Summoning the Demon (Part 4)
…What the hell just happened?
No, that wasn't right. I knew exactly what had happened. A human body had just burst right in front of me like an overinflated balloon. It was just that… I hadn't wanted that to happen in the slightest.
"Take my soul and grant me your strength!"
— Matthias | Male, Age 43 | Level 24 | Title: Usurper
The instant that bastard's blood splashed against my skin, a barrage of information I never asked for flooded my senses. It felt uncomfortably similar to when the entire concept of 'Faust' had been forcefully crammed into my skull moments earlier. Naturally, terrified of reliving that agony, my body had flinched and thrashed in pure, conditioned reflex—much like how the mere thought of biting into a sour lemon makes your mouth water.
Don't tell me that was the reason…
Did Matthias explode into gore because of me…? God, this was insane. By all rights, my conscience ought to be eating me alive, yet I couldn't feel a single pang of guilt. It was as though the innate morality I had possessed since birth—the ethics drilled into me by my parents and teachers throughout my entire life—was being utterly overridden. Just like killing an NPC in a video game, I felt completely numb.
Could it be… was this really the world of a game? Considering I had turned into the raid boss Faust, the possibility was certainly there… But no, that couldn't be right. No developer would ever render graphics with this level of fidelity.
If anyone pulled a stunt like that, the install size would easily blow past hundreds of terabytes. The game wouldn't even run.
Above all else, it was simply too real. It wasn't just Matthias's gruesome demise; the appearance and reactions of that bedwetti—no, that elf—and the absolute wreckage of our surroundings looked like nothing other than cold, hard reality. Besides, I already knew through Faust's memories that this place was no mere world woven from digital code.
"This wasn't our contract!! You swore you would spare my life, didn't you?!"
"And so I have spared you. What is the grievance? Look upon yourself—if even sacred healing magic leaves you unscathed, are you not undeniably alive?"
"What… what does that mean…?"
…Ugh.
My head felt like it was splitting open. Faust's memories were running rampant, thoroughly tearing through my mind. When I was back at the studio, we had only drafted the bare-bones narrative framework for him, yet here he possessed memories so breathtakingly vivid. It seemed Faust had been completed to perfection—not just in visual design, but in his entire lore and backstory. And right now, that fully realized backstory was inflicting sheer agony on me.
…If I had known I'd get dragged into a world like this, I should've worked on the development team for some bright, cheerful casual game instead.
Crack-crack-crackle—!
KABOOOM—!!
"Keep firing! Fire everything you've got!"
And to top it all off, I was receiving this extraordinarily warm welcome.
Having blown a man to pieces right before her eyes, and looking like a walking nightmare to boot, I had stepped outside to give the terrified elf some space to calm down. Regrettably, things outside were far worse. Every single person in sight was glaring at me with raw hostility and bombarding me with attacks—a wildly chaotic assortment of spells and projectiles, at that.
"Why… Why won't it go down…?!"
"Hurry, call for reinforcements! The barrier's going to break!!"
"These are all the mages we have!"
Hey… I haven't even done anything.
I only came out because I figured lingering inside would distress people, so I intended to leave and head somewhere far away. Why the hell were they blocking my path? More to the point, these people were so ridiculously frail that I couldn't even touch them. Looking at them felt like watching a house of cards—one slight tap and the whole thing would collapse, killing them instantly.
Because of that, I was trying to leave without harming anyone, prodding at their barrier with the utmost delicacy… but things had gotten tangled because these fools were staking their very lives on maintaining it. If I simply shattered the barrier, the immense magical backlash on the mages pouring every ounce of their focus into the spell would lead to a gruesome catastrophe.
Even if they don't pop like Matthias, they'll end up in a pretty horrific state.
…Naturally, no such mechanic existed in Noah. In the game, when a barrier created by a skill broke, it just broke; players didn't take lethal backlash damage. But Faust's memories and demonic instincts were warning me that this was precisely what would happen here in reality.
This was driving me utterly out of my mind.
"I fail to comprehend this folly."
"Do not listen! Block your ears, everyone!!"
Great, now they were ostracizing me.
I had only wanted to tell them that I would leave quietly if they stepped aside and stopped firing, but it seemed none of them had any interest in hearing a word I said. Sensing a uniform hum of mana concentrated around their ears, I guessed they were using some kind of sound-cancelling ward. Still, as insulted as I felt, their reaction was entirely understandable.
According to Noah's lore, high-ranking demons ensnared their victims through Wordcraft—hypnotic mental interference woven directly into speech. If this world adhered to the game's rules, it was only natural for them to treat my voice like a lethal hazard. Refusing to engage in conversation at all was the textbook procedure.
Then again, that elf earlier hadn't blocked her ears…
Uh… well… let's just consider her an exception.
"Such trivial parlor tricks are utterly futile."
"What—?!"
The moment my voice, laced with dark mana, pierced cleanly through their defensive spells and vibrated against their eardrums, nearly every soldier in sight flinched in absolute terror. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, despite having become Faust only a few hours ago, I had already adapted completely to this body. Infusing my voice with mana to bypass warding magic was as effortless as drawing breath.
I had only tried it on a whim, but… damn, it really punched right through.
"Dispel your wards. Surely you are well aware that I am extending mercy toward you?"
"…"
Even though my words were ringing loud and clear in their ears, not a single person answered. Every last soul present seemed determined never to converse with an archdemon. With this many people gathered, you'd think at least one brave fool would try to negotiate.
…Seriously, what was with that elf back there? She had talked to me so boldly that I thought she was someone special, only to break down in terror and… Ugh.
"If I choose to shatter this barrier as it stands, you shall all perish a wretched death. This is your final chance. Lower your magic."
"…"
The mages sustaining the defensive field visibly wavered. A few openly turned their heads, casting frantic glances at the man who appeared to be their commander. Had they simply never imagined such words could issue from the mouth of a demon?
"…What is it you desire?"
Oh, thank God. Finally, someone who talks.
Feeling the weight of everyone's stares, the knight who seemed to be the leader closed his eyes for a fleeting second before barking out the question. The shock ripples through the surrounding soldiers were palpable—several even reached out to restrain him—yet he resolutely ignored them, glaring up at me with unwavering steel in his gaze.
"What I desire, you ask…"
…How the hell was I supposed to answer that?
All I really wanted was to take a stroll outside and see the world, but from their perspective, a demon—and an endgame raid boss, no less—roaming freely across the realm would be nothing short of an unmitigated apocalypse. Of course, I could just ignore them and stride through their barrier, but if possible, wasn't it better to spare their lives? In that case, I needed to conceal my true intentions and invent a plausible pretext.
"State the current year, and name the kingdom in which we stand."
"…What?"
"Answer me, and I shall quietly depart from this nation."
The moment the words left my lips, the knight visibly recoiled.
…Huh? All I asked for was the year and our location.
Ah, was he not shaken, but just bewildered? To be fair, staring down an entity that looked like the absolute pinnacle of archdemons, he must have braced himself for some horrifying demand. To be asked for nothing more than the date and the country's name would naturally throw him off balance.
"Are you telling me to buy our own safety by offering another nation as a sacrifice?!"
…Wait, what?
Uh… hm…
Apparently, that wasn't what was going through his head at all. My promise to 'quietly depart from this nation' sounded to him like the sinister whisper of a demon offering salvation at the expense of selling out a neighboring country. No, seriously… that wasn't what I meant at all…
"Do you take issue with my terms?"
"I do! Above all, how could we ever trust—"
"If you will not trust me, then so be it. Do I appear to be in a position where I must beg for your belief?"
"…"
Unable to counter, the knight's mouth snapped shut.
Well, I was right. What was I supposed to do if he didn't believe me? These men knew better than anyone that the only reason they were still drawing breath was entirely thanks to my restraint. I was the one bestowing mercy here, not the one begging for it.
"…The year is 1311. This is the Lion Kingdom."
The knight squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth, ultimately yielding to my demand. Torn between knightly honor and the survival of his homeland, it seemed he had chosen the realm that paid his wage.
The year players created their characters and intervened in the narrative of Noah was 1327. But 1311… That meant I was sixteen years early.
And the Lion Kingdom… Wow, I ended up somewhere pretty damn crucial.
The Lion Kingdom was a central stage in the early storyline of Noah. Decades prior to the game's start, a noble had assassinated the king and usurped the throne, forging a pact with a demon to annihilate the royalist loyalists. But as the price of that contract, the kingdom had fallen entirely into demonic hands, transforming the entire realm into a living hell—wait a minute.
That noble… Wasn't he Matthias?
Matthias had definitely been the one performing the demonic summoning. When I checked earlier, his title was literally 'Usurper'…
Uh… Was some other demon supposed to be summoned, but I answered instead? And then Matthias ended up blowing into pieces because of my blunder?
Then what happens to the plot…?
The Lion Kingdom carrying major weight in the early roadmap meant that without its fall, players wouldn't be able to level up properly. If the demons, undead, and demonic beasts that were supposed to overrun the Lion Kingdom never appeared, the massive mountain of experience points players gained from slaughtering them would vanish into thin air.
If I remembered correctly, players entered the Lion Kingdom arc around level 24 on average, and emerged around level 60…
…I was completely fucked.