Alice, having finished her customary special training with Machina and allowing her fatigued body to rest, spoke up as the thought suddenly occurred to her.
"By the way, Machina. Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"There are plenty of creators out there, right? Where exactly do you rank among them in terms of strength?"
"Hmm..."
When Alice, who had grown curious about the creators of other worlds, posed the question, Machina pressed a finger to her chin and hummed in thought.
"...That is a difficult question. To start with, once you reach the Omniscient and Omnipotent Class or higher, actual battles rarely happen in the first place. At that level, even if a fight breaks out, it is rare for a clear winner to be decided. It essentially becomes a never-ending game of Rock-Paper-Scissors where both sides are constantly reacting after the opponent moves. A single conflict could last tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years... Unless there is an incredibly compelling reason, we try to avoid fighting as much as possible."
"I see. I suppose if two of the Six Kings fought seriously until a conclusion was reached, it would take a staggering amount of time. If you are in a class above them, the scale must be on a different level entirely."
"Exactly. Battles between those in the Omniscient and Omnipotent Class are essentially endurance contests. They fight for a certain period, and eventually, they strike a contract and declare a ceasefire. I am stronger than the average 'Omniscient and Omnipotent' type, so I could win against most of them... but it takes a ridiculous amount of time, so I would rather not. Conversely, those who possess the power to quickly settle a fight that would normally take eons... those are the ones who are clearly on a level above the rest."
"I see."
What came to Alice’s mind was Shallow Vernal’s absurd power—Epilogue (The End of the Story).
In other words, unless one possessed such a distinct and abnormal ability, it was difficult to declare who was stronger within the realm of the God of World Creation.
Machina’s expression turned serious, and she spoke slowly.
"...With those preconditions in mind, there are only 'two' beings I can say for certain I would never beat, no matter how hard I fought. You know the first one, don't you? Yes, it is Shallow Vernal."
"And the other one?"
"...The Absolute One who once brought countless multiverses under her control—the only creator among the infinite worlds to be crowned with the title of 'Ultimate.' That would be 'Ultimate God Nebula.' Her other epithet is 'Nebula the Almighty-killer.'"
"...Ultimate God... Nebula..."
Alice whispered the name with a grave expression. The air around them seemed to grow heavy just from hearing the name spoken aloud.
"Results have proven that Shallow Vernal is the strongest—or rather, a total outlier. But aside from her, Nebula is undoubtedly the one you would call the strongest."
"Based on what you just said... she must have some kind of special ability, right?"
"Yes. Nebula’s power is called 'Encompassing Everything.' To put it very simply, Nebula is 'absolutely superior' to any power or any existence. The moment you face her, it is as if you are already inside her palm. For example, if her opponent is Omniscient and Omnipotent, Nebula encompasses that state and becomes 'always a perfectly superior version' of it. No power can reach her, and she can dominate any ability. She can easily do things like stripping the status of 'Omniscient and Omnipotent' away from someone who possesses it."
"Ah, I see... That is why she is the Almighty-killer."
An ability that was always, absolutely superior to any existence or talent—it was a power truly fitting of an Absolute One. Alice was surprised, but she felt that if someone were to stand at the very peak of all omnipotent beings, possessing that level of power made sense.
"Nebula was a god who did not possess her own world, yet she used that power to bring creators from worlds as numerous as the stars under her command. She reigned at the top of the world. She was, quite literally, the strongest."
"...Wait. If my guess is right... the reason you are talking about her in the past tense is because..."
"I told you, didn't I? The results proved that Shallow Vernal is the strongest. Nebula met her end at the hands of Shallow Vernal. In fact, it is because even an Absolute One like Nebula could not stand against her that the creators of other worlds fear Shallow Vernal from the bottom of their hearts."
"I see. Man, there really is always a bigger fish, isn't there?"
"Well, Shallow Vernal and Nebula are complete anomalies. They are on a level far removed from everyone else. Anyway, does that answer your question?"
"Yeah, it was very educational. Thanks."
While Machina was answering Alice’s questions... in the Sanctuary of the God Realm, Shallow Vernal sat across from a certain being, drinking tea.
"...So, let me get this straight, Shallow Vernal. This is what you wish to say? You are telling me... the Absolute One... to serve under this 'Kaito Miyama' person, a mere lower lifeform? Is that truly your intent?"
"Rather, I want you to be his 'guard dog.'"
"Y-You... of all the things to say! Treating me like a dog? You truly are skilled at making me angry."
"Thank you."
"I was not praising you!"
Faced with her companion’s blatant rage, Shallow Vernal remained indifferent, speaking in her usual flat tone.
"Since that is the case, will you agree? ...Nebula."
Serious-senpai: "...Finally! More! This is it! It’s coming! We’ve finally got the scent of some serious plot in the second half of the story!!"
???: "...Is it really? Well, you are free to dream... but honestly, the moment Serious-senpai starts getting excited like this, I can already see how it ends."
Serious-senpai: "Stop with the meta-comments!"