NOVEL WEB 65. An Ordinary Theatrical Gathering
Shiraori PoV:
Location: Colosseum, 6th Floor of The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick
‘Let’s begin now that everyone is here,’ I announced flatly after the floor guardians arrived. Several area guardians from various floors, along with maids and lower-level NPCs, were present as well.
This was with the exception of certain NPCs who were not currently present in Nazarick such as Shalltear or Pandora’s Actor as well as a few exceptions like Victim, Gargantua and Aureole Omega.
But with the exception of few of these, pretty much all the others were present, calmly seated in the stands of the colosseum. I won’t lie about the purpose of this gathering. I organized this 'event' primarily for its theatrical impact but at the same time I also wanted everyone to witness this significant moment.
Eventually everyone in Nazarick had to completely break away from the designs we had created for them and become much stronger for my comfortable life.
Hmm, perhaps this was how the Roman emperors felt looking down at the entertainment that was on display before them in the colosseum. Of course, in their case there would be no such array of exotic creatures and critters but humans.
Actually, I can go visit the Roman empire once in the future for the fun of it. And while I am at it, I might as well have a tour of all the great civilizations of the past and witness in person how Marvel shenanigans affect them.
If I visit China, perhaps I can spread xianxia novels and witness the birth of the glorious arrogant young masters. Just kidding! Anyway, all of time and space are in my grasp and so I will witness everything I can.
Anyway, I immediately used the [Administrator] skill and added the <Gluttony> tag next to <Demiurge>. Simultaneously, a title called <Ruler of Gluttony> appeared as well. And now my role in this is over.
“I thank you for blessing me with this power, Lady White. I swear that I will use it to effectively complete all the tasks you gave and will give from now on,” Demiurge immediately bowed down and thanked me.
He currently stood at the centre of the colosseum. I just nodded my head to acknowledge the overflowing zeal and loyalty he was radiating towards everyone else.
“Now, everyone! We have gathered here to witness the guardian of the 7th floor, Demiurge in his ascension to a world enemy after being blessed by Lady White,” Aura announced to all the spectators present as everyone burst into cheers.
A mix of applause, whistles, and shouts of encouragement that filled the colosseum as everyone stomped their feet in anticipation.
“Demiurge!” “Demiurge!” “Demiurge!”
Well, I also heard some isolated cheers of people saying “Glory to Nazarick!” or praising me but no one objected. In their opinion, it seemed that any achievement Demiurge made or might make is also due to me.
Demiurge wasted no more time as a small, palm-sized onyx-black orb that seemed to absorb light and exuded an eerie crimson aura appeared in his hand.
The surface of the orb was etched with intricate, writhing patterns reminiscent of tormented souls, invoking a sense of suffering and dread. This was the world item that would evolve him into a world enemy.
Everyone watched with bated breath as he activated the chaos catalyst, casting shadows that seemed to devour everything into the abyss of nothingness. The area in his vicinity seemed to become an impenetrable void.
On the other hand, I was momentarily distracted by the alert that had appeared under <Demiurge> in the administrator skill which read <Alert: Demiurge is evolving!>. I almost had a flashback of a certain game that had similar prompts. In a sense my current situation was quite similar to that game but I immediately refocused on the present.
The swirling void greedily swallowed the ambient mana present in the surroundings. I guess the combination of the [Gluttony] skill and the concept of [Greed] might lead to some pleasant surprises.
If mini-chan had not been planted on this floor and spewing out mana continuously, perhaps this floor would have been looted dry. And then the NPCs would become the next target for its insatiable greed, followed by Nazarick as a whole and so on.
Hmm, I guess I can try to reduce mini-chan’s burden and put my unlimited MA energy supplies to good use. And so I did. I immediately flooded the swirling vortex with excess MA energy.
Since the chaotic catalyst wants energy to swallow, I’ll gladly supply the energy until it will get tired of it. Haa, I’m such a generous and kind goddess. Perhaps no one in existence is as generous as me.
The swirling void kept on swallowing all the energy with no end in sight…is what I would like to say, but ultimately it seemed to have reached a point of saturation. It desperately extended void-like tentacles in an attempt to grab the treasure trove of energy that it could sense but was unable to do so.
An analogy I can think of in regards to this situation is having unlimited delicacies but being unable to consume them due to limited hunger as you watch on with an aggrieved look on your face.
But I guess it makes sense. Even if the chaos catalysts is a world item and the [Gluttony] skill should allow for this consumption, the energy I am able to provide is truly infinite. Both of those ultimately reach up to planetary scales at most with no chance of contending with a multiverse worth of energy.
Anyway, the swirling void began shrinking and outlining a vague figure akin to Demiurge before receding.
Demiurge was still largely similar to his previous self. The shining jewels that were his eyes seemed to mimic the void-like spiral phenomenon that had just appeared during his evolution. There were intricate, almost hypnotic patterns within them which radiated off a crimson light, albeit they were vague.
His facial features become sharper and more pronounced, giving him a more sinister and commanding look. His body was ever so slightly larger and stockier than before but not so much as to cause a notable difference. His skin retains its dark hue but now has a faint, shimmering pattern, reminiscent of void-like tendrils spreading across his face.
His British suit is now a dark, almost black shade of deep crimson and the pinstripes seemed to be pulsating. The fabric appears otherworldly, shimmering and shifting slightly as if alive and his presence overall is more profound.
Eh, this style should do quite well for the right hand man of the evil goddess. Ultimately it’s just a fashion choice. Even if he goes back to dressing the way he used to or dress entirely differently, I won’t really care about the trivial stuff.
Demiurge is no longer one of the weaker floor guardians. His offensive capabilities should have increased tremendously and his survivability should thus have equally risen. Hmm, might as well conduct some tests on his newfound capabilities while we will research stuff over the next few days.
‘Congratulations on successfully becoming a world enemy, Demiurge. You did well. We can test your new abilities in the near future,’ I spoke first, breaking the silence that had pervaded.
“I don’t deserve this praise. I probably could not have done this without the assistance you provided. At the very least it should have taken much longer,” Demiurge immediately returned the praise I gave using his secret technique, the uno reverse. Well, whatever makes him happy.
But now that I think of it, maybe this whole process has some merit to it. We are not in the game world of YGGDRASIL where all it takes is a single command and boom. The user becomes a world enemy.
This process in itself seems to be quite hazardous. If placed in the outside world, that is. The reason it went quite smoothly this time around was due to me supplying the energy required for this process.
But what if instead of Nazarick, we did this process on a planet that has some sort of enemy group on it. Maybe their base? Well, even if they don’t get demolished depending on how powerful this group of enemies is, they might still be impacted. Plus there’s the added bonus of immediately having a stronger combat power.
Of course, I’m just thinking about it in a purely hypothetical sense. Nazarick does not have another such world item capable of performing this transformation. And even if there was, such a process must only be done when there’s a certain degree of guarantee that we won’t be negatively affected.
The reason for considering this hypothetical scenario is in case we use some of the native artifacts or abilities that are present in Marvel which may create a similar effect and more. Well, it’s just food for thought and something to be seriously considered if such an opportunity does arise.
‘Take a break for today. We will immediately start testing your abilities and working on the projects we mentioned tomorrow. Everyone is dismissed,’ I declared as I adjourned the short gathering.
A wave of excitement surged through the audience as they roared,
“All Hail Lady White!” The sound echoed off the stone walls as they acknowledged my command.
***
Mobius M. Mobius PoV:
Location: Near the Great Underground Tomb Of Nazarick
“We will possibly be having an audience with the Supreme One soon. Hopefully…” Mobius spoke aloud to the other followers present behind him.
He was a bit surprised when someone in Nazarick reached out to them and asked for assistance in some projects the Supreme One was currently working on. Regardless, as followers of Lady White, all of them enthusiastically responded to the call nevertheless.
He had also brought the tribute consisting of infinity stones along with him and was prepared to explain all of their exploits since their last meeting in great detail.
The plans for Earth Z were progressing relatively well and a sizable mass of the population had been successfully converted via slightly unusual means in what they referred to as the first phase of ‘Operation Silk Stride.’
Operation Silk-Stride was just a collective term for multiple different phases that would be implemented in order to achieve numerous unique goals. It was relatively open ended and allowed for changes to be made to already established plans relatively easily.
Ultimately, Mobius wanted the church of the weaver, which could currently only be considered a minor cult from an objective viewpoint, to spread across the multiverse. Across all of time and space. And this was but one phase of this operation
When they escaped from the TVA, Earth Z was specifically chosen by Mobius to be their new base of operations. It was a desperate world on the brink of collapse and should have remained so until the inevitable end of all things. A perfect place for the grace of the Supreme One to spread.
Naturally, with all the progress they had made, their operations could not be hidden for long and the heroes soon got wind of their actions. Filth who wouldn’t understand that only ‘She’ can spare this desolate universe of the horrors it would soon face.
These pesky heroes inevitably got in the way out of so called ‘moral obligations’, Mobius wouldn’t lie by saying that everything was all well and good on that front. Yes, they did convert a few of them and defeated some of them but that was a small part of the whole picture.
Somehow it felt as though the whole universe was against them whenever they had to pick fights with these heroes. Even with all their superiority in numbers and technological might as well as adept control over the forces of time, these heroes seemed to triumph over them on many occasions.
He had been deeply disturbed and perplexed by these occurrences. And upon consulting the files on event across time recorded by the TVA that they had brought along, he noticed such a pattern seemed to occur on numerous occasions. Not always, of course, but a sizeable number of times to display the fact that something was causing such occurrences.
This was not a baseless assumption. If ‘He Who Remains’ could commit actions of a similar nature, why couldn’t other more powerful entities spread across the multiverse.
But without knowing who or what was behind these ‘plot corrections’ as they would be called if this world had been a mere novel, there was nothing much Mobius could do other than making more meticulous plans and suffer headaches in silence.
Perhaps ‘She’ would advise him on what actions to take henceforth.
Mobius did not have to wait much longer as he saw a swirling void open in front of him once more like it had all the previous times he had been here. And out came the man who they had clashed with when they had met for the first time albeit with distinct differences.
Mobius could intuitively know that the demonic guardian named Demiurge seemed to have recently experienced some fortuitous encounters. Luckily, Mobius and his gang were now a followers of lady White and so should not be harmed by him.
“Greetings or should I say welcome back, Mobius. I see that you are doing well,” the demon casually spoke, his voice dripping with mild sarcasm. But on the whole he did not seem to take much interest in their current state.
“Not at all. I regret to say that we have run into some troubles. I would like to consult the Supreme One on these matters if we have the chance,” Mobius bowed slightly and replied to the demon.
He did not know of what etiquette was to be followed in Nazarick. But based on his previous interactions, he could deduce that Nazarick could be equated to a kingdom where Lady White ruled as queen and the rest were here ministers and servants. If so, this might be seen as acceptable behaviour.
“Oh? Well, you will be meeting her soon. There is much we have to discuss and after our work is done, I will guide you on must be done in order to achieve Lady White’s aims. You will play a relatively important role in her designs that will alter the very nature of this multiverse.,” he replied.
According to Mobius, this was a positive development as he would play an active part in the Supreme One’s plans from now on. It meant they had achieved a minimum amount of trust.
“I would also like to give ‘Her’ this offering.” Mobius signalled one of the hunters behind him to hand the treasure chest to Demiurge.
Naturally, he wanted to give the infinity stones in person but everything had a certain protocol in place when the Spider Goddess was concerned. And only Demiurge could inform him of whether this action was acceptable or not. Demiurge opened the chest and seemed to be mildly surprised when he view the latent infinity stones.
“I see that you have brought them on your own without us having to inform you. You have done well. You may offer it to her when we meet her in a little while. Even if they won’t work in this universe, these stones contain a treasure trove of knowledge.
We might be able to repurpose them for other objectives. Regardless, Lady White will know what is the correct way to use them is. But first, I will inform you of how to behave and what is expected of you in her presence. No mistakes will be tolerated!” Demiurge spoke the last sentence with threatening undertones.
Of course, they had no objections. In fact, they couldn’t be more happy about the situation. The happiness was partly also due to the fact that they could offer the tributes in person and their value had been validated by Demiurge.
“Follow me to the laboratory. I will inform you on the way,” Demiurge spoke as he turned around and walked through the portal to the laboratory which had just opened behind him.
Mobius immediately followed with haste as did rest of the followers. After all, a chance to make and witness history under ‘Her’ guidance could not be missed due to tardiness.
***