You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"...Is that right?"

After listening, Altair tilted her head, as if she herself hadn't fully understood it either.

“I don’t know why I was born. The moment I became aware of the outside world, I was already ‘Altair’. Although she was unaware of my existence, we were undoubtedly ‘one’.”

This is indeed a miracle. Her thoughts are my thoughts, and her feelings are my feelings, so I will support her and help her realize her wish.

Therefore—you are an obstacle.

"Oh?"

Iori put on a "surprised" expression.

"I?"

"Human 'fantasy' is a vast and disordered chaos, and apart from events such as the rise of the Mongols, the Black Death, and world wars, it is mostly unbiased (or rather, too biased).

However, you used information technology that is ahead of its time to pull a huge group of people, who make up a considerable proportion of all mankind, into the vast network you have woven.

Primates are social creatures with an instinct to imitate and follow others. If someone takes the napkin on the right, everyone else is compelled to follow suit. The internet amplifies this instinct, and you've successfully leveraged it.

"So, the current 'fantasy,' or rather the collective unconscious of humanity, has shown a clear tendency to make you feel a sense of crisis, so you came out to stop me?"

Iori exclaimed sincerely, "The internet is truly the greatest invention of the 21st century!"

"..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to happen."

Iori chuckled and said, "But it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ok?

[Altair] was somewhat puzzled, wondering why Iori was acting this way. She had become the one seeking help, even though her original intention was to warn the other party... Oh well.

"Please follow your 'settings,' perform the prescribed script, and then leave this world."

Altair said indifferently, "My (her) wish was going to come true anyway, but I pushed it onto the 'right path,' which would both resurrect those she cherished and minimize the impact on the world."

—But your arrival disrupted everything!

Finally, her voice changed, revealing an emotion akin to "anger."

However, Iori remained calm, as if she had expected this, and did not refute it.

That’s what it is!

Gun-hime only operates in Japan, and she only associates with anime characters. It is clear that she inherited some of Shimazaki Setsuna's perceptions and subconsciously regarded Japan as her main stage.

Whether it was the desire to destroy the world or the resurrection of Setsuna Shimazaki after being stopped, this should have been a small-scale phenomenon confined to Japan, much like the Holy Grail War, and there was absolutely no need for it to spread to the entire world!

Reviving one person wouldn't require such a massive undertaking!

This is equivalent to infinitely amplifying a controllable event, increasing the risk many times over, but the benefits... can almost only be enjoyed by "someone"!

Now, this "large-scale collaborative project" has, in a sense, become a massive magical ritual. If it succeeds, needless to say, it will have a happy ending. But if it fails...

To be honest, the fact that Iori can still maintain a "normal expression" is absolutely worthy of praise as a "moral vacuum."

While Altair cannot be equated with the "collective unconscious of humanity," it is at least similar, possessing the innate instinct to "maintain human survival," and thus naturally feels anger towards Iori's recklessness.

It was at this moment of seeing her that Iori became certain of one thing:

Although I haven't read the original work in detail, the ending of "Re:Creators" is definitely the one that Gun-hime wants the most!

Because there is a powerful figure, almost like a god, supporting Altair, even if she herself is unaware of it, even if everyone is against her, under the influence of the "collective subconscious," even hostile actions will indirectly become an aid to the military princess, helping her achieve a "Happy End"!

In a sense, this is actually a work featuring a military princess as the protagonist...

Iori's intrusion disrupted the original trajectory of fate, creating variables so great that even Altair couldn't control them, necessitating intervention to stop him. Faced with such a transcendent being, Iori's response was—

"But I refuse!"

"..."

Altair's eyes widened slightly.

“I know you are doing this to protect humanity in this world, and also to fulfill her wish, but I can do both.”

Iori smiled slightly: "I have no intention of destroying the world, I can assure you of that."

"I don't know you, outsider."

Altair looked at Iori coldly, "Your promise means nothing to me."

"That's true, but you have no choice."

Iori showed no sign of backing down, and said calmly, "As the 'collective unconscious of humanity,' you have an absolute advantage over the humans and their creations in this world, whether it's weapons made with technology or 'characters' created with fantasy... Even if you bring out the heroes and gods from mythology, they are no match for you."

Because your existence is inherently superior to theirs, even dominating them.

however--

I am not a member of this world, nor am I part of the 'human collective unconscious'. I am the only being you cannot interfere with.

"Of course, your power is still formidable; you can distort reality even without using your authority, but you don't have absolute dominance over me... You're not good at negotiating, are you?"

"..."

Altair's expression seemed unchanged, but the chilling aura in his eyes could freeze the space itself.

This is indeed a major limitation for her.

She wasn't confident she could defeat Iori, because Iori wasn't within her jurisdiction; it would come down to sheer strength. And she genuinely had no combat experience, though she was very knowledgeable in theory... She couldn't predict the outcome of a battle with Iori.

Moreover, judging from Iori's energy level, destroying humanity and even this planet might not be difficult for her!

"How about you trust me for now?"

Iori smiled and said, "When the collective unconscious expresses a 'tendency,' you should be able to draw upon more power, which should be a win-win situation."

Even if war were to break out... you'd be more confident if it happened during the peak of your [Acknowledgment Power], wouldn't you?

"...I hate you."

……

When she came to her senses, Jun-hime found herself floating in mid-air, with Iori not far away.

After regaining her composure, she "remembered" everything that had happened before. She must have rushed over to rescue the female knight and the others... But why did she seem to be sleepwalking back then, saying such strange things?

Altair didn't think there was anything wrong with it, assuming it was just an occasional lack of energy. He was tired these days and couldn't concentrate as well as when he stayed up late, which caused this situation.

"Aizen Iori, it won't be so easy to cut off my remaining wings."

Altair smiled slightly, waved his hand to summon a series of military knives, and began a "evenly matched" battle with Iori.

Just as she had anticipated, Iori had no intention of ending the story here. After fighting her for a few rounds according to her "set" combat strength, she pretended to fall into a trap, creating an opening so that the military princess could rescue the female knight and the others, and even heal their injuries, allowing them to stand behind her.

"Now it's four against one, Lord Aizen."

"Tsk, a missed opportunity, huh..."

Iori's eyes flashed as she saw Alice's uncertain expression, and she suddenly sneered, "Is this your resolve? You say you're willing to pay any price, but in reality, you're hiding behind someone else's back~"

"You can so readily sacrifice others, but when it comes to yourself, it's a different story, Your Highness Alice!"

"Well!"

"Alice-chan, don't be impulsive!"

“…I’m sorry, Mami.”

Alice Tria grasped the small hand that the magical girl was using to stop her, her eyes filled with pain and struggle.

The female knight must have been torn, because she wanted to save her people, but continuing to create "conflicts" in the rules could potentially harm innocent people in this world.

It's like placing the people of two worlds as chips on opposite ends of a scale... and she will ultimately lean towards her homeland.

Iori nodded to herself: "Princess Alice, I fully understand your desire to save your home world, but don't you think your approach is inefficient?"

In my opinion, you still haven't found the right approach. Otherwise, it's just about saving the world of a light novel; why would you need this military princess to get involved?

Iori smiled and spoke to the female knight, drawing everyone's attention to herself in the process.

"What can you do?"

The female knight frowned and asked.

"It's very simple."

Iori said slowly, "That's human 'imagination'."

"Well, so what?"

"Miss Junji has already told you before, right? The reason why virtual characters can appear in the real world is essentially because they have gained [recognition], which is 'human cognition'."

It can be simply understood that the collective thoughts of humankind can influence the world.

There are over seven billion people on this planet, and this island nation alone has over a hundred million people. Modern technology includes the 'internet,' something even more magical than magic, which can spread information in the shortest possible time.

What are "conflicts," "creators," and "created beings"? Traditional methods of communication are utterly insignificant in the face of the reach and terrifying efficiency of the electronic network!

We have now garnered hundreds of millions of views worldwide, and our "recognition power" has reached its highest level ever observed. Such a powerful force should not be wasted—it's far more efficient than picking a fight.

"Lord Iori!"

At that moment, a voice came from the sky to stop them. Meteora had arrived at the scene in time, and floated down, looking somewhat anxious.

"Meteora?"

Why did you tell her all this?

Meteora's expression turned serious. "Although the basic framework has been built, I'm still not entirely confident. What if something unexpected happens..."

"I believe in your abilities; what you make will definitely be useful."

Iori smiled at her without wavering: "Don't worry, I have my own plans... Princess Alice, do you understand what I'm saying?"

The female knight gripped her lance tightly, her expression solemn: "I understand, I just experienced it myself..."

Alice glanced at her arm armor, which had just unleashed far greater power than usual.

Although she had only heard Junji mention it before, she now had her own impressions and was even more convinced of it—

This can indeed change the "setting" of these people!

In that case, the power of recognition can surely save their world!

However, to create "recognition," one needs to gain public approval, which means constantly causing trouble to increase exposure, thus disrupting the laws of the world...

"But why are you telling me all this? If I follow your advice and use that 'network,' the laws will collapse even faster... Don't you want to protect this world?"

"Wait, I haven't finished yet."

Now you know this method exists, but can you use it? Do you know how to use it?

On the contrary, we have a well-developed plan—called the "Singularity"!

Chapter 464 Collaboration? Just a way to fleece people!

Singularity? What's that?

Before anyone could ask a question, Iori calmly explained: "Singularities are abnormal worlds that have been separated from the normal timeline. They are different from the development of 'history' and have produced errors at certain important points, which has led to the collapse of the entire world—equivalent to 'the cancer of the world'."

"I see, that makes sense. It's quite simple and clear."

Altair nodded slightly: "For example, if the Civil War had turned into a victory for the Southern plantation owners, the American system would have undergone a major change, which would have affected the course of history of the entire world... So, this America that took a different path is what is called a 'singularity'?"

...There seems to be a similar setting in a certain work. Did you reference MyFate/Grand Order?

"That's right, you understand it very quickly."

Furthermore, singularities are like bombs with no visible fuse; you never know when they will explode. The world lines where singularities occur often don't last long, but rather have a devastating impact at the time of occurrence.

"I understand... but what does that have to do with our current situation?"

Altair scoffed, "Are you suggesting that you use the gathered [Acknowledgment Power] to create a singularity at this point in time, altering history while simultaneously detonating this bomb? Of course, that's possible, but what benefit would it bring you?"

"Haven't you always stood by Meteora's side, taking it upon yourself to protect the world?"

Indeed, given Iori's position, it's hard to believe there wasn't a conspiracy behind her suddenly proposing a plan that would "destroy the world."

“That’s right, singularities are extremely dangerous—for the real world.”

Iori smiled, her gaze sweeping over everyone, and she raised her hand as if to grasp something in her palm.