The Forest Sage's Confession
“Anak. Would you come back in for a moment? Lord Kainaknus as well.”
While I was talking with Lord Kainaknus and trying to take my mind off the current situation and the ominous prophecies, Lord Medrup suddenly called for me.
Thinking that the time had come, I slowly rose from my seat. I hadn’t committed any crime, nor was there anything particularly worrisome, yet for some reason my heart was beating a little faster.
“Then let us go.”
Together with Lord Kainaknus and Geil, I returned to the inner part of the laboratory. As expected, the treatment had already ended, and Lord Medrup was resting along with the others.
“Alsh Unak…?”
When I looked toward where he had originally been laid, there was no longer any trace of bat wings or a demonic form. Lying there instead was an elderly man who looked younger than Lord Kainaknus or Lord Medrup, but still quite aged.
Though the clothes and armor he had worn in his demonic form were somewhat large, they weren’t absurdly ill-fitting. The muscles visible through the gaps were not much different from those of young knights.
If his face were covered, he would look no older than his thirties at most. I even wondered if he hadn’t fully reverted from his demonic form yet.
“Quite… a robust physique.”
“Indeed. But it isn’t natural. It’s the result of reckless reinforcement—achieved by sacrificing his own life force.”
“But why?”
There were plenty of spells and rituals that strengthened the body by consuming life force. Even incomplete ones existed in abundance. Yet the power gained from such methods was ultimately crude. No matter how much one forcibly reinforced the body, obtaining any significant strength required an enormous amount of life force in return. Casting reinforcement magic from time to time would be far more efficient; this method was both inefficient and far too dangerous.
“It wasn’t for the sake of strengthening the body itself. He fused other creatures into his reinforced body. High-ranking druids are said to be able to accept spirits or Incarnations of Greenery into their bodies and wield their power. It seems he attempted something similar.”
“That is… correct.”
The voice sounded as though it might cease breathing at any moment. Turning my head, I saw Alsh Unak—or rather, the man who had once been Alsh Unak—slowly sitting up.
The word “Unak” commonly meant “one who brings death.” It was a fitting name for a demon, but certainly not a proper human name.
“However, they were not mere spirits or Incarnations of Greenery.”
I had tensed, wondering if he might attempt something suspicious, but soon realized how foolish that worry was. In this room were Lord Medrup and Granbipra. What could possibly pose a threat here?
“You absorbed demons.”
Granbipra’s calm voice carried a deep rebuke.
“You fused with lower demons—multiple lower demons. And to maintain that fusion, you recklessly reinforced your body.”
He nodded.
“Fusing with demons, especially multiple ones, would certainly increase your power. But for a sympathizer of your level, it would not amount to much.”
He remained silent.
“…This fusion attempt must have begun right after the last great war, when the Demon King Thanatos appeared.”
Lord Medrup’s gaze and tone made it clear he had already pieced something together.
“Isn’t that right?”
At Lord Medrup’s question, he nodded with a hollow expression.
“As expected of the Yellow Sage, Lord Medrup. This old man’s shallow answer, offered in desperation, is something you had already considered long ago.”
“…I merely wondered if such a method might be possible.”
Lord Medrup’s reply was heavy, as though the very act of speaking was a grave discourtesy.
“Yes. It was nothing more than the foolish judgment born of this old man’s arrogance.”
His voice was so heavy it felt as though it were sinking deep into the earth.
Silence fell among us. He said nothing more, and Lord Medrup asked no further questions. Granbipra, Elena, Lord Kainaknus, and Geil simply watched in quiet.
“Um… excuse me.”
Normally, I too would have remained silent in that atmosphere and refrained from interrupting. But the silence showed no sign of ending, and given the situation and my position, it was my role to break it.
“Could you explain exactly what happened? And if it isn’t too presumptuous, I would like to know your name.”
“…You’re right. I’ve been terribly rude to Lord Anak and the others. Especially to Lord Kainaknus—I committed a great discourtesy.”
He straightened his clothes and slowly stood. Then he knelt on one knee before us, as if seeking forgiveness.
“My name is Neiku Oro Lurof. I am a high-ranking druid and summoner of the Jal tribe.”
“……!”
Not only I, but Elena, Geil, and even Lord Kainaknus’s eyes widened in shock. The Forest Sage Neiku himself! I quickly looked back and forth between Lord Kainaknus, Elena, and Lord Neiku.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. To think it was Lord Neiku—there had been traces of plant-based summoning and druidic magic, but never once had I imagined it was the Forest Sage himself!
Moreover, this room now held four of the greatest summoners of the current era gathered in one place. Adding Lord Medrup and Granbipra to that made the situation all the more astonishing.
“I-Is it truly the Forest Sage, Lord Neiku?”
“…Such a title is ill-suited for a foolish old man like me.”
Yet at that question, Lord Neiku’s expression darkened, as though the very name were an accusation.
“B-But why would a summoner of Lord Neiku’s caliber attempt to fuse with lower demons?”
What possible meaning could that have?
“I became intoxicated by an undeserved title.”
“……?”
I didn’t understand. Was he referring to the attempt to fuse with demons? Even so, for a summoner and druid of Lord Neiku’s level, fusing with demons shouldn’t have been impossible. It couldn’t have been the result of some great mistake or arrogance.
I turned to look at Lord Medrup. Not only I, but Elena, Granbipra, Lord Kainaknus, and Geil all turned to him as well. Lord Neiku seemed too ashamed to continue speaking himself.
“…Lord Neiku tried to become the Demon King himself.”
“……?”
The moment that absurd statement threatened to fill my mind with confusion, something clicked.
“…I see. So that method existed.”
Indeed, such a method did exist. I had never considered it since the Soul Link Ritual, having always hidden and suppressed it, but yes—there was such a way.
“Master, what on earth…?”
When I turned, Geil still looked as though he couldn’t grasp the meaning, but Elena and Lord Kainaknus gazed at Lord Neiku with sorrowful expressions, as if they understood. Under their gazes, Lord Neiku lowered his head and continued.
“…The Forest Sage. One of the greatest summoners of this era. Intoxicated by that undeserved title, I committed a reckless act of bravado. As a high-ranking druid, I believed it would surely be possible.”
Yes. Druids, like priests, possessed a strong affinity with spirits and gods. Combined with his exceptional talent as a summoner, it hadn’t been entirely impossible. Moreover, the world had been on the brink of destruction. Amid the deaths and suffering of countless people, once someone with power entertained that thought, it must have felt like a mission.
The barriers, totems, and magic circles I had seen in the forest—they had all been for that purpose.
“……?”
Still unable to understand, Geil merely looked back and forth between Lord Kainaknus and Lord Neiku. As if trying to answer his curiosity, Elena spoke.
“You tried to make contact with a demon god higher than Nix.”
“That is correct.”
The Demon King was chosen by the gods of the demon realm. One of the demon gods would designate the Demon King, and all demons would obey that king absolutely. That was the most absolute law in the demon realm.
According to that law, Nix had designated Thanatos as the Demon King this time, and under his command the Demon King’s army had attacked the surface.
However, it was the lower demon gods—those still interested in other worlds and seeking influence—who had always chosen the Demon King. Higher demon gods had never, at least according to the remaining records of demons and humans, involved themselves in selecting a Demon King.
This was because higher gods took little interest in other worlds or individual beings. For the great gods who embodied the grand cycle and truth itself, the differences between worlds or individuals held little importance.
But what if, exceptionally, one of those higher gods were to appoint a new Demon King? Would the consensus and designation of the lower gods still hold power? It wasn’t certain, but perhaps the one chosen by a higher god would be recognized as the true Demon King.
Lord Neiku had bet everything on that possibility.
By fusing with lower demons, he had tried to transform his body and mind to be closer to that of a demon, then use the Soul Link Ritual and druidic secrets to contact a demon god higher than Nix.
If he had succeeded, the demons would have obeyed his commands, and it would surely have been possible to withdraw the Demon King’s army from the surface.
“But as you can see, the result was a failure.”
In the end, the being he reached was not a higher demon god, but Urshus, the god of dark red flames. Moreover, both his body and mind had already fused with multiple demons. It was different from when I had made contact. Though I too had been overwhelmed and eroded by that intense divine will, at least I had remained free from his control.
A demon god’s dominion over demons was absolute. There was no way to resist it.
“Thus, I was captured by Urshus. He dominated my body and mind, and through the connection with the fused demons, he implanted his will within me.”