Chapter 385 348 – The Demon Shadow Army

"This world is even larger than the world of Redo of Healer. If I handle things properly, I should be able to gain even more World-Crossing Gate progress. Unifying the world's territory will also make it easier to merge worlds later."

As his strength continued to rise, Takumi discovered another ability of the Space-Time Realm.

It could merge worlds he had previously traveled to.

Doing so also required one hundred thousand World-Crossing Gate progress.

Merging worlds would inevitably trigger a series of upheavals, but a unified government could stabilize the situation. For the sake of the distant future, conquest and expansion were necessary now.

"The Amazoness tribe in the Space-Time Realm can all be summoned over."

"Norn can remain in the empire of the Redo of Healer world to oversee things. Everyone else can be brought here."

"But before that, I need to establish a city on this side."

As Takumi murmured to himself, Raphael, Lord of Wisdom activated instinctively, organizing his thoughts while gathering information about the surrounding area.

He soon realized that the disappearance of Storm Dragon Veldora would likely cause upheaval among the nations of this world.

"There are already several kingdoms surrounding the Great Forest of Jura alone."

The Kingdom of Blumund, the Armed Nation of Dwargon, the Kingdom of Falmuth… There were more than five in total, and that number would only increase if he expanded farther outward.

"The only things truly worth paying attention to, aside from a few powerful Demon Lords, are the Holy Empire of Lubelius and the Eastern Empire."

Based on what he remembered about the setting, those two nations would be the hardest to deal with.

The only fortunate point was that neither of them bordered the Great Forest of Jura, giving him time to develop and expand.

"The Great Forest of Jura really is in an excellent position. It sits between several kingdoms and serves as a buffer zone for the surrounding empires. Expanding outward from here will be the most difficult route, but also the fastest."

After gaining a rough understanding of the situation, Takumi's thoughts shifted.

In an instant, his figure vanished and reappeared at the entrance to the sealed cave.

[Authority Skill: Amenotejikara]

After integrating and evolving the Authority of Space, the skills branching from that authority had also been strengthened.

Amenotejikara, which had transformed into an Authority Skill, no longer required visual contact to perform spatial exchanges.

Now, Takumi could instantly exchange himself with any place he could perceive.

The exchange was not limited to himself, either. It could also be used on other objects.

More importantly, his spatial exchanges were extremely flexible. He could even swap a person with the grains of sand inside a boulder.

The result would be the target instantly becoming embedded within the rock.

If their physical strength was insufficient, the stone would crush their body on the spot, mixing their flesh into it.

For example, like this.

Takumi swept his gaze over the black serpent blocking his path.

"Hiss!!!"

The black serpent monster, more than ten meters long, immediately released a piercing shriek.

[Amenotejikara!]

With nothing more than a glance from Takumi, the serpent was instantly exchanged with the interior of the nearby rock wall.

Splat!

The black serpent looked as though it had been smeared into the cliff. Its body fused with the stone, and it stopped breathing on the spot.

[Ding! Randomly plundered attribute: Heat Source Detection (Green)]

[Heat Source Detection (Green): You can sense nearby sources of heat.]

"Interesting."

Takumi cheerfully observed the serpent's fate before sweeping his gaze toward the other monsters watching him with predatory eyes.

With Storm Dragon Veldora gone, the deterrence he once provided had disappeared as well.

The dense magicules in this area naturally attracted powerful monsters.

Most of them possessed strength around the Intermediate class, which happened to be enough for them to withstand the concentration of magicules surrounding the sealed cave.

They instinctively attacked Takumi, treating him as an intruder.

"Stupid beasts."

Takumi made a dismissive comment and raised his hand.

In the next instant, monster after monster was spatially exchanged into the same location. Because their flesh rejected one another, they all died on the spot.

Their current appearance was extremely bizarre, like a game suffering from a bug, with multiple character models clipping into each other and compressing into a single mosaic-like mass.

Takumi collected the spiritual essences of all those monsters.

Their intelligence naturally could not compare to that of humans, but to Takumi, that made them perfect material for disposable subordinates.

"Deathman Reincarnation!"

Takumi theatrically slammed both palms against the ground, and a purple-black magic circle instantly enveloped the entire area.

The approaching monsters died in batches. Their spiritual essences were collected and twisted, transforming into incomplete souls.

One young woman's body after another appeared before him.

The moment those incomplete souls fused into the bodies, they awakened.

They were not beings on the level of Kagali, whom Takumi had created with great care, but each of them still possessed strength comparable to an Ultimate-class Devil.

Their immortal bodies, inexhaustible energy, and fused divine envoy chess pieces granted them nearly all-purpose power.

In terms of combat strength alone, they would not lose to any Devil King-class powerhouse from Takumi's original world!

[Raphael, Lord of Wisdom analyzing… Optimizing skill!]

After creating more than a hundred young women through Deathman Reincarnation, Takumi compiled and organized all the data he had obtained.

In only a few seconds, Deathman Reincarnation underwent further optimization.

Cursed Technique: Ten Shadows Technique also fused into it at that moment, giving birth to an entirely new Authority Skill.

[Authority Skill: Demon Shadow Reincarnation!]

The black shadow beneath Takumi's feet writhed.

One graceful figure after another emerged from it—petite girls, young women, and mature beauties of every possible body type.

Although their appearances differed, every one of them possessed top-tier beauty.

Their only flaw was that their eyes lacked any light, remaining utterly still and lifeless like those of the dead.

At present, these Demon Shadow Maidens possessed only the most basic intelligence, comparable to beginner-level AI.

Only through continuous learning could they evolve and become increasingly intelligent.

Once more than a thousand Demon Shadow Maidens had been born, they all dropped to one knee before Takumi in perfect unison.

"Master!"

Their voices rang out together, and the aura radiating from their bodies was practically identical to that of the hundred Deathman Maidens from before.

The difference was that Takumi could now create them under far simpler conditions while also incorporating the traits of a shadow army.

"Authority of Space!"

"Shadow Kingdom, open!"

At the same time, Takumi transformed his own shadow into an entirely new dimensional world, then nodded in satisfaction.

In truth, the skill could still be optimized even further.

But that would require a considerable amount of time, and there was no need to rush.

"Move out, my new Demon Shadow Army!"

"Yes, Master!"

At Takumi's command, one Demon Shadow Maiden after another leaped into the air and sped away in every direction.

They expanded outward in a circular formation, investigating the surrounding area and eliminating every obstacle that might stand in Takumi's way.

After sending the Demon Shadow soldiers into action, Takumi sat weakly upon the throne he had just created.