Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Naturally, Flora, who also had no intention of continuing the fight, did not delay or change the subject but gave a direct answer.

“My philosophy is to achieve something.” She did not answer Alice’s question with a yes or no, but simply stated her opinion: “Just as I wanted to lead the people of the Moon World out of that dying universe. I want to achieve something, and I want the people I care about to achieve something. And the most immortal achievement is to leave a mark.”

"The Way of Recording?" Alice thought of Patchouli, but immediately dismissed the idea. If Flora and Patchouli were locked in an irreconcilable conflict, there wouldn't be this relatively quiet exchange; Patchouli would have crossed the line and attacked two against one... Even if she couldn't defeat Flora in the end, she would have sealed her away or even banished her.

“It is the way of imprinting.” — Flora still neither affirmed nor denied it, but simply gave the answer.

--I see.

Even though Alice had never tried to understand Flora's path or philosophy during the long battle, she still gained some understanding after Flora spoke about it herself. After isolating and removing the part covered by the erosion phenomenon, Alice allocated some resources to think and quickly reached a conclusion.

Imprinting is different from recording. Recording requires a specific medium, and that medium needs to be preserved. Patchouli's method of recording, once it achieves tangible manifestation, involves analyzing and copying all things in the world, then inputting them into her own library so that they exist alongside her. But Flora's imprinting is different from her recording.

Flora's mark is a path that exists for only one purpose: to prove, to prove—that 'this' once existed.

She wanted to prove she had existed, so she wanted to leave an imprint.

She wanted to prove that the people and things she cared about had existed, so she needed to leave evidence.

So, why did she choose the captain of the West Blue team, Artoria Pendragon, for—

“You must stop me from erasing her, because she is connected to you, and you want to prove that she exists here.” Alice gently closed her eyes, then closed them again, and then gave her answer.

“It’s not just that.” Flora continued to stare at her, but her gaze wasn’t on Alice; instead, it was on something inside Alice’s body.

"Not just that?" Alice raised an eyebrow, drawing upon even more resources to ponder this development. But after eliminating all solutions lacking sufficient evidence, she was presented with an unbelievable answer.

Mangottlund...

This guy, even now, still considers himself a witch of Mangottlund! However, Alice had long ago reclaimed Mangottlund's status and purified it into resources. In other words, in Flora's mind, Alice Margatrold is the murderer who killed the god Mangottlund!

what the hell!

Because I killed my identity, and you, knowing that my identity is me, want to take revenge on me for that identity!?

No, it wasn't revenge. It was documentation—she wanted to separate the existence of 'Mangottlund' from Alice, to make it a real entity imprinted in the multiverse, not a fictional void!

Alice found it incomprehensible.

However, the inability to understand is normal—those who transcend each other have never been able to understand each other in ideological disputes. Because understanding leads to acceptance, and acceptance is a sign of self-destruction and transformation.

Alice's claim that she rarely used force after surpassing the true god was not without reason. In wars between transcendent beings, words are indeed more effective than fists most of the time—breaking the physical form of a transcendent being a thousand times won't harm its essence. However, a single, impactful debate can shake its beliefs, create a conflict of principles, and thus imprint true damage upon its very nature!

Therefore, transcendent species never attempt to understand each other. They cannot, and they are unwilling to.

Even if they cannot understand each other at all, enemies and allies can still communicate.

— Exchanges that do not involve one's own core beliefs.

Alice rubbed her temples.

"So, this is what you want—to allow this individual named Artoria Pendragon to exist. To make this Mangotlund persona independent from my control? As long as these two conditions are met, you won't be on my side?"

Flora nodded slightly.

“While there are still some errors, that is generally the case.” She turned her gaze back to Alice’s eyes. “And to achieve these two goals, I am willing to pay any price that does not contradict my principles.”

She wasn't just saying it casually, because she genuinely could do that. But even so, the deal might not necessarily continue.

“Mangold is part of my Origin Worldline.” Aristotle said, pausing for a moment before stating a conclusion that both of them already knew. “If I were to discard it, it would mean that I would need to completely reset the part of the Origin Worldline that is related to the Moon World. And once I reset it, there will inevitably be flaws in the process.”

"This flaw isn't fatal to me, but it's certainly not something I can just laugh off. My kind are eyeing me on this online world. And the list of those who could potentially threaten me even includes this captain of the West Sea team—" She glanced at the black box in Flora's hand.

"—Artoria Pendragon. At that point in time, she was not a zero threat to me, or to 'Mangottlund'. And many of my kind besides her were capable of severely injuring me at that time."

Her gaze met Flora's, and after a brief standoff, they quickly reached an agreement that both could accept.

Since our own kind is a threat, then we should exclude them.

Since this is the final battle, if all the adversaries capable of making a difference in that timeline are completely wiped out during the final battle, then even if the original worldline is drastically altered, or even if a part of it is directly stripped away or discarded, the risk of this action will be reduced to an acceptable level.

After all, at the end of the Sacred Hunting Ritual, in the struggle of the Moon World, the truly troublesome Demon Team never participated in the battle on the Central Continent Team's side—Yuzuriha Inori might be considered one. But at the time of her arrival, she was involved in far more matters than Alice.

So, part of the transaction is complete.

“I can strip Mangottlund of his persona from me, even make it independent,” Alice said. “But I need a sufficiently safe time and environment.”

"And in return, until all your enemies at that point in time are wiped out, I will join your side and fight for you." — Flora's reply.

Great, so one of the two tricky problems is solved, and now the other one, which is a little easier to handle, is left.

Flora wanted to save her and let her live to the end.

Alice wants to eliminate the West Sea team completely—

This is not a very difficult problem to handle.

“I want to kill the hostile reincarnator. If she is no longer a reincarnator, then she will naturally not be hostile to me.” Alice put down her coffee cup. “But for her to renounce her reincarnation status, it has to be entirely voluntary…voluntary relinquishment of her mortal body and identity.”

Flora then took out the black box she was holding and placed it on the table between the two of them.

“This doesn’t sound too difficult,” Flora replied.

The deal was thus struck.

After spending... well, spending the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, Alice gained a new ally.

An ally who is still in hiding and not under the control of the main god.

Side Story: Sunny Day

Zhu Wen has a secret.

She is actually a reincarnated being with an infinite lifespan.

From ancient times to modern times, and from modern times to contemporary times, she has lived for approximately three thousand years. Whenever she felt bored, or when she took a liking to a body, she would choose to commit suicide, or be forced to commit suicide. Then her soul would be transferred, allowing her to live in the next life.

She lived a very long time.

And having lived for a very long time, she is also the only person in the world with superpowers.

She could turn stone into gold, and fly through the air. Many ancient legends are based on her deeds. And she did indeed rule the land as a monarch.

—But that was a long time ago.

About two thousand years ago, she set a rule for herself. That was to do whatever role she was reincarnated into—if she was reincarnated as an emperor, she would be a proper emperor; if she was reincarnated as a pirate, she would roam the seas freely; if she was reincarnated as a slave… well, before the novelty wore off, having some unique experiences wasn’t such a bad thing.

Well, it's not a bad thing.

Because this rule is beneficial to her.

The reason she's been able to maintain a healthy and positive mindset for so long is entirely because this rule provides her with a sufficient sense of ritual and curiosity. And in this life, her identity is—

—An ordinary high school girl with superpowers.

Okay, this premise is ridiculous. In this ordinary world where supernatural powers are not prominent, a high school girl with superpowers doesn't seem like someone who could be ordinary at all—but so what? She's just playing with life anyway, as long as she's happy enough, isn't that enough?

Yes, that's right, that's exactly it.

Embracing this simple and unpretentious girlish fantasy, Miss Zhu Wen, just like for the thousands of days before, opened her bright and moist eyes as the first rays of sunlight fell in the morning.

..............................

"Today is another beautiful, sunny day."

Early in the morning, Zhu Wen, a beautiful young woman six thousand days old, stretched and jumped out of bed, breathing in the fresh air flowing in from the window. As a studious girl, Zhu Wen never lingered in bed or was ever late. She gracefully and smoothly changed into her new clothes, and after a thorough washing and grooming, she looked brand new before leaving her room.

"Good morning, Dad and Mom." She greeted her parents in this life warmly, and received an equally warm response—a superhuman high school girl couldn't have a disharmonious family; this was a setting she had decided on long before she was reincarnated.

"Good morning, Xiaowen." Her gentle and virtuous mother smiled and nodded at her, placing eggs, sausages, and other delicate pastries on four plates on the table as a breakfast. Her tall and steady father also put down his newspaper and nodded to her.

“Go and call your sister.” The father’s voice carried the authoritative tone typical of old-fashioned parents. “She oversleeps every day; as her older sister, you should discipline her.”

"Mm." Zhu Wen nodded lightly, turned around, and walked towards the room next to hers.

—She has a younger sister.

—Her younger sister is very cute.

—My younger sister's name is Ling'er. She's a slender, introverted, and shy little girl. It's said that when she was born, a game called *The Legend of Sword and Fairy* was very popular. In a moment of inspiration, her mother named her daughter after the game's female protagonist, Zhao Ling'er, a descendant of Nuwa.

Zhu Wen really likes this little girl.

A high school girl with superpowers has a well-behaved younger sister who needs to be taken care of. Although this is not something she deliberately planned, isn't it just the way things are?

She knocked gently on the door, and after receiving no response, she pushed open the bedroom door—she saw her cute and obedient younger sister lying on the bed covered by the blanket, looking like she didn't want to get up.

"Sweetie, Ling'er, it's time to get up." She chuckled slightly, reaching out to pinch her little sister's earlobe that was peeking out from under the covers. "Everyone's waiting for you, and the sun's already high in the sky."

A soft whimper, like that of a small animal, came from under the covers.

"Waaah..." The blanket was pulled back, revealing a thin girl in pajamas pitifully covering her head. "Sister Wen..."

Her voice was melodious and pleasant, easily arousing a protective instinct in those around her.

"Ling'er had a nightmare..." The thin girl looked up at her older sister with teary eyes.

"Don't be afraid, sister is here." Zhu Wen's lips curled up slightly, and she hugged the poor little one, gently patting her back. While comforting her, she whispered, "Sister will protect Ling'er, so you don't need to be afraid of any demons or monsters."

"Mmm..." The girl in Zhu Wen's arms let out a soft moan, nuzzling her head against Zhu Wen's chest. "Ling'er believes in her sister..."

She looked up at Zhu Wen with a pitiful expression. "But that dream was really scary..."

"Even the scariest dreams disappear when you wake up." Zhu Wen felt a surge of cuteness overwhelm her, and joyful thoughts filled her mind. "Alright, wake up! If you're still scared, tell your sister about your nightmare. No matter what kind of monster it is, your sister will help you defeat it!"

"Mmm." The girl nodded obediently, stood up, and while dressing, whispered in her delicate voice—

"It was a very strange, but also terrifying dream. Ling'er dreamed that the stars in the sky were raining down, and then in the rain, something very warm, but also very huge, fell down."

Are the stars raining?

Zhu Wen tilted her head and thought for a moment—okay, that must be a meteor shower? Or perhaps the Milky Way from a cosmic perspective? A little girl's mind is always full of wonder, so it's not surprising that such strange developments occur.

"Hmm." She nodded, tidying her sister's blanket as she asked, "And then? Did that thing that fell scare you?"

"No...that thing gives Ling'er a very familiar feeling." Her younger sister's voice sounded hesitantly from behind her, interspersed with the sound of a towel being washed. Then—

"It looked like a very, very big, and very beautiful snake. And that snake..."

"That snake?" Zhu Wen tilted her head slightly, seeing her younger sister clutching her chest.

"That snake has a face exactly like Ling'er's!"

Zhu Wen's pupils contracted slightly.

The next moment, she felt as if the whole world suddenly cut off before her eyes!

She rubbed her eyes and realized she was holding a thick book in her hands. Immediately afterward, she heard her mother calling from outside the door.