Chapter 759: Final Trial of Humanity — The End of Reincarnation
[A unit under your control has killed Luos Perseus]
[You have obtained D-Rank Singularity Point * 1]
[You have obtained Dimensional Points * 2500]
[Faction Reputation with Perseus Community has decreased to: Hatred (65/100)]
Satoru Gojo placed one hand behind his head, ruffling his silvery-white hair. The numerous eyes on his body began to disappear, and his aura slowly reverted from extremely terrifying back to his usual, unreliable demeanor.
"Oops, I accidentally lost control and killed him..."
He smiled without a hint of guilt. In fact, Kaito Shirogane could sense his genuine amusement.
Satoru Gojo, this King of Curses, felt pleasure in the process of sadistically torturing and killing the weak. He had developed a substantive difference from the original Jujutsu Sorcerer, Satoru Gojo.
Kaito Shirogane turned his head. He wasn't surprised that Satoru Gojo had killed this generation's Perseus. That guy was arrogant, lustful, and reckless. Despite having the aid of multiple powerful Gifts, his strength was only considered decent among 6-Digits.
He truly brought shame to his demigod bloodline.
Satoru Gojo brandished the gorgon-headed whip in his hand. That was the Gift he had obtained from Luos—a whip that could petrify others upon striking them.
It possessed an effect similar to Medusa's Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
Satoru Gojo struck a flashy pose, only to find that barely anyone was paying attention to him. Even the young girls who had previously cheered for his "beauty" were now gathered behind his host.
They seemed to be spectating something incredible.
Satoru Gojo instantly appeared amidst the crowd. Madara Uchiha's Sharingan merely flicked sideways before returning his gaze to that scroll of parchment.
The young girl holding the massive shield had lifeless eyes; it was obvious she wasn't a real human. But the parchment in her hand was exceptionally large, and it also emanated concentric rings of radiant light.
"6-Star Gift Game... Participant... Gilgamesh..."
"Heh, what a stupid name..."
As Satoru Gojo spoke, he noticed Hakumen looking at him with a bizarre expression. It took him a moment to realize that this "neighbor" of his—the arrogant guy who always wore golden armor in the consciousness space—was this very same Gilgamesh, one of the few still surviving in this 6-Star Gift Game.
He hadn't even known Gilgamesh's name before this.
"That guy actually has this kind of strength...?"
Satoru Gojo's perception of powerhouses mostly relied on intuition. He wasn't very good at sensing powerhouses who weren't soul-based.
Therefore, he had never thought highly of Gilgamesh, the spirit who had been swallowed by a "weakling" like Hakumen upon entering the Sea of Consciousness.
He hadn't expected the other party to actually display such extraordinary power right now.
The 4-Star Gift Game he had just participated in—although the target's strength wasn't exactly overwhelming—would probably have been considered an extremely rare and powerful enemy back when he was still a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
And that kind of guy was likely considered relatively weak within a 4-Star Gift Game, which was why his battle-hungry host couldn't even be bothered to take the field personally.
And right now, that Gilgamesh was actually inside a 6-Star Gift Game?!
[6-Star Gift Game — Manifestation of the Evil of Humanity: Trial of Tiamat]
"This is illogical. This is far too illogical. How could a Reincarnator of our generation possibly achieve something like this..."
Hakumen no longer hid her thoughts and spoke to Kaito Shirogane.
When she previously followed under the Sovereign Monarch [Eternal Destiny], she had also come into contact with some top-tier Reincarnators.
Whether it was other Sovereign Monarchs, the top Reincarnators of that time, or even the more secretive [Upper Seven Seats] belonging to the [Destiny] assembly whom others couldn't reach, she had met a few of them.
It was simply impossible to achieve something to this exaggerated degree.
The name of this 6-Star Gift Game practically explicitly stated its trial content: it would involve facing that segment of Mesopotamian mythology from the Fate universe. Specifically, the Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, where the Mother Goddess of Creation, Tiamat, returns as a [Beast] because she was abandoned by humanity's choice.
An entity of that caliber possessed power far beyond what current Reincarnators could touch.
If a Reincarnator could truly use their own power to guide the descent of a Beast, then that person absolutely possessed the ability to destroy the real world and most derivative worlds.
Even Hakumen couldn't say for sure how many Singularity Points one could obtain by completely destroying a world. After all, even in the Fate world—which she was closest to achieving this goal in—even if she had completed the Human Instrumentality ritual...
She still wouldn't dare claim she could destroy that world.
That world hid far too many ancient and mysterious entities.
But this [Ouroboros] right now was different. This person had actually created so many terrifying scenarios simultaneously...
Kaito Shirogane watched for a moment, then turned and walked away.
Izayoi Sakamaki also walked towards the other side. Both men remained silent, but their expressions were calm.
Hakumen knew the two of them had likely discovered something during the previous Gift Game, but they were unwilling to share it.
Frustrated, Hakumen looked at Satoru Gojo, Madara Uchiha, and Artoria, who were similarly confused.
"Hey, you guys don't want to be kept in the dark by those two either, right?"
"That Ouroboros's power absolutely isn't that strong. Right now, we need to find more special Gift Games unique to her and enter them. To do that, I need..."
"Need us to protect you, huh? Hah~"
Satoru Gojo ruthlessly punctured Hakumen's words. He had seen through the essence of this young woman at a glance.
Accustomed to opportunism and cutting corners, yet lacking the power and courage to turn the tide in a true crisis.
This was likely the true reason why she was repeatedly defeated by the weak despite her apparent strength.
Hakumen's eyes darkened maliciously, but she didn't object. Compared to this group of guys who were "designed" to be natural-born powerhouses, she indeed possessed shortcomings in this kind of direct combat.
But conversely, these guys didn't have her astuteness. Hakumen raised her head slightly, her gaze towards Satoru Gojo carrying undisguised contempt.
Satoru Gojo's eyelid twitched, also catching her meaning. That look was reminding him of the fact that he had once been defeated by her hands.
While the few of them bickered, Kaito Shirogane had already walked far away. He had already realized the true purpose of the Reincarnator hiding behind the scenes.
As well as the fact that there was involvement from higher-ups behind this Gift Game.
Mori-Summer and Reinhardt dropped from the sky simultaneously, their shattered parchment mingling with Stars and special Gifts.
Roman and Brynhild stood guard nearby.
The two of them had been keeping an eye on the commotion on Mercenary Tao's side.
"How was it? Inside this Gift Game..."
The divine power on Reinhardt slowly dissipated. He nodded in confirmation.
"This isn't a commotion Ye Zi could create alone. Without the blessing of [Miracles], the [End of Rhapsody] is incapable of achieving something like this."
"A powerful entity is assisting Ye Zi."
"What's their goal?"
Roman asked softly. She used to have a fairly good relationship with Ye Zi; both of them were considered the kinder types within Azure Sky.
They were passionate about pursuing so-called "perfect timelines" in various worlds.
But precisely because of this, they suffered failure more often than others.
Only, for some unknown reason, starting from a certain day, Ye Zi became increasingly silent and increasingly resistant to Reincarnators and the Dimensional Space's method of issuing tasks.
Eventually, they drifted apart.
Reinhardt frowned. He only knew that the goal of Ye Zi and the big shot behind her was absolutely not as simple as releasing the [Demon Lord of Absolute Evil, Azi Dahaka].
According to the intelligence currently gathered from the plot characters, the former apex of this world, [Shiroyasha], believed that the events here might lead to the birth of a new [Final Trial of Humanity].
The so-called [Final Trial of Humanity] were trials manifested for the purpose of destroying humanity. In the Little Garden world, because various human timelines, world lines, human histories, and various mythological lineages converged and intertwined, multiple [Final Trials of Humanity] manifested simultaneously.
The commonality among these [Final Trials of Humanity] was that [Humanity is brought to ruin by humanity's own hands].
The manifestation of most trials was caused by humanity's own development leading to its destruction. To overcome these trials, they must be surmounted by humanity itself.
The pantheons of gods were mostly unable to intervene.
Following this logic, to birth a new [Final Trial of Humanity], they likely needed to introduce a new existence, a new mechanism, thereby drawing out a new possibility.
Thinking of this, Reinhardt already had an answer in his heart.
"Is it... [Reincarnators]?"
The Professor's voice was a bit dry. Although his power was entirely negligible in this world, barely classifying him as a 7-Digit—and purely in terms of strength, he wasn't even outstanding among 7-Digits—
He was extremely knowledgeable about these puzzles and cosmologies. Thus, upon hearing the others discuss it, he had already guessed his sister's goal.
Introducing Reincarnators. Introducing other various timelines that had changed due to the involvement of Reincarnators. Thus introducing a new possibility into the Little Garden world.
[Reincarnators] were ultimately a subset of humanity. Moreover, given the growth speed and characteristics of this generation of Reincarnators, they indeed possessed the potential to destroy humanity itself.
Ultimately, turning the concept of [Reincarnators] into a [Final Trial of Humanity] that must be conquered by humanity, making the Reincarnators or the [Infinite Dimensional Space] itself the Demon Lord that must be defeated.
Through this method, they would trigger the higher-tier powers within Little Garden to destroy the Reincarnators and the Infinite Dimensional Space itself.
This was likely the goal of Ye Zi and the powerful existence behind her.
"Haha, quite ambitious, isn't it?"
Sousuke sat beneath the awning outside the tavern, as if the Gift Games had nothing to do with him, constantly remaining detached from everyone's discussions.
Only seeing that they had reached a conclusion did he speak up.
He raised his head and looked in a certain direction.
He also possessed a miracle that occasionally allowed him to see his target. Compared to the [Miracle that Allows Intoxication by Any Fine Wine], this miracle was much more secretive and carried a much heavier burden.
Therefore, he couldn't apply a miracle to himself that allowed him to definitely see his target anytime and anywhere. Even he wouldn't be able to bear that.
And it would turn his life into a complete mess.
Right now, Sousuke looked at the clouds in a certain direction. His vision, however, pierced clearly through the clouds, seeing a pumpkin carriage departing from above them.
Behind the carriage, the action of Ye Zi closing the door coincidentally fell into Sousuke's eyes.
Her true body was indeed not far from here.
He clapped his hands, the stench of alcohol on him completely dissipating.
"Alright. Even though she's already quit [Azure Sky], we can't just sit idly by while she stirs up such massive trouble."
"Let's go clean up those excessively dangerous Gift Games..."
As Sousuke spoke, the expressions of the Azure Sky members instantly turned serious. Everyone followed behind Sousuke, walking towards the plaza.
Izayoi Sakamaki, Hakumen, Black Rabbit, and their group bumped into them head-on. Izayoi Sakamaki looked at the bronze-skinned man leading the group; the man carried an extremely unique scent.
And...
Every single person in this group distinctly exuded the kind of power that the martial artist had displayed at the very end.
Hakumen kept her eyes lowered, pretending to be a plot character as well. But standing with Izayoi Sakamaki's group made her conspicuous enough, and she had quite a reputation in the Eastern District of the Infinite Dimensional Space previously.
"Haha, isn't this the gloomy little girl who follows behind Shigure?"
"How did you end up in this state..."
Izayoi Sakamaki naturally halted his steps. He looked at the man in front of him, who, despite talking to Hakumen, kept his eyes entirely on him.
"It seems that in the eyes of your group, our information is mostly public?"
Izayoi Sakamaki quietly gathered information on this special group capable of traveling through various worlds and manipulating events.
His mind had already formed a basic judgment regarding Reincarnators.
Sousuke's smile remained unchanged.
"Indeed. Especially for a special case like you, Izayoi Sakamaki, we absolutely must analyze you carefully..."
"So, how about it? Does Mr. Izayoi have any interest in joining us to solve this Ouroboros puzzle?"
Hakumen looked up. The man before her was indeed one of the [Supreme Three Kings], the master of Azure Sky.
The Reincarnator who controlled the most mysterious, most incredible Authority—[Miracles].
She instantly understood Sousuke's objective. Ouroboros was stirring up trouble behind the scenes, but if Sousuke allied with sufficiently powerful plot factions on the surface right now, it would be enough to quell the majority of the incidents before they even erupted.
Hakumen quickly reverse-engineered the thought process: Since that's the case, what will the person behind the scenes do?
It was a known fact that [Azure Sky], possessing the King of Miracles, was an incredibly threatening organization capable of conquering most Gift Games below 5-Star on their own.
Now that they had [No Name], including Izayoi Sakamaki, on their side, there were barely any entities in the outer gates capable of opposing them.
Unless they found that Demon Lord Community, or...
Hakumen suddenly turned around, trying to find Mercenary Tao, who had just left the main group.
That guy... he wouldn't be going to...
...
Kaito Shirogane walked almost a full circle around Underwood before stopping beside a candy shop. A woman whose appearance was nearly identical to the [Professor] Kaito Shirogane had first met appeared beside him.
"You really are cautious, only showing yourself now."
"Ms. Ouroboros..."
[Ouroboros: Ye Zi] also cast an indifferent gaze upon this guy who, merely by standing before her, emanated heavy malice and the scent of blood.
If Reincarnators were a swarm of locusts that only knew how to plunder everywhere, then the man before her was undoubtedly the most vicious breed of locust.
Seeing the mysterious Ms. Ouroboros looking at him with the disgust one would reserve for a demon, Kaito Shirogane merely revealed a smile.
"It seems that even a great villain like me is irreplaceable to you right now."
"After all, you still need me to go... commit atrocities for you, don't you?"
Ye Zi's face turned livid, but if she didn't have something powerful enough to stop Sousuke and Izayoi Sakamaki, her plan couldn't be executed smoothly.
"Mercenary Tao, you want power, don't you?"
"You bear the destiny of becoming an [Absolute Evil]."
"Go break the seal of that Demon Lord. The power you desire lies right there..."
Kaito Shirogane looked at this person who seemingly intended to side with the plot characters and oppose the [Reincarnators], yet now actually wanted to use his hands to release that terrifying Demon Lord.
This kind of action, in the end, had nothing to do with good or evil.
She was merely exercising her own self-righteous brand of [Good].
Behind Kaito Shirogane, the illusory Stairway of the Binary Antinomy gleamed brilliantly. The [Antinomy of Good and Evil] became increasingly pronounced.
"Of course, I'd be happy to serve you, kind lady~"
Kaito Shirogane's tone was utterly drenched in mockery.