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The Cross was a monotheistic faith.
Sure, there were guardian angels, saints, demons, and countless other beings sharing in the faith and glory, but at the core of the religion stood the Lord. That much was beyond debate.
But what if… there were suddenly two Lords?
That was the contradiction Algol intended to create.
In theory, two Gods, two Lords, could exist simultaneously. By using something like Observation World, it was possible to manufacture another "Lord."
It was similar to Catholicism and certain other branches. Technically they worshipped the same God, yet still forcefully divided themselves into separate factions.
If Algol gained the support of the Twin Goddesses and even the Buddhist faction, splitting off another Lord wasn't impossible.
In fact, she could probably pull it off alone. The problem was that the Cross's influence was far too massive. She needed powerful allies to help bear the pressure.
Protecting the DxD Creator God from being devoured by the Lord of Cross for a short time was easy enough. Keeping Him safe long-term without a major force backing Him, however, was impossible.
Besides, during the early stages, God would need to stay hidden.
Algol's plan was to wait until the Cross officially launched the New Little Garden Project before revealing God. That would give Thousand Eyes and the Buddhists a new option while simultaneously pulling the rug out from under the Cross Pantheon.
Just as Shiroyasha loved Little Garden, Algol herself also held complicated feelings toward it. For Star Spirits, Little Garden was something akin to a mother.
And unless something had gone terribly wrong, nobody wanted to watch their own mother die.
Especially not when the Cross was deliberately trying to make it happen. At that point, it was basically assassination.
So for now, Algol intended to preserve the Creator God as a hidden trump card. If the Cross crossed the line, she'd throw Him onto the table and smash their foundation in one blow.
With careful planning and the advantage of striking first, crippling the Cross at its core would be easy.
And it wasn't like the Cross was truly united.
They only looked united on the surface. Internally, they were riddled with factions.
"If possible, I wouldn't want to use methods like this either," Algol said with obvious disgust in her voice. "But if the Cross wants to flip the table, then I'll flip it right along with them."
What the Cross was doing really was underhanded. If Ryo hadn't warned her, she never would've guessed they were plotting something on the scale of rewriting reality itself.
Ryo smiled teasingly. "Honestly, I feel like you've gotten a lot sharper lately. Did getting screwed over so many times finally teach you something?"
Algol rolled her eyes.
What did he mean, "learned from being screwed over"? This was clearly just the brilliance of her intellect.
Still, she had to admit that without all the information Ryo had provided, she never would've imagined the Cross was plotting something this insane.
Though speaking of that… the sheer level of detail in Ryo's intel was absurd. It was almost like some hidden poet observing everything from the shadows had secretly documented it all.
She strongly suspected Ryo or the Twin Goddesses had planted a spy inside the Cross. Maybe even a poet-class spy.
The only question was which one.
After all, the Cross had no shortage of poets. They even maintained dedicated choirs whose sole purpose was composing hymns and sacred songs praising angels and the Lord.
There was a reason poets were called the fourth strongest species. But a huge part of it came from how effectively the Cross weaponized them.
Talking people to death was practically their specialty.
They excelled at dragging opponents into their own logic, then crushing them with overwhelming experience in sophistry and debate. They were keyboard warriors before keyboard warriors even existed.
If you lost the argument, you submitted. If you won the argument, they declared you a heretic or witch and burned you alive.
Very experienced people.
"But God in this world won't be easy to recruit," Ryo said with an amused expression. "That personality of His…"
He was only sharing the bad news and not the good.
Ryo had never personally met this world's God, but based on His actions…
The guy was a genuine saint.
The kind willing to sacrifice himself for everyone else.
Thankfully, good people like that were the easiest to exploit.
Ryo knew he fought dirty, but even he felt a little guilty targeting someone like that.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a God like this. Al-chan's horizons have truly expanded today."
Algol curled her lips.
The one she knew from Little Garden?
That old monster was tyrannical as hell.
Conquering world after world, crushing gods beneath his feet, turning deities into slaves. One moment it was a Great Flood to wipe out humanity, the next he was ordering followers to sacrifice their own children. And whenever he needed more faith, he would simply send down another ten plagues.
Honestly, even Algol, who proudly called herself the evil one, had been stunned speechless.
The absurd part was that this Lord was universally acknowledged as a benevolent deity.
Which just proved one thing: Whether you were actually good didn't matter. As long as the poets controlled public opinion, you were "good."
Compared to Him, the God of this world truly felt like the embodiment of kindness.
Even after dying, He still wanted to strengthen humanity so they could resist invasions from other worlds. He willingly gave up resurrection for that purpose.
Algol genuinely didn't know how to deal with someone like that.
"So you agree with my proposal?" Ryo asked with a smile.
"Keep him in Arcadia," Algol said, shaking her head. "If someone that decent really dies, it'd be a waste."
Both for practical reasons and moral ones, she wanted Him alive.
If the Lord of Cross devoured Him, it'd be no different from complete annihilation.
"In that case, I'll start making preparations."
Ryo nodded.
Now that Algol agreed, he could finally relax. At least he wouldn't need to use his own precious points keeping that God alive.
"Oh right," he added. "I've got two test subjects for the demonization experiment. Want them?"
Algol thought for a moment before replying,
"I'll have Grayfia extract the data. Just hand them over to her. For the next while, I'll keep her by your side as a way of showing the outside world where I stand."
At that, Algol shrugged, then added, "Unless absolutely necessary, we should communicate by letter from now on. Tricks like deceiving the Central Core can't be overused."
"Easy enough."
Ryo grinned broadly before asking, "How long until the invasion from the other world?"
"Based on my observations, within three months," Algol replied confidently. "If I wasn't worried about alerting the Little Garden's Central Core, Al-chan could even tell you the exact second it starts, from which direction, and who launches the attack."
While precognition wasn't her specialty, she was still nearing the peak of the three-digit realm. Techniques like this were well within her capabilities.
"Three months…"
The corner of Ryo's lips curled upward. "That's enough."
This time, he had plenty of time. Because the transfer was specifically designated, there were barely any restrictions.
The only limit was money. Roughly a thousand points per month.
But compared to the rewards, the cost was absolutely worth it.
"Work hard this time," Algol said jokingly. "Once I become a two-digit being, I'll tie Athena to a bed and let you do whatever you want."
"How vulgar."
Ryo rolled his eyes. "Do I look like the kind of man who needs your help?"
"Heh! You really think you've got that ugly woman wrapped around your finger? For all you know, she's the one playing you."
Algol laughed mockingly before waving a hand. "Alright, I'm leaving. I still need to make adjustments on the Heaven's system side."
"Travel safe."
The moment Ryo finished speaking with a smile, a playful look appeared on Algol's face.
She suddenly stepped forward, threw herself into his arms, planted a quick kiss on his lips…
…and immediately canceled the divine descent just before the kiss landed.
Ryo froze on the spot from that outrageous stunt.
By the time he recovered, Grayfia had already opened her eyes wide in complete confusion, staring blankly at Ryo from zero distance away.
Their faces were practically touching.
Holy shit, Algol, you damn woman!
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