A Multiverse Journey Starting as the Supreme Sovereign

At the same time, a demon's power would greatly enhance a Witch's sorcery, allowing her to become an outstanding mage.

But the price for obtaining all of that was simply too great. To humans, the soul was the most important thing.

Humans who sold their souls had never met a good end; humans who lost their souls could no longer be called human, becoming complete 'monsters.'

However, those who chose to become Witches voluntarily surrendered their souls in exchange for power, so there was nothing particularly pitiful about them.

But Sendou Aya and Nangong Nayue were different.

They were Pure-blooded Witches, Witches born as such. From the moment they were born, their souls had already ceased to belong to them.

They had no other path to take, no other choice to make. The only thing they could do was become Witches.

If they did not become Witches, death was their only fate.

Pure-blooded Witches were exceedingly rare. Even Sendou Aya knew only one person: Nangong Nayue.

It was not that there were no other Pure-blooded Witches in this world. Rather, if one of those already rare Pure-blooded Witches did not realize she was a Witch after being born—

Then if she failed to form a contract with a demon before she came of age, she would inevitably die.

Nangong Nayue had been fortunate. She had been born on String God Island, a special district for demons, so her identity as a Pure-blooded Witch had been discovered when she was young, giving her a chance to survive.

And from childhood onward, Nangong Nayue had been carefully trained as a Witch.

That was why Sendou Aya called Nangong Nayue her ally. In this world, perhaps only Nangong Nayue could truly understand Sendou Aya.

And only Sendou Aya could truly understand Nangong Nayue.

They had been abandoned by the world from the moment they were born.

There was nothing to regret about becoming a Witch, but being forced to become one without the right to choose, having to follow that so-called destiny—it left Sendou Aya deeply unwilling to accept it.

She believed Nangong Nayue felt the same way.

Especially since Sendou Aya knew just how strong-willed her friend was. Someone with that personality would surely rage against a fate she had never been allowed to choose.

"Nayue, you must understand that once you choose to become a Witch, you can only follow the destiny set before you."

"...You will have no choice but to abide by your contract with the demon. If you violate it, death will be the price. No, perhaps that would be even more terrifying than death."

"You cannot resist the demon, because your soul does not belong to you. It belongs to the demon."

"...And especially if you choose to become a Witch, you will be worse off than other Witches. You may even lose all your freedom!"

As Sendou Aya spoke, fury flashed through her fiery eyes.

After the Artificial Island Management Corporation of String God Island discovered Nangong Nayue's identity as a Pure-blooded Witch, they had exploited her from the time she was very young.

The Artificial Island Management Corporation had found excellent teachers for Nangong Nayue.

Chiga Teruhito, known as the Treasure of the East and the greatest Feng Shui Master of this era, had taught Nangong Nayue precious magical knowledge.

But at the same time, the Artificial Island Management Corporation had handed her an abandoned Prison Barrier they had obtained from who knew where.

By forceful means, they had made Nangong Nayue the administrator of the Prison Barrier.

They were merely waiting for Nangong Nayue to become a full-fledged Witch and obtain a demon's power before activating the Prison Barrier.

Nangong Nayue could not refuse. At the time, she had no ability to resist the Artificial Island Management Corporation.

Furthermore, Nangong Nayue's true wish—the wish she would use to form her contract with a demon—also made it impossible for her to leave String God Island.

"Since when did you become such a nag, Aya?"

"...Very few people know my true wish, and you are one of them."

"A wish is the manifestation of the deepest part of a person's heart. A person cannot deceive their own wish, much less deceive a demon."

"...My wish is Peaceful Coexistence Between Humans and Demons. That will also be the contract I form with the demon."

"A Witch who violates her contract will pay a miserable price. Only String God Island, this special district for demons, can sustain my contract and allow me to live."

"...Don't let how I act fool you, Aya. I'm afraid of dying too."

Nangong Nayue spoke with considerable impatience.

Yet within her steadfast azure eyes, a trace of weakness flashed by, difficult to detect.

Nangong Nayue was, after all, only a teenage girl. Even if she was strong-willed, even if she had received elite training since childhood—

That did not mean she could disregard everything. It did not mean she felt no fear.

Sendou Aya looked at the friend beside her, pity in her fiery eyes.

After forming contracts with demons, Witches retained the state they had been in when they made the contract, remaining forever young. This was one of the few benefits of being a Witch.

Yet though there were many Witches in the world, only Nangong Nayue remained in such a childlike form.

Under normal circumstances, a girl so young could not form a contract and become a Witch.

But because of the Prison Barrier, Nangong Nayue had lost the ability to grow from a very young age.

This was all the unfairness of fate, the harm Nangong Nayue had suffered as a Witch.

And it was also the harm inflicted upon her by this island called String God Island!

At that moment, Sendou Aya made a certain decision.

"Then let us begin. I will safeguard you and ensure that nothing goes wrong with the ritual."

Following Sendou Aya's words, Nangong Nayue walked into the ritual's magic circle.

The Scribe Witch chanted the Word Spirit of the spell.

The ritual began. A demon's power emerged from the ritual grounds, and even Sendou Aya frowned at that surging magical energy.

The more difficult the terms of a contract with a demon were, the greater the power a Witch would obtain, because her restraints would also become more severe.

Given Nangong Nayue's true wish, the demon forming a contract with her would surely be unprecedentedly powerful.

But at that moment, another unimaginable aura suddenly appeared—an aura carrying All the World's Evil, as though it contained all darkness and sin!

Even though it was only an aura, Sendou Aya's lovely face went deathly pale in the midst of the ritual. An uncontrollable terror overflowed from the depths of her heart, and her body shook like a leaf.

"Nayue, what is that thing on you? Throw it away, quickly!"

Sendou Aya shrieked.

She noticed that the utterly terrifying aura was coming from a pitch-black slip of paper in Nangong Nayue's hand.

Nangong Nayue was somewhat at a loss as well. She wanted to throw the paper away, but it was already too late.

Before Sendou Aya's horrified eyes, Nangong Nayue's figure vanished from the ritual's magic circle.

There Will Always Be Mortals Who Dare Face Me

Endless darkness completely swallowed Nangong Nayue's consciousness.

When her consciousness returned, she discovered that she had appeared in a void-like world.

Above and below, in every direction, there was only darkness. From ancient times to the present, there was only sin, as though the darkness and sin of all living things originated here.

"Where exactly is this place?"

Nangong Nayue's speech was slurred. Even she had not noticed that her instinctive trembling was making her teeth chatter.

An indescribable terror completely filled her heart. At that moment, Nangong Nayue lost the ability to think, madness crashing down upon her and nearly driving her consciousness to collapse.

It was not that Nangong Nayue lacked mental fortitude.

As a Pure-blooded Witch, as a pitiful person born to be controlled by fate and destined to lose her soul—

Nangong Nayue had faced all this sorrow from a very young age. Even knowing that String God Island's Artificial Island Management Corporation had raised her as a tool—

Even knowing that, as a Witch who would lose her soul, she was destined to meet no good end—

This girl, still in the bloom of sixteen, had continued living and learning with an incredibly powerful will.

Even amid that tragic destiny, she had developed a wish that could be called saintly: in a world where humans and demons regarded one another with hostility, she wanted the two races to coexist peacefully.

Nangong Nayue had believed that someone like her would never suffer a mental collapse because of any external existence.

But at this moment, within this endless void of darkness, she discovered that she had truly overestimated herself.

The dark space was alive, as though some great existence were watching her.

With a single breath from that great existence, life and death reversed here, and the world was overturned here.

Was this truly the demon Sendou Aya had spoken of?

If it was, then just how terrifying was this demon?

With a single breath, it could annihilate the world. With a single glance, it could shatter a human mind.

Compared to this unknown existence, even the three True Vampires she knew of, standing at the pinnacle of demonkind, were as weak as ants.

After all, though True Vampires and their Familiars were powerful, even a True Vampire would have to fall before a great nation that went all out.

That was why the three True Vampires had chosen to establish the Night Empire, using the power of nations to contend against nations.

Because a True Vampire alone was nothing more than a highly destructive disaster.

But this great existence, which had yet to appear and existed only in Nangong Nayue's perception, was different. It was a monster that could destroy a great nation with a single thought!

"Ha... ha..."

The terrifying psychological pressure left Nangong Nayue's forehead drenched in cold sweat. The excessive perspiration made her wonder whether all the water in her body had already evaporated.

There was neither food nor water in this darkness. If this continued, even if her mind could endure, her body would become a dried corpse from dehydration.

After wandering through the darkness for an unknown length of time, just as her mental will began to blur, a towering throne suddenly appeared before her.

The throne was lofty and without fixed form.

Upon that throne sat a humanoid figure.

Its entire body was like a pitch-black shadow. Aside from its human-like shape, its body was formed entirely from pure darkness and sin.

At merely one glance of that humanoid figure, Nangong Nayue felt her human soul dissipating. Unable to endure any longer, she dropped to her knees, sweat soaking her body and dripping onto a floor that did not exist.

Saigō watched the doll-like girl kneeling before him.

For her to have endured this long before finally being unable to hold on, Saigō already found her quite worthy of praise.

One had to know that in this darkness, though he had yet to be born, he possessed the entirety of Mother of Evil Gods' Divine Authority.

It was one of the seventeen Domain Holders who stood at the summit of the universe, even within Little Garden.

It was the embodiment of Malice, capable of creating heaven and earth and tearing apart the stars of the cosmos.

And Mother of Evil Gods was one of the original four.

For a mortal to face Mother of Evil Gods directly and retain her sanity was enough to demonstrate the extraordinary strength of heart possessed by this doll-like, exquisitely beautiful girl.

There would always be mortals who dared face the source of all darkness and sin.

Yet all mortals could ultimately do was cast a single glance.

Within this dark space, Saigō was the "Universe's Least Common Multiple," possessing supreme might.

If, in OVERLORD, he had been called the Supreme Sovereign because he had created numerous NPCs—

Then here, Saigō was a true Supreme Sovereign!

Nothing about Nangong Nayue could be hidden here. Her innermost thoughts, her past life, her pitiful yet unyielding existence—

Even the soul she was about to sell—none of it could escape Saigō's eyes.

"Nangong Nayue... you are the first person to accept my invitation and come to this place."

Saigō's tone was majestic, devoid of any superfluous human emotion, as though all things in his eyes were ants unworthy of his notice.

Though the authority he possessed now was false, a gift from Mother of Evil Gods' Divine Authority, bestowed by that great Mother—

Saigō had ample experience in maintaining the majesty of an absolute superior before others, making them form mistaken impressions of him.

Simply put, he could not let Nangong Nayue see that he possessed a kind human nature.

No matter how terrifying a god was, once it possessed humanity, its majesty dropped several levels.

So he had to put on an act. He absolutely had to act!

"You accepted my invitation and provided the coordinates of your world. I am a fair and benevolent god. You have provided sufficient value, and I shall naturally grant you a reward."

Saigō remained outwardly impassive, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.