The Demigod's Bargain
“Father, that’s… please, just listen to me first.”
The memory surfaced of that creature approaching after shedding its awkward expression, its body swelling in an instant to reveal its true form. It grew larger by the second, as if to prove it was no human, until it towered over even the first disciple’s height. That overwhelming bulk, paired with the shifting color of its eyes, had been utterly chilling.
Faced with undeniable proof that what he had heard was true, Raven had finally lost his reason.
“……”
His gaze met Deciever’s. The other man’s eyes were deceptively ordinary now, yet his appearance remained unchanged from that day. The two images overlapped in Raven’s mind.
Slosh—
Raven pushed himself upright from where he had been leaning. Blood-tinged water spilled over the edge of the tub. Still on his knees, he raised one hand to cradle the side of his head at an angle. Damp black hair slid down with the tilt of his head, and the fingers resting against his temple curled tight.
Crack— Veins stood out across the back of his hand.
“Father?”
“……Get out.”
“Father.”
“Get out!!!”
At the same moment, the Guardian Spirit materialized between them. Deciever retreated to avoid the sweeping blade, then glanced past the spirit toward Raven.
The face that had been hidden came into view. Though the green eyes still held the Guardian Spirit’s presence, they now blazed with killing intent—gray irises fixed on Deciever. The fury pouring across Raven’s features was so vivid that anyone else would have felt their knees weaken.
‘……Why?’
He had apologized, so why was Raven this enraged?
Deciever blinked, unable to understand, then decided retreat was wiser. Raven was far too agitated right now.
“I’ll wait outside. Please calm yourself and come out when you’re ready.”
“……”
Even after Deciever vanished, Raven continued to breathe hard for a while, shoulders heaving. His head drooped. The murderous aura eased by a fraction, and a low curse slipped between his teeth.
“Damn it……”
It had been a long time since he had let his emotions run this wild. The fact that the cause was that bastard only made it worse.
The medicinal herbs in the bath had closed every wound. Raven rose, dried himself, and dressed in the provided clothes. His eyes still belonged to the Guardian Spirit, but whenever his vision faltered, the spirit guided him without difficulty.
A hand touched his still-damp hair. Raven quietly surrendered to the touch for a moment, then lowered his sightless eyes and called out.
“……Ancestor.”
“[Yes.]”
“He’s a half-god.”
Even if not a complete one, the being still bore the title of “god.”
“A different class entirely from a Guardian Spirit bound to the level of the dead.”
The hands drying his long hair with a soft towel faltered. Raven paid it no mind and continued, his voice calm as he rebuked the one who had come for his sake.
He had to say it.
“I didn’t summon you. Why did you appear?”
What if the spirit had been destroyed?
Deciever had been too distracted by “Father’s” anger to notice, but if his rage had instead turned on the insolent soul blocking his path, the consequences would have been dire.
Raven had never intended to call the Guardian Spirit in front of that creature, yet here the spirit was, acting on its own.
“You know better than anyone that messages must be sent with extreme caution around him.”
Those of higher rank than a Guardian Spirit could perceive the messages it sent. Given Deciever’s nature, the wisest course was to remain quiet, as though he did not exist at all.
The reply that came was steady.
“[You looked as though you might cry.]”
“……When have I ever—”
“[My child, I did not lend you my eyes so that you would weep. I did not lend them so you could suffer while witnessing something foul.]”
The child was on the verge of breaking again—what did it matter if the spirit vanished?
The destruction of a worthless soul that only accumulated karma with every movement meant nothing. Just as he had ten years ago, the Guardian Spirit had stepped in the moment he saw the child losing his reason, severing Raven’s thoughts and blocking his vision.
“[To one who cannot see, a rose is nothing but thorns that wound. I wanted you to use these eyes to avoid the thorns and enjoy the rose’s beauty. To avoid what is harmful as much as possible, to keep your gaze on what is good, and to find flowers blooming even on cacti in the desert.]”
“……”
“[Yet when you fixated on that wretch and suffered for it, how could I possibly stay silent?]”
The voice, warm with affection, gently soothed his heart.
Raven squeezed his eyes shut. For a long while he could find no reply, lips trembling in the deep darkness. When the silence finally broke, what he chose to say was—
“Go back.”
“[……]”
“No matter what Deciever does, do not intervene. Ever.”
He had changed the subject.
The Guardian Spirit returned without answering the final command. It was his own form of refusal.
The moment the spirit vanished, Raven borrowed the eyes again. First, he dealt with the blood that had risen in his throat.
He spat carefully so none would stain his clothes, wiped his mouth once more…… Only after lingering in the bathroom a little longer did he step out unsteadily. He stopped short at the sight of Deciever waiting for him.
“You’ve come out. Do the clothes suit you? I was under the impression you preferred light, comfortable garments, Father.”
“……”
“The temperature is quite suitable for them as well, isn’t it? I had the entire palace’s heating adjusted generously for your sake—”
“……Haa.”
The first thing he saw through borrowed eyes was that man. The violent fury from earlier was gone, yet a sigh still escaped him.
Without bothering to answer, Raven walked past him and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Get to the point.”
“……As you know, in this northern empire, heating an entire building is a symbol of wealth. If you remain in this imperial palace—”
“Quickly.”
“Father.”
“Deciever.”
“……Just a little……”
If he kept dodging like this, Raven’s already short patience would wear thin. Deciever’s expression darkened.
“Could you not accommodate me, even a little?”
“……”
“After all, the only way you can obtain what you want is through me.”
Raven could die only by killing Deciever. The Gate problem he needed to resolve was also tied to Deciever.
Because the one who could free you from endless life was none other than himself.
“Very well. I’ll get to the point. I have a proposal.”
It isn’t difficult at all.
Deciever approached Raven slowly, as though pressing him, while the other remained silent.
“Worship me, Father.”
He had already apologized, after all.
“If the word ‘worship’ makes you uncomfortable, simply acknowledging my existence is enough. Please recognize that I exist, that I am a ‘god.’”
Do not turn away from me.
“In return, I will grant you anything you desire.”
As long as you do not turn away, I have no intention of acting with malice toward you. On the contrary, I would give you every good thing imaginable.
There had been times he thought it would be easier if Raven simply broke completely, but Deciever knew that his father would choose ruin over being used as a tool. That was why he was trying so hard to persuade him now.
“You only need to make me whole.”
The inferiority and hunger born from being incomplete were more vicious than anything else. If Raven did this, Deciever would move heaven and earth to fulfill every wish. It would be rather convenient, wouldn’t it?
So.
‘With that lofty rank you possess, make me—’
Please.
Deciever was a half-god.
Not a proper one, but an imperfect half-god born from an error during the world’s upheaval.
That fact had been a festering reverse scale, a thorn lodged in his throat that tormented him for a long time.
Unless this was resolved, he would never know happiness. That was why Deciever had searched for a way to become whole, and he had found the most realistic method with even a sliver of possibility.
‘To be worshipped by one of high rank.’
‘Gods’ were born from human worship.
When many humans believed in something that did not exist, or deemed something sacred, that belief became the foundation for a supernatural being’s birth.
That was how the existence of ‘ghosts’ was acknowledged, and how ‘Guardian Spirits’ came to be.
In fact, the ‘true’ half-god residing in the Esperanes Kingdom had been born from a tree that humans believed to be divine.
‘The reason a god’s birth requires many humans and a long time is because a rank above a certain threshold is necessary.’
The rank held by individual humans was absurdly low.
After all, how much rank could someone who lived at most a hundred years accumulate? Even if a reincarnated soul brought over memories from a past life, few had lived lives grand enough to shake the world and carve their names into history at such a height. Those rare individuals tended to believe in themselves rather than any god.
That was why even the half-god of Esperanes had taken so long to appear. With his short patience, Deciever had no desire to pour endless time into something that might not even succeed.
‘Father possesses a high rank.’
In that sense, Raven was an extremely suitable candidate for giving birth to a god.
Though he had yet to awaken it, he undeniably harbored an astonishingly high rank within him.
A single act of worship from him would be more effective than the worship of millions of ordinary people. If Deciever could receive that worship, he might not reach the level of a true ‘god,’ but he could at least escape the category of ‘Error’ and become a complete half-god.
Clinging to that hope, Deciever kept his eyes on Raven.
“……Ha.”
What an elaborate load of nonsense.
Raven let out a hollow laugh.
“Right. You were a half-baked god.”
“……”
Deciever’s brow twitched.
Ignoring the reaction, Raven leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his voice dry as he continued without sparing Deciever a glance.
“No matter how you dress it up, what you ultimately want is for me to keep living a long time, isn’t it?”
For Raven’s death to be realized, Deciever himself would have to die first.
No matter what reason he attached to it, if Deciever wanted to achieve his goal, Raven would have to stay alive for now.
“As your son, I suppose a little greed is natural. If you could just live a little longer—”
“A little longer?”
Calling himself a son was utterly repulsive.
Raven let the mockery show plainly on his face.
“Don’t make me laugh. You want me to live until you become a ‘complete being.’”
“……”
“Because you’re only half.”
When it came time to spill his true desires, he had been so straightforward—why bother wrapping it up now?
Raven understood exactly why Deciever wanted his worship. It was impossible to miss when the other man was this blatant.
After all, what reason could an incomplete being bearing the title of ‘god’ have for seeking worship?
“Ah, maybe you can’t even be called half.”
Gods were born from human faith. Quality over quantity—a single act of worship from someone of high rank was far more efficient than many from those of low rank.
Raven might not know the details, but as someone who had lived beyond a natural lifespan in an immortal body, his rank was surely extraordinary.
That was what Deciever was aiming for.
“Compared to a true half-god, your rank is infinitely lower—”
“Father.”
Deciever seized Raven by the throat.
“You would do well to choose your words carefully.”
“……”
He was trying to appear calm, yet his emotions were clearly running high—the black of his pupils had spread all the way to the whites.
Raven met the deadly warning with a quiet stare, then slowly curled one corner of his mouth upward. His eyes crinkled, and a chilling smile spread across his face.
“You told me to worship you?”
“……”
“Why? Do you really think that would make you whole?”
“Father.”
“Don’t delude yourself. Even then, you’re still—”
“Father…!”
“—nothing more than a mass of errors pretending to be a proper half-god.”
Crack!
Raven’s neck snapped.
Almost simultaneously, someone appeared and tore Raven from Deciever’s grasp.