As for why Ren Kuroda suddenly left Little Garden—
The reason was simple.
His World Mission had been completed. The maximum amount of time he could remain in that world had been reached.
The reason he departed so abruptly—without even saying goodbye to Leticia and the others—was equally simple. As a Final Trial of Humanity, if he were to descend again into the Lower Layers, it would only plunge them into chaos.
Moreover, after nearly destroying half of the Upper Three Layers, Ren had effectively been blacklisted by the divine factions above.
If he attempted to move down into the Lower Layers, the gods—who already feared him like a calamity—might very well repeat what they had once planned for Absolute Evil: sever him entirely from the Middle and Lower Layers of Little Garden.
And it was no secret that before becoming a Final Trial, Ren had been the leader of Ghost Travel.
To prevent the anger of the Upper gods from being redirected toward Leticia and the others, Ren had no choice but to leave quietly.
That way, the gods would hesitate. On one hand, they had to consider Ghost Travel's own strength. On the other, they would always fear the possibility that Ren might one day return to settle accounts.
And so—
Ren left.
But he did not return to his main world.
Instead, he used an item previously rewarded by the System: Designated World Transfer Ticket, and traveled to a different world he had visited before.
Because this was not a standard System transfer, the timeline of the world he arrived in was not the same as when he had left.
Standing in the middle of a vast grassland, Ren let out a long, exasperated sigh.
The System always teleported him to uninhabited areas. On one hand, that was good for maintaining secrecy.
On the other—
In a technologically advanced modern world, it wasn't a huge problem.
But in a fantasy world?
Finding civilization could become a genuine headache.
Most fantasy worlds had underdeveloped transportation systems and enormous, sparsely populated lands. Sometimes one could travel for days without seeing another living soul.
"If I remember correctly," Ren muttered to himself, gazing at the endless prairie, "in this world… I'm technically still a king, aren't I?"
"Should I head back to the kingdom first and figure out what the current situation is?"
Yes.
The world he had returned to was the so-called "Slime World."
Before leaving, he had been the king of the Kingdom of Falmus.
After the Orc Lord incident, Falmus had formed an alliance with the Jura Tempest Federation, the Kingdom of Blumund, and the Armed Nation of Dwargon.
"Actually… going back to Falmus can wait."
Ren crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"I should collect the rewards from the Little Garden mission first."
"If I remember right, the overall combat ceiling in this world is pretty high. With my current strength, I might not dominate as easily as before."
If Ren still possessed the power he had wielded in Little Garden, he would stand near the absolute peak in most worlds across the multiverse.
But that was impossible.
The reason his strength had reached such outrageous levels there was largely due to bearing two Final Trials of Humanity.
And the Final Trials were unique to Little Garden—fundamental rules of that world.
Once he left, that power could not be preserved.
Without the authority of the Final Trials, the two simulated cosmologies naturally vanished as well.
In other words—
Ren's strength had improved somewhat.
But not dramatically.
Measured against the SSS tier and above—Transcendent, Planet-Breaking, and World-Breaking classes—Ren, at full power, now hovered around upper SSS+ to lower Transcendent level.
Still formidable.
But nowhere near the monster he had been.
That said, his journey had not been fruitless.
He had completed two missions—and both rewards were extremely satisfying.
The first mission, challenging a Little Garden Demon King, had granted eighteen thousand prestige points. Ren barely spared it a thought.
The true prize was the second reward:
A third awakening of his Oni bloodline.
Ren's Oni lineage had awakened twice before.
The first awakening granted him Supernatural Strength and Calamity.
The second granted him Insatiable Sake Drinker.
Even now, those two abilities remained among his most frequently used powers in combat.
Naturally, he held high expectations for this third awakening.
Even if it granted something merely comparable to the previous two, his combat effectiveness would increase significantly.
Ren chose to receive the reward.
The eighteen thousand prestige entered his account unnoticed.
His full attention was on the System notification that should appear at any moment, announcing his new Oni ability.
But instead of the familiar System prompt—
A different voice resounded in his mind.
The Voice of the World.
『Individual: Teno-in Yuto is undergoing bloodline breakthrough. Race: Oni Deity is evolving…』
『Evolution complete. Original race: Oni Deity has surpassed its limits. New designation: Primordial Oni Deity.』
『Total magicule capacity has tripled. All direct subordinates receive corresponding blessings.』
『Original skill "Oni God King" has undergone change. Demon Lord Seed has awakened. "Oni God King" has fused with "Demon Lord's Pressure" and evolved into new skill: "Lord of Pride."』
Skill Name: Lord of Pride (Passive)Skill Rank: SSSDescription: As a member of the Oni Deity race, after awakening as a Demon Lord Seed, you have once again broken the shackles of bloodline limitation. Your race has transcended its boundary.
Primordial Oni Deity—progenitor of all Oni Deities. One who stands above all Oni and possesses the qualification to become the "First." You are granted the authority to look down upon all living beings.
Halves damage from entities with higher demonic energy rank than your own.Nullifies all damage from entities of equal demonic energy rank.Against those one major tier weaker than you, you may easily crush their fighting spirit—or compel them into submission.
Ren froze.
This wasn't the System notification he had been waiting for.
But the flood of information from the Voice of the World left him stunned in place.
Then—
It hit him.
A triple increase in magicules.
Evolution into Primordial Oni Deity.
A brand-new SSS passive skill.
This was beyond expectation.
His lips had just begun to curl into a smile—
When overwhelming fatigue crashed down upon him without warning.
The next second—
Ren Kuroda collapsed backward into the grass.
And fell completely unconscious.
Far away, deep within the Jura Great Forest—
Shion was strolling along the road, happily carrying Rimuru like a squishy gelatinous doll in her arms.
Then—
As if sensing something, she abruptly turned her head toward the distant horizon.
In the next instant, the amount of magicules within her body began skyrocketing at an astonishing rate.
And before she even realized it—
The Rimuru she was hugging—
Was crushed.
Squeezed apart in her arms into scattered fragments.