Summoning
Summoning. Even for the gods, who were supposed to serve as helpful NPC guides, this situation was utterly baffling. If a player refused to kill the monsters and instead started helping them, what was supposed to happen to the game? Even if everything was already beyond saving, they couldn't just stand by and watch.
If you won't kill the monsters, then at least get out of the way!
The God of Fire tried reasoning with Seyul, who kept pulling one strange stunt after another. But Seyul was in no mood to listen.
“No.”
When she turned her head away and flatly refused, the God of Fire's face twisted.
I hate it when you say no. Listen here, you lunatic. This situation isn't actually bad for us. If we just let these things tear each other apart, it benefits us in the long run.
The monsters were using Drain to kill and absorb each other. It would certainly produce a few stronger monsters, but in exchange, their overall numbers would plummet.
Numbers win wars, no matter how many strong individuals you have. If monsters with lower breeding rates than humans keep this up, their population might one day drop past the point of recovery. All we have to do is sit back and watch—and we might actually win!
So he implored her, over and over, to at least stop interfering with the mutual slaughter—but Seyul never lowered her raised spear. Watching her, the God of Fire threw up his hands in disbelief and shouted.
Why on earth are you trying to help monsters? You're not the friendly type who goes around helping people!
As he scolded her for doing something so out of character, Seyul made a strange expression.
“Excuse me? I help people perfectly normally when it's warranted.”
Don't lie to me! Then what do you call slaughtering every monster you've come across until now?!
“That's because those ones attacked me first.”
The village monsters here, on the other hand, had never attacked. And Koras had shown her genuine kindness, which had left a good impression. That was why she'd decided to help—so being told she was acting out of character left her with a peculiar feeling.
Do I really look that unreasonable to him?
It wasn't that she helped unconditionally. But if someone who had shown her goodwill found themselves in danger, she would help within her means. That was why she hadn't bothered to wipe out every last monster during the kaiju attack back home, either.
Believe it or not, in the other world I helped villages in trouble like this all the time.
Being treated as some heartless monster-slayer by a god who knew nothing about her stung. So instead of explaining herself at length, she gave him just one line.
“What I do is my own business.”
She said it out of irritation, but it was the honest truth, too. She did what she wanted to do—and so, no matter what anyone said, she was going to do it. That was the principle that governed every one of Seyul's actions.
You absolute menace!
To the God of Fire, however, this looked like nothing but villainy. In his mind, Seyul was a foul-tempered woman who wouldn't even show proper respect to a god. If someone like that suddenly claimed to be helping people, there was no way her intentions were good. Worse still, she had just admitted this situation favored humanity—yet she was interfering anyway simply because she felt like it. There was nothing about it that looked even remotely innocent.
The God of Water was right after all! He said there'd never again be a menace like you in all the world...
Just as the God of Fire was grinding his teeth in fury, a sphere of concentrated mana came flying at his back.
...What the—?
A blow strong enough to take an ordinary human's head clean off. Thankfully, being a god, he took no real damage—but he was thoroughly dumbfounded. Whirling around, he saw high-rank monsters extending their hands toward him.
Did you just attack me?
It was an unbelievable reality. High-rank or not, these were monsters who existed to do trivial busywork. These utterly insignificant creatures had dared to attack a god. And what they said was even worse.
“Tch, you're fine. So it really is a powerful summon, then!”
A—a what?
Blindsided by being called a summon, the God of Fire froze. Seizing the opening, the high-rank monsters turned and pointed their fingers at Seyul this time.
“So you were a high-rank summoner all along.”
“Me?”
Seyul, equally baffled, pointed at herself.
Someone patiently explained it in chat for anyone who hadn't caught on—and the theory stood exactly as written. Seyul had marched up so boldly and confidently that the high-rank monsters had been secretly wondering if she had something up her sleeve. Then the God of Fire had appeared, and they'd mistaken him for her power.
“You took our attacks like they were nothing—that's no ordinary summon!”
“Which means you, woman, must be a summoner of considerable rank.”
“Judging by appearances, we almost let our guard down. Foolish.”
“We won't be careless again!”
The high-rank monsters, thoroughly convinced Seyul was a high-rank summoner, began to fight in earnest—and her face crumpled. The plan of striking them down while they underestimated her had just sailed clean out the window.
Wait, though. Given how things are now... maybe this actually works out?
But another idea soon surfaced, and a sly smile crept across her lips.
“That's right. I am, as you can see, a high-rank summoner.”
Astoundingly, Seyul confirmed her enemies' delusion. Then she pointed a finger at the God of Fire.
“And that is the special summon I called forth.”
Me?
When she brazenly declared the god to be her summoned creature, not only the God of Fire himself but the entire audience went numb.
“If you want to kill me, you'll have to take down my summon first!”
Seyul's declaration rang out with full imperial confidence. In that instant, the expressions of every high-rank monster froze—and the very next moment, they all charged the God of Fire.
W-wait a moment!
The God of Fire cried out for them to wait, but not a single one listened. Taking Seyul's words at face value, they threw themselves into a ferocious battle.
One of the monsters in a business suit unleashed its unique ability. Unique abilities—powers distinct from ordinary skills, possessed only by high-rank monsters. The suited monster's gift was of the instant-death variety: when used, the target either died outright or lost an enormous chunk of health.
“It didn't work?!”
But its opponent was a god. The instant-death ability did absolutely nothing.
“Then how about this!”
Next, a monster dressed like a schoolteacher pressed the attack. Its unique ability was a simple one—acceleration. It moved one and a half times faster than the other high-rank monsters, hitting speeds of well over 120 kilometers per hour. It hurled itself at the God of Fire at blistering speed, but again—divine opponent. Every strike was evaded. Then another monster tried to hypnotize him with its evil eye, while yet another attempted to manipulate his mind. There was even one hurling bolts of lightning.
Every manner of power was deployed, but the God of Fire was, rotten as he was, still a god. He dodged them all or blocked them without the slightest effort, his irritation mounting.
I said stop this! You fools have it all wrong!
He barked at them to cease their assault—but,
“Wrong? We watched with our own eyes as you talked about slaughtering our kind.”
W-well, yes, that part's true, but that's not the point—actually, I happen to be a god...
“Save the fairy tales and die!”
High-rank monsters, brazenly screaming for a god to die. The God of Fire dearly wanted to simply kill them all, but the gods' rules forbade it.
What grudge could you possibly hold against me, doing this to me?!
The God of Fire wailed in anguish at Seyul.
The viewers cackled as they watched the God of Fire flee for his life.
“Heh heh!”
Seyul laughed along too—watching a piece of garbage get torn apart was simply delightful.
But she hadn't done all this purely to spite the God of Fire.
“Everyone, stop wasting time on that thing. Just kill the summoner!”
The knight-armed monster who had spoken first bellowed to its comrades as it closed in on Seyul. Even if a summon was strong, the summoner's body itself was nothing special. That was the reasoning—so it moved to finish her off. Instead, Seyul's carelessly swung spearhead severed its neck in one stroke.
Hm. Reliable, as expected.
Once they believed she was a summoner, they would inevitably target her body without any real caution. She had deliberately played along with the misunderstanding to exploit exactly that. Practical gains, plus the bonus of needling an eyesore like the God of Fire—two birds with one stone.
“Targeting the summoner would be a grave mistake. You see, my summon possesses the ability to empower me—the summoner himself!”
Seyul piled on an absurd lie to deepen the confusion even further. The high-rank monsters, already rattled by her killing their comrade, grew even more flustered at these words.
“Wh-what?”
“This is bad.”
“Then we can't go for the summoner!”
“Should we take down the summon first, then?”
“No, no—clearly we should still strike the summoner first!”
The high-rank monsters descended into squabbling chaos. Against an opponent they could never beat even with their wits about them, arguing mid-battle meant the outcome was all but sealed.
Seyul slipped among them without a sound. Not one of them noticed her spear's approach until it was upon them, utterly without warning—like the scythe of a death god sweeping through the field. Aside from their special abilities, the high-rank monsters' bodies were physically on par with the Orc Chieftain or Gerard. They had no hope of withstanding a spear that could split even Crasher's flesh. In moments, their vital points had been slashed and pierced, and they fell.
I-I survived!
The God of Fire, spared by the chaos, breathed a sigh of relief—and,
“Magnificent. Never in my life have I seen such a wondrous summoner!”
Koras, swept up in the same misunderstanding, marveled at Seyul's extraordinary summoning arts.