The King of the End, whose full title is The King Who Manifests at the End.
The gods, detesting their brethren who had become Heretical Gods and now ravaged the mortal realm, allowed the trio of Pandora, Prometheus, and Epimetheus to take a divine tool that contained the essence of a God of Steel—the Ring of Usurpation—and establish a ritual of rebirth.
When a child of folly slays a god, the divine Ring of Usurpation activates, absorbing the god's power and reincarnating the mortal as a God-Slayer.
The emergence of God-Slayers greatly suppressed the destruction wrought by Heretical Gods upon the world, protecting humanity to a certain extent.
However—
Because the core of the reincarnation ritual is of the "Steel" attribute, God-Slayers, who inherit the characteristics of the Gods of Steel, are themselves natural disasters.
When they act with impunity, their destructive power is only a step below that of the Heretical Gods. Should a large number of God-Slayers appear, the world would once again be pushed to the brink of ruin.
For this reason, the being known as the King of the End was born.
Born as a hero to subjugate the Rakshasa.
---o---
The King of the Far East, who had been wandering in another world, quietly returned to this reality of countless parallel worlds. He then made a tour through Italy and England before finally stopping in the Balkan Peninsula.
The youth, holding a blood-stained divine spear, stood atop the castle that once belonged to the Wolf King, gazing into the distance, his eyes shimmering with a dreamlike light.
He was searching for a god of war.
An existence capable of rivaling Mithra, or perhaps one even more valiant.
Clairvoyance has its limits.
However, observing an asteroid in Earth's orbit was clearly not beyond its range.
Possessing the Clairvoyance born from the fusion of the three Grand Casters, the youth watched the golden glint in outer space from a God's-eye view.
Then—
He opened a gate connecting to space.
There, in the high altitude that humanity calls the satellite orbit, the Herrscher, who had no need for trivial things like oxygen to sustain his life, easily passed through the atmosphere and reached the domain of the cosmos.
The environment here was harsh; depending on the sun's rays, the temperature fluctuated between extreme cold and searing heat. Yet, the certain God-Slayer, who also bore the authorities of a Herrscher, soared gracefully through it.
With ease, he landed on a small island in outer space.
It was hard to imagine that something like a small island could exist in the void.
After all, such a thing was too insane, far beyond the cognition of a normal person.
But Li Zihan had indeed found a small island.
An island with hills and flatlands, devoid of any plants or life—an island made of nothing but soil and rock.
Thrust into the center of the island was an iron sword.
It was a double-edged steel sword with a blade nearly a hundred centimeters long. The thick body was like a heavy-backed blade, its surface mottled with rust.
That was the Divine Sword of Salvation, the blade wielded by the hero who annihilates demon kings, the Strongest of Steel.
"You really know how to hide, don't you, Prince Rama."
The youth, who had effortlessly located the terrifyingly revered prince of Hindu mythology through his Clairvoyance, chuckled softly.
"O invincible Holy King, your nemesis is here. Won't you come out and meet me?"
The rusted divine tool made no sound, as if it were an ordinary, rusty hatchet rather than an avatar of the King of the End, the Divine Sword of Salvation.
Even with the appearance of his fated enemy, the prince who bore the mission of a hero still refused to awaken.
"Honestly, still running away?"
The youth smiled, then called upon the Noble Phantasm he had seized from the Beast of Pity.
The band of light born from the incineration of the Human Order blazed across the heavens.
Then—
A colossal torrent of magical energy descended upon the small island, washing over the corroded divine tool.
With the infusion of this immense power, the long-sealed divine sword began to radiate a platinum-gold brilliance, as dazzling as the sun.
"Hero who cuts through the darkness of the apocalypse, who slaughters the demon king God-Slayers, how much longer can you evade your duty?"
Suddenly, the cosmos roiled with wind and clouds, and thunder echoed. The entire sky churned as lightning flashed back and forth in the vacuum of space, growing ever more intense, seemingly heralding the arrival of a great personage.
Scenes that should have been impossible in outer space manifested one after another.
If this sight were to be transmitted to a meteorology center, it would surely cause many a scientist to have a complete breakdown.
Everything they had ever learned would be utterly overturned by the scene before them.
"Is this fate? To encounter my nemesis even after hiding in the heavens."
A sigh echoed as a noble scion with pale hair appeared on the desolate island.
He was an exquisitely handsome man, dressed in a simple blue windbreaker and trousers, covered by a white, cloak-like coat.
However, the divine energy radiating from his body was so immense it was terrifying.
He was a god.
A god of a potentially frighteningly high rank.
"Some things are simply unavoidable," the youth who had awakened the King of the End said with a light laugh.
"Well then, are you this era's enemies?"
"Though I bear you no grudge, for the sake of preventing the world's destruction, I can only stand as your foe."
The awakened noble's expression remained weary, but he placed his hand on the hilt of the Divine Sword of Salvation.
The Gods of Steel are deities with a powerful connection to wind and fire.
They often use the power of wind and fire to drain the essence of the earth and sea to empower themselves.
And in his ability to drain the essence of the earth, Rama could be called the pinnacle of the Gods of Steel—if he remained active, the world itself would be destroyed by his instinctual draining of its life force.
To protect the world, once awakened, he must slaughter every God-Slayer on earth with utmost efficiency and then return to his slumber.
This was the way of life for Rama, the King of the End.
"You jest. I am not your enemy."
The youth shook his head. He had never come to this world with the intention of fighting this prince, who was an absurdly powerful existence even among the Kings of the End.
Rama's combat power was ridiculous.
It wasn't just because of his legendary exploits in mythology, which were the very definition of overpowered, but also due to his terrifying synergy with the Divine Sword of Salvation.
One of his Authorities was the ability to borrow weapons from the gods. Combined with the Divine Sword of Salvation, which was itself a celestial armory, he could wield every divine tool in existence.
Furthermore, he possessed an Authority that made him one with the divine sword. As long as the sword was not destroyed, he himself was eternal.
"Not an enemy?"
Prince Rama frowned, looking at the smiling youth whose aura felt like a strange mix of a god and a God-Slayer.
"I am merely a merchant who has come to make a deal with you," the youth stated with a smile, presenting it as a simple fact.
"A deal?"
The God of Steel's expression was one of utter shock. In all his long years, this was the first time anyone had proposed the word "deal" to him.
"Yes, a deal."
The youth's smile remained as he silently apologized to his lover in his heart.
I'm sorry, Sirin.
Before he went to kill Mithra, he estimated he would have to fuse the Warrior incarnation of The Persian Warlord with the Severed Hand of Silver and use it to seal Rama's passive ability.
"A deal," he said aloud, "that will allow you to return to tranquility for good."