"That was savage..."
That afternoon, back at Arcadia's headquarters, Kurma was vividly recounting the scene she had witnessed, embellishing it with gusto like a storyteller in a teahouse.
"If Su Mo hadn't stepped in, the Demon King of Confusion would've been blasted to bits! I've never seen Shiroyasha that angry before!"
Kurma had been holding a grudge about being inexplicably beaten up by Shiroyasha that morning.
But after seeing the Demon King's fate, she immediately let it go. It turned out there was someone in the world even more unlucky than her.
In fact, after witnessing that scene, she even felt like suggesting Shiroyasha get a mental health check-up. Having a breakdown at the drop of a hat like that was far too dangerous.
Unfortunately, in response to Kurma's well-intentioned suggestion, Shiroyasha just gritted her teeth and said, "Keep talking and you'll see me angry for a second time!"
"..."
Kurma shrank back, a little intimidated. It wasn't that she couldn't beat Shiroyasha, and she didn't even dislike fighting. But her woman's intuition told her it was best not to provoke the other girl right now.
Celestial Spirits in love are so troublesome, she complained internally.
Just then, the bunny-eared little girl, who had been listening intently to Kurma's story, curious about Shiroyasha's experience as the "real" bait, blinked and asked with a hint of confusion, "So, what does 'losing dog' mean? Why did Lady Shiroyasha get so angry?"
"..."
Faced with Black Rabbit's utterly innocent gaze, Shiroyasha clutched her faintly aching chest and didn't want to speak.
She had only missed one little opportunity! She wasn't a "losing dog"!
---||---
Not far away.
"Lord Su Mo, thank you for your help. To think you'd grant such a selfish wish of mine." Sun Wukong thanked Su Mo with a face full of gratitude.
"It was just giving the Demon King of Confusion a chance at reincarnation. Athena didn't hold back either. There's no need for thanks," Su Mo waved a dismissive hand, not thinking much of it.
"He will lose all his memories and his identity, to be reborn in the outside world. In exchange, he will also lose all his shackles and no longer have to live as a stepping stone."
The Demon King of Confusion was, of course, dead.
Not only was it a part of his mission, but simply calling Shiroyasha a "losing dog" had been a death sentence in her eyes.
The only difference was that the executioner wasn't Shiroyasha, but Athena.
However, with Su Mo's intervention, a sliver of the Demon King's true spirit was preserved and reincarnated in another world. This was the request Sun Wukong had made to Su Mo before the plan was executed.
Vanquishing a Demon King was always a righteous act, a fact that even the former Demon King Sun Wukong couldn't deny.
But in a way, the Demon King of Confusion was her kinsman. Moreover, for a Demon King born to be a stepping stone, to die just like that would make his existence far too meaningless.
So, after learning Su Mo's strategy, she had given up her status as a Half-Earth Celestial Spirit without making any other excessive demands, nor did she try to protect the Demon King of Confusion.
She simply wanted him to escape the curse of his current fate and go to a new world. What he became after that was not something she could interfere with.
Fortunately, Su Mo had agreed to her request and, after the vanquishing was complete, sent the Demon King's soul to the outside world.
Seeing this, Sun Wukong scratched her head, somewhat gratified. Of course, if she had used this method, she could have become the Earth Celestial Spirit herself.
But with her high moral standards, she still couldn't bring herself to lay a hand on the Demon King of Confusion.
"In any case, thank you for giving him a chance," Sun Wukong thanked him gratefully once more.
"Alright, enough with the excessive politeness," Su Mo waved his hand, cutting off the useless pleasantries, and looked at the silver-haired loli beside him.
"Now that the Divinity of the Earth Celestial Spirit has been completed, only two of the three key elements for constructing the Human Cosmology remain."
The current Athena had become the Earth Celestial Spirit by usurping the divinity of the primordial Earth Mother Goddess using her Genesis Mother Goddess ability, taking on the identity of the primordial god Gaea.
Although the process wasn't entirely orthodox, under Su Mo's guidance, Little Garden's central hub had already recognized her Divinity.
Don't be fooled by her current appearance as a little maidservant standing by Su Mo's side.
In reality, she had already replaced the original Earth Mother Goddess and was now a 2-digit Full-Authority Domain being, on the same level as Shiroyasha and Kurma.
As the Earth Celestial Spirit, Athena had also become the source of the Third Stellar Particle. With her here, there was no need to worry about the Stellar Particle aspect, one of the three most important elements of the Human Cosmology that Su Mo mentioned before.
"So the remaining foundations we need to address are 'Humanity' and the 'Gene Pool'?" Hearing Su Mo's words, the golden-haired girl recalled what he had explained and asked curiously. "How do we master those two elements?"
"Let's set humanity aside for now. As for the Gene Pool..." Su Mo shook his head and turned his gaze to Canary. "How is Kasukabe Kōmei?"
"Eh?" Hearing this, Canary was slightly taken aback.
"Of course we can," Su Mo nodded, as if answering her unasked question.
"Although I've already accumulated the genetic information of all species and don't require data from others, if we want to pass this power on to ordinary people, it's best to use a natural method."
"The most natural method?" Canary blinked, not fully understanding Su Mo's meaning, but replied, "I'm sorry, Lord Su Mo, Kōmei isn't here. He has urgent matters to attend to recently and has been swamped. I'm afraid he won't have time to pay his respects."
"The urgent matter you speak of, is it about his daughter?" Su Mo asked.
"Yes, Kōmei's wife is due to give birth soon... Wait!" Halfway through her explanation, Canary realized. "You knew about this, and you even know it's a daughter?"
If anyone else had said this, Canary might have been skeptical, but for Su Mo to not only know that Kōmei's wife was expecting but also to accurately predict the gender, that was extraordinary.
"That's right." Su Mo nodded. "On the original trajectory, Kasukabe Kōmei's daughter was to become one of the saviors."
"And on the current trajectory, as a representative of the Catalogue of Life, her existence will be just as crucial."
As the holder of the Catalogue of Life, the significance of Kasukabe Kōmei's daughter, Kasukabe Yō, was by no means limited to being just another pantheon-buster among the Problem Children.
She was the element most lacking in the vampire form, and a necessary existence for evolving into the Pure-Blooded Dragon form.
"I see! So the 'most natural method' you mentioned was actually pregnancy and childbirth!" Canary finally understood. "I never expected Kōmei's daughter to be held in such high regard by you. According to the due date, the child will likely be born within the month. If you're interested, you can go and observe. I'm sure Kōmei would never refuse your visit!"
If Kasukabe Kōmei knew his daughter was personally acknowledged by Su Mo as a future savior, he would surely be overjoyed, though also worried.
After all, a child esteemed by Su Mo could not possibly lead a peaceful life.
"Yes, if time permits, I will witness the child's birth." Su Mo nodded again. "For the genetic factor aspect, with this child and a few other candidates, that should be enough."
The second of the three key elements was now planned out by Su Mo. The last one remaining was the most troublesome.
"We just need to fulfill the 'Humanity' element and push human history forward in the right way to shore up humanity's final weakness." As he spoke, Su Mo looked at Canary and said something that stunned everyone.
"Therefore, we need to leave Little Garden for a while."
"Leave Little Garden?" Hearing Su Mo's decision, Canary's eyes widened in astonishment. She was shocked not only by Su Mo's sudden choice but also by the timing.
"The Second Sun Authority War is about to begin. Are you not planning to participate in such a grand event?"