"Well then, let me see if you can withstand me, Twin Goddesses."
Riku's gaze was cold as he lifted a single finger, condensing the azure flame of water droplets into a tight sphere. The energy compressed to the extreme, then swelled outward.
Super Saiyan Blue is the advanced form of Super Saiyan God. Its power left his previous state far behind. Transcendent Super, if controlled in a berserk state, could rival Super Blue, but that form robbed Riku of his reason. Its flaw was fatal. In contrast, keeping rational control over Transcendent Super's power suppressed it, leaving it equivalent to Super Green, still far weaker than Super Blue.
Blue energy surged from Riku's fingertip, erupting into a ki-blast that raced forward at light-shattering speed toward the Twin Goddesses.
From within the shadows, [Omega] of the End barely moved her hand.
The End's gale swept out once more, scouring all before it and colliding head-on with Riku's power.
Heaven and earth shook as blue divine energy and the black winds of the End split the sky between them.
From the outside, it almost looked as though Riku were the savior-god, while the Twin Goddesses played the role of apocalyptic Demon Lords.
"Evenly matched? No… I'm being pushed back." Riku's eyes narrowed, his heart sinking. At first, the clash had seemed balanced, but the End's gale was eroding his power.
"How ironic. Twin Goddesses, what exactly are you? For gods to embody the doctrine of the End?" Riku's voice was cold.
"That is none of your concern," [Omega] replied, her tone like ice.
The black gale swelled, utterly suppressing Riku's energy. Then, from the other side, [Alpha] of Creation raised her hand. The white spiral of Creation's truth descended, shattering Riku's attack and sweeping toward him.
Riku's figure flickered with pure speed, carrying him out of danger as he lunged directly at the Twin Goddesses.
He raised his palm. The [Pseudo Star Map Creation] erupted once more, an aurora pillar so potent it tore through even the End's gale.
This time, even the Twin Goddesses did not try to meet it head-on. Their shadows flickered and vanished, letting the aurora column tear through the heavens and shake the sky itself.
"You can dodge?" Riku sneered. His form appeared at their flank, [Longinus: Spear of Godslayer] already thrusting at the shadowed figure.
Shhhhk!
The spear pierced through, but there was no resistance. In that instant, the shadow split into two identical female forms. Even so, their true visages remained obscured, blurred beyond recognition.
"[Longinus: Spear of Godslayer], troublesome indeed. But so long as it doesn't strike, it means nothing."
To the right, [Alpha] of Creation raised her arm. Authority surged forth, Creation's divine might descending like a flood.
At the same time, [Omega] of the End unleashed another storm.
Their overwhelming combined power pressed down, and Riku's heart grew heavy. The Twin Goddesses were simply too strong. Even Super Blue in its ordinary state was not enough.
Worse, most of his trump cards had already been revealed in the battle with the Son of God. Super Blue, combined with those cards, might force an advantage, might even wound the Twin Goddesses, but…
Against foes of this tier, beings not only of the two-digit authority, but standing near its pinnacle, it was not enough to secure victory.
If he relied only on ordinary Super Blue plus revealed trump cards, the fight might drag on for a year with no result. And in the meantime, countless variables could intervene.
Below, the battlefield raged. Though [Disboard] held its own against the million-strong host, time was not on their side. Prolonged battle would spell danger, and who knew what reinforcements the enemy might yet call upon?
Riku's eyes flashed as he evaded another combined strike.
Then he hurled [Longinus: Spear of Godslayer] straight at [Alpha].
The Spear carried the Sagittarius Sun Authority, the Truth of Inevitability and under Riku's might, it burned with boundless heat, streaking past the Sixth Cosmos itself to pierce Creation's heart.
"[Longinus] combined with Sagittarius? Troublesome… but useless against me." [Alpha]'s clear voice rang out.
She summoned forth another Truth of Creation, meeting the Spear head-on. Two cosmic truths clashed and locked in a deadlock.
With [Longinus] binding [Alpha] in that moment, Riku's eyes grew calm. The blue flames around his body vanished, energy sealed tightly within.
Though the Eternal Perpetual Engine meant he need not fear exhaustion, Super Blue leaked energy too freely. The Third Engine could replenish it, but the flow was inefficient. His strength was never at its peak.
But if he compressed everything inward, maximising efficiency, his power would leap higher still.
This was Super Blue: Full Power!
In Dragon Ball Super, Son Goku had relied on this very mastery to fight fused Zamasu, who had effortlessly crushed ordinary Super Blue, to a deadlock.
[Omega] sensed the shift. Even as Riku danced around her storm, something was changing. Her eyes sharpened. The gale of the End roared, desperate to tear him apart.
But Riku vanished from his spot and charged straight through the storm that once forced caution.
BOOOOOM!
His unleashed force exploded outward, annihilating the black gales in a crushing advance.
Through the shattered winds, Riku appeared before [Omega]. In his left hand, a divine spear materialised [Brahmashirsha Astra].
In less than a billionth of a second, Riku drove the weapon forward, ripping through space itself, thrusting for [Omega]'s heart!
For the first time, [Omega]'s eyes narrowed, her expression shifting.
CLANG!
At the most critical moment, the [Winds of Demise] condensed into blades sharp enough to sever divinity, controlled by [Omega], crashed against Riku's [Brahmashirā Astra].
A thunderous roar rang out as terrifying heat erupted, turning the heavens into a blazing purgatory.
BOOM!
Yet Riku had never expected to win by the Brahmashirā Astra alone. In the next instant, his leg swept out, carrying the power to annihilate all things, and slammed toward [Omega].
Having just defended against the divine spear, Omega was unable to properly guard herself. She hastily raised a barrier of pure divinity around her body.
But against Riku in [Super Blue Full Power], such a defence was nothing. His kick shattered the barrier and mercilessly smashed into Omega's abdomen, sending her flying like a meteor, vanishing into the distant sky. Space itself trembled at the impact.
On the other side, [Alpha]'s [Principle of Creation] clashed against the god-slaying truth contained within the [Spear of Godslayer: Longinus], cancelling one another out. Her gaze sharpened as she turned toward Riku.
[Alpha] summoned the majesty of Creation. A white hurricane roared from earth to sky, surging toward Riku.
BOOOOM!
Riku snorted coldly, raising his palm. A torrent of blue divine energy exploded outward in a beam, piercing straight through the white gale.
The violent shockwaves tore across the heavens, making all who fought below tremble. The battlefield itself faltered as both sides scrambled to deal with the fallout.
After repelling both [Alpha] and [Omega], Riku did not immediately press his advantage. Instead, he simply swept his arm across the sky.
With that motion, the lingering chaotic energy in the heavens was dispersed by a single wave of his hand.
Moments later, Alpha and Omega reappeared a kilometre away, standing shoulder to shoulder, their gazes locked tightly on Riku.
"Your form hasn't changed," Omega said slowly. "And yet your power has grown so much stronger?"
"Energy utilisation," Alpha's cold, melodic voice revealed the truth.
At this moment, Riku's raw power surpassed even theirs.
"But in the end, you are only one man," Omega said with chilling finality. "Defeating the two of us… You still lack the means."
Riku smirked, his eyes full of amusement.
It was true that the Twin Goddesses were the strongest foes he had encountered since arriving in Little Garden, and also the most unique. Both [Alpha of Creation] and [Omega of Demise] wielded the authority of the two-digit [Full Authority Domain]. And because of their duality, they were particularly difficult to handle.
No one could deny their strength. To have once sundered the spirit of [Heliocentrism] during the Age of Dawn, even if chance played a role, the Twin Goddesses were undeniably among Little Garden's apex beings.
[Super Blue Full Power] gave Riku the ability to individually suppress either Alpha or Omega. But together, they could hold him at bay. Even with all his hidden cards, victory would not come quickly.
And time was not on his side. The Twin Goddesses could afford to stall; he could not.
"But unfortunately… you've handed me the true key to victory." Riku smiled confidently.
In his hand appeared a card invisible to all others.
[Summon Card: Human Final Trial — Perpetual Motion Engine!]
Indeed, at the moment he struck Omega earlier, Riku had made contact with her body and triggered the black treasure chest she carried. What he obtained from it was beyond his expectations.
"You say numbers are your advantage? Then let's make this fair. Two versus two." Riku's voice was cold.
"…What?" For the first time, the Twin Goddesses faltered, their eyes narrowing.
In their eyes, the only way Riku could match them was by calling forth [Jesus, the Son of God] to hold one at bay. Or perhaps the [Halloween Queen] could leave her battlefield to restrain one of them. That would give him a chance.
But Jesus was bound in the North. And the Queen of Halloween was needed to anchor the ground war. If she left, [Disboard]'s lines would collapse within moments.
Thus, the Twin Goddesses felt no urgency.
"Summon—Human Final Trial: Perpetual Motion Engine!"
Riku grinned, activating the black card.
RUMBLE!
Bolts of lightning tore across the sky. A crushing divine presence descended upon the world.
The instant it appeared, both armies below Indra, Brahma, the legions of gods, the Halloween Queen, Athena, Poseidon, even God Himself all froze, their eyes snapping upward in shock.
This aura, this divinity was steeped in god-slaying power. Stronger than the [Spear of Godslayer: Longinus], it was the pure essence of god-killing incarnate.
In Little Garden, there was only one class of beings that possessed such an authority:
The Human Final Trial.
The strongest god-slayer. A being whose strike not only destroyed body and soul, but also faith itself, leaving no chance for revival.
"What!? Impossible, the Human Final Trial has appeared!"
"And here, of all places!"
"There was no sign! No [Historical Transition] in human history, how can this be!?"
Indra, Brahma, and the divine kings were shaken to their core. Even they could not remain calm.
Such was the weight of the Human Final Trial.
On another battlefield, even the Queen of White Night, locked in her own [Gift Game], narrowed her golden eyes. That aura that spirit belonged to the [Perpetual Motion Engine].
Had Riku himself become the Human Final Trial?
But glancing skyward, she saw Riku still blazing with divine power, unmistakably in his god-form. She faltered, unable to comprehend.
"So… it has appeared after all. The Human Final Trial." Laplace sighed bitterly. For once, she wished her prophecy had been wrong.
Yet neither she nor the million-strong divine army realised: the Human Final Trial had manifested only because they themselves had forced it. By igniting war, summoning the Twin Goddesses, and pressing Riku to this point, they had allowed him to open the black treasure chest.
"This aura…" The Halloween Queen's eyes narrowed, watching Riku's faint smile. Her doubts vanished.
"This is… the Human Final Trial! But why now!?"
The Twin Goddesses themselves froze, their hearts shaken.
And then, while fear rippled through the countless divine hosts, a divinity vast enough to drive all to despair quietly descended.
Besides Riku, a new figure appeared.
Little Garden itself trembled.