They had persuaded Typhon, subjugated the Dystopian Demon King, and finally, defeated the Demon King of Absolute Evil.
Three things happening on the same day should have been a time of dream-like joy.
However, with Typhon's final declaration—this proclamation of the ultimate apocalypse known as the End Emptiness—the joy in the hearts of the Salvation Group dissipated like foam.
Even after using the power of Ame-no-Murakumo to simultaneously seal and erase the wills of the Demon King of Absolute Evil and Typhon,
such an achievement was not enough to bring them any cheer.
After all, a super-Plinian volcanic eruption, the most powerful torrent in the planet's history, compounded by the destructive energy accumulated by the Third Stellar Particle—an apocalypse of this magnitude left them without even the slightest inclination to celebrate.
After confirming that the two Demon Kings had no more information to reveal, they used Ame-no-Murakumo to completely erase their Spiritual Statuses. The entire Salvation Group then returned to the Holy Cross Group headquarters and collectively requested an audience with Su Mo.
In the central mansion of the group's headquarters, Percher finally saw Su Mo again, the one who had brought her here, and her expression became emotional for a moment.
"So, Lord Su Mo, do you really have a way to deal with the End Emptiness?"
After the audience, Kudou Asuka impatiently asked Su Mo.
Faced with such an unsolvable force, neither they nor the Demon Kings could find a solution, so they could only turn to Su Mo for inspiration.
To this—
"Of course."
Su Mo nodded directly, giving a very certain reply.
"As expected of you!"
Kudou Ayato's eyes were filled with fervent excitement. She knew that no matter the difficulty, it was nothing before this man.
"That's great! Lord Su Mo, could you reveal how we're to deal with the apocalypse represented by the End Emptiness?"
Izayoi also showed a joyful expression before asking tentatively.
"If it's inconvenient, please pretend we didn't ask, but we really want to know how such an impossible problem can be solved."
The previous Last Embryos of humanity, whether it was the Bull of Heaven, the Demon King of Absolute Evil, or the Dystopian Demon King, were all within the realm of human comprehension. Regardless of whether they could actually be solved, humans could at least conceive of different ways to try.
But against the End Emptiness, human thought was simply too powerless.
Unlike the world-ending factors of humanity destroying itself, the End Emptiness was a storm from the mother planet, symbolizing the destruction of Earth.
No matter how strong the Third Stellar Particle was, it was merely a power originating from within Earth. They, as humans, had at most stolen a fraction of it. How could they possibly resist the collapse of the power's very source—the planet itself?
The others also looked over curiously, including Saigou Homura, who had been pulled back by his comrades after his rampage. They all wanted to know what solution Su Mo could possibly have for an apocalypse of this level.
"Of course I can tell you."
Facing everyone's inquisitive gazes, Su Mo smiled faintly and spoke with unusual frankness.
"In fact, the method I'll use to fight the End Emptiness is something you all should know best."
"Eh?"
"Us?"
"Know best?"
Everyone was both excited and confused.
Su Mo's attitude proved that the Demon King of Absolute Evil's previous judgment was correct. Su Mo must have found a way to win, which was why he was launching a hunt for the End Emptiness.
But the question was, what was this method, and why did he say they knew it best?
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Su Mo revealed the answer, speaking words that left them utterly astonished.
"You few... are my ultimate method for defeating the End Emptiness!"
"Huh?"
"U... Us?"
"Wait, you want us to fight the End Emptiness?"
"Lord Su Mo, you must be joking, right?"
Hearing this, they all gaped slightly, pointing at themselves in a state of bewilderment.
Lord Su Mo's secret weapon... was them?
No, wait. The whole reason they sought Su Mo's help was because they couldn't find a way to deal with the End Emptiness. How had it come full circle back to them?
If there was even the slightest chance they could defeat the End Emptiness, with their proud personalities, they wouldn't have come back to ask for help in the first place!
Was Su Mo serious?
"Of course I'm serious."
"You've defeated the Bull of Heaven, the Dystopian Demon King, the Demon King of Absolute Evil, and Typhon... You all now possess more than enough power! So do your best. It's time for you to fulfill your duties as saviors and bravely go face the End Emptiness!"
Su Mo added, offering a word of encouragement.
Before, encouragement from Su Mo would have certainly given them a huge boost of motivation.
Putting the others aside, Kudou Ayato and Percher were truly willing to go through fire and water for a single word of praise from Su Mo.
But now, knowing their enemy was the End Emptiness, an apocalypse that transcended the planetary level, even they froze on the spot.
They didn't care about hardship or danger, but they didn't want to make a pointless sacrifice. And it was obvious that the End Emptiness was the kind of opponent that couldn't be defeated even if they laid down their lives.
Yet, faced with Su Mo's expectations, their proud personalities prevented them from saying they couldn't do it and that he should find someone more capable.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other and fell silent.
Just then, a white-haired loli with dragon horns on her head and a face similar to Shiroyasha's, who was standing beside Su Mo, couldn't help but speak up.
"Su Mo, are you sure these kids have the ability to defeat the End Emptiness? Even if it's just an avatar, isn't that asking a bit too much? They just finished subjugating the past Last Embryos of humanity, and now you want them to solve a problem that even the gods of Little Garden can't handle. Even little old me thinks that's a tall order. To put it in the terms of this era, it's like challenging the final boss right after leaving the starting village, isn't it?"
Kurma tilted her head, unable to understand where Su Mo's confidence came from.
If they hadn't known about the End Emptiness before, upon hearing Kurma's words, the problem children of the Salvation Group's first reaction would have definitely been that they were being underestimated.
But now, hearing this, they nodded eagerly in agreement.
They did want to become saviors, but this difficulty was clearly beyond the realm of theoretical possibility.
Hearing Kurma's words, Su Mo shook his head.
"Comparing those Demon Kings to a starting village is a bit disrespectful. The weakest among them was a three-digit, and most were on par with a two-digit like you."
"That may be true, but compared to a one-digit like the End Emptiness, that kind of power is meaningless, isn't it?"
Kurma still couldn't understand.
The difference between a two-digit and a one-digit is greater than the difference between a two-digit and a seven-digit, or even a flea.
"Look at it from another angle. They've already defeated a three-digit, an exceptional three-digit, and the avatar of a two-digit. The next step is to challenge the avatar of a being who is half-a-step from one-digit. The difficulty is increasing at a steady pace, right? Don't you think it's a perfect fit?"
Su Mo asked in return.
"Eh? That sounds right... No, no, wait. But it's not entirely without reason."
This arithmetic progression made Kurma subconsciously confused. At first glance, it actually seemed to make some sense.
They'd successfully subjugated the avatar of a two-digit, so the next step really did seem to be a half-step one-digit.
Seeing the white-haired loli's confused look, the members of the Salvation Group really wanted to retort, but they didn't dare say it out loud.
No, don't get tricked by Lord Su Mo!
The difference between a half-step one-digit and a two-digit is not a steady increase at all!
And before Kurma could come to her senses, Su Mo patted the white-haired loli's head to distract her, then turned his gaze to the Salvation Group before him.
"Don't worry. The fact that I'm willing to believe in you proves that you already possess enough power to solve this problem."
"So rest assured, you don't need to feel pressured. When the time comes, I will be in Little Garden fighting the enemy alongside you, facing the main body of the End Emptiness directly. Your victory will directly determine the outcome of the battle against the End Emptiness within Little Garden, and it will also directly decide the future of the infinite multiverse."
"There is no need to worry. I believe that you will eventually be able to stand beside Kurma and become the saviors who shoulder the world!"