"If you want it, then this is for you, cute little girl~~"
Not sensing any hostility from Ophis, Shoyo cheerfully handed over the black and white stuffed toy.
"This animal is called a panda."
Indeed, from the very beginning, the Infinite Dragon God Ophis had been drawn to the panda. Even now, her gaze remained fixed on it. The lazy panda was so irresistibly cute that even the Infinite Dragon God was enchanted. Terrifying!
"Mmm......." Ophis murmured softly, a faint glimmer of eagerness flickering in her usually calm eyes.
She reached out her small hand,
Finally~~~ she touched the cute, fluffy little creature.
"Boy...... what do you want?"
Still playing with the panda in her hands, Ophis spoke in her usual tone, calm and detached, yet laced with an innate majesty. It was the signature presence of the Infinite Dragon God: tranquil, but overwhelming.
"Hmm?" Shoyo raised an eyebrow.
"A tribute giver...... should receive a due reward."
Her cherry lips parted slightly, her tone soft but regal, the aura of the Infinite Dragon God in full display.
"Then, I'll take this."
With Ophis's serene eyes watching him, Shoyo extended his hand toward her. She showed no reaction. Even if someone like Cao Cao had stabbed her with the fully released the power of Longinus Spear, she wouldn't have flinched, so what was this boy trying to do?
Suddenly, warmth spread from the top of her head. Ophis blinked. The boy… was patting her head?
No being had ever done such a thing to her before.
But… it felt kind of nice?
It was... warm, like sunlight. Comforting. Reassuring.
---
"Rumble!~~~"
In that moment,
Ophis's small eyes snapped wide open.
The world changed dramatically!
The energy of Kuoh Town, no, the entire Japan, suddenly became chaotic!
Dark clouds churned across the skies!
The ground trembled, as if an Earth Dragon was stirring in its sleep beneath them!
Multiple terrifying auras surged forth,
Beings that dwelled between dimensions turned their eyes to this small corner of the world!
And Ophis…
She knew the reason.
She turned her gaze to the boy before her, eyes filled with something new, urgency and longing. Feelings she hadn't shown in eons.
---
Just moments earlier...
Shoyo had gathered his courage and gently patted Ophis's head.
As he expected, no reaction. She didn't even understand what a head pat meant. If she wouldn't react to being stabbed by a Holy Spear, why would she care about a pat?
But then,
[Ding!]
[Ding! King-level Sign-In Successful!]
[Sign-In Location: Ophis's Head]
[Congratulations! You've obtained the reward: "The Ten Avatars of Vishnu – Origin of the Little Garden!"]
First Avatar: Matsya the Fish
Second Avatar: Kurma the World Turtle
Third Avatar: Varaha the Boar
Fourth Avatar: Narasimha the Lion-Man
Fifth Avatar: Vamana the Dwarf
Sixth Avatar: Parashurama warrior with the Axe
Seventh Avatar: Rama
Eighth Avatar: Krishna
Ninth Avatar: Buddha
Tenth Avatar: Kalki the White Horse
[Note: The strength of each avatar depends on the host's own tolerance limit.]
[Fusion commencing…]
Suddenly, an enormous presence loomed over Earth itself!
In the Underworld, countless beings turned their eyes skyward!
A gigantic fish rolled through the heavens, carried on waves that shimmered with the essence of worlds!
Even Jörmungandr, the Serpent of the End, lying dormant in Norse territory, looked like a mere insect in comparison.
Then, in rapid succession,
A silver dragon!
A boar-lifting world!
A divine lion-man!
One after another, nine more earth-shattering figures appeared!
And then,
They vanished.
Or more accurately...
They all merged into Shoyo's body!
---
In the Hindu Pantheon,
Shiva's calm expression faltered.
He stared at the vision before him, Vishnu's Avatars.
"This is… Vishnu's authority," he whispered.
But... Vishnu was standing right there beside him.
And he looked just as shocked.
"I'm telling you, it's not me," Vishnu said with a helpless look. "If I had that kind of power, we'd have unified all the pantheons already."
But one thing was clear,
Whoever this mysterious being was, whichever faction he belonged to,
They were now the strongest force in the world.
---
In the Underworld,
Sirzechs, who was discussing recent Rating Game matters with Ajuka, felt his pupils flash destructive red.
"Ajuka... Can you trace the source of this power?"
Ajuka replied calmly, already running calculations.
"The Human World… I've narrowed it to the Japan. Kuoh Town, most likely."
"That's..." Sirzechs frowned. "Where Rias and Serafall's younger sister are."
"Let's hope this is all just a coincidence."
---
All across the world, every pantheon,
Norse, Celtic, Persian, Eastern, Japanese, Greek,
Their gazes turned toward Japan.
---
And as the ten avatars merged completely into his body, Shoyo finally felt the transformation complete.
"This power… It's insane!!"
He could feel it.
He could feel the terrifying strength surging through his body!
Among the ten avatars, three stood above the rest:
Matsya, the Fish, the "Ark" that saved the world from the great deluge.
Kurma, the World Turtle, the beast that carried realms on its back, navigating the sea of stars.
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, the Liberator, whose authority pierced the boundaries of divinity itself.
All three were beings who had reached the level of seventeen Highest authority of the Little Garden!
The rest weren't far behind, some were even near the double-digit domain!
And now, all their power,
All of it belonged to Shoyo.
He didn't just receive powers from Vishnu.
He received the origin of Vishnu,
The true form that unified all the avatars into one ultimate existence.
---