A Multiverse Journey Beginning with the Supreme Sovereign

Saigō had adopted this attitude toward life because, to him, his one true purpose was to seize the nourishment of this world for his own growth.

To achieve that goal, all he needed to do was ensure the contract remained in place. As long as Nangong Nayue was unharmed, that was enough.

That was why Saigō lived such a laid-back life and rarely liked to stir up trouble.

The more trouble he caused, the more unpredictable changes it would bring, making the future uncertain.

If he had not taken an interest in the Fourth True Ancestor's Familiars and wanted to broaden his own capabilities, he would not have gotten involved this time.

The Queen of the Kingdom of Aldegia had no doubts about her daughter's words.

La Folia had been born with an extraordinary talent. She was exceptionally sensitive to human nature and emotion.

It was precisely this talent that had allowed the fourteen-year-old princess to become the kingdom's most important diplomat, visiting other nations and even participating in international negotiations.

In every negotiation, she had never fallen behind. Despite her young age, she had already taken on the nation's diplomatic responsibilities in preparation for inheriting the throne in the future.

It was La Folia's excellence and beauty beyond that of ordinary people that had earned her such widespread recognition and support within the country.

Since La Folia said that demon possessed such a personality and way of handling affairs, the Queen believed him to be exactly that kind of person.

"I am very interested in what happened to you on Gozo Island. Tell me everything in detail."

The Queen assumed a listening posture, while La Folia recounted every detail of what had happened.

"Mr. Zarathustra is extremely talented. Although he is a demon, he understands the workings of human society, the relationships between nations, and even political compromise very well."

"...I truly do not want to let someone like him leave. I want to keep him in the kingdom."

"Moreover, Mr. Zarathustra devoured the Primogenitor and obtained the power of the Fourth True Ancestor."

"...The Fourth True Ancestor is said to have no blood relatives or followers, to stand alone without seeking dominion over anything, and to be the strongest vampire, commanding twelve incarnations of calamity."

"Looking at it from the other direction, the Fourth True Ancestor is a calamity, but also an immensely important strategic asset."

"...The war between the kingdom and the War King's Domain cannot truly settle down. There will always be petty people who provoke another conflict between the two sides."

"The Forgotten War King has never personally participated in the war against the kingdom."

"...But we must prepare for danger in times of peace. If one day the Forgotten War King invades the kingdom with the full strength of his empire, then even if we win, we will pay an enormous price."

"But if we could obtain the strategic power of the Fourth True Ancestor, it would be enough to contend with the First True Ancestor."

"...Mr. Zarathustra is already a powerful demon. If he were to obtain all of the Fourth True Ancestor's Familiars, then perhaps even the Forgotten War King would not be his match!"

La Folia's tone was extremely excited. Though she tried to suppress it, the Queen could still hear her daughter's fondness for that demon, as well as a faint, concealed admiration.

The Queen sighed inwardly. Her daughter was simply too rule-abiding. Though extraordinarily talented, her personal strength was not particularly great.

Perhaps it was that demon's chaos—his disregard for all order and law, his reckless freedom—that drew her rule-abiding daughter toward him.

No one knew a daughter better than her mother. The Queen had guessed La Folia's thoughts.

"It seems you have a very favorable impression of that demon."

The Queen teased her.

La Folia did not deny it. Raising her exquisitely beautiful, fairy-like face, she said, "...If it benefits the country's development, I would not mind even marrying him."

"No!"

Before the Queen could speak, His Majesty the King roared angrily, "...How could I let my daughter make such a sacrifice and marry a demon?!"

The Queen glanced at the King and smiled. "...Darling~"

Though her call was affectionate, her eyes were filled with menace.

His Majesty the King immediately did not dare make another sound.

The Queen looked at La Folia again and said softly, "...Unlike other families like ours, I will not question your decision, nor will I stop you from making it."

"In other families like ours, parents arrange their children's marriages entirely by themselves. But we are different."

"...So long as this is your own wish, whether you choose to sacrifice yourself for the nation or whether you truly love him, I will support you, La Folia!"

Hearing her mother's words, the princess pressed her lips together and said gratefully, "...Mother!"

Just as mother and daughter were sharing this tender moment, an utterly terrifying wave of frigid magic power suddenly erupted within the royal capital!

A Monster with the Strength to Rival a Nation

"Is that magic power... Crimson Ice of the Demon Princess?!"

La Folia's expression changed drastically as she rushed to the window.

Even from the King's bedroom, even from within the royal palace, La Folia could clearly see the massive Familiar in the distance, spreading its wings. It looked like a fusion of a mermaid and a demonic bird.

Centered around Crimson Ice of the Demon Princess, an incomparable storm of magic power swept through the royal capital. Visible to the naked eye, crystalline snowflakes began to fall over that section of the city.

An entire district was covered in ice and, in an instant, frozen into a city of ice sculptures.

The terrifying cold wind spread in all directions. Even from so far away, La Folia shivered as a chill rose from the deepest part of her heart.

"La Folia, could that be...?"

The Queen's expression was grave as she stepped to her daughter's side, staring at the unbelievable giant Familiar and asking in a low voice.

Even the Queen herself failed to notice that her lips were trembling slightly.

"That is the Fourth True Ancestor's Familiar, Crimson Ice of the Demon Princess!"

"...On Gozo Island, this Familiar shattered the island with a single strike and even froze the sea."

"Though the royal capital is larger than Gozo Island, this is the royal capital. More than ten million people live here. If that Familiar were to launch an attack here..."

La Folia's lips had gone pale, and her voice trembled.

Though she did not say the rest, both the King and Queen could imagine how terrifying the scene would be.

The deaths of hundreds of thousands, the destruction of the royal capital, and the resulting economic and military turmoil throughout the nation would all lead to horrific consequences.

"So this is a True Vampire's Familiar..."

The Queen murmured, her body swaying slightly.

Over the past several thousand years, the three True Vampires of this world had acted very rarely.

Over the last several centuries, the three True Vampires had not truly made a move even once.

Thus, everyone in this world knew that a True Vampire's Familiars were incredibly powerful, and that every True Vampire was a monster capable of rivaling an entire nation.

But exactly how powerful the True Vampires were had only ever been rumor. No one had truly witnessed it.

At this moment, the members of the Aldegian royal family finally witnessed the terror of a True Vampire's Familiar.

There was no need for measuring instruments. One only had to sense it with one's own body to know that a single Familiar was enough to destroy a vast city.

Legend said that the First True Ancestor, the Forgotten War King, possessed seventy-two Familiars; the Second True Ancestor, the Eye of Annihilation, possessed nineteen Familiars.

The Third True Ancestor, the Chaos Princess, possessed twenty-seven Familiars, while the Fourth True Ancestor, the Night Lord of Blazing Light, possessed twelve.

Just imagining the complete release of all those Familiars made it clear that this would not merely be a disaster for a single nation, but a disaster for the entire world.

"The Fourth True Ancestor, who walks the earth in the name of calamity, truly is the purest embodiment of destruction."

His Majesty the King's face turned pale as he shouted, "...Quickly, deploy the Holy Ring Knights! We cannot let that Familiar wreak havoc within the royal capital!"

"Deploy the knights? And then what? Have the knights engage that terrifying monster in close combat?"

"...Or mobilize the warships and fire on it directly?"

"There would be no problem with killing that Familiar using a fleet of warships, but this is the royal capital. If the kingdom's warship cannons fall upon our own people, that would create an even greater problem."

"...And vampire Familiars cannot truly be killed. After waiting for a certain amount of time, those aggregates of magic power will revive again."

"We may be able to kill a True Vampire's Familiar once, but can we keep killing it forever?"

The Queen said to the King in dissatisfaction.

Although her husband had a fine personality, he had once been nothing more than a warrior and possessed little experience or ability in ruling a nation.

Thus, while His Majesty the King was king in name, the one who truly decided the kingdom's direction and issued orders had always been the Queen.

After all, the Queen was the bloodline inheritor of the Lihavain Family. The reason she had likely chosen this King as her husband was because he did not understand state affairs.

Only then could she prevent the kingdom from being taken by others.

"Then what should we do now?"

His Majesty the King also knew that his response had been flawed, but in his panic, that was the only method he could think of.

"Have the knights gather in force and prepare themselves. Then summon the strongest knights, activate the 'Holy Sword' system, and contain the disaster within the smallest possible area."

The Queen gave her orders calmly.

"Who could the enemy be, to make Mr. Zarathustra summon a Familiar? Could it be... another True Vampire?"

La Folia had known Saigō for three years and had her own understanding of him.

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The Princess knew very well that though Saigō was a demon, he would not commit slaughter without cause.

Now, Saigō had directly summoned a Familiar within the city. Such an act was no different from slaughtering ordinary people, so La Folia believed he must have encountered a formidable enemy to do this.

"There is another True Vampire here? Then this is a huge problem."

His Majesty the King said hoarsely.

But he knew how intelligent his daughter was. Since she said so, then there was likely truly a second True Vampire in this city.

La Folia ignored her father. She leaped directly out the window, activated her spirit speech, and used magic to accelerate herself as she left the palace and rushed toward the scene.

"La Folia!"

His Majesty the King wanted to call her back, but the Queen interrupted him.

"Let La Folia go. I have a deeper concern right now."

The Queen said with a tightly furrowed brow.

"Is there anything more troublesome than two True Vampires appearing in the royal capital at once?"

His Majesty the King hurriedly asked.

"If the True Vampire confronting Mr. Zarathustra is another True Vampire, that would still be manageable. At the very least, the kingdom has no open hostility toward the other True Vampires."

"...But if that True Vampire is the First True Ancestor, the Forgotten War King..."

The Queen did not finish her words, but His Majesty the King was not a fool and immediately understood what his wife meant.

If the Forgotten War King had appeared in the royal capital, it meant the War King's Domain was prepared for all-out war.

And if even the First True Ancestor, who had not acted for centuries, had personally made a move, then this would be a moment of life or death for the kingdom.

"Have the Holy Ring Knights make preparations, and mobilize all other secret forces as well. We must pay close attention to intelligence from the borders."

"...As for the royal capital itself, I have no particularly good solution for the moment."

The Queen said with a headache.

In one district of the kingdom's capital, centered around Crimson Ice of the Demon Princess, everything within a three-kilometer radius had turned into ice sculptures.

Saigō sat on a chair frozen from ice, crossing his legs as he looked at the Third True Ancestor, Jada, beside him.

Within this area, aside from Saigō and Jada, everything had become the frost of a polar wasteland.

Let Us Please Each Other!

Like Saigō, the Third True Ancestor lounged against the back of her chair. Her wheat-colored skin was healthy and vibrant, while her stunningly beautiful face possessed a wild beauty.

Even Jada's posture mirrored Saigō's. She sat with her legs crossed, her flawless jade-like foot hooked around her white high heel, looking utterly at ease.

"The reason you used that barrier Familiar in an attempt to seal me inside was to test whether I had truly devoured the Primogenitor?"

Saigō's eyes, burning with black flames, gazed at Jada as he asked calmly.

"Mhm, that was one answer I wanted to know."

"...If you truly devoured the Primogenitor and completely controlled Number Twelve of the Night Lord of Blazing Light's Familiars, then breaking my Familiar would have been effortless."