Memory (3): The Demon God's Sudden Appearance
The Demon God had appeared out of nowhere. Why in the world was he here? None of it made any sense. I'd never encountered anything like the Demon God before. To begin with, wasn't he supposed to be a character from the game? No—even before the game. 'Wasn't he just a character the author created?' So why had that bastard shown up on Earth?
As I stood there panicking at the sudden development, the people around us began to react.
"What is that? Is that even a person?"
"Whoa. There's someone floating in the sky?!"
"This is insane. Is it some kind of magic? What the hell?"
They started snapping photos like crazy at the Demon God hovering overhead. I too found myself staring up at him, momentarily stunned into silence.
But in that instant—
"Disciple. Get behind me."
"Huh?"
"Quickly!"
Miroel spoke in a desperate tone. I immediately moved behind her. Just as she seemed about to do something—
"Eh?"
Contrary to what I expected, her face filled with alarm. She muttered in disbelief.
"There's no mana?"
"Ah."
So that was it. It wasn't that Earth lacked mana entirely. But Miroel was currently in a soul state. Being able to touch objects here and using mana were two entirely different matters.
-WHOOSH!
In a flash, an overwhelming surge of demonic energy erupted from the Demon God's body. It was so vast that I couldn't sense anything from it at all. Yet instinctively, I knew. This being was on a completely different level from anything I'd faced before.
The next moment—
-RUMBLE!
Magic formed from demonic energy activated around him. Every single attack shattered the surrounding buildings into pieces. People rotted and crumbled away without even realizing they were dead.
"Ugh!"
The only saving grace was that it didn't affect us. It didn't feel like the Demon God had chosen not to target us—more like someone else was interfering.
"Phew. That was close."
"Yes, I honestly thought I was going to die."
Miroel nodded vigorously in agreement with my words.
But it wasn't over.
-RUMBLE!
The atmosphere around him churned violently, as if signaling there was more to come. Then a demon appeared beside him.
I was inwardly horrified. And for good reason.
'Fuck. What the hell is this?'
The entity that had appeared before him was the final boss of the game—the Demon King.
Why were the Demon God and the Demon King—no, why were these demons here at all?!
The entire situation was beyond comprehension. If this was the trial I knew, did that mean I had experienced all of this before?
"Disciple. Just what kind of things have you been through?"
"Well... I don't really know myself."
"What?"
She stared at me with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn't understand what I was saying. I kept my eyes on the Demon King and Demon God floating in the sky and continued.
"I feel bad saying this, but this situation itself isn't in my memory at all."
"But... the trial is definitely created based on your memories, right? The other party members experienced the same thing. I'm certain of it."
"......"
The way she spoke with such conviction meant this had to be based on my memories. But the problem was, I genuinely had no recollection of it. After all, hadn't I been forcibly possessed a year ago?
"For now, like you said, Master, this might indeed be my memory. I remember this world clearly. But the issue is—"
"The issue is?"
"The demons up there in the sky... I'm seeing them for the first time."
"......"
She fell silent. It seemed she'd realized I wasn't lying.
But right then—
-Finally arrived!
-Kill them all!
-Kyaaaah!
The demons descending from above ignored us completely and began slaughtering the people.
'I have no idea what's going on anymore.'
The sudden appearance of the Demon God and Demon King, the demons descending from the sky—it was all too much.
"Disciple, we can't just stand here. Speculating about the situation is fine, but shouldn't we focus on overcoming this trauma first?"
"You're right... but how exactly are we supposed to clear it?"
If this were a trauma I actually remembered, I might have some idea. But this was something I'd never experienced before.
'No, before that—how do you even clear something like this?'
It wasn't about defeating the Demon King's generals. Nor was it about killing the Demon King himself. I had to face the Demon God floating in the sky and somehow deal with every single one of these demons.
'This is fucking impossible.'
Even if the legendary hero party from their prime had gathered, this would still be absolutely impossible.
'They definitely wouldn't give an impossible trial...'
I racked my brain, trying to figure out how to get through this.
"D-Disciple?"
Miroel tugged desperately at my sleeve. Wondering what was wrong, I turned to look at her. Her eyes were trembling as she stared up at the sky. I followed her gaze upward.
The next instant—
'What...?'
Azidahaka, his face shrouded in dark mist, turned his head in our direction. It was as if he could see us.
'Does it even make sense for him to be looking at us?'
This place wasn't reality. It was a space created from my memories. So how could he possibly see us?
"Azidahaka-nim?"
[Hmm. It seems something over there feels out of place.]
The Demon God continued staring at us intently. He'd been leisurely pondering, thinking we posed no threat whatsoever. But that was a mistake. He wasn't human like us—he was a god. He shouldn't have let his guard down.
"Disciple. Let's get as far away as possible for now."
"Huh?"
"If we stay here, he'll definitely notice us."
I nodded and grabbed Miroel's hand, breaking into a frantic run.
But at that moment—
[Hmm. As I thought, there appears to be something we cannot interfere with.]
The Demon God spoke as if something didn't sit right with him. Then he snapped his fingers. At the same time—
-WHOOSH!
A being that looked exactly like him appeared.
Miroel jumped in alarm.
"Be careful, Disciple! That's the Demon God's avatar!"
As expected from someone who'd fought the Demon God before, she instantly understood the situation.
Just to be sure, I observed the avatar with my Mind's Eye. The moment I did, I was stunned by its level.
'Insane. Level 90? What the hell...'
Even though it was merely an avatar, its level was 90. Just how powerful was the real Demon God?
I turned my Mind's Eye toward the Demon God himself.
Just how strong was he that even my Mind's Eye couldn't read his information? This had never happened before, and it sent chills down my spine.
[First, I should eliminate that irritating presence.]
The Demon God waved his hand. A system message flashed urgently in my vision.
WARNING! Protection Mode activating for the player!
It was a protection mode I'd never seen before. The system would never normally send such a message. But since this wasn't reality, it seemed the system was protecting us from the Demon God.
[It appears another god has interfered...]
The Demon God seemed to have noticed as well, his words trailing off. As I ran, I accidentally realized something from his statement.
'So the system is a god...'
It made sense. After all, it was the entity that had granted me impossible power. If the one who possessed me wasn't a god, none of this would have been possible.
[Tsk. It can't be helped. I'll have to deal with this myself.]
With those words, he began to move personally.
It was then that a system message appeared before him.
Due to the trial, Azidahaka's power is greatly reduced.
I felt his power drop sharply in an instant. Even so, his level was still 99.
'You say it's reduced, but he's practically max level...'
How was that even a reduction? At that point he was already a monster beyond comprehension.
[Phew. Now I can see the little rats.]
The Demon God let out a shallow sigh as he looked at us. Then he spoke, his gaze fixed on me and Miroel.
Shit. He began flying straight toward us. Fortunately, the system's interference made his movements far more sluggish than his level suggested. We could still escape, but we didn't have much time.
'What the hell is the strategy here?'
I thought desperately. Then one idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
'Now that I think about it, what is that author bastard doing?'
The person who had sent me a text right before I was possessed was none other than the author. If my guess was correct, he was the one who created the system. Which meant the author had to exist in this world as well.
'I'm not sure if this is right, but...'
Finding the author directly might be the way to clear this trial. With that thought, we ran toward the nearby company headquarters.