To make faith obsolete, to make fear forgotten, to bring an end to an era.
The tyrant who wanders at the end of all things, the formless and faceless Demon King, the true embodiment of the eschatology feared by all the gods of Little Garden—that is The End Emptiness.
As a Demon King, although its rank was lowered by half a step like Ame-no-Murakumo due to its lack of self-will, it remains the only acknowledged half-step single-digit being in the history of Little Garden to this day.
When speaking of the strongest in Little Garden, although it is often relegated to the background due to its overwhelming power, The End Emptiness is the undisputed supreme being.
Even in the rankings of the Two-Digit Full-Authority Domain, a monster on the level of the White Night Demon King in her prime could, at best, only rank second in the sequence of full authority.
At all times, The End Emptiness overpowers all other existences, ranking first.
It is an existence that possesses the privilege to end all stories.
It can even terminate fates on the scale of the infinite multiverse.
"This is the final and strongest opponent you are about to face!"
Azi Dahaka said, his expression complex as he looked at the group before him.
He hadn't expected that in such a short time after his own successful subjugation, human history would arrive at the final turning point that would truly decide its fate.
"...An existence that grants the Final Trials of Humanity the privilege to destroy the world?!"
Hearing this description, Kudou Asuka, who had been so confident just moments before, now felt a chill run down her spine.
Possessing the ability to destroy the world and being able to grant others the ability to destroy the world are two completely different levels of power.
If even the terrifying Final Trials of Humanity they had faced before were considered subordinates before The End Emptiness, then what level of monster was the enemy they were about to face?
"This is what you'd call a final boss, isn't it!"
Kasukabe Yō quipped with a deadpan expression, but couldn't help the cold sweat forming on her back.
"No! This isn't some final boss, this is clearly an unbeatable system administrator from the game's system!"
Izayoi's arms trembled slightly, but he managed to remain calm, not intimidated by the Demon King's words.
Because—
"Even so, a few mere humans like us shouldn't have to face a great Demon King of this level, right?"
Izayoi looked at Azi Dahaka.
"At the very least, we don't have to face its true body, do we?"
The crises they had faced were indeed increasingly troublesome.
The Bull of Heaven's true body was a three-digit rank, Typhon's true body was a two-digit rank, and while the Absolute Demon King and the Dystopia Demon King were three-digits, they were stronger than ordinary two-digits or even entire pantheons.
None of the hurdles they had overcome were easy to deal with.
And now with The End Emptiness, it had reached the level of a half-step single-digit.
However, looking back, even though the difficulty was indeed high, they never had to fight the true bodies of these Demon Kings, only their avatars.
Whether it was the Bull of Heaven, Typhon, or the Absolute Demon King, they all appeared with their ranks lowered to four-digits.
Although as four-digits they were far more difficult to handle than ordinary three-digits, the difficulty was indeed greatly reduced.
"That is correct."
Azi Dahaka nodded, subconsciously glancing across the Pacific Ocean.
"The End Emptiness should be Lord Su Mo's prey. In the entire multiverse, only His Lordship is qualified to hunt a Demon King of this level!"
Having fought Su Mo before, even though he had only appeared for less than half a day, he understood the current situation better than anyone.
The reason this world was so complex, and the situation changed so frequently, was not because of the so-called savior candidates, nor was it because of Final Trials of Humanity like them who were subjugated long ago.
It was because of Su Mo.
All the saviors and Final Trials of Humanity have grown and emerged under Su Mo's manipulation.
As for his purpose, it is the strongest enemy in Little Garden's history, the apocalyptic End Emptiness that must be overcome to complete the full cosmology.
"Oh, right, there's Lord Su Mo!"
Hearing this, Percher, who had been very tense, instantly let out a long sigh of relief, her expression calming.
Let the big guys handle it. A half-step single-digit, whose actual power is solidly in the single-digits, is not someone that small fry like them should be dealing with anyway.
Since it was Su Mo's enemy, what did they have to worry about?
At least in Percher's eyes, Su Mo was invincible.
When the others heard this, although they didn't give up completely like Percher, they more or less felt the same way.
As if sensing their thoughts, Azi Dahaka added in a somber tone.
"The true body of The End Emptiness can indeed only be handled by Lord Su Mo... but its avatars can only be dealt with by the humans of each worldline themselves. Otherwise, why do you think Lord Su Mo went to the trouble of cultivating you?"
As soon as he said this, the members of the savior group thought for a few seconds and all grew tense.
That's right. Even if they didn't have to face the true body, they at least had to deal with an avatar.
Otherwise, never mind what Su Mo would think of them for being useless in the face of a challenge, they would look down on themselves!
They had sworn to become saviors; they couldn't fail to defeat a mere avatar.
Otherwise, what was the point of their existence?
Was it just to subjugate a few Demon Kings who had already been defeated by their predecessors?
Thinking of this, the group looked at the two Demon Kings before them.
"Regarding the avatar of The End Emptiness, the crisis we are about to face that is capable of overthrowing deified humanity—can you disclose any information about it beforehand?"
Izayoi asked very cautiously.
According to past experience, solving riddles was part of overcoming a trial, and a lot of information couldn't be asked for directly but had to be discovered on their own.
So he didn't know if this information was similarly shrouded in mystery and needed to be kept secret.
But obviously, his concern was unnecessary.
"Information on the avatar of The End Emptiness? Of course."
A ferocious smile appeared on Azi Dahaka's lips as he spoke readily.
"However, in terms of Spiritual status kinship, this Last Son of Gaia is more familiar with the Spiritual status of The End Emptiness. You'd be better off asking him."
Typhon nodded, showing no sign of resistance or unwillingness to tell them.
Seeing this, Izayoi's expression didn't relax; instead, it grew even heavier.
"..."
The Final Trials of Humanity that couldn't have their information revealed mostly had the characteristic that once the information was known, they could be dealt with easily, or at least a countermeasure could be found.
But for information to be revealed so freely, without any concern for its impact on human history, meant that even knowing it would be of no help. It was a true dilemma that could not be solved no matter what strategy one employed.
And judging by the two Demon Kings' behavior, the puzzle of The End Emptiness belonged to the latter category.