That’s not my point, I know Phanta is stated to be the strongest, but that’s because he was an Axis, if that concept is scrapped how do we know he is still the strongest? We just like a ranking bureau can only judge them by their achievements, we as readers can also take SIUs words from early ToG years into account and say “He just is because SIU said so”, but he also said he is an Axis and now it might not be the case. Again… I’m not saying he isn‘t strongest, I’m saying now there is a chance he isn’t.
Deity outside might just be the strongest of them all we don’t know that making it’s servant stronger than anybody else but him, no point in guessing here, we have 0 information on outside god, in the end Outside god might be Phantaminum himself and Enryu is his servant, first sending his servant there to put Zahard in his place and then once Zahard continued being a dickhead coming himself to “talk” with him…
I don’t think they were necessarily cocky, but it’s easy to say they were good guys since they were born from light while Phanta is bad guy since he was born from darkness, but it’s not all black and white here like darkness and light would suggest.