Chapter 2: False Summoning
Abaddon.
Abaddon was a monstrous creature from the bug army, the strongest and worst being recorded in history.
The brilliant human civilization led by Abaddon's insect army vanished into the darkness of history, and countless lives on this land became prey to the monsters and were mercilessly slaughtered.
It was truly a living catastrophe.
Humanity mobilized every possible means to fight the final battle.
After endless fighting, Abaddon was finally exterminated, and the army was destroyed.
So, the war against the monsters seemed to end in humanity's victory, but it was not the case.
Before the final battle, Abaddon had left behind countless eggs in preparation for defeat.
Yes.
One of Abaddon's descendants was hiding in this orphanage.
A new seed of disaster was growing, and no hunter could ignore this fact.
The discovered descendant would suffer fatal injury, and to survive, they were forced to perform the sacrificial ritual.
In the process, one of the siblings disappeared, and Tiss, whose body was stolen, turned into a monster and rampaged. This is the tutorial background story of Project Zion.
The hunter's arrival was already a predetermined event, so there was no way to stop it.
To survive, they had to somehow deal with the three hunters who would come.
Four days had passed since Siu and Sia, along with the new children, joined the orphanage.
Thanks to their unique affinity, the children had quickly adapted to the existing group.
The daily routine didn't need to be explained anymore; they roughly knew it.
"Well, children, it's snack time."
"What kind of snack is it today, teacher?"
"Today's snack is strawberry tart cake and yogurt."
"Waaaaah!"
The children cheered at the teacher's words.
The bathroom had hot water, and the beds were clean and fluffy.
From the fact that three meals a day were provided and snacks between them that even ordinary middle-class families couldn't afford were given daily, one could sense the ideal nature of this orphanage.
The children here, except for me, simply accepted the happiness given to them.
"Well, everyone, what should we do first, as promised with the teacher?"
"We have to wash our hands!"
"Yes. You know we have to wash them cleanly with soap for more than 30 seconds, right? Then, let's go to the bathroom in order."
"Yes!!"
They instilled the habit of washing hands before eating, and etiquette education to say thank you before eating.
"Since the teacher will be watching from the side, wash thoroughly."
Although all this had black intentions, it looked like a proper orphanage from the outside.
When the children who had finished eating were happily playing in the playroom, I quietly slipped out of the group and headed to the reading room.
"Tiss!"
Siu and Sia, who had already taken their seats, greeted me warmly.
Thanks to eating and sleeping well for a few days, the appearance of a wounded little animal from when we first met had somewhat disappeared.
"What are you reading?"
"It's a book about abilities that you recommended. At first, I thought it would be boring, but it was surprisingly fun."
"Me too, I'm reading the hunter uncle's fairy tale book that Tiss-unnie told me. This hunter uncle is amazing! He's a real hero!"
Siu was reading the basic theory book on abilities, and Sia was reading a fairy tale book containing the story of a famous hunter.
Thanks to me trying to get close first, the distance between the protagonist siblings and me became quite close in just a few days.
"Can I become like this hunter uncle too? I want to manipulate water, fire, wind freely and save people. It must be cool! Hehe."
Siu, having a younger sister in the guardian family, mainly searched for books related to abilities or becoming stronger, and Sia, as a child with a righteous heart, searched for books about hunters and heroes.
"If you want, anything can happen."
"Really? Really?"
"Yes, really."
I can guarantee that much.
"Hehehe!"
After smiling at the two, I went to the bookshelf and pulled out one book.
Hmm.
Sia, who had briefly glanced at the densely written history book I was reading, frowned slightly.
"Sion's... history? Tiss-unnie, is that thick book fun?"
"Yes, it's fun to confirm that what I know is true."
"Uung... It could be."
I visited the library for a while and confirmed whether the knowledge I knew matched the one here.
It was a gamble, but if what I knew was correct, it might save the two siblings.
That was to become the host before one of the protagonist siblings was taken away.
It was a method that might not be possible in the game, but since it became reality, it might be possible.
And this was the reason I was agonizing over now.
This game was never easy.
Even if the player character grew by making normal choices, it would be fortunate if they could see a normal ending.
One mistake could snowball and become impossible to fix.
Then, what if there were two protagonists?
A much safer future than the original game would be guaranteed.
In exchange, I, who became the host, might face a terrible ending like other characters entangled with monsters.
For immediate survival, sacrificing the two would be right, but I knew that even knowing the game's story, the rational and selfish choice wasn't always the best.
Not becoming a monster through wrong consciousness, but becoming the host of disaster through proper consciousness.
This was the method with the highest possibility of survival among what I could do now.
Haam.
"Oppa... I'm sleepy."
"Then, shall we go to the bed room?"
"Uung... No. Just, I want to stay here. Just close my eyes for a moment."
"Okay, since I'm next to you and Tiss, sleep comfortably."
"Yes... Thank you."
Sia burrowed into Siu's arms and soon fell asleep.
Siu gently patted Sia's back while singing a lullaby.
"I don't know if I can do it... I don't know."
"I don't know what it is, but if it's you, you can do anything."
"Thank you."
My awkward smile was all I could do in response to Siu's reaction, as if trusting me.
Seuk... Seuk...
After a long time of deep thought, an adorable voice suddenly rang out, and I turned my head to see that Siu and Sia were also asleep.
Even protagonists are just kids, after all.
Since the body required sleep, there was nothing to be done.
I quietly approached the two, made a knee pillow for Sia, and had Siu lean towards me as well.
"...Tiss?"
Siu, who had woken up slightly from sleep at my movement, looked at me.
"If you sleep like that, your neck will hurt. Come here and lie down comfortably."
"Yes... Thank you."
Siu, who was half-asleep, leaned comfortably on me, unlike his usual shy self.
"Meeting you, Tiss... I'm glad."
With those words, Siu fell asleep again.
As I gently stroked the heads of the two siblings, they showed faint smiles, as if feeling good.
"What choice should I make."
Only after the two children fell asleep could I finally speak those words.
"You were here! Lately, the three of you are always together? You've become close."
The teacher came over to me, saying he came looking for them since they weren't visible.
"Um, teacher."
My body reacted first.
It was an impulsive movement, but in the end, this was my choice.
"What's the matter?"
The teacher bent his knees to face me and asked.
It was not for any other reason.
I was saving them to survive.
I was becoming the host of the disaster.
It had to be.
Thinking that way, my heart felt at ease.
From now on, I would become Tiss, the sacrifice chosen by the disaster, not Tiss from the orphanage.
"Um... Since a few days ago, I've been hearing strange sounds."
"Strange sounds?"
The teacher, thinking it was just a child's tantrum, didn't seem particularly interested.
"Someone keeps talking in my head."
Voice?
After chewing on the words, I drove a stake into the teacher's mind, who was trying to understand what sound I was making.
"A fluffy thing that looks like a super big white ball keeps calling me, saying to stop bothering him and come to him."
At those words, a light appeared in the teacher's eyes.
Only one person here could do such a thing and convey their voice to others.
The teacher, suppressing his surging expectation, asked me in a calm tone.
"Can you tell me more in detail?"
Yes, if it's the teacher, I should tell.
So it would be delivered well above.
"He's been pushing me to come to him right now and say that he's finally found me. I don't know what's going on. I'm, I'm scared."
With a frightened face, I pretended to check the situation, and the teacher's mouth hung on my words.
He approached me with a bright smile and stroked my head.
There was an indescribable joy in his attitude as he comforted me, saying I didn't need to be afraid.
Fortunately, the Abaddon's descendant here seemed to be the one I knew.
I was led by the teacher without even eating the snack and left the classroom.
"Teacher, what about Tiss?"
"Tiss will be back after a short errand. Siu and Sia, go back to the classroom first."
Upon hearing that, most children turned their attention elsewhere, thinking "oh, okay", but Siu and Sia looked at me with worried eyes.