Choices
Choices
A new demon, Seere, had been resurrected.
And this had happened not even three full months after Andromalius had been subjugated.
Worse, the news of the resurrection hadn't come through an oracle like last time—it had only spread after victims appeared.
In short, the window for an early suppression had long since passed.
A demon that normally resurrected on a scale of centuries had appeared anew after a mere three months.
Naturally, the imperial palace was in chaos.
"What kind of bullshit is that?!"
Bang!
The sound of the Emperor slamming her chair echoed in every direction.
The action was unbecoming of imperial dignity, but no one thought to stop her.
The situation was more than enough to piss anyone off.
Between communicating with the Otherworlders, hunting down the cult, and handling the aftermath of the last raid, the Emperor and her officials were already working themselves to the point of exhaustion.
This news was a bolt from the blue.
"And hasn't there been no Manifestor appearing this time either? Yet a demon has suddenly resurrected? If you cannot explain this properly, you will be in very grave trouble."
She said 'grave trouble,' but given the personnel shortage, it was a small mercy that heads wouldn't roll. Though their retirements might be pushed back a few years.
Fortunately, the ministers had properly ascertained the cause.
"Yes, it seems the group called Lemegeton, which has been growing in power lately, has located Seere's altar..."
"Damn it, those cult bastards..."
Hearing this, the Emperor swallowed her fury.
There were broadly two methods to summon a demon.
The first: a bearer of Demon's Blood directly harvested souls and offered them up. In other words, remotely offering sacrifices.
Nearly all the demons summoned so far had been unsealed this way.
The second method was to locate the sealed altar itself and neutralize its seal.
One could offer sacrifices directly, or painstakingly weaken the seal over time.
The advantage of this method was that there was no need to go through the trouble of offering souls to a demon.
No need to seek out a blood-bearer, either. You simply offered the sacrifice at the altar.
The downside... was that the altars were so deeply hidden that not a single one had been found. Until now.
By sheer misfortune, one had now surfaced. And in the hands of the enemy, no less.
Haah. The Emperor let out a sigh and asked.
"Fine... so how many casualties this time?"
Normally, when a demon descended, the death toll was massive.
Andromalius, where the Otherworlders had tanked, had been an unusual case. Normally, the base unit for victims was over a hundred.
When Belial had appeared, the death toll had exceeded ten thousand.
Given that, the Emperor could only imagine the worst.
They'd said the demon had descended days ago, so the damage was bound to be substantial.
"Well, that is..."
But the answer that came from the minister's mouth was the exact opposite of what the Emperor had expected.
"They say it is fewer than twenty."
"...Hm?"
The Emperor tilted her head.
That few?
*
Seere had descended. And until the very day of that descent, he had been utterly silent.
No official communiqué had yet been issued like last time, nor had a grand battle erupted the moment he emerged.
As quietly as he'd been buried underground, he'd slipped out of his seal.
And he faithfully granted the request of those who had summoned him.
No particular constraints or pressure had been applied.
In the first place, who could pressure a Great Demon that had even received a Rank?
It was simply Seere's nature. He showed an unusually amiable disposition toward his summoner. In many ways, he could be called different from ordinary demons.
At any rate, the request he received upon being summoned was this: expand the cult's following.
"That much, I shall gladly grant."
From that moment, casualties caused by Seere began to occur. On a relatively modest scale.
Instead of indiscriminately slaughtering humans, he questioned them first.
"I give you a choice. Will you serve under me, or die here in agony?"
Join or die.
Given such an extreme choice, the decision was obvious. First you survive, then you can look for another way, can't you? Of course, Lemegeton was on the verge of being designated a continental public enemy, but life was precious.
And so the cult's lay believers suddenly multiplied at an exponential rate.
Lemegeton's officers used appeasement, threats, or placed light binding constraints on their bodies to prevent them from fleeing.
Among those coerced into joining by Seere, naturally, there were also Otherworlders.
To them, death was no great issue. Dying meant a significant loss, but it wasn't the permanent disappearance that it was for some. Given enough time, full recovery was possible.
Even so, a great many Otherworlders chose to join the cult.
"Hm... a curious little one, aren't you. How about it, will you serve under me?"
"Yes! Please let me!"
The reason was that Seere was exceptionally beautiful.
Standing close to 190 centimeters tall, with dazzling golden hair that fell to his shoulders, a sculpted body and face—though there was an ever-so-slightly greasy impression, he was the archetypal Western handsome man.
He even had small wings on his back, making him look almost angelic at a glance.
And such a being was personally inviting them to join.
Even if the organization had a faintly repulsive air about it, the temptation was very real.
Whatever the actual state of this world might be, to the Otherworlders, this place was merely a game.
Of course, plenty were here for RMT farming, but the majority of users were playing to enjoy the game.
To them, Seere's proposal was simply an interesting option.
As new content had dropped, the forums were briefly in an uproar.
+
[From Today, My God is Seere]
(Image)
Look at this fucking incredible design
How many art team members got ground into dust over this? I just feel fucking grateful...
From now on, Lord Seere and I are one body.
Seere, my light, my darkness, my life...
+
[Get a Grip, Dude]
[fr With those kinds of looks, asking you to come under him—how do you say no? You just gotta go lol]
[↳ Isn't that a bit too hasty? The system says it's an evil-aligned group and to be careful since your reputation can drop;;]
[↳ Yeah, I don't have any reputation to be careful about~]
[↳ Who cares if it's an evil-aligned group? I could end up as Lord Seere's footrest?]
+
[I Was About to Join But Just Died]
Got a little tempted and was about to nod, when the NPCs around me started cussing me out like crazy
Saying how can you do that when you get to come back to life;
I've got a bit of a Good Boy Syndrome, so I just died cleanly
My precious plate armor... bought it for a fucking fortune and I lost it, damn it
+
[Dumbass lol]
[Please don't come to me, I have zero intention of joining]
[Why doesn't he come to me? I'm ready to join while licking his feet]
[↳ Going in there could really screw up your game, and you'd still join? You literally only see what's right in front of you, stupid fuck lol]
[↳ If a player isn't gonna explore the unknown, why play as an adventurer? Cowardly little shit lol]
Countless opinions clashed across the community.
The arena was always a place where fights broke out, but today the heat was excessive.
It was obvious, just from looking, that this event would have a major long-term impact.
Is it right, is it wrong. Is it efficient, is it not. And does it get you going, or not—among other things.
An explosion of perspectives on a single incident.
Just as the nations of [Demon's Saga] were in turmoil, so too were the users in an uproar.
But as ever. However noisy the outside world became,
from the perspective of someone living in a forest, it was a matter of not the slightest fucking concern.
*
Though I had been cursed to wear nothing but short sleeves due to the uninvited guests who kept visiting my forest,
there were moments when even I could escape that curse for a while.
Specifically, whenever Ha-neul came to my cave.
Whenever she cast Illusion Sight on me, I could briefly forget my body's curse and take out my tank top.
The shabby tank top sealed deep within the cave.
"Haaah... so refreshing."
When I could sunbathe like this, wearing a tank top, I felt a temporary glimpse of paradise.
"..."
Of course, every time I did this, Ha-neul in front of me felt deeply embarrassed.
Still, maybe because we'd met a few times now, she'd adapted somewhat.
Yeah, when you thought about it, wasn't a tank top just ordinary casual wear? There was no reason to be that embarrassed about it.
Of course, she still couldn't quite meet my eyes, much the same as before.
Anyway, freed from the curse, I took out some bread from the pouch I'd prepared.
It was a pastry I'd saved for today's sunbathing.
Bread's delicious no matter when you eat it, but sometimes you want to enjoy it with a leisurely atmosphere. I'd saved it carefully for two days for this.
I took a bite, expecting a crispy texture. But sadly, what greeted me was sogginess.
"...Ah."
I let out a small sigh.
It really was wonderful that I'd gotten to eat bread from time to time.
Thanks to that, I felt like I'd achieved one childhood wish. Whenever I ate sweet, savory bread, it felt like my stress was melting away on its own.
It was just a bit disappointing that by the time the bread reached this forest, it had always already gone cold.
The taste probably hadn't changed, but the texture inevitably took a major hit.
I clearly remembered the bread of my childhood being warm and crispy...
I wore a gloomy expression for a moment and murmured.
"Can't go outside, so this is pretty damn frustrating."
"Well, it can't be helped..."
Ha-neul responded timidly to my grumbling.
As the only person who knew about my pattern, she'd occasionally sympathize with my situation.
I watched her for a moment, then a thought abruptly surfaced in my mind.
"Now that I think about it, can't that magic alter your appearance...?"
"Hm? I've never tried, but... couldn't it probably do that?"
"Oh-ho..."
As I nodded, Ha-neul tilted her head.
A look that said she had no idea what I was thinking.
If we could alter my appearance a bit... then even if it was a little dangerous, it seemed worth a shot.
I smiled slightly and asked her.
"...Want to go visit a city together?"
It felt like it was about time I did a little sightseeing beyond the back alleys.