Cooperation Across Dimensions

The pitch-black rift between dimensions.

I was flying as if drifting in the direction indicated by the baby-faced Demon God Magnaurus.

“Oh, looks like it’s comin’ into view soon?”

When I turned back at his words, I saw a hazy square floating in the pitch-black darkness.

I headed toward the object while adjusting the Holy Wave released from my palms.

It was a box-like object about three meters tall and ten meters wide.

“It looks like an object cut out from a house or building.”

“Hoo-hoo! I smell treasure!”

Magnaurus, wearing an intense smile, his eyes gleaming as he licked his lips, entered the object through a long vertical gap.

I hurriedly followed him inside.

There was nothing inside the building. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made from glossy black stone blocks.

When I looked up, I saw a sphere about one meter wide attached to the ceiling.

“No, that’s wrong. It’s the other way around.”

I kicked off the floor, spun halfway around, and landed on the ceiling.

A black, round sphere. It was a Dungeon Core.

Magnaurus, who had been floating around the hall and looking here and there, cursed.

“Tch! There ain’t a damn thing here.”

“No, this is a huge harvest. This is a Dungeon Core.”

“It’s broken junk, ain’t it?”

“It should move if I pour magic power into it.”

I placed my hand on the sphere’s surface. With a sharp breath, I poured magic power into it.

The Dungeon Core turned pure white, and pink floral patterns appeared on its surface.

The surrounding black walls and floor also all became white walls with floral patterns.

Then the core spoke while making the round sphere shine brightly. It was a high, light voice like a bell.

“Thank you for the magic power. Who might you be?”

“I’m Alec. This is Magnaurus.”

“My name is Mithra, a World Core.”

“World Core? Not a Dungeon Core?”

“If one survives Dungeon Battles and continues winning Dungeon World Wars, one can become a World Core that manages a world.”

“So that means you can become a god?”

“Yes. Though the one who behaves like a god is the cooperating Dungeon Master…”

Mithra’s voice seemed to sink a little. It seemed something unpleasant had happened.

—Or rather, you can become a god if you win a Dungeon World War?

Could that possibly be the Pope’s goal? He did say he would obtain everything.

I wanted to ask various questions, but Magnaurus cut in.

“Enough small talk. Hurry up and send me to another world.”

“The world you have a possibility of returning to is the world you originally came from, but unless I know which world you came from, I cannot return you there.”

“The original world only!? Then I’ll end up back as a sword again!”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, this guy was originally a Demon God, but as punishment for committing evil deeds, God turned him into a sword.”

“Oh my, oh dear, well, well.”

The sphere’s surface shone as if bewildered.

I told Magnaurus, who was acting sulky, what I had been thinking.

“Hey, Magnaurus.”

“What?”

“If God was the one who turned you into a sword, wouldn’t I be able to undo it if I became a god?”

“Huh? —No, wait, maybe there is a possibility?”

“There should be. So I want to return to my original world, and Magnaurus wants to become free. Let’s cooperate with each other.”

“Damn it… To think I’d end up joining hands with a bastard like you.”

“That’s true too. There’s no point doing it unwillingly. What is your wish, Magnaurus?”

“What’re you asking for?”

“If it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything.”

Magnaurus filled his still-childish face with an evil smile and spoke intimidatingly.

“You said it, Alec. Anything, you said. In that case, I’ll take the position of god.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

I answered immediately. I had an idea, so I judged that there was no problem.

Perhaps Magnaurus’s mood had improved, because he smiled with satisfaction.

“All right. So the one who wins the Dungeon Battle becomes the next world’s god… Don’t screw this up, you hear?”

“It’s decided, then—so, Mithra. Could you tell us how to return to my original world?”

Mithra made the surface of the sphere glow faintly, as if lonely.

“Understood. Then I shall use people strongly connected to the two of you as markers to determine the coordinates of your original world. In other words, your birth parents.”

Magnaurus flew into a rage at Mithra’s words.

“I’m a Demon God! A solitary existence! There’s no way I’d have parents!”

“My parents… are already dead too. I have a wife, but I have no blood relatives left… Is there another way?”

Mithra faltered for a moment, then spoke in a very bright voice.

“Well then, standing around talking will not do, so I shall prepare tea♪”

“Hey, don’t dodge the question!”

“Ohoho, ahaha♪”

Mithra laughed and did not answer.

Gravity returned to the floor, allowing us to stand. After that, simple chairs and a table appeared.

Cups filled with tea were on the table. A delicious aroma drifted up with the steam.

I sat in a chair and drank the tea. Since all sorts of things had kept happening one after another, the moisture going down my throat seeped into my heart. The tea itself had a floral scent and was delicious.

Magnaurus also sat down rudely while cursing. He was sipping the tea with a grimace. He seemed irritated because there was no way to return.

I had an idea about the coordinates. I also thought I could probably return.

So, for now, I asked about Mithra.

“A World Core manages a world, right? Why are you in a place with nothing like this?”

“I was betrayed by my partner.”

“Partner? What kind of person?”

“He was originally my Dungeon Master. He was a demon, but he was a very kind person, and he worked hard to create a world without conflict. Then I became the administrator, and he became god.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

I gave a casual response while sipping my tea.

However, Mithra’s voice sank.

“At first, things went well. A very peaceful world was created. However, the more peaceful it became, the more both people and monsters took peace for granted and tried to fulfill more of their own desires.”

“Everyone is greedy… myself included.”

“Furthermore, when peace continues, the numbers of both people and monsters increase. Conflicts over places to live intensified…”

“A world war, huh.”

“Yes. To protect the world, my partner hardened his heart and began destroying both sides. As a result, his mind grew more and more ill…”

“Tch. That guy just didn’t have the vessel to be a god.”

Magnaurus cursed while looking away.

Mithra continued speaking while making the sphere shine as if nodding.

“In the end, he called himself Skels, the Great Demon King, and tried to destroy the world. I tried to stop him, but the core of my core was taken, and I was sent here… After that, he absorbed even the power of the core, stained the world in darkness, and created a world where only shadow beasts without wills roamed. His idea was that individual wills were unnecessary in a peaceful world.”

“That must have been terrible.”

Mithra asked in a quiet voice.

“Please stop him—no, I will say it clearly. Please kill him. Gathering dolls without wills cannot be called a true world. However, Skels, the Great Demon King, is trying to destroy every world. Several worlds have already been destroyed.”

“I want to defeat him, but… can we even interfere with another world in the first place?”

“Normally, it is impossible. The range that a god’s power can reach is only their own world. However, it is possible if one abuses the Dungeon World War.”

“I see.”

I felt that everything was somehow connected.

The subspace that appeared beside the Royal Capital. The Holy Papal State’s guidance. The reason why I was in the way.

The method to become the next world’s god.

Could I defeat this so-called Great Demon King?

I could not make any promises.

The air grew heavy as it waited for my answer, so I changed the subject.

“In any case, you had it rough, Mithra. Staying in a place with nothing like this for so long. If it were me, I’d get so bored I’d lose my mind.”

“That is not a problem. I was receiving poisonous radio waves, so I was able to pass the time.”

“Poisonous radio waves?”

“Yes. From beyond distant time and space, strange radio waves come flying in. Movies? Anime? Dramas? They are all very interesting stories. Incidentally, not only Dungeon Cores, but Dungeon Masters and advanced Dungeon Monsters should also be able to receive them.”

“Oh, so that was it. That’s why Kou kept saying such strange things. It doesn’t look like I or the people living in the dungeon can receive them, though.”

“Ah, types who came from outside the dungeon and settled inside the dungeon cannot receive them. The only ones who can receive them are Dungeon Monsters created by the Dungeon Core.”

“That’s kind of disappointing. I wanted to see them too—wait, I get it! That’s why Rāna has started blurting out strange things lately!”

Rāna was a Dungeon Monster summoned by Kou using all of the dragon-type materials. She was a Sacred White Dragon, though. That was why Rāna was thought to be receiving poisonous radio waves.

Sometimes, she would look at the walls or ceiling while drooling from her open mouth. I had assumed it was a dragon custom, so neither Liricia nor I said anything. She was probably receiving them at those times.

—Next time, I should properly warn her.

As I crossed my arms and nodded to myself, Magnaurus lost his patience and glared at me.

“How long are you gonna keep chatting!? Ain’t there any other method?”

“Ah, that won’t be a problem. I can probably figure out the coordinates.”

“Huh?”

After drinking all my tea, I took out the sub-device Kou had given me.

Mithra’s surface shone intensely.

“Oh my! That is—so Alec-san really was a Dungeon Master!”

“Mithra, can you tell which world the Dungeon Core that made this sub-device is in?”

“Of course! Please press the sub-device against me!”

I went beside Mithra’s core and pressed the sub-device against its surface.

The floral patterns floating on the sphere began spinning round and round.

“That way, this way, that way—and, eh! Right now, Alec-san’s world and the world I came from are in the middle of a Dungeon World War!”

“I knew it.”

“I will display the current situation!”

A large rectangular screen appeared in the room, and an image appeared on it.

A landscape of fields spread out. The Royal Capital could be seen at the edge of the screen.

In the center of the screen, a black castle emitting an ominous aura towered over the land.

Monsters were pouring one after another from the castle gates and windows.

The monsters trampled the fields as they moved toward the Royal Capital like a wave.

Magic and arrows flew from the Royal Capital, repelling them.

The offense and defense seemed to be continuing back and forth.

While looking at the screen, Magnaurus put an evil smile on his baby face.

“Now this is an interesting show! Makes me want booze and snacks!”

As someone born into a farming family, I could not tolerate the fields being ravaged.

“Mithra! Hurry and return me to my original world!”

“I understand how you feel, but there is no point in panicking. I will analyze it, so please wait for a while. Also, could you give me more magic power?”

“Yes, understood.”

While suppressing my impatient heart, I placed my hand on Mithra’s surface and poured in even more magic power.

However, this time, it seemed to be consuming the magic power as soon as I gave it, so it never became full no matter how long I waited.

“…Will this take time?”

“There is neither a god nor a World Core in Alec-san’s world, so it will take a little time.”

“So that was the case.”

While I was depressed, Magnaurus, seated at the table, was drinking alcohol and cheering.

“Oh! Do it! —Hey, Mithra. Can’t you move the screen?”

“You should be able to move it in the same way you use teleportation magic.”

“Oh. Now that’s nice.”

Magnaurus stretched out his hand. When he touched the screen while making his fingertip glow, the scenery changed.

It showed people running around inside the Royal Capital, as well as the knight order fighting outside the Royal Capital.

Vice Knight Commander Milford, covered in sweat and mud, was swinging his sword while encouraging the knights.

—It was frustrating to only be able to watch.

Were Liricia and Kou safe too? Was my mansion all right?

After thinking that far, I shook my head.

—For now, I had no choice but to believe in everyone.

The next moment, the screen was dyed bright red.