Black Bullet
Higashino Makoto stood on the edge of the spatial turbulence, his arms outstretched.
A purple-gold light surged from his palm, spreading in all directions like a tide.
Wherever the light passed, the distorted spatial patterns began to submit.
The rules of the small world are on a higher level than this chaotic space, like a monarch on a throne looking down at kneeling subjects.
The crack began to shrink.
One by one, those fractured spatial layers merged into the purplish-gold light, were swallowed up by the small world, and turned into nourishment.
The twisted wrinkles were smoothed out layer by layer, like silk that had been ironed.
Higashino Makoto closed his eyes and focused all his senses into the small world.
The space with a diameter of 17,784 kilometers is slowly writhing, its boundaries extending outward, devouring everything that remains of the Nazarick ruins.
Gokusai Kaibi stood behind him, her crimson eyes fixed on the disappearing spatial turbulence, her fingers slightly clenching at her sides.
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Fine."
This isn't the first time, after all.
Although this hole is still somewhat unstable, it went much more smoothly than the first time.
Time passed by, second by second.
The sun rises in the east, climbs to its zenith, and then sets in the west.
The setting sun painted the sky a golden-red hue, twilight enveloped the earth, the moon rose, and the stars twinkled.
Then, morning came again.
When the first rays of dawn shone on that barren land, the spatial turbulence vanished.
All that remained was a deep crater.
A huge circular depression with smooth, mirror-like edges and a layer of grayish-white fine sand at the bottom.
In this small world, a brand new door has been opened.
Gold borders, deep purple light curtain.
The light curtain flowed like mercury, with occasional ripples spreading from the center to the edges.
Higashino Makoto opened his eyes and withdrew his hands.
A purple-gold light surged back into his palm from all directions and then dissipated.
His body swayed slightly.
This is different from directly smashing people with small worlds or directly expanding Garden to cover the entire world.
Swallowing such a Great Hollow was a technical task that consumed a lot of his energy.
"Sir, you need to rest."
"Um."
He didn't refuse, leaning on Shinano's shoulder and closing his eyes.
Nine fluffy fox tails wrapped around him from behind, soft, warm, and carrying a faint cherry blossom scent.
"My lord, the door to a new world has been opened. Should we send someone to explore it?"
"No rush."
His voice was very soft.
Let me sleep for a while.
After saying that, he activated the teleportation and returned to his bedroom, where he hugged his fluffy tail and fell asleep.
When Higashino Makoto woke up, it was already the next morning.
Shinano remained in the same position as last night, embracing him, her nine fox tails tightly wrapped around his body.
Her purple eyes were half-open and half-closed, making her look either asleep or lost in thought.
Shinano.
"Exist."
Her voice was soft, with a husky quality, as if she had just woken up.
"You're awake."
"Hmm, you're not asleep?"
"I don't need to sleep much."
Higashino Makoto sat up from her lap and rubbed his eyes.
Her long, silvery-white hair was somewhat disheveled, and her dark robe was stained with the soft down from the tail of Shinano fox.
"My lord, would you like breakfast? Miss Rem started preparing it last night when she returned to Novas Etier."
"Need."
Rem walked over from a distance, carrying a food box in her hand.
Her short blue hair swayed gently in the morning breeze, her blue eyes looked at him, and a faint smile played on her lips.
She opened the food box and took out white porridge, side dishes, a few slices of golden-brown toast, and a pot of steaming black tea.
"Sir, please use it."
Higashino Makoto took the bowl of porridge and took a sip.
The porridge was at the perfect temperature, the rice grains were soft and sticky, and it had a delicate fragrance.
"Tasty."
"Thank you for the compliment, sir."
Rem's ears turned slightly red.
After breakfast, Higashino Makoto walked to the door of light, his golden eyes gazing at the deep purple light curtain.
"Ayami."
"Exist."
"Doppelganger and Hanzo, are you ready?"
"Ready. Two Doppelganger, two Hanzo, and the healing monster."
"Send it over. As before, open the gate to receive intelligence in a week."
"Yes, sir."
Gokusai Kaibi turned around and began directing the mercenaries' actions.
Two Doppelganger transformed into a male and the other into a female human, walked to the portal of light, took a deep breath, and stepped into the deep purple light curtain.
The figure twisted, deformed, and then disappeared within the light curtain.
Hanzo followed behind them, followed by the monster responsible for healing.
Higashino Makoto stood to the side, watching them disappear, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Shinano. I don't feel like moving around this week. It's nothing serious, you can handle it yourself."
"Yes, sir."
Shinano bowed slightly.
In the distance, the deep purple light gate floated quietly in the center of the pit, its light curtain rippled gently in the morning breeze, as if breathing, or as if waiting.
On the morning of the seventh day, the portal lit up.
It wasn't a dim flicker, but a bright, heart-beat-like pulse.
The light curtain split from the center to both sides, revealing the pitch-black passage.
Higashino Makoto stood before the gate of light, his golden eyes gazing into the passageway.
Footsteps came from the depths of the passage, approaching gradually and growing louder.
Then, a figure stepped out.
The Doppelganger, the one that transforms into a woman.
She was neatly dressed and full of energy, as if she hadn't encountered anything difficult.
The world on the other side is probably not that powerful.
"Grown ups."
"Where's the intelligence?"
She took a stack of documents from her bosom and presented them with both hands.
"This is all the intelligence we've gathered over the past week. Please take a look—"
Higashino Makoto took the document and opened it.
His gaze swept over the densely packed handwriting, his brows furrowing slightly, then relaxing, then furrowing again.
Gastrea... Cursed Children... Monolith... IP Ranking...
He closed the file, a glint of light flashing in his golden eyes.
"Black Bullet."
He murmured the name in a calm tone, but Shinano noticed that his fingers tightened slightly at his sides.
"Sir, do you know about this world?"
"I have a general understanding of it."
He turned around and walked back to the camp.
"Keep gathering intelligence. If the opportunity arises, try to climb to a higher position; it might be useful."
"Yes, sir."
The Doppelganger bowed slightly, turned, and walked back into the portal. Their figures disappeared into the deep purple light curtain.
Higashino Makoto sat in a folding chair, holding a stack of documents in his hand, his golden eyes gazing at the desolate land in the distance.
"Black Bullet..."
He repeated it, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Interesting."
Shinano walked to his side, her nine fox tails swaying gently behind her.
"Sir, is this world dangerous?"
"It's dangerous for humans, but it's nothing to us."
He put down the documents and picked up his teacup.
"It's just... the humans in this world... they disgust me a little."
Shinano's fox ears twitched slightly.
"Why?"
"See for yourself."
Too lazy to explain, Higashino Makoto simply handed the information to Shinano.
"Although I know that the apocalypse will lead to a decline in human morality, they are still trash who lower my opinion of humanity."
Shinano remained silent for a moment.
"Sir, what do you intend to do?"
Higashino Makoto did not answer immediately.
He gazed at the desolate land, at the deep purple portal of light, and at the tents swaying gently in the morning breeze.
To be honest, he even wanted to just destroy those cities.
Simply cover that Earth with a smaller world, Weighing Good and Evil on a scale, and take those that meet the criteria, then...
He shook his head, not continuing to think about it.
Humans are very complex beings, and if someone does this, it's largely just to satisfy their own selfish desires.
This only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.
And there's also Nazarick...
"Leave the humans aside for now, let's find Ainz Nazarick first."
Humans can handle this themselves at any time.
Let's first see what the situation is in Nazarick.
"Yes, sir."
Shinano bowed slightly.
Higashino Makoto stood up and walked towards the tent.
"Oh, and remember to be prepared. If all goes well, I'll be receiving hundreds of thousands of Cursed Children."
"Yes, sir."
Higashino Makoto stepped into the tent, his footsteps echoing in the quiet campsite.
Shinano stood there, staring at the closed tent door, looking down at the intelligence report in her hand, her purple eyes flashing with a complex light.