Multiverse: A Journey Through Worlds Beginning with a Supreme Sovereign

Now that she thought about it, the contract's contents had not changed, but the demon she had contracted with seemed far more terrifying. In theory, the power she gained should be even greater.

Thinking of it that way, perhaps it was not entirely unacceptable.

Nangong Nayue mocked herself inwardly. At a time like this, she could only console herself in this manner.

The difference from before was that if the contract was violated, only the Witch herself would pay the price.

But if she violated the contract now, the price might be paid by the entire world.

What worried and frightened Nangong Nayue the most was, in fact, her wish.

Only by fulfilling her wish could she win this game.

But her wish was "the peaceful coexistence of humans and demonkind." It was far too grand, practically no different from wishing for world peace.

For once, Nangong Nayue found herself complaining about why she had formed such a wish. The difficulty of fulfilling it was simply too high.

However, Nangong Nayue was not someone who gave up easily. Her mind was resolute and strong, the most beautiful radiance of her character.

"I shall accept your soul. The contract is hereby established!"

"...The avatar I have created shall grant you power. It will become your guardian—and your watcher!"

"If you violate the contract, it will sever your head. Darkness and death will utterly descend upon the land where you dwell!"

That indescribable voice imprinted itself upon Nangong Nayue's mind. Immediately afterward, she felt her thoughts stretched and extended without limit, leaving that strange and sinister space.

After Nangong Nayue disappeared, Saigō, seated upon the throne, dispelled that false appearance and revealed his true form.

Feeling the nourishment tirelessly feed his growth, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "...By accepting the contract and gaining a channel connected to that world, I can obtain nourishment for my growth."

"...And judging from Nangong Nayue's situation, those favored by the invitations I send should be people with powerful wishes of their own."

"If that is the case, why did only Nangong Nayue accept the invitation while no one else did?"

Saigō was somewhat puzzled. He toyed with Nangong Nayue's soul at his fingertips, yet could not make sense of it.

"Forget it. If I cannot figure it out, I will not think about it for now. A world is providing me with nourishment now—I cannot afford to lose it so easily."

With that thought, Saigō followed the marker provided by Nangong Nayue with a single thought and vanished completely into the darkness.

Sendou Aya anxiously paced around the ritual circle, unable to understand what had gone wrong with the ritual.

Just then, the ritual shone with magical light once more. She stared over anxiously, then delightedly saw Nangong Nayue's petite figure reappear within the ritual circle.

"Nayue, what happened? Was the ritual completed? I..."

Just as Sendou Aya was about to say something, her tall, delicate body trembled.

Behind Nangong Nayue's doll-like, beautiful body, a terrifying Great Demon formed from Black Fire had abruptly appeared.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the avatars created by the Great Lord, bearing the name of 'Aging'!"

"...You may call me Zarathustra, Nangong Nayue... and the Scribe Witch!"

The demon formed from Black Flame spoke with impeccable courtesy, like a true gentleman, yet his words were filled with Malice and delight.

Simulated Star Creation Chart "Avesta"!

(Cross-series power comparisons are really troublesome, so I will just go with my own settings as the author.)

(Unless the difference in demonstrated power between both sides is enormous, I will not deliberately strengthen or weaken any particular work.)

Sendou Aya's beautiful eyes widened as she stared in shock at the demon who had suddenly appeared behind Nangong Nayue and called himself Zarathustra.

In the Scribe Witch's understanding, so-called demons were not actually living beings with wills of their own.

Demons were different from demonkind. Demonkind was a collective term for the many races that truly existed in this world.

Vampires, beastmen, the Oni Race, dragons, and even elves—whether populous or rare, or even already extinct, all these nonhuman races were collectively called demonkind.

But demons were different. Demons were not a race.

Demons were more like collections of concepts, mechanisms akin to contracts, existing in this world like some predetermined rule.

Witches signed contracts with this mechanism, selling their souls in exchange for power beyond that of ordinary people.

At the same time, Witches had to abide by the terms of their contracts. The demon's power would materialize into a Familiar, concealed within the Witch's shadow.

When a Witch obeyed the contract, the Familiar demon became part of the Witch's power and followed her commands. This was the "Witch's guardian."

But once a Witch betrayed the contract, her guardian would become an executioner in the blink of an eye.

They would turn the Witch into a true monster, stripping away her human form and humanity before bringing her death after prolonged torment.

A Witch could never resist the demon with whom she had contracted, because her soul had long since been held in the demon's grasp.

It was precisely because demons possessed no will of their own that Sendou Aya found it so shocking and unbelievable to see Nangong Nayue's "guardian."

Among the countless records of Witches throughout history, there had never been a guardian with a will of its own, nor had there ever been a demon with a will of its own.

Demons were merely rules in operation.

Because demons were merely a kind of rule, loopholes existed. At the very least, Sendou Aya possessed a secret technique that allowed her to lend her own guardian to another and forcibly make them sign a contract.

"Nayue, what exactly is going on?"

Sendou Aya watched Saigō warily. The beauty clad in a Twelve Layered Robe took several graceful steps backward, ready at any moment to summon her own guardian into battle.

Hearing Sendou Aya's question, Nangong Nayue hesitated slightly.

She knew that what Sendou Aya was really asking was why her guardian possessed self-awareness.

Nangong Nayue truly did not know how to explain it. She understood that the Lord of Death and Darkness she had met was absolutely not the kind of demon Witches envisioned.

She also hesitated over whether she should tell Sendou Aya about such a terrifying existence.

Sometimes, knowing less was safer. Knowing less also meant fewer worries.

Drawing a deep breath, Nangong Nayue composed herself and spoke in her slightly unclear voice. "...It's nothing, Aya. I just encountered a little trouble."

Seeing that Nangong Nayue was unwilling to explain the situation, Sendou Aya roughly guessed that she had something difficult to say.

After glancing once more at the flame demon, whose manner was gentlemanly and seemingly courteous, Sendou Aya slowly nodded to indicate that she understood.

At the same time, Sendou Aya was intensely curious about Saigō and wished to investigate him.

As the Grand Scribe and leader of LCO, Sendou Aya shared LCO's members' thirst for knowledge.

She also wished to investigate such an unusual guardian as Nangong Nayue's.

This demon's body, formed from Black Flame, was entirely unlike the guardians of Witches.

Compared to the guardians of Witches, this monster was more like the demons people spoke of in legends.

"Why not save the reminiscing for later, Nangong Nayue and Scribe Witch Sendou Aya?"

"...It seems that intercepting the contract midway has caused some mechanism to malfunction. It wants to take the contract back."

Nangong Nayue and Sendou Aya were both utterly confused by Saigō's inexplicable words.

But in the next moment, they understood what he meant.

The ritual circle Nangong Nayue had previously used to sign a contract with a demon began to shine once more with a radiance so dense it seemed tangible.

Before everyone's very eyes, a tall "Knight" appeared within the magic circle, its entire body composed of mechanical gears and dyed gold!

"This is... a guardian? No, it is a true demon!"

When Sendou Aya saw the Golden 'Knight' appear, her expression changed drastically as she finally recognized its true nature.

That inhuman magical power and knight-like posture were exactly what Sendou Aya recognized as the traits possessed by every Witch's guardian.

But the magical power radiating from this guardian was simply too vast, so vast that it exceeded Sendou Aya's understanding of guardians.

"This level of magical power is practically comparable to a True Vampire's Familiar... No, even a single True Vampire Familiar does not possess such immense magical power!"

Though shocked by the volume of magical power possessed by the golden guardian before her, Sendou Aya still stepped in front of Nangong Nayue without hesitation, protecting her.

In Sendou Aya's view, Nangong Nayue, who had only just become a true Witch, was still unable to wield a Witch's power proficiently.

What puzzled Sendou Aya was why a new guardian had appeared here when Nangong Nayue already had one.

True Vampire Familiars were powerful, terrifying like disasters.

But True Vampire Familiars were not invincible.

If one of the three True Vampires who had lived for countless years were here in person, Sendou Aya would naturally be no match for them.

But if it was merely a mindless monster possessing the magical power of a True Vampire Familiar, Sendou Aya could still ensure Nangong Nayue's safety.

Battle was not a contest of magical power alone. It also required sufficient skill and experience.

Even if a True Vampire Familiar were handed to an ordinary person to command, that person would probably be unable to do anything beyond using the Familiar for destruction, let alone face an outstanding Demon Slayer.

Conversely, an excellent Demon Slayer could use all kinds of external conditions to kill that ordinary person.

This guardian—or rather, this demon—should be the one Nangong Nayue was originally meant to contract with.

...Because of my appearance, I accidentally intercepted the contract and caused the ritual to malfunction. That is why it appeared, intending to kill me and reclaim the contract?

Saigō could tell that the Golden 'Knight' had come for him.

Sendou Aya said this guardian possesses magical power comparable to, or even surpassing, that of a True Vampire Familiar. Hmm, I roughly understand the level of a True Vampire Familiar now.

A single True Vampire Familiar was roughly equivalent to an elite monster in Yggdrasills.

Not to mention him—even any one of the guardians in the Great Tomb of Nazarick could deal with it.

The only troublesome part was that, according to Saigō's understanding, these True Vampire Familiars were somewhat destructive and possessed a rather wide area of lethality.

But if a group of monsters of this level appeared, Saigō would also find it troublesome.

It was not as though he had never fought groups of monsters before, but the monsters he had fought were all mindless NPCs, much like the guardian before him.

But if these Familiars were controlled by someone, such as a True Vampire, then they would probably become rather troublesome enemies.

Back when we faced groups of monsters like this, we always fought them in parties.

Saigō sighed softly. Unfortunately, the members of Ainz Ooal Gown had long since disappeared.

Or, if he could become the complete form of the Decay Demon, crushing these so-called True Vampires would be effortless.

But regrettably, he was still in his growth stage and had only just gained the ability to acquire nourishment.

Forget it. I will deal with this so-called guardian first.

With a thought, Saigō intended to use his ability to destroy it. A mindless monster was nothing to fear.

But then Saigō suddenly thought of something. Rather than act immediately, he took out a book.

It was the Simulated Star Creation Chart—"Avesta"!

The Power of the First Three Thousand Years

The terrifying magical power released by the Golden 'Knight' caused the barrier Sendou Aya had prepared earlier to crack inch by inch.

The barrier was only meant to conceal the Witch's ritual. It had never possessed the ability to withstand the magical power of a True Vampire-level Familiar.

In contrast, the Great Demon standing opposite the Golden 'Knight' appeared entirely at ease.

Centered around the demon, an aura of Aging swept outward. The ground beneath its feet lost its vitality and grew dry, while the flowers, grass, and trees withered as well.

As the black flames forming the demon's body swayed, as though it were breathing, the breath scattered an aura of Aging into the air like a virus.

Sendou Aya finally understood why this demon called itself the Great Demon of Aging. Its current ability had already demonstrated the terror it posed to living beings.

No matter what kind of lifeform it was, it feared Aging and resisted death.

And Aging was undoubtedly the most despairing and terrifying of the ten processes of death!

Sendou Aya's expression changed abruptly.

Witches were not undead beings. They merely lived a little longer than ordinary humans and could retain their youthful appearances.

Within this aura of Aging, she could feel her own life draining away.

Though Sendou Aya appeared elegant and beautiful, with a voluptuous and alluring figure, she was actually only one year older than sixteen-year-old Nangong Nayue.

Sendou Aya had no desire for her ageless face to turn into that of a wrinkled Old Woman here.

Just as she was about to pull Nangong Nayue away from this place to avoid its edge for the moment, Nangong Nayue stepped forward and stood before Sendou Aya.