The Devil's Gift
While cleaning up the aftermath, a hazy feeling washed over me—like being drunk or lost in a dream. ‘Ah… what was I even thinking about?’
‘Right… what was it again?’ Fragments of thought kept getting severed, leaving only shattered pieces behind. ‘Uh… what was it?’ Like a hamster on a wheel, the same question spun around in my head without any answers.
‘Oh, that’s right.’ Something rose from the broken shards of my thoughts.
‘It was the evil god.’ That was the root of it all.
‘I was thinking about the mission that being left us with.’ Like roots spreading between the gaps in those severed thoughts, a single doctrine seeped into my mind.
‘Torment others. Kill as many as possible. Use them as sacrifices.’
It felt like a wave of infection, or perhaps mental erosion. No matter what word I attached to it, the sensation felt undeniably correct. It was as if something was rewriting me from the very core of my being…
It's an illusion.
Yes. It was an illusion. My body’s potential was already completely full—there was no room for any more possibilities to be added. Therefore, this sensation was nothing more than an extension of what that guy had been trying to tempt me with through his laughter.
So this too was nothing but an illusion. Or perhaps it was the evil god’s final desperate struggle.
And the evil god’s whisper was as fierce and sharp as if it had mixed the voices of both a demon and a god.
It was persuasive enough to make me unconsciously agree.
So I should just ignore it.
Even if I prevented physical corruption, if my mind fell to corruption, it would be the same as failure.
With those final words, an eerie laugh echoed endlessly.
I opened my eyes. I was lying in the middle of the sealing ground.
“Are you awake now?”
The whispers were no longer audible.
“Ah, yeah.”
But the memories remained exactly as they were.
The evil god’s remnants had completely vanished. The corpse that had been vomiting blood and the black aura were both gone without a trace.
“What is this?”
There was only one thing left. The strange crystal currently gripped in my hand.
“It’s something that happens occasionally, though rarely.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes. It’s the leftover dregs that failed to possess anything and transformed in order to survive.”
“I get what you mean.”
The moment we left this thing alone, someday far in the future, construction workers would discover this sealing ground during civil engineering work. They’d pick it up without much caution, thinking they could sell it for a high price. From there, it would become the key item in a movie—a grand bloody festival involving curses, ghosts, and a serial killer, ultimately leading to the evil god’s resurrection.
‘It’s half a joke, but this kind of thing really does become the seed of disaster. That’s the standard trope.’
In that sense, it wasn’t exactly a wrong guess.
“It looks similar to a monster core. Can’t we use it?”
“It probably shares similar properties, but since it’s condensed evil god power, you won’t be able to take it outside the seal.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
I had only asked out of intellectual curiosity. I had no real intention of using it.
“Then I guess we should destroy it. Is it okay to break it?”
“Hmm… Actually, you probably won’t be able to break it. It needs to be purified with holy arts.”
“So that’s how it is.”
I felt a slight pang of regret that we couldn’t finish it off completely with our own hands. But it wasn’t like I could suddenly learn holy arts now. Before it turned into a B-grade horror movie, it would be best to contact the temple and have them deal with it.
“The wound on your arm has healed.”
“While you were unconscious, I gave you emergency treatment with a potion. Since we’re heading to the temple anyway, let’s have them check it too.”
“Thanks.”
I made small talk with Diana while preparing to leave. After retrieving the Agatram I had used for throwing and changing out of my burnt clothes, the only thing left was Cheonkwon.
“It’s an incredibly good weapon, but… my shoulders ache just thinking about carrying it around after everything’s over.”
“That’s precisely why it’s a weapon only you can use.”
“…I should be grateful it fits in my subspace bag.”
If it didn’t, I’d have to clank around the streets lugging this massive weapon everywhere.
‘Its condition really isn’t great.’
When I lifted my left arm, I heard a faint creaking dissonance. Whether it was my imagination or not, the metal seemed slightly softer. At the very least, everything except its mass had problems.
‘This is something I’ll need to pay attention to later too.’
Right now I could get it repaired as soon as I went up, but such convenient circumstances wouldn’t always be available.
With that thought in mind, just as I was about to retrieve the remaining right Cheonkwon—
Whoosh. Clack.
The crystal, which I had definitely placed in the center of the sealing ground, suddenly clung to the back of Cheonkwon’s hand.
“…Change: Gauntlet.”
“………”
I immediately equipped Agatram, and Diana drew her Black Butterfly Bow. Tension filled the air. Not only me—Diana couldn’t hide her nervousness either.
The fact that the remnant of the evil god’s remnant was moving on its own was a problem, and the fact that it had attached itself to my right hand was another.
‘Is it giving up on a living body and trying to possess something of a similar nature?’
Although its condition had worsened, Cheonkwon’s potential surpassed most final weapons, so there was no telling what might happen. Considering the power of erosion I had experienced firsthand, corrupting Cheonkwon would be child’s play.
“………”
“………”
“………?”
But nothing happened. Cheonkwon didn’t activate on its own, nor did it move by itself.
“…Just shoot an arrow at it for now.”
“Yes.”
A dark shadow arrow from the Black Butterfly Bow struck Cheonkwon.
“………”
Complete non-reaction.
“One more time.”
Swish. A perfect triple shot with no pause between them. The arrows embedded themselves into the attached crystal, the hardest section, and the gap in the metal respectively. None of them elicited any response.
“I guess I’ll have to check it myself…”
Now the only option left was to approach it directly.
“Be careful. Even if you’re immune to the evil god’s possession, this is truly an abnormal situation.”
“…Yeah.”
Keeping my tension high despite Diana’s encouragement, I moved closer.
“………Still no reaction so far.”
Even when I got close, Cheonkwon didn’t suddenly move or anything.
‘I guess I really have to touch it.’
“No, that’s enough. There’s no need to take any more risks than this.”
Diana stopped me and then stared at Cheonkwon.
“Let’s call for help.”
“There are no issues. For safety’s sake, I recommend disposal, however…”
The Saintess trailed off as she looked up at Cheonkwon.
“I’ll leave that decision to you.”
It was a polite way of saying it was merely a formality.
“Understood. What about the evil god?”
“After confirmation, there is no remaining energy or lingering thoughts. The conclusion of everyone gathered here is that the evil god’s remnants in this place have been completely eradicated.”
“So it really is over.”
I thought I had relaxed, but apparently not. Only after the Saintess’s definitive statement did the tension finally drain completely from my body.
“You’ve done a great service. A full public announcement will require further verification, but thanks to your dedication, we have successfully completely eliminated the evil god’s remnants. You two are beacons of humanity.”
She bowed deeply toward us. As expected, it didn’t feel bad at all.
‘Speaking of which, the Saintess, huh.’
It was a title that never failed to appear in fantasy, but unfortunately, in the game she had been a 2nd-tier character. Clerics were a profession focused on healing, support, and purification, but unfortunately for her, there were specialists in each field. In games—unlike reality—being an all-rounder wasn’t all that different from being incompetent.
“Additionally, I have a personal matter I’d like to thank you for.”
“Was there something like that?”
“Yes. I am friends with Silewin at the academy.”
Had there been a setting like that…? If it was in the realm of secondary creations, maybe, but I had never seen anything in the game about Silewin being close to the Saintess.
‘The story of connection characters mainly focuses on the protagonist’s interaction with that character, so it’s not strange even if it doesn’t appear.’
Anyway, it was unexpected.
“That child has become much less anxious and watchful compared to before. Since it started after meeting you, I’m certain you had some influence.”
“That can’t be. I didn’t really do anything.”
It wasn’t mere humility—I really had only listened to her complaints. Rather than me doing something, it was more accurate to say she had pulled herself together on her own.
‘Still, she benefited pretty quickly.’
The current situation was exactly what I had hoped for while helping Silewin. Since I couldn’t go to the academy right now, I had planned to use her as a bridge to expand my social connections. Even if she was 2nd-tier, that was just in game terms. As a personal connection, the Saintess was an incredible jackpot that very few people could match.
“…I’d like to check the thing the evil god left behind.”
Diana cut off the conversation that seemed like it would continue further.
“I’d like to request the same.”
It was a bit of a shame, but since I was equally curious, I agreed.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. Please follow me this way.”
Following the Saintess’s guidance to the center of the sealing ground, I saw several people surrounding the crystal.
“They are researchers from the temple, the academy, and the Magic Tower. And over there is the Meister.”
At Diana’s whisper, I took another look at the people present. On the surface they all looked rather shabby, but every single one of them was among the top ten intellectuals in the empire.
“Ah, the owner has arrived just in time.”
They had been discussing something, but when they saw us, their faces brightened.
“First, let me tell you what you’re most curious about. There is no manipulation whatsoever. There are no signs of independent movement, nor can I sense any ego, commands, curses, sorcery, resonance, connection, soul, or divinity. It’s clean.”
Perhaps because the Meister held the highest authority, he immediately began explaining.
“I see. Thank you for confirming.”
“Furthermore, it has been given a regeneration function on the inanimate object it attached to, and on its own it is a special-grade mana stone that emits an enormous amount of mana.”
“…It truly is the devil’s gift itself.”
“Exactly. Just as you said. It’s a material that anyone would desperately try to obtain wherever mana stones are used—or even if not. The problem is that it was given to you by the evil god.”
The Meister held up four fingers.
“You have four choices. That’s what we were discussing until just now.”
“I’m listening.”
“The first is complete sealing. That was suggested by the high priest over there. Since it was left by the evil god, they’re demanding it be sealed or destroyed just in case.”
“That makes sense. Since it was left by the evil god.”
“The second and third are proposals from me and that elder from the Magic Tower. Give it to us. If we couldn’t find anything after searching this thoroughly, then it’s not the evil god’s scheme. So the argument is that we shouldn’t throw away something so valuable and should use it instead.”
“Dangerous, but tempting.”
“The fourth is that you keep it. Since you’re the one who subjugated it, the choice is ultimately yours anyway.”
“I understand.”
The others remained silent and didn’t interrupt the Meister’s words. However, from the way they looked at me, I could easily read their desire for me to choose their proposal.
“For now, there’s one thing I’d like to confirm as well.”
“Your unique ability? Fine. Confirmation can’t hurt, after all.”
Without further comment, the Meister immediately handed me the crystal.
‘It’s beautiful.’
As expected of the devil’s gift, it held meaning even as a simple jewel. It was pitch black like obsidian, yet at the same time, like a brilliantly cut diamond, its interior was filled with geometric straight lines. It seemed both deeply colored and transparently clear, with noticeable round curves like a marble while also possessing the sparkle of a faceted gem.
Gazing at it, I used Descent.