— — — — — —
After splitting off a piece of her authority and granting Ryo the power of a Demon, Algol muttered something about it being time for her face mask... and vanished from the hall.
Contrary to Algol's expectations, though, Ryo didn't pass out from the transfer. Thanks to the Hōgyoku's power, he completely skipped the usual adaptation process and stayed conscious.
Once the initial wave of sleepiness passed, Ryo opened his eyes and placed his hand on the newly formed Zanpakutō at his side.
—Sword Zen! (Jinzen)
A technique from the world of Bleach, used to communicate with one's Zanpakutō spirit.
Right now, Ryo was using it to connect with the brand-new blade in his hand.
As expected, the spirit of the newly-born Zanpakutō responded to him almost immediately.
A girl appeared beside him, dressed in a white straitjacket. She had long, deep purple hair—and a face that looked far too much like Algol's.
"Well now, called me out already? Al-chan's kinda surprised," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Algol?" Ryo blinked in surprise.
"Ehh, calling me that works, I guess, but I'm not the real deal—just a fragment. A manifestation of her, you could say."
She shrugged, then added casually:
"Since I'm born from her Demon authority, you can call me Algol, or Lilith if you prefer."
Ryo narrowed his eyes. "So what's the real reason you gave me that power, Algol?"
The spirit of a Zanpakutō is closely bound to its wielder—it's nearly impossible for it to harm them. That's exactly why Ryo had pulled a random Asauchi earlier: to avoid falling into any traps Algol might've set, and take back some control.
"Mmm... if I said I just wanted freedom, you probably wouldn't buy it," she mused, tilting her head as she pulled out a compact mirror and started brushing her hair.
"To be honest, it's because of your natural ability. Without embedding a piece of my power in you, it didn't feel... safe. That's what I was thinking at the time."
Her lips curled into a mischievous smirk.
"Once you agreed to 'free' Algol, our contract was sealed. And until the day you actually do free me, I have full rights to borrow your powers whenever I need a little... beauty treatment~"
She giggled. "Did you really think Al-chan would just let you walk away? What if you ran off or died? Then my whole new skincare routine would be ruined!"
Ryo twitched at that. He was relieved, sure, but also completely speechless.
This crazy Demon-star really went through all this just to pamper herself?
If Aizen could see someone in the Little Garden using the Hōgyoku as a beauty tool, he'd probably be somewhere between laughing and crying.
Gods, huh... they really are a self-indulgent bunch.
At that moment, 'Algol' suddenly jumped up and kicked Ryo in the knee.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and send Al-chan back. It's face mask time—chop chop~!"
Expressionless, Ryo sheathed the Zanpakutō and watched as her form dissolved into nothing.
"She's just a fragment... and she still wants to return to her spiritual space for beauty treatments?"
Ryo sighed, then muttered the only words that came to mind:
"Absolute nutcase."
But strangely, letting that out made him feel a bit lighter—more relaxed. He was finally ready to focus on other things.
"So... the trial's done, huh?" he murmured.
"I thought I was gonna have to take a loss here, but in the end, I actually passed through negotiations?"
It finally dawned on him: The real key to surviving this world wasn't just knowing the story, but understanding the characters.
"The plot itself isn't the most important part... it's the character settings that matter most!"
Ryo let out a short laugh.
Was the Perseus trial hard?
Hell yes it was. Even Leticia in her full power might've struggled. In the mid levels of the Little Garden, only those main god-leaders like Zeus had any real shot at clearing it.
But for him? Not that hard.
Knowing how obsessed Algol was with beauty, all it took was having the right power to meet that obsession—and you could negotiate your way through.
The thing is, barely anyone in the Little Garden really understood that about her. Most wouldn't believe Algol could be so... reasonable.
"This whole venture wasn't a waste. I've learned a lot."
Ryo let out a small breath of relief.
The big lesson?
Focus on how characters think—not on the plot points that can shift at any time.
As he thought about it, he looked down at the new Zanpakutō in his hand and chuckled.
"Isn't having two swords the new trend for strong people now?"
Still grinning, he took a few deep breaths, then turned and walked toward the gate that marked the trial's end.
— — —
"Fifteen minutes," said Aishelia Perseus, checking the time back at their base.
"By now, the challenger should've obtained the first artifact... and run into Algol."
"Give it two more minutes, and we'll probably see his corpse," Laius said with a mocking sneer.
"Should we prepare some recovery meds, Aishelia-sama? Most people come out of that trial with their minds shattered."
Aishelia glanced over at Leticia, then sighed.
"Yeah, get some ready."
High-grade mental recovery potions were insanely expensive—and with [No Name]'s current finances, affording them wasn't exactly an option.
That thought had barely passed before Aishelia's expression changed slightly.
"Trial's over already?"
As the leader of Perseus, she could sense the status of the trial.
And right now, it had just... ended.
Laius looked confused too.
"Wait, that fast? I thought we had a couple more minutes... crap, the meds aren't ready yet."
Before he could finish his sentence, an ancient stone gate materialized in the middle of the hall.
Leticia stood up immediately, but Aishelia gave Laius a subtle signal with her eyes.
Whenever challengers failed, Algol usually threw their bodies out like garbage—and Aishelia didn't want Leticia seeing something like that again.
"I'll go get him," Laius said, understanding the gesture. He sighed, walked to the gate, and took a knee in front of it, ready to "catch the princess."
Mocking Ryo? Nah. Not while the guy was likely unconscious or mentally broken.
But then the gate opened... and Ryo casually stepped out, fully upright.
He blinked, staring at Laius, who was kneeling with his arms extended like he was catching a princess.
Ryo glanced around—didn't see many spectators—then looked back down at Laius with an odd expression.
"Uh... what are you doing? Is this a performance, or are you proposing to someone?"
"If you mean me, then sorry to break your heart—I'm not GAE."
Laius froze.
.
.
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(A/N:
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