Published at 26th of December 2025 7:43 am

Chapter 535: To Counter Such a Warm Welcome, Our Budget Is a Little Tight

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Without any significant issues, we arrived at the first River of Worlds, as one might call it. Spread before us were countless worlds, each wildly different from the others, far beyond what we could have imagined. We stood there, marveling at the sight from a distance.

Wow, there are so many different kinds of worlds, Tia said in awe.

Yeah I didnt think thered be this much variety, I replied.

Some worlds were like a single massive island, while others were round, with oceans and land masses neatly formed into a sphere. Then there were worlds where starry skies filled bubbles, and even one where a bearded old man knelt while carrying a massive piece of land on his shoulders.

Whats up with that old man? Why would he carry a world on his back like that? Now that I think about it, Nuoh also mentioned that their eyes reflected the world Ginta lived in From the outside, did that world look like a giant fish encased in a bubble? The mysteries of worlds run deep

Hey, Ed, what kind of world do you think that one is? Tia asked, pointing at a particular bubble.

Hm? I followed her gaze. Inside the bubble she pointed to, a white and brown speckled cat was curled up, sleeping. At first glance, it was just a cat peacefully napping, but what could it mean?

Well maybe the world is buried in its fur or something? Or maybe theres a world tucked into its paw or resting on its nose.

Thats so cute! I want to go there now

[Search complete from Agastia Archives reference materials. The entity is believed to be a Sleeping Child Cat.'[

A cat? Yeah, it obviously looks like a cat, Tia said, confused.

[Not just a cat. It is written as (Ne-ko), meaning sleeping child. The world is said to exist within the dreams of the Sleeping Child Cat, and when the cat wakes, the world ends.]

What? The world ends if it wakes up? Thats such a fragile existence, Tia said, wide-eyed.

Worlds and gods are always like that, arent they? Even now, the world we were in turned pitch black just because the so-called God felt like it.

Ah, when you put it that way, I guess so.

Worlds were always full of absurdity. Its not limited to things on the scale of gods and creators; even we impose irrationalities on things smaller than ourselves. We brush away spider webs from our face without a second thought, and no one carefully avoids stepping on ants while walking.

Just as we impose our absurdities on smaller creatures, its natural for those larger than us to impose theirs on us. That doesnt mean we have to accept it without question, though. Spiders and ants bite back against predators; humansand me, a Demon Lordcan bite back against gods if necessary.

[Warning. High-energy reactions detected in multiple directions,] Noah Brynes voice suddenly sounded, interrupting my thoughts.

Startled, I quickly turned to face the direction where God was supposed to be. From the white sphere at the center, a glowing white mistor hazebegan to billow and spread outward.

What is that? Its really spreading fast, Tia said uneasily.

Who knows? Its probably not a welcoming gesture, though

I couldnt shake the bad feeling creeping up my spine, but at this distance, I couldnt make out the details.

Noah Bryne, maintain course and keep moving forward.

[Proceeding further may bring significant danger. Are you sure?]

Im sure.

[Order acknowledged. Continuing forward.]

Stopping wouldnt change the fact that the hazy mist was spreading toward us. Turning back wasnt an option with our limited time and energy, and it seemed to be expanding in all directions, making a detour impossible.

Deciding to face it head-on, I steeled myself as the ship continued forward. The true nature of the glowing mist soon became clear.

Youve got to be kidding me!

No way are all of those The Winged Ones!?

The mist spreading from the white sphere turned out to be countless The Winged Ones, the same form taken by fragments of God during our fight alongside the Black Knight. If these were as they appearedidentical to the The Winged Ones in both form and abilitythere were both advantages and severe disadvantages.

The good news was that, individually, the The Winged Ones were no longer a significant threat. At least for me, I could cut them down with a single swing of my blade.

The bad news, however, was that there was no room for dialogue or negotiation. This meant our only option was to fight them.

That was fine. I could manage that much. But the worst, most critical problem was the sheer number of them.

Noah Bryne, can you estimate how many there are?

[Calculating calculating Current estimate: approximately 200 trillion.]

Fuhi!

I let out an involuntary, strange noise. Two hundred trillionwhat kind of insane number is that!? Thats beyond comprehensionI could only laugh.

[There is some good news. The number of The Winged Ones that can exist within the battle zone at a given time is limited to around 100.]

Hah well, thats a big drop. Alright, Noah Bryne, full speed ahead. Lets break through!

Ed, are you serious!?

Serious? Theres no other choice. If they decide to wall us off instead of fighting, well be completely stuck.

With numbers like that, they wouldnt need to kill us. If they simply formed an impenetrable wall by clustering together on our route, wed be forced to stop. Then, under concentrated fire, our journey would end before we even got close to God.

But if we charged now, while they were still spreading out, their density wouldnt be so high. Wed have to engage in combat, but at least wed be able to push forward through the gaps.

The fact that they sent such an overwhelming force means they dont want us getting any closer. If thats the case, well deal with what comes when we get there. Lets go in with everything weve got!

I stepped toward the ships bow, drawing the [Dawnbreaker] from my waist. Seeing the approaching swarm of The Winged Ones I smiled and let the black light coat my blade before swinging it in a powerful arc.

In that instant, the The Winged Ones in the swords path disintegrated into black dust. That seemed to signal the start of the battle as the remaining enemies began to circle us, firing arrows of light from their spears.

Disappear!

Theyre not disappearing! Ugh!

Tia countered their attacks with her spirit magic, but unlike me, she hadnt grown significantly stronger. Her magic couldnt block all the incoming arrows, and several struck Noah Brynes hull. However, the golden particles surrounding the ship momentarily darkened, successfully absorbing the attacks.

Sorry, Noah Bryne! Are you okay?

[No issues detected. Defensive systems remain functional.]

Good thing I lent you [Invincible] Alright, time to return the favor!

I counterattacked, cutting down the The Winged Ones one by one. But no sooner had I eliminated a few than reinforcements arrived. Their numbers didnt seem to dwindle at all, and attacks kept coming from unseen angles, including below the ship.

Ed, I canttheres no way I can block all of this!

Dont push yourself! Focus on reducing their numbersits more efficient that way!

Got it!

I continued cutting through the The Winged Ones while Tia concentrated on intercepting their light arrows. But with the enemys unlimited reinforcements, it was clear that Tia, at least, wouldnt last much longer.

Noah Bryne, how much longer until we reach God?

At the current pace, estimated time to arrival is 162 hours.

And how much energy do we have left?

At the current rate of onsumption, remaining operating time is seven minutes and twenty seconds.

Hah! Fine, lets do this!

At this rate, we wouldnt just run out of energy for defensewe wouldnt even have enough to reach God, even if there were no more obstacles. We desperately needed a way to replenish our energy supply.

The energy source itself is everywhere, isnt it? We just need a way to process it

An idea struck me like lightning.

Tia! Hold the line for one minute!

Ed!? What are you going to do!?

Just teaching this ship a little something about the joy of eating!

With that, I kicked off the deck and sprinted toward the control room.

Share