— — — — — —
Hearing that, Ryo finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
In the plan he and Algol had worked out, being exiled to an outer world was actually the best-case scenario.
Given Algol's strength, and the gods' general attitude toward her, exile was also the most likely outcome.
The real question wasn't if—it was where.
According to their plan, if Algol wanted to complete the elevation of her spirit rank, they needed a world filled with gods and buddhas… but not ones too overwhelmingly powerful. That would give them room to operate.
After thinking it through, Ryo had settled on one option: the world of High School DxD.
A world where the Creator God was dead, where various pantheons fought over human faith. In many ways, it resembled Little Garden's own chaotic balance.
So in Ryo's memory, DxD was one of the best possible candidates.
And to make it happen, he'd spent a hefty amount of forum points and picked out two key items from the forum's notoriously overpriced listings.
The first was a "Traversal Card." Two thousand points, and it allowed the user to travel to a specific universe—so long as the holder could describe it in enough detail.
The more accurate and detailed the description, the easier it was to lock onto the right world.
Naturally, Ryo had chosen the DxD world.
A place where the Creator God had died. Where the Great Red roamed the Dimensional Gap. Where Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, had been exiled into the world itself. Where the Hindu Trimurti existed, yet no Buddha. Where Norse gods, devils, angels, and fallen angels all coexisted.
A world like that…
Even if Ryo and Algol didn't stir up trouble, simply observing it would be enough to make the higher-ups in Little Garden tear each other apart.
And clearly the biggest, most explosive butterfly effect of all was... the core figure of the Cross, the one said to embody the Trinity, was confirmed gone in that world.
If that kind of history were ever observed by Little Garden's central system…
The massive Cross pantheon, which held the largest share of human faith, would probably erupt on the spot.
At that point, Ryo wouldn't even be surprised if their two-digit boss showed up personally.
Because of that, before setting out, Ryo had actually asked Algol whether she wanted to use a disguise.
She'd said it wouldn't matter. So he dropped the idea… for her.
For himself, though, disguises were absolutely necessary. Otherwise, when the blame came crashing down, he'd be buried under it before he could even run.
As for who would take the fall—
Well, hadn't he just acquired Loki's spirit rank?
Athena had already had loli Athena deliver it.
Perfect timing.
With Algol charging ahead in the spotlight, Ryo was fairly confident he could slip through the chaos unscathed.
Originally, he'd planned to kill an Ouroboros executive and impersonate them.
But then Lamia showed up.
And things worked out even better.
Yes—better.
[Intercepted Demon Lord Maxwell's spirit rank. Cost: 1000 points.]
[Remaining points: 119,000]
A stolen spirit rank normally relied on Little Garden's central system to return. But for the forum, interfering with that process was trivial.
So he intercepted it.
Later, he'd wear Loki's "skin"… and underneath it, layer Maxwell's identity.
When the Cross gods finally peeled away the Loki disguise and found Maxwell beneath—
They'd probably explode with rage.
With all these safeguards in place, Ryo wasn't worried in the slightest.
Even so, he still planned to wait until the Godslayer War officially broke out before heading to DxD.
Better safe than sorry.
Let Little Garden descend into chaos first. Then move in and stir things up.
Sure, he'd been taking more risks lately—but the cautious survival instincts that got him this far weren't going anywhere.
He only had one life. No room for careless mistakes.
"Are you sure it's DxD?"
Even though he trusted Algol, Ryo still asked.
"Confirmed."
Her voice crackled faintly through the stone disk.
"I've already seen the red dragon you mentioned. Not bad. Pureblood dragon, strong four-digit. Though it's a bit underdeveloped."
"Four digits, huh…"
Ryo raised a brow, quickly matching that against his internal scale of power.
Conclusion: with just him and Algol, they could sweep the entire world without much effort.
"Then we proceed as planned."
He pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.
"First, enter the world. Then find someone favored by fate… and make sure she receives the 'invitation.'"
Aside from the traversal card and Maxwell's core, he'd also spent another thousand points on a crucial item—
An invitation letter.
The Dimensional Forum used it to recruit new members.
That, along with various other expenses, was why his points had dropped to 119,000.
The rest, he intended to save.
Specifically, to upgrade his Cloth.
That was a method he'd pieced together after bombarding the forum with hundreds of questions.
Reach the Eighth Sense first with the help of his Cloth, then use that as leverage to force the evolution of his Limit-Authorities—the best way to the three-digit level.
Not the easiest path.
But the most rewarding—and the most reliable.
His next step was to wait for Uesugi Kenshin to deliver the Limit-Authority of "Destruction," then integrate it into his spirit rank.
But those fusions had to be done in Little Garden, where the system of authorities functioned best. Doing it prematurely in DxD would only complicate things.
"Don't worry," Algol's lazy voice drifted through the disk. "I'll handle it. I'll pick the most valuable, least ugly one I can find to receive the invitation. After all, look at our relationship."
"Our relationship?" Ryo grinned. "Life-and-death allies. What else could it be?"
Then, half-joking, he added, "Of course, if you're thinking of taking things further, I wouldn't mind. You're cute enough, after all."
"You're not my type."
Algol's blunt reply left him momentarily speechless.
She then added, "You're still too ugly. As you are now, I can't bring myself to go for it."
.
.
.