"Sorry, Merlin, the Outer Gate Guardian is lying over there."
A tin can no, a knight in steel armor and a helmet with only a slit for vision, boldly stepped forward.
If the others hadn't been too afraid to approach, he wouldn't have wanted to deal with Merlin, who inherited Merlin's Spirit Status.
After all, in the southern region, she was known as a Floor Master with a worse temperament than even the Halloween Queen.
If the Halloween Queen was fickle and selfish but at least offered compensation, the woman before him was purely infuriating. She was also incredibly lazy, refusing to act unless absolutely necessary and delegating tasks to other knights.
No one knew why she could hold the Floor Master position so securely without anyone shaking her status.
The last person who dared to upset her was now a headliner at the Big Bird Bar.
"Hmm? A Demon Lord? A Demon Lord dares to appear before a Floor Master?"
Merlin glanced at him, immediately intrigued.
"Shame, frustration, sadness? When will we Demon Lords rise?"
"Can't a Demon Lord do business and establish a community?"
Aslan displeased. He genuinely wanted to set up a community to stir up trouble.
"And I don't even know what happened to me. I came to Little Garden and instantly became a Demon Lord."
Aslan let out a long sigh, speaking in an exhausted and confused tone, as if questioning the world—why was it treating him like this?
All he did was for the good of humanity, for human evolution. What was wrong with that?
"Alright then. Register here and pay the protection fee."
Merlin was very curious why a Four-Digit Demon Lord who wanted to reform, which should've been easy, came to her.
The other party could've sought out any major faction. Which faction didn't need Four-Digit fighters these days?
Even Avalon only had about a dozen Four-Digit fighters stationed there.
Unless the other party came specifically to cause trouble.
If so, don't blame her, Merlin, for being impolite.
Merlin glared at him with malice, as if plotting how to trap Aslan for her amusement.
Being a Floor Master here was incredibly boring.
The Demon Lords she encountered either had untouchable backgrounds or were too weak, accidentally dying when she toyed with them.
She was at her wit's end.
"Hmm, let me see. Source of Spirit Status: due to creating a virus that nearly destroyed the world, he was given the name [All the World's Evils] Angra Mainyu, and because he was worshipped as the Mother of Evil Gods for centuries, he gained Spirit Status and came to Little Garden?"
Reading Aslan's Spirit Status information, Merlin could barely hold back her laughter.
"Hahahahaha, that's hilarious!"
"This isn't gaining faith, is it? This is clearly being cursed at the pillory for centuries."
Though she wanted to say she was professionally trained and usually wouldn't laugh unless she couldn't help it…
Who could hold back from laughing?
Aslan's Spirit Status source reminded her of someone else who was cursed for centuries and even gained Spirit Status.
Qin Hui, who gained Spirit Status and came to Little Garden after being reviled for over a thousand years. How was he faring now?
Let's just say, as many people revered Yue Fei, that's how many despised Qin Hui.
"No wonder no one wants you, and you got tossed here."
After all, the name Mother of Evil Gods was too infamous. Even though she was truly dead.
In Little Garden, background was still crucial. Which major faction or community didn't have a pantheon backing them?
Gods and Buddhas always considered themselves righteous, opposing evil. If they truly accepted this Demon Lord bearing the name of the chief of evil gods…
Who knew what others would think of them? They had their pride too.
This name alone blocked all of Aslan's paths to seek protection from others. Plus, he had caused world destruction.
He was lucky to be a Four-Digit; otherwise, he might've been hunted by a passing hero.
Even Merlin could only say Aslan was unlucky—truly unfortunate.
But it wasn't entirely bad luck or good fortune.
After all, even gods and Buddhas born in Little Garden weren't guaranteed to reach Four-Digit. Yet Aslan, with his achievement of nearly destroying a world, became a Four-Digit Demon Lord instantly.
Even if he was at the weakest level.
"So, Miss Merlin, are we done?"
Aslan didn't care about Merlin's mocking tone. He was prepared when he created this fictitious Spirit Status for this identity.
Oswell E. Spencer, founder and CEO of Umbrella Corporation, who discovered the Primogenitor Virus, was the starting point of the Resident Evil saga and its final villain.
He was quite suitable as an alter ego.
As the Last Trial of Mankind, [All the World's Evils] Angra Mainyu, the confidentiality of his information was extremely high.
Especially with Azi Dahaka in the spotlight, Aslan wasn't worried at all about his Last Trial of Mankind identity being exposed.
There was one more thing to gain merit: the name. A fake name couldn't be used, or the merit from human history would be misaddressed, and that wouldn't be his concern.
Even for the Last Trial of Mankind.
If Aslan wanted this Last Trial of Mankind to grow, he had to gain fame with this Spirit Status and have influence in Little Garden.
He also had to unleash the trigger of destruction he represented, allowing the Last Trial of Mankind to develop.
Just like Dystopia. Initially, Dystopia acted as a Demon Lord, gradually taking over Outer Gates, sealing them, and turning each into a Dystopia.
Through the two-way observation mechanism of human history and Little Garden, as Little Garden was transformed into Dystopia, the likelihood of Dystopia emerging in human history increased.
Until the entire western region became Dystopia, completing its growth. Only then was it recognized as a Last Trial of Mankind, but by then, it was too late.
Only someone as brazen as Azi Dahaka would openly declare themselves a Last Trial of Mankind, using a Black Contract without content.
Others, at the least, had to wait until it was confirmed that the slain gods and Buddhas wouldn't return, and only after various verifications could it be confirmed.
This was the normal growth process for a Last Trial of Mankind.
If the Last Trial of Mankind identity was so easily exposed, Dystopia and other Last Trials of Mankind wouldn't have grown at all.
They'd be eradicated the moment their trigger appeared.
Sometimes, even the Last Trial of Mankind itself didn't know it was one. Little Garden's Central Core wouldn't inform it of its identity or mission.
It only granted Spirit Status, and beyond that, it didn't care.
After all, the Last Trial of Mankind identity was given by human history—what did it have to do with the Central Core?
What Aslan had to do was spread the trigger of destruction he represented in Little Garden, then use the two-way observation convergence mechanism of human history and Little Garden to propagate what he did in Little Garden back to general human history.
For example, the T-virus, Primogenitor Virus, Blacklight Virus, and Umbrella Corporation.
In Little Garden, the greater the impact he created, the faster the propagation, and the more merit he gained.
Whether the impact was direct or indirect.
"No."
Merlin smiled, then, in front of Aslan, tore the freshly filled registration form into shreds and scattered them on the ground.
"Sorry, on behalf of the Floor Master, I declare you'll be hunted immediately, Demon Lord!"
Merlin clenched her hand, and a staff taller than her appeared in it.
She pointed the staff directly at Aslan, and countless flowers sprouted from the ground. At the same time, the scenery changed drastically.
Before Aslan and Nyaruko could react, they were teleported to a game arena filled with flowers…
But who waits for the opponent to finish loading? Nyaruko had to act first, right?
*CLANG!*
At some point, Nyaruko had appeared behind Merlin with a crowbar. As Merlin used her Host Master Authority to shift the location…
She smashed Merlin's head hard with her Holy Sword of Physics.
Then, without much talk, she hoisted Merlin over her shoulder.
"Sir, the Floor Master has been captured."
Nyaruko saluted Aslan, shouting enthusiastically.
"Great job, Nyaruko!"
The illusion-like effects around them, caused by Merlin preparing to use her Host Master Authority, vanished in an instant.
It was like waking from a dream.
Seeing Merlin with a huge bump on her head, her life or death unknown, Aslan couldn't hold back a smile.
No matter which world's Merlin, she was equally annoying, even if she was a beautiful girl.
And don't think Aslan would show mercy just because she was pretty. At least when facing someone mocking him, no matter how beautiful, Aslan wouldn't hold back.
"Let's get out of here!"
Sensing the powerful aura surrounding them, Aslan knew it was time to retreat.
If they delayed, they'd be surrounded by Avalon's knights.
Then, before the other knights could react, Aslan seized a griffin, modified it with a virus, and carried Nyaruko as they flew toward a Boundary Gate that had appeared out of nowhere.
And behind that gate, a blonde, masked girl was waiting for Aslan's arrival.