Little Garden, East Side, Four-Digit Outer Gate.
Outside the Arcadia headquarters, high in the heavens, the myriad gods of Little Garden had gathered. They stood silently upon the clouds, the atmosphere tense and strange.
With the exception of the Cross-Patriarchy, nearly all the faithful of the Lower Floors could find the deities they worshipped among the layers of auspicious clouds. They fell to their knees in worship, their hearts filled with unease.
Just what kind of situation could have caused all these deities to assemble?
Forget subjugating a Demon Lord; even for a battle against a Last Embryo, this lineup was complete overkill!
Among this myriad of gods were plenty of mortal enemies, yet now, they stood shoulder to shoulder, silently waiting for something.
They hadn't seen such a terrifying spectacle since the Demon Lord of Absolute Evil was defeated.
So, what in the world was happening?
Some people realized that the myriad gods were focused intently on Arcadia's headquarters. Many began to murmur, wondering if Arcadia had done something wrong. Why else would the divine host show up at their door?
Even Arcadia's allies were now filled with shock and uncertainty.
They had, to varying degrees, witnessed the battle against Absolute Evil and knew of the delicate relationship between Su Mo and the divine pantheons. They also knew that Arcadia was extremely close to Su Mo.
For the past few months, Su Mo, who usually caused a major stir every other week, had been absent. Consequently, Arcadia's core members hadn't been at full strength either.
They couldn't help but worry. Had Arcadia truly thrown in their lot with Su Mo, ready to oppose all the other divine pantheons?
If that was the case, what were the odds of victory? And should they pick a side?
Even Arcadia's support staff, despite having complete faith in their main force, couldn't help but tremble under the divine pressure, clueless as to what was going on.
As panic began to spread among the crowd...
*Creeak*
The main gate of Arcadia's headquarters opened, and a woman walked out. She had shoulder-length golden hair, was dressed like a modern city professional, and wore a foxy smile.
Her appearance made the people of the Lower Floors breathe a small sigh of relief, and the support staff also relaxed slightly.
To the gods, this young woman might not carry much weight. Even with the merits she had earned by defeating the Dystopia Demon Lord, she was still a mere human.
But to the Lower Floors of Little Garden and the members of Arcadia, the name Canary was synonymous with brilliant strategy.
With her around, things would never spiral into the worst-case scenario.
Of course, this stereotype was only effective against Demon Lords.
When facing the divine pantheons, especially the myriad gods before them, even Canary's golden reputation wasn't enough to completely ease everyone's frayed nerves.
Yet, Canary herself seemed oblivious to this.
Facing the myriad gods in the sky, she seemed not to notice the threat lurking within their solemn silence, and she flashed a playful, slightly surprised smile.
"My, my. I didn't expect so many visitors after just being away for a little while... Unfortunately, our Arcadia is but a humble temple, hardly able to host so many esteemed deities. And since you've all come to block our gate so early in the morning, I take it this isn't a social call?"
This casual, slightly flippant tone made the onlookers gasp.
Facing an alliance of a billion gods, even the leader of a pantheon wouldn't dare speak so carelessly. Had Canary lost her mind? How dare she be so disrespectful to the gods?
As expected, among the myriad gods, a hot-tempered war god was enraged by Canary's dismissive attitude.
"Canary! A mere human, daring to be so insolent before the gods! Such discourteous behavior! Do you see us as nothing?!"
The figure crackled with lightning. Perhaps people from modern atheistic nations wouldn't understand, but in ancient times, or in any theistic nation, disrespecting a god was a grave sin.
It was severe enough to warrant being flayed alive.
A god who enforces punishment would almost never tolerate such insolence from a mortal.
Not to mention, this was in front of a billion gods.
Were it anyone else, forget such disrespect—the gods could execute them on the spot for impiety without any reason at all.
After all, failing to immediately kneel and pay respects upon seeing the divine host was already a great act of irreverence.
"Oh?"
Facing the god's fury, Canary offered no defense. Instead, she looked over with an amused, teasing gaze.
If their previous accusation of discourtesy could be seen as the gods simply looking for trouble, Canary's current posture, even in the eyes of Arcadia's allies, was one of utter contempt for the divine.
Just as they were reeling in horror, wondering what had gotten into Canary and fearing she would be struck down by the wrathful gods...
"Why must you all be so particular?"
A goddess's voice rang out from among the divine host.
A golden divine light forcibly suppressed the war god's anger.
A goddess of stunning beauty stepped forward, halting the undercurrents stirring within the pantheons.
"Thank goodness! She must be here to help Canary!"
Someone recognized the goddess. She wasn't the newly born Star Spirit of Earth, but the original Earth Mother and War Goddess of the Greek pantheon.
Considering Canary's relationship with the Greek pantheon, this goddess was surely here to speak on her behalf.
Just as the crowd was filled with such hope, Athena, in front of all the gods, lowered her gaze to her former disciple, a faint, inscrutable smile playing on her lips.
Then, she spoke in a casual tone.
"Perhaps Canary is just a little grumpy from waking up..."
"..."
"Huh?"
"???"
At these words, not only the mortals below but even the gods were dumbfounded.
Grumpy from waking up?
What kind of excuse was that? Even if she wanted to play peacemaker, she had to give the gods a way to save face, didn't she?
Was she really helping Canary, or was she just provoking the gods into attacking her?
After all, a mere human disrespecting the gods with an excuse like "morning grumpiness" was completely unacceptable.
Even Canary blinked, unsure what the goddess of victory was getting at.
Just then, Athena slowly added.
"With Canary's abilities, it was no small feat for her to offer herself up to appease Lord Su Mo. Surely, you gods shouldn't be too harsh on a young woman who has sacrificed her own purity, should you?"
As soon as she said this, the myriad gods were slightly taken aback.
Even Canary's expression froze for a rare instant.