"Alright."
Damien smiled at the children. "The experiment was a success. So, who's going first?"
"Damien-nii, are you going to turn us into Divine Spirits like Shizu-sensei?"
Chloe looked up, her little face brimming with curiosity.
"That's right."
Damien nodded, adding, "But in doing so, you'll have to work for me, just like Shizu-sensei."
"Of course, that's only after you grow up."
"Until then," Damien continued, "I'll train you alongside your Shizu-sensei."
"..."
The children exchanged glances.
Over the years in Ingracia, they weren't completely clueless.
The ticking clock of their lives, the fear of death, the failed incomplete summonings, and Shizu's tireless efforts and worries... they knew it all.
Working for Damien?
This man was saving their lives!
Was becoming his assistant after growing up really enough to repay such a life-saving grace?
Wasn't that just the natural thing to do?
After all, aside from Shizu-sensei, this man before them was the only one in the world willing to show them kindness.
People like Yuuki Kagurazaka...
On the surface, he seemed cheerful and carefree, but deep down, he was utterly sinister.
After all, these children were, in truth, summoned by his underhanded schemes.
In other words, all their tragedies were orchestrated by that man.
And now, he pretended to care about them, which was utterly nauseating.
Children are the best at sensing a person's sincerity or hypocrisy.
To Chloe, Alice, and the others, Yuuki Kagurazaka was nothing but a dangerous monster.
"Damien-nii is a good person."
Chloe voiced everyone's thoughts, and Alice, stepping forward, boldly declared, "I'll go first!"
Damien was countless times stronger than Yuuki Kagurazaka.
Yet, to the children, he felt like a gentle, sunny neighborly man.
He genuinely wanted to save them...
"Um~!"
"When Alice grows up, can she become Damien-nii's bride?"
This came from the knight novels Alice had read, where a princess, to repay the knight who saved her, would offer herself in marriage.
"Uh..."
Damien scratched his cheek awkwardly.
He didn't refuse outright, instead gently patting Alice's head with a smile. "Sure, when Alice-chan grows up, she can be Damien-nii's bride."
Of course, this was just to humor the little girl.
No matter how desperate Damien might be, he wouldn't have those kinds of thoughts about a seven- or eight-year-old girl.
"It's a promise!"
Alice grabbed Damien's hand, saying earnestly, "Whoever breaks it is a puppy!"
"..."
Damien couldn't help but chuckle, casually agreeing but not taking the child's words to heart.
'So bold, Alice.'
Chloe watched the two, her eyes faintly sparkling.
Though they had only just met, Damien had already earned considerable favor from the children.
It was hard to say exactly why.
Perhaps it was the importance of a first impression.
"So, Alice, are you ready?"
Damien did his best to soothe the girl's nerves. "Damien-nii's about to start."
"Mm!"
Alice hugged her stuffed toy tightly, mustering her courage and nodding firmly.
"Buzz!"
And so, under the watchful eyes of Shizu and the other children, an immensely vast magical power enveloped the blonde girl.
The first step was to select the most compatible Heroic Spirit template that Alice could absorb.
"Hm?"
Soon, Damien found the figure. "This is..."
"She is the embodiment of the night, the ancient mother goddess who birthed daylight, dreams, death, sleep, fate, pain, and aging."
"Her name is..."
"Nyx!!"
Damien called out the figure's name, then used her divine body as the vessel to contain Alice's ascended soul.
Such a powerful divine body also meant that the potential for strengthening Alice's soul was extraordinary.
"Next."
"The attribute suitable for you, Alice, is..."
Creating the divine body was easy... Damien simply needed to shape it in Alice's likeness.
The true key was the elemental soul that would envelop the girl's soul.
While attributes depended on compatibility rather than absolute strength, just as spirits had attributes, elementals also had higher and lower attributes.
Earth, water, wind, and fire... these four were standard attributes.
Above them, light and darkness were higher attributes.
"Speaking of which..."
Damien showed a surprised expression. "If I recall correctly, in the original story, the spirit Rimuru summoned for Alice was of the void attribute, right?"
The Great Holy Spirit of Void was essentially a spirit of the space attribute.
The space attribute might not be as versatile as the time attribute.
But space and time... spacetime... were always an inseparable whole.
Their relationship was like the chicken-or-egg question, impossible to determine which was stronger.
"As expected!"
Seeing Treyni draw forth the elemental power symbolizing the concept of space from the void, Damien gave a satisfied smile.
"Such remarkable talent!"
Damien spared no effort, working with Artoria and Treyni to fully shape that pristinely pure elemental soul!
"Lord Damien, this power exceeds the scope of what I can name."
"Please, bestow upon this newborn power its initial name."
Though Treyni was the Celestial Spirit Queen, the Great Holy Spirit of Space clearly surpassed the limits of her control.
Time and space... these were powers that transcended basic attributes, reaching the very roots of the world.
"Very well."
Damien thought for a moment before declaring, "From this day forth, you shall be called 'Unbounded Rift'!"
[Unbounded Rift]
The fundamental unit capable of creating a space in the void to contain spirit and matter, and the prerequisite for the concept of time.
A elemental born from such a concept...
Even in its mere existence, it possessed over a million magicules, comparable to a true Demon Lord.
Yes, unlike the Primordial Flame, which needed to fuse with Shizu to evolve into a Divine Spirit...
The qualifications of the Great Holy Spirit of Space could only be matched by the Great Holy Spirit of Time.
From the very beginning, these two stood at the pinnacle of spirituality, destined to lead the Divine Spirit to the top of the world!
***
If you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)