"How could that be, Boss? You're not useless at all." Aslan said, looking at her in surprise, reaching out to touch her forehead.
"Boss, you don't have a fever, do you? Why are you talking nonsense?"
"Just having you by my side gives me boundless courage."
Aslan knew that, despite his messy background, if something serious happened, perhaps only Shiroyasha would always stand by him, defending him unconditionally.
The Halloween Queen? That was nothing more than a simple exchange of interests.
If Aslan wasn't certain that Shiroyasha would protect him to the death, when the Halloween Queen targeted him, he might never have come to Little Garden again—he'd have left without looking back.
It was Shiroyasha who gave him the courage to stand in Little Garden. It was also Shiroyasha who provided the initial investment to help him through his early development.
Everything Aslan had in Little Garden was built on the foundation of her support.
"Sweet talker."
Listening to his words, Shiroyasha couldn't help but snort, speaking with a hint of disdain, but the dark clouds on her face dissipated, and her mood improved.
No matter how much money and resources the Halloween Queen offered, she was only helping raise her subordinate god.
With this thought, Shiroyasha even felt she came out ahead.
"Alright, I have things to do, so I'm off."
"Oh, and be careful not to fall into that Halloween woman's sweet traps! She loves turning people into her entertainment."
After giving Aslan a few words of advice, Shiroyasha left.
As Leticia had said, as the Floor Master managing the entire lower layer, the burden on Shiroyasha's shoulders was no small one.
The entire lower layer, with millions of Outer Gates, was under her management.
"Of course I know that."
Aslan smiled, speaking to himself. This was both a response to Shiroyasha and a reminder to himself.
In Little Garden, aside from Shiroyasha, other gods and star spirits could always be trusted for their divine power, but not their mercy.
Interests were the strongest chains.
Then Aslan stopped smiling and pulled out a creature card depicting a long-haired girl in a JK uniform.
"Why did she fail so quickly?"
The corner of Aslan's mouth twitched. He didn't know if Nyaruko was too useless or if Indra's Heavenly Army was too strong.
He had just arrived in Little Garden, and Nyaruko had already failed.
After all, this Nyarlathotep was a Three-Digit avatar. How could she die so quickly?
Although a creature card couldn't fully contain and dominate the original Three-Digit Nyarlathotep, that didn't mean Aslan couldn't dominate a Nyaruko who had lost most of her power after being revived.
As a shallow manifestation of his true ability, the Magic: The Gathering cards were far from simple.
Creatures turned into creature cards would be under his absolute control but could also receive enhancements and support from him. After dying, as long as the creature card wasn't destroyed, the target could be revived.
Of course, if the target was too powerful, Aslan couldn't fully dominate them.
But if the other party was already dead, that was a different story. At the very least, creatures revived by him couldn't escape the fate of being dominated.
Like this Nyaruko.
Though she no longer had Three-Digit power, after revival, she was a Four-Digit god and Buddha.
"Darling, I knew you'd save me."
As soon as Nyaruko was revived, she eagerly lunged toward Aslan, trying to hug him.
But Aslan immediately held her back with his hand, not letting her get close.
Though Nyaruko was now a beautiful girl, Aslan genuinely felt repulsed.
The side effects of Nyarlathotep were still quite severe.
"Stay away from me, thanks."
But Nyaruko seemed not to hear, still trying to cling to Aslan.
Until Aslan pulled out a fork and pointed it at her.
Nyaruko froze instantly, not daring to move. As Aslan approached, she instinctively stepped back twice.
"A fork! Keep that thing away from me!"
Nyaruko immediately stopped joking, as she had genuinely been killed by a giant golden fork before!
Yes, Indra's Vajra was a giant trident-shaped spear.
The Victory Spear, guaranteed to bring victory when thrown!
"Oh? Really? I didn't expect Nyaruko to actually be afraid of this?"
Aslan said with mild surprise. Was he shocked? Not really, just thought it was expected.
After all, Nyaruko likely respected her original story when creating this avatar.
Even her weaknesses were depicted exactly.
"So, behave, Nyaruko. Believe it or not, next time I'll stab this fork right into your forehead."
Aslan waved the silver metal fork, jabbing it toward Nyaruko when she wasn't reacting.
Nyaruko was so scared she fell to the ground.
"Sob, okay."
Holding back tears and fear, Nyaruko nodded slightly. Then Aslan put away the fork and pulled her to her feet.
"Alright, you know why I revived you, right?"
Aslan looked at her. If he wasn't truly short on people, he wouldn't have summoned Nyaruko.
He only hoped Nyaruko's thinking could be a bit more normal and that she'd be somewhat obedient.
"Ready, Sir."
Nyaruko stood straight and gave a military salute, answering in a serious tone like a soldier.
"Good enough."
Aslan didn't care what Nyaruko thought. As long as she was usable, he'd use her. Who told Nyaruko to be the only Four-Digit fighter under him, unknown to others, and newly arrived in Little Garden?
After all, what Aslan was about to do next was somewhat suspicious. Or rather, anyone involved would die quickly.
"Fine, I'm not asking for much. Just help me establish and manage a community."
As he spoke, Aslan's appearance and face changed again. His black hair turned a dull, lifeless white, and a mass of resentment coiled around his body.
[All the World's Evils] Angra Mainyu had taken over. Aslan was no longer a Planeswalker, nor the leader of Avalon's Arthur, but the CEO of Umbrella Corporation, Angra Mainyu.
As for who his leader was? Naturally, his beloved "granny" who was always with him—the Mother of Evil Gods.
In this era, if a faction didn't have a Two-Digit backer, they wouldn't dare mingle in Little Garden.
Umbrella Corporation had also been promoted, now with a branch in Little Garden.
"Let's go, to the southern region."
"Yes, Sir."
Then Aslan quietly erased his presence and had Little Garden's Central Core delete his records to prevent others from tracking him.
This didn't require merit, as record deletions in Little Garden's Central Core were quite common.
Many Two-Digit entities liked to erase Central Core records when causing trouble.
This also made it seem like someone was backing Aslan, allowing him to play the tiger.
Meanwhile, Nyaruko hopped along behind Aslan, her mood seemingly great.
For the record, Nyaruko's current Four-Digit status wasn't just because Aslan revived her; she had also inherited Nyarlathotep's Divinity from Little Garden.
However, as a Modern Godhood born from faith, and often defeated by Indra and the Heavenly Army, her Nyarlathotep Divinity wasn't as strong as imagined—only at the Four-Digit level.
Without this Divinity, Aslan wouldn't have been able to revive Nyaruko at Four-Digit strength.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
In the middle layer of the southern region, Outer Gate 3190, the headquarters of the Avalon community under the Halloween Queen.
A medieval-style city stood tall, with high walls and towering spires casting long shadows under the setting sun.
At the city's center was a magnificent castle. Its stone structure was sturdy and solemn, with peaks and towers pointing to the sky, as if narrating the glory and dreams of knights.
Along narrow streets, wooden and stone houses were neatly arranged. The market square bustled, with merchants selling spices and fabrics from distant lands.
Every corner of the city echoed with the sound of hammers striking swords and shields in blacksmith workshops and the shouts of knights wielding spears and riding horses in training grounds.
Aslan and Nyaruko, in mismatched attire, were escorted by several teams of fully armored knights and arrived at the castle in the city's center.
It was also the headquarters of the Avalon Knights under the Halloween Queen, the most coveted place for all knights in the southern region.
Of course, the people around them were more afraid and worried that Aslan and Nyaruko would cause further damage.
After all, their strongest knight and his mount, a griffin capable of controlling the air and easily summoning storms, had merely locked eyes with Aslan and Nyaruko and was still unconscious.
There were no signs of him waking up.
He was an official knight who had joined Avalon, with top-tier mental resilience and physical strength. He was even entrusted to be an Outer Floor Master, the first line of defense against Demon Lords.
"Hello, are you the Floor Master of the southern region, Sage Merlin of Avalon?"
Aslan looked at a fairy-like girl sitting in an ornate chair, boredly playing with her hair.
She was a petite girl, about one and a half meters tall, with a hime-cut hairstyle, wearing a plain white mage dress with gold trim, a purple bowtie, and an air of mystery. She had silver hair and purple eyes.
Hearing Aslan's voice, Merlin looked up impatiently and glanced at him.
"What's the matter? Can't the Outer Gate Guardian handle it, so you had to come to me?"
Merlin said, displeased.