For ordinary people, Lapko's prophecies would be nothing more than mythological ramblings.
But for the people present, hearing these strange titles made their eyes widen in astonishment.
"The Dystopia Demon Lord?!" Kudou Asuka exclaimed in shock.
"Isn't that the most terrifying Demon Lord that Teacher Canary once said she defeated? One of the strongest of Humanity's Final Trials in the history of the Little Garden?"
"Yeah! So you're saying the Dystopia Demon Lord's true identity is actually Satan from Christianity?" Kasukabe Yō was shocked as well.
Everyone present, except for Percher, had learned their cultural studies from Canary.
Although their knowledge of the Little Garden wasn't particularly comprehensive, they knew a thing or two about Canary's personal experiences.
And the Dystopia Demon Lord, being the starting point of Canary's journey and her greatest achievement to date, had naturally left a deep impression on them.
After realizing Satan's identity, Izayoi finally had a moment of clarity.
"Could it be that our trial this time isn't actually Typhon, but the Dystopia Demon Lord?"
Thinking back, although Black Rabbit had said they would soon face a monster stronger than the Bull of Heaven, she never specified that this monster was the trial itself.
Looking at it now, Typhon wasn't an existence they absolutely couldn't ally with.
On the contrary, the Dystopia Demon Lord represented by Satan actually had a higher degree of similarity to the Bull of Heaven.
"Interesting. After a Final Trial for Humanity from the age of myths, is our target this time a Final Trial for Humanity born in the modern era?" Izayoi said, rubbing his chin.
"Have you prophesied any other information?" Saigou Homura looked at Lap-ko.
"Yes! This Dystopia Demon Lord seems to be a god capable of ending all other gods. As for other prophecies, I haven't sensed any yet," Lap-ko honestly revealed all the information she had.
"A god capable of ending all other gods..."
Hearing this ominous description, Kudou Asuka frowned slightly, as if she'd made a connection.
"Didn't Teacher Canary say that the Dystopia Demon Lord is the strongest God-Slayer in the history of the Little Garden, and that all powers from the mythological side are completely nullified before him?" Kasukabe Yō said, raising her hand.
"If that's the case, it's easy to understand why Ojou-sama's divinity was sealed," Izayoi said thoughtfully. "The Dystopia Demon Lord has the characteristic of sealing and negating other gods. Ojou-sama must have been sealed because of that."
"That's right!" Kudou Asuka clenched her fists, feeling a surge of encouragement.
Now that they had found the cause, it might be possible to break the seal.
"Most likely," Saigou Homura nodded immediately, agreeing with this speculation. "If the enemy truly represents the Dystopia Demon Lord, then the shielding of the Third Stellar Particle concentration must also be one of its characteristics... No wonder we couldn't find any trace of this project, and no wonder the Bull of Heaven project couldn't be shielded in the same way."
It had to be said, Lap-ko's predictive abilities were incredibly useful.
With just a few words, she could string together everyone's speculations into a reliable theory, which was quickly corroborated by details from various sources.
Now, they had only one question left.
"If the Bull of Heaven symbolizes the whims of the powerful—a tool of violence used by the highest authorities to control, dominate, and force others into submission—then for what purpose was the Dystopia Demon Lord project created?"
The Final Trials for Humanity born in the Little Garden are all the result of highly abstracting a world-ending factor.
In actual human history, they would require a corresponding real-world basis.
Just as the "small whim" represented by the Bull of Heaven is actually a dangerous weapon capable of dominating or even destroying the entire Earth, the creation of the Dystopia Demon Lord must also have a practical, real-world purpose.
And on this point, they could make a guess based on the Dystopia Demon Lord's nature.
"The strongest God-Slayer in the history of the Little Garden, a god capable of ending all other gods..."
Saigou Homura pondered for a few minutes before speaking.
"Taken literally, it's a god-slaying weapon developed specifically to counter pantheons."
You could tell from its abilities. Against those who possess divinity, Satan has an overwhelming advantage.
And in the stories Canary told, the Dystopia Demon Lord could also neutralize pantheons.
"Could it be that they anticipated the birth of a pantheon leader like Ojou-sama and established this project specifically to deal with such leaders?"
As mentioned before, under conditions of full competition without outside interference, multiple pantheon leaders similar to Kudou Asuka would inevitably appear all over the world.
These pantheon leaders would construct different pantheons based on their own cultural upbringings, eventually leading to a scenario on Earth resembling the great pantheon wars before the dawn of the Little Garden.
In such an environment, the destructive power of the Bull of Heaven alone would not be enough to defeat other pantheons and achieve dominance.
In other words, a power capable of slaying and devouring other pantheons would be necessary to become the ultimate victor of the great pantheon war.
"You mean the Dystopia Demon Lord is a contingency plan the enemy left behind to deal with the proliferation of the Third Stellar Particle?" Izayoi quickly understood Saigou Homura's meaning.
If the power of the Third Stellar Particle could be monopolized by the highest authorities, then the Bull of Heaven alone would be enough to secure their rule.
There is only one way to defeat the Bull of Heaven: if the power of the Third Stellar Particle leaks and other organizations master a power that surpasses it.
The reason Kudou Asuka could easily dominate the Bull of Heaven is that she has mastered more advanced techniques for using the Third Stellar Particle.
Given the previous rate of the Third Stellar Particle's proliferation, as long as the enemy wasn't a fool, they wouldn't bet everything on the fantasy that only they could master it.
Therefore, they would naturally arrange a backup plan to deal with the consequences of its proliferation.
That backup plan is the Dystopia Demon Lord.
In a situation where no single faction could dominate, both the enemy and other powers would inevitably gain strength and influence by continuously spreading the Third Stellar Particle.
And when this practice is taken to its extreme, when the Earth is filled with pantheons, the faction that can counter pantheons will inevitably be victorious.
Which is the Dystopia Demon Lord project before them.
No matter how excellent their Gifts are, no matter how powerful they are, as long as their very divinity is negated, the pantheons will become powerless.
And note, the Dystopia Demon Lord doesn't negate all divinity. It only negates the enemy's divinity while retaining its own.
With such an asymmetrical advantage, the Dystopia Demon Lord's power would be so immense that pantheons would be unable to resist.
"In other words, even if we destroy the Bull of Heaven project, they can still achieve final victory in the coming war of the gods with the Dystopia Demon Lord project!" Izayoi summarized.
Should I say, as expected of the highest authorities? While they have no moral bottom line, their schemes are anything but vague.
Operating with worst-case scenario thinking, they took a two-pronged approach, establishing two projects that would ensure their victory no matter what.
To test two paths of Humanity's Final Trial at once... even Izayoi had to admire their ambition.
"The war of the gods... If things go according to their plan, Ojou-sama would be one of their primary targets for assassination," Saigou Homura said, taking a deep breath.
"No! Compared to Ojou-sama, you're the one they want to kill the most," Izayoi shook his head, correcting him.
"The other members of the Salvation Group might be able to defeat a Demon Lord, but when it comes to truly changing the world, it all depends on the scientific results you obtain."
For the enemy faction, Saigou Homura was the one person who must be killed, even if he couldn't be won over.
"Mm." Saigou Homura nodded, realizing this as well.
Just then, a familiar, light footstep was heard from the hallway. The group paused and turned to look.
"Is everyone alright?"
Little Black Rabbit greeted them, looking over the members of the Salvation Group with concern. She breathed a sigh of relief after confirming they weren't injured.
"It seems Lady Canary was right. You Problem Children really do have a few tricks up your sleeves. You weren't eliminated so easily."
Hearing Black Rabbit's words, the members of the Salvation Group exchanged glances, and Kudou Asuka was the first to ask, "Black Rabbit, did you come here... to announce the official start of the trial? Or to provide information?"
"Announce the start of the trial? Hasn't it already started?" Little Black Rabbit looked at them in confusion, not understanding why they were asking.
"Eh?"
Kudou Asuka was taken aback. According to their previous deductions, the Dystopia Demon Lord was the true content of the second trial.
Therefore, the appearance of the evil dragon Satan should have signified the trial's official start, which is why Black Rabbit would have come.
She didn't expect Black Rabbit to mean something else entirely?
"If you're not here to announce the start, then what did you come all this way for?"
"And, 'already started'... Does that mean Typhon is also part of the trial? Are we facing two Demon Lords at the same time in this trial?" Asuka pressed subconsciously.
"It's not just two... Mmph, I didn't say anything!" Black Rabbit had subconsciously let it slip. She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wary.
"Lady Canary asked me to come and invite Lord Laplace... ahem, I mean Lapko. If you're all done asking your questions, you wouldn't mind letting Lapko leave with me, would you?"
Lapko... Lord Laplace?
The group's gazes quickly turned strange.
This little girl in front of them... could she be like Typhon, an avatar of one of the gods?
Could her true form really be that omniscient demon?
Little Black Rabbit had unintentionally revealed a bit too much information, but now she was on full alert and completely unwilling to answer any of their questions.
Having no other choice, they had to let her go.
And Lapko, one of the "victims" of the situation, followed Little Black Rabbit out of the room as if she had expected it all along.
After watching Little Black Rabbit and Lapko leave, the door to the hospital room behind them suddenly opened.
The medical staff in charge of the emergency treatment walked out, wiping sweat from their brows, their expressions extremely grave.