During Patchouli's absence, considering that if an accident occurred she could rush to provide support in the most complete state, Zeroy did not go out.
She had Kuroka teach Shirone about the Nekoshō, while she herself continued to consolidate her power.
She looked at the Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor, then took a stroll inside the Little Hell.
By now, the Little Hell had formed a circular island five kilometers in diameter.
The edge of the island was a spatial barrier, and beneath the island were the souls of the damned.
Because she had yet to acquire a means of tormenting these souls, Zeroy simply kept them in a state of slumber.
Even so, the Little Hell still continuously absorbed the soul power from these souls.
Simply put, the island was the Little Hell, and the Little Hell kept growing, like a plant that constantly needs to absorb water—the water being the soul power contained within these souls.
Like drinking blood, constantly drawing "blood" from them.
But doing this would not drain these souls dry.
As the souls grew weaker, the Little Hell's absorption speed would slow until, just before the souls dissipated, the Little Hell would completely stop absorbing.
Then it would let these souls slowly self-heal, and once they had mostly recovered, it would resume drinking blood.
Until Zeroy found a way to torment these souls.
"Is this…the Underworld? No…wrong…"
At this point, Zeroy also took out the Boosted Gear.
As soon as it was out, Ddraig, who was sealed inside, immediately let out a hesitant voice.
Ddraig, as one of the Heavenly Dragons of the past, had once stood atop the pyramid of strength in this world, and its great height and long years had granted it vast knowledge.
Zeroy wanted to see, through the eyes of such a strong being, what her Little Hell looked like and whether she could gain some useful information and advice from him.
"Little one, where on earth have you run off to? There's even an aura similar to the Underworld here. Did you dig a piece of the Underworld out? And what did you do before? Why did I lose contact with you and couldn't see what was happening outside?"
Ddraig immediately threw out a series of questions.
"You should be able to feel the anomalies of the Longinus on us, right? It's not bound to the soul. It's like an ordinary weapon that can be easily taken away."
"So when not in use, you're stored in a separate dimension for proper safekeeping."
Zeroy paused slightly, her face showing a look of thought.
"If you dislike it…I'll think about it…"
"It's fine, you don't have to worry about an old thing like me. This is about the same as when I dwell inside a normal host. When the equipment is removed, I can't perceive the outside world; only here, the difference is that I can still sense the host's presence. We share a very close connection."
Others might feel that being unable to sense the outside world and being locked up in a small, dark room was hard to endure.
However, Ddraig didn't mind.
This was the seal and punishment given to them by the God of the Bible. It had long since become accustomed to it; after all, it was already dead and only its soul lived on.
Being shut in a small, dark room just meant taking a long nap, nothing to worry about.
"Still, who exactly are you all? This is the first time I've encountered such a situation. Did that good old man's system bug out again?"
"Good old man, you mean the God of the Bible?"
"Who else?"
In this world, as long as it's on the supernatural side, no matter which pantheon it is, if someone says "that one" together with "good old man," almost everyone instantly knows who's being referred to. Those who don't are just ignorant kids.
The Church might have problems, angels might have problems, yet the God of the Bible—that's absolutely the good old man, recognized as such by all pantheons.
Even enemies who dislike Him will acknowledge that point.
He is even believed not to possess emotions such as anger and hatred.
And when such emotions appeared for the first time, Sammael the Dragon Eater, the strongest dragon slayer, was born.
That was an entirely selfless being, whose every act—even greatly developing the Church and granting powerful strength to the angels who believed in Him—was for the sake of making the world a better place.
Peace, harmony, friendship, and so on.
So when speaking of Him, Ddraig could not even muster resentment.
Although that was also because too much time had passed.
"We're from outside the world. The anomalies appearing probably have nothing to do with the God of the Bible's system, though His system indeed has bugged."
"Outside the world, huh. What's it like outside the world?"
"Various completely different worlds. For example, in human society, those countless strange works—they may all be independent, complete worlds outside the world."
"Sounds interesting. I seem to have picked a good host."
Not only could he enjoy the scenery of various worlds.
There was also the fact that Zeroy, who could travel between worlds, absolutely had the potential to easily break through this world's ceiling.
Though he was already dead, now he could be considered half-alive, borrowing the host to see higher vistas. This was certainly very appealing.
"So, in your view, how is this space?"
"Don't rush. Let me take a closer look. Fly me around a bit."
"Alright."
Now, inside the Little Hell—in other words, on this five-kilometer-diameter island.
The current state was green mountains and clear waters, and there was also an empty little town. All of this was shaped by Zeroy and Patchouli together.
Although it was not yet possible to make things happen with just words, Zeroy still had a certain degree of special authority in this space.
"Is this…a prototype Divine Realm?"
After circling around, Ddraig's voice carried a few degrees of gravity.
"Yet the style is rather strange…"
"Strange?"
Zeroy blinked in puzzlement.
"Very strange. Little one, don't be fooled by how, from the naked eye, there don't seem to be that many divine anomalies here—at most, the sea of souls beneath the island feels like something.
"Anyway, this thing can already be considered a prototype of Heaven and the Underworld, possessing the nature of both Heaven and the Underworld. Using the island as a boundary at ten meters downward, below is the Underworld, above is Heaven."
"Its creator, when shaping this prototype Divine Realm, must have poured in many notions, or rather obsessions and wills about Heaven and the Underworld at the same time."
"Of course, for now, you can also think of it as an ordinary little island. After all, it only possesses the nature of Heaven and the Underworld. It's still a long way from becoming a true Heaven and Underworld."
...
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