Novas Etier, Seventh Floor, Private Study.
Higashino Makoto leaned back in his armchair, holding a six-sided die in his hand, his thumb sliding across each of the six faces in turn.
He had played with the dice until the surface was smooth as a mirror, and it gleamed with a warm luster under the magic light.
He needs it to make decisions, but he needs something in his hand while he's thinking.
Jibril stood behind him, her rainbow-colored hair fluttering gently in the still room. The halo above her head slowly rotated, and her wing-shaped ears trembled slightly, capturing every subtle fluctuation in the air.
She didn't speak, but stood there quietly, her purple eyes watching Higashino Makoto's back.
The three butterfly sisters are not here.
They were left at Higashino Makoto to learn how to control their newly acquired powers.
Betsucho wings are not just for show; they can fly, release magic, and sense the life force around them—all of which require practice.
Kanae learned the fastest, Shinobu learned the most diligently, Kanao learned somewhat casually.
As Higashino Makoto left, she was using her wings to curl up a teacup, attempting to drink tea in this way.
As a result, the tea spilled all over the table. She wiped it dry with a towel without expression and then continued trying.
Higashino Makoto did not stop her.
Some things you have to try to find out for yourself.
"Owner."
Jibril's voice interrupted his thoughts.
What are you thinking about?
"What should I do when I get back?"
Higashino Makoto placed the dice on the table, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling with his golden eyes.
"The One Punch Man world is infiltrating, Monster Cells are being researched, and science and technology are being absorbed. I don't need to worry about those things; the Guardians are better at them than I am. The Demon Slayer world is already on the right track; the Pope has become an angel, and faith is steadily growing. I don't need to perform any more miracles. The third gate has just opened, and the mercenary monsters I sent are still gathering intelligence. There won't be any results in the short term."
He paused.
"So, I'm temporarily unemployed."
Jibril's lips curled up slightly.
"Master, are you complaining?"
"I'm just stating the facts."
Higashino Makoto sat up straight and looked at her.
"Do you know that feeling? Having so many things to do, but none of them are urgent. Having so many places to go, but having been to them all. Having so many people to see, but not wanting to see any of them."
Jibril tilted her head, her rainbow-colored hair slipping down her shoulder.
"Master, are you bored?"
"Perhaps, but there were still some gains."
Higashino Makoto stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
Artificial sunlight streamed in, illuminating the entire room.
In the distance, Novas Etier's floating islands appeared and disappeared in the clouds, their white buildings shimmering with golden light in the sunlight.
"So, I've decided to go back and take a look."
"Where to go?"
"The original world."
Jibril's eyes narrowed slightly.
"When Novas Etier first arrived, you called the world of Ainz Ooal Gown?"
"Right."
Higashino Makoto turned around and looked at her.
"Didn't I discover some interesting things about God in that world?"
Jibril's eyebrows rose slightly.
"God?"
"Yes, that world has no heaven, no hell, no reincarnation, but it has souls. And it still possesses an energy similar to a collective unconscious, only that energy is more powerful, primal, and chaotic than that of the Demon Slayer world."
"Where did the souls of those who died go? The Dragon King Princess said that she needs to consume soul energy, that is, the souls of Wisdom beings, to cast spells. Why doesn't the True Dragon Lords use Wild Magic?"
"Could I speculate that the souls of the dead return to the world, and that the True Dragon Lords can directly absorb soul energy from the world for his own use?"
He went back behind his desk, sat down, took a document from the drawer, placed it on the table, and pushed it aside.
The document was covered with dense writing.
That was all the information about God that he had gathered through Muninn and Huginn when he was in the Overlord World.
"Jibril, do you know why the True Dragon Lords is immune to the special effects of World Item?"
Jibril thought for a moment.
"World Protection? In YGGDRASIL, beings who possess World Item or something similar can be immune to the special effects of other World Item. The True Dragon Lords should belong to the latter."
"Yes, but why does the True Dragon Lords possess the power to World Protection?"
Jibril remained silent for a moment.
I don't know.
"It's very likely because their souls are truly connected to the 'world'."
A hint of research desire flickered in Higashino Makoto's golden eyes.
"The soul of the True Dragon Lords is connected to the gods of this world. Not by borrowing their power, but by becoming a part of them, or like a person connecting themselves to a well with a straw."
"From the perspective of determining the special effects of World Item, they are part of this world. Therefore, the special effects of World Item are ineffective against them, because World Item cannot affect the world itself."
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out again.
"But that's not the most interesting thing. The most interesting thing is pollution."
"Pollute?"
"Yes, pollution."
Higashino Makoto turned around, a certain light gleaming in his golden eyes.
"When I was educating the Platinum Dragon Lord in Tartarus, I discovered something very interesting: the gods of that world had mutated."
It's not what the Dragon Clan calls pollution; in Higashino Makoto's view, it should be called mutation, or evolution.
The soul, which should have been pure white, was corrupted by something black.
That black stuff had completely blended with the original white of "God".
You are in me, and I am in you; we are inseparable.
Jibril frowned slightly.
What is that?
"Have no idea."
Higashino Makoto shook his head.
But I have a guess.
He went back to his desk, sat down, picked up a quill, and wrote a few words on a blank piece of parchment.
"Assume the white part is the original god of this world. Primal, unconscious, without self, yet it possesses immense power capable of altering the rules of the world."
He wrote another word next to the white one.
"Black is the legacy of the Eight Greed Kings. Five hundred years ago, the Eight Greed Kings used World Item to forcibly embed Tier Magic into the magic system of this world. In other words, as the dragons say, they corrupted the gods, which is the world itself."
Jibril's pupils contracted slightly.
"Have they corrupted God?"
"Yes and no."