Just as Imu and "Truth" were conversing within the Empty Hall aboard Noah's Ark—
—on Starfish, inside the Room of Authority, the Five Elders also let out a breath of relief because of what Imu had just said to Saint Shepherd Ju Peter.
Earlier, upon learning of the "God of the Void," they immediately thought of Brimir—that "spark"—being on Starfish.
This made the five grow oppressively heavy-hearted, restless and ill at ease, as if the planet Starfish were already within the gaze of the "God of the Void."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn even proposed that all Void mages and Void-related magical items be destroyed as quickly as possible—perhaps then the "God of the Void" would not notice a "spark" that had appeared briefly and then vanished.
To be frank, the other four were tempted.
But even with their hearts burning with anxiety, they still had to await Imu's order.
Now, however, matters looked better.
Though they did not know on what basis Imu asserted that the "God of the Void" could not discover Starfish, out of habit they were willing to believe—and besides, they had no other choice.
What they needed to do next was to make responses on all fronts based on Imu's answer.
First, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn decided to meet Brimir.
They wanted to know exactly what he wished to say—and he had insisted it must be with the World Government's top echelon.
Once it was notified, Impel Down had the guards clean the first floor above the sea.
After that, they brought over Louise, who was possessed by Brimir.
As for the Founder's Prayerbook, since Brimir claimed it could not be kept too far from Louise, Magellan held it personally and stood guard not far from her.
Joseph, in his capacity as President of the Starfish Magic Association, was also permitted to remain on site.
"Are you certain the ones coming are from the World Government's upper echelon? I mean the very top."
Brimir looked around at the first floor above the sea as he asked.
"The Five Elders are the supreme authority of the World Government. Each member can be regarded as a top leader."
Director Columbus replied expressionlessly.
"Whew—that's good."
Brimir nodded in satisfaction and then smiled.
"So when will this Five Elder be arriving? It's been almost an hou—"
Before he could finish, a wide space deliberately left open ahead suddenly erupted with a torrent of lightning.
At the same time, roaring flames blazed up from the floor, and intricate lines surfaced in a rush.
In the blink of an eye—and to everyone's astonishment—those lines formed a circular pentagram magic circle.
"Magic?"
Louise's face was full of surprise.
The next instant, with a flash of radiance, an elderly man appeared at the center of the pentagram—his face buried in a fluffy white beard, a black flat cap on his head, smartly dressed in a suit, both hands resting on a spiral-twisted wooden cane.
The three nearby—Columbus, Magellan, and Joseph—immediately lowered their heads to show respect.
"Saint Saturn!"
Brimir felt a wave of darkness surge straight toward him.
It was as if the figure before him were not a normal human being, but some extremely wicked creature of the dark—though he could not say what exactly.
The only word that came to mind was the demon of myth and legend.
But how could the supreme leader of the World Government be a demon?
From the memories Louise already possessed, the World Government, though overbearing in its conquest of the world, treated the people it ruled fairly well—enough to prove it was indeed a human power.
Now was not the time to dig into such questions.
Brimir braced himself and met Saint Jaygarcia Saturn's gaze head-on.
"You said you wished to see those of us in the upper echelon. This old man is here. Speak."
Saint Saturn had no desire to waste time; he cut straight to the point.
"First, allow me to offer my thanks. It is a great honor to be granted an audience with the Five Elders."
Brimir's manners were thoroughly aristocratic.
He then gave a brief and clear account of his past experiences.
Saint Saturn did not interrupt, listening patiently, though his eyes remained cold and condescending from beginning to end.
"So, in exchange for joining the World Government and serving it for life, I hope to obtain the World Government's aid—so that Sasha and I may be reborn and live the life we have longed for here on Starfish."
At the end, Brimir guided Louise's body to drop to one knee, head lowered, and stated his true purpose.
For Brimir himself, for the sake of himself and Sasha, something like dignity was worthless.
"On what basis can you guarantee that, after you are resurrected and regain your full strength, you will still keep your present promises and accept the World Government's orders?" Saint Jaygarcia Saturn asked, his voice cold.
"I am willing to sign a soul contract with the World Government."
"If you doubt the magical contract I can provide, you may supply the form of contract yourselves."
"So long as the terms pose no problem, I can accept any form of contract."
"Lastly—believe it or not—I swear on my own honor."
"So long as the World Government lets Sasha and me be reborn and grants us a normal living environment, I will gladly be the World Government's loyal hound and carry out any order!"
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn raised a brow.
"Any?"
"Yes!"
"Including ordering you to destroy a world and slaughter innumerable living beings?"
"Yes!"
Brimir's gaze was unwavering; his words were firm and forceful.
For Sasha's sake, he had long since steeled himself to fall into darkness.
Off to the side, the corner of Joseph's mouth twitched.
He felt that this "Founder of Magic" was even more ruthless than he was.
"In that case, wait for news."
...
To resurrect Brimir and sign a contract with him—naturally required Imu's consent.
After returning to Mary Geoise, Saint Saturn immediately reported the situation to Imu.
Imu pondered for a moment and decided to accept Brimir.
According to the "original" novel:
At his peak, Brimir's Void Magic could, in a single strike, annihilate most of the mountain ranges across the Sahara Desert, along with the elves. And that was the extent of the destruction he displayed even while being obstructed by his Void familiar—the first Gandalfr, Sasha.
Under normal circumstances, then, Brimir should have possessed the power to wipe out the entire range and every last elf.
Add to that his many other strange Void spells, and his overall strength was no less than that of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
With battle power like that, Imu had no reason to refuse.
All the more because Brimir is a love-above-all absolutist. For the sake of himself and Sasha, he endured more than six thousand years—remarkable by any measure.
So long as Sasha is resurrected and allowed to live peacefully on Starfish, that would become the strongest bond upon Brimir.
Seen this way, he is in fact easier to keep in hand than Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Before long, acting on Imu's order, the Five Elders began arranging the resurrection of Brimir and Sasha.
In truth, nothing about it was complicated.
They would proceed exactly as Brimir had said: bring together the "four of the four"—the four Void mages, the four Void familiars, and the four Void Secret Treasures. Then have Louise cast "Void Forbidden Spell: Life," and that would suffice.
At present, however, the Void familiars were not complete.
Hodolew, who had served as Tiffania's familiar, had already been executed on the gallows at Judicial Island. Thus Tiffania would need to summon another familiar from another world.
...
Zero Magic World.
On a barren floating isle near "Albion's Great Sky Island," the CP9 members led by Captain Laskey, together with the CP8 members led by Amatori Biba, stood guard off to one side, keeping watch on the four Void mages and the three Void familiars not far away.
Around the floating isle, four airborne warships drifted in silence, rows of gun muzzles already trained on the site.
"Everyone, I'll begin."
Fingers tightening around her wand, Tiffania let her gaze sweep across the six gathered nearby—Louise, Hiraga Saito, Joseph, Sheffield, Pope Vittorio, and Julio Chesaré.
"Mm."
Meeting Tiffania's limpid gaze, Hiraga Saito gave a firm nod. Having been through Impel Down, his fear of the World Government was carved into his bones. He desperately wanted everything that followed to go smoothly—then to beg the resurrected Brimir to intercede for them. Impel Down had told them that once this mission was complete, they would still have to return and continue serving their sentences. The thought was hard to bear.
But when he learned that Tabitha had been ransomed out of Impel Down by Joseph and placed under house arrest outside, hope rose at once. If Brimir was about to return to life, then he would be the strongest backing for him and Louise. They weren't asking for exoneration—only that they not be kept inside Impel Down.
Which meant they had to summon the final Void familiar.
So, even though his heart ached for Tiffania, Hiraga Saito could only offer her his encouragement.
"O sacred, beautiful, and mighty familiar, I summon you from the depths of my heart! Wherever you are at this moment, please answer my call and come to me!"
Tiffania swept her wand and spoke the incantation Louise had taught her.
In the next instant, as magic surged, a sphere of white light bloomed out of thin air before her.
Before the dazzling glow had fully faded, terrified cries suddenly rang in everyone's ears.
"Ugh—ah!! Aaaah!!!"
Then a blue-haired man clutching a longsword burst out, tears streaming from his eyes, panic written all over his face—as if something dreadful were chasing hard at his back.
At once, Hiraga Saito, Sheffield, and Julio stepped in front of their respective masters, bracing for a fight.
[Clang!]
Hiraga Saito drew in a flash, knocking the longsword from the man's hand.
Joseph followed with a casual flick, casting a Wind Rope spell that bound the stranger and finally forced him still.
"Calm down! Can you understand me?!"
Saito glanced at the man's chest beneath his black top. Sure enough—there, glowing, was a string of runes.
No mistake—this was the new familiar Tiffania had summoned!
But language stood in the way, and everyone instinctively turned to Louise.
"Ahem. I know what to do."
Louise knew her part; she swept her wand toward the man sitting on the ground.
[Boom!]
As expected, the man vanished in an instant roar of flame. Fortunately, the blast did little harm—he was merely thrown back 2–3 metres. At the same time, Joseph's Wind Rope binding unraveled at once.
"Ah—ow! Who are you people? And where is this? How did I…?"
The blue-haired man scrambled to his feet, seeming to regain some sense. He looked around at the surroundings and the faces before him. A moment ago it had been night—now, suddenly, it was day.
"Things on our side are complicated. Could you start by introducing yourself?"
"For example—your name, your profession or status, and which world you come from?"
As president of the Magic Association, Joseph stepped forward to ask without hesitation.
The blue-haired man drew a deep breath, pointed at the longsword on the ground, and said, "Could you return my sword first? As a swordsman, I don't feel the least bit safe without a blade in hand."
With Joseph's assent, Hiraga Saito picked up the longsword and tossed it back to the swordsman from another world.
"Then… my name is Brain Unglaus. I'm a mercenary of the Re-Estize Kingdom."
Brain looked them over, wary and uncertain. "Your turn. What exactly is going on here?"
Even so, one thing let him relax little by little: he no longer seemed in mortal danger—he had, at least, shaken off that terrifying monster from moments before.
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