Memories (4)
I had already decided where to go. Without hesitation, we sprinted straight toward our destination. Under normal circumstances, running like this without any interference would have been impossible. After all, every direction was swarming with demons. But fortunately, only the Demon God could see us. Not a single other demon in the area was capable of perceiving us. Of course, that wasn't exactly a good thing either.
'Insane. Is that monster really weakened?'
The system had definitely slowed the creature's movements. Yet even so, it was chasing us at an unbelievable speed.
'I put so much distance between us. What the hell.'
That was when Miroel, running beside me, spoke up while glancing back at the Demon God.
“For some reason, the Demon God’s movements have become incredibly sluggish.”
I asked her a question in return.
“Has it been significantly weakened?”
“Yes. It’s nowhere near as strong as when I fought it before.”
“······.”
Coming from Miroel, who had actually battled the Demon God in the past, those words carried real weight. She wouldn’t be wrong.
“Hmm. By the way, doesn’t something feel off to you, disciple?”
“Pardon?”
“This world was created based on your memories.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then how is the Demon God able to see us? In a sense, this is basically a mental realm.”
“······.”
In truth, I had been thinking the exact same thing. No matter how much of a god it was, how could it possibly perceive us here?
'Or is this actually reality or something?'
If this place really was reality, the situation was downright terrifying. There was a very real chance I could die at the Demon God’s hands.
“Disciple! That building looks strange!”
Miroel suddenly pointed at one particular structure. I followed her gaze. Unlike the other buildings that had been smashed to pieces, this one stood completely intact. It was none other than the company I used to work for.
'So that really is the answer.'
We immediately rushed inside. Naturally, I had expected the place to be packed with people. But what we found was completely different.
'What?'
There wasn’t a single person inside. Not even the faintest trace of human presence.
'What is this?'
It was one thing for there to be no people. But the complete absence of demons? That didn’t make any sense.
'They’re literally everywhere outside. Why is this place the only one empty?'
Just as that question crossed my mind, a spine-chilling voice echoed from behind us.
I slowly turned my head. The Demon God was standing there, looking around the building.
Right now, its attention was fixed on the building rather than on us. If there was ever a moment to create an opening, this was it.
'Hoo. I was saving this as a last resort, but I guess I have no choice.'
I pulled the Soul Necklace I had received yesterday out of my subspace ring. At the same time, I quickly handed it to Miroel.
“Master, please put this on.”
Miroel’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Isn’t this the one you received from the Patrick family yesterday?”
“Yes. If you wear it around your neck, you should be able to temporarily return to your original body.”
At those words, Miroel flinched violently. It seemed she hadn’t expected the necklace to have such an ability.
“Mmm. Normally I would refuse, but given the situation, I’ll accept it.”
With that, she slipped the necklace over her head. The next instant—
The First Hero Miroel manifests through the Soul Necklace.
A vast surge of mana erupted from Miroel’s body beside me. The Demon God, which had been scanning the surroundings, slowly turned its head in our direction.
The Demon God let out a sound of admiration as it looked at Miroel. Then it continued.
“Hmph. I don’t feel particularly happy being praised by you.”
Miroel shot back without missing a beat. She slowly turned her head toward me and spoke.
“Disciple. In my estimation, I won’t be able to maintain this state for very long. So please hurry. I’ll hold it off here.”
“Understood.”
With those words, I broke into a sprint. But at that moment—
The Demon God released a wave of demonic energy, preparing to attack me. However—
Miroel stepped in front of me and unleashed a barrage of attacks at the Demon God. The creature was forced to retreat rapidly.
“Are you really taking your eyes off me when I’m standing right in front of you?”
With that thought, the two of them kicked off the ground at the same time.
As she faced the Demon God head-on, Miroel thought to herself. Was this truly the same monster she had known?
The conclusion came quickly.
'It’s definitely the same bastard.'
Why had the Demon God appeared inside Baran’s memories? And more importantly, what was this building? Under normal circumstances, it should have been obliterated long ago. Yet not only had it survived—it remained completely untouched.
The Demon God had closed the distance in an instant and swung its sword at her. Miroel used high-speed movement to barely dodge the strike.
“I already told you I don’t want to hear that from you.”
“Well, I do know you. But even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
“······.”
Miroel’s eyes narrowed slightly at those words.
'My face isn’t visible to that thing?'
Now that she thought about it, it made sense. All the intelligent beings here were human. And earlier, hadn’t it said she was the strongest among the ‘humans’ it had seen?
“There’s no need for me to reveal my identity.”
“?”
It was true. Setting the building aside, Baran’s behavior had also been strange. He had acted as if he knew this place well.
“Another god interfered?”
“······.”
What it said was true. The Demon God she remembered was not this weak. Realistically speaking, it was not an opponent she could face alone. Even in her prime, she had only managed to seal it by combining her power with her party members. So how was she able to hold it off by herself now?
At this point, she was beginning to question whether this place was truly inside her disciple’s memories.
“That short while is more than enough.”
“That’s how I see it.”
She too had experience clearing trials. There was no way her own disciple would fail to overcome one. Therefore, her role right now was to prevent the Demon God from interfering with Baran.
“I will make sure you never reach my disciple.”
I searched the building from top to bottom in search of the author.
“Haa. Haa. Where the hell are you?”
No matter how thoroughly I looked, the author was nowhere to be found. According to my reasoning, they had to be in this building. Yet for some reason, there was no sign of them at all.
“Hoo, this is annoying. Why won’t Mind's Eye activate?”
Ever since entering this building, all my traits had been heavily restricted. On top of that, my physical abilities had also been reduced.
“This isn’t the time to complain. Let’s think logically.”
One thing was certain—there had to be a way to clear this place. Otherwise, there would be no reason for only this building to remain intact while everything else was destroyed.
The problem was that no matter how much I searched, the author was nowhere to be seen. At this point, I was starting to suspect the author had deliberately set up a red herring.
'Let’s see… where haven’t I checked yet?'
I thought back carefully. The only place I hadn’t visited yet was the very spot where my possession had begun.
'Let’s go take a look.'
With a faint hope, I ran there as fast as I could. The place I arrived at was none other than the office I used to work in.
'This is it. I’m sure of it.'
I hadn’t opened the door yet, but somehow I knew. The author I had been searching for so desperately was right beyond this door.
“Hoo. Let’s meet once and for all.”
With that thought, I opened the door. A woman with pure white hair stood with her back to me. At the same time—
-WHOOOOSH!
Light burst forth from her body, and then—
Congratulations! The player has successfully cleared the second trial!
The player has been granted the first awakening skill of the Divine Archer class!
Normally, I should have been overjoyed. But given the current situation, I couldn’t feel any happiness. If things continued like this, I wouldn’t even be able to ask a proper question.
Just as I tried to resist the oncoming light—
The moment those words ended, a message appeared before my eyes. I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“You damn author bitch! If you ever show up in front of me again, I’ll smash your skull open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
With those final words, my vision went completely dark.