A Chapter with No Good Name

In the spacious, high-ceilinged room, a crystal chandelier crafted from seven-colored gemstones cast dreamlike light.

Seated upon the throne at the very top, Ryan took a soft breath.

Real!

It felt exactly the same as reality—no, even more intense!

Surging magical power churned within him, while the blood racing through his veins roared like rivers and seas. He lightly clenched his empty hand, and instantly, the sound of bursting air echoed throughout the entire Throne Hall.

"What is wrong, Lord Ryan?"

A pleasant female voice rang beside his ear. Ryan lowered his head slightly and saw that Albedo, the overseer of the Guardians, was asking him.

"I am fine, Albedo."

Having prepared himself beforehand, Ryan quickly recovered. After secretly testing things out and discovering that all his abilities seemed etched into his instincts, ready to be used at will, he addressed the many Guardians below. "Sebas!"

"Here!"

"Nazarick Great Tomb may have encountered something inexplicable. Leave the Great Tomb and investigate the surrounding area. Remember, do not go too far, and proceed with caution."

Ryan could not guarantee that the New World he had crossed into was the same world as in the original story. Therefore, basic reconnaissance was necessary.

"By your command, Lord Ryan."

After bowing, Sebas, dressed in a butler's uniform, withdrew. Looking at the other Guardians awaiting orders, Ryan pondered briefly before commanding, "Go to the Arena on the sixth floor and wait. I will head there in an hour."

"By your command, Lord Ryan! X6"

After the Guardians bowed, they departed under the lead of Albedo, the overseer of the Guardians. In an instant, only Ryan remained in the vast Throne Hall.

"System."

After the Guardians had left, Ryan called out silently. A familiar, slightly illusory screen appeared before his eyes.

Phew~~

He let out a long breath, and the boulder that had been weighing on his heart finally fell away.

Although he desperately hoped that one day he could free himself from the system's binding, now was absolutely not the time. Annie was still waiting for him to return, and he had yet to find the way home. Fortunately, this half-crippled system still had some capabilities.

Ignoring the Influence Value, which had currently stopped increasing, Ryan opened the traversal interface.

For some unknown reason, Influence Value could only increase in the Marvel world. Neither the world where Suzuki Satoru was, which Ryan had named World One, nor the world he was currently in could increase it. However, this was not the time to dwell on that. Looking at the newly added world coordinate, Ryan finally put his mind completely at ease.

It seemed that even without using the search function, as long as someone entered another world, the system could record its coordinates.

With a thought, he opened a spatial passage leading to the Marvel world and stepped inside. Though there were still many important matters left unfinished here, Annie's safety was what concerned him most.

Sixth underground floor of Nazarick Great Tomb, Arena.

The arena was an oval-shaped space, nearly identical in size and shape to the Roman arenas built during the Roman Empire.

The surrounding walls had been enchanted with Eternal Light magic, ensuring that the arena remained bright forever. Since it was underground, the sky was illusory, but because a large number of data crystals had been used, it was nearly impossible to tell it was fake without flying up to inspect it personally.

At this moment, nearly all the Floor Guardians of Nazarick Great Tomb had gathered here. From afar, it was clear that they were arguing over something.

"Hey, hey, why do you think Lord Ryan stayed alone in the Throne Hall? Could he be planning to leave, just like the other Supreme Beings?"

"Silence! Shalltear, how dare you use your shallow mind to speculate on the thoughts of the Supreme Beings?!" Demiurge roared.

"Exactly, Shalltear. Lord Ryan seems like such a gentle person. How could he possibly leave us?" Aura, dressed like a tomboy, retorted.

"I... I also believe that Lord Ryan, who remained until the end, would never abandon us!" Mare weakly agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, it would naturally be best if things were as you say. But I cannot help feeling worried!" To everyone's surprise, Shalltear did not argue back. Instead, she kicked at the ground, her expression anxious.

Hiss...

Two visible streams of white steam burst from Cocytus's nostrils as he spoke. "Lord Ryan said he would come here in one hour. Whatever decision Lord Ryan makes then, we, as his subordinates, shall naturally do our utmost to ease the burdens of the great Supreme Being."

After Cocytus finished speaking, the arena fell into an eerie silence. Nazarick, which had once possessed forty-two Supreme Beings, now had only one remaining. Even Demiurge, who had spoken up in rebuttal earlier, felt somewhat uneasy.

Time passed second by second. When a little over an hour had gone by and the waiting Guardians were beginning to grow restless, a teleportation gate suddenly appeared in the arena.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Marvel world.

In the chairman's office of Haulers Building, Ryan, dressed in an outfit as exaggerated as something from an anime, suddenly appeared. With a thought, his robe shifted and transformed into the clothes he had worn before going to World One.

The robe he wore was a divine-class item, imbued with various abilities such as disguise, cleaning, invisibility, enhancement, and defense. Although it did not greatly increase his combat power, its convenience was vastly improved.

He picked up the desk phone and called Ashe. It was answered quickly.

"How is the situation?" Ryan asked in a low voice.

"Miss Annie has been found. She is currently on her way to the group headquarters under John's escort. However, all the bodyguards protecting Miss Annie have died, and the enemy withdrew at the last moment. We still do not know which faction was behind this."

"Find out! Do not let even a single one slip through!"

"Yes!"

After Ashe answered crisply, Ryan hung up and headed downstairs.

Ryan had a few suspicions about who the attackers were.

Hydra, foreign forces, certain capital tycoons—any of them were possible.

His rise had obstructed the interests of many people. Although he had also offered some shares to others and formed a community of interests, his foundation was still too shallow. Not to mention outsiders, even within the group, there were likely countless people hoping he would die so they could carve up the entire group.

If he had not always acted cautiously and possessed the means to cross into other worlds to evade danger during a crisis, he would have died countless times already!

The explosion three years ago had been the most dangerous incident. If he had not used the bombs stored in World One to eliminate all the attackers, then even if he had been lucky enough to escape with his life, the secret that he could disappear from this world would inevitably have been exposed.

Furthermore, Haulers Group had continued releasing those works by unknown authors over the years. Someone would surely infer that he could travel to other worlds. In fact, even now, there were probably people who suspected as much. They simply had no proof, and his social status was too high for them to make a move easily.