If this world had a protagonist template, then Aihara Enju would undoubtedly be the greatest Child of Destiny.
Her potential was even great enough to help humanity eliminate all threats, to destroy all existing Zodiacs. Based on this fate, she even had the makings of a savior.
So why would Su Mo call her the catalyst for world destruction?
Not only the members of the chat group, but even Aihara Enju herself looked at Su Mo with curiosity. Although she didn't quite understand what the Zodiacs were, she could roughly guess what Su Mo was talking about.
Most Cursed Children were quite intelligent, and understanding things through pictures and words wasn't difficult for them.
Under everyone's gaze, Su Mo once again sketched out a version of Aihara Enju.
But unlike before, this time, a dark aura was swirling around her back, morphing into the shapes of various monsters.
"Loss of control," Su Mo stated succinctly.
"By the time she accomplishes the great feat of saving the world, the erosion rate of the Gastrea virus in her body will have long surpassed fifty percent. It will only be suppressed due to her exceptional talent and the aid of medication."
After every battle, the erosion rate of the Gastrea virus in Aihara Enju's body would rise. For a Cursed Child, this was an extremely dangerous sign.
Once the erosion rate exceeded fifty percent, it would cause an irreversible evolution into a Gastrea.
In a sense, as long as she continued to fight, Aihara Enju's lifespan would continue to shorten.
In the original story, for some reason, Satomi Rentarō had always hidden this fact from Aihara Enju, leading her to continue using her powers without a second thought, unknowingly accelerating her own demise.
Putting aside the fact that this outrageous behavior was basically pushing her to her death, even without Satomi Rentarō as her partner, Aihara Enju couldn't escape this fate.
If she fought for humanity, she would have to constantly sacrifice her life in battle to gain recognition.
If she fought for the Cursed Children, she would have to fight against humanity to secure their right to exist.
In other words, as long as she was alive and wanted to take action, she would have to fight constantly, and the erosion rate of the Gastrea virus in her body would inevitably continue to rise, until it crossed that red line.
"According to the current calculations of fate, her power will last, at most, until she has vanquished all the Zodiac Gastrea and purified all apocalyptic threats for humanity."
"And in that instant, she will no longer be able to maintain her form, no longer be able to suppress the erosion of the Gastrea virus within her."
Before Su Mo, the dark aura behind the miniature Aihara Enju manifested the figures of all the vanquished Zodiacs, clinging to her like demons.
"Then, she will step upon the corpses of the eleven Zodiac Gastrea and become the last, and strongest, Zodiac: Cancer."
The figures of the eleven Zodiacs all vanished. Aihara Enju's figure also disappeared completely, replaced by a true monster that had integrated the genes of all the Zodiacs.
"As the strongest Gastrea, she can even overcome the only weakness, Varanium, becoming a monster that the current human civilization absolutely cannot contend with."
On the screen, the shadow of the final monster covered the entire Earth.
The last few candles of humanity were extinguished under this shadow. The entire planet became a paradise for the Gastrea.
"And so, humanity is utterly destroyed."
All light and shadow returned to darkness. With a few simple words, Su Mo concluded the fate of this world.
The chat group fell silent. They had never imagined this ending. Nor had they ever imagined that the human civilization of this world would be destroyed in this manner.
After a long time, someone finally spoke.
Rin Tohsaka: "If that's the case, isn't this world destined to be destroyed no matter what?"
Rin Tohsaka: "No matter what Aihara Enju chooses, whether she chooses to be close to humans or to the Cursed Children, she will eventually reach her end in battle, complete the final seat of the Zodiac, and become the monster that destroys the world!"
They now understood why Aihara Enju was called the catalyst for world destruction, but they were somewhat shaken by the irrevocability of fate.
It seemed that no matter what mortals chose, they would only walk towards a predestined end.
March 7th: "Wait! Isn't there a third option?" Hearing Rin's words, the pink-haired girl pointed out her own thought. "Just don't let this child fight, right? Then this wouldn't happen."
To her, this was the simplest solution. If fighting led to destruction, then just don't fight.
Madoka Kaname: "Eh? That seems to make sense!"
Just as Madoka was about to be convinced by March 7th, the twin-tailed girl shook her head.
Rin Tohsaka: "No, you're thinking too simply!"
Rin Tohsaka: "Not to mention that this child is a Cursed Child; no one would feed and clothe her without making her fight."
Rin Tohsaka: "Even if someone did, they could only stop one Aihara Enju. They couldn't prevent other Cursed Children from walking a similar path."
Even a Child of Destiny was not irreplaceable. Every era has its own Child of Destiny. There might not be many Cursed Children with as much potential as Aihara Enju, but there would be no shortage of those who were slightly less talented.
Rin Tohsaka: "Unless the current human civilization either raises all the Cursed Children or slaughters them all, there's no way to eliminate this risk."
Unintentionally, she pointed out a possibility that March 7th had subconsciously avoided.
To eliminate the danger, one didn't necessarily have to provide for them. One could simply kill them before they became Cancer.
But at the same time, she pointed out the absurdity of this possibility. The Cursed Children had already become humanity's main force against the Gastrea. How could human civilization discard such a useful weapon?
Hiring human soldiers required pay and subsidies. Hiring Cursed Children only required food. If they died, there was no need for burial or compensation. Anyone could do that math.
March 7th: "...That's true."
The pink-haired girl also felt she couldn't argue.
Given the nature of the humans in this world, getting them to give up the utility of the Cursed Children was even more impossible than getting them to pay to raise them.
So, the two paths that seemed to offer a solution were actually impassable.
Shiroyasha: "Not only that. From Su Mo's description, I suspect that even if all the Cursed Children were gone now, humanity still couldn't escape this fate."
Rin Tohsaka: "Eh? Why do you say that?"
Shiroyasha: "Didn't Su Mo say earlier that Cancer could even surpass all past Gastrea and overcome the only weakness, Varanium?"
Shiroyasha: "When I heard that, I was thinking, genes don't just appear out of thin air, nor do they just disappear."
Shiroyasha: "If that's the case, where did the gene that allows Cancer to overcome the Varanium weakness come from? Is it really a naturally evolved resistance?"
Shiroyasha's words stunned everyone. Even Tendō Kisara, who lived in this world, had to think for over ten seconds before she understood the subtext.
Tendō Kisara: "You mean, the Gastrea gene with the anti-Varanium trait might have been intentionally cultivated by humans?"
Shiroyasha: "From my experience, it's very likely."
In the realm of self-destruction, humanity had always been experienced, always testing the red line. Having experienced many apocalypses, Shiroyasha was deeply aware of this.
Shiroyasha: "In fact, in my judgment, the sudden outbreak of the Gastrea virus itself is very suspicious. The fact that the Gastrea have a fatal weakness to Varanium is also very unnatural."
Even the Cambrian explosion in Earth's history was a long period with millions of years as the basic time unit. In comparison, the apocalypse in this world had erupted too quickly to be the result of natural evolution.
Rin Tohsaka: "Hiss... So you're saying, not only did the humans of this world research the Gastrea virus, leading to the apocalypse, but even after the outbreak, they specifically researched a Gastrea gene that wasn't countered by Varanium, making the Gastrea disaster even more unsolvable?"
What were they doing? Were they afraid they wouldn't die fast enough?
This was so absurd that even though Shiroyasha had said it, Rin found it hard to believe.
Until Su Mo nodded in confirmation.
"There's no need to peer into fate. In this world, right now, there is an organization called the 'Five Wings Association' carrying out the 'Black Swan Project' to cultivate anti-Varanium Gastrea."
If the original plot were to unfold, this organization's villainous plan would eventually be foiled by the protagonist, but the experimental results would be preserved and put to use at the final moment.
In short, just as Rin had said before, Aihara Enju herself was just playing the role of the detonator. The explosives that would ignite the final apocalypse were all products that humanity itself had already prepared.
March 7th: "I am unable to comprehend and greatly shocked."
Erica Blandelli: "I am unable to comprehend and greatly shocked."
Madoka Kaname: "I am unable to comprehend and greatly shocked."
From their perspective, it was simply humanity finding different ways to kill itself. Even if others wanted to save them, there was no way to start.
"Humanity is destined to be destroyed by humanity itself. This is the true meaning of the apocalypse," Su Mo said, unsurprised by this outcome.
In nature, the apocalypse of this world was no different from the apocalypse of the Little Garden. The only difference was that one detonator was the Third Stellar Particle, and the other was the Gastrea virus.
"Humanity... is destined to be destroyed by humanity itself?" Hearing Su Mo's words, March 7th was momentarily stunned.
While the members of the group were gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of the apocalypse itself, Su Mo looked down at Aihara Enju, who had been watching him the whole time.
"You've been eavesdropping for so long. Do you have any thoughts?" he asked the little girl who was destined to destroy the world. "If you have a wish, you can tell me. Depending on my mood, I might grant it for you."
He casually made a promise that even all the members of the chat group would desperately desire.
Of course, with their personalities, they wouldn't go so far as to be jealous of a child in such a tragic situation; they were just a little envious.
At this moment, hearing Su Mo's words, Aihara Enju's eyes widened.
Though so young and having tasted the bitterness of the world, she hadn't yet reached the age where she could completely distinguish between fantasy and reality. Especially after just witnessing Su Mo's magical drawings, she had a keen sense of what was happening.
So, suppressing her trembling, slender body, her eyes shining with excitement, she asked, "E-excuse me... Are you... are you a god?"
"Oh? Are you sure that having me answer that question is your wish?" Su Mo asked back, his tone light.
"!"
No, no, no!
Aihara Enju immediately covered her mouth, shaking her head frantically like a little rabbit, terrified of wasting this chance to make a wish.
Then, while looking at Su Mo with pleading eyes, afraid that this god would suddenly disappear, she scratched her head and began to think hard about her wish.
"Think carefully! There's no place for regrets if you make the wrong wish!" Tendō Kisara said in a tone that was half envious and half teasing.
Aihara Enju nodded vigorously, indicating that she understood.
Just then, the door behind them suddenly opened.
A voice, sounding very young, like that of a high school student, rang out.
"Excuse me! I'm here to choose an Initiator... Eh? Miss Kisara, what are you doing here? And who is this?"
The high school boy, who looked a little frail, stared in shock at Su Mo and Tendō Kisara standing together.
His expression was like someone who had just run into the goddess he had long admired on a date with her boyfriend, a mixture of heartbreak and a forced smile.