Az Dakaaha possessed the "Thousand Magics."
Ren Kuroda wielded the "Complete Compendium of Demon Arts."
When Az Dakaaha unleashed the supreme flash-heat Gift, Tyrant's Solar Halo, Ren answered head-on with the ultimate technique of Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain—meeting overwhelming force with overwhelming force.
And because both of them now towered over a hundred meters in height, the destructive output of their abilities was amplified to a terrifying degree.
In mere moments, every structure in the surrounding district was flattened.
This was the Third Level of the Little Garden.
The communities established here were almost entirely those of gods and buddhas. And yet, as they watched Ren and Az Dakaaha rampage across their domain, they could only grit their teeth in silence.
Even in the Third Level, beings ranked in the three digits were exceedingly rare.
Setting aside Az Dakaaha's "Avesta," even a clash between two three-digit existences—each comparable to the core of a divine pantheon—would spell instant death for five-digit deities caught in the crossfire.
"They really are holding nothing back," came an amused voice. "So that's 'Absolute Evil'… and the 'Dual Trial Candidate,' huh?
"I have to admit, that boy Ren is impressive. To fight Az Dakaaha—who gives the entire Little Garden headaches—to this extent… I hear he was even dominating earlier."
Sun Wukong rested the Ruyi Staff across her shoulders, watching the two colossal figures tear through the Third Level's residential zone. Her green eyes gleamed—not with fear, but with battle-lust.
"The stronger the Dual Trial Candidate is, the worse it is for us," someone snapped. "What's there to be happy about?
"Let's begin the plan immediately. If they keep fighting like this without restraint, the entire Third Level will be punched clean through!"
The gods and demon kings had already devised a strategy.
Separate Ren and Az Dakaaha.
Then defeat them individually.
According to Taishakuten, achieving that separation was not particularly difficult.
Az Dakaaha was one matter.
But from their previous encounter in the Lower Levels, Taishakuten and the Dragon King knew something crucial:
As a Human Final Trial, Ren would prioritize attacking humans within his area.
In other words, if gods voluntarily descended to humanity and appeared before Ren, then in theory, he would abandon Az Dakaaha and turn his attention toward them.
Once the two Human Final Trials were successfully separated, they would erect isolation barriers and assign gods and demon kings specifically suited to counter each one.
The plan was feasible.
And indeed, when Ren had first become the Human Final Trial—"Final Evil"—he had displayed precisely that trait.
Several gods, led by Taishakuten, descended to humanity and forcibly entered the battlefield between Ren and Az Dakaaha.
Taishakuten even attempted to speak to Ren directly.
Unlike Az Dakaaha, Ren had not chosen this path willingly—he had been forced into becoming a Human Final Trial by circumstance.
He was not like "Absolute Evil."
Ren could be reasoned with.
If he cooperated, the plan would proceed far more smoothly.
"Heaven's favored child, iron-walled fortress—dragon's march, lion's roar, tiger's howl, wolf's rush—before collapse, sever heaven and earth.
"Binding Art Eighty-One: Dankū!"
But what Taishakuten had not anticipated was this—
Ren ignored them completely.
Without hesitation, he invoked Demon Art: Dankū, erecting a transparent barrier that severed them from the battlefield.
Becoming a Human Final Trial had indeed been unexpected.
But it had not been unwilling.
Frankly speaking, without ascending to that state, Ren had no idea how he could possibly defeat Az Dakaaha and complete this hell-difficulty advancement mission.
He needed the one-on-one condition fulfilled.
He had no desire for the gods of the Upper Three Levels to interfere.
At Ren's current level, a fully incanted Level 81 Demon Art was, in terms of defense, nearly unbreakable.
But that depended on the opponent.
Taishakuten was himself a three-digit existence.
Gazing at the transparent barrier before him, he drew forth his divine armament—the Brahma-Shakti Spear—and shattered the shield with a single blow.
He didn't understand why Ren's attitude had changed so abruptly.
But he knew one thing for certain:
Ren and Az Dakaaha could not be allowed to continue wreaking havoc unchecked.
The Brahma-Shakti Spear—also known as the Spear of Certain Victory—had been forged by Brahma, supreme deity of the Indian pantheon.
A weapon guaranteed to win. Guaranteed to defeat its target.
Its terror did not lie in "killing," but in "victory."
No matter who the opponent was, no matter what impregnable shield they bore, the spear could rewrite causality itself—guiding the world toward a result in which its wielder triumphed.
Now, Taishakuten—the mightiest war god among the Twelve Heavenly Guardians—fully released the spear's power.
Golden flames roared to life along its shaft.
And he hurled it like a javelin straight at Ren.
Once thrown, the Spear of Victory would secure victory.
And yet—
Just as it was about to pierce through Ren's skull—
The six-armed oni-god form Ren had assumed reached out and caught it mid-flight.
Thick, abyssal black mud began oozing from his palm, clinging to the radiant weapon like corruption incarnate, attempting to devour and erode its sacred brilliance.
"The Brahma-Shakti Spear does indeed possess the power to kill me," Ren said calmly. "And you are human at this moment.
"But to transcend 'Final Evil'—you do not yet meet the standard."
Taishakuten had not expected the spear to easily defeat Ren.
If Human Final Trials were that simple to overcome, the gods would not have been agonizing over them for ages.
His true intention in throwing the spear had been to trigger Ren's "Final Evil" trait and lure him away from Az Dakaaha.
But then—
Taishakuten froze.
The spear had been thrown.
Yet Ren did not charge toward him as he had in the Lower Levels.
Instead, Ren clicked his tongue in faint disdain—
—and turned back toward Az Dakaaha, resuming their clash as if nothing had happened.
"Taishakuten, what is going on?" one of the accompanying gods demanded, face dark. "This is nothing like what you described.
"You were the one who assured us it would work. We abandoned our godhood and descended to humanity because you convinced us!"
Those who had chosen to descend were no minor deities. They were chief gods—figures of immense stature.
For them, relinquishing divinity carried a tremendous cost.
Taishakuten blinked, momentarily speechless.
"…I'm not entirely certain," he admitted at last. "Either he deceived me in the Lower Levels… or after becoming a 'Dual Trial Candidate,' he is no longer bound by his previous constraints."
And in truth—
That was exactly it.
After becoming the second Human Final Trial—"Theory of Yokai"—Ren was no longer shackled by the compulsion to prioritize attacking humans.
Now—
His only target was Az Dakaaha.
As for the other gods and demon kings?
Ren Kuroda had already stopped considering them worth his attention.