Crossover: The Problem Human of [Arcadia]

Thud.

Artemis's severed head hit the ground.

Ryo didn't even look back. He knew how resilient gods were. That strike hadn't truly killed Artemis. It had simply forced her into a state of "divine death."

"...Uh."

Leticia stared blankly at the scene.

She had known Ryo was hiding his true strength, deliberately feeding false information to all the spies watching the battle.

What she hadn't expected was that he'd hidden this much.

From her perspective, she'd blinked once, and Artemis was already dead.

Looking at the Moon Goddess's corpse, Leticia swallowed nervously. "Nothing... bad is going to happen, right?"

"It's fine." Ryo pulled a clean towel from his Gift Card and casually wiped the divine blood from his hands.

He was about to throw it away before pausing.

Instead, he carefully stored the blood.

'It's still the blood of one of the Twelve Olympians. Could come in handy someday.'

Athena's blood could strengthen Cloths, after all. Artemis might be somewhat weaker, but she was still a chief deity of equal rank. Divine blood was a treasure no matter where you went. Keeping a sample certainly wouldn't hurt.

Seeing Leticia still staring, Ryo explained, "Algol prepared this place. She won't stay dead. Give it a little while, and she'll revive."

Leticia finally relaxed a little.

Even so, she couldn't stop looking at Artemis' body with concern.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke. "Ryo... sometimes, you can afford to be merciful. But when you can't, don't hold back."

Ryo frowned. He understood exactly what she meant.

Once Artemis revived, the hatred between them would only deepen. If that was inevitable... wouldn't it be better to eliminate her now?

Apollo's face briefly flashed through Ryo's mind.

Then he grinned. "A while ago you were worried something might happen. Now you're telling me to kill her?"

Leticia flushed.

She knew she'd contradicted herself.

"I'm not saying you should actually kill her." She corrected herself awkwardly. "But... some necessary precautions should still be taken."

Ryo's lips curled upward. "What do you think I was doing just now?"

Did she really think he'd simply chopped Artemis's head off?

Besides that finishing elbow strike, the majority of his power had gone into a forbidden Gold Saint technique.

The legendary mental attack taught only to the Pope of Sanctuary and his designated successor... Genrou Mao Ken (Demon Illusion Fist)

Unlike ordinary psychic attacks, it inflicted almost no direct mental damage. Instead, it hypnotized its victim completely, turning them into the caster's puppet.

Among the Saints, it was infamous as one of the cruelest techniques ever created. Countless Seventh Sense warriors had fallen to it.

Even burning their Cosmo couldn't easily free them.

If fighters of that caliber struggled against it, then Artemis, who was significantly weaker, stood no chance.

Truthfully, Ryo hadn't intended to use something so underhanded.

Only after their earlier sparring match had he realized what kind of person Artemis was.

Hot-headed. Stubborn. Impossible to reason with.

Only then had he decided to use such a ruthless trick.

Of course, he'd also considered simply killing her permanently. Or even converting her into a Machine God.

But after thinking it through, this option was better.

She would soon become Arcadia's prisoner. And now that she'd also been hypnotized... there was even less to worry about.

Leticia quickly pieced everything together.

So he'd prepared a backup plan all along. And judging by his confidence, it was one that couldn't easily be broken.

A relieved smile appeared on her face.

"Then I have nothing to worry about."

Yet even as she smiled, she felt a faint sense of guilt.

Ever since losing, seeing Arcadia destroyed, becoming a slave, and later being rescued by Ryo... she had become increasingly ruthless.

The old Leticia, the righteous knight of Little Garden, would never have considered completely controlling someone simply to protect a secret.

Now, she found herself thinking it wasn't such a bad idea, so long as it guaranteed Ryo's safety.

'So I've finally reached the age where I've become the villain...' She sighed inwardly.

Still, she didn't truly resent the change.

After everything she'd experienced, she'd come to understand one truth.

In Little Garden... If you couldn't scheme, you simply wouldn't survive.

Ideals were wonderful. Reality still had to be faced one bite at a time.

Compared to her, Ryo handled that balance remarkably well. He had stirred up one catastrophe after another across Little Garden... yet no one had ever managed to catch him.

That alone proved how cautious he truly was.

...

By then, Artemis's severed head had completely regenerated.

Her body was whole again.

Only her consciousness remained trapped in the lingering effects of death, preventing her from waking naturally.

Watching this, Leticia asked, "Are we continuing the tests?"

Ryo sighed. "As far as combat strength goes, there's no point anymore."

Without even burning his Cosmo, he'd been able to smash straight through Artemis's Authority-enhanced defenses and decapitate her with absurd ease.

And that wasn't even close to his limit.

He hadn't burned his Cosmo. He hadn't equipped the God Cloth capable of amplifying two Seventh Sense Cosmos.

In truth... Even Ryo himself no longer knew how powerful he would become in a genuine life-or-death battle.

'Maybe... it's about time I paid Zeus a visit?'

The thought crossed his mind.

Then he shook his head.

Not yet. He still didn't understand Zeus's true strength. He needed to probe him first.

More importantly, he had to strip away Zeus's allies, isolate him completely, and make sure no unexpected complications arose.

There was still plenty to prepare. No need to rush.

His gaze settled on Artemis.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"Before taking her back to Arcadia... I still need to study exactly how Authorities interact with the Cosmo."

"And while I'm at it... I might as well analyze how Authorities themselves are constructed."

Leticia, who had been watching Artemis closely, thought she saw the Moon Goddess shiver.

"In that case... I'll go handle the paperwork for withdrawing from the battlefield."

"Much appreciated." Ryo smiled.

He watched Leticia leave, keeping his eyes on her until she disappeared completely.

Only then did he stretch leisurely before strolling over to Artemis. "You awake?"

"I am... no, I'm not." The answer escaped Artemis automatically.

Her eyes immediately widened as she clapped both hands over her mouth.

Why... Why had her body answered him on its own?

"Since you're awake," Ryo said calmly, "get up and spar with me."

His tone was anything but friendly. It even carried an unmistakable threat.

"Relax. It'll only hurt a few times."

Ryo had no intention of showing mercy during these experiments.

What he wanted was solid, reliable data.

Artemis bit her lip.

She didn't even dare lose her temper.

Outside, with countless observers watching, Ryo had still exercised restraint.

But here... If he really decided to do something to her, no one would ever know.

Her Authority of Prophecy told her exactly how bleak that future would be.

And for the first time... She realized this was the real Ryo. The one she'd seen outside had merely been acting.

"I'll cooperate fully." She shrank her neck like a frightened ostrich.

"Good."

Ryo smiled warmly.

The next instant, his expression turned cold. "Then hurry up and use every technique you've got."

"...Okay."

That single word carried all the sorrow in Artemis's heart.

Not long afterward, the underground prison echoed with two very different sounds.

A man's cold, methodical voice recording experimental data.

And the Moon Goddess's piercing screams of agony.

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