You Dead Too?
You Dead Too?
"Yes, my pure, quick-witted child. What is it you desire?"
Two cultists had died for utterly absurd reasons.
But that did not mean the demon summoning ritual was entirely concluded.
Typically, when a demon was summoned, the demon had to grant the summoner's wish as the price of the summoning.
That was a desirable summoning.
Of course, there were even cases where the demon was too high in rank or too violent and would not merely refuse the wish, but go so far as to kill the summoner...
"Child. You are so lovely that I shall grant it doubly, as a special favor."
Fortunately, there seemed no reason to worry about that this time. Amdusias was extremely pleased with his present company.
'Hmm...'
Livia pondered inwardly for a moment.
Not everything was possible just because he agreed to grant a wish. A demon was not omnipotent, and there were cases where one prayed recklessly based on the demon's particular traits and ended up in ruin.
Having thought for a while, Livia asked the One-Horned Lord.
"In the days to come, when destruction arrives, I pray you look after at least the members of our cult."
"Hm?"
At those words, a peculiar light flickered in the One-Horned Lord's black eyes.
Presently, he spoke.
"Hoh, you are aware of the apocalypse."
"Awareness is perhaps... more like I've heard something in passing."
"Is that not the same thing? Yet, I am sorry, but that is a difficult wish to grant."
Livia asked.
"Why would that be?"
"Because Armageddon (Ἁρμαγεδών) is not decided by my will. It is the decision of beings far, inestimably higher in rank."
"...I see."
Livia nodded, expressionless.
She was not particularly disappointed. She had known it was an excessive request even as she made it.
"Then, at the very least, please do not kill the members of our cult..."
"Even those who have lost their purity, perhaps?"
"What in the world does losing one's purity mean?"
"Those who have carelessly surrendered their bodies to pleasure. To borrow your words, it means non-virgin women and non-virgin men."
In other words, he meant he would kill every son of a bitch who had ever had sex.
That utterly outrageous statement froze her for a moment, but she still managed to say everything she needed to say.
"Ah... Even so, I beseech you. They are precious cult members."
"You truly make a difficult request... However, if it is the plea of a virgin such as yourself, I shall gladly grant it."
"..."
Livia felt her mood sour slightly at his constant harping on about virgins.
Of course, from the One-Horned Lord's standpoint it was likely a compliment, but she felt as if she were being mocked somehow.
'It's not that I can't get rid of it, I'm choosing not to...'
It wasn't as if her appearance or skills fell short anywhere.
It was simply that she had yet to meet anyone she liked, had something else on her mind, and was too busy with her work, that was all...
Thus she comforted herself inwardly.
Then, once more, she asked the One-Horned Lord.
"So... what do you intend to do from now on?"
"What I will do is obvious."
The One-Horned Lord steadied his breathing for a moment.
Then, as if making a proclamation, he declared to the world.
"I will kill every non-virgin man and non-virgin woman who exists in this world."
It was a monstrous ambition, truly befitting a demon.
Having made that declaration, the One-Horned Lord immediately strode through the air and raced toward Ha-neul.
And so, that day, in a nearby village,
every male prostitute and customer in the brothel was killed.
*
The 67th demon, Amdusias, had appeared.
This news spread rapidly through the community not long after his Descent.
After all, victims were cropping up everywhere.
Furthermore, perhaps due to his appearance and peculiarities, he became a hot topic in no time.
For there were even Otherworlders who had lost their purity.
+
[Is this fck1er insane?]
(Pic)
He just came charging at me out of nowhere going "Unclean wretch!!!" and I couldn't even do anything before I died, fml;
At least Seere was hot as fuck, what the hell is this guy even about?
+
[I miss you Seere...]
[↳ She was a noble soul who simply had no choice but to die, being a demon...]
[He's a new demon apparently, and seems like a fcking lunatic lol; btw did you unlock 19+ Mode?]
[↳ yeye? I made a good vibe with some NPC in a village lately so I unlocked it...]
[↳ Jealous af; that's probably why, I heard that bastard only kills people who've experienced 19+ Mode]
[↳ Oh rly? Maybe not so bad then...]
+
[But a demon is a demon]
What he does is ridiculous but I met him and got pierced through my shield
I'm level 95 with a tanker class ffs
Thanks to that I lost my favorite shield and an accessory at the same time..
+
[You also got killed by him?]
[↳ yeye, got one-shot...]
[↳ So you've also partaken in 19+ Mode?]
[↳ At my level, you think I couldn't at least enjoy that much? lol]
[↳ lmaooo look at the way you talk you fcking tool]
+
[I met Amdusias and survived though?]
While everyone else was getting slaughtered, he let me live lol
He even gave me a compliment
Said something like "How admirable that you have kept your purity all this time"
From what I saw, if he likes you he even gives you some kind of present?
+
[So you've never used 19+ Mode?]
[↳ yeye I enjoy leveling up and growing, I didn't bother unlocking that one lolol]
[↳ Aha...]
[↳ Yeah lol]
[↳?]
[↳ Dude what's the meaning of that 'lol']
[↳ Hey]
[↳ I said what's the meaning of that 'lol']
[↳ You son of a bitch, where do you live? Rip your ticket right now and get in the Arena, I'll kill you myself]
+
[The glorious 19+ Mode owner squad killed by our Lord Amdusias, upvote lol]
On the other hand, the ultra-virgin loser purity squad who got 'spared', downvote lol
+
[Upvoted lol]
[As if losing items matters? He's basically certifying that you unlocked 19+ Mode lmaoo]
[Oh~ I don't need that crap, I survived and got +2 Senses~]
[↳ Sure lol, go get lots of that lol]
[↳ You get in the Arena too you fuck, ticket number 6313]
[Would he recognize it if you unlocked 19+ Mode at a brothel?]
[↳ Hmm... That's a bit iffy..]
[Ugh, you floppy-titted bitches for real; the forums are so fucking rancid today I seriously can't look at it fml T_T]
[↳ Just by looking at you, you'd definitely survive Amdusias]
It was, in a word, utter chaos.
Within the community, perceptions of this newly appeared demon had mutated somewhat.
Into a demon where meeting him was a loss, but dying to him was something to be proud of.
Indeed, in the community, posts from victims bragging about it were going up in real time.
However, unlike the Otherworlders who were treating it like a playground, the people of Gaia were as serious as could be...
And Yor was just as serious, for different reasons.
*
"...There's none?"
"Not just the city, we searched every nearby village and the supply's completely dried up..."
Chae-rin answered, hemming and hawing.
To me, it was news like a bolt from the blue. She said there were absolutely no Holy Water listings on the market.
If anything, demand for Holy Water had risen even higher.
I'd thought supplies might loosen up a bit once Seere died, but with the news of successive demon resurrections, the number of buyers had increased instead.
Their thinking was to ease their anxiety by buying Holy Water, at least.
While preparing for the future was certainly a good mindset, it wasn't particularly good for me, who desperately needed Holy Water.
I pressed my fingers to my forehead.
'What do I do...'
The cycle for my berserk state was gradually approaching as it was.
In just a few more days, the new moon would arrive once more.
Just thinking about having to endure that agony again seemed to send my stress levels climbing already.
"Please don't be too disheartened. The clergy did say they're putting focus on cultivating talent, so... As the number of buyers has increased, supply will probably increase later as well."
"...I hope you're right."
I was worrying about just how long this Holy Water drought would last.
And whether the supply could even keep up with the demand even if it did increase.
The thing is, in the past, I endured Berserk A just fine.
But after getting a taste of Holy Water a few times, I no longer wished to deliberately endure that pain.
My body had simply become one that could no longer live without Holy Water.
It wasn't as if I lacked money, so why could I not obtain it...?
"...Alright, understood. Thanks for scouring around."
"It's fine."
Chae-rin said she would continue making regular rounds of the market, then left again.
A few more days passed after that, and the new moon arrived.
Fortunately, this time it was Berserk B that came.
Then again, since Berserk A had triggered back-to-back for the last several months, it was about time for B to go off.
That day, rather than going outside like last time, I went deep into the cave and relieved the urges myself over and over.
... As for what kind of urges I relieved, I won't deign to say.
I was still a human being with a sense of shame, after all.
What with that bra of Ha-neul's I saw last time, and that woman, Nikki was it, exposing her upper body the other time too.
Having seen a lot of stimulating scenes lately, it seemed a good amount of desire had built up.
Maybe the demon brat inside me had noticed too, since the emotion it primarily amplified this time was that one as well.
If I were in the modern era I could have used some decent supplementary material, but there was none of that here, which was a shame.
Still, regardless, the berserk state passed, as it always did.
And then a few more days later, Chae-rin delivered even worse news.
"Until this demon is subjugated, the Church has pledged its full-scale support."
"..."
"So, in other words, we probably won't even catch a glimpse of Holy Water for the time being..."
"Hoo..."
I let out a sigh.
And I realized it. Staying still wasn't going to make anything better.
Thanks to that, I could make up my mind.
"That demon. Where is he now? You can get his route, right?"
It would be a little, no, rather considerably dangerous, but if it was for the sake of my comfortable life, it was a risk I could bear.
"Soon, come somewhere with me. Ah, and your editor too."
I would deal with that demon myself.
And so, I formulated a plan to leave my nest for a while.