Chelsea: "Are you all hosting a roast party today? Haha, why's everyone taking turns roasting each other?"
Souta: "Headless Horseman, Chelsea."
Chelsea: "…"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Tohsaka Rin . That's not quite right, Rin-san. The system only blocks the effect of fatal attacks, but the flashy visuals of the attack still show up."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Simply put, when you unleash a devastating finisher on a group member, it looks like world-shattering destruction, but in reality the damage is zero."
Souta: "Got it. Fierce operations like a tiger, but check the stats: 0.5 damage."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Exactly. It's basically like your divine shield, Souta. It doesn't block attacks, it just directly absorbs the damage values."
Tohsaka Rin : "I see. But even if we can use big finishers, if they don't work, nothing changes, does it?"
Souta: "If it doesn't work, you can pretend it does. As the villain, I unleash a finisher on you, then you go, 'Ah, I'm dead!' That's all."
Jibril: "Oh? Acting, is it? That does sound interesting."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Not just acting. Since finishers won't kill, we can unleash power freely, without restraint. If you've ever held grudges against someone, you can take this chance to vent. Throw all your fatal attacks right at their face. They won't die, so go ahead and beat them senseless."
Souta: "…"
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Ah, what's wrong, Souta?"
Souta: "Nothing. By the way, those who help me will each receive a portion of divine power as payment."
Chelsea: "Divine power? Then do you think I qualify?"
Souta: "Can you defeat Altair?"
Chelsea: "…Probably not."
Souta: "Then how dare you try to freeload?"
Chelsea: "…"
Altair: "…"
Athena: "Divine power as payment? Fellow god, would I be qualified?"
Souta: "Of course, a Heretic God is fine. By the way, Athena, you've been quiet in the group for quite a while. Did you find the Gorgon Stone?"
Athena: "I have already fused it and regained my original strength. However, after using points to purchase your divine power from the shop, I still couldn't eliminate the flaw of a Heretic God being prone to distortion and corruption. The amount was too little."
Souta: "Huh? Didn't you earn several thousand points last time? That wasn't enough?"
Athena: "I spent part of them on the lottery out of curiosity. The results were nothing but useless junk. The rest went into buying divine power, but still not enough to erase the flaw."
Souta: "…"
So, God Slayers were Europe's dogs…
But Heretic Gods? Reverse luck-sinks.
Athena: "This time I'll help you too. I happen to need your divine power."
Souta: "No problem."
Souta: "Since you're joining, I want to see if we can pull in Luo Hao as well. It's been so long, and she still hasn't spoken up in the group. I should check how she's doing."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Luo Hao, huh? I'd forgotten she was even in the group."
Souta: "She's not new anymore."
Altair: "I have a question, Souta. Aren't you ignoring something crucial?"
Souta: "What?"
Altair: "While Miss Kurumi and the others are indeed powerful, they're not famous in my world like Meteora or Selesia. Without fame, even if they join the hero team, they won't draw much attention. I doubt they can provide the contrast you want."
Souta: "I've thought about that. The solution is simple. Kurumi can travel to the past and release their stories online. After long-term exposure, their popularity will surely rise."
Souta: "Of course, to prevent this from creating a new 2.5D world, I'll use divine power to intercept the 'recognition' the audience gives to those works."
Altair: "Wait! You can even do that?"
Souta: "I'm not sure either. Divine power isn't absolutely omnipotent. But we can use you as a breakthrough point."
Altair: "What do you mean?"
Souta: "You can ask Shimazaki Setsuna to add the ability 'Gathering Recognition Power from Works' to your settings. Then you can handle the task."
Altair: "Hold on. That shouldn't be possible. Otherwise Meteora's side would have already gone wild gathering recognition to strengthen themselves. Just like how I can't use 'Representation Exposition' to resurrect the dead in the real world, my abilities have limits."
Souta: "I know."
Of course he knew.
How much power a created being could wield in the real world depended on how much recognition they received.
Take Chikujoin Magane's "Infinite Deception of Words." In the manga's 2.5D world, she could do absurd things like prevent the sun from rising.
But in reality, it was nothing more than an ordinary superpower.
Without enough recognition, she couldn't pull off something that exaggerated.
Forcing it would only result in reality's correction kicking her out.
With Altair's current recognition, she definitely couldn't make something like "Gathering Recognition Power" work.
But…
Souta: "Altair, did you forget that my divine power can substitute as recognition? I can use it to strengthen your ability until it works in the real world."
Altair: "So that's it. That is indeed a breakthrough."
Souta: "Then let's settle it like that."
Altair: "When will you all come? The Birdcage is almost complete."
Souta: "In the next few days."
After making arrangements, he put away the system phone.
"You're heading back to your world?"
Kurumi asked when she saw Souta rise from the sofa.
"Yeah. I need to go to the Campione world. I'll meet Athena and also check on Luo Hao."
Souta nodded, explaining in detail.
"If possible, I want to bring Luo Hao along too. She's quite strong."
"Alright," Kurumi didn't try to stop him. After all, they could meet anytime. "Just remember to notify me the moment you're ready. I'll come over to back you up."
"Yeah. I'll head out then."
Souta stepped forward, hugged Kurumi, and kissed her gently on the forehead with a smile.
"Goodbye."
With that, he silently willed himself back to the real world.
As usual, he waved his hand to sweep away the dust in his home with divine power.
He didn't rush straight to the Campione world.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and contacted KuroNeko.
There was something he needed her help with.