SWNOVELXO Chapter 69: Chapter 069 - Birth Universal Bulin
Nightfall in Terra Aeterna.
The main naval port of the shipgirls was aglow with bright lights from the grand base. At the majestic dock, a white-silver warship lay gracefully anchored, her hull shimmering under the moonlight.
A celebration was held that night, marking the success of their first expedition—and also as an opportunity to sample various signature dishes brought by Ninghai and Pinghai from the world of Demon Slayer.
Almost all shipgirls from around the port gathered in Richelieu's banquet hall. This grand party wasn't attended by shipgirls alone, but also familiar faces from other universes: Jill, Alice, Ada Wong, Claire, and even Angie.
The grand vessel was indeed perfect for a large-scale celebration. Its interior was adorned with a charming classical touch—silvery-white walls combined with golden patterns and 17th-century French decorations, making the space feel as though one were inside the Palace of Fontainebleau.
Richelieu herself looked stunning. An elegantly cut evening gown wrapped around her slender figure, exuding the refined grace of a noblewoman. She welcomed her guests with a warm smile and gentle nods.
Hundreds of shipgirls gathered in groups, joking and laughing with Bulin. Angie could be seen playing with a few Bulins while holding a glass of juice, while the destroyer girls cheered with glasses of soda in hand. On the other side, carriers and battleships stood with elegance, holding champagne or red wine, engaging in lively conversation with the women from the Resident Evil universe.
Long tables were filled with luxurious dishes from across the world. Alaskan king crab, Iberian ham, bluefin tuna, and Alba white truffles filled the air with a tantalizing aroma.
Interestingly, such extravagant ingredients were not part of any official contributions from other nations in the Demon Slayer universe. Most were purchased privately, and some... were donated voluntarily as a sign of respect.
Having the entire world as a resource was truly extraordinary. Not only did it guarantee the production of strategic materials like coal and steel, but it also opened the door to unimaginable luxuries.
"DON'T steal my crab!!"
A few little shipgirls cried out as they ran around the dining tables, their cheeks bulging with food. Angie laughed along, running with them, savoring this rare moment.
Food, for shipgirls, was essentially fuel. But tonight, they didn't mind—because enjoying delicious food was also part of their quality of life.
Since joining the Vanguard Fleet, there had never been a party this grand on any Earth they had known.
At the far end of the hall, Kanae's sisters looked somewhat stiff. But their nervousness slowly faded when a group of destroyers and submarines approached them with uncontainable excitement.
"Wanna go fishing later? Sharks in the Mediterranean are amazing when fried—they're dumb and there's a lot of them…"
"Or want to dive with us? Maybe we'll catch a giant squid or jellyfish…"
"Or… I could take you to heaven? My jetpack still has room for one more."
Kanae, Shinobu, and Kanao could only freeze, staring at the hardcore shipgirls whose energy was nearly overwhelming. Were... these loli girls really that intense?
"You... call him Commander?"
The butterfly ninja—Shinobu—suddenly realized the shipgirls were calling Reuel by a rather different title than she was used to.
"Uh-huh. You can call him that too," Ayanami replied flatly.
"'Cause if you keep saying 'Master Reuel', it sounds kinda weird."
"…Does it?"
It didn't take long before their group agreed to start addressing Reuel differently—more in tune with the new universe they had entered.
"The shipgirls do call him Commander."
"But the red-robed folks with skull ornaments usually call him the Omnissiah, while the soldiers refer to him as His Majesty the Emperor, or the Emperor of Mankind."
"Who are they?"
"Hmm… the red-robed ones are usually called Adeptus Mechanicus. The green-uniformed ones, active duty forces here, are the Imperial Guard. As for the religious ones… there are many. Like the Adepta Sororitas and the Ecclesiarchy. They're the church within the civilization of the Imperium of Man."
With a calm yet authoritative tone, a loli shipgirl explained the power structure and factions of the Imperium of Man to the women from the Demon Slayer universe. The explanation flowed like a history teacher detailing a complex chapter—only this wasn't ordinary history, but the brutal and intricate future of humanity.
---
Elsewhere.
In a quieter corner of the banquet hall, the mood was a little different.
Reuel stood alone, trying to maintain his composure despite the obvious tension—the women from the Resident Evil universe were still giving him the cold shoulder. Jill's frosty gaze, Alice's faint smile that had vanished, and the blank expressions from Ada Wong and Claire told him all he needed to know... he was definitely in trouble.
He tried to explain—apologizing for the lack of time spent with them and promising he'd visit again soon. He even expressed his intention: once the Imperial Palace was completed, he wanted to bring them to live there with him.
Eventually, the women began to understand. They weren't upset because they were forgotten... but because Reuel was surrounded by far too many loli shipgirls.
That night, Reuel chose solitude. He stood on the ship's deck, gazing at the dark sea shimmering under the moonlight and the reflected lights of the dock.
"You're here, Commander. Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink?"
A soft, calm voice greeted him. Richelieu approached, wearing a gown layered in gold and white, making her look like a goddess from the classical age. Her blonde hair flowed gently, shimmering like silk, cascading elegantly over her shoulders.
She looked relaxed, sitting beside Reuel while swirling a glass of red wine.
Her face was graceful, her eyes as calm as the ocean, and her smile... enough to make anyone forget how to breathe.
"I thought you were only interested in work and prayer," said Reuel with a tired smile.
"Even I need to unwind once in a while," Richelieu replied lightly.
"Even the most devout believers can't live on faith alone. We also need... food and drink."
She sipped her wine elegantly.
"Château Latour, Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon. Ten years old."
"Ninghai and Pinghai really know how to pick."
"You're honestly like a French noblewoman. I can't even tell the difference," Reuel muttered with a quiet chuckle.
As the carrier and cardinal of Free Iris, Richelieu indeed carried an undeniable air of leadership and elegance. She knew when to be gentle, and when to be firm.
"Commander," she said, turning to him. "The demon issue in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe seems to be resolved. The rest can be handled by Ninghai and Pinghai."
"So... what's your next plan?"
Reuel fell silent for a moment, then answered in a serious tone:
"The next step... I'm going to seek population—as much as possible. Now that we have two additional universes, we'll begin the military invasion phase."
As his chief secretary, Richelieu understood this was no small talk. This was grand strategy—the shaping of civilization. Reuel slid the superdimensional starmap screen, revealing several target universes:
"Fate Series, Date A Live, Honkai Impact, Avatar, Highschool of the Dead, Lin Cage, ?????..."
"True magic is starting to emerge in these worlds. This isn't trickery like what Muzan pulled—but power that can destroy cities, nations... even planets."
"I have to fully develop the Imperium of Man before daring to enter them. Their power systems are totally different. These are magical civilizations."
Richelieu listened intently.
"Date A Live has spirits that can devastate entire regions. Honkai is a reality-level catastrophe. Fate Series? A world full of mythical entities, magical contracts, and god-tier artifacts."
"The shipgirls have never dealt with serious magic. But the Warhammer forces... they have psykers."
"Psykers..." Reuel looked at the screen. "Brutal mental powers, directly connected to the Warp—a dimension of chaos. They can teleport, burn souls, see the future... but the risk is opening gateways to demons or total destruction."
"Then there's The Force, a spiritual power sourced from the balance of life. Not based on spells or symbols. It's a way of living. An energy that can shape the universe... or destroy it."
"And magic... true magic... is reality manipulation through rules, symbolism, and sacrifice. It can be inherited, taught, or stolen. But in the end... magic isn't part of the body. It's an external tool."
"But the greater the risk... the greater the opportunity."
Reuel looked at Richelieu.
"Because I'm compatible with many power systems, I have to explore every world. Not just to conquer... but to develop civilization."
"But first... we need population. We need manpower."
Richelieu was silent. She rested her chin on one hand, while the other reached out to fix the collar of Reuel's cloak.
"Sounds incredibly dangerous."
"But... Commander," she said softly. "Wherever you go, even to the ends of the world... I'll bring you victory."
Reuel nodded, sincerely.
"Thank you."
Their eyes met for a moment. Under the glow of the lights, Richelieu looked so enchanting—that Reuel, without thinking, said:
"You look beautiful tonight."
Richelieu paused for a second... then chuckled softly, warm yet teasing.
"What's this, Commander? Are you complimenting me... or trying something?"
"I'm not so easily won over, you know. Remember to bring roses and more red wine next time. That kind of nonsense needs a little sincerity."
With playful confidence, Richelieu poked Reuel's face with her index finger. She fixed a stray strand of his hair, then stood and walked toward the balcony, wanting to breathe in the night air.
Reuel could only stare at her graceful back.
"Shit... I think I just got manipulated by my own big sister."
He took a deep breath.
"Looks like... conquering Richelieu's heart might be the toughest mission yet."
---
After receiving immeasurable resources from various worlds and planets…
The construction of Terra Aeterna's capital, particularly the massive Imperial Palace project, accelerated drastically. Across the central zone, heavy machinery moved nonstop. Towering structures rose by the day, powered by advanced technologies from countless civilizations.
Not only that—some shipgirls began modifying their hulls, replacing old components with next-generation energy weapons far superior in performance. Defense systems that once relied on ballistic weapons were slowly being replaced by particle beams, railguns, and even plasma-based arms.
The Mind Cube project—previously stalled due to material limitations—had now resumed production.
A few days later, at the base's main dock.
Reuel stood beside the shipyard. With him were several shipgirl engineers, Akashi, and a tall figure draped in red robes—Tech-Priest Belisarius Cawl, one of the most important figures from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Lined up below them on the dock's surface were ten unarmed transport ships, each about a hundred meters long. All shared a similar design—plain hulls equipped with modular maintenance facilities, ready to be converted into combat or logistics vessels.
Akashi carefully opened a black case. Inside were ten light-blue Mind Cubes, each emitting a gentle glow.
"Commander~~, this is the first batch of Rubik's Cube—uh, I mean, Mind Cubes we successfully made nya~~," said Akashi in her usual half-casual tone. "Use these to give consciousness to the empty ships and turn them into shipgirls nya~~."
"And don't go swallowing one again like last time, meow."
Cawl grinned stiffly. His voice echoed coldly from his vocoder.
"Flesh-being, you have failed to show proper reverence to the Omnissiah. Behavioral adjustment is advised."
Akashi simply shrugged. She'd argued with the Mechanicus too many times—and today wasn't the day.
Reuel took the Mind Cube case and raised one in his right hand.
The moment he touched its surface, he could feel the mysterious power pulsing within—a form of unknown energy that felt... alive.
The internal structure of the Mind Cube remained a complete mystery. Akashi could only replicate its production process on a macro scale. Even for the Adeptus Mechanicus, this artifact was black-box technology—unexaminable, only worshipped.
When asked about how it worked, Akashi had simply shrugged and said, "I just followed the old mold."
No one truly knew how a Mind Cube generated consciousness, or how it interacted with a ship's body and human soul. What was certain: the result was real.
"Hmm... I wonder if this Rubik's Cube could be used in a Gundam," Reuel murmured. "We have Assault on Freedom, Unicorn, Barbatos... but they're still empty."
He turned to Akashi, eyes already brimming with dangerous ideas.
"In theory, it's possible nya~~," Akashi replied, scratching her ear. "But in terms of combat effectiveness... mecha girls aren't as flexible as shipgirls, meow."
"And Gundams weren't designed for organics. If you seriously want to make mecha girls, you'll have to redesign everything from the inside. Engines, reaction chambers, power cores—everything nya~~."
Reuel paused to think.
"Alright. I'll try summoning Bulin later."
Meanwhile, Cawl stepped forward.
"Verification: this entity's statement is accurate. Mind Cubes—sacred artifacts of the past—are more compatible with the core systems of a Gloriana-class Battleship. Maximum efficiency, and in alignment with the Machine God's will."
Reuel gave a small smile, then raised the Mind Cube above his head. He closed his eyes, synchronizing his consciousness with the artifact.
In an instant, he felt a direct connection—as if his awareness was pulled into a sea of code and light. A surge of energy flowed from the cube into one of the empty ship hulls below.
Swish—
The Mind Cube glowed brightly. Alongside the ship's body, the light shot into the air, spun, and began to change form.
Several silent minutes passed. Then...
A shipgirl landed on the surface of the water.
Her hair was short and pearl-white, and she wore a short skirt with a heavy-duty utility belt. In her hand—a massive wrench, nearly the size of her body, trailing a cable tail resembling a charging plug.
Her face was plain but full of life, like a young engineer fresh out of the academy, with big eyes full of curiosity.
"Ah, so this is how silicon-based life is born?" Cawl remarked, voice filled with mechanical awe.
"Strikingly similar to the Breast Orks—wild biotech species with… eccentric body designs."
Reuel sighed.
"Please don't compare shipgirls to Orks..."
"Order acknowledged. May Your will flow through our circuits, O Omnissiah," Cawl intoned solemnly, his voice echoing through his cold vocal modulator.
When Universal Bulin opened her eyes and saw Reuel, her expression instantly lit up.
"Bulin! Commander! I can send your fleets anywhere, Bulin~~!"
Without hesitation, Bulin leapt toward Reuel and tackled him with an enthusiastic hug. Though it was their first meeting, she clung to him like a magnet—rubbing against Reuel with intense affection.
Bzzzzt—
A strange little buzzing noise came from Reuel, who instinctively wore an expression halfway between a confused cat and an annoyed tiger.
Not long after, several other Universal Bulins were summoned.
Ten purple Bulins stood side by side, appearing like perfect copies of one another. The only difference was the number printed on the badges on their chests. Their ridiculous hair, work uniforms, and innocent faces were completely identical.
"Wow..."
Everyone present watched them in fascination. Not just because the transformation process was so fast, but also because the results—the Bulins—looked alive, ready to work, and... far too cute to ignore.
"Commander, your adaptation to the Mind Cube seems incredible," said Yukikaze, jaw dropping. "When we summon Bulins, the process is way harder than this..."
Some of the other shipgirls nodded in agreement.
"But why were only ten Mind Cubes ordered?" one of them asked.
Reuel smiled and shrugged.
"I still have a few ideas..."
"Didn't I tell you to make 20,000 Bulins? Just ten obviously isn't enough."
"Meow?! Commander!" Akashi jumped in panic.
"The Mind Cube creation process is extremely complicated! You want me to make 20,000 Cubes alone, meow?! That's the same as squeezing every small shipgirl dry! Nyaaa~!"
"Being able to make ten is already a huge achievement, you know?! The rest... will take at least a year. No—two and a half years! Nya~!"
"And these oil cans don't help at all! As soon as they finish making one Mind Cube, they drop to their knees and start worshipping it while singing ancient litanies!"
"It takes too damn long! Nyaaaa~~~!"
Cawl immediately cut in, his tone flat but loaded with judgment.
"Your behavior is unworthy, organic entities. You stand before the manifestation of the Omnissiah's will. These sacred artifacts must not be defiled by your soft, uncalloused hands."
"Nya~ says the walking scrapheap!!" Akashi snapped back, glaring.
And, as usual... the two of them started fighting again.
Reuel decided to ignore both of them and turned his attention to the freshly summoned Universal Bulins.
"Can you make Mind Cubes yourselves?"
"Bulin?" one of them tilted her head.
"Not yet... but if someone teaches us, Bulin can definitely learn!" she said, clenching her fist with determined energy.
Cawl spoke again, this time with a tone that was almost... religious.
"Oh Omnissiah, manifestation of binary wisdom... this silicon entity's declaration has undergone verification. We, Magi of the Iron Liturgy, swear upon our steel frames that its resemblance to the xeno-genus 'Ork' cannot be ignored."
Reuel smiled.
"Good. Akashi, Cawl—from now on, teach the Bulins how to make Mind Cubes."
He patted the Bulin beside him on the head.
"After that, let Bulin make new Bulins. Then let those new Bulins learn to make Mind Cubes from the previous ones. And keep repeating that process."
"...???"
Akashi and the other shipgirls instantly froze.
"Commander... did you just twist your own tongue in a loop?!"
"No, no, no. You need to change the way you think."
Reuel began explaining.
"Look. If ten Bulins are made in five days, and then they produce ten more in the next five days, that makes 20."
"Then 20 Bulins make more Mind Cubes. Five days later, it becomes 40. Then 80. Then 160. Then 320... and it just keeps doubling."
"As long as we have enough resources, we can produce Bulins at an exponential rate."
He stared toward the horizon as if already envisioning that future.
"Excess Universal Bulins can be deployed to various planets and other worlds to mine resources, accelerate the construction of the Imperial Palace, and expand territorial control."
"Just imagine... if 10 Bulins create 10 more every five days, and we have 365 days in a year…"
He paused, quickly doing mental math.
"365 divided by 5 is 73 production cycles. Two to the 73rd power... that's 9,442,000,000,000,000,000,000."
"Then multiply by 10... and you get about 94 sextillion Bulins."
Silence.
Everyone around him froze.
Even Cawl stopped arguing, while Akashi looked like she'd been struck by lightning.
"..."
"Commander... you've just created the most dangerous mass replication plan ever devised…"
By now, Reuel had control of three major universes: Demon Slayer, Resident Evil (film version), and Azur Lane—along with the planets orbiting them. The resources harvested from these universes became a solid foundation for building a large-scale Universal Bulin production system.
"According to optimistic estimates," Akashi said, pointing to the logistics projection screen, "without interfering with other ongoing construction, even 20,000 isn't a problem—we could produce a billion Bulins in half a year."
Reuel no