In the world of Little Garden, the Celtic pantheon was an exceptionally ill-fated group.
In the Pantheons' Great War during Little Garden's dawn, the Celtic pantheon was almost completely eliminated due to a lack of competitiveness.
It was only thanks to the then head of the pantheon, the great god Dagda, who came up with a plan to summon the Solar Spirit of Gold and Boundary, the Halloween Queen, to Little Garden and used the Celtic divine artifact, Dagda's Cauldron, to bind the Queen to the spiritual rank of Halloween, effectively forcing the position of the head of the Celtic pantheon onto the Halloween Queen.
Only then was the Celtic pantheon saved from complete extinction.
It could be said that the rise and fall of the Celtic pantheon rested entirely on the Halloween Queen's shoulders. It was she who, single-handedly, brought about the revival of the Celtic pantheon.
In the situation where the pantheon had been destroyed, she nurtured heroes and recreated Celtic mythology, which is how the name of this pantheon has been preserved to this day.
During the Middle Ages, the Halloween Queen almost succeeded in bringing the Celtic pantheon back on track under the influence of Christianity, in the form of saints' stories.
During the period of fighting against the Dystopia Devil King, that is, the Renaissance, she even came close to making the name of the Celtic pantheon famous throughout Little Garden.
Unfortunately, the knightly order she had cultivated was wiped out by an unknown Devil King on the eve of achieving their greatest feat—the subjugation of the Last Embryo of humanity. This led to the complete silence of the Celtic pantheon, which had just begun to show signs of revival.
Now, apart from her Three-Digit second-in-command, Scáthach, the Halloween Queen only had a weak knightly order under her command. Although there were Four-Digit combatants among them, compared to their prime, they could only be considered a handful of big and small cats, a far cry from their former glory.
As the leader who had controlled the Celtic pantheon from start to finish, the Halloween Queen knew the past of this niche pantheon better than anyone. Therefore, she also knew better than anyone that Cú Chulainn's divine weapon should not have appeared in the outside world, at least not in Shiroyasha's hands.
"Shiroyasha, where did you get this weapon?" The Halloween Queen's eyes narrowed slightly, her tone tinged with doubt.
The gods of the Celtic pantheon had all left the stage during the dawn of Little Garden, including Cú Chulainn's father, the sun god Lugh. And as a hero in Celtic mythology, Cú Chulainn had performed many meritorious deeds in the revival of the myth led by the Halloween Queen. It was only later that he fell in the process of subjugating the Dystopia Devil King and was not summoned again.
To obtain his power, one either had to have had a relationship with Cú Chulainn during the Dystopia War, or have obtained it from Scáthach, the creator of the demonic spear. And it was clear that Shiroyasha's source could not have been the latter.
"Hehe~ Guess?"
Faced with the Halloween Queen's question, Shiroyasha flashed a cheeky grin. And before the Queen could get angry, she activated the power she had learned from Su Mo. With a flash of light in her hand, a gleaming golden sword appeared.
It was also a simulated divinity. This time, the weapon was not entirely from Scáthach's hands, but Scáthach still recognized the name of this holy sword.
"Caladbolg, the Revolving Sword of Victory?!" the Queen of the Land of Shadows couldn't help but exclaim, her gaze toward Shiroyasha filled with shock.
"How is that possible? How did you get Sir Gawain's holy sword?!"
In the world of Little Garden, the martial arts of the heroes of both the Knights of the Red Branch and the Knights of Avalon mostly originated from Scáthach.
As a powerhouse who had transcended the Divine Realm and reached the Abyss, Scáthach's martial arts were among the best in all of Little Garden, and even the gods could not match her. Although she had not personally taught Gawain, she was still very familiar with this student.
The Revolving Sword of Victory was sealed with power from the Solar Sovereignty. It was a Gift from the Queen. With Gawain's personality, it was impossible for him to pass on its legacy to others without seeking the Queen's permission.
So, how did Shiroyasha get her hands on it?
"Shiroyasha, I advise you to stop being vague and explain yourself clearly!" If Scáthach's tone was merely one of surprise, then the Halloween Queen's tone was tinged with a cold chill.
Not only did she know that Gawain would not do such a thing, but she also thought of the destruction of the Knights of Avalon. If the legacy of the Revolving Sword of Victory was not given by Gawain voluntarily, then the only other possibility was that it was plundered.
And in his experience, the only opportunity for it to be plundered was on the eve of the subjugation of the Dystopia Devil King, the night the entire knightly order was wiped out.
"Even if it's impossible for you to have been involved in that incident, if you deliberately conceal clues, I can only consider you a suspect." The Queen's pretty face was cold, as if her reverse scale had been touched.
Even when recalling the most unpleasant of memories, she could maintain a basic level of composure. With Shiroyasha's style of doing things and her long-standing tendencies, it was impossible for her to have been involved in the Devil King's attack. But that being said, this was the first time in so many years that she had come across a clue related to that attack, so she naturally couldn't let it go easily.
"Now, now~ I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious just yet!" From the Halloween Queen's attitude, Shiroyasha keenly judged that Su Mo's speculation was correct.
The Devil King who had attacked the Knights of Avalon must have had someone unspeakable behind them. The Queen, who had seemed calm for many years, had in fact never given up on investigating this incident.
With that thought, Shiroyasha continued, "It seems you also know that there was someone else guiding the Devil King's attack, don't you?"
"Nonsense! Who doesn't know that!" the Halloween Queen glared at her. "Even during a historical transition period, even in an unobservable domain, an ordinary Devil King could never have escaped the eyes of Laplace and my pursuit. Not to mention, the whereabouts of the knightly order at that time was top secret. How could an ordinary Devil King have run into them so coincidentally?"
The Halloween Queen also knew that she was caught in a conspiracy. She just hadn't said anything all this time.
"..." Shiroyasha was at a loss for words. If Su Mo hadn't reminded her, she really wouldn't have noticed this.
"Ahem! You're right. Any clever person like me would have noticed the problem long ago. So, do you want to know who was behind it?"
"...You know?" the Halloween Queen asked in surprise, her voice filled with suspicion.
She had tried to track down the culprit, but no matter what means she used, she had found nothing. If Shiroyasha could provide a clue, she wouldn't be surprised, but to say that Shiroyasha had already uncovered the truth... she didn't quite dare to believe it.
"Of course!"
"You're not going to say that the culprit is 'the pantheons,' are you? That's a vague and meaningless answer."
Based on her understanding of Shiroyasha, the Halloween Queen continued to question her.
Who didn't know that! The only ones who knew their battle plan besides the few who carried it out were the pantheons. On the day of the incident, she and Canary had both realized this at the same time.
It was just that they didn't have enough evidence, and the enemy's forces were larger than they had imagined, so they had kept it to themselves all this time.
For a wise person, it wasn't difficult to reach the same conclusion as Su Mo. Only a fool would have been oblivious to the truth for so many years.
"Ahaha... h-how could that be... how could I give such a meaningless answer? But it's pretty good that you could think of that!"
As expected, Shiroyasha's expression was guilty. Although she knew that the mastermind was the pantheons, as for which one among them was the perpetrator, Su Mo hadn't given her the answer yet, so she naturally didn't know either. She had thought she could gain the upper hand in front of the Halloween Queen, but she had been outmaneuvered instead.
After stalling for a few seconds, she forcefully changed the subject. "However, this truth is too terrible. I can't tell you for now. I can only say that those who know, know, and those who don't, I can't help. Besides, Queen, shouldn't you have a more concrete goal you want to achieve? For example, reviving the Celtic pantheon."
At this point, Shiroyasha paused, feeling that she had grasped the Halloween Queen's weak spot. So, she cleared her throat and said in a deep voice, "Queen, you wouldn't want the Celtic pantheon to be unable to be revived because of you, would you?"
She sounded like an old Japanese person from the get-go.
In Shiroyasha's view, after she had seized this weakness and pursued it relentlessly, even someone as tough as the Queen could only listen to her threats with tears in her eyes, forced to compromise for the sake of the Celtic pantheon's revival. Not to mention letting her bully her at will, at the very least, she would have to wear whatever clothes she told her to wear.
But what she hadn't expected was that after hearing this, the Halloween Queen would actually ask a counter-question with unusual calmness. "You mean, you have a way to help me revive the Celtic pantheon?"
"Of course!" Shiroyasha nodded confidently. "Did you see the divine weapon I showed you just now? If I told you that I just handcrafted it, do you know what that means?"
"You mean, you can ignore the legacy and use the power of the Celtic pantheon?" The Halloween Queen keenly identified the key to the problem.
Mass-producing divine weapons itself was not a particularly great achievement in Little Garden. Many forging-based communities could do it. But to use the legacy power of a corresponding pantheon without the consent of its head... that was something special. Even if it was just a simulated divinity, it meant a lot.
"That's right!" Shiroyasha covered her mouth lightly with her fan, her tone seductive. "With the power I've mastered, I can simulate not only the divinity of weapons, but also the divinity of gods. Although I can't directly summon gods, if it's just a matter of bestowing their divinity on the ordinary knights under your command, it's not difficult."
"In other words, if I'm willing, I can help you raise an entire Knights of Avalon, Knights of the Red Branch, and even the Fianna at any time, you know!" Shiroyasha's tone was very confident.
If it were Su Mo, he could even summon the gods and heroes themselves. Unfortunately, her points were not enough to buy the advanced products related to Type-II stellar particles. But even so, it was enough.
Reviving the Celtic pantheon, making the Celtic pantheon great again... wasn't a bargaining chip of this level enough to attract the Queen?
Just as Shiroyasha was waiting with full confidence for the Halloween Queen to bow down and submit...
"Rebuilding all the knightly orders... is that the condition?" The Halloween Queen's tone was calm and slightly thoughtful.
"What, you're not satisfied?" aying that the other party's attitude was not as expected, Shiroyasha's eyes widened. This woman was too greedy!
Just then, the Halloween Queen looked up, her calm green eyes meeting Shiroyasha's.
"If I'm not mistaken, that condition just now was not the result of guidance from the person behind you, but your own arbitrary decision, wasn't it?"
This sudden sentence made Shiroyasha's expression change to one of shock. Based on her reaction, the Halloween Queen confirmed her guess and added, "If that's the case, why don't you have the person behind you come and talk to me in person, or you can just tell me his thoughts directly. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to reach an agreement, won't it?"