Chapter 106

Chapter 106: The Demon King's Castle (1)

Evil God Thanatos.

To borrow a somewhat cliché expression, he could be called the strongest being in the setting.

The existence closest to an absolute in this world—the strongest Evil God.

Before that overwhelming presence, the Geumok party despaired.

"Ah, aah......"

Humans tended to fall into despair when confronted with an existence beyond their ability to comprehend.

Evil God Thanatos was exactly that.

Like staring down into an unfathomably deep ocean—a being akin to an abyss that human cognition couldn't begin to measure.

Even my skin crawled every time the mana radiating from Thanatos washed over me.

"What... is that......"

"Run! We're all going to die!"

Some collapsed to their knees in despair; others screamed, half-mad.

Thanatos reacted to the commotion.

【The gatekeeper let in those without qualification, I see. This is not a place for the likes of you.】

Thanatos waved his hand once.

The Geumok party members' forms blurred, then vanished.

"What did you—"

【I merely sent them back to the entrance. Would you not prefer to speak with me alone?】

He hadn't harmed them, thankfully. A sigh of relief escaped me.

Moreover, the fact that he'd sent them away peacefully confirmed what I'd suspected—he bore no hostility toward us.

In the game too, this Evil God's base characterization wasn't that of humanity's enemy.

The composure born from that knowledge evaporated completely at Thanatos's next words.

【Outsider, there is no need for childish introductions. You know me well, and I know you.】

"...What?"

Nothing about that made sense.

Outsider? He knew me?

"Outsider" fit me well—someone who existed in this world yet was fundamentally not of it.

What I couldn't understand was how Thanatos knew that.

My pupils shook violently. The unexpected shock made maintaining a poker face impossible.

Thanatos seemed amused by my reaction, letting out a small smirk.

【So that is your true face. The expression of a soul, not of that body.】

"You... how much do you know?"

A voice so cold it surprised even me left my lips.

Not that it had much effect.

Thanatos showed zero concern for my emotions.

【Do you believe in fate?】

"Fate?"

The abrupt question drew a vacant sound from my mouth.

Fate.

I could answer that topic with confidence.

"No such thing exists. So-called destined fate can be entirely rewritten by human will."

And that was the truth.

I'd shattered this world's supposedly inevitable storylines multiple times.

The world's course wasn't fixed in a form called fate.

Human will could reshape it however it desired.

【Wrong. The correct answer is 'it exists.' You can say otherwise only because you are an outsider.】

"...What?"

【This world has a predetermined fate. Just as water flows from high to low, fate flows in a single direction. But recently, the water in this world began flowing upward.】

"...Are you saying I've been defying that fate?"

【Yes. Something only an outsider—one who belongs to this world yet does not—could do.】

That meant that just as I knew the game's story, the Evil Gods could perceive this world's general flow through something called "fate."

But that story had begun to deviate, and since my involvement was the obvious cause, they'd deduced that I was a special existence.

"This fate—can all of you see it?"

【We cannot. We can only sense that fate has been disrupted by someone. We merely deduced that someone was you.】

If the Evil Gods could actually see the main story, they'd have killed Park Seohu first.

Dodging the worst case was a relief, but a bitter taste lingered.

The Evil Gods had their eyes on me.

I'd suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed left me uneasy.

Until now, I'd been reading the story ahead and steering things in my favor—but from here on, the story could veer into entirely unknown territory.

And as long as I remained at Florian, they'd obviously keep targeting me.

What if an event on the scale of the Academy Collapse happened again, centered on Florian?

This time, I wouldn't know about the attack in advance—I couldn't call Lie Xiao or prepare strategies beforehand.

My mind was a mess.

I'd wanted to be a fortress protecting my students. But now, my very existence might make them targets too.

"I see. So you came to warn me that I've become the Evil Gods' target?"

【No. There is something far more important. Do you understand what it truly means to defy fate?】

"...How would I? I didn't even know fate existed until just now."

【True. Had you known, you would not have so blatantly altered it.】

"What?"

【Do you know why we cannot openly intervene in your dimension?】

"I understand that dimensional assimilation between dimensions is a prerequisite for cross-dimensional intervention."

【Yes. That assimilation rate is the problem. Every time fate changes, your dimension transforms to match the new fate. In that process, the assimilation rate surges dramatically.】

"You can't mean......"

【The fact that I can contact you and speak like this is itself a consequence of the sharply risen assimilation rate.】

I'd changed fate and saved people.

As a result, the Evil Gods could now move more freely.

What an absolutely shitty chain of causation.

Preventing America's collapse and elevating the world's capabilities had accelerated dimensional assimilation.

The consequence was that the main story had been pushed forward even further.

This defeated the whole purpose.

Even if it meant abandoning the entire world, SSS-rank dungeons couldn't be allowed to appear before the Playable Characters finished growing.

SSS-rank dungeons—appearing from the game's late stages onward.

Catastrophes that neither Lie Xiao, nor Edelin, nor any Hero could touch.

Even if I successfully protected the whole world, if the Playable Characters hadn't finished growing by the time the late game began, it was all over.

"Then SSS-rank dungeons could appear far earlier than scheduled?"

【That is certain. But my brethren have also decided that giving you any more time is too dangerous. You are an uncontrollable variable.】

"I'm flattered. So what's their plan?"

【Rather than opening new Gates, they will simply unseal a dungeon already on Earth.】

"Already on Earth? Don't tell me......"

【SSS-rank dungeon—the Demon King's Castle. They will break its seal.】

I would've been better off not hearing that.

Thanatos's revelation was that shocking.

The Demon King's Castle, sealed beneath Florian Academy.

The same seal Evil God Kultung had tried to break during the Academy Collapse Event.

If the Demon King's Castle opened, the demon army would march on the world in one year.

Humanity's current forces couldn't resist for even a month before being annihilated.

"...So I should just enjoy life with no regrets while I can?"

【What are you saying? You must stop it somehow.】

Stop an SSS-rank dungeon? With what?

【Outsider, you have driven my brethren back to an unbelievable degree. Surely you can stop this too.】

"No. I can't. How do you stop an SSS-rank dungeon? Strategy means nothing when the raw power gap is this massive."

【...What?】

My flat declaration caught Thanatos off guard instead.

Shock flickered across his face.

【If you cannot stop it, the world ends. Should you not be trying harder rather than giving up?】

"Guess it's time to go, then."

My blunt answer left Thanatos looking like his world had collapsed.

Ironic, since it was my world about to collapse.

Thanatos had his own desperate reasons.

The one spearheading Earth's invasion was the game's final boss—the second-in-command among the Evil Gods.

If this world fell, that power would flow to the invader.

How much power that represented, I didn't know—but judging by Thanatos's wariness, it could be enough to shift the hierarchy among Evil Gods.

In the end, Thanatos wasn't a good guy who wanted to save the world—our interests simply aligned.

So Thanatos had used the power gained from the risen assimilation rate to contact me and share information, only for me to immediately raise the white flag instead of using it.

The stronger the Evil God, the more power it cost to interfere with the world.

Thanatos had likely spent most of his available interference budget just making contact with me.

He'd invested everything in me on blind faith—and now faced total bankruptcy.

No wonder he was losing his mind.

So was there truly no way?

Actually, there was one gamble worth attempting.

But here's the thing about life.

If you want someone's help, you pay a fair price. You don't just blow your resources on some random side project and call it done.

The more I thought about it, the more audacious this was.

He'd come begging for a favor to protect his own interests, yet had the nerve to act high and mighty?

If you're here to give me a quest, have the decency to prepare a reward!

You think just because our interests align, you can work me for free? An NPC with this attitude is deeply inappropriate.

In the end, the one in a hurry had to bow first.

The imposing demeanor from the start was gone—Thanatos's voice now carried something close to groveling.

【Is there truly no way? Are you certain?】

"I told you, there isn't."

【Damn it all......!】

Time to strike.

The exact moment Thanatos was most desperate!

This was the perfect window for a deal.

"That's if I'm alone."

【What?】

"But with a capable ally, things might change. Say... a knowledgeable and versatile transcendent being."

Thanatos's face lit up instantly.

He practically tripped over himself trying to sell his value.

【What do you want? I am strong. I can confidently say no living creature in the entire universe can match me.】

"That's reassuring. With your help, maybe we could manage somehow. But I'm not quite convinced yet."

【Convinced of what?】

"Think about it. Clearing the Demon King's Castle means I'm putting everything on the line too. But what if I invest everything and then the ally I was counting on stabs me in the back? My world goes bankrupt."

Thanatos snorted as if he'd heard something absurd.

【Nonsense. Would a transcendent being break a promise with a mere mortal, a speck of cosmic dust? I would never commit such a dishonorable act.】

"Because I'm a mere speck of cosmic dust, it'd be easy to break the promise. Pride is something you maintain between equals."

【Fine. In short, you need grounds to trust me.】

Thanatos flicked his thumb and forefinger, and a black sheet of paper appeared before my eyes.

The pitch-black paper was completely blank.

【The Contract Scroll. An instrument created for fair transactions between transcendents and mortals. Once a contract is formed through it, no transcendent being—no matter how powerful—can break it.】

I placed my finger on the Contract Scroll, and the area I touched turned red.

Exactly as the game's lore described.

I wrote down the various clauses I'd prepared in advance.

Summarizing the key points: '1. Thanatos shall faithfully comply with my requests for the purpose of protecting Earth,' and '2. Thanatos shall not cause harm to Earth.'

Deliberately ambiguous clauses, open to interpretation in any number of ways.

Also, every clause pertained solely to Thanatos—I bore zero restrictions.

Naturally, Thanatos voiced his objections.

【I want changes. More specific and explicit terms would be more comfortable for both parties. Starting with the contract duration...】

"No. Take it or leave it."

【What?】

Thanatos sounded incredulous, but the desperate party was him.

I didn't urgently need Thanatos's cooperation—for me, this was a take-it-or-leave-it deal.

"A transcendent being can't even grant a request from a human who lives barely a hundred years? I'm out."

【A contract requires give and take! It exists for mutual benefit! There isn't a single clause in here that benefits me!】

"Please sign it."

【Human! Stop being unreasonable!】

Unreasonable? Sure.

There was no logic, no argument. I was simply pestering him.

So what?

"Please."

【......】

In the end, the desperate party had no choice but to surrender.

【...Fine.】

Excellent. Hooked myself a real sucker.

Having one solid insurance policy couldn't hurt.

And so began the peculiar cohabitation of an Evil God and a Hero.