The First Death God Summon

But it made no sense for the Soul of Despair to be here.

Despair had already been resurrected by the Black King. They had known the signs of its revival, and they had already confirmed that it was fully resurrected and on the move.

So was the soul before them, wearing the shape of Despair, a fake?

…With a score that high, it can't be a fake.

Nothing short of Despair itself could explain a score like that. The Will of the Great Moon would never miscalculate, so the fact was clear.

The remaining question was how the Golden Goat had obtained the Soul of Despair.

Then what is the resurrected Despair moving on right now?

Its resurrection was certain. Whether it was only a hollow shell moving without Despair's actual soul was something he could not begin to guess. A complete resurrection, at least, seemed unlikely.

……Golden Goat. Did you deceive everyone from the very first banquet?

The Golden Goat had come empty-handed to the first banquet. He had prepared no soul at all. But what if that had been a lie? What if he had known everything and acted accordingly?

If that were true, then every last one of them had been played — by that Golden Goat. He must have held the Soul of Despair from the very beginning. The idea that he had somehow acquired it only after the first banquet was simply too hard to believe.

"……."

The Golden Goat gave no reaction at all. He simply stood there, calm and indifferent, as if this were only natural — as if he had expected it all along.

Had he deliberately withheld the name as well? To shock the patrons more dramatically? Pulling out only one soul was for the same reason. It was the confidence of a man who knew that one was enough. A single Soul of Despair would outclass hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of any other soul.

He played us all!

The Golden Mask was certain of it. That goat had planned everything from the start — to prove, at this special Sashin's Banquet, that he was the most special being among them.

I can't take him lightly.

The Golden Mask had no choice but to admit it. This goat had not become the twelfth patron by accident. He had become one because he possessed the worth to match. Until now the Golden Mask had thought little of him, but after today his entire view would have to change.

"……According to the rules, the Golden Goat's Orthodox will be the first to attempt Complete Consumption."

He himself had been pushed to second place. There was nothing to be done about it. A score gap of more than double could not be overturned.

"He's not going to spit it out again, is he?"

"Hmm……."

It was only natural that everyone voiced their concern. If he spat it out again and the next turn vanished with it, the banquet would simply end. As if reading their minds, the Golden Mask ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continued.

"Do not worry. The Will of the Great Moon itself has kindled this banquet. No Orthodox exists that could spit this out."

The reaction of the Orthodox alone made that clear.

Sssssssss!

Kihyaaaaaa…….

Every Orthodox was staring at the feast with a maddening hunger — without a single exception. What stood before them was no ordinary banquet. It was a sacred feast kindled and blessed by the Will of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Great Moon itself. What Orthodox would dare spit out the flame of that great soul, glazed in sweet honey?

—Kyahahahahahaha!!!

The Golden Goat's Orthodox stepped forward to the sacred feast. Every other Orthodox watched with naked envy. Even a single taste of that banquet shaped like Despair would clearly raise an Orthodox's rank.

"More than anything, the size of the sacred feast is the issue. Devouring it all at once is impossible."

The sheer scale made Complete Consumption seem utterly out of reach. The other patrons agreed with the Golden Mask. The heat filling the palace, the vastness of that sacred feast — it stretched on with no end in sight, enough for the turns to cycle several times over. And if it could not be eaten all at once, spitting some of it out hardly mattered. They could simply consume the parts that had not yet been touched.

Well, fair enough.

Just eat already.

In the end, it's a fight over who eats more.

Only then did the patrons settle. Given the size, it seemed every one of them would get a turn after all. The real contest was who could devour more. There was a limit to how much an Orthodox could consume, no matter what. Just like humans. Just as a human could not eat beyond the capacity of their stomach, an Orthodox could not devour a soul beyond the vessel it possessed.

……Yes. Order was not the problem. There was no need to worry.

While everyone shared that same thought—

Chaaaaaak!

Hell opened his mouth.

The crimson light sank away. The glow that had filled the palace dwindled and died. It meant the special banquet had come to a complete end.

"……."

"……."

Silence flooded the world. No more heat, no more uproar — only a blank emptiness. They could only stare blankly at a single point.

A party in every sense of the word.

Feeling their gazes on me, I smiled at my leisure. I had joked to Saintess Sea that I was "heading to a party," but it had become a real party — at least for me.

Never thought it'd be a first-prize lottery ticket.

The soul of the Cursed One had been a kind of lottery. And the moment I scratched it, first prize came up. Who would have guessed it was the Soul of Despair?

So that's why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Bone Fragment of Despair was purified?

I had found it strange that the Bone Fragment of Despair I carried had suddenly been purified the moment I lifted Ainharthar's curse. The soul that had cursed Ainharthar was Despair itself — that was why the fragment had been purified. In other words, the Despair awakened by the Black King was moving in an impure, unpurified state. And even the soul driving it was not Despair's own.

Right now, Despair is moving on the Death King's soul.

It all made sense now. Why the Death King had passed the Bone Fragment of Despair to me. It had been a way of saying that Despair was not the real Despair. He had believed I would uncover the truth.

Which meant…… the Black King was running a kind of bluff. Everyone was rating him so highly on the single fact that he had awakened Despair.

Of course, once awakened it was still a monster that could never be underestimated — but it was not Despair itself. Even so, the Black King had made no effort to hide the fact that he had awakened it. If anything, he had quietly fanned the rumors, inflating his own weight class.

…What a con artist.

Every piece of the puzzle finally clicked into place.

Inflate his weight class with rumors, casually devour the White King, and push into the Central Continent?

The Black King's intent was plain to read. I had wondered why, even after awakening Despair and holding overwhelming force, he still had not launched a full assault on the White King. One could call it composure — but the Black King and the White King were ancient enemies and rivals. Given the chance, he should have torn into him at once. The reason he had not was right here.

I've passed him the fang, so the White King will start moving in earnest. This should be worth watching.

The White King was still at a disadvantage, true. But if he could raise his own weight class, this war looked winnable.

I smirked inwardly and turned my gaze calmly toward Hell.

—Kuuuuuuuuurrrp!

Hell let out a long belch and patted his belly with satisfaction. The Soul of Despair, the souls of the giants, every soul the other patrons had prepared — Hell had just Completely Consumed them all.

"……That's a lie."

"How do you Completely Consume something of that size?"

"Golden Mask! If you have a mouth, speak! What in the world just happened?!"

The patrons denied reality. They turned their fury on the Golden Mask instead. But the Golden Mask was just as shaken. How could he know what had happened? Even he had never seen an Orthodox devour that many souls in a single sitting.

"……Today's victor was chosen by the Will of the Great Moon."

There was no other explanation. Nothing but the Will of the Great Moon itself aiding the Golden Goat's Orthodox so that Complete Consumption became possible. It was winner-takes-all in the purest sense.

Grit!

Several patrons ground their teeth. Winner-takes-all or not, this had been outside every expectation. Just like the previous banquet, they had been stripped of the chance itself.

Oh-ho.

I could not have cared less about their loss. The only thing that interested me right now was one thing — the flood of messages rising before my eyes!

Death God Summon?

Did that mean he could now summon the Death Gods he had never been able to call before? It seemed the shift into the Mature Stage had unlocked it. Did that mean the other Orthodox had also passed beyond the Mature Stage?

And that was not the only change.

—Kyahahahah!

Wings erupted from his back. Six in total — three pairs of wings!

Wait. Child of the Moon?

The name was familiar. I was sure I had heard it recently.

A being that set foot in the Primal Age!

……Ah.

That name was definitely one of those the Ancient Dragon God had warned me to be careful of. Among the names he had specifically told me to watch for, the Child of the Moon had been one of them.

In other words, the Will of the Great Moon — the crimson moonlight that every patron revered and followed — was none other than the Child of the Moon. I had never expected to encounter a being that had set foot in the Primal Age this soon.

But getting involved now would do me no good. Hell's growth alone was more than enough.

……A relief. It had dropped its interest entirely. There was no telling what else this empire might hold. This was a place where you could never let your guard down for a single moment.

"Golden Goat. I have a question about your Orthodox."

"Speak."

The Golden Mask spoke then. When I answered, he pointed at Hell and opened his mouth again.

"Is that Death God of yours truly an Orthodox?"

"You're the one who acknowledged it, not me."

"No matter how I look at it, something is strange. Starting with its appearance — an Orthodox that cannot even summon the Death Gods every Orthodox is supposed to be able to call. Your Orthodox…… seems closer to a Death God itself than an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Orthodox."

I see. So he had changed tactics. He was pushing the angle that it was not an Orthodox at all. I shrugged.

"You're the one who acknowledged it first at the opening banquet."

"Seeing the form it took today raised questions. Why would an Orthodox transform into the shape of a Death God?"

As if I would know. Hell was certainly different from the other Orthodox. Different — but that did not mean he was not an Orthodox.

"If I summon a Death God, will you acknowledge that he is an Orthodox?"

"I will."

The Golden Mask nodded. The other patrons did the same.

Perfect timing.

Fortunately, Hell could now summon a Death God. I slowly conveyed my will to him.

Summon a Death God, Hell.

—Kyahahahaha!

Shrrrk!

Hell agreed and spread his wings wide. At the same time—

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!