Multiverse: A Journey Beginning with the Supreme Sovereign

No!

Saigō refused without hesitation, without the slightest shame.

He was a demon, a being whose morality score had hit the maximum negative value. How could he possibly possess any excess positive human emotions?

Sendou Aya knew she could not sway Saigō. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. Then her slender fingers brushed her waist, and the Twelve Layered Robe weighing dozens of pounds drifted gently to the floor.

Before Saigō, Sendou Aya was left with nothing but a pair of tabi-clad jade feet, whiteness, and seductive beauty.

Main Quests and Side Quests

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."

Sendou Aya lay on her back upon the cold marble floor.

The delicate skin of her lovely back touched the stone beneath her, and she felt threads of chill seep through her marrow and into her heart.

The Witch's snow-white body was covered in wounds—bloodstains and bruises alike—making her look terribly battered.

Yet those injuries merely looked severe. In truth, they did not even count as minor wounds. It was mainly because Sendou Aya's skin was so delicate and tender that they appeared this way.

"Ugh..."

Sendou Aya propped herself up, covered her throat, and dry-heaved a few times before coughing twice more. She looked utterly exhausted and weak.

Supporting herself on her elbows, the Scribe Witch looked around. Yet as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the cold palace and marble. The demon was nowhere to be found.

She gave a self-mocking smile and murmured, "...To actually expect a demon to have even a shred of gentlemanly grace. How laughable, like some innocent little girl."

After resting like that for a while, Sendou Aya felt the roaring magic power surging endlessly within her body, and her expression became exceedingly complicated.

"That demon truly is no ordinary demon. With magic power nearly without end like this, even a True Vampire could hardly compare."

Sendou Aya looked troubled, unable for a time to tell whether her choice had been right or wrong.

That demon who called himself Zarathustra was utterly unlike any demon she had imagined.

Even after exhausting all her knowledge, she could find no record in history or legend related to this demon.

It made Sendou Aya wonder whether that demon was truly a product of this world—or whether he had come from somewhere even more mysterious.

And if he was not a product of this world, what was his true purpose? What consequences would her decision to cooperate with him bring?

Sendou Aya pondered for a long while but reached no conclusion.

The only fortunate thing was that the demon had not deceived her. He had indeed taken her soul and contract, changing the demon contracted to this Witch into Zarathustra.

Judging solely from the nearly inexhaustible magic power she now possessed, the Scribe Witch was certain that her strength had increased greatly.

Though she was merely a Witch transformed from a human, not one of those True Vampires, and had no Familiars to guarantee her destructive power or magical output—

Sendou Aya no longer had to worry about insufficient magic power when casting spells.

Given enough time to prepare, she would not even need a specific moment to leverage the power of the stars. She could complete the Dark Oath through her own power alone.

The only things limiting Sendou Aya now were her frail body and mind as a Witch.

After all, her stamina was still finite, and she could not go without sleep or rest forever.

"Being entangled with that demon... Natsuki, you must be feeling uneasy deep down as well."

Sendou Aya's magnificent fiery eyes turned toward Nangong Nayue, who was sleeping upon a throne not far away.

That demon truly was worthy of being called a demon. He really did enjoy trampling on people's dignity.

The reason he had chosen this place was to shatter the moral limits and shackles in her heart. Sendou Aya understood that perfectly well.

Fortunately, although her sense of morality as a Witch was not as twisted as a demon's, it was still different from that of ordinary people.

At first, she had felt unaccustomed to it and even embarrassed. But gradually, once she had completely fallen into depravity, Sendou Aya no longer cared.

Her snow-white jade feet stepped onto the thin tabi. Perhaps the cleanest part of her entire body was the pair of lotus feet that had remained covered in tabi the entire time.

The Scribe Witch leisurely put on her Twelve Layered Robe. The garment was already complicated enough that, under normal circumstances, it required two attendants to dress someone in it.

Even Sendou Aya needed magic to put on this gorgeous robe weighing dozens of pounds by herself.

But in the next instant, Sendou Aya's expression changed drastically. Her unhurried movements became swift, and after changing into the Twelve Layered Robe, she hurriedly left.

Not long after Sendou Aya departed from the castle, Nangong Nayue, who had been sleeping quietly upon the throne, opened her clear azure eyes.

"What's going on? Why do I feel like someone entered this place?"

Nangong Nayue muttered in her childish, indistinct voice, her expression puzzled.

The prisoners confined within the Prison Barrier had limited areas in which they could move. Aside from their own cells, they only had the opportunity for exercise at designated times.

Even during exercise, those prisoners could not leave their cells. It was even more impossible for them to come to this palace, where the prison's warden resided.

Nangong Nayue swiftly sensed her surroundings, but detected no living presence within the palace. She then hurriedly closed her eyes.

The Prison Barrier existed within her dreams. Once she awoke, the barrier would manifest in the outside world and lose its ability to serve as a prison.

In merely a few seconds of wakefulness, Nangong Nayue sensed the turbulence throughout the barrier. Thus, she hurriedly closed her eyes again and fell back asleep.

As Nangong Nayue once more sank into slumber, the Prison Barrier stabilized as well.

Nangong Nayue had only roughly sensed for signs of life just now. She had not carefully inspected the great hall where she was.

That was why she failed to notice the traces left behind on the floor and did not discover that someone had been here earlier.

More importantly, Nangong Nayue did not believe any prisoner could leave their cell and come before her. If it truly had been a prisoner, they would have attacked her long ago. Why would they do nothing?

No matter how Nangong Nayue thought about it, she would never have imagined that the ones who had come before her were not ordinary prisoners, but the demon with whom she had made a contract and her former ally.

Within the darkness, Saigō temporarily returned once more to the world that had birthed him.

He sat upon a throne that reached the heavens, idly playing with Sendou Aya's soul in his hand.

The contract the Witch had once signed with a demon had already been shattered by him, its name replaced with his own.

"Just as I expected, objects without life can follow me into this darkness. Even contracts can."

Saigō rested a finger against his chin in thought.

He had conducted experiments before and knew that he could bring inanimate objects here. That was why he had dared promise Sendou Aya that he could alter the contract between a Witch and a demon.

In the world where Nangong Nayue lived, demons were neither a race nor physical entities. They were a mechanism, a rule, and fundamentally possessed no life.

Saigō did not actually know how to alter a contract between a Witch and a demon.

But through Sendou Aya's body as a medium, he found her soul and the mechanism of her contract with the demon.

Then Saigō brought that contract into this darkness.

Within this space, Saigō's spiritual status was that of the Mother of Demons. He was a true Domain Holder, capable even of making the stars fall. Altering a contract was as simple as eating and drinking.

"What a pity. It would be wonderful if I could bring living beings here as well."

Saigō sighed, feeling somewhat regretful.

If he truly could do that, then whenever he encountered a powerful enemy, he could simply drag them into his world and crush them with the spiritual status of the Mother of Demons.

Unless the enemy was also a Domain Holder, Saigō would be invincible here.

"The reason Nangong Nayue could come here was because the invitation I created with this darkness gave her that authority."

"...But even with all my strength, I can only make a few invitations now. And their destinations are random; I do not even know which worlds those invitations were sent to."

"Forget it. I should stop trying to take shortcuts all the time. Better to move forward steadily, one step at a time."

"...My main quest now is to seize the nourishment of worlds for my own growth, while the side quests are the Fourth True Ancestor and the Great Calamity!"

Saigō assigned quests to himself as though he were playing a game.

I Won't End Up Carrying a Demon's Child, Will I?

Within the Prison Barrier, in Sendou Aya's cell, the Scribe Witch sat on the bedding in a duck-sitting posture, seduction lingering in the corners of her eyes as she breathed lightly.

On a chair not far from her, Saigō leaned back leisurely, watching the somewhat absent-minded Witch before him with an interested gaze.

After a long while, Sendou Aya's mind finally returned to reality. She casually grabbed a garment resembling a nightgown and used it to cover her incomparably lovely body.

The Scribe Witch used her slender fingers to tuck the hair by her temples into place. Her magnificent fiery eyes were seductive as she looked at Saigō and said, "...Lord Zarathustra, as agreed, when will you let me leave this Prison Barrier?"

Upon hearing Sendou Aya's words, Saigō said unhurriedly, "...Do not rush, Aya. Since I promised you, I will not break my word."

"...However, I will not release you personally. I will have little Natsuki release you instead."

"There was never any irreconcilable conflict between you. You became enemies only because fate caused a failure of communication."

"...Once everything has been made clear, given little Natsuki's character, she is not someone who refuses to acknowledge her mistakes."

"Still, give me a little time. Now is not the time to discuss this with little Natsuki."

After thinking briefly, Saigō added, "...A few months. That should be enough."

"During this time, quietly wait here. Study some things properly, and reflect upon your past as well."

"...At times, your thoughts and actions are far too extreme. That is not a good habit, my Witch!"

Sendou Aya rose to her feet. Her loose nightgown could not completely conceal her snow-white skin, and glimpses of her lovely body could still be seen through its gaps.

The Witch curtsied and said with a seductive smile, "...As you command, my lord!"

Though she outwardly agreed with Saigō's words, respectful and polite, Sendou Aya could only sigh inwardly.

Her soul was now in Saigō's hands. She was meat upon the chopping block, with no ability whatsoever to resist him.

If Saigō were a demon as she understood demons to be, it would be better. So long as she did not violate the contract, the demon would not do anything to her.

But the Great Demon before her possessed his own intelligence. If he wished, he could crush her soul at any moment.

With her life beyond her control, the Witch could only yield and endure.

But compared to the past, one good thing was that because Saigō possessed intelligence, many matters could be discussed. It was not like dealing with demons before, where she had to act like a machine and follow a set procedure.

"Alright, Aya... Before you leave this prison, I will come see you whenever I have time. I will not let you grow bored."

Saigō waved his hand. Without waiting for Sendou Aya to react, he activated a Space Control spell and vanished.

You do not come see me whenever you have time. You merely come to satisfy your desires.

Sendou Aya grumbled inwardly, but the demon having desires made her feel slightly more at ease instead.

For some reason, Sendou Aya even felt a bit pleased by her charm as a woman.

The demon had clearly made a contract with Nangong Nayue first, so why was he not interested in Nangong Nayue? It must be because Natsuki possessed no charm as a woman.

The Scribe Witch tidied the disheveled bedding. She still needed to sleep here at night, so it would not do for it to be too dirty or messy.

She folded the blanket and prepared to take the sheet to wash it. Then she suddenly thought of something, and her delicate brows knit tightly.

Did demons even possess the ability to reproduce? As a Witch, would she not end up carrying a demon's child?

Sendou Aya was deeply worried.

"Mm..."

Nangong Nayue rubbed her tired eyes and sat up from the bedding. Wearing a plainly colored nightgown, she sat there blankly.

No matter what, Nangong Nayue was still only a teenage girl and had some of the habits common to girls her age.

For example, now that she had graduated from high school and was on summer vacation, she was like many girls her age—she disliked waking up early during holidays and slept until she woke naturally whenever possible.

Though aside from being a student, she also had another job as a Demon Slayer.

However, because she possessed considerable authority on this artificial island, coupled with her personality, Nangong Nayue did not need to follow the security force's regulations too strictly.

"You're awake, little Natsuki."

Nangong Nayue had grown accustomed to the voice by her ear. An additional person had entered her home, and that had become part of her daily life.

Though she never said so aloud, Nangong Nayue was somewhat happy about it.

Having had no parents and lived alone since childhood, she had always led a lonely life.

Now that someone was by her side, the loneliness in her heart—the kind she would never speak of to others—had found a small measure of comfort.