The Evil God's Gift (1)

She crosses the gate, stepping into the world of the Evil God, a realm painted over in silver.

The first thing the girl felt was a gaze pricking her skin. Always. Everywhere. The voyeuristic gaze of the Evil God, watching the world from on high. Its cold, silver radiance blanketed this otherworld like a thick fog.

Goosebumps erupted all over Seraphina's body—the instinctive reaction of a lowly creature in the presence of a higher being. It was a feast of gazes that made her realize, with absolute clarity, that she had crossed over. Yet, the gaze was the only thing identical to before. Everything else had changed.

'Has our location changed again...?!'

The grassland she had first crossed into, which laid bare a distorted ecosystem, was gone. This was no wild land where monsters roamed.

'Judging by the angle of the gaze... it doesn't even feel like we're on the surface.'

Rather, it closely resembled a cityscape. It looked as if a dwarven city had been recreated with overwhelmingly superior technology. Though its form differed from the city in the grasslands, traces of a great civilization were evident here as well. Artificial lights, not the sun, cast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a dismal, yellowish-white glow over the relics of the past.

A massive, man-made plaza filled Seraphina's vision. Silent metal carriages stood lined up in ruins, and lines on the floor—which surely held some ritualistic significance—divided the area into sections. Cylinders and cables made of processed metal clung to the walls and ceiling. Wrapping around everything like vines, they looked like the blood vessels or neural networks of some metallic organism.

And there was one more thing. The greatest difference of all.

"What on earth is that?!"

Unlike the beast-like monsters she had seen in the grasslands, the monsters here possessed distinctly human silhouettes. They had head-skin resembling the texture of a slime, two massive, blurry eyes, no visible nose, and a hard, black mouth like an insect's. These monstrous humanoids also bore a massive lump on their jaws.

Seraphina knew what they were called.

'Iron Masks!'

Monsters of the otherworld that occasionally appeared only in the deepest depths of dungeons. Few had ever laid eyes on their true form. Only a handful of veterans, even among S-rank hunters, were granted such luck—or misfortune.

Yet, because of their peculiar appearance that mimicked humans, rumors about the Iron Masks ran rampant. Some claimed they were a subspecies of doppelganger. Others said they were proof that humans existed beyond the gates. Still others believed they were a type of demon that had triggered the Gate Cataclysm.

That was how Seraphina had first heard of them—through fairy tales told at the convent. If you betray your faith in the God of Order, the wicked Iron Masks will snatch you away. Those monsters, jealous of humanity, will peel off your face. Until now, she had thought they were nothing more than mythical monsters...

"W-who the hell are you? How the fuck did you get in here?!"

While the girl recalled the old rumors, the subject of those very rumors shrieked. The trembling voice was different from the typical roar of a monster. It had a distinct pitch, tone, and vocalization. It wailed exactly like a terrified human. Of course, there was no way it was actual 'language.' Seraphina dismissed it as a disgusting imitation of humanity. It was only natural; if they were human, they would have naturally conversed in the Common Tongue from birth, yet this monster's words did not fit the grammatical structure of the Common Tongue at all.

Furthermore, even as the Iron Mask crudely mimicked speech, its insect-like mouth did not move in the slightest. The voice merely squeezed out of the lump near its jaw. Seraphina sighed inwardly. Ah, indeed. What a blasphemous creature a monster is.

"D-did the kids' parents ask you to do this? Fuck, they were happy enough to sell them off!"

As the monster wailed once more, Seraphina did not hesitate. She raised her Thunder Staff. She shouldered the weapon, assumed her stance, and quickly aimed. She intended to end this monster's wretched existence and put a stop to its mockery of humanity and the Common Tongue.

"Aaaahhh!! S-spare me! I didn't do anything wrong! I was just doing what I was told! The kids dying is all the boss's fault!! I told him so many times we shouldn't keep them near the gate for too long, but he was so fucking blinded by the Awakened!!"

Despite her swift aim, the girl could not pull the trigger. It wasn't because the monster's wailing had grown louder, nor was it because of the bizarre gesture it made. Though she wondered what the peculiar posture of raising both hands above its head meant, trying to understand a monster's actions would be the height of folly. There was only one reason Seraphina hesitated. The monster's massive, black eyes were staring directly at the gift bestowed upon her by the Evil God.

'...Does it recognize it?'

She had faced quite a few monsters so far, but none of them had ever recognized the Evil God's gift. They might react to the crack of thunder after the fact, but none had ever noticed the gift beforehand when it appeared to be nothing more than a simple stick.

Yet, what of the Iron Mask before her? Because its eyes were made of opaque black glass, she couldn't be entirely certain where its gaze was directed. However, the way its head twitched back and forth, the desperate flinching of its body whenever she nudged the staff, and its increasingly frantic wails made Seraphina wonder.

'Wait... All monsters in this otherworld are creations of the Evil God. What if this Iron Mask is the same? What if it was designed to sense the Evil God's power more keenly, allowing it to recognize even His holy gift?'

The Iron Mask's imperfectly human form also threw Seraphina into confusion. Her mind raced. An Evil God who desired followers. Seraphina herself, His priestess. And now, a monster mimicking humanity appearing before her. Could all of this truly be a coincidence?

"Y-yeah! You want to know where the boss is, right?! He's on the third floor of this building! He's with the kid who has the eye awakening!"

Seraphina sank deeper into thought. An awkward silence settled over the cavernous space. Merlin was the first to notice.

"...Is something troubling you?" the old man asked. It was a desperate attempt to curry favor. He had to prove his utility somehow if he ever wanted to bring up his village later. Drawing upon the keen intuition honed through years in the royal court, Merlin deduced Seraphina's dilemma.

"It seems you are debating whether to kill it. If you are looking for a way to subdue it without taking its life, I can assist you."

Seraphina reacted to Merlin's words. Her eyes snapped toward the old man. "Really?"

Her question carried clear anticipation. The old man smiled inwardly and replied, "It is no difficult task. This is a situation where this old body's skills can be of use."

Merlin waved his hand through the air. Blue mana trailed his fingers, tracing geometric patterns. Circles overlapped circles, layering upon one another to create a dizzying design.

'My mana recovery will be hindered... but I must make myself useful.'

Soon, a magic circle the size of two knuckles was completed above the old man's hand. Though small, it pulsed with highly concentrated mana. He brought it close to the Iron Mask's eyes.

"P-please, just spare my life! Do you know how hard I worked to survive this long?! Do you know how much of the boss's ass I had to kiss to get here—"

The blue light of the mana seeped into the Iron Mask's eyes. Instantly, the desperate thrashing of the screaming monster began to subside.

"—Huh? What the fuck is this? No... what? Sis? Big sis? What are you... w-whoa...?!"

The monster's hands, which had been raised toward the ceiling, went limp and swayed aimlessly. Its frantic cries quieted down. It was a dramatic transformation, as if the creature had fallen asleep in an instant.

Merlin explained with a satisfied smile. "It is illusion magic—a minor trick of mine. It will make him see whatever he desires most, and once the mana depletes, he will naturally drift off. I have also woven a faint suggestion into it, so he will likely believe everything that just happened was merely a dream. At the very least, he won't be causing any trouble for a while."

"Ah, I see! Thank you. That is incredible."

"...It is nothing so grand. Though, it did take effect much easier than I anticipated. The resistance felt unusually weak... Perhaps this monster has already absorbed a significant amount of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana."

Seraphina took Merlin's words as mere modesty. He was an elder mage from the Solbeirn family, a clan renowned for fire magic. She had expected him to be an expert in pyromancy, but she never imagined he would be versed in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠illusion magic as well. Feeling a sense of reassurance, Seraphina spoke.

"Hehe, yes. In any case, I look forward to working with you. Shall we... head out? We should go this way."

Right on cue, the gaze of the Evil God returned to Seraphina. A heavy, dense gaze pressed in around the girl. She could feel it all against her skin. A silver pillar of light, now shining even more intensely, illuminated her and Merlin. It observed them, then pointed the way. It was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guidance of the Evil God, which had never failed her in this otherworld. Without hesitation, the girl took a step forward.

Guided by the Evil God, the girl walked through the cavernous space. The area was vast yet structured in a peculiar way. Like a beast's den, its few exits were located far in the distance. The girl and the old man had no choice but to traverse the open space, and along the way, several things caught Seraphina's eye.

'Bone fragments... They don't look like an adult's. Is it the corpse of a young Iron Mask? No, I can sense a faint trace of mana from them.'

Small bones and tattered clothes were piled carelessly in a corner of the plaza. There were quite a few of them, discarded like trash. Seraphina's brow furrowed. She quickened her pace, eager to distance herself from that desolate mass grave.

The underground plaza stretched on for a long time. The atmosphere shifted several times as they walked. They passed through an area filled with broken steel carriages, traversed a section adorned with somewhat luxurious decorations, climbed and descended stairs, and walked for what felt like hours—either avoiding the signs of nearby Iron Masks or bypassing them with Merlin's magic.

By the time Seraphina finally reached the surface, they were far away from the gate.

'Where is He leading us...?'

Emerging onto the surface, Seraphina looked around. The overwhelming traces of civilization had thinned out, giving way to a quiet, secluded mansion. Following the Evil God's guidance, Seraphina approached the mansion's entrance.

On the half-damaged iron gate at the entrance, characters of that great civilization—which Seraphina, of course, could not read—were firmly engraved.