IBHJ Chapter 945

Tiamat was stunned. She turned to look at Venus, asking seriously, "Is this true?"

Venus became silent. There was a pause. Then she sighed in defeat and said with a wry smile, "Yes."

"You're the one who made the Ultimate Ones send their judgment?" Tiamat's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Make no mistake, my siblings' judgment was inevitable, I just sped things up a little." Venus said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Tiamat frowned. "This is a betrayal to Gaia!"

"I'm only half on Gaia's side. Don't forget, I'm born from Venus's will. Her interests are the foundation of my thoughts."

"Impressive. Playing both sides, Gaia and the Ultimate Ones. And there's probably a trick to your main body being defeated by a bunch of players isn't there?" he said, eyes narrowed on Venus. "So, whether this bet is won or lost, there's no damage to you or Venus."

"Exactly. So, are you going to seek justice for Gaia?" Venus asked with a smile.

"No. The world runs on self-interest. The moment the Ultimate Ones tried their hands at simulated personalities, they couldn't escape that fate. I'm not some naive kid spouting love and justice. Compared to the irrational Crimson Moon, I quite like you, a rational demon who only thinks about interests. What happens to Gaia isn't my concern. But you did make sure everything's ready for our entry into the Holy Land, right?" he stared at Venus, waiting for her answer.

"Of course," she nodded with a smile.

"Good." He stood up and turned to leave.

Watching Shirou leave, Artoria gave a slight bow to Tiamat, then turned to follow. The others hurried after them.

"Can you let me go now, Miss Venus?" Aqua asked, her gaze blank.

"Oh, of course. But it's a shame, I wanted to hold you a bit longer. You're so soft," she said with a hint of regret as she released her.

"Thank you," Aqua said simply, then turned to leave as well.

As they departed, Tiamat turned her head to stare coldly at Venus. "Did you truly betray Gaia, Heaven's Corpse?"

"Don't look at me like that, Tiamat. Didn't you also push that child towards the Council?" Venus countered.

"That, that was..."

"You knew Gaia was likely to lose from the start, didn't you? At the very least, you wanted that child to survive, even if it meant letting her join the Lord of Salvation. You're still ruled by your motherly instincts..."

Venus looked up at the blue sky and murmured, "That's why I say, the only ones truly on Gaia's side are Mercury and Tethys."

...

In the dark void, illusory human figures appeared one after another.

"It failed."

"It was defeated."

"Even the main body was defeated."

The spectral forms murmured their thoughts, one after another.

Calm gazes met in the air, then settled on a golden-haired archangel.

"Do you have anything to say, Heaven's Corpse?" The figure in the highest position asked sternly.

Venus closed her eyes. "I have nothing to say, Saturn."

"Considering that everyone might be defeated, we agreed to let you keep your main body outside the Holy Land as a precaution. But the result is that you were defeated. If I'm not mistaken, your main body's plan was to play both sides, Gaia's and ours, wasn't it, Miss Venus?"

At these words, the council erupted in discussion.

Pluto glanced at Venus, then looked at Saturn and argued, "Saturn, don't talk nonsense, she would never..."

Saturn interrupted her, "Those who are out of the game shouldn't interfere anymore, Miss Pluto. Irrelevant people getting involved in relevant matters can cause trouble for those involved. You should learn from Neptune and the others, who stopped expressing their opinions after being defeated."

Saturn smiled at Pluto. "Besides, I was asking Venus. It's quite rude of you to answer on her behalf."

Pluto clenched her fist, then released it.

Venus looked at Saturn and calmly nodded. "Yes."

"In other words, there's another spore avatar helping the adventurer who seized the God Brain, correct?"

She nodded again. "Yes."

"How can this be?"

"This is betrayal!"

The spectral forms immediately burst into a clamor of voices.

"Alright, please stop this meaningless dispute," Saturn stood up, his gaze sweeping over the others before settling on Venus. "Then, when you encounter the other spore avatar, what will you do?"

"Kill it," Venus answered seriously.

"Then there's no problem," Saturn sat back down.

Someone frowned. "But Saturn, this is outright betrayal."

"No. We were never a unified group to begin with, only gathered here based on the orders of our respective main bodies. In other words, as long as the actions taken comply with their orders, it's not considered betrayal," Saturn explained.

"This..."

The others exchanged glances, then fell silent.

"It seems everyone's in agreement then." Surveying the now-quieted crowd, Saturn smiled, then turned to Venus. "Then work with us from now on, Venus."

"Of course. This was my decision from the moment I was born," she nodded, then addressed the others. "I must tell you all something, my siblings. Among those who defeated my main body, there is a Vanguard of the Umbral Star."

"A Vanguard?" Saturn raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't they all defeated by us? How can there still be a Vanguard? Could new ones have invaded?" someone asked, frowning.

"Unclear," Venus shook her head. "Besides, the adventurer who possesses the God Brain is also the inheritor of that civilization's relic."

"Oh? This is interesting," Saturn's eyebrow rose again. "What heritage can this adventurer use?"

"From the mental feedback of my main body, there are the Runes of Wisdom inherited from the Norse pantheon," she said.

"That is indeed troublesome. It can interfere with the conceptual barrier between us and Earth's species. With that, it's not surprising that Venus's main body was defeated. We need to prepare in advance," someone said.

"However, there's only about half a year left until the agreed date. In such a short time, that adventurer can't possibly reach Lv9, right?" someone retorted. "Aren't we making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"It's hard to say. After all, having inherited the Runes of Wisdom, it's hard to guarantee whether he've also inherited Yggdrasil. The danger of that thing, I think everyone here is well aware of, right?"

"But that tree was supposedly cut down by Odin. It's not worth worrying about."

"That's true indeed..."

As the discussion went on, Saturn, seated at the head of the table, clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention.

Meeting their gazes, he smiled and said, "Everyone makes valid points. Even if we let that adventurer run wild, half a year isn't enough time for him to reach Level 9 and enter the Holy Land. But we can't be too cautious. Even Frieza didn't consider that Kakarot's anger was the trigger for the Super Saiyan transformation, and he was defeated, wasn't he?"

"What's your suggestion, Saturn?" someone asked.

"Venus split herself in two to play both sides, which is undoubtedly walking a fine line with the rules. So we can do the same," Saturn said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"All the siblings who are not in the game will enter the remaining maps as guardians," Saturn explained, still smiling.

Hearing this, Pluto's eyes widened. "Isn't that against the rules?"

"No, the siblings who are not in the game haven't been killed. They still exist, so of course they can enter the remaining maps. After all, isn't it common sense that as more maps are cleared and players level up, the game's difficulty also increases each time to match them? Ah, of course, those like you who have already been killed in the game can't come back. You can only be a spectator."

"Ugh." Pluto let out a frustrated groan.

"Above all, does anyone have any additional opinions?" Saturn asked with a smile.

"Agree."

"Approved."

Saturn nodded. "Then, let's wait here and look forward to the end of this farce, and the final chapter of Earth."