Annihilation

1. Annihilation

"Shit. Honestly, I thought it was complete bullshit. I didn't know you could actually do it. Well, thanks anyway. I've got no complaints. I don't know what the hell a bastard like me's life is worth, but I'll make sure you get your price."

Sitting on a sofa in the sort of franchise coffee shop found anywhere in Seoul, I spoke to the demon, who was quietly sipping an iced Americano with a calm expression.

In the past, bizarre sightings—ghosts, UFOs, and the like—had given people endless fear and entertainment. Once the age of CCTV and smartphones arrived, however, they fell silent as if struck mute.

Demons? In this day and age? You saw one somewhere? Did you take a picture? You were too shocked? Then shall we check the CCTV? That was the kind of world we lived in, and until an hour earlier, I hadn't believed in demons either.

But I had witnessed it firsthand. My father, who had been in a vegetative state for twenty years, and my younger sister, who had used a wheelchair for years, had suddenly begun walking on their own in perfect health, astonishing the medical staff. Then my mother—who had never had a scrap of luck with money and was always being swindled out of what little we had—called with the unbelievable news that she had won two billion won on an instant lottery ticket.

Ridiculous as it was, this guy who'd accosted me on the street like some cultist was a genuine demon. The god I'd prayed to for decades never once saved me, but this demon, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who looked like an ordinary young man in front of me, granted my wish just like that, so effortlessly a moment ago.

"Glad you're satisfied. I'll throw in a little extra. Two billion won in lottery money—after taxes, paying off debts, and buying a house, there won't be much left. Let's see... Right. About four years from now? Your mother buys lottery tickets every week, so I'll have her win once more then. That much money should let your family live reasonably happily."

The demon smiled quietly and slid an Americano toward me. He really did offer excellent service for a demon. He'd even arrived before our meeting time and ordered my coffee. This would be the last coffee I ever drank.

"Really, thanks. So, do I die now?"

"To be precise, it's annihilation. You won't leave behind so much as a single cell of your remains in this world, nor any trace of the life you lived, nor even a memory of you in anyone—not even your family. This is a formal contract, so please use the exact term."

Aren't those the same thing?

No. The demon was right. I was truly going to disappear. My body and even all memory of me would vanish, so my family, who had only just found a new life, wouldn't have to endure needless grief. What an incredibly convenient arrangement. Even without such a tremendous wish—even if there were no reward at all—the world was full of people willing to throw away their lives for nothing. So why had this demon made the offer to me?

"You said you're a demon, right? And your goal is the annihilation of the world? But does one guy like me dying—no, being annihilated—really affect this world at all?"

I asked the demon as I drank the last coffee of my life.

"Of course. You've seen plenty of movies and read plenty of novels, haven't you? One tiny cog can have a tremendous effect on the whole. For instance, if an apple didn't fall, this world could have no law of universal gravitation."

"Huh? That story about Newton discovering it by seeing an apple fall? I heard that's bullshit."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. An apple severed from a tree falls to the ground. That is the law of this world. I'm saying in a world where an apple floats in the air instead of falling, the law of universal gravitation can't exist."

The demon answered as though he were enjoying himself. Honestly, I had little education and wasn't particularly bright, so I had no idea what he was talking about.

"What's that got to do with me being annihilated?"

"In this world, humans don't get annihilated in a single instant. That is the law of this world. But after you're annihilated, that law will be broken. And that is my goal."

"Me alone being annihilated will break some world-law thing?"

"Because a law loses the justification for its existence the moment even a single exception is found. Well, don't worry. The world won't suddenly be destroyed and put your family in danger, or bring about an apocalypse. The world collapsing into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chaos will take at least roughly twenty billion years."

Despite his patient explanation, I didn't understand a word. Then again, what understanding could I expect from a demon who handed out miracles as casually as freebies? I drained the rest of my coffee in one go and looked him straight in the eye.

"Then finish it. If you can send me off cleanly and without pain, I'd appreciate that too."

The demon laughed happily. It probably was not his real face, but the cheerful smile on that ordinary college student's face looked remarkably innocent.

"There'll be no pain. Your pain receptors will vanish at the same time.

"There is one thing I would like to ask, though. Are humans really that afraid of death?"

"Of course it is. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I don't know how many lives a demon's got, but humans only get one."

"Not exactly. Your soul will separate from its corporeal essence, lose its memories, and be born again. The human soul is close to immortal as well."

So I found out right before dying. Reincarnation really did exist. It didn't give me much comfort, though.

"Still, if the memories don't carry on, it's just a total stranger. Just because it's the same soul doesn't mean you feel any kinship. The fact that my existence ends right here, right now, is still the same."

"Hmm. Then shall I let you keep your current memories into your next life?"

"Huh? You can do that too?"

"Of course. Death has always been a demon's domain. I don't really understand how humans feel, but your life could hardly have been enjoyable. Wouldn't it feel much better to forget everything and start over?"

"No way. If the memories carry on, it's basically the same as not dying. It's shameless of me, but if you can, I'm really begging you."

"Hmm. So that's how humans see it. Of course I'll grant it. I'm a demon who provides excellent service."

If he hadn't introduced himself as a demon, if I hadn't heard his goal was to end this entire world, I might have honestly believed he was a truly merciful god. But whether he's a god or a demon, what the hell do I care? He was my savior. In this shitty world with no hope, he brought down the curtain on my life—a life so full of pain I couldn't even choose suicide for my family's sake—and turned it into a meaningful sacrifice.

"Since this is the end, tell me if there's anything else you need. You have achieved my objective, so I'm in an exceptionally good mood right now."

"Could you make me be born a rich family's son?"

"Making you the son of someone wealthy enough to influence the world would require a slightly more complicated procedure, but I can place you in a reasonably well-off family. That won't guarantee happiness in your next life, though."

'Money can't buy happiness.'

Like an enlightened sage, the demon imparted a truth to me.

"Still, it'd be way better than being poor and miserable, so please."

What could I possibly know compared with a demon? Even so, I asked once more, pouring into the request everything my life had taught me. Money couldn't buy happiness, but it could deal with most of the countless miseries in this world.

"Alright. For the record, I don't know which world you'll reincarnate in either. I could check if I wanted to, but that's a real hassle. It might not be a capitalist society like this one, so the power of money could be way weaker than you think. And the same goes for the scientific knowledge you've learned so far. Depending on the world you reincarnate in, it could genuinely be the kind of world where an apple doesn't fall."

Was he worried about me? But no matter how ignorant I was, I knew one thing for certain. There were societies where power and violence mattered more than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠money. But in any civilization that developed currency, a rich person was definitely far better off than a poor one. And scientific knowledge? What the hell did I know? Isaac Newton, the guy the demon mentioned just now. I was a guy who couldn't even understand the integrals Newton presented four hundred years ago. Pythagoras was a man from twenty-five hundred years ago. I'd learned the Pythagorean Theorem back in middle school, sure, but proving that theorem myself was a whole other impossible story.

In other words, having some half-assed knowledge meant it was still nothing much in the eyes of the geniuses of that era. Knowing some damn formula like E=MC2 didn't mean I could build an atomic bomb.

"Well, anyway, thank you for cooperating. It had been a very long time since I last spoke to anyone, so I enjoyed myself. I hope your next life is happier than this one.

"A last farewell gift. Here, pick one card."

Dozens of glowing cards appeared in the air in an instant. Since no one else in the coffee shop reacted, apparently only I could see them. I already knew the demon possessed mysterious powers, but witnessing something so supernatural before my eyes left me with a strange feeling.

"Among the humans I've made deals with, some contracted with their own knowledge and skills, things they'd spent a lifetime refining, as the price. I'll give you one. It might help, it might be completely useless. If you're born somewhere like North Korea, you won't be able to do shit with a talent for stock investment."

He was looking out for me right to the very end. I felt grateful, but also afraid. I still had no idea why he was doing so much for me. Perhaps, as a being on a scale vast enough to seek the destruction of the world itself,

so maybe it was just cheap pity for a guy like me, utterly insignificant and pathetic among humans. Or maybe for him, this much service was literally only worth about ten won, and he was giving me a tip 'cause he felt good. Did he notice what was on my mind? He grinned and answered my unspoken question.

"You don't need to feel burdened. It's a low-probability gamble, but I have nothing to lose. A power taken for granted in one world might shatter the natural order in another, just as your annihilation will. I'm doing this for my own convenience, but I hope it makes things easier for you as well."

He spoke with delight. Having just set this world's eventual destruction in motion, he seemed to have already started diligently planning the next world's ruin. That was almost a relief. Goodwill without a purpose was truly frightening.

I gathered my courage and grabbed one of the cards hanging in the air.

-Unlimited Mana-

The moment my hand touched the card, I knew its ability was Unlimited Mana. A strange sensation, just information naturally flowing into my head.

Mana?

So the candidates for my next reincarnation included worlds with magic. If it was a fantasy world like a game, I'd have seriously hit the jackpot.

"I'll hope this ability proves useful in your next life. If it's a total bust, think hard about it. I'll arrange things beforehand so that for every one hundred humans you kill, you get one more card to pick, up to a maximum of nine."

Finally, the demon before me wore the kind of demonic smile I'd always imagined. I felt no particular aversion. Humans killed one another all the time even without powers like that. In this life, I'd been forced to grovel just to drag out my miserable existence at the bottom of the food chain. While I lived honestly as one of the weak, predators filled their bellies and enjoyed their lives. If possible, I wanted to be one of the predators next time.

"Okay, then. This is farewell. I hope you enjoy a happy new life."

He lightly extended a hand toward me. In that instant, my vision went black.

It truly took only a single instant. My body vanished before I could even feel myself being annihilated.

My short life of twenty-nine years reached the end of its journey right here.