Chương 35: 34th Move | Enemy Action
Talks between Ingrassia and Tempest temporarily halted when the aged King of Ingrassia suddenly had a heart attack, causing the talks to be delayed by another two weeks.
At that time, Rimuru was caught up in the middle of a conspiracy involving the highest level of the Ingrassian government. Supposedly, the slime told me via a secure channel that some dissatisfied Nobles attempted to coup the King, only to fail.
The talks resumed but would've done so faster had bureaucracy and that coup attempt slowed down Rimuru trying to administer the proper medicine, but in the end, it took the King himself who was coming in and out of consciousness to agree to an heir before taking the injection.
The result was extremely promising. The King woke up the next day, remarking how his joint pains were gone and his body was now replaced with a youthful strength that wasn't there for decades.
The current King of Ingrassia is actually almost two centuries old. Due to the prevalence of magic, most Kings employ many Lifemolders— if Fleshcrafters were that racist uncle in the Magic branches family gathering, Lifemolders is the bright son who's earning a six-figure salary and is well-respected among the mage community— to extend his lifespan to much longer. Though there is a limit to how long one can supernaturally extend their life.
The talk was finally completed. In total, it took around two months for the entire thing to finish. Due to my position as the Commander of the Grand Republic Military, I was given a preview of what's been negotiated prior to the official public announcement.
In short: the Kingdom of Ingrassia will formally recognize the Jura Tempest Republic as a nation and our claim of sovereignty to the entirety of the Great Forest of Jura. The Kingdom of Ingrassia will also recognize our maritime claim to the entirety of the Bay of Ashdapor, causing a bit of protest from the Ambassador from Sarion. Finally, the Kingdom of Ingrassia officially establishes diplomatic relationships with the Jura Tempest Republic and will now proceed to build an Embassy.
The Kingdom of Ingrassia also invites the Jura Tempest Republic into the Council of the West as a Member, instead of the usual Associate that's often granted to any nation that newly joins the Council.
Rimuru rejected the offer of being part of the Council of the West.
The Council of the West is a supranational alliance that contains most Western states and is almost 500 years old. It was formed in the aftermath of a particularly devastating Great Tenma War, where rampaging monsters and roving bands of savages roam the Western lands unchallenged. It was an attempt to bring order into an age of chaos. After the last Bandit King was slain, the Council became more of an attempt at collectively resisting the encroachment of the imperialistic Thelium Kingdom.
After the Thelium Kingdom shattered, the cultures which the central Thelium Kingdom had conquered broke off into their own states, sort of like the collapse of the Soviet Union, and all joined up with the Council of the West for collective security in what's known as the 'Lura Accords'. Apparently, Relentless was so destructive the once proud Thelium culture fell into obscurity and was deemed by most historians today as 'extinct'.
I really don't get why the people of this World are so insistent on using a mythical cyclical disaster as part of their creation myths. I mean, again, I personally don't believe in the existence of 'angels' that fall from the sky every 500 years to strike down man and monster-kind for what? Technological development?
If— and that's a BIG if— these angels do exist, then it's more likely that these 'angels' are in fact an advanced alien race that uses this whole planet as a petri dish. They likely have some uses for keeping a primitive race within the technological equivalent of the Medieval ages.
While some may balk at the idea of using a whole planet as a petri dish, I admit to having personally drafted up plans for civilization experiments.
I don't think this to be the case either as I've found no evidence of any advanced alien race in the billions of lightyears my Von Neumann Probe has surveyed.
As for why Rimuru rejected it, structurally speaking, the Council is a lot like the United Nations in my old World but with more power and multilateral trade agreements. All member states are forced to contribute toward a collective military, sort of like Interpol except it's a transnational army that is strictly used in the defense of a nation against either a demonic invasion from the North that isn't big enough to warrant the appearance of the Hero Granbell or Guardian Razul or against an invading monster army of which Ruberios isn't willing to deal with.
Beyond contributing to a collective military, the Council also has certain laws that are enforced upon its member states. Laws, say, that might restrict the growth of an up-and-coming Superpower like restricting the size of a national military, the sharing of certain trade secrets, and forcing the extradition of anti-monarchist fugitives.
In summation, it's a leash.
With Shizue acting as my mouthpiece, Rimuru saw the underlying intent behind this offer of membership. The Council of the West is afraid of us. The sheer speed of our growth, our technological abilities, our military strength, and our democratic ideals: they want to leash us with regulations, bureaucracy, and fines.
Unlike my old World, this one had magical communication but those were only available to those who could afford them. As such, important information like recognizing a new nation traveled fast.
And it traveled even faster here in Tempest due to the Internet. Various budding social media platforms had already been exploding with the story and information the moment it was announced on the Tempest government's official social media accounts on those various sites.
Due to the existence of official government channels, the spread of false information has mostly been curbed.
With the recognition of Ingrassia, a major player within the Council of the West, most political commentators expect the rest of the West to follow suit.
_____________________________________________
Three days before Rimuru's return from Ingrassia. Deep space.
A dark structure blended perfectly into the blackness of space. It emitted no light and was only discernable by how it blotted out a significant portion of the stars in the background.
The structure was a perfect sphere. Metal covered an entire star, buried underneath 20,000 layers of computronium and other support materials.
The Matrioshka Brain.
On most wavelengths of light other than Infrared, it would appear invisible. At least, that's how it's supposed to be since it blocks out all light from the star.
Hovering several hundred kilometers above the outermost shell of the Matrioshka Brain was the final piece to be slotted in. Its size was around that of Jupiter, and it would've been just as dark as the rest of the Brain had it not been for the several thousand plasma trails each many dozens of kilometers in length that jut out from the computronium shell and are blasting towards space, pushing the final piece into the appropriate slot.
I floated there in zero gravity inside the bridge of a Shaper-class ship that sat in the orbit of the stellar megastructure.
I was clad in a nanosuit covered in certain areas by bulky pieces of armor that had neon lines running all over it, making it look like a prop from a sci-fi film. Around me were many holographic representations of what was happening.
The only reason I'm not floating all over the place was because of the metallic arm that's attached to my back.
This was a historical moment, so instead of having a Fabricator do it, I'll personally put in the final piece.
Slowly, over the course of an hour, the final piece of the Matrioshka Brain slid into place perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle, helped along with fusion torches that, with only three of them, can move Earth to an appreciable percentage of light speed in a year.
The moment the Matrioshka Brain was completed, a new holographic panel appeared in front of me asking whether or not to activate the Brain.
"..."
Obviously, I pressed 'yes'.
The Brain got a tiny bit brighter as billions of tiny specks of light appeared all over the megastructure.
<<For the completion of a Star Computer, the Individual known as Scientia Tempest has gained the Unique Skill: [Technopathy]>>
"Huh?"
There was a change in my Soul. It was less intense than what I felt when I was named. Once the feeling passes, I felt much more powerful than before.
The Voice of the World? I looked around me, finding myself alone in this space station, with the nearest sentient being thousands of light years away.
Looking down at my left hand, I felt instinctively connected to something new as if I had just discovered new limbs. With a single thought, I looked on in awe at the armor I wore, the armor that was designed to connect with and direct the movement of the final piece of the Matrio— or rather, Star Computer— twisted in on itself according to my will.
Unique Skill [Technopathy]...
I extended my control over the entire spacecraft and watched in awe as everything changed. The floor of the Shaper twisted and turned, churning along and swirling around in a vortex that eventually settled like watching the destruction of a sand castle on rewind into a statue of Darth Vader.
It was an extremely accurate representation of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Everything was present, and the suit and lightsaber actually work as it's presented in the movies since [Inspired Inventor] instructed [Technopathy] in manipulating and dissembling components on a molecular level before putting everything back together to create the dream of almost every Star Wars fan.
Admiring the statue, I finally noticed how I'm even more connected with every piece of my technology, more so than any Neural Connectors.
This is so useful! I can feel all of my technology! I can feel the Star Computer that's right next to me. I can feel the Star Lifters in the next star system. I can feel the quadrillions of Von Neumann Probes that are colonizing the nearby superclusters.
The only place that wouldn't be useful is anywhere outside of Tempest since my technology hasn't been disseminated that far yet.
Taking control of the Shaper-class ship, I had it turn a full 180 degrees to focus on the river of stars that is the galaxy.
I felt a sense of incredible euphoria and primal wonder as I saw how many 'dots' representing my own stellar engineering operations there are on my [Technology Sense], a subskill of [Technopathy]. All of the stars are invisible because, just like places outside of Tempest, I didn't make them.
The last time I saw this primal beauty was when I mined that asteroid not so long ago.
In half a year, I've progressed from a primitive civilization into a full-fledged Type II Civilization, I denoted, feeling oddly introspective. Looking back, my growth has been beyond explosive.
It took humans millions of years to transition from stone tools to bronze tools, and a further few thousand years to advance to the Iron Age. It took another several thousand years for mankind to reach the Industrial Revolution and another 200 years to reach the Atomic Age. Then, it took mere decades for humanity to launch a man into space kicking starting the Space Age before that was followed very quickly by the birth of the Internet and the Information Age.
And yet, it only took me half a year to reach a Type II Civilization status.
I reached out with [Technopathy] toward the Star Computer as if I was reaching to grab something. Using this Unique Skill, I can feel every single component within the megastructure, all quintillions of them. It should be overwhelming, but with [Technopathy], I can focus on them all without any issues.
It's as if I've become a god at multitasking.
'Rename Matrioshka Brain into 'Star Computer-1''
A holographic display materialized into existence in the form of a visor, asking for confirmation on the name change.
With a single thought sent not through the Neural Connectors but with [Technopathy]...
'Y'
And the name was changed.
The most important aspect of [Technopathy] is its ability to allow me to interface with my technology without any connection. Such power... there was a smirk of satisfaction on my face. For a tinker, this is probably a dream come true.
*Hiss*
With another mental command, Neural Connectors were ejected from the base of my neck and returned into the armor I wore. Next up, I flared [Technopathy] to affect the entire spacecraft I was on.
The arm that held me was the first to go, followed by everything else.
The superstructure started twisting and turning like a mad dance between two snakes fighting, each one trying to get superiority over the other. I tore apart the Shaper-class vessel into its molecular component before rebuilding it into tubes containing extremely strong magnets. Any excess heat was refocused and concentrated on designated 'garbage' components that would later get thrown away after everything was said and done.
I didn't notice it before with the Darth Vader statue, but now seeing how in little over a minute, an entire spaceship was transformed into a Supercollider, I realized how there were next to no barriers between [Inspired Inventor] giving me the blueprint and me building it.
In short, previously, my hands were slow, but now with [Technopathy] being able to directly interface with tinkertech, I'm so much faster than before.
As I silently floated there in space, completely unaffected by the cold void as my smirk grew into a large smile.
It was a rare smile, reserved only for when great leaps have been made.
Deciding to test one more thing, I aimed my fist at the Supercollider.
I opened my fist, and the Supercollider tore itself apart once more into tiny pieces before, with [Inspired Inventor] guiding my will, I forced those tiny pieces to reassemble once more, only this time it was in the form of three massive cigar-shaped cylinders bundled together by a single ring around the center.
This was a Hyperdimensional Forge. A structure that would be one of the high points of what's possible using only baryonic matter without any exotic or even esoteric ones that I usually play around with to peer deeper into reality.
The Forge exercises control using higher-order principles and mathematics of Imaginary Numbers and Physics to manipulate Fundamental Forces and Universal Symmetries to stabilize Nuclear Pasta into Neutronium, create stable Bose-Einstein Condensate without the temperature requirement of near Absolute Zero, create the mythical Crimson Steel by condensing a pocket of magicule into a small enough area to instantly mutate normal magisteel into that red metal.
Mostly though, I use this Forge to create materials that have different physical constants like say instead of being 1/137, it's 1/150 for the Fine-structure constant of the Electromagnetic Force.
Being so useful I already have multiple Hyperdimensional Forges running right now all across the galaxy and beyond, with all of them stationed in the high atmosphere of stars in the last few million years of their life. But the thing is, they're usually the size of entire planets! Not merely kilometers across like the one in front of me!
If there had been air in space, I would be chuckling— no, laughing— like a down-on-his-luck guy who had just won the lottery.
In a sense, I did win the Skill lottery. Another of my greatest bottlenecks has been removed.
Oh [Technopathy], you and I are going to be the best friend, right after [Inspired Inventor] of course, I declared inside my head, the smile on my face never wavering.
Though with this, Unique Skill, I think it's finally time to perform some experiments trying to deduce the true nature of time and whether or not the Theory of Supercausality is correct. More specifically, I want to see if I could create a Closed Timelike Curve— better known by its more common name:
Time travel.
I hope that Supercausality isn't correct.
Glancing at the Star Computer, I decided to place that on hold for now— wait, though it may be wasteful, I guess I'll use the Star Computer as my PC for now.
I'll figure something out for it as I work on the Tipler Cylinder.
_____________________________________________
An hour later, thousands of lightyears away, Metropolis.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Jura Tempest Republic is a massive marbled building with designs that seems to come straight out of those archeological ruins in the West, apparently called 'Roman design' by the Director. The headquarter of the Ministry was shaped around a dome and was extremely out of place considering how different the architectural style of other buildings in the capital was.
The philosophy behind such a design was to appeal more to the West.
The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway of this place. The owner of those footsteps was a woman with green hair.
Mjurran, now wearing clothing that'll fit her right in with the rest of Tempest's denizens, passed through many rays of sunlight that shone through the many tall windows fitted inside grandiose frames that lined one side of the wall.
In Mjurran's hands were a series of documents that she was supposed to hand over to her boss, Youm.
Thinking about him, Mjurran gently traced her hand as she continued to walk. Her eyes stared ahead, her legs moving on auto-pilot, and her mind was reminiscing about how hard it was to become the secretary/bodyguard to Ambassador Youm.
_____________________________________________
Two months ago, a forest clearing.
A large cross-shaped drone the size of a table hovered three meters off the ground. From the tips of those crosses came low-intensity lasers designed to irritate and cause temporary blindness in the target, nonlethally incapacitating them without too much risk to the target or those apprehending the target.
"Gah! What is this metal golem?!" Mjurran screamed as she recoiled from having a bright light suddenly shone into her eyes.
Clutching them as if to act as an extra layer of protection, the woman started shambling around clumsily in an attempt at avoiding the Security Drone's next attack.
"Standard opening move," Youm said, "this drone is designed for civilian use only. As such, it carries all kinds of nonlethal weapons determined only by how dire the situation is. It doesn't play around and goes for immediate nonlethal pacification."
A port opened up underneath one of the arms of the Drone.
"And now it's going to release some rapidly hardening containment foam. Supposedly, it'll become as hard as concrete once it touches air due to some complex chemical reactions that'll form a crystalline-like internal structure. Don't ask me to elaborate because I'm an Ambassador, not a chemist."
Just as a spray of the white containment foam erupted forth from the opened port, Mjurran suddenly dove out of the way as if her eyes were still operable instead of being covered by her hands.
Rolling a bit, Mjurran was now half a dozen meters away from the sprayed containment foam. Turning to face the hovering robot with her eyes still closed.
Then, the woman raised her staff and conjured up a spell before finally opening her eyes that were still seeing spots.
"[Wind Cutter]"
Detecting a distortion within the electromagnetic spectrum often associated with the use of 'magic' cutting through the air and approaching the Drone, the internal Narrow AI quickly defaulted to its usual procedure and sprayed out a dense cloud of Alkali compound cooled to 50 kelvin around itself.
Sheathed in a near-opaque cloud of an Alkali compound, the Drone proceeded to shoot lasers into the cloud.
Since the speed of light in the cloud was hundreds of thousands to millions of times slower, the photons lost energy and rapidly gained mass, binding into each other and creating photonic molecules, a primitive form of a hard light shield.
The knife made out of air cut into those photonic molecules, causing much of those Alkali gas and photonic molecules to disperse. However, the temporary hard light shield did its job and the Security Drone was unscathed, causing Mjurran to still like a statue.
"Light magic? But I sensed no magicules!"
"Temporary hard light shield. Multiple one-time shields that can stop just about anything." Youm declared, not moving from his original spot while holding an arm to his hip.
"Why do you know this stuff?"
"Hey, if my real boss suggests you get familiar with a drone, you tend to follow that suggestion to the letter."
All the while this was all happening, the Security Drone was analyzing everything there is to about Mjurran. Its advanced machine learning algorithm tried to come up with dozens of ways to adapt and pacify the target with 'no permanent damage' as directed by its controller.
"Fascinating," Mjurran remarked, "are you so spineless?"
Instead of being offended, Youm just shrugged, "listen, anyone would be scared of my boss. I only accepted because of the benefits and retirement packages. That and how I'm given a lot of autonomy."
The Ambassador then added once he saw the face she was giving him, "Well, autonomy in most things. Halt and stand by."
The Security Drone that was just about to spray another rope of containment foam stopped and hovered there. Its sensors then turned to focus on the surroundings instead of just on Mjurran, always on the lookout for threats.
"Well, do you give up?" Youm looked at the situation with a smug smile of superiority.
Mjurran hung her head before raising it. What came up wasn't a look of acceptance but instead raw determination.
"Guess I should stop playing around."
Immediately after uttering those words, the woman raised her wand and cast an Earth magic spell, "[Gravity Bind]!"
The drone stuttered about like a fly that lost control over one of its wings. The sudden increase in gravity wasn't what the Narrow AI inside the drone had imagined the woman being able to do.
In response, the drone diverted additional power to its lift systems. But in the fraction of a second it took for the drone to compensate for the additional gravitational strength, Mjurran teleported right behind Youm and tapped his shoulder with her staff.
"Gotcha."
Youm's eyebrows were raised so high they almost disappeared into his hair. Lips pursed, "well damn, guess you're in."
_____________________________________________
Now.
Mjurran's mind returns to the current situation as she placed her hand on the door to Youm's office. Artificial light not made from fire or magic graced her skin as she gripped the handle of the door, her stomach rarely felt anywhere near empty with the number of cheap snacks available, and her body never felt any cleaner with the hygienic products available to effectively every single resident.
To your average monster or human beyond the border of Tempest, this place would've been seen as a paradise, but here, people complain about minor inconveniences like slow internet speed, and the lack of access to a charging port when their phone died, or when they've gained a few pounds because they ate too much last night.
A lot of dark elves in Jistav, despite being seen as first-class citizens, go to bed hungry.
Youm called these 'tempest problems' and truly, these are only the problems in the Jura Tempest Republic.
Mjurran pushed open the door and was suddenly hit by this wave of sadness. The woman recalled her real mission and notices how even if Youm isn't the type of man most women dream of being their husband, he's got this rough charm that's grown on her as of late.
Looking forward toward where the Ambassador sat, Mjurran trekked forward, "Mr. Ambassador, here are the files you've requested..."
Halfway between the door and Youm's desk, Mjurran finally notices how her boss was talking with a hologram.
That wouldn't have been enough to completely stop her. No, what truly caught her attention and made her stop was her awe of this... this thing. Mjurran had no words to describe it, her eyes were solely focused on that thing, that perfect thing.
Everything else seemed almost meaningless in the face of this thing. The world around her seemed to fall apart, and all that remained was her and the perfect thing. Even if the perfect thing wasn't paying any attention to her and so, Mjurran could only see one side of its face.
"Mjurran, my assistant."
Youm raised a hand to introduce Mjurran, causing the being to turn and face her fully.
Mjurran felt afraid. The pair of crimson eyes on that thing bored deep into her Soul, piercing through her veil of humanity. She felt naked under that gaze, all her attempts at covering herself in the form of clothing meaningless as the entity assessed everything there was to know about her.
She's not breathing. Her instincts are screaming at her to move, to move away from this THING that's comparable to the mythical Relentless of days long ago.
And just like Relentless, this thing, this perfect being, to Mjurran, was the very concept of Perfection manifested upon the surface of this World.
She felt her life had peaked, gazing upon the form of this—
"So you're the one who Youm was insistent on joining the security team?" the being spoke, its voice an unsettling silky perfection, innocent yet not. It wasn't human, yet its form suggests that it was. Mjurran could listen to that voice for the rest of her life.
Realizing she was being talked to, Mjurran instinctively kneeled. It was an instinct inserted into her by Clayman when talking to a 'superior lifeform' like him. Usually, Mjurran would resent it but still do it unwillingly, but now in the presence of one, the hidden Majin would happily recognize as 'superior', the woman very quickly did the deed.
"Yes I am, Go— I mean, Director."
Mjurran doesn't feel worthy to say the name of a being so perfect. She had to control her body to not quake.
Scientia furrowed her brow at what had just happened. Returning to Youm with an expectant look, the Ambassador had a sheepish smile as he attempted to take control of the situation and do some damage control.
"Heh, well you know how it is. This is Mjurran's first time meeting you face to face you know! As always Director Scientia, you make one hell of an introduction. I mean, hell, I did what Mjurran's doing to you right now, except to a lesser degree."
"Hrm," Youm felt his body growing hot with Scientia's disinterested stare bearing down on him, "I see. Now before we were interrupted—"
A small black square with a purple outline opened up directly over Youm's desk. Its size is no larger than Youm's computer monitor.
*Fump*
From that square came out a small book with a white cover.
"—Youm, I need you to keep Arcueid busy for the day. I haven't met her for days and I have an odd gut feeling that something is about to go down for today. I've already placed the Tempest Military on above-standard readiness and all Autonomous Security Drones patrolling all urban areas."
So that's why when he was browsing social media, Youm found a lot of posts wondering why there were suddenly so many Security Drones in the air.
Then, the hologram of Scientia pointed at the book on Youm's desk, "that book contains everything Arcueid likes to do. With my authority, you are hereby being granted a day off, use it to entertain her and ensure I am not to be interrupted for the next 12 hours."
"You got it, boss. I'll make sure to keep her entertained." Youm nodded and smiled.
"See that you do."
With that, the hologram disappeared.
The instant the glow from the hologram was gone, Youm dropped his smile.
When it comes to the Director, being 'granted' a day off is pretty much equal to being 'forced' to take a day off.
It isn't so much of a suggestion as it is a polite courtesy.
After waiting a few more seconds to ensure that Scientia wouldn't return, Youm let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Always. Talking with the Director always puts him on edge. It was as if he was talking about a fundamental flaw in reality, one that his senses are telling him is dangerous.
Rubbing his neck in a fashion that was reminiscent of how a person would if they've just been given more work, Youm took several deep breaths to fight down this growing panic inside his mind.
Arcueid Brunestud.
The Special Guest of the Director. The public first came to know about the Special Guest when both she and the Director walked through a portal that placed them smack dab in the middle of a busy shopping center.
A Tempest government spokesperson later responded to a journalist asking about who this 'blonde person' is by finally giving a name to the mysterious girl and calling her a 'Special Guest'.
Her origin wasn't elaborated on at all, nor what her exact relationship is with the Director. This led to speculations online and only grew after the 'Casino Incident' when it was revealed the two had a close relationship.
There were so many gossip websites on the Internet talking about the development of the relationship between the two. Namely, among them were artwork sites depicting some rather... adult art of the Director and Arcueid going at it.
Hell, he's not afraid to say it, but he's seen those drawings— there are some talented artists out there.
Youm knows he's not the only one who finds Scientia hot as hell, as evidenced by how the tag 'Scientia_Tempest' had the most submissions and over 500 different fanfictions were shipping the Director with other members of the government, most commonly with President Rimuru oddly enough despite the incestuous undertones.
The spiciness level was off the chart with some of those artworks and fanfiction.
Arcueid Brunestud. Youm had very little interaction with the Special Guest but those few interactions and conversations paint Arcueid as this individual who acknowledges common sense but doesn't truly participate in it. Extremely introverted when alone, the blonde woman flips from night to day when it comes to the Director.
Disturbingly, Youm had seen similar behaviors in slaves who had their minds and will break before being pieced together by their owners, making the latter the former's whole world as the slave becomes completely loyal to them. An Otherworlder once called this phenomenon 'Stockholm Syndrome'.
Truthfully, the Ambassador doesn't think Scientia's the type to stoop so low. Someone who would do such a thing wouldn't have made such an egalitarian nation. However, there are for sure some distressing similarities with the result of tactics slave traders would use.
Youm moved on from rubbing his neck toward massaging his temple, "Mjurran."
Hearing her name finally snapped his secretary out of the daze of staring at where the Director's holographic body used to be.
"Bring everyone from the Security Force, tell them it's a Code TA situation. And make sure to emphasize it's a Directive Order."
"Yes, Ambassador Youm."
_____________________________________________
Hours later, Metropolis
Kyoya Tachibana is not stupid.
He may be overconfident in his skill but the teen will recognize when he's out of his league and will freely admit defeat if it'll save his skin.
And right now? He'll freely admit to anyone willing to listen just how out of league he is.
Towering skyscrapers that are taller than even those in his old World, hovering robots that fly through the streets, goblins riding on bikes, large and sterile sidewalks, and the occasional tram and monorails that weave between other, smaller skyscrapers.
"What the hell is this?! It— it's as if someone took a slice of downtown Tokyo and placed it in this world!" Shogo yelled out loud as he stared with wide eyes upon the City of Metropolis, a bit of fear hidden in his loud, booming voice.
It's as if Kyoya went from a fantasy setting into a sci-fi setting and it is driving his brain nuts.
What the hell? No, seriously, what the hell?! All Kyoya was told by that old mage was that they'll be the vanguard in subjugating a nation of monsters! Not a modern state with futuristic robotic soldiers!
Extreme fear coursed through the young teen. His eyes darted around to fully take in the sight of modernity here, the people on the sidewalks, many of them wearing modern clothing like T-shirts and jeans.
Kyoya felt the ground underneath him be pulled away. His old narcissism and arrogance dissolved as he reverted to his old self, in his old world, when he was just another weak human than the superhuman swordsman he is today.
"Are, are those phones?!" Kirara Mizutani screeched as she peered into the front window of a tech store, looking at the small rectangles that had apps hanging off of what appeared to be just air.
Can... can they even win against a modern army? An army that doesn't use magic? Kyoya fell on his knees as he clenched his head in shock, utterly unbelieving of the fact that a slice of their old world was here. Homesickness hits him like a truck as tears gather around his eyes.
When Kyoya was first summoned, he was afraid, like any other human would when they were suddenly kidnapped and brought to a foreign place. To adapt, he changed his mindset, he committed crimes under the belief that he would never return to his old home. But now, seeing the modernity in front of him, the Otherworlder's old self was returning in full force, completely disgusted with what he had done.
He was like those childrens at the end of that Lord of the Flies book, where an adult's presence finally brought order to a group of homicidal tweens.
"They... they've sent us to die..." Kyoya said quietly, his eyes staring at the ground underneath him, "those fuckers sent us to DIE! As the vanguard to gauge the strength of this modern nation..."
Biting his tongue, Kyoya internally thought about his Unique Skill and the weapons available to a modern army. Against a single soldier, he's probably better, but against a whole firing squad? Or hell, a nuclear bomb?
Kyoya doesn't think any human could stand up against that. Instead, you'd need Demon Lords.
Peaking through the spaces between the fingers that clung to his face, Kyoya subtly looked at the other two Otherworlders who also got summoned.
He's not dying here, not against bullets. So instead, he'll offer the only thing that differentiates him from the rest of the rabble of this World: his Unique Skill and the Unique Skill of his companions.
Though... Shogo is definitely out. That brute will more likely get himself arrested in the first week than adjust back to his old life.
Kirara?
Kirara? That girl hates this world, yet this is arguably the closest to our old home than anywhere else in the world...
If Kyoya could leverage the power of two Otherworlders with Unique Skills, he could potentially argue for— damn, what was it called again?
Kyoya racked his brain for an answer, he remember hearing the term on the radio in his old world. Ah! The Otherworlder could apply for Asylum in this place, and then he'll be free! Kyoya grabbed onto that spark of hope as he quietly slipped away from the other two.
_____________________________________________
Eurazania, above the Capital City of Laura
Today was not a good day.
Standing in the courtyard of his Morotomo Castle, Carrion glared up at the sky above him.
Up there, high in the clouds, was a single speck of darkness that was almost invisible to those below.
Thankfully, the secret message from Frey a few days ago allowed Carrion to evacuate the capital and ensure it is devoid of wealth and among other things. Otherwise, a decapitation strike like this would've permanently ended his Beast Kingdom.
He owes Frey one, if he survives the next five minutes that is, Carrion thought grimly as he flew up to meet the Dragonoid face to face. He's never one to shy away from any battle no matter the odds.
Carrion is no hypocrite, he practices what he preaches.
Approaching the floating Demon Lord still covered in her usual skimpy clothing, Carrion tensed his body whereas Milim remained entirely unfazed as if this was all a big game to her. As if the destruction of his capital was something on par with the destruction of a sand castle.
"Well, Milim. I don't know nor care why you decided to attack me even after we had signed the non-aggression treaty after the end of the Civil War centuries ago, but you should know this! You are going up against Demon Lord Carrion, the Beast King! The Strongest Demihuman in the World!"
Carrion proudly declared while releasing his aura. And yet, even in the face of this proud declaration, Milim's face didn't change.
Such dismissal caused the situation to truly sink in.
Milim was an ancient being much much older than even Carrion. Despite her child-like appearance, Milim is better compared to the Primordial Demons, the strongest, oldest demons whose last appearance was during Relentless' Rampage 400 years ago.
One could even imagine Milim perverting the form of a child. Legend has it that Milim's birth caused the Barren Lands to exist. A child isn't supposed to wield enough power that the Barren Lands near Ruberios still exist despite the Western Holy Church's best attempt at cleaning it up.
In the next second, with no indication or wind up that would suggest movement, Milim blasted forth. A pink meteor rushed toward Carrion who immediately brought up his legendary halberd so that it was in between him and the Dragonoid.
*CLANG*
The pink meteor slammed into the handle of the halberd. The sheer force of that attack threw Carrion back like a baseball when it was hit by the wooden bat.
He was burning up. Carrion was moving so fast that the air around him was heating up.
When the Beast King finally stopped, he found the hair on his skin instinctively puffing up at the sudden temperature difference as he was now in the coldest part of the atmosphere, the Mesosphere.
Realizing that he's in actual danger, a golden light shone from Carrion as he used his Unique Skill [Royal Beast Form], his crown, the evidence that only Carrion deserves to be the Beast King.
Looking below him, Carrion found a pink pinprick of light that was quickly glowing brighter and brighter.
"Witness this!" Carrion decided to announce. His body transformed. The wings of an eagle spread out from his back, and his hair changed, it was long enough to drape down his back, and all the while his entire body was now covered completely by luxurious, thick white fur with the areas of his stomach and chest being black instead. "A beastman at his best!"
"I am the Beast King Carrion before a Demon Lord!" Ethereal golden energy gathered to his halberd, "I have slain thousands of angels during the last Great Tenma War. I have slain two Demon Lords during the Civil War. All of them have fallen in battle against this form! Witness raw power!"
Carrion pulled back his halberd like an Olympic javelin tosser about to throw their spear. The golden energy condensed and seethed around the tip of the halberd, turning around and shaping up into something that resembled a cross between a drill and the head of a lion.
The ultimate attack of Demon Lord Carrion.
It was an attack that vaporized an entire extremely well-fortified castle.
"[Beast Roar]!"
Carrion thrusts his halberd forward. The lion-drill thing rushed down toward Milim as a particle beam.
It was bright enough to cause the sun to retreat, allowing the dominance of this particle beam for now.
But in the end, what is a lion to a dragon?
The blast from Carrion and Milim collided at the very bottom of the Mesosphere. Instead of being destroyed, Milim continued to fly through the beam unabated and not even slowing down.
It was as if Milim was taking a shower instead of being hit by enough energy every second to instantly boil away an entire lake.
In a frame of time smaller than human thought, Milim charged right through Carrion's attack and stopped right beside the Beast King, who was staring at the Dragonoid in utter shock.
In the place of the usual skimpy clothing, Milim was now clad in dark purple armor that was easily in the Mythic grade, a rank above Carrion's personal Legend-grade halberd.
Before Carrion could appraise Milim any further, the tiny Demon Lord catapulted herself at speeds that Carrion was barely able to react to, and thus, was barely able to dodge a thrust from a dark lance.
Scrambling away from Milim, the Dragonoid didn't even bother to follow as if telling Carrion that it was useless.
Stopping at a distance of half a kilometer away, Carrion looked back and managed to get a good glimpse at the weapon.
Within the pink-haired Demon Lord's hand was a black lance, one that was commonly used for jousting in the West. The lance had sharp red crystals littering all over the main body of the lance, culminating in a single large ruby-like crystal at the very tip of the lance, where it should've been the sharpest.
In total, the lance was taller than Milim, and had she used it in any other situation than right now, he would laugh at it considering the ridiculous image
"Phew, how fun. I actually felt that, so I guess I too should unleash some of my power as well, right?" Milim asked rhetorically. She then raised the lance and looked down at it, "it's only fair that I finally get a chance to test out this weapon that my chef made for me. According to her, it can flatten whole continents."
Carrion let out a surprised gasp. A Chef made that weapon?!
Even from out here, he can tell it is a work of unparalleled masterpiece.
If he survives this encounter Carrion will make sure to visit Milim's personal chef and perhaps buy a weapon from them.
The Dragonoid flared her magicule as the lance drank hungrily, causing the Demon Lord to chuckle, "oh my, how deep is your stomach I wonder?" she chirped at the weapon like how a mother would with a playful child.
Carrion looked on in horror at the sheer amount of magicule present in a three-meter radius of Milim. There was so much that he doubt he can survive in such a condition.
The Beast King twitched, his mind is telling him to get in there and fight despite the magicule while his instinct is screaming at him to run. Such a conflict caused him to freeze up, forcing him to continue to look on as Milim charges up the lance until finally, his instinct won out and he fled from the battle.
The crystals that jutted out on the lance's main body flattened as the magicules seemed to reach a crescendo.
Mimicking Carrion, Milim drew her hand back—
"[Star..."
—and pushed the lance downward toward the capital city of Eurazania, Laura.
...BREAKER]!"
A thick cherry-red beam as wide as the crystal held on the tip of the lance shot downward toward the empty city.
The red ray was like a divider as it split the sky in two. It split east and west. It was as if an artist had dipped their thinnest brush into red paint and then drew a red line from the top of the painting down to the bottom.
Air rushed into the beam. Anything not nailed down for miles around the red laser was starting to get sucked in. The houses, the entire city, were getting pulled into the cherry-red beam like a thick layer of dust to vacuum cleaners. Everything was uprooted akin to crops for a harvest before quickly disintegrating.
The intense gravity radiating from the beam was causing everything to be pulled in, even if they must collide with each other to do it. The relative thinness of the beam was like the hole in a funnel, and since the pull of the laser was stronger than the structural integrity of the material used to build Laura, a grinder was formed as larger objects were grounded down into smaller ones by the collision between different particles.
It was a grinder similar to the quasar of a black hole out there in space. And similar to a quasar, the grinder was unbelievably hot due to friction.
In fact, it was so hot that nuclear fusion started occurring in spaces millimeters beyond the edge of the gravity laser.
From dozens of kilometers away, Carrion could only look on in awe and terror at what was happening to his capital. He wasn't too mad since this show of power enforced how big of a difference there was between the newer generations and the older generations of Demon Lords.
Once the gravity laser finally passed by, what remained was an extremely thin line of Nuclear Pasta— the beam had so much gravitational strength that it condensed all matter sucked in and transformed it into something as dense as it can be without turning into a black hole.
Then, the line exploded.
A fundamental law of atoms is that they do not like to be so close to each other. Nuclear Pasta is only possible within the crust of a Neutron Star solely because of its extreme condition. A condition that was replicated by the gravity laser from Milim.
However, now that the condition was gone, the ultradense material exploded in a nuclear explosion so large the fallout will soon cover the entirety of Eurazania as black rain.
It further triggered the interest of a certain Primordial Demon who just can't wait to be summoned and fight against its maker.
Another Arch Demon looked at the destruction of Eurazania through a crystal ball, while he may not be able to view its maker directly, he can still view their gift to others.
Milim looked on in satisfaction, the fiery glow of the nuclear explosion overshadowed the sun as it caused the area where Milim isn't facing it to darken. With the blue glow reflecting off of Milim's eyes, it gave the Demon Lord the appearance of a true eldritch monster in the skin of a little girl.
"Looks like she was right, it IS a fine weapon indeed."
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AN: I wonder how this is going to affect the story.
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