Jayr POV - Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Universe, Central World, Magic Continent, Kingdom of Siltrosso - 2013 AMB
After I got rid of the annoying, malicious, backstabbing Clayman while perfectly imitating Thanos' style, the rest of Walpurgis Banquet continued without any other issue.
I was able to convince the remaining Demon Lords that the invasion of the Champion of Power is a real, imminent threat and that they must start to prepare to confront it if they want to have a chance to survive what is to come, while also giving them all the information we have been able to gather on the Champion of Power and his army.
After that, Milim, Gaia, and I briefly returned to Tempest to inform Rimuru and the others of the successful result of the Walpurgis Banquet before I sent Milim and Gaia back to my home universe, where they spent more time having fun with my Digimon Incarnation and my kids.
On the other hand, I decided not to waste any more time dilly-dallying, waiting for the perfect opportunity to get in contact with the remaining major factions of this world and directly teleported to the Kingdom of Siltrosso.
The Kingdom of Siltrosso is a small kingdom with a population of two million, bordering the Kingdom of Farmenas and the Kingdom of Englassia, facing the North Sea.
It is ruled by the Rosso family, and through the Council of the West, founded by Granbell, holds strong influence over the Western Nations alongside the Five Elders.
On top of that, it is the site for all of the Five Elders' clandestine meetings, and for this very reason, it can be considered the most important kingdom among those that are located to the west of the Great Jura Forest.
Obviously, the reason for my presence in this kingdom is to meet with Granbell Rosso, the man who is actually controlling the Council of the West from the shadows, and thus, can influence and even control all the kingdoms that are part of it.
In ancient times, Granbell trained under Emperor Rudra Nam Ul Nasca and was, for a time, hailed as the Light Chosen hero.
To manifest his and his master's lofty goal of protecting humanity from the numerous threats that plagued the world, he left Rudra's side and departed for the West, going on to face many powerful adversaries.
Luminous Valentine was the most powerful among the opponents he faced; the two clashed on several occasions, their powers evenly matched, but eventually came to a mutual understanding when Granbell was convinced that she sought coexistence with humans.
He formed a working alliance with her and became her subordinate, cooperating with her to expand the reach of the Western Holy Church and the faith of Luminous, thus engineering a relationship where the Demon Lord Luminous and humanity coexisted.
With Luminous' approval, he established the Clerics of the Seven Luminaries, an organization intended to oversee the church's daily operations, and was given all manner of political authority.
The fruits of Granbell's labor slowly but steadily bore fruit in the thousand-year period of peace brought about by his alliance with Luminous, during which he safeguarded the West from the Daemons of the north, employing the Majin Razul, an Insectar he befriended, in his service. The desperate that flocked to Luminous flourished, becoming small and eventually great nations.
To strengthen the cooperation between each country, he appealed to them from behind the scenes and created the Council of the West.
All was seemingly going well, but when his wife, Maria Rosso, a great pillar of support in his life, was killed by an opposing human faction, he became consumed by grief and madness.
He preserved her corpse and turned it into a Servant through the forbidden magic Raise Dead, and stored in it the Love Energy supplied to him by Luminous over many years and the energy extracted from countless Otherworlders.
Granbell underwent significant changes following Maria's death and became obsessed with pursuing a world where humanity was under the grip of the Rosso family.
He became active for many years behind the scenes as the ruler of the Western economy, using the Kingdom of Siltrosso as his primary base while having a sole monopoly on the region's organized crime.
He also manipulated the movements of the Western council through the Five Elders, a group comprised of his descendants in positions of power in the various Western countries that held their own seats on the council.
At some point, he severed his ties to Rudra, whom he was scheduled to return to after uniting the West, and began actively sabotaging the plans of the East to lay claim to the West.
To that end, he cooperated with the Dwarves and sent out his own merchants to procure information to prepare for the possibility of an invasion. In the meantime, he engaged in petty competition with his long-time acquaintance, Damrada.
One day, he crossed paths with Mariabell Rosso, his 3-year-old granddaughter, whom he discovered had immense latent power as she is actually a Reincarnated Otherworlder whose former self was a ruler who dominated Europe.
Seeing within her the hope of the Rosso family, he took her under his wing and groomed her to be his successor without knowing that, for a sick twist of fate, this actually is Mariabell Rosso's third life and that in her first life she was Maria Rosso, making her the reincarnation of his late wife and her own grandmother.
Unfortunately, Mariabell Rosso only inherited the memories of her second life, which made her develop a quite different and objectively worse personality from her first life, one that is much more nasty and malicious compared to the original Maria Rosso, who was a kind and intelligent woman who fully supported her husband in his goal of protecting humanity.
However, I have a plan to fix that since the current Mariabell may very well become a liability in our battle against the Champion of Power and his forces, one that will likely kill two birds with one stone.
Shortly after arriving at the Kingdom of Siltrosso, I don't waste any time and immediately make use of my Cosmic Awareness in combination with a little bit of Telepathy to search for Granbell's exact location.
A few moments later, I find what I am looking for and immediately teleport, but not directly in front of my target, as that would've been incredibly rude, especially since I'm uninvited and unexpected, so I teleport in front of the gates of what I think is his villa.
Then, I lock on Granbell's position and carefully use a bit of my Dragon God Spirit Haki mixed with a smidget of Memetic Aura to exert a bit of pressure on his whole existence to not only scare him a bit while causing a light existential crisis, but also to ensure that I'm not going to be casually dismissed and ignored.
The next moment, I release the pressure and once more use a bit of my Telepathy to directly contact Granbell, [Hello there, Rosso Granbell-san. I apologize for the abrupt little scare I gave you, but I think it was a necessary process to ensure that I'd be listened to. My name is Pucci Jayr, and I'm here to have an audience to discuss with you about a topic of extreme importance. The kind that may very well decide not only the fate of humanity but of the whole universe. I'm waiting in front of the gate of your villa.]
I don't have to wait long as I immediately sense some movement inside the villa, and a few moments later, a distinguished butler opens the door and walks toward the gate before very respectfully inviting me inside.
I step into the perfectily clean entranceway surrounded by well-maintained gardens while gracefully thanking the bulter and let him lead the way maintaing a perfectly normal expression as I'm way too used to such ambients, after all, my wife Saori is not only the Goddess Athena, but also the richest woman of my home universe with a wealth so vast that she can literally buy a few countries if she so desires, not that she needs to as the Graude Foundation she has inherted basically owns almost everything in many key sectors.
As the bulter leads me toward the reception hall, I calmly observe him and realize, 'Hmm... I still prefer our family bulter, Tokumaru Tatsumi. He may have his faults since many times he acts more like a thug than a bodyguard/bulter, but he is loyal to a fault and won't hesitate to risk his life to protect Saori and our kids, even if every single one of them is actually A LOT stronger than him. On top of that, he still followed Matsumasa Kido's orders and was extremely severe and downright abusive at times with Seiya and the others during their training, despite knowing perfectly well that they would resent him and could grow strong enough to easily kill him. At least if one considers them as simply normal kids and not Saint prospects, as the Saint training is a lot more brutal and deadly than anything Tatsumi could ever do to them. Anyway, Tatsumi still did it because it was necessary for Saori's protection. In comparison to that, this bulter may respect Granbell, but would never risk his life for him.'
While I'm thinking that, we finally reach the reception hall where a tense but firm Granbell Rosso is already waiting for me, standing a few meters away from the entrance.
Considering the fact that he is over 2000 years old, Granbell is a withered old man with white hair and violet eyes, but despite being long past his prime, he still exudes the presence and charisma found in a ruler.
Befitting his wealth and status, he was well-dressed and wore fancy and expensive clothes.
He is dressed in formal wear, including a long, light gray overcoat with dark gray lapels and cuffs.
Underneath, he wears a light gray suit with matching trousers, a crisp white dress shirt, and a maroon bow tie with a small gold ornament at its center.
He wears dark brown shoes and white gloves, with one hand resting over his heart.
(Image Here - Granbell Rosso)
As soon as I step into the reception hall, Granbell's eyes widen a little for a brief moment before he immediately controls his expression, once more masking what he currently feels.
Shortly after that, Granbell lightly bows as a sign of respect, much to the bulter's shock, who is barely able to stifle a gasp, and says, "Welcome to my humble abode, Pucci Jayr-sama. How may this old, retired noble help you?"
While saying that, Granbell briefly glances at the butler and uses his Thought Communication to order him to immediately go and prepare some tea and pastries for him and the guest, and also to close the door and ensure that no one, not even his granddaughter, can disturb us.
I smile lightly and reply, "Thank you so much for the warm welcome, Granbell-san," then I add, "However, I'm pretty sure that the man who secretly controls the Council of the West cannot be regarded as a regular old retired noble. In fact, I'm confident to say that you are still very active and spirited."
After saying that, I step into the reception hall and continue, "This is also the main reason why I decided to seek you out. After all, the issue I'm going to expose to you is indeed very grave and needs the utmost attention."
At this point, Granbell invites me to take a seat before he also sits in front of me and asks, "So, what is this grave issue that forced someone of your... stature... to seek this old noble?"
Hearing his question, I chuckle and casually reply, "Oh, nothing much... Just the complete destruction of this whole multiverse. The usual trouble that bothers people of my stature, you know?"
In response to my statement, Granbell immediately stiffened for a brief moment as his eyes widened in shock, almost completely breaking his calm and confident mask, but thanks to his vast experience, he quickly regained his bearing and fixed his expression, hiding once more behind his mask, seemingly intent on asking for more information.
But before he can actually ask me anything, the butler knocks on the door and, after receiving permission, he enters the hall accompanied by a pair of maids carrying a tray each.
One tray is full of all kinds of small snacks and desserts, varying from simple cookies to cakes and so on, all perfect to accompany the tea.
The other tray is obviously used to carry a typical tea set that includes a teapot, teacups, saucers, a creamer (milk jug), sugar bowl, in addition to accessories like tea spoons, a tea strainer, and a sugar spoon.
With practiced ease, the butler and maids quickly set up everything in front of us before the butler gracefully picks up the teapot and pours the tea into the teacups.
Then the butler and the maids respectfully bowed and once again silently left the reception hall, leaving Granbell and me alone once more, obviously at his request, as he doesn't want them present for such a discussion.
As soon as the door closes behind the butler and the maids, Granbell picks up one of the teacups, gracefully takes a small sip, and then he asks, "What do you mean by complete destruction of this whole multiverse?"
In response to his question, I also calmly pick up the teacup and take a small sip of the tea, which I have to admit is quite good even if personally I am not too fond of tea in general, before I look at Granbell straight in the eyes and honestly say, "It's pretty simple. A very formidable force that originates from outside the known multiverse is going to invade this world. Their main objective is to actually kill a single target who carelessly revealed their position to them in an attempt to discover some vital information. However, an almost almighty force behind this enemy seeks the complete destruction of absolutely everything, so even in the case they do successfully kill their target, the enemy will still follow this force's will and continue to lay waste to this entire multiverse until nothing is left."
At this point, I take another sip from the teacup and continue, "This leaves you all living in this multiverse with only one option. Fight for your survival. And the best and in fact only way to do that is to put down all the ongoing conflicts and unite all the factions of this world against this overwhelmingly strong enemy, because if you don't do it, everything will be gone before you can even put on some semblance of resistance."
After saying that, I continue by telling the old, stern noble, Granbell, more of what we know about the Champion of Power and his army, and of course, a little bit about Unicron, making the already grim-looking face of the old man look even grimmer while also showing him proof that everything I'm telling him is the truth.
In the end, Granbell sinks into a heavy silence as he ponders over what he just learned, then, as the seconds are about to stretch into minutes, he sighs heavily and asks, "What do you need me to do?"
Hearing his question, I calmly put the now-empty teacup back on the tray and said, "I need you to use your very considerable influence over the Council of the West to ensure that all the nations that are part of it and their allies start to prepare for the approaching enemy's invasion. They have to put aside all their disputes, not only among themselves but also toward the other factions of this world, and unite against this common enemy. My allies and I already got in contact and reached a form of preliminary agreement with the Armed Nation of Dwargon, the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion, and the various Demon Lords that are part of the Demon Lords Council, barring the Marionette Master Clayman, whom I killed as he would surely have tried to backstab us. Something that I won't hesitate to do to anyone who would try such a despicable act... As no one can hide anything from me, especially in this particular multiverse, as I've inherited the control over the very system that manages it."
Then, to prove the truth behind my threat, I say, "For example: Granbell Rosso. Human. Unique Skill: Unyielding. Inherent Skill: Possess. Magic Arts: Sunlight Magic, Light Elemental Magic, Necromancy. Mystic arts: Magic-Weapon Art, Overblade... Should I continue?"
Looking at Granbell's cold expression, I see that my threat was effective and realize that since I've already used the stick, I can now make use of the carrot to completely win him over to my side.
Coming to that conclusion, I don't hesitate to smile warmly and say, "Of course, on the other hand, I won't hesitate to use my considerable power to help those who decide to take my side and fight to protect their own home."
Shortly after saying that, I theatrically wave my hand and infuse a lot of neutral energy into his body, making him quickly regain a great deal of his youth as he now sports a head of shining blond hair in clear contrast with his previous white, lively violet eyes and a sharp expression like that of an eagle.
His skin tone is now a healthy pale, his body is fuller, and he has a short, well-groomed goatee and mustache.
(Image Here - Granbell Rosso Prime)
While Granbell feels the change that just happened and looks at his own body in shock, I continue to smile as I say in a confident tone, "This is just a small taste of what I'm willing to do to help those who deserve it. In fact, thanks to a suspiciously fateful coincidence, I can do something about the unfortunate fate of your late wife..."
As soon as I finish saying that, the reinvigorated Granbell stands up, looking at me with a steel-cold expression on his face as he declares, "That's impossible. Maria died way too long ago... Even with immense powers such as yours, such a thing is impossible."
In response to his outburst, I smile and say, "Well, you are wrong... You are greatly understating me. I can think of at least a dozen ways to revive your late wife, all of them within my capabilities. The only issue is that many of them require quite a bit of delicate and careful work to ensure that I don't mess up this reality too much to the point that it cracks or even collapses on itself."
Seeing Granbell's stunned expression, I mischievously smirk and tell him, "For example, I could travel back in time to the point where your wife, Maria, is killed to grasp her soul before she can move on and then return to the present time to revive her by either recreating her physical body from scratch and bind her soul to it, or fix the original one you are currently using as an Undead Puppet before resurrecting her."
I then notice that Granbell is about to ask a question and is already guessing what is going to be. I cut him off and explained, "The main major issue with this solution is that, as you've said just a few moments ago, way too much time has passed since she died. This means that your wife's soul has surely already reincarnated at least once, and if I take her soul at the time of her first death, I have to ensure that another soul takes her place and reincarnates at the right time in the right body and develops in the right way to not affect the past events... And let me tell you that it is a HELL LOT of work because it doesn't end with only that one soul, as I have to make sure that the whole cycle of reincarnation functions as intended, a cycle that covers this entire multiverse."
After explaining that, I let out a sigh and conclude, "But without any doubt the most important reason is that even if I'm willing to do all that insane amount of work to make sure that the past events aren't affected I would also have to impose my will on those poor souls to ensure that everything follows their 'scripted fate' which leaves a quite bad taste in my mouth..."
Hearing that, Granbell once again sits down and mutters, "I see... If you are truly capable of doing what you just described, then you are a lot more powerful than I guessed..." Before he realizes something and looks at me, he asks, "Wait! You said that many of those options you have to revive my wife are troublesome or have some great issue, right? Those that mean that you also have an option that is much easier and without any great disadvantage?"
In response to his question, I honestly reply, "That's right. I told you that thanks to a 'suspiciously fateful coincidence' I can help you resurrect your late wife, and it is true."
At this point, an eager Granball asks, "So what is this 'suspiciously fateful coincidence' you are talking about?"
I focus on the noble old man in front of me and see that he is looking at me with his eyes narrowed while he is holding the arm of his chair more tightly, which makes me realize that with the few hints I gave him he has likely already an idea of what I'm talking about, once more showing his vast exprerience and sharp intelligence.
Seeing that, I calmly look at him in the eyes and, after briefly using my authority over the Voice of the World to confirm the details, I tell him, "As you've told me, your wife died a very long time ago, so it is natural that her soul already went through the process of reincarnation. She reincarnated around 200 years ago in another universe connected to the Central World. She didn't have any memory of her previous life, which means that she grew up to become a completely different person from the woman you loved."
After using Telekinesis to refill my teacup, I pick it up and take a sip of the still-warm tea as I narrate, "She grew up in a fairly powerful noble family and rose from a blood-soaked coup to dominate an entire continent known as Europa. Cold, brilliant, and merciless, she crushed kingdoms with precision, replacing thrones with ashes and treaties with chains. Her hunger for power knew no end; she hoarded wealth in vaults deeper than cathedrals, bled provinces dry with crushing taxes, and executed rivals before their names could stir rebellion. She ruled for forty years through fear, feeding her ego with endless conquests and silencing dissent with spectacle. Cities flourished in steel and silence, not joy. Though empires bent to her will, she trusted no one, not her generals, not her heirs. In the end, poisoned by a servant she'd long forgotten, she died alone, her empire fracturing within hours of her final breath while her soul returned to the cycle."
Then, after telling him of his wife's first reincarnation, I continue, "After that, your wife's soul reincarnated again around 10 years ago or so. But this time, she retained the memories of her previous life and with them she also retained her honestly quite vicious and ruthless personality..."
At this point, I don't even have to conclude as Granbell mutters, "Mariabell..." Making me nod and confirm, "Indeed, your granddaughter's soul was originally that of your late wife Maria Rosso. Of course, after so many years passing, there is nothing left of your wife in your granddaughter's soul. After all, during her first reincarnation, all the memories and personality were completely purged, returning the soul to a blank state. However, in the end, the soul is still the same and easily available without causing any major issue to this multiverse, giving me the perfect opportunity to do something about it without worrying too much about the consequences."