Once they realized that Ren Kuroda would no longer prioritize attacking "humans" within the area, the assembled gods and demon kings abandoned the idea of further descending to humanity.
Faced with the two Human Final Trials before them, they swiftly devised a new strategy.
They would first use the power of "Absolute Evil"—Az Dakaaha's Avesta—to eliminate Ren, the "Dual Trial Candidate."
Afterward, they would carry out a large-scale descent to humanity and deal with Az Dakaaha himself.
No matter how one looked at it, fighting one Human Final Trial was better than facing two.
There was also a clear reason for targeting Ren first.
His Simulated Star Creation Map—Seven Deadly Sins—was overwhelmingly suppressive against humans.
If the gods chose to descend to humanity en masse now, they would practically be serving themselves up on a platter.
Thus, with deliberate coordination from the divine and demonic communities of the Third Level, more and more gods gathered near Az Dakaaha.
And under the amplification of Avesta, Az Dakaaha's power continued to climb.
The battlefield, which had once balanced at five-to-five, began to tilt.
Soon, it was Az Dakaaha overwhelming Ren.
"Hahahahaha! Though I can't say I'm pleased about it, it seems that in the eyes of these gods, you're the greater threat—not me.
"But that's fine. Once I seal you away, I'll slaughter these million-strong divine hosts myself."
Az Dakaaha had naturally seen through the gods' intentions.
Being used as a weapon by the very beings he despised irritated him to no end.
But he did not refuse their assistance.
Because in his eyes, Ren was indeed the more troublesome enemy.
As for the other gods and demons?
Before Avesta, they were nothing but fodder.
Did they truly think descending to humanity would be enough to kill him?
Anyone who failed to grasp the true meaning of "Absolute Evil" was simply deluding themselves.
Az Dakaaha's massive dragon claw tore through the air, raking downward toward Ren's chest.
The six-armed black oni-god crossed the twin long blades in his hands and intercepted the strike.
Clang—!
A piercing metallic explosion rang out.
Sparks cascaded between dragon claw and black-mud-forged steel.
The shockwave alone hurled everything nearby into the air.
Ren blocked the attack—
—but the sheer weight behind it drove him down onto one knee.
Before he could recover from the crushing pressure, Az Dakaaha's thick tail lashed forward.
The impact sent Ren flying dozens of miles.
At the same instant Ren was flung through the sky, Az Dakaaha unleashed another Tyrant's Solar Halo from his maw.
The searing ring of light carved a molten trench across the earth stretching for miles, vaporizing more than a few unfortunate bystander deities along the way before finally catching up to Ren midair.
BOOM—!
The resulting storm rivaled a nuclear detonation.
The temperature and pressure at the blast's epicenter instantly erased everything within several kilometers.
A golden sphere of light hung in the sky like a miniature sun.
Watching nearly half of their residential district annihilated under Az Dakaaha's Gift—and countless gods slain or injured—the divine communities of the Upper Three Levels wore expressions darker than thunderclouds.
To eliminate one Human Final Trial, they had reluctantly allowed "Absolute Evil" to grow stronger through Avesta.
And now that very power was being turned against them—destroying their communities and slaughtering their people.
It was nothing less than having their faces ground into the dirt.
Clearly, Az Dakaaha's indiscriminate devastation was his way of expressing just how displeased he was at being used.
"After copying the powers of the assembled gods through Avesta, his strength just now should have approached the two-digit level…"
"Even a never-before-seen Dual Trial Candidate couldn't survive a direct hit like that… could he?"
The gods of the Third Level stared at the blazing sun in the sky, their hearts pounding.
To take such an attack head-on—
Even a three-digit powerhouse would likely be killed or crippled.
But now a new question loomed.
Even if they had eliminated one Human Final Trial, could they truly defeat an Az Dakaaha whose power had nearly reached the two-digit tier?
As they grappled with that grim possibility—
Something changed.
Suddenly—
They could no longer feel their divinity.
According to the plan, they were supposed to descend to humanity in the upcoming battle.
But they hadn't begun relinquishing their godhood yet.
So why—
Why had their godheads vanished?
Moreover, not everyone was qualified to descend to humanity—only a select few among them.
Yet this strange phenomenon spread indiscriminately.
And it wasn't limited to the gods.
Even the strongest species present—stellar spirits and dragonkin—realized they could no longer sense their spiritual ranks.
The disappearance of their spirit ranks plunged the Third Level into instant panic.
Their auras visibly weakened.
It felt as though they were no longer the three great apex races—
—but ordinary humans.
Not everyone was affected.
Az Dakaaha, as a Human Final Trial, remained unchanged.
Those like Taishakuten who had already descended to humanity were also unaffected.
With the gathered gods' spirit ranks reduced to that of common humans, Az Dakaaha's Avesta could no longer sustain its amplification.
The aura that had nearly reached two-digit magnitude visibly diminished—
—until it returned to its normal level.
Witnessing this bizarre reversal, Az Dakaaha immediately thought of one person.
The one he had just been relentlessly crushing.
All three dragon heads turned in unison toward a single point in the sky.
And indeed—
Something was happening there.
The blazing miniature sun was about to erupt outward when—
From its very center, thick black mud began to seep out, like filling bursting from a glutinous rice ball.
The black substance spread rapidly, swallowing the radiant sphere whole—devouring its light and heat.
What remained was a colossal orb of black mud suspended in the air.
Silver yokai sigils began to emerge across its surface.
And behind the sphere—
A vast star map unfurled, covering the heavens.
The constellations upon it shone with unmistakable clarity.
..
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