"What terrifying power."
Looking at the starry sky ahead, now wiped clean as if someone had erased it with an eraser, Momonga clicked his tongue.
There was no doubt about it.
If that attack had landed on him, he would have died on the spot the very next moment.
Mm. Not even bone fragments would be left.
By consuming 60% of MP, it summoned the hatred and curses contained within the withered leaves of the World Tree.
In a sense, this spell had always been one of the most terrifying abilities in the game.
And the one casting it now was Naohara.
Sixty percent of a World Boss status's MP?
Fortunately, they were inside the [Depiction of Nature and Society].
World-Class Items possessed the setting of being indestructible. [Catastrophe] could not break through the seal and affect the Great Tomb outside.
Otherwise...
Just imagining it sent a chill down Momonga's spine.
"A Pureblood Dragon combined with the [Dragonslayer] passive is basically a bug."
Herohero couldn't help but complain.
As long as the user bathed in Dragon Blood, [Dragon Blood Sacrifice] would slightly enhance their attributes, continuing until the strength of the dragon blood was no longer sufficient to increase them further.
But after using Wild Magic to purge all human blood and completely transform into a dragon, it was equivalent to constantly bathing in Dragon Blood. As a result, the user would continue growing stronger.
The stronger the attributes became, the stronger the dragon blood.
The stronger the dragon blood, the stronger the attributes.
It formed a perfect loop.
Herohero used himself as a comparison and carefully estimated.
Even though both had the status of a World Boss, the gap between them was obvious.
For example, if the strength of World Bosses ranged between 100 and 200, then he himself was roughly around 110, while Naohara stood at the peak—200.
Because of [Dragon Blood Sacrifice], Naohara's attributes would always remain at the absolute limit of his current level.
Physical strength, defense, speed, magic power...
Every attribute.
Even all sorts of miscellaneous resistances had reached a point where there was simply no room left to improve.
In other words, the reason Naohara was considered a World Boss was not because his strength reached the level of a World Boss.
Rather, the strongest possible template at level one hundred was the World Boss template itself.
This was truly... ridiculous.
Herohero felt conflicted. He was happy for his friend, yet also felt a sense of helplessness.
He couldn't win.
There was simply no way he could win.
...
On the other side, unaware of the thoughts running through his two friends' minds, Naohara felt something strange.
A rare sense of emptiness came from his body.
Since arriving in this other world, this was the first time his MP had fallen below forty percent.
Even so, the magic power he still had left was unimaginably vast.
Hmm... at the very least, it was more than Momonga's full MP.
He had to admit, the combination of [Dragon Blood Sacrifice] and a Pureblood Dragon was incredibly effective.
"Experience equivalent to 150 levels? That's a bit little."
(PS: This experience is calculated based on the current level template—the experience bar used for breaking through from level 99 to level 100.)
Glancing at his left hand, Naohara felt somewhat dissatisfied after seeing the experience stored inside [Avarice].
If calculated based on the three of them using [Wish Upon a Star] twelve times a day combined, then that experience equivalent to 150 levels might sound like a lot, but in reality it was quite little.
At most, it would last two and a half days.
"Useless. Tens of millions of demons only gave this much experience?"
Herohero walked over, casually resting an arm on Naohara's shoulder as he took a look and commented.
He had already accepted reality and completely tossed aside that inexplicable competitive spirit between men.
After all, looking at it from another angle, Naohara being this strong wasn't a bad thing for him.
His sense of security had increased in a strange way.
"It is a bit little, but as long as the [Demon Gate] exists, we'll have a constant stream of demons providing experience. There's no need to rush."
"Besides, next time we can try an experiment. We should preserve the demon corpses as much as possible and see whether we can extract their life energy and Souls."
"If it works, it would be a huge gain for Nazarick. The life energy could be used to make high-tier potions, and the Souls could be stored as fuel for casting Wild Magic."
"Even if it fails, it doesn't matter. The demon corpses alone are still a valuable harvest—they represent an endless supply of demonic materials."
After thinking for a moment, Momonga voiced his opinion.
Unlike Herohero, Momonga was a meticulous hoarder who carefully planned the use of every resource available.
When he finished speaking, Herohero and Naohara both fell silent.
The two of them stared straight at Momonga.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Momonga tilted his skull, confused.
Had he overlooked some detail?
"There's nothing wrong with it, but Momonga…"
Herohero opened his mouth, but didn't know how to continue.
That inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
"Momonga, it's a good thing you weren't a boss in your previous life."
Naohara rubbed his forehead and looked at his friend helplessly.
What he said wasn't wrong, but that capitalist aura was far too strong.
It made both Naohara and Herohero feel the sudden urge to hang him from a streetlight.
"Uh…"
Hearing that, Momonga finally realized.
What he had just said… really did sound a bit like that.
"Well... maybe we should just forget about it?"
Momonga offered the suggestion cautiously, but Naohara and Herohero immediately shook their heads vigorously.
"Do it! Why wouldn't we do it!"
"If it benefits Nazarick, there's no reason to give up."
"As friends, we share the good fortune and shoulder the hardship together."
"We can't let you carry this alone, Momonga. Let us bear this sin with you."
Naohara and Herohero exchanged a glance, then each gave Momonga a firm pat on the shoulder, speaking with solemn resolve.
Seeing the two of them ready to stand by him no matter what, Momonga felt deeply moved.
Ugh… as expected of my closest friends!
And so, the perfect world where only the demons suffered was achieved.
Demons: Great… (we're doomed)
After some discussion, the three of them ultimately became exactly the kind of people they once hated.
Wait, you're saying none of them are human?
Oh. In that case, never mind.
Ending the topic, Naohara and the others slowly flew toward the location of the [Demon Gate].
While they had been talking, several hundred more demons had already emerged.
"Tsk. Looks like these demons have gotten smarter."
Watching the demons step out of the gate one by one, Naohara and the others paused for a moment before quickly understanding what was happening.
This was the New World, not a game. These demons had their own thoughts.
Now that they knew the fate awaiting anything summoned, they couldn't resist the power of the World-Class Item. But they had figured out a way to stall for time.
They were sending out demons that only met the minimum summoning requirement—level 50—one at a time.
Strictly speaking, this approach didn't violate the rules of the World-Class Item.
"Looks like the demons on the other side are trying to disgust us."
Naohara grinned and casually waved his hand, instantly wiping out the newly summoned hundreds of demons. The experience points were absorbed by [Avarice] in his left hand, nudging its progress bar upward by a barely noticeable sliver.
They arrived in front of the [Demon Gate].
Through the opening, the three of them could vaguely make out a figure standing at the far end of the passage, staring at them with cold eyes.
"The Most Ancient Evil—Anos, the Demon King?"
Using high-tier detection magic, the three quickly obtained part of the other party's information.
Herohero stretched out his arm, the slime-formed limb pressing against the membrane sealing the entrance.
His corrosion and decay properties activated, attempting to open a passage.
But under the power of a World-Class Item, even a World Boss couldn't shake it.
The membrane remained perfectly intact, without the slightest trace of corrosion.
"This is troublesome. It will significantly delay our plan to mass-produce Caloric Stones."
Herohero withdrew his hand, a dim, ominous glint passing across his slime-formed head.
"I'll try."
Naohara patted Herohero on the shoulder. Flames of Catastrophe wrapped around his hand as he stepped forward and drove a punch straight into the membrane.
The power of Catastrophe was a force left behind from the destruction of the world itself. In a sense, it stood on equal footing with a World-Class Item.
His fist struck the membrane, and invisible ripples spread outward.
The power of Catastrophe began to erode it. Before their eyes, the once unbreakable membrane rippled like the surface of the sea.
As Naohara continued to push forward with force, a tiny crack slowly began to appear.
Seeing this, Herohero immediately pressed his hand against the edge of the crack.
Momonga did not hesitate either, placing his hand against the opposite side.
Catastrophe. Decay. Corrosion. Death.
Four different magical attributes intertwined, relentlessly breaking down the membrane.
Crack! Crack!
A series of shattering sounds rang out. The three suddenly felt the pressure on their arms vanish. Looking ahead, they saw that a narrow gap had appeared.
"Success! ×3"
The three were delighted. But in the very next moment, as if angered, the gap began to rapidly repair itself, and an ominous sense of danger rose in the air.
Naohara immediately grabbed Herohero and Momonga and pulled them backward.
For a split second, Naohara had the strange sensation that he was about to face a [Dimensional Slash] head-on.
If they hadn't retreated, he and Herohero might have endured it. But Momonga's skeletal hand would almost certainly have been severed.
"Looks like there's no other way."
Naohara shook his head, a trace of helplessness in his expression.
Still, the experiment had at least shown him the limits of a World Boss.
It could influence a World-Class Item, but it could not truly contend against one.
"If we could open the gap again and throw a positioning item into the other world, we might be able to open another gate."
Momonga stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Under normal circumstances, his cautious personality would never allow him to attempt something so risky, especially since he was the weakest of the three.
But after seeing Naohara and Herohero take action, Momonga decided to take the gamble as well.
The results were mixed. At the very least, it hadn't been completely fruitless.
"That would be difficult. The demons on the other side won't give us the chance. They'll destroy the positioning item the moment it appears."
Herohero spread his hands, directly dismissing Momonga's idea.
"Then let's leave it for now. It's a bit troublesome, but it doesn't really matter. We've got plenty of time."
Naohara narrowed his eyes as he studied the demons on the other side and spoke softly.
In the end, it only meant spending a bit more time. For beings with infinite lifespans like the three of them, that was hardly a concern.
"Let's set up a barrier first."
"The small world inside the [Depiction of Nature and Society] will soon regenerate. If these demons enter the core world and obtain control of the [Depiction of Nature and Society], that would be troublesome."
"We'll keep the demons contained within a barrier and harvest them periodically."
Looking around at the empty expanse of the starry sky, Naohara immediately proposed the plan.
Fortunately, the [Depiction of Nature and Society] had no self-awareness. Otherwise, it would probably want to kill him.
"Alright, let's do it that way."
"Agreed!"
Herohero and Momonga nodded, raising no objections.
"Then next…"
The three turned their attention to the World-Class Item [Avarice and Generosity].
With a wave of Momonga's hand, mountain after mountain of ore appeared.
All of it had been excavated earlier by the Quagoa under Naohara's orders.
Time to convert it into prismatic ore.
Within the false starry sky, three enormous and dazzling magic circles gradually appeared.
Time passed quickly. Several days slipped by in the blink of an eye.