"Mind if I test my skills?"
Snow Empress sized up Artoria, a spark of battle lust in her eyes. "Is that alright, Damien?"
She had few hobbies, but one was sparring with strong opponents.
Not the brute-force types like Iskandar or Gilgamesh, but those skilled in swordsmanship, spearmanship, or martial arts.
Without a doubt, Artoria and Lancer were exactly the kind of opponents Snow Empress craved.
"Bo-nehm?"
Ogerpon was a bit confused.
She had only come to back Snow Empress up.
Why was there suddenly a fight?
What should she do now... join Snow Empress in taking them on?
"..."
Damien gave Snow Empress a wry smile. "You're making it sound like I single-handedly took on the entire Holy Grail War."
Defeating Caster, subduing Berserker, and dealing with Iskandar.
Next, challenging Gilgamesh.
If Snow Empress took on both Saber and Lancer, Damien could truly say he'd steamrolled the Holy Grail War.
"So, is it okay?"
"Do as you please."
Damien waved dismissively, then patted Ogerpon's head to snap her out of her daze.
He had full confidence in Snow Empress.
In terms of martial prowess, her 700,000 years of refinement weren't just for show.
That was her initial state.
After becoming Damien's bonded martial soul, Snow Empress gained the unique skill Sword Saint.
Sword Saint didn't just mean mastery of swords.
It represented the pinnacle of martial arts, the ultimate realm of technique.
Not to mention this Diarmuid and Artoria... even the endlessly trained their version wouldn't stand a chance against Snow Empress's current skill.
Meanwhile, Damien returned to Ryudou Temple with Ogerpon.
"Big Damien-nii~~"
The moment he arrived, Sakura anxiously rushed into his arms. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"Don't worry, Sakura."
"I'm fine. Iskandar was no match for me."
Damien had left twenty kijin at Ryudou Temple. With Gilgamesh and the other Heroic Spirits present, he wasn't worried about Assassin's sneak attacks.
Hassan of the Hundred Faces lacked the ability to breach the kijin's defenses and harm Sakura.
"You saw it, didn't you?"
Damien's battle with Iskandar had been projected to Sakura and the kijin here.
"Mm!"
Sakura said, "Onii-san is amazing, and everyone else is super, super amazing!"
At five or six years old, the little girl didn't know fancy compliments.
"Amazing" and "super amazing" were her highest praise.
"Of course, I'm the one who's going to dominate the Holy Grail War."
Damien scooped Sakura up and headed to his room.
He didn't set her down, letting her play in his arms while he focused inward, sensing the new power gained from Iskandar.
Reality Marble.
Damien was filled with anticipation. "Let's see how much of a surprise you can bring me."
"Violet!"
[Here.]
"The essence of the Reality Marble... have you analyzed it?"
[Fully analyzed.]
Violet reported her findings to Damien. "I've integrated this power into your Spirit Space, linking it with the Gate of the Void."
"And the result?"
"I've successfully bypassed the rule barriers between the Cardinal World and other worlds."
Violet's news resolved one of Damien's biggest headaches.
Previously, he couldn't bring beings from other worlds to the Cardinal World, except through familiar contracts.
Likewise, non-familiar beings from the Cardinal World couldn't enter other worlds.
But now, things were different.
The Reality Marble, analyzed from Iskandar, became a privileged channel bypassing these restrictions.
If different worlds were islands, Damien's Reality Marble was a stealth ship that could deceive any world's defenses.
Take Sakura, for example.
If Damien placed her in his Reality Marble before crossing, he could bring her to the Cardinal World.
"Can I take Sakura out?"
"Yes."
"Theoretically, the Cardinal World's purity is so high that Sakura's physical condition would be crushed by its gravity alone."
"Theoretically?"
"Indeed."
Violet's voice carried a hint of pride. "There's a lot of room to maneuver here."
Violet wasn't the Cardinal World's sole will.
But just as she'd bent the rules for Damien's naming, she could issue an "identity pass" for outsiders like Sakura.
"What kind of pass?"
"A reincarnator!"
"Hoho!"
Damien teased, "Nice one, Violet, playing it like that?"
Being recognized as a reincarnator by the Cardinal World meant a lot, no explanation needed.
The Voice of the World would grant Sakura Magicule based on her soul's quality.
With some luck, she might even gain a unique skill.
"In that case, couldn't I bring a whole group back and get a ton of unique skills?"
"Not that simple."
Violet doused his enthusiasm. "Not everyone can withstand Magicule transformation."
"If their soul quality is lacking, forget unique skills... they might not even survive."
Thus, if Damien wanted to bring others back, he'd need to choose those with sufficient qualifications.
Here, qualifications didn't mean talent or strength but their "weight" in their own world.
"Weight?"
"Think of it as a character's importance."
"Like protagonists, supporting characters, villains, sidekicks, or extras?"
Damien felt this resembled the concept of "children of destiny" in some novels.
"Exactly."
Violet said, "The Cardinal World will grant Sakura gifts from the Nasuverse based on her weight."
In other words, it was like diplomatic relations between nations.
The Nasuverse sent Sakura as a guest to the Cardinal World, which would offer hospitality matching her status.
This was the benchmark for how much those Damien smuggled could gain in the Cardinal World.
The more important the character, the more favor they'd receive from the Voice of the World.
In a way, acquiring talent was a form of rule-plundering for the Cardinal World.
Violet had used this logic to convince the Cardinal World.
After all, who'd refuse free benefits?
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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