Chipaoti is reaching out to outsiders for support. It's a shame she won't be able to keep up the Virgin Mary act in front of me again. That was rather amusing."
"The war in ExE?" Ryo raised an eyebrow. "The Evil Gods?"
"You seem to know quite a bit." Creator gave him an odd look. "I thought you said you were from Little Garden."
"I am." Ryo shrugged. "But why would being from Little Garden prevent me from knowing about ExE?"
At those words, tears nearly welled up in Jeanne's eyes.
She understood now. There was only one fate waiting for her.
Death.
Dying in battle was one thing. Dying because she'd overheard too many secrets was another entirely.
That was not how she wanted to go.
"Little Garden is interested in bringing ExE under its wing too?" Creator sounded surprised. "Are there many people there as strong as you?"
"Not many." Ryo shook his head, "...There are only around a thousand or so who can survive two punches from me."
And that's supposed to be "not many"?
Creator bit her tongue to keep her composure.
She had originally assumed Little Garden was simply a stronger version of ExE.
Now she realized the gap wasn't that small. The two worlds weren't even operating on the same level.
She glanced at Ryo. Then at Jeanne, who looked utterly defeated in his arms.
Immediately, she clicked her tongue inwardly, 'How much does this man like women?You're discussing world-shaking matters and you're still holding onto the girl?'
"If Little Garden truly has as many experts as you claim, then you'd better bring several people on your level if you're planning to invade ExE."
Creator spoke with rare seriousness.
It was sincere advice.
"Because over there, there are at least five individuals stronger than I am."
"..."
Ryo looked at her strangely.
Then his expression became increasingly peculiar.
"I thought I was already overly cautious. Turns out you're even more cautious than I am."
Several four-digit rule-breakers? Several people of that caliber invading ExE?
Did she think the experts over there weren't dying fast enough already?
"Anyway, the strength of ExE's experts isn't something we can settle through speculation." Ryo narrowed his eyes. "I'll test the waters first."
He understood why she had offered that suggestion. Lady Creator couldn't accurately compare his strength to the forces of ExE.
And truthfully, neither could he.
What if ExE actually had three-digit-level monsters?
The odds were low, but not impossible.
After thinking it over, Ryo decided on a simple approach.
"Tell me," he looked straight at the Creator God. "If Indra learns that I'm searching for the Holy Mother Goddess, what do you think he'll do?"
"Indra..."
She hesitated.
Then she shook her head. "Indra was always too well-behaved in front of me. I honestly can't put myself in his shoes."
Ryo was speechless.
What kind of answer is that?
Still keeping a straight face, Ryo said, "In that case, I'll use Loki's identity to trick him a little and encourage him to contact the Mother Goddess sooner."
Creator opened her mouth as if she wanted to object.
In the end, she simply sighed. "If the Etoulde faction serving the Mother Goddess truly has no means of resisting you..."
"Could I act as an envoy and persuade them to surrender?"
Ryo blinked in surprise. Then he smiled.
"Sure."
After agreeing, he looked down at Jeanne in his arms. A thought occurred to him.
Turning back to Creator, he asked, "By the way, what exactly is the relationship between Saint Jeanne d'Arc and you?"
Jeanne immediately raised her head.
Suddenly nervous, she glanced toward the god Jeanne d'Arc believed in—the Creator God of the Three Factions.
The latter glanced at her before answering, "She was one of the previous wielders of the Holy Spear. Roughly four generations before the current wielder."
"I see."
A smile spread across Ryo's face.
Looking down at Jeanne, he said, "Then that makes you one of our own, doesn't it?"
Jeanne froze. Then she nodded so rapidly she looked like a pecking chicken.
"Yes, yes! That's right! Exactly!"
Ryo nodded approvingly.
...
..
On a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a figure buried headfirst in the sand suddenly pulled himself free.
"Pyfft!!"
Cao Cao spat out mouthfuls of sand and dirt.
Turning around, he saw his companions doing much the same.
After a moment of silence, he smiled bitterly. "So Jeanne wasn't sent away with us after all."
"Cao Cao. What do we do now?" Hercules shook the sand from his hair and looked over. His expression was gloomy.
Instinctively, Cao Cao reached for the Holy Spear that had accompanied him since birth.
His hand closed on empty air.
The gesture froze.
After a long pause, he looked around at his companions and gritted his teeth. "We'll go to Indra."
He drew a breath. "The resurrection of the Creator God. And Ryo Yagami searching for someone called the Mother Goddess. Those two pieces of information should be enough to convince him to help us rescue Jeanne and Arthur."
Silence fell among the group.
The moment Cao Cao proposed seeking Indra's aid instead of acting personally, everyone understood. His courage... had broken. Crushed by Ryo's effortless display of power.
"Should we do it?"
Cao Cao understood that himself. But he genuinely couldn't see any possibility of challenging Ryo anymore.
That man wasn't human. He was a monster. A monster that had surpassed even the gods.
His companions sighed, "...It's our only option."
.
.
.