Chapter 757: The New Final Trial of Humanity — Evil of Humanity
"That group seems to be going further and further overboard."
Black Rabbit frowned. As an aristocrat of Little Garden, she inherently had a very good temper. But for some reason, upon learning that the guy with half-black, half-white long hair not only possessed three heartbeats but also harbored an evil Gift called [All the World's Evil]...
She just couldn't bring herself to feel friendly towards the martial artist known as Mercenary Tao.
Many traits about that man constantly reminded her of the Demon Lord who had destroyed her homeland.
Izayoi Sakamaki, however, merely watched the scene with a smile. The leader of the Perseus Community was an idiot; that was a fact obvious at a glance.
What he was more curious about were the origins of the uniquely distinct individuals serving under that martial artist.
His gaze drifted towards the young woman in the white robe standing beside Black Rabbit.
Hakumen understood immediately and flashed a smile.
"Those guys are also powerful individuals from different worlds. They were forcefully subjugated by that evil martial artist, Mercenary Tao. In order to utilize [All the World's Evil] to resurrect, they'd probably do anything..."
Hakumen smeared the others without the slightest psychological burden. She didn't say this to scheme against Mercenary Tao, though.
In reality, she had known for a long time that even though she had been "resurrected" by [All the World's Evil], she wouldn't be able to become a truly independent entity in the short term.
Because the Black Mud was a special creation personally controlled by Mercenary Tao, and their group of spiritual bodies had, in fact, already died long ago.
Therefore, entities resurrected via the Black Mud would be designated as special summons belonging to Mercenary Tao, able to be teleported alongside him and enter other worlds with him.
Under these circumstances, if the main body, Mercenary Tao, died, her ending would highly likely not be pleasant.
The reason Hakumen kept plucking at Black Rabbit's nerves was because she knew very well that to obtain high-level rewards outside of Mercenary Tao's faction, she needed to possess a unique utility.
By establishing herself as an entity standing in opposition to Mercenary Tao's group, she would be treated accordingly. The more she painted Mercenary Tao as evil and powerful, the higher her own value became.
Sure enough, upon hearing her words, Black Rabbit became even more wary of Mercenary Tao's group.
Recklessly plundering other worlds, killing powerful figures, enslaving their souls, then releasing them in the Little Garden world and controlling them to seize the Gifts of others...
This kind of guy...
Izayoi Sakamaki merely chuckled, not taking the bait. Yo Kasukabe and Asuka Kudo were the same. The three problem children of this generation were not the reckless type; in fact, they were quite calm regarding many matters.
"Have you noticed? Hidden among the numerous 4-Star Gift Games acting as a smokescreen, there are some very special types."
Asuka Kudo, like a noble lady of high status, barely moved her lips when she spoke, her gaze steadily forward as usual.
Izayoi Sakamaki nodded.
"Not just 4-Star. The two 5-Star Gift Games that have appeared so far were both released by that type of person."
Yo Kasukabe, whose perception of life was much more delicate, added to Izayoi's observation.
"No, rather than saying it's that type of person, it's better to say it's that type of Gift."
"Someone is using an extremely rare Gift to simulate participants, hiding them among the numerous candidates, to host these dangerous Gift Games with unknown motives."
A glint flashed in Hakumen's eyes. The three protagonists of this powerful world could all be considered shrewd. Around people like them, she didn't need to appear too clever; she just needed to drop crucial pieces of intelligence at the right moments.
"Although it might not be my place to say this given my standing, I actually just saw something very familiar in the Gift Game Mr. Izayoi was looking at..."
[5-Star Gift Game: Trial of Love and Loneliness]
[Hosts:] Apostle; Ouroboros
[Game Content:] Proceed to the lost world and challenge the trial of love and loneliness.
[Reward:] The Gift of the Heart
[Participants:] None
That piece of parchment was gripped by a scrawny young boy. The boy wore a special white, tight-fitting pilot suit that looked entirely out of place compared to most people in this world.
Thus, Hakumen recognized this unique individual at a glance, and consequently noticed the trial. It wasn't, as she claimed, because she followed Izayoi's gaze.
In truth, whether in action or observation, Izayoi Sakamaki completely surpassed Reincarnators at their current stage. Hakumen currently struggled to keep up with him.
"Miss Hakumen, please don't hide information at a time like this. After all, this is a massive crisis that Lord Shiroyasha said could lead to the emergence of a new Final Trial of Humanity."
Asuka Kudo saw right through the burning desire hidden in the eyes of this woman calling herself Hakumen.
The woman wanted to use them, use [No Name], or more accurately, use Izayoi Sakamaki's unreasonable power to seize benefits for herself.
But so what? Asuka Kudo had long understood that the exchange of interests was the most fundamental and solid logic pushing this world forward.
What the other party wanted wasn't something impossible to give; they just had to give it to her.
Hakumen's eyes narrowed into crescents. She immediately spoke up.
"That so-called [Trial of Love] Gift Game was highly likely designed by someone from the same place as us. Let's make an even bolder speculation: this massive crisis that could birth a new [Final Trial of Humanity] might very well be that guy's doing too."
Her smile was radiant, as if talking about someone she had no connection with.
"You might not know this, but people from our world... although many fall short in pure strength compared to the people here, we possess a uniquely gifted talent for intelligence gathering and committing evil."
"Many have personally driven entire worlds into utter ruin while they were still alive~"
Hakumen was already guessing in her heart. The host [Ouroboros], marked on each of these specific Gift Games, was highly likely that Reincarnator stirring up storms in this world.
That person's strength was likely much higher than hers, and they possessed some special ability to replicate plot characters or even certain scenarios.
Only then could they achieve something like this.
Hakumen licked her lips.
Since Shinji Ikari held the [Trial of Love and Loneliness], the content of this Gift Game was highly likely related to the Human Instrumentality Project and the AT Field (Wall of the Heart).
She was intimately familiar with this content. She had even executed it herself in the Fate world. If Mercenary Tao hadn't received the help of the Counter Force, she would probably have successfully completed the Human Instrumentality Project.
Hakumen's eyes darted around. Soon, she spotted another figure in the crowd with an art style completely different from the others: a guy encased in worn silver metal armor, resembling a robot.
Judging by the size of the parchment in his hand, it should be a 4-Star Gift Trial.
"Mr. Izayoi, I think it would be better for us to start with that trial first. Perhaps we can further grasp exactly what kind of Gifts the guy hiding behind the scenes possesses..."
Hakumen confirmed the fully armored person was likely [Alphonse Elric] from the [Fullmetal Alchemist] world. Regardless of what his 4-Star trial was, given the world's difficulty level and the 4-Star ranking, it would definitely be less troublesome than the Evangelion trial.
Although Izayoi Sakamaki was powerful—arguably the most anomalous existence in the outer gates—facing the purely subjective, idealistic power system of Evangelion still felt unsafe to Hakumen.
She wanted Izayoi to test the waters first with the trial derived from the FMA cosmology.
Following Hakumen's words, Black Rabbit and Asuka indeed saw the guy and walked towards Alphonse.
But Izayoi Sakamaki stared unblinking at the 5-Star Gift Game in front of him.
He reached out his hand, but the next moment his eyes shifted. Another person had appeared beside him, similarly reaching for the parchment.
Seeing Izayoi hadn't followed, Hakumen turned her head, only to see Mercenary Tao and Izayoi standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of Shinji Ikari, both their hands pressing against the parchment.
She froze, and then panic washed over her.
Damn it, Mercenary Tao really is insane! This time, there might not be a Counter Force or Gaia's consciousness standing by his side.
Voluntarily facing Human Instrumentality—perhaps even the complete version of the Human Instrumentality Project—even a Reincarnator like Mercenary Tao, with his high level of immortality and incredibly powerful physical body, would have a very high mortality rate.
After all, strictly speaking, the Human Instrumentality Project doesn't kill you; it merely dissolves everyone's AT Fields (Walls of the Heart), returning everyone into a single entity.
That has very little to do with immortality; it is the annihilation of individual existence.
"Martial Artist, your authority level isn't high enough, is it? Better go check out those other trials over there..."
Izayoi Sakamaki didn't have much interest in the other Gift Games currently available. He was very curious about how the massive crisis that Lord Shiroyasha claimed could lead to the emergence of a new [Final Trial of Humanity] was actually formed.
The people he had seen didn't seem particularly strong, so how exactly could they cause such a crisis to arise?
And... these guys who seemed capable of freely traveling through various worlds, what kind of special power did they actually possess?
For Izayoi, entering the Gift Game that appeared to be the most difficult right now was naturally the most convenient path.
Kaito Shirogane felt the same way. He originally wanted to hunt down the hosts of other 4-Star Gift Games to seize more Gifts.
But he had accidentally spotted this 5-Star Gift Game.
Rumor had it that several 4-Star authority holders had already attempted this challenge, but the ultimate result was that the Gift Game remained, while the participants vanished completely.
He looked at Shinji Ikari's lifeless eyes. The boy merely held up the parchment mechanically, as if his heart and soul had already been lost.
Kaito Shirogane didn't believe this was a real plot character. The boy lacked the aura of a living person. Kaito Shirogane also had some guesses regarding the content of this Gift Game.
More importantly, the reward for this Gift Game... [The Gift of the Heart].
Kaito Shirogane tilted his head and raised his wrist. Unbeknownst to anyone, a fourth Star had appeared on it. In that short amount of time just now, he had quickly used the [Heart of Slaanesh] to charm a woman, forcing her to initiate a Gift Game, successfully defeating her and obtaining the Star.
Kaito Shirogane directly pressed his finger onto the parchment. At the same exact time, Izayoi Sakamaki did the same.
Hakumen almost wanted to facepalm. She felt her newly resurrected cranial nerves aching as if they were tearing apart.
The guy who controlled her life and death, and the strongest helper she could borrow power from right now, had actually both entered what she considered the most dangerous Gift Game with the highest probability of failure, simultaneously.
Even worse, given Mercenary Tao's lunatic personality, if he recklessly challenged Izayoi Sakamaki, he might just get himself killed by the boy...
Damn it all...
While Hakumen nursed her headache, on the other side, Yo Kasukabe and Asuka Kudo had already accepted the special Gift Game [Trial of Wishes] in front of Alphonse, and vanished simultaneously.
Only Black Rabbit was left standing beside her.
"Oh!"
A gasp of surprise came from the other side. In the sky, a massive firework soared upwards, followed by another near them—since two Gift Games of 4-Star or above had just been initiated on both sides.
Hakumen realized that someone on the other side had initiated a high-level Gift Game even earlier.
She followed the gaze and saw Gilgamesh, his golden armor gleaming brilliantly. He had appeared at some unknown time, his expression unusually serious.
Subsequently, his body slowly turned into specks of golden light and vanished. Judging by the speed and the spectacle, it seemed the tier of that Gift Game was even higher than the ones here.
Hakumen immediately approached that side, only to find the parchment held by a young girl wielding a massive shield.
"That is..."
Then, Black Rabbit also walked over.
"A 6-Star Gift Game... Manifestation of the Evil of Humanity: Tiamat?!"
It's actually a 6-Star Gift Game...
Hakumen was extremely knowledgeable about various anime, movies, deep-dive analyses, and novel lore; it was a part of her talent.
Seeing this now, she immediately understood why someone like Gilgamesh would be drawn to it.
The background of this Gift Game was highly likely derived from the Mother Goddess of Creation in Mesopotamian mythology.
And it was intertwined with that particular Gilgamesh's past.
In other words, this Gift Game perhaps belonged precisely to Gilgamesh's own world.
Hakumen furrowed her brows. She began to feel that the [Ouroboros] behind the scenes was becoming extremely troublesome. If they could truly recreate the descent of [Beast II: Tiamat] from the [Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia]...
Then that person's power level likely completely surpassed the current Sovereign Monarchs.
Even... Hakumen hadn't witnessed the power of the Supreme Three Kings, but that was a scene straight out of mythology. She found it hard to believe that Reincarnators of the current era—when many were still lingering at the [Average] tier—had someone capable of achieving such a feat.
Participating in a great war of the Mythological Age?
Moreover, as a Gift Game, it wouldn't necessarily perfectly recreate the timeline of the original work. Without the appearance of the Grand Assassin, King Hassan, how on earth were they supposed to defeat [Tiamat], the Mother Goddess of Creation who didn't even possess the concept of "death" to begin with?
Hakumen pondered deeply. Suddenly, she looked at Black Rabbit, realizing something. The purpose of that [Ouroboros] hiding behind the scenes releasing these Gift Games might not be targeting Reincarnators like them at all.
"Yes, in this world, we Reincarnators are ultimately insignificant. That guy's true goal... are the native inhabitants of this world..."
Above the pitch-black city, a colossal figure stood, connecting heaven and earth. Its face could only be vaguely glimpsed from the sky—a pure white figure with ruby-like eyes.
The entire world was dead silent.
Kaito Shirogane and Izayoi Sakamaki stood upon the LCL "orange juice," both looking up at the giant in the sky, who looked as if it were standing outside the planet.
Rings of AT Fields faintly appeared from all directions, then instantly dissolved.
The residual power of countless Walls of the Heart folded in the air, ultimately acting upon both of them simultaneously.
"Do you... desire a heart?"
"Kaito Shirogane."
"Do you wish to become a truly complete individual..."
Kaito Shirogane took a step forward. As the "orange juice" beneath his feet rippled, concentric rings of power akin to the Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light emerged from it. The AT Field on the surface of Kaito Shirogane's body immediately began to waver.