Erase.
When this word was casually uttered from Leticia's soft, perfect lips,
the air in the entire Tranquil Garden seemed to be instantly drained by an invisible, absolute will.
Fogremia was stunned.
Watching the cold, unfamiliar smile on Leticia's face, she momentarily forgot the advice she had intended to give regarding tactics and the disparity in military strength.
Angronia's Battle Intent, which had just slightly subsided due to despair, surged violently at this moment, like a fire doused with boiling oil!
The gaze she fixed upon Leticia was filled with extreme, fanatical worship!
This was her Goddess!
Faced with an ultimate catastrophe capable of driving the entire universe to despair, there was not the slightest fear or retreat, only the most direct, most pure determination to completely destroy it!
Sanguinia's heart, which had been shrouded in gloom, was also infused with light once again at this moment.
She looked at the petite yet incomparably majestic black figure who was holding Terrania tightly in her arms; her sky-blue eyes were once again filled with absolute trust and peace of mind.
Yes.
As long as this Goddess was here.
As long as their home was still together.
What did it matter if it were the end of the universe?
Only Magna, the newborn Crimson Sage, had a brain armed with absolute rationality that was still spinning frantically.
"Goddess."
She stepped forward and spoke in a rigorous tone tinged with confusion and bewilderment.
"Forgive my bluntness, but according to my calculations, the total biomass of the Leviathan's vanguard tentacles is at least three hundred times greater than all our current combat forces."
"A head-on collision is by no means a wise move."
"We could fully utilize the 'Intellect' you bestowed upon me to predict its movements in advance, guide the Empire's main fleet to wear it down, or even provoke other Chaos factions, or alien races, to engage it..."
"Magna."
Leticia's voice interrupted her tactical analysis.
Leticia turned her head, her pure black eyes gazing at her quietly.
In that gaze, there was no reproach, nor displeasure.
Only a kind of deep calm that Magna could not understand.
"Everything you said is correct."
Leticia said softly.
"Strategically speaking, your plan is the optimal solution."
"However, Magna, you must remember."
Leticia's gaze slowly moved from Fogremia, to Angronia, then to Sanguinia, and finally, landed back on the small golden head in her arms that was dependently rubbing against her chest.
Her eyes became incomparably, incredibly gentle in an instant.
That gentleness was enough to melt the oldest ice in the universe.
"Everything I do is not to save this universe."
"Nor is it to continue the spark of any civilization."
"I established the Sisterhood, I brought you back from the abyss of pain, and I stand here, opposing Chaos, opposing those so-called ultimate catastrophes..."
Leticia's voice paused.
She lowered her head and gently pressed a kiss full of protective meaning, one she cherished immensely, onto Terrania's smooth forehead.
Then, she raised her head again, looked at all the Sisters, and said slowly, in an unquestionable final oracle that declared the meaning of her existence:
"Everything I do has only one purpose."
"That is, to protect our 'home' well."
"To protect you well."
"To protect her well."
"Anything that attempts to harm our home, anything that might cause this little one in my arms to show even the slightest bit of fear, no matter what it is, no matter how powerful it may be..."
"I will, with my own hands, crush it."
"No matter the cost, with no compromise."
"This is my 'truth'."
Leticia's voice was calm, yet contained an ultimate will that was more violent than Angronia's Battle Intent, more absolute than Fogremia's pride, and more unshakeable than Magna's logic.
Magna fell completely silent.
Her super-brain, capable of simulating billions of futures, completely stopped functioning at this moment.
She finally understood.
She finally understood the most fundamental source of all the power of the Goddess before her.
It was not some grand ideal, nor was it some universal compassion.
It was a... most selfish, most pure, most unreasonable, yet also... most powerful 'desire to protect.'
A kind of absolute, divine'selfishness' capable of making an enemy of the entire universe for the sake of the treasure in her arms.
"I understand, my Goddess."
Magna deeply lowered her proud head, which was filled with the knowledge of the entire universe.
All the rationality and logic on her face faded away.
Replaced by a kind of thorough, fanatical conviction from the depths of her soul.
Because she realized that being able to stand here, being able to escape ten thousand years of pain and curse, was in itself the best proof of this Goddess's'selfishness.'
She, too, was a family member 'favored' by this Goddess.
"Since that is the case."
The cold smile on Leticia's face transformed back into her usual gentleness and calm.
She looked at Magna.
"Our current home is not yet solid enough."
"To face a war against a force three hundred times our own, we need a true 'fortress'."
"A 'cradle' that will never fall."
"Fogremia's aesthetics, Sanguinia's life, Angronia's Battle Intent, Magna your Intellect... these are all enough to form the soul of the 'cradle'."
"However, we are still missing the most solid'skeleton'."
Leticia's thoughts stirred.
The instance list of the [genesis system] unfolded in her consciousness.
Her gaze quickly swept over the names, some bright, some dim.
Finally, it settled on a name that exuded a cold, steel-like luster.
[Siege in the Iron Cage].
Instance Target: Perturabo.
"It seems."
A curve of anticipation appeared on the corners of Leticia's mouth.
"Before we go 'clean up' the trash, we must first go pick up a new member of the Sisters and bring her home."
"A member of the Sisters... who is best at 'construction' and 'demolition'."
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