Chapter 258: The Vast Creation

It didn't take Leiso very long to create the necessary weapons.

Once they were made, the Artificer's materials arrived and I finished crafting them.

With the help of one of his drones, of course. I wasn't a weaponsmith even if I could wield Vengeance. Although I did understand a great deal about how weapons were constructed.

Then I enchanted them and handed the weapons out to everyone.

I didn't need a sword because I could use crystal magic, but having it would be comforting for the times where I wanted a more solid weapon. Mainly because crystal magic was unstable and difficult to maintain.

And because it would be useful in situations where I couldn't use magic.

Finally, we were ready to leave.

I had a long time until the Conquerers would be ready to use their Aspects, but anyway...

I still had a promise to keep with Malzekad.

Vakra already went back to Delvandal and the Artificer assured me that the anchor platform on Excelsis was in working order.

Also, that if a demonic presence was detected on the Cursebreaker, it would be allowed to enter unimpeded.

I secretly dreaded having him around, but...

Even if I was a monster capable of committing horrible atrocities on an unimaginable scale, I still wanted to be a man of my word.

So with that, we prepared to descend upon the infernal realms.

* * *

Something we needed to understand was how the travel between worlds worked. Utilizing the Cursebreaker, the divine transit, and transferring to an anchor platform, it would be possible. Of course, understanding the layout of worlds was also important for telling time and destinations.

Normally, moving across the firmament was a very slow process. It could take months or even years to reach a destination depending on how far away it was. 

Because the Firmament was massive beyond comprehension.

The use of the divine transit was now very possible thanks to our beloved Masina. However, a goddess accessing the divine transit while holding my hand as I'm connected to the ship posed only one problem.

Travel over very long distances was extremely taxing to her.

Needless to say, it wasn't something I could do constantly. In other words, I could only attempt this after Masina had recovered.

Delvandal was only a fairly short distance away and for Iris, it was a non-issue. But descending from a divine realm to an infernal realm was more than capable of completely exhausting Masina...even if she was much more powerful than Iris.

To find this information, the Artificer helped us by running simulations.

Now then, one could easily argue that the solution would be to use Masina to travel down and then utilize the anchor platform to get back 

Of course.

That was precisely what I planned to do.

Because the transfer system that the Cursebreaker functioned on was made using Vakra's own ability to create and travel through subspace-dimensional pathways.

I could move across creation in an instant with no downsides as long as I had an anchor platform as a destination. 

It wasn't quite like Valtheim's Void travel, but it was the best I could do without using The Archmage and tampering with things I had no understanding of. This way, I could lower the amount of danger I put everyone in and not accidentally erase us.

Or perhaps move us into a higher dimension full of beings like The Insanity and drive everyone crazy.

I knew already that this would be a long war.

Even still, the factor of time seemed like it would be a complex issue by itself.

Creation was constructed in both rings and layers.

Time moved quicker in higher realms and slowed the further down someone went. The highest realms in the firmament were divine realms. Time moved very fast in Excelsis as it was a divine realm.

Any higher than the uppermost divine realm and you got into what was called 'Greater Heaven'. The domain of the Creator.

No one was allowed to enter it or they would be automatically purged by his absolute holy presence.

Divine realms were different.

Since the Creator was God, or as they referred to him: The greater God, all other divine beings were called lesser gods.

They were not permitted to enter Greater Heaven under any circumstances.

Instead, they lived in places like Excelsis. These divine realms were ruled by either a divine council, a Guardian, or a combination of the two.

Lower than that, and one could find higher worlds.

This is where things got complicated.

There were few differences between higher and lower worlds when it came to things like magic or technology, but...

Higher worlds also tended to have more gods residing over them.

Smaller pockets like divine realms existed over certain worlds to serve as a place of refuge for gods assigned to protect those worlds.

They were simply assigned to watch over and ensure the survival of the people living on those words. Which, of course, were usually humans, demi-humans, or any other species of sentient life so long as they fulfilled certain requirements.

If they fulfilled these requirements, they were given the protection and guidance of the gods. If not, they were usually left alone.

In some instances, hyper-intelligent monsters were recorded trying to breach their worlds and take over other words. Even attempting to control and devour gods. These worlds had to be locked away.

I'll get to that later.

Lesser gods usually lived in divine spaces for their own benefit and their protection. 

Iris was an exception to the need of divine spaces, because she wanted to live with her people and they posed no danger to her.

Novak wanted to rule over them.

Which was also an issue... Not all divine realms had claims on their own worlds. Sometimes conflict would arise and it usually had to be settled by the gods involved. Mainly because the divine realm Guardians and the councils had zero interest in resolving these conflicts.

It was also possible to request a hero summoning, but... 

That sort of thing was usually only reserved for an existential threat like the appearance of a Demon King or something like the Corruption. Other incidents of dangerous things had been observed as well.

But in these worlds, it was possible for an entire universe to exist. You could enter into an animus barrier and find an empty space filled with stars and many worlds.

There were truly limitless possibilities.

Avernia, in particular, was a mid-tier magic world possessing five gods ruling over it. All of which were from another divine realm.

Unfortunately, the information on their identities was erased as soon as it was learned that I had become an existential threat.

For their own safety, of course. Because I wanted to beat the shit out of them for abandoning us.

All I knew as that they had something to do with the divine realm of Dominus.

Next, lower worlds also tended to have the problem of being attacked by demonic royalty and nobility more often.

Fortunately, time moved much slower in these worlds and that made the problems simpler to deal with. Specifically because it gave the gods more time to act.

This was my first introduction into the ongoing war between gods and demons.

Lower worlds tended to be more hellish.

Some worlds would be populated by multiple Demon Lords or Kings all trying to conquer their territories while enslaving and torturing the peoples living on those worlds.

At last, worlds stopped appearing altogether as the upper infernal realms began to be seen. Eventually, they would transition into the lower infernal realms and finally hell.

Which was also called the lake of fire, and was a place of eternal torment for wicked and evil souls.

Below the lake of fire was the Void. Once thought to be a truly bottomless chasm of nothingness existing in an absolute state.

The Void did not simply exist below creation, but also all around it. It was the outer plane. The end of all that was made.

All matter that managed to find its way into the Void was promptly erased.

But I learned something else as well in my time of living...

...that the Void was to serve as a barrier from the dark side of creation. 

The Abyss was supposedly a very well-kept secret. No one knew about a place existing below the Void. The idea of such a thing was utterly absurd.

And only the Creator knew how far down it went or what sorts of abominable horrors dwelled there.

The Abyss could only be found below the Void instead of anywhere around it. It was as wide as creation and only went down.

The final piece of the puzzle was something called a sealed world. These came in many forms.

Outer realms existing on the edge of creation often contained hyper-intelligent, horrifying monsters bent on the enslavement or destruction of creation.

They were sealed for the purpose of keeping those things locked away.

Other sealed worlds held things like parasitic monsters that could wipe out life across multiple worlds if given the ability to move across the firmament.

And finally, time was divided across all worlds and separated by the firmament.

Time fluctuated inside the firmament as a means of disrupting its flow between worlds. It constantly changed how quickly or slowly it moved by large margins. It ticked on a pendulum scale.

After learning about the intricacies of creation, it was time to go get Malzekad...

* * *

I made sure to have Masina access the divine transit to move us down into the Plains of Gizarak. Which she did by lovingly clinging to my arm.

Once we had arrived, Masina instantly dropped to her knees while breathing very heavily.

"It's alright. You can rest now," I said as I unhooked myself from the console on the bridge.

"D-did I...do good...big brother...?" Masina asked.

I felt my eye twitch as she once again referred to me as her older sibling.

Masina tended to act rather seductively at times and seemed to take on an older sister role, herself. Yet she called me her older brother.

For the last time...I was not her brother! We weren't related at all!

I was absolutely convinced that she had some sort of hidden fetish. One that I accidentally unlocked when I placed myself as someone important in her mind after rewriting her memories.

But...I made the mistake of not correcting her behavior... Sometimes I curse my own actions...

"You did very well. I'm happy with you. I'll carry you to our room, then Isabella, Cassandra, and I will go get Malzekad."

"I am glad to be of service...to his Majesty..." Masina said as I picked her up in my arms.

Exactly as I programmed you...but seriously...I'm not your brother...

"Ah...I want to be held like that!" Cassandra said.

"M-me too..." Isabella said.

They both stared longingly at Masina.

"There will be plenty of time for that later. Please focus..." I said.

"Yes!" They both said.

"And Masina, make sure you rest well."

"Yes...as you command..." She said.

I took Masina to our room and laid her on the bed. Almost immediately, she fell asleep.

Then I went back out to meet the twins.

"We're just going down to find Malzekad. Once we have him, we can head back to Excelsis and make our final plans for war," I said.

They nodded and the three of us made our way to the lift bay. 

Once we descended, I immediately saw Malzekad approaching.

I was inwardly thankful that he'd realized the best meeting place would be here. The exact spot we met before.

"Oh, good. You're here. That makes this simple," I said.

"Hm...the girl multiplied? How did she do that!?" Malzekad said.

Cassandra just sighed.

"Cassandra has that power. But they were actually two identical twin sisters sharing the same body. I split them up with Vakra's help," I said.

"So the Admiral is good for more than just making machines and starting wars!?"

I wanted to laugh at his comment but didn't quite feel like being in agony at the moment.

"Yeah...so I plan to keep my word. You're invited to be part of our crew, Malzekad. I don't have a role for you yet, but-"

He held up one of his large hands and then changed into his humanoid form.

"In all seriousness, Mizik...I don't feel right about this. I want to join up because it sounds like the coolest thing I've ever done, but..."

"But?"

"I don't have a proper human form. I'm not able to hold onto a physical form like this outside of the internal realms..."

"I've been meaning to ask...why is that?"

"Because despite having the power of a Demon King, I was defeated by the council of Hell-Lords. My kingdom was dispersed and I was stripped of my ability to exercise my power. There are workarounds, but I haven't managed to obtain one yet," Malzekad said.

I was partially shocked to see him speaking normally, but I suppose he couldn't act like an idiot all the time.

"Are you declining to join us?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm declining to join you. I have my own battles to fight. It's been fun, but I should probably try harder to rebuild my kingdom..."

"Suit yourself. We'll see you around, Malzekad. And...thanks for helping us deal with Excelsis."

"IT WAS MY PLEASURE, FRIEND! THOUGH WE MAY PART WAYS, OUR STORY HAS NOT ENDED! WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ON AS LONG AS EVIL-"

"CAN YOU GIVE IT A REST!?" I shouted.

"E-eh...as long...as evil..."

He seemed depressed again.

"Ugh...just finish!" 

"AS LONG AS EVIL THREATENS CREATION, HEROES LIKE US WILL ALWAYS RISE TO THE CHALLENGE!!!" Malzekad shouted.

"Why do you feel the need to shout so much!?" Cassandra said with a hint of annoyance.

Malzekad ignored her comment.

"Right... Goodbye Malzekad. We'll see you around."

"Yes, of course. I may end up back in Delvandal or something if I need the Admiral's help. If you find yourself around there, don't be afraid to say hello!"

I nodded, then we turned and left as he waved at us. Finally, we boarded the ship.

I was a bit sad that we wouldn't have someone as strong as he was helping out, but it couldn't be helped. 

I activated the Cursebreaker's transfer mechanism and we went back to Excelsis.