Here, 'universe' didn't refer to planets, dark energy, or rules within a cosmos, but the complete erasure of an entire world.
Clearly, Rimuru, a mere S-rank Demon Lord, was incapable of such a feat.
Even Velzard would need to manifest her full Frost Dragon God form to forcibly breach a gap.
However, the world barrier possessed a self-repair mechanism.
If your destructive speed couldn't outpace the world's restoration, it would be futile.
"In summary, a Demon Lord capable only of collapsing universal order, thereby indirectly causing its destruction, cannot break through the passage I've established."
Damien turned to Velzard. "Nee-sama, you could open a gap."
But such a gap would require Velzard to continuously attack to break through from the bottom of the V-shaped cave to the new world.
"However, forcing your way in like that…"
"Would absolutely draw the attention of the world's will."
At that point, Velzard would essentially be targeted by a powerful god or the creator of the world.
"Alright."
Damien stopped teasing Rimuru and snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the pressure and invisible force blocking Rimuru vanished without a trace!
"This?!"
Rimuru's body relaxed, but she was momentarily dazed, unable to react immediately.
"Damien!!!"
Soon, however, she sensed Damien's presence ahead.
Without using her feet, the girl employed spatial magic, teleporting directly in front of him.
"You jerk!!"
The blue-haired girl shouted, charging headfirst at Damien's stomach.
Familiars couldn't harm Damien.
Even so, Rimuru was determined to express her frustration with this wicked capitalist in her own way!
Take this headbutt and perish!!
"Okay, okay, my bad this time."
Damien pressed down on the girl's head, dodging her windmilling arms, and soothed, "How about I give you a few days off?"
"A vacation?"
At the word 'vacation,' Rimuru immediately halted.
But the blue-haired girl crossed her arms, eyeing Damien suspiciously. "I'm not falling for your tricks so easily!"
"A vacation? You're definitely just messing with me again!"
"No, really, not this time."
"Look over here!"
"Ta-da!"
With a flourish, Damien stepped aside, revealing the sunlit plains of the other world to Rimuru.
"Huh?"
Rimuru froze, then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened.
"This, this, this is…"
Having endured the earlier ordeal, Rimuru and Great Sage had already suspected a possibility.
Now, seeing the plains before her and feeling an aura utterly distinct from the Cardinal World…
"No!"
"There's no magicules here!"
"Instead, there's some kind of unanalyzable special energy in the air…"
With her Lord of Gluttony Beelzebub and Lord of Wisdom Athena, Rimuru could theoretically analyze anything.
But the barrier of differing worldviews was real!
Without Damien's conversion, Rimuru was an outsider.
Using the Lord of Gluttony from the Cardinal World's framework to analyze the Konosubaverse's rules was like using an outdated blade to strike a modern official.
Let alone Rimuru... even if Milim came here, her Lord of Wrath might not function.
"This is a new otherworld."
"Not a different timeline of our world, but a truly distinct world!"
Damien shared information about the Konosubaverse with Rimuru, granting her a 'green card' for this world.
[Notice: Large quantities of unknown elements detected. Proceed with analysis?]
[Notice: New laws being recorded, please wait…]
[ … ]
The moment she received the green card, a flood of information surged into Rimuru's mind, nearly overwhelming even Great Sage!
"This, this, this!!"
Rimuru's face showed shock, but she quickly shut off Lord of Gluttony's power.
This narrowly spared her from being overwhelmed by consuming too much at once.
"So?"
"I brought you to a new world to play," Damien said. "That counts as a vacation, right?"
"Ugh…"
Rimuru wanted to argue.
But as a lowly worker, how could she resist being molded and squished by her boss?
"Relax, relax~~"
Damien slung an arm around Rimuru's shoulders, grinning. "While we're here, forget about work. Let's have some fun!"
"You're sure this is really for relaxation?"
"Does holding a banquet count as relaxation?"
"Mm!"
Rimuru nodded, admitting her inability to resist fine food and drink.
"How about visiting a vacation resort?"
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!"
Rimuru was too easy to sway.
One moment, she was seething from being duped; the next, a few words from Damien had her racing toward a bright future.
Hmph!
Mere Rimuru…
Out of Rimuru's sight, Damien flashed a gesture to Velzard, Ogerpon, and the invisible Great Sage: "Handled!"
Great Sage?
Yes.
To ensure Rimuru could thrive under Damien's command…
Great Sage had long since aligned herself with him.
It was like an older sister cozying up to the company boss to secure a promotion for her sibling.
Ahem!
That got a bit dark.
In short, compared to the oblivious Rimuru, Great Sage was far more farsighted.
For instance, with Damien wholeheartedly grooming Rimuru to be the monster kingdom's 'heavy-lifting champion,' Great Sage was delighted to see it.
Better that than Rimuru idling around aimlessly all day.
"Let me tell you about this world."
Beyond basic information, Damien introduced Axel City. "In short, it's a world where adventurers hunt monsters and demon kings."
"You get the idea, right?"
"Mm, mm, mm!"
Rimuru's eyes sparkled, clearly thrilled by the setting.
"But you know our identities."
"Uh, yeah, we're monsters now…"
And Damien was a Demon Lord.
No, to be precise, Rimuru herself could also be considered a Demon Lord.
Having awakened, she possessed a demon
***
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