"Lord God—"
After returning to the ground base.
All the races of Disboard, including humanity, came one after another to pay their respects to Setsuna.
Every face was filled with deep reverence.
Unlike the other eccentric Old Deus—or the somewhat unserious God of Play from the original storyline who had picked up the victory at the very end of the great war—the one standing before them now possessed unquestionable strength, having personally beaten every race into submission.
If they had to give Setsuna a title, they felt it should be God of Conquest.
Everyone had submitted. Those who had not were earlier reduced to ash by the fleet.
"Do not be afraid. Since this place has been designated as imperial territory, I will establish a new order here."
Setsuna gestured for the trembling Elves, Dwarves, and others to rise.
"From now on, you share a common identity—you are all citizens of the Starsea Empire."
"The system that once divided racial hierarchy based on magical aptitude is hereby abolished. From this day forward, all sentient intelligent races are equal."
"Humans... you too are now a part of Disboard. Your race shall be known as Immanity."
"Though you cannot command Spirits or wield magic, under the Empire's rule, this is no longer a barbaric age where violence reigns supreme. Your wisdom and creativity will play a far greater role."
Humans had long been despised by other races due to their lack of power. After the divine decree forbidding war and killing on Disboard, development became the world's primary objective.
At that point, without needing any additional measures, Immanity would soon secure their place among the races through their own abilities.
After all, the humans of this world possessed far greater courage, intelligence, and perseverance than those of many other worlds—qualities Setsuna deeply appreciated.
"Yes..."
Couronne Dola's eyes brimmed with reverence and awe. She almost knelt to kowtow to Setsuna, only to be gently helped up by a shipgirl with a smile.
"There's no need for that. Don't be so stiff. The Commander will take you to the capital someday. He's actually very easy to talk to."
"Eh?"
Couronne was flustered and overwhelmed by the honor.
It was obvious that in the eyes of the shipgirls, dragon maidens, and Spirits, Setsuna's image was completely different from how the natives saw him.
"Am I to be taken as a hostage? O-Okay... I can wash clothes, and I can cook..."
"No, no. Just consider it a small privilege~"
Formidable found the sensible young girl rather likable. She patted her shoulder and winked mischievously.
"Uu..."
"By the way, what about the remaining Old Deus?"
Grey suddenly remembered something.
Aside from the slain God of War and Holou who had been taken away, several other Old Deus still existed on Disboard.
Most of them had recently been thoroughly beaten by the fleet—and had submitted.
"Let Sophon handle them."
Setsuna turned his head. A formally dressed, cold-faced artificial intelligence stepped forward.
[Sophon Unit No. 36 reporting.]
"The Old Deus must also obey the rules I have set, so there is no need to worry about them. Hm... certain Old Deus may have other uses. Make arrangements as you see fit."
"Understood."
Sophon nodded.
With the extreme efficiency of an artificial intelligence, she silently drafted a seamless development plan, ensuring every resource was utilized to its fullest.
For example, having the Forge God Ocain serve as a chief engineer, leading the Dwarves to develop Disboard and explore the universe.
Development of a vassal universe would never be limited to a single planet. Once Disboard's resources were fully integrated, expansion into space would follow swiftly.
"What about us...?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Azril's eyes.
The Flügel had been born for slaughter and battle. After the death of the God of War and accepting Artosh's final order to follow Setsuna, many of them already felt out of place.
Now that even the concept of "war" had been stripped from Disboard, these angels of death seemed to have lost the meaning of their existence.
"Come with me to the Starsea Empire. When we conquer other worlds, there will be plenty of battles for you to fight."
"Didn't you want to understand what true strength is? Then come and see it."
"Mm..."
The Flügel nodded quietly.
Toward Setsuna—who had defeated Artosh honorably and shown him due respect—they felt no hatred, only confusion, unable to fully comprehend the God of War's obsession.
They needed time to process it. Remaining beside another "strongest" being was indeed not a bad choice.
...
Under Sophon's leadership, the Angeloid forces quickly began the development of Disboard.
Infrastructure in a magic world was far easier than in an ordinary one.
With the Dwarves—these local Bulin-like craftsmen who seemed able to build anything through sheer conviction—and the planet's environment fully restored by Setsuna, prosperous cities rose at a visible speed.
Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Werebeasts, and other races rebuilt their settlements.
In large cities, it became common for multiple races to live together. Their former conflicts had stemmed from years of war. Now that the war had ended and rules constrained them, no major disturbances could arise.
The Ex-Machina faithfully executed orders, serving as enforcers of order while patrolling across the planet.
"Mm..."
Setsuna glanced over the report and nodded in satisfaction.
The efficiency was high. Before long, Sophon would turn Disboard into a prosperous, multi-racial fantasy world.
Though Setsuna could have conveniently established civilization himself through the authority of the Herrscher of Reason and divine power, Sophon adhered firmly to the principle that "a vassal must never drain the suzerain." She insisted on autonomous development, so he delegated management to her.
"So... can we head back now?"
Tesla lay sprawled across a sofa, swinging her legs.
"There are so many projects waiting to be researched..."
"The Ex-Machina's False Epigraphy and analytical capabilities—we need to construct a shared data arsenal for the Starsea Empire so everyone can project stronger, more advanced weapons..."
"And there's the Flügel genetic modification issue. Turning into lolis every time they use Heavenly Smite and then needing long recovery rituals is way too ridiculous..."
"Once the local research here is wrapped up, we'd like to return quickly to conduct feasibility experiments."
"..."
Setsuna opened the interface and glanced at the mission status.
The objectives of conquering the world and obtaining the Suniaster had been achieved.
The No Game No Life world had been fully cleared.
"Wait. There's one more matter."
"Beyond Disboard, there's still Earth. Go—bring back the other Game God from that world."
...
Vooooom—
In the starry sky.
A silver-white starship slowly set sail.
[Hyperdimensional expansion: 23%... 45%... 66%...]
[Three-dimensional coordinate axis switched to spacetime coordinate axis.]
It abruptly transformed into its hyperdimensional starship form, its hull refracting an eerie arc within the three-dimensional world.
Then—
Boom!!—
The starship advanced through invisible higher-dimensional space.
From Disboard's universe, it arrived in another world within the No Game No Life setting.
Here there was a sun, an Earth, and a moon.
Everything was indistinguishable from a typical solar system in other universes.
Only the civilization upon it was still extremely primitive. The Disboard great war—the timeline of No Game No Life Zero—had occurred six thousand years before the main story.
At that time, Earth had still been in a barbaric state.
Whoosh—
As it had once done in the Honkai world, the starship advanced along the time coordinate axis.
The Earth below underwent vast changes. Thousands of years were but an instant to a hyperdimensional vessel.
From tribal age to feudal era, then to the industrial revolution, the electrical revolution, the formation of modern nations...
Before long, the onboard AI locked onto its target.
Within a research institute of white walls.
Inside a laboratory, a white-haired, red-eyed little girl sat curled in a corner.
With cold eyes, she watched the researchers moving back and forth.
As a "genius" with extraordinary memory, capable of using multiple languages and performing rapid calculations and analysis at the age of three, her abilities frightened her own mother and left those around her unable to understand her.
What would the future be like?
The little girl did not know. She would likely be forever isolated from normal society, never able to live an ordinary life.
"..."
She drew and scribbled alone on the floor, playing a game no one else could comprehend.
Vooooom—
A humming sound came from the sky.
A massive starship descended from the clouds. Angeloids tore through the building, high-energy lasers carving a perfect circle into the wall.
Against the sunlight, a pink-haired Angeloid slowly descended, wings spread like a god descending to the mortal realm.
"Ah..."
Ikaros extended her hand toward the stunned little girl.
"Come with me. Master sent me to bring you home, Shiro."