The Price of Treason
"Split it in half!"
A blonde woman stepped forward, a scythe that radiated a dark, ominous light gripped in her hand.
Annas felt a sudden, chilling dread pool in her stomach. She opened her mouth to ask what was happening, but before she could utter a word—
Slash!
"…Huh?"
A sharp, clean sound echoed through the chamber. In that exact instant, Annas felt a sensation like a thread snapping deep inside her.
Then, her vision began to tilt.
The image of Seton standing before her suddenly rushed upward, replaced by the cold stone floor rushing toward her face.
A wave of profound confusion washed over her, and her consciousness began to slip away into the dark.
W-what…? No… this can't be… I can't… I can't die like this…
Trapped in a spiral of sheer despair, Annas's head rolled onto the floor.
Yet, even amidst the agonizing pain that flared through her nerves, she saw something impossible.
She was looking down at her own collapsed body—but unlike what she had just felt, the head on that body was still firmly attached.
She realized, with a jolt of terror, that her soul was being forcibly dragged out of her physical form.
But the horror was only beginning.
'Huh?'
Countless black hands erupted from the shadow of her fallen body. They reached up, wrapping their shadowy fingers tightly around her spectral form.
Her mind remained agonizingly sharp, forced to register every detail of this inexplicable nightmare. Annas's ghostly face drained of all color.
And then—
'W-what is this?! It feels horrible! Stop this right now… Argh!'
The black hands dragged her downward. One of the shadowy appendages brandished a weapon that resembled a grotesque, jagged sword.
It swung straight at her soul.
Rip!
"—?!"
An agonizing sensation, far worse than any physical pain, ripped through her entire being.
In that shattering instant, Annas felt her consciousness split cleanly in two.
Her very soul had been severed down the middle.
'W-what is this?! What is happening to me?!'
Her divided soul screamed in silent agony. Then, one half of her severed spirit was dragged down into the depths of the earth, subjected to a torment she had never imagined possible.
'Wait! Stop! What is this… Gark! Cough! Aaaaargh!'
Her soul was pulled into a dark, pulsing crystal from which the black hands had emerged. Locked inside this soul reservoir, she was subjected to a vortex of agony so intense it made her worst fears of the afterlife seem like a mercy. The half of her soul trapped within was torn to shreds, like meat fed into a grinder.
And every shred of that torment was transmitted directly back to the remaining half of her soul, completely unfiltered.
'No! No! Please, stop! Make it stop! I'm going to break… I'm going to go mad!'
She felt the core of her identity being systematically dismantled, shattered, and rewritten. The sensation of her fundamental existence being corrupted was so horrific that all the physical pain she had ever endured in her life felt like nothing but a tickle by comparison.
After what felt like an eternity, the screams echoing from the other half of her soul finally began to quiet down.
The remaining half of Annas's soul was shoved back into her physical body.
"Gasp! Haah… haah… haah…"
Annas gasped for air, her eyes snapping open as she regained consciousness.
Her soul had returned to her flesh, but the devastating void and lingering agony of having half of her spirit missing still pulsed through her body.
"W-what… did you do to me?"
Even after experiencing it firsthand, Annas could not comprehend the horror of what had just occurred. She trembled, looking up at the blonde woman.
Apollona looked down at her, her voice freezing cold.
"I have taken half of your soul as collateral. Should you ever choose to betray us, the remaining half will automatically be dragged down to join it. I do not believe I need to explain what will happen to you then."
"!"
She did not know how such magic was possible, but every instinct in her body screamed that the woman was telling the absolute truth.
Annas began to shiver violently as the reality of her situation sank in.
She was relieved to be alive, yes. But the cost was steep. She would have to live the rest of her days carrying this hollow, agonizing sensation inside her chest.
She could move her limbs, but she felt fundamentally broken, as if a vital piece of her machinery had been permanently removed.
Furthermore, the knowledge that even a single thought of betrayal would plunge her remaining soul into that hellish crucible acted as an absolute leash.
Annas realized with bitter regret that her life would never be the same again.
I knew the price of failure was death… but I never imagined a fate like this…
Once our little lesson on the "concept" of world destruction was over, I turned my attention back to what Apollona had mentioned earlier—the resurrection of her comrades.
Now that she had been summoned, the seal on the other Mashins had begun to loosen, allowing them to manifest in this world.
However, according to the rules established by the GM Gods, the Mashins were entities from another dimension. They did not belong to this world.
To bring them across, a suitable sacrifice had to be offered at the altar.
"And that sacrifice… is this?"
"Yes, Adjuster."
The blood and soul extracted from Annas. It wasn't just a punishment; it was a practical necessity.
To summon the Mashins Apollona spoke of, I needed the proper resources—sacrifices of blood and soul.
"The blood and soul of anyone slain in this chamber are automatically funneled into the reservoir connected to the altar. We can use these resources to summon my comrades to this world."
"I see. Does it matter who the sacrifice is?"
"Technically, no. However, to summon the stronger Mashins, we must expend a larger quantity of resources—or, ideally, the blood and soul of a powerful individual. That increases the probability."
"Probability?"
I caught the slight hesitation in her words. Apollona gave a somewhat apologetic smile.
"Yes. Perhaps it is because we were sealed away in the abyss of chaos as dummy data, or perhaps it is simply a rule set by the GM Gods, but even after offering the sacrifice, I cannot be certain which of my comrades will answer the call until the ritual is complete. However, as I mentioned, expending more resources guarantees a higher probability of summoning a powerful entity."
"Right. I get it."
In gamer terms, it was a gacha system. If I got lucky, a small sacrifice might pull an incredibly powerful Mashin. If I was unlucky, I could dump a massive amount of resources into the altar and end up with a weakling.
Still, they're Mashins. Even the weakest among them should be formidable. I won't know until I try.
I decided to go ahead with the ritual using the resources harvested from Annas. Part of it was curiosity, but mostly, I couldn't ignore the sparkling anticipation in Apollona's eyes.
"Alright, we have the resources. Go ahead and start the ritual."
"I cannot, Adjuster. By the laws of our order, this task must be performed by you."
"Me?"
I figured she would handle it since it was her comrade, but Apollona shook her head firmly.
"Why? Is this something only the Adjuster can do?"
"No, it is not a matter of capability, but of protocol. The deployment of Catastrim, including the summoning of the Mashins, must be directed by the Adjuster. Unless it is an absolute emergency, we must adhere to this rule."
"I see. That makes sense."
Even though I had been exiled, I was once a general of the Empire. I understood how military organizations worked.
A strict chain of command and adherence to protocol were essential. It might seem rigid, but without those basic rules, any armed force would quickly collapse into chaos. The rules Apollona spoke of served the same purpose.
Feeling the weight of my role as the leader of these entities, I looked at Apollona and spoke carefully.
"What do I need to do?"
"Place your hand upon the magic stone beside the altar. The ritual will respond to your will."
Following her instructions, I stepped up to the altar and placed my hand on the crimson crystal orb resting beside it.
Immediately, a semi-transparent display materialized in the air before me, resembling a magical interface. It showed the current amount of blood and soul energy available for the ritual.
The soul gauge was relatively low compared to the total capacity, but the blood gauge was nearly half full.
Seeing this, I realized why Apollona had left Annas bleeding out on the floor earlier. It wasn't just to torture her; it was to harvest as much blood as possible.
And since Annas is a high-level assassin, her blood and soul carry far more weight than an ordinary person's. That's why the gauge filled up so much. Well, let's see what we get.
I decided to commit all the available blood and soul energy to the ritual. I focused my mind, directing my will into the crystal.
The magic responded instantly.
A brilliant, blinding light erupted from the altar. A massive magic circle, etched with complex runes I had never seen before, flared to life, bathing the entire chamber in a deep crimson glow.
A heavy, resonant chime—sounding almost like a temple bell—echoed through the room. The blinding light slowly began to recede.
As the glare faded, a figure began to take shape in the center of the magic circle.
It was—