Chapter Text
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Time flew by fast and the moment that i dreaded the most came soon - dinner...by Shion's cooking. The other's at the table looked at me with pity, as I was the only one who would be eating Shion's cooking, the rest would eat the delciious meals made by Shuna.
"Ho, ho, how did Lord Rimuru get in such a situation?" Hakurou asked in a voice filled with half-amusement and maybe a tiny bit of real curiosity.
"From what I've heard from Shuna, it seems that Lord Rimuru has dug his own grave this time." Benimaru replied to Hakurou's query. Both looked at me with a combination of pity and amusement.
My non-existent vein throbbed as I began hatching revenge plots. My planning was cut short a few minutes later as Shuna walked into the dining room, informing us that food would be served soon. Shion's voice resounded somewhere from within the hallway, most likely requesting for Shuna's help.
Not even Shuna's help could fix Shion's cooking.
Sighing, I hoped for a miracle to happen; an opportunity to get out of here.
Fortunately for me, a miracle did present itself, though not in the way I expected.
An absolutely gigantic spike of energy happened right in front of us, in the middle of the dining table. All of us got up immediately and took a fighting stance, fearing the worst - an enemy attack.
The magicules flocked to the origin of the energy spike. They huddled close, forming a ball of super dense energy. I erected a barrier around the room to prevent any collateral damage. The barrier was a modified form of castle guard; the space inside the barrier could be obliterated, but the barrier would not collapse as long as I lived.
In the next moment, however, all of my expectations were thrown out the window. The dense ball of magicules condensed to give form to a magic spell, but not just any spell, no. Magic circles with complex runes appeared all around the dining table. The mana within a five mile radius had been gathered in one small spot, and now it was giving form to a spell of immense power.
My subordinates looked at me, unsure of what to do. I however, only looked at the magic circles with my jaw hung open. Ciel could decipher the runes on a magic circle to find out the nature of a spell, and from what I had seen so far, the spell being used was completely wild.
<The spell being used here is creating a rift in space-time. More analysis is in progress.>
A rift in space time. A portal to another world, perhaps even another dimension. It was not something that your typical demon lord could do. An accurate rift couldn't be created without the help of a manas like Ciel.
Being curious about the caster of this spell, I signalled my subordinates to stand down and watch. Although, just for extra measure, I cast [Castle Guard] on everyone in the room, myself included.
Five tense minutes passed before the spell finally neared completion. By now, the magicules within a complete 20 mile radius had been absorbed. I fed it energy from my aura, which in hindsight might've been stupid, but creating a dimensional rift was no small feat. Whoever was on the other side ought to be a strong individual in their own universe.
Another two minutes later, the spell had completed at last.
A black, void-like hole in the fabric of space-time had been created in the middle of the dining table. Well, I called it a hole but in reality it resembled a door. Ciel's analysis had confirmed that the portal led to another dimension. Now, all that was left to do was to wait and see who was on the other side.
We didn't need to wait for long.
From within the abyss-like door, a tiny orb of light, no bigger than a baseball, flew out of the rift. It's dazzling bright light contrasted sharply against the dark nature of the rift. The orb shook uncontrollably, even as it exited the rift and floated away from it.
Benimaru was the first one to voice his confusion. "Is it a spirit?" His question was aimed at no one in particular.
"I don't think so." I replied while my hand gripped a Mythical grade sword that I just created from my magicules. Ciel's analysis told me that the creature wasn't a spirit. In fact, Ciel had been unable to identify the nature of this entity so far, although she was still analysing it.
The spirit stopped shaking. It floated in mid-air for a moment before something surreal happened.
"This one greets the Great One!" A monotonous, robotic voice called out. The voice was strangely androgynous, making it hard to identity the gender of the orb, or perhaps it had no gender at all.
It took a few seconds for the words to register in my head. When they did, "huh?" Was my only response. The orb floated towards me and made a strange motion that can only be described as an attempt at bowing. My subordinates withdrew their weapons, seemingly relieved to know that the entity bore no hositle intents. Some, like Shion, looked smug to see that the orb had referred to me as "The Great One."
"What are you?" I asked.
"I am a spirit, Great One."
"A spirit? Don't lie to us." Benimaru snorted, although he didn't take out his sword, which was a good sign.
"This one is not from your world, subordinates of the Great One. This one is from another world where all spirits are like me." The tiny orb of light said as it floated up and down.
"Are you the one who created that portal?" I asked while pointing at the space-time rift.
"No, Great One. It was not me who created the portal. I am just a messenger."
Some people raised their eyebrows. "A messenger? What message are you here to deliver?" Souei asked with obvious suspicioun in his voice. I was a little skeptical too. Why send a tiny orb of light to deliver a message? Where was the caster of the spell?
The tiny orb, once again, attempted to bow down, which didn't really look that much different from its usual look.
"Please herald our request, Great One. My world is under the threat of destruction from the evil Witch of Envy. The heart of my world, the Od Laguna, has created this portal and send me to ask for your assistance, Great One. I beg of you, save our world from ruination!"
All of us were startled at the passionate speech.
<... That is a lot of information to take in.>
Even Ciel-sensei seemed surprised, which was by no means an easy feat.
"Oi oi oi! You're going too fast! Slow down. First, tell us more about your world, and then we might decide to help you." I said to the obviously nervous spirit. The next thirty minutes were spend listening to the spirit talk about the crisis being faced by their world.
Their world seems pretty special. They have Divine Protections but no skills. Their magic system is rather limited when compared to the magic here. And this Od Laguna is turned out to be their version of the Voice of the World. Ciel, any theories about why this world was special?
<I've got only one hypothesis so far, although the possibility of it being correct is very unlikely.>
Well, what is it?
<It is possible that this world was not created by Veldanava, but rather, someone else who has given permission by Veldanava. As for the Od Laguna, I believe that it functions as a sub-system under the Voice of the World.>
I pondered Ciel's theory for a moment before asking another question.
Any idea why this Od Laguna thing wants me to save their world?
<There is one possibility. Upon realising that it couldn't protect its world from imminent destruction, the Od Laguna could have requested help from the Voice of the World. The voice of the world then likely concluded that you were the most suitable individual for this job due to your status as Veldanava's successor.>
Ciel's explaination made sense, but there was one more question I had.
Ciel, how strong do you think the Witch is?
<At the bare minimum, she is at the level of a True Demon Lord.>
Do you think she has an ability equivalent to an ultimate skill?
<It's possible. Their level of power is entirely different from ours, master. The closest thing to a skill that they have are Divine Protections, although a single Divine Protection can be used by multiple people, so it can't be Ultimate skill level.>
I see. Do you think we should go help them?
<I'll do whatever you choose, master. Your choice is also my choice.>
Hearing the confident reply from his faithful partner, Rimuru couldn't help but smile.
Thanks, Ciel. What would I do without you?
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